New beginnings (open)

[ambigious]

02.21.3189 ((date added by Sher))

As soon as Ronith had been stuffed with sliced cubes of meat -- which had proved to be a more time consuming process than Ophelia had expected -- she had guided the simmering bismuth towards the Weyrling Barracks, at N'raks orders. She watched as the other new Weyrlings guided their equally sleepy dragonets through the Weyr, but all of her attention was focused on Ronith. The multi-hued dragonet had his head held high as he marched through the Weyrbowl, his talons smacking sharply against the ground as he walked. Although he made quite the air of being awake and aware, unless the other puny, pathetic fledglings around him, Ophelia could tell that his head was drooping ever so slightly. With a light smirk, she hastened her stride until she was level with his head, which irritated the bismuth. His rider was to follow him, not stand beside him as an equal.

Catching his mood, Ophelia arched a slim brow at him and reached out to place a steadying hand on his broad, icy blue shoulder. "Not happening," she muttered, which awarded her scalding anger across their bond as he shimmied away from her touch. At that moment Amaroq appeared in the air above them from between with a trill, the cold burst of air brushing against both Ophelia and Ronith. "There you are," she said as the brown glided over to hover near her face. The light brown firelizard flashed Ophelia an image of him disappearing between for safety when she had been taken out by the blue and bronze dragonets. A wry expression crossed the young woman's face as she paused the hallway, extending her arm for the brown to land, which he did so obediently. "It's good to know you'll be there for me when things get rough," she told Amaroq sarcastically, who merely gazed up at her in confusion.

What is that?[/i] Ronith demanded, sizing up the pint-sized morsel. If the brown nuisance was going to take Ophelia's time and attention away from him, the creature would have to be dealt with. "This is Amaroq," she explained, but did not extend the brown towards Ronith for closer inspection. The angry red had not ebbed from his many faceted eyes, so he looked quite menacing as he stared at the creature. "And he's a friend, so we won't be disposing of him any time soon." He's useless,[/i] the young dragon announced abruptly and reared up, jaws widening as he attempted to lunge at the firelizard.

"Ronith, stop!" Ophelia demanded as she placed one hand over Amaroq and stepped out of the way, glaring at the little dragon. "What is wrong with you? I told you not to eat him," she said furiously as Ronith regained his balance and whirled, wings mildly splayed in the small space. He is useless,[/i] Ronith repeated angrily, and he will take up your time. I need your time.[/i] The simple logic and need behind Ronith's words startled Ophelia. She'd been warned that dragonets would be possessive and needy at birth, but Ophelia wasn't expecting such sentiments from the blood thirsty brute, but should have guessed it would manifest itself in violence. As it was, Amaroq cowered against Ophelia's chest and trembled, aware of immediate danger.

"You have all of me, Ronith," she told the dragonet simply, which earned her a snort, "but Amaroq is not going anywhere, and that's final. He's going to help me take care of you." The bismuth cocked his head to the side as he pondered this, envisioning all sorts of uses for the brown mongrel. Satisfactory.[/i] With one final, angry lash of his tail, Ronith pushed past Ophelia, who couldn't help but chortle as she followed him down the hall. The rest of the walk went in silence, though Ophelia was stroking Amaroq's neck to soothe him as she walked. Once they entered the barracks, she chose a bunk at random, argued with Ronith loudly for quite a while about the bunk he chose, then settled on his with a sigh.

Stop staring,[/i] the bismuth ordered as he curled himself into a ball, the lower veil of his eyes closing over his dark, angry red pools. Ignoring the comment, Ophelia perched on the edge of the stone couch and stared, marveling at the fact that the exotic dragon from her egg was, in fact, hers. Amaroq was currently curled in her lap and staring balefully at Ronith, still on edge. It was in this fashion, with Ronith growling at Ophelia to look away every few minutes, that the large bismuth eventually fell asleep, his dreams interrupted by angry thoughts and actions. After a few more moments of simply being in his presence, Ophelia sighed and rose to her feet, regretfully leaving the bismuth's side.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once the Hatching Feast was over, Ophelia strode wearily back to the barracks, for once grateful to return inside the Weyr. As fate would have it, she'd been far too concerned about Ronith to remember the fact that she'd been clawed, and had arrived at the Feast with blood still seeping from the wound. She'd had it taken care of after the feast, making her the last to arrive in the barracks, and it now stung and throbbed irritably as she walked. Still, it was a reminder of the day's events so she couldn't regret it too much. It was also, however, a reminder of her own folly, which smarted more than the actual wound.

Amaroq was still perched on her shoulder with his tail wrapped securely around her neck, unwilling to leave her side with Ronith in their barracks. The new Weyrling silently crept into the room and slunk over to Ronith's side on light feet, gazing over the bismuth's sleeping form to make sure he was alright. The young fledglings sides were rising and falling peacefully, but his tail twitched irritably on the bed. Even unconscious the brute was angry. An uncharacteristically tender smile crossed Ophelia's face as she was comforted by the side. Then, warning Amaroq to be quiet, she stepped over to Eavan's cot, as noted so by the gold dragonet sleeping beside it.

"Eavan," she whispered, hoping not to startle her. "I want to talk to you. Meet me outside." Without waiting for a response, Ophelia turned and strode from the barracks, stopping just outside the door.

[Snow]

Being the last to impress and also being so weak from waiting to eat so long, made Eavan and Irieth the last to leave the hatching grounds. Eavan didn’t mind staying as long as Irieth needed to fill her belly. It had been such a rocky start for the little gold. Well, perhaps not start but the end of the hatching had been very anxious. Eavan was just happy that the gold hadn’t given up. ”Are you full, sweetling?” She asked noticing that the gold’s intake of the meat had slowed down. ”Yes, very full. I feel much better, mine, but I think some sleep is in order now.” Irieth stated.

”Then we’ll just get you over to the weyrling barracks now. Do you think you can walk or should I carry you?” Eavan asked. She had no issues carrying the queen again, but she knew that most dragons generally had too much pride to be carried too often. ”I can walk, thank you. I have a lot more strength now. Let us go.” The gold said as she began moving towards the hatching entrance and across the weyrbowl.

Eavan kept her eye on the gold, still not quite believing that the marvelous little creature had chosen her. Her tears had stopped a while ago, but still thinking about the fact that she almost didn’t have her almost made Eavan’s eyes threaten to water and her heart stop beating. ”I am here, mine. I will always be here.” Eavan smiled down at her gold, love welling up in her. ”I know, Irieth. So am I.”

Once inside the barracks Irieth insisted that she take one of the cots nearest the entrance. The way the gold saw it, if she was at the front of the room she could not only keep an eye on all her clutch mates, but she would also be the first to see who was entering the barracks. Eavan didn’t object and watched with pride as Irieth curled into a ball on her couch. She couldn’t wait for Karthik to see her, but a part of her wondered if the little bronze wouldn’t just be afraid. She stayed until the gold was breathing heavily in sleep. None of the distress from her ordeal earlier was present. Finally, Eavan tore herself away from Irieth so she could go to the feast, though she hated leaving her new love.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The feast had been amazing, though Eavan had noted the undercurrent of tension from the people that were dubious of the mutants. She felt as if her face might break from having to smile so much, but honestly she couldn’t help but smile when people mentioned Irieth. She was quite something. She still couldn’t believe she had chosen her. Eavan was excited and nervous at the same time. She’d always wanted to be in a position to help the weyr she loved, but now she was in that position and it sort of scared her. However, with Irieth by her side there was nothing that was out of their reach.

Eavan went back to the barracks a bit early, not being able to stand being away from Irieth for that long. The queen was still sleeping peacefully as she entered the barracks. Karthik had finally decided to join her and now chirped curiously at his new surroundings. ”It’s alright, Karthik. This is our new home and I want you to meet Irieth. You have to be quiet though, because she’s sleeping.” Karthik looked at the gold and crooned a bit alarmed. ”It’s alright, she’s going to be with us from now on.” The bronze still wasn’t positive, but with Eavan’s assurance he calmed down.

Eavan had just settled down on her cot when Ophelia approached her. She was shocked at first, but instantly answered, ”Of course.” She got up and headed out since Ophelia hadn’t waited for her. Eavan was certainly curious what the girl wished to speak to her about. Their last ‘talk’ hadn’t exactly been the most friendly of sorts and part of her was worried that Ophelia wanted to argue more or worse. Eavan put that thought out of her mind, they both had dragonets to worry about now. She stepped outside the door and saw Ophelia waiting for her. ”What is it?” There was no anger or bitterness in her voice, but it was hard to keep it level.

[azure]

What a day, Pr'er thought. Awake just as it was dawning, a terrifying and wonderful hatching, Lycath choosing him and then that feast.

The breakfast feast had been the worst of it all. There were new currents and undercurrents in the Weyr hierarchy and they included him. Rather, they were about him and Ophelia.

He wasn't sure Ophelia had noticed but he had been the target of enough malicious gossip that he knew when it was going on. The exchange of glances, the tones changing and the over friendliness of the ones who disliked the talk against Lycath and Ronith. It was clear that a sizeable group disapproved of Lycath and Ronith. He wasn't sure if it was because they were different or because they were different AND had a metallic glitter to them, Ronith in places and Lycath all over.

Once he had figured out what was going on he had gotten busy. Introducing himself, mentioning his training as a beastcrafter, discussing how Lycath was different and how she was the same and asking opinions of the older riders. Yes, it was at least partially an act, but they had to see him as a person not a faceless kid with a mutant. The polite boy with the beastcrafter background who had listened to and valued their opinions was a much better way to be remembered.

Lycath truly did need him to defend her and it was a battle he wasn't all that great in, the battle of gossip and opinion. He couldn't yell or fight like he had when it wasagainst kids his age. He had to pretend they were all superiors in the beastcraft, worthy of and demanding his best manners and respect.

Opal had been wonderful. Somehow he had figured out that he needed to behave for Lycath. He was as smitten with her as Pr'er was. He had stood tall, he had chirped politely and had even spread his wings to show off his iridescent hide when Pr'er had asked. He had gotten so many treats that he was a stuffed and snoring lump on the pillow. To some of the people, that he had trained a flitt so young was a sign he could handle a dragon. Those were usually the people without a dragon though.

Pr'er had chosen a place in the barracks down toward the back. His girl would do better without people and dragons tromping by her all the time and so would he. The extra walking would be worth it. He was going to need peace too, in this battle that had found him. He had a female metallic dragon. It was just mind boggling. He had a female metallic dragon who was unlike any queen that had ever been and she chose him to protect her and fight for her. He really hoped he could do a good job. She was more then worth it.

[weetia]

P'tal was curled up on a cot right next to Pr'er's, gazing at Drinath dreamily, though she held a pen in her hand. She had been trying to decide exactly how to phrase the letter she sent to her foster mother. The woman had included a stiffly worded note with the belongings she sent when she had been Searched. P'tal felt that she owed at least as much courtesy in return, since their relationship had always been at least polite, even if it hadn't been warm.

It was difficult, though, knowing that her foster family would be so uncomfortable with her news. They had never explicitly condemned dragonriders, since they knew Pern needed them. A female brownrider....

P'tal wasn't as shocked by her mindmate's color as she could have been, though female brownriders were not exactly common. But J'ain had searched her, so P'tal had been completely aware that women could Impress males, even if they often did not. She looked over at Lycath then, though, in the spot next to her Drinath. The tiny female that Pr'er had Impressed was much more unusual, and unlike Ophelia's firebrand hatchling, did not seem quite up to the task of defending herself.

"You know, Pr'er," she said, looking cautiously at the other weyrling. "You don't have to change everyone's minds all by yourself." She had seen him working the room at the feast, and it would have been completely beyond her. P'tal was not able to be persuasive like that, especially on such short notice.

P'tal could not be sure of all the other weyrlings' attitudes. However, Ophelia would not have anything to say against Lycath, since she had a unique dragonet of her own; and P'tal was pretty sure that Eavan would speak up for the little gray as well. Probably most of the other weyrlings would be too busy with their own hatchlings to make trouble.

"If anyone does try to make things hard for you," she told him, feeling for the right words, "you shouldn't try to handle it all alone." The tension at the feast had somewhat confused P'tal at the time, especially since she had always heard that dragonriders were a little too relaxed. However, she knew that if Pr'er tried to just soldier through whatever mistreatment or poor attitudes he was exposed to, they would eventually wear him out.

She would have offered the same support to Ophelia, and probably still would, but she would have to be extremely careful about how to phrase it. Ophelia was likely to think P'tal was saying she couldn't take care of herself or her own hatchling, when P'tal was just wanting her to know that there would be no problems coming from her.

[azure]

Pr'er blinked at her, thinking through what she was saying. "We aren't alone, there are folks in the Weyr cheering us on. There are also people horrified by us. Are you saying you will cheer us on?"

That was very blunt but he had used up his tact during the feast and he was sure P'tal was not a two faced type of person. She had been consistently decent through their time as candidates, just a quieter girl then Ophelia and Eavan.

He really hoped he and Lycath could count on her and her brown. If this brown was as steady as the typical brown, having them next to Lycath would make barracks life much easier.

He had stopped by the candidate barracks on the way here to makes sure all his belongings had been transferred. They had been, so he had grabbed a pair of the comfier cushions from the seating area. Having a pillow behind his back made it easier to watch Lycath sleep. He got up with the second, tentatively offering it to P'tal. One was enough, the second was mostly getting in his way.

[ambigious]

Although the footsteps coming from the barracks told her that Eavan was following, once Ophelia was outside she allowed herself to rest her back against the wall. It partially relieved the ache in her hip, and it also partially allowed her weary body to relax, for at the moment she didn't much care for acting tough. She had Ronith, and for some odd reason she had a keen feeling that the bismuth would never stand for anything thinking of her as 'weak'. Thus, she pondered the events of the Hatching and the Feast afterwards dubiously. The weyrfolk had been shocked by the mutants at the hatching, but at the feast they had been downright intolerable. Ophelia had watched Pr'er make his rounds and attempt to sway the riders to his side, but she had merely stayed back. If she let her tongue loose at that moment, it would be bad for both of them; at least she was able to acknowledge that much.

Which then turned her attention back to the Hatching. Although it had awarded her Ronith, her actions had been so...she couldn't explain it. She hadn't let her feelings cloud her judgment in quite some time, yet since becoming a Candidate it seemed they were all that controlled her actions. Thus, when she finally saw Eavan approach and heard her question, Ophelia glanced over at her almost thoughtfully, still leaning against the wall. "I'm not going to bite your head off, if that's what you were thinking," she said wryly. Although Eavan looked outwardly calm, she knew that they hadn't exactly been on polite terms in the Hatching. It had actually made things very tense between them. She'd wanted to speak up at the Feast, but knew it wasn't the best time, especially with all the rumors about the mutants circulating.

Ophelia chose her next words very carefully. "After Ronith hatched...if you didn't walk forward because you thought I was going to harm either of them," her face betrayed a hint of disgust at the thought, "then why did you step forward?" It had been nagging at her all night. Subconsciously, she reached out to her bond for Ronith, comforted by the feel of the blisteringly angry, if subdued, presence in her mind.

[Snow]

Eavan managed a broken smile. She had her arms crossed in front of her as she looked at the other girl who was leaning back against the wall. "With our history, Ophelia, you can't blame me for being on guard. My ears are all yours though, since my head isn't what you're after." She uncrossed her arms then, a signal that she was going to try and be more open to the girl. She wasn't sure what it was, but the Ophelia standing before her was subtly different than the one on the sands earlier.

Her question through her off guard almost. Eavan was honestly surprised that the girl was still pondering it. "There may be times when I question your actions, Ophelia, but never once would I think you'd harm a dragon. All I meant was that there wasn't a need for violence of any sort. Yelling at the people in the crowd wasn't going to do anything except make things worse." The step forward had just been automatic reaction on Eavan's part.

Eavan took a deep breath and sighed. "You're smart Ophelia, I'm sure you noticed some of the people's reactions to your Ronith and Pr'er's Lycath. As much as I'd like to ignore it, there are still people who are horribly closed-minded. They won't see Ronith and Lycath as anything but mutants, a blithe in the weyr." Eavan held up her hand just in case Ophelia was going to turn angry. "However, you and I know better and so does our fellow weyrlings and if we're lucky so does most of the weyr. If we're going to change those hidebound oldtimers minds, it's not going to be through anger, violence, or anything of that sort."

Eavan began to pace a bit then. "No, we'll have to change their minds through actions, proving them they are wrong and that those sports are equally as important as any other color in this weyr." She actually managed to give Ophelia a genuinely friendly smile. Eavan was still of the mind that she and Ophelia would never fully agree on everything, but they needed to appear to be completely on each others side to be able to quell any actions that might be taken against the sports.

[weetia]

P'tal nodded at Pr'er's blunt comment. "I'll support you," she promised. "Ophelia too. No one should be judged for anything except what they do." That was one subject she had agreed with her hide-bound foster parents on. They just didn't agree about which actions people should be judged for.

P'tal did wonder, though, if the weyrbred were actually more likely to be offended by the sport dragons. She had so recently come to the Weyr, that in a way, the new colors were no more difficult to understand than weyr life in general. Besides, what harm would it do anyone that there were two dragons of unique color? Either they would be healthy enough to be an asset to the Weyr, or they would not be healthy enough to breed.

She smiled shyly as Pr'er offered her the extra pillow. "Thanks," she said, leaning against it so she could sit a little straighter. She glanced over at Drinath again, still amazed that he was hers. She had thought the sensation of having a dragon's voice in her mind had somewhat prepared her for the concept of Impression, but having a dragon of her own was so much bigger.

"I don't really understand how anyone can object to your dragon," she said ruefully, even though she knew that plenty of people were inexplicably upset. "Especially anyone with a dragon of their own. How can they begrudge anyone...." she trailed off, shaking her head. It was like she had been half a person before today, and not even known it. In a way, she wished everyone on Pern could have a dragon of their own, because it made everything suddenly more special.

[azure]

"She is metallic."Pr'er said simply. "And she is clearly not a gold AND she chose me. All three of those together? I can sort of see how it could upset people who expect things to be a certain way. Ophelia's dragon is male and it looked to me like his wings are bronze. I want to see him clean and in the sunlight to be sure though. Lycath was obvious, she just glowed. But him? he was acting like the worst possible mixing of temperament from all the male colors."

He shrugged, not trying to excuse the behaviors, just saying what he saw. "I get that kind of attitude myself sometimes, I'm just wrong because men are supposed to be taller. Sitney, the Weyr healer intimidates some people because she is a man's height, strong and has a healers power. Then she'll look you up and down and smirk at you if you are being obnoxious. It upsets people who expect women to be what they think womenly is."

Pr'er thought that the WEYR of all places having attitudes like that was ridiculous, but - a fair mount of people grew up in Holds. Apparently some of the attitudes stayed with them.

[ambigious]

[ooc: XD Azure, you are so lucky that Ophelia's out in the hallway hahaha]

The comment earned a deft shrug from Ophelia in response. It was true that they hadn't been on the best of terms from the beginning, so she could understand the other girl's hesitance. But hopefully she saw that, at the moment, Ophelia didn't feel like causing trouble. She felt like a different person, with Ronith's presence wrapped around her mind like an old, comfortable blanket. How could she be angry when such a dragonet had come into her life? These were mostly the thoughts that occupied her mind as she watched Eavan, though she did try to listen to what she had to say.

She pushed away from the wall then to face the other Weyrling more squarely, reaching up with one hand idly to brush a hand through her short black hair. "I feel that letting their imaginations run away with them would've been worse," she said honestly, a hint of impudence but no malice in her tone. A wry grin tugged at her lips at her next words. "I noticed Pr'er making rounds at the Hatching Feast and trying to look like a good little Weyrling. He's allowed to do what he thinks is best, so I didn't say anything, but I disagree with his methods. If the older riders see us as pushovers, they'll think they can do what they want to us." The flash of indignation that went through Ophelia's expressive hazel eyes showed clearly how she felt about that statement. Although a seed of anger did bloom within Ophelia at Eavan's next comments, she managed to contain herself even as Eavan lifted a hand to ask her to wait. That of course piqued her irritation more, but she bit her tongue and waited.

A moment of surprise settled over Ophelia as she stared at Eavan. "I...agree." It was almost hard to choke out the words, for she'd never expected to agree with Eavan on anything. "I was planning on showing them with actions what Ronith can do. But that won't be for a while, so in the meantime I planned on not caring what people thought, as long as they don't say it directly to my face." A smirk crossed her face as she pondered who would have the gall to face her directly, given her quickly spreading reputation. It still hadn't occurred to her that Eavan might actually be offering her support, and even if it had she wouldn't know how to respond or how to feel about it.

[Snow]

This was whole new territory and Eavan wasn’t exactly feeling her steadiest. Actually seeing eye to eye with Ophelia wasn’t something that she ever thought would happen and yet here they were talking along the same line and even admitting to agreeing with one another. Well a person should never look a gift runnerbeast in the mouth, so she would try to find her balance and continue on with this helpful and hopefully progressive line of conversation.

”I concur. Pr’er was trying to do what he thought best, but as riders we can never let anyone think we are pushovers. Especially not holders, that would only do us harm. However, being amiable, helpful, and responsible to our weyr will only help to prove all the dragons worth.” She sighed as she thought about how ignorant some holders could be. Eavan honestly wouldn’t be surprised if some thought the entire clutch to be some kind of mutations just because of the two sport dragons that came from it.

Eavan smirked at Ophelia’s comment. ”I doubt anyone would, but you never know. There are some people out there with a death wish.” That thought made her stop and wonder if she had a death wish herself as many times as she had gotten into Ophelia’s face. She determined she didn’t, that her reason for getting in Ophelia’s face was simply because she had the power to do so. Eavan had never had quite a challenge like Ophelia before. In a way she hated it, but in another way she loved it. ”For Ronith and Lycath’s sake though, I’m going to stress that if anyone does you just turn around a walk away. It’s not going to do anyone any good for you make enemies. I realize it might seem like a good idea to act the aggressor, but it’s just going to blow up in your face later on.”

[weetia]

P'tal winced. "I don't mean that I don't understand what their explanations might be," she said. She had heard many explanations for judging people, and they didn't have to make sense. "Just being different is enough for most people. I mean, if people want to be upset, they can be mad that Drinath is rather large for a brown and Impressed to a girl, that Irieth is very small for a gold, and that the little blue attacked another hatchling." She shivered a little. Their Hatching had certainly been an eventful one. "In any other clutch, either of those might have been some sort of scandal, right?"

She pulled her knees up to her chest, staring off at Drinath instead of looking at Pr'er. "I just meant that I can't understand wanting to make trouble. I can't understand that whole mindset where people think things will be better if they can make other people miserable. Or how they think that new is scary." She shook her head. "If you're always looking for something to be angry about, you'll always find something." It was disappointing to encounter people like that in the Weyr. She had always imagined the Weyrs were full of people who worked together for the best of Pern, and didn't care about petty differences. Apparently, even dragonriders were only human, they were just humans who had the responsibility to risk their lives because they had Impressed.