Notes in the Wind (open)

[missing]

Midnael sat along the banks of lake Clarity, watching Norpoth swim as Fin dived into the water after the young White. He smiled to himself, his hair blowing back in the wind as he sang a tune his mother had sang to him as a child.

The deadly silver spores fell down
Twisting through the air
And if they were to touch the ground
That ground would soon lay bare

But dragonmen flew up and then
Their dragons seared the sky
Scorching the thread into ash
From up high

Thread shall always fall
And dragon's shall always flame
And if the threadfall ceases
It will return again

He had often wondered where it had come from, never finding any record of the tune itself. His mother had sung it at gathers and meals when people were starting to forget again why they tithed to the Weyr when there was no thread.

Norpoth had scrambled out of the lake at some point during the song and was now gazing up at Midnael questioningly What were you doing just now?

"Singing."

I know that! What were you singing?



"Not sure what it's called, my mother used to sing it to me."

Oh... Norpoth sensed Midnael's sadness on that subject Sing it again?

Midnael smiled and launched into song once more, notes carrying away on the wind as Fin settled on a rock and joined in.

((please note song is mine, but in game his mother wrote it))

[Zen]

L’en was out enjoying the rather uncharacteristically temperate day for early winter, chasing Elvith around when she prompted him for a game. Nyx had given all the weyrlings an hour of… sort of… free time. The only stipulation, not that any of the weyrlings had objected in the least, was that it must be spent doing something to strengthen the bond between them and their new dragons. And Faranth forbid they get to know each other at all better in the process.

He paused to catch his breath, bent forward with his hands on his knees, panting from all the running around. Elvith padded over to him, nudging him gently, Are you all right, mine?

He smiled lightly at her, “Of course. You’re just wearing me out.” He reached out to stroke the top of her dark head before straightening and tilting his head curiously. The wind carried a song to his ears and the source couldn’t be too terribly far away either. “You hear that, Elvy?” He made his way toward the lake, toward the source of the singing, Elvith sticking close beside him, W-what is that, mine?

L’en snorted softly, resting his hand reassuringly on her head, “It’s just a song, Elvy… nothing to be afraid of.” He stopped a short distance from where Midnael sat with his White, closing his eyes and admiring the other boy’s voice. L’en could never have truly been a Harper, he didn’t have the mind or will for teaching which was a Harper’s main duty, but he could sing and he had a fine ear for others’ voices as well. He had a talent for picking up on sharps and flats that most without Harper training would never notice.

He moved closer, to the side of the other weyrling and still a few feet away, “You have a fine voice.” His tone and the serene smile on his face were both sincere. He sat, not asking if Midnael minded or not. If he did mind he would leave, unfortunate, but otherwise he was stuck with him, “I don’t recall ever hearing that one before.”

Elvith sat on his other side, away from Midnael, peering out from behind L’en’s back at him and his White. Who is that, mine?

L’en glanced at her, “Why don’t you ask your clutchmate? He’s smaller than you, for Faranth’s sake, what do you think he’s going to do?” He was amused more than exasperated by his dragon’s rather excessive fearfulness and scratched one eyeridge affectionately before turning back to Midnael.

Elvith crept around her bonded’s feet and edged toward Norpoth, H-hello… I-I am Elvith and this is my L’en… who are you, and yours?

[missing]

Norpoth looked at the Green, eyes whirling with happiness, I'm Norpoth, Mine is called Midnael. Why are you scared? We won't hurt you, neither will Finiky. As if Fin heard Norpoth she chirped at the bigger Green.

Midnael shrugged, "Thanks... honestly other than people from my hold, I have yet to meet someone who has. My mother said it was written to remind Pern of it's duty, even when there was no Thread..." And it had seemed to work. No matter the age of the person everyone had heard the stories of the mighty dragonmen who flew against their eternal for. They had also heard stories of the last interval, which had lasted 400 turns, after which thread had still fallen just as Weyrleader F'lar had said it would. It had been a long time since those days though, and during hard times the holds sometimes needed to be reminded.

He looked at Elvith, "Is she... afraid of Norpoth?" He found the idea unbelievable and humorous at the same time, but he knew better than to laugh at the young Green.

[Zen]

Elvith had a moment to wonder what Norpoth meant by ‘Finiky’ when the little Green firelizard chirped at her and she started in surprise, hightailing it back to L’en and peering out from behind him again, her eyes whirling in distress, Mine! Mine! What is that!?

“Elvith what are you-… what is what?” L’en was looking a bit bewildered by Elvith’s sudden retreat and then saw that Elvith was staring intently at Midnael’s Green. He laughed, “Don’t tell me you’re afraid of a little flitter, Elvy? She’s not going to hurt you, she’s just a little Green… she’s smaller than him.” He jerked a thumb at Norpoth and gave his Green a gentle shove, “Really, Elvith… there’s nothing to be afraid of, so just go play, all right?” He took her head in his hands and looked into her eyes, “All right?”

She seemed to relax, reassured by L’en’s words and confidence relayed in them, and how relaxed he was at the moment. Certainly her L’en would never take her anywhere scary or dangerous…. With one last wary look at the firelizard, she trotted back over to Norpoth.

L’en sighed, “I suppose… she’s never seen a flit before….” He said it more to himself than to Midnael though. He looked over at the other boy and smiled slightly, “She’s pretty skittish when she meets new people… or dragons… or really sees or does anything she’s never seen or done before. At least she’s not too bad when I tell her it’s okay though, she just trusts me….” He was filled with love for Elvith at that, at the thought of just how much trust his beautiful little Green had in him. He could hardly remember, already, what it had been like without her… but then, L’en had never had a very good memory to begin with, so maybe that wasn’t really saying much.

He watched Elvith butt her head playfully against Norpoth’s side, Will you play with me? and smiled, “So did you ever train as a Harper at all?” His gaze shifted to Midnael. Nyxani had said to try and get to know some of the other weyrlings better, after all… though he had forgotten completely to give his name or ask for Midnael’s.

[missing]

Sure! Norpoth stood Do you swim yet? It's fun!

Midnael smiled at Norpoth, the dragon certainly seemed to prefer his siblings to people, they didn't fawn all over her color or treat him any differently. She still hadn't quite recovered from all the poking and prodding at the hatching feast from visiting holders.

At L'en's question Midnael shook his head, "No that was pretty much the only thing I couldn't do to get out of the hold. Our Harper told me that it was only because my singing reminded my father of my mother," he frowned, "But he did train me a little at least, guitar, harp and such when he got time where my father wouldn't notice."

Fin chirped pointedly at Midnael and sent him a questioning image of L'en, "Oh! Ah, sorry Fin wanted to know who you were, and I realized I didn't know your name. Mine is Midnael." He stuck out his hand.

He is L'en, and his is called Elvith. She told me so.

Midnael ignored dragon and waited for the boy to answer of his own accord.

[Zen]

Mine! Norpoth will play with me! Can I go swimming? She looked pleadingly back at L’en and he tilted his head slightly. If Norpoth could swim then surely Elvith would be okay as well. He nodded, “Go ahead but don’t go too deep….” The Green sprang up happily and bounded off toward the water, Come on, come on! Let’s swim! Little did the Green know what she was getting herself into.

He turned back to Midnael with a slight frown at his explanation. A moment later his firelizard had chirped and he smiled apologetically, reaching out to grasp the other boy’s hand, “I’m Lel-… L’en now I guess. That’s what she calls me anyway so I guess I don’t have a choice in the matter.” He laughed, he honestly didn’t really care what others called him. “You’re not going to shorten your name at all?” It was rare for a male not to, Garrett was probably the only male rider he knew that hadn’t shortened his name. Not that it really mattered what others decided to call themselves, but he was curious anyway.

L’en was not known for his tact, but he felt the subject of Midnael’s mother might be better left alone for now. He didn’t know Midnael and Midnael didn’t know him and it seemed a rather personal matter to talk to someone you just met about. Also, he didn’t do all that great with serious subjects, they just made him uncomfortable.

[missing]

Norpoth seemed to be more wading than swimming, the water only a few inches deeper than Norpoth was able to stand with his head just above the water. He waited in the shallows while Elvith got a feel for the water, wanting to keep an eye on his rather timid sister. Fin went to join them, diving into the water and swimming around.

"Well... I really didn't know what the protocol was... I mean most Whiteriders don't right? And as great as Norpoth is I'm not sure he can last much of threadfall at all," he looked over at the White with an affectionate smile. Maybe it wasn't any of those reasons. Maybe he just hadn't quite realized that he was a Dragonrider now. He should probably let his father know, but then if he'd really cared he would have shown up to the Hatching wouldn't he have? Maybe it was just easier for the man to cut all ties cleanly...

"Ah... anyway, so have you been trained as a Harper then?"

[Zen]

Elvith bounded happily enough up to the edge of the lake and then stopped, peering at the water as it lapped gently at the shore. Tentatively, she reached forward with one claw and dabbed at it, looking very much like a feline. Her dabbing caused the water to splash up into her face and she gave a squeak and leapt back in surprise. L’en! It attacked me!

L’en turned to look at where the Green stood, a few feet from the water’s edge, gazing back at him with whirling eyes. He couldn’t help but laugh, No it didn’t, you silly thing. Get in there, its fine. Look at Norpoth, he’s not hurt or scared. He sent his Green a wave of affection and reassurance.

Slowly, she inched back to the water’s edge and boldly took her first few steps into the water. She found she liked the feeling of it lapping at her legs and waded in farther. L’en, L’en! I like this place!

L’en chuckled and turned back to Midnael as Elvith waded over to Norpoth. “Protocol… well it doesn’t really seem like too many really care anymore what we call ourselves after Impressing. I guess you’re right about Threadfall….” He glanced back over at Norpoth, wondering just how long the White would be able to last in Threadfall or if maybe he would have his own special job to make better use of him.

He blinked at the question as if he didn’t quite understand it for a moment, “No, no… I’m not Harper material. I’m told I can sing, but that’s about it.” He grinned and watched Elvith splashing around in the shallows.

“Has Impressing a White gotten you a lot of attention? I would think it would, whether you want it or not. Maybe more than Impressing a Gold. Especially after how his hatching went… not likely anyone will forget that in a hurry. I was about to go help him when you rushed over. Everyone was so scared of doing something wrong by helping him…. Did he call you to help him or did you just go? I know I couldn’t have stood there and watched a moment longer if you hadn’t run over….” He was sort of rambling, but he didn’t really care. If L’en wanted to say something he would, though it might come out a bit out of order.

[missing]

Norpoth tried very hard not to laugh, and for the most part he succeeded, but Midnael could still feel the amusement there, She is a very interesting whirl of emotions, they change so fast and she displays them so clearly.

To Elvith Norpoth said, Be careful not to go to deep, here is safe but Mine says that we aren't ready for deeper water. He was happy to see the Green enjoying herself, but he didn't want her to have an actual cause to be scared by accidentally wandering in too deep.

"They will when thread falls again I think, my mother always said that people tend to become lax during an interval... Or so I've been told. Norpoth calls me Midnael though so that's fine by me," He was kind of glad he could keep his name unchanged without too much controversy actually. It would be difficult to shorten his name without making it wholly his father's portion of it, unless he went with M'id or something, and that seemed a bit strange.

"So you're not a Harper, what brought you to the Weyr anyway? Or have you always been here?"

"... You remind me of the Healer girl, at least you both speak similarly," which was a good thing or else he might not have been able to follow L'en at all, "I try to avoid too much attention, and actually it was a bit of both, I ran to him, but he called to me before I actually reached him. I just didn't want him to be buried without a chance to really be seen, turns out that's exactly what he doesn't want, at least not as a White instead of as a dragon." Norpoth certainly liked attention from his bonded, and he enjoyed the company of others, but he hated being fawned over for his hide color.

[Zen]

The little Green’s eyes tinged with yellow when her sibling warned her not to go too deep and she took special notice of her position in the water, making sure her feet were firmly planted to the ground and not going a step deeper. She rather enjoyed the soft waves lapping at her sides and playfully swished her tail around in the water, getting a bit too into it and accidentally sending a splash toward Norpoth. She squeaked with alarm, Are you all right? Did I hurt you?

He nodded absentmindedly to what Midnael said about people being lax during intervals. He was a bit distracted by Elvith’s squeak, though everything seemed to be fine after he observed for a moment. Seemed she had surprised herself. Jumpy little thing. He smiled faintly and glanced back at Midnael when he asked what brought him here.

“My family moved here when my father transferred; he’s a rider. Me an’ S’lar been weyrbrats all our lives though, never wanted anything but dragons of our own. I think our father’s pretty proud of him, Impressing a Black, though he’s not really one to show it much. He hasn’t really said much to me though. Don’t think he likes it too much I Impressed a Green.” He laughed lightly, “I wouldn’t trade Elvy for a Queen.”

He blinked over at Midnael curiously when he said something about a Healer girl, but didn’t much care to ask him what he meant. He gave a wry smile, “You’ll hafta apologize to him for me. I’m pretty curious about him as a White. Should die down in a month or so though and I promise I’ll treat him normal then.” He grinned widely and looked back to the dragons, chuckling, “He’s so small, even that little bright Green dwarfs him and she’s pretty small. He’s so cute…,” he sighed, looking rather content as he watched the two play.