This is so cool! (open

[dragon]

The ride from the hold to the Weyr had been awesome. Absolutely and completely totally awesome. Who would have thought that flying could be so much fun and so fascinating? The world sure looked different from that high up! Of course, between had been rather scary and heart-stopping, but since the rider had been nice enough to explain it first, they survived it without any mishaps.

This place was so cool, too! All the towering trees, the shimmering waterfall, the river, all the dragons in the place, and it was completely jam packed with flitters! Even if so what most of them were wild. It was still quite fascinating. Like something out of an olden time tale of ... of ...

Thought train derailed.

Orena was like that. She was shiny-thinged pretty easily, especially in a new place so full of new things to see. She'd lit out pretty quickly after being left at the ... barracks, it had been called. Isori was still there, probably, being the 'responsible' one and unpacking. Not Orena. there was too much to go see to stop and unpack. That could be done later, seriously! So she'd taken off down the hall, cherry-brown locks flying after her.

She and her sister had pretty good senses of direction. Despite that, Orena had managed to get herself so deep into the tunnels of this place that she would probably spend a few hours retracing her steps. She'd get back out, that wasn't the worry. But it was mind boggling to even try to comprehend the miles and miles of tunnels inside the cliffs!

Finding a door set into the side of the hall, Orena came to a stop. Curious what was behind it, she looked up and down the hall before stepping lightly over to it, a grin playing across her face. Leaning an ear to it for a moment and not hearing anything, she reached for the latch.

[Requiem]

...and the door burst open with a whoop, a small little girl with bouncy curls that bounced all the more as she skipped backwards backing up straight into the candidate. Just recently turned fifteen, the wherling was so small and slender she might have been no more than twelve. A bud who had not yet bloomed, and gave every indication that when she did she'd be a creature of graceful, slender curves and no voluptuous vixen. She was bundled up tight, too, all in knit stockings, high boots, a skirt and long-sleeved blouse with a sweater thrown on top of it.

She was also very obviously a creature of the warm tropics, given how she didn't startle and flee or freeze up like a terrified deer at the feel of the woman at her back. No, Ximera simply stilled, tilting her head back against this stranger's chest, her dark eyes curious and a touch wide with surprise. Then her lips parted with delight and she spun, reaching out to grasp this exotic stranger's hands in both of hers. "You're so pretty!" she exclaimed. "I know I positively have never seen you before...and anyway what are you doing all the way over here? Did M'ta recruit you, too? He's already left. You're late, you know, or else lost. Are you lost? Laddie says that ghosts haunt the halls, but if they do I think they must be nice ghosts, because they've never bothered me any. And Ximesk would definitely growl if they were bad ghosts."

At mention of his name, the blue wher nudged up behind her, pushing Ximera into the taller candidate and the both of them further out into the hall until he could squeeze his head past Ximera to get a look at this newcomer, too. The girl giggled and let go of one of the woman's hands to rub at his eyeridges. "This is Ximesk. He'll absolutely love you forever and ever if you give him milk. I'm Ximera. Xelena is my mom. She works in the kitchens, and if you tell her you're my friend you'll get an extra treat. She'll grumble and fuss but you will. You are going to be my friend? If you don't know her, you might know my brother, X'rx. He's going to be a full rider soon, and he has the prettiest green dragon you ever saw, with fangs that go way down past her chin and really long claws. But she's very sweet, I promise."

That was when Ximesk nudged her with a croon, before poking his nose at the stranger's hip. His was just babbling on without letting her speak. Ximera immediately flushed a soft pink and her eyes fell to the floor, before turning back up shyly. "Oh, I'm being rude, aren't I?"

[dragon]

Orena straightened suddenly as the door she'd been leaning on opened, and her mouth made a surprised "O" shape as she was promptly backed into. She grabbed the girl about the middle with her arms in an awkward hug, to keep the both of them from going down into a heap, and looked down at the face that looked up at her. "Hi!" She greeted, a silly grin splitting her features.

Wow, but this girl was a hyper one! Reminded her a lot of herself, actually. Which was entirely okay by Orena! "Why thank you! So are you! I've never seen a face like yours before, it's so round!" Orena answered, marveling at the cheery features she was looking down at. "Did M'ta recruit me?" That was a strange name, that. M'ta. Weirrrrrd. "Maybe!" she answered, before really thinking about it and wondering why this M'ta person was recruiting people ... and what to. She wasn't ready to start washing dishes just yet, after all. She was still exploring! "Oh! He left already? Then I guess I am late, aren't I? That just won't do. I'll try to be on time next time." Orena promised, even if she wasn't entirely sure she could find the place again reliably.

Her mouth went round again in amazement when the wher came out of the doorway. She'd seen the Hold whers of course, but only in furtive glances of the night, and they were always so big and scary looking. This one ... this one was a lot smaller. And a lot friendlier looking. "Well, hello there! My, he's little ain't he? Milk? Well, we should be able to find a milch beast around here somewhere we can get some milk from, I am sure! Surely they have milch beasts here, right? Somewhere?" She hadn't explored quite that far yet, to have found any of the supporting animal livestock.

Orena laughed, the sound bubbling up out of her cheerfully. "Sure I'll be your friend, Ximera! I'm Orena, too. And my sister is about the place somewhere ... her name is Isori. But sure, I'll be your friend! Not just for the treats, either." She winked at the shorter girl. "But no ... I don't know them. I just got here, see! I came all the way from Blossom, just today. I haven't met many people yet." Orena explained. But she would! Oh, would she meet people. And she was already liking this Weyr place ... especially if it had people like this cute little girl in it! So bubbly and happy!

"Nono! Not rude at all! Not in the least! You're okay, I promise. I rather like you. You're okay." Orena said, giving the girl a little squeeze of a hug before letting her go. They weren't in any danger of falling down anymore, after all ... and it was kinda awkward that she'd been hanging onto this girl for so long unbidden. But she'd been so rapt of attention to everything that had bubbled out of the girl!

[Requiem]

Ximera was ever so pleased by the compliment, even if she didn't really know what made round faces pretty. But no matter! Ximera thought herself pretty enough, in a girlish sort of way, and it was better that way, she reflected. It meant it wasn't so difficult to keep herself for her King. Princesses could weaken, too, with too much attention, or so she told herself whenever a tiny stab of jealousy manifested upon seeing other girls getting all the male attentions.

An amused titter escaped her throat at Orena's comment regarding her Ximesk. "Oh, but he's still a baby, silly, and not really that small. He'll be full-sized in another month or two," she concluded proudly, beaming up at the older girl. The male was already near as tall at the haunches as Ximera herself. She wasn't very big, though. Nope.

Gratified that she hadn't offended and that Orena clearly wanted to befriend her near as much as Ximera wanted it, the weyrbred girl's mind was free to poke curiously at what Orena had said, even as Ximesk wriggled further out into the hall and curled around both girls, sniffing at Orena as he went. A sandpapery tongue flicked out to slide over the stranger's palm and wrist. No, she didn't taste like milk, but it wasn't a bad taste, he decided. Ximera couldn't help but giggle at him, pushing his head away. "Silly Ximesk. He thinks you taste good," she told the candidate cheerfully.

"Blossom Hold. I've always wanted to go there. X'rx has gone once or twice, 'cause he's the eldest and most responsible, Mom says. She thinks I'd spend the marks on silly things instead of what she needs. Is the lake really as pretty as they say? Have you seen any dolphins?" Just the thought of the silvery, mythical creatures that she'd only heard stories about made the young girl giddy. Oh how she loved to listen to tales about them.

Her fingers threaded through Orena's. "If you're new, you must be lost. Let's go find your sister and go see if Mom will let us sneak any sweets. Silly Orena. You can't possibly have volunteered to help M'ta if you just got here! You should, though. The candidatemaster would think you so nice and helpful, which will make him like you, and if he likes you he'll probably help you Impress. M'ta's nice, too. He grumbles a lot, and makes growly faces, but he's really very nice. You'll know him right away, too. He's shorter even than you, with a long thick braid, and he wears a joining ring even though he's a dragonrider. Isn't that queer? He and the Weyrhealer joined at Southern Hold. It's a cute story."

[dragon]

"A baby!" Well ... that explained the small size. Orena could honestly say she'd never seen a baby wher. In fact, whers being babies had never crossed her mind, though in retrospect it should have. It was just ... one of those things. She'd never thought about it. "My. Wher babies are big." she commented, thoughtfully. "How old is he, do you know? Did you see his mom?" Oh, but that was something else she'd never thought about. Whers having families. Moms and dads and sisters ...

"I ... taste good?" Orena asked, hesitantly. She didn't know, but being declared as tasting good didn't sound like a terribly good thing to hear, when coming from a wher. She held her hand flat, though, like she'd always been told to do with runners. Whether that was right for whers or not she didn't know. "Um ... okay, I guess? Is ... is that a good thing?" She asked, hesitantly, looking to Ximera for answers, brows drawn together and up. Like most people, Orena had heard all sorts of horror stories told to kids about whers eating people or tearing them limb from limb. It was ingrained; whers were scary! But, Ximesk seemed like such a nice little wher. Not to mention cute ... if a wher could be called cute!

"Blossom is a very nice place!" Orena answered enthusiastically. "I grew up there, my whole life I did. But no I'm afraid not... my parents never took us to the water so we never saw the shipfishes. I would have loved to, of course, they always sounded so nice! But I am afraid it never occurred to us to go there and see them when my sister and I started roaming the Hold on our own. I'm sorry, I wish I could tell you all about them. I am told they can tell you all kinds of neat and interesting things, but mind you I was told this! I don't know if it's true or not. I suppose dragons can talk, why not shipfishes?" Orena shrugged, before realizing that now it was her that was doing the ceaseless rattling.

"Lost? Me? Oh, no! I'm not lost. I'm exploring!" Orena assured her, with a grin and wink. "How else am I going to see what else there is to see of the place? And it's so big! I had no idea it would be so big! I am sure I'll like this M'ta person. What is he doing anyway that he needs a lot of help? It must be important I'm sure! But why would a dragonrider wearing a ring be queer? A body should indeed marry if they fall in love! I mean ... what could be better than finding someone you can share the rest of your life with so happily?" Orena asked. "Surely dragonriders aren't exempted from that special thing, are they? How horrible if they are!"

[Requiem]

Ximera couldn't hold back the giggle. "Well of course I've seen his dam, silly. The gold wher what lives in the apartments with him is his dam, and I was there when he hatched, too," she stated proudly. For she did have a fierce pride for her beloved Ximesk, even if he was rather plump and roly poly, loved milk and didn't get everything right the first time. Or the second, third, fourth or fifth. A slow learner, her darling, but hers just the same. "He's six months old," she concluded, beaming. Orena could surely see how wonderful he was, too, even if she was still being rather silly. Ximera shook her head, saying nothing as she giggled some more. Silly holdgirl. Ximesk wouldn't eat her. He hadn't even thought Ximera's blood was quite as good as milk, her silly wherling.

The small girl's face quite visibly fell when she realized that her new friend had never seen the dolphins for herself, either. How could you live at Blossom Hold and not see them? Ximera had often thought about stealing away into the night and going to Blossom Hold all on her own just to see them, before she Impressed Ximesk, but it seemed so very far away when you looked at a map - her brother pointed the hold and the weyr out to her - that she never quite got up the courage. Now she might actually be able to go, but she'd be missed, and anyway, she had a duty now. (It was still too new and shiny a thing, this being part of the Sentinel to guard the dragonriders as they slept, for Ximera to want to slip away from it just yet.)

Nevertheless, disheartening though it was, Ximera swiftly recovered and put on a bravely cheerful face. "Well, that just means when next there's a Gather we'll have to go together to see them," she stated firmly. The teenager, grasping Orena by the hand, tugged the girl along with her through the dusty halls, Ximesk padding alongside. He sneezed rather loudly, shaking his head with a huff. As the candidate's questions tumbled forth, Ximera could scarce answer one before the next poured out, and instead found herself listening in fascination until she again burst into a round of giggles.

"Oh, you don't know the Weyrhealer at all, do you? He's a tall man with lots of rings and metal and stuff in his face," she began, gesturing at her own as demonstration. "He even dyed his hair bright pink, once. Very silly man. But what's so queer, you see, is that a Hold joined too men together. And anyway, dragonriders don't join. They just decide to be weyrmates, which is much the same I think. They live together and sometimes have children and sometimes the children live with them. Only it's not unusual to change weyrmates often. Some of them do. And some never take them at all but just have different people spend the night."

Taking a breath, she led Orena into the more populated section of the Weyr, though not before bidding her where goodbye - his eyes did not like so much light, nor his hearing so much bustle, and he vanished into the shadows to find a different route back to the apartments. "We're finding ways to get from here to the woods, so people can escape," Ximera whispered to Orena excitedly. "M'ta wants all these different ways, with places for food and medicine and weapons and stuff. It's a big project and he needed wherhandlers to sniff out the tunnels and caves. Isn't that exciting? He'll take anyone that wants to help, though."