"What we need to do is calm down.  Listen.  Listen!  Do you hear that?"  He paused pointing at the sky. T'baran grabbed both Bl'by and V'rex, one hand on each shoulder.  "No keening.  No dead dragon.  No dead Weyrwoman.  Let's get off the dance floor and figure out what's happening."

T'baran was doing his best to be the voice of reason.

Calyse place her smaller hand in his when offered, following obediently in his wake toward the dancefloor. His long fingers drew her eyes while thoughts turned inward. A shy man was not what she had expected, the stuttering reply rather disarming. Up close with that barely tamed haircut, there was a roguish quality to him that made his stumble seem all the more curious. Did he *not know* he cleaned up so nicely in that vest? Perhaps that was it, she reasoned. It made her wonder how he usually presented himself. 

He began introductions far more smoothly and the minor success made the edge of Calyse's lips twitch near a smile. "Calyse," she answered. "Just Calyse. Candidate," was added as an afterthought. "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Weyrling T'quinn of brown Aeliseth." The smile finally appeared on her face, lighting up her blue eyes before vanishing again as quickly as it arrived. 

As they came to a halt in the open space among the other dancers, Calyse stepped near him with more confidence than she felt. The hand he held remained in his grasp while her other settled on his opposing shoulder in a fairly conventional pose. "Are you any good at this?" She asked bluntly without the pretense of playfulness. 

On Tue, Jun 9, 2020, 1:33 AM Rosiegirl <rosiegirl872@...> wrote:

Looking out at the dancers while at the same time looking for Wycker, T’quinn didn’t notice he’d become someone’s focus until she was standing directly in front of him. Before she’d even greeted him, his startled brown eyes had focused on her. Her greeting earned her a dip of his head and smile, but as he lifted his head and her pretty blue eyes caught his gaze with an unusual intensity the greeting he’d have voiced didn’t make it past his lips. 

 

And then her very direct question, a request to dance from someone he’d never met before, caused his eyebrows to rise and his mouth to drop in surprise as he stuttered out sounding quite awkward “Um, me? Oh, um..sure. Of course.” Glancing around for a place to put his drink, still quite flabbergasted that *he’d* been asked, he put his mug of juice down with a slightly less than graceful ‘thunk’ before turning to the girl asking him to brave the dance floor with her. 

 

As he looked at her, this time he looked beyond those intense blue eyes to her, her so pale blond hair, the runner necklace, and the white blouse and deep red skirt that looked quite plain and conservative next to some of the more...daring outfits of the Weyr inhabitants. His eyes lingered on the runner necklace for a very brief moment, but it was long enough for his brown to catch and send him a pleased {{Ohh, I like her. Make sure not to step on her toes while dancing, Mine!}}. T’quinn sent back a feeling of exasperated love even as he held out his hand to her to lead her out onto the floor while he asked politely “I’m Weyrling T’quinn of brown Aeliseth. And who do I have the honor of dancing with this evening?” His earlier stutter and moment of surprise had cleared enough for this to sound just a bit less awkward.

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On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 1:51 AM Ariel Rogers <ariel.aurora.rogers@...> wrote:

Calyse stood on the sidelines among others milling about while they sought dance partners. Lady's choice, they'd said, and this put her in the unfortunate position of having to approach someone. Pull yourself together, she thought silently while her eyes swept the room. It was her first southern Gather and the event had not disappointed, though she found herself feeling guilty for enjoying the festivities. She wasn't here for fun, she was here to keep up appearances. She didn't even like parties on this scale and her discomfort showed in her guarded posture with arms folded beneath her bosom, in the way she fidgeted from foot to foot. 

She hadn't come south with many pretty dresses as they tended to remind her of her mother, and so she had dressed fairly plainly. In place of garish candidate yellows, Calyse wore a loose white silk blouse tucked into the waistband of her flowing floor-length skirt made of fine linen itself dyed a deep, dark red. There were no real accessories beyond a tiny, golden runner pendant that dangled from her neck on a chain, a gift from her brother she was rarely without. Candidate knots hung on her shoulder almost like an afterthought.  Her light blonde hair had been twisted into a bun at the base of her skull, but stray strands were already beginning to escape. Each she noticed was tucked carefully back into place, but not even Calyse could fend off the frizz of southern humidity. 

She caught sight of a young man with cup in hand lingering on the edge of the dancefloor, watching like herself while he tapped to the beat. Her first assessment of him at a distance was favorable, well-dressed and handsome in a sort of boyish way. Taller than she was, too, by the look of it, which never hurt. Calyse made the decision then and there, moving abruptly with strides full of purpose. She cut along the outer edge of the dancers, approaching T'quinn without a moment of hesitation. 

When she came to stop directly in front of him, there could be no doubt as to her target. "Fair skies," she greeted him flatly, but not unkindly. Blue eyes sought to capture his with what might have been an uncomfortable intensity, but she was simply direct. "Would you honor me with a dance?"

On Sun, Jun 7, 2020, 7:42 PM Rosiegirl <rosiegirl872@...> wrote:

T'quinn's first Aolos Gather experience had been amazing! Despite the restrictions placed on him as a weyrling, he'd had a wonderful time. It had started with getting very lucky with a Arolos Cup bet, on a runner that had clearly been the undercanine of the group of contestant runners. He'd spent that first day considering what to spend the marks he'd won on and examining the stalls and talking with a few merchants here and there. He splurged a little and bought Wycker a gift, and himself a nicer shirt for the Gather Dance. But he had taken a little more time to consider the gift he was wanting to get for his totally amazing brown lifemate. He knew what he *wanted* to get for Aeliseth, but had to find someone who could do it if it wasn't already available for sale. Thankfully, it had been available and T'quinn had been able to surprise his brown with a series of a half-dozen elegantly-made glass runner figurines in different poses that were about the size of two palms together (about twice the size of normal figurines that could fit in the center of a palm), packed nice and securely in a slightly large padded box for transport. He'd managed to keep his brown from realizing he'd gotten a gift for him, planning to surprise Aeliseth with this when they got to move into their own weyrs. 

And now it was the last day, he'd worn his nice new shirt and vest combo that the tailor had suggested would look the best on him when he'd purchased it, the white shirt left gabing a little at his throat with the heat and the vest a very nice looking brocade in a series of different shades of blue and trimmed in brown. with his weyrling knots hanging from his shoulder. The tailor had spoken true though and so with the fit of his new vest he looked quite good...not that he'd noticed the many admiring looks tossed his way, of course. 

He was standing at the edge of the dance floor, watching the dancers as well as keeping an eye out for Wycker, and sipping at the last of a cup of juice. His foot was tapping to the music being played, but he held himself back from joining in, used to and more than happy to continue to just watch from the outside.

((OOC: This is set *before* the stabbing, of course.))

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Looking out at the dancers while at the same time looking for Wycker, T’quinn didn’t notice he’d become someone’s focus until she was standing directly in front of him. Before she’d even greeted him, his startled brown eyes had focused on her. Her greeting earned her a dip of his head and smile, but as he lifted his head and her pretty blue eyes caught his gaze with an unusual intensity the greeting he’d have voiced didn’t make it past his lips. 

 

And then her very direct question, a request to dance from someone he’d never met before, caused his eyebrows to rise and his mouth to drop in surprise as he stuttered out sounding quite awkward “Um, me? Oh, um..sure. Of course.” Glancing around for a place to put his drink, still quite flabbergasted that *he’d* been asked, he put his mug of juice down with a slightly less than graceful ‘thunk’ before turning to the girl asking him to brave the dance floor with her. 

 

As he looked at her, this time he looked beyond those intense blue eyes to her, her so pale blond hair, the runner necklace, and the white blouse and deep red skirt that looked quite plain and conservative next to some of the more...daring outfits of the Weyr inhabitants. His eyes lingered on the runner necklace for a very brief moment, but it was long enough for his brown to catch and send him a pleased {{Ohh, I like her. Make sure not to step on her toes while dancing, Mine!}}. T’quinn sent back a feeling of exasperated love even as he held out his hand to her to lead her out onto the floor while he asked politely “I’m Weyrling T’quinn of brown Aeliseth. And who do I have the honor of dancing with this evening?” His earlier stutter and moment of surprise had cleared enough for this to sound just a bit less awkward.

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On Tue, Jun 9, 2020 at 1:51 AM Ariel Rogers <ariel.aurora.rogers@...> wrote:

Calyse stood on the sidelines among others milling about while they sought dance partners. Lady's choice, they'd said, and this put her in the unfortunate position of having to approach someone. Pull yourself together, she thought silently while her eyes swept the room. It was her first southern Gather and the event had not disappointed, though she found herself feeling guilty for enjoying the festivities. She wasn't here for fun, she was here to keep up appearances. She didn't even like parties on this scale and her discomfort showed in her guarded posture with arms folded beneath her bosom, in the way she fidgeted from foot to foot. 

She hadn't come south with many pretty dresses as they tended to remind her of her mother, and so she had dressed fairly plainly. In place of garish candidate yellows, Calyse wore a loose white silk blouse tucked into the waistband of her flowing floor-length skirt made of fine linen itself dyed a deep, dark red. There were no real accessories beyond a tiny, golden runner pendant that dangled from her neck on a chain, a gift from her brother she was rarely without. Candidate knots hung on her shoulder almost like an afterthought.  Her light blonde hair had been twisted into a bun at the base of her skull, but stray strands were already beginning to escape. Each she noticed was tucked carefully back into place, but not even Calyse could fend off the frizz of southern humidity. 

She caught sight of a young man with cup in hand lingering on the edge of the dancefloor, watching like herself while he tapped to the beat. Her first assessment of him at a distance was favorable, well-dressed and handsome in a sort of boyish way. Taller than she was, too, by the look of it, which never hurt. Calyse made the decision then and there, moving abruptly with strides full of purpose. She cut along the outer edge of the dancers, approaching T'quinn without a moment of hesitation. 

When she came to stop directly in front of him, there could be no doubt as to her target. "Fair skies," she greeted him flatly, but not unkindly. Blue eyes sought to capture his with what might have been an uncomfortable intensity, but she was simply direct. "Would you honor me with a dance?"

On Sun, Jun 7, 2020, 7:42 PM Rosiegirl <rosiegirl872@...> wrote:

T'quinn's first Aolos Gather experience had been amazing! Despite the restrictions placed on him as a weyrling, he'd had a wonderful time. It had started with getting very lucky with a Arolos Cup bet, on a runner that had clearly been the undercanine of the group of contestant runners. He'd spent that first day considering what to spend the marks he'd won on and examining the stalls and talking with a few merchants here and there. He splurged a little and bought Wycker a gift, and himself a nicer shirt for the Gather Dance. But he had taken a little more time to consider the gift he was wanting to get for his totally amazing brown lifemate. He knew what he *wanted* to get for Aeliseth, but had to find someone who could do it if it wasn't already available for sale. Thankfully, it had been available and T'quinn had been able to surprise his brown with a series of a half-dozen elegantly-made glass runner figurines in different poses that were about the size of two palms together (about twice the size of normal figurines that could fit in the center of a palm), packed nice and securely in a slightly large padded box for transport. He'd managed to keep his brown from realizing he'd gotten a gift for him, planning to surprise Aeliseth with this when they got to move into their own weyrs. 

And now it was the last day, he'd worn his nice new shirt and vest combo that the tailor had suggested would look the best on him when he'd purchased it, the white shirt left gabing a little at his throat with the heat and the vest a very nice looking brocade in a series of different shades of blue and trimmed in brown. with his weyrling knots hanging from his shoulder. The tailor had spoken true though and so with the fit of his new vest he looked quite good...not that he'd noticed the many admiring looks tossed his way, of course. 

He was standing at the edge of the dance floor, watching the dancers as well as keeping an eye out for Wycker, and sipping at the last of a cup of juice. His foot was tapping to the music being played, but he held himself back from joining in, used to and more than happy to continue to just watch from the outside.

((OOC: This is set *before* the stabbing, of course.))

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Revai looked her up and down. "Yes, I have a couple to sell. Not to just anybody. You're a Candidate,yes? I don't generally sell to Candidates."

"If the Weyrwoman is hurt, then you need to get out of here." Ilanna insisted. "There could be another attempt." She didn't tug on R'tal's arm, but she didn't release him either. "Come on- is your dragon here? My Corth can take us both if not." 

((Sometimes, Healing might not be safe,)) said Elphith. ((But it is his job, and he will do it. If everyone abandons her, she will die. If they stay with her and help her, she may live. Trust me. Trust Cuylar.))

***

((It's not safe--)) He could feel Bl'by's heart banging against his ribs, hear his rider's background panic, the chant of 'not safe, not safe, NOT SAFE' echoing at the back of his mind. Bl'by might be managing to appear like someone just about holding it together but Traynth was shivering, huddling closer to Elphith. ((He says if she dies it will all go wrong again. Everyone has to get out.))

No-one was keening. That was always a good start.

 

R'tal had stopped when the keening started, head turning as he tried to work out just where Kassia was. He was at the wrong side of the dancefloor was the trouble, too many people between them - people who were now starting to move in unpredictable ways.

--- 

Ilanna gasped, took a better hold of R'tal's arm, to avoid being separated. "If something happened to the Weyrwoman, you need to get clear of this crowd." She urged him. "You're Weyrleader and there could be more aggressors!"