Hatching Feast {Congrats!}

[Tashe]

With what they had, Kaegan had managed to do a pretty good job of getting the hall decorated for the feast. Strings of baby glow lights were hung around the room, casting light from every which way and leaving no corner too dark. There were little steamers and big bows where the streamers met, each one a different color on the Dragon spectrum, the only one missing was Gold. Each table was strewn with little candles in holders, plates and other dishes of all different sizes, and of course, cups and other glasses. It was simple and generally starker than they were used to at the old Selenitas... yet for some reason it felt incredibly suitable to the situation. Even so, it was bright and homey looking, which was the entire theme Kaegan had been going for.

Wondering through the empty tables, the Weyrwoman enjoyed the last moments of silence before the rabble and rumble of her human charges filled the hall. She doubted that until now the people at Burimyu had stuck to the regular seating routine, if she had been exiled like they had, Kaegan would have found it hard not to sit with anyone that would let her. But now that the Weyr was reunited, the old ways would sink back into place. At least... she hoped. Running a hand along the edge of the table where she, Caden and the Councilmembers would be sitting, the Weyrwoman shook her head slightly. The only other assigned seating was for the newly impressed, they would sit and enjoy their first meal together as a class, and hopefully as friends.

"Weyrwoman." Turning, Kaegan flashed the Brownrider a brief smile. "Ah, Councilman E'rro. Coming to check up on my progress?" "More like wondering when you will open the doors to the hungry masses." She put a hand on her hip. "Well I've just finished the final muster." Kaegan got the attention of the drudges waiting to open the door and gave them the go ahead. "So right about now. Will you be so kind as to escort me to my seat?" Tucking her hand under the Healer's arm, she grinned when he wrinkled his nose slightly. Never the less, the man guided her to her seat (where her near flock of pets were draped) before excusing himself to attend other matters. Flagging down a drudge for some juice as she watched the first of the people trickle in, the Senior Weyrwoman made her self comfortable as she could. When everyone (or just about everyone) was settled in, she would give her speech and start the feast. Picking off a few pieces of lint that she found on her gold and green dress, she smiled to herself. It always amused her how something could be exciting and boring almost at the same time... now where did her shadow Caden scamper off to?

If you intend to come to the Feast, the Dining Hall is now open!

---

Yay! Hatching feast! Basically, all the New Weyrlings and the "Weyrleaders" get tables to themselves, otherwise everyone else can sit where ever they want while they eat. Dancing and socializing are encouraged! There will be a Speech and a special announcement later. Dress up, be awesome and have fuuuun.

ALSO WEYRLINGS: Baby dragons should be asleep, they had meal time earlier, so don't bring them!

[Avu]

A’emi had split up from K’thay and M’kai in order to change into something more Feast-appropriate, and was busy wishing he hadn’t. Titania and Darkling both watched him with brightly amused interest, two sets of eyes blinking in slow confusion at him as he raked a hand through his hair and pulled an inelegant face at both of them. “Ties suck,” he said at length, and promptly gave up trying to tie it at all, unthreading it and tossing it absently to one side and leaving the collar of his shirt open. “At least there aren’t any petticoats involved, am I right? Am I good, or am I good?” He paused at Darkling’s melodious croon, and said decisively, “I am taking that as a ‘yes, you’re smoking,’ let’s go get food.”

He had never claimed that he didn’t have a one-track mind, after all.

A’emi held out an arm for Titania, letting the Salamandyr loop her body lightly around his wrist, tucking herself nose-to-tail, her claws scraping lightly at the cuffs of his shirt, before he let Darkling sweep into the hall before him, the firelizard making a beeline for the K’thay that was conveniently also in the hall. The firelizard looped his head once in a quick orbit and proceeded to make herself at home on K’thay’s shoulder, trilling in a sweet, preemptory plea for food once they got there, nuzzling the bluerider’s ear shamelessly.

“You suck up,” A’emi accused her, in lieu of greeting K’thay, catching up to the bluerider and giving him a deliberately slow once-over as he tucked his hands into his pockets. “Well, don’t we clean up nicely.” The compliment was accompanied by a familiar slanted smirk, but the comment itself was genuine enough. “Food,” the greenrider added, “I smell it. Let’s go.”

A feast for crows or for love? Titania inquired curiously, scraping her teeth lightly over the pulse in his wrist. Where is the Razorclaw’s? she continued, chidingly, as if A’emi could’ve forgotten about M’kai. (He hadn’t—he just assumed that M’kai would take the opportunity to meet up with his girlfriend and he was decidedly not in the mood to talk to Isori. Or about her. Or near her. And anyway, K’thay was more than good company; he’d rather enjoy the Feast with K’thay than pretend he wasn’t jealous with M’kai.)

“Probably still making himself pretty,” he replied absently, which wasn’t a real answer at all, and, upon entering the Main Hall, immediately grabbed K’thay’s sleeve and began to tug the bluerider towards the tables, proclaiming for the third time in as many minutes, “Food!”

[Aftershock]

Lilu moved into the Dining Hall, grunting in discomfort as her skirt rode up her hips again. She wished she hadn't kept all her clothing this way while she had her memory blocked, but there was nothing she could do about it now until she had the marks and time to get new things. She wore her powder blue skirt quite a bit lower on her hips than it was designed to be worn, simply so the actual skirt portion would not hang so scandalously high on her legs, and compensated for the top of her underwear showing by wearing a longer blouse, though the salmon blouse itself was skin-tight around her breasts and stomach. She chose one of the few she had with long sleeves, though the back of it was mostly open, with only a few threads lacing it together. As a consequence, the back of her breastband showed, but she refused to not wear one... she felt naked as it was. On her feet she wore a pair of shin-high tan wherskin boots, one of the few pairs of footwear she owned.

Looking around, breathing a sigh of relief that the Hall was mostly still empty, she quickly grabbed a plate and filled it with food before moving to the table marked for the new weyrlings. Sitting near the center of the long table, so that people wouldn't have to move past her to seat themselves, she pushed the two chairs closer to her a bit farther out than they were originally positioned, to give herself a little more breathing room... unless the people who sat next to her chose to move them back closer. She had a new dragon, and she needed to keep people away from her, since new dragons needed every bit of their bonded's attention to prevent problems, she remembered that. That, and she had no idea how to make friends to begin with...

[Sebz]

It was rather surprising, but C'loy managed to clean up quite nicely. His usual unkempt hair was, in all honesty, just as messy as ever, but everything else about the new weyrling was creased and clean. Those dratted clothes that were necessary for him to wear itched like something attrocious, but wear them he must. Tugging at the collar of his shirt, he approached the main hall, looking forward to some food and socializing with the other new weyrlings.

It was still sureal, the fact that he had impressed at the hatching. Perhaps stranger that he had attracted the attention of Kallandroth. C'loy's obsession with impressing a gold and leading the weyr seemed long gone though it had only dissapeared in the seconds after impression to the bronze, but still, it felt strange, that he of all people had walked away with a king when there were so many other options avaiable among the candidates.

But this was no time to dwell on it! This was a time to celebrate his, and the rest of the newly impressed good fortunes with food and drink and dance. Kallandroth had drowsly wished C'loy goodnight after stufing his gut full with meat. Had it been up to the weyrling, he would have stayed with his dragon all night, but as it was, it seemed that the weyrlings as a whole were supposed to attend the feast, so by Farananth, he was going to enjoy himself! He spotted Lilu and waved cheerfully at her as he grabbed himself a glass full of who knows what and went imediatly to the task of sating his thirst. He then wondered over to the table where Lilu was seated and took a seat across from her.

[Requiem]

Behruth had taken up a spot near all his little hatchlings, naturally, but that didn't keep him from shooing His toward the Hatching Feast. The Weyrlingmaster would be expected to be there with the weyrlings. (It was an easier battle than convincing M'ta that he needed to stop by the infirmary again, and listen to everyone chide him again. The brownrider would take a feast over the infirmary and pesky healers any day, at least when he was expected to be the patient.)

The benefit of being small was that everything fit you, or could be made to fit you, and the benefit of having a few adopted mothers amongst the drudges (from his days as a candidate, naturally) was he had a few people more than willing to clothe him. Unasked. So his shirt and pants actually fit, even if they were made out of materials not normally used for clothing, and he managed to actually look sharp. You know, apart from the exaggerated limp as he leaned heavily on the cane given him.

It seemed that rushing across the sands on a broken leg wasn't the smartest of ideas. Who would have thought? The pain was strong enough to make him feel a bit nauseous, which was saying something when it came to M'ta, and as a result he wasn't in the best of moods. Not that this was anything new and exciting to the majority of people who knew him. One look at the kids who would be trying his patience for a turn and a half and he decided that even Kaegan was less likely to make him see red.

M'ta hobbled over to the Weyrleaders' table and plunked right down into the seat next to Kaegan, stretching his throbbing leg out in front of him. "Weyrwoman." The strain in his voice had little to do with his continued dislike of the woman his weyrmate insisted on crushing on their entire time together. (Technically he probably shouldn't be at this table, but who was going to growl at him for it, after all?)

[dragon]

With little else to do, it was entirely natural for an ex-harper to revert fully to being a harper again. No job, no dragon, it was what was left. He'd missed the hatching out of disinterest. At one time it had been a happy thing to witness most of the time. At another time it had been a duty to attend. Now ... he had no reason and no will to attend any hatching. It only dredged up memories that he had no care to relive. No care at all.

But a feast was a different matter. Feasts were where happy people went, and there would be no new young dragons at them - hopefully. And harpers played at feasts. With little else to do, there was additionally no reason why he shouldn't attend and maybe do what harpers did best - entertain.

So it was not at all surprising that Emoyan made his way to the hatching feast, dressed as any respectable harper would be for such a prestigious event. Rich blue was the color of choice, as it was the color of the Hall. Setting up in an out-of-the-way corner, Emoyan set up with his drum by his side just in case. But the instrument of choice at the moment was his gitar of course. His faithful friend that had been with him since his apprentice days. Striking up a quiet but lively little tune, he danced his fingers over the strings and box, generating a band's worth of sound all by himself with a singular gitar. For he was strumming the strings over the box with the same hand that he was tapping the box as a drum. All while the other hand tapped on the strings over the neck creating a second gitar sound, all without interfering with the first set of notes happening lower down.

He could sit here and play for hours, watching people interact and have fun. And be completely satisfied with that.


((Example of style: Andy McKee "Drifting"))

---

Orena had avoided the hatching, her own loss still too raw in her soul to even want to hear the rumbling and humming that had permeated the Weyr unavoidably. She had curled up with her hands over her ears, though it hadn't helped a whit. She could still feel it happening. But once it was over, it was over. Normally she would have avoided the feast too. But a body had to eat. And if she was going to show up, she was going to do it with style.

She was dressed to the nines. Clothes was something she was not lacking in at all. Shaped and tailored exquisitely to her own bountiful curves, the dress made Orena at the same time that Orena made the dress. It was a dark green in color, bordering on black, only told apart by the true black lace that was worked over the upper front and lower sides of the well-crafted bodice. Loose and fluttery, the sleeves were short on the top, ruffling over her arms. But underneath they were longer, fluttering down to where her elbows were. Lower down, black, green, and silver bracelets bangled around her wrists, a matching silver anklet adoring her otherwise bare left ankle. The dress was long and yet short at the same time. High enough on the left to bare her knee, on the right it bore all the way down to her right ankle, the edges all warbling and fluttery without actually being a ruffle. Indeed it had been some clever cutting of the panels of the dress to achieve the effect without actually tacking on a ruffle at the bottom - and true ruffles could be so ... so ... chunky. This, this was merely elegant.

Around her throat and tumbling from her ears were fairly simple jewelry, but in being silver colored, it stood out starkly against her complexion, dark hair, and dark dress. Her dark chocolaty curls were pinned up to cascade off the back of her head to tumble down past her shoulders, allowed free rein while still being contained and neat. It was a trick to manage to get done by herself, but she had gotten it done, the sides of her hair smoothed down in place.

Who knew, maybe she could find herself a friend to help take her mind off things. All while still obtaining that meal she needed. Gliding through the few people that were so far present, Orena acquired herself a tall glass of wine. Yes, first with the soul balm. Then the edges would be smoothed and she could be her normal self.

---

Isori was entirely aware that Orena was going to be at the feast. Watching her walk in had only confirmed it. She still wasn't ready to talk to her sister, not after the raging argument they'd gotten into that had briefly resulted in blows. Though the kind of raging mad flailing blows that didn't really do any damage. The emotional damage had been done.

Oh, sure, eventually they'd make amends. They were twins - they couldn't not. But right now they were going to settle for avoiding each other.

Isori was also not about to go competing with Orena - she'd seen how her twin had dressed. By contrast, Isori was being Isori. She had her hair pulled up in a bun like always, with nary a curl escaping it. Her clothing was merely a formless shortsleeve off-white shirt tucked into her calf-length black skirt. While it was simple dress, it was far nicer than anything she'd had since she had moved here. It was actually fine material instead of the crude, heavy stuff she'd been making with her crude stick-loom that she'd made. With her collar turned down around a simple long-chain pendant necklace, Isori felt more than adequate for the feast. She was neither honoring nor the honored. Most people would never notice if she was even there or not.

Most.

If she stumbled into Orena's area, Orena would definitely notice. Isori was also hoping M'kai would turn up eventually. She had an eye out for him, but didn't see him yet. She had spotted A'emi over there, but left him alone. That wasn't who she was looking for at all. Slipping along the table of goodies, she picked up a cup of tea before going and finding herself a seat at a table where she could watch all entrances.

As Candidate Master, M'kai should show up eventually. Eventually, yes. She'd just got here too early was all! Sipping her tea, she listened to the ambient sounds of the room overlaying what sounded like a small trio band playing.

---

Where there were hatchings, there were feasts. Where there were feasts, there was some sharding fine food. Among other things of course. And sometimes it was just entertaining to watch people interact in such a setting. Either way, C'oar was attending. Since it was a special occasion for quite a few people, he took the time to be presentable to the occasion. A shirt with sleeves was a start. The only one he owned actually. Cuffed at the wrists but suitably baggy about the arms to keep it from getting ripped apart the first time he reached for anything, the off-white garment was tucked neatly into the tops of his trousers. Which were soot black and didn't have any burn holes in them. Following a trend, they were tucked neatly into the tops of his boots. A belt finished it off, with his hair tied back with a leather lanyard as it always was.

But he was really here for the food. Feasts were not to be missed. Much less here at Burimyu. Even when times had been thin and belts had been tightened, feasts were doubly not missed. The point was - the cooks had learned skills with meager supplies that were not learned by normal Weyr cooks. Given true supplies ... he could only imagine what they were going to turn out. He certainly wasn't going to miss it.

Needless to say, he didn't waste any time in getting himself a helping of the food supplied and finding himself a decent seat to eat and watch people mingle.

[Kisha-Ra]

Mo’rya scurried through the corridors, burdened with an odd assortment of items. It wasn’t very usual to see a bronzerider, even a young one, trotting along with a basket containing enough ribbons and embroidery silks to satisfy any woman with a creative streak. Of course this was Mo’rya, well known for being rather odd, and even if he didn’t have that reputation his attire might have given him away, because his deep brown trousers and amber shirt were surely touched with enough detailed embellishment to make a lord proud and his blonde waterfall of hair had been bound up into the world’s most complicated braid, an elaborate construction shot though with chocolate brown ribbons and beads of amber on silver wires.

His mission: To make Caden come to the hatching feast, naturally. He just knew she’d be hiding away in her weyr still, and that she wasn’t likely to take the appropriate care with her appearance that weyrwoman should in Mo’rya’s very considered opinion. Luckily Mo’rya and his magic basket would be on hand to sort her out! If he couldn’t do something to Caden’s appearance that would make Er’ani’s jaw hit the ground then he’d have to give up his post as official reluctant goldrider dresser.

Stopping outside Caden’s door Mo’rya shifted his burdens slightly and hammered on the door. ‘Caden! I know you’re in there! Come and open the door or I’ll stand out here and serenade you with awful songs!’ He called in the best traditions of annoying little bothers despite being no actual relation to the goldrider, someone had to fill the role, and Mo’rya was the right rider for the job.


Darya was a solemn and sombre shadow in basic black trousers and boots, only slightly brightened by the deep sapphire shade of her shirt, yes despite the efforts of a few people Darya still gravitated to dark colours like a rock gravitated to gravity. The dark shades of her clothing, as normal, highlighted and enhanced the paleness of her skin and hair while the blue shirt brought out her ice blue eyes, giving her an overall sinister appearance.

Not as good as my babies. Should be feasts then, many good eats for babies and for Harmonylove. Imp commented in a low tone from his position on Darya’s right shoulder where he was very noticeable as the only bright spot on her. Feast mean food.Sweetling commented from her position on Darya’s left shoulder, under the bluerider’s shirt with just her head poking out so she could observe what was going on. Sweetling need food. She added hopefully.

‘You do not Sweetling.’ Darya muttered. ‘You were fed just an hour ago, and Imp; shut up. Your babies are better off without a feast, the new weyrlings aren’t even here. It’s a feast for people.’ Silly.Yes. Darya sighed and shook her head over her salamandyrs, she supposed she should be glad they were agreeing, and that Vrae and Bit had decided they weren’t coming. Music! Like music, makes people silly.Sweetling added to her running commentary as the first sounds whispered over the growing crowd. Darya wondered who was playing; she hadn’t spotted any of the few people she knew could manipulate an instrument into producing music so she drifted that way out of curiosity. Bizarrely enough it seemed there was only one musician in the area, though Darya did have to look twice to make sure no one was hiding behind Emoyan. Once she’d established he really was alone Darya gave the harper a little wave in greeting and raised her eyebrows in silent inquiry as to how he was playing the same set of strings twice. She didn’t think it should work like that.

[Zephyr]

Vellani had, much to her relief, been let out of the infirmary. She had only minimal injuries to deal with. The cuts on her legs hadn’t required too much attention. She had lost a lot of blood and had probably gotten a fair amount of sand in her wounds from dragging herself through the sand like the idiot she was (What? It seemed perfectly logical at the time). She had been told to watch out for signs of infection in her wounds, but had been allowed to go. Her legs were all wrapped up nice and tightly to prevent anything further from getting in the wounds, and maybe to preserve some sense of dignity she might have had. The blonde girl wasn’t having any of it though.

She was wearing a purple dress. The color was very nearly black it was so dark, but the fabric had a sheen to it that was undeniably purple. The bodice of the dress was strapless, starting about an inch under her arms, but not showing any cleavage. The top of the bodice was made of about two inches of lacy, slightly sparkly material while the rest of the bodice was rather austere and form fitting, pinching in at her waist. The skirt on the dress starts out form fitting, hugging her thighs before fluttering out around her calves and ankles. A line of ruffles start, small, right where the skirt part starts at her waist, flowing down the left side of her body. The light, airy ruffles grow until they eventually meet with gorgeous flowing ruffles around her calves and ankles. The bottom part of the skirt isn’t too big, being only slightly wider than the tighter top part, but it flowed around her legs, serving two purposes. Fashion - it was positively stunning on the girl without outshining some of the older women, and it kept the fabric away from her injured legs, which were still tender to the touch.

Jewelry wise, she went easy, wearing a long silver necklace with a silver charm hanging off of it and matching silver earrings. One silver bracelet hung from her right wrist, but that was all. Silvery strappy heels were on her feet, which probably wasn’t the best choice with her legs, but this was a point she wouldn’t concede on. Her hair is where she really outdid herself. Her thick golden waves were pinned up expertly on the back of her head, held there with several silvery pins. A couple of curly strands of hair hung loose, falling around her face. This was a rather new look for the girl who was hardly ever seen without her hair down framing her face. Somehow, she felt more vulnerable with her face and neck bare, but she felt the need to look nice tonight, perhaps to mitigate her massive fail at the hatching, and she did look nice.

Because it had been totally her fault that Yeomenth had collided with her, cutting up her legs in the process.

Oh well, at least she didn’t have Gwen fretting over her anymore. All the way to the infirmary, the hatchling had been apologizing for her sister’s behavior, and worrying over the girl’s wounds. Vell didn’t remember the dragonet mentioning being hungry once…or maybe she had been delirious from blood loss? Whatever the case, it didn’t matter now. Gwen’s contentedness was seeping into her being and Vellani was positively bouncing with pleasure. Blue eyes scanned the tables as she made her way into the dining hall, but she pouted with disappointment when she realized she didn’t really know anyone there. The girl had fervently hoped to see Er'ani among those gathered, but the albinorider wasn't around. Even if he had been, he surely wouldn't have wanted to socialize with her. She also looked for Samael, but he had been acting odd ever since the hatching, and she didn't know why. The girl noted a couple of the new weyrlings from her class, but she hadn’t exactly made friends with them. For a moment, she contemplated turning around, but got over it quickly and walking briskly to the food table to get something to eat and drink before gliding to the weyrling table. She smiled pleasantly at C’loy and Lilu, not wanting to seem unfriendly or unapproachable in the least, but still took a seat farther down on the table. Hopefully someone she knew would come, if not, it looked like she would be making friends today.

---

K’ian just looked ridiculous dressed up. Which is why he never did dress nicely…which is also why he wasn’t keen on attending the hatching feast in the first place. Unfortunately for him, his dragon insisted he go…not only go, but actually dress nice and make sure his hair wasn’t completely unruly. He decided on a simple outfit, a nice white shirt with a pinstripe dark grey jacket and matching trousers. The shirt was unbuttoned at the top, showing off a bit of chest. He didn’t wear a tie. Faranth only knew why men ever wore them. They didn’t seem to serve any practical purpose. This was one thing Romeoth actually agreed with him on.

He didn’t want a spotty green salamandyr curled around his neck, but Mouse refused to be left behind. If there was fun to be had, she needed to be right in the middle of it. Compromising with her grudging mindmate, she hid under his jacket, her little head peeking out from between the collar of the shirt and the jacket.

Fooodddddd! Mouse trilled, almost as soon as the pair entered the dining hall. The ‘mandyr always associated the dining hall with her hatching, and she associated her hatching with food. So, the dining hall was now the food place, which seemed appropriate. Until one thought about how the girl came to the conclusion, and one would probably think it lucky she hadn’t been born in the lavatory or infirmary. Bright, excited eyes grazed those gathered, finding the presences of Titania and Sweetling immediately The spotty girl crooned affectionately at her siblings, wanting to go say hi.

For his part, K’ian was unaffected by who had come to the hatching thus far. He didn’t know anyone save for A’emi, and he thought it best if he kept a wide berth from the greenrider for the moment. Though, he thought about walking over and forcing his presence on the man. Both seemed like acceptable options. Normally he didn’t like making people uncomfortable, but it was so easy with A’emi that it was a tempting option. At the moment though, food was the tall man’s primary concern, and he just happened to be walking over to the tables at the same time A’emi and K’thay were. Another thought went through his mind, but Romeoth silenced it instantly. Instead, he settled on going to go get his food relatively quietly, nodding in polite acknowledgement at the two men. " Afternoon."

---

Buram was positively giddy at the thought of being able to dress up. It didn’t matter to the boy that he hadn’t impressed. He thought he would eventually. For now, he was just pleased at being able to express himself in the way that he wanted to. He wasn’t worried that the feast was for the weyrlings. Other people would be there and the young healer wasn’t about to be left out. The outfit he put together while not as flamboyant as he usually liked to wear was subdued enough to not scream freak but probably a hell of a lot more colorful than most of the guys would wear. He wore a bright purpley-pink shirt with an open pinstriped jacket on top. The pinstripes were wide and bold, consisting of white coupled with a dark gray a shade or two lighter than the smoky grey base of the jacket. The arms of his jacket were folded up to his elbows, revealing the purple-pinkish shirt underneath almost like cuffs. His trousers were a shade or two lighter than the grey of his pin striping with a stark white belt holding them up. The boy’s dark hair was brushed back and slightly to the side, held there with some gel. The boy looked impeccable, as always. Elegant with flair that was undeniably Buram.

Bounding into the dining hall, he first looked for Erno. His friend was nowhere to be seen, and Buram pouted slightly, first thinking about going and dragging the other boy out of the barracks. Instead, he bounced into the dining hall, moving to get some food before finding a place to sit, hopefully a place where others would soon gather. He was more than ready to finally socialize with the others in the weyr. If and when Erno ever entered, Buram would wave his arms frantically, all but jumping up on his chair in enthusiasm.

How could anyone not be excited at something like THIS?

[Ruby]

Kaegan had excused Caden after the Jr. Weyrwoman had dropped yet another roll of streamers and cursed so loud the entire kitchen staff stopped to glare at her. She'd been sent off to change and make herself presentable... and as far as Caden figured it, making herself presentable was just plain impossible, so she might as well not bother with the feast. At Nitrath's insistence, the Goldrider had made a halfhearted attempt to go through her wardrobe and find something acceptable, but she'd ended up just piling all her clothes on the bed and drilling with a beltknife instead. No one needed her, and no one would miss her, so why go?

Oh, how wrong she was. It was only minutes after she'd finally given up that someone knocked on her door. Scrambling to hide the knife, she called, "Hang on, Mo'rya! No singing!" That was all she needed, a Bronzerider singing in her hallway. Shoving the knife out of sight, she grabbed a shirt (to make it look like she was doing something) and ripped the door open, growling, "What do you want?" Glancing down at the basket Mo'rya held as her two green flits greeted the Bronzerider, horror dawned on Caden's face and she added, "What is that?"

---

M'kai was going to get smacked tonight. He was aware of this as soon as he walked into the hall, eyes catching briefly on A'emi before settling on Isori... but that wasn't Isori. It was Orena, the very same Orena he'd mistaken for her sister at the Gather, then promptly banged in the back of a wagon thanks to flightlust. She'd been remarkably cool about it, and M'kai had bought her dinner for her troubles before fleeing back to the Weyr. He hadn't told Isori about it, of course. Actually he was about to go re-introduce himself to the other twin when he scanned the room again, and this time he found Isori. So, yeah, hitting on her sister was going to have to wait.

Taking a rather circuitous path to the food in order to avoid both Orena and A'emi, M'kai gathered what amounted to a few bites of dinner and a skin of quite strong wine. Doing his very best to keep from staring at Orena, he headed back Isori's way, sliding into a seat next to her and kissing her on the cheek just at the corner of her mouth. Aikelyth was almost mature enough for them to be completely open about their relationship, so while M'kai would remain chaste in the eyes of the Weyr's leadership, he didn't feel the need to conceal it as much as usual.

Pouring a glass of wine for himself, he offered the skin to Isori before sliding a hand over on to her knee, squeezing lightly. "How're you doing tonight, beautiful?" he asked, skipping dinner altogether and starting right in on the wine. "You look lovely tonight." Despite all his attempts to ignore her, his eyes slid back to Orena, and he added, "And your sister. She looks like she's doing well?"

---

Compared to Buram, Erno was practically plain. No color tonight; just dark pants, somewhere between charcoal and black, a white shirt with a gray silk scarf tucked into the collar, and a dark wherhide jacket slung over his shoulder. He'd done that on purpose, of course, to complement the Healer without overwhelming him. Tonight, Erno was on a secret mission: hook Buram up with someone. Or, at least hook someone up with someone. This Weyr needed a little more love. Regardless, that required Erno to be the wing-man, not the scene stealer, so he dressed the part.

His fellow Candidate got a wave when Erno entered the hall - he glanced around for other lurking candidates, but didn't spot any right off - and the boy scooped up a plateful of vegetables before he headed Buram's way. Beaming (Erno wasn't that upset about not impressing, either) he took a seat next to the other teen. "Hey! Is T'vis here yet? I want to tell him I TOLD him so! Who else is here?"

[Ivy]

Back in the barracks S'rring was just finishing getting ready when he heard Millieth's call to the Weyr at large - and of course he had to go to it, after all it was kind of celebrating him. Well, the weyrlings as a whole, not just S'rring himself. He wasn't so conceded to think so either. He found himself straightening his jacket and glancing across the room to his roommate, Au'st. Despite having never been close to the other young man prior to Impression, not he found himself almost constantly around him. Roommates and all. And their dragons were twins - so there was that. Uth and Oth were constantly wanting to be together, and as such it seemed S'rring and Au'st were seeing a lot of each other lately.

"You coming? Don't tell me you plan to sleep through it." S'rring teased - out of the few things he'd learned about the other weyrling, one was him constantly being tired or asleep. Another was his tendency to be reaaaaaallly oblivious. To just about everything.

For his part, S'rring didn't look all that remarkable once you took the fact he was a handsome man out of the equation. Dark brown slacks - curiously close to the color of Uth's hide - covered the bottom half of him, ending with black boots on his feet. His upper body was covered by a bold emerald green shirt beneath a black jacket that he had unbuttoned - the green from the shirt making his eyes seem that much greener in comparison. Did he look nice? Sure - though he always dressed fairly nice even when not celebrating something. Would he be the best dressed there? Probably not - he could have put more effort into his wardrobe choice but he'd been rushed, while Uth was sleeping now, he had been awake before demanding food again. Keeping up with a bottomless pit was a hard job.

Shaking his head he decided not to wait, he could meet Au'st at the feast after all. So he headed out and to the dining hall. As soon as he walked in he immediately appreciated the decor - nothing over the top, it just felt... right. Smiling he headed to the food table and piled a few things on it before grabbing some water to drink. Turning on heel he walked over to the table he'd be sharing with the other weyrlings. Offering each one of them a polite nod - and a charming smile for the ladies - he took a seat. His position at the table was a little bit away from the others, leaving room for someone to sit by him if they wanted to. He'd be close enough for conversation of course but not so close where others would feel they absolutely had to speak to him. To Lilu and Vellani he offered, "You look lovely as always ladies."

------------------------------------

Ruliana had been one of the first to arrive at the feast, for a few reasons. First wanted to get her food before the main bulk of the weyr arrived and left her with nothing good to eat - especially when it came to desserts, the Greenrider had a bit of a sweet tooth.

Second, unlike so many others she had no problem picking out an outfit to wear - being the daughter of a Lord Holder she had grown accustomed to picking out lavish outfits for special occasions. True it had been a long while since she'd attended anything in Nerat - and she hadn't brought many of her fancy clothes with her, but she had enough. From top to bottom her outfit spoke of elegance - her top was snug to her body but did not show off much in the way of cleavage. The short sleeves ended just a few inches past her shoulder with a slight poof - nothing too big but just a bit if softness to them. The shirt itself was a deep maroon, the fabric had just enough sheen to it to make it seem like something special. The hem of the shirt fell at her waist and that is where he skirt began. Hugging her hips the black fabric was tight for about five inches down before suddenly loosening up. It didn't flare out, it was just relaxed - and certainly should she start dancing it would fan out like a flower around her legs. When she walked it caught her movement and swayed against her legs down to her ankles where it stopped. Feet were clad in simple black strapped sandals with a short heel to them. For jewelry she had gone simple - a pair of earrings that ended in small dangling jade tear drops for her ears and a matching necklace. The chain around her neck was silver and the jade teardrop there set against her soft skin just above the neckline of her shirt. Her outfits back in Nerat had been much more... involved. More jewelry, finer fabrics, showing off more of her figure. But here and now she felt this was fitting - she was not the Lord Holder of Nerat's daughter here after all. Here she was just Ruliana of Green Amalath. No need to show off like she was something spectacular.

Last but not least, she also wanted a decent seat - not to be shoved off in some corner should she be late or forced to sit next to someone she didn't like. Not that the Greenrider had many people that she didn't like of course. A glance was given for Jazheera or Tenlie - she enjoyed the Bluerider and the other Greenrider's company but couldn't find any of them among the group making its way into the hall. So she made her way to the food table and took a small sample of each food before walking towards Kaegan, "The hall looks lovely Weyrwoman, and Millieth should be proud of the healthy babies she produced." No mention of the part Quarth played in the creation of the clutch - he was gone now and as far as she could tell the general consensus of those in Selenitas was 'good riddance'.

A polite curtsey - minus the pulling of her green skirt outwards since her hands were full - was given to the Weyrwoman and then a smile to M'ta as he took a seat. "Do you really think you should be walking with just the cane? I thought you were given crutches."

Usually she was reserved with men - but this was M'ta. He was the father to her niece and nephew, and had been weyrmated to her half-brother, so he was different. So she felt she had every right to get on him about his health. He needed to take care of himself. "Give Teri and Riaren my love when you see them next." And mine. "And Amalath's."

Not waiting for a response from M'ta -to either of her questions or her request (he looked grumpy, and she didn't want to get a snippy remark in response) she turned and headed towards a table. She had fully intended to sit amongst others so she could talk and listen to their conversations - but then she heard the music start. It was coming from the corner and like a moth to flame she was drawn that way. Making her way through the tables she walked past some of the weyrlings and grinned, "Congratulations on Impressing, you all will make wonderful riders some day."

Then she was moving again towards the source of the music - Emoyan. Setting her food down first she took a seat at a table near where he'd set up and watched him. She admired the way his fingers moved over the guitar and the beautiful music he was able to produce. It looked complex, creating so much music on his own. Soon she found herself humming along to the tune as she began picking at her food waiting for the song to be over so she could give him her compliments.

-------------------------
Detrith was fast asleep on his couch in the weyrlings' room as T'vis finished getting ready. Straightening his black vest he smoothed it and checked to make sure the white shirt underneath was buttoned properly. He certainly didn't want to walk in and find he had mis-matched buttons with the buttonholes. Finding everything in order there he grabbed his pants off the bed and slipped them on one leg at a time. Like his vest the pants were black. Sitting down on the edge of the bed he shoved his feet into a pair of black wherhide boots and made quick work of lacing them up. A hand ran through his messy black locks and then he headed out, making sure to be extra quiet so as not to wake the slumbering Blue.

He was late. Well, not late, just not there as quickly as some of the other new weyrlings were. When he walked in he saw that S'rring, Lilu, C'loy, and Vellani were already seated at a table - he figured that's where he belonged too. Taking a seat with the other weyrlings he found himself closest to Lilu and he shot her a friendly smile. To the outsider, it seemed as if T'vis was accepting his new role as a weyrling-to-be-dragonrider with grace and poise. That he had given up on his hatred of all dragonriders.

Truth be told, he now just hated himself among them. He wasn't as angsty, true. Detrith was doing his best to make His feel special. Different. Let Him know that He wouldn't end up like the others. He was better than that, yes? But still, T'vis wasn't the happiest of the bunch. He heard his name and he glanced around, spotting Buram and Erno. Glaring at them, though it wasn't a harsh glare, he shook his head and mouthed, "You two are bad luck."

-------------------------------------

((Tomorrow I will edit in Ivy, Roselle, and maybe Swithin coming in too. Tiiiiired right now.))

[Tashe]

Uncrossing her legs and crossing them in the opposite direction, she watched as M'ta made his way toward her. They'd never really gotten along, for reasons all to clear, but then again she'd never really tried to patch their relations any after R'wign died. Waving down a drudge as the Brownrider sat himself down, she asked for another chair to be brought to the table before acknowledging the Weyrlingmaster. "Ah, M'ta, good evening. How~" But she was interrupted by a female rider. "Thank you. Millieth is indeed proud, but is more than happy to hand them off to Behruth." Sitting back against her chair quietly, Kaegan subtly inspected the Greenrider over her glass. The woman's name skipped her mind, that is until she mentioned her Dragon. Ruliana of Amalath. When she left, the Weyrwoman glanced at the Weyrlingmaster. "I hope you feel better soon. Though, you should keep that cane. Those Weyrlings look as if they may need a good smack or two to keep them in line."

When the hall seemed suitably full and the Council members graced the hall with their appearances, Kaegan stood and cleared her throat. No one would hear her over the hubbub of chatter, but she had a way around that. QUIET PLEASE! Prettymine has a Speech! Listen please! Steadily the babble ceased, allowing the Weyrwoman to speak and be heard. Lifting her glass, she began, "First of all, I would like to Congratulate the new Weyrlings on their Impressions. May your Training provide you with the knowledge and camaraderie that is essential to a Dragonrider." She waited till the clapping died down. "Secondly I would like to thank our no-longer-lost brethren for taking us in at a time of great need, and offering their assistance, medical and otherwise. It is my hope, now, that Selenitas can once more be the Unified Weyr it once was." She waited. "And finally, I would like you all to bear with us a moment longer as I hand the spotlight over to Councilman E'rro for a special announcement. Once again, Congratulations Weyrlings." She remained standing until the Brownrider stood, sitting down with a sigh.

---

"Thank you Weyrwoman." Adjusting one of his black sleeves, so the silver embroidery wasn't askew, E'rro glanced out over the amassed people. "As some of you know for the last few days, the Council has been holed up in our caves debating over who will fill these empty seats." He gestured to the two unoccupied places that had been set at the Leadership table. "Well, it is my honor to announce that we have come to a conclusion. Please join me in congratulating Queenhandler Eikane of Eikask and K'ian of Bronze Romeoth to the Council. If you both would come up here and accept your new Knots, I'd be very happy. I'm starving and the food looks practically mouthwatering."

Walking around to the front of the table to intercept the new Councilmembers, the Brownrider removed the knots from his pocket and waited to pin them onto both of the men. Farnath, he really did just want to eat.

---

"Hello Darkling." Reaching up as the Flit landed on his shoulder, he rubbed the side of her neck as he watched A'emi flounce over. The Bluerider rolled his eyes as his friend gave him a once over upon arrival. He hadn't done that much... clean white shirt, grey vest (with a metallic dark blue back), matching grey trousers, and his dress knee high boots. His vest was even observing the sometimes, always, never rule. But, he did appreciate the comment. "Thanks and right back at you." The order of Food, got him moving again. He matched his stride to the Greenrider's as he tried to make out the entire little exchange the man was having with his Salamandyr. (The fact A'emi had a Mandyr in and upon itself was still hilarious to K'thay, who had nearly doubled over in laughter when he first learned of the Greenrider's misfortune.)

Lengthening his stride as A'emi tugged on his sleeve, mentioning food yet again - what with Darkling on one side and A'emi on the other, he felt like a mother with impatient children- K'thay sighed. "Alright, alright. Geeze." He let A'emi get his food first, before getting his own, offering the Green flit a small bite of meat as he moved along. Eventually they managed to get their food and drinks, choosing a table and sitting down just as the Weyrwoman's Mandyr called for their attention. He sat through the speech and the announcement in silence, though the latter made him slightly less cheerful than the former. K'thay wasn't so keen on K'ian being part of the council but, he supposed it was necessary or they wouldn't have done it. "I wonder when they'll get our Wings sorted out. I don't want to be stuck with littles anymore."

----

Ithanna wiggled happily as she entered the dining hall. Most of her excitement was brought up by Iwyrth, who was excited about the Weyr having babies, but there was genuine happiness in the Greenrider. Swinging her gaze around the room, the young healer spotted one of her newer friends and waved. "Buram!" Grinning she, motioned she was going to get food before coming over. Where was Ae'on? That boy was a recluse, suited for caves he was indeed! And where in the world was Hinsero? Why were all the important men in her life sillies? And absent, to be factual. Sighing, she shook her head. "What do you think about that Lavi?" She got a chirp in response. "Exactly. Men are silly."

The hems of her blue dress fluttered as she bounced over to the food table, as did the ends of the dark emerald sash around her waist. She used Laverna and Enki as her jewelry, for they matched her outfit with surprising accuracy. Enki was wrapped around her wrist while Laverna lounged around her neck, eyes slitted as she watched the crowds for opportunities that could spell mischief. Fixing a plate of food and getting a glass of wine, she jauntily made her way over to Buram and his friend, who she didn't know. Though that would soon change. "Buram! Hello hello! And hello to you to." Putting her plate down she was about to introduce herself as Kaegan began to speak.

When E'rro finished with his business, the Greenrider returned her attention to the other person in their little group and smiled. "I'm Ithanna of Green Iwyrth. This is Laverna, but she responds to Lavi..." She touched the Green around her neck, "And this is Enki," she lifted her wrist. Your acquaintance is a pleasure. "What is your name?"

[Avu]

K’thay received an appreciate flute from Darkling as she curled her tail around his neck, the green accepting the piece of meat with a dainty flutter of her wings and clasping it in her forepaws to chew on it delicately, politely licking K’thay’s jaw in thanks after she’d snapped it up. This was why she liked people so much; they were always so nice about feeding her good things when Hers insisted she eat proper firelizard food (cooked meat was frankly much nicer than the raw stuff, thanks much). K’ian’s approach made the green tilt his head at the bronzerider with a curious green flicking into her gaze; she recalled this one and she knew A’emi didn’t like him very much at all—she draped herself closer to K’thay, a thoughtful hum in her throat.

What could she and Mojo do to this one, then…

A’emi didn’t acknowledge K’ian immediately—partially because he’d never intended to, and partially because his attention was already subdivided between Titania, food, and the people beginning to filter into the hall. He deliberately glanced at K’ian when he saw Isori, raising one eyebrow at the bronzerider. K’thay’s lack of response to him amused him, A’emi flicking a brief, half-quirked grin at his friend before he answered, picking up his plate and allowing Titania to uncurl from his wrist to taste it, “Bronzerider.”

His voice was almost entirely neutral, a soft note of idle mockery disguised in a perfectly polite expression, and he didn’t linger—turned to follow K’thay to one of the tables instead, sliding into the seat neatly. Titania immediately unwound from his wrist to deposit herself expectantly beside his plate, nipping his fingers reprovingly when he flicked at her indignantly. She froze when the goldrider’s Salamandyr piped up, eyes flickering shrewdly down towards the brown, but she remained silent as A’emi curled a hand over her, settling into the chair. At least the speech was short, though he didn’t think much of E’rro’s addition to it.

“Self-elected Council,” he observed dryly, “Cute. That’s very…representative.” It was probably needless to say he was less than thrilled with their choices—not just K’ian but Eikane too. Great, give the wherhandlers some voice, but a fifth of the vote for the entire Weyr, was that necessary? Not to mention the fact that they seemed to be going back to the whole gold and bronze theme. He dismissed it a second later, though—it wasn’t like Weyr politics ever really affected him one way or another—to offer Titania a scrap from his plate, picking up his fork to start eating as soon as the green had snapped up the morsel.

“Anyway—if it took that long for three people to agree on where two people were going to go, it’ll probably be like, next year before wings are squared, but hey—maybe we’ll end up on the same wing, I think Casti’s the only dragon Kyr even vaguely trusts.”

[dragon]

Watching the crowd as he was, Emoyan didn't miss it at all when Darya turned up on his end of the gathering. He flashed her a smile, and then nodded in reply when she waved. All the while his fingers stayed busy with the uninterrupted tune, he nodded invitingly toward a seat that wasn't terribly far away at all. Maybe she'd come sit and visit? This was one advantage to being a Harper, too. He wasn't hard at all to find in a crowd, not one bit. People seemed to be enjoying the tune, too. Which was quite a nice thing to note.

"You're looking nice today. If a bit ... morbidly dark." He greeted cheerfully as the last chords of the first number faded on the humming strings. "Did you lose all your lighter-colored things? This is a hatching feast not a funeral." he reminded playfully. All that said, he did like the way blue looked on her. Even if it could stand to be a few dozen shades lighter a blue.

A rather woozy-looking Skink appeared, flopping partway through the hole in the box of the gitar. Apparently she had been sleeping in there before Emoyan had started playing. She'd been small enough to not noticeably muffle the sound of the instrument, but she'd also been small enough and trapped enough to get entirely thrummed out of her senses for the experience.

He looked down at the little creature practically drooling out of the hole, and reached down to pick her up. "I wondered why that seemed different..." he said, tucking the stunned mandyr into his trouser pocket. Maybe she'd stay there awhile.

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr Skink intoned, as if the vibrations of the chords was still rumbling through her frame.

---

Sitting where she was, watching as she was, Isori saw when M'kai arrived finally. She also saw where he looked, saw the subtle changes to his features. A quick glance in the directions he was looking told her at whom he was looking. Slowly she stirred her tea as she watched him go about, eventually ending up beside her.

Isori smiled, barely resisting the temptation to turn into that quick kiss. But this time around she was sober, and knew better. It was too public, and everyone else was also sober. So far. "I'm doing alright." She answered, subtly sliding the wine skin he offered her away from her glass of tea. Both to protect the tea from being spilled, but for other reasons as well. She knew she was a lightweight and couldn't hold her wine ... and that she did stupid things when she drank (like make out with M'kai in public). But she had other reasons for refusing it as well. Reasons she wasn't quite ready to divulge just yet. "Thank you." Compliments were always well-received, and in this case helped to smooth a lot of the ruffles milling around in the back of her mind. Reaching down to her knee she rested her hand upon his before tucking her fingers around his.

M'kai hadn't told Isori, no. But Orena had, in a spat of raw anger. It was part of, if not the whole reason, why the twins weren't speaking. What Isori didn't know for sure was whether M'kai knew. Orena was dastardly sneaky like that sometimes. It didn't escape her notice that he seemed to be staring at her twin. Did he know after all? "She's alright. All things considered. She lost her dragon, but she's coping." With the help of some wine, it appeared. But Isori knew her twin ... Orena wasn't drinking because she had lost Riavorth, no. Maybe to take the edge of, but that wasn't the whole reason. Orena was here to get attention ... that was it. There was no other reason why she had dressed the way she had.

She let out a slow sigh and looked at M'kai again, offering another smile. "I'm glad you could make it, I was hoping you would. I bet you're happy to have a much smaller class now, aren't you?" And on that topic, she did have one question... "Do ... do you think Orena still has time to re-impress? Could she, even?" As hateful as they were right now, they were still sisters, and she had to ask. She hated just the thought of losing Aikelyth, and couldn't even begin to imagine how Orena was feeling for it. Or even if a new dragon would even mend those edges at all.

[Requiem]

M'ta resisted a small smile into the glass of water he was sipping at when the Weyrwoman had another chair drawn up. Hah. He won that one. Not quite as fun as arguing with people about it and pulling a R'wign (which was to say being all dramatic and playing the guilt trip game, not that anyone could do a R'wign as well as the original could) to amuse himself, but it would do. At least he was inconveniencing someone. Only fair when they gave him this bunch who would likely kill him through stress.

When Kaegan began to address him it would have been a lie if he'd claimed that he wasn't at least a touch relieved to see Ruliana. Sister-in-law (sort of) hi. Perhaps the more important connection she had to him was her close friendship with his sister, though. M'ta had always been far more welcoming to R'wign's half-sister than R'wign had, if you ignored the very first time they met when he half-held her hostage...Well, it wasn't like anyone was surprised when M'ta exhibited paranoia, after all.

"I wasn't," was the man's rather gruff reply, but by the slight frown to his face and the glance to the cane, it was clear he'd probably be growling at someone as to why they hadn't. No doubt because there were quite a few injured hobbling about, not just him. His smile for her was genuine enough when she mentioned Teri and Ria. He'd just been about to tell her to stop being lazy and come visit the kids herself, when she suddenly made her escape and he found himself being addressed by Kaegan again.

The smile faltered slightly, but to his credit he didn't snap at her right away simply for being someone he didn't want to talk to. "Leg injuries don't heal quickly. Especially mine..." he added with a wry twist of the lips. "The price of idiocy." He well-knew he pushed himself too much, though he'd been trying to be good - genuinely trying - since his leg had gotten infected. He chuckled at her comment, though, even as his gaze turned darkly on the weyrlings he could see in the crowd. "Oh, there are many ways to keep weyrlings in line." And if that didn't sound like a threat...