Keep an Eye Out

Writers: AL, Jane
Date Posted: 22nd March 2009

Characters: Meledei, O'rian
Description: Meledei asks O'rian too keep his eyes and ears open.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 6 of Turn 5

"Hey O'rian." Meledei greeted the bronzerider with a grin. She didn't have much time, the amount allotted for lunch would soon be up, but she wanted to ask while she had him in her sights.

The weyrling bronzerider glanced up from his meal and smiled. "Hello Meledei. How's weyrlinghood treating you?" He remembered the start of his time as a weyrling - a time that was nearly over now - and wondered that it had seemed so difficult. He was sure that if he had to do it all over again, now, with the _toughness_ he had developed over the past five months, he would fare better. It wasn't knowledge, exactly, but a mental confidence that he could manage most problems that came his way, even the problems that might initially appear to be insurmountable.

"It's hard, but manageable." Meledei gave him a half grin and shrugged. She had been quite used to hard work. She tossed firestone before and she had been used to lifting heavy objects or even animals as a beastcrafter. That didn't mean it was _easy_ just that because of her experience, certain things took less time getting used to. "I'm surviving thus far."

"Good. It gets easier, I think. Or weyrlings get used to it." His smile widened. "Well, I hope that's true and I'm not just thinking that because I'm about to make a complete mess of everything and spend the rest of my days as a weyrlingstaff assistant."

"That would be terrible, wouldn't it?" Meledei's grin widened and she crossed her arms over her chest. "Poor O'rian, stuck forever, to be mocked by all the weyrlings who come after him. Maybe they'll turn it into a harper ballad."

"Oh yes. That would be the final shame, wouldn't it? Being turned into the sort of Ballad designed to warn children not to misbehave. Anyway, I _am_ hoping to avoid that."

"I'm sure you'll manage some how." Meledei patted O'rian on the arm, then finally moved onto the subject she had meant to broach with him. "Hey, question for you."

"Easy one?" he asked hopefully, then waved his hand. "No matter. I'll take a stab at anything. What is it?"

"I've been receiving some gifts from someone who remains nameless." Meledei was still no closer to figuring out who it was. Yet, it was very possible that it was another weyrling, perhaps even a senior one. "I was wondering if you'd happened to have heard anything, maybe some rumours among your weyrling class? Or seen anything."

"Seen nothing, heard nothing, know nothing." The young man's grin was wide. "You have _such_ an interesting life Meledei. One moment a beastcrafter with dragonriding ambitions - the next a weyrling goldrider. And then a weyrling goldrider with a secret admirer." A little more cautiously he asked: "Do you think the two issues are connected?"

There was plenty of talk about how bronzeriders competed for the favours of goldriders, hoping in some way to pass their successes on to their lifemates when the queen rose to mate. He regarded the stories as exaggerations and if there were any bronzeriders fool enough to behave that way worse than dimglows.

"I don't know." The smile faded and Meledei couldn't help but wince. While she had gotten mad at F'gol, she also couldn't fault him for his caution. She just wished the bluerider hadn't been quite so...mean in the way he had commented things. Still, it was true that someone was an admirer of hers, but nothing had been sent to her before she impressed. It had all been after she impressed the gold. As much as Meledei felt flattered, she also felt a bit of concern. She didn't want to be with someone who only saw her for the colour of the dragon she rode. "I mean, it's nice to have the attention and all, but I also have to doubt its sincerity considering the timing of it." Even if the pictured _did_ depict her in various activities she had participated in before Impression. Of course, that made the idea even creepier.

"Yeah." He sighed. His own Impression was still overshadowed by his father's chequered past as Weyrleader and he knew it would take a while to outgrow that, if it was ever possible to do so, but at least people were pretty open about their thoughts on the subject. "Miserable way to live, though. Doubting people's sincerity."

"Well, I wouldn't had it started _before_ I impressed." Meledei sighed softly and shook her head. "And it didn't help that the card on the flowers, which were the first things I received, stated 'The sweet scent of these flowers in nothing compared to the sweetness of the Weyr's newest Goldrider'."

O'rian couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, well, that's pretty blunt and right to the point. Does it matter who it is? Really?"

"It doesn't matter _who_ as long as it's male. I'm not interested in females." Meledei gave an amused smile. "But...at the same time, I guess I wonder why this person it paying attention to me. Is it for me? Or is it because I impressed the gold? Maybe that wouldn't matter to you, but it does matter to me. I want to be liked for being me."

"Being liked - for whatever reason - is better than being disliked for none."

"I don't know if I completely agree with that statement." Meledei shook her head. "Anyway, if you don't know, you don't know. Do you think you could keep an eye or ear out?"

"I shall be your spy," O'rian promised. "Every spare moment I get."

"Good. Thanks!" Maybe with his and Afkica's help, Meledei would finally find out who her secret admirer really was.

Last updated on the March 25th 2009

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Keep an Eye Out