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.

<[Log starts late--Kinoa has asked for directions]

Auralia frowns. "Erm? The weaver hall? I..." She pauses, "I'm not sure, but I think its that way." She points towards the south east, adding, "But if I'm wrong...Please don't be mad." She keeps an eye on the green, not sure what to think.

Luiseth is too busy settling herself down and arranging her wings and head just right to soak up the last of the sun's heat from the ground to do anything to Auralia. Kinoa nods, looking off in that direction. "You're not an apprentice, then, I assume?" she asks with a smile.

Auralia shakes her head, very quickly, "Oh! No, not I. I'm....Well, I'm nothing right now. Staying at the Hold. Not an apprentice, not me."

Kinoa can't help but grin at that. "Nothing?" she repeats, sounding amused. "I wouldn't say that anyone is nothing, really." She glances at Luiseth, who seems comfortable, and decides to lingr a moment. "How do you like the Hold?"

Auralia grins broadly, loosing at least some of her shyness, "I like it pretty well, thank you. Better than home, and a lot more friendly." She nods with conviction, "I'm pretty happy."

Kinoa nods, smiling. "I used to live there, for a little while, before I went to the Weyr." A fond glance given back at her dragon, who is watching the conversation with mild interest. "Where's home?" she then asks, never remembering not to be nosy.

Wary is the word that would describe Auri's treatment of the Dragon, but for now she is going to ignore her. "Home? Oh, a hold near South Boll. Just west of it, in fact."

Kinoa ahhs. "Boll," she repeats thoughtfully. "I've never been there, but I hear it's very nice. Warm is it? Like down here?" She gives a sheepish kind of smile. "I'd never been outside Keroon before we moved here, and now if I go North it's only to one of the Weyrs."

Auralia nods, "Warm. Very warm. Not much of a change to come here, I guess. I'd never left Boll until the day I arrived here." Then she ponders her own question, "You're from Keroon?"

Luiseth directs a soft warbling croon towards Auralia but isn't moving anywhere unless Auralia turns into a bronze dragon or a large juicy wherry.

Kinoa nods at the girl's question. "Yup, born there, raised there, lived 3/4 of my life there." She grins and then says, "Well, I suppose I ought to introduce myself at least. I'm Kinoa, and that lump there," she gestures at the green, "is Luiseth."

Auralia holds out a hand, shyly, "Auralia. But most people call me Auri. Well met, and all that."

Luiseth snorts at her rider. Lump, indeed!

Kinoa shakes the proffered hand, smiling brightly. "Auri it is then," she agrees. "So what do you do, at the Hold? I used to take care of the runners, I suppose you haven't been around to see them?" she asks hopefully.

Auralia blushes, "At the hold? Nothing, yet. I haven't seen anyone who can tell me what to do. But I've been serving some people in the Great Hall. I guess thats my job at the moment." As for the runners, "Oh, I've been in there, sure enough. Some nice ones."

Luiseth continues to watch Auralia, head turned so that one great eye is fixed on the girl.

Auralia stiffens under the gaze of Luiseth. She's a little unused to dragons, it would seem.

Kinoa mmms. "You should look for Garant or Samira," she suggests. "They're the Lord and Lady Warders of the Hold, and they're in charge right now." Her voice indicates that it's a long sort of story. "Oh, did you happen to see a grey stalli
on, he answers to-" she breaks off and glances at Luiseth, eyes all unfocused. "No, I won't you hush, you just think you know."

Luiseth gives a firm-sounding rumble, not bothering to temper her gaze for Auralia, even if it is making the poor girl nervous.

Auralia nods, "Garant or Samira, right." She was about to say something more, but the rumble coming from the Green puts her off, and she just stands there, not knowing what on earth she is doing and not liking it at all.

Kinoa sighs and shakes her head at the green, making a shooing motion with her hands. "We were just here three days ago, and you couldn't have done this then,"she says, then smiles at Auralia again. "Well, if you haven't gotten to talk to them yet, would you consider coming and living at the Weyr? At least for a little while?"

Luiseth's rumble slowly modulates into a croon as she nudges her rider, calm blue eyes focused all the while on Auralia.

Amazed would not even begin to describe the look on Auri's face. "Come and live at the Weyr? Why would I want to do that?"

Kinoa holds up her hands to caress the green muzzle, unable to prevent herself from giggling a little. "Because Luiseth here," she says fondly, "seems to think you'd make a good Candidate for the clutch we've got hardening at the Weyr right now." She pauses a moment and explains, "That would mean you'd have to come to the Weyr. At least until the hatching."

Luiseth echoes her rider's comments with a bright warble, this one almost pleading.

Auralia glances from Kinoa, to Luiseth, and then back to Kinoa, "Me? You want /me/ to be a candidate? Well, that certainly is a surprise. A rather large one, at that." But she nods, "I guess I might as well. I wasn't sure I wanted to stay at the Hold anyway, too easy to get from home to here. So, alright, I guess." But her face still has a dumbfounded look on it.

Kinoa grins a little. "It's more Luiseth than me, really, I can't tell a candidate from a pile of beans, but she's got quite a good record as a searchdragon, so I trust her." She looks around and then says, "I suppose my Gather dress will have to wait, I should get you back to the weyr. Do you have anything you need to get, anyone you need to tell you're leaving?"

Auralia shakes her head, "Don't have much with me. And I keep it on my person, for now. " She eyes the green, "Does this mean I get to /ride/ a dragon?"

Kinoa giggles, saying, "Well, it's an hour walk at least, and much faster if we ride. Lui's very gentle, I promise, and we don't have to go *between* really, it's not far." She gestures to Luiseth and says, "You go up first, I'll give you a boost."

Auralia nods, slowly, moving towards the green with caution.

After a careful inspection and a word from her rider, Luiseth graciously offers a foreleg to help you onto her back, where you manage to settle in between her neckridges.

Kinoa grabs hold of a riding strap and carefully shimmies up a graciously offered foreleg, settling herself into her place atop Luiseth's back. She gives the green an affectionate thump on the neck, which Luiseth returns with a soft croon.

Kinoa busies herself with buckles and straps, making sure Auralia's settled securely. "You ready? It'll be quick, I promise." Beneath her, Luiseth gives a rumble of wanting to be up and off and back to the Weyr.

Auralia nods, "I'm ready. As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

Kinoa grins and gives the green a thump, and then they're up.

You lift yourself up into the free spaces above the ground.
You wing over to the airspace above the weyr.
You fly toward the sky over the Landing Field.
You soar to the broad Landing Field below.

From off Luiseth, Luiseth circles downward slowly so as not to scare Auralia with her usual aerial antics and makes a gentle landing. Turning, Kinoa efficiently unstraps her and jumps off so she can help the girl down.

Auralia lets out a sigh of releif, now that they have landed again. "Phew."

Kinoa unbuckles herself carefully and then swings her leg over her lifemate's side, giving Luiseth a loving pat on the neck before sliding down to the ground.

Taking hold of a riding strap, you carefully make your way over to Luiseth's proffered foreleg, and then down to the ground.

Kinoa gestures for Auralia to follow her. "C'mon, I'll help you get settled in the barracks and then show you around a bit."

Auralia nods, following, aweed by her surroundings. Having never been in a Weyrbefore, of course.

Saith snuffs at the newcomer with a deep rumble.

Luiseth croons encouragingly before returning to the important business of snoozing.

Kinoa walks toward the lakeside meadow.
Kinoa has left.

You walk toward the lakeside meadow.

Kinoa walks toward the Candidate Barracks.
Kinoa has left.

You walk over to the Candidate Barracks.

Kinoa helps Auralia get settled in the barracks, pointing out a few cots that are still empty. "You can take any of those, as long as no one else is in them."

Kinoa opens the linen cupboard and pulls out some bed linens and towels and hands them to Auralia. "Take these, too."

Auralia holds out her hands for the pile of linens and towels and manages to drop them on the nearest empty cot. Plop.

Kinoa grins and looks around. "I think most of the rest of them are still doingchores or maybe in the Weyrhall, I can show you around the Weyr a bit, unless you're too tired?"

Auralia looks at the cot, and then around the room, "I think I'd like to get settled in here, first. I /am/ a little tired." She sits down on the cot, adding, "I better put all these linens and things into order."

Kinoa nods and starts to move towards the door. "Okay," she says with a grin. "Well, welcome again, and if you need anything, ask someone, or ask them to ask me." And with that she's off.

Kinoa strides over to the Lakeside Meadow.
Kinoa has left.