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All My Children


Date:  March 27(?), 1998
Place:  Telgar Weyr Lake Shore
Game:  PernMUSH
Copyright Info:  The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey 
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

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Kassi's Note:  This is short, and dubiously significant, but 
nostalgia and the fact that I miss M'kla made me add it.  Kassi and
M'kla meet up at the Lake Shore and spend a bit of time discussing
their respective pasts and respective children.  The scene does a
fair job of displaying the general dynamic between the two 
characters, and may be worth reading mainly for that.

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The Log:

M'kla heads over from the central bowl.

M'kla wanders up, her hands in her pockets.

Considerable splashing can be heard from the Lake, most of it the work of
fire-lizards at play--though not all. Lysseth's bathings are never wholly
peaceful things... which might explain why the dragon seems intent in
throwing Kassi off to land in the Lake with a resounding splash every few
minutes. One of these splashes takes place just as M'kla wanders in, so the
greenrider's greeting to the Weyrsecond is rather spluttered. "Heya *cough,
hack* M'kla," she manages to call.

M'kla looks up and smiles some, calling out over the noisy waters, "Evening
lass..."

Lysseth rumbles her own greeting to the Weyrsecond, reluctantly allowing
Kassi to clambor back up onto her back with the ostensible purpose of
finishing the scrubbing. Several 'lizards are nudged from their temporary
perches so that the greenrider can once again attack a particularly
stubborn back ridge with sand. "Fine night," she offers, conversationally,
"t'be out by the Lake, isn't it? Though I could wish Her Ladyship was in a
less mischievous mood."

M'kla chuckles and takes a seat on a boulder nearby, "Aye, well. Praps. I
don't care for water as I once did."

"The stars are pretty, though. What can be seen through the clouds. And the
crocusses, as Lyss would attest, are lovely." Kassi flicks a stray one from
Lysseth's furled wing; it falls down to hit the water in a brief flash of
delicate moonlit pink. "Just out for a walk, then?"

M'kla smiles a bit, or so it seems from where she sits, "Aye, I am. Got a
letter from my second to youngest. He's been accepted at the Hall for
apprenticeship. T'shel's wroth and I dan't know what to make of a Healer
for a son."

Kassima pauses in her scrubbing, straightening to look over at the
rock-perched M'kla. "Myshel, isn't it? I think I recall when T'shel brought
him over to Benden. Wanted him t'be a rider, didn't he?" The greenrider
snorts a bit, flicking her water-logged and still faintly green-tinged
plait back over her shoulder. "Mayhaps your lad will be one of those rare
Healers who aren't terribly sadistic. Maylia and Thera were Healers, and
they turned out all right."

M'kla chuckles some, "Aye, well, I can hope. And aye, he was. T'shel's
sworn him off, the big bastard."

Though it's hard to see Kassi's expression in the dark and from a distance,
her voice speaks volumes of disgust. "Just as well for Myshel, I should
think. Mayhaps now he can seek out what he wants in life without
interference from his blood-sire. How's he taking it?"

M'kla chuckles, "I dan't think he /actually/ noticed. I'd sent him tae be
fostered with Kymra, a cousin o mine, back before the turnover. Didn't take
him long to get apprenticed."

M'kla crosses her legs atop the boulder, watching the darkening shapes.

Kassima grins, her tone lightening considerably. "He must be talented,
then. I wish him all the best. I've a cousin at the Hall, m'self--Kyssia, a
Journeywoman now. I hear from her on occasion." The greenrider shakes her
head. "The only thing I really know about the place is that their garden's
just crawling with trundlebugs."

M'kla laughs some. "Aye, well...we'll see how he fairs. Kylarr finally
walked the tables tae Journeyman himself, at the Harpers. He's been posted
to UpNorth, in the Reaches' coverage."

M'kla says "An Myklarr's got himself working as an assistant assistant
steward back at Benden. I didn't know he could stir himself e'en that much.""

M'kla says more quietly, "An Sayla's expecting again. We'll see if she
carries this one. Just leaves Meddy an Mykkie here at the Weyr with me."

M'kla says "An I wager Meddy'll eventually find himself a dragon, or a
craft. He's nay but nine.""

"Now, he, I definitely remember. Saw him at a 'lizard Hatching at Ruatha a
few Turns agone," Kassi reminisces, finally sliding down from Lysseth's
back to let the green soak off the sand. "When I next get up to the
'Reaches, if'n I see him, 'twill have t'offer him m'congrats. Myklarr?"
That definitely surprises her; she stands still in the water for a moment
before laughing quietly and beginning the wade to shore. "Faranth help the
Steward. Nay offense meant t'your son, M'kla, but he's got... well, a
certain way about him. Has Sayla found herself a lad t'be caring for? I
rather miss that lass. 'Twill certes have t'send her m'best.
Meddy--Medrel?--isn't the one who likes ovines, is he?"

M'kla shakes her head, "Nay, that's Mykkie, the little un. Medrel only
likes scarin lasses with tunnelsnakes and crawlies." She smiles a bit,
almost bittersweet. "An Sayla says it's some bluerider now, M'thorp. She's
jest not been the same since she and Davidon split."

Kassima remarks as she finally reaches the beach and starts to wring out
the hem of her shirt--for she is, as always, wearing a loose tunic and
slacks that are now thoroughly waterlogged--"I can't believe Kaylira's
already three. Sometimes I think I'll only have one chance t'blink ere
she'll be off in some Crafthall or other, or Standing for a clutch... she's
determined t'be a brownrider, believe it or nay. Nay other color will do."
Sighing, she flops down on the sand to dry out a bit. "I never understood
why they parted company. Though Davi seems happy enough with Bree, now...
and they've even a daughter. Bonny lass, I've heard. I'd nay have marked
them for as fine a couple as he and Sayla seemed t'make, but... sometimes,
life has a way of popping up with the odd surprise."

M'kla nods some, "Aye, well. It were a strange fight. She said he were
always clinging too much, and he said she were too free...but she was born
in a Weyr!...sometimes stubborness makes for loss of bedfellows."

M'kla chuckles, "An M'larr, well...he always insisted he'd be a
bluerider...Trynth had other ideas, tae be sure."

Kassima purses her lips, faintly bemused. "Funny. I thought Davi was
weyrbred too, but I could be wrong. I really don't know all that much about
his past--odd, that. I should ask him sometime." Fingering the silver
dagger in the middle of her charm necklace, she cracks a grin at the
mention of Trynth. "Doubt he was all that disappointed t'find his lifemate
wasn't what he'd expected, eh? Never saw m'self as a greenrider--blue, if'n
aught--but Lyss did provide something of an awakening." She combs her
fingers through the sand, idly letting the grains run through her hands. "I
hope she finds someone else, if'n she wants to. Some people just don't seem
t'be happy living alone."

M'kla chuckles some, "Praps...I never have seemed to settle down m'self,
for long." On the subject of colors, she only comments, "An I never wanted
to be aught else but a greenrider."

A froth of bubbles in the Lake mark Lysseth's unheard *snort*. Blue,
indeed! Kassi rolls her eyes at some silent comment, propping her chin up
on her folded legs. "'Twill stick with solitude m'self, I think, until and
unless I find someone I think I could be happy staying with--and he with
me. I'm nay holding m'breath on that." Tilting her head, she wonders,
"Weren't you a Herder, at one point?"

M'kla smiles some, "Aye, like my ma and da afore me...but da's father were
a greenrider from Benden." She grins a bit. "Da ne'er Impressed and moved
outta the Weyr to apprentice. I dan't wonder if some of his 'dislike' o
dragons were directly related to the fact his elder brother M'nar impressed
and he did nay."

M'kla says "An ma's family were Herders at Ruatha from time unremembered."

"So that's how you and F'nar are related," Kassi exclaims, enlightened.
"I'd heard 'twere cousins, but with cousins, y'never know how many times
removed it may be... anyway, I'm digressing. Your family seems t'have its
fair share of greenriders. I wonder if'n there're characteristics that make
a bloodline turn out more of a certain color than others?" Abruptly, she
chuckles. "As if'n there aren't enough things to wonder about. Is that why
you'd a kilt in Ruatha's colors? T'be honoring 'em?"

M'kla chuckles some, "I dunno...there be as many greens as all other colors
combined...I dan't suppose it were just luck most of us got green...after
all, F'nar took blue, as did his half sister Fana."

M'kla says "an M'larr got bronze, of all things."

M'kla thinks for a long moment, "Actually, dragonriding runs strong on my
da's side...most were Benden riders, at least on of em, if not both. And
many hailed from Ruatha...seems there's a strong connection to dragonriding
in Ruatha's blood. My ma's younger sister Kyli were a brownrider, but she
died in *between* training. Ma died ofore she saw me Impress."

Kassima grins. "Every bloodline has its flaws," she teases. "They can't all
ride the perfect color! 'Twas just thinking it odd, that of the four riders
in m'close family, three of us are green... 'tis likely coincidence,
though." The mention of the Ruatha/Benden connection brings a nod from her.
"Aye. Thera and I were both up at Ruatha for a time; we've kin there... nay
that close, but still. 'Twas where Chaeth found me. And Aphrael and Bree,
both of them were Ruathan. Sometimes it seems just going to stay at Ruatha
for any time 'tall marks you for a dragonrider; half of m'friends from
there Impressed, Nie and Mart t'brown, Bree and Aph t'blue... d'you think
your mum would've been pleased?"

M'kla smiles faintly, "Probably not. She found it frivilous, dangerous
occupation. It were before the Pass, mind you. Da weren't so pleased
himself, but bless his old heart, he's passed on too, some four turns after
I Impressed."

M'kla says "I were a late child," she explains, "Me an my brother Mylar. We
were born a couple of days apart, an he were always a sickly boy. He died
from the cough when we were nine. Ma passed away two summers a'ter that.
She got kicked in the head by a runner, while I were just away apprenticed
to the Hall. Da were never the same. He was close to fifty when I were born.""

"Frivilous?" Kassima repeats drolly. "Odd way t'be seeing it. Mum calls it
a crazed person's death-trap, but never frivilous. Still, sounds like they
reacted better'n some do." Choosing a likely-looking rock, she leans back
against it and plays absently with her decidedly green-tinted braid. "A
couple of days apart? I didn't know twins--I'm assuming you were--could be
born days apart. Never really seen it a'fore." After a pause, she adds, a
touch awkwardly, "I'm sorry t'hear of your loss."

M'kla chuckles some, "Nay lass. Death is part o life. And we were, but ma
had trouble with Mylar."

Kassima chuckles faintly. "'Tis certes that. 'Twould almost make me feel
guilty for still having a clan that's mostly living, if'n all of 'em
weren't so prolific that it'd take a plague t'thin the bloodline much." She
tilts her head, considering something. "This is likely none of m'business,
but I figure you can always tell me t'bugger off if'n you don't want
t'answer, so... was that why you decided t'be a midwife, t'help women
having trouble like that? Or was it just something you decided t'be doing
for the fun of it?"

M'kla chuckles, "Nay...It started by accident. I were on a field trip with
my master, Annabarre, and she went into labor halfway up a mountain. I
helped her, before help could get there. So after that, I decided better
prepared than not!"

Kassima laughs, curiousity satisfied by that explanation. "Well, I wager
the other women of the Weyr would agree with me when I say 'tis better
t'have a good midwife around than having everyone have t'deal with Garant
and Ushu. Garant I can live with, wisecracks and all, but Ushu... the man's
mad, y'know. Completely mad. If'n 'tweren't for Maylia, I'm nay certain
what would've happened with Khari--the man fainted, for Faranth's sake."
Wickedly, she notes, "Jhor promised me we'd throw him in the feeding pens
during Leilanth's next flight. Think I should take him up on that?"

M'kla laughs at that, and just shakes her head.

Kassima adds thoughtfully, "Or there's always 'Lex and Tinya's suggestion,
that we tie him to a dragon with a long, long rope, stuff his clothes full
of rose petals, beat him around for a bit like one of those big hanging
things that 'Lex said children whack t'get candies from, then send the
dragon *between*--and solve once and for all whether or nay he'd go
*between* too, on a rope like that. If'n nay, we'd bury him in more petals
when he landed." Her smile is rather whimsical. There can be no doubt that
she rather *likes* that image.

M'kla chuckles some, "Kassima, yer flat out mad. I think, if Kylarr didnae
perfer men, you'd make a fine weyrmate for the boy."

Kassima laughs, casting her eyes up towards the sky. "I do believe that's
the first time anyone's ever said I'd be a good match for someone, instead
of trying to convince me the other way 'round! If'n I pair off, I've an eye
towards doing so with a rider... and only if'n he prefers women, thankee,"
she adds with a wink. "But fate may decide t'kick me in the rump someday.
Who knows?"

More seriously, Kassi remarks, "Thankee, by the way, for the madness quip.
Da always said that insanity's what keeps life from becoming dull, and I'd
really do just about aught t'keep from leading a dull life."

M'kla chuckles quietly, "Aye. Well...sometimes there's too much excitement,
but I can't blame ye for any of it."

Kassima nods, smiling slightly. "Excitement's nay always of the pleasant
kind, true. Given the choice, though, I'd rather live in interesting times.
Perhaps I'll gain a touch more sense now that I'm supposedly getting
old--if'n you listen t'Meli, anyway." She snorts. "Feh."

M'kla chuckles some, "Yer not old lass, till I'm old."

Kassima grins, lacing her fingers together and resting them atop her knees.
"As Da also says, 'You're only as old as you can convince yourself that you
feel you are.' I think that'd make me nineteen most of the time, except
when it's been a particularly trying day... at which point, you'll never
convince me I'm a day below ninety. You're only old, I think, when you get
nay joy from life anymore. How's it possible t'truly feel old when you're
laughing yourself sick over something, or truly finding pleasure in
something else?"

M'kla chuckles some, "A verra guld question, lass."

Kassima shrugs. "I have a tendency," she admits, "t'get a bit philosophical
in the later hours. Call it a quirk, if'n you will."

M'kla chuckles some, "I've seen worse tendencies, lass." She lays her chin
on her folded arms, that lay supported on her knees. She watches you for a
long bit, before chuckling again.

"Better t'be philosophical than spend your evenings stealing people's
clothing, I suppose," Kassi quips absently, though with a wry grin. "Or
dragging people out into the Bowl t'paint 'em." She rubs the bridge of her
nose without thinking about it. Oddly, said nose seems to have a faint cast
of blue to it. Go figure. "I won't even get into the tendencies of some of
m'cousins. They might give some of the weyrbrats ideas, were I overheard."

M'kla chuckles quietly.

Kassima wonders, "D'you think we'll be having a new group of Candidates
coming in soon? Seems like about the right time. I'll have t'warn Lysseth
t'keep her distance from any carrying yellow paint... y'never know *where*
Candidates might be picking up ideas." She does her best to say that in as
innocent a tone as possible, but quite likely fails miserably; something
about her just doesn't inspire one to believe innocence.

M'kla chuckles softly, "Aye...we're due for a new clutch...I wager Beneth
or Leilanth myself."

Kassima asks in surprise, "Is Beneth of age yet? She still seems rather
young... but I'm nay precisely certain how long 'twas she was Hatched.
Mayhaps 'tis Thregga's age that's throwing me off. I know Kin said that
Herath's certes nay due for another rising. I'll have t'remember t'start
watching out for a glowing queen, so that I can have plenty of liquor ready
in Lysseth's strap-pouch."

M'kla chuckles some, "Beneth's a guld six now...she should be risin!"

Kassima's eyes don't *quite* pop out of her head, but they're close enough
to it. "Shells and shards above--*when* did Thregga Impress? Faranth help
her. Mayhaps she'll go up nay long after Leilanth, if'n 'tis indeed
Leilanth who flies next." Idly, she remarks, "Now, there'd be a flight
that'd have the Weyr turned out t'be watching."

M'kla says "She were in the last clutch, Kassi...they hatched a good six
turns back now."

M'kla says "The last clutch outta Benna's old gold, no less."

"By the egg... easy enough t'see why they needed new dragons so badly,
then." The greenrider shifts in her place, resettling in a cross-legged
position with her hands folded in her lap. "I doubt 'tis aught a stiff dose
of the Benden blood won't cure. Just look at Solarith and
Phediath's--thirty-four's a fine number, though I wish she'd clutched just
two more for the sake of m'marks."

M'kla chuckles some, "Aye, well. I hope we can salvage a bit of the Telgar
blood too, personally...they be good, strong dragons. Just G'mort an
Benna's dragons' blood was spent.

Kassima inclines her head. "It seems likely, with Beneth's clutches. She'll
surely clutch a queen sometime in her life, or at least bronzes! Nay
bloodline ever dies out entirely; dragons are too bloody randy for that,
chasing every female they can find, even out-Weyr."

M'kla chuckles some, "Aye. I like the looks o Telgarian bronzes, myself. A
bit muscular, but they have fine proportions. Steady. Sturdy."

Kassima ventures, "Mayhaps if'n they catch some of the more lanky queens,
'twould be a good balance--steadiness without as much musculature. But
then, I've admittedly something of a bias for thinner dragons." She nods
towards the still remarkably slim green now snoozing out in the Lake waters.

M'kla chuckles some, "Torinth were a slim dragon, once upon a time anyhow."

[Editor's Note:  At this point, the posing stopped and the log ends; 
one can probably assume that Kassi and M'kla ICly chatted a bit longer 
before heading to their respective weyrs.]