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Post by shadowreine on Nov 21, 2012 9:46:21 GMT -5
Cobweb flitted through the main hall cheerfully, eventually alighting on a rafter. The white firelizard glanced down as his human came through the doors. Humans were interesting. They couldn't fly, but they were really good at finding food, and such a variety of food too.
Well, his could sort of fly, when he was with the big one. Eventually, he dropped from the rafter to land on Tad's shoulder.
Tad grinned at the white. "So, that's where you got off to?" He was particularly fond of Cobweb, although, of course, their bond was not at all close to that between him and his wonderful, if simple-minded, Kimath.
Kimath, on the other hand, couldn't fit in the hall. "Come on, little white fellow, let's raid that stew.
He hadn't realized how hungry he was until he smelled the stew...it smelled like beef and it smelled good. At least they were still eating well. For now.
Some people were talking about evacuating as many as possible to Pern. Even Thread was better than this... Cobweb gave a querulous little quirk and Tad forced his mind into a more cheerful frame. He didn't want to upset the little one.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 21, 2012 16:37:41 GMT -5
"Don't even think about it." A voice called out from the kitchen after hearing Tad's comment.
Faizah had dismissed the kitchen workers for a couple hours. And was cooking. She had begun making a small pot of beef stew, but as she started attempting to think of a solution to everyone's fears, the pot had grown. Now it was easily large enough to feed fifteen people, if not more.
And she wasn't done with it yet...
She had easily heard Tad's comment, due to the quiet kitchen. She looked up at him and his white flitter, briefly, before going back to peeling potatoes. "You can wait until its done." She said simply.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 22, 2012 10:54:56 GMT -5
Tad laughed. "Okay, okay...and that goes for you too, little guy."
Cobweb gave a pathetic chirp, then flitted from Tad's shoulder to land near Faizah, turning his head as close to upside-down as a flitter could and giving her the absolute pathetic cutes.
"Oh, quit that. Anyone would think I never fed you," the young bluerider quipped, eyeing his white firmly. Which didn't stop him from continuing to give begging looks towards Faizah. "Worse than a puppy, you are."
Cobweb was, of course, tiny, but he was also clearly properly fed and well cared for, despite any attempts he might make to lie the contrary.
There was awkwardness at that point. Tad honestly could not think of anything else to say to her. She could have given the order to evacuate to Pern, but she had not. She was, like him, from Earth. She did not want to abandon everyone.
Neither did he. Kimath could have got the coordinates from somebody, but he was not leaving unless ordered to do so. Time was getting twisted in places. People were panicking and the scientists, based off of the television and internet, had no answers, no solutions. He was glad he was a half-trained bluerider, not one of the leaders of the Weyr. Not ever to be, likely...he didn't want it and his dragon was too small to catch a gold and would even be struggling with the green-gold ridden by Nakia. By Pernese tradition, blueriders and greenriders were the grunts of the air, following orders...extremely valuable, but not leaders. Leaders were chosen by the larger dragons.
Surth, of course, was pretty big. But by Pernese tradition...well, what would they have done with Faizah had she and her great white not come to Earth? Maybe she would have made wingsecond, given his size. Maybe.
What was going to happen now?
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 16:41:03 GMT -5
Faizah stopped what she was doing, looking down at the white flitter. He was obviously begging, and normally that would have made Faizah a little more irritable. However, today it looked too cute to deny. She smiled slightly at Cobweb. She reached over to a plate of chopped beef, which was already slightly cooked, and offered a small peice to the white.
"Enjoy it." She muttered to him.
She turned and nodded to Tad. "Just a small bowl. And don't tell anyone I let you have any." She smiled, whispering to him. She then turned back to the potatoes. "So how are Mentari and the twins?" She asked.
Little did Tad know, but Faizah had already sent letters to all the Weyrleaders on Pern, asking if the two Earthian Weyrs would be able to take residence over there. She had almost immediately received a denial from Benden, probably due to Lessa, but she hadn't heard word from any of the others. And she simply couldn't send people over without the go-ahead from the Pernese.
And as much as Faizah wanted to send everyone to safety, she doubted a majority of the riders and weyrlings would be allowed to go to or return to Pern. They had been sent to Earth for a reason.
And there was no place on Pern for dragons that couldn't fight Thread...
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 17:29:42 GMT -5
Tad laughed quietly at the Weyrwoman. Right now, she didn't seem like the powerful leader of the Weyr, so much as like somebody's grandmother. Not that she was old enough to be a grandmother yet, but that was the impression she was giving.
The tiny white gave a grateful chirp and settled down with his own plate of meat.
"They're well enough. The twins have been running both of us ragged, mind. Sometimes it seems that no sooner does one of them go to sleep than the other wake up and demand something. I'll be glad when they're a bit older."
What kind of future would they have? He feared it would be none...but he did have some hope. He wanted to have hope anyway. He wouldn't give up. And to be honest, as much as he normally followed orders, if it was go to Pern against orders or let his children die?
Of course. Kimath didn't have the coordinates and the queens could stop them. Would they, though? Would they really do so if it was obvious that everyone would die?
He didn't know. He knew he could not make hard decisions, but then, that was why he had not Impressed a bronze or even a brown. Tad was no leader...but his fiancee and his children came first in his mind. Of course, if they went to Pern, they would never be permitted to wed, but that did not matter. In his deepest heart, Mentari was already his wife.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 18:23:53 GMT -5
Faizah smiled, nodding slightly. "They're almost a year now, aren't they?" She asked.
Naktor was hitting a year old soon. And Faizah knew the twins weren't that much younger than Naktor. She smiled, remembering the boy's antics. At that moment he was with Nakia, and what she was doing with him was a big question. But then again, Faizah wasn't worried.
Well, not about Nakia having Naktor at that moment. She was worried about the way things were going. The world was literally coming to an end, and all she could do was wait. Wait for the Weyrs to give word back. Wait to see if the greatest minds on Earth could come up with a solution. Wait to give word to her Weyr.
Faizah was sick of waiting...
She had already made up her mind to send some of the healthier riders and weyrlings to Pern. Whether they gave permission or not. And Mentari and Tad, along with the twins, were at the top of the list. Anyone with a child was on the top of the list. Besides, how could Pern deny the healthy dragons, the ones that could fight Thread?
They would be stupid to deny them. Pern was desperate for those that could fight Thread...
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 20:13:30 GMT -5
"Not far from. Pretty soon they'll be mobile." Tad considered that. "Somebody told me that the children of riders have a much higher chance of Impressing...of course, that would make me wonder how us Earth types managed it in the first place."
He flickered a grin. "Heck, some Earth types have Impressed metallics. Says that we're basically the same, I suppose."
However the Pernese had got to Pern, they were all human...all the same people, really, and that was why Pern should help them. Or perhaps it should not even be necessary. The bluerider shook his head. "Any news on...the situation?"
He didn't feel he needed to be more specific but here, in the presence of the Weyrwoman, he could not help but ask.
He didn't ask for himself. He asked for Scott and Ronald. For the future they deserved to have, whether it ended up including dragons or not.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 21:34:56 GMT -5
Faizah couldn't help but smile. "The Pernese originally came from Earth. Far in the future." She explained slightly. There really was no other way to explain these things. But then again, by bringing the dragons to Earth, had they changed the future?
She couldn't help but wonder.
Ah. The situation. Faizah sighed slightly, shaking her head. "We've been denied by Benden, though I expected that. I'm waiting for news from the other Pernese Weyrs." She said softly. She really didn't want anyone overhearing.
Faizah dumped the cut potatoes into the pot, stirring it around a bit. She nodded to it. "You going to take any, before someone catches you?" She smiled vaguely.
Who was she kidding. She really couldn't be humorous right now. Things were too diar. She shook her head, turning to look at Tad. "If we don't hear word soon, I'm going to give a few of you the go-ahead to go. I'm not going to lose the entire Weyr because they want to be stubborn." She whispered to him.
Tad deserved to know. He had children and a fiance to worry about; to look out for.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 21:37:51 GMT -5
Tad nodded. "But...a few of us. There are a lot who can't go. We have weyrlings too young to fly as well as the..."
He didn't want to use the word 'defective', well aware that Faizah's own Surth was counted amongst them. He wanted...to find a way to save Earth, but he knew he couldn't.
If the best he could do was get out with Mentari and the boys, then he would accept that. And he was sure Kimath could bring a young weyrling too, if it came to it, if the dragon was healthy and would have a chance of being taken in by another Weyr.
What if they went there and none of the Weyrs would take them, though? Thread was falling...they would need shelter, especially for the children. They had to plan for that, to find some place where they could be safe. Where life could go on, for them and their dragons and the boys.
But he did not want to settle for that, not really.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 21:47:04 GMT -5
Faizah shook her head. "The weyrlings are old enough to learn to go between. If I do have to give the okay, they will need the guidance of an older dragon, but they could do it. As for those that can't go between, or those of us the Weyrs absolutely won't take..." Faizah sighed at this.
"We will just have to try our luck here, and hope for the best." She finished.
Besides, it was her duty as Weyrwoman to stay with those who couldn't go. Even if Surth was a normal dragon. The odds were stacked against them on Pern with him simply being a white, but with his hatching defects it was worse. And on top of all of that, what Weyr would take a white that might be bigger than their leading bronze?
Not many that she knew of...
She sighed again. "Once the Weyrs see that Kimath and Ladeth and the others are healthy, they will have no reason to deny you all entrance into the Weyr." She finished.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 22:41:43 GMT -5
Tad nodded. "But I hope. Honestly, I hope there's a better way to handle this. I just can't think of one. Which I guess is why I'm the bluerider."
If he was more creative, a better leader and more inclined to give orders than take them he would, no doubt, have Impressed bronze or brown. "I'm sorry, Faizah."
Not for anything he had done, but for the entire situation. For what was happening. For all the millions of people they couldn't help. He felt almost guilty. Almost nobody had an escape. He did...and the guilt would not stop him from taking it. "But yeah. We have to go. The twins will have a good chance on Pern. Even if..."
Even if the Weyr might not allow him and Mentari to raise them.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 23:01:44 GMT -5
Faizah smiled, though it was touched with a bit of sadness. "Don't be sorry. I have this funny feeling that everything is going to be okay. Changed, but okay."
Faizah wasn't lying, either. She really did have a feeling that everything was going to be okay. And that feeling had never failed her before. That knowledge made her really smile. She turned back to Tad, resting her hip on the side of the counter.
"I think you should take Mentari and the twins to meet your family." She said, knowing it was a good idea. It might even put the two of them slightly at ease.
"Besides, if you do have to go to Pern, wouldn't it be best your parents met your sons and fiance before you left?" She asked. She couldn't see how the visit could be a bad thing.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 23:12:50 GMT -5
"The only way that could be would be if the black hole went away. Or if it just..." Tad tailed off. "I'm not a scientist. And...my family."
Tad considered that. "They won't be pleased the children happened before the wedding, but at this point? I love her, I don't need a piece of paper, and if we have to go to Pern they won't recognize it anyway. We're riders."
And he understood why riders didn't get married, but how many riders had a bond like him and Mentari? He was savvy enough to understand just how special their relationship was. He'd seen so many failed marriages...and miserable ones...to know it was unusual to find a lifemate and soulmate.
Faizah, he knew, was cohabiting with a greenrider, but...how much did that mean?
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 23:54:22 GMT -5
Faizah looked over at Tad. She wondered if his family was really going to be that disappointed in him. He had children, and it was obvious that he and Mentari loved each other. Heck, if it wasn't for the bad timing of the Black Hole, they probably would have already been married.
She shook her head at him. "I don't think they're going to be that worried about it with the current dillema." She assured him.
She turned back to her cooking. "Besides, its not like the two of you aren't planning on getting married. They'll understand either way, Tad." Faizah assured him. "They just want you to be happy, I'm sure."
((I really think it would be fun to do a thread where they go to his parent's.))
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 24, 2012 10:35:14 GMT -5
"You know how some people are...if you have sex before the wedding day you're sinners." And yes, his family really was that traditional.
He had been careful not to talk about the dragons in his letters to them. But he wasn't as careful now. If the world was going to end, what did their secrecy matter?
If it was going to change forever, then the dragons and riders might be needed. If they only knew which. "Faizah. What if the world *doesn't* end? What if something else happens. In that case, the dragons might be needed here...but I still don't know if I could stay."
And they could come back, too. If Earth survived what was about to happen somehow. He glanced towards the exit. It was snowing again, as early in the season as it was. Maybe at some levels the world had already ended.
Maybe.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 24, 2012 15:35:00 GMT -5
Faizah shrugged. "Then I don't know what to tell you. Have you even told them about the twins, and Mentari?" She asked.
She looked out the window, noticing the snow as well. She sighed. It was the middle of summer, but there was snow? She shook her head. She didn't know what would happen from here on out.
"I suggest atleast telling your family about them. And if it's that big a deal, I can arrange for a wedding soon. Just let me know what you want to do." Faizah told him.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 24, 2012 19:02:39 GMT -5
"If we still have time." How could he...tell his parents there was escape for him and his fiancee, but not for most people?
How could he not? He'd been putting off talking to them... "I did tell them I'd found somebody. That there was going to be a wedding. Then all of this happened."
He glanced out at the summer snow. Not that unusual here, but it felt wrong. He didn't see how anything could survive this, unless the black hole changed course. If it didn't change course soon, though, it would rip the atmosphere off the planet. Or just tear Earth apart.
The thought actually made him want to cry, but he was too manly to actually let the tears flow. Instead, they pricked vaguely at the back of his eyelids.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 24, 2012 22:07:56 GMT -5
Faizah nodded. "I understand." She said softly.
Faizah turned to him. "We could have the wedding soon. We have everything important. I'm sure Mentari really doesn't care if its a rushed wedding or not." She told him.
She knew that everything had gotten crazy around here. Heck, it was crazy out in the rest of the world. But things might have been even more crazy in the Weyr, with the whole question of escape or don't escape. Especially for those with children...
"I don't mean to pressure you, Tad. But if you so worried about what your family will say, there is an easy solution." She murmured.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 25, 2012 18:29:50 GMT -5
"There is. And I think I know how to explain to them why we're doing it a little late." The thought was starting to become coherent in the farmboy's mind.
But it might... "Would it be a huge problem if they found out about the dragons? Because I don't know that I want to do a wedding without the dragons able to watch at least part of it."
They could do it outside in the bowl, and Kimath and Ladeth could watch. He laughed inwardly at the idea of...oh man. "Oh...man." The laughter became more outward. "I now have the image of Ladeth with a giant bouquet."
It would have to be a really big bouquet to be proportionate to a dragon, even a not overly large green.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 25, 2012 21:02:32 GMT -5
Faizah thought about that for a while. Did it really matter if the people of Earth found out about the dragons? She couldn't see how it would matter. As it was Earth was doomed, unless some form of miracle happened.
She shook her head to Tad. "I don't see why it needs to remain a secret any longer." She told him quietly. It was a reasonable answer. Besides, what was the worst that was going to happen?
She looked at Tad with an arched brow. "Ladeth with a bouqet?" She asked, a smile tugging at the edges of her mouth.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 26, 2012 9:34:23 GMT -5
"Involving the dragons made me think of Ladeth as a flower girl. Sorry."
Miracle. They could hope for a miracle. Kimath, who lived in the moment, didn't even see what the fuss was about. Even more than most dragons, given he was rather limited in the intellect department. Which had never bothered Tad.
Sure, the blue was simple-minded, but he was otherwise healthy and sometimes it even made him easier to deal with. He didn't question things much, and he trusted his rider to guide him and to be the brains of the partnership. Not that Tad was that smart a guy, but they certainly managed.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 26, 2012 13:30:48 GMT -5
Faizah nodded, still trying to hide a small smile. "Interesting. And cute. But how would she hold it?" She asked.
((Sorry for fail post))
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 27, 2012 18:20:08 GMT -5
"I don't know. I initially thought in a talon, but now I have an image of her tail curled around it. That I think is partially Kimath's fault, the silly blue."
Kimath was an impossibly silly blue, when he wasn't just a stupid one. But he was also a good flyer and a good worker and...well.
You couldn't dismiss any dragon. Even the supposedly defective ones...and relatively few of the ones hatched at Rocky were defective. Tad didn't count the chimeras...they were strange, but all of them could fly well and healthily, so it didn't matter to him.
It seemed to matter to the Pernese. In much the same way, he realized, that him being married to Mentari mattered to his family...
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 28, 2012 16:22:19 GMT -5
Tradition was a strange thing.
Faizah finally smiled. "Ladeth witha bouquet would be fun. And cute. But I'm not sure she would like it much. Unless it was a wreath around her neck..." Now Faizah was thinking about things that could make it so Ladeth carried a bouquet.
She shook her head, then looked back at Tad. "So does that mean you want the marriage?" She asked, seriously.
((If you still want them hitched, we should just do it. We can find another way for Faizah's mom to make an appearance.))
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 28, 2012 23:30:29 GMT -5
"Would have to be a pretty big wreath." Tad looked at Cobweb. "You, on the other hand."
The white gave his owner a look and vanished Between. "Now I've done it. And yes, I do. Before the world ends. I don't care what anyone on Pern thinks about it."
He didn't care about their traditions, because he wasn't Pernese. He was from Earth and in his family, people got married. It was the way things were done. He didn't care whether Mentari wanted to take his name or stay 'Pandora', but he wanted to be married to her and she to him. It was the way things should be.
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