Wag the Tongue

Writers: Chelle, Eimi
Date Posted: 7th August 2010

Characters: Rhosyn, R'sedel
Description: The two finally meet and have a gossip fest.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 6 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: U'das, J'ren, K'sedel, M'galec, R'syl

Orlaith was in the Bowl, modeling for her rider, who was walking
underneath her, checking for spots that were dry. The massive gold was
patient, but did seem bored. }:It'll be okay mine. I don't itch:{
**Not yet, you don't.**

Rhosyn was adamant and wouldn't stop until she was personally satisfied.
She would never allow Orlaith's hide to crack. **Over my dead body**

"Checking for dry patches? Or is she just showing off for that bronze
over there? Faranth knows Eniidith is preening like a proddy gold,"
R'sedel grinned at the new Weyrwoman.

She stopped walking long enough to register who was speaking, then
she continued her search. "If she had her way, she'd probably be on her
couch. Someone was up half the night since one of the weyrlings had
thicktail." Rhosyn gave Orlaith a good scratch then walked back out,
finished.

And with that, the gold did just what she said she'd do. She headed off
to her weyr and disappeared. "See?" Rhosyn laughed, wishing she could
rest.

"Yes, I have noticed thick tails on a few of those weyrlings," the
greenrider grinned. "The older ones, of course," he quickly amended.
He might like a nice rump on a man, but certainly not on a boy.

"So you are..." She was trying to place him, but she still hadn't met
everyone yet.

"R'sedel, and yes, I am a relation." He figured she'd be smart enough
to hear the uncanny resemblance between his name and the former
Weyrleader, not wingleader's name.

"Ah right..greenriding relation. Check." She pushed back some of her
hair that had come loose. Rhosyn was seriously considering cutting it
all off. "Well I'm Rhosyn, the one who is getting out of the midday sun.
Would you like to join me?" She turned for the entrance to the Lower
Caverns.

"But of course," he said with a deep bow, but an irreverent grin. With
that smile, it was hard to believe he was one of K'sedel's brood. "You
don't like our sun, then?"

"Oh I like it..just in doses. Being out in the midday like that is
suicide. I'd end up goldrider-on-toast." Snorting, Rhosyn continued
onward, making it the cool dark stone of the tunnels easily. People
parted to make way for her. "You're the funny one, I hear."

"Oh? I thought I was the handsome one," he said with a slight pout.

"Mmm haven't met all of you I'm sure so I can't form a proper opinion."
Out of the corner of her eye, she checked the glows to make sure the
weyrlings had properly turned and replaced them. "Just how many are
there, anyway?"

He quickly counted them up in his head. "My father had eight children,
including me. My mother thought I was enough."

"Well with his turns and that many flights, I'd say that's pretty good."
She nodded to herself. "You're not close with your dad then eh?"

"My Dad? We're close! I'm his oldest, after all," he said with some
pride. At least he could always hold _that_ over K'reyel's head. "I'm
just not like him or his other sons is all."

She smiled. "Yeah..that's good. Different is good." They found their
way to the Dining Cavern where she promptly found a seat and some
water. "He's a good man."

"He is. I love him whole heartedly," R'sedel agreed in a moment of rare
seriousness. "There's none better than him."

"I wish I could have known my father more." Rhosyn shrugged as she
drank, thinking about her younger turns.

"Did he pass on?" the greenrider asked with curiosity, and a touch of
gentleness in his voice.

"Mhmm. Then we were scattered to the four winds of Pern." She didn't
fault her mother and Rhosyn understood that fostering was normal.

Kind of like his own family, though with dragons it was easy to keep
in touch with them all. "There were a lot of you then?"

"Six kids and my parents before Dad was gone." She hadn't spoken to
most of her siblings since then. Between Impression and everything else,
she had had so much to deal with. And now she wasn't even sure she knew
where they were.

"Which one were you?"

"Number four." She smiled, thinking of her brothers and sisters. She had
been closer to her brothers. "In the middle, sort of."

"I wish I had older siblings," R'sedel sighed wistfully.

"Why? So they can pick on you all the time?" Rhosyn laughed, thinking
about the times when she'd been left at home, crying. "Although they can
be useful sometimes. Like when you need protecting."

"I do like being protected sometimes," he said with a sigh, thinking of
a pair of strong arms...

Finishing off her water, she grabbed a piece of bread, tearing it into
quarters. "Orlaith can take care of me now, but I do wonder sometimes
what my brothers and sisters are doing these days." None of her family
had been there to witness her Impression.

"Why don't you look for them? I'm sure you would have an easy time
finding them." She certainly had the power behind her.

"Maybe I'm afraid of what I'll find." She shrugged. "And anyway, if they
wanted to see me, I'm sure they could find me. Right?"

R'sedel was a little surprised. "Are they all dragonriders?" Even his
own family hadn't had such luck.

"I don't know. I was the only one that went to the Weyr." Still, most
people in the South knew the Weyrwomen.

"Well, then, I would suspect it's far easier for you to find them." His
voice was nonchalant, but he did have a curious gleam in his eye. "That
is, if you are really interested in knowing about your family after all
these turns."

"Maybe it's better just to leave it. If it happens, it happens." Rhosyn
ate a piece of the bread after dipping it in melted cheese. "Do you
think your brother will catch again?" Her grin was mischievous in the
extreme.

"Faranth, I hope not. His ego is insufferable enough when he _doesn't_
have power on the brain," R'sedel said with a roll of his eyes. He
chewed for a moment. "Well, I take that back. If my father doesn't
win, then I would want him to. Keep it in the family. Besides, I would
be half afraid U'das would catch and that would mean I can't check out
his body every day! My life would become boring very quickly."

She almost choked on her bread when he said that. "Not that he isn't in
shape but...he's your father's age?" The look on her face was priceless.

"Woman, have you _seen_ that man without his clothes on? I have, up
close and personal, and if you have seen what I've seen, you'd look
forward to undressing him with your eyes as much as I do. It's what
gets me out of bed to go to drills every morning." And with a smile on
his face, no less.

"No I haven't." She shook her head, but she was smiling. "That J'ren
looks pretty good though. Tall, tan.."

"And I get to look at _both_ of them on a daily basis." He was indeed
in the best wing on Pern.

"I wonder if it would look strange if I started to watch the other wings
drill. There has to be some excuse I could offer..." Rhosyn tapped her
chin. "Studying up on River Bluff formations.."

"You're the Weyrwoman. What excuse do _you_ need?" he asked with a
laugh.

"Well I don't know but R'syl got all upset when I was watching the
weyrlings." She shrugged, still thinking how odd he was.

"Are you sure it wasn't his snobbish Second? Thank Faranth he hadn't
been around when I was a weyrling. Some of the stories I hear about
that man," he said with a shake of his head. "He should just stick to
the infirmary."

"Met him on the first day." She nodded, deciding she liked R'sedel.

"Oh, what a welcome," R'sedel said with an almost painful expression.
"I'm sorry. My brother should have been more considerate. He doesn't
really think of those things, you know."

"Ah it's okay. It's snot in his eye that I technically outrank him
anyway. I've dealt with those sorts before." She frowned a moment, then
turned her head. "Well R'sedel I have to get a move on. Plenty to do and
people to see. I do hope we'll chat soon though."

"I'll be around. Come watch our wing and we can certainly have a lot to
talk about," he winked, picking up his own tray and leaving the
Weyrwoman to the rest of her day.

Last updated on the August 13th 2010

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Wag the Tongue