No Strangers To Rumors [Taxx/Aleni]

[Zen]

10th Pass, 6th Turn, 3rd Month
2 Days After Set Fire To The Rain

A'zael :: Bronze Fath; D'rew

It had been several months since the hatching of Aerroth’s second clutch. A’zael generally didn’t overly concern himself with getting to know new weyrlings until after they’d survived their first several betweening lessons; losses were easier to bear that way. But he already knew Aleni from candidacy, and there were... extenuating circumstances. For one, she was a goldrider, for two, the fiasco at the hatching about her being a boy had lasting effects. It was still wondered about, circulating around the rumor mill. A’zael didn’t give a flying fardle what the truth was on the matter, but he did want to make sure their newest goldrider was not being mistreated for it. To be sure, if she was indeed a boy, living as a girl, that was… new, and confusing, but whatever the truth, Riyobith had chosen her, and that was all he really needed to know, or wanted to know, honestly. He had enough to think about without trying to puzzle out that mystery. However Aleni chose to live her life wasn’t any of his business anyway.

So he had Fath ask Sabanth when he could come to speak with Aleni, quite aware that K’ton was leaving the class to the bluerider until their lessons got a bit more interesting to the old man. Riyobith was too big at this point to come with her rider through the weyr's halls had he asked her to come to his weyr instead, and too young to fly to it. He’d rather Aleni be able to stay with her dragon. He had asked D’rew before, about Aleni and the two brownrider girls, especially after Karo’s near kidnapping and the less than pleasant visit from Aleni's father, but he wanted to hear from Aleni directly, and if she was having any problems he would see them addressed.

Preferring to be a little less conspicuous, he decided to walk up to the weyrling barracks rather than ride. Besides, Fath still had some healing scores on his back that he was trying not to agitate. The Fall over the western continent had only been two days ago, and he had at least taken it easy since and left drills in the hands on his seconds while he had Fath both healed up more. But in another two days there would be a Fall over the Isles, and if his arm was still bothering him then, it would just be too sharding bad. He'd had a few minor scores here and there before, but never anything quite this deep. It was inconvenient to say the least, and as he made his way to the weyrling barracks he kept running over the moment it had happened in his mind. He couldn't figure out just how he might avoid the same mistake in the future, there was little he could do about Fath's distressed reaction to another dragon being seriously injured. Maybe if he had just refocused the bronze a bit faster....

Whereareyougoing, mine?

To see Aleni.

PrettyshinytinycuteRiyobith?

A'zael snorted a laugh, She's not that tiny anymore.

Tinycute, the bronze insisted, and A'zael didn't argue further. Icometoo!

He sighed, You do that. He had hoped to draw less attention to his visit without the bronze's presence but he wasn't going to tell him he couldn't come. Fath loved young dragons, gold or not.

At last coming upon the beast hold, he put such thoughts away for the time being. D'rew was there to meet him at the barracks, “How's your arm?”

He gave a displeased grunt at that and D'rew laughed lightly, “Annoying, mostly. Sabanth's scores?”

“They weren't bad at all, he's already only complaining that they itch. There's no pain. When ah... do you think you'll be back to drills?” D'rew cast a glance over A'zael's shoulder as though expecting to see someone he didn't want to see.

A'zael raised a brow, “After next Fall, probably. Why? G'brel and Ra-R'get aren't leading them to your liking?”

“No, not that, exactly... more that... well, K'rin keeps trying to insert himself and undermine R'get and G'brel just doesn't seem quite like he knows how to handle it. Don't get me wrong, he's a good wingsecond, a good man, but K'rin was his wingleader before you and I think that still, perhaps, carries some weight with him,” the bluerider lowered his voice slightly as he explained.

A frown tugged at A'zael's lips at that, “I'll talk to him. Thanks for telling me.” He couldn't help but wonder why Rau wasn't telling him. Surely his brother trusted him to have his back? Or, maybe that was the problem. Rau thought he shouldn't need him to step in. He'd have to talk to both his seconds, it seemed. Separately. He waved his hand then, dismissing it for now, “Will you get Aleni for me?”

“Sure, I'll send her out to you,” the bluerider nodded and turned, heading inside to find the young woman. “Aleni?” He lowered his voice as he approached, “A'zael would like to talk to you. He's waiting for you just outside the barracks.”

Taxx

[Taxx]

After the morning rush of feeding Riyoboth and her pets, and then bathing the quickly growing gold, Aleni was more than willing to take a relatively quiet moment to oil the dragon. Skylight and Sleek were watching, Dab perched on the edge of the tub that held the seaspitter, and Red was stuffed full and deeply asleep on the bed. It was a busy routine each morning, but she was nearly done and Riyo was always happy to nap while her rider went to do any chores she was slotted for.

Riyobith was sprawled on her back to allow Aleni work on her underside, rubbing the oil into a dry spot she'd found in the joint of the gold's leg when D'rew called to her, and she glanced up at the Weyrlingmaster, Riyo's head craning around a moment later. A blink, a sense of wariness- why was the weyrleader seeking her out? Had he got more complaints... had T'vil said something to his own weyrleaders? "I think he just wants to talk," the bluerider added on, obviously trying to ease her worries, because how often did the weyrleader take time to talk to a weyrling- unless they were in trouble for something?

"Okay- thanks, D'rew," she replied, picking up a clean rag to wipe the oil from her hands as she rose. Skylight leaped to her shoulder and swiped his cheek against hers with a croon as Riyo rolled to her feet and stretched. The gold had doubled in size since her hatching- just over fifteen feet, Aleni had found in measuring her the day before. Her head was just a bit below Aleni's shoulder now; she hadn't been exactly tiny when she'd been a new hatchling, and in the months since, she'd grown impressively.

Should I come too? the gold asked as Aleni nudged the pail of oil and the rags into a corner to take care of later.

If you want, the young woman replied, dropping the rag she'd been using to wipe off her fingers onto her trunk and heading out; Riyo followed willingly, keeping pace with her rider as they headed for the entrance of the barracks. Aleni's gaze found A'zael first before going to Fath, the large bronze standing behind his rider; she greeted them both. "Good morning, weyrleader, Fath. You wanted to see me?"

Riyobith glanced at the man, offering him a rumble of acknowledgement before turning her attention to Fath. Hello! You're looking well today, Fath. What brings you and yours to talk to Mine?
Zen

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

While he waited for Aleni to appear, Fath arrived, landing and padding closer, and knowing just what his dragon was about to do, A'zael stopped him, You'll block the entrance if you try to stick your head in there, Fath, not to mention you'll probably get stuck. Just wait.

Fath snorted, his head lowered as he was clearly poised to do just as his rider suspected. The entrance to the weyrling barracks was definitely not large enough for a full grown bronze, but he was eager to see Riyobith, and the other tinycutes too. Wanttoplaywiththem, mine, he informed his rider petulantly.

You can play with Riyobith if she agrees. Leave the others alone, he didn't need the entire weyrling class running out to spectate his conversation with Aleni.

Aleni and Riyobith's appearance brought an end to the conversation as the bronze focused almost completely on the yet much smaller gold, his tail swishing behind him like a canine's as she and her rider both addressed him. Hellohello! He broadcast to them both, returning both greetings at once before Aleni ceased to matter. His A'zael was here for her, but he had come to see Riyobith. He turned one whirling eye but briefly toward his rider as the little queen asked him why they had come, Don'tknowwhyminecame. IcametoseeprettyshinytinycuteRiyobith. He lowered his head to her, eyes whirling pleasant shades of blue and green, Wanttoplay?

A’zael waved his good hand instinctively upon being addressed by title, “Please, just call me A’zael, I prefer to avoid titles when I can.” She didn’t look worse for wear, at least, as he paused to give the young woman a quick look over. “Ah, I just wanted to check in with you,” he assured her after a moment, aware that a visit from the Weyrleader could mean any myriad of things, most of them tending toward the negative side of the spectrum. “How are you doing with your training? Has anyone been giving you trouble?” He glanced over at Riyobith then, taking the young gold in as well, but as she conversed with Fath she seemed happy and healthy enough. “I just want to make sure that… mess at the hatching isn’t hurting either of you.”

Taxx

[Taxx]

Fath's bright reply made Aleni smile, but the bronze's attention on her was fleeting; he was much more interested in Riyobith, his attraction to golds well known enough that Aleni didn't hold it against him. Riyo crooned gratitude as the big male lowered his head to hers, and she reached forward to bump her nose against his. You came just to see me? she asked, eyes flashing a brighter shade of green. Well, thank you. It is lovely to meet you. Play? she repeated, and a bolt of mischief, a rare emotion from her, pulled Aleni's gaze to the dragons for a moment. Okay! Catch me if you can! Darting forward, the young gold slid beneath Fath's chin; she skidded to a halt underneath him and dropped her front half, a bow with her hindquarters in the air and her tail waving.

Turning back to A'zael, Aleni gave a nod to his request- it didn't matter to her what she called him; they'd been Candidates together at one point, but he'd since Impressed, had been a rider for four Turns, and she hadn't wanted to act like he was the same flirty, mostly carefree person he'd been when they'd held the same rank. "All right," she agreed. If he wanted her to call him by name, that was no trouble. He went on to explain the reason behind his visit- to check up on her. She understood that; T'vir's revelation had caused quite the stir, and yet she wondered if he'd be so worried if she'd Impressed a lower-ranked color. Well- she supposed, if she had, then her brother wouldn't have spilled her past to everyone in the first place.

"it's been going okay," she replied. She hesitated, wondering how much to actually tell him- T'vir's visit after the Hatching flashed back into her mind, and she knew she probably ought to tell him about that, or about the fact that some of the weyrlings kept calling her by the name she'd been born with and the insults they tossed her way as often as they crossed paths, but she held back. "Just words," she continued with a shrug, glancing off over A'zael's shoulder, not quite able to meet his gaze. "They know K'ton wouldn't tolerate them putting their hands on me, so that's something. It's not like it's anything new for me- I got this and worse from T'vil and my mother."

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

A’zael wasn’t sure if the pause after Aleni’s assurance that everything was going okay was telling or not, but when she spoke again, glanced away, he frowned. His jaw clenched briefly at the mention of how she had been treated by her parents in the past. No wonder she had come to Mavros to Impress when her family had been back at Benden. A sorry excuse for a family such as it was. Clearly her parents had heavily influenced her brother as well.

“I can’t say I… understand... this,” he paused, unsure what even to call the situation, “But I want you to feel safe here, Aleni. And if you don’t, I want to know, so I can do something about it.” He wasn’t sure just what he would be able to do, but if Aleni felt unsafe, he would figure out something. The fact that this treatment was all normal for her was sad and infuriating all at once. He didn’t understand it but he also didn’t care, it was no reason to treat her as she had been treated when she was a perfectly nice person in his experience. A bit closed off, from his recollection, but now he knew why.

His gaze shifted over toward where Fath was stepping gingerly around, surprisingly careful so as not to step on Riyobith while the two played like a couple of overgrown canines. Fath’s carefree joy at the company and the game were mildly distracting, the big bronze entirely enamored with the little gold. If he kept this up he was going to upset Danovelith again. Absently, A’zael rubbed lightly at his shoulder, returning his attention to Aleni, “Do you have support in your class? Friends, or at least people willing to stand with you?”

As Riyobith continued to grow, he was sure the gold would be a decent deterrent for many when it came to confrontation and bullying, but in the mean time it would help if she was able to keep at least one or two friends near. In his experience, bullies were cowards, and there was safety in numbers. “The way you’ve been treated may have been normal for you before, but I don’t want it to be normal for you here. If there’s anything I can do, anything you need at any time… please let me know.” He felt like he was maybe being a bit naive, to think there was much at all he could do. Aleni had been dealing with this most of her life it seemed and clearly little had changed for her. But he was going to try anyway.

Taxx

[Taxx]

No, she supposed she could concede that. How could anyone understand unless they were like she was? Mizao had said much the same when Aleni had confided in her as well, but she wasn't really expecting them to get it. Their support regardless was what really mattered, and finding that she had the Weyrleader in her corner was a relief. Aside from Karredy, he was the highest ranked person in the Weyr, and although she wasn't planning on running to him every time, it was nice to know that if someone made a serious enough threat that she could rely on him to back her and not the other person. Part of her briefly wondered how much of that was his concern about Riyo, as a gold, but did it matter either way?

"Thank you, A'zael. I'll keep that in mind." She followed his gaze toward their dragons, watching as Riyobith darted between Fath's legs, keeping out of reach of his nose and tagging him with hers as she weaved around him, making use of her smaller size. "Oh, yes. Karo and I are rooming together and she's great. And Mizao- she knows and she is... accepting. I don't think she truly understands either, but she's a friend all the same and I'm glad to have her." Then there were others who didn't seem to care one way or the other, who interacted with her as they had before the Hatching, who weren't necessarily friends but who weren't enemies either. And then...

"Th'ron believes what T'vir said. He likes to talk. But that's it, really- I can handle words." It wasn't like she'd been all that close with him before, either, he'd always had an ego and getting a bronze had only stoked it. "I will, if I need to, but really, it's not been all that bad. Being here has been great, and it doesn't matter what anyone says, Riyo and I are a team, and they can't break that." She hoped, anyway, that they wouldn't risk her and Riyo's lives.

A weight leaned against her hip and Riyobith was humming, having left her game to give support to her rider. Never, Mine. We are together. We will tell you, Fath's, if anyone is mean to me or Mine. It is kind to offer. We are grateful.

[Zen]

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

A’zael was glad to hear she had some support in her class, at least. Karo and Mizao. The girls that had Impressed the strange twin browns that had hatched from the same egg. They were oddities as well where most of Pern was concerned, and were it not for Aleni people likely would be making a bigger deal about the both of them. It would be good for the three of them to stick together.

Th’ron? He vaguely remembered the boy had Impressed one of the bronzes from the clutch. He didn’t normally pay too much attention to who was who in the weyrling classes until after Betweening lessons had been safely passed, but any young bronzerider could take his place one day so he couldn’t help but pay them a little more attention.

The fact that Th’ron had taken to bullying Aleni was not at all promising. As if Mavros needed another K’rin. But it seemed Aleni was keeping a decently positive attitude. A dragon helped, he mused as the young gold came to join her rider. He was mildly surprised when Riyobith spoke to him directly, “Ah, you’re quite welcome, Riyobith.”

He cleared his throat and glanced around quickly, as if the man in question might suddenly appear from the barracks, “You mentioned K’ton… he’s been… alright? He hasn’t treated you poorly? Well. Worse than he treats everyone, at least.” His disdain for the weyrlingmaster seeped into his tone. If he wasn’t so sharding effective he’d just replace him already.

Taxx

[Taxx]

Riyobith dipped her head to Fath's in a deliberate nod. She stayed where she was, a quiet but steady presence at her rider's side, her weight gently leaned against Aleni's body for comfort and support. Her head turned back toward Fath, rumbling at him, but she didn't move from her spot yet. Her eyes slid closed, the rumble shifting to a quieter hum, as Aleni's hand rested on her head and her fingers began to scratch lightly at her eye ridges, finding an itchy spot that she hadn't really noticed until the scratching had started, and she leaned happily into the caress.

Aleni smiled down at the rosy gold and then back up at A'zael. She couldn't quite help a briefly wider grin at the clear distaste the Weyrleader held for the weyrlingmaster, but she shook her head all the same. "He hardly seems to notice me, which I think I prefer, really. I don't know if he just doesn't believe it, but I guess it doesn't matter, either. He tells me what to do, I do it, and there's no trouble." She hesitated again, and then added, "He's not exactly nice to Mizao and Karo, though. I guess he doesn't approve of girls on browns."

She wasn't sure if A'zael could intervene enough to stop that behavior, but it couldn't hurt to pass it on? The two were her friends and she didn't really like the rude comments and glares he aimed at them; it shouldn't matter what color they'd Impressed. Considering the alternative- unless K'ton would have rather seen the browns go between than Impress girls? His was the same colorist attitude her father had had, and she didn't like it from K'ton any more than T'vil- but what could she do, as one of the bronzerider's weyrlings?