Sherry, Li and A’diar

"Nice work Li!" T’ran’s voice carried well across the water as the Mizu Swim, Adanuk’s water wing, relaxed after a fairly successful practice.

"Yeah." Sara wiped the sweat from her forehead and pushed back a wet strand of brown hair. "When I first saw that monster of yours I didn’t think she was a swimmer." Sara smiled. "She can fly too, can’t she?"

Li nodded, completely out of breath. "Yeah, but her wings work well in the water too, and she’s got webbed feet, and..well..." She panted for a moment. "I guess she just prefers it."

I’m faster than anyone else here! Bacardi shook her head, proud of her accomplishments today.

Yeah, Li smiled. Now if you could only stay in formation.

The gold/orange bugled and shook her head again. The Swim was floating in the water, riders sitting up on the backs of their dragons instead of leaning down on the swimsaddles like they did when moving through the water. Bacardi was a fairly large queen at over 46 feet long. Her hide glittered gold, with a definite orange tint, her wings were pure golden and her underbelly sparkled black. The dragoness was very pleased with her looks and Li had a sneaky suspicion that the main reason Bacardi would rather be in the water was because she liked being spotless.

Bacardi snorted. There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to be as pretty as I can be. How else am I supposed to get that big brown lug’s attention? With a few mumbled polite words the swim broke up and headed off on their own business. Bacardi summoned the water to her, boosting her speed, and lifted off into the air from the water. She glided over the ocean and landed gracefully on the beach. By that time the wind had chilled both Li and her lifemate.

Li shivered as she dismounted, longing to be out of the black bodysuit that was the Swim’s uniform. It was still a little damp, making her shiver, plus it left very little to the imagination. "You mean Viharth?" The lava-brown was bonded to R’yle, a first swimrider. Li prayed that Bacardi wasn’t hinting at a mating flight, or a mating swim, any time soon. It had been five years, or turns, since her rescue from Earth and impression of Bacardi, but Li was not ready to invite any strange men into her bed just yet.

Bacardi looked disgusted. That sorry excuse for a swimmer. He’d never catch me anyways, not that I am ready to mate. The dragoness lay down, resting her head on the ground in despair. It’s Doroboth. He still treats me like a hatchilng.

"Well, he’s a lot older than you are." Li sat down, stroking her dragon’s head.

Not a lot! Bacardi seemed to be pouting. Besides, he doesn’t treat Ozeki like a child anymore.

Li shrugged, searching for a reason why the brown/black would treat Bacardi different than Ozeki. "Maybe it’s because you’re a swimmer...he doesn’t know what to say." It was a futile thought. Li knew it was wrong the moment she said it.

Bacardi snorted, dismissing it without even commenting. It’s because he’s head over heels for that silly green chit from Seiryuu.

Li felt a small lump form in her throat. "Doroboth is...A’diar is..." She cleared her throat. "He’s chasing in a mating flight?"

Bacardi realized that her rider had not previously been aware of that. All of her thoughts about her own predicament vanished in her concern for her rider. Yeah...I thought A’diar told you already. I’m so sorry rider-mine. The dragoness nudged her rider with her head. A’diar doesn’t even know the girl very well...I’m sure it’s just because Doroboth wants to chase...he might not even win...A’diar isn’t going to weyrmate the girl. He likes you much better.

For a second Li’s heart leapt to take the place of the lump in her throat, but she calmly forced it back down. "You mean he likes Sherry better."

Bacardi, who knew the truth of the situation, sighed and humoured her rider. Yes, that’s what I meant.

* * *

Gentler! Sherry clenched her teeth together as Ozeki set down in the Weyrbowl after a long session of training. The white/green had held her own in the position of First Wingrider, but was still a little shaky with her landings. She figured getting to the ground as quickly as possible was the whole point, not as smoothly as possible. After a little bit of persuasion and a lot of training, Ozeki finally landed with the rest of her Wing, but it was still not the most graceful procedure.

From across the Weyrbowl, Sherry heard a familiar laugh. "She always lands like she was just shot out of the air!" A’diar, who had just dismounted from his black/brown Doroboth, was approaching her.

All the wings had been in the air in the same time today. Magika had decided to pick the hottest day of the year to get everyone into full leathers and send them closer to the blazing sun. Ozeki’s eyes whirled blue. Rider-mine, the date for this full Weyr formation work was set long before Magika knew what the weather would be like.

The bright orange-haired girl removed her helmet and slide from Ozeki’s saddle into A’diar’s waiting arms. She quickly untangled herself from him, knowing that Li would kill her if she ever saw her flirting with A’diar. "Ozeki hasn’t killed me yet."

A’diar smirked. "Yet being the operative word."

Ozeki bugled, slightly annoyed. I’m more careful about Sherry and her feelings that Doroboth is with his silly excuse for a rider. The dragon snorted and twitched her tail in Doroboth’s direction.

The large black/brown’s eyes whirled deep blue. I have to land gently. A’diar is very delicate.

The rider glared at his lifemate. "Ha ha." He shook his head and smiled at Sherry. "I don’t know why I bothered teaching him a sense of humour."

"You’re masochistic. Let’s go down to the ocean. We can bathe and catch up with Li." Sherry knew they both stunk the high heavens. It was at least 45 degrees Celsius and they were wearing nothing but leather.

A’diar nodded, wincing as he ran his fingers through his long, black hair. "I think Magika should order everyone down to the lake."

Sherry grinned. "It would be too crowded, besides, the Weyrwoman probably wants to get there first."

A’diar smirked. "Now we just have to annoy her."

Glad to know my hygiene means so little to you rider-mine. Doroboth longed to ditch the dragonsaddle, but he knew his rider wasn’t walking to the beach.

Ozeki stretched, impatient to be gone. I actually envy Bacardi.

The two riders mounted, quickly acknowledged the co-ordinates for the beach and then let their minds wander.

Sherry silently commented about envying Li in more ways than one. A’diar grinned maliciously as he realized that Sherry probably didn’t have anything under her leathers in this hot weather and Li would undoubtably be wearing that nice skintight bodysuit. A'diar figured it was going to be a good afternoon.

Doroboth shook his head in amazement. You know one of these days you're actually going to have to choose between them. The black/bronze was well aware of the awkward triangle between his rider, Sherry and Li.

What? A'diar was genuinely confused as they burst forth from between right above the ocean. He saw most of Mizu, but Bacardi's distinctly gold/orange hide was no where in sight.

Don't tell me you're really -that- clueless. Doroboth acknowledged Bacardi's mental voice as it told the brown/black exactly where she could be found. The orange queen sounded rather miffed at something and Doroboth could only assume it was him. Either Bacardi or Ozeki were always upset with him, mostly due to A'diar. The Weyrlingmaster suggested not to enter into any relationships when dragons were young and impressionable, but neither Sherry nor Li followed that advice.

What clueless? Choose who? A'diar was getting annoyed. He felt like he'd been left out of a joke or something.

Choose between Li and Sherry!! Doroboth debated dumping his rider in the ocean. Maybe the fall into the cold, salty water would knock some sense into him.

"Ohhh...." A'diar muttered to himself. He stayed quiet, silently attempting to put together what his lifemate was telling him. He couldn't. Why do I have to choose between Sherry and Li?

Doroboth dumped A'diar. With a short scream and a loud splash the black/brownrider hit the ocean water, disturbing many fishes, creating a nice sized wave and generally inhaling more water then was usually healthy. Because they both think you belong to the other!!

A'diar would have made some reply, had he not been struggling to breathe. The reply probably would have been, "But I've never had to choose between girls before."

Doroboth, knowing A'diar's habits better than anyone else in the world, snorted. But this is different. They're not looking for a short tumble and then a wave goodbye. They're both in love with you.

A'diar floated rather miserably. This was -not- good news. Love always messed everything up. Really? He could see the two girls standing on the beach, both laughing at him. Why?

The brown/black could do nothing but reply honestly. Damned if I know.

* * *

"Where is the bastard?!?" The gold/orange rider slammed her fist on the desk as she threw herself to her feet yet again, knocking the chair she'd been occupying moments ago to skitter across the floor and tumble on its side.

Magika suppressed an urge to check some time piece. By her reckoning, the queenrider had managed to go a record breaking five minutes before asking that question again. She turned to peer out her window, using the gesture to mask her smirk. "I'm not entirely sure. You both know that these things take time."

Both Sherry and Li gave the Weyrwoman a look that clearly stated yes they did know that but it is not an acceptable answer for this situation. Sherry didn't move as Li continued her tirade. "The bastard sent a message seven hours ago that the flight had started!"

Magika shrugged and tactfully swallowed a yawn. It had been a long day. A'diar would come home when he wanted. He was a big boy now. He knew the way. She'd leave a light on. Leaning back in her chair, feet comfortably resting on her desk, the Weyrwoman seemed to be the single point of relaxation in an otherwise immensely tense room.

Li, realizing that righting the chair and resuming her previous position would be pointless, as in five minutes she would be on her feet again, started pacing behind Sherry's chair. She mumbled as she stormed back and forth. No one could really hear what she was saying, but they were pretty sure that the general gist of it was insulting to A'diar.

Sherry had managed to remain seated through the entire ordeal, but seemed wound tight enough to snap in an instant should anyone make a sudden movement or noise. Every visible muscle was tensed so that it was apparent she would be sore in the morning. She also, for the most part, managed to remain silent, just occasionally throwing in a comment when Li couldn't think of a bad enough word.

Behind the reclining Weyrwoman, Mik'len leaned against the wall, exerting more effort in looking calm than either of the two girls were spending in their anger. Magika would have laid money that she could have torn the wall down and the bronzerider would have remained slouching against nothing. His arms were crossed in front of his chest so tightly it was a miracle he could breathe. His head was down, apparently in disinterest, but actually so as not to betray the expression of distaste that he couldn't suppress. Mik'len hadn't spoken all evening, probably due to the fact his jaw was clenched so tight a crowbar would be required to loosen it.

While Magika was slightly concerned about the brown/black's chase, she had to admit she was actually here waiting to find out what the bronzerider was so upset about. She knew Sherry and Li's problem, and while she sympathised, she couldn't really understand it. Like A'diar, Magika believed that love could be found on a nightly basis and one exclusive partner was not only boring, but selfish, as who knew what fun your 'partner' could be having with someone else instead of you every single night. If either the green/whiterider or the gold/orangerider were expecting to trap A'diar, they were in for a big disappointment. Mik'len, on the other hand, didn't exactly whole-heartedly support his friends' theory, but he didn't disagree either. So why he was waiting here, fuming silently, was anyone's guess.

"God!" Li ceased her pacing to whirl and face the Weyrwoman again. "Where is the bastard!?!"

Magika felt like sighing. The look in the gold/orangerider's eyes told her that it would probably be safer to not. Magika decided that she'd had it with this waiting thing, it wasn't likely to be conductive to long life in this room once A'diar arrived anyways. She, belaying the effect of her apparent comfort, rose quickly to her feet, suddenly emanating an air of necessity and purpose. "I have no idea. If you wish you may send Karina after him." The golden firelizard, who had, with her draca counterpart, retreated to the relative safety of the rafters, quickly leapt from her perch to land upon her mistress' arm. "I suggest you all go about your business for now. When he feels like coming back, he'll be back. There is no use wasting time waiting." Quickly, before anyone could point out one of the numerous flaws in her logic, the Weyrwoman escaped her own office, heading at full speed towards the kitchen where Media might be cajoled into finding her something to eat.

Unfortunately, fate decided to bring the fight to the Weyrwoman anyways. "Magika!" A'diar was practically beaming as he approached her with obvious intent to hug. "Guess what!"

"Shh!" Magika attempted to silence him. Turning quickly back to her office she could see three figures leave their prescribed posts and make for the door. The Weyrwoman quickly tried to disentangle herself from her friend and complete her escape. "Lemme go."

A'diar was, characteristically, oblivious. "Why?"

Magika squirmed. "Because you're a dead man walking and I don't want to be a casualty of war!"

"There you are!" Li seemed almost joyful to finally have the object of her wrath in sight. Sherry, on the other hand, seemed mostly to look sick. The two girls stormed towards the two entangled older riders. Mik'len, arms still crossed in front of his chest, 'lounged' in the doorway blatantly furious.

A'diar let go of Magika, but by this point in time there was no longer any value in retreat. She did, however, think it wise to take several steps back from the doomed black/brownrider just to ensure that she would not be considered associated with him by the rampaging females. A'diar watched her distance herself with slowly growing fear in his eyes. He turned back to the rapidly approaching Li and Sherry, noted Mik'len's clenched jaw, and decided this was not going to be good.

He swallowed nervously and began. "Girls..." He never got to finish.

"Where the hell have you been?" Li put her hands on her hips with such force it must have left a bruise. Anger radiated off the woman like light from the sun.

The black/brownrider looked to his Weyrwoman for support. Magika was very careful to be looking elsewhere. Traitor. "Umm..."

"We know where he was Li." Sherry's voice was naturally soft, but somehow seemed even fainter compared to the boisterous rage in her friend's. She lifted her light blue eyes from the ground, but could only get as far as A'diar's chest before they sunk again.

Li's fists' clenched as she ignored her friend's comment. "Where were you?"

"Seiryuu..." A'diar suppressed the temptation to just turn and run. These were his friends. His best friends. They were upset. He could figure this out.

"What were you doing there?" Li's questions were getting louder and louder, threatening to bring the rest of the Weyr down to watch A'diar's demise.

"Umm..." A'diar was beginning to think that maybe running away was the better part of friendship when Sherry's barely audible question managed to illuminate the problem, leaving him wishing to whatever god would listen that he could lie to her, just this once.

"Did you win?"

...

"Yes."

Sherry nodded, and managed a weak smile. She closed the distance between them, brushing past the quivering Li, to kiss him lightly on the cheek. "Congratulations." A'diar stood dumbfounded as the green/whiterider headed back to her room.

"You... you... you..." Li couldn't seem to find a word strong enough. Unwanted tears welled unshed in her eyes. "Monster!"

A'diar's head snapped to the side at the force of her slap, leaving him seeing brightly coloured stars instead of the retreating figure of the wounded queenrider. When his vision cleared he couldn't help noticing the look on Magika's face wasn't exactly sympathetic. He sighed and lifted a hand to his rapidly swelling cheek. "Damn."

Magika nodded her head meaningfully towards her office.

A'diar thought it was a rather inopportune for the Weyrwoman to be making that sort of advance, but at the same time he appreciated it. "I would but apparently I can't go out without supervision any more." He was moderately surprised at the bitterness in his voice. "Honestly I don't know what's wrong with those two twits! I can't touch them, but I can't touch anyone else either?!? Women make no goddamn sense. Especially not silly immature Earth girls!"

Magika winced as Mik'len's fist connected with his best friend's face. The bronzerider might be shorter, but he packed a mean right hook.

"Selfish, uncaring, good for nothing, womanizing bastard." Unlike Li, Mik'len managed to keep his voice at a moderate volume, yet despite the control he was still furious.

"What the hell?" A'diar pushed himself to his knees, slightly fearful that if he regained his feet he was likely to be clobbered again.

"You don't understand anything, do you? Not a damned thing!" Mik'len shook his head, disbelieving his friend's stupidity. "You're such an idiot Diar. I don't understand it." The bronzerider swept past Magika, fearful he might actually kill his friend if he was forced to remain in his presence any longer. As it was, only Magika could hear the last sentence in his accusation. "You don't deserve her."

Magika sighed. Well, that clears that up. Deciding that it was unlikely any of the trio of enraged and depressed riders would return, and therefore the coast was clear, Magika moved to help A'diar to his feet.

The black/brownrider cursed fluently. "You could have told me he was standing right there."

Magika almost smirked, but suppressed it out of respect for A'diar's very wounded pride. "You saw him when you got here. You're the one who forgot he was there."

"My mind was elsewhere. Namely compressed against the right of my skull from the force of Li's hand." A'diar accepted the older woman's hand up, rubbing the back of his hand across his now split lip.

"Do you honestly think I'd make advances on you with Li and Sherry hovering around still enraged?"

A'diar's gaze was focussed on the door Mik'len had disappeared into, the anger slowly melting into hurt. "What did he hit me for?"

Magika sighed and rolled her eyes. "You've really messed things up Diar."

He turned back to her, hurt slowly freezing back to anger. "What did I do?" Magika began to tell him, but he cut her off, apparently just using the question as an introduction to his own rant. "Let Doroboth chase like every other male dragon his age does? Improve inter-Weyr relationships? Ensure Doroboth's excellent lineage continues? Are they upset about any of that? No! The two witches are pissed because I slept with Maniki. Never mind that neither of them have ever hinted to me in the slightest that they were interested. Never mind that despite five freaking years of chasing them I haven't got so much as the time of day. Never mind that even if I were to come right out and profess any depth of feeling for either one of them they'd both just turn away! Damn it! I waited! I played their stupid game. And then Mik comes along like some damned righteous saint. It's not my fault his damned bronze monstrosity has no sex drive!" A'diar's semi-coherent rant temporarily devolved into a mindless, guttural roar. "It makes no sense!"

"It's love Diar." Magika's voice was annoyingly calm. "I don't think it's supposed to."

"Screw this. I'm going back to Seiryuu." He turned toward the obviously elated Doroboth. The dragon did care for his rider, but he cared more to watch Vazilth clutch.

"A'diar." Magika made sure to use her Weyrwoman voice. "Fix it."

He whirled to face her again. "What?"

"Stay at Seiryuu for a while. Until the clutch hatches if you want. But when you come back, I expect you to fix this. I'm sick and tired of my friends acting like characters in a badly written teenage romance novel."

The black/brownrider was beyond perplexed. "How?"

"I haven't the foggiest." Magika shrugged. "This is why I never got mixed up in this mess."

A'diar rolled his eyes. "Thanks." He resumed his now half-hearted angry march to his lifemate.

"They're nice girls. Don't hurt them any more than you need to. They didn't really do anything wrong Diar, they just love you." The Weyrwoman saw A'diar raise his hand in acknowledgement, but he didn't turn around again. She sighed as Doroboth took to the air. "And, if I'm not mistaken, you love at least one of them." She half-smirked as she headed back towards the once again sanctuary of her office. "Fallen from our mighty ranks."

I wouldn't rule him out yet. Hyth returned from extending congratulations to Doroboth. He did go running back to Maniki instead of grovelling back to either of the girls. The gold was obviously maliciously amused by the entire proceedings. Magika suspected it had to do a bit with Hyth's own lack of flying or mate, but the Weyrwoman knew better than to attempt to breach the subject. And he still talks of 'the girls'. If he was in love with one of them, you'd expect him to single her out.

"He's angry, he's confused and he doesn't know it yet, but he's in love." Magika pulled a bottle out of her desk drawer, embracing the liquor like a dear old friend. "Mik too. I've never seen him hit Diar before."

When did you become so wise in the ways of love? The gold dragon's laughter rumbled deep in her chest. Someone finally catch the elusive Magika?

"Not on your life." The Weyrwoman guzzled the contents of the bottle, repressing the slightest tinge of jealousy so well that not even Hyth picked it up.

* * *

"So then she says 'fix it'. Fix it!" Maniki was beginning to get slightly dizzy watching A'diar pace back and forth. "Fix it! How the hell am I supposed to do that?"

Maniki had to admit she felt slightly out of her league, but her dragon's newest mate's lifemate seemed to be very distressed over this, so she'd give it her best shot. It had taken her this long to get him to finally tell her what had been eating him since his unexpected return to Seiryuu. "Decide which one you like?"

A'diar didn't seem thrilled with this idea. He stopped his circuit around the room to look at her, trying rather unsuccessfully to remember not to take his anger out on the greenrider. "How am I supposed to do that? They both hate me now." He bitterly touched his fingers to his cheek again. It was becoming a characteristic gesture. "And no matter what I do apparently Mik's gonna kill me for it."

"Tell them both that you're not interested?" Maniki wished vehemently that the black/brownrider would sit down. He'd finally stopped moving, all he had to do now was sit...

Instead he sighed and resumed his course around the tiny room. That fact that he didn't actually have anything to say in response to that comment led Maniki to believe she had discovered the source of the problem.

"So you do like at least one of them?"

A'diar grunted and, to Maniki's never ending relief, threw himself to the ground. Even a week after the incident, the signs of the confrontation were still apparent on his face: A swollen cheek and eye from Li and a puffy, split lip from Mik'len. The black/brownrider was obviously in the midst of a serious moral dilemma. "I don't know."

Maniki raised a brow. "You don't know? How do you not know if you're in love?"

A'diar very valiantly managed not to glare. "I'm new at this, okay?"

The greenrider giggled. "Really? Because you seemed to know what you were doing the other night..."

A smirk unwillingly worked its way onto A'diar's face. He sighed, resting his head against the wall. "I'm in so over my head."

Maniki moved to sit next to him. She wasn't looking for a weyrmate, but at least for the next little while the two of them had a reasonable excuse to act overtly friendly to the other. She wrapped her arms around his and laid her head on his shoulder. "You've got a bit of time to figure it out."

"Mmm." It was a rather vague mumble of something resembling assent. He sighed again. "I should just drop it."

"Not worth the hassle?"

He brought his hand to his cheek again. The beginnings of an explanation danced unwanted in his head. With what he assumed was suitable dramatic emphasis in his voice, he voiced the ridiculous idea that he'd developed. "I think Mik likes one of them."

The greenrider giggled again. "Really? What gave you that idea?"

A'diar rolled his eyes to cover his wounded pride. Why was he always the last to figure anything out? "It makes things very difficult."

"Mmm-hmm." The greenrider began to slowly run her fingers up and down his arm. "Why don't you just ask him which one he'd prefer, and then take the other one?"

A'diar laughed. "Because Mik doesn't work that way. He'd die before he actually made a move if he thought that the girl he wanted was interested in me. So compounded with the fact that I have two girls in love with me, and I may, may, be in love with one of them, and apparently I only get to choose one of them, I have my best friend obviously infatuated and overly bitter as the object of his adoration is caught up with someone as horribly vile and morally corrupt as me." The black/brownrider could almost laugh at the absurdity of the situation. Almost. "He wouldn't play second fiddle to a 'womanizing bastard'. Tch. Funny. Never heard him call Magika any names."

"She wasn't womanizing." The look on A'diar's face told Maniki she obviously didn't know the Adanuk Weyrwoman very well. "She was womanizing?"

The black/brownrider dismissed the question. "That's not the point. The point is that he knows me and he knows what I'm like and we've always been friends and now he hates me for being what he always knew I was." A'diar watched the greenriders fingers move from his arm to his leg. "If he'd just told me."

"I thought you said he wouldn't play second fiddle to a womanizing bastard?"

A'diar snorted. "They're good girls. Both of them. He's a nice guy. Sickeningly so." He laid back and intertwined his hand with Maniki's, the other one sneaking up to rub his cheek. "I'll just let it go. It's nothing. I don't even know which one I like."

The greenrider smiled softly, her conscience winning out over her finally. She removed her hand from A'diar thigh and started to stand. "I think you do know Diar. And I think there's no use trying to be the good guy if you're going to loose your best friend over it."

The black/brownrider was getting very fed up with people suddenly changing their motives around him. "What?"

"If you let them both go and Mik'len takes the one you want, you'll hate him for it. While right now, if you come clean with all of them, you'll be happy, your dream girl will by happy and the other girl and Mik'len will probably forgive you for being you. Faranth knows they have so far."

"How do you know I like one of them?" A'diar looked up at her in semi-defence but mostly genuinely curiosity.

Maniki reached out and touched him on the cheek, her fingers brushing the invisible scar Sherry's lips had left. "You're not rubbing the swollen side."

* * *

It's not the flit's fault you can't think of anything to write. The large black/brown normally endorsed A'diar's teasing of the bronze firelizard, but the squeals really were becoming too much. With an indignant nip towards that hand that fed him Touzoku abandoned his owner for the relative safety of Doroboth.

A'diar sighed, continuing to twirl the quill he'd been torturing Touzoku with. "I know." He sighed again, a habit that was beginning to drive his lifemate crazy. "I just don't know what to say."

How about "Sherry, I love you?"

A'diar glared. "Thanks."

Doroboth rolled from his stomach to his side, stretching his wings out behind him as he lounged on the dragoncouch. I'll never understand you humans. You make this so difficult.

A'diar smirked. "Yeah. I should just wait until she gets brighter and moody, then outrun all the other guys and ravish her senseless. That'd go over very well."

Doroboth snorted. Well there wouldn't be any of this mincing about over what your intentions are.

A'diar continued to smirk. "No I suppose not. It'd be pretty apparent to everyone in sight. I don't think Sherry'd go for it though. She doesn't seem to be much of an exhibitionist."

She let you die her hair bright 'pylon', as she called it, orange.

"Yeah, but I think there might be a line between hair and wild sex in the Weyrbowl." A'diar held the quill between his finger and thumb and blew softly to twirl it.

Doroboth chuckled. Honestly. I don't know how you humans ever manage to procreate.

A'diar inhaled the feather.

The black/brown disturbed Touzoku as he quickly got his feet under him and prepared to procure help if A'diar didn't start breathing air again soon. Rider-mine?

A'diar managed to cough the plume out of his lungs and Touzoku nipped it up, disappearing between with the murderous torture device, possessed of an obvious intent to destroy it. A'diar wheezed and coughed again, enjoying the feel of oxygen again. "Procreate?" He managed to weakly choke the word.

The massive brown/black collapsed back onto his stomach. That's what the entire mating process was originally designed for.

A'diar looked like he was going to be sick.

Honestly Diar. With all your 'expertise' I figured you'd acquired the basics. You've probably got a good legacy to follow you sown across various holds and Weyrs.

The rider's eyes bulged. He looked pathetically over to his lifemate.

The black/brown dropped the final blow. Talk to Magika about it.

A'diar fled the room, more than a little green around the gills.

Doroboth chuckled and shook his head. I'll never understand humans.

* * *

"Any chance you're dying?" The Weyrleader of Seiryuu tried not to sound too optimistic as he approached the retching black/brownrider.

A'diar wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, but made no verbal reply.

This amazed the bronzerider, who'd never known A'diar to be silent, and lead him to conclude that there might actually be something seriously wrong with the immature rider. "You aren't really dying are you? You know Quachir would blame me."

A'diar would have smirked and made some comment about committing suicide just to make M'slin's life harder, but his world was still shaking. "You know Magika pretty well, right M'slin?"

The Weyrleader saw this as a loaded question. During his tenure at Adanuk, he'd risen in the ranks rather quickly, but he'd never shared a familiar friendly relationship with the Weyrwoman like A'diar and Mik'len had. He crossed his arms over his chest and slowly went over the list of things his weyrmate had sworn to do to him if he actually seriously harmed the annoying black/brownrider. "What kind of stupid question is that?"

A'diar, obliviously not realizing that this was a bit of a sore point for the bronzerider, plunged ahead. "I mean you knew her before I did."

"So did Mik'len." M'slin was waiting for the punchline of whatever cruel joke A'diar was playing.

But A'diar really didn't seem to be playing. He stared off into the distance, working up the courage to actually ask the question he wanted to. "Does she have any kids?"

That took the bronzerider by surprise. He raised a brow, obviously wary of the destination of this conversation. "Kids?"

The black/brownrider nodded faintly. "Yeah, y'know, children."

"Why?" M'slin was sure this was a set up now. Everyone in the Weyr had to know this.

A'diar finally faced the other man, sincerity apparent on his face. "Because I don't know."

"You don't know?" The Weyrleader couldn't believe it. For the first time in his life, A'diar really didn't seem to be joking. There wasn't a trace of mocking or mischief in his eyes, more like confusion mixed in with self-loathing and a little bit of regret. M'slin sighed. He was probably walking into the biggest practical joke of his life. "Yeah. She does. I'm not sure how many. At least six I know of. Two she's actually publically 'claimed' responsibility for. R'nd and Traeus. They're both riders at the Warren."

A'diar didn't seem surprised by this news, but he did seem to grow paler. "How old are they?"

So that's what this is all about. M'slin couldn't help smiling a little. Maybe he should feel lucky he and Magika never got that 'close'. "Too old. Now sit down before you pass out."

The black/brownrider obediently slide to the ground, still a little too shocked to think it odd that M'slin sat down beside him. "But others..."

M'slin shrugged. "I'm not saying it's not a possibility."

A'diar closed his eyes and banged the back of his head against the wall they were leaning against. "Oh god..."

The Weyrleader was still a little astonished at the depth of A'diar obliviousness. "You honestly never thought of this before? You never heard any of the talk around the Weyr? You never noticed?"

A'diar opened one eye to glare at the other rider. "Well she wasn't very open about it. I mean honestly, how do you hide pregnancy?"

"She never did." M'slin derived a rather sadistic pleasure from having the upper hand in a conversation with the black/brownrider for once. "She never came right out and said, 'Yeah, I'm pregnant.', but she never really hid it. It was fairly apparent. Pregnancy..." The bronzerider searched for the right word. "Well, it kinda suited her. I think Magika likes having children."

"Where do they go?" A'diar honestly felt like he was a kid again, getting the facts of life from his father.

"She fosters them. I don't think she ever tells them who their mother is, but she does look after them. She befriends them. She makes sure they turn out okay. In a way, for her, in her position, that is awfully good mothering." M'slin, personally couldn't understand it. He thought of Xachir, even though the child wasn't his biological son. He couldn't imagine leaving him in someone else's care, letting someone else raise him now that the father/son bond had been formed. But he had always in a way respected Magika's handling of the situation. Female, un-weyrmated riders often fostered, and they usually didn't expend half the effort 'checking up' on their children as Magika did. The Weyrwoman really did enjoy seeing them happy and safe, and she enjoyed thinking of them as hers, even if she never publically announced it.

"None of the fathers know?" A'diar didn't exactly find M'slin's statements comforting. He was trying to wrap his mind around how he could have possibly been -that- clueless.

M'slin shook his head. "They're hers. I don't think anyone alive but Magika actually knows that."

"You think she would have told me." M'slin wasn't used to hearing A'diar bitter. He was getting an entire new perspective and level of depth for the black/brownrider. "I mean, I'm her friend!"

"No. I don't think she would have told you." The bronzerider took a brief moment to note the absurdity of a situation in which he was comforting A'diar. "You're her friend."

There was no reply to that, which didn't really surprise M'slin. I mean, what really could you say? That was just Magika and her own odd set of half cocked morals and honour. And A'diar knew that, as surely as he knew the Weyrwoman. He'd get there eventually, the shock was just causing him to have a little problem putting two and two together.

After a few moments of muted silence, M'slin decided, to his own amazement as much as A'diar's, to continue the conversation. "So what sparked this revelation anyways?"

A'diar paused a moment, deliberating. He supposed M'slin deserved honesty in turn for being relatively open with A'diar, who didn't really deserve the favour. But on the other hand, A'diar was still new to this whole scene and didn't want to be mocked by a man he normally had the upper hand on. Finally, mostly from a lack of any convenient lies, the truth came forward. "I'm in love."

M'slin's face fell. He knew that this had been shaping up to be too good to be true. A'diar? In love? He knew he shouldn't have let that monstrosity of a black/brown chase at his Weyr. "Love..." He repeated the word weakly, visions of years of future torment dancing in his head. At least that explained A'diar attempt at civil behaviour. Making a bit of peace with the in-laws, so to speak.

"Yeah." A'diar, despite a silent vow to try to pay more attention to the people around him, so as to never be caught in this ridiculous situation again, didn't notice the Weyrleader's dismay. "I couldn't really believe it myself. But then Mik'len decked me. Mik'len! I mean honestly."

Wait... Mik'len? The bronzerider's mind was having trouble equating Mik'len to Maniki. He didn't think the two had ever met. "What?"

"I know. I don't think he really had a justifiable reason, but I guess it did kinda give me a good wake up call." A'diar continued on. "I guess they're a lot closer than I thought."

"Mik'len and Maniki?" The Weyrleader couldn't believe it.

A'diar was now confused. "Mik'len knows Maniki?"

"That's what you just said!"

"No I didn't!"

"Then why is Mik'len upset that you're in love with Maniki?"

"I'm not in love with Maniki!"

"Then who!" It wasn't so much as a question as an accusation. M'slin was losing his temper.

A'diar on the other hand, was regaining his normal composure and decided he'd been nice to M'slin for long enough. He put his hand on the other man's shoulder, a mock sincere look pasted on to his face. "Why do you think I keep coming back here? Doing anything, everything to attract your attention? Honestly, 'lin, you call me unobservant."

When A'diar regained consciousness he was on the sands, accompanied by a few folds of fabric he was obviously supposed to transform into a tent and a note informing him in no uncertain terms and often explicitly painful detail that if he was to set foot off his temporary sanctuary he wouldn't ever have to worry about procreation again.

* * *

"This should be fun." The waves of sarcasm emanating from the opalrider were as uncharacteristic as they were unappreciated.

Figures. Magika rolled her eyes. She'd pick tonight to delve into the drier forms of humour. The Weyrwoman caught herself a second before she sighed. There was more than enough of that going on in this gods-forsaken wagon. She settled instead for a slightly less than amused look in the younger woman's direction.

The hint of a smile ghosted across Kyosia's lips. "Why aren't we flying again?"

"Because His Royal Highness the Lord Holder feels that we appear to have more authority than him when we arrive on dragonback." Magika flicked the reins slightly and the large draft horse that had had the misfortune of being chosen for this ill-tempered journey flicked his tail and made absolutely no adjustment to either his pace or direction. The horse knew where it was going. The Weyrwoman was just impatient. She couldn't help but feel like they hadn't made any actual progress since they left the Weyr.

From the back of the wagon, Mik'len, Li and Sherry each sighed in turn. It had been the trio's standard response to any and every sentence, question, order, suggestion and joke for the duration of this trip.

Kyosia turned her attention from the moping riders to the agonizingly slow passing scenery. Just a tinge of the general depression was beginning to get to her. "Yeah. This'll be a great party."

Magika openly glared. What had seemed like a good idea yesterday was rapidly becoming the longest, saddest, sigh-est ride in existence, but damned if she'd take responsibility for it. It had been a sound theory. At least once a year, a Weyrwoman was expected to bestow her nigh-almighty presence on each and every single one of the Holds under her jurisdiction. This was, 99.9% of the time, a task Magika found to be very acceptable, if not out-right enjoyable. Any Hold would be in a uproar for days before her arrival, ensuring that every nook and cranny of the almost self-sufficient city was spotless for her benevolent inspection. After the inspection, the finest banquet the Hold could muster would be set for her grateful consumption. Then someone would suggest a glass of something a little stronger to better accompany the flavour of whatever delicacy was being presented for desert. And then the music would start...

Hearing three near synchronous sighs behind her, the Weyrwoman couldn't help but add a fourth. Kyosia politely turned a giggle into a cough at her older friend's unvoiced yet ominously tangible displeasure. Traditionally a small contingent of riders were selected to escort the honoured Weyrwoman, as it would be utterly inappropriate for a woman of her calibre to trek across dangerous country by herself, especially if she was resigned to an old wooden wagon by the Lord Holder's insufferable pride. Their reward for such faithful service and completion of this critical task were the second best seats at the aforementioned banquet, and therefore, second shot at all the meats, fruits, deserts, drinks and, most importantly, other potent beverages paraded before their esteemed leader. Usually, if any of the chosen few could remember their own names the next morning, Magika considered the visit a failure.

With the next repetition of the now quartet of sighs, Magika glanced discreetly over her shoulder at 3/4 of her 'chosen'. Mik'len sat with his back to the headboard of the wagon, almost entirely opposite the Weyrwoman. His attention seemed divided equally between his nails, the floor of the wagon bed and the few scattered clouds dusting across the bright full moon. The last time he'd made this journey, he and A'diar had spent the entire time gambling away the few marks Magika let them keep and engaging in a rather impressive display of testosterone. They'd made considerable wagers over who could drink the most, who would be able to beat who even while hungover, how many days they could stay inebriated and, most amusingly to the Weyrwoman, who'd get her that evening. The almost contagious foul mood was pushed back slightly as she remembered that night. The looks on their faces when they'd both tried to collect the next morning...

This trip, however, Magika was pretty sure she could count the words he'd uttered on one hand. The short list consisted solely of "Yes.", "No." and "Please Magika." spoken softly in such a pleading tone that the Weyrwoman had finally abandoned all prospects of conversation . She'd hoped that the promise of good times would have removed some of the lingering depression over what Kyosia had dubbed "The A'diar Affair", but it seemed he was instead taking this opportunity to remember past good times with his once best friend and bringing himself farther and farther down.

The two girls in the back weren't exactly helping matters either. Li slumped against the wagon's tailgate, looking with such sorrowful longing backwards along the path that one would assume she was being transported to her execution opposed to the party of the year. She had completely ignored Magika's earlier attempts at comradery, snatching randomly at passing wildflowers, slowly dismembering them and leaving their torn remains along the roadway. It seemed an appropriate gesture for what was seriously beginning to feel like a funeral march.

If they were indeed a funeral, Sherry was the corpse. She lay in the middle of the wagon, almost a bridge between the sulking bronzerider and the mourning gold/orangerider, but not quite close enough to either of her friends for the impression to actually be effective. While Mik'len fidgeted and Li mauled, Sherry remained completely still, aside from the occasional sigh. She stared unexpressively at the partially veiled stars, but their light was not reflected in her seemingly vacant eyes. The green/whiterider hadn't spoken a word since expressing congratulations to the absent brown/blackrider days earlier. It had placed a considerable rift in the what Magika had once believed unshakable friendship between the two Earthlings.

When the next chorus of sighs echoed through the night air, Kyosia couldn't help but add her own. Sitting beside Magika on the wagon's driver's seat she was as far from the trio as physically possible while remaining on the craft, yet after Magika's apparent infection with the moping disease she was having trouble remaining immune. Kyosia had never been in love really, so she couldn't exactly imagine what they were going through. She had, however, had everyone she ever knew slaughtered brutally while she was distracted by a girl she'd trusted like a friend. Considering how she'd handled that situation, she supposed Mik'len, Li and even Sherry were doing pretty well.

Inhaling softly, the future Earthling began to hum. It was an almost unconscious reaction to the revival of unpleasant memories without a certain opal hathian's reassuring presence. There was a slight stirring from the back of the wagon, almost a murmur of recognition. Kyosia figured she must have imagined it however. It seemed impossible that anyone back there would recognize a song from the future of another planet.

Magika's eyes widened however, indicating that she too had felt the slight change in the atmosphere of the vessel. She shrugged, a slight encouragement to continue the song.

Tentatively, Kyosia added the words from the ancient Earth song.

"Lately when I'm in my room, all by myself
In the solitary gloom, I call to myself...
Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes
Love never made a fool of you,
You used to be too wise.
Hey there, you on that high flying cloud,
Though he won't throw a crumb to you,
You think someday he'll come to you.
Better forget him,
Him with his nose in the air.
He's got you dancing on a string,
Break it and he won't care.
Won't you take this advice I hand you like a mother,
Or are you not seeing things to clear?
Are you too much in love to hear?
Is it all going in one ear and out the other?"

Kyosia let the last note hang in the air. It wasn't technically the end of the song, but since the next part was a duet, and last time she checked she was only one person, she decided to let it go. The Weyrwoman was about to comment on the appropriate and slightly tactless choice of music, but she was interrupted by a soft voice from the wagon's bed.

Li's singing voice was shaky, but she obviously knew the words. "Hey there, you with the stars in your eyes."

The slightly off-key end of the phrase faded into the otherwise silent night while the gold/orangerider waited expectantly for a reply. Magika stiffened in her seat, and nodded meaningfully at Kyosia, obviously encouraging the opalrider to continue. The response however was delivered by an even softer voice, slightly hoarse due to recent neglect. "Are you talking to me?"

Kyosia snapped her gaping mouth shut as the song continued on without her. "Love never made a fool of you." Li turned to face the centre of the wagon.

"Not until now." Sherry sat up, brushing a piece of bright orange hair out of her eyes.

"You used to be too wise."

"Yes, I was. Once."

"Won't you take this advice I give you like a mother?"

"Or am I not seeing things too clear?"

"Are you just too far gone to hear?"

"Is it all going in one ear and out the other..."

The two girls finished the song together, voices nothing compared to Kyosia's trained soprano, but beautiful none the less.

Magika was grinning. It may be a sorrowful, regret-filled chorus, but it was communication. A thousand different questions raced through her mind and the Weyrwoman took a moment to sort through which one would be the best for this fledgling conversation. She was surprised once again as, miracle of miracles, Mik'len too joined the fray. "How do you two know one of Kyosia's songs?"

Sherry and Li both shrugged. "Dunno."

"Earth!" Kyosia turned as well, hanging her legs into the bed of the wagon instead of over the front. "I'm technically from the future of your planet." She shook her head in wonderment. "I knew it was an old song but I had no idea it was that old."

Li's eyes widened slightly. "You have no idea. That song was considered old-ish while we were there."

Sherry couldn't quite smile. "It is quite pretty though."

Mik'len grunted his assent. "I guess that's how it lasted."

It was awkward, it was feeble and it was currently completely irrelevant to the matter the three should be discussing, but it was a conversation and Magika couldn't help but grin. Maybe this party wouldn't be a total write-off.

The promise held within the just visible, distant light from the Hold seemed to encourage even the horse, and the pace finally picked up from dull trudge to a brisk walk. It wasn't quite as quick as she would have liked, but Magika wasn't going to complain. It was progress.

* * *

"Y'know who's stupid?"

Magika, clearly amused, raised a brow in mock seriousness. "No. Who?" Due to her longstanding friendship with Mystic Dragon, the Weyrwoman was fully aware of how much fun the 'quiet ones' could be when exposed to the wonderful world of semi-toxic beverages. Apparently Sharon Malcom, green-whiterider of Earth, was no exception.

The overly inebriated woman leaned closer to her senior, effecting the kind of loud obvious whisper that only the truly drunk believe discrete. "A'diar."

The honoured guest of this esteemed party smirked into her mug. "Really?"

Sherry nodded sagely. "Yep. Dumb as a brick."

"Why do you say that?" Magika had a small voice inside her mentioning that drunk was probably not the best way to get Sherry to talk about her feelings. A much louder voice, the same one that was calling for another round, agreed that it was not the best way, just the only way. Magika had a habit of listening to the louder voice.

"Because he went chasing after some slut from god knows where when he had two chicks at home willing to put out." Sherry quickly downed the remnants of liquor in her glass and grabbed a refill from a passing tray.

Slightly shocked by the rather vulgar, if accurate, observation, Magika found she couldn't exactly argue with that logic. Still, the little voice was insisting she give it her best shot and the Weyrwoman figured if she did this one small thing to placate it, maybe it'd leave her the rest of the night in peace. "I think it was actually Doroboth who did the chasing."

Sherry made an irreproducible noise of drunken dissent. "Naw. He's just stupid." The green/whiterider laid her head on the nice, solid, oaken table. Everything was a little bit fuzzy, causing her to need the sturdy piece of furniture to ground the slowly rotating room. She was pleasantly muddled, but had gotten something in her eyes. Something stinging. "I just hope Li can get over him." She saw the tears falling on the wood, but did not recognize them as her own.

The older woman felt slightly uncomfortable offering solace in matters of love, but, seeing as she was the closest thing to a friend not currently in a complete drunken stupor, felt obliged to none the less. She tentatively put an arm around the green/whiterider's shoulder's. Sherry accepted this gesture, transferring her sobbing from the table to the Weyrwoman's chest. Magika stroked the girl's hair. "What about you?"

"I... I... I..." Sherry struggled for the words between sobs. "I don't care!" She bawled even harder.

Magika sighed softly, rolling her eyes. "I can tell."

"No!" The Weyrwoman's head snapped up to see Kyosia removing a candelabra from Li's drunken possession. "No." She repeated the word in the kind of stern tone people use when speaking to small children, dogs and anything else they don't actually expect to listen.

Li simply giggled and snatched at the light again. The little flames seemed to dance on the candle wicks, especially now that the opalrider was forced to swing it around to avoid the orange/goldrider's clutching hands.

Thinking quick, Kyosia took a deep breath and extinguished the source of the other girl's fascination. "Fire is not our friend."

Undeterred by this development, Li snatched the candelabra and stared intently at black and crumbling wicks. She couldn't for the life of her figure out why the opalrider had been so uptight about this thing. Finally bored, the Earthling exchanged the ornament for two glasses of some unknown liquor as serving girl walked past. With a bright smile Li attempted to hand off one of the glasses to Kyosia.

The opalrider rolled her eyes, took the glass, and promptly set it, untouched, upon a table. She had tried, near the beginning of the night, to explain that she did not drink alcohol. This concept was apparently completely foreign to the quickly inebriated Li. Kyosia had given up refusing the glasses when she realized the other rider was just drinking both if one was not removed from her grasp.

Yet, Kyosia found herself thinking as she once again caught her unsteady companion, if she could pick one night to be a lush, this would have been it. She couldn't help but believe that this entire situation would be easier to deal with if she wasn't capable of dealing with it.

"Li!" Sherry threw herself to her feet, and promptly fell to the floor. Magika moved to help her, but the usually reserved girl was much too quick. Using the edge of the table as a crutch, Sherry regained her balance and stared blankly for a moment before finally remembering what she'd been on about seconds before. "Li!"

"Sher?" Li looked for her friend, but the room seemed to be against this plan. It whirled and spun colours together in a most unhelpful manner.

"Li!" The green/whiterider had finally stumbled to her friend's side and threw her arms around the younger girl. "Poor Li."

Slightly confused, the brunette patted Sherry on the back, looking to Kyosia for support. Literally. Only the opalrider's quick reflexes saved them both from another visit to Mr. Floor. Sherry continued to sob unabated. "It must be so hard to forget him!"

Li blinked. "Who?"

Sherry simply wailed louder. "Such a brave farce!"

Kyosia sighed, steering them both towards a bench and keeping herself between Li and any passing drink trays.

"It'd be wrong, wouldn't it?" Magika jumped at the sound of the familiar voice. She hadn't heard the bronzerider approach, a testament to her own condition as Mik'len as 'stealthy' would not be a word to describe his current movements. He collapsed into the chair Sherry had so recently vacated obviously unable to continue remaining upright under his own power.

"What?" Magika sipped her drink, wondering idly if Mik wanted a hug too.

"Doing it. Now. When she's like this." The bronzerider nodded his head in the direction of the trio of Adanuk riders sitting amongst the celebrating Holders. He seemed unbelievably tired.

Magika raised her eyebrows. That had been a rather definite statement on his intentions. Every since decking his best friend in the Weyrbowl, Mik'len had been annoyingly vague about his feelings towards the contested girls. The Weyrwoman shrugged. "What do you want me to say Mik?"

A sad half smile crossed the bronzerider's face. "She's drunk. I'm drunk." He shook his head. "It would be wrong."

"Yeah." Magika agreed.

"But I really don't think I'll have the courage tomorrow." Mik'len leaned back in the chair pushing Sherry's half empty glass around the table in front of him.

Magika smiled. "I wouldn't either. Deep intimate confessions are even more difficult hung over than they are normally."

"It's not fair." He resumed staring unabashedly at the three Earthling girls.

Magika shrugged. "He's in love too you know."

"What?" The half empty glass went skidding along the table, plummeting off the edge and smashing to pieces on the floor below. The noise drew a few looks from the inebriated room, but not that many. It wasn't the first broken glass of the evening and it was most likely not going to be the last.

The Weyrwoman laughed. "C'mon Mik. You've known him longer than me. How often have you seen Diar hold off on getting girls into bed? He loves her." She finished the rest of her drink. "And he'll fix this. Somehow." The 'or I'm not letting him back into the Weyr' was left unspoken.

After the initial shock of Magika's declaration, Mik'len realized that he had known this all along. He wasn't stupid. He did know Diar. That's why he'd been holding off. Because he'd seen girls come between friends before. Because if he actually competed against Diar for the same girl, the charming, womanizing, lying bastard would win. And he couldn't lose. Not her. Not to him. So he'd resigned himself to loving her quietly, privately and safely in his own way. But then A'diar had messed everything up and for one shining moment he'd thought that maybe, maybe after all, he had a chance. That chance had died with the light in her eyes when she heard Diar's news. She cared for A'diar. Deeply. Mik'len wondered if he was drunk enough to cry.

Kyosia handed Sherry the glass of water she had finally managed to appropriate and slapped Li's hand away from a decanter. "Feeling any better?"

The green/whiterider had finally stopped sniffling. She nodded slowly and sipped the water, hiccuping slightly. "I just... I mean... I thought..." She obviously couldn't find a place to start. "Adiar..."

"Ah!" Li cut her off, clapping her hand over the startled girl's mouth. Or at least attempted to. In reality, she covered Sherry's nose, but the action had the desired effect regardless. "No. We will not speak of him. He is dead to us. Right?"

Sherry hiccuped again, but nodded her assent. "Right."

"There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Right?"

Another hiccup and nod.

"Besides." How the drunken girl managed a mischievous smile was beyond Kyosia. "Mik'len's much cuter anyways."

"Li!" Sherry was shocked.

"Aw, don't pretend you haven't noticed him staring at you for the last ten minutes." Li threw an arm playfully over her friend's shoulder.

Sherry blushed deeply. "We're all sitting together Li. He could be staring at you for all we know. Or even Kyosia!"

"Even me?" Kyosia couldn't help but take slight offence at that. She didn't have guys falling over her, true, but she wasn't that unattractive was she?

"Oh!" Sherry blushed even deeper. "I didn't mean it like that!" The rest of the apology was drowned by Li's giggles.

It was getting late, and Kyosia suddenly felt a lot moodier. She looked for Magika, to signal her departure, but the Weyrwoman was still engrossed in conversation with the stricken bronzerider.

"Which one are you after anyways?" The party was beginning to wind down, finally. The music had stopped, the lights were dimming and people were slowly stumbling to their feet and dragging themselves home. Magika could see Kyosia standing in the doorway, Li on one shoulder and Sherry on the other. The opalrider nodded her head in the direction of bed, but Magika waved her on. She'd catch up later.

"Hmm?" Mik'len hadn't noticed the guests leave, so he was more that a little surprised to find himself alone with the older rider in the eerily quiet room. It seemed so unnatural that the vibrant mood could disperse to silent slumber so quickly.

"Which one, Sherry or Li?" Magika stood and helped the bronzerider to his unsteady feet.

He snorted. "You can't tell?" He couldn't help but notice Magika's smirk. "I'm drunk, not stupid. I know I'm pathetically obvious."

"Heh." She continued to smile to herself as, supporting each other, the two metallic riders helped each other to the rooms the Lord Holder had given them for the night. "I figured as much. But thought I might as well ask."

* * *

Magika was hungover, which she thought was particularly unfair. After all, she hadn't spent last night in a drunken stupor, she'd been counselling her grieving friends. It was utterly unreasonable that this pounding headache and unsettling nausea should be haunting her. Preposterous! Doubly so as the sun wasn't even up yet! Everyone knew that hangovers were forbidden from striking until the afflicted had been touched by natural light! And, to top everything off, she was now hallucinating, as there was no way in hell a dragonrider was actually arriving at the Hold, causing her to be conscious at this ungodly hour.

"Weyrwoman!" The young girl was fairly adamant for a figment of her imagination. "The Lord Holder requests your presence to great the rider."

Magika moaned and untangled herself from the mass of bodies sharing the pile of blankets that must have once been a bed. She wasn't surprised to find Mik'len there, mostly because it was his room she had crashed in last night, but the presence of Sherry, Li and Kyosia surprised her slightly. Or would have, had she actually believed she was awake and not dreaming this entire incident.

"Weyrwoman!"

"M'up." Magika stumbled to the door and opened it. The servant girl regarded the esteemed leader of Adanuk Weyr skeptically. Obvious disapproval for the Weyrwoman's state of dress was evident on her face.

Magika looked down to discover that she was still wearing the clothes she'd been wearing yesterday, now rumpled, dirty and smelling of alcohol. The goldrider figured the servant was lucky Magika was dressed period. She raised a brow in challenge, daring the girl to ask her to change.

The servant backed down and hurried down the hall expecting Magika to follow. Within seconds they were met by a man moving quickly towards them, way too excited for the hour. "Magika!"

"Diar?" She foggily recognized the voice. It did a lot more to wake her up than any amount of threatening from the help would have. She quickly turned, looking back down the hall to ensure that the black/brownrider's greeting hadn't inadvertently woken any of those currently seeking his blood. "What the hell are you doing here?"

The trouble-making rider was in too good a mood to have it ruined by Magika's less than friendly greeting. "I've been doing some thinking."

Magika pointed down the hall. "Out of the Hold."

"But I came to talk to..."

"Out!" She had to admit it hurt a little bit to see the wind leave Diar's sails, but the last thing Sherry, Li and Mik needed was another round of emotional turmoil. "Back to Seiryuu until the clutch hatches!"

"Where are the girls?"

"Sleeping." Magika was still a little fuzzy. The mallets pounding into her temples were not aiding the thought process either. "Just give everyone a little more time Diar."

The black/brownrider was annoyingly persistent. "You told me to fix everything Magika. I'm going to. Or at least fix some of it... before it's entirely too late." He hesitated slightly. He knew choosing one over the other, especially since most guys would have given up on both of them by now, might cause a second flare of trouble, but it would be ultimately for the best. A'diar had never been so sure of anything in his life as he was of the absolute necessity of Sherry hearing these words. "Which room is Sherry in?"

Magika rolled her eyes as A'diar stomped past. He was obviously going to open every door in the Hold if she didn't co-operate. "On the left. Mik'len's." He'd been here before. He knew the way.

Oddly, her sudden switch to annoyed acceptance seemed to have the effect she'd been going for with stern disagreement. The black/brownrider froze, suddenly, almost as if Magika had shot him in the back instead of given him directions. He turned slowly to face her, a look so pained on his face the Weyrwoman did fear for his health.

"Diar?" Magika took a step towards him, ready to offer assistance the instant she discovered exactly what was wrong with him. Was he suddenly having second thoughts about talking to her?

A'diar took a step back, almost bumping into Kyosia, who had heard the commotion and come to investigate. A'diar closed his eyes and shook his head, disbelief replacing pain. "No... After everything..." He suddenly rushed at Magika, dexterity honed by years as a thief allowing him to escape down the hall at break neck speed.

"What?" Kyosia was confused. Although not hung over, she had come in later in the conversation. "Too late? For what?" Having been closer to the black/brownrider, the opalrider had heard his last muttered words.

Sudden realization dawned on Magika, her discussion with Mik'len last night blending perfectly with her cold greeting and simple declaration that Sherry was -sleeping- in Mik'len's room to create the perfect misinterpretation. "Fuck. Diar! Wait! It's not what you think!" She got about fifteen steps before everything in her stomach that had not yet left her stomach informed her that it was going to make a reappearance if she kept up with this silly nonsense of chasing confused love struck subordinates through the halls. "Ughh..." She groaned and leaned against the wall for support. "Damn Diar!"

Kyosia wasn't entirely sympathetic towards her older friend's condition. Magika could only be thankful that Kyosia wasn't Mystic. Then instead of just disapproving, uncaring looks, she'd be getting a lecture as well. "What on Pern possessed you to tell A'diar that Sherry was sleeping in Mik'len's room?"

"Well she is!" Magika snapped. "We all are!" She moaned again, trying to calm herself before she actually was sick. "What in gods name are we all doing in there anyways?!?"

Kyosia shrugged and finally offered a shoulder to help the severely hung over goldrider back to the room. "I don't know this Hold. Everyone was out of it. So I just followed you."

Magika groaned yet again, although this one had less to do with the condition in her stomach and more to do with her growing awareness of just how messed up this situation was becoming. "Fine. Let him go back to Seiryuu and mope. Everyone needs to just settle down!" The Weyrwoman opened the door softly, hoping that Mik, Sherry and Li were still dead to the world.

"He was here, wasn't he?!?" Sherry was surprisingly mobile and conscious for someone who had consumed so large a volume of alcohol the previous evening. She had leapt to her feet the moment the door had opened. Li, on the other hand, remained lying in the tangle of blankets and furs, obviously awake yet not moving. Mik'len was no where in sight.

"No." Magika didn't actually expect them to believe her, but she thought she'd try. She collapsed into the chair beside the customary writing desk that all guest rooms sported. Kyosia got her a glass of water and then, helpfully, vanished.

"He was too! I heard him." Sherry took a few steps towards the older woman. "What... what did he want?"

Magika glared, hoping the timid girl would back down.

Sherry bit her lip and took another step forward. "Weyrwoman?"

Magika shook her head. No good would come of this. "He just wanted to talk to you girls. But there was... a misunderstanding. He's probably back in Seiryuu by now."

Unshed tears swelled in the white/greenrider's eyes. She continued to gnaw her lip, obviously unsure of what she ought to be doing.

"He just took off again?" Li snorted. "Like a spoiled teenager." Both Sherry and Li could vividly remember that feeling. "Probably expects us to go looking for him..."

"Don't go." Mik'len's voice was low and pleading. However despite the low pitch, it managed to command the attention of everyone in the room, at least partially because no one had known he was still there. He miraculously managed to divest himself of the mountain of blankets he'd been buried under without losing the seriousness of his request. "Please."

An odd look crossed Li's face. She spoke softly, as if she didn't think the conversation really involved her. "I wasn't going too..." She seemed oddly calm for losing a man she once would have called her true love.

"But what if he changes his mind?" Sherry was closer to frantic.

It was Mik'len's turn to snort in disgust. "You heard Magika. 'You girls'. He hasn't made up his mind in the first place, so he can't very well change it. He's hopeless. He doesn't understand l... love." He stumbled slightly over the word. " At all." The 'I'm not sure I do' was left unspoken.

"He said he'd come to fix things." Magika snapped. A'diar was taking a lot of the blame here, and yes he had been an idiot, but none of the three confused riders before her really deserved any awards for brilliance either. "Which sure as hell beats moping and whining and..."

"And what do you think he's doing now back at Seiryuu?" Mik'len snapped back just as quick.

"Damn it!" Magika slammed the glass of water down on the desk beside her. The liquid sloshed out of the cup, forming a small pool around the base of the glass. "No one is doing anything right here! We all just need to stop and think..."

"Who?" That single calmly spoken word from Sherry silenced the raging Weyrwoman.

Magika thought for a moment, then shook her head. "No. It doesn't matter..."

"Who?" Sherry looked up. Magika had never seen such fierce determination in the white/greenrider's eyes. It suited her. "I'm going anyways." She raised a hand to stop protests from both Li and Mik'len before they were voiced. "So who?"

Another sigh escaped Magika's lips. The final sigh she'd ever heave over this matter. For better or worse, she was butting out and leaving this love business in the obviously entirely incapable, yet willing hands of those who were actually in the stupid thing. "You." Sherry was out the door so fast, Magika was pretty sure she didn't hear the rest. "He came to see you."

* * *

"I can't believe how stupid, idiotic, foolish, brain dead, dumb, moronic..." A'diar's list of synonyms continued as he ran for Doroboth. He found his fists clenching and unclenching as his emotions roller coastered between rage and hopelessness. He'd blown it. Big time. He should have known. Mik wasn't an idiot. He might've moped around when Diar was leading both of the girls on, but when Diar had screwed up the bronzerider would have wasted no time swooping in and rescuing his grieving crush.

A'diar was clenching his jaw so tight the muscles began to ache. He flung open the last door between him and his mount. He was getting out of here. "So... so... so... stupid!!"

"Yeah. I know." For the second time that morning, Diar was stunned silent. "Magika, Mik and Li all told me the same thing." Sherry stood beside Doroboth, looking a little unsteady but undoubtably present.

"Nng?" The noise that A'diar uttered didn't even remotely resemble common.

The white/greenrider almost smiled, but seemed a little too nervous to actually grin. "Y'know of all the possible things I could think of for you to fly from Seiryuu to tell me, that wasn't one of them."

"You?" A'diar finally stepped out of the doorway, closing the door behind him. The two of them were practically alone. At this hour of the morning, no one else in the Hold was up and about. "Magika told you?"

Sherry nodded, clasping her hands in front of her, hopefully to stop them from shaking.

A'diar wasn't exactly sure how to proceed. He wasn't sure what to say, so he started soft. "Magika said..." Sherry cocked her head in confusion, obviously unable to hear him. He suddenly became unbelievably aware of the distance still between them. He began again, a little louder. "Magika said you were with Mik'len."

"Yeah, well. I had a lot to drink last night." A'diar raised a brow, wondering if she was really offering that as an excuse for sleeping with his best friend. Kinda. If they ever talked to each other again. Sherry shook her head quickly, sensing his misunderstanding. "We all had a lot to drink last night and we all kinda ended up there. Then we slept! That's it!"

To the white/greenrider's never ending relief, A'diar smiled. "So Mik managed to sleep with three girls at the same time? Man, I missed one hell of a party last night."

Sherry laughed and A'diar quickly crossed the few feet that separated them. He couldn't help thinking it was funny. It seemed like so much more space when she wasn't smiling.

* * *

Mik'len sighed as the door closed behind Magika. The older woman had declared that she was going back to sleep in her own room and anyone who did anything to ruin these plans would be walking back to Adanuk, potentially without their feet. That had kinda killed the conversation. Neither of the two riders left behind moved in her absence yet, neither of their befuddled and slightly still intoxicated minds having absorbed all that had happened yet.

"Wow." Mik'len was pretty sure he was going to need quite a bit of time before this actually made sense.

Li gave him a sad half smile. "Yeah. I know. It's crazy isn't it?" The orange/goldrider stretched and wondered if she was actually feeling up to finding breakfast. Although she was pretty sure the hollow, empty feeling in her gut had nothing to do with food. It really was crazy. First A'diar had left her, proving that he, like every other man on the face of this planet or any other for that matter, wasn't worth his weight in chicken feathers. And yes she did mean leave her. Now that it was all settled, she had less trouble admitting her feelings to herself. It helped with the excessive self-pity. Then he'd further twisted the knife by choosing Sherry, who had gone running back to him, also leaving her. Li sighed, biting her lip to keep back tears. It wasn't that she wanted the asshole, she was strictly a one strike and you're out kind of girl, but for Sherry to just up and leave her, with, of all people, another man craving her shy, aloof yet alluring presence was too much. Was she really that bad a person?

"I just can't believe it." Mik'len shook his head again.

Li wished he's just shut up. He'd lost. Against all odds, he'd gone up against A'diar and lost. "Apparently love makes you stupid." She forced herself to her feet, determined to escape this damned room. Maybe food would help after all.

Her action seemed to startle Mik'len back into the present. Although it also seemed to startle the common language right out of his mind. "Mph?" He attempted to gain his feet as well, presumably with the intent of joining her in seeking solace in food.

Li kept going, pulling the door open carelessly. She didn't really feel like comforting him. It wasn't her fault he'd fallen for a girl in love with someone else. It wasn't her fault that he was too nice a guy to make a move on her when A'diar was still working things out. It wasn't her fault that he hadn't taken advantage all of the times she'd gone running to him in the last few weeks, knowing he'd understand her troubles. It wasn't her fault he'd been so bloody respectful of her feelings, waiting for her to sort things out herself. It wasn't her fault he'd been willing to take it slow, letting her move at her own pace. It wasn't her fault he was so... damned... good...

God, will I ever learn? She stopped in the doorway, blushing slightly. "If it makes any difference, I'd have chosen you." After that embarrassing declaration, she attempted to beat a hasty retreat, but was stopped by a gentle, yet determined grip on her wrist.

"Li..." Mik'len pulled her back into the room. "I'm not surprised that A'diar got the girl he wanted. He always does. It's something I just got used to living with."

The Earth girl was puzzled. "But you said..."

"I couldn't believe it?" He smiled, but there was still a nervousness in his actions. He was scared to utter the next sentence, irrationally terrified that vocalizing it would make it some how untrue. "Yeah. This is the first time we haven't been going after the same girl."

The door clicked shut again behind her, taking all of the girl's astonished weight. Li's eyes widened for a second, a look of incomprehension crossing her face, the confusion of those who have finally understood something, but don't quite believe it yet. She shook her head, replaced the wonderment with almost outright anger. "No."

Irrational terror my ass. "No?" Mik'len knew it was too good to be true.

"No." Li shook her head firmly. "It doesn't work like this."

"It doesn't?" Now he was really lost. Hadn't she said she'd have chosen him? Or had those really just been empty words of comfort like he'd feared?

"It doesn't. This is... ridiculous!" She turned to face the closed door, struggling to get her thoughts in order, her emotions back in check. "It can't all just work like this. It can't be... this easy."

"Easy?" Mik'len took a few steps back so he could rant without yelling right in Li's face.. "What about this was easy? The hating my best friend? The doubting myself? The feeling of helplessness as I thought he was going to get away with you? The rage at not being able to make it all better? Easy? EASY?!? Damn! You have an odd definition of easy Li."

Li didn't much like being yelled at. She whirled around again, her vain attempt at composure completely abandoned. "What would you call it when everything just fits like this!"

"Fate!"

"Fine!"

"Fine?" It had started as a yelled reply, but had ended up more like a question. "Really?"

"Besides!" Li didn't feel like lowering her voice, Magika be damned. "It's about time something went my way!"

Mik'len smirked. "A little self-piteous?"

Li raised a brow. "Because you're just a ball of burning confidence?" She moved past him, back towards the tangled blankets.

As Mik'len joined her in reclining, there was a moment of comfortable silence. The first in a very long time. "I thought you were hungry."

"Do you remember the feast last night?" Li shook her head, which was now resting on his shoulder. "I'm full."

* * *

"Magika?" Kyosia knocked tentatively on the older woman's door. She'd been locked in there most of the day. "You alive?"

"If I say no will you go away?"

"No."

"Damn." Kyosia could hear odd shuffling noises, quite likely Magika finding clothes. "C'min."

The opalrider opened the door to be greeted with the figure of the esteemed Weyrwoman still hiding from the light of day, her head planted firmly beneath the pillow. Although she was at least wearing clean clothes. "You can't still be hungover."

"If that's all you came to say, you can leave now." Her voice was surprisingly clear given the layers of fabric between her mouth and Kyosia's ears.

The younger woman smiled. "What else am I supposed to do? Diar is making eyes at Sherry and Mik's making them at Li. I'm a fifth wheel downstairs."

"Hn." Somehow, Kyosia could tell Magika was smiling. "He fixed everything after all?"

"Of course." Kyosia joined Magika on the bed. "He and Mik'len are joking around like as recently as yesterday they wouldn't have killed each other." The opalrider was positively beaming. "They have some kinda bet about whether or not A'diar will get beaten up by some Weyrleader when Doroboth's clutch hatches."

"Damn." Magika sighed heavily. A single hand shot out, fumbling around her bedside table for something.

"Aw. Poor old lady sad she lost her two younger play things?" Kyosia could resort back into Melody very easily apparently.

The Weyrwoman practically threw the bag of coins at the younger woman. "I can get more!"

Kyosia hefted the bag. "Hey! I said fifty marks they'd all be together before the clutch hatches!"

Magika moaned. "That's all I have on me. Wait 'til we get back to Adanuk."

The younger woman snorted. "Okay." Her tone changed to a warning. "But I'm not going to forget about this."

"I know."

"Or let you live this down."

"I know!"

"I need the marks for that harp..."

"I know!" The pillow followed the coin purses trajectory.

Kyosia clinked coins together softly as Magika lay and mourned her fate. "Y'know it's not right to bet on our friends like this."

Magika opened her eyes and raised a brow. "Really?"

Kyosia nodded. "Really."

Magika closed her eyes again smugly. "Double or nothing, M'slin decks A'diar before he's back safely in Sherry's arms."

Kyosia dropped the purse back on the bed with a grin. "You're on." The opalrider turned to go.

"Hey!" Magika sat up quickly, stopping her before she completed her escape. "You didn't ask Celeste did you?" The suspicious older woman glared. "I told you that was cheating."

Kyosia shrugged. "I did, but she didn't really have anything helpful to add."

"What did she say?"

"She said you had no right to mock the stupid things people do while in love." Kyosia remembered the Healer's words clearly. "She really stressed the -you- thing."

"A certain opalrider has a crush too maybe?" Magika smirked, laying back down.

"You you not you me." Kyosia rolled her eyes.

"Me? Why?"

The opalrider shrugged. "Dunno. You're the one who thinks she's psychic."

"She is psychic." Magika yawned again, completely ignoring any other possible interpretations of the Healer's prediction. "She's probably just upset with the whole betting on our friends thing."

Kyosia smiled, closing the door behind her. "Yeah. That must be it."

* * *
Read Sherry's candidate story.
Read Li’s candidate story.
Sherry and Li both impressed at The Healing Den.
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