A musical introduction

Writers: AL, Ang
Date Posted: 10th February 2012

Characters: Meledei, D'mal, Zahren, Z'hrentis
Description: Meledei and Zahren enjoy some music as they discuss the upcoming Hatching
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 4 of Turn 6

The sound of music was irresistible to Melody. It was a sweet melody,
and one that she was well familiar with. She just couldn't walk on
by, so instead she paused, changed direction and moved further down
the hall to peek into the room from whence the lovely tones came. It
was one of the rooms used for classes, but it was empty - save for one
young man. She leaned against the doorway, arms crossed over and
grinned.

Feeling a tad homesick, Zahren began playing a lullaby his mother used
to sing to him as a child. The chords were easy and only the change
in tempo made it evoke happy or sad feelings. It was easy to tell
with the slower speed what he was feeling. Oh, he was happy with his
life but it was so different here and he missed his family.

As the last chord faded, he sighed and lifted his right hand to pull
his curly dark brown hair out of his eyes and noticed the woman
standing in the doorway. It took a moment for him to realize who she
was and he was quick to stand and bow slightly, gitar gripped in his
left hand. "Weyrw ... Goldr ... ma'am," he finished lamely and
wondered just how much trouble he was in.

"Meledei." Came the answer on the heels of Zahren's attempt at a
greeting. She grinned, quite obviously not mad but amused by his
stumbling. "Just Meledei. Heard some pretty music and thought I'd
come to listen for a bit."

Smiling, Zahren's Harper skills kicked in and he relaxed as he sat
back on the bench. "Meledei it is. Come join me ... is there
anything specific you'd like to hear?" he asked as he again began
gently plucking at the strings. Being such a new candidate, he wasn't
even thinking of Standing, completely engrossed in the music in his
head.

Meledei straightened and crossed into the room, then plopped down on
the bench beside him. "How about the Lady of Argyll?" The goldrider
suggested, tucking her legs under her in a nice balancing act on the
bench. "I always did like that song."

"Good choice," he said with a grin, his fingers stilled as he mentally
ran through the tune she requested. He felt the song was a bit too
chipper for his mood but who was he to argue with a goldrider?
Beginning, he glanced at her and was amazed at how different she was
than he expected. She was much less formal than he thought.

"Gentlemen it is me duty
To inform you of one beauty
Though I'd ask of you a favour
Not to seek her for a while ..."

It was an upbeat song and one Meledei enjoyed. She didn't try to
interrupt but just sat back and listened. It was one that was really
fun to dance to, though she wasn't really in the best position to
dance at the moment.

Zahren felt his mood lighten the further he got into the song, his
voice settling into the lovely tenor his Mentor approved of. Watching
her helped since she seemed to be enjoying it. Nothing made him feel
better than someone enjoying his work. With a final flourish, his
hands stilled as the notes echoed about the room and he grinned at
Meledei. "Thank you ... that truly was the perfect song."

"Well, good, I'm glad." Meledei laughed, though she couldn't fathom
why he would consider that song perfect. "It's really fun to dance to
as well. So you're a harper." Her eyes grazed over the knots. "And
a candidate! Excellent!"

A flippant remark rose to his lips about how observant she was but he
squelched it before they were uttered. No sense in making the
goldrider angry. Mentally, he gave his mood a hard shake. "Yes,
ma'am ... on both counts. Although I haven't been here long and was
feeling a bit homesick," he answered then looked up at her. "The
clutch is from your dragon, is it not? Are you excited?"

"Yes, it's Elleth's clutch and yes, I'm _very_ excited." Meledei was
practically beaming just at talking about it. She wasn't excited at
all, not a bit. "So where are you from? Were you studying at the Hall
before you got searched?"

Zahren was glad to see the goldrider so happy about the clutch on the
Sands. He'd heard of weyrwomen who weren't always thrilled since it
limited their activities until the eggs Hatched. "Yes, I was at the
Harper Hall and had only come home to visit my mother when I was
Searched. It was a bit of a surprise for both me and my sister who
declined to Stand. She returned to the Hall," he answered, his smile
faltering a bit as he looked down at the strings of his guitar,
strumming once. "My father is here, you may know him. Brownrider
Z'hrentis?"

He wasn't sure why he mentioned the man since he'd barely seen him his
entire 17-turns. Zahren strummed again before glancing at her to get
her reaction. Z'hrentis wasn't much to remember except for his quiet
charm and stoic nature. He sometimes wondered what would have
happened if his mother had wanted to stay at the Weyr.

"Oh yes, he and my father are friends." Meledei nodded. How small
Pern seemed at times! It wasn't much of a connection, but it still
was something of one. "My father is also a brownrider, D'mal."

Zahren's eyes lit up at the thought of their fathers being friends.
"Ah, so we have something else in common besides music," he said,
although he wasn't sure who D'mal was himself. "I want you to know
that I'm excited for this opportunity. Just hope that I Impress well
... if I Impress at all. There are a lot of candidates here, is that
usual for Dolphin Cove?"

"The more candidates there are, the better usually. They want the
dragons to have the best choice available." She eyed the young man,
Meledei studying him. "I think you'll do well. If you don't Impress
this time, there are plenty more chances to come."

Chuckling softly, Zahren rested his hands on the top of the gitar as
he looked back at her. "Experienced enough to know who will or won't
Impress already, hm? You're a very interesting woman, Goldrider
Meledei," he said with a respectful nod. "Is it strange that I don't
know as much as I should considering I have a brownrider as a father?
Believe me, I know the basics, everyone who's Harper trained does …
but it's the details, you know? Anyway, I'm not in a major hurry so
if it isn't my time now, I'll stick around until it is. After all,
Harpers are always needed, eh?"

"Not really, I'm no search dragon, but...I don't know. Something
about you I guess." Meledei shrugged and then grin. "Me?
Interesting? I think you've got the wrong goldrider." She placed her
elbow on her knee then rested her chin in her hand. "No, not really.
I mean, you were studying at the hall and then came here. Why should
you know more? And yes, Harpers are always needed, even at Weyrs! So
I'm glad you'll stick around."

Nodding as she tried to explain how she got a feel for candidates,
Zahren simply couldn't fathom knowing himself. "You mean there are
more interesting goldriders here? Impossible …" he said with as much
charm as his young Harper Turns had given him. There was usually a
small grain of truth to any gossip, if one knew how to filter the
words spoken. Of course, he had no intention of letting her get too
far into her gossip, if she even spoke. It was something he was
working on, trying to get people to talk to him without unduly
pressuring them.

"Trust me, I'm not the most interesting person, much less the most
interesting goldrider. You should chat with Cyradis. She's new,has
kids. I bet she's a lot more interesting than me." Meledei uncurled
her legs and hopped off of the bench. "I should get going, but it
really nice meeting you. Maybe I can get you to play for me again
some time."

To him, everyone was interesting but that would be a discussion for
another day. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Meledei. Please give my
regards to Elleth. I would love to play for you anytime," Zahren said
as he also stood. It was time to get back to classes anyway. "See
you at the Hatching, if not before."

"I hope it's before!" Meledei called brightly as she fairly bounced
out of the room. The song and pleasant conversation had put her in a
good mood. Hopefully nothing would happen to get her out of it!

Last updated on the February 18th 2012

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A musical introduction