The World of Pern(tm) is copyright to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright. This is a log of roleplay on PernMUSH, available online by permission of Anne McCaffrey, author of the Pern novels, and recorded by A.S. Korra'ti (piper@murkworks.net), player of Mehlani of Telgar Weyr on PernMUSH. This log may be distributed freely as long as this header remains intact. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Log Date: 6/3/98 Log Cast: (People) Anra, Mehlani, K'ti, Ro, Asher, Tyrell (NPC), Chet (NPC), Ketesar (NPC), Kymria, Erdrick, Aurian, Keller (NPC) (Firelizards) Mehlani's fair, Anra's greens, Devlin's brown, NPC brown, NPC bronze Log Intro: If there's one thing that can lift Mehlani's spirits in the midst of the many months of hard work and stress that she's undergone ever since being Searched for Leilanth's Clutch, it's the notion that her family has been in ardent support of her status as a Candidate. This is brought happily home to her when she discovers via her sister Anra's firelizards that her younger sibling has arrived at Telgar Weyr to come and visit her -- and Mehlani quite happily goes in search of Anra, looking forward to spending time with her even if her irrepressible sister is bound to ask her disturbing questions about her experiences with the young men of Telgar Weyr. However, neither Mehlani nor Anra have any real idea of what's in store for her courtesy of not one, not two, but six, count 'em, six of the youths of the Weyr... ---------- Your location's current time: 16:24 on day 16, month 2, Turn 23, of the Tenth Pass. It is a winter afternoon. You walk past the lintel and into the wide living cavern. Telgar Weyr's Living Cavern(#750RJM$) This huge cavern is sufficently roomy to hold a large portion of the Weyr's population without feeling cramped. There's always a bustle of activity here. Fragrant dishes are constantly in prepartion for mealtimes: currently for the evening meal. Drudges are always present, either cleaning under Pierron's watchful eye, or helping fetch and carry. A myriad of glowbaskets and many ever-lit hearths make the cavern warm and inviting despite its size. The scents of cooking meats, baking breads and pastries, and the pungent aroma of spices hang mouthwateringly in the air. It is little wonder that those seeking to relax nearly always find their way here to do it. Branches of evergreens and glistening winter berries are ornaments of the season. A short tunnel jaunts northward out to the bowl and the merry sounds of cooking, chores, and laughter echo from the kitchen at the southeast end of the cavern near the easterly passage to the rest of the lower caverns. Within the lower caverns is an entrance to the infirmary weyr to care for injured dragons and riders. Contents: Anra K'ti(#3800PAIOce$) Pierron Obvious exits: Lower Caverns Kitchen Bowl Pierron sniffs at the klah pot, and throws the old klah out with a look of disgust. Anra pops up out of her chair instantly. A blur later and she's launched herself at her sister, "LANI!" Walking with that peculiar kind of balance that only someone with a fire lizard on each shoulder _and_ perching atop the battered brown hat on her head can achieve, Mehlani makes her way into the cavern. She's surrounded by several other fire lizards, too, all chittering at the tops of their lungs, Anra's green Dirt in the middle. Multihued forms scatter in all directions, though, as Mehlani, grinning sheepishly, is intercepted by her younger sib. Not even waiting for 'Lani to speak, Anra pipes up with: "I get to stay until the eggs Hatch! Isn't that great? And we were just talking about you and how is being a Candidate? Are you looking forward to the eggs Hatching? Do you think you'll Impress? What color do you want? Ma said she'd try to be here for the Hatching. Maybe da'll come too! Do you think da'll come?" K'ti's eyes widen a little and she just watches the girl. Between Anra's torrent of questions and the inevitable sisterly hug and the din of her sizeable fair -- augmented by Anra's own greens, and the Minecraft-banded brown in the midst of the horde that looks to Mehlani -- 'Lani looks rather breathless. But she hugs Anra readily, and manages to get the soft words "Dirt found me, yes!" in edgewise. Anra hugs her sister back tightly, then tugs her over to a chair. "I knew she would! Dirt's really good at finding people. Especially people she knows, and I've taught them how to snitch a piece of wood from the instrament workshop and bring it back to me but not a very big piece of wood 'cause there's only two of them right now." Mehlani is willingly tugged -- if nothing else since it's the rare Candidate indeed who doesn't appreciate a chance to sit down. As the fire lizards keep up their chatter, fluttering back and forth, with only bronze Holl managing to hold his perch on 'Lani's hat, the older girl sinks into a chair and gives Anra a warm smile, though it's more in her eyes than around her mouth. "I'm glad you came," she murmurs. Anra says "And I get to /stay/! Isn't it great?" She settles down in her chair, though one could hardly call the squirming that takes the place of sitting 'settling'. "How's it like at Telgar? Lots of things to do? And you shouldn't tell anyone about my snitching wood 'cause then I'd get in trouble and they'd make me scrub dishes again. I /hate/ scrubbing dishes. It's always all the worst dishes." Mehlani bobs her head in solemn promise to avoid snitching, as she reached up to pluck Holl off the top of her hat. This is fine with Holl, as this means he's going to get scritched, and the bronze parks himself happily in his human's lap and croons steadily as he watches Anra. Mehlani, in the meantime, with briefly crinkled brow, does a quick sort through her sister's chatter to sort out the most relevant question, to which she answers earnestly, "It's been... good, though Candidates are always very busy!" Ro walks here from the Inner Cavern. Ro has arrived. Anra reaches over and scritches Holl too, without asking persmission. "Do you still have boys drooling all over you and stuff? Did you push any of them down in the stables like I said? I bet that stopped them!" K'ti chuckles a bit then goes back to reading her hide scroll. Ro walks into the living cavern, dust cloth in hand, and proceeds to give the place a thorough dusting as she hums to herself. Neither Holl nor Mehlani seem to mind that he's getting scritched; indeed, a few more of 'Lani's fair converge on Anra, wanting their fair share. Elsi and Wili creel at the girl, trying to find a way to perch on her, while Mehlani turns visibly pink, and corrects as earnestly as she can manage, "They... haven't ever been... 'drooling', Anra..." At least, not that she knows. At least, so she hopes... Anra happily expends some of her energy in scritching the various 'lizards that find perches on her clothing. Her look at Mehlani's response is clearly disbelieving, "But you /said/ they were acting all silly and goofy and, well, /boy-like/. Y'know, like ma and da when they think no one's watching. All kissy and stuff." She makes kissing faces in a somewhat derogatory fashion. "It's icky." Elsi and Wili take turns occasionally nipping at one another in competition for Anra's attentions, while Mehlani turns pinker at the word 'kissy' from her little sister. "Well, um," she begins, eloquently. And she pauses. Where to go from there? She flails for a few moments before she manages to add, "There are still, er, still boys... Ro!" This last, in sudden distraction, as brown Munki zips off in Ro's direction, chittering playfully at her. A small brown lizard flicks through the bowl entryway then circles the sisters once. He trills, as though in success, then blips between with a flick of his tail. Anra shifts her gaze from her sister to this new person curiously. Fingers and hands busy giving scritches and strokes to a myriad of 'lizards, Anra pipes up, "Another Candidate?" Mehlani lifts a hand off Holl to wave over to Ro, hopefully. "Ro is another Candidate," she explains to Anra earnestly, "and my friend." Ro smiles at Munki as she says to Mehlani "He's in a cheerful mood, now, isn't he." Mehlani flashes an actual smile at Ro, and beckons her over. "Ro... come meet my sister Anra?" she invites. Anra ohs. "Hi! I'm Anra. 'Lani's my sister." The comings and goings of the unidentified brown are unremarked by the younger girl. The 'my sister' part rings with possessiveness. Again, she looks to 'Lani, "Do you like them being, well, boylike? Aren't they just really silly and stuff?" Ro stops dusting long enough to join the sisters, bobbing her head as she is introduced. She says "Your sister? I never would have guess. Hello...um, Telgar's duties..." Shards -- the attempt at distracting Anra off the topic didn't work. Mehlani blushes again, clears her throat a little, and hedges, "Well... it's... all rather confusing..." K'ti quietly writes on her hide, her fingers flicking out easy letters with black ink. "Oh! Yeah, um," Anra looks at K'ti for a minute, "Harper's duties and stuff. Um. I think that's right." To Ro, "And, yeah, Harper's duties and stuff." Once again to her sister, "It wouldn't be if you'd just push them down at the stables." Ro lifts an eyebrow at that, listening with more interest. Asher walks in from the bowl. Asher has arrived. Ro waves to Asher, a dusting cloth in hand. "I... um... well, some of them don't really go _in_ the stables much," Mehlani mumbles, blushing more brightly. Now that she's sitting again, Rianet claims her shoulder as a perch. Asher stomps his way into the cavern, spreading snow and firestone dust with each stompstomp. The boy lifts his blue and black marked face to wave to Ro, and than he taps the top of Mehlani's cap as he walks past her. "Why are you still wearing that cap?" he wonders under his breath. Mehlani, distracted, blinks and looks up at Asher. So, for that matter, does Rianet on her shoulder, who chitters in apparent displeasure at the disturbance of the hat. Asher, who should KNOW BETTER than to touch The Hat, takes a bit of fruit and bites at it, hovering over the serving table with his firestone-dusted self. Anra peers closely at Asher for a minute, then whispers - not terribly quietly - to her sister, "Is he one of the /boys/?" Mehlani's behatted head snaps back around to her sister, in startlement. Um. Er. Um. "That's... Asher," she manages, after regaining her composure. "He is another Candidate... Asher," she adds, glancing at the boy, "this is my sister, Anra..." In the meantime, Rianet settles down a little and protectively curls her tail around 'Lani's neck and nudges at the side of Mehlani's hat brim. Anra considers Asher for a moment, then thrusts out a somewhat less than tidy hand, "Hi!" Asher considers Anra for a quiet moment, and than extends his own black hand, wrapping it around the girl's gently. "Hello." He blinks green eyes owlishly. "Did they kidnap you too?" Another lizard, this time a little brazen bronze, comes winging through the cavern and almost right into Mehlani. With both a happy and a surprised cheep he breaks between in a fridged burst of air. Mehlani, who's taken in a sigh of relief that the subject seems safely diverted away from a) boys, and b) her hat, blinks at the bronze, who's greeted with a flurry of surprised chitters from the representatives of Mehlani's fair on hand. Anra tilts her head a bit, "Kidnap me? Who would kidnap me? My mom would tear them to pieces." Asher ahems quickly, releases the hand that he's clasping. "I meant uhm. Not kidnapped. Aha." He looks towards the nearest rider guiltily. "I meant, are you a candidate? Really Mehlani, at least wear a different one....." Ro rolls her eyes at Asher and goes back to dusting. Mehlani puts in solemnly, "Anra has come to visit me, Asher..." Holl, having lifted his head to eye that unfamiliar bronze who trekked in here, finally lowers it again, shifting position in 'Lani's lap, to give her more access to those parts of him which require more scritching. Which is to say, all of them. Then Mehlani's brow furrows, and she considers Asher a few moments before saying quietly, "I wear it because it was a gift." Three boys walk in from the direction of the inner caverns. They're rather dusty, somewhat worn out and of course just talking up a storm. Anra shakes her head, "Oh, no. I'm just visiting until the Hatching 'cause 'Lani's my sister." Asher looks at the girl, smiles a little bit, in his not-really-there way, and says, "Very nice to have you here, Anra." He leans towards Anra, lifting a hand to cup near her face, so that Mehlani can't see the words he whispers, "Get her to change hats, won't you?" Anra wrinkles her nose a bit, "It's not /my/ fault she wears the hat." Asher sighs and leans away. A shake of the head for Mehlani....though it does seem rather blasphemous to see all of her hair so short when it had been so full and pretty once. He sighs again, and goes to get something to drink. Anra, for her part, looks wistfully at her sister's short hair. "I wish ma would let me cut my hair short." Mehlani's features shift into a rather subtle, unfamiliar expression, though only someone intimately familiar with her might recognize it as stubbornness. Her expression takes on a kind of forthright contentment, though she doesn't bother to elaborate on exactly _why_ that weathered old hat continually rides in place atop her short, fluff-cropped hair. What she does say to her sister, however, is a murmured, "I didn't choose the haircut, but it makes more sense now anyway." Ro chuckles "Stay around here long enough and you may end up having to have it cut." Anra touches 'Lani's shoulder lightly, "I bet," is the only response that she makes. For once, the young girl is quiet. Asher sighs loudly and audiably, turning about quickly. "I think it looks fine," he declares, turns red beneath the scores of bruises on his face, and looks back to the plate of food he was preparing. Mehlani glances to Asher and gives him a shy little smile, then turns back to her sister; Anra gets a similar smile. Still scritching Holl thoroughly, coaxing a steady enough croon out of the bronze that he might be a purring feline, she asks, "Is there any new news with Mother?" Anra huffs a long suffering sigh. "Just endless speeches about how I should look to the future and settle down a bit and I'm growing up and all this stuff." From the table the boys have taken over comes a bit more noise than normal, perhaps some type of argument. It silents almost as fast just as one of the boys, Tyrell perhaps, gets up and makes his way over towards the sisters' table. He clears his throat and looks at Mehlani for a moment. Mehlani starts to bob her behatted head to Anra; then, Rianet on her shoulder chitters at that approaching youth, and Mehlani glances round at him instead, brows rising in silent query under her hat brim. Asher sits down near the other boys, but apart, to pick at his food in silence. Tyrell puts his hands in his pockets and begins to sing. While his voice is normally quite pleasing, it doesn't lend to music very well. "Yesterday... all my troubles seemed to melt away, she turned that shy smile and it seemed to stay. Oh I believe, it's Mehlani." With a little pause he continues, "Suddenly, life is brighter than it could ever be..." My word, he's off key! Mehlani had expected the lad to just ask her a question. When he breaks into song, 'Lani's eyes go round as marks, and if her expression could be translated into words, those words would be 'Oh no, not again...!' But she says nothing, only stares in shock at Tyrell, while her fair abruptly starts chittering in reaction to their human's abrupt shift in mood. Holl and Rianet, closest to the boy, flare up and both eye him with warily whirling eyes. Chet, the dark haired boy in the back giggles a little as Ketesar picks up the next part of the chorus. Tyrell is left standing with his mouth open. "Mehlani, you just don't know what you do to me. All I've ever wa-nted to say, is Mehlani, You look through me." His voice gets a bit louder "all I've wanted to know, I know- you couldn't say..." Kymria walks here from the Inner Cavern. Kymria has arrived. Kymria looks at you for a moment. Erdrick walks in from the bowl. Erdrick has arrived. Erdrick walks quietly in. Ro stifles laughter behind her hand as she watches her friend be serenaded. Asher has appeared at Mehlani's elbow, having mysteriously made his way from his seat to her side in moments. "Well, I say, you are wrong, She just smiled at me today! Oh oh, Mehlani, Make up your mind and tell me what to be." The brave child picks up her hand. "Should I seek your hand and woo you to me?" Erdrick walks over to Asher, pulls Asher's hat down and starts to sing as well, "My heart beats faster and it seems to say, Oh I believe, it's Mehlani. Yesterday, it's such a long game to play, Show me that you really mean to stay. Oh Mehlani..." Anra gives Tyrell an utterly horrified look. Clearly, she's spent too much time at Harper Hall. You can visibly track the progress of red across Mehlani's cheeks. Handily concealing hat brim or no, her thunderstruck look is clear as day -- and half her fair, realizing that Music is occurring, treacherously join in, trying to pipe along. Never mind that they're about as off-key as poor Tyrell. And fortunately for Asher, the 'lizard in 'Lani's lap is Holl and not Arki, so the boy gets to keep his fingers. Finally, as _Erdrick_ joins in, Mehlani looks rather dangerously close to falling off her chair. Erdrick grins at Lani and slips out quietly. Erdrick walks towards the inner cavern. Erdrick has left. Kymria steps in with swiftly sweeping motions - and stops in her tracks. The outline of her mouth twitches involuntarily. The occasional note escapes her strained countenance, even as she attempts to hold it in. "Must...not...sing," she gasps, more to herself than any other. Though, of course, it's plainly audible to any other anyway. Chet, not to be outdone, is already near the group when he starts with his own voice. It's young and almost soprano in sound. ".. Be close to me." he finishes, "Why'd you have to go? I looked at you, you turned away..." It's actually not bad. Aurian walks here from the Inner Cavern. Aurian has arrived. An elbow meets Chet's shoulder and forward steps Keller from the other side of the table. One of the lower cavern girls gasps and turns envious eyes to Mehlani as he sings, "I think you were wrong, she likes *me* and that's okay." His lips turn to that stunning smile and he finishes, keeping his eyes on Mehlani, "Mehlani, turn your chin up and let me see your eyes. Their expressions give me such a surprise..." Asher grins at Chet, whom he maybe is nicer to than anyone else here, still hanging onto Mehlani's hand and crouched at her side. It's hard not to sing when it's just so catchy.... "Mehlani... stay clear for me..." Keller finishes. "Mehlani... be dear to me." Several more cavern girls come from the kitchen at the voice, their eyes hanging on Keller. Aurian wanders in, her jaw drops as people appear to be singing. Anra eyes the boys all signing like they were dangerous tunnelsnakes discovered in the stores. Finally, the young girl pipes up with, hopefully devastatingly, "They could, at least, learn to sing /first/." Clearly, all this attention placed on her sister doesn't sit terribly well with her world view. Especially not from /boys/. Mehlani's blue eyes snap from young male face to young male face, continual shock dominating her expressive features -- _especially_ when Keller chimes in. Mehlani might be shy, but she knows swoonful when she sees it, and Keller qualifies. Anra's comment gets her another shocked look from her older sister; Mehlani, unsurprisingly, appears to have been stunned speechless. "How loverly," sings out a clear voice from near the lower caverns. Dark eyes blink furiously, widening. Kymria adds almost innocently, "I didn't mean to /sing/ that. Honest!" Starting again, she calls rather less musically to the occupants of the living cavern, "That was /pretty/." What the comment says for Kym's musical tastes is uncertain. She hops brightly upwards, a rather odd sight, all in all. Anra looks for a moment like she might actually kick this Keller person. But she manages to restrain the sudden violence. K'ti is peering up, her writing having stopped and several drips of ink spreading across the hide. Kymria's comment gets a lifted eyebrow from Ro, her wide eyed expression clearly stating 'You must be totally insane." K'ti says "Actually.. fer all I'm not one, I thought it romantically cute." Asher smiles, dark brows curving in amusement. A light kiss for Mehlani's cheek and he stands, shuffling back into the small crowd of other boys. They all seem to fighting for a kind of unreachable sobriety. Kymria's own dark brows curve into a rather more confused reflection of amusement, before a wide smile breaks across her face. "Romantically cute?" She asks, with hints of mischief coloring her quicksilver voice. Mehlani shrinks a few inches in her seat, trying to look as inconspicuous as possible. Difficult to do when you have a fedora on your head, and a green fire lizard on your shoulder, and a bronze in your lap. Anra hops up as her sister shrinks, several firelizards tumbling into the air with loud squawks, "You're all making her embarassed! Go away!" Anra's words are fierce, as is her expression, as she stands both protectively and possessively between her sister and the boys. Keller offers a winning smile towards the center of the masculine attention, Mehlani. He then sits down and starts at his dinner again. At Anra's display he gazes at her and asks, "who's that?" Swatting the back of Asher's head without a thought, Chet playfully calls, "You /are/ embarrassing her! Go do your chores!" Aurian with a wide eyed look at Mehlani, She mutters to Mehlani, "It... my... heart." She chuckles down at her friend. You sense Aurian with a wide eyed look at Mehlani, "It looks like you took my advice to heart." She chuckles down at her friend. Blue Enri wings down to claim Mehlani's other shoulder, eyeing the collection of youths in a grand fire lizard imitiation of Stern Steward. Or perhaps, Crufty Old Weyrlingmaster. The rest of her fair -- at least, the portion of her fair that's present, there's still no sign of Arki -- wings in curious circles around and around the boys. Elsi and Wili, arguably even more cognizant of swoonfulness regardless of the fact that they're fire lizards, go winging closer to Keller. Asher ouches as he's smacked, and stumbles his way towards the bowl again. "It wasn't me,"he protests. "Maybe if the group of you could sing like /I/ sing-" Erdrick walks here from the Inner Cavern. Erdrick has arrived. Mehlani, in the meantime, is profoundly silent, no doubt trying to remind herself that she does actually possess the ability to talk. She finally manages to blurt out huskily, "Um... er... thank you, all..." _I think..._ "It's... alright, Anra, don't worry..." Erdrick walks in quietly, slipping over to the klah pot without a word, though some might notice a rather odd grin on his face. Aurian chuckles and pats Mehlani's back becuase the shoulders are adorned with firelizards, "Could have been worse." Kymria's discomfort grows more and more obvious. She edges towards a nice, central spot, lips curving into a sad pout. Envy glitters in her expressive eyes as she turns a glance briefly towards Mehlani, then towards the males. She begins to hum softly, and there's something about her pose that suggests she's seeking out an appropriate song to sing. Anra peers over her shoulder at her sister, not quite willing to step down the hostility. Finally, she harumphs. "They better not do it again," comes the young girl's threat. Stomping, and followed by two noisy greens, she heads towards the bowl. Sullen. "Whoever it is," says Chet from his spot, a little loud, "she's kind of cute.." Mehlani's face remains flooded crimson, and as Anra turns to stomp off, she surges to her feet, blurting, "Oh, Anra, but--" Erdrick glances from Anra to Mehlani, sitting down with a mug of klah. Asher avoids Anra with a noiseless side-step, and peers at the girl with a solemn expression. "I think she'd be cuter with shorter hair...." he offers. Anra spins about as she catches Chet's words, mouth open to deliver a stinging retort -- only to discover that she doesn't have one! Eloquently, she harumphs again, and continues on her way out. "Wait, wait, I'll show you Nightsong," Mehlani cries out, thinking desperately of an excuse to flee. Holl falls out of her lap, but gamely wings into the air after her. Anra pauses long enough to wait for her sister. K'ti gathers up her hide and ink and shakes her head a couple of times. She whistles her offtune way out of the caverns. Asher steps back even further as Mehlani rushes past him. "They're both kissable," he offers for the sake and well fare of the rest of the cavern. K'ti walks down the short tunnel and out into the bowl. K'ti has left. "Please excuse us," Mehlani pipes, her voice cracking a little, as she manages to beat her sister out into the Bowl. You walk down the short tunnel and out into the bowl. Southern Bowl(#396RJL$) Contents: Asabeth Rhonneth Veyath(#3233Jaepqs) Obvious exits: Living Cavern Central Bowl Weyrleaders' Complex Outer Infirmary Guest Weyr Records Room Anra comes out of the short tunnel from the living cavern. Anra has arrived. Anra makes faces, "Boys. Yuck." [End log.]