Just arrived((Any Searchrider))

[metaldawn71]

Nividya had just gotten off the ship. She was a stranger to the South. Not expecting to be welcomed warmly or even not at all, she walked through the streets of Southern Hold. A strange feeling came over her. She knew this feeling all too well...fear.

Fear of not knowing what to do. Her stomach was growling. Great! Hungry. She sighed heavily as she scanned her surroundings. She walked with determination. With no one to guide her, she was indeed lost.

She had no marks left, spending all that her father gave her. This Hold seemed relatively small compared to Northern Holds. She did not even know where to go or who to see if she wanted to start a craft. She knew to be inside after dark but where would she stay? She doesn't know anyone here.

The -least- her mother could do was come with her and not face a strange town alone. It was a -little- unnerving. She sighed and shook her head and wandered aimlessly, not really caring where she was going. Her northern bronzerider father had filled her head with a gender of her sorts can -not- be a dragonrider. Not really paying attention eyes down while slowly walking, she did not realize she had bumped into someone. When she did, she cringed like that person was going to hit her yet remained silent.

Her eyes still on the ground and timid towards the male gender, she didn't even clear her throat. Her father was the reason she acted like this, her father wouldn't hit her but he didn't teach her how to defend herself, that would be nontraditional and went against regulations. -She- had to learn by herself if she wanted to survive. But when she was almost raped at Fort Weyr, he stepped in to protect her.

Her past was catching up to her in her attitude toward everyone. She had become almost cold and emotionless, and almost spiteful air about her. To those who knew Nividya, that wasn't what she was like, not really. Cold yes, but not emotionless and spiteful.

She stood there, looking at the ground. There stood a person she just bumped into, she couldn't say 'sorry' or 'excuse me'. If she did, then she thought that all hell would break loose. Fort Weyr women weren't allowed to speak until spoken to, stay in the kitchen and be a cook and have offspring, only good for one thing and to able to prepare food. She didn't know how to do either, after all she was -only- 13 Turns old and girls that age are not -supposed- to be around food nor have intercourse. Yet, there was a man up north who tried to rape her a Turn ago. That's when she was transferred down here...for her "safety", they said. She knew better though, it was because her usefulness had run out in the Weyr.

Nividya felt as though she was always in the wrong and that she was indeed a failure to her home Weyr. She felt like an outcast, a rebel almost. She didn't know anyone here, and it was highly unlikely that she would accept a ride from a stranger or even talk to one!

[Ruby]

Tenlie wasn't exactly pulling off being subtle. No knots, no flightleathers (although the jacket she was wearing was distinctly too thick for the generally temperate climate around Southern Hold), Rajnith left a good half-candlemark walk beyond the Hold proper. She was too muscular by half for a holder girl her size, although the glasscrafter's badge on her chest and the bundle of glasscrafter's supplies in her arms could explain that. Her journeyman's knots, discarded for a Weyrling's simpler cord upon Rajnith's impression, had been left at Selenitas, but the badge (useful only for gathers and easily misplaced) had been in the pack of tools she'd brought. It made her perhaps marginally less suspicious, although a Crafter with a badge and no knot should not be trusted. At least it was better than the oh-so-obvious blue/green and black of Selenitas, replaced half a year ago by Wasteland's red and black.

It was the firelizards that were the problem. They were rare enough in Holds, and Ten had two. Both blues, both of them painfully obvious and even more painfully attached to her. Literally - Cujo was nibbling her ear in agitation, occasionally biting down harder than he meant to, and Big Brother had taken to taking off from her shoulder and landing again every ten minutes or so, buffeting her head with his wings every time. For their sake, she was trying to keep herself calm, but she didn't want to be here either. Subterfuge wasn't exactly her strong suit.

She was so distracted she didn't even see the girl in front of her until she'd hit her. Poor kid looked even more lost than Ten herself, the Greenrider thought, scrambling back and murmuring "Sorry!" as she tried not to drop her package. She was about to hurry on - she'd gotten what she came for, time to get out again - but Cujo, ever evil, hissed his anger at the poor girl, flying in her face in an attempt to bite her nose. "No!" Ten shouted, lunging forward and trying not to drop anything on the floor while she snatched Cujo away. "I do be so sorry, he never quite got the hang o' 'no'," she said, shifting both blue and package into her arms. "Um... do you be alright?"

[metaldawn71]

When Nividya heard a -female- voice, she raised her eyes to the woman's eyes. She had an expressionless look on her face though.

"Wait. I am from the north. My father is a Bronzerider from the north and he sent me here because i-i used out my usefulness...but my father said it was for my safety." she said in a soft but auidable voice. She studied Tenlie for a moment and looked at a female that passed by with her two children. She approached her closer and whispered,"You're not from around here. Your jacket is to thick for this climate."

When a blue flit come attack Niv's face, knowing nothing of how to defend herself, she was utterly helpless. When Tenlie lunged at the flit and snatched it away. Niv had her nose scratched, but it wasn't bad.

"Yes, I'm alright. Why do you ask?" Nividya wasn't used to people who were compassionate toward her but she wasn't rude about it. Nividya was a polite, nice girl. Not at all what her father painted her out to be. She wasn't like the Northern Weyrfolk. She wasn't harsh or seemingly cold. Niv was quite the opposite in fact. Maybe she they had her leave in time...before she got tainted with their war withe Benden. Before she had a chance to get cold and harsh.

[Ruby]

Argh, she'd been spotted. Despite her inborn politeness, today Ten would have simply hurried on, if not for Cujo. Unfortunately, the snapping, vicious blue wasn't going to let her get out of there with any sort of speed. "I did ask because Cujo's claws are sharp, and his teeth do like to find flesh when he's taken a dislike to someone. O' course, he does dislike everyone but me, so it do be nothing personal," she said, flashing the girl a smile as she wrestled the blue down, offering him her own hand to gnaw on instead of the strange girl's face. At least he only ever bit Ten gently.

Once Cujo was under control, Ten thought back to what the girl had said before the blue's attack. "No, I do no be from around here," she confirmed, keeping her voice low. Perhaps that was a dangerous statement, but it would be more dangerous to deny. After all, just because she wasn't from around here didn't mean she was from Burimyu, the exile's Weyr. "Just here to, uh, get some supplies?" Even when she wasn't lying she sounded guilty. Wonderful.

Ten would have left it at that, scurrying away to mount Rajnith and escape, if it wasn't for Big Brother. Perhaps it was rude to leave so quickly, what with the girl being lost and scared enough to pour out her life story, but the Greenrider knew she was supposed to minimize contact, and had already opened her mouth to make her excuses when Big Brother flashed her an image of a lounging Rajnith. Furrowing her brow, Ten probed gently at his mind. What, Bro? Rajnith what? Rajnith, girl. Rajnith, girl. Cujo, on careful consideration, picked the pattern up too. You do think I should take her to Rajnith? Why? Rajnith, girl. Well fine, that was clear enough.

So instead of taking her leave, Ten asked, "If your father do be a Northern rider, what do you be doing here? Certainly they would want to keep you, to have you stand for hatchings? You do look just about the right age to be first Searched, no?" Now, how exactly was she supposed to convince a strange child to come with her to visit a dragon half a candlemark beyond the Hold?

[metaldawn71]

Nividya eyed Tenlie with interest.

"Where are you from?" she kept her voice low. "Why the low profile?" she furrowed her brow and could sense that there was something more to this stranger, a great hero or perhaps a friend...or both? Something. Tenlie has a jacket that is to thick for the climate, she didn't look like the other holder women.

"I am from Fort Weyr." she still kept her voice soft and low. "Someone attempted to do something horrible, my father had intervene due to i couldn't defend myself. My father removed me instantly and sent me to south." Nividya explained, her eyes fell to the ground for a moment and went back up to the greenrider's. "and deemed me as-as useless. my father is a traditional bronzer, which means he doesn't believe that girls can not be dragonriders. He didn't teach me how to defend myself." She sniffed as she was about to cry. Nividya quickly wiped the tears away. She was raised by her father, her mother had some things to do with it but it was the male figure that always, always, handed out the discipline.

It made her shiver when she thought about her father just watching her for a time then, when she couldn't defend herself he had to intervene. She remembered how disappointed he was and he wanted her out of the Weyr completely!

"I thought he was just angry with me but after a couple of days, i got told that i was deemed useless just because i couldn't defend myself against my attacker. No one taught me how to do that. It was survival of the fittest. If you can't defend your self, you are gotten rid of. My mother was going to come with me but my father said she couldn't so she stayed and i went. How can people be so cruel?" Nividya asked, somewhat angrily. Not at Tenlie, but how she was treated by her father and the fact that her father removed her. "Now, I'm hungry, I'm lost, and I'm tired. I don't know where to go or who to see for start a craft."

[Ruby]

Oh no, this girl was way more perceptive than Ten had expected. Low profile. Well, at least she had a good excuse for that one - not that she wasn't nervous and clearly hiding something. "Um. I do be a Glasscrafter, stationed at Selenitas Weyr... but the Holds do no always approve of female crafters, it do be safer to be careful." Almost all true, so why was Ten's voice so oddly high and thin? She had always been terribly silly in the face of guilt.

The girl's explanation of her own origins, though, made Ten frown. She would have asked about this horrible thing (despite how impolite that question certainly was), but with every sentence, the Greenrider's brow furrowed more. Ten herself was from the North, but Ista was different from most of what she'd heard, not to mention that she'd been a pampered Lord Holder's niece during her time at a Hold. The Crafthall was altogether different. But this idea that a Bronzerider could get away with calling his daughter useless and have that be considered not just alright but normal made the Greenrider's hackles rise.

"Useless?" she spat, even more upset once tears began to trail down the girl's face. Suddenly, Ten looked fierce, like a mother bear protecting her young. It took her a moment of spluttering to get the right words out. "I... you... they... That do no be right. They did call me useless when my cousin was born, true heir to the Hold, and what do I do now? I do be a Greenrider" - oops, but Ten didn't notice - "And Journeyman, making my own way and beholden to no one's about what I should do." With a deep breath, she calmed herself slightly, reaching out to put a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Defense is no everything, and people are people. Do you have reason to stay at the Hold?" Or a better question, now that she'd given herself away: "And, ah... do you wish to see how useless female riders are?"

[metaldawn71]

Nividya's eyes grew big but still kept her voice low, she knew what a greenrider meant at Fort, either gender. It was frowned upon. "You are a greenrider? How can that be? At fort, either gender gets treated badly when they Impress a green -or- a blue! Besides females are not supposed to be dragonriders. My father said that all they were good for was good sex and to cook, oh and to make babies. However, i do not share the same views as my father's. I have wished to become a dragonrider since i was but a child." she was amazed that Tenlie was a crafter as well, "A Journeymen Glasscrafter as well?" still keeping her voice low and inaudible to all but the two of them.

Nividya was indeed a perceptive young woman. She was quite observant. This made her out to an valuable asset to whoever picked her up and had her work for them or in this case, be a dragonrider or a nightmare to her enemies.

"Yes, please show me how useful i can be?" she asked.

[Ruby]

"Bur-" Nope, not allowed to say that! "Selenitas does understand that without greens and blues, there do be no wings, just Wingleaders," she said, trying not to be quite so vehement. It wasn't this girl's fault, after all. "And I do intend no offense against your father, but he does sound quite narrow minded. Some of our best wingriders do be female, although there do be more men than women riders, still. The south do be quite different from what you are used to, clearly," she added. Vaguely, Ten wondered if she would have been like this, if she had stayed at Ista. That simply didn't bear thinking about - she never would have been brave enough to leave her family, not like that anyway.

"Aye, a crafter too," she confirmed, "First, actually. Rajnith did no come along until later. I do be Tenlie - Ten, really." She held out a hand for the girl to shake, glad her jacket covered up the bandage on her arm. That would be a great way to search a candidate, wouldn't it? Oh hey, want to come to the Weyr? You get to rob caravans and be stabbed by boys! Enjoy! Instead, she returned whatever sort of shake she got, adding, "It do be nice to meet you."

Cujo settled on her shoulder again, snapping halfheartedly at Nividya as they shook hands. Big Brother joined him on the opposite side, cooing a warning in Ten's ear. True, they'd lingered too long, and she hadn't exactly been as subtle as she'd meant to be. People were looking at the two girls, now. "C'mon, this way. If I did tell you my Rajnith wanted to meet you, would you come?" she asked, starting off towards the door. Nothing to see here, folks.

[metaldawn71]

"Nividya - or Niv." She laughed. "Oh, you sweet boy! Thank you for your protest that you don't like me!" Nividya said, sarcastically, to Cujo, as she shook hands with Tenlie; a sly smirk emerged on her face and a raised eyebrow at the flit.

"None taken, Ten. I know my father's narrow minded. He said if i left, i could never come back so i am making a new start and yes, I will go with you." she said. "Guess make me an...." she looked around and whispered in her ear. "....exile, huh? You are living proof that females -can- be riders so sure, i'll go."

Nividya was a bright girl but it would take getting some used to how females were treated in the south. She started to follow her out the door. She was almost chased off by another holder that overheard their conversation.

[Ruby]

"Niv, I'll remember," Ten said, smiling. Cujo huffed, fluffing up his wings in an attempt to make himself look bigger. "Go, get!" Ten said, waving both blues off her shoulders. "We'll meet you at Rajnith," she added, directing them both Between. They went, although neither looked happy about it. "Really, they do be far to protective," she confided, "It do be worse than having two older brothers hanging around all the time."

They'd managed to get outside without too much incident, and Ten led the girl off the path into the jungle after just a moment or two. Once they were under cover of the trees, Ten picked the conversation back up. "Aye, an exile indeed. Actually..." Should she tell Niv about Burimyu? Yes, she should of course, but how to do it without arousing suspicion if the girl refused. "There do be something you should know. I am no a Selenitas rider - I come from a different Weyr, a... new Weyr. We do have a Queen, and word in the Weyr is that she should be rising some time soon. In a way, though, we do be exiles ourselves, at the moment. I do be able to Search you, if you wish to stand and Rajnith approves, but you should know what you do be getting in to."

There, that would do. As it turned out, Rajnith appeared in the clearing just ahead, the big, somewhat tubby Green stretched out with her yellow-marked head resting on emerald paws. She opened one whirling eye at the two girls' approach, lifting her head a little so she could turn it towards them. "Rajnith, this do be Nividya," she said, adding a mental question, What do you think?

[metaldawn71]

She laughed at Cujo's reaction to her and shook her head.

"I do not scare or intimidate very easily." Nividya said. "You mean as a Candidate? Standing on the Sands?" Niv was very excited and hoped that her green would approve of her.

"Hello, Rajnith. It's nice to meet you." she wanted to make a good impression.

Nividya was shy but not to other females. With males, yes. That would be something to work on if her green approved of her. Given her history and what happened, no one could blame her for not trusting the opposite gender.

[Ruby]

"Aye, a candidate indeed," Ten confirmed, glancing over at the girl. "You do be the right age, unless you do be younger than you look? You do be older than 11, no?" That was important, Ten knew, although technically she'd never searched anyone before. Burimyu was so short on Candidates, so pretty much anyone who left the Weyr was encouraged to bring possibilities back, even if they didn't technically hold the rank of Searchrider. Ten, being newly graduated, certainly didn't have that sort of rank, but as long as she was circumspect no one would mind. Nephele had her hands full already.

Well? Ten asked again, as Nividya made her introduction to Rajnith. The green dipped her head ever so slightly in the girl's direction, then tilted it to the side, considering. Polite enough, the dragon sniffed, keeping her words between herself and her rider. Then she dropped her head down to Nividya's level, regarding her with one enormous, yellow-green whirling eye. I do not know, TenlieSlaveLove. What am I looking for?[/i]

Would you impress to her? the Rider asked, giving Nividya an encouraging smile. "She says it do be nice to meet you, too," the Greenrider said, then Rajnith interrupted, again speaking only to Tenlie. I impressed to you, idiotmine. Why would I wish to impress to another? Ten rolled her eyes, trying to figure out how to get the dragon to understand. But could you, if you must? Rajnith flipped her head around, looking at Nividya with the other eye, now. I suppose.[/i]

"Ah, there we go," Ten said with a smile, reaching out to squeeze Nividya's shoulder. "It did take her long enough, but it looks like Rajnith do approve of you. Will you come to the Weyr with us? If you do wish to, we can mount up," she added, strapping her own items to Rajnith's straps as she spoke. "Do you need a hand up?"

[metaldawn71]

Nividya liked Tenlie and her Green, nodding to acknowledge her question. "I am 13 Turns old."

She looked at Rajnith and was startled to see a whirring eye up close and then was fascinated by all the colors in her eye. "Whoa! Cool!" she gasped in awe. Her focus was on Rajnth and as she waited for an approval for her Green. When Ten said that it was a done deal, she squealed with excitement and ran up to Tenlie and reached for her hand.

"Yes, please." Niv sighed. Well this is it. To see I am going to cut it as a dragonrider. She grinned from ear to ear. "Don't I need to be buckled in?" she asked. "Safety first, you know." she added.