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.

23-04-01: First Impressions
Brand new weyrlings discuss the joys - and tribulations - of their new life, and lifemates.

Llysereth takes a delicate step out of her couch, Lyddie hardly more than a few moments behind her--although the young dragon is already several times Lyddie's height. The young weyrling pair settle onto the floor; all the tidier for the meal that follows, Lyddie presenting gobs of meat for the dainty Llysereth to chew and swallow.

"I am not going to eat that, Xae, you know I can't raw meat!" The sound of a young lad complaining about something rings from the couch in which Xaeloth shares with M'kan or the other way around. A nose crinkles slightly and then the lad sighs, pushing it /at/ the brown. "You eat, please, c'mon, your stomach is growling, not mine..." The dragonette regards his lifemate carefully and then subsides to eating -- once he's sure that Mik isn't the one hungry.

Lydiere's dark head raises from her lifemate's--twisted smile following the movement as she watches M'kan and his brown. Her hand digs into the meat bucket once more, digging out another dollop to offer Llysereth, who eats at it with dignity, whilst Lyddie remains somewhat distracted. "Looks as though you're going to be mothered for the rest of your life there, M'kan," she offers, although not so loud enough as to distract the brown pair if they're too busy.

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Gold Llysereth nudges a satin-laced voice, rich with moonlit, about those wakeful around her, sweet soprano deliciously cool. << Good day, all. The meat is good this fine morning. >>

"Fathered, mother, whatever..." M'kan strives not to scowl at this point but then subsides to feeding as Xaeloth subsequently takes more meat, as the brown realises he is hungrier than he first thought. Duh. Mikn rolls his eyes and then pauses briefly to glance around the area and then at Lydiere, mming under his breath.

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Brown Xaeloth is firmly caught between eating and keeping his lifemate -- appeased or something and manages a half-mumbled, o.O (Yup) before continuing on his duo chore.

Llysereth, her hide gleaming with a recent oil, opens her mouth wide again for another piece of meat, which is hastily offered by Lyddie, whose attention turns briefly from M'kan. "Sorry, Llys, I was distracted." Not at all worried, the young dragon simply nudges at her weyrling, who offers further nourishment. "One or the other--I'm sure you don't mind it really, do you, Mik--er, M'kan?"

J'ey is smoothing oil along Tiregeth's hide, watching the oil run and make patterns across her hide and bringing up the shine on her hide. Occasionally he glances up to watch what the others are doing and then quickly down at what he is doing before TIregeth complains about his attention wandering. He grins "Keeping you on the run M'kan."

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Bronze Lledrith's rise from sleep is slow, rumbling tones still somewhat tinged with weariness. << Is it? >> he asks, stretching out slowly. << I should wake V'rence, in that case. >>

"As if I need to be running." Mikan mutters under his breath, but glowers. "The nannies here drove me up the weyr wall.." but then he sighs as Xaeloth manages to soothe him. He can't stay angry at the brown of his for long and now gives up on trying to. A hand gently reaches up to caress the muzzle, flickering the bloody juices off of it. A glance over to the others and then murmurs, "Eh... well.." but he falls rather quiet and grimaces slightly.

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Green Tiregeth giggles girlishly enjoying the oil washing across her skin >>The meat was lovely and tasty but this is more fun<<

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Gold Llysereth admits, silvery voice delightful in resonant hues, << The oil is very lovely; it makes a pretty shine. >>

Lydiere watches M'kan a moment more, not quite sympathetic in all truth, before Llys once again opens her mouth, further meat dropping into the young dragon's maw. "Do tell me when you're full, dearling, and we'll do oil again." The slim, lengthy dragon simply nuzzles up to her rider again, who chuckles, smoothing hide, eyes returning to her fellow weyrlings. "I can't think that we can *really* complain."

Lledrith leaves his couch and thuds towards the food, tail dragging behind him. V'rence, the less enthusiastic of the pair, trails along behind, yawning as he goes.

J'ey grins as he watches V'rence trailing after Lledrith and he wanders aloud "You enjoy sleeping don't you V'rence." He glances down at Tiregeth "You all done now dearling or does it still itch?" He continues oiling where he is directed and he laughs "You know as messy and time consuming as it is, I prefer this to kitchen duty or nursery duty."

V'rence frowns, the perfect picture of innocence. "Lledrith was up all night, and I couldn't very well go to sleep when he was up. So, I'm trying to catch up today." Conversation is cut short, when Lledrith accidentally kicks a container of meat. It teeters a moment, before Vear manages to upright it. Relief.

Lydiere notes, with mild ruefulness, "My hands are going soft, thanks to all this oil. They don't feel like *mine* any more." Llysereth nudges her smooth head away from the meat bin, oil given a further nudge, her eyes whirling blue and green. Chuckling, Lyddie begins that process, coating and buffing Llysereth's hide with the smooth, cool liquid.

Is /he/ complaining? Of course not, M'kan is just pointing out facts. At that, he remains quiet and then rubs along the eyeridge of his lifemate, a small smile curling over his mouth. However, he ponders and then notes, "With all this oil... you're hands will be nice smooth and.. soft." he finally admits but then he doesn't mind that, much. Coughing under his breath, he then finishes up, seeing and hearing the brown claim he is full. Turning slightly, he reaches over and has to get out of his spot, hauling a paddle over and then some oil. Having wiped his hands on a rag aforehand, he subsides, and smears the oily crude over his brown's slightly dried out hide. Or something like that.

J'ey grins and rubs his hands together "You are right, most of my calloses are gone that I had, or softer at least." He finishes oiling Tiregeth and sets the oil pot aside and starts wiping off his hands "Why was Lledrith up all night?" He glances and grins "I can understand, how if they are awake, they will keep you awake." Tiregeth sprawls across her couch, so that her hide can dry.

"So far, Llys sleeps like a--well, better than a baby," comments Lyddie, who massages oil into Llysereth's hide with some relish, eyes warming of the young dragon's cool, pale hide. "No fun for you, V'rence." She stretches out, shifting herself behind Llysereth, whose youthful size already all but hides her completely.

V'rence says "He wasn't tired, he said. Wanted to go /do/ something." He shrugs, and begins the feeding process. A process which Lledrith attacks with much gusto, chomping each bit as sloppily as possible. Yum. V'rence watches with a sort of grossed-out fascination, "I'm hoping he'll stick to a normal schedule, in the future."

J'ey looks puzzled as he wipes his hands dry and takes a seat next to his green, pushes her head away "No Tiregeth, you have already soilt one set of clothes." He sighs softly and her head ends up in his lap again and he shakes his head "Do what though?" He pauses and laughs softly "Tiregeth thinks there is plenty to do in here, eat, sleep and be oiled."

He doesn't ask, no, M'kan was and will not be curious. At that, he then flickers a look from one weyrling to another. Smiling more to himself, he gacks the instant Xaeloth reaches over to tap him with that long sinuous tail. He missed a spot. And then the weyrling blinks -- oops. He covers that area evenly with oil and the earns a croon from the content dragonette. A pause and he chuckles to J'ey's comment. "Oh really?" but that's the what Tiregeth said, anyhow.

Lydiere admits, her voice muffled from behind Llysereth, "Llys'd like to get out more, too. She wants open spaces." The young dragon gives a soft lilting warble at that, whuffling towards her weyrling. "But I rather think she's patient enough to wait until we're allowed out more often."

Lledrith isn't about to stop eating to speak to other dragons, leaving V'rence to explain his mindset. "Something about there being too much in his way, or something." he shrugs, "Besides which, he thinks it's /terribly/ dull in here." V'rence doesn't get it, either, but far be it for him to admit it.

[Dragon/ISW: Ista Weyr - Candidate/Weyrling Barracks] Gold Llysereth pipes up again, light tone almost thoughtful. << I do like this oiling. It is a not-dull thing, I think. >>

J'ey grins and shrugs "Too confusing their thoughts." He strokes the headknobs of pale green and smiles "Though there is more to life than eating, sleeping and getting oiled but that seems to be all there is now.

Well, for one thing -- Xaeloth rather make sure M'kan is well before thinking of himself. The very thought of ... well... you know -- others before you. Well, he doesn't mind that -- Mik doesn't, but he thinks that's a bit strange for a dragon to do. At this point, he's done with oiling and then wipes his hands upon a rag. Stifling a sneeze, he mumbles. "I'm fine, Xae, honestly, I'm not ill!"

Lydiere notes ruefully, "They're already close to two sevendays old--I imagine their horizons will broaden soon enough." Her hand appears over towards the direction of Llysereth's headknobs, rubbing gently.

"I'm almost afraid when they get bigger.." M'kan trails off, but then ehs, "At least Xaeloth won't be as big as Syth.." He mumbles to himself at that point, "Or Nanaith.. which is good. I think." He leans of against a warm supple hide, after all, the brown's finally dry enough to have that ... occur. The dragonette wraps around his lifemate, being most protective about the lad -- since when? Since they first locked eyes at hatching!

J'ey wrinkles his nose "Urg no Tiregeth not that." He shrugs "Well we start lessons don't we soon so that will give them something to do that is different?" He leans back against Tiregeth, not notcing that oil is leaching into his clothing. He smiles "Maybe if Tiregeth get's bigger she will stop wanting to sit in my lap."

Lydiere, scrambling around Llysereth's side, rolls her eyes. "You're worried about when they get bigger, M'kan?" Another glance is made towards her own lifemate, and a chuckle. "I'm sure we'll get used to it." she uses her hand to smooth the oil against golden hide, carefully polishing it so as to make the young dragon shine. "True, J'ey, I guess. And we'll be allowed out properly, too, I should guess."

"I doubt Xae'll get any bigger than Llysereth, tho.. which is pretty good.." M'kan doesn in fact sound relieved at that, and he figures the dragon his might not reach Nanaith's immense girth even Syth's.. that was mentioned before, of course. Duh. He bites on his lip and then nods, "Yeah, but it's kind of interesting.. they're so small at hatching but get so .. huge."

J'ey nods and glances down and grins "Not huge, bigger than you are now, that better?" He smiles "It is funny, how they will change. I suppose it means we will." He smoothes his hand across the warm hide, glad now that it has dried and then he looks shyly at the others "I don't know anything about dragonriding, what will our classes be about?"

Lydiere's wry grin fades slightly as she returns to work, hands dipping into the oil bucket to replace paddles; there's something to be said about hands, oil, and hide in combo. "Yeah; they grow so fast, and so big." Her head nods towards M'kan, as she adds, "It'll be interesting, I guess, to watch the progress." J'ey's question causes a pause, and she shrugs, "I don't really know; M'kan, you've spent more time in a weyr--?"

"We'll probably get toned in every part of our.. being.. considering the labor that comes with taking care of a dragon..We pretty much grow up along with out lifemates." M'kan replies to J'ey, nodding a bit, chuckling and then realizes -- in a turn or two, he'll end up with a cracking voice.. when he really starts to mature, and in that way. He blinks and then ers, "I suppose they grow in the first few months and... well...uh.. growth spurts." He pauses.

J'ey grins at M'kan and nods "You are probably right, lots of things going to happen while we are still weyrlings." He shifts against his now sleeping lifemate, her sleepy thoughts starting to effect him and he begins to droop but struggles to remain part of the conversation. He strokes Tiregeth gently "Tiregeth won't be as large as some of the others though."

Lydiere gives herself a long glance, then raises her head again, focusing her smile upon Llysereth, who appears to be slowly falling asleep--"Llys, let's get you back into your couch, mm?" With a loving movement formerly unlikely to grace Lyddie's form, she helps the leggy gold return to her couch, a soft snore indicating sleep within moments. Returning her gaze towards her fellow weyrlings, Lyddie nods; "Lots of changes, no doubt, and lots of different activities."

"In the long run, it doesn't matter their size... they are your dragon, bonded through a precious link...sharing mind and thoughts.." M'kan drifts off, as he gently assists with his lifemate, who needs to get into the couch -- or he'll sleep on the floor! A moment to peer to his fellow 'lings and then he smiles, nodding to the comments strewn about.

J'ey smiles and nods as he slips down to lie curled up with Tiregeth and his sleepy reply is mumbled "True, true, can't do nuthin' 'bout that now."

Lydiere gathers herself into a seat, tired limbs stretched out in front of her--"True, M'kan, I guess. Nothing about them matters, annoyances or otherwise, or so I've been discovering." The weyrling gives another glance towards Llysereth's couch, but a lack of movement has her gaze return to the barracks at large.

A small smile from Mikan but then he murmurs, "Tolerance is another thing next to patience... as I finally found out." He mumbles this a bit, yawning when Xaeloth's sleepy mind gets to him. Grumbling, the lad stretches out and sits on the couch, yet finds himself leaning slightly up to his knocked-out-like-a-glow brown.

"I don't believe," admits Lyddie, stiffling a yawn of her own behind one oil-stained hand, "that I've ever heard of a dragon and rider who get along without fault, although as yet Llys and I seem fine. Time will tell." From a pitcher on the table nearby, she pours herself a glass of juice, sipping at it absently.

At that, poor M'kan yawns and covers his mouth, grumbling. "I hate it when his sleep drags me into it... and ..." but he doesn't continue, for after he lain himself onto the couch, the lad subsides well enough to pull a fur and drop into slumber.