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:
	2/5/98

Log Cast:
	Wally (NPC), Mehlani, K'star (NPC)

Log Intro:
	For the last several sevendays, deeply alarmed by what the first 
rising of green Milleniuth did to her rider E'rian -- and the flowers, 
kilt, serenade, and most importantly, _kiss_ that E'rian, in the grip of 
his dragon's mating urge, bestowed upon her -- Mehlani has been going 
out of her way to avoid just about every boy she knows. Confused as well 
by K'tyn's advice on the matter, all the various bits of gossip she has 
been receiving, and her own opinions on the boys with whom she has been 
interacting, Mehlani has applied her usual strategy for things that 
alarm her: hide. So her days have been restricted to her usual work, and 
caring for her fire lizards and her runner... but then again, Rianet and 
Nightsong can't help but remind her of E'rian... and K'star....

----------
Your location's current time: 19:32 on day 21, month 9, Turn 21, of the Tenth 
  Pass. It is a autumn evening.

The sound of nervous throat-clearing marks the entrance of a small, scrawny, 
  rather harmless and ineffectual lad into the Records Room. He's peering 
  about him with a myopic squint, sidling into the room more than walking. 
  "Uh... 'scuse me, but is there a Mehlani in here?" he pipes up in a 
  decidedly squeaky voice. Uh-oh. It's the sequel to the horror: the Son of 
  V'dan! Well, okay, so he's actually the greenrider's fifth cousin. But the 
  resemblance is downright uncanny.

There's certainly a Mehlani in here, but the girl is lying quietly slumped at 
  a table, her cheek pillowed rather uncomfortably on a small stack of hides. 
  Her hat lies askew just off the side of her head, and her bronze fire 
  lizard, Holl, is perched on the table, nudging curiously at her hair. The 
  creature looks up and chirrups at the sound of the squeak that has his 
  human's name in it. Chirp?

The little geek shuffles his way over towards where the sleeping girl is. 
  She's the only one he sees in here, so this must be her. Rubbing his eyes 
  and squinting some more--he left his thick-rimmed glasses in his press, you 
  see--he clears his throat again. Loudly. Nasally. "Mehlani?" he tries again, 
  his voice cracking even more painfully this time. It's enough to make a deaf 
  person cover their ears in agony.

Holl fixes a greenly whirling gaze on the lad, and hisses once in irritation 
  as the girl abruptly jerks, startled into something like wakefulness. 
  "Wha.... I-I'm sorry, I'm almost done," she might be heard to mumble, before 
  she swings a groggy gaze round to the lad who's approached her. Blue eyes 
  blink owlishly, and Mehlani adds blankly, "Ah... yes...?"

The poor dweeb scuttles away from the hissing fire-lizard, gulping nervously 
  and reaching up to loosen his collar. "Please, don't have that creature of 
  yours kill me! I'm just here on an errand from... err... oh, wait, that's 
  right. I'm not supposed to say who. Have you got a moment?" He eyes the 
  table as though seriously considering hiding under that until his errand is 
  done and he can safely flee.

Realizing that she is not exactly in a posture conducive to the studying and 
  copying of hides, Mehlani frowns, blushes, and sits up more straight in her 
  chair. Holl just EYES the boy, and the only sign that he isn't actually all 
  that irritated is the lack of red in his eyes; Mehlani, however, only 
  murmurs, "Hush, Holl," reaching a gentle hand to the bronzeling. To the boy, 
  Mehlani blinks, bemused, and adds, "Ah... yes..."

The stripling gives Holl one last, semi-terrified glance, then bobs his head 
  vigorously. "Oh, good, good. I'm supposed to... um...." He fishes around in 
  his pockets until he finds a piece of hide, and some--but by no means 
  all--of the confusion clears from his acne-marked face as he reads over it. 
  "Right! I'm supposed to sing. Please, don't be afraid. It'll only take a 
  second, I promise!" He gives her a patheticly pleading look. If he runs 
  away, he just knows that the one who sent him on this errand will knock his 
  block off.

_Sing?_ Mehlani's eyes go round, her cheeks go white, and her expression 
  broadcasts quite clearly, _Oh no, not again..._ But she stares in dismay at 
  the boy, seems to relax a little, and she finally breathes out awkwardly, 
  "A...alright..."

Mr. Geek looks pathetically grateful. "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you," 
  he blubbers, relief marked plainly on his features. To be afraid of a boy 
  like this would sort of be like fearing a whimpering canine puppy that has 
  just had an accident on the floor of your room. It's just impossible. 
  Clearing his throat noisily yet again, the lad launches into verse--and his 
  voice, surprisingly, isn't that bad. In fact, it's rather good, as long as 
  he sticks to his soprano range. "A time for us, someday there'll be-- When 
  chains are torn by courage born Of a love that's free. A time when dreams, 
  so long denied Can flourish... As we unveil the love we now must hide."

Taking a deep breath, the dweeb continues in a poignantly sweet (and girlish, 
  but he seems unaware of this) voice, "A time for us... at last to see, a 
  life worthwhile for you and me. And with our love, through tears and thorns, 
  we will endure, as we pass surely through every storm...."

Mehlani manages to avoid looking... afraid, though she does look uneasy as the 
  lad warbles out his lyrics. A blush tinges her cheeks, and she can't quite 
  suppress the notion that she isn't sure what disturbs her more -- the 
  thought that the boy isn't actually on a mission for someone else, or the 
  thought that he _is_.

Just one look at this oily-haired, acne-faced, squinting, stammering, 
  swallowing boy would be enough to convince just about anyone that they 
  should fear the former thought more. Mercifully for him, he's completely 
  unaware of Mehlani's thoughts as he falls to one knee as instructed, 
  finishing the song in a worshipful tone: "A time for us, someday there'll 
  be--a new world... a world of shining hope for you and me." With that, he 
  stands and makes a few bows to the girl and her frightening bronze creature 
  of death.

Holl, the Creature of Death in question, peremptorily claims Mehlani's arm, 
  pinning it to the table, eyeing the lad all the while with the sort of look 
  dragons often give herdbeasts, save in miniature. Mehlani manages an 
  uncomfortable smile, and murmurs, "Ah... thank you... very much...."

A single glance at the dreaded bronze beast is enough to send the geek backing 
  hurriedly away. "Oh, no problem, no problem 'tall," he squeaks, his voice 
  back to normal now that he's no longer singing. "Gotta go. I have... uh... 
  latrines! Yes! The latrines are calling me! Bye!" With that, he flees as 
  though a pack of rabid, slavering LCGs were chasing him.

Mehlani makes no effort to stop the lad; indeed, the moment he's out of sight, 
  she slumps in mingled tension and relief, her free elbow landing on the 
  table. She leans her forehead forward into the hand that goes with that 
  elbow, frowning anxiously to herself, thinking only, _Again....? Oh, 
  Faranth...._ Unsettled, she keeps that pose, even as Holl croons inquiringly 
  and lifts his head to nuzzle daintily at her chin.

"What was *that* all about?" a young baritone voice asks, its owner looking 
  back over his shoulder in the direction the geek took even as he strides 
  into the room. "I've never seen Wally run quite so fast before." When the 
  rider steps into the glowlight, it becomes apparent which of the two cousins 
  he is, as if the hat weren't enough to give it away: K'star stands there, 
  with a mildly bemused and slightly crooked smile on his shardingly handsome 
  face. "Hey, 'Lani. Thought I might find you in here... what's wrong? You 
  look as though you'd just seen J'lor's pants run by."

Mehlani's head snaps up at the sound of the voice in question, and once more, 
  her eyes go wide, and her cheeks white, though this time that's promptly 
  followed by a blush and an embarrassed lowering of her gaze. "H... hello, 
  K'star," she murmurs tinily. Holl, on the other hand, looks up and croons, 
  brightly.

K'star flashes 'Lani's bronze a wide grin. "Heya, Holl." He apparently likes 
  the young fire-lizard, even if he *is* a hat thief. Pulling out a chair, the 
  brownrider seats himself in it with the faintest of sighs. "Drills," he 
  observes, "can make for a very long day. But that's irrelevant. Did I 
  startle you, 'Lani? I'm sorry. I didn't mean to, but when I saw Wally 
  running out of here so quickly that I could barely see him at all as more 
  than a blur... well, I just had to investigate."

The girl only manages a nod by way of reply; she's still looking shyly down at 
  her lap, and she's still blushing, pinkly. Holl chirrups sweetly at the 
  rider, settling back down again to pillow his head and neck along Mehlani's 
  forearm, on the table.

Some of the sparkle leaves Kes's hazel eyes, overshadowed by concern for this 
  young maiden. "Something *has* startled you, or pestered you," he says 
  decisively, certain of the truth of that statement. "Was it E'rian again? If 
  so...." He leaves the statement dangling. Mehlani might not appreciate his 
  intent to actually break his brother's jaw this time.

"Please," Mehlani blurts awkwardly, although she can't manage to look up yet, 
  "i-it was not his fault... and there's just been... I'm... I'm sorry...." 
  Her blush deepening, the lass seems to huddle in on herself a little, 
  turning more towards her table. Without the protection of her own hat, which 
  still lies upside-down on the tabletop, there's more of her features visible 
  than she likes.

K'star nods, though his brows are still lowered. Surprisingly, he doesn't look 
  all that surprised--or even disappointed--to find out that his incorrigible 
  brother wasn't the culprit. "Hey, now, maiden fair--no need for apologizing 
  to me. I'm Kes, remember? I definitely don't mean to embarrass you, and I 
  can see that I have. I don't suppose you'd care to talk about whatever's 
  troubling you...?" Those marvelously expressive eyes of his broadcast his 
  willingness to listen to anything that 'Lani might have to say.

Perhaps fortunately, or unfortunately depending on your point of view, Mehlani 
  is still looking shyly down, and thus avoids the impact of that pair of 
  hazel eyes resting their regard upon her. She's silent for several seconds, 
  looking almost desperately down at her little bronze, who returns her gaze 
  with a look as blue and almost as liquid as her own. Finally: "I'm.... I 
  don't... know where... to start, ... Kes." The last syllable is delivered 
  after the longest of the hesitant pauses in her speech, as if she feared to 
  breathe the young man's nickname.

Even if Kes's face can't be seen, there can be no mistaking that his tone is 
  warm. "I'm not short on time, since I've finished m'duties for the night. 
  Start with whatever's troubling you, maybe? If you want to talk, that is... 
  I'd not pressure you to do something you don't wish to."

"I... I _tried_ to talk... I mean... to K'tyn, but... it didn't _help_," 
  Mehlani murmurs mournfully.

K'star is silent for a moment, peering down at his fingers, which are tracing 
  patterns idly across the tabletop. "I might not be able to help either, 
  then," he finally admits. "But I'm willing to try if you are. I guess it 
  sort of depends on what help you're looking for."

The lass nibbles briefly at her lower lip, and finally offers in timid 
  confession, "I've just been so confused... everyone's been so... strange, 
  and no one can really tell me _why_, or else they say things don't make much 
  sense, or... expect me to be feeling... or thinking... things I-I'm just not 
  sure about--" She breaks off, and abruptly changes tacks, to finish 
  dolefully, "I am sorry, I have been hiding from you." She blushes even more.

K'star doesn't look upset, or insulted. In fact, he chuckles ruefully. "Hey, 
  can't blame you. Not after how Eyr acted. Frankly, I'd run too." He pure and 
  simply can't comprehend how anyone could be less than horrified to be kissed 
  by his brother. The thought of such sent *him* fleeing from Telgar for most 
  of a sevenday, remember. "What do you mean by... strange, exactly? The 
  gifts? Or the gossipers?"

"Milleniuth was proddy, so it was not his fault," Mehlani murmurs. On _that_, 
  she sounds quite certain, even though she is keeping up a steady blush. And 
  after a moment, she hesitantly nods. "Yes... both..."

K'star shrugs, a bit uncomfortably. He's not about to admit that he's the one 
  who left that rather notable bruise on E'rian's jaw before he, too, came to 
  the conclusion that the greenrider really couldn't be blamed for his 
  actions. "I guess," he agrees, a touch dubiously. "Well. I can't really 
  explain the gossip people. I guess they think it's interesting to talk about 
  the going's on in the Weyr--they talk about everyone else too, y'know, if 
  you listen. You're not alone, but it can be disconcerting when you first 
  hear yourself talked about by someone you don't even know." He doesn't 
  mention that he's had that experience several times since he first started 
  showing an interest in Mehlani. "But with the people giving you gifts... I'd 
  say that they're trying to show you that they care for you in whatever 
  fashion, in the best way they know how."

Mehlani hasn't _seen_ E'rian since his.... display, and, thusly, K'star's 
  bruising of his brother's jaw remains outside her ken. The girl reaches a 
  hand to gently stroke Holl's head, and she murmurs as she does, "I... 
  just... don't know what to _do_, about... gossip... and the gifts, I 
  mean..." She starts to look up, and doesn't quite make it. "I appreciate 
  them, oh, I do, but... there's just so _much_... and the songs..."

"I doubt you can *do* anything about gossip," Kes has to admit, fingers 
  brushing at a stray lock of hair unconfined by his fedora. "Except ignore 
  it, if you can. Living with my relatives for so long has taught me that 
  there's no stopping it, and at least they seem to have your best interests 
  in mind, but... the gifts. Well." The young brownrider tilts his head, his 
  expression unusually thoughtful and his lips pursed for a brief moment. "So 
  much. I'd guess that means that a good many people care about you. Do you 
  really want them to stop?"

Mehlani's brows knit delicately together, and although she doesn't quite 
  succeed in meeting Kes's gaze, she does turn her head in his direction. "I 
  don't... want to tell anyone not to do something... if it makes them 
  happy... but... I just... am starting to feel..."

K'star crosses his arms and leans forward on the table, his gaze intense for 
  just a second before he loosens up a bit. "Overwhelmed?" he hazards.

Abashedly, Mehlani nods, and whispers, "It's... I don't feel... like I'm... 
  _real_ to anyone!" She straightens, suddenly, beginning to sit up, perhaps 
  surprised at her own declaration.

Even K'star has to blink at that. "Not... real?" he repeats, clearly 
  surprised. "What do you mean? Do you think we--they--don't see you as a 
  *person*, as who you are, so much as...." He's at a loss for words here, and 
  simply spreads his hands in a gesture to show his lack.

"As... someone in a song, or story," Mehlani whispers. She's lifted her head 
  now, and at last, she risks a look in K'star's direction, albeit a brief and 
  fleeting one.

K'star isn't laughing, of course. He would never laugh at Mehlani. Rather, he 
  is mulling this over, gazing off into space with a decidedly intent look. "I 
  see, I think. You think that they see you as something you're not... or 
  better than you are, maybe? A woman of legend?" He must add a wink at that, 
  of course. "Never mind that you *are* a legendary beauty." Gallantry, thy 
  name is Kes. "Maybe they just think you're the sort of person who deserves 
  to be in songs. You might not see yourself that way, I guess. Few people do 
  who don't have heads too swollen t'fit in a hat."

"That's.... yes, that's it, exactly," Mehlani breathes, risking a second and 
  longer peek at Indyth's rider, along with a brief flicker of a smile. 
  Unsurprisingly, though, she blushes and immediately drops her gaze again at 
  the compliment to her looks. Her brow once more furrows, and she reddens 
  further as she whispers, "Everyone... always keeps telling me how beautiful 
  I'm supposed to be."

K'star chuckles deep in his throat. "Supposed to be? No, 'Lani, I don't think 
  so. I won't speak for Eyr or the others, of course, but I've a hunch 'tis 
  the same for them as for me: I tell it like I see it. Forgive my being 
  forthright, but to me, you aren't *supposed* to be beautiful--you just *are* 
  beautiful, end of story. Inside and out both. I can stop mentioning it, 
  though, if you really want me to."

"It's just that..." Her gaze comes up again, and this time actually manages to 
  make it to K'star's features; her eyes have turned pleading. "If... someone 
  says that to me, all the time, I-I can't help but wonder... don't they see 
  anything _else_?" Mehlani's face is full of uncertainty, but Kes must be 
  soothing her somehow, for her gaze stays up, even though she continues to 
  blush.

"See past the surface, you mean," Kes surmises easily enough. He didn't grow 
  up with a hoard of sisters to learn nothing of female woes, after all, and 
  Katari at least beat a healthy respect for those woes into him. "Beyond just 
  your physical appearance. D'you think we all see you as something lovely to 
  look at, rather than a real person?"

"I... don't know," Mehlani whispers, glancing away, if not quite down. 
  Reluctant to say such things about _anyone_, especially the rider before 
  her, she says no more, but the fretful creasing of her features speaks for 
  her.

"It's all right to speak the truth, you know," Kes murmurs, his voice low. "If 
  people are bothering you... well, you should learn to say so. Polite's 
  polite, but you can't keep it all to yourself until you go crazy trying to 
  contain everything." Tilting her head, he gives Mehlani a long, thoughtful 
  look. "When I look at you, 'Lani, I see a quiet girl with a sharp mind, who 
  loves learning, animals, and music. She's kind and patient almost to a 
  fault, blushes *horribly* easily--" He has to grin at that. "And worries far 
  too much. I sometimes wonder how much she really lets herself step back and 
  enjoy life for life's sake sometimes. On top of that, she happens to be 
  beautiful by a fortuitous accident of birth."

The lass peeks up again, a glimmer of bemused wonder beginning to kindle in 
  her expression... before she catches the last few words, and then, crimson 
  floods her face once more. "Stop that," she mumbles, but not unkindly.

K'star simply laughs, but it's not a mocking laugh or even a laugh at the 
  girl. It's more the sort of sound that invites you to laugh with him, too. 
  "I suppose I should. But y'know something, 'Lani? Even if you looked like 
  Wally and sang like V'dan, I'd still like you for who you are." If he 
  devoutly hopes that she wouldn't whine like Wally or V'dan, well, he 
  tactfully leaves that part out.

'Lani doesn't laugh, but she does smile, timidly. "Thank you," she whispers.

Kes grins. "Any time," he says, and sounds like he means it. "Feeling any 
  better now?"

"A little," is Mehlani's soft reply. The words are an understatement, if the 
  look of relief -- the slow untensing of her brow, the lightening of her eyes 
  -- is any indication; if her face is to be believed, a weight has slid off 
  those slender shoulders. Holl, watching all this quietly from where he's 
  curled up along the girl's arm, croons softly.

K'star retains his grin, but it transforms subtly from an expression of 
  amusement to one of satisfaction. He is indubitably pleased to have been of 
  some aid to Mehlani. "Then I'm definitely glad we talked. Indyth's calling 
  for me now--I promised him an extra soak in the Lake today, since he did 
  well at drills, and he's going to hold me to it, the beast. Maybe we could 
  talk again, another time?"

Mehlani smiles a little more broadly, and murmurs, "I'd like that..." _He 
  -understands-..._

Climbing to his feet, Kes tips his hat to Mehlani in parting. "Any time you 
  need to talk, just send me word. I like talking to you. Perhaps next time, 
  we could discuss Records... not many people read them as you do. Faranth 
  knows, Eyr doesn't." And Kes, though he doesn't have so much time anymore, 
  is known amongst those who know anything at all about him as a history buff.

"I'd like _that_," Mehlani affirms, brightening, just a little, in subtle 
  shimmers in her eyes. "Everyone looks at me strangely, when I'm reading...!"

K'star crinkles his nose sympathetically. "Aye, me too. Except for the others 
  who know that Records are good for more than just gathering dust. There's a 
  story I found in one of the histories, which contrasts sharply with a ballad 
  I know... one has to wonder which is the real interpretation." With a wink, 
  he turns on his heel and heads out, whistling a few notes. "We'll discuss 
  Records sometime soon, 'Lani--you've my word on it!" And with that, he's off 
  to tend to his grumbling brown.

[End log.]