[Igen - PRP] Oh Worm! (for thali)

[Thaliawen]

8

“I’m sure it’ll appreciate it, in its own way.” Tunnelsnakes weren’t weren’t like dragons. They didn’t know anything but to bite if they were frightened and to eat it they were hungry. “I appreciate it, in any case,” she offered him a smile. The kindness, even towards a creature who couldn’t understand, was somehow important to her.

“I haven’t been,” she said. “What was it like before?”  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 9

S'var nodded and smiled slightly in response, you didn't do what you thought was right at the time to be appreciated but it was still uplifting.

"Well, Igen was always one of the smallest Weyrs on Pern - yet it has one of the largest territories to patrol," S'var began, relaxing back into his chair as he fell easily into the role of orator. "Much of it doesn't need to be flown during Passes, the deeps of the desert are unpopulated and barren, but it's still important to keen an eye on everything and so Igen riders are - were - expected to fly more sweeps than is common in most other Weyrs. Also, like Ista and the some of the Southern Weyrs at low altitude, all outdoor work ceased here during the middle of the day and labourers would take a rest out of the heat. A hardy lot the folk of Igen, hot days and cold nights to deal with and terrible sandstorms at some times of the turn. They used to joke that it made it easy to keeps the Sands topped up though." S'var said this last with a soft chuckle and a wistful smile for things lost.  

[Thaliawen]

Leiya leaned back and listened to S’var, sipping quietly at her tea. She wished she’d seen Igen while it had been a busy weyr, despite being small. It must have had bigger wings than their fifteen! It was a lot like the South, then? Probably why they’d chosen it.

She wasn’t looking forward to Fort’s weather.

“Sandstorms?” She echoed. Like their tropical weather... “I hope we don’t see one of them.” She said, after he’d finished. “I’m sorry I couldn’t see Igen while it was active.” Had the plague wiped them all out, or had they fled it?  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 10

"As do I, but fortunately I don't think they're very common at this time of the turn." Sand blowing around in the air definitely didn't sound like his cup of tea, or anyone's for that matter. "I wouldn't be surprised if Igen is the first Weyr the Weyrleaders seek to repopulate," S'var mused with a thoughtful look around the place. "I don't think they would be ready to do so before Julith's clutch graduates, but its small size makes it a sensible target and Weyrleader W'dol hails from here - he might wish to reclaim his home." S'var would if he were the bluerider, but of course his own eyes would be aimed rather further north.  

[Thaliawen]

10

Leiya nodded in appreciation. It was the wrong time of turn for it. “I can’t imagine being out in one,” she said. Sand on its own, on the ground was fine. But blowing, hot, hitting skin and anything in its path...

“It would make sense. I hope I can see it repopulated.” She hoped she’d live that long. “It would be interesting to see how the Weyrleader ran a new weyr, wouldn’t it?”  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 11

"I hope so too," S'var smiled, he hoped it for all of them but especially for the youngsters among them.

"Interesting indeed." S'var rubbed his chin thoughtfully and shifted slightly in his chair to ease a building ache in his back from the day's exertions. "I haven't heard yet how W'dol and D'lana intend to organise leadership and succession going forward. If there is a gold among Julith's clutch perhaps they will revert to the old ways, there is no obvious golden shell but we've been surprised before."  

[Thaliawen]

“It’ll be interesting, certainly.” If there was a gold in the clutch, a surviving gold... Maybe they could repopulate Pern. They’d be saved! Thread made the clutches bigger, didn’t they?

She looked thoughtful. “It’ll be nice to see Pern alive again,” she said. She took a sip of her tea. She leaned forward. She seemed ready, at last, to share what was troubling her. “I’m worried about the clutch, though. With the exposure and their being so young. We’ll lose dragon and candidate alike. It won’t be pleasant.”  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 12

As Leiya spoke S'var sobered again and nodded as he looked down into his tea. "I have questioned this mission sometimes, late at night," he admitted, his voice heavy with sorrow. "Perhaps the north's greens can clutch enough dragons quickly enough to prepare for the new Pass, we haven't seen enough of their capabilities to know for sure. For all we know, like green whers, they will very seldom lay. Perhaps each green can only clutch once in her life. So many possibilities, for good and ill. The only thing that seems near certain is that some of Julith's clutch will die and yet...." He paused, looked up, and gave a little smile. "Where there is life there is hope, and while I remain conflicted about this I believe it was the right decision. If there is a gold within the clutch and she grows up healthy, and seemingly immune as all the surviving northern dragons, then there are far fewer uncertainties. Whatever becomes of us, and indeed the rest of this clutch, the theoretical gold would put many minds and rest in Hold and Hall. If not, but if she lays greens who survive, that is still something."

S'var took another slow sip of his tea and then concluded;

"Sometimes even the right choice brings suffering and leaves your conscience uneasy, but better to act than to stand back and do nothing."  

[Thaliawen]

12

They knew so little about the North’s greens. A green that clutched only four eggs once per turn would be no help to anyone when Thread arrived. Julith’s clutch might survive. Leiya swallowed and nodded. She wasn’t sure about life and hope yet. They were teetering on the edge of both, but maybe...

“A gold...” She echoed, in thought. A gold would save all Pern. They clutched more during Thread and they were reliable. If there was one... “We might be able to repopulate the Weyrs.” And the Greens, however small their clutches were, could help.

She took a thoughtful sip of her tea. “You’re right,” she said. “It would be nice if the right choice was clear and kind.”  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 13

"That we might, but even if there's no gold we would certainly have reason to be hopeful with for instance six extra greens." S'var took another sip of tea, a thoughtful expression overtaking his face as he ran some potential numbers. "Let us say for example that green dragons are more like firelizards than whers and clutch once a turn - the population could grow very quickly. But of course we have no way of being certain of anything yet - I believe two of Malsalth's green daughters have yet to rise, and I know the strangeness of some of the green-born dragons is a cause for concern to some people."

Clear and kind, it would be nice indeed. "In a world that can be cruel and senseless I find that small acts of kindness are a great comfort."  

[Thaliawen]

13

Six new greens would certainly help. Would it be as useful as a gold might be? She took a breath and considered it for a long moment. “I hope not,” she muttered. A clutch once per turn... And small. She hoped that wasn’t the case.

“They’re adapting,” she said. But it was a guess. Maybe the strange-greens would lay more eggs, more often. Or maybe they would be stronger.

“You’re right,” she said. An act of kindness might pave the way towards that goal. Now... if only they had something to go with the tea.  

[TawnyAngel]

S'var 14

"Perhaps so," S'var agreed with a slight incline of his head, "and of course it's always possible that one of the greens will clutch a gold in the end; all of this is uncharted territory, quite something to be a part of." If Nemanath survived he would certainly enjoy watching the continued clutching of greens, novelty and change had always fascinated him.

"Shall we see if there's anything to eat?" S'var added suddenly, unaware that he was echoing Leiya's thoughts. "Something sweet to go with the tea sounds tempting, but I'm not sure we have anything much like that except for some dried fruit."