Don't be ignoring me (open)

[shadowreine]

Cioeth was...restless. It didn't seem to her that enough people were admiring her magnificence lately. Well, except for Tiffanie, and her beloved rider was a given.

Said rider was now leaning against the green-blue's shoulder on the shore of the lake. "Don't worry. Quite a few people still think you're pretty. Nakia thinks you're almost as pretty as Isath, and you know that's the best you'll get from a rider."

It was impossible not to think one's own dragon was best, after all.

Cioeth reached around and nuzzled her. "I think I know how to make you feel better. I'll see what I can do about some fancy straps now you're not growing so quickly."

I'd like that! the dragon sent quickly.

"What color, I wonder. Maybe I should ask for some advice." She glanced around the lake, looking to see if there happened to be anyone in the area who could end up a victim for her fashion discussion with her dragon. Might be time to hide...

Besides, it was probably not good to be too close to the two right now. As Tiffanie stepped away, Cioeth lumbered to the edge of the water and dipped in a toe, for all the world like a very large, winged, postcard bathing beauty.

"Honestly, dragon. Your hide is meant to take the cold of Between, not just the lake."

That got her a snort...before her dragon plunged into the water, sending up vast quantities of spray...much of it aimed, of course, right at Tiffanie, but anyone else in the immediate area was in grave danger.

[Stormy]

A shocked cry rang through the air as Codi sat up from where she had been resting in the grass, dripping wet. "I forgot how cold the water is," she said before noticing Tiffanie. "Oh, I...must have dozed off." She stood up, pushing her wet bangs out of her face. "I've seen you around...Tiffanie, right? I'm Codi," she said quietly, offering a hand to the chimera's rider. She may be shy, but she wasn't a total recluse who avoided talking to people. And in this...rather disastrous time, it was hard to avoid people.

Stith quickly clambered out of the lake, making room for the larger chimera. He limped over to his wet rider, curling himself around her, warming her with his body. He watched Tiffanie and Cioeth, careful, but not distrustful. He was just protective of His, and knew she wasn't good with new people. For further proof beyond his quiet demeanor, his eyes were slowly whirling blue. Feeling a shiver run through her, he wrapped his tail closer around her.

Codi glanced over to the lake. "She's a gorgeous dragon, but I still prefer my Stith," she said, setting a hand on his head. "Though I suppose every rider is like that."

[shadowreine]

Tiffanie laughed. "Every rider is. Every single rider I talk to insists that Cioeth is pretty, but has nothing on theirs."

She rubbed the green-blue under the chin. "*I*, of course, think she's the loveliest ever shelled." Stith was a lovely white...smaller than her Cioeth, of course. Surth was unusual in being so big...most whites were tiny.

And, she knew, disliked by everyone on Pern. Well, maybe not everyone, but the people with power. People with power were always jerks.

And if she remembered right, Stith was younger too. "Still, yours is a handsome white...does he identify as male?"

Cioeth snorted at the white. He might identify as male, but he most definitely didn't *count*. There were definitely handsomer dragons in the eyes of the very female...and rapidly maturing...chimera. Blue on her hide there might be, but there was no male in her at all, in her mind or, otherwise, in her appearance.

[Stormy]

Codi nodded. "He's male. I don't care whether people claim whites are genderless, he's definitely male. I'm just worried about when the evacuation to Pern comes. What Weyr is going to take a healthy white? Let alone Stith with his twisted foot..." She sighed and shook her head, scratching the ridge over his eye. She knew the Pernese traditionally disliked whites, and there was a surplus of whites on Earth. For both dragons and whers.

Stith curled closer around his rider as Cioeth snorted at him, wanting to stay out of the way of the much larger green-blue chimera. But she showed no signs of aggression to him or His, so he simply tucked himself somewhat behind Codi.

She looked down at him, curious, but then looked back over to Tiffanie. "Don't mind him. I think he just gets nervous around the bigger dragons. He hasn't really been introduced to any bronzes or golds yet, so I'm not entirely sure."

[shadowreine]

"I hear it depends on the white...that some like to see themselves as male, some as female, some as neither." Tiffanie lets out a breath.

"Codi. We have a Weyr. All we need is somewhere to put it. No Weyr's going to take Cioeth either, even if I feed her firestone to make sure she doesn't breed on. No Weyr's going to take half the riders here, but from what I hear, Pern isn't that highly populated."

It was completely stupid to her to even think of breaking up Rocky. Why? True, they'd need training, but they could bring in instructors. Maybe some of the people with normal dragons could transfer out and switch with experienced riders from somewhere else, but break up the Weyr?

She glanced at the white again. "He *is* rather small, but I don't see anything wrong with that." Cioeth was, for once, being nice, furling her wings so she didn't seem quite so big and lowering her head towards the white.

[Stormy]

"We may have a Weyr, but not everyone is capable of making jumps between, even with help. There have been a lot of babies and pregnant women lately, and between is dangerous for newborns and pregnant women who don't want to abort," Codi said. "And then there's the matter of Thread once we get there. Unless we can find someplace safe from Thread, and big enough for everyone, having the whole Weyr together would kind of be pointless."

Codi wanted to keep the Weyr together as well, because they were a sort of disjointed family. But she had heard rumors that the Weyrleaders were going to send the more able riders to Pern even if the black hole missed Earth by some impossible miracle.

Stith poked out from behind Codi as Cioeth tried to make herself smaller to be less intimidating to the small white. He stretched his neck out, touching his nose to the chimera's. Sitting back up, he blinked at her, saying, Greetings, Cioeth.

((Sorry for the wait, Reine.))

[shadowreine]

"If Earth is doomed then anyone who won't go Between is doomed anyway," Tiffanie said, a little harshly. "Dangerous is better than an absolute chance of loss. And no Weyr is going to take Cioeth...even if I feed her firestone to make sure she doesn't breed true."

She saw it as the only solution. The only one. Cioeth, quite gentle, touched noses with the white, and sent images of happiness. SHE didn't mind white dragons around at all, even if they weren't much use to her for certain purposes.

"We have to save what we can, and abandoning healthy dragons because they're white or chimeras or don't *fit* is *not* going to happen." Little did she know it would not be a concern...

[Stormy]

"And no Weyr will take Stith, even if his paw wasn't twisted. I understand your concern about the Weyrs, really I do, but...I don't see any other way to get past this, at least until a safe place for us can be found. Hopefully by then, it won't be too late..." Codi shook her head. "I wasn't saying we abandon the dragons who won't fit into the Pernese Weyrs, but we need to find someplace for all of us to stay before the entire Weyr can make the jump."

Stith imitated Cioeth's images of happiness, grateful that the larger dragon didn't simply pass him by or think him nothing more than a nuisance. Not many of the dragons had done that to the little white, but a few had. But it did not really bother him whether the older dragons approved of him or not. He had His, and she was all he needed.

"I completely agree that at least some riders should and need to go to Pern, just as a precaution, but I'm just now sure if the whole Weyr can go yet." It may not have been a concern, but no one knew that yet.

[shadowreine]

Tiffanie let out a breath. "I don't know. From what I know, the senior Weyrwoman of Pern doesn't want the disabled dragons on her planet, let alone in her Weyr. That's probably why we haven't left yet."

Because they weren't wanted. Because there were those who would leave her Cioeth to die because of the blue shimmer across her hide. "Or the ones that aren't even disabled. Somebody needs to knock her off of her pedestal, but eh, not like *I* ride gold. Thankfully."

She was quite, quite glad her Cioeth was only a low ranked dragon, albeit the prettiest one in the universe.

[Stormy]

"Agreed," Codi muttered. She had known some of the goldriders were...picky about things, but to refuse dragons and their riders a place of refuge? She felt that was much too far. Gold dragons and seniority be damned! "But don't we have a few gold dragons around the Weyr as well? Couldn't they try and negotiate for at least some of the Weyr to go to Pern in safety?"

But Tiffanie had a point. Even the healthy dragons would likely be refused because they were born from unwanted dragons. It wasn't like Pern was short of dragons...it was why Earth's Weyrs had been founded, because Pern no longer had the room and resources to deal with so many dragons. "I don't even know why whites are considered abominations! I see absolutely nothing wrong with them, and I felt the same way before I bonded with Stith. As far as I can see...the only reason they're looked down on is because of 'tradition'." She sighed.

While she would prefer to simply be a part of a wing if they would ever accept Stith, having things sorted out and keeping all of the dragons, even the disabled and "unwanted" dragons, safe would have been a great relief as well. She shook her head, muttering, "Sorry, didn't mean to get a little out of hand there. It's just...whether they can be used to fight Thread or not, all of the dragons and their riders should be given the chance to live. Because most of them can teach everyone something..."

[shadowreine]

"I think it's because they're so small. People are probably afraid they won't last out Fall or something." That was the popular wisdom...most greens and many blues only managed half a fall. Cioeth would probably only do so if she ever fought Thread.

"And...look. There are a lot of people on this planet. Short of finding a solution to the black hole thing, we're not going to be able to save everyone. Or even more than a handful." Their weyrfolk, the military people who were with them. A few others...if each dragon took as many passengers as he or she could handle and made as many trips as their stamina allowed, then maybe they could save quite a few people.

It would still be a drop on the ocean.

[Stormy]

Codi was silent for a minute, and then she sighed. "I know...I don't like it, though. I don't like the thought of leaving anyone behind, even if there's nothing I can do about it. And riding a normal white, unlike Surth, Stith and I can't really carry anyone else..." She shook her head.

She stepped away for a minute, leaving Stith to his conversing with Cioeth, walking over to a nearby tree and staring up into the branches. Then she looked over her shoulder back at Tiffanie. "A lot of lives will be lost, not just humans. Pets, wildlife, flora...we'll lose a lot because of the black hole, and that's provided Earth survives..." She leaned in and pressed her head against the tree, muttering, "I hate feeling helpless, but I don't know what I can do..."

[shadowreine]

"We save what we can. Even if it's only books." She studied the white dragon. "He could probably carry you and some books."

Which would have to be in paper form and, thus, heavy, because Pern didn't have any way to read ebooks. But they should try and save books. That would give them something of Earth, even if it was only memories.

"Screw this. I'm getting maudlin. Maybe we should go flying or something." Cioeth couldn't carry her that far, but she could fly now. And it might take Tiffanie's mind off all that was going on.

[Stormy]

Codi looked over to Stith. He could carry books, for sure, but she wasn't to certain about both her and books. He was still young, and small to boot. And with the concern over Earth's future, there hadn't been nearly as many lessons for flying.

She shook her head. "I'm not as certain he can carry me as well as a bunch of books. He's still rather young," she said, looking back over to Tiffanie. "But you're certainly free to go flying. I might go take a walk with Jethro, he's been restless lately with all the tension in the air." Then she paused and cocked her head to the side as a thought occurred to her. "Have you met Jethro?"

[shadowreine]

Tiffanie shook her head. "No, I haven't met Jethro." She wasn't even sure if Jethro was a person or...from what Codi was saying, it was probably a dog.

It sounded like something one took for walks anyway and quite a few people here had dogs.

Books. How many books...but weren't people more important? And they couldn't just take hard drives, because from what she knew the Pernese weren't equipped. And no Weyr would take Cioeth, and without Between coordinates...

"He's not the only one restless," she grumbled under her breath.

[Stormy]

Codi noticed the confusion in Tiffanie's expression, and she hadn't exactly been specific on who Jethro was. "Jethro is my German Shepherd. He doesn't usually stray far, so this should get his attention," she said before she turned away from Tiffanie and gave a quick, sharp whistle with her fingers before turning back.

Adopting Jethro had always been her brother's idea, and her gaze turned skyward sadly for a moment. Pern didn't have to deal with this, so she knew he would be safe, but...she knew he wouldn't be happy about staying there while she was potentially and likely in danger. Unless...

"What if we tried timing it? Send a small party forward to see what happens to Earth?" Then she sighed and shook her head. "No, that wouldn't work without coordinates and details, and we don't even know if there will be an Earth in the future...stupid idea..." she muttered, as if to herself.

Before she could mope and grumble to herself about her failed idea attempt, she heard a couple barks and running paws before a German Shepherd came bounding up. He slid to a stop next to Codi, who pet him and knelt down to give him a hug, and then he turned toward Tiffanie, cocking his head to the side. "Tiffanie, this is Jethro. Jethro, this is Tiffanie." Jethro barked once at the chimera rider, tail wagging slightly.

[shadowreine]

OOC: This is so out of date, I'm gonna ask right now if you want to wrap it and start something else after we know we make it?

[Stormy]

((Um...sure? Who should start it?))

[shadowreine]

(( Either of us. I mean if you have amazing muse for this I'm up to continuing ))

[Stormy]

((I don't really have much of a muse anymore. So I'm game for moving on to a new thread.))