All the messy pieces (Tags: S'dric and Open)

The sky would be growing darker in a candlemark or so, she pondered as she made her way out of the Weyrling Barracks. She was not riding Raidenth today. In fact she wasn’t supposed to ride her much without the supervision of the Weyrling Master. Special occasions here and there were permissible. Like, if there was an earthshake and she was about to die, Raidenth was allowed to save her.

Once in a while she did ride her dragon outside the Weyr but these times were few and flight time was limited. She would never put her dragon in a position to become injured. So today she walked to the feeding Grounds with Raidenth flying overhead like a huge rain cloud that only followed one person. The ground was frozen beneath her feet although they had had very little snow. There were patches of ice here and there which she was completely aware of. She had never been the clumsy sort.

Everyone who knew Lance, knew that she wasn’t a talker… at least not a pour out your heart and let the world know your troubles sort of talker. Now she could vent all her anger and frustration out to anyone at anytime but she tended to avoid deeper issues. Which was probably why her cousin took time to talk to her. Of course she tried to meet him outside the Barracks after seeing the way her classmates ogled him. Gross. Today she figured that the Feeding Grounds were as good a place as any to have a chat and Raidenth was quite hungry, even if she wasn’t particularly interested in food herself at the moment.

Raidenth settled herself on the ground next to her rider deftly. Be nice to your kin. I’m always nice. When am I not nice?! The dragon gave her a pert little snort. Whaaat? I don’t think nice means what you think nice means. Lance would’ve playfully gone after her dragon for a fight but the dragon had launched herself into the air, looking back at her rider with almost a smirk on her features. Like dragon like rider.

Her cousin might not even show up and then she wouldn’t have to be nice at all. He’ll be there. He’s never cancelled a meeting with you. He likes to make sure you are okay. He misses her. That made her pause her brain for a moment. Yeah, and now her dear cousin loved his children and his dragon and avoided flights and women as much as possible. He was determined not to get involved in a dragonrider which she could understand.

More importantly, how the dragon actually knew all of that, was something Lance would rather not delve into. No doubt she’d been speaking with Nicath. In which case the nosy little green was likely telling all her secrets to the brown in return. She didn’t want anyone else delving around her brain to find out what else was wrong with her.

Swooping down over the hunting grounds, Nicath and S'dric had arrived in the air not so far away, giving the herdbeasts a fright, which started them circling to stampede in the opposite direction. Greeting Raidenth with a gladly rumbling then, Nicath came in to land near where Lance was waiting for S'dric.

Even as Nicath was backwinging for the landing, S'dric was beginning to unstrap the safety harnesses that secured him. It was a surprisingly gentle and graceful landing for as big and bulky as the brown was...for a brown anyway. Hmmm, looking at things from that perspective, perhaps the brown had a certain measure of finesse all his own, aside from picking up on that of his rider.

For surely, even though S'dric was not a playboy by any means, he possessed several considerably fine qualities that women could appreciate in a man; which women did obviously take notice. And though the rider certainly owned these traits consciously and in an attractive manner, it would be hard to catch him walking with the assuming airs of the more cocky riders who took advantage of their good looks or rank. No doubt he could have gotten away with the act, and pulled off being quite a fantastic womanizer had he wanted to.

That same finesse that the brown displayed in his landing was come by his rider as well, when he dismounted promptly as Nicath landed, one foot catching the dragon's leg where it was bent in a crouch to assist him in reaching the ground safely. Patting Nicath's side before launching himself in Lance's direction, he was all smiles for his cousin. "Hey. How's my favourite Greenrider?"

As soon as he'd reached her side, S'dric's hand came up to give her an affectionate pat on the head. For doing such a thing, he never seemed to mind any looks she might give, because that was just his way of showing his affection to the women he loved who were younger or similar in age to him, and Lance would always just have to continue bearing with it. Of course,...it was also in S'dric's easy going nature with that quiet charm of his to be a bit disarming -perhaps even more so between the two of them, since they'd grown up together.


Just then, Nicath was taking off from the ground, which caused a back draft of air from under the two humans on the ground, making things a little windy for a sec. Giving the little Green ahead of him a chase, he called a friendly tease to Raidenth We're just a little late because I figured you girls needed a bit of a head-start for the hunt.


Back on the ground, S'dric was glancing back up at Nicath as he took flight again over the hunting grounds. Taking notice of the ever darkening cloud looming just beyond them, S'dric's eyes squinted up at the sky, seeming rather dubious. "Looks like it may rain on us and get nasty out again. We should probably encourage the two of them to hurry if we don't want to get caught out in it." But his relatively bright spirits at the moment didn't seem dampened by it. S'dric was good at that...displaying a calm, positive spirit.

His gaze returning to Lance, the brownrider gestured for them to sit on the ground. Though it was cold out, and wasn't any warmer on the ground, they were both plenty bundled. Not only was S'dric dressed in appropriate long sleeves, but he'd a thick but soft wool scarf wrapped around his neck in layers and matching wool arm warmers that showed under the cuffs of his coat where they came down to cover his hands with just fingers and thumbs bare. When he sat, both arms looped around his knees where they were drawn in close to him. "So. What's new? Have they called for another physical yet to approve more air time for both of you? Not to mention the graduation coming soon?"

Lancelle hid any thought that perhaps being patted on the head was condescending. She knew he meant well by it. “Oh just dandy.” She said with a sarcastic smile. Lancelle was not particularly happy with how things had been going considering Raidenth’s improvement. She was starting to wonder if they wanted her to fly thread at all, when the time came. Maybe they would be Weyrlings forever. Lancelle would be the first to get pissed over that.

“Raidenth won’t be long judging by her mood.” She said watching the green peruse the herds from far above. She would make a quick decision and settle on it. One or two beasts was usually plenty for the green even if she were a larger green. Compared to Nicath though, she was indeed small. Moving silently to sit next to her cousin, she sat cross legged, arms hanging loosely at her side.
Oh please. You just needed time to prepare yourself to be out-hunted by a green. Don’t worry I won’t tell anyone… Raidenth teased back.

At the mention of another physical she grimaced. “Not much is new. But you are right, we have to go before Graduation to see if we will be able to handle being in a wing just yet. Otherwise it’s continued Weyrlinghood for the pair of us.” And every time they seemed to make progress the healers had some excuse. Honestly she was beginning to wonder if they were concerned about their physical readiness at all. She was actually considering that they thought her mentally unstable.

“Raidenth is having no trouble at all though. She can carry me and the amount of firestone bags she is supposed to without strain. To be quite honest I don’t think they are worried about Raidenth at all.” Lancelle was a proud woman and she didn’t like thinking that being held back for another few months of Weyrlinghood would be her fault. However it was likely that this was the case. “The only reason I can think of is they must think there is something the matter with me.” She shrugged. There was no way to convince them there was nothing wrong with. She was FINE.

“Raidenth says it is my own fault though. I should probably try to be friendlier…” She didn’t need any more friends than she already had. “and less taciturn.” Lance didn’t think there was anything wrong with being quiet at the Healers and answering questions in the simplest way possible.

“Enough about me. How have you been?”

Well Raidenth was feisty as ever. Nicath was rumbling at that, seeming more amused than anything, offering a toothy draconic grin as his wings expanded fully in a glide that carried him into a bit of an updraft, preparing himself for a dive that would land him a large buck he'd been eyeing.


S'dric was watching Nicath hone in on a buck while Lance went on talking. After a moment, S'dric's eyes returned to his cousin, wondering about her skepticism when it came to what the Weyrling Master thought about her mental stability and not just their physical well being.

“Raidenth says it is my own fault though. I should probably try to be friendlier…” She didn’t need any more friends than she already had. “and less taciturn.”

The Brownrider was grinning a bit impishly at that given that he knew her manner so well. "Why don't we get you in to see Senior Healer Jang? Given his specialty and background, he may be able to offer a more complete analysis of things." He didn't tell her just then that the Weyrling Master had expressed concerns to him about that very matter of her mental stability and how she was coping with the accident that had occurred, but if she was already suspicious that those were the Leaderships' top concerns, then there was no need to do anything else to confirm it for her. She was sharp enough to figure it out.

"Well, we'll get something worked out. Would you go to see Senior Journeyman Jang if I arranged an appointment?" Typically, as a Senior Healer, Jang's time was delegated to the care of full fledged riders who required slightly different attention than the Candidates and Weyrlings who were just starting their lives out in the Weyr. But S'dric was certain that he'd make an exception upon request.


“Enough about me. How have you been?”

S'dric was sighing then, but the faint traces of a smile did not leave him as he peered back across the hunting grounds where their dragons now happily fed. "Aah, I've been alright. Though, I've been reminded of her quite a bit lately, so it's been a little trying. I'll be OK though."

At that, his head turned to meet Lance's eyes again, never outwardly appearing quite as discomforted and depressed as he did on the inside.

The green dove to kill her first beast without batting an eye. The prey was down, so she dropped her muzzle to tear out the beast’s stomach and then neck. When she lifted her maw there was blood running down it to her neck, looking down against the pea green color of her hide. The green was quite satisfied with her kill and seemed to Lance to be completely focused on it.

Lancelle didn’t really care for healers much either but if it was going to get her out of being a Weyrling for all eternity then perhaps it was worth a shot. Trust her cousin to be level headed about it all. Your cousin is wise. You should listen to him. Although sometimes he might just need your wisdom too. Humans are so funny. You both have an easier time looking at other people’s situations and dealing with that then dealing with your own issues. Must be our pride and stubbornness.

“I suppose it can’t hurt, unless needles are involved then it could and I’m going to come out here and find you and put a sword to your throat.” She was half serious… although she was pretty sure she might be able to pull it off despite being a woman. “In all seriousness though, thank you. I uhm would rather try everything before relegating myself to Weyrlinghood forever.” The Incident wasn’t even her fault! Poor Raidenth was being punished because she survived.

When he brought up “her”, Lance grew quiet for a moment. With a mental nudge from Raidenth, she moved closer to her cousin and held his hand in one of her rare moments where she could be a warm and compassionate human being. “Why don’t you talk to me about her for a little while? It might help?” She said softly, not really understanding what he was going through or at least not admitting how hurt she was by the deaths of the other Weyrlings or how close she might have been to a couple of them.

“Eventually we’ll both be better than okay.” At least she hoped so.

S'dric's lips curled into a playful smirk as he had gone back to watching the dragons over the hunting ground. It was always such a curious thing to him...the shared hunger and then the satisfaction of gorging on fresh meat. Considering that dragons did need to feed every day, the Brownrider wondered just how irritating it must be for them to have to share at all in their human's hunger every few hours. He'd have to ask Nicath about it later.

"Well, I'll be sure to let Healer Jang know not to involve any needles; that my life depends on it." Looking back at his cousin again, S'dric nodded as she expressed appreciation. The man's smile was reassuring. "We'll find a way to get you through graduation."


Admittedly, S'dric found himself a little bit surprised when his cousin decided to move closer to him and then took his hand in her own. Eyes falling to where their hands came together, he gave hers a squeeze. "What is there to talk about? It happened so long ago."

With a deep breath, his smile grew, "I've been busy writing music lately. You should come by and listen some time. That way I have an adult opinion of my music instead of a strictly under-aged one." Referring to his son and daughter.

Sionnath had been debating pouncing on her clutchmate before Raidenth managed to drag down a herdbeast. The green's own hunger distracted her from that goal, however, as she got a whiff of available prey.

Since she was already in a good position to leap at the unsuspecting, she simply changed her target, choosing a beast very close to Raidenth instead of the other dragon herself. You are lucky I am hungry, Sionnath informed her clutchmate. Because, clearly, Raidenth should have known better than to leave herself open to attack.

Shaking her head at her dragon's antics, Tashamoretta watched as the green tore into her kill with gusto. She almost felt sorry for the beast, given Sionnath's eagerness, but that's what the animals in the pens were for, wasn't it? And she couldn't very well tell her dragon to be... kinder... in grabbing her meal, really.

She supposed she, herself, could be a bit... kinder, though. Especially when it came to her classmates, or at least certain ones. She knew she and Lancelle didn't always see eye to eye, and that they both had the tendency to keep trying to prove they were right... It was just too bad Lance wasn't as sweet and easy to get along with as Belisse.

You should talk to her. It will make you feel better.

Yeah, I know, Tasha agreed, her gaze shifting towards where Lance and S'dric sat. With a sigh, she shoved her hands in her pockets and slowly headed for the other two riders, giving them ample time to see her and decide to move if they wanted to.

"Hey," the greenrider said by way of greeting when she reached them. "Mind if I join you in waiting for our feasters to be finished?"

Hopefully Healer Jang would live up to her cousin’s expectations but Lance had her doubts. Pessimism was a pain in the ass sometimes but she couldn’t shake the feeling that Raidenth and she were doomed for some worse fate than the rest of their clutchmates. Death wasn’t good enough for them. She was not surprised that he flipped topics. He never really wanted to talk about her because he was more like Lance than he might care to believe. They both thought they could handle emotional pressure. And while S’dric was good at holding his feelings in, Lance’s came out in the worst possible way. Having a short fuse and hot temper were not a good combination and led to her fighting with people she might never have fought with before the accident.

“Maybe you should talk with Master Harper Andris? Perform your song at a Feast or something. That would be cool. But, yeah, sure I’ll come sometime to hear. I have no musical talent so there would be no judgment at all on my end.” She never had been good at the things she was supposed to be. Lancelle was good at things her brother was supposed to be good at. Bladen was a better fighter now but Lancelle was quick on her feet and last time they sparred it had been quite close. That was before she had impressed though. It had been over two Turns since she had seen her brother. He was never actually at the Hold. His patrol seemed to travel along the coasts of Fort to protect coastal holds.

Raidenth lifted her bloodied maw for a moment and then went back to vigorously eating her beast. Now that her sister was next to her she was eating food even faster. It was her kill and having the other green so close made her want to snap at her but if she did that then she would be unable to eat her food as quickly as she wanted to. Eatig the food seemed more important. She was so hungry. You are lucky I didn’t eat that one first. Then Sionnath would not be eating, she’d be beast less at least for another few moments which was more than Raidenth would be willing to wait. Lance sighed, even their dragons were feisty today. She tried to pretend she didn’t see Tasha before she approached them.

She took her hand out of her cousins, and leaned back on her arms, while sitting cross legged. Acknowledging Tasha she said evenly, “Hey. Of course you can. Sionnath seems as hungry as Raidenth today. You would think by now they would have figured out they are going to be full before they run out of herbeasts to kill.”

S'dric was looking up at the Weyrling as she approached, not really knowing her personally, so though his expression remained fairly neutral, it was not unpleasant either. Offering no real greeting since his cousin was quick to speak up first, he resorted to glancing between the two young women as they began in conversation, wondering just how close the two were. Or if they were friends at all? In any case, Lance didn't seem too terribly tense around the girl, so he figured things were safe between the two of them and he didn't really have any need to be on guard in case the encounter took a turn for the worst and Lance decided to break loose on the other Weyrling.

Of course, he always felt protective of her since she was kin, but with both of their lives filled with grief and emotional turmoil, he supposed he could just be feeling over-protective and overly-sensitive to things...After all, S'dric trusted Lance and believed that her desire to Graduate with the rest of her Weyrling class was probably enough to curtail any such outbursts; even if she did come across as rather short-fused in general. Truly, that aside, S'dric knew Lance was not a violent person, nor irrational at heart. She was just going through a very difficult time in her life. And all difficult times took time to overcome even if the wounds they left never healed.

The more he considered his cousin's situation in fact, the more frustrated he grew with the entire situation. At this point, S'dric'd become a bit angry with the Weyrling master for continuing to show such a lack of faith in her progress. Seeing as though the Weyrling master's concern for Lance seemed eternally and unnecessarily heightened, the Wingsecond had even considered that the man held some other bias against his cousin causing him to want to hold her back. Or perhaps he harboured some other unhealthy motive.

Pushing those alternatives from his mind for the time however, S'dric had approached the Weyrling Master about his own observations of Lance's coping and healing process and expressed at various points that there seemed to be no reason in his mind to keep her from graduating. Nevertheless, the man's insistence continued; more recently, their deepening disagreement over Lance and Raidenth's state of health both physical and mental, seemed to end such meetings in silent dissatisfaction between the two of them. At some point, S'dric would find a way to either persuade the Weyrling Master or bypass his authority altogether on the matter.

Anyway, for now, Lance would have to trust him to care for the matter as best he was able and hope that that turned things around. Seeing Raidenth in such good spirits and watching his cousin making friends -or at least being friendly- with others in her class only solidified the knowledge in his own mind that he was pushing for the right thing. If he was going to be prepared to do whatever it took to have her graduate with the rest of her class, then she would have to hold up to her end of the bargain and not disappoint them. If she let herself or Raidenth fall apart before they were proven members of a real Wing, it would also be his own reputation on the line in the eyes of other Weyr leadership. He couldn't afford to be viewed as a poor judge of Rider well-being, nor could he afford to be viewed as playing favourites when it came to a matter so serious. If Wing Leadership got some idea he was compromising safety and efficiency to grant personal favours...

S'dric's mind returned fully to the present, eyes once more turning up to where the other Wyerling approached them.

After nodding in greeting to S'dric, Tasha glanced back over at the two greens wolfing down their kills. With a bit of a sideways smile and a chuckle, she responded, "Yeah, you would think, especially for all the trouble they caused eating too fast when they were younger." At least Sionnath had, anyway, winding up with an upset stomach a few times before her rider figured out some tricks to keep her from eating quite so quickly. "It's not supposed to be a competition," she added, pitching her voice a little louder as if to carry into the pens.

Sionnath appeared to toss her head and turn slightly away from her rider.

"Stubborn little wherry," the greenrider murmured under her breath, shaking her head at her dragon's antics. "I blame those extra drills we had to do earlier. For both the attitude and the hunger."

Turning back to the other riders after contemplating their dragons for another moment, Tasha nodded her head in Nicath's direction. "Clearly our greens could stand to learn a thing or two from their brown uncles. Then again, maybe he's just staying out of the way?" she grinned at S'dric.

Tasha nodded her head in Nicath's direction. "Clearly our greens could stand to learn a thing or two from their brown uncles. Then again, maybe he's just staying out of the way?"

"Oh, no." S'dric was smirking lopsidedly at that. "Don't be fooled. Nicath is just putting on a show for the ladies." Especially since those present were Weyrlings.

Indeed, Nicath had taken no time at all in cleanly making two kills and finding a way to rip them into neat pieces that slid down his gullet whole. The Brown rarely over-indulged himself because he didn't like feeling overly stuffed. That just made him have to work harder to get off the ground and then t he next day he wouldn't feel like flying for wing practice and S'dric wouldn't have that. But...S'dric knew Nicath's little secrets. He just liked to play it cool in front of the younglings. That always left S'dric rolling his eyes, laughing. On a more serious note, S'dric was also recognizing Nicaths need to want to join in mating flights again, which S'dric still held some aversion to.

Lancelle kept herself from being any more antagonistic than she already was earlier that day. There were plenty of reasons why the two greens could be snappish and she sincerely hoped it was just the drills. What if one or both of them were getting near to their maiden flights. That would not be fun. She had a feeling that though the greens got along fairly well most of the time when it came time to mate they would just as soon kill each-other than to share chasers.

The competition might partially come from their riders. Lance didn't hate Tasha, she simply saw things differently and they were competition for wings and ranks and for friendships. It was hard not to be competitive with the other green Weyrlings. "Believe it or not Tahsa, but my cousin here used to be quite charming. His dragon takes after him in this way. I bet he'll be flirting with Sionnath as soon as they've finished eating if not before."

Only because I won't allow him to be one of my suitors. Since you have insisted that would be very unnatural for you. Otherwise he would flirt with me first.
You do understand what I mean by unnatural?
Human kin are different from dragon kin and don't mate with humans they are close in relation to.
Well said Raidenth.
She can have Nicath, there are others.

Lance almost shuddered to think who those others might be.
You said anyone but kin... She was pretty sure if dragons could cackle, Raidenth would be doing so right now. For the love of Faranth's Golden Egg, she hoped the green did not have eyes for anyone she disliked. Maybe that would be hard for her, the list of people she disliked was growing daily.

Tashamoretta laughed at the brownrider's words. "Wants to impress them, does he? Show them his manners?" she winked at S'dric. He might be Lance's cousin, but he wasn't hers-- there was no reason she couldn't throw in a little harmless flirting. Especially when he was generally far too melancholy in her opinion.

"You mean he eats his food as daintily as his brown? That's your definition of charming?" she teased both cousins, wrinkling her nose a little and planting her hands on her hips. "You need to get out more, Lance."

Unlike Nicath, Sionnath seemed to be trying to impress him by eating as messily as she could. Or maybe she was just trying to hide the fact that she was eyeing him covertly... wondering at the best way to pounce on such a relaxed, easy target. You should try pouncing on Nicath's rider, if you want him to be happier. It works well.

Tasha nearly snorted aloud at the draconic logic behind that statement. She wasn't quite sure the action would be taken as light-heartedly as her green might mean it. People were far more complicated creatures than dragons.

S'dric wasn't all that aware of Tasha's flirtations as he was probably more focused on his cousin or on his own Brown. But even though his eyes were diverted over the hunting grounds once more, his expression betrayed any complete disinterest in conversation with a bit of a smile as he chuckled over Tasha's response.


"You mean he eats his food as daintily as his brown? That's your definition of charming?"


Clasping one hand around his wrist where he'd drawn his knees up to loop arms around them, the smile had transformed into a smirk of sorts. "Heh. I guess a show of manners is a start."

The Brownrider's eyes flicked up in a momentary glance between Tasha and Lance then, before continuing to observe the dragons over their meal. After a moment though, his head turned up to Tasha once more, wondering aloud to her, "Graduation will be coming up soon. Will you be ready to join the Wings? Have you thought about a preference for which one you want to join?" His mouth had worked into a kind smile that accompanied a suddenly curious light in his eyes. Even if the candidates didn't necessarily have a say in where they would be placed as far as Wings went, it was normal for some of them to have riders they looked up to -maybe an idol of sorts, or a Bronzerider crush. Or perhaps there were riders they'd rather avoid -in the case of Sh'nar and S'jiro.

Tashamoretta cocked her head and glanced down at her boots, shifting most of her weight to one foot as she considered the brownrider's question.

She, of course, rather thought she was ready to join the wings. Even with everything their class had been through, she was confident in her own and Sionnath's abilities. But as for a wing to join? She really wasn't sure.

Truthfully, being part of a regular wing didn't really excite her. They wouldn't escape drills. They'd still have someone critiquing their technique. They'd still have to run errands and messages. And she and her classmates would be split up.

Besides not being in the same group as Lance and Belisse and the others, Tasha wanted more excitement than just doing the same thing day in and day out, like they did now. There were times she half wished Sionnath had shown some Search ability, just so she'd be able to go explore. Or maybe that they'd have more Pern-wide Weyr competitions, like they had runner races at Gathers. Or maybe that there would be some... disaster she and her green could help with, use the acrobatics they'd practiced but had no other place to show off.

Not that she wished ill on anyone... but dragons were always needed for things like that, weren't they? They were faster and better and had good eyesight for picking out people who were stranded in floodwaters and elsewhere... Surely there was a place for Tasha and Sionnath among those who got to help?

With a shrug, the weyrling greenrider finally looked back up at S'dric. "I don't know. Yours, maybe?" she replied flippantly, with a grin. "I don't really have a preference, so I might as well just pick the one with the hottest men, right, Lance?"

Lance wasn’t sure she would consider her cousin hot. Then she had never really looked at him in a way where she might even categorize him. Lance supposed he was attractive enough. She tried not to let herself think too much about the men of the Weyr. Riders were fairly attractive on the whole but she couldn’t agree with Tasha, as much as the girl might be joking. Lance wanted to be a in a wing that took her seriously.

“I want to be in a wing that will treat me with respect and will listen when I have things to say. I don’t want to have to deal with the stubbornness of Bronzeriders who do not listen to the people who fly with them. I have seen first-hand what that can do to a wing.” She said, as if thinking out loud. Realizing she had brought the mood down, she attempted to be more playful. “Good looking wing mates are always a bonus though.”

Lance said more thoughtfully, “It would be nice if we were all in the same wing, but I guess that would be asking a lot.” She couldn’t imagine them all being split up and then having to lose Belisse to Igen Weyr. “Hard enough knowing Belisse is being transferred to Igen. I don’t want the rest of us to be pulled apart too.” The greenrider needed her support system.

While she put on her tough girl front, Lance knew deep down, she needed other people. She could be hard for everyone to deal with but she would be the first to defend her friends against their enemies. She was a fiercely loyal person. Lance doubted any amount of distance would change that part of her.

S'dric was surprised to hear Tasha mention so openly that she found him attractive. That is what she was getting at, wasn't it? In any case, he seemed to ignore the comment, looking to his cousin as she pitched in with her own thoughts -not on him or other males in the wing of course.

She had sound reasoning for where she preferred her placement to be, but S'dric would like her to be in a wing not his own. Mostly because he didn't want there to be any chance of the idea spreading around that the only reason Lance had graduated, was because he'd been able to pull some strings or some such. S'dric wanted her to be able to become an accepted member of a wing by her own credence, not his. Though, he wouldn't be able to help stand up for her as easily if something happened. Lance was an adult though now, and she was strong enough to manage on her own; and if she ever needed advice or anything else, she knew she could come to him.

"Whichever wing either of you are placed in, you'll find other riders to trust and befriend." S'dric knew it would be hard for Lance to be parted from those few she'd been able to cling to through the difficult time she'd been having but none of them were going to be lost to her forever; and she would be building new relationships, too. That was just part of graduating.

Though Tasha hadn't answered as seriously as her classmate had, she listened to what Lance had to say. Lance hadn't shared much of the details about how she'd survived the accident that had taken half of the remainder of their class, but perhaps her mentioning stubborn bronzeriders who didn't listen was a clue. Her interest perking, Tasha was a little disappointed when the other greenrider didn't elaborate, but she wasn't going to push right now.

"Wouldn't it, though?" she agreed with Lance's wishing their class could stick together as wingmates once they graduated. "Maybe if we all went with her, we could be in the same wing?" But then again, Belisse was going to have the duties of a Weyrwoman or Weyrwoman Second, and their interactions would be different. They'd probably not see her much, even if they would see each other, and that would still leave a gaping hole in their group.

To S'dric, Tasha shook her head. "I know we'll find other friends, and we can still see each other easily, except for any that go to Igen, but it's hard to think our group won't be together any more. Didn't you feel that way when you graduated?"

S'dric was nodding and with pursed lips, offering a little smile when it came to Tasha's observation. "Sure. But it's always better moving forward isn't it? When life offers the chance?" Of course, for him, it was hard to do so now, considering the loss of a loved one, but it was something he struggled to do every day. And gradually he was finding himself able to do so, the moving on part becoming easier with every step. That didn't mean he'd forgotten his beloved one of the past, but.. certainly she wouldn't want him to remain unhappy either. So it was for her that he would have to learn to live his life, even without her at his side. And that was always an encouraging thought.

"No. I won't go to Igen." She said, a strange look in her green eyes, she blinked and looked away from the other two. "I won't leave Fort." Her voice was almost a whisper as if it were a promise to someone who wasn't there. She had been born at Fort Hold and now at Fort Weyr, she felt like this was her second home. She didn't want to move again. Though she felt haunted by the deaths of her clutch mates she also felt a strong desire to stay and be a worthy survivor.

What would she do though, if all the others left to go to Igen with Belisse? Well she would still have S'dric. She knew he wouldn't leave her here. Besides she had Raidenth who was a better companion than any human would ever be.

"Better but not easier. Moving forward is one of the hardest things to do in life." She might be young but she had experienced more of life's tragedy than people older than she was. S'dric would understand what she meant as he had to live with his own personal tragedy every day.

Tasha nodded at S'dric, though she still didn't completely agree with the idea. Given the losses their class had suffered, more than many others, and the fact that they had a goldrider among them, they were closer than others might be. Or at least she liked to think so. It was going to be difficult to see them split up, once that time arrived, because of it. But, she supposed they'd deal with it one way or another. It wasn't like they had much choice-- just like they hadn't with the accident that had claimed half of their class.

Then again, hearing Lance say she would make the choice to stay was a bit... surprising. The weyrling greenrider would have thought her classmate would choose to go with the rest if they all went... why would she want to stay? Besides her cousin, at any rate. Surely she wouldn't want to remain here at Fort if the rest of them left?

"It's definitely hard to see us all split up as better. And it certainly won't be easier." At least they could agree on that. "But I guess we'll deal with it when the time comes?" Just like they'd had to before.

S'dric's mouth twisted into a quirky but thoughtful face before standing, brushing off the butt of his pants. Nicath had finished his meal and had flown to land nearby to where his human was now standing. S'dric felt the warm, pleasant feeling of a satisfied stomach rolling off of the beast. Any thoughts of wanting to eat fled him as he turned his eyes upon the dragon.

Though he continued gazing off in Nicath's direction as if he might have been communicating telepathically with his companion, S'dric found a chance and piped in appropriately, leaving to guess anything further about his own personal feelings on the matter, "Funny how life makes its own choices. Or makes choices for you. Heh."

His head turned back in the direction of his cousin and Tasha, regarding the two girls silently for a moment before he went to Lance and swung his arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his side like he might draw in and tease a little sister. "What's on the agenda for the rest of the day? Is anyone planning for the graduation party yet?"

Lance wasn't sure what to say to that. "Yeah, change is life. At least if we are split up we will still be alive to meet up once in a while." Saying goodbye to the dead was much harder. No more conversations or advice from those who were gone. Moving to another Weyr wouldn't be the end of the world.

She thought about the rest of the Weyrlings and wondered if they would all go with Belisse. Maybe not. Maybe only Belisse would change Weyrs. It might even make it easier to remain friends with her as she wouldn't be their boss.

Lance allowed her cousin to be touchy feely with her but it wasn't something she allowed just anyone to do. She didn't like people other than family coming up and touching her without warning. "I think Olivier mentioned something about getting things organized for the party. Nothing big on the agenda for the day now that Raidenth is sated. How about you Tasha?"

Tasha couldn't argue with Lancelle's logic. Though she tried not to let it consciously bother her too much, she couldn't always block the thought that if their class was split up, it could mean more losses. Yes, the other greenrider had been in the group that was lost during their Between drill, but other than Lance, that whole separate group had been lost. If they were split into separate wings, possibly at separate Weyrs...

Shoving the thought away, she forced herself to focus on S'dric's question. With a shrug that might not have fully belied the faint shadow in her eyes, she agreed with her classmate. "I haven't heard anything new. I'm sure Liv'll let us know when she wants to meet to talk about it all." Their bluerider classmate was much better at planning such things than she was, at least-- Olivier tended to take charge, anyway, so it worked out well. "As for today, it's probably as good a time as any to give the great green beast over there a bath." Then again, the chill in the air wasn't exactly something she wanted to feel while being wet... "Unless you all had some other, more entertaining ideas? Like poker in the Dining Hall, maybe?"

S'dric smirked at the idea of Poker in the dining hall. "Well I'm not one much for gambling. I think I may leave you both to it yourselves, and maybe head back to my own weyr to fool around with my guitar."

The Brownrider was ever too humble when it came to his ability. He was a fairly skilled musician though much of his ability was self-taught. He had a good ear for tone and a good heart for lyrics; even a decent voice for vocals to go with it. That wasn't something he really openly shared however. Truly, he was a Harper hobbyist, if you could call it that, and as long as it filled his free time with something quiet and enjoyable, he was content with it.

"I think Nicat's about ready for a nap, anyway." He couldn't help but laugh at how the silly Brown always got lazy after eating so much and just wanted to bask in the sun. Glancing skyward then, the sun was at the perfect point overhead to allow for a nice sun-bath. Perfect