Search at Willet Grove (1)

Writers: AL, Cali, Francesca
Date Posted: 3rd December 2008

Characters: G'len, Sorsha, Ri'len, Lenlee, Serend, Raise, Karai
Description: G'len comes to Willet Grove on Search.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 4

"Dragon!" Raise shrieked with excitement as she ran to the stables where her father, brother, and sister to be were. "A pretty green dragon father!"

"Eh?" Serend peered up at the sky, his son following suit and squinting at the blue that was dotted with the occasional cloud. Indeed there was a green dragon, high above them and, evidently, headed straight for their hold.

"Did someone send up a flag?" Serend queried, glancing over to his son. Railen simply shook his head and watched.

G'len had visited this hold before, although not recently. However, now that there was a clutch on the Sands, he had the (usually) rewarding job of going on Search. He directed Tobereth to land in a clear space away from the stables, so none of the animals would be spooked by the green's presence.

Once Sorsha had heard the color of the dragon, she relaxed and walked out with everyone else to see what message the rider had brought. She grinned when she recognized the rider and waved a welcome as she approached. "G'len! It's so good to see you. What brings you out here?"

"You know him?" That really shouldn't surprise Railen - after all, she had spent time at the weyr. Perhaps that was why he had come, to visit Sorsha. At least it wasn't I'lan.

"Sorsha?!" G'len exclaimed. "You don't live at this hold, do you?" And, in response to the young man's question, "I'm G'len and this here is Tobereth. We- well she," gesturing to the green, "searched Sorsha and brought her to the Weyr. And now, here we are on Search again."

"Pick me! Pick me!" Little Raise darted forward her arm waving wildly to get the riders attention. "I want to be a dragonrider!"

"Raise!" Sorsha laughed as a large green head turned in the girl's direction. "You're too young to be Searched just yet."

As the girl pouted, she realized that she hadn't made proper introductions. "G'len, this is the holder's son and my fiance Railen, and of course Raise."

"Well met." Railen offered his hand in greeting. He cast a sidelong glance over to Sorsha. Would the dragon search her again and, if so, would Sorsha change her mind and decide to go back to the Weyr?

"Yes, well met." G'len shook Railen's hand and smiled, trying to absorb this new information about the young woman he had Searched not long ago. Now she was living at another hold, and had a fiance? Although he had seen her infrequently while she had been at the Weyr, he always felt protective of those Tobereth had Searched. He couldn't help but wonder how much say she had in her relationship with Railen. Perhaps reminding her that she had been Searched would give her the option to return to the Weyr and escape this marriage, if she so desired.

"I'll go tell Karai. She'll get the hold gathered so Tobereth can get a good look at everyone." Sorsha explained, dragging Raise with her so the men could talk. "I'll bring some juice out too G'len, I bet your parched."

"Thank you, Sorsha. That would be wonderful," the greenrider told her. Then, to the men, "I promise this won't take long. I know you are very busy." Shards, Railen was so young. But then, so was Sorsha, and many dragonriders. It was not up to him to judge.

"It is an honour to have a Search here." Railen stated emphatically. "You are welcome to stay as well, have lunch with us."

"Thank you. I, unfortunately, don't know if I can stay for long though." He would see if there was any tension after having completed the Search. G'len tended to trust people, but he wasn't sure he believed Railen's tone. As Sorsha's fiance, the man would probably be worrying that she would leave him. "I do hope to have a few minutes to catch up with Sorsha though. How long have you two, umm, been together?"

"Oh...about two month I'd say?" Railen glanced over at Sorsha. Had it been such a short time? It seemed like a lot longer than that.

"Here they come." Serend piped up for the first time. He motioned to where Sorsha was coming along with Karai and a small group of young men and women of the right age for Search.

"Greetings Searchrider," Karai said as she gave a polite curtsy, "It's an honor to have you visit our Hold."

Sorsha passed over the cup of fruit juice to G'len, "You came on a good day, everyone was either here or the closest pastures. And don't worry, we're not hiding anyone from you." she added with a wink, for she knew from her fellow candidates that their holders had sometimes hidden away their sons and daughters that they wished to make alliances with.

G'len nodded, trusting Sorsha to tell the truth. "Thank you," he said, accepting the juice and taking a sip.

"Greetings." He raised his voice so everyone there could here him, and smiled and nodded to the woman who had greeted him. "My name is G'len, and this is Tobereth," he gestured to the green who was still a distance away. There was no need to surprise the holders with her sudden movement.

"Tobereth is going to come forward in a moment to examine those of you who are of age to be candidates. She may come very close, but don't be frightened. She won't touch you. When she's done, I'll let you know if any of you have been Searched. At that point, you can choose to come to the Weyr now or later, or not at all. The decision is yours to make."

Last updated on the December 4th 2008

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Search at Willet Grove (1)