Shadow Cove (2)

Writers: Cali, Emma
Date Posted: 25th November 2008

Characters: Teseada, Karri, Y'nub
Description: The two girls regret going outside the Weyr without their shoulder knots.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 7 of Turn 4

Teseada

"Let's stop in here for a moment shall we? Those drops we snacked on were very sour and I'm dying for a drink." They been to one side of the port to the other but still hadn't had any luck in finding those white felines. She'd inquired to several people about them but no one had heard anything, and Karri was getting frustrated.

"Are you sure?" The Tavern next to them didn't look exactly the kind of place that the one at Amber Hills was.

Karri opened the door and waved Teseada in, "Come on, maybe they'll know where the felines are."

"Okay," but the goldrider felt uneasy about it. "Just one drink."

"Just one drink." Karri agreed, it wasn't the cleanest looking place on the outside, and once they were inside it was worse. Still, she was thirsty, and a drink was a drink wherever you went.

The place was packed, it was just after evening meal, and it looked like all the sea men were settling down for a good time. Karri noticed two tables by the hearth, but there was a loud group of men right next to them, so she motioned to two open seats at the bar.

Once seated next to Teseada, a round woman with mussed up hair approached them from the other side of the bar. "What'll you two be havin tonight?"

"Just a couple of ales please." Teseada was polite and friendly, the quicker they got served, the quicker they could drink up and leave. "If that's okay with you?" she said looking to Karri.

"Yes, please." Karri agreed. The man next to her needed a bath desperately, and she was wishing she had passed on the sour drops and her need to come in here. The hostess was quick and placed the mugs in front of them before heading back to a demanding fellow at the other end of the bar.

"Eww," said Teseada after a sip of her drink. "This is not anywhere near the nicest I've had."

Karri nodded in agreement, "Maybe some juice would be-"

"Ammirla!" A swarthy and obviously drunk man slurred the hostess's name as he squeezed in next to Teseada. "Nother round for me boys."

His action jostled Teseada slightly, causing her to spill her drink. "Hey," she said, irritation coming into her voice. "That was my drink."

The man looked over at the girl and noticed her and her friend for the first time. The one farthest away had a scar across her face that made her look like she'd had a hard life, the other hadn't been damaged yet and that suited him just fine. "Ah now, I apologize. You'll have to excuse a man whose just come back from the long voyage. I've still got me sea legs."

"Oh, okay," Teseada said to him. Then she turned back to Karri. "Shall we just go?"

Karri stood up, "Yes, I think--"

"Ah now, don't leave just yet." the man cried, putting a hairy arm across Teseada's shoulders. "Why don't you two come over an join me mates, we'll show you a good time."

Teseada tried, and managed to pull out from under the man's arm. "No thank you, we're leaving," she said with some of the authority she'd begun to develop as Weyrwoman 'second. He was treated to a look that would have frightened an errant wingrider in the hope that it might just blow over, she and Karri could walk out of this place and forget that they had ever been there.

The scene had caught the attention of most everyone in the front of the tavern and one of the man's shipmates appeared next to him. Karri's eyes rounded in fear at the expression of the man and she started to pull Teseada towards the entrance. She felt Elliath's alarm in her mind but before she could react, her retreat was blocked by someone from behind. "O an y've got us a feisty pair for tonights fun havn't ya. Jus wha we need to relieve the long--"

"Back Off!" Karri didn't recognize the bellow at first, then looked over and saw that it was Y'nub making his way through the tables from the back. He reached them in almost no time, his intense fury almost palpable. "Don't you _dare_ touch them again!"

The men were stilled, they had not expected a dragonman- and bronze at that- to start barking orders at them. "Ah Cap'n, we is jus hav'n some fun with dees drudges. You--"

**I'm okay Onnyth, please, wait one moment,** Teseada told her gold as Y'nub stepped forward. She could feel the tension building her dragon, and it was taking as much strength as it had during her flight to keep Onnyth from flying over and making her presence known.

"You," Y'nub snarled, barely able to keep himself from grabbing the man by the neck, "are harassing a Weyrwoman and Greenrider of Dragonsfall. You had best remove yourself from their presence immediately, or you'll have three very angry dragons crashing in here after you."

But of all people it had to be him. Still she might be able to convince him to keep quiet about this, the last thing her and Karri needed was the story getting back to Dragonsfall before they did.

"Do as he says," said Teseada quietly. "If Onnyth really does think I'm in danger, there will be no stopping her. She _will_ come and find me and my friend here."

The swarthy man gave another glance at the two girls, they didn't look like dragonriders... much less a Weyrwoman, but the bronzerider certainly did, and he didn't want to argue the point with the threat of death by dragon looming in the air. He made a hasty retreat with the rest of his men and didn't even look back.

"Outside Now!" Y'nub hissed as he looked at the two girls. Karri was out the door before he'd finished speaking, and when Teseada wasn't moving fast enough for him he took her by the arm and pulled her along with him out the old stained front door.

"You're hurting me!"

Y'nub scanned the area to make sure no one was waiting to ambush them then released his hold on Teseada and rounded on her. "What were you possibly _thinking_ going into a place like that?"

"None of your business bronzerider. Besides I could ask you the same question." She rubbed her arm where he had eventually let go. "And you are making a scene. We were dealing with it."

"It was my fault, Y'nub," Karri tried to explain, he was furious with Teseada and their dragons were upset enough without the two of them fighting. "I was thirsty and I--"

"You were _dealing_ with it!" Y'nub wanted to shake the foolishness out of Teseada. "Do you even _realize_ how much danger you were in? What could have happened to you?"

"They do teach us self defense," she pointed out. "Anyway Onnyth would have arrived and they'd have stopped there and then."

She was not being realistic, so like her. "Are you serious? She'd have brought the whole building down! If you weren't crushed by the debris, then Karri might have been, or countless others inside."

Teseada laughed, "She'd not have come in you fool, there'd have been enough of a commotion for us to just slip out."

"You call me the fool?" He gave a laugh of his own, "She'd of come down on top of the whole building the first time they fought back from your _self defense_" He said the last in a sarcastic tone. "Did you see the size of those men? You wouldn't have stood a chance!"

Karri could see Y'nub's scenario, she'd been barely able to keep Elliath in control and if she'd been hurt or knocked unconscious she didn't know what the green would have done... much less a queen.

"Shaffit Teseada!" the bronzerider howled, "Don't you realize you are too important to be playing these ridiculous types of games? Going out in plain clothes and no shoulder knots? What would I-, would the Weyr do if something happened to you?"

She noticed his slip but didn't comment on it. "Nothing would have happened. Neither of us would have let it. Right Karri."

The greenrider hesitated. She wanted to back Teseada up, but she was awful glad that Y'nub had been there- for whatever reason. She'd grown up outside the Weyr, and without the protection the Weyr afforded she knew people got ruffed up in situations just like that. "Right." she tried to sound confident, but it was half hearted.

"You're both delusional!" he cried, throwing his hands up into the air. "There's a courtyard two rows down," he pointed, disgust filling his tone, "Tell your dragons to meet us there. You two need to get out of here before they decide I'm full of it and they want to get their drudges back."

"Okay," said Teseada with reluctant agreement.

Karri didn't argue, but she did kick a loose stone as she walked quickly behind Teseada. She never did get to see those white felines.

Onnyth meanwhile was making her presence known. If any of those men had followed them out, well they'd have seen a gold dragon arrive, and her rider begin to fit her straps.

"Aren't you coming?" Karri asked as she noticed Y'nub had stayed in the shadows of the buildings and that his bronze hadn't landed with the other two.

Y'nub snorted as he crossed his arms, "No, I _wear_ my shoulder knots."

"As if he's worthy of them," said Teseada to Karri.

She didn't want to argue with her friend, so instead she urged Elliath into the air. As she waited for Onnyth, she said silently to her green. ** Can you tell the bronze to tell his rider thank you for me.**

Onnyth followed Elliath. **Let's go home,** her rider told her, **And ask Elliath to do the same.**

The bronzerider stood like a statue on guard until both dragons blinked /between/. Only then did he turn and start back towards the Tavern giving a nearly incomprehensible mutter. "Sharding goldrider."

Last updated on the November 26th 2008

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Shadow Cove (2)