The Dragonriders of Pern® is a trademark, Registered U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, of Anne McCaffrey.  This is a recorded session, generated by Threadfall MUSH for the benefit of members unable to attend.

Hatching Galleries - Ista Weyr(#75RJ$)
     Accessible only by the stairway that runs from the foyer along the side of the wall and to the landing, these galleries offer excellent views of the Sands beneath - from the front row all the way to the topmost benches. Arranged in neat half-circles, the benches here are made of tiered stone steps that rise up and back into the bowels of the mountain, each one covered by a plank of wood to provide some cushion from the hard purchase beneath. There is no differentiation between one bench and the next, and all ranks are treated equally when it comes to finding a seat to behold Hatchings and Clutchings. Neat walkways subdivide the tiers, allowing easy passage for several people at once to walk between the rows or up the steps. Separated from the Sands by a waist-high railings and a drop twice the height of a tall man, there is little chance of a spectator venturing onto the Sands unscathed.

Gretchen takes a moment to just blink slowly at Yysare, a blank expression on her face. Hm. Blink. Blink. And stuff. "I like you," she finally decides, after a few moments - was it mentioned they were long? - before nodding. "I have a favorite. Three. That one, that one, and that one." One forefinger juts out to stab in the direction of first the Arrogance Of Passion Egg, next the Nightdreams In Crimson Egg, and finally the Phoenix Amidst The Flames Egg.

Here comes T'yari, trekking up the stairs and carefully scaling the tiered benches in his search for the perfect spot to sit. Perfect, defined in Yari-terminology, otherwise means out of the way and somewhere where he's not going to be noticed overly much. So although the others are nodded at politely, when the greenrider chooses a seat, he does so some distance away from them near one of the edges.

'Lazy perambulation' would quite nicely describe what Catti does upon entering the galleries. She's walking in a hip-swaying, ambling lope that would put Cymber to shame. Scary. "Evening Candidates, T'yari." Yes, it would be safe to say that the greeting is drawled, to match the slow pace of the stride she's using to climb the stairs. Ignore the wink that goes to the other greenrider, please. His fate is not to sit somewhere, unnoticed, unaccompanied. It can't be coincidence that sends this particular rider's steps towards him. "How's everyone doing?"

Yysare blinks, too. /That/ was a new reaction. "You do?" Blinkblink. "Really! I like you, too!" Beamsparkle. "How very sweet of you! It does /wonders/ for a person's confidence for people to say they like them, you know. What a nice person. I'm Yysare. What's your name? You're a Candidate? I am, too, I guess. I still won't believe it. Three favorites - well, that's more like it. The - oh! The big sparkly one. I like that one, too. But I can't decide on a set of favorites - I tend to be indecisive, in that manner." T'yari can hide all he wants, but there's simply no possible way he's going to go unnoticed. "T'yari! Come down here, closer to the railing! You can see the eggs better. Aren't they beautiful? And Catriona! Well, then!"

Gretchen twists around in her seat, though both booted feet remain in their spot atop that guard-railing, and manages a sort of strained smile for T'yari. Strained because she's *straining* to keep herself in that twisted position. With a grunt she turns her head to smirk Catti's way, and then finally flops down into a settled position. Yysare gets another set of blinkage, and then an authentic, genuine *smile* graces her lips. "I'm Gretchen. I'm a Candidate." She leans closer to the other, and stage-whispers a, "T'rrent carried me off to Search me." A firm nod, and she re-settled. "I like the...big sparkly one, because it's *artsy*." Just nod and smile, and nobody gets hurt.

"Oh. Um. Hi." T'yari getting singled out -- by Catriona, no less -- ruins his plans of sitting in self-imposed solitude, and after a brief hesitation he offers up a vague, barely there smile for the other greenrider and says with uncertainty, "Okay?" After a pause, he adds on, "I've been better, though. Someone painted my weyr /pink/. Pink. And Nediath actually likes it. It's gross. Disgusting. I can't stand it." Hence, Yari had to find a new hiding place. He just didn't happen to be very smart when he picked the galleries; when there's a clutch on the sands, they're always occupied. Catriona is eyed accusingly. "Did you do it?" Obligingly, he scoots towards Yysare, conveniently managing to put some distance between himself and Catriona. Not that that'll last long. "Beautiful," he repeats absently.

Sparkly. Artsy. Oh dear. What has Catti gotten herself into. Ornery smiles are given back to both of the candidates, sprinkled with a liberal dose of amusement given the conversation. Ahhh, egg speculation... such sweet memories. Distraction from such amusement however is provided by T'yari. Pink? Pink he says? Oh dear. Smile fading away and eyes widening into two shocked circles, she remarks, "Pink, huh? Of /course/ I didn't do it." Note that no matter how far he scoots, she's not too many steps behind. Muahaha. "Why would I paint your weyr pink." After a brief pause, she adds oh so sincerely, with a bit of a naughty grin, "I liked it the way it was before, really."

"Gretchen? That's really a very interesting name - I like it, too! Congratulations! Really? Why, we have something in common already! Well. Not really. I ended up feeling /guilty/ about my Search, because apparently I kept him up, but." She is whispering. Not broadcasting. "Carried you off? That's /very/ interesting. Oh, I love things like that. Lucky you!" Voice goes back up to normal speaking (i.e. broadcasting) level. "It -is-. You love artsy things? Did you ever see any of the little gem figures that Riddyn made? They're /so/ beautiful. He's teaching me to do it, but I'm only a beginner. I'll show you sometime!" Glancing back at T'yari - and noticing him actually scoot in *her* direction, oddly enough - she offers a great, big smile - until she hears the word 'pink'. And instantly falters. Cough, and tries to smile normally at Catti.

Gretchen actually stiffens as soon as the word 'pink' is uttered. Ahem. She shifts a little in her spot, and lets her feet drop from their spot to the ground before her. Ankles cross, and she leans forward to press herself up against that same railing. Quite. "Your weyr? Pink? Wow. That's...interesting." Gretchen's great at this whole 'lying' thing. Most certainly. Could she *sound* any more bored then she already does? Doubtful. "It'll be easy to figure out who did it though," she adds, eyebrows furrowing. She doesn't tell him what that method might be, of course. That'd be *too* easy. Indeed. "I paint," she replies to Yysare, eyes fixed on those eggies. "I haven't seen anything he's done. I'd like it." Like what? Think she'll tell you? Maaaaybe. Gretchen's odd like that. Ask Anson.

T'yari is not sparkly or artsy. And now his weyr is. Artsy in pink. "Pink," he repeats, twisting around to peer over at Catriona as she follows. Really, did he think he could escape /that/ easily? Poor, delusional boy. "I don't know why you'd paint my weyr pink." But he has suspicions. "But that doesn't mean you wouldn't do it." The other greenrider is considered for a minute -- dear, dear, now she's starting to frighten him. "So did I," he finally states, simply. "When it wasn't pink. I can't stand it." Distracted, he glances between Yysare and Gretchen, inquiring warily, "Did /you/ paint my weyr pink?" He fails to trust any of them on this subject, Catriona included.

Catriona lost any claim to subtlety she might have had a long time ago. This it is that the greenrider shuffles to a seat -- exactly midway between T'yari, and the candidates. Shielding them, maybe? Of course not! That patch of stone just looked particularly comfy at the time. "Honestly Yari, I didn't do it! Have Nedi ask Rei if you want to, you know she can't lie," she says glibly. "Is it pink pink? Light pink? Or that really dark pretty rose pink that I look so good in?" There is a definate possibility that she's trying to distract the man from his line of questioning. Then again, maybe not. She does have her shallow moments... and rose pink is awfully pretty!

"Paint? Oh, my, you keep getting more and more interesting with everything you say! Paint? Now /that/ is interesting. I'm sure you must love it. Oh, they're beautiful, and he actually /gave/ me one! I'll certainly show you. He's good at it, you know. I'll bet you -would- like it." Yysare is good at assuming things, anyway, when further information isn't offered. T'yari is looked at. Her voice rises to a slight squeak. "Me? Paint your weyr? I don't know /how/ to paint a weyr. And I don't have any way to get there, like you do!" Right? So she's not the best liar. So what? She brightens at Catti, though.

Gretchen attends to Yysare's bit before the others. Because she's Special. And stuff. "Painting is very interesting. Believe it." She's not ashamed to, well...take compliments. About what she does, *not* about how she looks. Again, ask Anson. *Those* kinds of compliments don't go through well. "Is it back in the Barracks?" she asks next. About the...little art thingy, of course. "Because then I'd know where it is." Right. Of course she would. She lifts her gaze from eggs to T'yari, and just pulls of an extremely genuine-looking innocent expression. Remember -- she learned these things, and taught them to, *children*. *Children*. "Why would *I* go into *your* weyr, Yari? I mean...come *on*. *Me*? Go into *your* weyr?" A snort, and she rolls her eyes expressively. "I don't think so, Yari-dear. I mean...*your* weyr? Who would go to your *weyr*?" She bats her eyelashes at him, equally innocent, and awaits his response to *that* one. Convincing enough?

"I didn't look too closely," T'yari informs dryly, managing to resist getting sidetracked. "I think it's a lot of different pinks. I don't like it. /You/ might, but...you'd probably think differently if you had to /live/ in pink. Ew. It gets somewhat hard to concentrate on anything when the walls are glaring pink." And so his favorite haunt and hideout has been abandoned. Maybe this is all an elaborate scheme to make Yari become a sociable person. Maybe Nediath's in on it, too; the greenrider wouldn't put it past her. His suspicion resurfaces as he attempts to peer around Catriona and size up Gretchen, repeating, "You paint?" Incriminating evidence! "It's not all that hard to paint a weyr," he mentions, switching his gaze to Yysare. "You just take a brush and scrape it on the walls." Then, it's back to eying Gretchen -- he doesn't buy the innocence act. "I don't know why." Because he's fun to torment? The final questions are answered after a hesitation; distrustful, he replies, "Um. People."

A chuckling cough goes from Catriona towards Gretchen, along with a look that warns of overplaying. "Well... I would go there, but I wouldn't paint it pink." Smile shades upwards into a grin that's flashed reassuringly at Yysare. Calm, young paduwan. Caaaaaaalm. She's got this one covered. Right. "Honestly, Yari, if it was painted pink, it can just as easily be painted another color to cover it up. Of course, you'll have to let the pink dry first, so it doesn't soak through whichever color you want to repaint it..." The sweetness of her expression can only be measured in terms of diabetic emergencies. "Maybe there's an extra weyr around that you can stay in. Or you can stay with me?" she offers with the generosity of true friendship, eyes just a-blinking as soulfully as they can.

Yysare is Special. Melt. "Oh, I /do/. I ought to try it sometime. I really do love artsy things. Oh, it is, I keep it in the safest place I can find, at the time." This changes. "Yes, yes, /why/? And why would *I* go into your weyr, too? You - " Hmmph. "Well, that sounds easy enough, but I didn't know that /before/." Honestly. "Besides. How would I get there? Ooh, that rose pink /is/ pretty, isn't it Catriona? Personally, my favorite color is purple. Bright purple." Beam. "Maybe Nediath painted it pink. Or maybe it was pink all along, and you just didn't notice."

Gretchen only rolls her eyes at that greenrider, and sniffs once. Distastefully. "I don't *like* pink." So there. Even though she really *does* and stuff. "People don't go to your weyr. I think *you're* lying. Here you are going around, accusing *us*, two sweet Candidates and a sweet greenrider, of lying, when you're doing the same thing." Tsk, Yari. Tsk. Yysare gets her full attention now, back turned on T'yari and Catriona both. One wrist jerks slightly, to knock an arm-bangle from arm to wrist before both hands settle atop the railing. Hum. "I should teach you to paint. I could paint you a purple dragon, if you like. I've done those before." Mmhm. The last sentence is what ends up cracking her sobriety. Snicker...snort...snickersnort. She's trying to hold it in. Really she is. "M-maybe..." is all she can manage.

T'yari knew it. It's all one big trap to make T'yari move in with someone else. "I didn't have a problem with it being just plain grey stone," he states mournfully, gaze flickering back to Catriona. "Now I've got to repaint it." The offer is put on hold -- he bargains for more time -- while Yari glances towards the two candidates, protesting, "Nediath didn't paint it. She /can't/ paint. It's not possible. And even if she had, I would've known." He tosses a small, put-out look at Gretchen. "I'm not lying, really. I don't lie." He's too innocent to lie. Or lie very well, at least. As she turns her back to him, Yari finally turns his attention back to the other greenrider, beginning, "Well..." That line of thought is cut off as he directs a small scowl towards Gretchen, demanding mildly, "And /why/ are you laughing? I bet you really did paint my weyr."

Catriona is a sweet greenrider? Someone's going to have to remind her of that one. She too has to cover up a wicked response to the humour in Yysare's remark, forcing the young woman to struggle with her expression for several long minutes before she's capable of saying /anything/ with a straight face. Must. Not. Giggle. "Purple's nice," she manages, "I'm not picky about color, so long as I look cute in it." Yes, it would be better to overlook T'yari for just a moment, until she gets this annoying urge to grin under control. There... much better. "I /did/ notice a certain rosy glow in there last time I visited, Yari. Maybe you /did/ just overlook it," she remarks, before hastening to reassure, "Of course you're not lying, you don't lie any more than Rei does. But it could have been... mmm... just absently unnoticed?" Yeah. That's the ticket.

Gretchen has disconnected.

"Paint? Teach /me/? Oh, I'd love that very much! Please do! I love learning things, especially artsy things, and to /paint/ would be wonderful - to paint dragons, in particular! In purple! What a /dream/. Thank you! You have?" The snickersnort is noticed, and frowned at. That was a perfectly good suggestion, after all. And see? Catti backed it up. Watching Gretchen go with a blink, she can now turn her attention fully on the dilemma at hand. She's getting better at innocence, already. See the innocent smile? "Who notices little things like paint on stone walls? I'll bet that I'm right. Well, of course Nediath didn't, I guess, but. Surely you don't /honestly/ think that *we* did it. Catti? Paint your weyr? I refuse to believe it."

Catriona isn't sweet. She's evil and manipulative and cunning and T'yari's learned this first-hand. So it's not really that surprising that he's cautious around her, glancing over briefly to state flatly, "It was not pink before you visited. You don't miss pink walls." No, the 'rosy glow' Catti saw was probably just T'yari's cheeks. He tends to blush. A lot. Just in case no one's noticed. "You don't miss pink walls," he repeats for Yysare. "Especially not when you're used to them being not-pink." A sniff. "I wouldn't put it past you."
<Public> Joncara snugs Yari and Catti.

Yeah. Catti would never ever ever do anything like painting someone's weyr pink. Though it's a safe assumption that she may well involve herself in some nefarious way. Elaborate traps are the most fun. What better way to ensure that T'yari can't hide? "Yysare and Gretchen couldn't get up to you weyr anyways, Yari. Tell you what... give it a few days to dry, and then I'll help you repaint it? White. Or grey. Or anything you want. How about a really nice quiet blue?" Evil and manipulative and cunning? Never! Not Catti! "Until then, if you want, you can camp out in my weyr. There's enough room, and I certainly wouldn't mind the company. In fact, let me go set up a bed for you now." See? Isn't she sweet after all? A seperate bed and everything.

Perhaps T'yari blushed the walls pink! But Yysare doesn't say that. "I'm sure you could," she insists, hinting desperation. "I mean, maybe you're used to some /other/ walls being not-pink, and you just automatically assumed that your weyr's were not-pink, too." Insistent. "Blue! Blue is a nice color. I personally like purple, though. Why don't we paint your walls purple, T'yari? I bet you'd be in a purple heaven! Camp out in Catti's weyr! That sounds like an excellent idea. See? She's really nice. She wouldn't repaint your weyr."

"They could've caught a ride," T'yari points out. He'll unravel the Big Scheme, little by little. Or die trying. Or just content himself to staying in Catriona's weyr for the next couple days. "You will?" Yari can't exactly refuse a nice offer like that, or accept and not accept the next stipulation. Trapped! "Well -- if you're sure it's okay. I, uh, wouldn't want to encroach on your space or anything." Yysare is just given Looks. "I do not want my weyr to be purple."

"Really, Yari, it's not like you to be suspicious!" Catriona shakes her head, adopting the most mournful of looks. "Sure I will, it's not a problem at all. I have plenty of room once I move my plants out to the ledge. It'll actually be nice to have some pleasant company," she remarks with a mild, 'don't-scare-him-off' smile. "Blue. Blue's better... but I'll help you paint your cot purple too, if you want, Yysare." She's just being the Queen of Sweetness tonight, isn't she? Standing, she dusts off the seat of her pants and lets smile turn into grin. "Anyways, I need to go set everything up so you'll be comfortable, Yari..."

Drat. He's not supposed to figure these things out. Yysare continues to work at looking innocent, faltering under a Look. "Why not? I think purple's wonderful." Catriona is considered. Not like him to be suspicious? "Well, blue's nice, too, I suppose. I nice, bright blue - /vibrant/ blue - perhaps with a purple stripe here and there. Oh, /would/ you? That would be just - just - /dandy!/ A purple cot! It'll stand out. Thank you!" Beam.

T'yari relents, sheepishly allowing his facial expression to slide towards something not so harsh and suspecting. "Sorry." If antisocial T'yari is what is classified as pleasant, then maybe it's better not to inquire after what Catriona calls unpleasant. The greenrider's gaze follows Catti as she stands, and he promptly offers, "I can come help, Cat. I don't have anything I need to be doing right now." And besides -- it would be scary to be left alone with Yysare The Talker. The other gains his attention, then, with her decorating suggestions, and Yari makes a face. "Uh. That's okay." Nearly as bad as wraparound walls of pink.

"That's sweet of you Yari! You being a guest and all, you don't have to, you know, but thank you," Catriona beams, before throwing a wink at Yysare. "A purple cot with vibrant blue stripes, then? Stripes go so much better on wood, anyways. Just let me know when a good time would be to help with it." See? Yysare had nothing to worry about, Catti the Master had it all handled. No matter that it was pretty close there, until she could guilt the other greenrider into stopping his questioning. Sidling towards the exit, she adds, "Good night!"

And really T'yari was just trying to find a way to escape Yysare. That and he feels guilty about not setting up his own -- temporary! -- living arrangements. "If you're sure..." he concedes doubtfully. The greenrider does, however, give Catriona a wave as she makes for the exit. "See you later."

Yysare The Talker. That has a nice ring to it. "No, really! I'll do the stripes for you! Free of charge!" Beam. Blue walls with purple stripes. She might has well have said spots. "For /me/? Blue stripes. How about blue dots?" There. She said it. Catti the Master handles everything: one reason for Yys to like her. Beambeam. "Night!"

On second thought -- T'yari can't stand much more of Yysare and her suggestions. They might end up on his walls if he's not careful. Yari's even willing to brave Catriona rather than The Talker. "I'm coming!" he states, voice raising to catch Catriona as she leaves. "Wait for me!" He flees.