I’m New

Posted on Sun Nov 3rd, 2024 @ 12:43am by Green Rider Ouemi & Green Rider Lyna
Edited on on Sun Nov 3rd, 2024 @ 12:48am

Mission: 3531 AL
Location: Dining Cavern

It was hard being new, shy, and lonely. And Ouemi was all three at the moment.

She had arrived only two days ago and had yet to actually talk to anybody. She always felt shy in new situations, so approaching people was difficult. But it was clear she was going to have to take the first step. So this morning, she arrived in the dining cavern and began looking around while she collected her breakfast. She was just going to have to find an empty seat next to someone and introduce herself.

There was one! Near the end of a table sat a woman next to an empty seat. Since she wouldn’t be crammed between two people, it would feel less awkward to sit there if the woman was not interested in talking to her. So, she wound her way through the crowd with her breakfast to stand next to the woman. “Excuse me,” she said, forcing herself to speak up a bit. “Is this seat free?”

Lyna had just been thinking about all the new riders she had met over the last couple of days to glance up from her porridge to see one of them asking her if the seat was free. She smiled up at the younger green rider from the knots on her shoulder and indicated to the much younger woman to sit down. "Please sit down." She instructed softly.

Ouemi grinned and visibly relaxed as she sat down. “Thanks,” she said. “I just arrived a couple of days ago and I still don’t know anybody. I’m Ouemi, by the way, Xoviorath’s rider.”

"Lyna, rider of Lath." Lyna introduced as she looked around at the busy cavern. It made a change for it to be packed, it was a big sign of the Weyr healing. "Which Weyr did you come from?" She wondered making conversation to start the process of getting to know the woman.

“The Reaches,” answered Ouemi. “I think it’s going to take me a while to get used to this weather.” She grinned, then added, “how about you? Are you from here or elsewhere?”

“Here. I grew up at Kymos Hold and then when I impressed I never left.” Lyna had never wanted to leave when N’rean was there as well as Rean, Nerlyn, Neilla and Cathlyn. They were her children after all and she had affection for them wanting to see them thrive. “My mate likes it here and my children all impressed here.” She stated as an after thought as she saw one of her children walking in to the cavern with her son in tow.

“Well, that makes it all neat and tidy,” Ouemi commented. “It’s nice to be around family. I think I’ll probably miss mine, but nothing’s really very far with a dragon.”

“Not at all.” Lyna always liked the north in wintertime to see Lath‘a reactions to snow. It was the same like she forgot every turn. “It makes it neat and tidy and sometimes complicated,” Lyna said as Nerlyn walked in their direction.

“Good morning mum,” Nerlyn said quietly as she squeezed herself into the space between Lyna and a brown rider who looked at Nerlyn with amusement before he shifted a little more to give her and the little one at least a little space.

Emboldened by her success in introducing herself to Lyna, Ouemi offered the newcomer a smile. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Ouemi. Just transferred in from the Reaches.”

The Dragonless rider smiled at the woman. "Nerlyn. Always been here." Nerlyn explained. She was not sure that there would ever be another home for her though she had been offered several other positions over the last 3 turns, she just could not bear the idea of leaving K'ron. "Lots of northern riders getting a little southern culture shocked this sevenday."

Ouemi grinned. “It’s definitely different,” she replied. “Mostly the weather. But then, I’ve only been here for two days, so I suppose we’ll see.”

“We get tropical storms mid year but it’s not bad.” Nerlyn smiled as Rean wiggled impatiently in her lap before climbing onto Lyna determined to get her porridge. “Here you are Nerlyn.” A drudge said kindly passing the woman a tray.

“Thanks Lenya.” The woman said thankful that the other woman had seen her struggling with the amount of people and her son and had offered to bring it over. Lenya nodded with a squeeze to her shoulder before disappearing back into the crowd.

“Tropical storms sound a right sight better than blizzards,” offered Ouemi. “Although I suppose both can be bad.”

“They can.” Nerlyn assured quickly. She had never seen snow but colder weather just seemed like something she would not at all need like. She did not like rain let alone blizzards.

“Are there any activities unique to the south?” Ouemi asked curiously. “Work and/or play, I mean. You know, like we have to clear snow in the Reaches, and we also play in the snow- sledding and building snow holds and stuff.”

Nerlyn raised an eyebrow. She had never actually considered something like that. “I do not know,” Nerlyn said thoughtfully.

“We have harvest day?” Lyna said. “It happens about month 9 where everyone riders, crafters and weyrfolk go to the jungle and harvest the fields together and then have a big party but I think that might be unique to this Weyr.” That was right Nerlyn had not been well the last 2 turns to get involved but it had always been a great day. Lyna smiled a little as she noticed Nerlyn’s eyes glazed over as she remembered. The green rider was used to her elder daughter’s reflections and zone-outs but the other woman would not and hoped she did not notice. “We get to swim with dolphins and just enjoy the jungle around here and that is unique to the south.”

As luck would have it, Ouemi was fairly unobservant- at least socially. So, the unusual behavior went unnoticed. Even if she had seen it, though, she was tactful enough to not mention it. Still, Lyna had pulled her attention, so she was focused on her rather than anyone around them. “That actually sounds like a lot of fun,” she replied. “Including the harvest part. I used to love that when i was a kid. There’s something so satisfying about pulling tubers out of the ground or snipping greens or even picking berries off of bushes. I was the only kid in the whole Hold who cheerfully did twice as much as I had to. But, swimming with dolphins sounds fun, too. I’ve never done that.”

"It is normally the fourth rest day of month 9." Lyna added thinking there was no way the woman could miss it but she offered the date so there was no exclusion.

"I'm a dolphineer so we do it often," Nerlyn said gently as she came back from her thoughts and took the boy from the dragon rider intent on getting him to eat something more than sharing porridge. "Eat Rean then we can go swimming." She bribed gently giving the boy his own bowl and spoon.

“Shells, I wish I could go swimming!” said Ouemi, addressing the boy. “I’ll bet you’re a good swimmer, huh?”

"Mama makes sure and Oceania stays with me like Koda" Rean said looking up at the woman intrigued.

"Oceania is my partner and Koda is his father's fire lizard," Nerlyn explained as the boy took a mouthful of porridge. Nerlyn smiled fondly at the boy he was barely 3 turns but so bright and knowledgeable about the Weyr. He was certainly the best of her and K'ron.

"You are a green rider?" He questioned seeing the same ropes on her shoulders as Lyna.

“Sure am,” answered Ouemi in the same tone she’d been using with the adults. “Mine’s called Xoviorath. She’s silly.”

“Xoviorath… that is a long name.” The boy declared taking another bite. “But I like it.” He added knowing riders were very serious about their dragons apart from Z’ran. The bronze rider was unserious about everything despite his mate telling him off often which made Rean laugh more.

“Yes, it is,” agree Ouemi. “She lets me call her Xov, though. It saves a lot of time.”

The little boy smiled. "Mama, did Leanath allow you to do that?" He wondered making Nerlyn blink for a moment as Lyna froze mid-bite and just stared at her eldest daughter wondering her reaction. The boy had no idea that asking a question like that might hurt and reveal something that Nerlyn did not want right then and there.

"She did. She let me call her Lea." Nerlyn answered gathering herself with a sad smile. "Just like your father calls his dragon Ty."

Ouemi’s brow wrinkled momentarily in confusion, then a dawning comprehension came to her face followed by careful schooling of her features to ambient cheerfulness. “Lots of dragons let their riders call them nicknames,” she told the boy. She might be unobservant, but that didn’t mean she was tactless.

The boy looked at his mother and nodded placated by the answer returning to his meal silent. Lyna glanced at Ouemi and shook her head once to indicate to ignore it all. "So.. Um... which wing did you get put in?" Nerlyn asked finally as she pushed around the food in her bowl for a moment.

The look was not lost on Ouemi, but the change of topic was slightly jarring after the realization of what must have happened, so she was a little disoriented for a moment. “Uh… topaz,” she answered after only a moment’s hesitation. “I haven’t been to drills, yet, so I haven’t met anybody. I’m due to start today.” Truth be told, she was incredibly nervous. She was always nervous in new situations. It didn’t matter that she knew the wingleader’s name, where to meet the wing and that she had been doing this job for turns. She was nervous and would be until she and Xoviorath were deep into drills. Subconsciously, she had started chewing her lip.

Nerlyn glanced up and looked to Lyna who smiled despite the worry that was etched into her face at times where her eldest was concerned. "You'll be fine in Topaz," Nerlyn assured as she watched Raen finish up his bowl of porridge whilst she was still deciding if she liked the taste or not. She was convinced it was the food but no one else seemed to notice the metallic taste.

"Eat some more up Ner." Lyna encouraged. "She is correct think of me stuck with F'cone," Lyna said in a hushed whispered and a wink at the new rider.

Ouemi looked exactly like a sheepish herdbeast caught outside by the Beastmaster when he was supposed to be in the barn. “I don’t know who that is,” she replied with a bit of a mischievous grin.

"You will learn," Lyna said with a small smirk over her Klah as she looked at others rising for drills around them and realised it was her drill mates in question which meant if she was quick she would be late herself. "You, my lovely need to be good for the creche workers and your mother," Lyna instructed the little boy as she started to gather her items onto her tray.

"Leave them. I'll take them when I leave." Nerlyn said quickly. Lyna paused in hesitation but nodded with a grateful smile and a quick pat on her shoulder.

"It was lovely to meet you Ouemi." The older woman assured as she at least put her mug on the tray.

“It was nice to meet you, too, Lyna,” Ouemi replied. “I should probably be on my way, too, so I’m not late. First impressions and all.”

“You will be okay in Topaz. The wingleader is a sensible man. Great start to your career at this Weyr.” Lyna assured the woman. Nerlyn smiled at the pair as her morning was a lot slower than her own.

“It was nice meeting you, too, Nerlyn and Rean,” she told the mother and son as she finished her own klah and stood. “I’m sure I’ll see you again sometime!” She waved to the boy as she hurried to return her mug and bowl to the kitchens before heading to the appointed area to meet her new wingleader.