Next Leg of the Trip

Writers: Suzee, Ames, AL
Date Posted: 9th September 2013

Characters: Caenir, Faldrimme, Arippa, D'arvn
Description: Faldrimme arrives to visit Arippa
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 2, day 20 of Turn 7
Notes: @ Green Valley

Faldrimme

Arippa

D'arvn

The one good thing about living in the Weyr at the moment was that it
was easy to get a ride places. She waved and thanked the rider who had
brought her. She'd be staying with Arippa just three to four days

before heading back to finish her month at the Weyr.

To be honest, it was a welcome relief to get to spend a few days away
from the place she'd gone to visit. Weyr-life was far different than
what she knew and the adjustment was hard.

The work, however, had gotten easier. Faldrimme could now keep up with
the other apprentices with little problem. Her muscles were toned in
ways she never had known before. She'd even developed calluses on her
hands. What had seemed so hard at the beginning, had gotten easier.
She'd finally begun doing more than just mucking out after the animals
and that pleased her. She wished the process wasn't_quite_ so long,

however. What she really wanted was to train the animals, but that
would be a long time coming.

The bluerider had kindly begun unstrapping her bags and setting them
on the ground. She thanked him again and turned at the sound of
footsteps coming their way.

"You're welcome ma'am," D'arvn replied. He hadn't been to Green Valley
in several months but his experience as a messenger meant he knew most
of the holds on the southern continent. So when he wasn't drilling or
on Search he did some transport duty.

Caenir had seen the dragon from a ways. He had looked around, but no
one had come out to greet her. The children were inside, probably
doing their harper lessons. Reven was working, his wife, well, she
was probably taking care of the hold matters that befit her new
status. There were those out in the field, but they had work to do and
would assume someone would take on the role of welcomer.

Except no one was around except Caenir. He had just come from a late
lunch. Everyone else had gone back to work, but he had come in after
tending to the new mares. He hoped to breed them soon, but for now he
had taken the time to brush them, clean them, and check on their
stalls personally.

The fact that no one came made him wonder if it was an impromptu
visit, or one planned that had just occurred early. Either way, he
didn't want to be rude or the Hold to be considered rude so he made
the trek up to the dragonrider.

Of course, he knew the passenger. She looked almost exactly like
Arippa. Almost. They were supposed to be identical, but for some
reason he could just see the difference. They were small, subtle, and
he wouldn't have been able to verbalize exactly what they were, but
they were there none the less.

"Ma'am." He reached up to touch the edge of his hat as he nodded,
then did the same for the dragonrider. "Sir."

D'arvn chuckled as he set the last of the Lady's bags on the ground.
"I"m not a sir, just a bluerider." But then he turned to his former
passenger. "If that's all ma'am."

"Yes, thank you, D'arvn," Faldrimme told the bluerider. He'd been very
kind to her on the trip. Then turning to the man who'd approached she
smiled again. "Hello again," she greeted him, "Caenir, if I'm not
mistaken?" She remembered meeting him a few times back at Emerald
Falls during all the wedding plans and preparations. Her life had
changed quite a bit since then. She was no longer brooding as much,
though she still hadn't decided on the exact course for her future. "I
believe I'm a bit early. Arippa wasn't expecting me until tomorrow,
but I was able to get out of my duties a day early and D'arvn," she
turned and smiled with a slight wave towards the bluerider, "offered
to bring me today."

That explained why no one had come out to meet her. Caenir nodded.
"Welcome." He offered a hint of a smile then motioned toward the
hold. "I don't know where your room is, but we can find the
headwoman." Of course, they had to walk to the hold first. He nodded
to the bluerider. "Thank you for bringing her here safely."

"Yes sir, ma'am." D'arvn had finished unloading all the bags and
climbed up back up onto Falzeth's back. With a leap they were airborne
and on their way home.

"I'm sure I won't have any trouble finding the headwoman or my room.
I've gotten a bit used to settling into new rooms and quarters quickly
these days," Faldrimme replied. She drew in a deep breath as she
walked. It was nice to smell the freshness of the air here at the
Hold. The Weyr had such a different smell to it. Close quarters,
dragons, people, animals, but no real grass. It was different.

"It's so beautiful here," she remarked, just because to her it was.
The open spaces, the growing things._This_ is what she remembered and

had lived with all her life. Adjusting to the Weyr was harder than
she'd imaged it would be. She turned and gave Caenir a smile. "You're
lucky, you know. To be here."

"Went to the Weyr?" Oh yeah, he'd heard something like that, maybe
from Arippa talking, or maybe someone talking about it who heard it
from someone else. Who knew? Word got around quick, especially in
the minor holds that weren't quite so large as the major ones. "This
way." It was obvious where he was headed, but Caenir tilted his head
in the direction of the hold proper, then picked up her bags and began
to walk.

"Aye." He added belatedly in response to the comment about the beauty
of the hold. It was nice, and it was easy to see why the former
holder had wanted to breed runners. "I like it here." He added, a
touch of a smile upon his lips.

"Yes, I have been visiting River Bluff Weyr," she replied to his
earlier question. She was surprised people knew, but then she guessed
it wasn't exactly a secret.

"Thank you for your help with my bags Caenir," she remarked as they
continued walking. She paused when she caught site of a runner working
with a trainer in one of the corrals. She smiled wistfully. If she
continued her studies,_she_ could be the one doing that. Someday, but
then again, she'd never get to to it somewhere like_here_. Sighing a

bit as she once again felt that echo of uncertainty in her mind, she
turned away from the animal in order to continue along the path.

"Yes ma'am." Caenir glanced at the young woman then followed the line
of her sight. "That's a new one." He explained as he inclined his
head toward the runner. "No name yet."

"Oh," Faldrimmer replied, glancing over at the runner once more. She
couldn't make out the size clearly. "Is it a colt or did you acquire
it from somewhere?" She shielded her eyes and squinted to try and make
out the animal's age from this distance.

"Mare, four turns." It was hard to tell from that distance, the
figures looked small. "Good bloodline." Caenir had managed to haggle
down the price a little, but she had still been an investment. He was
determined to see that investment prove profitable for Reven. "Will
breed her soon."

"Faldrimme!" Arippa's voice called from the front steps. She picked up
her skirts and ran toward her sister with a huge smile. "Oh how I've
missed you," she said wrapping her in a big hug.

She had been about to reply to Caenir's comments on the mare, when she
heard a voice she recognized instantly.

"Arippa!" She turned just in time to have her sister all but throw
them into a bear hug. Faldrimme returned the hug happily. She had
missed her sister greatly. She needed to spend time with her, to
figure out where to go from here. "I'm sorry I'm a bit early. One of
the riders was free today, so I came."

Caenir reached up to tilt his hat to Arippa, but he didn't say a word.
Why would he want to interrupt the reunion between the two sisters?

"I saw the dragon," Arippa smiled and gave her sister's hand the
secret squeeze that told her she needed to talk to her privately.
They'd not been able to used their own twin language with one another
in so long that she'd almost felt her other half was missing. "I'm so
very glad you came early." She smiled at both of them but to someone
who knew her as well as her sister, the smile was a little forced.

Faldrimme knew almost immediately that something was amiss.

Turning quickly to the man who had helped her she said, "Thank you
again Caenir. I'm sure you'll see more of me during my stay." She had
no intention of staying away from the runners.

Then turning back to Arippa she squeezed her hand in return. "I think
we need to talk sister. Come on, lead me to your rooms. I want to see
what you've done with them!"

Last updated on the March 26th 2014

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