Reading or thinking? (open)

[hrsegrl]

Sharieth had gone to lay on her ledge, the beautiful Queen was entirely too happy lately. Her second clutch had hatched about a month ago so the Gold was feeling very proud of herself. She did have a large number of Bronzes in that last one. Personally, Ruet didn't care much about how many bronzes were in a clutch, to her a good hatching meant no one dying. Of course that was mostly an idealistic way of thinking about it. She sipped her klah as she turned her attention back to the records in her hands. She was tired of reading them at times. Could harpers not have written so eloquently and instead gone straight to the point? All the fluff writing was making her annoyed.

Ruet glanced up at the others in the room. At least F'sen wasn't here, she had too much to think about without having to think about him as well. Rue though she seemed to be workign to onlookers was barely paying the records any attention. Ugh...she twirld her curly hair inbetween her slender fingers.

[LyricalBlue]

Lyrai knocked on the door to Rue's weyr. She could have asked Zhar to relay the message in retrospect. But the queen had been nearly asleep in the sun, she was getting egg heavy again and it really showed. For the moment the rest of the Weyr was quiet too, the mid afternoon sun had that effect on everyone, especially the dragons. Lyrai was thankful for that small solace, there had been far too much sadness in the Weyr since the poisoning.

The Weyrwoman sighed, it seemed she always came to Ruet when there was a problem she couldn't solve and she hated bothering her junior but this bit had been nagging at her for days. Lord Rakken was up to something again, he'd been all too sugary sweet when she'd visited the hold after threadfall a sevenday past.

Lyrai didn't like it, nor did she like the men scouting Weyr held territory. Ponaa was nearly autonomous, there was no need for strange men to be wandering. Especially since thread had started falling, that had scared most holders out of their wits. So she was here, seeking Rue's sharp mind and insight. It was often the quiet woman overheard much more than Lyrai herself did.

[hrsegrl]

Ruet looked up from the hides upon hearing the knock. "You may enter." She added. Her blue eyes immediately falling upon her Weyrwoman. "Lyrai, it is a pleasure to see you. How fares Zhariath?" The woman seemed a bit nervous compared to usual. Rue had not moved a muscle since the woman entered as she had never been one to fidget. Lyrai seemed a bit out of sorts to her. "Is everything alright? You look a bit pale. Come have a seat and I'll get you some klah."

Ruet was always worried that the other girl would work herself to death. As a healer she knew that people needed sleep just as much as they needed to eat and she feared the Weyrwoman was getting little of either. Rue felt that was partially her own fault for not being able to help take on responsibilities early in Sharieth's life. Now the other woman seemed reluctant to share duties because she was not used to the help. Thankfully, the young weyrling queen would be joining them in another turn.

Ruet was not going to lecture the Weyrwoman at this point. Besides they had things to talk about. So many things that Ruet would listen to Lyrai's knowledge first and then share what information was needed...of course gossip was only gossip and nothing more but some of the most radical stories had a thread of truth in them.

[LyricalBlue]

The Weyrwoman inclined her head and took a seat across from Ruet.
"Zharieth is doing well, egg heavy as can be." She smiled, really Rue would know just how Zhar was with the twins being as they were. But the thought was very nice in any case. "Shes out doing her best imitation of a rock right now." Lyrai ran a hand back through her hair and sighed pleasantries were all well and good but there was work to be done.

"Have you noticed the large numbers of men in our territory? I have a sinking feeling that Rakken is up to something, ever since the poisoning..." It wasn't common knowledge that that shipment of fated herdbeasts had come from Ponaa Hold. But the Weyrleaders knew even if there was never any conclusive evidence. It fit the profile of the sly Holder too well and common knowledge was how much he hated dragonriders. All of it made Lyrai's blood boil, so many had died that day and in the days after. To dare hurt a dragonrider! The young Weyrwoman didn't like this one bit, and if they could pin anything on Rakken, anything at all would be some small solace.

"I don't like it Rue, not at all. Something about it just smells wrong. They wear no colors and no knots." Other than Ponaa and several small cotholds there were not many Holds in this area. If it wasn't some plot of Rakken's it was almost more worrying. "And to top it off none of our Sweap riders can catch them. They just disappear back into the brush." That was one thing the Southern continent had plenty off. It grew so thick in places that its was hard for a man to cross let alone a dragon.

[hrsegrl]

Ahh so it was that she had a problem. Ruet listened intently to what Lyrai said. She was a bit nervous about that man herself. Hadn't Sharieth said something about too many people in the wrong place. There was no way that the dragons would catch them if they could dissappear like that. No wonder the Weyrwoman was so concerned. It was obvious Rakken or whoever was leading those men was planning an attack. Why else would they be scouting?

"Then we don't send dragons after them... we set traps." Rue said her eyes were sort of far away at the moment as she was visualizing what should be done. "We are going to need some laborers and a map of where the scouting arties have been seen. After we have successfully made it known that we are watching our borders perhaps they will not continue to bother or it will simply let the person in charge of all of it know that we know they are here and we are watching."

She remained quiet a moment, "Meanwhile I think we should extend an invitation to Lord Rakken. He may actually give away part of what he intends to do, without actually saying a word of importance." Of course they would not meet him on his own grounds, that might be suicide. Ruet didn't trust many Holders as it was. They were known to say one thing and do another.

[LyricalBlue]

Lyrai nodded, listening quietly. They were all good ideas, sharding better than anything she had come up with that was for sure. But the idea of Rakken setting one foot in her Weyr, it was enough to make the Weyrwoman twitch.
"I agree, the traps sound like they just might work. I'll set Len on the matter of constructing them." The Weyrsmith had a way with such gadgets and if anyone could make some traps that would trap those bothersome holders it was he.

"I don't know about Rakken though, that man is worse than a basketfull of tunnelsnakes. Inviting him here might cause more problems than alleviate them. But" She mused and ran a hand through dark hair. Zharieth was close to clutching again, three weeks after that and they'd have a Hatching. It had been custom in past times to invite the notables of Pern to such Hatchings. Something like that hadn't been done in a very very long time though.
"What about inviting him to a Hatching Rue? That way he wouldn't see much of the Weyr, I know it hasn't been done but..." Lyrai shrugged, it seemed like the only option to get him on their grounds without fighting breaking out. That man was destestable, she really didn't want him in the Weyr at all. But much better to have him plotting where they could see.

[hrsegrl]

"Rakken is a handful thats for sure. Perhaps we designate a rider to watch him while he is here." She liked Lyrai's idea, inviting him to the Hatchign would be somethign the man would never expect. "Oh yes that would be perfect." She loved thinking up plans though she fell a bit short of executing them sometimes.
After that was settled Lyrai seemed a bit better to Rue. "You really shouldn't stress yourself out, with Zhar so close to clutching."

the Golds were both napping it seemed at the moment. Sharieth having had her clutch hatch a month ago seemed perfectly happy to be done with the whole affair for the time being. Ruet loved hatchings herself but knew Sharieth just didn't like watching her little ones struggle... of course that was because of ehr own rough begginings. looking down at her records once again Ruet mentioned something to Lyrai that had absolutely nothing to do with work. "I don't understand men." It was more of a mumble than an actual statement. She had been confused on the whole matter lately, not that she really wanted to disucee it with Lyrai but th ewoman knew a lot that she knew what with their dragons being twins.

[LyricalBlue]

Lyrai laughed brightly; Rakken was most certainly a handful, maybe even two handfuls. She nodded once again to Rue's suggestion.
"That sounds like a sound idea. I'm sure any of our bronzes would jump at the chance." The Weyrwoman grinned and then sighed at Rue's next comment. Stressing it seemed was quiet inevitable and Zhar always started fussing when she was egg heavy. And that fussing didn't end till the eggs had hatched.
"Oh I know, but with Zhar being a wherry headed fool its hard not to." The queen even fussed over her weyrlings. In fact, Ly was sure the queen ever stopped fussing for much of anything.
"Once she lays it will be better though, at least I won't have to hear her complain about hacing to waddle about. Shes much quieter when she has a clutch to drool over."

So far both of the twins were rising to mate about once per turn, though Zhar had risin earlier with this last clutch. Ly had been musing about that, the Fort Queens were rising about twice every turn and with threadfall all the others were rising more frequently as well. Maybe it was just because they were young that the twins weren't rising as often. Or maybe it had something to do with thier birth. For all intensive purposes those two should have only been one dragon.
Ly looked back up at the other woman when she made that quiet statement.
"Oh what has F'sen got himself into this time."

It boggled Lyrai's mind that his Wasanth managed to catch Sharieth time and again. Their riders certainly never seemed to have much in common.
"If hes doing anything I'll skin his hide and use it for straps." She crossed her arms and leveled a hard look at Rue, the woman was really all to easy going sometimes. And Lyrai was about as protective of Ruet as Zharieth was of her twin.
"Really Rue, you should make your prefrence known to Shar."

[hrsegrl]

Ruet smiled at the Lyrai's remarks. Both Queens liked when they had the clutch on the ground much better than being egg heavy and waddling around. She wasn't suprised that Zhar was in a mood. At least Sharieth was back to her normal self now the Weyrlings were a good month old. Looking back at the Weyrwoman she laughed.

"I think he's fine. He is always courteous to me. I just...well...I don't want just courteous. He treats me like some goddess half the time adn the other half hes to busy to notice. Soemtimes I think I'm just a means to an end for him. HE just wants to be Jr. Weyrleader and if that means I'm included then ok. " Rue figured it didn't do to complain about things like this, but she felt like he wanted things he either wouldn't or couldn't talk to ehr about.

"I don't understand him at all. Sometimes I feel like hes on the verge of saying something but can't say it. As for me, I'm not sure what I feel about him. I am more confused than anything. Sharieth knows I have no real preference. She flies her best and the dragon who catchers her does so through skill and prowess."
Was it wrong to want passion? Was it wrong to want love? Ruet knew there were more important things to be concerned with but Lyrai was her truest friend at the Weyr and she had to talk to someone. These thoughts had been nagging at her for some time now.

[LyricalBlue]

Lyrai propped her chin in her hands and listened to Ruet as she spoke. After considering the situation the Weyrwoman spoke.
"Well you can either try to make it work with him, which is possible. Though Faranth knows you may never actually love the man. Or you can jump into the lake and find that one right man." Lyrai giggled then, more girl like than she had acted in a long time.
"We certainly have enough eager bronzeriders in the Weyr."
The bronzes of Ponaa were as a collective whole, doting on their Queens. And their riders were almost as eager to please their riders. Though like Rue's man some saw the Queen's as simply a means to an end. Lyrai snorted, men could just be impossible.

"Really Rue, you don't have to settle at all. Sharieth won't and you shouldn't either, only the best will do for both of you. So you can try to make it work with him, a quiet dinner on the beach can do wonders." Lyrai giggled again, enjoying acting like a youngster. "Or you can go and find the man that will do it for you. Many won't go make advances simply because they think you are well mated to F'sen." Wagging a finger she continued, "So prove them wrong, go spend more time with the wingleaders or just find more time to relax in the hall. Shards Rue, you could even open Shar's flights to the other bronzes we do need new blood." That was a point Lyrai had been thinking about for some time. All three of Ponaa's queens were of the same lineage, they needed fresh blood. If another queen came in this clutch Ly knew she would have to trade the Queen with another Weyr as soon as possible. With Zhar as protective as she was, Ly also wasn't sure how many other Queens she would tolerate in the Weyr. Shar she never considered, the only time she ever got testy with her twin was when she was highly proddy or on a new clutch. But who knew how she would deal with Amenth once the weyrling grew or another Queen even still.

[hrsegrl]

Ruet grinned knowing how much she sounded like a teenager. If anyone was good to her here it was Lyrai and Faranth knew she trusted the woman like family. Of course Ruet knew the pair of them were as different as a rock and a flower. Not that either were good examples, but it only proved the point that they were not quite in the same position.

"Sure, but I hate Bronzers. I don't know if I could meet a more arrogant group of people if I scoured the whole of Pern. I don't think I could stand flirting with them at all. They can have their Lower Caverns women, who dote on them." With that she had quite the evil little glance at her record sheets.

"Of course I could always use them as slaves to do my bidding, and have no more work to do." Sharieth would agree that that was a better use of time. Besides these old records were becoming more and more notorious for omitting the most important facts while retaining the least. Perhaps it was some sort of code...like three bushels of red fruit meant something completely different. Ruet was disinclined to think that anyone would put that much thought into writing records.

"You are right of course. I do have a choice or two to make. Perhaps Shar's flight should be open. We do need to strengthen the Weyr." She added in agreement with what Layrai said. She always knew that Lyrai cared most abot what was best for the Weyr. Thats why she made a good Weyrwoman. Ruet wasn't suprised at her conclusions. What Rue needed to do first was have a real conversation with F'sen. He was always hard t find and she doubted that conversation would happen any time soon.

[LyricalBlue]

As Rue spoke, Lyrai was reduced to a bubbling blob of a laughing woman. Oh dear, the bronzes of the Weyr as Rue's slaves. Oh she could see it all to easy and it was quite a few minutes before Lyrai could stop giggling and get in a good breath. She wiped tears from her eyes and held her stomach.
"Just don't keep them from their regular duties Rue. Other than that, enslave them all you want. I'm sure most of them will beg for crumbs from your hand." Lyrai giggled again, imagining some of the large strapping men at Rue's feet. And the kicker was that her junior could probably do it with little effort.

She did have enough breath to make a serious note though.
"You don't have to settle either. Bronzes must fly Golds, but their riders don't have to fly. Find another partner. You pretty much have the pick of anyone man in this Weyr, save N'mos." Lyrai smiled again and grinned, she and the Weyrleader were well mated and despite the rather loud fights they did get along well as a whole. And Zharieth was making it quite clear she thought only his Fierzath would suit her. Lyrai shook her head, still chuckling.
"Between Shar's next flight and the Hatching you'll get to meet nearly every Bronzerider on Pern, so I wouldn't worry about that dear. There has to be one who isn't quite so arrogant." The odds of that were about as slim as finding a Weyrwoman who lacked a great deal of pride. It sort of ran with the territory of bronzes and golds. But who knew, Rue might just find the man she was looking for.

[hrsegrl]

"It would be rather nice to have them all do my bidding... but it would make me a lot of enemies among the female population which I know to be highly manipulative and easly envious. " She gave in to some amount of laughter as Lyrai's laughter was contagious.

As always Rue listened to her Weyrwoman's advice better than any others. Her personal drudge had said something similair to Lyrai but Ruet really didn't know how to take the thought. It had never really crossed her mind how many men would like to be with her. She thought of herself as nothing extraordinary. Actually other than having a Gold dragon she saw herself as average.

"I suppose thats true. I guess I shouldn't even trouble myself with it." Rue realized it was pointless to waste time on it. She really ought to finishe reading the records in her hands but she wasn't finding it very easy to concentrate. "Do you think maybe the person writing these records did it to torture our eyes with long candlmarks of reading and our minds with trying to pick out the useful from the boring stuff they somehow managed to scibble down?" She was looking at the records with her one eyebrow arched and her eyes intent on the scratchy writing on the old, worn pages.

[LyricalBlue]

Glancing down at the skins Rue had been working with, Lyrai nodded slowly. Those records were about as entertaining as watching a bronzerider pose in front of a flock of cavern women.
"It would seem our predecessors had a talent for writing down the most boring information they could find." But then keeping track of everything that came in and went out of the Weyr was her job, well her's and Rue's. Thank Faranth she had the help, the junior weyrwoman had infinetly more patience than Lyrai herself did. Yes she had to keep track of how much firestone they used even moon and how much wine they drank, but being out riding Zharieth was soo much more entertaining.

"We should set ourselves into making the records we put down more amusing no? Wouldn't want to torture future Weyrwomen." Despite her grin a brooding mood took hold and Lyrai tried to supress it. If there were many more Weyrwoman. Pern only had nine Queens, some of the oldest records listed as many as forty five within the Weyrs. But then, even Ponaa could only boast six hundred odd dragons in a Weyr that could easily hold over a thousand. Things were improving, but so slowly.... She forced the thought back, maybe if they were lucky the next clutch would bring several bronzes and maybe another Queen to swell their ranks.

Lyrai smiled slowly. "On second thought, I don't think anything we could do that would make lists of consumables entertaining." The Weyrwoman brightened with an almost evil grin. "You know, you could set all those jealous women to work with these while you go off and have fun with our bronze lads." Not that Rue would ever do such, in fact even thinking about it would probably set her junior to blushing. But it was a highly amusing thought none the less.

[hrsegrl]

" I wish there were a way to amke this more amusing. Unfortunately we are the keepers of the dullest information. I thought healers had it bad before I started this." Her smile had faded into a more serious face as she spoke. "I don't think I can read much more today but the goal is to finish these and then talk to the Headwoman tomorrow. It seems there have been shortages of fruit before in the past and Pern has survived fine. There was an increased percentage of people with illnesses reported during these times. I am trying to figure out exactly what kind. That way we can stock up on the types of treatments and other preventatives that we can.?"

The last thing the wings needed was to grow ill and then have threadfall to fight. A lot of diseases were highly contagious. Rue herself would prefer to never become ill. Closing her eyes a moment she refocused on the writing before her.

"None of those women would ahve the patience to record these findings properly nor the healing experience to report them to the Headwoman and the master healer. It would be nice however to put the bronzers to work. They do deserve it. They might even volunteer if it has to do with working with their Weyrwomen."