a note in the darkness

[Tealah]

Bright late-morning sunlight lit up the dining hall, all but deserted at this hour. There were a few people here and there, some speaking in slightly hushed voices, others eating a late breakfast, still others cleaning. The soft notes of a harp provided a relaxing undertone to it all.

Alone at a sun-kissed table in a far corner of the room, a young woman was curled up on the bench, dreamily coaxing music from the harp on her lap. Her sleek head shone like polished copper in the light as she turned it toward the harp. A gentle smile curved her lips.

The warmth of the room touched her skin, but this young woman saw none of it. Locked in a darkness more complete than any she'd known before, Arysa seemed oblivious to the movements of the other people around her. She wasn't, of course. Like any other well-trained harper she was listening as she played, listening to the voices and footsteps and building a mental picture. A picture not only of the room and everyone's location in it, but of the mood of the Weyr residents.

She was worrying about the effect the Weyrwoman's disappearance would have on the already-battered morale of the Weyrfolk. First Goldrider Penna and her dragon had disappeared, the disastrous Threadfall, the strangeness of the whers and their handlers, and now this latest problem. Very, very worrying.

And so Arysa sat, and played, and listened, and waited, alone with her thoughts.

[B'kay]

The sun felt wonderful on his neck, which was already tanning in his quick-bronzing way, even though spring had not yet arrived. It was good that today was warmer and filled with the not-quite yellowing light of Rukbat's late winter glow, for he'd been doing early woolbeast birthing chores, and had not yet dried from his bath when he ran back out into the air and headed for the dining caverns.

Rhobith, who was quickly growing too large to sleep in his rider's old stablehold apartment, landed beside him as soon as C'train emerged. He'd been sunning on the high ledge above the beast pens, watching the tasty morsels wander about as he waited for the little Beastmaster.

And please tell me why again you wouldn't let me eat those two little bleating goodies? They are most tender at that age!

C'train chuckled. "Because, again, my heart, they were both ewes and the Weyrwoman...."

But the Weyrwoman is GONE! Rhobith stopped him, feeling quite smug over his burst of intelligence.

The little man frowned as they approached the entry to the main Weyr. He could hear soft music filtering out from the depths, and tilted his head to listen for a moment.

Well?

"Whether or not the Weyrwoman is gone, and you never know, she may be back," C'train said, rubbing his dragon's snout lovingly, "We actually do need those woolbeasts. Having our own resources means we'll have to depend less on the tithes. Two little ewes will add to the flock nicely, and we don't have enough of that species yet to feed breeding quality animals to the dragons."

Rhobith snorted in C'train's face and turned away grumpily. He lifted upward and glided, though still somewhat clumsily due to his young age, toward a peak that was bathed in sunlight.

"I promise you the next ram that isn't good enough to breed," the Beastmaster called out and turned toward his breakfast and the sound of harp music.

The food had been fairly well picked through, but there were still sweetcakes and klah, and C'train filled a plate and headed toward the young woman who sat in the sun, strumming at a well-tuned harp. He didn't know her name, but he'd seen her a few times, and had heard that she was a Harper by trade.

Today she looked pensive ... and beautiful. But C'train had thought the same, or at least the beautiful part, the other times he'd seen her as well. It wasn't that he had any hope of connecting with her ... beautiful women simply didn't fall for little crooked Beastmasters with missing teeth, after all. But he did want to meet her, to hear her play, and to at least learn her name.

He stopped in front of the table, having piled an extra sweetroll on his plate as an offering.

"Um, hello?" he said softly, "You don't know me, my name is C'train, rider of brown Rhobith ... we're junior weyrlings. I'll trade you my extra sweet bun for the extra seat at your table...."

[Tealah]

There was the sound of footsteps approaching her warm corner. Arysa turned her head a fraction, listening. An odd tempo, they were. A limp? She was by no means a master of interpreting footsteps, but the woman was fairly confident that she'd not heard these, or at least not often.

She didn't stop playing as her visitor came to a stop near her. A masculine voice asked to join her, and offered a sweetroll in exchange. C'train, rider of brown Rhobith, was it? She recognized his name as she had not his footsteps. The harper turned her blue-filmed gaze to where the voice had come from. "You're more than welcome to my table, dragonrider," she said with a grin. "No bribes necessary. Please, convey my respects to Rhobith."

Arysa moved to a new song without stopping, a bright chirping song that required a light touch on the strings. "So, C'train, what brings you to break your fast so late?"

What did the rider look like? Arysa was surprised by the wistfulness of the thought, although the question could be easily explained away by a wish to read his thoughts by his facial expressions. The hint of a troubled frown touched her face one moment, gone the next.

What is it like to Impress a dragon? she wanted to ask the rider, but didn't. What is it like? Instead, she smiled again at C'train, a soft, encouraging smile.`There were more important things to focus on than what-might-have-beens.

[B'kay]

C'train's crooked grin spread across his face as he scraped a chair toward him and sat. He placed his plate on the table between himself and the young woman, and took a sip of his klah, his features attaining the telltale expression of a rider speaking with his dragon.

"Rhobith is flattered," he said with a chuckle, "And wouldn't mind if you come pay your repects in person. It's a warm day, perhaps once Rukbat reaches peak and really warms the air, you'd like to take a walk? He's much too big to sneak into the dining hall now."

As she turned toward him, he saw that the rumors he'd heard whispered were true. The pretty harper had lost her sight to fever. None of that bothered him, though -- indeed, he felt a sort of kinship, having been stared at for his limp and crooked little body often enough.

He was so busy examining the lovely lines of her face, that for a half-breath it didn't register that she'd asked him a question. He quickly covered by taking a sip of klah, pretending to think over the answer for a moment. "Our ewes have started to drop their lambs a bit early," he said, "I've spent odd hours for several days now delivering babies," he chuckled and brushed his errant sandy hair out of his face, "Perhaps I can introduce you to some of those, too. Though they grow into smelly, annoying woolbeasts, they're incredibly cute when they're little."

After taking one of the buns, and taking a bite, he slid the plate toward her. "That offer stands, I did bring a spare sticky bun," he said, then added, "You play beautifully. That I know, though I don't think I've managed to catch your name....?"

O how he wished he and Rhobith really were cleared to fly together. He'd so love to offer this pretty Harper whose name he didn't yet know a ride on his brown!

[Tealah]

Arysa smiled when she heard the scrape of a chair that signaled the rider was sitting down. The smile brightened into childlike gleefulness, however, and a husky laugh bubbled up at the thought of a half-grown dragon trying to sneak into the dining hall. "That would be beyond wonderful, C'train, thank you. I would love to."

She was enchanted by the idea of baby woolbeasts, as well. She'd seen some of the creatures who looked like fluffy walking clouds when she'd traveled between holds, though she hadn't seen any little ones. Another laugh. "If you don't mind putting up with me for that long, I'm game."

The sound of a plate sliding toward her. Arysa set aside the little harp, blushing slightly in pleasure when he complimented her playing. That blush deepened when he said he hadn't caught her name. "Oh, I'm so sorry, C'train, that was terribly rude of me!" A playfully woeful expression came over her face. "I'm Arysa, and I would be forever grateful if you forgave my lapse of manners. Although by rights I should be your slave forever since you already offered to introduce me to Rhobith and the woolbeastlings without even knowing my name." Her involuntary grin ruined the woebegone image she was projecting.

[B'kay]

C'train chuckled at Arysa's words. "Don't worry, nothing to forgive ... after all, I'll be more than compensated with the pleasure of your company."

Suddenly, hearing his own words echo back at him, the little Beastmaster blushed. What had gotten in to him? When he was lowly Caltrain he'd never have had the courage to bespeak a lovely lady so boldly.

Rhobith, the ever confident, the often over-confident, nudged his mind, like the hand of a school-mate pushing him toward the cutest girl in the room.

Rhobith! That one who was always in touch with his mind, feeling his feelings, knowing his thoughts -- but hardly understanding them at his still-tender age. Had he picked up on the fact that his rider was drawn to Arysa, and shared a dose of his own bravado? Oh, Rhobith.

C'train took a drink of his klah, too big a gulp, and felt it burn on the way down. He coughed and grabbed a bite of the sweet bun still in his hand, nearly choked, tried to wash it down with klah, burned his mouth again....

And just sat, blushing, and blinking at the lovely Arysa, whom he hoped was mostly unaware of this sudden burst of blundering emotions.

Still, feeling a need to say something remotely like C'train, he went on, "I hope I'm not imposing, or anything. I know Harpers usually have busy schedules." Then trying to think of something, anything, that would get his thoughts back on an even keel, he remembered a song. It was a race meet favorite, a lively instrumental, and though often played with accompanying percussion that mimicked the background beat of runner hooves, he was sure that it could be well-played on a single harp. "Would you, by any chance, know 'Ahead By A Length'?"

He blushed again. Covering his discomfort by making a song request? How awkward!

[Tealah]

Arysa practically glowed at his compliment. "Oh, but C'train, you've already graced me with your presence - that repays my company two-fold. So I truly am in your debt for your gallantry, my dear dragonrider." She beamed at him, although the smile turned to worry at the strange coughing and choking that suddenly emanated from his direction.

"Are you all right?" The harper reached her hand out unthinkingly into the darkness in his direction, fingertips softly brushing his cheek instead of his shoulder as she'd meant, then managed to pat him lightly on the back. She went a little pink, but less out of embarrassment than of relief that she hadn't done something humiliating like accidentally sticking her fingers up his nose or something. Wouldn't be the first time that had happened since the fever. AWKWARD. She still had a problem with that.

Then he was saying something about schedules, although she was drawing a bit of a blank as to what exactly he'd said. Luckily, she was saved from answering when he requested a song.

Drawing back as though she'd been burned, Arysa seized on the chance to distract him from the fact that she'd not heard more than a word he'd said about... whatever schedules he had been talking about. She grabbed for her harp a little too fast, though, and managed to stab her finger on one of the pegs and catch another on a string, cutting herself a little and making the harp resound with a loud ping.

Somehow she managed to school her features into blandness despite the laugh that threatened to bubble up. Apparently today was just going to be one of those days that she was destined to be accidentally punching people or tripping over rugs until she just gave up and went to sleep. If I didn't have a sense of humor, Arysa thought wryly to herself, I'd be a wreck by now.

The harp sang beneath her fingers as she launched into the upbeat song she thought he was referring to. "You mean this song?"

[B'kay]

When Arysa's slender fingers brushes his cheek, C'train caught his breath.

Mine? What is wrong? Are you all right?

The deepening voice in his mind shook him loose. I'm fine, I just ... we have a new friend Rhobith.

I like friends, the young brown said lazily and C'train could feel him drifting off to sleep.

The rider was about to tell his dragon that he'd be meeting Arysa shortly -- and thinking that it would be much easier to remain composed around the lovely harper with his life-friend beside him -- when the girl once again picked up her harp.

The tune that came from her skillful fingers was, indeed his old favorite from the race meets. "You've got it, and perfectly," C'train said with a grin, and soon his fingers were thrumming the backbeat.

He followed the harp like a second place runner on the tail of the winner, and laughed out loud when he caught sight of two of the kitchen drudges dancing as they cleared away dirty stoneware from the sidebars.

"I was raised around runners, and worked with them almost until I came to the Weyr," he said when the last strains of the harp music had hummed through the air and drifted off into the growing sunlight. "I thought I loved them more than anything on Pern--till Rhobith came into my life." His voice went soft as he said the words. "Would you like to meet him now?"

[Tealah]

Arysa gave herself over to enjoying the song - she was as susceptible to the mood-changing effects of music as anyone else, and such bright song would lift even the darkest of moods. She grinned, hearing C'train tapping out the percussion line. She heard him laugh, although she wasn't certain at what - it could just be simple joy or someone's dragon could be painted pink and tapdancing in the Hall, for all she knew.

The harper finished the song with a flourish, then listened as he spoke of growing up around runners. Was it just her imagination, or did he sound... wistful? Arysa, who had never been particularly fond of runners, could only blink in confused acceptance. Oh but then... Would she like to see Rhobith? WOULD SHE?

"I would love to! Oh, but your breakfast. I wouldn't want to interrupt it, after such a long night." The part of her that had so desperately wanted to be a dragonrider flailed wildly at that last bit, but Arysa tamped it down sternly and instead favored C'train with a bright smile and added, "I can wait." And really, she LIVED in the Weyr, she'd SLEPT with dragonriders, it wouldn't be the first time she'd been around a dragon, so there was no reason for her to drag this poor rider away from his meal just to see his dragon. Still, she had never met a baby dragon - well, a young dragon anyway - , and besides, she had yet to lose the excitement, the joyful awe that the prospect of being beside one of those magnificent beasts brought her.

[B'kay]

[Oops, sorry, this thread got buried and I forgot about it!]

C'train smiled as he swallowed the last bite of his breakfast and washed it down with a sip of klah. "No, I'm done, thanks. I'm used to eating a quick breakfast between beasthold chores and other duties, and I'll just bring the rest of my klah with us. That is, if you're willing to take a walk now." He glanced around. "Do you have a shawl? It's warm this morning, but still not quite that warm."

Rhobith, sensing the thoughts of his rider, became interested in the prospect of making a new friend. The sun is higher, and the stones in the bowl are quite toasty.

C'train chuckled. "Rhobith says the bowl is toasty. He's eager to meet you."

Suddenly, a firelizard, in the midst of a scolding chatter, appeared on the table. Rapture continued to reprimand his human for a moment, and then helped himself to a sip of C'train's klah.

"And this little brown fellow is Rapture," the brownrider said, encouraging the flitter to nudge Arysa's hand so she could stroke him. "He doesn't like to be left out of things!"

Rapture, charming as ever, brushed his head gently against the girl, and gave her a greeting chirp that filled the space around him with pleasant emotions.