List of Suspects

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 26th March 2009

Characters: Meledei, Z'ku
Description: Z'ku chats with Meledei regarding her admirer.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 9 of Turn 5

Z'ku

"I'm going to reduce your list of suspects," Z'ku said, stepping up next to Meledei. Xemroth went past him to join Elleth in the weyrlake.

"You are?" Meledei eyed Z'ku from her perch upon the boulder and grinned. "And how do you propose to do that?"

"I've heard some rumors that you have a secret admirer." He smiled at her. "I'm here to tell you it's not me."

"Well, the rumours are true." Meledei laughed. It wasn't exactly a secret and such a thing was difficult to keep under wraps, especially in such close quarters. "But I'm glad that the list has been narrowed
- one less person to worry about."

"Exactly. I like to do my admiring right out in the open." He winked. Z'ku hoped her admirer wasn't another bronzerider. He didn't want a rival this early.

"Is that so? Well, there's something to be said about someone who is open and honest." Meledei turned her attention to the lake just in time to see Elleth playfully splash at Xemroth.

He felt a flutter of guilt. "Whoever it is is probably intimidated by your being a goldrider. Although if he knew you at all, he wouldn't be intimidated."

Xemroth slapped his tail against the water, splashing back.

"I'm not intimidating?" Meledei puffed herself up and tried to look stern though all it did was make her look like a little girl pouting. "Aren't goldriders supposed to be intimidating?"

"Most goldriders seem to be intimidating." Z'ku tried not to laugh at her pout. "But you're far too nice to be intimidating."

"Hm. Maybe I should try to be mean." Meledei flipped a strand of hair back away from her face. "Though I might lose friends if I did that."

"Nice is much better." He leaned against the boulder. The surface was almost too warm.

"I think I'm going to have to agree. Why don't you sit down?" Meledei motioned to the spot on her right. "Take a load off, relax while we can."

"If the lady offers ..." He hopped up next to her.

"So, tell me, any thoughts on who you think this admirer actually might be?" Meledei doubted he knew, but it never hurt to ask. Perhaps he'd seen or heard something he hadn't thought to mention.

Z'ku shrugged. "That bluerider you spend so much time with? The harper boy?"

"Trust me, it's definitely not him." F'gol was far too much obsessed with music to have the patience to pour any effort into any other talents. Meledei shook her head. "The only way it would be him is if we were the last two people on Pern."

"It wouldn't be much of a secret then, would it?"

"No it wouldn't." Meledei chuckled, "I was simply emphasizing how unlikely the admirer would be him. I still have no idea, but I don't think whoever it is is a weyrling."

"Oh? Why not?" Z'ku asked.

"Well, because we're all so close right now, it's hard to do something like the sketch without someone taking notice." Meledei shrugged, "I would think _some_one would have noticed another weyrling doing something like that."

"Ah, I see. With the Hall so close, maybe it's a harper?" He looked over to where Xemroth and Elleth were still happily splashing each other.

"That's what Afkica suggested." The green weyrling had been quite instrumental in trying to figure out ways for Meledei to find out the identity of her secret admirer. With two people suggesting the same thing, however, perhaps it _was_ time to go to the Harper Hall.

"It could be a harper trained Candidate, too," Z'ku suggested.

"Very true." Not a weyrling, but yes, a Candidate was a possibility. Meledei had known a great many candidates, some who had impressed, some who hadn't. Some she had grown up with in the Weyr. "Either way, I guess I should start at the Harper Hall."

"Sounds like a plan." He was curious to know who this admirer was, although he probably wasn't much of a threat.

Last updated on the March 27th 2009

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

List of Suspects