A Tour of the Weyr

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 23rd December 2015

Characters: Endarin, Meledei
Description: The Hallmaster visits the Weyr for the first time.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 14 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Weyrleaders not by name

He'd been at the Hall for a little less than a fortnight when he decided
that he needed to walk up to the Weyr and get acquainted with the place--
not a formal meeting necessarily, but he just wanted to see what it was
like there. Endarin had inquired to other dolphineers about Dolphin Cove
and they had all remarked on its beauty and size.

Using the well worn road between the Weyr and Hall it didn't take him very
long to reach the main entrance for caravans and others who arrived on foot
rather than on the wings of a dragon.

All Weyrs were busy, bustling places during the day. People walked to and
fro, some going to begin their shifts, some ending, some running around as
part of their jobs. One of those people was none other than a certain
goldrider whom he had made an acquaintance with not that long ago. Meledei
might have simply strolled past him, but she happened to glance up from the
parchment she carried in his direction. As she did so, she kept walking a
few more paces, then did a double take and backed up. "Endarin, hello!"

In a sea of unfamiliar faces Meledei's definitely stuck out. "Ah, the
cheating goldrider," a stifled smile made the corners of his mouth twitch.
"How have you been?"

"Cheat? I did no such thing." Meledei twirled upon the ball of her foot
to face the Hallmaster. "What brings you to Dolphin Cove?"

"I thought it was time I came up here and had a look around." His eyes
roved over the Weyrbowl full of people going to and fro, and then they
landed back on Meledei. "Can you spare the time to show me around?"

"If you hadn't asked, I would have insisted that you allow me to do so."
Meledei shifted the parchment from one arm to the other, then motioned for
the Dolphineer to follow her. "If you'll just let me get these to the
records room and I'll be glad to give you a tour."

Endarin gestured with an open hand, "Lead the way, milady." He counted
himself fortunate to have run upon Meledei so soon. He had been prepared to
wander around the Weyr on his own, exploring, but having someone of rank
that new the location was a much better option.

Meledei wound through the corridors and down to the records room, as she
had previously indicated. After a request for him to wait a moment, she
aimed for a specific set of shelves and filed the parchments she'd been
carrying. Afterward, she turned, then stretched her arms to her sides.
"This...is the records room."

The man looked around. It was as one expected a record room to be, neat,
tidy, and with a lot of musty looking documents that Endarin assumed were
probably boring.

"Next." he said.

"Come now, don't be disrespectful. This old place is where I spend a
goodly amount of my time." Meledei clicked her tongue, hands moving to
rest upon her hips. "You've not even looked in all her nooks and crannies."

Endarin chuckled, "I'm afraid this place looks too much like work to me. I
see enough musty old hides at the Hall." He suddenly held up his hands, "I
mean, I love what you've done with the place."

"Ha! It is work, but sometimes, it's really neat. When you go back and
look at really old records, you see another side of the Weyr." Meledei
stretched out a hand and patted one of the shelves. "And then sometimes,
you never want to see another record as long as you live. Oh well, shall
we?" She walked past him and through the door to return to the corridor.
"Have you lived this close to a Weyr before?" The goldrider knew nothing
about the Hallmaster, so his arrival afforded the opportunity to do so even
while he acquainted himself with her home.

The Hallmaster followed Meledei out. "I was born and raised at Topaz. It's
not too far from here, but far enough that walking like I just did from the
Dolphin Hall is not an option. And before now, I never had a reason to
come."

"But now you do since we're neighbors. You should come to the next
hatching, I think you'll enjoy it. Plus there's a huge feast afterwards,
so you can't go wrong with food." If the hatching didn't draw people, that
usually did. "Unless you've already been to one." Just because he hadn't
lived close to a Weyr didn't mean he hadn't visited one previously or been
to any events hosted by one. "Then you might find it boring."

Endarin shook his head, "Never been to a hatching. I heard some apprentices
whispering excitedly about it the other day. Apparently there's a gold here
about to lay eggs?" He questioned, unsure about the truth behind what he'd
heard.

"Yes, any day now, and next month they'll hatch. Then you can witness
one." Meledei never got tired of them and had yet to find any Weyr
resident who did. After all, the hatching cavern was always packed with
both Weyr and Hold folk, many who had seen plenty in their time. "It's
definitely a grand experience, especially the first time."

"I look forward to seeing it then." It also meant that other dignitaries
would be there, and Endarin was finding the people of the Weyr to be more
fascinating that he had imagined. They even walked by a man in a dress on
the way to their next destination. "Talk about sight-seeing." he muttered.

Meledei barely glanced at the fellow and wouldn't have even noticed had the
dolphineer not brought attention to it. "Ah, that's right. You're not
used to it. Well, things are a bit more relaxed at the Weyr." Holders
either adjusted or just left.

"Is that what you call it?" He called it strange, weird, unusual, or just
downright wrong, but then, he wasn't a man of the Weyr and it was certainly
not how he had been raised. Endarin wasn't surprised the woman didn't see
anything wrong with a man wearing a dress, even though it was unnatural.

"That's what some people call it." And others had other names for it.
Meledei wondered if Endarin was one of the latter - probably. "And down
here we have all the offices of the Weyrleadership." Maybe some day she'd
have her own office.

Endarin looked around with particular interest, he supposed he would be
meeting the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman at some point since the Hall worked in
conjunction with the Weyr. "What are the leaders here like?" he asked.

"They're both very nice and I know they want to keep good relations with
the Hall." What Weyrleader wouldn't, especially with the Hall just next
door. "They both work hard and want to do what's best for the Weyr."
Though sometimes Meledei didn't agree with exactly how they went about it.

Well they couldn't be perfect, Endarin thought. **She must like them not to
say anything negative about them.**

"Do you have an office?" he inquired.

"No. In a way, the records room is my office. The Weyrwoman and Weyrwoman
Second, to." Meledei indicated the doors of the women in question. "Down
this way, you have the Headwoman's office and Wingleader offices. Then we
start getting to weyrs."

Endarin looked around. "Do you live near here then?"

"I live down this way." Meledei pointed, then turned a corner so she could
lead him to the weyrs. Of those in the whole, the leaders had larger
spaces which were quite nice. Meledei loved hers. "Come on in." She
offered as they drew to the door and she unlocked it. "Now you can see
what a weyr is like."

He was surprised to be invited into her living space, but then he had to
remind himself that this was a woman of the Weyr, and not a Holdswoman.
Stepping into the goldrider's weyr, Endarin noted the spacious layout of
the room and the craftsmanship of the stoneworking that had been involved
in the creation of the weyr. Overall it was very impressive.

"Now I see why the Hall's youngsters hope to be Searched." he teased dryly.

"Since we're here, would you like something to drink, or something to eat?
I usually keep bread and cheese and some fruit on hand." In the living
room, a long sofa and love seat sat perpendicular to one another, with an
arm chair facing the love seat. Nestled in the middle was a simple,
rectangular coffee table made of a deep, red wood. Along the wall opposite
sat a long sideboard where she stopped, the tips of her fingers dancing
along the mahogany surface as she turned to see what his preference was.

"A drink would be nice." Endarin said, the walk from the Hall had left him
a little thirsty.

"Water, wine? Oh, I have a little juice as well." Meledei opened the
doors on one side and crouching down.

Endarin took a seat while the woman looked through her supplies. "Wine will
do."

Short rows of glasses were neatly lined and from within she took two that
were specifically for wine, then closed the doors before standing. Then
she sidestepped to the otherside and from those shelves, she pulled a
bottle of wine. "I'm afraid all I have is red from the Southern Vintner
hall. I hope that's all right."

"I'm not picky about wine." He assured her, probably one of the only things
in life that Endarin _wasn't_ picky about.

Meledei poured the two glasses, corked the bottle then set it aside before
she plucked them from the side board to offer one to her guest. "So tell
me more about yourself, Hallmaster. You were born and raised in Topaz, but
did you always live there? Is that where you studied your craft?"

Endarin took a sip of the wine that she gave, noting that it quenched his
thirst just as any other type of wine did. "Yes, I lived at Topaz my entire
life and completed my craft training while I was there. I've traveled some
but never stayed anywhere for too long before going back home."

"Until now." Meledei allowed herself a sip after her guest, then rest her
arm across her knee. "Do you think you'll stay on as Hallmaster, or do you
want to be replaced with someone more permanent?"

"Haven't been here long enough to tell. It's been okay so far." He
remembered her telling about how she had grown up in the area. "Have you
ever lived away from here?"

"No. Never, though I like to travel quite a bit. My father's a brownrider
so I always had an easy way to get places." There were a lot of good
things about having family members who were dragonriders. "Now I don't
need to rely on him. I particularly like to visit Gathers in other
places."

Endarin had only ever been to the Gathers that Topaz hosted, but now that
he was a Hallmaster he wondered if he might not be able to procure a ride
to some other places. **Rank does have its perks.** He decided.

"Do you usually go alone?" he asked.

"Not usually, I generally ask friends and we go together, but on occasion I
do go alone." Meledei sipped again at her wine, then added, "If you'd like
to go to one, you'd be welcome to come along sometime. You just have to
ask."

Endarin considered the offer a generous one, something he was beginning to
note was a commonality where the goldrider was concerned. "I may take you
up on that offer sometime."

"Good. I always find it interesting to see the differences between
traditions and how they do things in various places." Generally, all the
Gathers were enjoyable and Meledei always had a good time. "Also, the
different accents are neat to hear."

Glancing about, Endarin noted that he didn't see anything masculine in the
weyr, which prompted his next question. "Do you live here alone then? No
family?"

"Just me. My father has his own weyr, of course." She'd also had a
brother, but he had died in Threadfall. Meledei decided not to mention
him. "Do you have a family?"

Endarin thought of his ex-wife, and then he thought of his father who had
slept with his ex-wife. "No, I do not. It made the decision to move here a
lot easier."

"I can understand that." Meledei hadn't ever wanted to move though and
still had no plans to. If she could, she'd stay at Dolphin Cove forever.
"But now you have a new family at the Hall."

The new Hallmaster wasn't sure if he considered the other dolphineers at
the Hall "family", they were more like his employees really. Endarin
couldn't imagine letting anyone get close enough to him to feel like a
family member. It was a nice sentiment, he supposed.

"Indeed." He finished the last sip of his wine and placed the empty glass
down. "Shall we continue our tour?"

"Sure." Meledei finished off the last of her wine, then rose. "Just leave
it on the table, I'll clean up when I get back. So, we'll finish the inner
part of the Weyr and then I can show you where the dragons like to hang
out."

Last updated on the December 29th 2015

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