Good Morning Sunshine!

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 1st February 2014

Characters: Vell
Description: Vell's first morning on the trail
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 4 of Turn 7

The second day dawned bright and clear. Vell was awake to see it. She'd eventually fallen asleep but the brightening sky, a sore back and aching thighs woke her as the sky began to lighten from black to indigo. Her runner dozed fitfully nearby. He was as unused to sleeping out of doors as she was.

It was cold, too. Vell stayed in her bedroll as long as she was able before getting up to relieve herself in the bushes. She gathered a handful of twigs and lit a small fire, boiling the remains of the water in her canteen for tea. All around her the world began to wake up; the wind rustled the grass, insect wings began to hum, and in the distance she thought she heard a wherry. Her runner awoke too, stamping his feet and moving restlessly before beginning to graze.

Today she had to get out of her father's Holding. _Had_ to. She finished her tea and silenced her complaining stomach with a heel of bread. Stretching her arms above her bed, she winced. Her back felt black and blue from sleeping on the ground and her shoulders ached from wearing a pack all day.

Rolling her bedding was also a challenge. Her legs _hurt_. Vell was an accomplished rider, but she'd never sat in the saddle for that long before. Her inner thighs screamed at her every time she moved, and she was _not_ looking forward to getting back into the saddle. If she'd been smart she'd have packed some sort of muscle cream, but Vell was beginning to realize that she might not have been as smart as she'd thought.

Briefly she thought of home-warm scones from the oven, a cup of hot tea, laughter and her sisters and brother sitting next to her in the kitchens, instead of sitting alone in a bush somewhere. Her comfortable bed and warm blankets. A proper fire to drive the chill from her fingertips and a bath to ease aching muscles. For a moment she wanted it all back so badly her chest hurt.

But she couldn't go back. Not without Yarron.

The sun was well up by the time she?d stowed her baggage and was ready to go. Her runner had protested at the bridle and bit. She poked his belly when he inhaled and puffed himself out as she tightened his girth. "Stop it," she told him. "I'm having a hard enough time as it is."

The runner shook his head and tried to scratch his cheek on her thigh.

Vell pulled the stirrups down from the saddle and was about to mount up when movement caught her eye. A dragonrider, high in the sky above the hills. She inhaled sharply, then hurried her runner into the shade of the trees, shading her eyes at the distant figure. Was that a sweeprider? Was his blue dragon looking for her? "What do I do?" she asked the runner.

The gelding had no reply.

Vell worried her lip with her teeth. Was it better to hide or to ride in the open? In the open, she decided after a moment. Act like you?re supposed to be there, and people generally believed you. By the time she'd come to that conclusion the sweeprider was gone and the skies barren.

Reluctantly she mounted up, her legs nearly refusing to heft her onto her runner's back. The runner gave a deep sigh and reluctantly turned his nose back to the path. Vell patted his neck affectionately. "You need a name," she told him. "One will come to me, don't you worry."

The runner cocked his ears in an extremely skeptical way, and Vell smiled. She'd successfully escaped from home and spent her first night outside. Sure, she was sore, and a little lonely, but it wouldn't be long now until she reached the Sea of Azov, and then the Harper Hall. And then she'd find Yarron, and prove them all wrong.

Last updated on the February 8th 2014

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Good Morning Sunshine!