Just Out for her Eggs
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Rochelle
Date Posted: 1st December 2009
Characters: Ariau
Description: Ariau muses over Alabieth's impending flight, and the bronzeriders who are aware of this.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 6 of Turn 5
The dining hall was busy, bustling with people who'd decided to take cover from the dreary day, and filled with the sounds of people talking to family and friends.
There were more than enough people to fill most of the tables, but Ariau found herself eating alone at a small one by the inner wall. Again.
She rarely ate in the dining hall anymore. It was a strangely constant reminder of one of the less pleasant aspects of being a goldrider -the lonliness. At least when she ate in her quarters she could pretend she was on the road again somewhere. In the dining hall people were polite, but her few friends were almost never there when she was, and the vast majority of the people who asked to sit with her were inevitably bronze riders.
Bronze riders. So many people seemed to think that Pern needed more of them, but Ariau was coming to the conclusion there were far too many. She'd heard stories from several goldriders now about bronzeriders who courted young goldriders solely to give their dragons a better chance of flying a queen, and while she knew that not all bronzeriders were just out for eggs, when they started deliberately popping up at odd moments and cozying up to her in the dining hall it was hard not to think so.
But Alabieth's first mating flight was coming nearer, and everyone knew it. And although Ariau had told herself that she was avoiding romantic entanglements with _anyone_ in order to make sure that Alabieth's choice was hers and not her rider's, the fact remained that doing so had left her in the unenviable position of dealing with _all_ the more ambitious bronze and brownriders instead of just one or two.
Worse, Ariau did not have a clue what kind of dragon Alabieth would choose. She was pretty certain there was more to the choice than just which one caught her, or there wouldn't be so many male riders trying to get her attention.
For that matter, Ariau wasn't entirely certain how _she_ was going to react to the mating flight. Although she was terrified of the possibility of not being able to control Alabieth in a feeding frenzy, she was reasonably certain she would be able to do it or Ala' would not have chosen her. But once her dragon chose her partner, supposedly Ariau would follow. And Ariau hadn't had someone since she left Fort Weyr.
To be completely honest with herself, she was actually afraid that the experience wouldn't do anything for her. She hadn't been terribly impressed with the whole act when Gh'bar had been instructing her, and no matter how overwhelming mating flights were supposed to be she just couldn't get her mind around the idea of being so out of control like that.
Especially not with a complete stranger. Or worse, with some of the more objectionable riders that had been trying to get her attention. She could just imagine waking up -if that was what it was really like- next to some bald drooling horny guy.
If that happened, forget seconds. She just go jump in the river for a while instead, and maybe glare at Ala' for putting her in that position.
But who would fly her? Ariau had asked several times if the gold had anyone she fancied, and come up with a resounding 'no.' Alabieth seemed to prefer the younger dragons when she was sunning or playing, but for outright flirting she definitely liked the more experienced calls of the older males. Ariau wasn't sure what that would translate to in the air. Or in the mating cots. And how she was supposed to deal with the resulting rider until Alabieth clutched. For that matter, she didn't know how Ala' was going to react to being pregnant either. It was like Standing all over again, only you already had the dragon.
The entire thing was enough to make you insane.
"Mind if I sit here?"
A nice looking young man was standing in front of her, looking as if he was asking something particularly daring. He looked kind of like someone from one of the Hatchings after hers, and a glance at his shoulders revealed bronzerider knots, telling her all she needed to know.
Ariau sighed, and chewed thoughtfully on the edge of her sandwich. He was young, at least. And she had come down here with the intent of checking out the possibilities...
"Go ahead."
Last updated on the December 1st 2009