Important Meeting (see note) 3.01.3189

[Rust]

To N'rak, it seemed like ages before Keth got back to him. Those things are all over Keth informed his rider with slight uncertainty. He had perched outside their weyr and was watching with whirling purple eyes for anything out of the ordinary. Part of him expected a crowd coming to attack the two unusual dragons bursting through at any moment. Rusith says to go to the, uh, junior weyrwoman's weyr. They're discussing the little ones.

N'rak was already out in the hall by the time he heard where to go. The whole situation made him nervous; he had no idea how everyone felt and he was unsure where he should stand. Extermination was too far, though. It didn't matter if there were issues with the... unusuals... unless it was clear that they would hurt a human or another dragon.

He arrived at the meeting, paused a moment to scan the faces, and found a place to sit where he wouldn't attract attention. He was oddly conscious of the fact that he was the lowest ranking by far in the room. At least he got a clear picture of everyone else's feelings on the matter; he decided he wouldn't mention anything he felt that went against them.

"And who would I report to?" N'rak asked, unsure what Ol'iver was thinking. A bronzerider, perhaps? Besides, there had to be more that N'rak could do that just hear what weyrlings had seen. He had talked with a few people after the hatching who had negative outlooks. If he was going to commit to agreeing with them, he should go all the way. "I don't know who would do this," N'rak made a vague motion to indicate that he meant the message, and as he continued he made sure to avoid the eyes of any of the weyrlings in the room, "but I've talked to people who aren't comfortable with the two unusuals. I can talk to them again."

[Sher]

"Yes, vote," Sa'kor growled, raking the room's occupants with his dark eyes. "The little mutants were permitted to live, even to Impress, but we have to do something about them. I propose they be expelled as soon as they can fly- if not before."

What the shard is Sa'kor talking about? Kadia just looked back at the muscular wingleader, privately regretting his presence. At least he wasn't supporting- she had to force herself to think the word- culling them. "N'rak, you would of course report to myself, or Eyrlaina, or anyone else with authority to take action. You yourself could do something to stop any unpleasantness." The respect she held the weyrlingmaster in was more due to his important rank than personal acquaintance with him, but it colored her words. "Besides, I thought Sunset prided itself on tolerance and being of an open mind?"

Out in the hunting fields, Rusith shrugged her heavy shoulders and wing-shoulders together; though she couldn't see the motion, Kadia 'felt' it. I don't believe sending Ronith and Lycath away would actually solve anything. It would only remove them from our protection. She couldn't quite hide her astonishment and fury. Even for Sa'kor, that was an unexpected low.

Morgaith couldn't keep silent. Who said anything about protecting them? They aren't normal, my queen, he said directly to Rusith. He received a sense that her anger flamed into a renewed hunger, and she swept into the air to savagely claim another beast from the terrified and scattered herd.

"An open mind?" Sa'kor laughed, a short harsh sound more kin to a bark than amusement. "Would you be so keen on keeping those two around if you thought what would happen if Ronith managed to net the Weyrleadership? I know at least some of you touched his egg. Or- even worse- what if the speculation about Lycath is true? What if she wound up being senior queen? I really can't see her keeping order."

Kadia found a seat, looking instinctively toward Eyrlaina. "Ophelia seemed to have Ronith in hand, the last I saw," she replied. "As to Lycath, speculation really isn't a strong enough reason to send them away, in my opinion. Who knows how their personalities will develop? They're Impressed. The Weyr is autonomous! Even if we wanted to send them off, caving to some traditionalist bigots-" She snorted her contempt for the concept. "It would be a gesture of weakness. Since you're tossing what-ifs at us, 'what if' this anonymous demands next that no brownriders can be wingleaders?"

At that pointed reminder, Sa'kor hunched his shoulders slightly, not appreciating what he perceived to be a veiled threat. She thinks she could strip my rank!

She could. Brutal honesty conveyed itself in Morgaith's clipped words. Sa'kor chose and flopped into a seat, pretending to mull over the senior goldrider's words, but he stole glances at N'rak. Perhaps he could speak to the man; the bluerider had seemed a touch hesitant to offer support. If N'rak didn't really like the odd weyrlings, he might be convinced to at least look the other way while a certain brownrider saw to making it clear that Ronith and Lycath were not welcome. The majority opinion didn't matter to Sa'kor, unless it involved him directly. He didn't like the oddities, and he didn't like the way Kadia had handled him so far. It cost him self-respect to sit there, acting thoughtful.

[weetia]

J'lin scanned the 'petition,' his eyes widening in horror as he read the brief note. The horror changed quickly to fury, and he felt Portenth's anger as well, at the idea of someone daring to attack hatchlings in their Weyr. Certainly the mutant hatchling needed to be treated carefully, delayed in joining fighting wings while the Weyr got a good sense of their strengths, and possibly prevented from breeding if they seemed unhealthy. But, 'culled' to 'purify the Weyr'? That was outrageous! He was gritting his teeth as people spoke around him, though he liked Ol'ver's suggestion of added security for the weyrlings.

Then his wingleader came in, and J'lin quickly became more furious at the man than he had ever been before. Sa'kor was an efficient, if unforgiving, wingleader, but he was an infuriating human being on the ground. J'lin glared at his suggestion of a vote, then heard the weyrwoman's apparent confusion. For a moment, he considered the idea that the note had originated with the wingleader who seemed so happy to vote on exterminating the mutants. Surely, though, the aggressive man wouldn't have resorted to an anonymous note, he would have just made the suggestion himself. J'lin completed Ol'ver's thought aloud, refusing to be delicate about it. "If the note did originate from inside the Weyr, then the appearance of a unified front won't help, since they'll know better," he stated. "There isn't much point in looking unified, if we actually aren't." He was certainly thinking of Sa'kor when he spoke, doubting that the man would object to a culling even though he claimed to only want to expel the hatchlings. Maybe he had posted the notes himself, thinking the suggestion of killing the two would make his suggestion of kicking them out more palatable?

He spoke directly to his dragon, then, who felt his anger, but was containing his response to a low rumble. We can pay attention to the weyrlings while we are in the Weyr, he told Portenth, I am sure that others will be doing the same thing.

He looked over at N'rak, after Kadia spoke to him. "I'm sure there are a lot of people who aren't comfortable with Ronith and Lycath," he said, making a point of using the hatchling's names. Surely it was harder to consider killing a dragon when you had to think of him or her by name? "I certainly think their training should be extended longer than the other hatchlings, since we have no idea how large either of them will grow, or what their abilities and limits are. Maybe they should get some individualized instruction," he suggested cautiously. Surely the constant presence of an adult rider apparently teaching the weyrlings would be a deterrent without implying that the Weyr doubted its own security.

He tried to contain his smirk at Kadia's jab at N'rak. He had never cared what color his wingleader rode, as long as the wing flew well, but there were others who would object to following a brown. "We certainly don't need outsiders telling us how to run the Weyr," he agreed with Kadia, though his eyes were firmly on Sa'kor. "Especially outsiders without enough courage to even identify themselves."

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K'lar had been listening to the conversation the other weyrlings were having, and he wasn't at all surprised that they were all in agreement. He wasn't at all willing to see either Ronith or Lycath get hurt, even if the bismuth did seem a little intimidating. He wouldn't be much use at protecting them against a direct attack, though. He knew one way he might be more useful, though, and he slipped out of the room while the other weyrlings were still talking. He saw the weyrlingmaster heading off to a queen's weyr, and guessed that it might have something to do with the message. He wrinkled his nose a little in thought, then shrugged. He hadn't gotten in trouble in quite some time, and now he wouldn't have to worry about being denied a chance to Stand, or even just forced to wait for a later Hatching. He had already Impressed, and they couldn't take Carmith away. The worst they could do was give him so many chores he had no free time left, and it would be for a good cause...

After he saw N'rak enter Eyrlaina's weyr, he headed in the same direction, and stopped at her door, not seeing anyone else coming from either direction. Perhaps everyone who mattered was already there? K'lar leaned toward the door, trying to hear what was going on. There were certainly a lot of voices in the room, though K'lar could guess that the female voice had to be one of the weyrwomen, and it sounded like she was on the weyrlings' side. That was good to know. The voice she was answering, about sending the two 'mutants' away, must be a brownriding wingleader. He couldn't identify anyone else by voice, though, and he could only guess based on the scraps of conversation he might hear.

[Rust]

K'ran, unluckily for him, had been busy feeding his hungry green and little gold, completely oblivious to the petition and anger that had been building in the weyr. As N'rak sat listed to Sa'kor, K'ran was just finishing up feeding his pair. He had overfed the both of them, just slightly. He still had a lot to learn, but thankfully Marith and Ari were both young and growing.

It was a pleasant walk back to the barracks, but even K'ran could feel the tension without needing Marith to confirm it. He paused, looking at everyone. He heard Eavan say something about being careful but... that was it.

Something isn't right. You should probably find out what; I bet it's important. Marith told him, nudging him in the side with her snout. He glanced down, feeling immense relief that he had her to help him out in situations like this. K'ran joined his fellow weyrlings with Marith by his side.

"Careful about what?"

-

It was hard for N'rak not to feel like "you could do something" wasn't an insult. Was he not doing enough? Had he not left the weyrlings to their own devices just after the hatching to get a feel on how the Weyr felt about the unusuals? He flushed slightly in frustration. It was times like this he felt like dragon color meant too much. Would anyone say such things if Keth was a bronze?

Probably, Mine. It wasn't an insult. Keth brought N'rak back to reality, to listen to J'lin. He sighed slightly as he listened and let his own silly frustrations fade away.

"That seems like a good idea, J'lin. Maybe the extra time with them will set Sa'kor's mind at ease about whether or not they'll be able to fit in with the Weyr and fight like the other dragons."