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) Ro, Mehlani

Log Intro:
	The Hatching is ended, and has ended without Mehlani Impressing --
or her friend Ro. Her family members have all retreated from her, sensing
that she needs some time alone, though her father has made a point of telling
her that he is still proud of her. But although her parents and her little
sister have removed themselves from her presence, her family's various 
firelizards (and between them all, her family has a _lot_ of firelizards) are
keeping tabs on her... and 'Lani doesn't have the heart, much less the
ability, to chase off over twenty firelizards from her presence. She's had
to be content with her winged escort as she's retreated out to the stables
to try to recover from her failure to Impress. Fortunately, she has a 
beloved horse there to keep her company... and fortunately, her friend Ro
knows where to find her...

----------
Your location's current time: 23:56 on day 16, month 2, Turn 23, of the Tenth 
  Pass. It is a winter evening.

Ro comes in from the runner pasture.
Ro has arrived.
Ro walks in, glancing into each stall as she passes it, looking for a 
  particular one.

The beasthold is mostly quiet save for the soft breathings of horses.... and 
  the equally soft brushings of a pair of dainty hands, grooming the sleek 
  black hide of Nightsong. Mehlani is humming, something soft and slow and 
  plaintive; perched on the walls of the stall, and on a couple of the 
  surrounding ones as well, are numerous fire lizards, both Mehlani's own, and 
  greens with Benden banding.

Ro calls softly, trying not to disturb the runners "'Lani, are you here?"

The humming stops, and several of the fire lizards chitter softly. "Here," 
  calls Mehlani's soft voice in reply.

Ro walks swiftly toward the voice "I figured I might find you here...hoped I 
  would..." she trails off.

Sleepily, Nightsong flicks an ear, and tosses her ebon mane at her favorite 
  human. You stopped brushing!

Mehlani has, indeed, stopped brushing, and she steps out into better view to 
  smile faintly, crookedly. "Yes..." Holl and Rianet are the nearest of the 
  fire lizards, and Holl croons.

Ro plops down a -large- skin of benden red and sighs.

"Oh," Mehlani murmurs softly. She turns to set her brush down, and steps to 
  Ro, saying, "I think this might be a good idea..."

Ro manages a trace of a smile, the first since the end of the hatching. She 
  offers one of the mugs she is carrying to the auburn haired girl "I thought 
  you might want some."

"Thank you," 'Lani answers, giving a bit of a smile in return. "Here... 
  Nightsong won't mind..." She steps back into the stall; there's a fresh pile 
  of hay there, and Mehlani settles down upon it, patting the space beside her.

Ro murmurs "Thanks." almost inaudibly, looking noticably relieved. She settles 
  herself on the straw, dragging the skin along with her, and pulls out the 
  cork, filling her mug and offering the skin to you.

Holl and Rianet and one or two of the Benden greens flutter down to surround 
  the girls, while Mehlani pours out wine into her own mug. "I thought... 
  perhaps I'd come out to be with Nightsong," she murmurs.

The horse in question, not used to having _two_ humans in her stall, whickers 
  breathily.

Ro looks up at the runner "She's pretty. I can see why you'd want to." Having 
  been a stablehand for turns, Ro offers her hand for the filly to sniff.

Nightsong lowers her silken nose down to inspect Ro's offered fingers, and she 
  seems to approve, for she nudges them in a quiet sort of playfulness. 
  Watching this, Mehlani smiles faintly and sips at her mug. "If I were 
  eight... I'd have Whereth... but now I have her. And all of them..." She 
  gestures her mug around at the fire lizards watching her, with their many 
  pairs of whirling eyes.

Ro shakes her head "How many do you have now?"

"Just the eight, still... half of these are Father's." Mehlani smiles 
  sheepishly, gesturing to three rather adorable greens clustered nearby. The 
  bigges of them coos.

Ro nods "Ah, that makes sense. I didn't remember you having -quite- this 
  many." as she takes a gulp from her mug.

"I don't think I need any more," Mehlani murmurs. She blows out a breath and 
  leans back against the wall behind her.

Ro says with merriment "I think I have enough too. Now if only the firelizards 
  would agree..."

Mehlani murmurs wryly over her mug, "Well, you do like Father, and just not go 
  to any hatchings...." She tilts her behatted head a bit, and then adds, "On 
  the other hand, that didn't stop him from Impressing Hwin..."

Ro sips thoughtfully from her mug "I really don't -mean- to go to hatchings. I 
  just seem to wander by the wrong place at the wrong time.

Mehlani takes her time with the wine-sipping, knowing the stuff will burn its 
  way down her throat if she goes too swiftly. Now that she's sitting down, 
  Holl clambers over into her lap, while Nightsong, realizing that she's not 
  going to be the center of attention, issues a disgruntled regal snort and 
  shifts her attention over to her feed bin.
Mehlani then muses, "That's about how it happened with me and E'rian in the 
  Records Room." She smiles a bit.

Ro looks mildly puzzled "What happened?"

Mehlani giggles a little, sheepishly, and then confides, "It was when Rianet 
  was proddy the first time..." Ria croons at the sound of her name. "... do 
  you remember? E'rian...." She trails off, and finally finishes, her voice 
  dropping lower, "... wanted to kiss me, I think... and... we went in the 
  Records Room, and there were six eggs, all hatching!"

Ro nods "Ah..." After a moment she asks "What ever happened to E'rian? I 
  haven't seen him in a long time."

'Lani considers this, her head tilting slightly again. She lifts a hand, then, 
  and fishes out from under her shirt a necklace -- the silver-and-opal 
  pendant that Milleniuth's rider had given her. "He is still around," she 
  murmurs at last, softly. "Doing... rider things. But he told me... he asked 
  me to... take care of his brother for him." Mehlani's expression is odd, and 
  she doesn't elaborate; instead, she gulps down a mouthful of her wine, all 
  at once.

Ro blinks "Take care of Kes?"

Mehlani inclines her head softly.

Ro says "So, are you goin' to?"

Mehlani giggles a little, rolling her mug slightly back and forth. "I'm... 
  still not sure what it means," she murmurs shyly.

Ro lifts an eyebrow "Well, if'n I see Eyr around, I'll ask him for you, if you 
  like."

Mehlani's eyes widen, and she squeals softly, "Ro...! I don't think you're 
  _supposed_ to ask what that means..." She seems to be unable to decide 
  between an expression of horror, and one of amusement; she pauses, then, and 
  peers into her mug.

Ro blinks a few times "Why not?"

Mehlani stops rolling the mug between her palms, and sips from it again, her 
  face shyly ducked downward. "I think it'd be... I don't know... forward... 
  and besides..."

Ro sips from her mug and says thoughtfully "Well, it'd be me askin'....and I 
  don't mind, really."

Very softly, very nervously, Mehlani murmurs, "I think I probably already 
  have... sort of figured it out, anyway..." She smiles tinily. "May I have 
  some more of that...?" And she nods towards the wine.

Ro nods and hands the skin back "Don't worry, I brought plenty."

Mehlani bobs her head, then considers and takes off her hat, laying it in her 
  lap, by Holl. Then, as she pours more into her mug, she muses gravely, "I 
  don't normally _like_ wine much."

Ro says "So, what do you think he meant?"
Ro sighs "I think the occasion calls for it."

"I think..." Mehlani pulls in a soft sigh and lets it out again, then sets the 
  skin down between her and her friend. As she sips from her renewed mug, she 
  strokes the top of the battered hat, and continues, "I think he thinks 
  that..." She trails off, thinking about her words, and then concludes 
  quietly, "That it's... Kes my eyes follow, so I don't see him as much...."

Ro nods "You're lucky. The boys really do seem to like you."

'Lani's voice turns plaintive. "It's horribly confusing," she mumbles around 
  the mug, as she sips some more.

Ro finishes off her mug and moves to refill it "It could be worse."

Mehlani crinkles her nose. "I could have eight instead of four to have to 
  choose from," she murmurs embarrassedly. "They're like fire lizards....!"

Ro murmurs "Or none at all."

Mehlani blinks. Then gives Ro a long look, her face falling. "I'm sorry," she 
  immediately mumbles.

Ro shakes her head "It's not your fault, silly."
Ro says "I just took after my Da, and boys seem to prefer more delicate 
  looking girls."

"It's awfully selfish of me," whispers 'Lani, her fingers trailing along the 
  top of her fedora, "worrying about... all the boys, and half the time I 
  don't know why they make a fuss over me anyway. Especially--" And she 
  abruptly cuts off, blushing crimson, reflexively reaching for the nearest of 
  the fire lizards to stroke. With some difficulty she manages to finish, 
  "--singing fuss..."

Ro shakes her head "You have to worry about your own life. I'm a big girl, 
  after all." She says the last in a tone that suggests she means that more 
  ways than one.

Mehlani levels a sudden blue gaze on Ro and says gravely, "But you're also my 
  friend. Friends worry about each other."

Ro smiles lopsidedly "Yes, well, I don't seem to have quite so much to worry 
  about."

"I think," murmurs 'Lani, "that I'd probably find something to worry about 
  even if I had nothing to worry about." That gives her pause. She ponders, 
  and peers down at her mug again, and then adds as she gulps down another 
  mouthful, "I seem to be like that."

Ro lifts both eyebrows "That takes talent. I'll drink to that." and she takes 
  a healthy swig.

Mehlani giggles, and admits ruefully, "I think I am starting to feel this 
  stuff..."

Ro asks with an edge of a slur "Is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

Some of the fire lizards appear to have fallen asleep; a few more are chasing 
  one another around the ceiling, while three of Mehlani's father's greens are 
  perched near Nightsong's feed bin and trying to squirm around the runner 
  mare's muzzle to see if what she's been munching is any good. "Stop that," 
  'Lani pipes up to Aeyri and Twyr and Koei, sounding almost stern, but for 
  her it comes across as if a six-Turn-old was trying to scold a favorite pet. 
  To Ro, she then appends, "I don't... know, really. I don't think I've ever 
  been drunk before. Not that I remember. There was that night... that Holl 
  rose back at Benden..."
Mehlani pauses again. Then frowns. Then giggles softly and corrects herself, 
  "No. That Holl was chasing... one of them." She points at the Benden-banded 
  greens.

Ro giggles "Did he catch her?"

Mehlani shakes her head, rapidly at first, then more slowly. "Father didn't 
  like it. He made Tzornth... make Holl leave the flight, and then..." She 
  pauses again; this seems to be happening more and more frequently, and her 
  voice has softened as well. "Kindre gave me juice. I think it had wine in 
  it. I woke up in the beasthold."

Ro says worriedly "I think if I didn't remember how I got somewhere, I'd 
  worry."

Mehlani says sheepishly, "I _did_... I think... I thought I was going to go 
  sleep with Tsornin." She ponders this and then points off across the stable. 
  "Master Caitria's stallion. He likes me. That's where I woke up... I 
  couldn't go back to Father's weyr!"

Ro nods "I wonder what's goin' to happen when Rain rises."

Mehlani starts fiddling with the necklace again, and breathes out anxiously, 
  "I... I don't know how I got through... my four without... well... um." And 
  she blushes deeply.

Ro listens intently. To her, this is the voice of experience. She sips her 
  wine unconsiously.

In a very tiny voice, Mehlani confides, "I think I remember... Jorenan 
  carrying me somewhere... when Ria rose! Holl got her..."

Ro blinks "Jorenan? The baker? What'd you do?"

Mehlani unconsciously leans toward her friend, as if afraid someone besides 
  two fairs' worth of fire lizards and a drowsy black mare might overhear her. 
  "I... think I... held... onto him, a-a whole lot...!"

Ro looks awed "Wow, I've never done anythin' like that with a boy."

Mehlani mumbles, "I think I kissed him."

Ro whispers "Did he kiss you back?"

Mehlani nods, slowly, looking just about as stunned by her story as Ro.

Ro murmurs "Wow. I've kissed a couple boys, just bein' silly and playin' 
  games, but I never had one kiss me."

"And Jorenan is the _third_," Mehlani mumbles. She slumps back against the 
  wall again, eyes closing for a moment, as she presses the mug against her 
  forehead. "Kes... and Eyr... oh, Ro, what am I going to do...?! Jorenan says 
  he likes me, and so does Remo, and well, I've known Kes does for _months_... 
  _Turns_! He, he, he and Eyr, they liked me at _Benden_... ohhhh...."

Ro considers, drawing some wine into her mouth and savoring it a few moments 
  before swallowing. She says thoughtfully "Quit worryin' about who likes you, 
  and start worryin' about who -you- like."

Mehlani considers this, and begins, "I just don't want to _hurt_ anyone..." 
  Then she trails off again, and muses, "I really do like K'star." Beat. Beat. 
  Beat. "And... Jorenan, too." Beat. "That's the problem..."

Ro shakes her head "Well, I guess you're just goin' to have to figure out who 
  you like more."
Ro sighs and leans against the wall of the stall.

Mehlani giggles a little, and studies the rest of the wine in her mug. "I 
  guess... I guess I thought... tonight would settle things, maybe, but I'm 
  right back where I started." She turns her head to study her friend, and 
  theorizes, "Do you think it'd be easier to decide if I got more wine in me?"

Ro says "Mmm, maybe. Maybe you're thinkin' about it too hard. And if you get 
  drunk enough, you'll stop thinkin' about it for a bit, and then when you do 
  think about it again, it'll be easier to figure out?"

Strangely enough, this seems a sensible course of action. Mehlani bobs her 
  head and downs the rest of her mug. She then lowers it, peers into the 
  now-empty thing, and muses, "I wonder how you tell when you're drunk enough."

Ro suggest helpfully "When you're too drunk to wonder if you're drunk enough?"
Ro finishes off the wine in her mug, trying not to giggle.

Mehlani giggles again, more readily than usual. She swings a slightly muzzied 
  blue gaze around the stall, and murmurs, "One horse. One, two, three... four 
  five, six fire lizards..."

Ro fills 'Lani's mug and her own again before stoppering the skin.
Ro say "Lots of firelizards." She's looking a bit drowsey.

'Lani considers. "Either... Mother's are coming, too, or I am getting drunk." 
  She blinks her eyes and focuses on Holl, who cheeps tinily at her. Holl's 
  getting sleepy, too.

Ro giggles as her fair appears and take up residence on her shirt "I couldn't 
  tell ya."

[This scene was never completed, but I kept it for posterity.]