Lost and Found

Writers: AL, Cait
Date Posted: 27th December 2008

Characters: Teiluka, Meledei
Description: The two girls meet...thanks to a lovely little feline.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 8 of Turn 4

Muttering under her breath, Teiluka cursed her pet and promised death many times over, despite the fact that his actual death would likely depress her for sevendays. At the moment however, she'd happily strangle the little feline. He'd been limping for a sevenday and she'd been planning to take him to see a beastcrafter to make sure it wasn't anything serious. And then the little runt had disappeared. She'd been looking for him everywhere, but so far no luck. She wasn't going to have time to do this again for awhile. Then again, an entire Weyr was full of places for a litte black feline to hide. She'd already looked in most of his favorite hiding spots when she finally found him. And it looked like _he_ had found a new friend. Glad to have found him but still a little annoyed at the animal, she tried not to show it as she walked up to the pair.

Meledei had not been surprised by the appearance of a feline. There was generally one or two that made their homes in the stable and a few more that were constantly in and out. There were times that she wouldn't see one for several sevendays only to have him or her appear when she thought they had gone forever. A new face merely seemed to indicate a new litter or perhaps a feline wandering away from home. In truth, he had approached her just as she had finished some of her duties. So Meledei decided to take a break and enjoy the feline's company. She had only been perched upon the bale of hay but a moment, the little black bundle cradled in the crook of one arm while her free hand gently stroked his head when a stranger arrived. Meledei looked up from where she sat and offered the other girl a smile. "Hello. Can I help you?"

Luka laughed. "I was looking for that little rascal." She pointed at Kink, who was purring, happily enjoying the attention. Not that he was ever deprived of _that_, she thought with a grin. "He likes to disappear just when I think to look for him."

"Sounds like a typical feline." Meledei's voice was tinged with amusement. She stood and passed the feline back to his owner. "They have their own sense of timing. He's a sweet little thing though."

Luka shook her head as she took Kink. "He's a good feline. Most of the time, it's only occasionally he decides to be a pain. Normally I wouldn't even bother looking for him since he comes and goes as he wants, 'cept I've been meaning to take him to a beastcrafter to look him over." She looked carefully at the feline, but he looked okay at the moment. She frowned, wondering if it _was_ a serious enough thing to bother with.

"Why is that?" Meledei pushed herself to her feet and reached out to scritch the cat's ears even though he was no longer in her arms. "Is something wrong?"

"He's been limping a lot the past sevenday. Had me a little worried since I didn't see any obvious injuries, but you never know what he could get himself into." She looked curiously at the other girl. She seemed knowledgeable. At least more so than herself. And then Luka realized she'd been carrying on an entire conversation without ever bothering to actually say hi or introduce herself. Blushing a little bit, she added, "I'm Teiluka, by the way. Since I can't see fit to introduce myself when I meet someone." Typical for her, to not bother being polite but that _was_ why she was better with hides than people.

"I'm Meledei and I am a beastcrafter, but I'm just an apprentice." She didn't even have a specialty yet though she was considering healing. "However, I can take you to someone who can check you out for him.
I didn't see anything particularly wrong, but again, I'm just an apprentice."

Luka nodded. "Thanks, Meledei and nice to meet you. I just wanted to get him checked out and make sure. It'd be nice if it were nothing." She looked down at the happy animal in her arms. He meant a lot to her, she didn't want anything to happen to him.

"I don't mind at all." Meledei turned and made her way out of the stables. She glanced over at the other girl, smiling at the way she held the feline close. Then, a thought struck her. "Oh, I know where I've seen you before! You're a new candidate, aren't you?"

Luka nodded. "I am. Been here at the Weyr since Thayan collapsed, but was too afraid to Stand before now. Silly, but there you go. Are you a candidate too? I haven't really met too many others yet," she added. Not that she hadn't had the opportunity, she just didn't like meeting new people. She wasn't exactly the greatest at carrying on conversations and that could makes things awkward in a hurry.

"I can introduce you to some. There are some really nice people here." And some not so nice people, but Meledei could help her stay away from those. Luka seemed to be one of the nice ones. "A lot of us sit together during meals, you're more than welcome to join us."

Luka looked visibly relieved. That would at least make her life as a candidate easier, if she knew some people. "Faranth, thank you. I would love that. I always feel so awkward in the dining hall when I'm by myself."

"It's not so bad." Mel gave the other candidate an encouraging smile. "Actually, I'm originally from Thayan Peak too. I guess we've just never run into one another before." The Weyr wasn't exactly small, even with a reduced force.

**Not so bad?** Luka thought, she hated eating alone but any time Navan and Thyriane weren't with her, that's what she did. One would think she'd be used to it by now, but she wasn't. At least now she could add Meledei to the list of people to be around she thought and smiled back. "Yeah, I'm not too surprised we haven't met before, given I've never Stood before and we're in completely different crafts. Do you like being a candidate?" She asked curiously. Luka wasn't entirely sure what she thought of it yet.

"I think I'd prefer to be a dragonrider." Meledei shrugged. "But this is the road to travel to become a dragonrider, so it is the road I will take. I've been candidate so long, though, that all the classes are just redundant."

Luka nodded. "Makes sense. At least you know how it'll go, I don't have any idea, which kind of scares me." She shrugged. "But I know what you mean about redundancy. I've been a dragonhealer apprentice for Turns so some of it is stuff I learned a long time ago."

"Well you know, there's various ranges of experience when you come to the table." Mel couldn't imagine being scared. She had never been scared, but she also realised that different people handled things differently. "If you have question, just ask, you can always ask me. Shards, I've been a candidate for four turns now. I could teach the candidate classes if I had to!"

"Four Turns? No kidding you could teach the classes! And they still have you go through it all over and over again? That seems a little silly to me." She paused. "I don't really have any questions. I'm just a control freak, I guess and the idea of getting out there and all those stories about kids getting mauled. I probably sound like an idiot, I just never like the idea of not being able to fix and control things in my life," she added with a self-deprecating grin.

"I hear you." Mel could sympathise with Teiluka, for she was much the same. She'd prefer to have control. However, she also knew that there was a time to have control and a time to release control. She was at a point in her life where she let others have some of the control. It wouldn't always be that way, though. "Unfortunately we can't always have that. Anyway, let's find someone for this little fellow of yours."

Luka grinned. "Sounds good to me. Not sure how much longer he'll stay still," she added, laughing.

Last updated on the December 30th 2008

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