Riptide (3/3)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Halyonix
Date Posted: 13th May 2025
Characters: A'len
Description: A'len considers his options
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 5 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned Chioneth
}: I do not like this, :{ Tirenth remarked, picking up on his rider’s dark mood. }: Your mind is more angry than usual. Why? :{
A’len evaded the real reason for the question by hiding around a smaller truth. **I dislike these Holdless greatly. They’re murderers, thieves. The worst lot of Pern. And we’re here saving them. Pern would be better off if they all drowned.** Barred from interacting with that stupid girl he had saved, A’len was now not quite stalking around the makeshift camp, trying to look as though he was helping, while he went over what had just happened in the recesses of his mind.
}: Aluneth would not send the Weyr into unnecessary danger, :{ Tirenth pointed out.
**Aluneth gets his orders from I’serin. And I’serin isn’t the smartest when it comes to matters like this.**
There was a long pause while Tirenth thought something over. }: Chioneth would not endanger the Weyr. :{
Well, A’len wasn’t going to argue with his dragon over that. Let him believe what he wanted. A’len had a mishap to cover up.
“Let me give you a hand,” he offered to another rider who was hauling supplies off a dragon. He’d been seen as being helpful if nothing else as he went over the sequence of events.
The Holdless had tried to push _him_. A’len couldn’t be sure if the criminal meant to hurt him with that or if he was just trying to get out of A’len’s helping hold but he had erred on the side of caution in his reaction. He was a _dragonrider_. He was _vital_ to the defense of Pern. A Holdless was not.
A’len hadn’t _intended_ to push the man off the ledge. The man shouldn’t have been standing that close. That was on him.
A’len had saved the girl from falling to her death too, even though she was too dimglow to see that. She’d realize that later, after she got over her father’s demise.
But the girl…
She’d seen him there. He wasn’t stupid to think that the looks she had given him during that entire incident would be forgotten in a few days. A look like that from a woman always heralded a storm later on. But he had a few things going for him there, aside from being able to claim that it was all an accident.
She didn’t know his name or Tirenth’s name. He was as unknown to her as she was to him. He could hide in that. Eventually, she’d be tossed back into the caves or wherever Holdless went, once the Weyr got them saved. Because they certainly weren't _staying_ at the Weyr. They were Holdless! For a reason! And then, once they left, she’d never see him again. He could play least in sight until then.
Ultimately, his part in this whole mishap was safe. No repercussions (beyond perhaps a slap on the wrist if his daft son ever found out) would happen.
“Hey, A’len, I could use a little assistance here,” another dragonrider called.
Convinced of this impenetrable narrative of events, A’len’s mood lifted a bit. “Happy to help,” he answered as he jogged over.
Last updated on the May 19th 2025