I believe in this light I see (Open)

[Rei]

Erilena had planned to go to the feast. She really had. That much was obvious by her appearance. A wine colored wrap around skirt complete with ruffled bottom fell just to ankle length, simple black slippers adored her feet and her top consisted of a similar colored tank top. A red jungle flower had been pinned into her hair and her blonde hair itself fell in loose ringlets that where simple and rested just a tad past her shoulders. Upon arriving she had said hi to a few people and then taken one hesitant step onto the dance floor. There she froze. It had been so long since the greenrider had danced and here….with all these people. The greenrider simply couldn’t. Bowing her head she had stepped back from the floor and sat silent and alone at a table for a few moments to regain her composure. Tapping her fingers on the table Erilena made a silent decision.

The greenrider had left the feast then. It was just….wrong. Not there. She simply couldn’t dance there. Dancing was more about self expression and venting emotion than anything else for her. Some people yelled, some fought, some painted, some played music. For Erilena dancing was her outlet. Had been since she was three and her father had taught her a few simple steps for fun. Ever since then she had been hooked. The greenrider didn’t flee far, the warning she had gotten about night ventures was still fresh in her mind and so she ended up outside in the canyon. The moonlight washed everything in pale light, the feast music still softly wafting on the wind. Too close to the weyr for felines, but far enough from the Main hall that she shouldn’t have to worry about spectators. Perfect.

Swallowing down the sudden lump in her throat Erilena raised her arms towards the stars above and began, first swinging in a few simple steps. At first they where stumbling and wrong but before long rhythm returned and the whole thing transformed. All of it. Her pain, her sorrow, her longing, her anger, the depression, the release. All of it was translated through her movements. Faster and faster and harder and sharper until she was only dimly aware that she was becoming tired, dimly aware of the sweat clinging to her skin and the tears running freely down her face. Finally as she slowed the greenrider simply folded to the ground and looked up at the stars above her, breath coming in short gasps her chest heaving as she regained her breath.

Feyrianth brushed lightly against her mind then. I am sorry I missed it. But I felt it as always. Does this mean you will finally dance the rain dance again? Erilena closed her eyes, her hands clutching the fabric of her skirt. Yes. After all. There where still only two people who knew of her private clearing and the dancing and R’ven would tell no one. Of that she was completely sure. I am glad. I only wish that I had been there for you. You where Fey my love. You always are.

[Tashe]

Safe from spectators, yes. Safe from peeping toms, yes. Safe from ex-fortriders, not so much. At first he too had decided to go to the feast, if only because A'emi had practically blackmailed him into coming. He hated attending these gatherings. He didn't see the need of hatching feasts never having attended one unless forced to at Fort, even then never having fun. The Bluerider saw no real need to praise the Weyrlings for bonding, the action within itself should be enough to satisfy them, as it had been for him. All this finery and festivities should be saved for political delegations and Gathers. Well that was his opinion anyway.

What had he been thinking? Giving into A'emi like that. But the little man had some sort of hold over him that he couldn't shake, much like a very obnoxious little brother with some sort of complex. He looked down at his clothing and sighed. He was wearing black trousers tucked into newly polished boots which buckled near the top with brass colored clasps. His white shirt was tucked into the waist of his pants and over that, he wore a creme colored jacket with a high straight collar. The jacket itself was the focal point of his otherwise simple outfit. Brass threading embroidered the hems, giving it an almost military look. If one inspected carefully the design that adorned the collar and cuffs, they would fin the outlines of Anemones.

It had been too stuffy in there and the Greenrider, who wanted him to come, had been busy with his date. So. He left. For a little while at least. He didn't mind parties but sometimes he just couldn't understand the need to celebrate. K'thay was able to escape crowded places with ease, years of practice paid off in some of the best ways possible. The night was cool but warm enough to be pleasent, good weather for walking. He of course took the breeze as an open invitation and set off to clear his head of the merry making behind him.

It wasn't long until his random trekking brought him in contact with another person. Well, rather brought her into sight. He was semi-hidden where he stopped but he was certain she could have seen him if she wanted to. But it turned obvious that she didn't. K'thay, he wasn't old by a long shot, but in his life he'd seen a lot of dancing. What the girl did was something that was a mixture of raw emotion and years of practice. Making it rough but fluid all at the same time. What the Bluerider happened to see he was sure wasn't meant to be seen. If he moved to flee now, he'd probably frighten the poor girl. If he identified himself... he'd probably frighten her. Then again it would probably better to know who had been there rather than freak out over not knowing.

Making sure he looked presentable, picking a few leaves off that had collected on his person, he stepped all the way into the moon light and softly cleared his throat. "Forgive me for intruding." K'thay made sure his hands were where the girl could see them, he was entering near her left side since he could not enter straight in front of the girl. "But on a fair night such as this, a young lady with tears in her eyes is a rare sight to behold." With gentle movements he removed a kerchief from the inside of a sleeve. He did not get too close, stopping just fair enough that if he extended his arm fully he could offer it to the Greenrider. "Here." He crouched, the kerchief fluttering slightly as a breeze caught it. "To be honest I thought I was the only one tiring of the Feast, and here, to my surprise I find woman who danced so passionately I was under the impression that Nymphs did exist."

K'thay offered the girl a warm smile making sure not to move suddenly for any reason. "Forgive me if I have seen something that should not have been. But," he paused and wrinkled his nose playfully, "I think I can forget completely as long as you promise me that you'll grace that face of yours with a smile." Sucker for teary eyed Riders? Yes, yes he was. At least the ones down here in the South. You couldn't very much trust female riders in the North... "I am Ephemerae Wingrider, K'thay of Castidenloth. At your service my lady." It was a mouthful of long words so he said it with articulation.

[Rei]

"Forgive me for intruding."

The soft words inspired instant movement, Erilena sitting up and half turning to catch a glimpse of the speaker with wide frightened eyes. Very much resembling a doe in headlights. For a few moments she simply continued to catch her breath, her mind working though her thought process a bit sluggishly. It was to K’thay’s benefit that he moved as slowly and carefully as he did. After the initial shock factor had faded the greenrider was better able to compose herself and she swallowed past her initial nervous reaction. Curiosity and perhaps still a touch of fright lingered in Erilena’s hazel eyes as she examined the man before her. He was certainly dressed nicely enough to have come from the feast. His rider status was hard to determine without knots but he came off as too confident to be anything less. His accent as well pegged him as northern and, although that put her slightly on edge, it made her concentrate as he spoke. He seemed very formal. Formal Erilena could do. Formal was safe.

But…How much had he exactly seen? Half tuning so she could see K’thay and straightening out her skirt Erilena blinked in surprise as he approached and with slow and precise movements handed her a kerchief. Although no words had been spoken yet on the greenrider’s behalf she accepted the offered cloth with a small nervous smile. “Thank you.” Her words where sincere and quiet, offered in as polite a tone as she could manage at the time. As she used it to blot some of the tears away she concentrated on further composing herself. Obviously, by the smudges she left on the cloth, she had messed up her liner but that hardly mattered now. Idly in the back of her mind she wondered if it would be proper to wash his kerchief before she returned it. Considering she had quite nicely messed it up for him.

Tilting her head upwards towards K’thay Erilena remained silent to allow him to continue. If the greenrider had wondered just how much of her dancing he had seen she didn’t need to anymore. The words and compliment the bluerider decided to offer her had her face immediately heating up. Perhaps the shadows would hide some of the brilliant blush but it definitely not all of it. The greenrider was quite honestly stuck speechless. Nymph? Her? “I…I…You weren’t…I’m not… It wasn’t.” Was all she managed to half stutter out.

Very elegant Erilena. She mentally scolded herself as she continued to blink up at K’thay. Unconsciously perhaps, she noticed that all his movements where light, slow, and completely unthreatening and that fact alone put her mind a bit at ease. It certainly made her feel less afraid of him, although the woman was still nervous and it showed in the tenseness with which she held herself. Wishing she would stop blushing, Erilena cleared her throat before again attempting to speaking softly. “No. It’s okay. You are forgiven. I just wasn’t expecting anyone at all. So you shocked me a little.” The greenrider was honestly surprised that her tone sounded steady and almost normal that time. In truth it was a bit of a lie that she offered K’thay.

Erilena had never intended to let anyone else see her dance tonight. That K’thay had seen didn’t exactly worry her, but it made her feel odd. It was the same feeling she had gotten the one time Darya had caught her out in the rain. R’ven had been a different story. She had wanted him to see. Wanted to share that intimate part of herself with him. These others where chance happening and it almost made her embarrassed to let them see something that, to her, was so completely personal. Still what was done was done. She certainly couldn’t take it back.

Finally with a light smile, solely for K’thay’s benefit, Erilena smoothed her hands over her skirt before she finally offered him her hand. It seemed the proper thing to do at the time. Especially since the bluerider himself was being so formal. “Well met K’thay. I am Erilena of Feyrianth.”

[Tashe]

When the girl took the kerchief the Bluerider shifted his position so that he was on a knee rather than half bending, it would be more polite anyways, making it so that the other didn't have to look up to see him. K'thay would freely admit that her stammering was rather adorable, although not terribly surprising when offered a compliment out of no where given the circumstances. At least she wasn't crying anymore. That was a plus. "Understandable. I bet my accent helped the surprise right along. Never can be too careful I suppose." And when the girl, no Erilena, extended her hand he took it for warmly a moment then returned it to her. "Ah yes, she is the Green with four wings if I am not mistaken?" K'thay looked to her for agreement. "One of the newly graduated Dragonriding pairs. Congratulations to you and Yours." He wanted to steer the conversation away from the dancing, he could see it was a topic of discomfort for the young rider. I have seen her once or twice in the skies. She is pretty, in an interesting way. Honestly though he wasn't used to mutated dragons, but he could feign comfort well enough around them. If he could not do something as simple as that he might as well claim he lived under a rock for seven years instead of training for war. "Castidenloth says he's seen her a few times in passing, he always wondered her name. Fitting though, Feyrianth as a name." As K'thay spoke he slowly integrated his normal speech with that of the more formal one until he had smoothly changed in into his regular cant. "Have they assigned you to a wing yet?" He suspected, if anything, she'd be in Miles.

Although he was more than happy to change topic, it was thinking of benign things to speak of that was hardest. He had no idea about what had set the girl off, so it was really a guess and check situation at best. Blind shots in the dark at the worst. And he certainly couldn't say nothing it would be incredibly awkward for the both of them. He could leave, but then he felt as if he didn't want to leave the girl out here alone. Gah decisions. If A'emi could see him right now, he'd probably have a laughing fit. His thoughts paused for a moment with a grimace. How long had it really been since he talked to a girl alone at night? Let alone one who had been a little upset only a few moments before? Forever was how long. Mentally he grumbled, Cass's waves of amusement did little to help what he was doing.

Switching position again, slowly as usual and as if he was in no hurry, K'thay sat down fully and looped his arms around a knee. "Did you know," he glanced at her with a wry smile, "that the whole Nymph thing wasn't wholly unbased? Legands from old and dusty records say that they played games under the moonlight in trees. I wonder if they played tag and feasted." Looking to the moon he grinned. "Reading is a pleasure, one that is rarely found time for. What with the busy schedule of a Rider or a Healer... or any other crafter, its hard to find the time." There were a lot of things that could be told by the hands of a person. Erilena's had been softer than would have been expected of a Rider her age, there would have been a lot more callouses from Weyrlingship if she had been anything but a Healer. They were generally excused from certain duties the others had to go through. "Do you like to read?"

[Rei]

Erilena tried to fight back the nervousness as her hand was taken in K’thay’s grip. It was….different certainly. How long had it been since she had been in the company of a male that was not her brother? Months. Yes months. So was it any wonder that she was feeling awkward? Keeping her eyes fixed on the bluerider’s face to be polite she have a soft smile. “Yes the accent helped a little. I don’t know many northern riders. The only ones I have had a lot of contact with are my Weyrlingmaster and a classmate and they are… Well they aren’t very nice.” Blushing she realized her mistake too late and ended up stammering. “Not that that means all northern riders are not nice. You seem pleasant…” Covering her mouth with the back of her hand she sighed and crinkled up her nose in embarrassment. Maybe it was safer if she just kept her mouth permanently shut? “Please excuse my rambling.” Another soft smile in an attempt to smooth over any awkwardness. Palm meet face please.

Smoothing her hands over her skirt Erilena shifted so she could sit more comfortably and placed her hands in her lap. “Yes. My Feyrianth is the one with four wings and thank you for the congratulations. She thanks you as well.” Inclining her head slightly to K’thay she nervously brushed her hair back from her face. With the nervousness of his approach gone the greenrider had a new one. What was the proper way to react in the company of a male one hardly knew? With R’ven it had been easy. He was a classmate and a friend and when things slightly changed it was more easy transition then nervous behavior. K’thay was northern, ranked her, and seemed nice enough. Yet sadly Erilena had no clue what to do. Easy interaction just wasn’t coming as it usually did. Probably because she had been caught in the middle of an extremely personal moment. Conversation seemed safe though and so the woman encouraged him with nods and soft smiles. “Feyrianth’s name indeed fits her.” All to well actually. The change in tone was indeed noticed and Erilena welcomed it. Perhaps formality wasn’t always well and good. Safe yes but it created to much awkwardness in the end. “Yes Miles. Although we are not allowed to perform in thread drill like the rest. It’s to dangerous for Fey and we can’t stay in formation easily.” That was an understatement. Instead the pair where working towards a possible position as an emergency medical team. Which meant in the end she would probably have to learn more in both dragon and human healing but…she enjoyed helping others and Feyrianth loved to be included. So it wasn’t so much a chore.

Perhaps Erilena would have been willing to chat more on the topic but K’thay seemed to think it prudent to switch it and she tilted her head. A slow smile graced her features. “It sounds like some fairytale. I bet they did. Tag would be fun in the dark I think. It’s fun regardless. It’s actually Feyrianth’s favorite game and I used to play it with a classmate of mine on occasion but…” Her gaze dropped to her hands and the greenrider swallowed. “I don’t see him anymore. So it’s been awhile.” Biting her bottom lip Erilena pushed that thought aside. It was still a touch too painful for her to talk about without tearing up and that’s the last thing she wanted to do in front of K’thay. Especially since he had already caught her crying only moments before. The subtle mention of healing though had the greenrider’s eyes going to the bluerider’s in obvious surprise. How had he known that? With a soft smile she giggled slightly. “It’s true and I do love to read. But like you say with my studying in the infirmary it seems all I get to read is old case files and records on different techniques. But I do try and go to the creche at least once a week and read to the kids. They love it and I get a kick out of the old stories. Fey and I occasionally act out stories for them and they adore it.”

Smiling Erilena winked at him. “You should come and see it sometime if your schedule permits. Neither of us get stage fright and if you like books and stories you might find it fun. That is if you don’t mind kids. You’ll be like a guest of honor I’m sure.” Or more like the new person to clamber all over, demand hugs from, drool and sneeze on, and yell at but that came with the territory when little ones where involved. "Besides it's the best cure for sadness there is. Impossible to be sad around kids."

[Tashe]

He chuckled and rubbed the side of his nose in amusement. "Its no slight on your part. Unfortunately its true that Northern Riders aren't very nice, its a trait we've developed to withstand the tests of war." K'thay flicked his hand as if he was shrugging. "I wasn't very nice until I came here, so I'm glad to be thought of as pleasant." The truth was he could get very nasty very quickly. Generally though, the Bluerider was reserved when not around friends. Tonight just happened to be an exception. Erilena had been distressed, not to mention, very attractive with a raw beauty. Some of that had been stolen by his arrival and that he had been sorry to see but still, he would not deny that she was pretty. K'thay offered her a smile.

"Ah yes. I can understand that. Her double pair of wings must affect her turning radius and speed." The last part was mused mainly to himself. Feyrianth was fortunate to have been born at Selenitas, he thought, at Benden she would have been culled. K'thay shook his head slightly but returned his attention back onto the Greenrider. "I do hope that you'll find your own niche in the Wing, or maybe even find a Wing you're better suited to." Although he knew of none currently in existence. If they couldn't keep up with Threadfighting they wouldn't be able to do much else. Especially fighting. If he was right about healing, they could do supply runs or something. It'd be a shame to loose a viable Dragon to ground duty if they could fly.

He frowned slightly as sadness stole over the girl when she spoke of a classmate, guessing that he had oh-so-skillfully brought a subject up that touched on the pain. Of course he would have. Tch. K'thay swiftly fell back into a smile as Eri looked back up at him, not wanting her to see any trace of actual concern. What she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. But apparently he had guessed right about the Healing it was nearly etched across her face. It was funny and a little ironic how he was in the business of killing and she was the type save people. He did his best not to laugh at the mention of coming to the creche. K'thay didn't know how to handle the little beasts, only able to deal with them once they reached a reasonable age of twelve. Any younger and he was at a loss on how to treat them. "I bet I could find sometime." Cocking an eyebrow he spread his fingers and wiggled them. "Here ye, here ye, come see the fabulous Actress Erilena and her partner Feyrianth in their newest performance!" He grinned and let his fingers fold around his leg again. "I have no doubt that the children love you. But I fear that I'm not terribly good with children. I'm more used to having to deal with young adults." He gave a mock shudder. "And boogers and drool. Oh I bet that will be a blessing in disguise."

There was a slight pause, before he spoke again. "I bet you were wondering how I guessed." Extending his hand he put it where she could see it. "Hands tell stories. Mine are calloused from weapon training and war. But yours are soft, there aren't very many callouses near your fingers and joints. Healers need hands that can bend and flex with swift moments. And sometimes they have stains on their index finger from ink or on their fingers from the different medicines they work with." K'thay rubbed the tip of his nose. "You can tell a lot about a person in a handshake, if you're willing to read what you find." Its the people who know how to deceive people in the gesture one had to worry about. His hand returned to his body. "Just one of the many things you pick up in my old line of work." A pause. "Ah but that must be a bit boring... What rank of Healer are you?"

[Rei]

“Yes turning seems to be our biggest issue and as far as speed goes she can outpace the bigger browns when she really tries but yes her speed does suffer. It makes things difficult as far as any type of formation flying.” Not only that but the massive amount of wing sail she had made fighting for the green near impossible. It would be only too easy to tear her from the sky. One wing crippled and Feyrianth would lose all lift. The way her muscles where attached meant that she could not move her double sets of wings independently. They shared the same muscle groupings which meant when she extended one wing the other automatically followed. Lift was insanely easy for Feyrianth to achieve and she could hover in place seemingly without effort. Stopping was very easy as well. It was the rest that was hard. Maneuvers other green and blue dragons could pull off with ease where either impossible, or very hard. Still Feyrianth could fly and she had the smoothest flight of any dragon Erilena had ever seen, seeming to float rather than fly. There had to be something Feyrianth could do. Besides like any dragon the green could between. So getting somewhere in a hurry wasn’t too difficult if they knew where they where going. Finding a niche was aggravating to be sure but certainly not impossible. The place had to be there and if the pair had to make it themselves? Well then they would.

Erilena raised her head to smile at K’thay “Thank you. We hope so to. There has to be something we can do. It’s figuring it out that’s the hard part.” Especially since they had no examples to follow. Feyrianth was the only dragon with four wings on Pern. A special case but certainly not worthless and certainly not useless despite what some others desired to believe. One day they would all be shown wrong. Feyrianth’s enthusiastic agreement to her thought had the blonde smiling again before she tilted her head at her current companion. The look on K’thay’s face had one light colored eyebrow raising in question. Then when he proceeded to wiggle his fingers and make his little ‘entrance’ speech Erilena actually laughed. The sound caring a little on the quiet night air before dying away.

“Oh I am sure you would be okay. I wouldn’t let them eat you. I promise. Not sure if I can promise you won’t get hugged and drooled on but I certainly wouldn’t let you get eaten. Another good thing about kids is they are insanely easy to distract given the right incentive.” Eyes sparkling with a little mirth Erilena winked. “All I have to do is tell them Fey needs some new colors and they start begging for paint to color her wings. She’s horribly patient to. She even gets mad at me when I try to wash it off.” Giggling at that she pushed her blonde hair back from her face. “So if you do come you're lucky seeing as I have the best distraction ever. Anyway I’m positive you’ll have fun, even if you just come once.” Idly one hand came up to readjust the flower in her hair. “I think I’ll be spending a bit of time there in the next few days so if you’re not busy just have Castidenloth contact Feyrianth and you can come and see. I don’t promise it will be good but it’s fun. If you’re lucky maybe we’ll even give you a part to play. I’ll even let you be the hero for once.” The tease came automatically and before the greenrider could think twice about it. Only after it came out of her mouth did she realize her mistake and hope that the bluerider wasn’t easy to offend. So far he seemed pretty good natured.

Then K’thay stuck out his hand and Erilena’s gaze flicked from his hand to his face trying to figure out what he as talking about before she remembered. Ah yes. Healing. She actually had wondered that. The bluerider didn’t seem to miss much did he? A soft smile came to the greenrider’s face. “Actually yes I did wonder.” Quietly and politely she listened as he continued to explain, her gaze moving from his hand to her own as she raised it to examine it as well. Blinking she traced a redwort stain on her left index finger. He was right and the information was very interesting. “That must be a nice skill to have. I’ll try and remember to pay attention next time I meet someone.” Light hazel eyes focused on the other rider as he questioned her and a she gave a half smile.

“Only an junior apprentice dragon healer currently. I’m trying to learn a bit of everything though. Gain experience and all that. I study tons. It’s just putting that reading into use that will be the test. I’m not scared about it per say. Just a tad nervous. I just want to be able to help people.” Trailing off Erilena smiled. “I don’t like seeing people or things in pain. It makes me want to help. I know I can’t fix everything but…I don’t think I could live with myself if I didn’t at least try.” Even when it seemed impossible. Making a face Erilena gestured to the bluerider. “What about yourself? Talking only about me can’t be all that interesting. Why aren’t you with anyone tonight?” Surely K’thay was pleasant enough to have at least a few friends.

[Tashe]

"I wouldn't want them to consider me their morning snack." Quietly his idle fingers tapped a rhythm out on his knee. It was hard for him to sit absolutely still unless it was imperative for him to do so. The Bluerider smirked at the teasing, glad that the Greenrider felt good enough to do so. He wasn't easily offended, which was a blessing when it came down to dealing with particularly obnoxious people. "Alas fair maiden, I am ill suited for the role of a hero! Perhaps the hero's side kick or..." He stroked his chin with a rueful smile. "The evil, yet dastardly handsome, villain. They would boo me off the stage otherwise, possibly even throw some crackers." This of course was partially the truth. Given the fact he was a horrible actor he'd be ill suited for any role. "Despite that, if Mi'rah gives us some off time around whenever you're going to be down there I'll try and pop by."

Not for the kids though, they were a necessary annoyance to be able to interact with the girl a little more. Guh. He felt a little old and quite possibly pervy when compared to Erilena. She had to be, what, nineteen or twenty? The seven or six Turn difference was nagging at him. Ah, but he could look all he wanted. Subtly of course. She was probably already involved with someone. Or, just broken up with someone. Which meant any possible chance dropped down to zero. Kahnmine. You should pay attention, instead of dreaming over a girl you have just met. You ruin my fun. I just think you need more friends before you go tail chasing. Hey. I'm not a dog, I don't chase tail. His reproach was evident in his mindvoice. All he got was a ripple of amusement for a response.

What had she said? Junior Apprentice? K'thay tried to organize what he had subconsciously been listening to into the semblance of what she had actually been saying, all the while listening to what she was saying now. Wasn't much fit for the War then, was she? Everything about it was diluted in pain and suffering, especially when it came to the battles themselves. For some reason he could see her helping an injured enemy without a second thought. But of course, that was him. Not caring one way or another if an enemy died so long as useful information had been extracted. "Myself? What do you want to know?" The Bluerider was startled out of his reverie. It took a second before he actually answered her second question. "It was rather crowded. And the people who had wanted me to come were busy with dates or not there, so I decided to pay my respects and then come out for a walk. I might return later if I get hungry enough..." K'thay shrugged. "But I had a late lunch so..."