In the Mood for Gossip

Writers: Francesca, Yvonne
Date Posted: 20th March 2021

Characters: Kamalia, H'run
Description: Kamalia and H'run gossip over breakfast.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 6 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Kadira, Arrilon, K'mai, L'val, Lanniya
mentor approved

H'run

Kamalia's eyes scanned the Dining Cavern, a mug of steaming klah in
one hand and a plate piled with bread, jam, dried fruit and nuts, and
a pastry in the other. She was in the mood for some gossip, and there
were a few blue and greenriders she had in mind that would be perfect
to talk to.

As soon as she saw H'run, a few tables away, her mouth parted in a big
smile. He seemed to always know what was going on around the Weyr.
Maybe she could learn something new. "H'run," she called happily,
taking the liberty of sitting across the table from her wingmate.
"You're just the person I wanted to see."

The bluerider yawned. "Kamalia, how dare you look so radiant this
morning. It's so very-- _morning_."

"I'm just lucky to be a morning person," Kamalia replied, blushing
slightly at being called radiant. "I also find a morning bath helps
wake me up, and then the klah," she gestured to her mug, "keeps me
up." She took a sip and sighed happily. "So, did anything exciting
keep you up last night?"

The light brush of pink across her cheeks was very attractive. H'run
studied her with renewed interest as he took a sip from his klah.
"Only exciting if you're me, I'm afraid. I was doing research."

"Research?" That wasn't what she was expecting to hear.

"Mmm." His sleepy gaze sharpened at her interest. "I went back to
Dream's End Weyr to go through their archives. Not that they haven't
and I certainly trust their Dragonharper's research abilities... but
sometimes a man just has to see for himself."

Now this conversation was resembling some she'd had with her brother.
What was it with harpers and archives? Still, Kamalia's curiosity was
piqued. "What were you looking for? And, did you find it?"

He smiled. "Yes and no. I was looking into blueriders. I'm sure you
can imagine why."

"Oh?" That was certainly interesting, although Kamalia wasn't seeing
connections between the recent Impression of a woman to a blue with
digging through archives at another Weyr. "You were looking into
blueriders," she parroted back. "In the archives." Talking through it
helped it click. "You were checking for female blueriders in the
archives! So? Are there any records of them?" How strange it would be
to learn that women had Impressed blue dragons in the past. What next?
Women on browns? Men on golds? It all seemed ridiculous.

H'run shook his head. "Nothing anyone can seem to find yet. It seems
odd to me that we're in the Tenth Pass and somehow there has never
been a woman Impressing a blue dragon before this. And yet there's
nothing! It's quite fascinating. I wish I knew what it meant!"

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Kamalia admitted. "I was assuming
it had something to do with the girl who Impressed. It has been
confirmed that she is a girl, right?"

"Oh, she is undoubtedly a she." H'run leaned forward as if he were
sharing a secret. "I am so _very_ grateful that Kadira Impressed a
blue, though. We love our own, but if she'd Impressed a brown or a
bronze? I don't think those men would be very welcoming."

"That would be really crazy," Kamalia agreed, trying to imagine it.
She took a sip of klah and ate some of the bread on her plate. "You
know, I have a brother at Dolphin Cove Weyr, Arrilon, who's a
Journeyman Harper. I'm sure he'd be excited to do some digging around
the archives to see if he can find anything. He likes that sort of thing."

"I am always very grateful for professional connections," H'run said,
then smiled and batted his eyelashes at Kamalia. "Tell me, does your
brother look anything like you?"

Kamalia gave a little laugh. "He's a lot taller. And," she warned, "he
has a girlfriend he'd probably marry today, if she were interested."
She tried to imagine how Arrilon would react if the bluerider began
flirting with him. She was sure it would be awkward. "Besides, I
thought you and K'mai were sort of..." she gestured vaguely with her
hand. Practically the whole Wing had overheard the two blueriders
recently after drills.

"Oh, we're certainly not exclusive," H'run said breezily.

Kamalia wanted more information, and decided to push for it. "But are
you two... ok? Things seemed heated when you were speaking after
drills." She tended to avoid relationships with wingmates, since
things could quickly get complicated.

The bluerider sighed. "Well, to be honest... we weren't at the time.
But how could I possibly stay angry at that man? He's so kind, and
smart... it's impossible to stay angry at him for long, and he was
very sweet when he made it up to me."

"That's adorable." Even though she had no interest in a serious
relationship, Kamalia was always delighted to hear about things going
well for others. "Well, I'm glad things are going smoothly." She
finished the final item on her plate. a pastry, licking her lips to
make sure she got all the fruit filling. "I should probably head over
to the weyrlake. Alaudath is insisting on an early morning
scrubbing." She rolled her eyes. "Before I head out, is there any
other gossip going around it's useful to know about?"

"I'm so flattered that you think I'd know!" H'run said. "I wish I had
something spectacularly juicy for you, but I don't. If only I could
hear the dragons the way L'val does..."

"Isn't that a weird talent?" The greenrider lowered her voice. "It
creeps me out a bit, knowing he can just eavesdrop on any dragon
conversation. Who knows what kind of information he knows about all of
us?" Since he had become Wingleader, Kamalia had become much more
aware of her conversations with her green, knowing L'val could tell if
they weren't fully concentrating. "Besides, I thought hearing all
dragons was rare, and now we have both him and Lanniya." Something
about a goldrider hearing all dragons didn't seem as intrusive, since
gold dragons felt a sense of responsibility over all the dragons in a
Weyr anyway.

"And a blueriding woman. Dragonsfall Weyr is becoming a magnet for
oddities. But honestly? I agree with you. I'm not entirely comfortable
with others being able to speak with Calcifeth."

"I guess there isn't anything we can do about it." Or was there? She'd
have to think about it more; maybe while Alaudath slept, so there was
no chance of the green's thoughts being overheard. "At least none of
them can hear our thoughts." She practically shuddered. "That would be
so much worse."

That surprised a laugh out of H'run. "From the sounds of it, I would
_very_ much like to overhear your thoughts." She sounded spicy, and
H'run realized that he'd overlooked Kamalia, and he shouldn't have.
She was pretty and witty, and it was an entirely intriguing
combination.

"I wasn't thinking about _those_ kind of thoughts," she quickly said,
although she grinned as her train of thought headed in that direction.
H'run was a lot of fun. She needed to remind herself of her
no-wingmates rule before she took the conversation in a new direction.
Then, another nudge from her green reminded her of her duties. With a
sigh, she stood up. "Alaudath is waiting. Thanks for getting my day
off to a good start. I'd love to hear if you find anything interesting
in the archives."

"Darling, if you ask I'll talk for candlemarks," H'run said dryly. "My
best regards to Alaudath and I'll see you at drills today."

Last updated on the July 21st 2021

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In the Mood for Gossip