An Important Announcement (Everyone welcome)

Ronarth perched anxiously outside the dining hall, his golden-bronze hide gently illuminated by the last sunlight. Normally Ronarth would be enjoying one of these Katilan summer evenings, where the sun lingered long on the horizon and the air stayed warm late into the night. Tonight, however, the bronze was anxious. His eyes whirled in torrents of red as he projected himself inwards, searching for his rider's eyes.

D'ren was seated in his usual spot, on the raised table near the back of the hall. He'd never cared much for such a symbolically elevated position, but at least tonight it would suit him. He was dressed nice, adored in a rich red jacket and a neat brown vest and matching pants supplied to him by one of the Weyr's better tailors. Normally, he would address the Weyr while wearing his regular riding leathers. He liked them to think of him as one of them, simply a man doing the job he'd been appointed. Tonight, though, it would be befitting to look leaderly. Tonight he was making an announcement that might not be popular.

He adjusted the cuffs on his jacket and took another sip of wine. The new policy was his idea, but Tsuen had backed it fully. Neither of them knew at any given time if the choices they made were right, but someone had to do it. It needed to be decisive, firm.  Tsuen had experienced more than anyone's fair share of doubt and guilt over the past few turns. Tonight, D'ren planned to ease that burden, at least as much as he could. He would take the blame for this one.

Perhaps it won't go so badly Ronarth offered hopefully. D'ren provided a mental shrug. Maybe he thought. He liked to think it wouldn't. The Katilan population was tolerant most of the time. They understood that they lived in a time of hardship. While D'ren had a lot of faith in his Weyr, he was also a worrier. After all, he wouldn't want to be the one hearing this news if it was applicable to him!

He wiped some more sweat from his brow. God, that jacket was hot.

"All right," he said lowly, to Tsuen and Ronarth and himself, as well as anyone else who could hear him. "Let's go."

He rose to his feet and tapped his fork against his glass, calling for the dining room to be silent. Plenty of people had showed up, as he expected, though not the entire Weyr. That was just as well. News spread quickly.

"Everyone, can I have your attention please?" he called out in a firm voice.

E'lore settled herself back in her seat, watching the Weyrleader fidget with his clothing. Someone should really force him into slightly nicer leathers than his usual set on a more regular basis, especially as it seemed as if their queen preferred his bronze, at least for the time being. A leader had to be able to show confidence in himself as much as in his people, and someone who was uncomfortable with the trappings of his rank might not seem the most appropriate. Ah, well. They would have time to work on ironing out those fine subtleties if he continued as Weyrleader, and she doubted that she'd be the only one to talk with him about it. If nothing else, he'd need a Weyrsecond to help him out, much as she assisted Tsuen.

Hmm... Perhaps that was something that was being addressed in this announcement? For once Tsuen had left her out of the discussion, keeping it between the Weyrleader and herself, and though E'lore was used to her old friend confiding most things in her, she knew that there were other things that the Weyrleaders would need to keep private. She was her friend's second in command, not her equal. Fortunately, she'd gotten used to that a long time ago.

E'lore rested her elbows on the table and steepled her fingers in front of her thoughtfully, leaning forward as D'ren stood up to speak. Whatever it was that he was going to talk about, it was happening now, and she'd roll with things as they came. She was used to that as well. All of them had to be, living here at Katila.

Lymselia say as she listened to D'ren begin to stepup. Speaking was hard for him she concluding at least in front of people. Though the announcement- and its potential meaning for the future of Katila had her attention.

As the hush fell over the dining hall, she peered towards the high table. She drew a few slowand careful breaths. She fingered the bag slung across her body, she had her bags of 'smelling salts' ready. What this was.. it was big.

R'nd wasn't one of the first to arrive but he did find his way to the hall and grab a seat early enough to observe those that beat him there and the ones that straggled in behind. He gave a stretch, still feeling a bit stiff from the exercising that preceded the meeting before resting his elbow on the table with his hand cupping his chin and cheek while grey eyes roamed about the room, paying attention to no one in particular but collecting an overall feel for the summons. It was always interesting to see how everyone acted at such times and how some wilder personalities were tamed by the mere presence of D'ren.

No one seemed to know what the weyrleader had to say and it was amusing to hear the whispered rumours and assumptions as to why they had been called together although the ones about illnesses left a sour taste in his mouth until he tuned those chatterboxes out. It seemed the buzz about the room that created a strange atmosphere of nervousness mingling with excitement had an affect on D'ren as well with the way he fidgeted and looked uncomfortable, though that could have just been from the clothing that suited the man well and was a nice change from his usual riding leathers. But whatever the reason, they would soon find out as the weyrleader called for attention.

B'jin was sitting off to the side of the High Table, on the edge of the stage setting where he and the other Harpers often took turns to ply their trade during evening meals or gatherings such as the one D'ren had arranged this very evening. With his guitar resting across his lap, B'jin played a light, cheerful tune as he watched his Weyrleader fidget and build himself up to actually bringing attention upon himself. Amusement was almost washing off the greenrider as he watched, pretending to focus more on his instrument than the Leaders seated up at the top table. This should be good, Larrikith intoned dryly, highly amused as she watched through B'jin's eyes. Neither had any idea what it was the Weyrleader was planning, but his stance told them everything they needed to know - things were going to get very interesting very shortly.

Indeed, B'jin returned, plucking away at his guitar absently. When the bronzerider finally stood up and called attention upon himself, B'jin silenced the wooden string instrument with gentle hands and the mostly-hidden smirk became fully fledged as he watched D'ren and picked up the small cues that told him volumes about the man's unease. Oh, to be a leader. Looking far too happy with the unfolding situation, B'jin folded his arms across the top of his guitar, and rested his chin upon his arms, his amusement non-pulsed as he listened to the gossip that sprung up, while D'ren waited for everyone to shut up.

Kerrin was uncertain how directly the weyrleader's announcement could possibly effect him, but the whisperings of the other weyrfolk over the course of the day was enough to have piqued his curiousity sufficiently enough to warrant an appearance, however half-hearted, on his part. Being a rather optimistic sort, he was never so quick to believe all of the doomsayers who had spent the day dreaming up new plagues, discovery by Northerners and various other worst-case scenarios. Besides, the tailor-trained weyrbrat noted with approval as he'd entered the dining hall, D'ren was dressed far too nicely to be announcing the end of the world. As such, the boy wisely elected not to sit beside his father, whose clear anxiety over the impending news was obvious enough to prove a potential embarrassment. Instead he scanned the hall for any other familiar faces, until his eyes stopped on a familiar head of sandy blond hair.

Kerrin smirked, feeling relieved already. R'nd would surely provide entertainment should the meeting prove to be less than relevant. Quietly he sat himself in the empty seat directly behind his friend, announcing his presence not verbally but with a friendly toss of a stray seed he'd found on the table directly at the unsuspecting bluerider's cheek.

Kerrin was present, but that didn't necessarily mean he was paying attention just yet. D'ren was going to have to earn himself that honor.

D'ren stood, oddly more confident now that all eyes were on him. He felt unnatural in his nice clothing, but for the time being, it wasn't becoming of him to be one of the masses. The very fact the he was dressed differently had an effect. His only concern was that the unpleasant heat might make him sweat, which of course would make him look nervous.

After cracking a pleasant but serious smile, he continued. "First," he said, "I want to thank you all for taking the time to come this evening. A formal bulletin will be posted Weyrwide tomorrow, but this is the sort of news that I feel is best heard directly." His voice was firm and carried well, though he was unaccustomed to using it in such a way. He expected they would be unaccustomed to hearing it as well.

"Before I make any official announcements, I want to start by squashing a few rumors that are drifting around," he continued. "First of all, there has been no sign of the plague. Any stories you hear about illness and recurrence just that, stories." That was perhaps his least favorite rumor on a practical level. The sexual ones embarrassed him more, of course, but sex was just sex. Plague rumors could start a panic. "...Nor have we been discovered by northerners. We are safe here, and we will continue to be safe for the foreseeable future."

Outside, Ronarth crooned.

The Weyrleader inhaled deeply and dove into the next portion of his speech, allowing only a moment of pause for the crowd to absorb his reassurances. He stood with his naturally strong posture, soft eyes slowly scanning the mass of faces looking to him. "However, we have had some issues regarding our search practices that need to be addressed," he said. "Our policy has been to limit the number of potential candidates searched from each region and limit the overall number of candidates brought in to one per month. This is to ensure secrecy and protect us from discovery," he continued. "These last few months...those numbers have been skewed."

"Too many candidates have been brought in recently, and some of those brought have been too prominent to go missing without being noticed." He paused. Like Master crafters and Lord Holder's fosterlings he thought. "As of right now, searches are being halted until at least the beginning of winter, at which point we will re-evaluate our position."

The next part was what had him worried."Furthermore, it's come to our attention that the majority of our new candidates are rather unhappy to be here. They have homes, families, and lovers back home who they miss, and who will miss them. Candidates, I hear your complaints. I understand, and I agree that the practice of stealing people from their lives is barbaric." His brows furrowed. "However! There are no alternate options for the time being. As Weyrleader, I hold responsibility for your situation, but I also am obligated to find a better way as soon as possible. A better way that won't compromise the Weyr."

"Therefore, it's been decided that from now on, female candidacy will be strictly limited. Fewer women will be permitted to stand for hatchings and are instead encouraged to contribute to the native Katilan population through childbearing. I understand that this is a distasteful situation, but hear me out. Isolated as we are, we need young humans just as badly as we need young dragons."

"But we cannot continue stealing, nor can we hope to build a viable population by kidnapping alone. If the native population grows, we should be able to phase out searching and take most of our candidates from the native Katilan population. Kidnapping will have to continue to provide the Weyr with necessary crafting skills, but a native population can be trained in such crafts by the ones we already have."

"This is not an overnight solution, but I believe it will be the first step towards creating a viable, self-sufficient population that will one day be able to return to the north. Think of the pain that will be spared for those we would otherwise take by force, and think of our own increased security."

"Ladies, you will not be excluded entirely. I haven't decided what method will be used to restructure our candidate groups, but an announcement will be made once I have. Please understand that this is not intended to slight you, but like so many hard decisions we make, it's intended to protect the well-being of the Weyr. While regrettable, this decision is final."

He motioned to the entire crowd. "Thank you all for your attention. I hope you enjoy the rest of your meals. If anyone wishes to ask me questions, I'm available," he said as he seated himself again. In accordance with his plan to conduct himself in a more leader-like manner tonight, he would make them come to him.

It was nice to have that over with. D'ren had never felt so terrible about getting his way before.

"Therefore, it's been decided that from now on, female candidacy will be strictly limited. Fewer women will be permitted to stand for hatchings and are instead encouraged to contribute to the native Katilan population through childbearing. I understand that this is a distasteful situation, but hear me out. Isolated as we are, we need young humans just as badly as we need young dragons."

Lymlseia felt her jaw drop. She felt her heartbeat racing as D'ren spoke a set of words she though were unimaginable.
She drew a deep breath, she felt the  her nose sting, and her eyes begin to water with indignation. She rose and started to leave how could she be used as breeding mare. Not on her watch! Her job was dispense  knowledge, information, contraceptives.. and now she was going to be  'excluded' from something that she was just getting used to the idea of -candidacy-.

She left the small table where she sat and stalked after D'ren. "D'ren!"  she was almost sure she was shouting as her heart pounded and she walked towards him. She felt the tears stinging her eyes as she tried to race to his side. "D'ren, Weyrleader-- I don't mean any disrespect, but you do realize the strain and stress your putting on the Weyr essentially by putting a mandate out for them... reproduce.. by  decree... don't you?" she asks. She'd heard it, she interpreted, but  she admtted to herself she was twisting it a bit.

"As a candidate and a woman," she began in a firm tone "and as a Healer & midwife, I am going to caution you in this ruling. " she breathed simplly trying to calm down as her tears started to cloud her mind. "I just worry that turning women into breeding mares--" she practically spat the words "Is a poor choice. More women reproducing will put a strain on them. Pregnancy, childbirth.. the changes in body and mind.. can the men of the weyr handle essentially women who are proddy for nine months? In large numbers?"

Allendris, who had arrived and taken a seat towards the back of the hall where the weyrleader sat, nodded solemnly once D'ren had finished what had surely been a difficult announcement, for the nearly tangible relief that overcame the older man once that last word had left his lips was not lost on the young journeyman's perceptive gaze. For his own role in the matter, the glass-smith had initially thought it awkward to present himself at a meeting for a community which he had only recently joined - and unwillingly at that - but curiosity and a natural desire to be 'in the know' had gotten the best of him... and now he was glad he had shown, for it turned out to be a decree that mainly affected Candidates after all.

His first instinct was to agree wholeheartedly with the weyrleader's decision. From what he understood, riding dragons could be dangerous business, and he had never felt comfortable with the idea of subjecting the fairer sex to such risks. A woman's proper place was in the home, and while goldriders could be forgiven - for it was their duty to maintain the Weyr as a home for everyone - women on 'fighting dragons' as he'd understood them to be called reportedly ended in rampant sex of dubious consent, mass abortion, fighting and flying injuries, and even death. As Impression was not a choice (even women hoping for gold could end up with green, blue, or brown if the those dragonets chose them, he'd learned), it seemed a terrible fate to which to condemn an unsuspecting girl.

On the other hand... calm brown eyes trailed Lymsleia as she stomped her way up to the weyrleader, narrowing slightly as he saw her draw herself up in a clear posture of defiance. Allendris couldn't hear her words clearly over the din of chatter that had consumed the dining hall once D'ren had concluded his shocking speech, but he could guess that this confrontation proved that some girls, regardless of the dangers, were for some reason willing to volunteer themselves for the dirty job of dragonet-rearing. The initiative she'd taken to argue with their weyrleader had him suddenly considering the decree from the female Candidate's perspective, at least in the case of the Stolen: they'd been ripped from their homes and current families, their only consolation being the hope of Impressing themselves to one of these majestic beasts, only to be told that they were now to serve as nothing more than breeders for a community that eschewed marriage and the nuclear family as a general rule...?

How... barbaric.

Allendris frowned, folding his arms over his chest and losing himself in thought on the controversial topic. He certainly did not envy D'ren his job.

While N’gelt felt no attachment to D’ren, nor any desire to obey his orders, the news of an announcement by him was too enticing to resist. In the past, the laws, if you could call them that, that D’ren had laid down had been heartily approved by the Brownrider, and it was for that reason that he sat in the dining hall, idly picking at a wherry bone. N’gelt wasn’t stupid, D’ren never wore finery, he wore leathers to ‘be one with the riders’ or some bullocks like that. That he had stepped out like this meant a big announcement. As the Weyrleader finally spoke, he rolled his eyes, of course there was no plague, that would have been instantly announced via dragon and everyone would have fled. He had heard of Northerner rumours but simply shrugged, whether they found them or not, the Brownrider seemed particularly blasé about it.

The real announcement though, turned out to at first be completely irrelevant to N’gelt. Irritated that he was wasting his time sitting around listening to some old man yabbering on, he snapped the wherry bone in half. About to stand up and leave N’gelt paused mid-way through pushing his plate away from him, his head snapping to face D’ren at the words ‘female Candidacy’. Strictly limited? Now there was the reason N’gelt appreciated D’ren leading the Weyr. He knew exactly how women were meant to live; not Impressed to dragons and raising children. Perfect! N’gelt smirked to himself, he couldn’t have done it better. Well, no that wasn’t true, he could have done everything better, after all he rode Brown, the noblest of all the dragons. Still, it was a step in the right direction. Leaning back in his chair he folded his arms behind his head and waited, the ensuing ruckus was sure to be entertaining.

He didn’t have to wait long, with a tiny dark-skinned woman storming up to the Weyrleaders’ table. Though there was a din around him, he was close enough to hear her shouts about D’ren’s decision. N’gelt scoffed, this was exactly the kind of woman they didn’t want riding a dragon. Imagine how proddy and irritating she would be come her Green’s flight? Since there was no way she’d get anywhere near a noble Brown or even the hardy Blues. His eyes flicked to E’lore, sitting beside Tsuen. Her Brown must have been damaged in the egg to have chosen a woman as his life mate. N’gelt rolled his eyes and looked back to D’ren, how would he address this crazy little girl?

Tsuen sat beside D'ren, oddly at ease despite the reaction she was expecting from the feminine populace of Katila.

She was garbed in a flowing sleeveless dress of deep blue-tinged green with muted light blue patterning that complimented the Weyrleader's fine apparel; it was one of several made by her own hand in the past years since founding Katila. She did not have much time to devote to stitchery, but what she could, she did. Speaking of which, the Weyrleader could use more elegant clothes; she would have to make him some.

As D'ren prepared to stand, Tsuen reached over to lay her hand over his, a softness in her eyes as she turned them to his. Outside, Nirinath perched next to Ronarth, making a similar if draconic gesture. The gold crooned; the Weyrwoman spoke quietly to her partner. "You'll be fine, D'ren. Go get 'em." She appreciated what the man was doing tonight. Not even E'lore knew of the decision they'd made, and while Tsuen had been more than ready to take the blame for this, as she had with other difficult decisions, D'ren had insisted he take full responsibility for the topic at hand. The woman had been less sure, for more than one reason. For one thing, she couldn't be removed, not completely, or it would spell doom for the Riders. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but within a few Turns. D'ren did not have that same security. Still, she had let him do this his way.

The man stood and delivered his speech well, and as expected, an uproar immediately rose. Chatter from the men in the room, varying from appreciation and approval of what they'd decided, and astonishment that the Weyr, where genders had no role, was resorting to this. Anger, more than a little justified, from the women, most especially those Candidates of the fairer sex. One, a young lady who Nirinath supplied a name for as Lymsleia, even approached the Weyrleader table, near tears. Playing the sympathetic role that she was meant to, she ushered the woman around the table to her side.

"Lymsleia, the plan is not for women to never Impress, ever. But realistically, we need new blood that isn't going to bring the North down here after us. What happens when we accidentally kidnap the Master Harper because he's younger and a blue says he's appropriate to Stand? The North won't stand idly by... they'll come take him back." She shifted in her seat. "As horrible as it sounds, let me put it in perspective. Aside from the other female riders if they happen to catch it in time and don't go between -- because I'm sure you've heard somewhere along the line that that causes spontaneous loss of the child -- There's me, and the kitchen workers and other drudges who can't really afford to take time out to have and care for a baby. They do, and the creche helps with that. But it's not easy.

"But if we have ten female candidates, and each of those women have two children, that's thirty people. If ten or more of the twenty offspring are female, and there's that chance, and they have two children prior to standing, that's a further twenty to forty members of Katila. In time, we would not have to steal from the north, and in that time we also would have a self-replicating population. We know it's asking alot of you, but we can't go on kidnapping forever." She hoped to be the voice of reason, and if need be would gladly take the girls aside to speak more with them about their concerns about the situation.

Lymsleia took a deep breath seemly much better after her imprompt  and perhaps unlady like venting session at D'ren. She turned to Tsuen. "I understand." she begins. "I guess I just worry, as a healer, in that regard, too many , too many pregnant women at once is a strain, and too many small children born around the same time, would be a strain on all of us." she gestures to Tsuen. "As you said the creche helps, but what about opening up to the North?" she asks politely. "In all seriousness."

The dark-skinned woman walked around to the other side of Tsuen, and finds an appropriate place to stand. "Its is not to be rude, but I do worry, you said it yourself we can steal from the North, self-sustaining population is important." she thinks on something a moment. "I saw we open up to the north, Take those they do not 'want'." she explains. She keeps her arms down to her sides. "Easy to do, we can send some people to canvas the north, say its a new minor hold.." she says politely.

"Make it a  bigger plan, hide the dragons, and have a small ship or a large ship on the coast. And say this will transport them to the new hold." she leans back. "But then  we put them on he boat and after a little bit, we can get the dragons to... do something,between the large boat, and move it to the seas closer to the weyr, we can do that, can't we? All the people settling down in the hold. Make it dark enough so they don't notice the absence of light..." She tries to keep her ideas reasonable as she speak. But it was a decent plan-she thought. Moving people on-mass. "They can set the boat down in a harbor and explain the truth. Its new not 'hold', but a Weyr. It we take women and families and children and men this way. Instead od the Stealing.. it'd be honest and as legitimate as you can get..."

"Why taking the people the 'north doesn't want. The illegitimate children of someone, the harper  apprentice who never succeeded. I think its just a better idea than mandating that women reproduce. Alternatively, you could stagger the women having children. By stagger them, you keep anyone from just producing children endlessly. I just don't like te idea of mandating it, even if it was for the good a Weyr, a woman needs to have a choice. Somewhere do not want, or are not ready for children." she explains. She speaks calmly and openly. Her blue-grey eyes wander the crowd and settling  on people. She takes a step back. "It's an idea. I just don't like 'forcing people especially women who.. have a choice. As healer, I dispense, knowledge and contraceptives... there are ways to both increase and decrease fertility.  And there will be more harm than good done, by saying all women must produce two children. It might better, to look at it from another angle." she found an empty chair and pulled in beside Tsuen.

"I understand those numbers, and how and why you want them, but I think also just hiding away here is a bad plan. It maybe useful to bring people from the north in honesty-- to get the population started. If 10 women have two children each, are you looking at it from the perspective of two children close together, or two children with a year or more between them? We must have  plan. It can't be everyone woman gets pregnant near around the same time. That's a recipe for chaos." leaning back in the chair, Lymsleia look at the Weyrwoman. "I think discussing this further, and  deciding from each woman's point of view maybe a better choice. You Weyrwoman, should have made the announcement, I think." she tries to keep from sounding angry. "I would have been more acceptable from the mouth of the woman. A man-- some men, perhaps not D'ren... but some man- I have met a few, believe woman shouldn't be crafting and should only bear children and cook and clean." she rolls her eyes. "It just -- sounded like their may ave been alterior motive. It also - I think- should have been  an announcement made in the presence of women only. A Woman's moot."  She drew a gentle breath and moved her seat back.

"I do trust your judgement, and that of D'rens. But I also need to look after just about every women in the Weyr's health at sometime in her life. I am only nineteen turns. I don't want to over work anyone. Men or Women, and I think the mandate would strain, relationships, people  lives and loves. I know D'ren meant it as suggestion... its just one that I find a bit...rude." she struggled to speak the word. It felt dirty.

D'ren squeezed Tsuen's hand lovingly as he returned to his seat. He felt better now, his nerves oddly at ease in spite of the announcement's weight. He was sweating, but he chalked that up to the heat. Surely everyone had noticed that unfortunate tendency of his by now, so he didn't have to be too ashamed. At least it was less noticeable in his nice clothes than it was in his leathers.

"That went better than I expected," he whispered softly to Tsuen. How grateful he was for her support. He smiled at her and gave a playful wink before leaning over to plant a kiss on her cheek. "You and I...we can do anything," he agreed in a soft whisper.

Outside, Ronarth nosed Nirinath lovingly. The warmth flowing from his own rider to Nirinath's was infectious, putting the bronze at ease and into an affectionate mood. I love you he said sweetly to Nirinath. Ronarth didn't quite understand the implications of those words, but he knew that D'ren loved hearing them and only said them to special people...maybe hearing them would make Nirinath feel special, too.

Back in the hall, D'ren's contenment was interrupted when he caught sight of Lymsleia. He remembered her. She was the nice girl who he'd visited at the healing hall one day. His heart throbbed with a momentary pang of guilt, but he wasn't going to let it get the better of him. It never did. It was just something he lived with.

"Lymsleia," he greeted. "Thank you again for treating me earlier in the summer. I feel much better," he commented, hoping to start the encounter on a good note. As the girl moved into her speech, D'ren shifted to one side to minimize his presence, allowing Tsuen to speak. That was more her domain to speak about. The bronzerider listened, unimpressed by most of Lym's arguments but honestly pitying her, for she was obviously a hard working woman who felt slighted by the decree. She couldn't be the only one, though.

"Lym," D'ren said, waiting until it was his turn to speak. "This decision won't affect the current clutch regardless, and it going to be phased in. We aren't going to just toss you all out tomorrow," he assured her, though his voice remained hard. It was against his inclinations to talk in such a way, but this occasion called for it. In reality, D'ren would have been in strong agreement with Allendris, were he sitting at any other chair. Women were generally too fair to ride aback fighting dragons, but in this situation...these girls had little else to look forward to. It was a daunting situation.

D'ren chose not to respond to Lymsleia's administrative advice, most of which he found mildly insulting. There was no need to criticize her openly, however. She was just a young woman who thought she knew best, as many young people did. She'd probably never made a heartbreaking or morally impossible decision before. She had, however, obviously suffered to come to Katila. He would leave the exact answers to Tsuen, since she was the one the girl addressed more directly. D'ren resolved to maintain his previous position.

"I'm sorry, Lymleia, but this is how it's going to be."

Valerian sighed as he waited for D'ren to speak to them and fiddled with the spoon on the table in front of him to keep him occupied. He had planned on skipping the announcement, figuring it wouldn't be anything major or anything that would affect him directly but Allendris had apparently decided to be a good boy and show up, dragging him along for the ride. He didn't have to agree and it wasn't like the taller man would have tried to literally drag him since that would be improper and go against the way Allendris carried himself but their strange little friendship had him shrugging and following along. Maybe, he soothed his boredom, it was just to make sure he didn't miss a chance to get a rise out of the glass-smith.

When the weyrleader finally stepped up to share his latest scheme, Valerian wasn't sure what to think of it. All around him people were murmuring in agreement or grumping about how barbaric it was to deny women the chance to Stand and encourage them to reproduce. As he watched a dark-skinned woman that seemed sort of familiar to the point where he was sure he was supposed to know her in some way, Valerian tried to work out his thoughts. He tried to keep an open mind on all things as following the prototype and just being the next one out of the mould wasn't fun, creative, or any way to earn your own identity so in that regard, he was fine with women being allowed to ride the fighting dragons and join in on the sexual escapades so many of the riders went through regularly and let them be in charge of their own bodies when it came time to choose to have kids or not. But he could see the merits in forbiding the women to Impress as well and asking them to take up the large responsibility of helping to enhance a population and carry on some mighty bloodlines. It was a puzzling situation that would have the Weyr debating the final verdict for quite a while to come and Valerian found himself giving a bit of respect to D'ren for deciding as he did and holding his ground against the incoming complaints.

But even with the confusion as everyone worked out their stance and the obvious pleaing for a change in the plan from the woman he still couldn't place, Valerian was already growing bored. He wasn't one to encourage or cheer on violence but this sort of announcement should have enraged a few people and moved them to raising their fists. Yes, a brawl was needed to liven things up a bit though it had the potential to leave him with a bruise or two and Valerian liked living as pain free as he could manage.

Another glance around the crowd had him noticing Erisi was missing. Maybe he'd go back to the Candidates' barracks and fill the guy in on what had gone on that evening. Valerian gave a small nudge of shoulder to shoulder to gain Allendris' attention since the man seemed deep in his own thoughts on the announcement, "I put in my appearance and heard enough to know where I stand and that D'ren won't budge from where he's placed himself so I'm out of here. You coming?"

R'nd was moving dangerously close to daydreaming while waiting for the announcement so it was a good thing Kerrin always seemed to be around in such times to keep him alert. The seed to the cheek didn't hurt but it startled the bluerider back to reality and a quick glance in the direction it had to come from revealed the weyrbrat he actually liked. Most days, anyway. Today had been one of those days and has his lips started to curl into a devious grin, D'ren naturally chose to start speaking. He mouthed the words 'I'll get you later' before turning back to watch the man while he listened since he felt body language could often say so much more than mere words. That belief ended up being correct as he watched D'ren try to remain calm and confident while delivering news that would be met with mixed reactions and likely dampen the weyrleader's attempts at blending in with the commonfolk and showing he was approachable. Indeed he was approachable given the way a woman stormed up to him afterwards.

Going back over the speech left R'nd wondering if it was appropriate to cheer. He had just been told by their leader to go have more sex. Not that he needed that permission given how active he already kept himself partially out of the need to enter flights but also because he simply enjoyed bringing pleasure to other people. The only downside to the announcement was the child portion. He wasn't foolish enough to believe he wasn't the father of at least one of the babes still being cradled or getting under feet as they start to walk or get their hands into everything but that was easy enough to ignore with women having the option to go between. Now, however, they were being told it'd be appreciated if they avoided doing that which meant there was a higher chance of being told he was a father. Maybe. Most of his partners weren't exclusive with him so there was no guarantee it was his. Besides, as a dragonrider he wasn't expected to do that whole parenting thing anyway. So he was back to mentally cheering at the prospect of serving his Weyr well and proudly although he did give a moment's pause to acknowledge there were some great female riders and it wasn't entirely fair to deny the current generation of potential Candidates a chance to Impress.

He watched people arguing their points with friends as others clinked mugs together in cheer for a short while before wondering if any of the Candidates were good-looking. He hadn't seen many of them around given the way they kept to themselves or had classes that he wasn't allowed to teach yet but given he didn't recognize the young woman now arguing with D'ren and Tsuen, R'nd suspected that she was one of them. Since she was up there and looking rather upset, it was safe to say she wasn't for the idea which was almost a challenge to R'nd. Perhaps he could show her how nice some dragonriders could be. But that could wait a little longer, first he wanted to let D'ren know that he did have the support of at least one of his riders.

Standing, R'nd turned and gave a light smack to the back of Kerrin's head both as payback for the seed tossing, "come on, Squirt. Let's go tell the Weyrleader we support his decision. You're in need of the few extra bonus points that gesture will bring you."

Sitting in the centerline of the Dining Hall, Kuminari poked absently at her plate of food with her fork. She hadn't come to the Hall to eat, though the half-consumed plate and almost-empty glass of wine may have caused others to dictate that particular fact, Kuminari had simply attended to do her part; gather knowledge. While she could no longer report such information back to the Harper Hall, she did feel that someday she might, and when that day came, she would need to know everything about the place she had been thrown bodily into and told cope. Idly nibbling on a small cut of meat, Kuminari turned her hazelnut eyes upon the Harper that was sitting on the edge of the stage, frowning as she watched him snicker to himself before shifting her gaze as she saw Kerrin toss something at the back of a dragonrider's head. Her eyebrows arched slightly, Kuminari put her fork down delicately and picked up her wine glass, taking a small sip as she watched D'ren take the stage.

Putting restrictions on the abductions wasn't really that surprising, Kuminari decided, as she glanced around. The number of new faces wandering around since even her recent arrival had surprised the girl. The Northerners were already gossiping about the number of journeymen and women who had been noted as missing, to say nothing of the loss of a young Master Healer that she had heard about earlier in the season. She would lay bets that the man in question was somewhere within the Weyr, with more than a few others. It was no wonder the party of Northerners had come parading through in that handful of Turns ago, though how they managed to miss the growing population continued to befuddle the young woman.

The Weyrleader's next statement had Kuminari sitting up straighter in her seat and her eyes narrowed as she watched D'ren with a studying expression. What he was saying did make sense to the young woman, though she had no desire to submit herself as an incubator to dragonrider spawn. Standing, Kuminari moved closer to the front end of the Hall, her gaze focused on the Weyrleaders and the young woman who was spouting out words so fast Kuminari wasn't quite sure how much the other woman was thinking about what she was saying. In any case, she stopped and leaned against the wall, watching with idle curiosity.

When the Weyrwoman spoke, Kuminari's small face twisted into a self satisfied smirk and she breathed out a small breath as she twisted the woman's words into once simple statement: Have babies, and you can stand. Which, in retrospect, meant the longer she kept her precious body to herself, the longer she could refrain from taking to the Sands and risking Impressing to one of the stupid creatures that were due to Hatch.

Tossing her head, sending her red hair billowing down her back, Kuminari spun lightly on her heel and began to make her way out of the gossiping Hall. She'd heard all she needed to hear, and was more than happy with it. The less reason she had to fry her feet on the Sands, the better, and if not having children was the way to do that? Well, by Faranth, she could certainly work with that!