Lyveana and Green Ruinnth's weyr

[Celeanor]

Reserved
(Yo-!)

 

[Celeanor]

Extenuating Circumstances
A Hatching Story

Lyveana never imagined her life could end like this. Pursued through the woods and hills she had known all her life, she pushed her hill runner to his fastest, daring to look back and then wishing she hadn't. There were only three men now, out of five, but the young Keroonian had no doubt that three men wasn't an improvement.

There was no use in positive thinking.

She'd seen the brigands sack her family's cothold, obviously taking great care to maintain the integrity of the buildings, but their intentions when it came to the people within left nothing to the imagination. She'd seen them drag her mother and aunties out of the cothold screaming, the bodies of the male members of her family left where they fell after the attack. She couldn't believe this could be happening in their peaceful corner of the Keroonian Hills. For years the power of the Lord Holder kept such brigands quiet and cowed in the rockier badlands, but recent changes and the growing strain of too many people in too small holds finally lessened the effect of the iron cage.. and those holdless monsters earned their freedom the bloody way.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on what had happened, she had to get out of here, tell someone what had happened. Surely the Lord's justce would fall swiftly and accurately....

tbc  

[Celeanor]

Believe in the Impossible

The Promotion.


Tsunake.

For what felt like the thousandth time, her brown eyes flickered to and fro across the paper she'd been given, scouring its contents until her lips had grown pale and thin with displeasure. Surprisingly enough, it had not been the Bronze Sigranth that would lead this new Wing! No, the brownrider R'than and his Garith... More men. She knew better than to let her disgust rise, but her thoughts were still seething over D'tai and that Favan. That girl had been nothing more than trouble since she'd first Impressed her brute of a Queen, but she was not entirely to blame. No, she did not trust her Weyrman's attentions to stay focused on her alone, and the contempt that poured from her was enough to rouse Vasanth.

You are troubled. The great golden beast did not lift her head, but observed her rider with a lofty tone that implied she knew she was right. Do not be.

A smile rare to any but her Queen slowly pulled at her tired lips, and Helirra slowly crossed her weyr to caress at the wedge-shaped head. "That is easier said than done, my Queen. These men..." Disgust filled her again, and her hands fell away, threatening to crumple the orders they held. How swollen her knuckles had become with arthritis... Almost absently, one hand swept over her face, feeling the wrinkles that were already setting in despite her so-called youth. Amazing what stress could do to one's visage, and she shook her head almost ruefully.

"They think they can dominate almost everything within this Weyr when we are the ones that grant them their power--does that not irk you?" She murmured aloud, not truly expecting an answer from the drowsing dragon.

They do not dominate me. Vasanth replied smoothly, a snort exhaling sharply from her to show what she thought of that particular statement. Assert yourself. Simple words, but did she need to say anything more?

Helirra was listening thoughtfully now, her eyes caught on the Wingsecond even as mulled over the insight her beloved had offered her. A greenrider... Well, these orders had been given to her for her approval. If the ink grew smudged, who was to blame her if the roles of Wingleader and Wingsecond were... reversed? A cunning smile now settled on her face, satisfied with this wicked, if overall insubstantial plan. It would do little but soothe her own irritation--and yet, who was to say having another woman in a place of power would not come in handy? But Helirra was no fool. This Lyveana; she would need to be evaluated and assessed before she was put in control of anything. No fool would be appointed on her watch!

"Vasanth, please call for Ruinnth and her rider." She said, quiet, but in a tone that suggested she would be obeyed.

As you wish. The Queen sounded a bit smug, pleased with this idea even as she extended her reach to touch at the green's mind. Ruinnth. Your Weyrwoman wishes to speak with you and Yours. Come. She, too, wouldn't take anything less than immediate obedience!

The Weyrwoman in question slowly took a seat, fingers wandering through her greying locks as she waited. This could prove interesting... and put that D'tai back in his place when he least expected it.


Celeanor.

We are coming.

The smoothly respectful tone of the green was the only warning the green's rider had that something was happening. Hip deep in oiling rags, Lyveana peered around Ruinnth's shoulder, awaiting a clarification on where they were apparently going. Ruinnth did not usually use such a tone when conversing with other dragons, which meant this was probably one of the gold dragons or a male she'd taken a shine too.

I do not take 'shines' to males, Vasanth has called, the Weyrwoman requests your presence. Ruinnth replied primly, rustling her wings. At eight turns, the dark green really hadn't spent a great deal of time pondering the merits of the male dragons who chased her, but that didn't keep Lyveana from teasing her about the few times she had.

Though, why would Weyrwoman Helirra want to talk with them?

Only one way to find out, I will meet you on the ledge. Ruinnth replied again to her rider's unspoken question, rising to her feet once Lyveana had stepped away. The green was obviously quite serious, but Lyv still couldn't fathom what the unusual summons could be for. She tried to ride as by the book and by the book could be, and Ruinnth was not the type of dragon to court trouble. The green was most diplomatic, even if she never gave in to the silly demands of egomaniac males... like that sharding blue who had tried to chase her off the beast herds after only having one. He was not a bad blue, just mistaken in thinking he could dominate me because I am a green, he knows better now. Ruinnth cut in, interrupting Lyveana's thoughts as she hurriedly changed her clothing. You are more forgiving then I, had his rider been nearby I would have had words with him. The Keroonian rider thought back, pulling on her boots and running back to the ledge. Anticipating her, Ruinnth dipped a shoulder for her to mount, then spread her wings and took off the moment Lyveana was astride.

A few seconds later, both Lyveana and Ruinnth were winging towards the Senior Weyrwoman's ledge. Neither had had a prior reason to come here, so Ruinnth took great care in navigating to the correct ledge, trilling her arrival to the Queen as she landed. Lyveana, optioning for a cautious grace rather then a reckless hurry, waited to dismount until Ruinnth had all four feet on the ledge. Once on the ground, Lyv peered around questioningly until she spotted the great golden bulk of Vasanth and the seated form of the Senior Weyrwoman. Bowing to Vasanth once she drew close, Lyveana then bowed to the Weyrwoman just as deeply.

"You requested me, Ruinnth's rider, Weyrlady?"

Tsunake.

They come. Vasanth rumbled low to Hers, though hardly needed to say as much; there was no question that she would make sure things got done, and woe to any foolish enough to even think of balking at her orders.

"Thank you." Helirra could not help the affection that unconsciously stirred in her breast for her dragon, grateful as always for her aid. The wait was not long before her Queen rumbled again, signaling that the pair had arrived. Her eyes were calculated and cold as they watched the greenrider and her Ruinnth descend, the former making her way into better view. Though she did not smile, her head did tip forward in brief acknowledgment. "Lyveana." She named the woman without having to glance at the orders that she'd neatly tucked away on her dresser, evaluating the woman for a moment more before she rose.

The Queen had lifted her head at the trill, noting the bow with a lazy, but expectant eye before she herself would reach with surprising delicacy for Runnith's mind. You are prompt. You carry Yours well. Would she gloat? Preen, stutter? Fall to pieces when faced with such an impressive gold as herself? That was what she would slyly attempt to see.

Perhaps, the Weyrwoman mused, she would also feign ignorance and test the girl's wits and abilities. "Tell me honestly. How do you feel you have functioned in your past Wings as of late?" From first glance--or even the second--Lyveana did not appear to be dim-witted or lacking proper respect. That was why she had chosen to be frank, and though the Weyrwoman seemed as brusque and cold as ever, she was listening patiently for a reply. A rider was only as good as her dragon, and the same notion applied to the other way around.

But how would Lyveana and Ruinnth hold up under careful scrutiny of both Weyrwoman and Queen?

Celeanor.

Ruinnth had never been a green to preen or strut in the presence of a queen. She recognized her place in the social hierarchy of the Weyr well enough, even if she chafed at the restrictions placed upon her by some of the larger dragons. She was, after all, a lady. Ladies deserved a great deal more respect then to be encased in stone and watched carefully lest they break, but nor should a lady resort to underhanded means to get what they desired. It is my duty to the Weyrwoman and Yourself, and my honor to be prompt. Ruinnth replied tactfully, angling her head to study the senior Queen with a watchful eye. Since birth, she had always looked up to the gold dragons who carried themselves as well as Vasanth did. The aura of confidence was something the green constantly sought to assimilate into herself. Today, though... today was shaping up to be something unexpected. Lyveana was ill at ease, and likewise was Ruinnth.

"I have functioned to the best of my abilities Weyrwoman, within the goals set by my superiors." The greenrider replied, her tone was kept moderate, and she answered promptly without too much forethought. Honesty was ever what came first to the mind, and that was the kind of truth Lyveana lived by. These unusual summons by Helirra may have set her at odds with how she generally assessed a situation, but her cardinal rules could not be shaken. Her gut screamed that something was amiss, this line of questioning was most out of the ordinary for a greenrider, but she had complete faith in the Weyrwoman... even a Weyrwoman as outwardly cold as Helirra.

Tsunake.

A clever answer, made without inflated attempts to seem intelligent. Vasanth mused over that before she would confide quietly to Hers, Her mind is more sound than the others, more capable--not a green's mind. And that was all she believe needed to be said.

Helirra's face did not change, though her thoughts churned over that new bit of information. What did her Queen mean by that? Vasanth wasn't saying any more than she already had, and the Weyrwoman was left to focus on Lyveana. The answer was coherent and well-worded, offered without time to mull and formulate it. This wasn't enough information for her to make a rock-solid decision... but she had a feeling that going through with this would be the right decision in the end. She wasn't one to so easily dismiss her instincts. Helirra was aware that Vasanth shifted, as though impatient for her to get on with it, and the Weyrwoman spoke again.

"You will be the leader of a new Wing that will be forming soon." Her tone was soft, but firm. "You will be the first woman, the first greenrider here at Ista to lead a Wing. But I am putting my faith in you, and I do not feel that you will fail me." Lyveana would face ridicule and scorn--but with the Weyrwoman at her back, there would be few who would risk openly insulting the girl and her dragon.

Helirra would see to that.


Celeanor.

While there was not an obvious reason for Ruinnth to think that the direct attention of the Senior Queen was no longer on her, she nonetheless suspected such was the case and allowed her tense muscles to relax along her spine and across her wings. Lyveana was far from such a point, but the dark green had long ago stopped allowing the politics of humans to affect her. The Weyrwoman's words had little meaning beyond what Lyveana thought, and bar the initial shock, the greenrider swiftly changed her thought patterns to reflect a surety in Ruinnth that they would do exactly as Helirra commanded. Thus satisfied that all would be well, the green bowed her head respectfully in acknowledgment to Vasanth that she had understood what the Weyrwoman had said via Lyveana. Of course they would do well, for they would be the ones doing it!

Ruinnth's rider, however, struggled for a moment with the shocking announcement. She was quite certain that scorn and ridicule from others would be the least of her worries with such a post. Thread was coming, and she felt suddenly worried about the responsibility of leading a Wing of brave men and women to face such an uncertain menace. Her life and theirs would rely completely on the strength of the dragons beneath them, and the training she would be responsible for providing. Helirra claimed to have faith in them, believed they would not fail her... but did Lyveana share such a conviction?

Those thoughts whirled through her mind in the space it took to draw breath, ending only when the featherlight touch of her lifemate drew Lyveana back with the response she had grown up with. Acceptance. Understanding. Confidence. Of course she and Ruinnth would succeed! Lyveana may have never led a team of humans before, and Ruinnth may be a green, but both inherently knew that this was a task they could accomplish. Lyveana had but to see past the stigma of the times, and come in to her full potential. Whatever reasons Helirra had for choosing now as the time to begin such an experiment, Lyveana and Ruinnth would rise to the occasion and see it to the end.

Placing her hand over her heart in the traditional salute of acceptance to her superior, Lyveana kept her bright eyes fixed on the Weyrwoman as she sank down to one knee. "Weyrwoman Helirra, you honor Ruinnth and I with your faith and this position. We will not fail you." She replied, her tone a little breathless, but none the less laced with the steely conviction of woman used to doing what needed to be done... come hell or high water.
 

[Celeanor]

The Power of Positive Thinking
Dealing with the aftermath

If she were any judge of expression, her debut as a radical new leader had brought mixed results. Her wingsecond obviously disapproved, one rider appeared to hate her outright, and the rest appeared ready to just wait and see with nominal degrees of acceptance. Overall, she wasn't displeased with her approach nor the results, but Lyveana couldn't help feeling a heavy burden settling across her shoulders. She'd never been in a position of leadership over a group of humans before, and while she did have a vague sense of what needed to get done, she also knew she lacked the experience to back up her intuition.

Ironically, a scenario similar to this led her to become a dragonrider in the first place back in Keroon. Her father and male siblings had refused to acknowledge her abilities and her hill country intuition... and were killed as a result. She managed to save herself, but only the passing kindness of a brownrider from Ista truly brought her into a world where she could really make a difference. She'd never thought she'd come as far as she had, but then, she had Ruinnth to thank for that.

The green was asleep now, out on the ledge where the seabreeze could cool her, but even in slumber Lyveana cold sense the vibrating power that was her dragons mind. Ruinnth was a miracle to the backwoods country bumpkin, but to the newly christened wingleader.... she would be a vital partner. There never had been a green wingleader before, and when she was being honest with herself, Lyveana suspected that after the ruckus this one time was causing.. there wouldn't be another for some time. With Thread a looming threat on the horizon and plenty of domestic troubles to contend with, the Weyr couldn't afford to be divided. The events of the 9th Pass had certainly illustrated the tragedy of Weyr divisions after all!

But for all that, the greenrider couldn't help but feel liberated. Her dragon, her Ruinnth, had been acknowledged as a worthy dragon to lead a Wing of other worthy dragons. No matter what discontent and anger she faced, or what schemes would hatch, she and Ruinnth would face the dissenters together and uphold their part of the bargain. Those hidebound old fools who thought dragon dominance was based solely on size and color would soon learn that in the 10th Pass, with the dragons grown still larger and smarter yet, such was no longer the case! Browns could fly Queens, Bronzes could be happy as Wingmen, and Greens could be Wingleaders! The power of the dragons of Pern was limited only by the ambitions and dreams of their riders! Such was the bond between Lyveana and her green dragoness! So long as Ruinnth knew that Lyveana believed in her, the green would go above and beyond the 'normal' capabilities of a 'mere green' and show the bigots of old what a real dragon was like!

They would do it!

They had too.  

[Celeanor]

The New Divide
And the darkness that marks the distance between...

The rumblings of an internal storm cloud were becoming harder to ignore. Three times now, Lyveana had been a moment to late to hear a whispered word, a second before she missed an erring foot trip an overworked kitchen drudge. The stress the Leadership must be under was both overbearing and completely unsubstantial. As far as Lyveana officially knew, nothing had been done or said to remedy the gathering sense of unease that was Ista Weyr, since nothing was officially known. Whoever was behind the rumblings was either devilishly lucky, or being protected, since Lyveana was quite certain she was not the only rider who did not see the humor or the light when it came to repeatedly burned bread and smelly latrines. She wasn't exactly one of the most well liked riders among the older men of the Weyr right now, but she knew that they were as equally outraged as she was about the current state of things.

As with others, she did know all to well about Junior Weyrwoman Favan's aim, the woman wanted a new Weyr formed, but Lyveana sincerely doubted few of the riders making the fuss knew even the first thing abut surviving on their own without Holders to present tithes at their weyrstep. The lessons of Southern Weyr were over two hundred turns removed, as was the pioneering spirit that drove Pernese to the South once it had been discovered as a viable territory. People would die if they struck out on their own without being properly equipped, and despite Lyveana's growing dislike of the troublemakers... she wouldn't wish that fate on anyone. Firehead was an awful disease, and it was just one of the myriad dangers awaiting any who attempted to push further into the South or to the West in search of unoccupied territory. Shards, she knew plenty about surviving on the land, it it wasn't something she would undertake lightly!

That girl, Allende, she had had some good ideas though. Even if her reasoning was a little idealistic and sometimes even brutal. As much as Lyveana hated to admit it, she knew the Weyrs would be blooded badly once the Threads fell again. There was too much indiscipline, to many lackwits who thought fighting on a dragon just meant perfecting their firestone delivery techniques and following the tail in front of them. She only hoped by the First Egg that her Wing would survive the first engagement intact, no matter what the odds were against them or how much they hated her for drilling them far more then the other Wings drilled. She had a good group flying with her though, so she knew she had to let go eventually, trusting that they would keep themselves and their dragons alive. It would be a learning experience for everyone once the silver menace came again, and Lyveana woke every morning and reaffirmed her personal determination to see that the First Fall did not kill any of her wing.

She tried not to think too much about what she would do if someone did get killed, though. Bad thoughts attract bad luck, or so the saying went, and Lyveana could certainly testify to the validity of one's mind creating one's world. Chance really had little to with survival, barring finding something unusual where it should have never been. Survival was all about knowing yourself and your limits so well that doing whatever needs to be done to ensure the continuation of one's life was second nature.

Such was Lyveana's philosophy, and she sincerely hoped she had gotten that across to the men and women who rode with her. Her remarks were nothing personal, but her drive was certainly that. Each and every rider and dragon was someone she cared for, and each and every one of them in turn held a power of sorts over her. She needed them to succeed, becase failure (which reads as 'death' ) would no doubt hit her hard where it hurt the most. Black and white it may seem to some, but this child of the wild high country knew that nature existed in black and white. Kill or be killed, eat or be eaten. Live or die trying. A wild wherry didn't care if you were twelve and unarmed, and an angry bull in rut did not care if you hadn't meant to get between him and his female.

Such... was life.
 

[Celeanor]

The Blame Game
That most disastrous of hatchings...

The day had been fine.

The day... the day could have never prepared the greenrider and her dragon for the compound tragedies of a hatchling springing between and the weight of the blame falling fully on the shoulders of one hopelessly immature girl. Lyveana knew that she was beyond being merely emotionally compromised by the situation. Death hit her harder the anything else, and while she had heard that hatchlings could be born wrong, experiencing it for the first time had proven almost too much for her to bear. Kyllae had much to atone for, but not even a blame game or taking it out on that stupid girl's hide could right the situation. That poor little blue, that mentally malformed dragonet, he hadn't had a chance... might not have even from the start. Logically, no one could really know what had happened. It was so much easier to be angry though. So much easier to just blame the girl for everything, especially the things that just didn't make sense.

Ruinnth had keened the death knell of her kind while her rider let loose a stream of tears. It was so senseless, there was no redemption, no meaning to it. She could hope that blue found peace beyond between, but somewhere in her heart she knew that she was upset th most by the repercussions this event would have on the population of Ista for years to come. Kyllae would live on in infamy for as long as the memory of the little blue's heart rending cries remained. Lyveana knew she would never forget them.

By Faranth, her eyes were dry from too much crying now, that was how drained she felt!

Ruinnth had gotten her back to her weyr after the hatching. The Feast would have been a mockery, and Lyveana couldn't deal with the emotional rip current that was going to be the new Weyrlings. She could deal with the Weyr and the aftermath of this Hatching in the morning, not in the middle of the night when she had her own heart to put back together.

Ruinnth, what will I do when Thread falls... She asked tiredly, delving deeper into the aching wound that the Blue's passing had reopened in her heart. Death, it was so final, and so... so...

We will meet it and be victorious. All of us. Together.

Rather then buoy the woman's fragile hope, the simple statement only served to exhaust her further. Such confidence, especially on a day like today, did not, however, fail to surprise the former Keroonian that Ruinnth so easily interpreted the shift in her rider's worry. The death of the hatchling was tragic, but she could freely admit in the solitude of her mind that the death of any of her wingmates would be harder still. Today's events were in an of themselves more then enough to send the young Wingleader to her bed in tears, but the added reminder of what lived in her nightmares served only to add to her inner agony. The weight of responsibilty was a burden some would say she was carrying too heavily across her shoulders, but Lyveana truly didn't know any other way. Giving the Weyr less then her all was unacceptable.

Sleep. I will be with you always. The little one is safe in the place he went too, and we will be safe because we will always be together. Ruinnth crooned, settling as she always did on her side of the couch with a sleek grace. Her wings were folded tight, but the dark green angled her head to watch her rider with eyes still whirling a blue-grey. Like the people, the dragons of Ista would carry with them the marks of this terrible Hatching until the memories faded.

Sleep. Lyveana She repeated when Lyv could only stare at the green with eyes sudenly misting over with tears she had thought she'd run out of. "Oh Rui, this is... this is!"

This is the way it is. Come to me, we will sleep together, I am enough to chase away the dark things of the night.

By the First Egg, how could she refuse what she needed so desperately? She knew she would dream of that little blue's final scream, but having Ruinnth near....

Having Ruinnth near would be more then enough.

 

[Celeanor]

Some Things Change
But others remain the same...

There are some things in life that cannot be helped. The rain, for one.

Often regarded as a blessing by dragonriders, Lyveana saw something else in the endless sheets of gray. While listening to the steady drum on stone, she cannot help but find herself lulled into a steady, detached state of mind as she rests against Ruinnth's warm chest, tucked between the green's forelegs. Sometimes she fancies that she can see her departed family members, or the faces of those Holdless men who tried to kill her. Oddly, the misty apparitions did not scare her, or even earn more then a contemplative silence as she watched them dance away and morph into other shapes and people. With Ruinnth's help, she had long gotten over what had happened to her, and the ghosts of the past no longer hindered her as they had once tried too. She viewed them instead as a lesson in humility, and survival... for without them wouldn't be who she was today.

When it rained, she sometimes thought about how her life wold have been different, or how it would change in the future to something she couldn't even imagine now. Would she still be sitting in this small weyr ten turns from now? Would she even been on the same continent? Who would she still know, and greet in the halls once Thread fell? Who would she see only in memory? Unanswerable questions, and quite sobering when one considered what it took to make the best out of a situation. But Lyveana had a new found faith in her Senior Weyrwoman. Helirra would cave to no one, and in this unprecedented time of abundant draconic fertility and Holder malevolence... Lyveana predicted that tiny Ista would emerge into the New Pass as strongly as ever before, if only being supported by the iron will of the Weyrwoman. Rigid, some might call her, or cold and unfeeling. Lyveana saw Helirra's attitude instead as being appropriately realistic, since it was far too late to expand to a new Weyr now. No one knew exactly when Thread would fall, and Lyveana was all too capable of seeing what would happen to a group of enterprising young folk too high on their youthful egos, caught out in the wilds when the First Fall came. Death is what would happen, and the greenrider was quite certain she wasn't the only adult rider who saw it too.

Certainly something would have to be done, and like her unshakable faith that Helirra and Vasanth would do what was right, she also believed that they were well aware of what was wrong. Personally, Lyveana was of the opinion that the Candidatemaster should whirl through the barracks a second time with a half a wing of Search dragons, but she doubted any would support that approach now... shards she wasn't sure she supported it much herself anymore.. following the last Hatching. But even then, Ista had more than enough candidates for the blue to have chosen someone...

Shells, it was better to just avert that train of thought entirely. While the past couldn't depress her, the recent events certainly could... and that would ruin the cathartic effect of her rainy day meditations.


 

[Celeanor]

Truth and Lies
Never saw that one coming...

It had all started with a rumor.

Alright, perhaps it started with something a bit more substantial then a rumor. There was that near legendary demonstration of Favan's lung capacity, and the disreputable Runner that had started it. The speculations had started then, but no one had begun spreading honest rumors until a day or so later. Some were claiming preposterous stories as true, like Favan receiving a new Weyr all of her own, and that half of Ista would go with her! Others were saying she was going to be added to another Weyr, and still others were speculating that she would be made Senior Weyrwoman of an existing Weyr! Truthfully, Lyveana didn't particularly care which set was the truth, or if none of them were correct. Her staunch loyalty would remain with Helirra, her Wing, and Ista Weyr; and that was that.

What she hadn't expected was for R'than to take up with the cause and run.

Perhaps she was judging him too harshly, but Lyveana was angry. Once more information had been released, Lyveana had figured that the most likely reason for another Weyr to request a clutching Queen was for the obvious. Their Queen (or Queens) were either too old or too young to produce adequate clutches. She had handled herdbeasts long enough to know that mixing up bloodlines could be another good reason for the request, but given the way Favan was traipsing about, and the rumor that she was going to be the Senior Weyrwoman, the greenrider was leaning towards the rumor of an older pair stepping down. Not long after she had decided that was what she thought, transferals had opened up. Older riders were given the opportunity to go with Favan to the new Weyr. No orders, it was all strictly voluntary.

That sealed it, it was not going to be an entirely new Weyr, or Helirra would have made sure Favan had at least a couple full Wings.... if not more! Faranth knew Ista had the riders to spare, which meant the Istans would be joining esablished wings.

She expected more then a handful would sign up to go, the overcrowding at Ista was reaching the boiling point afterall, and she hadn't been all that surprised to learn that A'ras was to be one of them. (Good riddance!) But R'than?

It had turned out that her trust in him had been misplaced. All of this time she had taken the man for the duty-bound type, a steady rider who would do his job even if he didn't like her. She'd been wrong, horribly wrong, and she was only sorry that she hadn't realized how he really felt until it was too late to speak to Helirra and find an immediate replacement. The blatant disrespect for his position and his duty to the Wing... shardit! He ought to count himself lucky that she hadn't lost her temper with him! The fool, she hoped Favan and her man-eating ways would set his a** straight! The old bigot probably thought she would be a screaming ninny the first time thread fell and let all of her wingmen die!

You should not dwell on what he might be thinking. He is gone, we are here. Ruinnth cut in, her temper still far from her usual cool composure. The dragon did not care one way or the other whether Garith and his rider came or went, she hadn't held any particular attachment to either.

Patting the sleek green hide beneath her, Lyveana checked her riding straps one more time before replying. "I'm allowed to be angry Ruinnth."

But do not dwell. And do not make the same mistake when a new Wingsecond is assigned.

"I don't intend too."

And she didn't. She'd make sure to meet with the new wingsecond as often as need be to ascertain his or her disposition. There would not be a repeat of R'than in Hurricane Wing as long as Lyveana led it.

"Scorch it Rui, take us high today! I don't want to see the ground or another brown dragon until lunch time!"