[G] [C] 739.09.04 | Early Morning on the Sand

Odd dreams woke Mulrissa at a time that was closer to morning than evening, though decidedly a time meant for sleeping. It took a few moments of blearily blinking herself awake to figure out why she felt so weird. As soon as she realized, Rissa was out of bed immediately and heading down to the Hatching Grounds. Bedith was clutching, and while the gold certainly didn’t need her presence she wanted to be there.

By some miracle, Bedith had taken quite well to being unable to go between and having trouble flying due to being round with eggs. Rissa had thought the whole ordeal would be a horrible annoyance to the gold, but she’d taken it in stride. She’d been altogether mellow the past few weeks, instead of eternally ready to bitch about something.

Pregnancy did weird things to you.

Rissa tried not to wake anyone or alert anyone as to why she was up. Certainly some of the dragons would know there were eggs on the Sands, but most probably wouldn’t bother waking anyone up over it. Eggs laid were not eggs hatched, and Mulrissa was not awake enough or in the mood to deal with anyone but her dragon.

It didn’t take her long to slip onto the Sands and cross to the immense lump in the middle that was her Bedith. Rissa sat down next to one of Bedith’s forelegs and leaned against her, sending her a mental greeting. Speaking aloud felt weird, so she didn’t. Bedith rumbled a response, swinging her great wedge of a head over to nuzzle her rider. Mulrissa gave her a supportive pat on the nose and settled in to wait.

An hour or so later and Rissa counted forty-one eggs hardening on the Sands. “No wonder you couldn’t fly, sweetheart,” she said quietly, rubbing Bedith’s leg, “you were carrying half a Weyr.” The gold made a pleased sound, and gently nudged Rissa to get up and take a closer look. The woman did so, carefully walking over to the eggs. She’d never seen eggs before a Touching before, and they looked a bit different. Softer, not quite hardened to the thick leathery state they would reach before Hatching, and all of them glistened from, well, being inside a dragon. The shine of the eggs meant it took a few minutes for Mulrissa to notice one egg was shinier than the others.

“Oh, Bedith, is this…?” she asked, quickly walking over to the shinier egg. This one was truly shiny, not just shiny from being new. A gold egg. Bedith’s pride at the gold egg suddenly rushed through her, the delight having been barely held back until Rissa had discovered the egg herself. Mulrissa smiled up at her dragon, and walked back over to her side. “They’re beautiful, Bedith. And they’ll hatch beautiful babies.”

Of course they will, Bedith said amicably, they’re mine. Rissa laughed.

“Of course,” she said, then turned back to consider the eggs a moment, “Do you think I’m supposed to tell the Weyrleader immediately? Or should I wait until a more reasonable hour? And we should let Syrendryth and T’ryn know, shouldn’t we.” Bedith snorted. Trust her rider to start being practical immediately. She should just enjoy having the Sands and the eggs to themselves for a while longer.

“All right, all right,” Mulrissa said, sensing her dragon’s thoughts, “I’ll wait until sunrise. Then I’m telling them.”

Fine. But the Weyrleader’s not allowed on the Sands. I’ll bite him. Syrendryth I’ll allow. Rissa shook her head.

“You can’t bite the Weyrleader, dear,” she said, “but I will tell him. I assume that goes for Kahleena too?” Bedith snorted dismissively, indicating that was obvious. No other goldriders on her Sands. Mulrissa could only sigh fondly.

Shortly before the sun started to rise, Rissa ran back up to her weyr to grab paper and something to write with, quickly penning two notes before rushing back to Bedith. Halfway there she realized she should probably send Indivara a note too, since she would be Weyrlingmaster for the Clutch, so she ran back and wrote a third note. She had Bedith call her son’s firelizard (she would consider getting her own for the convenience, but she wasn’t sure Bedith would take it well), which the gold insisted not enter the Sands, so Rissa had to hand off the notes, one by one so the little thing wouldn’t get confused, to be taken to their recipients. The first was for the Weyrleader, the second for T’ryn, and the almost forgotten third for Indivara. All three were short, informing them that Bedith had clutched, there were forty-one eggs including a gold egg, and, in T’ryn’s only, an invitation to stop by and see the eggs. Once Sandy returned after delivering the third note, Mulrissa returned to the Sands and Bedith.

T'ryn was sitting on his bed, a sheet of paper in his hand. He'd already read it, several times, but he still didn't know what to do about it.

We are going.

T'ryn rolled his eyes. His dragon had been stating that since the note came an hour ago. He knew they should go, and he wanted to as well. How cool was it that his dragon now had a clutch on the Sand that he sired? He'd never been able to see eggs this soon after clutching thanks to cranky and protective golds guarding their babies. Even in Katila, the brats knew not to mess with them and while they might try to sneak a peek from a distance, no one ever accepted the dare to get closer. So his curiosity was demanding they go.

And there was a gold!

T'ryn still found himself grinning when he thought about that. He knew his dragon was amazing and this would be another feather in his cap for all to see. He should probably share the news with M'ris and Ameris to keep them informed of clutches but then he assumed Mulrissa likely sent a letter to them already or maybe that was a Weyrleader thing and it'd be part of a daily update. He had no idea how all the little intricacies worked and never wanted to find out. Wingleader was his goal and he didn't need to reach any higher than that.

He bet Mylorah would be excited to hear about the gold egg! His sister seemed to miss some of her Candidate friends that travelled between the Weyrs and she'd likely jump at the chance to Stand in Telgar for a chance at a dragon and to see friends again. It wouldn't be as hot as Ista and she'd probably whine about that but the perks would win her over anyway.

Of course. Who wouldn't want one of my babies? Now stop ignoring me or I will go without you.

T'ryn sighed as he heard Syrendryth stretching and moving out to his ledge. He didn't doubt that his dragon would go without him and wouldn't that just add to what would already be awkard times?

He was already bathed and dressed so it didn't take long for him to toss on his boots and prepare Syrendryth for the quick trip. He supposed he should visit his dad while there as well. That was another visit he was going to have to mentally prepare for as he envisioned B'jin dancing around the living room, excited at the news.

By the time they landed in Telgar, T'ryn was back to being torn between slightly nervous and excited. He really was proud of his dragon and couldn't wait to see the eggs but he hadn't really seen Mulrissa since the Flight and didn't know how to act around her. Didn't help that thinking about their time together brought up other bad memories that led to even more bad memories that led to him hiding from the world as much as he could. Mylorah said he was doing better at socializing again but he still felt people were judging him for a variety of reasons.

Syrendryth entered the Sands before him since the dragon had more enthusiasm than he did and T'ryn watched from the entrance the way the great bronze slowed as he approached Bedith and the eggs. He gave a dip of his head to the gold in greeting before extending his neck out to examine the eggs. He seemed afraid he might step on them with the way he stayed so far back and T'ryn bit back a laugh as he finally made his own approach.

"Morning, ladies. How are you both doing?" He stopped beside his dragon and placed a hand on his hind leg. Maybe he was a bit afraid to get any closer as well. He still had the fear from being a curious brat ingrained in him and while they had been invited to visit, that didn't mean they could dance right on up and do what they wanted.

Mulrissa waited for responses to her notes by leaning against Bedith and watching the eggs. It took about twenty minutes for the Weyrleader to respond, sending a firelizard with a note. As soon as the flit appeared Bedith snapped at it, and it blinked between with an alarmed shriek, dropping the note it carried. He confirmed her message and assured her he would inform the other Weyrleaders. Relieved that all of that was taken care of for her, Rissa went back to waiting.

A little under an hour later Bedith looked up at the entrance expectantly, and Rissa watched as Syrendryth made his way onto the Sands. The bronze greeted Bedith, and she internally crooned, pleased at how respectful he was being. Not that she was any less on alert with someone new around her clutch, but Bedith could trust Syrendryth not to harm them. He had good sense — she wouldn’t have allowed an idiot to catch her. Mulrissa rubbed Bedith’s leg approvingly, quietly relieved that she hadn’t seen Syrendryth and suddenly decided to drive him off. Bedith could be mercurial at the best of times, and she’d never had a clutch to protect before. Rissa would have felt horrible if she’d invited the bronze pair only for Bedith to change her mind last minute. She smiled at T’ryn as he followed has dragon onto the Sands.

“Morning, T’ryn. And Syrendryth, of course. I am doing well, though I could have done with more sleep last night. Bedith is positively chipper, considering.” she said, stifling a yawn. Bedith was already entering high-alert overprotective queen mode, though the mellowness of the past week wasn’t entirely gone yet. Lucky break for the bronze pair.

“You can get closer,” Rissa said, smiling encouragingly at T’ryn while Bedith hummed in agreement, shifting a bit so Syrendryth could get closer while she could keep everyone within her view. “They shouldn’t be touched yet, but standing next to them and looking is perfectly safe. Try to pick out the gold egg, hmm?” Once the eggs had hardened more Bedith would move the gold aside to give it special attention, from what Mulrissa understood from her goldrider lessons, but for the moment they were still too soft for moving. They were definitely more solid than when they were first laid, the heat of the sands drying the surface of the shells. Soon enough they would be the thick leathery texture she remembered from Touchings and Hatchings. Until then Bedith would be making sure no one touched them, not even their father.

So far so good. Seeing Mulrissa didn't bring up a need to flee and pretend certain things didn't happen as he hid somewhere away from everyone. Maybe he could get through this without issue and further embarrassing himself. Maybe he could just be normal for once and... nope. The offer to get closer to the eggs left blue eyes growing wide as he stared at Mulrissa. Was she serious? He wasn't prone to accidents or tripping over his own feet like his friend R'dare was, but his luck would see him face planting right into the gold egg!

More and more I wonder why I thought we were a perfect match. That wasn't irritation or frustration dripping from every word, but disgust and T'ryn turned his startled gaze to his dragon. He supposed his attitude could be counted as obnoxious lately. Bad things happened but you are better than everyone else and such events should never hold you back. Stop thinking the worst will happen and prove you can handle a simple task like finding a good egg. With that, the bronze walked away from him, carefully circling around the clutch. He was a few steps closer but still kept a respectful distance as he made his own inspection.

T'ryn stared after the dragon and finally shook his head with a low chuckle. "I was just told off for being afraid to get closer," he offered as explanation to what was probably an odd scene from Mulrissa's point of view. Running a hand through his hair as he contemplated the eggs, T'ryn figured he might as well prove he could handle the simple task and finally got his feet to move.

He didn't get close enough that the urge to touch would kick in but he had a much better view as he moved around, truly impressed by the number and size of the eggs. Sure, he had seen eggs before, even though he'd only been to one Touching thanks to Impressing on his first attempt at Standing. But it seemed different knowing his dragon was connected to these ones. He felt a sense of pride swelling up and gave a quick glance to Syrendryth, smiling when the dragon looked his way. The feeling must have been mutual because T'ryn couldn't tell if that emotion was all his or not.

After several more minutes of checking out the eggs and making little comments of praise to Bedith, T'ryn finally came to a conclusion and looked up excitedly at Mulrissa. "This one. Has to be," he pointed to the egg in question and laughed as it finally set in that his dragon not only sired forty-one eggs but a gold one as well! It wasn't that he didn't believe the letter but seeing the egg for himself made it real.

“I’m pretty sure ‘telling off their riders’ is the favored pastime of dragons.” Rissa said with a laugh, “I’m sure I’ll get plenty of it before these eggs hatch.” She smiled at T’ryn encouragingly, not wanting him to be too nervous. Bedith was in a good mood and he should take advantage of it while it lasted. The gold might decide she was tired of the bronze pair at any moment and kick them off the Sands.

I would not. Bedith snorted, It would be impolite, considering I invited them here. They only get kicked off if they threaten my clutch.

’How very generous of you,’ Mulrissa teased, watching as Syrendryth and T’ryn took a better look at the eggs. They really were beautiful, and while she knew this was solely bias talking Rissa thought they were the most beautiful dragon eggs she’d ever seen. Bedith wholeheartedly agreed, and she felt Syrendryth and T’ryn’s clear appreciation for the clutch only further proved it — ignoring that they also had reason to think this was the best clutch ever. What was important was that they were appreciative and respectful, and Bedith purred with pride at T’ryn’s praise.

After a few minutes of appreciating the eggs, T’ryn pointed out the gold egg. He was, of course, correct, and Mulrissa nodded in confirmation. While the other eggs had dulled as they dried, the gold had not lost as much of the shine, and was relatively easy to identify. It was also a bit bigger than the others, which was impressive considering the size of the average dragon egg.

“That’s the one,” she said smiling, wondering what the little queen it held would be like. Would she be like her mother? Rissa knew that, with all the children they had, dragons were unlikely to be too similar in temperament to their parents, but she felt golds were more of an exception and were a bit more inclined to take after their mothers. They wouldn’t know until the Hatching, and likely even longer, but it was fun to muse upon the idea.

“I always forget how big eggs are,” Mulrissa added, nodding at the gold egg, “Though perhaps these are so big due to the size of their parents.” she wondered, looking between Bedith and Syrendryth. It was mostly said in jest, but it was actually a good question. Dragons did seem to be getting bigger, so how big would this next generation be? Rissa hadn’t exactly measured every dragon, but Bedith and Syrendryth were definitely on the larger end.

They will be perfectly sized, just like we are, thank you. Bedith interrupted her thoughts primly, making sure everyone on the Sands heard her. Rissa laughed and winked at T’ryn. Dragons.

T'ryn had to agree. The eggs always seemed smaller in his memories, maybe because he had only been up close and personal with the one clutch and all others had been viewed from the stands. That seemed to make sense but it also made some sense that the parents could be blamed for the size and he laughed at the gold pair. "You're right, Bedith. My arms are only mostly sore after bathing and oiling Syrendryth instead of utterly sore, so he is perfectly sized." He really didn't want to consider having a dragon any larger than the beast he ended up with! It'd be a two day event at the very least!

I would like to visit sometimes, Syrendryth nudged his rider's shoulder, encouraging him to speak up and offer their assistance if needed. Neither knew what was expected of them and he honestly didn't recall N'mor and Rhezalth doing much for their golden pair but T'ryn nodded feeling he'd like to visit as well if allowed.

"Sy and I were wondering if it'd be okay to stop by sometimes. See how you're both doing and if there's anything we can help with." He still didn't know what, but T'ryn wanted, maybe even needed, to be helpful. He felt like he screwed up the Flight portion so he wanted to step up his game for the eggs on the sands portion.

I would like to hunt for you, Syrendryth spoke solely to Bedith after he thought about her guarding their eggs. He wasn't the chattiest of dragons and usually ignored attempts by humans to speak to him but sometimes a dragon earned a response and Bedith was a good gold. Far better than Thallyath. Besides, he took pride in his hunting and while T'ryn had called him out in the past for showing off in front of the females watching, Syrendryth insisted he was just naturally stylish and did everything with a flourish. To bring a proper gold a proper kill would be his honour.

Unaware that his dragon was offering to be a meal provider, T'ryn offered the same to Mulrissa, on a far less messy scale. "Have you eaten yet this morning? I can run to the kitchen and get you something if you'd like to stay with Bedith."

“That won’t be necessary,” Indivara announced her presence with a response to T’ryn’s offer to fetch breakfast, the small woman’s arms filled with a large platter, upon which was quite a large quantity of fruits, breads, cheeses and a jug of fresh juice. There were a couple of cups under one of Indivara’s arms, pressed tightly against her side. “Unless you guys eat a lot. Then you might need to go get more,” Indivara grinned impishly, unabashed and in quite a good mood, as she made a quip about her ridiculous appetite since she’d started getting rounder from her pregnancy.

Unlike her pregnancy with Varlea, which had made Indivara ridiculously sick and miserable for the entire term, she’d found this one to be a delight in comparison. Granted, she was still fat, sleeping was starting to become difficult, and her feet were beginning to swell (though she honestly couldn’t see them) and she was still having dizzyspells and fainting episodes. But for the most part, she was content and happily chugging along. Having Val around to torment every day was a big bonus, and Indivara was sure if she didn’t have her mate to tease and snap at, she’d probably be a lot more miserable on the whole. He was such a good boy, taking all the abuse she dished out on him. Especially since it was his fault. And Venseth’s, but it was harder to make her dragon miserable than it was her lover.

Indivara smiled when Mulrissa took some of her load for her, and took the cups out from under her arm, passing one to T’ryn who had an amusing expression on his face, she set the other two down by the platter Mulrissa had found a steady perch for. Leaving the pair to sort out breakfast, Indivara made her way around the clutch, waving vaguely at Bedith and Syrendryth without giving them too much attention; Indivara was hardly afraid of adult dragons, it was the bastard babies without mates that honestly frightened her. Not that she was going to let anyone but a very select few know that fear still existed. It was, after all, hard to get over being mauled half to death by a baby!

After wandering through the clutch, mumbling to herself and examining the gold egg appreciatively, Indivara made her way back to the other two humans, and lowered herself onto the blanket Mulrissa had set out like a picnic. She might be short, but Indivara was still convinced the ground was a bloody long way down, as she finally settled herself and folded her legs out of the way. She’d probably have to get one of them to help her back up, what with the issues she was having with her balance at the best of times – trying to find her feet again on squishy sand was not going to happen.

“You guys did well.” She said, picking up some fruit and eating it without embarrassment before taking some more. “Or your dragons did, anyway.” She snorted, and shot a teasing look at T’ryn, cheerfully attempting to make him squirm. Maybe Mulrissa too, but she seemed like she had her head on straight and wouldn’t be too affected by teasing about sex, especially dragon induced intercourse… even if her partner was practically her son. Indivara turned her wicked smirk on Mulrissa, then back to the platter of food. “Forty-one is a nice count. Going to be a big candidate group!” With a preference for three-plus candidates per egg for the non-gold, they were going to end up with half a city in the Weyr. Add on the count for the girls trying for gold and Indivara would be surprised if they had less than one-fifty hopefuls on the Sands.

“I am going to make them all absolutely miserable. Give Val a break.” And she laughed cheerfully.

Bedith rumbled at T’ryn, pleased he agreed with her that she (and Syrendryth) were perfect sized. Rissa couldn’t help her delighted laughter at both T’ryn’s comment about bathing Syrendryth (which was clever) and how much Bedith approved of the young man. The offer to visit took Mulrissa by surprise, but Bedith made another sound of approval. Vain thing was loving the attention.

“Thank you,” Rissa said, genuinely appreciative of the offer, “I wouldn’t mind at all, though Bedith will be here far more than I will and she gets final say. But as far as I’m concerned your presence is welcome whenever you may choose to stop by.” Bedith nodded her head in agreement.

As long as you ask before entering the Sands you are welcome, the gold said. She was dedicated to protecting her clutch and had no reservations about spending every moment until they hatched on the Sands, but it was nice to have confirmed company outside her rider that she could tolerate, even liked.

Syrendryth was certainly more than tolerable and continued to prove himself worthy of being the first to catch her. The offer to hunt for her had the gold utterly thrilled. It showed her proper respect and, she was starting to realize now that Syrendryth had mentioned it and the adrenaline of the early morning was wearing, she was actually getting hungry. It had been a number of days since she’d last hunted, considering she’d been too egg-heavy to fly for the past week or so, and even before that her usual grace had been impacted (though the herdbeasts kept for them were easy enough to catch even without being in top-form) and a meal sounded rather nice. Bedith knew she could last until the eggs hatched if she had to, unwilling as she was to leave them even for a moment, but why deprive herself when Syrendreth offered? You may indeed, she told him, her pleasure at the request visible.

Rissa smiled appreciatively at T’ryn, opening her mouth to thank him for the thought and perhaps take him up on it when she was surprised by the appearance of Indivara. She gave a startled laugh which turned into a smile at Indivara’s antics. “Good morning, Indivara. You seem like you’re doing well,” Mulrissa said taking the platter from the other woman. She carefully set down the food and pulled the blanket she still had wrapped around her shoulders and began to lay it out on the sand.

“Keep the food from getting sandy,” she laughed, smoothing out the blanket a bit before moving the platter onto the blanket and sitting down on the edge. “Here, sit, there’s plenty of space.” she gave T’ryn a smile, patting the blanket. Mulrissa wasted no time at all in piling a piece of bread with cheese and fruit and taking a bite, leaving Indivara to look over the eggs as she pleased.

Bedith, on the other hand, watched Indivara closely. At least the bluerider had greeted her, even if it wasn’t really a proper greeting, and Bedith could tell she was appreciative of the clutch, so her rudeness was allowed this time. She was in a good mood, what with having such a nice clutch including a gold egg and Syrendryth offering to hunt for her, and Indivara wasn’t hurting her eggs (and hadn’t brought Venseth with her) so she’d be nice just this once. Even so Bedith continued to watch Indivara’s every move until she sat down with the other riders.

With a grin Mulrissa gave a mock toast to Indivara’s compliments, dubious as some of them may have been. “Between you and Bedith you’ll have all the Candidates well and truly terrorized,” she agreed, picking up another piece of fruit. “Both of my children are Standing this time, so I’m sure I’ll hear all about it. It’ll be Ginorra’s first time Standing, she insisted on it if Bedith laid a gold egg, so don’t traumatize her too badly. Otherwise she’ll want to move back in with me.” Rissa gave Indivara a sly smile before laughing again. Truly, she loved her daughter, but she was nearly fourteen and becoming a bit difficult to live with all the time. A few months in the Candidate barracks could do her some good.

“Speaking of children,” Rissa added thoughtfully, taking another bite of fruit, “how are you faring, Indivara?”

T'ryn would swear forever that the face he was making and unable to drop was not because of Indivara's appearance or comments. Well, maybe a bit. But he didn't have to admit to it! It wasn't her scarred face that brought on a look of slight shock when she announced her presence but more the way she waddled with how pregnant she was, how chipper she was for the hour and her condition, and how much she carried. The shock morphed into something more in line with panic as he plotted a way off of the Sands and out of Telgar Weyr was only partially due to Indivara's subtle dig at the sex that came from the Flight and the memories it brought up. She may not have been a true Katilan brat since she was older and T'ryn knew he was among the group of oldest kids born after the reunion, but she still should have been a part of the unspoken pact to have each other's backs, especially in such situations!

He was ready to dig a hole in the sand and bury himself there when he found himself sitting on a blanket. When had he gotten there? He did remember Mulrissa patting it in invitation so he must have moved there on his own and then spaced out until Indivara started in on her teasing. He attempted and mostly succeeded in smiling at the thought of the Candidates being terrorized by Bedith and Indivara and wished them all good luck. Since there was a gold egg, Mylorah would have the chance to Stand and he kind of liked the idea of her being picked on as pay back for some of the comments she'd made over the years that left him red in the cheeks with embarrassment. Were all older sisters like her?

As he finally composed himself enough to grab something to eat, Syrendryth stretched and walked for the exit. Uh, excuse me! Where do you think you're going? His dragon was not about to abandon him! Was R'nd in on this as well and Ayyonth told Syrendryth to leave him so he could suffer alone with no escape plan?

You aren't the only hungry ones in here. I am off to hunt for Bedith.

I'm coming too!

No. You stay and socialise. I'll return shortly.

You can't leave me!

Just did!

And with that, his dragon was gone and T'ryn was left trying to keep up with the ladies that were a lot more at ease with the conversation and company than he was. How was he supposed to comment on Mulrissa's kids when he was around their ages and did he dare utter a word about Indivara's pregnancy? He quickly shoved a large piece of bread in his mouth so he wouldn't have to speak.

“No promises!” Indivara promised, eyes sparkling as she munched happily on the fruit, leaving her mouth empty just long enough to string a couple of words together before filling it once more. She’d mostly moved on to eating a constant supply of fresh fruit, rather than the nuts and dried fruit she’d started on in the earlier stages of her pregnancy. The intake of fruity goodness helped counter some of her less delightful pregnancy symptoms, and that helped keep Indivara happy.

The question about her pregnancy had Indivara scrunching her nose up as she swallowed the mouthful of apple she’d been munching on. “Well enough,” she said with a slight shrug. She wasn’t really one to air her grievances with being pregnant, or at least, not outside a select few. Very, very few people knew how much she’d struggled with her pregnancy with Varlea, and so comparing the current to the previous when such enquiries came about would have been pointless. Indivara wasn’t one to seek, or accept, the pity of others.

Well, maybe Val. But even that was a stormy sea and depend on her mood. Some days she demanded to be coddled, some days she threw something at him for looking in her direction.

“Could be worse,” she admitted, after sending more fruit down to her stomach for digestion. “Rhaedalyn still wants the imp, even though she’s got two for the price of one. I swear to Faranth if I was carrying twins I might possibly actually murder Val in the most drawn-out and bloody way imaginable.” Because being pregnant with one parasite wasn’t bad enough! Indivara could only imagine how awful it would be to carry two – and then give birth, one after the other! And then there was feeding and changing and general making sure they didn’t somehow kill themselves. Babies! Indivara scrunched her nose up again. “She can have them.” She added, making a disgusted expression as she shuddered.

Children were not something Indivara had ever wanted, and she’d been slapped with them twice now. Both times because she hadn’t had the forethought to take care of the issue with decorum; Varlea was kept solely because Indivara hadn’t realised she was pregnant until she was far enough along that a trip between had seemed unwise, if nothing else. This time? Venseth was entirely to blame, and her easy pregnancy so far was doing nothing to convince the damnable dragon that the whole ordeal was a bad idea.

“Between is going to be my new best friend, starting in the new Turn,” Indivara said mildly, rubbing a hand over her belly. “Even if I have to steal Veeth for the trip,” and she cast a dirty look towards the direction Venseth was located in, outside the Hatching Sands. Indivara had always been relaxed about interacting with dragons, an effect that came with growing up with a dragonrider parent, and often being babysat by Parella of the ever friendly Grith. Add to that her friendship with Jada and the weird friendship she had had with Krypth, and Indivara considered most dragons her friend and often treated them in much the same manner as she treated people, and very rarely as if they were the sole companion of their chosen lifemate.

“I’m glad to hear you’re well, Indivara,” Mulrissa said warmly, knowing how trying the whole experience could be. She was a bit surprised Rhaedalyn was willing to take on another baby so soon after the birth of her own twins, but she supposed it wasn’t her place to question the choice. The Fort Weyrwoman had a good support system, there would surely be baby sitters lined up to help care for her children. Still, three babies! “I wish her the best of luck,” Rissa said shaking her head sympathetically, “and hope for the sake of the entire Weyr that she and R’nya manage to get any sleep between the three babies.” That pair was creating quite a family for themselves.

Thinking of families, Rissa turned towards T’ryn, who had been rather quiet, and tried to draw him into conversation, “T’ryn, do you have any friends who will be Standing? That would be fun, wouldn’t it, a friend Impressing to one of Syrendryth’s children?” Most of her own friends were too old to Stand or had dragons already, so other than her own children she had no one to root for specifically. She had a few friends with children who were Candidates, but none that she was particularly close to.

Maybe he could excuse himself now that they seemed content to talk among themselves about their kids and those of other people. He didn't need to be in on this gossiping, did he? T'ryn didn't think so and once he got through his mouthful of the bread he kept stuffing in, he'd make a break for it.

Or not.

He choked as he swallowed right as Mulrissa turned her sights back onto him. With a little pat to his chest to clear the congestion, T'ryn finally nodded in answer. It'd be rude not to participate in the conversation now that he had been fully pulled into it but that just meant he'd have to find a new way out. Whether his traitorous dragon was a part of that or not didn't matter anymore. He had legs, he could at least outrun Indivara while she was in waddle mode and possibly Mulrissa, though she was a mother and they were trained to run fast after their brats.

"I have a few friends that will likely Stand." He wondered if calling them that was stretching things, especially given how he had taken to hiding the last few months. He had never meant to come across as a snob that only hung around with bronzeriders but since he used to be attached to N'mor's hip, it probably seemed that way to many. He also had his small group of friends from Katila that had all Impressed in recent years so it probably also seemed he liked to spend time with dragonriders and not lowly Candidates, which wasn't true either. He just wasn't always the most outgoing of people, though he should try to be if he wanted to be a respected and loved Wingleader, but he did spend some time with Misharan and Kordiavis thanks to Mylorah dragging him along on tame play dates.

"My si--...sewing-inept friend will probably come as well since there's a gold," oh Faranth, save him from himself. Mylorah had a habit of telling friends who her brothers were and if they were clever enough, they'd realise she was the daughter of R'nd but the bluerider didn't know about her and she didn't seem to care that he didn't. To almost point out to the women surrounding him that he had a sister old enough to Stand --A'tay's little sister, Wynera, was only ten after all -- would lead to questions he didn't want to answer and he had a feeling Mylorah's wrath would be legendary. The girl never seemed to truly get angry but his luck would have her finally exploding at him. At least A'tay wasn't mad R'nd found out about him because T'ryn hadn't cleaned up the family tree he had been working on.

This time a chunk of cheese was shoved into his mouth.