Oiling Gold

Writers: Rochelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 31st March 2008

Characters: F'lin, Ariau
Description: F'lin and Ariau talk as Alabieth gets oiled.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 7, day 8 of Turn 4
Notes: Very late due to LOAs... Sorry! Also, lame title is entirely Rochelle's fault!

It was early in the morning, after the first bell. Seneth had been oiled but hadn't wanted a bath, and had chosen to go back to sleep rather than hunt, so F'lin found himself with a little free time on his hands before breakfast. The weyrlake was full of dragons and early morning sun, and he decided to stay and maybe catch a quick nap beneath a tree rather than hike back over to his weyr. A shadow crossed overhead; he looked up to see Tabanirth's golden belly pass between him and the sky, quickly followed by bronze Nikornath. **I wonder how long that will last...** he wondered idly. Tabanirth wasn't known for being predictable when it came to her mates.

The gold of Tabanirth's wings was echoed down by the lake; Ariau and her little Alabeith. The young gold was maybe twice his own length but still dwarfed by the now fully-grown Seneth. It wouldn't be long before she was even bigger than his large dragon. After a moment's thought, F'lin clambered to his feet and ambled down the beach toward the pair. When Ariau turned he raised his hand in greeting. "'Morning, Ariau."

Ariau blinked in surprise, and smiled tiredly up at him. "Morning, F'lin."
She answered, patting Alabieth's golden hide. Alabieth turned her head, studying the young bronzerider. "Want to help?" Ariau asked shamelessly, holding up the oil. Alabieth was still smaller than she would be, but she seemed to be doubling in size every night, leaving twice as much of her to oil in the morning, and sometimes Ariau would swear she could see the little queen expanding as she ate.

"Sure. Seneth's done so he can't complain. Plus I can get my brownie points in _now_ before she gets too much bigger." F'lin pulled an oily rag from the bag he was carrying and grinned at the pair. "And I thought Seneth grew fast. I'm surprised you haven't split your hide, Alabieth!"

"Me too!" Ariau grinned. "But I guess that means I'm putting enough oil on her." She added fondly. Alabieth snorted. }:More oil now?:{ The gold thought plaintively at Ariau. }:I itch!:{ Ariau laughed, and passed the oil to F'lin. "She's ready for more."

The bronze weyrling dabbed some oil onto the already oily rag and passed the bottle back. "With your permission, then, Alabieth?"

}:Yes. Now!:{ Alabieth said definitively, causing Ariau to giggle as the gold nudged F'lin lightly with her nose to bring the oily rag closer. }:I itch!:{ "She says to hurry up." Ariau translated with a giggle as she poured more oil on the beautiful hide. She smiled wryly at F'lin. "She itches!"

"Apparently," he said dryly, then busied himself with the task. Alabeith's hide was so similar to Seneth's, but shone so much brighter - like newly minted gold, he thought, or honey in jars on the windowsill. Seneth was the colour of bronze in candlelight, or the gleam of a bronzed nail caught briefly in a glow. "So how well do you enjoy being a weyrling, then?"

Ariau thought for a moment, watching the oil soak into Alabieth's hide. It seemed some days that she was going through twice the amount of oil as her clutchmates... "I guess I still can't quite believe it." She admitted at last. "I watched my brother go through weyrlinghood, you know, and I knew it was hard work, but..." She trailed off with another smile, almost embarrassed as she realized she was simply restating what every other dragonrider on Pern had probably said. "It doesn't seem like as much work anymore."

"Just wait until you have to start learning about star charts." F'lin grinned and rewet the rag with oil. "I know I'm pretty happy about getting to graduate soon. But I'm a little impatient."

Ariau bent to add more oil to Alabieth's right foreleg, glad F'lin couldn't see her face for a moment. She knew a lot of the weyrlings were dreading learning the star charts but... whenever she tried to joke with them, she remembered that night after she arrived, when she had stood on the cliff and realized in utter panic that nothing was the same in the South, not even the stars in the sky. Nothing would ever be the same as it was before, she reminded herself with a small smile as Alabieth sighed in relief when more oil was smeared on another itch. She had wanted change, freedom, and when she had finally reached for it, Alabieth had found her.

"Impatient about what?" Ariau asked, pouring more oil. "Graduation? Or something else?"

"Graduation--" **-mostly!** His hair fell across his face as he took a little extra time to apply oil to the joint where Alabeith's wings met her plump little body. "That, and I cannot _wait_ to have M'galec off my back.
R'syl's not bad, but M'galec should have been left locked up in the Infirmary."

"I know what you mean." Ariau agreed with a roll of her eyes after a quick glance around to make sure the weyrlingstaff weren't anywhere near. "But on the other hand, maybe it's a good thing he's the 'second instead of just a healer. If you're hurt, do you really want to wake up to M'galec hanging over you every day?" She shuddered slightly.

"You wouldn't - he's a surgeon, so it's quickly in, snip-snip, and once he's sewn you up good as new he leaves your after-care to someone else.
The only people who'd have to put up with him then are the healers, and they _have_ to be patient."

"Not necessarily." She said dryly, wringing some oil from her rag onto Alabieth's flank. The gold sighed happily, turning his head to watch Ariau with contentedly whirling eyes. "He still has to do rounds, like the rest.
Hand me the oil, please." She added, glancing at him around Alabieth. She really didn't want to talk about the sour weyrlingmaster second... "Do you know what Wing you'll be in yet?"

The bronze weyrling shook his head. "We won't until we graduate, but I'd be happy to fly with K'sedel or U'das. They're both good men." "I haven't really met either of them." Ariau admitted. "At least, not for more than congratulations when I Impressed Alabieth. Most of my conversations have been with the Weyrwoman." She glanced over at F'lin, feeling suddenly guilty as she did a quick mental evaluation. F'lin was a bronzerider, just like U'das and K'sedel. And unfortunately, M'galec. She knew intellectually what that meant when Alabieth eventually rose, but she'd been working hard to ignore color distinctions while they were unable to act on them. Not that she wasn't aware of why bronze and brownriders kept introducing themselves to her -she wasn't stupid. But she suddenly hoped, in a private little thought she quickly concealed from Alabieth for fear of influencing her, that her beautiful gold would not fly any of those lofty leaders on her first flight -or R'syl. The thought of waking in the mating cots beside the Weyrlingmaster was just too bizarre. She hoped it would be someone younger, like F'lin.

F'lin was unaware of her examination, and smiled as he continued to oil Alabeith's shining hide. "With Tsaera, huh? What do you think of her?"

"She's..." Ariau trailed off for a moment, thinking. "...the Weyrwoman.
All the time. I guess I kind of like her, but I don't know her very well.
I'm supposed to do more with her later, training and stuff. I don't know how that will go -I never expected Alabieth would be a gold!" She confessed nervously. "I really don't know that I'm queenrider material."

"Then why did you Stand?"

She blinked, taken aback. "I... knew she was here, I guess." She shook her head, remembering the conversation she'd had with her brother the day he'd brought to to River Bluff. "I Stood at Fort, but somehow... I transferred south when my grandmother did. I just had to do it. And she was waiting for me." She said awkwardly, unsure how to explain her largely instinctive decision to come south to Stand. "I dreamed about being a goldrider -I think every girl does. But it's not like with you boys, with at least a few bronzes in every clutch. The chance of a gold is..." She shrugged, pouring more oil on Alabieth as the little queen sighed.

}:You are mine.:{ Alabieth stated simply, eyes whirling. }:You will always be mine.:{ "Small, I know. But _someone_ has to Impress her..." F'lin trailed off, feeling the enormity of losing a gold a little more keenly now than he'd done before he Impressed. "And the fact that you did Impress her means that you are, by definition, queenrider material. Look - don't let my grandmother intimidate you. She can be a little intense, but as long as she knows that you're working to the best of your ability, you'll do fine.
She _won't_ be as nice if you slack off or get too full of the fact that you ride gold and everyone else doesn't. And it's not like she'll expect you to do anything you _can't_ do."

"That's good to know." Ariau admitted. "And I don't mind intense. My grandmother could be like that sometimes, particularly when she was working on something."

"Then you'll do just fine," F'lin said reassuringly. "Thanks." Ariau smiled at the young bronzerider. Idly, she let her eyes run over the horizon while she was reaching for the oil again. Her eyes widened. "Um, F'lin? We really need to hurry. The watchdragon just changed, and I have to be in class with M'galec in a quarter candlemark!"
She exclaimed, surveying the lengths of unoiled gold. Hurriedly she smeared an enormous amount onto Alabieth's flank as the gold twitched and glanced back at her, eyes whirling. She passed the oil to the bronzerider.
"Here."

Alabieth decided to add her own thoughts on the matter, and nudged F'lin's shoulder with her nose. }:Yes. I still itch!:{ "Anything to save someone from M'galec!" If he could rescue one damsel in distress from his former teacher's wrath, then it would be a good day, indeed!

Last updated on the April 5th 2008

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Oiling Gold