All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright © Anne McCaffrey 1967,2000, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited. For more information, visit the Worlds of Anne McCaffrey.

You walk over to the Weyrhall.

Kayjay sighs. "I had to dash out of here as another candidate needed me. Shards, that girl, I think we need to assign someone to watch over her personally every hour of the day and night." She sighs, frowns and takes a gulp of her wine before nodding to Auralia. "Evening."

"She was starting to remember images...I think" Aithne begins slowly, "I don't know how much is me wanting her to be okay..and how much she remembers." Auralia is considered for a moment, looking for the mop.

T'rrin says, "When ever you are ready."

Auralia, pale faced, but smiling, walks in from the infirmary, and nods to Kayjay on her way. No plums in her hand. This is a good start, anyway. "Oh, evening."
Auralia is sans mop, too. Phew.

Kayjay breathes a sigh of relief, smiling to the greenrider. "You are looking, well."

Nareisa has arrived.

Auralia's brows go up, "Am I? I don't feel very well. Been in the infirmary." Oh, the horror. The greenrider sits, nodding belatedly to everyone else. "Anyway."

Nareisa wanders in carrying a great big bag of...something.

Kayjay frowns. "Well, more yourself at least?" She peers at the rider a bit closer.

Auralia, once again, raises her brows, "When have I not been myself?" Oh no. Not this again. No.
Auralia belatedly sends a wave in Nareisa's direction. "Evening!"

Kayjay having learned, slowly takes a sip of her wine and smiles vaguely at Auralia. "Good, good."

T'rrin stands slowly and turns to walk out

Auralia gives up trying to decipher the brownrider, and moves to find herself a glass of water, returning shortly after. "You confuse me, Kayjay. But I won't ask."

"How is Iesath?" Aithne ventures carefully before eyeing the bag warily..beware riders, bearing bags of unknown substances?

Nareisa suddenly drops the bag of something. It squeaks. "Hi Aura."

"Iesath?" Auralia shrugs, "Iesath is good. Curled up with Ranorth, I have no doubt."

Kayjay sips at her wine. 'Sorry about that, Auralia." She blinks at the squeaking bag.

Auralia smiles towards Nareisa, "Heya, and all. What's in the bag?" It's squeaking? Does she want to know. "S'okay, Kayjay. I'll live."

Aithne hrms softly, 'Did that bag just make a noise?'

Nareisa tries, and fails, to look innocent. "What bag?"

Kayjay blinks at the diminitive bluerider. "That bag that just squeaked."

T'rrin strides over to the Courtyard.
T'rrin has left.

Nareisa eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeers "It did?" she steps on it. Squeak.

<Southern Weyr> Telinda is not posing, because she's making me laugh RL

Kayjay nods. "Yes, that bag."

Auralia watches the bag, warily.

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "It must be horrific watching her type :)"

Nareisa peers under her foot. "Oh you must mean THIS bag?"

<Southern Weyr> Telinda says, "She giggles, alot"

Aithne watches the bag warily before nodding,'Aye...that bag."

Nareisa ohs. "Right. This bag. You think it squeaked?" she moves her foot a little on the bag. Squeak.

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay is afraid that I am known to my neighbours at that crazy lady who cackles to herself at 3 am
<Southern Weyr> Telinda grins at KJ :)
<Southern Weyr> Jeryn says, "This isn't news, lady. :)"
<Southern Weyr> Aithne giggles.

Auralia nods her head slowly, taking a long sip of her water. "I think it did."

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "I also bounce up and down if a scene goes the way I like for it to go."
<Southern Weyr> Jeryn smiles.
<Southern Weyr> Aithne is a terrible pacer.
<Southern Weyr> Joslyn and Fol just make fun of you guys a lot. ;)
<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "OH I knew that already Jos"

Nareisa ohs. "Well it probably DID squeak," she acknowledges, attempting to be subtle in the kicking-the-bag-innocently-under-the-table thing. "But don't worry about that."

Auralia wonders, finally, "What's in it, anyway? Can you show us? Because squeaky things can be interesting."

Kayjay blinks, wide-eyed, glad her feet are up on a chair. "Squeaking bags make me nervous, Nareisa."

Nareisa hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmms. "It's not very interesting," she says, her foot nudging the bag further under the table. Squeak Squeak squeakedy squeak. "You wouldn't like it."

Auralia ohs. "Oh well. It might have made my evening more interesting, but oh well." Her brows do go up, however, "Why would't I like it?" No, she just can't let it go.

The bag moves all by itself. Nareisa just looks innocent. Anybody might have seen that she didn't actually STEP on the moving squeaking bit, so there must be SOMETHING in there.

Kayjay sighs, looking at Nareisa. "I would rather know what is squeaking than leave it to my imagination."

Aithne jumps slightly as it moved.."Did you see that?" She asks around.

Actually, the bag seems to have a mind of it's own, squirming out from under the table and slowly, without Nareisa noticing, making its way across the room.

Auralia gapes at the bag, spluttering madly, "Th--bag--ruun!"

Kayjay looks very.. nervous. She tries to put on the brave I will protect you candidates look, but it fails miserably as she jumps to sit on top of the table in front of her. "Nareisa???"

Nareisa very specifically does not look at the bag. She leans innocently on a table, and stares at the fingernails of one hand. "Hm? "

Auralia gives up, shaking her head madly, and gulping down her water.

Kayjay blusters. "Will you please take care of your -bag?-"

Aithne just barely keeps from jumping on the table...just barely.

By now the bag is making friends with Kayjay's feet. It nudges them. Nudgenudge. "Er... I don't think so," says Nareisa. "It squeaks, you see." Sure enough, the bag squeaks.

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "the bag crawls up tables?"

Kayjay folds her feet under her, peering upside down, over the edge of the table, at the crawling bag

<Southern Weyr> Nareisa says, "Er...makes friends with the leg of the chair. Sorry. I'm Australian. :)"
<Southern Weyr> Nareisa says, "Table"

Aithne squeaks herself as she clambers onto the table.

<Southern Weyr> Nareisa says, "Something."
<Southern Weyr> Kayjay giggles.
<Southern Weyr> Aithne says, "And Australian bags climb up tables?"
<Southern Weyr> Kayjay baps Aithne lovingly. :)
<Southern Weyr> Auralia heys! Does that mean that I have to have bags climbing tables, too? ;)

Auralia glares at the bag, moving her chair back slightly. "It's alive."

<Southern Weyr> Nareisa says, "Sure it does."

Nareisa eeeeeeeeeers. "Yes, it is. That's why it squeaks, you see." After a moment she adds "It moves too."

<Southern Weyr> Nareisa says, "You're not on a table, Aura?"
<Southern Weyr> Aithne is bapped..lovingly ;)
<Southern Weyr> Auralia says, "Nope."

Aithne peers over the table...big brave candidate, afraid of a squeaking bag....this does not bode well.

Auralia slowly, slowly nods, "Right. It's alive, and it squeaks. Why don't you tell us what it is?"

Kayjay nods, still looking upside down, looking under her table at the squeaking moving bag.

The bag wanders over to Auralia's feet, and nudges them now. Nudge. "Er..." says Nareisa, "It's because... I... er... can't."

"Can't?" Aithne asks, 'Why not?'

Auralia has animated toes. This is a fact that must be remembered. And since they're bare, they wiggle. "That tickles!" complains the greenrider, who can't see the bag. "Who is tickling my toes?" She pauses in her complaining to peer at Nareisa, "You can't?"

Kayjay sits back up again, letting her feet dangle over the side. Brave candidate coordinator. NOT. The bag has passed by her table. "Yoou can't what?"

Nareisa watches the bag bump against Auralia's toes and then bat at them. They move. "Er... I can't because...I'm not quite sure WHAT is in it. But er..." she gives a fixed nervous smile. "I'm sure it's nothing really bad. Like, nothing that would eat your toes or anything. Probably."

"But you're not sure?" Aithne seems to focus on these small details.

Kayjay blinks, looking at the bag again. "You aren't sure what is in the bag? You just found it and decided to carry it around?"

Auralia lets out a yelp, and her toes duck up onto the edge of the chair, and are examined thoroughly. No damage done. "How could you let it feel me toes? It could have -eaten- them!" No matter that Nareisa said it wouldn't. "Drop the thing between! Do something."

The string tying the bag starts to come undone. Slowly. The bag squeaks disappointedly as the toes go byebye. "Well," says Nareisa "It didn't eat ME."

"But maybe it likes greenriders, and not blueriders," wails Auralia, acting almost as oddly as she has been for the past couple of days. "And then I'm dooomed!"

Kayjay hmms. "Well, I figured that much." She watches the bag carefully, trying to discern the shape. "You ever see anything like that, Aithne?"

Aithne shakes her head,'Never ever....bags do not normally squeak nor chase people's toes.

Nareisa watches the string untie completely. "Er... I don't THINK it would like greenriders." Like she'd know.

Auralia's eyes glance at the bag, and stay there. "But you don't know." No one knows. It could be doom.

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "That's right folks, Doom in a Bag <TM> COming to a weyr near you."
<Southern Weyr> Aithne snickers.

Kayjay hmms. 'It hasn't hissed, so it can't be a tunnelsnake. I have never heard a tunnelsnake squeak before.."

Nareisa gets her feet out of the way. Just in case. She peers at it nervously. "Whatever it is, I don't think it's staying in there. Maybe you should retie the bag," she suggests hopefully to Auralia.

"Me?" Auralia's the one squeaking this time. "Why not you? It didn't try to bite -your- toes."

"maybe you could untie the bag...then get up on a table and grab other end and pull?" Aithne proposes...not volunteering to go near it herself.

Kayjay grins. "Excellent suggestion, Candidate, good thinking on your part. Are you volunteering?"

Aithne pales considerably, "Me?" She squeaks.."Umm."

Nareisa nods. "It's a good candidate job." She's not going near that bag.

"A very good candidate job!" Auralia decides, keeping her feet well up from the ground.

Aithne seems to gather her courage before she nods...only touching the ground long enough to get from her sanctuary to the table above the bag.

Kayjay nods, "Oh yes. Definitely, shows.. umm stamina and all that . important qualities for a candidate."

Auralia just about stares at Aithne, waiting to catch a glimpse of what's inside.

The bag moves vigorously. A furry paw reaches out and bats at Aithne.

Nareisa gets well back.

Aithne eeeps as she almost leaps out of her skin..."Di-Did-ya see that?"

Auralia eeks! "It's alive!" I coulda sworn that was already established.

Nareisa jumps up on the chair nearest her. "What's it doing?" she's panicking.

Kayjay giggles, indeed seeing that and watches with amusement now.

The paw disappears.

Aithne takes a deep shuddering breath as she reaches back down, 'Nice bag......good bag.' Her fingers reach for the closed end of the bag to tug it up.

The bag squeaks. Then the paw comes oooooooooooout. Batbat.

Auralia is -not- amused. A quiet night away from the infirmary with her water and....it's a paw! "Eek!" she yelps again, and moves back further.
You say "It's going to kill us all!"

Aithne is fighting down her terror, her hands shaking quite visibly as she reaches down with her other hand to tug..tug..tug..tug, 'Come on out.' And did I mention her voice shakes.

Kayjay stifles a giggle. Headache now gone, she sits back in her chair.

And out tumbles... the cutest, fuzziest tiniest kitten you ever saw. Awwwwwwwwwwwwww.

<Southern Weyr> Aithne just awwws.
<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "Awwwwwws"

Auralia grabs up a plate from one of the tables, ready to slam it down on the....kitten? She blinks. "A kitten is going to kill us?"

Nareisa oos. "It's a kitten." Well, duh.

Nareisa says "How cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuute."

Kayjay looks at the kitten and blinks. "Isn't that the sweetest little thing you ever did see?" She sits on her haunches. "Who would put a thing that cute in a bag?" She turns her head and glares at Nareisa.

Aithne is speechless it seems...she snags the kitten and carefully lifts it up and holds it in cupped hands,'Look?'
Aithne found her voice apparently.

Auralia slowly puts down the plate. She never had it, never saw, never knew it was there. Yeah. "It's lovely. Where'd you find it, Reis?"

Nareisa pounces kittenwards. "Isn't it cute? What should I call it?" Pouncedy pounce. "I bet N'all would like a kitten like that."

Aithne carefully holds out the kitten to Reisa,'Cute' She offers gently.

Kayjay giggles."Umm oh really? N'all and a kitten, huh?"

"He might," Auralia agrees slowly, "But then again, he might not. You could keep it. Or something. Maybe...Arenar would like playing with it."

Nareisa takes it in her hands, petting it. "Oh you're so white and fluffy and cute. Why did you try to kick my kitten?" she glares at Auralia.

<Southern Weyr> Kayjay cackles and covers her mouth
<Southern Weyr> Kayjay says, "But it is only 12 AM here :)"
<Southern Weyr> T'rrin hugs.
<Southern Weyr> Aithne says, "11 here ;)..PST is nice ;)"

Auralia uhoh. "Uhmmmm. I didn't? It tried to bite my toes!" She glares at the kitten, "It's vicious. Cute, but horribly vicious." Um, yeah.

Kayjay giggles. "He? ..is adorable."

Aithne giggles,'One of the most dangerous beings around...one minute with a kitten and they have your wrapped around their paw.'

Telinda stops her conversation with the bluerider across from her, and blinks at Nareisa, "Strange, not the kitten, you!" she adds, standing, "I'm off to bed, g'night all!"
Telinda walks toward the Courtyard.
Telinda has left.

Nareisa pats the kitten. "Sooooooooooooo cute. I got a big cute brother who would love you and pat you." She eyes Auralia. "It's because you attacked it first."

<Southern Weyr> Telinda giggles
<Southern Weyr> Telinda says, "Nareisa is making me laugh too much. :)"

Auralia eyes Nareisa right back. "Did not."

Nareisa glares. "Did too."
Kayjay has reconnected.

Nareisa takes her little kitten and sulks on out with just a specific glare for Aura before she goes.
Nareisa has left.

Auralia glares after Reisa, making faces.

Auralia hmphs. "First, Kayjay thinks I've been acting odd, and now Reisa thinks I was kicking her kitten!" Not a good night. Hpmh.

Aithne ummms before she scrambles off the table settles into a chair. "I don't know what may have given Kayjay that idea?" Aithne asks altogether too innocently.

Kayjay hmms. "I never said you were acting odd, did I?

Auralia has no idea. Honestly. It's just the way she is. Be glad you weren't around when she was an old Aunty. "You said you were glad I was back to normal," accuses the greenrider, "Or something like that. I don't know where you got it."

Kayjay nods. "Umm, Yes, I did say that, didn't I? Well, I must have meant something else."

"didn't you say that you spent the day in the infrimary?" Aithne asks, 'Are you alright?'

Auralia looks relieved, "I don't know what you meant, though. Ah well." Her eyes widen, and she nods towards Aithne, "Too much fruit, see. I was really sick." Feel sympathetic for the poor thing. "Plums, or some such nonsense."

Kayjay chokes on the sip of wine in her mouth. She splutters. "Oh, sorry to hear that, Auralia."

Auralia peers at Kayjay, but says nothing in reply, "You should be. It was horrible." Sniffle.

Kayjay nods."I hear too many plums can give a girl a bad tummmy ache There were some around here, eating a lot of them lately."

"I can imagine." Aithne manages to make out with a straight face. "Aye." Aithne notes..."Even juggling them"

Auralia's eyes widen further, "Really? They must have forced me to eat them! That's horrible. No wonder I felt so sick." She peers Aithne-wards, "Juggling? Why would anyone juggle plums? They'd squash."

Kayjay nods, agreeing. "Especially over ripe ones."

Alden wanders in, looking a little tired.

Aithne nods her head quickly,'They did...quite badly too.' She glances over to wave at Alden, 'hello!'

Auralia looks horrifed, "Over ripe? Ew!" Alden gets a nod, and a quick, "Heya!" before the greenrider turns once again back to Aithne, "Badly? Oy. Oh dear. Wonder who it was?"

Kayjay hmms."By the way, did that mop ever get back to the baths? They were looking for it the other day."

Aithne dissolves into a fit of coughing, covering her mouth as she turns away from everyone.

"Mop?" Once again, Auralia is confused. "You mean the one that someone put in my cottage? The one that someone stained all plummy?" She pauses, "OOh! I bet whoever put it there was the one who juggled plums. Bad person."

Alden sleepily makes his way to an empty seat and yawns. "Evening."

Kayjay hmms. "Sounds like the same mop." She leans over to Auralia and whispers conspriocially. "They -say- the steam baths were -covered- with plum goo. I bet you it is related."

Auralia is incredulous. "Why that little troublemaking twit! When I find out who it was, I'm going to...I'm going to...Put Iesath on them!" Fear, whoever did it. Fear much. Unless, of course, it's the mop. "Covered? Ohmy."

Alden eyes one conversant after another, looking befuddled. "Plums?"

Aithne nods her head once she has composed herself, "A terrible mess, from what I heard."

Auralia shakes her head, jumping to her feet, and running out the door, "I'm going to go and find out right now!"

You walk over to the Courtyard.