6.12-Well She's Safe(All Future Riders, Mac, L'ret

[Mik]

M'cleod had been relieved that the golden egg that had been stolen from the future High Reaches had hatched and Impressed and had shown no signs of damage from her lengthy Timed journey. Though the Weyrleader had to leave before the golden dragonet had Chosen her lifemate, he was glad for Kolteya's recap that he had asked for. He took a few moments to calm his troubled mind as he waited for his Second to arrive. Once L'ret had shown up, the brownriding Weyrleader had his trusty counterpart call the thirteen dragons that had come from two hundred turns in the future. Now he could tell them their official duties and settled any discrepancies in the wing assignments that he had given them.

Duncanth crooned at his Rider before calling the future dragons each by name. [[Oreath, Salmalinth, Skith, (brown), Duhath, (blue), (blue), (blue), Arieth, Tigrith, Eliath, Vatanith, (green), Mac-Mine wishes for Yours's presence in the Council Room,]] the dark brown spoke out to the thirteen dragons that needed to come to this meeting. Once he had finished, the small brown turned his attention back to his Rider. [[They're called, Mac-Mine,]] he said calmly and contentedly. Though he was a brown, and a small one at that, he was still the Lead dragon in the Weyr until Josiath's official Rising when she would more than likely choose a bronze over himself.

L'ret had shown up right on time, giving M'cleod a smile as he helped himself to some klah. "Sure is gettin' chilly out there," the young bronzerider said for light conversation as he waited for the Riders to come to the call. Sure, the day was nearly over and it was just after the evening meal, but this was the time that most Riders started settling in for the night with the cold winds blowing a wintry scent into the lengthy gorge that was their safe haven.

Mac nodded with a smile, his own steaming mug of klah sitting idly on the corner of the table beside him where he perched on a stool toward the front of the room. Though he was worried about his Lover and his twins, he could mask that emotion until he was finished with this much needed task. "Ma says there's storms brewin' out there. Our winter might be startin' sooner than we guessed," he said in answer to the chill of the air that evening.

[sorra]

Tigrith was sunning herself when Duncanth's words came through. Mine, Duncanth's wishes to see all of us, she said with a yawn. It didn't sound like anything she needed to worry about so the green was quite content to just stay curled up in the sun.

Ekaterina looked up from the straps that she had been working on. She wanted to make sure that the jump back in time hadn't done any damage to her straps. She sighed softly and set the straps aside until later. Thank you, love. I'll be back soon and I'll give you a good oiling. Tigrith crooned in agreement to that and Ekaterina chuckled. She got up and headed for the designated spot.

Zalleah on the other hand wasn't looking forward to this meeting at all. Okay, at least the gold had hatched healthy and chosen, but she was still worried. How much trouble was she going to get into. "T'rain?" she asked softly, looking over at her weyrmate. "Did Skith just tell you about the meeting too?"

[kendrall]

{{M'riel}}

Mine, Duncanth's wishes for us to meet him in the Council Room. He is asking that all of us attend.[/color]

M'riel wasn't in his weyr, but as usual he was in one of the lower caverns. His latest woodworking project was proceeding slowly, but that was to be expected when you were trying to build a wooden boat. It was no canoe, either; but rather M'riel had in mind a medium-sized sailing vessel, one that could easily float upon deep waters. The "skeleton", or framework, was far from finished. The Bronzerider shook his head in bewilderment when Oreath repeated Duncanth's request. Why would M'cleod want to meet with us? he thought to himself. Sure, M'riel had agreed that he and his Riders would do whatever they could to help their new home, but he wasn't too pleased when he found out M'cleod dispersed them into different Wings. M'riel wasn't happy when his own rank of Wingleader was stripped from him, but there wasn't much else he could do. This was their new home, and as much as he hated playing by someone else's rules when he himself thought differently...

Still, he was a Guardsman first and foremost, though he had long ago resigned his rank when he agreed to become a Dragon Candidate. He had to follow orders, even though he would probably disagree with them. He would also have to remind himself at some point, when he had a little more leeway, to push for some sorely-needed changes. That was, if he ever was able to obtain said leeway.

M'riel set the sandpaper down, then wiped off the sawdust from his arms and tunic before heading out of the cavern. It was a little too chilly for his likes at this time of the evening, but thankfully the warm wool cloak he slung over his shoulders helped to keep the cold at bay. The Bronzerider made his way towards the Dining Cavern for a moment to fetch himself a mug of klah, then started towards the Council Room.

He noted wryly that L'ret was also present in the chamber. In his own opinion, M'riel thought that L'ret was a little young to handle the Weyrsecond post, but he'd heard the younger Rider liked to dabble in crafting. The older Bronzerider tried to recall what he had read about the Weyrsecond, then it came to him. Wasn't L'ret a GlassSmith? Perhaps the young man would like to see what M'riel was up to?

Giving an internal shrug, M'riel settled for nodding at the pair. "Weyrleader, Weyrsecond."

{{R'en}}

If there was one person who wasn't too happy with the current Wing assignments, other than his former Wingleader, it was probably R'en.

The field medic and Greenrider was assigned to the Fire Dancers wing, which meant he was flying in the same wing as M'cleod. R'en wasn't sure what to make of the man, but Faranth help the Weyrleader if R'en thought the man was unfit for Flight duty. Only Eodira would be able to overrule that decision, and from what R'en could recall from the old histories, the Master Healer and the Weyrleader were related. That wouldn't go so well for him, if he declared M'cleod unfit and Eodira jumped to her son's defense. R'en would be lucky enough to retain his journeyman's knots.

Still, part of him wanted to make the Weyrleader pay for splitting him away from Aquila and Ekaterina. There wasn't anything he could do about that, until Josiath Rose and someone other than M'cleod's Duncanth caught her. Whomever the new Weyrleader was, hopefully R'en would be able to convince that man to be paired up again with his two weyrmates and lovers. Maybe.

R'en heard Arieth repeat the summons, and the Healer slung his satchel over his head and onto the opposite shoulder, donned a warm cloak, then left the Infirmary. He rarely went anywhere without that satchel, as it contained various medical supplies. One never knew when his skills would be called upon. Stopping off at the Dining Cavern to get himself a mug of klah, R'en paused for a moment to reflect. Shards, just how much was he becoming like M'riel? Learning to think like him, learning to rely on his instinct...he didn't know if it was all that training he endured, or if M'riel was rubbing off on him. He had to shake his head at the notion. Aquila and Ekaterina wouldn't know what to think; hopefully they would realize R'en was a very capable Rider and had some leadership qualities. He'd never be a Wingleader, let alone a Wingthird - that much was certain. Perhaps if he were to try for his Senior Journeyman's knots at some point, try for an assistant post to Eodira?

Now that idea had merit.

R'en entered the Council Room, his mug of klah in his hand, and noted with some amusement his old Wingleader likewise had a mug of klah. He greeted M'cleod and L'ret first. "Weyrleader, WeyrSecond." He then nodded at M'riel. "Hey boss," he said softly.

[kitllwynog]

Duhath heard the summons and sat up, ruffling his wings. Mine, Duncath's wants to see you.

Finally. Ever since their wing assignments had been posted, Aquila had been waiting for the summons that would hopefully be allowing them to go back to work. She was eager to get to Searching, both to find Candidates and to explore this new Pern she found herself in. Tell them I'll be right there. she told the blue, dropping the riding gear she'd been mending. The cold of between was not kind to wherhide.

She arrived in the office to see that Ekaterina and R'en were already there. She knew R'en wasn't happy he'd been put in a different wing, since she and Kat were both in WindBreakers. But Aquila figured it was healthy for all of them to have some time apart. Not feeling the need to make herself known, she stood in the back of the room and waited.

[goldenauthanth]

T'rain looked over at Zalleah from his spot in their temporary abode and smiled. "indeed I did" He said, as he got up and ambled around to get ready to go and see the Weyrleader of this past time pern... the place that he really needed to get used to calling... home. "Coming?" He asked of Zalleah as he made his way out the door and across to the required place slipping through the door with a cheery "Afternoon gentlemen!"

[Katlyn]

Salmalinth passed on the brown's message once he had received it. Il'ran had been visiting with a variety of people around the weyr when he heard that M'cleod was wanting to meet with them. He still hadn't gathered all the information that he was wanting to pass onto M'riel, but what he had passed on he knew would be useful. Who knew what this meeting would be about? Curiosity primed, he quickly went to the council room, arriving not too long after the others.

Vatanith also passed on the message, though Zahal only sighed. More meetings, more time wasted not being busy doing things that really mattered. Still she headed there, only nodding at the other riders once she arrived, before leaning into a corner of the room.

[Mik]

M’cleod nodded with a friendly smile to each of the Riders as they entered, carrying on his idle conversation when a moment called for it as he waited for all thirteen. At M’riel’s greeting, he smiled at the former Wingleader, saying cheerily, “Evenin’, M’riel.” The brownrider gave R’en a friendly nod in return as the greenrider entered and made his greetings. At T’rain’s greeting, the Weyrleader smiled and answered, “Evenin’,” dismissing the comment about afternoon. To him, afternoon had been a long time ago, but that was mainly because he had been so busy as of late.

L’ret echoed M’cleod’s smiles, giving the Riders a tip of his mug in appreciation for their arrivals, also saying, “Evenin’!” to M’riel perhaps a bit too cheerily. L’ret gave R’en a cheery grin of welcome at the greenrider’s greeting. “Afternoon!” the WeyrSecond echoed T’rain’s greeting, paying no mind to the time of day in the statement. He was hoping for some cheery faces anyway.

Once all Riders had arrived, the Weyrleader gave them all a smile. “I called ya’ll here ta discuss yer duties. Since the egg ya’ brought has hatched an’ Impressed, regardless that it was unintended, I’ve decided on official duties fer ya’ll. Now on the first matter, yer wing assignments. As with any new arrival of old, the Weyrleader divvied up the wings. Now is the time ta voice yer concerns ‘bout yer wing placements. I can rearrange ya’ll into diff’rent wings if ya’ desire an’ we deem it okay, ‘cause we’ll be creatin’ another Wing with our next graduatin’ class in a few sevendays. So, the floor’s open fer concerns an’ arguments,” he said, remaining on his stool and giving each Rider that spoke up his attention.

L’ret picked up the hide that he had brought along and a quill to record anything that M’cleod wanted him to record, also listening for any input that he would be needed for from these new Riders.

[sorra]

Ekaterina only knew a couple other riders in her wing, so she wasn't sure how that would work. At least she would know Aquila though. Although she glanced over at M'riel, wondering how he was taking the new wing assignments. She hadn't expected to be separated into different wings from the ones she knew so soon. But maybe it would be for the best. She wasn't sure. She would see what M'riel said before voicing her own opinion.

Zalleah bit her lip. She didn't feel she had a right to complain. She had caused so many problems anyhow. And it wasn't like she would have ever been allowed in the same wing as T'rain even if they would have stayed in their time. She would take what she got. She didn't want to make things worse again or say something she shouldn't.

[goldenauthanth]

T'rain was not surprised to hear it, it made sense afterall. Where was the problem in being in a new wing, this was their new home now and was the best way to get to know the others of this time. T'rain was a happy go lucky type of man. He remained quiet, wondering what M'riel would take of it..

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[Katlyn]

Zahal merely shrugged at the question. If the leadership here wanted to split them up, then she wasn't going to argue against it. She had had her fair share of switching around wings over the last number of turns since she had Impressed to Vatanith, so switching now didn't exactly bother her. Orders were orders.

Il'ran looked for a few moments as though he were about to say something, but he quickly stopped himself. Like the others there, he would defer to M'riel's statements on the matter, though he certainly had his own opinion of what ought to be done with the thirteen of them. But there were some things that even he knew to defer to others on, and this was one of them, at least for now.

[kendrall]

R'en wasn't saying anything. Like the others, they were largely deferring to M'riel before making their own opinions known.

M'riel waited for all of his Riders to have their say before finally speaking up. "You know I wasn't too impressed when you separated my Riders and divvied them up into Wings, especially without my input," he said flatly. "The thirteen of us survived one of the worst Threadfalls ever to grace Pern's presence, and was well on our way to becoming a finely-tuned machine before you decided to split us up. I took it upon myself to teach my people a number of rules to abide by - I even abide by them myself mostly - but I knew there was no way you would ever take them into consideration." The Bronzerider shook his head. "As much as I don't like it myself, I suppose learning to coordinate with new Riders isn't necessarily a bad thing - as long as they don't try to screw my own Riders over."

M'riel did his best to live by a set of "rules", but they weren't his own invention. No, that honor belonged to Noemi when they had first met. She always lived her life by a set of rules, and that impressed the young man so much that he started doing the same. It served him well over the many Turns, and as he often told new Riders; it was his job to teach them, their responsibility to learn them. By separating his Riders into other wings, in M'riel's mind Mac had already violated rule number fifteen: Always work as a team. The Bronzerider felt he was taking his own people - the very ones whose lives he was responsible for - and taking them out of his hands. M'riel didn't like that one bit. There was also rule number thirty-six: if you felt like you were being played, you probably were. Somehow, he felt Mac was playing him, trying to get the Bronzerider to act out of line, get him to voice his opposition loudly.

M'riel wasn't going to fall for it.

He did, however, employ rules seven and one: Always be specific when you lie; and never screw over your wingmate. He wasn't looking forward to learning to how to coordinate with a group of Riders he didn't quite know. There was no telling how much training this bunch had, how to keep from slamming into a fellow Rider during Threadfall or a training exercise. M'riel felt helpless that his input wasn't being heeded. But that wouldn't keep him from standing up for his own people, which was why rule number one came into play. He'd be Betweened if anyone tried to screw over his Riders. There would be hell to pay.

"I also suppose that the new Wing, once they graduate, will be allowed to stay together. Or do you have plans to shift everyone around again?"

[Mik]

Obviously this group of Riders seemed quite reliant on M’riel and M’cleod both worried about that as well as honored that fact. Loyalty to a Wingleader was always a trait that any good Leader could vouch for. So far the wings were alright, but they were in need of some rearranging with the idea of another wing in the near future. When M’riel finally spoke, the Weyrleader was not quite happy with the words and underlying tone of the bronze rider. At least his rank helped him at the moment, he supposed. He waited a long moment after M’riel’s words about the Weyrling group to figure out if the older man was done with his argument or not.

Finally deeming the argument finished, the brownrider leaned forward slightly from his stool, looking the Future Timer in the eye as he replied to all that had been said. “There’s several reasons why I chose to split ya’ll up instead of keeping’ ya’ together,” he started, letting his deep sky eyes shift over the others present so as not to exclude them in his explanation. “The first is that, yes, I do have a little trust issue. Yer all new to Izuko an’ no one knew ya’ existed, let alone whether or not yer intentions were sincere when ya’ arrived so suddenly in the still of night over our Welcomin’ Island. When we suffered through the Plague ten turns ago, we didn’t know how many pairs were left on Pern. We all slowly came together, thirteen of us an’ now there’s only seven of us left. Seven of the pairs that survived the Plague that nearly wiped our kind from these lands. I dunno how much hist’ry ya’ looked into before ya’ll came back for us, but there’s a lot that was lost in the Quake of Tristar. We’re all still learnin’ from all our trials.”

He paused another moment before continuing on again, having decided that this group needed to know a lot more than what he had heard they knew. Leaning over to pick up his mug of klah, he held it in his hands while he continued on, righting himself to center balance on his perch. “Second, ya’ll got a knowledge we’ve only read ‘bout. No one we ever knew had seen Thread to tell us ‘bout it and so, ya’ll got an experience and a knowledge that’s valuable to this Weyr. For that reason, we tried to split ya’ll into our Wings to help us learn what ya’ll know. We’re all young, here, my Duncanth among the oldest dragons alive. We’ve stumbled to perfect out drills with mishaps an’ issues ‘at needed sorted out. Faranth, we got two Riders that’ve Impressed a second time. If ya’ll git a chance to talk to V’yel, he’ll tell ya’ of one of the mishaps we’ve had, the reason he’s not the Leader of the Weyrling Wing.”

Taking a moment to sit back and take a draft of his mug’s contents, he returned it to the table corner before finishing his words. “Now, I know ya’ll present are loyal to one man, but since you’ve accident’ly stranded yourselves here, please try to expand yer circles. We’re less than two hundred strong and we need all the help an’ experience that we can get, so please, speak up of any issues ya’ll got.” The brownrider glanced at the other Riders, one by one, waiting for them to speak their minds on anything. He just hoped that M’riel was not going to run with everything and speak for every one. They were individuals after all.

L’ret listened to his Weyrleader speak and smiled. M’cleod had been through a lot and learned a lot since he had helped build up their numbers at Taenia’s side. He just hoped that things would remain smooth with Josiath’s next flight.

[sorra]

Ekaterina listened quietly to everything that M'cleod and M'riel had to say. She could understand most of it, although they hadn't meant to get themselves stranded here. They did want to help though and maybe being in different wings would help. She wasn't sure. They hadn't fought Thread much and they had lost a lot of friends and family that day. "Sir, we mean no disrespect and I am okay with my wing, but if you need help with drills and things wouldn't it make more sense to let us work together to show you guys? Maybe still keep us in different wings, but let the 13 of us work as a team like we're used for a bit and show you just what we leaned. Then we could all apply it to our new wings," she suggested, not sure what they would think. It would help to have someone in the wing who knew what to do but wouldn't it make sense to let everyone see what they had learned and have an idea instead of just going by what one person had to say?

Zalleah bit her lip as she listened. Most of this was her fault for getting them stranded here. "I apologize for any part I had in causing you suspicion of the others," she said to M'cleod. "No one else had anything to do with the egg catastrophe. They just wanted to come back to learn what they could about fighting Thread so that we could hopefully return home and save our Weyr from losing anymore dragons," she said softly. She had never meant to get everyone in trouble. She had been mad and hadn't been thinking at all. She glanced over at T'rain, knowing M'riel would have split them up soon anyhow. They had been split up before this trip as well.

[kitllwynog]

Aquila sighed quietly as M'riel once again did his best to antagonize the Weyrleader. Didn't he see that he was more likely to make more trouble for the rest of them rather than help them? Of course not. Men and their pride, she thought, with some exasperation, barely refraining from rolling her eyes.

And of course, M'cleod took it amiss, as anyone would have really and the bluerider feared this meeting was likely to devolve into a brawl. Privately, she somewhat agreed with the Weyrleader. It was better to split them up. Though M'riel was a good leader and naturally thought the wing was superb, it wasn't entirely designed for Threadfall, being partly composed of those volunteers, like herself, who had been brave enough to go into the past. They had drilled together of course, but she knew that their dragons, a mismatched group of temperaments and abilities, would be more useful if placed based on individual strengths. And furthermore, they'd be more likely to learn if they weren't kept isolated. Aquila figured that M'riel was more upset about not being a Wingleader than anything else. The man liked to be in control of his own life, and being demoted significantly decreased that control.

But Ekaterina's idea made sense, and Aquila nodded her agreement, shooting her roommate a smile of encouragement.

[Katlyn]

Il'ran was all too familiar with M'riel's rules, and he could easily tell where the older man's frustrations were coming from. Their short time had taugh him quite a bit about their Weyrleader though, so the bronzerider figured that M'cleod would be all too willing to listen to, and take to heart, suggestions that were presented to him. He didn't want to speak out for or against either rider too obviously, but he knew that he had to speak out, and so he would.

"If I may?" he said softly, waiting to be acknowledged before carrying on. "It seems to me, more than anything, we have a slight conflict of leadership styles. Also, I believe Ekatrina has a valid idea. M'cleod, while I do understand your reasoning behind splitting us up, M'riel's right. He, better than anyone, knows our various strengths and weaknesses and, better than anyone, would have been able to tell you the best place to put each of us, should you insist on splitting us up," he started off. It was always best to acknowledge validity in each person's ideas, that much he knew. "That said, as fellow riders, without any prior experience interacting with your Weyr, I can see where you might have some issue with trusting us completely. And, after all, tradition is the Weyrleader places all new transfers where he sees fit. Though normally that is done with input from that rider's previous leadership. So if I may, I have a proposition," he finished, waiting long enough again to receive permission before continuing on.

"First, I would suggest the creation of a fourth wing. It may make the wings a bit smaller, but as you said, there are two weyrling groups which will graduate very soon that can be augmented into each wing. This fourth wing should probably be a mid-altitude wing. Additionally, have the thirteen of us return there, at least for now. That keeps us working together, gives you the oppurtunity to see us at our best. Also, M'riel ought to be the leader of such a wing." He quickly held up a hand to hold off any objections before continuing. "Then, to integrate the riders of both times, take some of the riders from your other wings and move them over. To include placing some in the wing second and third positions to allow the intermingling of leadership styles. This way we'll get the chance to perform at our best, which will give weyr leadership the best idea of how to place us at later times. It also allows us to help teach your riders what we know. The weyrlings can then integrate into the wings as they normally would upon graduation. It also serves to build trust, by giving us a chance to prove ourselves in positions we have the most experience and skill performing in."

He fell silent then, to allow the two leaders to hash it out. Maybe, if it happened, it would allow M'riel and M'cleod the chance to actually start working together, instead of butting heads every two seconds. At least, that was what he hoped.