World of Pern
Latest Updates

2023/08/04 Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
2023/01/07 Welcome to the New Year! We are now ELEVEN years old! Thank you, all of you, for your love and writing! I am looking forward to spending another year with youall! In addition, a new Default colour scheme is in progress and will hopefully be available soon! All my love! ThistleProse
2022/07/29 Gold Malvayth and Bronze Xyxyth clutch is Hatching! Come and join the shenannigans 743.08.03 | NIGHT STALKERS HATCHING and bring the popcorn!
2022/05/11 Gold Malvayth has Flown, caught by Bronze Xyxyth of A'tay. Their Hatching will be PC, and take place in Telgar in August around the 20-22nd! Update your Candidate Applications and prepare for some fun!
2022/04/21 New default layout! I hope you enjoy it! If you find any bugs, please report them in the discord #bug-squishing channel!
05/JUL It’s Hatching time!! Come take part in the shenanigans here
30/JUN Gold Thallyath of Ista Weyr has laid a clutch! More information here
27/JUN A bluerider, and then a greenrider, are found dead. More information here
25/JUN The Touching is up! Take part here
30/MAY After the Touching, many Candidates found themselves preyed upon in the form of their food. More information here
18/MAY Another goldrider - Ameris of Benden - is attacked. More information here
05/MAY Multiple individuals are attacked whilest out of the Weyr! More information here
04/MAY Take a chance OOC and guess who you think the murderer is! You can win prizes! More information here
03/MAY Goldrider Cazan and her twin brother Cazelarias are attacked. More information here
24/APR Goldrider Ashara of Fort is murdered by two brownriders. More information here
12/APR Searchrider B’jin was attacked at Telgar Weyr, surffering a slash to his throat. While in Benden, bluerider B’dor is found dead in his weyr. More info here
05/APRMore attacks occurred today. More information here
03/APRMultiple individuals found their death this day; more information here and here
28/MAR Tragedy has struck again! Across all the Weyrs, multiple people - primarily dragonriders - have fallen ill after eating muffins. There have been multiple deaths, and others are in criticle condition. More information here
24/MAR Weyrwoman Ameris and her son, Rislan, poisoned! More information here
18/MAR Benden’s Weyrleader M’ris and his children have been poisoned! Resulting in sickness and death. More information here
18/MAROn 18.03.742 Bronzerider A’dris of Vyaniorth was found dead in his personal bathing pool. He appears to have drowned after drinking an excess of alcohol. Afterwards it was realized that Machiya of Gold Cameth from Telgar Weyr had disappeared. Having never arrived at her destination, it is suspected she had an accident between.
11/MAR Gold Racoth of Donmaline went between taking Bronze Beruth of T’rel with her shortly after she had been caught, due to T’rel strangling Donmaline. He did not survive. more info
25/FEB Congratulations and thank-you to Guest for taking on a moderator role! <3
14/FEB Stars Above PC Hatching Link
06/JAN :o new layout is a WiP. Please report bugs in Discord.
01/JAN Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!




Currently: Spring 03.745 al
Monthly Event
2024-February
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Welcome to the Month of Lovetm! This month's Monthly Event is all about Romance, whether it is asking someone out on a date, or getting sweaty between the sheets! Anything and everything counts, if it even looks sideways like it could be related to Valentine Day -- including lover's spats, or breaking up, Flights Wins (or Flight Losses!). Honestly, this month has a huge opportunity for interpertation, so go wild!



2023-December
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Ahh, the fresh snow, the crisp air, the naked trees... welcome to Winter! Or, just the Colder Months for those in the more Northern Weyrs, while Ista is just... not as hot. But it is time to enjoy the end of the Turn, so folks should get together, spend some time gossiping, and drinking Hot Chocolate (alcohol and marshmallows opional)... does Pern even have marshmallows????? (they do now!)



2023-November
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Feel like bitching? Wanna take part in a brawl? Or bet on someone? Take part in Brawls and Bitching this month! Boo-yeah!



2023-October
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Thistle flunked this month; You can still post until the end of November as a result <3
Experience, tell or hide from a Spooky Story!



2023-September
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The flu is running rampant, colds are clogging noses, and someone might have lost a limb?



2023-August
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Partake this month by going fishing... or anything that occurs while fishing, or dealing with fish!



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Looking for Trouble, and Failing Miserably [Ellaira]

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#1
Any sign of em, baby girl? A'liran asked as he stepped into the dining hall. It was the height of the evening meal. The laughs and shouts of  riders and nonriders alike echoed off the walls in one dull roar. A'liran's gaze shifted anxiously from person to person, suspicious and alert.

They are nowhere to be found Astoreth assured him, tone dry and distantly amused. She knew what A'liran meant when he asked about his blueriders. She knew better than he did, she reckoned.

A'liran pretended like he didn't want to run into D'hys in the dining hall that night, but she knew better. Her bonded was oddly taken with that man. It wasn't anything emotional, but D'hys possessed a certain sort of style and mystery that roused curiosity in poor A'liran. He was a sucker for people who kept him guessing.  Z'ia, with his unpredictable ways and bright smile, had once held that sort of pull for A'liran. Ali, however, had bitten off more than he could chew. That much was abundantly clear.

And yet still, Astoreth knew her bonded wouldn't have minded bumping into him, either. She had no explanation for that one, except perhaps that her rider liked to be abused, or at the very least liked to fight. Astoreth was glad that neither man was around, though. Even though A'liran was on the prowl for excitement, Astoreth much preferred that his mind and body go unharmed this evening. She understood, though. She knew the thrill of the chase, as well as the ultimate pleasure of being knocked down at the end.

What she didn't understand was why A'liran felt so bad afterwards.

He suspected she was lingering on his request too much. I'm not going to let them screw with me tonight, sweet thing he promised as he strolled confidently into the dining hall. He was bored, hungry...bored. He was almost disappointed that his adversaries weren't in reach. Disappointed? Nah...just bored?

Yeah, just bored.

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#2
Want some quail? Ellaira was definitely enjoying having the little blue draconid around. So many people just brought them around like it was no big deal, but she was... well, cautious. She'd finally given up and stopped confining Warbler to her house, but today was the first day she'd actually taken him to a populated area. Sitting vaguely alone, feet propped up on the table, she leaned back in her chair and tried to communicate with her fire-lizard without using words.

He tilted his head to the side and chirped curiously, then peeped at her, a demanding staccato reminiscent of the quail themselves when they came to feed. Ellaira grinned and speared a scrap of the quail she was eating, proffering it to the blue. He took it with aplomb and wolfed it down so rapidly he swallowed air. Warbler looked up at her and burped, and Ellaira rolled her eyes. "Little stomach," she said affectionately.

A'liran strode in as she offered the blue another scrap of quail. She flicked her eyes up and watched him enter, examining him with the same level gaze she gave to anyone who walked into the room. Ellaira liked to keep track of where people were - one of the many reasons why she often avoided the dining hall. Too many people, particularly at this time of the evening, but she'd been in the Weyr proper that afternoon and hadn't the time to make the long walk back to her house for dinner.

Besides. They were serving her quail tonight, the first crop of birds she'd raised in the late winter. Delicious little things.

Warbler peeped at her imperiously again, quite loud enough for anyone nearby to hear. She gave him the side-eye as he settled into what was obviously a begging stance: balanced on his hing legs, wings fluttering, jaws open and tongue sticking out.

"You're learning bad habits," she informed him, pulling one of the wings off of the quail and offering it to him. The blue snatched it and started tearing into it, with approximately the manners of a rabid dog. Ellaira rolled her eyes once more and recrossed her legs, taking another wing for herself and beginning to eat it, with far more decor than her charge. "Children."

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#3
A'liran wasn't yet sure about fire lizards. They were neat, for sure. He also enjoyed how angry they made some people, even in the time before the plague. So many were quick to write them off as 'annoying' and 'useless'. Ali didn't feel that way, though he'd never owned one himself. Now, seeing stuck up idiots huff and puff over them was positively precious. The only thing restraining his curiosity was concern for his Astoreth, but the plague had been over fifteen turns ago...surely they were safe now, right?

Logic dictated that they would be fine, but Ali didn't mind being cautious for just a little bit longer. If this little crop of flitters made it till spring, he'd call it a win. He might even like to have one himself.

This distant curiosity wasn't enough to draw him to them outright, though. He didn't even notice Ellaira until after he'd gone though the line and assembled his meal, but as he turned back around, he saw that the dining hall had filled up quickly. Shards, were there any empty seats?

Astoreth helpfully pointed him to the nearest, located across from the unfamiliar girl and her fire lizard. A'liran watched her from a distance. He'd seen her around, but he didn't know who she was specifically. One of those poor northerners, he assumed. He shrugged, figuring no harm would come of it, and made his way over.

"What's up?" he asked as he plopped into the seat, nearly spilling his klah in the process. He sensed a tingle of amusement from his green, but she remained quiet.  His antics were always a source of amusement to her.

A'liran smirked and directed his gaze towards the most interesting thing at the table: Warbler. "So, that thing isn't gonna murder Astoreth with it's plague, is it?" he asked cheekily.

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#4
Ellaira glanced up when A'liran took a seat at her mostly empty table, raising one brow at him. He was a handsome enough lad, in a narrow and blond sort of way. But then, dragonriders seemed to have a damnably large number of attractive sorts among them. Even the plainest tended to have bodies to be envied by any caravan or Hold guard, a necessity for a man (or woman) who spent their days riding and tending dragons. It was not an easy life, and the south had done nothing to make their lives any simpler. Not for crafters such as herself, nor those who paired with the great creatures that made the Weyr a Weyr.

"Plague? Not likely," Ellaira said with a twitch of her lips which might have been a smile. She prodded the blue with one finger, tipping him over. He rapidly shifted himself, not once pausing in his consumption of the quail's wing to utter the most cursory of complaints. "For one, there were no adults around when this lot hatched out, and no known disease passes through the egg." She swung her legs down off the table as Warbler started crushing the hollow bones of the quail to smithereens.

"For two, they've been under loose quarantine for a while now, and not one has showed so much as a sniffle or runny nose." Ellaira shrugged. "I was a child when the plague struck, but our records show that young fire-lizards were some of the earliest to show the disease." She speared a quail breast with her belt-knife, resting one elbow on the table and her chin on her hand.

"Astoreth is, hmm, a green, no?" The beastcrafter smiled cheekily at him, taking a bite off her knife in a delicately barbaric fashion before setting it against her plate once more. She chewed and swallowed, then sipped at her fruit juice to clear her mouth. "I don't think we've met before. I'm Ellaira, the beastcrafter in charge of our avian populations. It's my birds on the table tonight, in fact."

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#5
The greenrider smirked. He hadn't expected an intellectual response. He more expected something defensive or snappy, but this was more interesting. "That's the first smart thing I've heard anyone say about it," he said. It was news to him; he knew nothing of birds or eggs or diseases or anything else of that nature. It was a pretty good argument, and assuming she was right, it eased him a bit. "Most everyone is just babbling in defense or screaming 'get that little fucker away from my dragon, bitch!'" he said, making a snapping, angry gesture with one hand because laughing.

"Green as grass," he confirmed. "I don't think I've met you, either. One of the candidates, yes?" Fuck the official terminology; she was a candidate, eggs or not, and he was still very much a northerner. Tsuen was free to fuck herself on a fence if she didn't agree.

Now, A'liran knew a lot of the stolen northerners. It was entirely possible that he'd met her earlier on and neither remembered, as not all the encounters were lengthy. Ali generally felt pity for them and liked to offer his comfort, but not many of them were receptive. They wanted nothing to do with riders, even the well-intentioned ones, and he could hardly blame them!

"A'liran," he said, slowly extending one hand across the table. "And it appears that you raise a fucking great pheasant," he added.

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#6
What was it about dragonriders that made them so easy and pleasant to talk to? Certainly, Ellaira got along with most riders far better than with most of the Candidates, as they were as likely to hate the place as not. Ellaira had no other home; born and raised in a Weyr, there was no place she would rather be than in a place with dragons. Combined with the fact that I spent my entire youth with a greenrider, I doubt there's many others I'd feel as comfortable with, she thought to herself as the greenrider talked, making her laugh with the (very accurate) imitation of many riders' reactions to the fire-lizards.

"Not that I've let this little stomach anywhere near dragons!" she said, prodding the blue fire-lizard again. Warbler chirped before gnashing the last bone to shards and consuming the bone meal. "I'm sure that, soon enough, people will realize they're not like to cause harm." She shrugged and smiled at the rider as he confirmed that her memory was, in fact, correct. Ellaira couldn't pin where she'd seen him before, but eventually dismissed the flickering memory as pointless. Who cared? She was seeing him now.

"Yes, though probably not of the group you're assuming," Ellaira replied with a smirk. "I came south at the height of the plague, and I spend very little time with the Weyr's, shall we say, less than pleased guests." She reached across the table when A'liran offered his hand, giving him a firm, though not overly vigorous, handshake. Her hands were calloused from work, and rather strong, a fact she took some pride in.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Ellaira said with a sly smile, releasing his hand. "I'm glad the meal suits. Better than stringy beef, eh?" She took another bite of her meat with a raised brow, enjoying it with a good bit of relish and pride. And why not? The Weyr proper was composed of upwards of three hundred folk, which meant this spread had claimed the lives of around seven hundred of her little quail. There was, of course, no way for just her to manage thousands of quail, let alone the other avians kept in large enough numbers to supply the Weyr with food. It was a good thing that children could manage small birds well enough!

"So, tell me, A'liran," she said when she had finished her mouthful. "What brought you to my table this evening? Surely not just to glimpse at Warbler, here." The fire-lizard, upon hearing his name, peeped rapidly, before piping a fluting song and leaping up to Ellaira's arm. He barely made it, as full of food as he was, and clambered madly to perch, with all sorts of outraged whistles accompanying his struggle. In a few moments, the blue was clinging to her arm, looking over at the greenrider with guileless eyes whirling green.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#7
A'liran was surprised. "Really? Then I'm double surprised that I haven't seen more of you." A certain look of distaste crossed his face, but it had more to do with the mention of the stolen northerners than anything else. His pity for them was as readable as any book. But, like Ellaira, he didn't think their past encounters or lack thereof were particularly important, or even interesting.

Her comment on beef earned a chuckle from him. "I like anything that used to be alive," he said as he took another bite. The quail was quite good, but he didn't put much stock into his own ability to tell good quail from bad quail. He liked quail.

"What brought me here?" he repeated. He paused, brow furrowing for a moment, before giving a flippant shrug. "Bored. Place is crowded. Nowhere else to sit. No blueriding assholes around to chase me off. Seemed like a good idea," he remarked, clearly lacking any sort of design when it came to seat selection. "I guess I should thank you, though. Ast has been watching that little blue fuck right there," he said, pointing to Warbler. "And now she's all curious. "

It's delightful.  I think you would look quite fetching with one on your shoulder, A'liran. And imagine how helpful it would be. It can fit places I can not.

You just want something to boss around

Astoreth purred in his head. That's not entirely right she replied.

Well, you didn't say it wasn't part right, now did you baby girl? A'liran was a bit surprised by his dragon's interest in fire lizards, but the more he saw of them, the more it made sense. They were playful. Astoreth was playful. They liked dragons. Astoreth liked attention. A fire lizard might be a good investment anyhow, and it would be an excellent rape alarm! Especially if he could train it to bite Z'ia's smug face in warning.

Dear, you're grinning at your lap

I am? Shit.

Indeed he was. A'liran realized that he'd been staring right into his lap as he mused, a devious grin spreading across his face as he imagined Z'ia's face being savaged by a flock of fire lizards. Hey, it was an appealing image! "Whoops," he said, laughing again before looking back to Ellaira. "Sorry, got distracted there."

By your own crotch.

He glared at the ceiling. "Shut the fuck up, Ast!"

Astoreth laughed softly in his head, pressing her happy presence against his mind and causing him to laugh as well. He shook his head, his smile widening. "Friggin' dragons, man," he said. "I guess you're in line to try and Impress one, yeah?"

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Written By: ZZZ Deceased
#8
Ellaira pursed her lips slightly, and shrugged off the comment on his surprise at not seeing her before. "I spend most of my time out in the farms," she said after a moment. "So I don't really run into many people. And that," Ellaira said with a grin, "is why I'm here." She polished off her meat, correctly interpreting the flash of distaste as not being directed at her.

"She's welcome to meet the little blue fuck," the woman offered. Warbler, as if picking up on the derogatory term, fluted a sad sound, making Ellaira snort. "He's a curious beast. I do wish that we had records of them, but..." she trailed off as she realized that A'liran wasn't exactly listening to her. He had the strange, blank look in his eyes that Ellaira had long ago learned to connect with a rider mind-speaking his dragon, and the smile crossing his face clearly had nothing to do with the conversation they were having. Ah, well. The price of talking to dragonriders.

She rolled her eyes in amusement and picked Warbler up, placing him gently on her shoulder. The blue creature fluted a much happier sound, and curled up in a ball on her shoulder, vibrating with a silent purr. A fond smile flitted across her face as A'liran snapped out of his reverie, before yelling out loud at his dragon. Ellaira couldn't help it - she broke out into helpless laughter. She managed to get herself under control in time to answer A'liran.

"That's the idea," Ellaira said, still smiling. "But I've been here a long time and not managed to attract one, so who knows? Maybe it's not to be." She tried to still look happy, but anyone with half an eye for reading people would have been able to tell that it distressed her, to be rejected by so many dragons. But still... her time to Stand was running out. Maybe it was time to try and get used to the idea.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#9
Ali had missed Ella's invitation, his attention focused solely on his internal exchange with Astoreth. He snapped back in time to catch the laughter, or course...or had he caused it? He started to puff up, but he quickly realized it was a good-natured laugh. Those seemed few and far between these days, and the tense greenrider quickly relaxed. His high-strung nature had surfaced, but it was under control as quickly at it appeared, at least externally.

Love, Astoreth purred, pressing her mind against his and filling him with her mirth. Surely you don't feel threatened by a little girl?

I dunno, A'liran chuckled, She looks like she could rock my jaw if she needed to

This time, he was grinning at Ella. He could sense the concern in her, but he didn't comment on it. That was the last thing he wanted, some stranger picking apart his insecurities! He instead ignored them completely. "Most of the searched end up  Impressing anyhow," he said dismissively, as if there was nothing to worry about. "It's just a matter of having enough eggs. We have three queens now, so they should start poppin' em out quicker," he commented. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

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Written By: ZZZ Deceased
#10
"Ah, see," Ellaira said, leaning forward on bother her elbows. "Therein lies the rub. For I--" she emphasized the word with a waggle of her belt-knife, "was never actually searched." The woman gave him an arch look, before piercing a piece of cut fruit with her knife and removing it delicately with her teeth. It was delightful to have fruit almost turn-round; a benefit of living in a near-tropical location, and a healthy way to satisfy her incessant sweet tooth.

"I'm weyrbred, in the age bracket, and two of my siblings Impressed, back in the north, so I suppose I get put on the Sands by dint of existing. But," and she shrugged, as if it wasn't a big deal, though she'd gotten into a screaming fight with one of the Searchriders over it, "I've never had a dragon speak for me, save to bring me to the South." She put a hand up to her shoulder as she felt Warbler slipping - the fire-lizard had gone from wakefulness into the sleep of the dead in moments. He fell into her palm and curled up again without so much as blinking, earning him an eyeroll.

It wasn't lost on Ellaira that A'liran had missed her invitation to introduce Warbler to his green dragon, but it seemed, oh, rude or something to say it again, when it didn't fit in the conversation. She'd offer again, sometime, maybe when he finished eating and was about to leave, or something. Part of it was selfish: Ellaira missed spending time with dragons, and Morelkyth, had, after all, been a green dragon. She was comfortable with greenriders and their dragons, and, well, she needed some friends. There was only so much she could talk about with her fellow beastcrafters or her children, after all.

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Written By: ZZZ Archived
#11
"Ah," A'liran said, turning the story over in his mind for a few moments before offering a helpless shrug. What was he supposed to say to something like that? 'Good luck, I hope you don't fail horribly'? 'Wow, your odds are even worse than normal'? He liked the girl so far; she was spunky without being annoying, and that was a rare trait in anyone...A'liran himself would know! He also hated the new rules and restrictions, and would have loved to see an underdog like Ellaira kick some ass and take some names.

Then again, Ali always liked the underdog. It was a good story, and every now and then - albeit rarely - they won a hand.

In the end, he managed a smile. "Time will tell," he replied, and that was the best answer he could give. Time would tell. A dragon would come to her or not, and she wouldn't have anyone to blame but fate.

Fate, or maybe D'ren.

"Got any kids?" Ali asked, frowning a bit at the implication. "Or are you a queen candidate?" He wasn't quite sure how the rules worked, but he knew the girl candidates were expected to have a child before they could stand for fighters at least. Were golds too valuable to limit candidates for? Or were there enough of them to fall under the same limits?

"The rule's fuckin' stupid," A'liran said at length, revealing the sentiment behind his question. "D'ren is a cunt." It didn't matter how much the bronzerider loved greenriders or showed mercy towards the poor northerners; one strike was enough to damn him in the greenrider's eyes, and the strike in question didn't even effect him personally. It just bothered him. What would come next?

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Written By: ZZZ Deceased
#12
Ellaira managed a wry smile at A'liran's platitude. It was odd - she wasn't looking for sympathy, not really, but what could anyone say? Weyrs weren't particularly gentle places for anyone who wasn't a dragonrider. Though Katila needed crafters, it was clear that in many ways, they were second-class citizens. It was systemic, from the fact that Candidates had been kidnapped, incarcerated, and punished for trying to escape, to the fact that the northerners were expected to want to Impress, and to the fact that all leadership was held by dragonriders. Non-riders were just there for the ride, and expected to obey.

Though, she supposed, greenriders aren't treated all that much better.

She didn't quite follow A'liran's jump to children, but she nodded, raising one brow. "I have two, actually. Ten - Vijeraten - just turned ten, and Morallina is three." She shrugged and played with her food a little at the man's outspoken hatred of the rule. That wasn't to say that she liked it, but she had learned to keep her mouth shut, most of the time. The last thing she needed was a set of scars from a lashing.

"It is a stupid rule," Ellaira said at last, making a face before downing more of her drink. "And it's also a very curious rule. Because if they expect their Candidates to have children now, in order to provide Candidates later, it suggests that all of us will still be in the south come sixteen turns, when the babes are of age to Stand." She leaned forward conspiratorially, resting her chin on her hands. "Which seems to suggest that Tsuen plans to keep us here forever, and just fuck the North over, don't you think?"

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#13
A'liran bristled. "Wouldn't fuckin' surprise me!" he said unabashedly, brown eyes suddenly fierce with hatred. A nearby bluerider glanced in their direction, puzzled and amused by the outburst, but lacking any context he had no reason to continue listening in. A'liran shot him a dirty look before returning to the conversation.

"You're fuckin' right, if D'ren is a cunt then Tsuen is the Queen Cunt," he growled, stabbing at his food in annoyance. Such anger had washed over him with little warning, but it was clear by his rigid body language alone that he bore a deep hatred for the woman. "She's a paranoid nutbag...she'll keep us here forever, by virtue of that fat, ugly dragon's shiny hide. I wish someone would sharding kill her," he growled.

He realized right away that he probably shouldn't be snarling such things in the dining hall where he might be overheard, but the brash greenrider didn't much care. Everyone knew how he felt, anyhow! "Fuckin cow," he added, almost as a sulky afterthought to top off the outburst. "It's sharding wrong...every part of it's wrong," he hissed. At least D'ren seemed to want to take them home. Even A'liran, who hated the man with every ounce of his strength, could acknowledge that. Tsuen, though? That paranoid witch would be the death of them all.

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#14
A'liran's fiery response took Ellaira aback for a moment, but to her surprise, she found herself smiling somewhat sardonically, appreciating the passion and power behind the ferocity of his outburst. The woman speared a piece of potato with her belt-knife, watching the greenrider as she ate it, his body language so full of unspeakable hatred that she almost wanted to provoke it, simply to see what would happen. Probably a bad idea.

"You don't have to kill a person to neutralize them," Ellaira said, her voice even, and much softer than A'liran. She finally managed to place him - he was one of the ones who had burned Tsuen's hut. No wonder he was brash enough to declare his hatred of her aloud in such a public place. Perhaps not entirely clever of me to be seen with him, she thought momentarily, before dismissing it as over-cautious. After all, no one would be so foolish as to attempt to kill Tsuen! She watched A'liran carefully, and shrugged.

"If Jada and RLFemale01 are clever enough, they'll realize soon enough that if they work together, they can countermand Tsuen. After all, as you said, her power comes by virtue of Nirnath." Ellaira's lips quirked wryly at the thought. She'd never heard of a coup in a Weyr, but why wouldn't it be possible, if the leader was unfit? Age was not necessarily a good indicator of who should be in control, and their paranoid Weyrwoman was an excellent example of such. She took another sip of her juice and shrugged again.

"They may be young, but by the time Krypth and RLGold01 are both mature, if they work together, they could probably counter Nirinath. The question then, of course, would be if the Weyr would follow them or her. Political mess, if it ever happened." Her words were couched casually, as if she had no attachment to them, but that was merely for her own safety, and her own desire to Stand. Lashes weren't the only punishment available to the leadership, after all.

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#15
A'liran realized that he'd allowed his temper to boil over. It was hardly dignified, and he'd landed himself in trouble in the past by doing the very same thing. He would never forget the lashing he'd received after the hut burning, but rather than deter him as it was surely meant to, all it did was incite him to greater hatred. Thinking about it didn't make him think better, it only filled with a desire to not fuck up next time. He sneered, looking down accusingly at his plate as if it was the one at fault, before letting out a derisive snort.

"It would take a strong Weyrleader," he pointed out. "Goldriders don't lead rebellions. No one would follow them without a strong Weyrleader," he added, thinking with distaste on the current situation. S'kef was the 'acting' Weyrleader. A'liran could conceded that the man was strong, but he was also a monster..untrustworthy in A'liran's eyes. A'liran hated him as much as the others.

"M'bal should be Weyrleader," he finally said, taking his voice low for the first time, as if finally becoming conscious of how dangerous their conversation could be. "I would follow him. I think everyone would.  We must cross out fingers when RLfemale01's queen rises for the first time," he grumbled. He hated to put it in these terms, to leave the fate of the  Weyr in the hands of gold and bronzeriders. His position frustrated him, and he wanted nothing more than to make the right kind of difference without resorting to the wrong kind of tactics, but after turns of fighting, he was slowly starting to realize that it wasn't in his stars. Some greenriders, maybe...but Ali didn't have the right kind of friends, or the patience to act in such a way.

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#16
"True enough," Ellaira said with a half-shrug, more of a lifting of her shoulderblades than a true shrug. She ran her finger down the moisture beading on her glass, thinking - about history, about what she remembered of the Weyr she'd been born into, about what D'jen had told her, those long nights in the grasslands. Idly, she traced a pattern on the table with the condensation, brows slightly knitted. She looked back up at A'liran as he lowered his voice.

"Even if there wasn't a strong Weyrleader, though," she said after a moment. "Even if the golds keep choosing browns. How long do you think the bronzeriders are going to tolerate a brown boot upon their throats?" Ellaira's mouth twisted wryly. "Bronzes expect to lead, or so it seems. It must gall them to have to obey a chromatic." She resettled herself slightly, not leaning quite so far in, so it might not seem that she and A'liran were discussing something of great import or secrecy, but she kept her voice low.

"It would be better, of course, if Krypth - or RLGold01, I suppose - would choose a mate with a rider who could lead. But even if all they could manage was to countermand Nirinath..." Ellaira raised a brow as her voice trailed off, and tapped her finger lightly on the table. "I know several riders who would leave for the North, without question. I doubt the northerners who've Impressed would stay. It would fracture the Weyr, but it would force someone to act."

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#17
"Have fun tricking dragons into mating with someone for any coherent reason, ever," A'liran grumbled. He hated the way Weyr hierarchy was determined. It was even worse than the holds, who were so locked in their traditions and patriarchy that they didn't seem even capable of seeing beyond their blinders. At least the holds knew their line of succession and could groom their heirs! The Weyr was subject to the whims of dragons, and there was little that could be done about it...as the situation with Tsuen plainly demonstrated.

"Most golds fly with a single mate for most of their lives,' he pointed out. "At least after the first couple turns. They're apt to get snatched then...but once they grow up, they can outpace the suitors and take the male they prefer. Winning a maiden flight is a big advantage, too," he recited. Too bad greens didn't work that way. Hhis life certainly would have turned out much differently.

Of course, this was bad news, too. "That means we need to really root for someone not-shitty to win RLGold01," he said. "But that's a sharding lot to ask these days. And Krypth is so small...it looks like she's going to get snatched by browns, and I think you're right bout the bronzeriders not standing for it." Shards, it was disgusting. "There's just no reliable way to control who catches the golds, though..."

He hated how they had to rely on flight winners. He'd rather rely on himself.

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#18
Ellaira chuckled at A'liran's grumble about dragon choice. Just so, had D'jen muttered about Morelkyth's Rising habits - it seemed that greens were rather more outrageous in their selections. She'd even heard a story of a father and son ending up in bed together (much to their mutual horror). And with Krypth... well. It seemed as if the gold dragon was determined to be Caught by browns, dainty creature that she was. No matter that it was not good for the Weyr, of course. 'The dragon decides, the rider complies' went the saying.

"All of this is true," Ellaira admitted. "But there's always ways to throw Flights, if a person doesn't care what it costs. I mean, off the top of my head..." She held up a finger. "One: if Nirinath wasn't so busy pouring out that Command to keep the dragons in the south, she could ground browns and blues from Chasing Krypth or RLGold01. She's much more powerful and much older, after all. Two," she said, holding up another finger, "A bronze could force-Catch Krypth. She's small, after all, and I'm sure there's precedent." Ellaira paused, chewing on her lip.

"Actually, if I was a bronzerider, that might be the first thing I'd try. Nasty way to get power, but you could lead a coup from that position." She looked thoughtful, then shook her head. "Hmm... three, dragons nobody wants to win could be sent out of the Weyr previous to a Flight, and four, riders of dragons someone doesn't want to win could be incapacitated, with alcohol or drugs." Ellaira waved her fingers, then shrugged.

"It's all academic, of course," she said, chasing a piece of tuber around her plate before finally managing to spear it. "The options those of us with little power have open to us are generally too dangerous to give me any desire to pursue them." For a second, the dark thought that she could use her budding friendship with Jada appeared in her mind. Ellaira rejected it immediately. She liked Jada, and though she wasn't happy with the way the leadership of the Weyr was shaping up, she would not lean on that friendship to change things. That would just be... cruel. An unforgivable betrayal, of the warmth and joy Jada shared freely, and of their laughter together.

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#19
A'liran frowned. "Krypth already gets force-caught. That's always how it ends unless the gold manages to hold out long enough," he pointed out. "And I don't think Nirinath can help cheat. Dragons don't care about politics, and even if Tsuen commanded her to ground certain dragons, she wouldn't do it without a good reason. I'm pretty sure that hairy cunt has her dumb dragon convinced that if we go north, we die..and that's the only reason it's worked so long." Fuck Tsuen, seriously.

"I dunno, though. I've tried to cheat my flights, and dragons just..don't like being meddled with in that regard. Best I've done is trigger an early flight with sex, but that's a good way to get sharding mangled by suitors. I've never heard of someone actually cheating in a goldflight, especially for leadership, but maybe there's a way," he said. The other plans were plausible in theory, but so much could go wrong...too much to ever hope to count on them. A sour expression lingered on his face as he considered the options.

"I think it's shit that we have to rely on airheaded goldriders. It's not like they have any real power, anyhow." He rolled his eyes. "Real women ride greens." He was deadly serious in that comment; any woman worth her weight in shit Impressed a real dragon, too. Babymakers for babymakers, at least in his estimation!

"I guess we'll have to see. I wouldn't be surprised if someone tries something like all that...After all, Krypth will probably even out in here flight soon and RLGold01's maiden is upcoming. Fuck." What a stupid system. He hated it. "I wonder which one of them will be Weyrwoman when someone finally strangles that dumbass Tsuen..."

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#20
"Like I said, idle speculation," Ellaira said, making a dissatisfied face. She polished off the remainder of the food on her plate, leaving only a few stray bits of greenery to decorate the plate. With one hand, she pushed it to the side so it was no longer between her and A'liran, and ran her finger across the rim of her glass idly. Pride kept her from admitting that she hadn't actually knows about the fact that Krypth was already force-caught - she'd just assumed that the gold had preferred browns, but perhaps she was wrong.

Besides, A'liran's colorful language was fun to listen to.

She grinned without intending to when the greenrider commented that 'real women ride greens'. "Oh?" she said archly. "I'd say there's a couple useful ones who ride blue. There's what's-her-name, the Weyrlady, she works pretty hard, even if it is for Tsuen." Ellaira gave him a sidelong look, raising one brow into an arch. "Or are they so rare that they hardly count?" Ellaira wasn't trying to needle him, per se, but she'd occasionally wandered into the fantasy-land of Impressing a dragon capable of rising in the ranks of the Wings, and in her oh-so-humble opinion, she was quite a capable person herself!

"Doesn't it usually go to the first riser?" Ellaira asked, trying to recall what she remembered of Weyr politics in the north. "It seems a weird way to pick a Weyrwoman - rather like flipping a coin - but it's no worse than how we pick our Weyrleaders, I suppose. I wonder what made people settle on such a scheme in the first place."

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#21
A'liran snorted derisively. "You know that I mean!" he said, sounding outraged, but the smile lingering on the corner of his lips revealed that he was playing. Of course, it was also something of a subtle dig at blues; A'liran was as colorist as the most bigoted bronzerider in the Weyr, and that was just the truth. Of course, A'liran would have used that exact argument to justify his mistrust of blueriders. They were jerks, and that was just the truth.He saw no reason to delve into it right now, though, especially now that various people had been challenging his preconceptions lately. Turns of stubborn adherence didn't disappear overnight.

"I don't figure E'lore is the best example, though," he said, smirking a little as he leaned in for a scandalous tidbit. "She's in love with Tsuen...I don't know how she keeps herself form humping that bitch's leg in public. I don't figure anyone with that much trust in Tsuen can be right in the head themselves...Not even D'ren trusted her, and he used to love her plain as as day, you know?" he whispered, endlessly amused by the gossip. He didn't think much of E'lore, but it had nothing to do with her being a woman on a blue. It had everything to do with her being another crazy bitch!

He frowned a bit. "I have no idea who came up with this idiot system," he said. "It was explained to me as having to do with the dominant gold..that's how they naturally sort things out. The first gold t rise after the old one steps out is the head bitch, and her mate is the head bastard. Those two are the bosses and all the other golds and bronzes just kind of fall in after them. Something about that leading to more power over dragons or some crap." He wave dhis hand, unconvinced. "I don't care for it. It just means some airhead or dickbag who gets lucky at a hatching can b a leader without actually doing anything." He realized, of course, that he was in the express minority. Most people took the Impression of a gold or especially a bronze as a sign that the person in question was destined to rule...and that pissed him off. Maybe he wouldn't have minded so much if he'd Impressed a bronze, too.

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#22
"Oh really?" Ellaira said, eyebrows going up. She leaned closer. "I don't know how I managed to avoid that delicious bit of gossip. Isn't a little, I dunno, off for a woman to want another woman?" Colourist A'liran might be, but Ellaira had plenty of prejudices of her own, and the idea of kissing another woman, let alone... that... was rather appalling to her. Ellaira twirled her finger in a circle at her temple, as if to say 'cuckoo'. "I'm sure there's a better example of a female bluerider, but none comes to mind," she added.

A'liran's expressed hatred of the way the Weyrs were run was, well, fascinating. She'd never heard anyone dismiss the inherent structure of the Weyr before, and certainly not with such open disdain. D'jen had been bitter from his experiences in the Weyr, and loathe to return to its overwhelming embrace--

But he escaped, didn't he, she thought bitterly. Escaped beyond between and left me alone. Ellaira quashed the emotions that rose every time D'jen managed to creep into her thoughts, a painful spectre even separated by so many turns.

"I'm surprised that the chromatics don't just up and form a commune," she said instead of following the dark path of her thoughts. "Unless you," she waved to indicate the Weyr as a whole, "think fate has tied you down?"

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#23
Now that was interesting. Ellaira seemed willing enough to defend the rights of women, but when her own prejudice reared it's head, A'liran was honestly a bit surprised. He knew he probably shouldn't have been, though. He was hardly ashamed of his own profiling habits, and even the most accepting Weyr excused male on male homosexuality far quicker than female on female. The idea didn't bother him at all, though. Now, of course, he was curious.

"No lady on lady for you, huh?" he asked, smirking a little. "Better watch out when you Impress. I gotta know, though...how do you feel about male on male?" It was a playful trick question. Being a greenrider, his fate was sealed in that department. He quirked his brows at her, his way of indicating that he didn't give a flying shit what she thought of his sex life, and moved on. "It is true, though. They say E'lore only consented to having children to please Tsuen...won't touch a man outside of that requirement. Explains a lot, doesn't it?"

"Tied down?" he repeated, chewing on the word with a little distaste. "Tied down...I guess?" It was a complicated matter, and his playful demeanor almost immediately dried up. "We kind of are. I mean, we can;t take our dragons away and just form our own weyr. They won't leave the queen," he said. "Dragons find it all very natural. They're not politically motivated or thinking of human rights or whatever, they're just...being dragons. Not much we can do about that." He tried to sound casual, but in the end it only made him sound more bitter.

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