How do you go on? (open)

[katgod]

Ortath was sunning comfortably on the ledge outside their new weyr. The dragon's tail twitched every so often as it did when K'dyn was agitated or upset. The brown lay there wondering how to get his rider out of this new sadness. His rider meanwhile was setting things up in their proper places. The weyr looked almost the same as the one in Telgar now. It was only missing the things that mattered most besides Ortath.

He felt nearly dragonless though. At least he could swear he did. There was nothing left but duty to a Weyr that meant for him to be away from those he cared for most, for a second time. Bitterness did not become him, he knew that. He knew a lot more about this whole mess then he would admit to himself. Maybe he should have just slacked off as a wingrider, then even if he didn't have a Goldriding sister he wouldn't be chosen for anything because he couldn't be responsible.

Your sister would not have done this to you.Ortath said because like most dragons, he didn't think ill of Golds or their riders. I know. It isn't her fault. It is mine. I just miss them all, more than I even thought I would.I feel it too. Emptiness.The brown even sounded a little mopey there. K'dyn knew that this was not helping anyone, least of all Ortath. They should probably go out and get some air but he wasn't in the mood. He took a mug of klah and sat down next to his dragon on the ledge, looking out so they could see the brilliant blue ocean.

For all that he didn't like it there, he had to say the view from his weyr was pretty spectacular. Much prettier than Telgar. Yes but rather less fulfilling. K'dyn sipped his klah and looked around to see what other dragons were on their ledges. Not many but then there weren't many people with dragons here, yet. This almost seemed like a mission for breeders. He had done his duty there, or rather Gwynhaver had. Five children, more than he thought he would ever have. He should have spent more time with them.

[Kayla]

Neory felt badly for K'dyn. She had not exactly avoided him since they had arrived, but she had not spent as much time with him as she had become accustomed to, considering him one of her closest friends and advisors. She did not let it show, knowing that she had to be strong, but she felt like it was her fault that he was here without his family.

She had her weyrmate, her children, her brother, and of course her lovely Sheluth. K'dyn had Ortath and his sister, and Neory was not sure that he was taking much comfort in the second, not that she blamed him.

She knocked on his door, knowing that having Sheluth bespeak Ortath would be unfair. There were times that she would not hesitate to use Sheluth's authority, but with her brother when he was grieving was not one of those times. "K'dyn? Can I come in?"

Perhaps she could let hr guard down with her brother, let him see that she did not want this for him.

[katgod]

K'dyn was dressed in a loose ivory shirt and brown loose pants. He was not expecting company of any kind so when he heard a voice he stood up to hear better. His sister was there. "Yeah, come on in Neory." He began to walk inside from the ledge and set his mug of klah on the table where he readied another mug for his younger sister.

The brown didn't move at all. He was perfectly at ease where he was and he saw no reason to greet Neory. If Sheluth were with her, he would have to but when it was just the girl he was permitted to remain relaxed. K'dyn still treated her like a sister more so than a Goldrider. That was how Ortath saw her.

"Some klah?" He offered, in a tone that was more bitter than he had sounded before coming here. It was something he couldn't hide in front of anyone. He didn't want Neory to blame herself and he knew she would but he could not keep his sadness out of his features. Neory would understand. It took so much for him to admit to caring for people that when he did, it was long lasting and hard to live without.

[Kayla]

"Klah would be nice." She offered him a small smile, the bitterness in his voice something that she completely understood, or at least understood why he felt it. She watched him, concerned.

She sent a smile in the direction of the resting Brown, not remotely offended by him not getting up for her. After all, the Brown had been a favorite of hers before she ever impressed the beautiful Gold.

"K'dyn, how are you doing?" She tried not to grimace at that, realizing that it was a stupid question. She waved a hand, "Never mind, that was... yeah." Neory was not one to usually be unsure of herself, but what could she say to make him feel any better.

"Settling in to your new weyr?"

[katgod]

K'dyn poured it to about half an inch from the rim and sat down. He was watching her as she began conversation. When she began to fail miserably at it, he shook his head slightly. "Neory theres no need to be nervous. Things are what they are. You and I can't change that right now." He looked around the weyr and thought it looked pretty settled now.

"Ortath and I got everything the way we want it. Least it looks like home." Even if it didn't feel like it. Neory was all too likely feeling uncomfortable here. K'dyn did his best not to bring up Gwyn or the kids because that would make things worse.

"How about you? Are things settling down for you? " K'dyn also refrained from mentioning that other Goldrider. He figured she was trouble but he didn't know what kind yet. Until Neory complained, he would never know. Like most the riders from Telgar he was hoping for Neory to become Senior Weyrwoman but he wondered if she wanted that sort of pressure.

[Kayla]

Neory nodded, "Yeah. Things are fine." Of course they're fine. My mate is with me, and I pulled rank enough to get my children. She smiled a bit as she accepted the klah and took a seat.

"It does remind me of... well... yeah." She sighed, not wanting to make things worse for him. She knew that with time she could confide in him again, but for now, his pain was too much for her to add to, even if it was just the sense of her own guilt.

"You know, I realize this is far too early to even think about this, but I wonder how long after us this weyr will last. If we change things enough, will Nova be here when Thread falls?" She thought it was a relatively safe place to take the conversation, away from open wounds that she wanted to take care of, but was afraid of hurting them worse.

[katgod]

K'dyn let himself say what she had not finished. "Yeah, its like home." If he had to live in this alternate life than at least he could feel at home in it. "Maybe we end up going back?" He suggested but he too had no idea how long this would last but for them to even suggest the Weyr existed in the future to someone living there, could have horrible and dangerous results. It was far better to believe they went back to their home.

Ortath lifted his head and watched his rider who seemed to be thinking a little too much of home. He changed the conversation again, "Since we are still going to be fighting thread do you think Weyrling training is going to have to be more intense. We wouldn't want to lose new riders to threadfall..." He knew that as a Goldrider she would have a keen interest in her dragons offspring just as he had in the youth of the weyr.

He just wished he was going to see his own kids impress. Not that they had to but they did have the dragonriding parents and a Goldriding aunt. Neory's daughter and son were here and R'ko who was almost like a son to him after all those turns together. The young man had impressed a brown just like K'dyn had though they were obviously different than himself and Ortath.

[Kayla]

Neory smiled, hoping for K'dyn's sake that that was what wound up happening. "I hope so, K'dyn. That'd be good."

She frowned slightly thinking about the burden they were putting on the weyrlings they'd come here to breed. "I do think it will be more intense, but not because of Thread. Or at least no more intense than it would be at home with Thread actively falling. I think the fact that they will be regularly timing it..." She closed her eyes. "Going between already causes weyrling accidents, loses. Timing it, as you well know, is so much more difficult, requires so much more of the Rider and Dragon both. And we cannot afford for our Riders to take a day to recover every time they're sent forward to fight Thread... Add that to the fact that they will be fighting Thread - they will have the hardest weyrlinghood of anyone, I believe. But if it keeps them alive, then it will be well worth it."

Some thought that Neory did not care for Sheluth to fly first, but the fact of the matter was thatr she simply reacted to power differently. It was not something she had to have, not something she craved, but it was something that she took seriously, a responsibility, and she believed that she was more fit for it than Laszreen (though she willingly admited that the former-Igen Goldrider most likely felt the same away about her!). As such, she had put much thought into the various questions that the weyrwoman would face, including what it would mean to send Riders forward to fight Thread (though that was more the weyrleader's concern).

[katgod]

K'dyn knew that this was not going to be easy, being here. Just because they were no longer at risk of dying from the plagues that were still haunting the remaining populace of Pern in 1068, did not mean they were safe. Far from it. In the middle of an interval, Searching would be difficult, he remembered how hard it had been to get anyone before Thread began to fall.

There were always risks going Between but going Between times, like she said, would be much more difficult. There were going to be losses especially among the younger, less experienced riders and weyrlings. Fighting Thread would create even more loss. He only hoped they would be strong enough. He had no doubt that Neory and Laszreen were two of the strongest women, mentally, on Pern. Even if Laszreen seemed a bit scary to him. Something in her eyes made him shiver and he couldn't shake the feeling that she knew more than she appeared to.

There were shadows on that woman's life, mark his thoughts! Neory was a saner mentally strong person. She needed to have Sheluth rise first or there would be problems. He could see the Weyr refusing to follow a woman they didn't trust and then there would be a divided Weyr. A Weyr that could do nothing, let alone save the dragonriders of the future. The concern on his face was apparent. They had a lot of work to do on this end of Pern's timeline.

"I'm sure we will do what must be done not only for the sake of this Weyr and the ones in the future but for the people of Pern who are going to die without us." They were the protectors and they had a very big job to do. "Do you think Sheluth will rise soon? It has been long enough hasn't it?"

[Kayla]

"We will, K'dyn. That's why we're here. Why we're all making this sacrifice." Of course, she knew that the sacrifice that he was making was much more than hers. After all, her family was here, her closest friends were here, except for his weyrmate and children.

"It's not fair, K'dyn. I know that. And I'm so sorry that so much has been asked of you. I don't know that I'm selfless enough to wish that we could have done this without you, but I do wish that Gwen could have come. I'm sorry." It was not her fault. She had tried, but there was a limit, and she knew that he could not know that, nor did it make her feel better about the pain that her brother was going through.

"I don't know. Well, soon, I think yes - actually I know it will be soon. She isn't yet glowing or acting proddy, but there's almost a pre-proddy sense, but I don't know if the Timing it will affect her or not. Nor do I know how soon Elfreth is likely to rise." She sighed, "It's frustrating, having so much depend on something that none of us can control... But I believe there is reason to hope that Sheluth will be first."

[sarah15554]

Jinet saw Neory and K'dyn talking. She want to say hi to the two of them but deciede not to cause they seemed like they were in a converson already. So she walked past them slowely and waved to both of them hopeing they might talk to her aswell.