A New Arrival at the Feast(Open)

[Terayne]

Adelia stood silently in the doorway to the Feast Cavern, worrying her lip as she looked around. The Hatching Feast was in full swing, Archith's Hatching having been finished only hours before the girl had arrived upon the shoulders of her Great Grandmother's Silver Queen. She was a Candidate for whichever Queen happened to Clutch next. As Archith was currently the only Queen, it was liable to be a long wait. However, they were looking for new blood, and she had a suggestion, which had already been presented to the Retired Weyrwoman. She had been told to write her friend and let her know what was up, and she was considering that as she stood there, watching the Feastgoers. Her flits, Sunlance Beam and Blue Wave, had been told to stay close, and both were currently on her shoulders.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Kalitar, now K'tar, wouldn't have noticed the young woman standing in the Feast Cavern doorway, except for Talerian's sudden fixation on the entrance. He hadn't seen his friends for over a month, and was rather enjoying being able to spend time with them; especially after the few awkward moments of interaction with his family. He was actually waiting for an opportunity to introduce the other four guys to his fellow Weyrling, Holt, or rather, H'rarn. However, that personage was still talking with the people that had come to see him for the Hatching, so he glanced over his shoulder to see what Talerian was looking at.

"Nice eyes Tal," he teased, "Are you going to actually go talk to her?"

"You should say hello, at the very least," Jatheiron put in.

"He's scared that she won't like his nose," quipped Farnaj, grinning broadly.

Talerian glowered. "If you guys are so brave, why aren't any of you over there saying hello?" he retorted.

"Don't speak too soon," K'tar said, turning and walking towards the entrance, and the young woman. His path wasn't very direct, he had to keep stopping to explain things to Viarth, who followed along beside him, great purple head swinging this way and that to take in as much of the feast as possible.

Suddenly, when they were maybe ten feet from the entrance, Viarth locked his attention forward, on the figure in the doorway, and the dragonet paused.

K'tarMine, why does the two-leg-female-with-two-small-kin-flitts stay in the entrance-to-fun-loud-talk-good-food-feast? he asked.

It took K'tar a couple seconds to decode Viarth's message, which included a jumble of pictures to accompany the quickly spoken descriptions. We're going to find out, he replied, once he figured out what Viarth meant. He started forwards again.

"Hello," he said, holding out his hand, palm up, in front of him in the formal greeting he'd had drilled into his head by the time he was four turns old. "My name is Kal, er, K'tar, Weyrling of Purple Viarth." He indicated the dragonet with a slight tip of his head.

[Terayne]

Adelia resisted the urge to jump as she saw the male coming towards her, but her attention swerved the instant she saw the Purple at his side, and a charming smile broke over her lips, her eyes seeming to glow with admiration. Her two flits chirped to the Weyrling-she knew the knots, and the dragon was FAR too small to be an adult after all-and she inclined her head, giving him her hand. It was heavily calloused, indicative of a life spent working, but still soft enough to be satisfactory for the green knots still gracing her shoulder. She'd have to get them changed to the ones of a Candidate soon enough, or people might get confused.

"A pleasure, K'tar," she replied, then turned her eyes down to Viarth, kneeling before him. "And well-met to you as well, Viarth," she added on, giving the dragonet respect as much as his rider. Once she'd greeted both, she straightened again. "My name is Adelia, and this is Beam and Wave." Her fire-lizards chirruped as their names were spoken, bowing their small heads. "I've just arrived. I'm a Candidate from Waterfall Valley."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Viarth butted his head forward, attempting to solicit a rub on his eye-ridges, but messed up the timing, for Adelia was already standing once more. Absently, K'tar reached down and scratched the eye-ride closest to him.

I wonder if he's already growing, he thought, but surely it was too close to hatching for Viarth to be growing already, although the dragonet had certainly eaten as though he was.

K'tar flicked a glance at Adelia's shoulder knots when she said she was a Candidate, but they didn't change color or style. He was abruptly reminded that only the black jacket that he wore currently had updated knots, but he shrugged it off. There would be plenty of time to arrange for updated shoulder knots tomorrow. To cover his slip, he asked: "What's it like there?"

[Terayne]

As the Purple asked to be scratched, she moved to oblige, but his rider beat her to it, and she flushed faintly as her fingers brushed his, pulling her hand back quickly. She noted the glance at her knots, but held her peace. For his question, she smiled once more, seeming to almost soften, and her eyes held the smile as well.

"It's beautiful. Very much like here, but without all the rainbows, for sure," she said lightly, glancing out the door still behind her at the scenery she could see, and her mind's eye revisiting the magnificent view from the sky. "My Great-Grandmother and my grandfather used to live here at Rainbow Mists."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

“Have you ever been here before, then?” K’tar asked. He knew it wasn’t polite to ask too many questions, but his next one just tumbled out, pushed by his curiosity: “Did they know Weyrwoman Kaya?”

His eyes sparked with interest, and who could blame him? After all, growing up in the South, he’d heard all the stories about the terrible Weyr War, and about those who had lead during those troubled times. He felt Viarth push against his hand, and without thinking rubbed harder, eliciting a soft croon.

K’tarMine, powerful-friend-Jatheiron-from-grey-sky-flat-ground-place signals.

K’tar glanced over in time to catch his friend’s “come back” wave. Abruptly, he realized that by talking to her over here, he effectively prevented Adelia from coming into the cavern. “If you would like, Adelia, you could join me and my friends,” K’tar offered, grasping at the straws offered by his early lessons in manners, stepping back and to one side slightly as he tipped his head back towards the other boys, so that Adelia was free to pass him. “That is, unless you’re expecting someone?”

[Terayne]

She shook her head for the first question, allowed only that answer before the next one was given, causing her to chuckle, the sound rich and warm. "They do know Kaya, actually. My great grandmother is Terayne, rider of Silver Aurorath, sister to Kayleth, and my grandfather, K'yne, rides Brown Lorifelth, one of Aurorath's hatchlings," she replied.

As he was interrupted by his companions, she cocked her head slightly, waiting to see what he said, and then blinked at his invitation, hesitating before nodding her acceptance. "We're not," she answered, and Beam and Wave cheeped their agreement as she stepped past him.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K'tar saw a streak of purple-colored motion and reached down just in time to stop the ever curious Viarth from shoving his nose into Adelia's path. Feeling his face heat, he tapped the dragonet on the nose.

Viarth pulled his nose back quickly, focusing one slowly whirling, confused eye on his rider. K'tarMine, why did you hit-top-of-my-nose-with-hand? the dragonet whined.

"Because," K'tar whispered, crouching down so that his head was level with that of the too-curious dragonet, "you shouldn't stick your head where it's in the way."

But I just wanted to smell her clothes, Viarth replied plaintively.

"Which you also shouldn't do," K'tar added. He tried to maintain a strict face, but couldn't and ended up hugging the dragonet's thick purple neck. "Come on silly," he said, standing up and following Adelia over towards Jatheiron and the other guys, Viarth trailing behind, being careful to keep the tip of his nose to himself.

[Terayne]

She stopped, a smile ghosting across her lips at the Purple's actions, then continued as his rider halted his curiosity. Eventually, one would hope, he'd be more in control of it, once he'd aged and grown some. Humming to herself and her flits, she glanced back in time to see him hug the dragonet, and again, a smile touched her lips. She always enjoyed watching dragons and their Mines interact, and hoped to one day have that Bond for herself. But for now, she had to be social, something she was okay at, but not great with, if she was honest with herself.