Smug Leith

Writers: AL, Chelle
Date Posted: 11th October 2014

Characters: Meledei, E'rae
Description: The bluerider runs into the youngest goldrider.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 1 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Cyradis

Unlike bronzeriders, goldriders didn't really intimidate him that much.
He wasn't sure why since he knew they were the real power in some
cases. Maybe it was just that he never really had occasion to deal with
them too much. Of course Cyradis had been helpful with Werenn.

Seeing the Weyr's youngest goldrider walking the path ahead of him, he
wondered if he should be polite and say hello. Vetoing that, he continued on
behind her. What if she were concentrating on something?

}:You're a wherry:{ Leith remarked thanks to his knowledge of E'rae's
thoughts.

**Oh hush. Not like you would just go up and say hello to Elleth either.**

}:Actually I would. She is young and fun to converse with sometimes:{
His smugness told the story that perhaps he had spoken with Elleth. How had
E'rae missed that?

**Well.....well......fine.**

Meledei couldn't hear the indecisive thoughts that plagued the bluerider
as she continued to traverse the hallways. Her mind was on other things
- drills, records, friends, upcoming plans she had with some of those
friends.

He continued to follow along behind her for a little while. Then they
came to a turn. She was certainly a young woman still, he noted. She was
probably still in training, of course. He tried to think of what he might
say.
**Bluerider E'rae, at your service mam** That sounded stupid and she'd
probably think him a creep. Pondering, he thought about whether or not
there was something he could offer her. "Excuse me, are you Meledei?"

**Stupid. Of course she is, by her knots. She probably thinks you're slow.**

The young goldrider paused and twirled about, a smile immediately
springing to her face in answer to the question. "That's me." She
nodded, her gaze studying the face of the bluerider, but it was not a
familiar one. That wasn't necessarily odd, for the Weyr was enormous
and while she knew a lot of people, Meledei didn't know _everyone_, even
visually. "How can I help you?"

"Well I don't need anything really. Just wanted to make sure I knew who was
who. Still relatively new here and haven't met everyone." He gave a very
small smile, trying not to sound ridiculous.

"I can understand that." The goldrider offered her hand to the
bluerider, her smile unwavering. "And yes, I am Meledei. It's a
pleasure to meet you..." She paused with a sense of expectation as the
man had yet to give her his name in return.

He took her hand and shook it once. "E'rae, rider of blue Leith. My duty to
you and your Elleth." And he meant that completely. Without the golds,
after all, they had no future.

"So you're new here. From where do you hail, E'rae?" His knots were
the knots of Dolphin Cove, which certainly wasn't surprising. While he
may have been new, there was always a supply of knots available and
easily changed to accommodate the ranks of any new arrivals. "And what
brought you to our lovely seaside Weyr?"

"Well, I'm from Garnet Valley Hold but I Impressed at River Bluff." He
missed
his Weyr, but he was beginning to see some of the merits of Dolphin Cove.
"Needed a change and new people." He didn't want to go into the whole dead
children thing-it tended to turn people off.

It wasn't an uncommon answer and Meledei had learned long ago it
normally hid a deeper and more meaningful reason but she wasn't going to
question. "Well, welcome to Dolphin Cove. Are you adjusting all right,
especially to the heat?"

"Actually it can get hotter at River Bluff than this sometimes so that's not
a problem. An easier move than somewhere else might have been especially
for my daughter." He tried to forget his other children just then.

"It can?" Meledei hadn't realized that - she thought Dolphin Cove was
the hottest of the Southern Weyrs. Perhaps she'd just never been at
River Bluff when it had reached temperatures above that of Dolphin
Cove. It wasn't as if she visited that other Weyr all that often. "You
have a little girl - how old is she?"

"She has eleven turns now so she's almost reached the point where she can
decide what to do which is good since it means I don't have to worry about
fostermothers anymore." And of course if Werenn wanted to go back to River
Bluff or anywhere else then, she could. He wasn't exactly a joy to be
around most days.

"Does she want to Stand, perhaps?" She would only be a turn away from
the earliest age possible to stand. As a goldrider, Meledei was even
more interested in those who might Stand than most would be.

"Maybe or maybe not. I don't know though the option is certainly there if
she wishes." E'rae didn't try to push Werenn into a decision though if she
crafted, her opportunities would become much smaller.

"Well, she's free to choose her path." Unlike parents at the Hold, Weyr
parents tended to give their children more freedom, especially when it
came to crafting, Standing, or marrying. "I'll keep my eye on the Sands
for her, though, just in case."

"Thank you Meledei. I'll leave you to what you were doing now. Next time
I see you, I'll know exactly who you are." He nodded in deference to her,
waiting for her to end the conversation since she outranked him.

"Feel free to say hello any time. I've got to run for now, but it was a
pleasure to meet you, E'rae." Meledei offered the bluerider a smile,
then turned to continue through the corridor.

Last updated on the November 16th 2014

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Smug Leith