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.

30-11-00: Introductions
Joerres waves to the girl in blue, pausing on his way up to the Hall. "Hi. Been in to the...

Joerres waves to the girl in blue, pausing on his way up to the Hall. "Hi. Been in to the dining hall? Are they still serving the hot stuff?"

Hanneke turns, her bags held beside her. A wide eyed, empty headed glance is given towarsd Joerres. "Do you think they might? I don't know, I just got here, so I don't suppose I -would- know."

Joerres grins. "Just got here! Why are you standing around in the Autumn chill? Hasn't anybody from Harper come to show you around? Or are you not bound for that Hall?" He's just intensely curious now, but courteous, too, making a her a little half bow. "Need help with your bags?"

Hanneke's lips dimple into a smile, the petite girl stepping forward slightly. "Yes, yes, just got here. Brand new. I'm--thinking!" It doesn't seem very likely: she looks more vacant than a clear stream. "No, no, not yet. I--" her eyelashes flutter slightly, "wasn't sure where to go. Could you?" She's a romantic. How horribly cute.

Joerres puffs out his chest - and there's a lot of it. "I'd be happy to. Into the Harper Hall, then? What's your name? Mine's Joerres. I study over at the Healer Hall. Call me Joe." And he scoops up her bags and marches toward the entry.

Hanneke hugs Allegria! Allegria grabs you around the waist and launches into a raucous polka, swirling you around the room and coming dangerously close to knocking you, herself, and everything in your path over!!

Hanneke entwines her digits in front of her, taking another step forward with a beaming smile towards Joerres. "Thank you, thank you very much. That's very sweet of you." The eyelash-batting continues for a moment more, as she adds, "I'm Hanneke. I'm new." It doesn't seem to occur to her that she's already made that clear: "A Healer? Father is a Healer. He heals minds." She follows, light upon her toes.

Joerres follows the stone ramp into the Hall proper.

You follow the stone ramp up into the Hall proper.

Joerres tosses commentary over his shoulder as he walks. "A mind-healer? Really? Where does he work? I've always been terribly interested in that subject, but it's not anything I'll be able to do." Psychology being less than his strong point. "Where are you from? Around here? Did you just get off the wagon?"

Hanneke follows, curls flopping prettily upon her shoulders: "Yes, yes, a mindhealer. He's very good at what he does; he works at Lemos. That's where I'm from, except I was born here." It's all so confusing, see? "Mother and Father are posted to Lemos. I live there. Except--I don't."

Joerres sets the bags in a little niche, and turns. "You seem to contradict yourself a lot. Which is it? Did they send you here to get polish? That's why my Mum sent me, but of course I hadn't nearly as far to go. Wow, Lemos. How'd you get here? Did you take a wagon the whole way?" He seems quite impressed by the distance, and is apparently trying to calculate the trip in his head.

Hanneke questions, her voice airy and soft, "Do I? I don't know what you mean." Face innocently pushed into a vague smile of sorts, she adds, "Mother and Father wish me to Apprentice to learn to think." That doesn't seem to be so hard. "They say I know, but do not think. I don't understand that, but that's what they say. I took the wagon, yes. It was long and bumpy." And she's dirty, which is why she keeps pulling at her tunic, attempting to tidy it.

Joerres scratches his head. "That seems a bit odd, but that's the way some of the older Master talk. Apprentice where? Or do you get to pick?" Then manners reassert themselves. "You could probably find a Master or someone in the dining hall, to tell you where to go, what to do with your stuff, and so forth? All the girls get the same dorm, no matter the craft, you know."

Hanneke nods her head slowly, face lit by her as yet unceasing smile. "Harper Craft. Mother insists that they will teach me the most. I suppose Mother has taught me a lot, so it is the best place." She bobs her head again, replying, "The dining hall it is, then. You're horribly sweet to help me this way; most of the boys at home were horrible and rude."

Joerres looks so proud of himself. "I was trained right, that's what Mum said. That's why she sent me to the Craft, and my brothers to the farm. Or so she told me." He chuckles and leads the way into the dining hall, holding open the door. "Your bags'll be safe where they are out here, for a little while. So your Mother is a harper, then?"

Hanneke sends a glance towards her bags, but doesn't appear to be overly concerned, moving towards the dining hall door. "Did she? That's nice. Mother says it's a very important thing to be educated, when you have brains." Brains are negligable with Hanneke, but education is there all the same."Yes, Mother is a Harper. She is an Archivist and law specialist."

Pushing the door aside, you pass into redolent chaos.

Joerres emerges from the main hall.

Shoshana looks confused, "They scare you?" she clarifies, "But you have one?" her brown flies up and perches on the poor healer's head, playing with her hair, "Would you mind feeding one though?" she pleads, shooing the brown, while trying to feed her tiny green. She waves a little to Hanneke as she enters, "Hello." she calls out and then to Joerres, "Hello, I thought you got lost."

Joerres shakes his head to Shoshana, "I just paused to help a damsel in distress. Hanneke, Shoshana, and vice versa." Introductions accomplished, he offers Hanneke a chair. "An archivist, huh? Must be terribly interesting. Do you see yourself following in her footsteps?" He grabs some cups before he sits down and offers to pour the ladies some klah.

Hanneke, her face dimpled into a perpetual smile bobs her head, sending curls flying in organized chaos about her shoulders. "Hello! I'm Hanneke, and I saw you before, although I don't know your name. You are a Harper?" She will -never- learn to read knots; it takes too much concentration. She belatedly seems to realise that Joerres has said the name of the other girl, and beams, "That's a lovely name, don't you think?" The male Healer apprentice's questions seem to have brought her to a loss, perhaps inducing real thought. "I don't know. It seems very boring to me, all those books, and no people." Klah offering is beamed upon, as she sits, pressing her hands into the table in front of her.

Shoshana smiles, "Hi! Nice to meet you Hanneke," she shakes her head, "No a healer." she nods, "So is yours." she shaakes her head, "No thank you, I have fruit juice." which she sips, "A damsel in distress eh? What was wrong?"

Joerres pours for Hanneke and himself then, passing the new girl her mug. "With my compliments," he adds, eyes bright with mischief. "She was standing forlorn and abandoned on the steps, Shoshana - oh, shards. There's Renny and I have to set up the lab for him today. Has he seen me yet?" He mimes ducking under the table, but it's too late. "He has. Ah, well. It was nice to meet you, Hanneke. See you around!" With a wave to both, he's off.

Hanneke will probably go around calling Shoshana a harper for the rest of her time at the Hall, but that's just a personality trait. "My? Oh! My name? I don't think so. People want to call me Hann-eek, and that's horrid." Or Hankie, which is worse. "I was new. I still am, of course, but I was very, very, very new." Her head raises, as she takes her mug, brows furrowing slightly, although her smiles remains. "Oh, bye."

Shoshana smiles, "See you around Joe" she waves as he leaves, chuckling. She nods, "Yes your name. It's lovely." she tilts her head, "So am I, well not /very/ but by most's standards I'm so new it hurts." she grins, feeding her little fair. "Do you like Firelizards?" she asks curiously, maybe she can find someone else to help the with the feeding frenzy.

Hanneke's smile only widens, so that she indeed positively beams towards the apprentice. "Thank you, thank you." She does have a habit of repeating these things. Nodding, she adds, "We all have to be new. It's part of life." Blue eyes fasten upon the firelizard, and then on the substances being used to feed them. "They are sweet, yes, but--so messy!" She might get her hands dirty, see, if she helped.

Shoshana chuckles, "Worried about mess?" she motions to the blue nudging her cheeck, "He's cleaner than most people. Could you help feed him? Please?" the last word is pure pleading as the brown on her head begins to toss locks of her hair around. Already Theo (the blue) is looking at the clean one, his eyes whirling.

Hanneke regards her smooth digits, and then the firelizard, tossing tawny curls upon her shoulders. "Well..." Smile brightens, "Sure, okay. I'd love to!" She holds her hands out, as if unsure how to do anything. Well, maybe she is.

Theo regards The Clean One, she has food? Gracefully he flaps over from his humanpet to the clean one, landing delicatly on her arm. A plaintive creel rises from his throat.

Hanneke winces, visibly. It doesn't take someone with even half her own, limited, intelligence to realise that she's not very used to firelizards, as a rule. It's only for a moment, however, before, her voice even higher pitched than usual, she says, "Oh, oh, what do I do?"

Shoshana smiles gently, "All you do is feed him some of this, he'll love you for it." she presses some shreeded meatroll in the other girls hand. "Just relax, he's gentle. He's the oldest of my little gang, so he's calm." Now that her shoulder is free brown wisdom flaps down and lands there, chirping. rolling her eyes Shoshana feeds him and Emerald.

Hanneke's fingers wrap about the meatroll, eyes taking once glance at it, and turning away again, although her smile never leaves the corners of her face. She pushes her hand towards the firelizard, arm visibly shaking slightly. "Here you go, little thing!"

Theo can sense the clean ones fear and takes the food gently, folding his wings on his back. He croons his thanks, rubbing his face gently against her hand as it withdraws, and waits for more food.

Shoshana smiles, "Aww he loves you." From her shoulder delicate little emerald chirps encouragingly at Hanneke between bites. "So what do you do in the Harper hall?"

Hanneke, so it would seem, is delighted with this, or at least, is slowly becoming that way. "Oh!" Her honest excitement radiates from her face, as she bounces in her seat. "That tickles." She holds out her hand again, regarding the blue, then Shoshana herself. "Nothing, yet. I'm going to be an Apprentice, like Mother was once. I'm going to learn how to think."

Shoshana nods, "That's a good first step." she grins, "Do you sing?" she asks curiously

Hanneke nods: "Mother said I had to learn to sing. To learn the teaching ballads, when I was little. I prefer talking to singing though; it's so much more social. And dancing; especially with nice young men!" She offers another piece of meat to the little firelizard, other hand resting upon the table, digits fanned out.

Theo chirps and gives a low croon. My clean one, he slowly walks up her arm slowly, perching on her shoulder possivly. He trills to the brown and green on his humanpets shoulder, making that clear. Then settling down he croons softly in the clean ones ear, accepting food.

Hanneke jumps a little, giggling with empty-headed glee at Theo's movements. "He's lovely. Such a dear little thing."

Shoshana grins, "Ooh dancing, with cute young men!" she nods, "That's a good aspect of harpering, we healers don't do much dancing." she shrugs and then watchign Theo comments, "He likes to have his eyeridges scratched." she nods, looking at him fondly, "He is a dear, except when he's leading a chorus. He taught the rest of them," she motions to Wisdom and Emerald, "to..." she mouthes 'sing' "I can't say it out loud when talking about them in the same sentence, or they'll start. I can say it about other people though."

"They don't sing well? I think singing is lovely, and I'm sure they do very well at it." Bouncy, bouncy glee, and stuff, as she leans up her hand to scritch at Theo's eyeridges. "Oh, yes, I love to dance. Most of the boys at home can't dance, though, so I'm hoping they're better here." Hanneke grasps her mug in surprise, as if only having remembered that it is there, taking a sip.

Wisdom hears the magic word, 'singing'. Now he's the best singer so he'll start. Chirping at Emerald and Theo he leads with a high trill...in harmony Theo joins in, crooning low and sweet. Emerald begins her high series of chirpings, chirp chirp chirp. The three continue, high, low medium, pure harmony. Suddenly Wisdom's trill over comes all and it ends suddenly as it started.

Shoshana nods grimly as they start, "Yeah, they do sing. Pretty well, just it..." she holds her ears at the high trill and sighs as it ends, "sometimes hurts your ears." seh finishes.

Hanneke blushes, although her smile doesn't fade. "Oops?" says she, laughing, "They do sound good. Very lovely. As if they've been properly trained. Did you properly train them? I wouldn't know how to do that." The high trill catches her own ears, but she keeps smiling. Tone deaf? Or just very stupid? "Oh, no, it doens't hurt your ears. It's lovely and sweet."

Shoshana laughs, "Oh I couldn't teach them, I'm tone deaf as they come." yep tone deaf. She sings a note so off key it hurts your teeth, "See?" she grins, "I don't even bother anymore."

Hanneke doesn't even wince. How nifty is that? "They just did it by themselves?" Admiration colours her glance towards the firelizard upon her arm. "That's so cool! I wish I had some that could sing like that."

Wisdom accepts some meat from his humanpet and chirps at Emerald, preening a wing. It almost looks like he's flirting.

Shoshana nods, "It was Theo at first," she motions to the blue on Han's arm who chirrips, "and he taught Wisdom, "the brown, "who really picked it up. They both taught Emerald." the green. "Now it's almost automatic." she smiles, "Oh, you just have to walk in at a hatching at the right time. I'm sure you will someday."

Theo croons and rubs his little blue head against the clean ones cheeck. He trills angrily at Wisdom though, my Emerald.

Hanneke's dimples show even more than ever: "Oh, I'm sure I will. It must be such a wonderful thing, to have them always near you, and singing. I shouldn't think I would be scared of them, do you? Mother says I shouldn't be scared at anything, but I think some things are worth being frightened over." She burbles a smile towards Theo, glancing between the other firelizards. She doesn't, however, seem to see anything wrong.

Shoshana shakes her head, "Oh there's /nothing/ to be scared of, they're little sweetlings." she says happily. "but some things are worthy of fear. Tunnelsnakes, a plauge, infection..." notice a healer trend, "internal bleeding, things like that. Not little flitters though."

Hanneke admits, giggling brightly, "I don't understand those things you mentioned, but I'm sure they're very horrible. Very, very horrible indeed! But firelizards must be lovely things." She regards her klah mug, then turns away. Cold, and therefore, icky. "I suppose I ought to go and try and find someone important, to ensure that I can stay. I'm sure I'll see you around, though, right?"

Emerald chirps sternly at Theo, she's noones Emerald. She croons to Wisdom, big strong brown he is. She delicatly accepts a slip of roll from the dear humanpet and :oops:! she drooped it!

Wisdom trills pleased! Chirping in a macho way he glides down from humanpets shoulder, picks up the roll and goes back to humanpet, but hovers in front of Emerald, the roll offered out.

Shoshana laughs, "Oh they're sicknesses, horrible ones." she nods, "Very wonderful. and I hope to see you around." she glares at her flits, "Behave."

Theo senses the clean one is leaving. Sadly he creels and flaps away, landing on humanpets now free shoulder, blah to wisdom. He waves a forearm at the clean one tipping the little head to one side. *TRILL*

Hanneke returns a bright smile to Theo, airily wandering her way out of the dining hall.

Drawing open the door, you pass into the yet more chaotic outer hall.