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Post by shadowreine on Nov 21, 2012 9:57:07 GMT -5
Loren had not slept so little since Woruth had been a hatchling. If anything, Lynne was harder work.
On top of that, she'd gone up a full cup size from breast feeding, which she had not really wanted. She hoped it would go back down again once her daughter was weaned. Breast was best for the healthy of baby and mother...she knew that.
"What kind of world have I brought you into?" she asked the child. She was sitting in the common room with Lynne pretty much curled into her lap, asleep.
Honestly, she was close to asking for permission to take herself, her dragon and her child to Pern. Lynne would have a better chance there, even if they got pulled into the Weyr custom which more-or-less demanded a mother give her child up to the creche. Which had appealed to Loren before...
Eh. They did say your child was different. Hormones. Hormones tying the two of them together. "Maybe we should go to Pern. We'd be safer there."
Not safe, not with Thread, but safer. Woruth was more than healthy enough to fly and with Pernese greens generally being fed firestone there was no risk of him passing anything weird on. No blue had ever flown a gold, after all.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 21, 2012 15:47:30 GMT -5
Mentari walked into the common room only a moment later, holding one of her own children. She nodded her head to Loren, then took a seat in a chair across from the bluerider. Mentari offered her a small smile. She gestured with her chin to her own sleeping son, Scott.
"I've been thinking the same thing. On both counts." She muttered quietly, so as not to wake to sleeping children.
Soon the Weyr was going to have to do something. Almost everyone could go to Pern. They would just have to find a way to be useful there. And Ladeth, plus Kimath, were both healthy. They had no defects, so there was no reason a Weyr shouldn't accept them.
If it came down to leaving...
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 22, 2012 11:26:40 GMT -5
"At least I only have one of them to worry about." Loren did not envy Mentari. Pushing out one had been hard enough work, and not remembering it afterwards was BS. It was worth it, but she definitely remembered it. And looking after two, and feeding two.
She wondered which one the woman was holding...but didn't ask, right now. Instead she glanced down at Lynne. Her ethnic mix had come out sort of caramel colored and she had almost no slant to her eyes. Loren had a feeling her daughter was going to be a looker when the time came. High cheekbones.
If...no. When. "Woruth's perfectly healthy. But how can we abandon the others. And would Pern give a space for a weyr for the defectives? Some of them can't be trusted with firestone." She knew that was true of both Crucith and the brown belonging to that obnoxious S'tor. Well, less obnoxious now. Oddly, it seemed Nakia had been a good influence on him. Still, the brownrider had made his feelings about female blueriders quite obvious in her presence, and that was not easy for the young woman to forgive.
"Or maybe things will work out. I don't know. I don't like any of it. And I don't think we have enough dragons to evacuate the planet, even if all the wings of Pern came to help." Hrm. Evacuate...no. Plus, Pern would not take that much of a population influx. Unless, of course, they could find *another* planet.
It was a shame...no. Now she was thinking even crazier. "No. It wouldn't work. But we could take SOME people, at least. And we could take certain other things. Treasures. Artwork." Loren sighed. "I don't want to, though. It feels like giving up. Like admitting defeat, as if this were some foe we could fight. Like Thread."
Woruth might get his desire to fight it after all...
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 16:59:16 GMT -5
Mentari smiled at the mention of her twins. The labor had been easy, truthfully. Her only regret was that Tad hadn't been there for it. It had started and ended that quickly. But she didn't mention it. Often times it was an awkward subject for the young Mentari, and other times women wanted to know how she did it.
Heck, she wasn't even certain how she did it.
"Two isn't as hard as people think. Then again, I also have Tad's help most of the time." She said, watching Scott sleep. He looked so much like his father, Mentari couldn't help but laugh. Both he and Ronald would be handsome boys when they grew up.
When... Mentari wondered if she should even be using that word. Even if she and Tad could go to Pern, would it be safe to take the boys between? She had never head of anyone taking a child between. She knew pregnant women only went when they wanted to force a miscarriage. So what were the repercussions of taking a child?
"Is it even safe to take children between?" She wondered aloud.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 18:05:18 GMT -5
Loren nodded. "La'as acknowledges her, but I haven't had much help from him. He's a nice guy, I just don't think he thought about ending up with a kid."
She was pretty sure La'as was homosexual by preference, like most of the male greenriders, and only the flight had made him at all interested in her.
"Hrm. I think it is, but you'd have to wrap them up really well, fur-lined leather. Or better yet, down. Down's the best insulator. Ask one of the Pernese healer types...they'd know."
Loren looked down at Lynne. She would be better off on Pern, or would she? The truth was that the planet hadn't imploded...yet. Maybe it would end up somewhere else.
"I'm starting to think. If the Pernese could find Earth, can *we* find some refuge somewhere else, if they're going to be harsh enough to leave us to die. Although I think they'd take us. My dragon is perfectly healthy, and I know Kimath is. I haven't seen much of yours, but..."
They'd probably take the healthy dragons and leave the defectives to die. It was harsh, but Pern was a harsh world and the military was harsh too. Loren understood these kinds of decisions, even if she was just a bluerider...just a soldier in Pernese terms. Well, airman would be closer, although Woruth was a lot more cuddly than a fighter jet.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 18:31:52 GMT -5
Mentari nodded absently. She still wasn't sure about it. But if it came down to it, she would do it. She wasn't going to put her sons in danger like that...
Mentari was surprised at the train of thought that Loren was going down. Find another planet that could support life? It was an interesting idea. One that she liked. But what were tha chances? She thought about bringing it up to Faizah. Surely her sister would know if it were possible.
Mentari nodded to Loren. "Ladeth is a healthy green. I don't think greens come any healthier than her, truthfully."
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Post by Stormy on Nov 23, 2012 21:16:39 GMT -5
"At least you can go between," another voice came from the door. Reya was standing there, cradling a squirming Cristina. There were dark circles under her eyes, like she had barely slept in a while. And she hadn't. She hadn't been able to sleep well since the announcement of the black hole and its grasping proximity to Earth.
"And at least you both have dragons. The Pernese won't want the influx of wherhandlers on top of the extra dragons. We'll probably be left to die with the other unwanteds," she sighed, looking down sadly at her rambunctious one-year-old. It broke her heart to think she had given birth to a gorgeous daughter who was doomed to die before she had really lived, and it was another thing that kept her awake during the day. And her worry about Reyask's fate was just another boulder loaded onto her shoulders.
"Though I'm pretty sure it is safe to transport children between as long as they're bundled up," she said, agreeing with Loren's statement.
She had happened to come across the other two mothers talking after pacing the Weyr, trying to calm Cristina enough to put her down for a nap. Because that's all the girl seemed determined to sleep for.
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 23, 2012 23:34:14 GMT -5
"I think it should be possible to transport whers, and I'm not sure I care what the Pernese want," Loren said, softly. "We save as many as we can and worry about the consequences later."
What could they do? Kill them all? She glanced down at Lynne. Well, she would risk her daughter's life to save her from the certainty of death. The baby slept now...she was a little younger than the other children there.
"I'm not giving up. Not while there's any chance and not while my dragon has wings," Loren added, fiercely. She was a soldier, born to be one, destined to be one, and the fact that she had a dragon did not change that fact. Not really.
Not that Woruth wasn't a lot more than a piece of equipment, but he was also that, a weapon. A weapon that answered only to her.
And the queens. And that was the problem. The queens.
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 23, 2012 23:56:46 GMT -5
Mentari shrugged. "I've heard that whers can go between. Surely if they're given the coordinates, it shouldn't be a problem." She said.
She looked at Reya. "You could ride with me, I'm sure. Or Kain, since I doubt he's going to let any of his children stay here." She answered easily.
She had known Kain for a while. And she knew one thing for certain. He was adament about protecting those he cared for; those he considered his. And it was obvious that Reya and Cristina were among those few people.
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Post by Stormy on Nov 24, 2012 11:19:03 GMT -5
A small sad smile crossed Reya's face. "I've never heard of a wher going between, and while on Pern, I read a lot of the scrolls I had access to," she said. "And they'll remember me. Till and I only about killed each other before I was sent back to Earth."
She sighed. "I just...I'm worried, and I'm afraid. Even if we could find another planet to inhabit, how would we be able to find it in time?"
And then there were the millions of people who didn't have dragons or access to the Weyrs. Many of those in the Weyr had family outside of the Weyr, herself included. She wanted to see them before everything went to hell, wanted them to meet her daughter. She would ask Faizah, but even if the Weyrwoman said no, Reya was headstrong and determined enough to go and visit them anyway. The only things she could see becoming a problem would be Reyask and how to get to Italy with Reyask.
Not that Reyask would be a problem. But the world didn't know about the dragons and whers yet, so she would have to be careful. And she personally doubted Faizah would stop her from visiting her family.
She shook her head slightly. "I just don't know what to expect. Everything I've been told about black holes suggests we're doomed, but...I don't entirely get that feeling. But whatever happens won't entirely be good either. That's what my gut tells me..."
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Post by FaizahPandora on Nov 24, 2012 16:00:00 GMT -5
Mentari shrugged. "I've never been to Pern, and I don't think Tad has either. So there is no way they could recognize us." She said softly. Scott was starting to stir, waking up slightly. She wondered if he would wake. He had only been sleeping about twenty minutes...
Mentari nodded to Reya. "I have the same feeling. Faizah says she knows everything is going to work out..." Mentari murmured. She wasn't sure what to make of all of this.
((Sorry for cruddy post.))
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Post by shadowreine on Nov 24, 2012 19:26:54 GMT -5
Loren considered that. "They probably wouldn't, although Tad uses his full name, from what I hear." They would have to change that if they went to Pern.
Well, she wouldn't, even if she like the idea of being L'ren. Girls didn't shorten their names. And Lynne's, of course, was already as short as she could get. "And I don't know. Are we sure it's *our* gut feelings?"
She had something of the same feeling. "I'm not convinced it's *us* feeling everything will work out." And what did dragon instinct mean. Dragons went Between. Into dark and cold and silence and nothingness.
"Between..." She murmured that. There was something there...something worth thinking about.
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Post by Stormy on Nov 26, 2012 12:41:43 GMT -5
Reya shook her head. "I know it's my gut. I can't say for everyone else, but I know this is my gut. Reyask doesn't even really understand what's going on. But she's on edge because no one is exactly calm. What keeps me awake is the fear that my instincts are wrong this time..." she said.
At that moment, Till came flying up behind her, alighting on her shoulder. As annoying as he usually was, the brown firelizard knew that Reya was stressed out and had been behaving. He chirped curiously, staring out at the other two mothers in the common room before down at Cristina as she calmed down in her mother's arms.
"I'm just worried for Cristina, and for Reyask. Even if Reyask is hardier than my daughter."
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