Arrival [Open]

[Hiko]

You are bitter. The dragon's interrupting thought was not wrong, however unwelcome the statement might have been.
It wasn't fair, Talera responded, Even if we were the most junior pair, we should have at least been given the option of staying – that was my home! Your birthplace! And they want us to leave for Mavros? The Weyrhold's a death sentence!
Then we had better be wary. Whinging like a child will not help matters. And think of your pride! There's only one other gold at Mavros! What if she hasn't risen yet? I could be Weyrqueen!
I doubt you'll be so lucky. Though, I suppose...
You suppose? The queen was making her landing.Talera shifted in her seat so as to dodge the worst of the impact; agile enough in the skies, her golden lifemate took to heavy landings that usually sent the woman applying numbweed to private locations.
Word is, the Weyrwoman's only just past the age of majority. Even if you don't end up taking the responsibilities of the station, I may end up aiding in the workload.
Isn't that your job, anyway?

Talera laughed as she worked the harness off before dismounting. The gold wasn't wrong.
The woman surveyed the surroundings, narrowing her eyes at the sight of gathering onlookers. They acted as if they'd never seen a golden dragon before, and yet – Talera paused, realizing the severity of her words. No, they had. Since establishment, how many of their queens had Mavros lost? Death sentence, indeed.
Transfer papers!
Talera dug through the saddlebag resting against Aerroth's gleaming flank. If word was already spreading about the arrival of a new queen, then the woman thought it best to avoid looking completely green in the position. Better to have the papers ready for the first welcoming authoritative figure, than be at a complete loss later on.
Or, she wondered in afterthought, would so young of a Weyrwoman even care about protocol?
Aerroth, you told the watchdragon who we were?
Of course. We will likely be attended to shortly.
Talera, for all her thoughts, couldn't imagine what sort of welcome she'd seen be given.

[Zen]

Zenelle and the Council

The sight of a Gold dragon on the horizon was not one to be ignored, but especially not by Mavrosites who only had but the one, Zalmaranth, to look to. The Council wasted no time in making their way to meet the Goldrider and her dragon, their own dragons taking back off to perch higher up on the cliff and give the Gold some room. At the arrival of the Council, some of the onlookers had backed off a bit, but most were too curious to return to normal duties. After all, it wasn’t every day a Gold and her rider showed up out of the blue!

Zenelle, having been given more of a charge over Karredy and Zalmaranth than the other three for various reasons, was given the role to speak to this Goldrider as well. “I am Zenelle, rider of Green Verdath, resident Dragonhealer, and one of the ruling Council members here at Mavros. These are my fellow Council members, D’rew of Blue Sabanth, B’ram of Brown Ganth, and B’rax of Bronze Gamath. It is our pleasure to welcome you both to Mavros.” And from the smiles that generally showed both on the faces of the Council members and on most of the gathered onlookers, the sincerity to those words was clear. Transfer riders of any colored dragon were always welcome at Mavros, but a Goldrider? They had not dared to hope for so much, not even from Mirran who seemed to be on the best terms with Mavros after their deal allowing the Mirranese to harvest their trees.

A'zael :: Bronze Fath

Word spread like wildfire throughout the Weyrhold, and Fath was quite happy to help it along. He pranced at the entrance to his Weyr, watching the Gold come in for a landing and mentally prodding both his lifemate and most of the other dragons about who she might be, if she was staying for very long. Since leaving Mirran, Fath had not seen any Golds except for Zalmaranth, and she generally wasn’t very nice to him, though it didn’t bother him much. Fath had begun to believe that Zalmaranth WAS the only Gold. He wondered if this one was nice, if she would talk to him.

A’zael at first laughed at his dragon’s train of thought, he sounded like a boy with his first crush, though he knew Fath was still a bit young to be thinking about such things. But then the news that another Goldrider had arrived occurred to him and he mounted Fath with quite a bit of haste. He wanted to be there to hear what was said, to find out what was going on. He didn’t know if Mavros had ever had any Goldrider visitors before he’d arrived as a Candidate, but he knew that they hadn’t had any after.

“Alright Fath, let’s go greet our pretty visitor, hm?” he gave the Bronze’s neck a pat and Fath happily launched himself from the ledge with a bugle of greeting. As they were gliding down to meet the Gold and her rider, A’zael noted that the Council seemed to have taken notice, though he didn’t see Karredy or Zalmaranth yet. He wondered what Zal would make of this… he was sure she was quite content to be the only Gold at Mavros. But at least B’rax, B’ram, D’rew, and Zenelle were present to welcome their guest. Their dragons were perched atop the cliff, possibly speaking with the Gold, or maybe just watching.

As they landed, D’rew shot him a look. He grinned innocently. Why did everyone think he was going to cause trouble all the time? He might be just out of weyrlinghood but it had been some months since his last scheme. He dismounted in time to hear the end of Zenelle’s greeting. B’rax stepped forward then, asking about transfer papers and otherwise dealing with the boring, official stuff. Transfer… he couldn’t believe a GOLD was transferring to Mavros. He raised an eyebrow at the woman, trying to discern if she was Mirranese… or would it be Mirrish…? Who cares, Mirran was too strange for him to keep everything straight. What other Weyr would possibly be sending them a Gold?

Fath ignored the humans and their boring talk completely, seemingly mesmerized by the Gold for a moment after he landed. Then he shifted in what could only be described as something of a draconic ‘happy dance’, Hello! Who are you? I’m Fath, and this my A’zael. What are you doing here? Are you gonna stay here? I hope so, you’re pretty. I like how you shine like that. The whole time he spoke he edged closer to the Gold until A’zael gave him a mental prod, telling him not to crowd the Gold, she might not like that, and he retreated a bit, back toward A’zael.

[Hiko]

While Talera had expected some small way of welcoming by official channels, she hadn't expected the full council meet. The idea of a full council when there was an active Weyrwoman was jarring to the transfer, but after thinking it over, it made sense; if the Weyrwoman was as young as she'd heard, she would need the advice of good counseling.

Talera took no time in offering her hand in reply to the green rider's welcome. A dragonhealer was no one to make a bad impression toward, and more so if the medic was a part of overseeing the Weyr.
“Talera, with Aerroth. I must say, I'm surprised there are so many in attendance. Surely, there are better things to see to than the greetings of a new rider?” It was the onlooking folk she'd intended to speak of, though she quickly realized that her words might have been misconstrued as to be toward the council themselves. “That is, I hadn't thought there might be so many working hands available to spectate.”

Aerroth herself was quite pleased with all of the attention both she herself and her more cautious lifemate were receiving. At Ista, they were seen as a necessary burden, but here? If Talera didn't ruffle too many proverbial feathers, they could easily take the land for themselves!
Would you stop preening about what won't be? It's distracting.
Apologies. I'll take my pleasure elsewhere, if it displeases the lady, Aerroth replied in a huff.

It wasn't long before her attention was soon occupied by a rather dashing bronze. That was to say, he was attentive to her, and of good ranking. What else might be needed by a male – even one that reminded the queen of an overly-excited canine.
Hello, Fath. I am Aerroth. Talera and I will be staying indefinitely, or at least for as long as I find myself pleased. The gold eyed the other dragon, gauging the bronze's flattery. While she knew him to be speaking truthfully, she was uncertain as to whether or not the dragon was merely hoping to gain favor with his words.
Males were not the most cunning, however, and the gold dismissed her concerns.
You flatter me, Fath. I thank you.

[Zen]

Zenelle and the Council

Zenelle took the woman’s hand, and the rest of the council followed suit. Zenelle and D’rew seemed amused at her question, but B’rax and B’ram threw stern glances at some of the nearest bystanders. Zenelle shook her head at the two men, “I’m sure they’ll be back to work soon enough, but you must understand… something of our situation. Transfer riders are not ah… common here. We’ve only recently begun to receive them on a more regular basis, and certainly none of them have come riding a Gold. We have, as I’m sure you know, only one Gold… so your arrival is some cause for celebration.”

In all honesty, before coming to greet the Gold and her rider, the Council had briefly debated holding a feast in celebration, but they simply did not have the resources currently to justify the excess. There was the argument that it would help morale, but wasting food was more of concern. The arrival of the Goldrider and the brief reprieve from the day’s toils to see to her arrival would have to be enough for now, and certainly the news of a new Gold transfer would do wonders for morale on its own without a feast to back it up. Not to mention the mood it was likely to put Zalmaranth in if they held a celebration for the new Gold… not that that was a deciding factor.

D’rew stepped forward then, clearing his throat, “If you’d come with us, Talera, we’ll find you a suitable weyr and get your records in order so you might begin to settle in, instead of remaining out here on the shore as a spectacle for those who should be working,” his voice was a bit gruff, but the stern tone didn’t reach his eyes, which showed clear amusement. It left B’ram and B’rax both shaking their heads slightly and wishing the Bluerider would be a bit more serious, as they were clearly being mocked.

Zenelle gave D’rew a scolding look, though it was only half hearted, before turning back to Talera, “Yes, I’m sure you’ve had enough of standing out here like a spectacle at a Gather for everyone to gawk at. If you’ve any questions don’t hesitate to ask. I am no Goldrider, but I have been a rider for many turns and I have been helping Karredy where I can… I would happily do so for you as well. I’ll also be your Wingsecond in the Queen’s Wing.”

B’ram glanced over to Aerroth, considering, “If your Gold is hungry, she is welcome to our herds… however we ask that she try to keep a limit on what she takes… our herds are just beginning to grow after a bad turn. Our dragons are on strict rations for now, though we expect that to change as this turn continues and we receive more in trade from Mirran.” Personally he hoped the Gold had taken her fill of her home Weyr’s herds before arriving, it was unlikely she would be eating so well here… at least for the time being. He hoped they might be able to eat on par with the other Weyrs soon, but still had his doubts about this deal with Mirran being enough to really sustain them. B’rax waved his hand, gesturing toward one of the lower caverns entrances, waiting to lead the way inside.

A'zael :: Fath

Fath wasn’t quite sure what ‘indefinitely’ meant, and so the fact that Aerroth had said it at all was completely stricken from his mind. All Fath heard was that the Gold and her rider would be staying. Not only was she staying but she was talking to him! Fath was not entirely capable of disliking anyone, but he definitely liked some people, and dragons, better than others. He was already starting to like Aerroth better than Zalmaranth. She even seemed shinier than Zalmaranth, which was definitely a plus in Fath’s book.

You’re nicer than Zalmaranth, and prettier. I really like you, Aerroth, I’m glad you’re staying. And then an aside to his rider, I really like Aerroth, Mine. She’s talking to me, and shiny, and pretty. She says she’s staying! Oh, what does ‘flatter’ mean? But he didn’t give A’zael the time to respond, and Fath made his own assumptions about the word, since it seemed Aerroth liked whatever it meant… she had thanked him after all, I would like to flatter you more.

A’zael chuckled. His dragon often broadcast his own words beyond just who he was talking to and A’zael was generally privy to half of all of his dragon’s conversations. His Bronze would grow into a great flirt yet! Speaking of… he looked back to the Gold’s rider, giving her an assessing once-over. She looked to be older than he was, though probably not by a lot. He’d have to get to know her later, since the Council seemed to want to get her settled in at the moment.

[Hiko]

Talera followed the small council, agreeable enough for the cause of weyr accommodations. The flight from Ista to Mavros had been long, with few breaks for gold or rider. The soreness of her legs and backside from the time astride her queen – as well as the gold's always-harsh landing trials – made for a bone-weary woman.
The notion of a green rider in the queen's wing startled the young woman, but Talera recovered quickly enough; if there weren't enough queens to suffice, it made sense enough to put other women in the wing – however, she'd need to be mindful of the use of a flamethrower in Fall. “I'm sure that I'll be glad for the aid, Zenelle.”

It seemed that as soon as she was finished answering one of the council, another spoke to her; she'd have to adjust to the idea of popularity, as well, it seemed. To have gone from the lowest-ranking of the golds at Ista to someone this Weyrhold seemed adamant about appeasing was jarring. Had she been wrong in her assessment of calling Mavros a death-trap, or were they merely keeping appearances up because of the losses of their wings? Talera thought it better not to consider the idea for too long.
“We hunted before the flight here, B'ram, but I thank you all the same.”

At the gesture of the bronze rider, Talera followed suit. She could worry about Aerroth's grumbling stomach when it arose – and, if anything, she hoped there might be enough decent fishing waters to supplement the lack of an extra beast for the queen.
I hate fish.
If their trade negotiations are lacking, you may have to deal with it.
Aerroth, while displeased with the notion of fish, preferred to focus on the charms of the young bronze before her. Surely, you will have more time to do so, Fath. I think, however, that I would like to rest, now. I am quite tired from the flight here.