The Reckoning [Aurum's Search]

[Little Ebony]

Aurum had the strangest urge to hum the rather urgent piece of music that Taliene had been writing the last time they'd seen each other. Her heart was beating quickly, and the song just seemed to fit with the immediacy of her situation. She bit her bottom lip to keep from humming softly. She leaned out from her hiding place, peering around the front hall of the Hold. She'd slipped away from the elderly Harper giving her daily lessons after he'd fallen into a light sleep. Harper Faulkner was a kind, intelligent man, but he was getting on in his years... and Aurum was never one to skip out on an opportunity for free time where everyone thought she was safely off somewhere else.

The hall was empty and Aurum ventured cautiously out. When no one jumped out shouting 'ah-HA!' she began carefully edging across the wide, open space towards the large double doors that closed in the hold proper. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she broke into a scuttle towards the doors. It was still spring, but it had warmed up enough that the doors had been left open for the first airing out of the season.

When she reached the doors she ducked into the shadows and listened carefully for the sounds of footsteps approaching or voices. Upon hearing none, she leaned around the opened door and peered outside. The part of the Square closest to her was fairly empty. With the nice weather, most were either out and working on the earliest of the farming, or inside working on expansion or spring cleaning. Her eyes were drawn to the far right, where the guard's stations stood. She had to make it around that to get to the stables where her runner was. Underneath her skirts she wore her leather riding pants, her riding gloves tucked into her boot. She was lucky she'd worn a two-piece skirt set, or getting out of the stables would be much more difficult.

Aurum slide out around the door and edged down the stone steps, watching for anyone who knew where she was supposed to be, including her brother...

[Briarwind]

One could not fairly say that D'skel disliked visiting Delant Hold. That would be inaccurate. He did not dislike it. The prosperous, pretty hold was flourishing extraordinarily, brought to life by the exquisite works of the many masters housed within its walls. No, D'skel did not dislike visiting Delant Hold.

More accurate would be to say that he hated it.

It wasn't any fault of Delant's, directly, that made D'skel hate it. In truth, it really was a pretty Hold. It wasn't that he had any particular hatred of Holders, or of the Crafts, either. No; simply put, D'skel hated the attitudes, and he blamed that altogether on that sharding Mastercoggler and his mad notions of replacing dragonmen. Well and good, to D'skel's mind, was the idea that the Holds could help to stand against Thread, but to think they could replace dragonmen when thread fell from the sky was sheer folly. No one here could be convinced of the matter, though, and if he meant to walk unmolested down the streets, he must do so without his knots or his dragon, which, given that it was the hub of all Craft activity for the whole of Lyeunia Island, was a sharding inconvenience when his youngest sister was about to be wed and he had to send a gift.

Nevertheless, despite the oppressive air of distaste the place had for his kind, he had to admit that when he walked unmarked by any indicator of station or rank, it was a sweet reprieve to see such a delightful, thriving community, and it could never be said that D'skel was one to neglect opportunity when it knocked. This, at least, was a convenient opportunity to enjoy the surroundings, and he fully intended to take advantage of it.

That was how he found himself meandering near the empty square beside the doors into the Hold proper, standing open to let in a breeze, and this was how he found himself watching a girl with startling red hair edging in full skirts down a set of stone steps with the skittishness of someone who was doing something she oughtn't to be doing. Perhaps she was sneaking off to see a beau of whom her parents did not approve. That seemed the likeliest. Given the quality of her garb, however, he imagined she must be of some station, at least, and he couldn't help but admit some curiosity as to what drove such a well-born creature to skulk about like a common sneak-thief.

'Aeldanth, take a look at this,' he prompted, urging the dragon to look as he looked.

There was a long pause as he felt the press of Aeldanth's mind against his, and then, abruptly, his dragon's voice filled his mind, firm and demanding. :Stop her,: the bronze commanded with some urgency.

Alarmed by the insistence in the bronze's deep tones, D'skel moved toward the girl without pausing for so much as a thought. 'What's wrong?' he asked in concern as he slipped up beside her, interjecting softly with, "Excuse me, young miss?"

[Little Ebony]

Aurum's eyes wandered over the few people in the square, taking one last look. No, she didn't recognize any of them. She turned her gaze back to the guard station and squinted against the mid-day Spring sun. She thought she saw the young guard on duty and her lips curled into a smile before she saw the silhouette of a second man.

Shardit! She'd thought she'd lucked out with only the youngest of the guards in the guard house. He was generally fairly easy to get past. If she couldn't sneak past him-- he still hadn't learned all her tricks yet-- she could always flash a smile. Sometimes he even got so flustered he would get his words backwards, and she'd be off before he could realize she wasn't heading towards the Hold.

She moved forward a few feet, trying to determine who the second guard was. Her attention was so focused on who was there that she forgot to pay attention to those few people still milling about the square. Therefor she didn't even notice the man a little taller than herself making his way very purposely towards her. If she had, she'd hardly have kept edging towards the guard house, eyeing them cautiously to see if they noticed her.

She also wouldn't have jumped and cried out like a scared little girl as she spun around to face him. She pressed on hand over her heart, eyes wide as she stared at him and tried to catch her breath. Her eyes raked over him in one long sweep before she met his eyes. One eyebrow went up, the other down in a curious bout of you look familiar but I can't place from where. Only a moment of that though, a quick glance towards the guards, and she flashed a smile.

"Why, hello. What can I do for you?" she obviously didn't know him personally. She'd just use the innocent card and run with it then.

[Briarwind]

"Ah. I didn't mean to startle you," D'skel offered apologetically. "My regrets, miss." 'Why did I stop her?' he demanded mentally of his dragon as he issued the apology.

:She is for the eggs.: The bronze's deep voice rumbled firmly as he said it.

D'skel was momentarily taken aback. Aeldanth never searched! It wasn't that he couldn't, assuredly, but he was hardly the most sensitive of dragons. It was a rare day, indeed, that a candidate had sufficient presence to draw his eye. 'Are you sure?' he demanded.

:As I am the Weyr is home of dragonkind,: the dragon assured him. :As I was when I found you.:

That was no small assertion for the bronze. Sobered, D'skel set his mind to the task at hand. If Aeldanth wanted her, then she would be a boon to the Weyr. He wanted so very few. "Might I speak with you a moment?" he inquired gently, pondering how best to go about this. Searching out of Delant would be tricky business, to say the least. It would have to be handled with caution and delicacy.

[Little Ebony]

If she didn't know where she'd recognized him from before, she knew now. That blank expression gave everything away. He was a dragonrider... her gaze slide to his clothing. He was a dragonrider who wasn't wearing his knots. How usual. She took a second look at him, more closely this time, as he communed with his dragon. He was, indeed, familiar. Might he have been from Eastern? She didn't readily recognize him from around Delant... though she had a feeling he was from Bivium, and not Eastern. If there was one thing more rare than dragonmen at Delant, it was dragonmen who were not Bivium riders.

Finally he seemed fully alert once more and her lips quirked up as she met his gaze. "Do not worry yourself. It isn't as if I was paying attention." her eyes crinkled just a little when she smiled at the corners. She unconsciously nibbled at the corner of her lip where her scar was as he spoke, wondering what he was getting at. So she arched her brows, "I do believe we are already speaking." she teased. "But I'm sure I could spare another few moments for a quick chat... Dragonrider." her eyes sparkled mischief.

[Briarwind]

"I would ... ask you to tread gently with that word, young miss," D'skel offered by way of reply, amusement warring with irritation within him. "It is not an altogether welcome one, around here. Might I ask your name? I assure you, I've a purpose in the request." Taking a half-step back, he executed a small, polite bow, adding softly, "My own is D'skel, humble servant of Aeldanth."

:Humble, indeed. And no more my servant than I serve that wherry-brained Zanylth,: Aeldanth protested from afar with a derisive snort. D'skel chose to ignore him. The dragon's feelings about the Western-born wingleader were no secret, and though he admitted he found the Western attitudes boorish, provincial, and disgustingly parochial, this was neither the time nor the place for derision.

No, what stuck in his craw as altogether more significant than his dragon's idle cajoling and griping was that she'd marked him for a dragonman, knotless, in moments. That spoke of some older association with dragonkind. With any luck, that would work to his advantage. Perhaps she was the child of a leatherworker who provided riding straps to the Weyrs. At least then she'd likely have no particular grudges against his ilk.

[Little Ebony]

At his request her brows disappeared quickly under her bangs in surprise. "I would honour your request, D'skel," she used his name to avoid titles, hoping that would ease him, though her ire was already rising that he had to feel such a way in her home. "but I would hope that you have no such concerns in my home. If you have any such concerns, or previous experiences, I would ask, in return, that you do not hesitate to voice them. While my brother might have much on his plate to handle, I would certainly have time to hear from a--" her pitch dropped as she scanned for people nearby, "--Rider. Especially if it concerns the relations between ourselves and the Weyr.: Maybe that was why he'd stopped her? She looked to the guard house. So much for getting in some racing practise.

Looking back at D'skel she slide a faint smile back on her face, "I would assume you have a reason for asking. And you may have my name on the condition that if my brothers asks why you met me in the courtyard while I was supposed to be in lessons, that you corroborate my story that Harper Faulkner let me out early for the day." she chuckled, making light of being caught and hoping she covered her concern over why a dragonman-- dragonman-- would have concerns about being known in her home.

"My name is Aurum, D'skel, and it is a pleasure to meet you, though I'm sure I've seen you before." She just couldn't place where.

[Briarwind]

"Your s... ah." Bowing his head politely once more, D'skel acquiesced. "Of course, my Lady Delant." Her brother was the Lord Holder Argent? Really? Why did his dragon have to find the difficult ones?

:I find nothing of the sort,: Aeldanth protested haughtily. :I find the best ones.:

"The ... relationship between my people and the Collegium is ... less than altogether well, my Lady Delant," he added by way of evasive explanation. "Better to tread with care than invite trouble where none need be found. Somehow, however, I suspect I may be about to do a great deal of that."

"Not if you're wise, stranger," 'Miche murmured softly, more to herself than to anyone else as she slipped up beside Aurum, casting a skeptical, appraising gaze over the dragonman. He wasn't large, but she, of all people, knew how little that meant, and those words, to her, were altogether too like a threat to sit well with her. She could see the muscles of labor through the lines of his clothing, in the hard quality of his lean build and the callouses on his palms and fingers. The man had the capacity to be a threat, and his interest in her charge was altogether too intent for her liking.

'Watch him,' she urged Turis, reinforcing the thought with simple images. It was a favour she asked of the creature often. 'Watch, only.' This last was forceful and demanding. She knew her flitter. Obedient or not, without a firm hand restricting his actions, he was liable to do a very real damage to the man, who could (though 'Miche was not of a nature to do else but doubt it) be well-intentioned, after all.

The girl's fingers drifted lazily along the edge of her layered skirt, the folding fabric hanging in such a fashion as to look properly soft, feminine, and restrictive while serving only to provide an ample supply of places to secret things, such as the hard, slender chain woven through the layers. It was not how she liked to carry the weapon, as it made it very difficult to get at, but it was the most discreet option. If this turned ugly, she'd likely have to resort to her bare hands. There were guards, of course, but most holdguard (her father and his men exempted, obviously) were, in her experience, utterly worthless. It was an uncharitable and unfair thought, but she had it, all the same.

[Little Ebony]

Well, the title was unexpected. She frowned, almost pouting, "If we are to be on a first name basis, D'skel, do you not think it appropriate to call me by my give name?" her eyes crinkled again as she smiled, "It was my name I gave for you to use, after all." it was another tease, as if she was hoping to make him more comfortable by saying she was comfortable. "I must insist that you speak freely with me. We may share space with the Collegium, but I can assure we share no prejudices based on any issues you may be having with the Collegium." It would be surprising if her brother even knew about the issues. She was almost sure she'd seen him disappear into the back tunnels of the Hold three days ago and hadn't seen him since. He tended to be like that: responsible and hard-working to a fault, but sometimes he needed a nudge to remind him there were more things to Lordship than his Hold.

Unlike D'skel's appearance, Teimiche's appearance didn't startle her at all. She's suspected the woman had been following her since she'd left her lessons. She brushed her hand against Teimiche's in assurance and shot her a play nice look, accompanied by a quirk of her lips. "What Teimei--" her favourite nickname for the female bodyguard, "--means to say is..." she paused, then brushed hair from her shoulder, "Well, no, she meant exactly what she said, but you'll excuse her." she looked up expectantly, "And do go on. I assume if you didn't recognize me right from the get-go then there is some other reason you needed to speak with me? A confession of unrequited love, perhaps?" she chuckled and the sound was rich and throaty.

[Briarwind]

"With all due respect, child," D'skel replied wryly, choosing the word to make a delicate point to the young woman, "I'm quite old enough to be your father. Confessions of unrequited love are ... rather out of the question. I know you all hear tales of our lurid, loose morals, but I do prefer not to bed women young enough to be my daughter. No, my L- ... Aurum, I actually wanted to speak to you on Aeldanth's behalf." The name was spoken softly enough, and the direction of the conversation subtle enough that he very much hoped she would catch his meaning without the need for considerable elaboration, especially with this new-come, suspicious young woman present.

This new-come, suspicious young woman, he amended mentally, who appeared to be blind in one eye and who moved with the predatory grace of a feline, who sported the calloused fingers, palms, and knuckles of a soldier, the scars and old injuries of a hardened combatant. Oh, she was dressed softly enough, and she wore her hair and face like a proper holder-child, but there was no mistaking her to D'skel's trained eye as anything but a (very unconventional) warrior. Where a hold had turned up a female warrior was utterly beyond him, he had to admit.

This one didn't seem to much care for him.

:Who does? Really, you're lucky you have me, or nobody would like you but that girl, and you can't even figure out that she wants you to chase her with me telling you so, so she probably won't like you for long, either,: Aeldanth expounded merrily in the back of D'skel's mind.

'Shut up, you overgrown watch-wher,' D'skel fired back lazily. This was not the time for the dragon's insults, even in jest.

The hand on her arm helped settle 'Miche as only training and an understanding of orders could, but only that. Her muscles remained tense and her suspicion, fully alive. What did this dragonman want with he-

Teimei. Ugh. The name drew a shudder and a long-suffering sigh from the girl, momentarily distracting her from her work. How she despised that nickname. It was so ... so ...

Ugh.

As the man explained his purpose, however, 'Miche drew her attention back to the conversation and felt a line form in her brow, disappearing a heartbeat later to be replaced with a look of curious contemplation. Though she still watched the rider like some manner of viper, she did allow herself to consider the consequences of this little venture. Somehow, she suspected the idea of seeing a Weyr - for why else would a dragon want to meet the girl? - would be too great an adventure for Aurum to resist.

[Little Ebony]

"Oh, no offense taken. You are quite right, you are old enough to be my grandfat--" she stopped, "I mean my father." Really, she was tired of people questioning her age. He'd hit on a sore spot and she knew if she let him think of her as a child then he would, and that was hardly the impression she wanted to make, as acting Lady Holder or as just plain old Aurum. "I have indeed heard of such rumors, but I've heard one too many a story about myself to not take them with a grain of sait. Or maybe a spoonful. I don't think the Weyr a lurid and loose-moraled place, and I would respectfully ask you not to assume the opinions of others are my own." she'd lost her smile, "I was merely appreciating your handsomeness with a bit of harmless flirting, not asking you to--" she stopped herself, brow furrowing. There'd gone her tongue again. She bit back her anger at herself, and swallowed it. She glanced at Teimiche; the other woman was a source of inspiration for Aurum, always so well-controlled. Aurum was not.

"I apologize, D'skel, I meant no harm. I am young, yes, and thus my tongue does often get away from me." she met his eyes again, her expression determined, "But I assure you I am no child, and I do not appreciate being treated as such."

She wouldn't lie and say that she wasn't surprised it was Aeldanth, a dragon, who had spurred this conversation with her. Why a dragon would want to speak with... Ah. "Congratulations are in order for the impending hatching." she watched for his reaction and then glanced at Teimiche, "Teimei, do you think my brother would let me attend?" her words were subtle, but she held no doubt Teimiche would catch her meaning. "I know he has been busy, but maybe with your attendance we could convince him I would represent our Hold well for him?"

[Briarwind]

"I meant no offence, Lady," D'skel offered by way of apology. "I must beseech your forgiveness. I'm afraid I am ... altogether unaccustomed to the behaviour of Delant Holders."

Changing the subject swiftly, the rider turned the focus back to the girl's suggestion.

"Certainly, he, Lord Crelek, and Lord Valshir were invited," D'skel mused aloud, playing along with the ruse. It was an inventive solution, if not an altogether perfect one. The guard, he could do without. By the dead-eyed stare she had given him during her brief appraisal, which had, he had to admit, quite taken advantage of the stark contrast between her lively eye and her white one, he somehow doubted that would be an option.

Well a guard was not going to be allowed on the sands.

Dismissing the notion, he continued lightly. "We'd not heard back from Lord Delant, yet, last I inquired."

Truth told, he had not inquired at all, but in a Weyr so precious small, there were few secrets or surprises, and with a scant six bronzeriders in the entire Weyr, there was surely no doubt whatsoever that he'd have heard something to the effect.

That was presuming, of course, that anyone had bothered to mention it to anyone else.

'Miche pondered the rider for a long moment, contemplating the potential consequences of this venture, but no possible outcome save a mauling could be considered her fault, and as to that... well. She would just have to be on the sands with her charge to protect her, wouldn't she? If it was what Aurum wanted, she had no business stopping her. Folding her arms over her stomach, she canted her head thoughtfully to the side, drawling lazily, "I see no reason he would, milady. Certainly no one would dare do you a harm in such a place as that, and he has been so very busy."

Of course, she expected that convincing the Weyr to let her onto the sands with her charge would be a task of legendary proportions, but on that, she would be adamant. She stood beside Aurum, or Aurum stayed in the stands. She had seen what a mauling could do to a person. There was no chance she would allow Aurum out there alone with that hazard. It was simply not going to happen.

She just hoped the Weyr was all she had to argue on that one. Aurum could be stubborn when she chose.