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.
28-01-02: A beast for you and a beast for me
Lydiere runs in to Zaeni at the feeding grounds, and the riders talk whilst their lifemates eat - and preen.
Zaeni slides down from Akisamyth's neck to an awaiting foreleg which lowers them to the ground.
Lydiere's settled herself up atop one of the fenceposts, swinging her legs down as she watches Llysereth with lazy eyes - the queen diving eagerly towards the herds collected within the enclosure. Whistling something faintly resembling a sailor's chanty, the woman draws one knee up towards her chest, perching herself more comfortable as the queen dives. "No, dear, I don't need to hear the *exact* details," she murmurs with a chuckle. "Just go and eat."
Akisamyth backwings lightly, setting his bulk down only long enough for his lifemate to dismount before wings stir the dust as he takes off again. Stormy blue circles the pens, respectfully waiting for the golden queen to make her choice before he picks his own meal out. Stepping up towards the fence, the bluerider leans against it, folded arms braced on the top bar. "Good day."
"Oh, hullo, there," responds Lydiere easily, breaking off her tune. She grins, adding, "Fine day, too, isn't it? Perfect to be out of doors." Llysereth nearly divebombs the poor, tawny beast she has her gaze upon, her eating more dainty: blood and guts are carefully negotiated to avoid staining upon oil-gleaming hide. A cheerful warble is sent to the blue in greeting.
Zaeni chuckles lightly as she nods her head, "Aye, that it is. " Looking out to the blue, she shakes her head, "Though, he'd rather a good rainstorm." Glancing back to the rider, she pushes a lock of hair out of the way. "I'm Zaeni, and that's Akisamyth out there, new to the weyr." The blue comes in low and fast, knocking a rather large herdbeast off it's feet to land upon it's back before it can get up. With one knowledgable snap of his muzzle, the beast lies quiet beneath his talons. Only then does he raise his head to acknowledge the queen, his reply a low rumble of sound.
Lydiere laughs, tilting her head in the blue's direction as she responds, "Oh, a good rainstorm is always nice. Thunder and lightning, over the ocean, makes me wish I had a view - sometimes." She outstretches her right hand towards the bluerider, adding, "Lydiere - and that's Llysereth. Well met, Zaeni, and welcome to Ista. I hope you're liking the place?" Llysereth nudges the pile of bone and hide scraps left from her herdbeast, using her muzzle to seek for any last bits of nourishment. Finding none, she pushes up in search of another tasty morsel.
Zaeni takes the offered hand and gives it a shake, her grip firm and sure as a smile is flashed towards the goldrider. "That's Akisa's favorite time to be outside.. " Even today, she still has trouble keeping him from flying during the worse storms. Turning to watch Llsereth take to the skies again, the bluerider chuckles lightly, "Oh yes, so far, we've both been quite happy here at Ista. You and yours have treated us very kindly." Akisamyth eats slowly, whirling eyes watching as the gold takes to the sky again, his own herdbeast disappearing quickly.
Lydiere's shake is equally firm, her hand, as it's pulled back, resting easily upon the edge of the wooden fencepost as she shifts her perch once more. "Sounds like you have a very--er 'wet' time with him, then. At least rain is something we have a lot of, what with all our tropical storms." She grins broadly, adding, "Good - I'm glad to hear it. Where are you from, originally, may I ask?" Llysereth happily takes down her second kill, devouring it with much the same quiet grace as her first, whirling blue eyes watching - briefly - her blue companion.
Akisamyth seems to lazily circle the pens, waiting for the herds to calm after the gold makes her kill before picking his next victim and diving from above to take it out, head swooping down to make the kill before he begins to eat. Zaeni wrinkles her nose at a sudden image from the blue, her groan audible as she rolls her eyes. "Yes, dear, I'm sure." Shaking her head, she looks to Lydiere before answering her question. "You might say that... when we were weyrlings, he was the only one who wasn't afraid of the storms right after hatching. I'd have to pull him back away from the entrance to the barracks, or he'd been out there in the middle of the training grounds." Laughing lightly, she rubs at her nose briefly before continuing. "We're from Fort, ma'am. Just needed to see new sites.."
Llysereth lifts her head from her meal to watch Akisamyth's style; she's clearly interested in figuring new - and perhaps better - ways to perform the ritual killing. "I didn't think I'd ever get used to watching her eat," remarks the goldrider, grimacing, "But it's amazing how one does." Her eyebrows lift, and then she grins, "Sounds like a handful. He's lovely though - I do love that darker colour of blue. -- Fort! Oh, nice place. I was born there, although I don't remember much of it, it's true. And, please, just Lydiere. No need for 'ma'am'."
Akisamyth swings his head around once the beast is reduce to some much hide and bones, giving yet another low rumbling croon to the queen, head tilted curiously while eyes whirl a contented blue/green. His lifemate smiles as she nods her head, "Lydiere, then. And, he says to tell you thank you.." Looking interested to find that much out, an eyebrow is quirked upwards, "Oh? I must admit, I wasn't around much. Was sent to the Herders for a while before I was Searched for Akisa's clutch."
Llysereth uses her forelimb to prod at the carcass of her second kill thoughtfully, as if deciding whether she needs more - or if that would be greedy. Still, cheerful warble is marked for Akisamyth, as she deliberates. Decisions, decisions. "Tell him he's quite welcome. Only the truth, of course. The herders? You liked that? Me, I ended up a Seacrafter for turns, until I ended up here, with Llysereth."
Zaeni looks impressed as she learns that little bit from the goldrider. "Seacrafter? That surely must have been an interesting life. " Nodding her head, she sighs softly, "The Herder Craft was my whole life before Akisamyth came into it. " Offering another one of her usual smiles, she chuckles, "It's allowed me to make myself useful to one of your wings, Gumshoe, in training canines." The second herdbeast was more than enough for the blue, who takes the time to clean his muzzle from his meal before turning back to the gold. Wings rustle against his back as he watches her again, eyes catching the shimmer of the sun across her oiled hide.
"It was," agrees Lydiere ruefully. "Similarly, it was my whole life - more or less - between the age of twelve and twenty-one. But life expands, moves on, and it's--probably better, as it is." Her face lights up, at mention of Gumshoe: "Ah! J'ran's Wing. My weyrmate flies with Gumshoe, too. It all sounds very fascinating, I have to admit." Llysereth eventually gives in to gluttony, taking down a third beast, which she devours whilst still watching the blue, her own hide gleaming in the sun, eyes whirling contently.
Zaeni nods her head as she recognizes the name. "Ah, yes, G'wain." Nice bronzer if her memory serves her right. Rubbing her nose again as a bug buzzes by, she agrees with another nod of her head. "Very fascinating. I think I surprised J'ran when I told him I could train a canine to be ok going ::between:: but Maz has never been bothered with it." Maz being her rather large canine that's she's trained since birth to track.
Lydiere grins, dropping her right knee so that her leg swings against the fencepost once more. "I'll bet. Useful skill there, though. I'm sure he appreciates having you around. Is he good, as a Wingleader?" She glances back to Llysereth, but the dragon is happily oblivious, quite occupied with her eating.
Zaeni crosses her legs, balanced on one foot as she leans against the fence. Brows furrow momentarily as she ponders the goldrider's question before answering carefully. "He's very enthusiastic about this wing, which seems to carry over to the people in the wing. You can't help but catch his energy." By this time, Akisamyth has cleaned up as best as he can do while still in the pens, his mind already thinking about a nice swim to finish washing himself totally clean of the splatters of blood that dries upon his midnight hide.
"That's a good thing," decides Lydiere, reflecting upon the answer to her question with her usual sincerity. "He doesn't always strike me as being the most sensible of people, but perhaps that's just an off-duty trait," she muses, head shaking as she drops the thought. "Not that it's really business of mine, as long as things are going well."
Zaeni chuckles softly as she nods her head, "And, that it does." Flicking his tail against the ground beside him, the blue watches with calm eyes as the herd moves around Llysereth, grouping away from the two feeding dragons. The bluerider watches him, unfazed as he turns to make a comment about one particular skrawny beast. "Well, they can't all be nice and juicey." comes her reply.
"No," pipes up Lydiere, apparently amused by the overheard conversation between blue and rider; "They can't all be, which just makes the truly juicy ones all the better for it." Llysereth whuffs her agreement, tail snaking past the pile of bones and debris remaining from her meal to rest stretched out behind her.
Zaeni just shakes her head at her lifemate as yet another rumbling croon is given. "Sometimes, I wonder how I lived without his dry comments." Leaning her chin down to rest upon her crossed arms, she watches as her lifemate begins to preen before the gold, nothing obvious to Llysereth, but preening nontheless to his lifemate.
Lydiere's grin is rueful. "It's amazing to think how empty life - and one's mind - must have been pre-Impression. I *know* I was perfectly happy, and didn't feel it, but I can't understand how, at least on some level. Although in Llysereth's case, it isn't dry commentary, it's more naive enthusiasm for everything." A fond smile settles itself upon her face, as she watches the gold, who is still carefully seeking through the bones for anything left, not quite noticing Akisamyth's actions.
A stretch of a wing here, or a decided tilt to his head there, the blue sets himself to his best advantage. While Akisamyth knows that the lovely Llysereth is way beyond his reach, he can't help but admire her from afar. Laughing even more, his lifemate is glad for the support of the fence as she looks to the goldrider, "He's trying to show off for her...see, watch.. " And in that instant, the blue s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-s /just/ so.
Lydiere sits up more straightly, shifting her perspective so that Akisamyth is well placed within her vision, and laughs. "Ooh, I see! That's rather sweet - he's awfully cute, in a good way, not demeaning or anything." Lydiere frowns, as she says that, but shrugs; "Watch and see if Llysereth notices; I'm not sure if she will." So far, indeed, the queen is quite oblivious, although another bright croon is noted, high and clear.
Akisamyth has held back until this time, his muzzle lowering to the carcass of his last kill, nosing aside a bit of hide to reveal a hunk of meat. Taking it carefully into his mouth, he ever so gracefully waddles towards the gold, laying his 'gift' near the bones of her last kill. The hunk of meat is seen to be tenderest section of the herdbeast, just for her. With another low thundering rumble, he moves back off, leaving her to her gift. Giggling, Zaeni just sighs, shaking her head, "He tells me Llysereth is quite fair of form, a rare nighttime jewel." Rolling her eyes, she giggles again. Oh the things one's lifemate will do at times.
Lydiere's head raises in delight - a low croon sounds as she whuffs after the blue, evidently quite charmed at the gift. An elegant ripple of her hide follows, as her teeth clamp down upon the gift, chewing commensing with some enthusiasm. "She's delighted," notes Lydiere, with obvious amusement. "He's her friend for life - at least, until she forgets." Chuckling in spite of herself, as her lifemate warbles once more, she adds, "He's a bit of a poet, it sounds. Good with words."
Could that be a faint hint of a blush upon the bluerider's cheeks as she glances out towards the dragons. Surely not. Perhaps just a bit too much sun here lately indeed. Zaeni chuckles again, "He's such a gentleman around the golds.. sometimes it can be embarrassing." This time, the blue croons to the gold, the sound a sing-song of melody as he lowers his head to her.
"That's very cute," says Lydiere once more, head shaking as she continues to watch in amusement. "I think it's nice, too - going out of his way to be so gentlemanly, when most of the browns and bronzes don't bother." Lydiere approves. Llysereth probably does, too: her own croon matches the blues, like sweet music together.
"He certainly keeps me on my toes, that's for sure." Zaenie replies with another laugh at her lifemate as she watches him settle himself down, posed just right to allow the sunlight to dance off the stormy blues that wash his hide. Looking up at the goldrider, she grins, "Isn't that the truth.. just a wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am, and they're off again." Winking, she giggles again.
Lydiere's head nods sagely. "I can imagine." She can, to some point, anyway. Llysereth, thoughtfully, mimics Akisamyth's movements, the sun turning her moonlit hide to a more radiant gold, ripples of sunshine and brilliance dancing off of the silvery finish. "Well put," adds Lydiere with a laugh, eyes rolling. "That's about right."
[My net crashes - log ends]