Where the shards--- oh yeah. Right.

[amielle]

Teal eyes took in the tastefully decorated weyr with suspicion. Well, it wasn't the first time she had woken up in an unfamiliar weyr and the lack of headache told her that it had been a flight, not alcohol, that was muddling her senses. She reached out, briefly touching Astrafith's mind. A sudden feral grin crept over her features as she recalled what had went on the day before. An Ash. An honest to Faranth junior queen who had survived past Weyrling hood without going mad or from lack of other dragons around, since it was obviously an out of Weyr Impression. A strong queen, then, with a strong, determined rider. The best blood to bring back to Sunset. her mother would be very, very pleased, even if Wrath was a little testy around other females. Personally, Ciri thought that that contributed to all their young Brass and Ash dragons going mad, but she would never tell her mother that.

She reached over for her clothes, not wanting to face the questions she was going to have to deal with in a moment naked. Personal preference, she liked having the upper hand. And the pretty queenrider, who no doubt had no clue that her Ash could easily challenge Black Obsidian's violets for the Sr. Queen position, was most definitely naked and therefore more vulnerable than a clothed conversation partner. Although it would probably be a bit more of an interrogation than a conversation.

Briefly Ciri wondered if any riders remained from the time that her mother had Impressed. She sincerely hoped not. She couldn't outright lie, but there were certainly details about her history that she was going to omit and being in any way related to Luci was one of them. That little omission would not go far, if anyone had actually known her mother, since the two women looked far too alike not to be related.

She looked down as Azelle moved, obviously waking up. "Ah, nice weyr you have here," she greeted, trying to seem more nervous than she was. It would be good to project a weaker, more confused image, if only to give her more time to think and analyse and to be able to explain some hesitations.

Yes my queen, quite a beautiful weyr you have made yourself. It surprises us that yours is not the Queen's weyr, however. To listen to violets, for one such as yourself is... odd.[/color] Astrafith nuzzled Emerbyth possessively.

[dragoncharm]

Warmth was the first thing Azelle registered. She was very warm, but it was not uncomfortable. Actually, it made her feel good. Her body ached in places it had never ached before, but she was happy. In a little bubble of warmth and happiness. She rolled over. Last night had been such....

Wait. Last night? What had happened last night? Sleepily, she reached out for Emberyth, and found her Lifemate's mind wrapped in a cocoon of contentment and love. Love? Oh... And it came back. Emberyth had Risen last night. And that meant...The Ashrider reluctantly opened her eyes, and found her staring into the face of another woman. Astrafith's rider. And suddenly Azelle became aware of exactly what those aches meant. Well...shards. Maybe she should not have entered the Flight a virgin.

At a loss for what to do, the Ashrider gave a silent plea for help to Emberyth, but the Ash stirred only slightly, sending an absent reassuring feeling to her bonded without really taking her mind off of her mate. Defeated, Azelle looked down, away from that gaze, and that was when she remembered that she had no clothes on.

"Ah, nice weyr you've got here."

Confusion flickered through the Ashrider's face for a moment, and she cast a glance around at her weyr as if afraid maybe something had changed. The topic of conversation the rider chose was...unexpected. Looking back at the tealrider, Azelle sat up, clutching the sheets high so as not to reveal anything, feeling very self-conscious. She wasn't quite sure what to do...She opened her mouth and meant to thank the rider - at a loss for what else to say - but what came out instead was, "Who are you?"

Well, all things considered, it was a legitimate question. After all, she'd just made love with a woman - a woman - that she did not know, that couldn't even be from the same Weyr. She'd come from nowhere with an oddly-colored teal just in time for the Ash's Rise. Azelle thought she deserved to know who the odd pair were.

Emberyth purred to her mate as he nuzzled her, wrapping more snugly around the teal. His words surprised her. Odd? My love, what do you mean? Violets are the queens. Why would I not take orders from there? She paused, then lowered her head to nuzzle him slightly. Perhaps now would be a good time to fulfill the favor you promised me, Astrafith.

[amielle]

Ciri paused, wondering exactly how much truth was a good idea. More than less, she determined, since lying too much could get her into trouble later and anyway Astra would be telling Embryth about herself. "Ciri, rider to opal Astrafith," she introduced herself with a little shrug. "I was wandering with Astra. Never expected to see another Cursed around here, especially not a queen. Astra decided that it would be a good idea to try and chase and since Ash dragons usually prefer other cursed, I guess he caught her even if he's only an opal" she smiled a bit at that, not bothering to hide her pride in that accomplishment. "What's your name and how did you end up here anyway? Never thought I'd run into other cursed."

Astrafith was a dragon and dragons were not prone to lying, which is why he had no problems telling Emeryth exactly what she needed to know. He did, however, decide not to mention that he was still following Wrath., It would probably not make his pretty mate keep him and anyway, neither Ciri nor Wrath herself wanted that information divulged and his first loyalty was to his Queen and his rider. We are the wrathcursed, my queen[/color] he told her quietly. Our queens are the brass and the ash. You are the match and measure of any violet. We are descendants of Wrath, the golden Queen who wanted to rule Pern and was blessed with us, her special children.[/i][/color]

[dragoncharm]

A moment passed in silence, and Azelle's wide eyes watched the strange woman whose dragon had Caught hers. The rider seemed to be deliberating, which seemed odd to the Ashrider, but she waited anyway, unwilling to be the first to speak. If there was one thing she'd learned in the harsh Turns of living on her own, it was that people who hesitated to reveal themselves usually had something to hide.

And indeed, the stranger's words were strange and shocking from the very first sentence. Opal? What, by Faranth, did she mean? Astrafith was a Teal. A bit oddly-colored, sure, but he looked like a Teal - had to be one. Then some of the words that were spoken last night drifted back to the Ashrider as if from a foggy dream. "Beautiful queen.."..."You are special..."..."...Too good for this Weyr.." "Too good..".."Not like us.."..."...Tell me who I am..." Who I am...

The world seemed slightly unsteady in Azelle's eyes for a moment. Not like us...like us. Female Onyxes. Counterparts to Teals? After all that had happened, what wasn't possible? Then the self-proclaimed Ciri was speaking again, and the Ashrider listened, but what she heard did not make any sense to her. She understood the words, but could glean little meaning to them. Never expected to see another Cursed around...not a queen...prefer other Cursed...only an opal... What could she be talking about? Emberyth was an Onyx. A female, but still an Onyx. Azelle had named her an Ash to give her something to call her dragon...but the way Ciri spoke, it was as if she already knew the title given to Emberyth. And Azelle was sure she'd never mentioned it yesterday. hah. As if I would have...I think I was a bit too distracted for that.

But why did she call Emberyth "queen"? Ciri talked as if Emberyth were as good as a violet, and Astrafith "lowly' like a blue...or Teal? But what puzzled Azelle the most was the use of that word. Cursed. Cursed? Why would anyone call themselves that? Emberyth wasn't "cursed". Different, but just as good as any other.

"I..don't understand what you mean," she replied slowly, knowing it had been several moments since the Tea - Opalrider had spoken. "I'm Azelle, of Emberyth. I don't understand your talk of cursed things. I found Emberyth's egg in the wild, where someone or something had abandoned it, and she hatched and Impressed to me. We lived on our own quite well until she saw this Weyr, and got curious. She wanted to see...they accepted us, and we stayed." Her voice, carefully neutral, rose slightly in pride at the end. So what if Emberyth was different? She was accepted.

The Ash listened closely to Astrafith without a word. She'd always known she was different, always wondered, and here was someone who finally could tell her. Her bonded's confused mind was a distant thing; she was focused with a sort of delighted intensity on her mate, drinking in every word. The equal of a violet! And she'd never known. When he was done, she was full of questions. But why are we called "cursed", if we are special, my Astrafith? And why was I not born among you as well? Mine found my egg abandoned...

((sorry for quick end, have to run))

[amielle]

Ciri nodded. It was obvious that neither Azelle nor Embryth had ever learned anything about the cursed, which was a bit of a relief. As long as she and Astra told the same story, everything should be fine. They could even rise to great ranks, here. She almost smiled. Azelle might well be Jr. Weyrwoman, making Ciri a Jr. Weyrleader, however that would work. Maybe going back to her own Weyr was not that attractive a prospect. "You have heard of the mad Queen Wrath, who brought shame and hardship upon this Weyr with her ambitions?" She wrapped her arms around herself as if protecting herself from the memory. "To mark her disgrace, all dragons born from her are strange. I am lucky, teals and opals are extremely similar, to the point that they are almost the same thing. But the others... They are all born to be opposites of the dragons of the rest of Pern. Instead of male Onyx, there are female Ash. Instead of beautiful golden Queens, we have strong male Coppers. Our queens are the bronze-hued Brass dragons, our Junior queens are not Violet, but cunning Ash. You, my pretty weyrmate, are a queenrider, ranked just as high as any of the violetriders here." She looked triumphant at that. "Wrath rarely ever cared much for a clutch, despite being a Queen. When I Impressed Astrafith, we had to first find the clutch hidden in a cave on the beach that threatened to flood each high tide. It was very hard to get to. Only three of us Impressed, then." Her expression darkened. Despite being bonded to the only being she loved in the world, that night, it had not been a particularly pleasant moment. Seven candidates lay dead, after that and she was sure that she had seen the half-feral ruby who had hatched just before Astrafith claimed her start eating one of the corpses. She usually avoided that particular dragon and his rider, they were some of the very rare people she was actually a little afraid of.

Astrafith nuzzled her. We are cursed because we are born of mad Queen,[/color], he told her gently. One who cares little for her eggs and who does abandon clutches like a silly green flit would.[/color] It pained him to speak ill of the Gold who ruled his life, but it was necessary. Mine as well, needed to seek out my clutch. A few are lost. You must have been one of them. But surely you have always known your rank! Just as the Onyx are second only to the Bronze, the Ash are second only to the Brass,of equal rank and much more beautiful than any of those garishly coloured violets.

[dragoncharm]

At Ciri's question, Azelle nodded, surprised. "I've heard...tales..." she admitted, thinking of the snippets that had come to her ears the past couple of Turns; very few had actually known the queen, very few left at Black Obsidian anyway, but everyone knew the story. Wrath was supposed to be as bad as her name, a terrible, mad gold with a powerhungry rider, whose hide was as fiery as her soul. At least, that's what the stories hinted at - stories quickly becoming legends.

But of the children she spoke of....of that Azelle knew nothing. Children the opposite gender of what they're supposed to be? Like Emberyth. Like her female Onyx, her Ash. Emberyth is Wrath's daughter? The daughter of the terrible queen? That couldn't be right. But all the facts added up.

Pretty weyrmate? Since when were they weyrmates? Their dragons were mates, yes, but...them? Azelle didn't even like women. Or...at least...she didn't think she did. What was happening, and why was so much changing so fast? The Ashrider almost wished she could shut Ciri's mouth, make her and all her truths leave. But Azelle had asked for an explanation, and she was getting one. Even if she didn't like it.

Ashes were queens. The violets and golds were male - how impossible, yet it had happened - so Onyxes and Bronzes were the next...switched to females. The highest ranked. The queens. Emberyth is a queen. Azelle wasn't sure if she liked that. The Violets and the Golds were the queens, their riders the leaders. Azelle was no leader, not at all. But you don't have to...nobody here knows that, and there are violets to lead. Still, even the prospect ran a chill down her back.

She caught the darkening of the Opalrider's face, and frowned. She didn't know what had happened, but she thought she could understand, even a litlte bit. "Impressing Emberyth was scary, too..." she murmured, half to herself. "Wonderful, but scary."

"Ciri," she suddenly said, looking up. "Do you have...a whole..Weyr of these dragons? You talk as if you do. A whole Weyr of Wrath's children?"

For a moment Emberyth was silent, digesting what her mate told her. I never knew... she disagreed, shaking her head. I'm really a queen? If I lived...where you lived...I'd be a queen?

((again...sorry for skipping over some...should have put in more, but am kinda in a hurry))

[amielle]

Ciri snorted at the question. Azelle seemed so insecure, so unsure of herself. That could maybe be a good thing. If she was insecure, she'd be easier to manipulate. But also she'd be more suspicious. "I'd hardly call us a Weyr," she temporised. "But there are quite a few of us, yes. Dragons are social creatures, they feel better knowing they have some kind of structure, but we are more free ranging and there are not that many of us." She shrugged. "But we are not alone. Your Embryth is the only Ash I've seen with a rider. There was one in Astra's clutch, but she went between when she didn't see a suitable Candidate. But yeah, she's a Queen, at least a junior one. The equal of a Violet, second only to Golds and Brass." She paused. "That would make you junior Weyrwoman here, wouldn't it, since Embryth is the second Queen to rise."

She turned, moving as if to gather her things. "So how did you find Embryth, anyway? I've never really heard of any dragons from the lost clutches Impressing. I always just thought that they went between like the dragons that don't Impress at clutches." She frowned. "I'm surprised no one's ever spoken of Wrath to you. Or the curse. They know of the curse at Zenith, I'm sure or it." The Weyr Luci loved to hate almost as much as Black Obsidian, since all the riders who had wronged her had run to that Weyr. Maybe the news hadn't even traveled to Zenith. Luci was always careful.

Of course,[/color] he said, surprised. Even here, you are a queen, my beauty. They just do not know it, or do not acknowledge. You have influence over others of lesser rankIt is innate. We all feel your influence, like we feel that of the violets.[/color]

[dragoncharm]

Quite a few of them. How many is quite a few? That was very vague, and it made Azelle curious. Just how much did Queens clutch? And how often? How old was Wrath? And Emberyth's one of these...these Wrathcursed. Wow. And she could agree with Ciri's diagnoses of dragons being social - after all, it was Emberyth who had wanted to come here, when she'd seen other dragons. It made sense for the unusual dragons to want to be in a Weyr together.

Only Ash with a rider? That was odd. And sad. Azelle frowned when Ciri told of the Ash who betweened. That was really sad. She was suddenly fervently glad she happened to be there when Emberyth hatched...or the flecked Ash would have shared the same fate. But the only Ash? Did that mean Azelle was the only Ashrider...there was, after all? As she'd always thought? Or just the only one Ciri knew...that was still a bit stunning.

A bit? it was all stunning. Here Azelle was, learning there was a whole other kind of dragon! And she'd never known; nobody at Black Obsidian knew. Did anyone at all know, that wasn't with the stranger riders? She thought of asking, but decided to hold her tongue. Maybe it wasn't the best question to ask.

Junior Weyrwoman?! What? She wasn't - Ali was the Junior Weyrwoman. Valexith was the Violet. But Emberyth did Fly first... And Emberyth was supposedly the equal ofg the Violet. Did that make it true? Could she declare jherself Junior Weyrwoman, if she wished? If the Ash said something, would the dragons have to listen? But...that was insane! Azelle didn't want to be Weyrwoman; she didn't know how, she didn't know anything. Akri was such a strong Weyrwoman, and Z'dyn such a sure Weyrleader - but Azelle? She could never do anything liek that. Teach a bit, yes. If there's someone else to do the most...lead? No. No way. That scared her. A lot.

"W..Weyrwoman? N-no, I'm not. I couldn't be. It's Ali and Valexith..." No, she wasn't. She didn't have to be. Nobody in the Weyr knew. She could just keep it that way. Anyway, if she was Junior Weyrwoman ,that would make Ciri Weyr...leader? How would that work? And Ciri wasn't even of this Weyr! She was a stranger that Azelle didn't even know. Neither of them could lead. "No, I won't be," she muttered. "I don't have to be. I won't."

She was relieved when Ciri changed the subject, asking how she'd gotten Emberyth. The Opalrider turned to gather her things - Azelle was torn between relief and disappointment at that; part of her wanted the rider to stay, tell her more, part of her wanted her far away - and the Ashrider picked that moment to duck down and grab a tunic that was lying on the floor beside the bed, and struggle to get it on. She felt much less vulnerable with the cloth settling over her skin. "It was luck, chance...or Faranth's intervention," she murmured. "I found it, and thought it was a rock...until it hatched and I heard a voice in my head. And Emberyth was there." She purposely left out the part about her family being Shunned, her living alone for several Turns....nobody needed to know about that. Especially not Ciri. "As for knowing of Wrath...I've heard stories - there's apparently one rider left here who knew Wrath's rider - but nothing more. Vague stories. Nothing about - about...Wrathcursed.

Even here, Emberyth was a Queen. A Queen! And she had never known. Nobody ever seemed to disagree with her or anything, true...but she'd never thought much of it. A queen. A queen that could rule. Emberyth liked that. Unlike her rider, she had no problem with ruling. She wasn't power-hungry, but...now that she knew, it was like an instinct inflated her. She could order, if she wished. Influence, will, and be obeyed. Like a queen. Even have Hers be Junior Weyrwoman, if she wanted.

Azelle and I lived alone for a while before we found this place, Emberyth murmured, half to herself. They were very good to us. Suddenly she looked up and asked, What's it like where you're from, Astrafith? Her curiosity was piqued. Was there actually a place where she could fit in?

[amielle]

Astrafith wasn't too sure how to answer that. Il is... difficult,[/color] he admitted. You are better here, where you are junior queen. Yours is better here. It is most difficult for the riders. They can be... competitive. Dangerous.[/color]

Ciri smiled a bit. "Emberyth was lucky," she murmured quietly. "Or maybe not. Dragons can call to us from in their eggs. I felt a bond with Astrafith before we even formally Impressed." She remembered the feeling of confidence as she watched the dragons hatching, instinctively looking for the mottled teal hide she had seen in her dream the night before. "The Wrathcursed know us. Our bonds are stronger. They have to be. No one else will stand with us."

She shrugged when Azelle spoke of Wrath. "There's more than one, I think, who remembers Luci and Wrath. I know of a few in Zenith Weyr." A few who had very nearly injured her, chasing both she and Astrafith away. She could feel the opal's anger at the memory, sending him a soothing thought. Those who did remember Luci didn't miss the resemblance between Ciri and her mother and that caused them no end of grief. "You're lucky you didn't know and that they didn't know. Astra and I have had trouble with them." She let her bitterness show. "You were lucky to find this Weyr."

[dragoncharm]

Slowly, Azelle nodded. She completely understood; she'd always had a very, very close relationship with Emberyth, but she'd taken it for granted - and once she got to Black Obsidian Weyr and noticed, she'd thought it was because of the Turns they'd spent alone together. Now she understood.

Zenith Weyr. She'd heard of that Weyr, but knew nothing of it, except that it was supposedly where Wrath came from. She suppose it made sense, then, that they'd remember. She saw the pained look, part anger and part grief, on Ciri's face, and felt a small pang. It was really hard for these riders - us riders she corrected with a shock - what with everyone who remembered them disliking them for what they couldn't help, having to stay by themselves, or hiding what they were when they came - or at least she supposed that's what they - we - did. But Azelle couldn't say for sure because she didn't really know. Why did that make her uneasy?

"I suppose I am." Yes, yes, she was lucky. Lucky that they could live here in peace and ignorance, lucky they took her in, lucky the Weyr was kind to strangers. Would she be so lucky with Ciri here, part of her wondered, or was she better off in her ignorance?

Time would tell, and there was no going back now. "Ciri," she said suddenly, "what are you going to do now?" Azelle wanted to know - was the Opalrider planning on staying, or going back home? Emberyth wanted Astrafith to stay, but what of the foreign pair wasn't welcome, or wanted to be elsewhere> And of course there was another querstion, one she didn't voice: What amI going to do now?

Dangerous? Emberyth repeated, curling in on herself. How? Why? Why are they like that, and why do you live there if it's so difficult?

[amielle]

Ciri was almost taken aback at the question. She could see that Azelle understood. It was hard to be Wrathcursed and not feel different. It was hard, the stares, the lack of comprehension even from other riders when one talked of one's dragon as your soul. Most riders were close to their dragons, but most could survive the death of their dragon. Few of the cursed riders could, as dependent on the huge beasts as their dragons were on them. "I don't know," she said honestly. "I thought that I would stay here for a bit, at least until the clutch hatches. It'll be nice, to have a change. Astra might like it. He's been bored and I know he wants to stay with Emberyth now. It will be nice to be away from certain... more unconventional elements of our Weyr, as well." She shrugged. "I suppose I'll have to deal with your Weyrwoman and Weyrleader eventually. They can't be worse than what I'm used to."

It is why we are called cursed not blessed, Astrafith told Emberyth with the draconic equivalent of a shrug. There is much competition and madness and violence. It is not a pretty world. You are far better here as is yours.[/color]