A Fresh Change

While Igen Weyr was very near the point of requiring its full staff and dragonriders, Fort was hoping to take advantage of larger candidate hunting grounds while they were able. Soon, Parts of Igen and Keroon, as well as Telgar, would belong to another Weyr. So, in preparation for the possibility that Fort's Senior Queen Galadrieth would rise again soon, Searchriders were being sent out once more to fulfill their duty.

Of course, N'kai didn't suppose that most people would probably care which weyr they were bound to or tithed to, as long as they were protected when Thread finally came. Nor did he suspect that everyone was well informed about the happenings the new Igen Weyr -especially not at the more remote cotholdsing. This one however, seemed to be more frequented by the traders and crafters passing through, so perhaps they'd heard already that preparations to reopen it were now on the fast-track; meaning that the weyrs would be in need of more recruits soon to fill positions for staffing and for candidates that could stand for future clutches. Of course, for the filling of crafter positions, the Weyrleaders were all sending their requests to the Crafthalls to the respective Masters there, but as far as candidates were concerned, well, that was something he could help with.


Backwinging to land, N'kai surveyed the immediate surrounding area, already beginning to get a feel for the kind of welcome he should be able to expect. His expectation had been that since this particular cothold was located near a major route used for trade, these people would be accustomed to welcoming outsiders and therefore, be more open than some, to offering their assistance to him -and to the Weyr. One could never really tell though. Searchriders were the target of a lot of political backlash in regards to the general public's current perspectives on the Weyrs and Dragonriders in general, and even if at one time a holding were quite welcoming of them, it might not be the case in the future.

Without further ado, N'kai signaled the other Searchrider who'd accompanied him, seeing no reason they shouldn't dismount and make their way toward the largest of the buildings, situated around a somewhat centralized square so to speak, in order to obtain permission from the head of the small domain to conduct their search. So, unharnessing himself, N'kai removed his riding cap and wind-breaking goggles, leaving them there on Kaisoth's saddle before sliding from the dragon's back.

Landing on his feet, the Bluerider offered a wry smile to the other rider with him, letting it melt away from his expression before they came too close the vicinity of where people now began to gather, having obviously heard that dragonriders were present; though it seemed as though the word was still spreading. And well,... it wasn't every day that a cothold got to see dragons.

The searchriders were always happy to be celebrity for a day; it was the preferred way of spending their time at the holds rather than being chased away like feral canines. So, with glad smiles, the two men created a slow path for themselves through the small crowd that continued to gather, assuming they were headed in the right direction.

It wasn't until an aggravated voice rose above all the others that they knew they were on the right path,looking up to see a man of somewhat authoritative demeanor making his approach. Bee-lining that way then, the dragonriders' steps quickened so as not to keep him waiting.

"A good day it is, indeed." Grinning ear to ear in a amicable way, the rider was just bringing his glasses from his pocket and setting them up on the bridge of his nose. "Though I'm not certain that we'll have the opportunity to stay the night, this time around, we do always appreciate the kind gesture." It was a shame to have to turn him down. If there were any pretty girls to be found though, N'kai might reconsider. But in a small cothold such as this, he wasn't sure he really expected such a find.

In any case, the Bluerider went on to introduce himself, "I am N'kai, and this here," Gesturing toward the other rider who'd accompanied him, "is my partner, T'lan. And if you don't mind my being brusk, we've come to conduct a Search. As you may have heard, Fort's Senior Queen, Galadrieth, should be rising again soon. We also have the opening of a new weyr to look forward to." N'kai was all smiles about that. Since the man had not seemed unfriendly toward them, he figured he may as well just present the details up front and without any dawdling around the facts.

Upon first impressions, N'kai thought that perhaps their host was the too-serious, all-business sort, but his words about old women and rising suddenly made N'kai think otherwise. The Bluerider brought the back of a hand up to better hide the chuckle that threatened to disturb his polite endeavors. So, clearing his throat, smile remaining, he stepped inside of the building, following after the gentleman.

The man was kind to insist that they stay the night and all, but it took a dragon and his rider all of a few seconds to take to the skies and Between themselves home to the Weyr, or back again. If they'd needed their stay to be prolonged for some reason, then he might consider it -but if he was going to sharing the same bed with someone, he'd rather it be a pretty girl. Not that T'lan was completely lacking in looks, but he understood the other rider didn't necessarily have that preference. If only this were a larger holding N'kai might just make such a request -for a pretty girl to share his bed with- but he doubted that in a place as small as this there'd be much luck finding someone like that. Though.. N'kai wasn't terribly picky. Even moderately good looks would suffice.

And with those thoughts, the Bluerider glanced sidelong at his Search partner, eyes doing all the laughing.

"Well we do have other cotholds to visit before nightfall; and I'd hate to be a burden." Going on conversationally, his eyes searched the room they'd entered, already on the hunt for search victims, "As you may know, the ages of those searched is typically between ages 12 and 22." Rather generally speaking.. at oldest and youngest, because they knew not every candidate would Impress right away, and sometimes girls did not stand until later than the young men. "Do you have any young people here who fall into that age bracket that might be suitable for Search?"

Of course, if there was a positive reply, they'd be looking to meet with those persons.


[hope that works >D ]

The manager Raised his arms. His hands hung up at shoulder height. He had been hoping to coax the riders to stay longer than just a few minutes. Having a pair of dragons outside would do wonders for his mark pouch. It was starting to look like that was just not going to be an option.

"I reckon we got few on da prem'ses," he answered thoughtfully. His hands dropped back to his sides only to have one rise back up indicate the occupant record sitting on the desk. "Without checkin' da log, I cain't be certain. Peoples: them an' go."

He turned to face the two. "We ain't got da grandes' uh clientele right now. I can give ya them room keys. Y'all are welcome to take a gander."

The manager's lips tightened as another thought came to mind. Maybe he could get them to make frequent visits. That would do nearly as well as having them stay the night. People would flock to the Cothold in hopes of seeing a dragon up close. He might even come out better that way. "If ya wanna come backen a few Sebemdays, we're 'spectin' a bunch uh 'em traders ta be passin' this uh ways. Usually get some. Bound to be some youngin' in each batch y'all could pilfer."





OOC: I had not intended to make Teylarrin sound like she was from the sticks. Buuut it looks like that is the way that it is going to be.

Kai and his partner's eyes both seemed to light up, at least a little delighted to hear that there would be a caravan arriving in a few days. They could certainly come back for a second round of searches. It was hard to catch the roving bands, not knowing just exactly when they'd be at any one place. Their travel schedules were estimated but it was troublesome making repeated trips just to try to catch them at an opportune time.

"Well it's not like we couldn't make another trip here; in another sevenday, you said?" In the mean time, he'd still like to see this trip made worth their while. "For today, would you mind if we went ahead and had a walk around to visit with people, to see about any prospective candidates? Or should we wait here for a bit?" He wasn't sure if now might be a bad time for them if they were preparing for meal time or the evening's guests to start trickling in. It wasn't exactly uncommon for Riders to be invited to sit for a meal or a drink before walking to conduct their Searches. They may not have alloted time to stay the night, but they did allow for other types of pleasantries.

Anyway, meals and drinks often led to more comfortable chatter and a more relaxed atmosphere where they could get a better sense of the people around them -whether or not they would make good candidates.

Glancing back out the door toward the circle of hopeful faces that loitered about, trying to peek inside to see what business the Riders were about, N'kai stifled another chortle. But, addressing the old man again, his eyes returned once more. "Well then, we'll go for a walk and visit with some of the people to see if there are any candidates out there today. Since we're coming back again, in a sevenday, we'll devote a little more time to it then. If we can shorten the trip today, that would actually be a help, because we've two other stops to make; they keep us on a tight schedule."

Smiling at that, the Bluerider went on to ask, "Before we go out to Search, are there any other persons in this building we could meet?" Of course, it was known that periodically there were cherrished daughters or otherwise that some parents hid away from the sight of riders so that they would never be taken away. Though this man seemed glad to have them, that might still be the case. There were also those who simply had a fear of dragons or what have you.. So, N'kai had to ask.

Anyway, if that were the case, he'd make a note of things appropriately, but he had no right to Search a person against their will.


[sorry marc, it was a little rushed haha. hope that works]

The manager looked puzzled for a moment.  Undoubtedly it was because he was puzzled.  Why would the riders want to look inside the office?  "There's only me an' Elzmildua," he told N'kai. "Ya might want 'er, though, 'causes she's ugly 'nough to scare Thread back tuh the 'Star."




  "Hooooowdeh!" Teylarrin's head popped sideways out of the doorframe.  Her wide mouth gaped in a smile that looked too broad to fit on to her face.  She had one arm extended -also sideways- as far as it would reach.  Her fingers were splayed as if in a wave that just never came.




The manager jerked away from the sound, causing him to drop down a step on the porch.  His hand went to his chest.  It was  a last-ditch maneuver to keep his heart from leaping free.

 "Stop... Doin' that!"




   This time it was Teylarrin's turn to look puzzled.  "Doin' wha'?"




  "Sneakin' UP on meh!"




 "Ah ain't snakein'," the teenager said.  "Ah bin 'ere fer fibe minis.  E'er since-in Ah finished them beddin's."  She blew a hard puff of air to push away a clump of brown hair that had fallen across her face.  It wafted out on her homemade breeze then fell right back to where it had just come from.




  The manager glared indignantly at the girl.  She was making him look bad in front of the visitors.  "Then ya need tuh be wearin' a herd bell 'round yer neck."

   He shook his head in disgust.  Returning his attention to N'kai and his partner, he said, "Kids."



((Tis good by me.  I got no complaints.  ^_^

On an unrelated note, the spellchecker wants to autocorrect 'Elzmildua' in to 'Mildred'.))

[just say it like it is marc.. "cowbell".. >D bahahahhaha]


Eyeing the girl curiously who then appeared before them, N'kai nor his partner spoke a word at the exchange between she and the old man. And to be honest, the Bluerider stood there for a moment wondering if the girl had a speech impediment. Or if perhaps she were a little... slow in the head. But, then decided that that must not be the case. ...Though.. He could be wrong.

N'kai smiled pleasantly at the girl before turning his attention and words back to the man, "She could certainly walk with us while we're conducting the search, if nothing else."

Eyes on Teylarrin again, he tried to be encouraging, "Would you walk with us? Maybe help us find our way around? It may not be a large hold, but I'm sure it will help having a guide -or someone to help introduce us to others as we go."

The Bluerider waited for the reassurance of either before exiting to go back outside so that they could set out to complete the task they'd come here to do.

((But they dunts has no cows  They has herdbeasts and TeyTey.    ))



  The manager's eyes widened a show of exasperation.  "Please do," he said.  He would be glad to know the girl was actually gone for a time.  There was never any form of privacy when you never felt alone.  Not that being alone was a good thing for a cotholder to be.




 Teylarrin turned that selfsame smile unto the Riders.  She was happy to serve a purpose other than cleaning.  "Surein Ah can do that."  She hopped on to the top step.  Then on the next, the one after that and finally to do the ground.

 "We ain't gots much 'roun' 'ere," she informed the pair as she started off toward the crowd.  "We's jus' uh smah cot'ol'.  But Ah can shows ya 'roun' jus' uh same."

    Teylarrin pointed toward the solitary tree as walked past it.  It was bare, having not a single leaf upon its branches.  "Dis 'ere is are tree," she told the men.  "We's in be right proud uh it.  Is duh onleh one in deez parts."

She waved a sweeping hand toward the crowd as they approached. "Dis 'ere is some folks.  Y'all 'ill be wantin' tuh have a word wit' 'em, Ah'll be 'ssumin'."

...

N'kai managed the most controlled smile over (The Tree) that he thought he'd ever been forced to. He had a hard time smiling for the right reasons over her mention of it; he tried hard not to laugh, but rather, put The Tree in perspective.

Oh, By Faranth's First Golden Egg, it was useless. He simply wasn't the sort to give it that much care. Still, he paused in all other thought just to consider it. "I bet its shade is coveted in the summer months."

The Dragonriders continued following after the girl, offering slightly more genuine, and less strained grins at the people who gathered for them then.

There, the riders split so that they could individually address the small crowd from varying angles, introducing themselves to more than one person at a time to make the job go by faster. Of course, one didn't necessarily want to rush such things; it was true that sometimes Empaths -Searchable people) weren't always easy to pick up on. A more introverted personality might be easily overlooked in certain situations, for example.



N'kai and T'lan spent some time visiting with the Folk who'd gathered, shaking a few hands and spending a few moments playing "Dragonrider" with the younger kids.

Probably no more than 7 turns in age, one little boy spread his arms, imitating a dragon in flight as he ran about the legs of the adults, "Watch me! I'mma Bronzerider!"


After a few more moments, N'kai and T'lan had apparently decided that amoungst this particular group of people, there were none they found who particularly stood out to them, so turning back to Tylarrin, they were encouraging of her continuing to lead them on their way.

"Is there anyplace else we've missed?"




[Teylarrin for some reason reminds me of like.. hill billy cinderella]

Teylarrin smiled amicably at the Dragonriders. They had some silly notions. It came from being sheltered up in those Weyrs of theirs, she bet. They probably did not understand the lives of the small folk down on the plains and the sands. People of import rarely did. They only took notice when they wanted something. That was just fine by her. They did better without authority figures breathing down their necks and stealing from their pocket books.

“These tree ain’t much gud on duh shade’in,” she informed them. Honestly, it was bare. How much shade could it provide? “Its jus’ purdy’s all. We’s gots it as are stay-dus symbuh, like them Hol’s gots der fayn-say wall-carpis and them patch’us. Well, we’s gots are tree.”

She looked over at it. It was a desert marvel. How could anyone not love it? “Ah heards tha’ ya’ll Riderin’ types thinks tha’ trees are A-vail,” she said. “Like tha’ they be makin’ folks die’n’stuv.”


**

When the dragon men went off to interview the crowd, Teylarrin hung back out of the way. She cupped her hand on the trunk of the tree. She used it a focal point so that when she ran, she spun in a circle about it. She made four loops before she started to get dizzy. She did two more just for the pleasure of having her head spin. When she let go, she stumbled a dozen steps before the world righted itself again.

They were still doing their interviews. No one really understood the lives of Riders anymore than the Riders understood theirs. No one knew what the correct answers were to get picked. Some people tried being polite -- some overly so. Other tried to be gruff and show their strength. Some tried telling jokes that Tey did not find to be at all funny. It was a circus of low-class folks.

Teylarrin sat on folded legs in the warm sand. She waited on the sidelines until the men finished their crowd patrol. When they came back to her, she stood. She gave her legs a swat to knock off a portion of the dirt. Most of it stayed.

“Well, less see ‘ere,” she said thoughtfully. “We gots sum occ-Q-pied rums ov’r ‘ere,” she said, pointed to where the building curved like a giant L. “I thin’ dat moss of dem folk are out ‘ere, buh dare ma’be sum s’ill in ‘ere rums.”

Teylarrin started off in the direction that she had indicated. “Ov’r dare we gots are se’ves uh gard’n,” she said, pointing to a small field that sat on a hilltop some distance away from the buildings. There were tall reeds set in to a poorly fenced-off square. It had an elevate clay trough that ran the length of the area. there were a series of small holes in the bottom so that it leaked droplets of water on the plants below.

“An’ ov’r dare are sum draggies,” she said looking toward the Riders’ partners.

“An’ ov’r ‘ere is where’n we duh the laun’ry,” she said looking the other direction to where a cable had been mounted between two of the building’s walls. “But ‘ere ain’t’s none now, ‘cause Ah done fin’sh’d id.”

They rounded the hook between the buildings. “Dare thuh las’ of are rums,” she said, pointing to the numbered doors. “Ya mights wanna be check’n numba fur and ‘leben. Ah dents see’s ‘um wit’ duh utters.”






((Ha! She totally is. She wasn’t meant to be when I designed her. She just came out that way when I started writing her. She is not too hard to read, is she?))

After visiting with what seemed to be everyone there, that had gathered, the Riders turned in another direction, led by the young lady they happened to choose as their guide. It didn't seem that any of the few persons within the age bracket of candidates they were looking for, were going to fit the bill. However, neither had really expected for Teylarrin to ramble as pointlessly as she did.

The Bluerider couldn't help but stare a little blankly, feeling as though that next fe short minutes in his life had been wasted somehow; but there was no helping it.

Stopping in the middle of their trek back toward the building filled with rooms for the travelers frequently housed, N'kai put on a pleasant expression. "I think we'd better get on to the last couple of cotholds we've to visit today. Since there will be a caravan passing through here in another sevenday, we'll make another visit then. I'm not sure though, that we'll be recruiting anyone today."

T'lan interjected his thanks then, feeling grateful that they were near to where they'd landed their dragons and could make an easy escape at this point. He'd had quite enough of country life for one day -as had N'kai. Though, as N'kai had mentioned they did have yet another couple of stops to make. He just hoped they would survive the day. If they had any more exciting jaunts around cotholds like this, they may not. "We do appreciate the hospitality, and all of your assistance as a guide. We'll be back in a few days."

Noding their farewell, both riders had turned to walk toward their dragons, always disappointed when there were no seemingly acceptable candidates to fly back to the Weyr with them.

N'kai had only taken a couple of steps though, when Kaisoth caused him to hesitate. You aren't bringing her?

Bringing who?  The Bluerider searched through his memory of the afternoon for the faces of any possible candidates to whom his dragon may have been referencing.

The girl there, with you.

Quite quizzically, N'kai turned about on a heel, canting his head to look at Teylarrin again. His eyes were searching, searching, as though he'd missed something. Her?



[sorry I'll add blue dragon speak colour later. and lol marc. >D  N'kai is sooo lost. like.. seriously? did i miss something? how could i have missed something? and Yah,just goes to prove that characters have a mind of their own haha. And her accent's gonna make her a fun target for ppl teasing her about her origins/ way she talks]]