An Offer?

All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are copyright © Anne McCaffrey 1967,2000, all rights reserved, and used by permission of the author. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is registered U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, by Anne McCaffrey, used here with permission. Use or reproduction without a license is strictly prohibited. For more information, visit the Worlds of Anne McCaffrey. Many thanks to Alec Johnson for his assistance with this information!

An Offer?

F'gon takes Chailyn flying and makes her an offer.
Setting: Igen Weyr bowl and the high sky, nighttime
Cast: F'gon, Chailyn and Hollerith

Chailyn - Sunday, May 28, 2000, 4:29 PM
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Weyrling Training Field
The long shadows cast by the tall spires above are matched in this area of the Bowl by a few long scars in the floor of the Bowl - a silent testimony to a few miscalculated landings. Overhead, the dragons seem to fly with increased awareness, as dragons and riders alike keep in mind that a weyrlings practice here. There is enough groundspace for two full wings of dragons, which makes this a perfect area for practice or drills.
To the north, the walls of the Bowl part to make way for the Igen Weyr Pass, whereas to the west a glint of water betrays the lake's position. An opening into the bowl walls on the northeast fairly hums with the murmurs of young riders in training. Straight east is the large opening to the Weyr's Hatching Grounds. A flurry of activity to the south points one to the main entrance into the inner Weyr. The center of the Bowl lies to the southwest.
Contents:
F'gon

Chailyn is roaming rather aimlessly, eyes fixed up on the night sky and not readlly paying attention to where she is going.

F'gon is limping out of the Weyrling Barracks.

F'gon looks up and pauses, not sure if Chailyn notices him or not.

Chailyn nearly stumbles over a small rock, and mutters something under her breath, looking down to the ground in order to watch where she's going. She pauses upon spying a figure and offers a cheerful, "Evening."

F'gon smiles Softly. "Evening, Chailyn. You're up late..."

Chailyn draws close enough to see who it is, and her smile dims slightly. "F'gon." She apparently didn't know who it was until he spoke. "I suppose so. Looking at the stars."

F'gon nods. "Beautiful, aren't they. I often go up to the Rim to watch them. I sometimes wish I could take Hollerith and try to reach them..."

Chailyn mms. "Could you really reach 'em?"

F'gon chuckles. "Well, as high as we fly, nobody ever has...no, they are very far away...but it is beautiful to try, up there in the rarified air..."

Chailyn nods politely. "I wouldn't know."

Just overhead, Kazeth glides down cautiously.
Just overhead, Kazeth lands just below you in the Center of the Igen Weyr Bowl.

F'gon smiles. "Well, trust me, its a wonderful experience. "

F'gon says "I was probably going a little later."

F'gon lets that hang...as if it were an invitation...

Chailyn is oblivious. "Really? Well, it's a nice enough night for it. Nice and cool too."

F'gon nods. "Would you care to join me?" He asks after a pause.

Chailyn arches her eyebrows. "Me? Really?" She chews on her lower lip and considers. "You wouldn't mind?"

F'gon shakes his head. "Why would I mind, Chailyn?"

Chailyn shrugs. "You might want to go flying alone. Seems little enough time to be alone with your dragon when you're a rider."

F'gon chuckles. "Actually, we get PLENTY of time alone with them. Holly and I fly together sweeps and special duties several hours per day. It would be nice to have...your company."

Chailyn shrugs. "Well, if you're sure."

F'gon smiles. "I am sure....Just no seducing me up in the sky." He winks.

Just overhead, Hollerith glides down cautiously.
Just overhead, Hollerith glides over to the training field.

Hollerith backwings to land neatly.
Hollerith has arrived.

Chailyn rolls her eyes. "As if *that's* likely." She mutters it under her breath, and then looks up as Hollerith lands.

This gigantic brown dragon is as large as most full-grown bronzes. His titian brown hide is of an unusual red shade that is sure to attract the interest of many a female dragon. He is overly large for a brown, and carries himself with surety and pride. He is often found poking his nose into EVERYBODY's business, as he is insatiably curious. He also can often be heard humming in tune, especially when F'gon is singing, also. Hollerith is F'gon's lifemate.

His eyes are green and are whirling slowly.
He measures 39.0 meters in length, with a wingspan of 64.74 meters.
Hollerith is 34 Turns, 9 months, and 21 days old.

F'gon chuckles. "Well, its been tried...the last beautiful lady I took for a ride tried to...well...she got creative with her hands." He winks again and leads the way over to Hollerith, who lands not far away.

Chailyn flushes. "I'm hardly beautiful, or a lady." She wrinkles her nose, following and then offers softly, "Evening, Hollerith."

Hollerith leans his big head down and whuffles Chailyn softly.

F'gon grins. "He likes you, and yes you are both."

F'gon limps over to Hollerith, stows his walking stick and leaps up.

F'gon jumps onto Hollerith's back with one powerful, agile leap.
F'gon has left.

F'gon leans down to help Chailyn leap up.

Chailyn offers a gentle eyeridge drubbing, remarking something softly to the brown, before she steps back a couple of steps, and then takes a running hop to climb up. She takes hold of the straps, not accepting the hand, and hauls herself up the distance with a minimum of fuss.

You whisper "Your rider's blind, you know that?" to Hollerith.

Hollerith
The view is quite impressive from Hollerith's back. You can feel his rippling muscles move as he does, and yet you know, somehow, that he's being careful, keeping in mind that you are atop him.
Contents:
F'gon

F'gon helps you settle right behind him, in the same ridge, so that you're pushed against him. The straps don't allow any other orientation. He straps the two of you in.

Chailyn leans back slightly, resting her hands behind her on the neckridge. "Ready when you two are."

F'gon looks back. "You'll break your back that way." He says, and reaches back, takes your hands, and wraps them around his stomach. "This is what I meant about seduction. No getting frisky, now...well, not unless you want to." He winks and turns around.

Hollerith bunches his legs and opens his massive wings, his eyes whirling a slow green.

Hollerith spreads his massive titian brown wings, and with a massive sweep and push of his powerful legs, he launches into the air.

You wing cautiously up into the Bowl.
Over the Ground in the Igen Weyr Bowl(#769RLae)
The oval shaped caldera surrounds you, and the peaks which cast long shadows across the Bowl at various times of the day reach up past you to the sky, towering in all directions. There is a sense of productivity in the air, with dragons flying to and fro on business all over the Bowl. The air is slightly cooler closer to the ground, although that's scant consolation to those visitors from the north who are unaccustomed to the desert climate.
Down to the northwest, the glint of water betrays the lake's position, while to the northeast a large field leads to the Pass out of the Weyr, and a large gap in the wall betrays the location of the Weyr's Hatching Grounds. Southeast, the activity indicates the main entrance to the inner Weyr, and the sounds of herdbeasts travel on the wind from the southwest. Straight below lies the center of the Bowl, where there appears to be a bluish-white imprinted silhouette of a dragon, laying on his back, wings outspread. A few ground weyrs are accessible from this level.

Hollerith beats up with his massive wings and then catches a thermal.

Midway up in the Igen Weyr Bowl(#779RLaet$)
All around, the peaks of Igen Weyr reach up past you to the sky, like the fingers of a hand. The weather beaten caldera is clearly oval shaped, shielding you somewhat from the winds that whip their way over the desert to the west, although the air currents remain tricky and even the most experienced dragons stay somewhat on their guard in this area. Heat permeates the Igen Bowl, the air shimmering slightly.
Far below, the ground looks like a patchwork quilt - the blue of the Igen lake to the northwest, a patch of green to the southwest promising the feeding grounds, and various shades of brown and yellow-green in between. Openings can be seen in most of the walls of the Bowl at this height, their ledges providing a sunny spot for the weyr's fighting dragons.

Chailyn waits until the brown is aloft, and then stubbornly removes her hands, using thighs instead to steady herself. "I'll be fine," she calls over the wind of their passage.

F'gon calls back. "Hey, seriously, I'm not going to have you fall off. Hold on to me." His voice is serious. "I'm not being flirtatious here...its safety!" He is yelling to be heard over the wind as Hollerith climbs.

High above Igen Weyr
Below you lies the Bowl of Igen Weyr. Founded after High Reaches Weyr in the First Interval, this Weyr's spectacular shape is due largely to the desert winds which have eroded it sharply. The red layers of sandstone seem warm and inviting from this height, especially when you consider that inside the Bowl itself one is protected from the winds that first packed the stone and now erode it. Here and there igneous intrusions may be seen, grey against the red along the range that separates the Igen desert to the west from the Igen River floodplain to the east. With the blast of the warm winds, however, there is no forgetting that you are in the Igen desert, and looking to the west, you might think for a moment that all of Pern is a sandbox.
Far below you lie the inviting grounds of the Igen Weyr Bowl. Westwards the well-worn rim of the Bowl is flat enough for a landing.
Contents:
Kazeth(#14822Jabes)

You soar higher and higher into the sky, far above the Igen desert.

High over the Igen Weyr area
The only sounds you hear are the beating of your wings and the whistling of the wind; the air here is as barren as the land below as you soar high above the Igen desert. Splashes of brown and green to the northeast beckon you towards more fertile ground, the Telgar River winding its way like a blue ribbon up towards the SmithCraft Hall.
On your other side, off towards the horizon, the blue-green waters of the coast, beyond the Igen floodplain and the StarCraft Hall, are barely visible. Closer in, the red sandstone of the Igen Weyr bowl appears smaller than life, the colorful hides of dragons darting in and out, looking no larger than firelizards from this height.

Hollerith climbs, rising on a thermal, into the higher atmosphere...

Chailyn doesn't put her arms back around, though there may be a light giggle heard before the wind tears it away. She hooks her hands into the straps instead and puts her head back, tipping her face up to the sky.

F'gon reaches around, takes Chailyn's hands and puts them around his waist. He calls back "I don't have the plague, you know....please...don't kid around up here..." And he turns back to concentrate on the ride, as Hollerith climbs even HIGHER into the cool night air.

You soar higher and higher into the sky, far above the northern continent.
Upper Sky
You are flying high up in the skies over Pern. So high, in fact, that it seems as though you can see the entire northern continent laid out below you. There is hardly a sound other than the wind and the beating of your dragon's wings as your soar about.
From here you can fly to anyplace on Pern. The Fort peninsula appears to the Southwest, while the mountains of High Reaches can be see to the northwest. Due south, you can make out Ista Island, while a bit further to the east of that, you can see the Igen Desert. Further to the east, you can see out across Bitra and Lemos, towards Benden Weyr.

Chailyn leans forward just a bit so that she can be heard. "Like Hollerith would *drop* me. And I'm strapped in. Lighten up a bit! Besides, it's more fun not to hold on!"

F'gon feels Chailyn leaning against him, and shakes his head, gesturing that she should keep her hands where they are.

Hollerith begins long slow circles as he reaches his highest cruising altitude for the evening...its so high you think you can see all of Pern...or rather, lights from Holds from all of Pern, it being night...

Chailyn leans in the straps, peering straight down over the side of the brown's massive neck - or as close as she can down the side. There is a delighted smile on her face, and then she looks up to the sky, leaning back a bit in the straps. There's not *much* room for freedom of motion, but...

Hollerith continues long slow banking circles, to assist in the view.

Chailyn remains silent, though she continues to wiggle around in the straps, trying to take in everything at once.

Hollerith straightens out, flying straight.

F'gon turns around "Stop that, Chailyn. You're loosening the straps...."

F'gon turns, his his face right by Chailyn's. "Please?" He asks, softly.

Hollerith continues to fly straight....not even beating his wings, riding on the currents with those enormous wings...

Chailyn sighs. "How'm I supposed to *see* anything if you won't let me look. Besides, Hollerith wouldn't drop me." Again, that sureity and utter lack of fear. She wrinkles her nose and settles, instead craining her neck all about.

F'gon looks you in the eyes. "Chailyn, if you hold on correctly, and keep the straps tight, I'll have him bank and you can see everything.."

Chailyn nods. "All right." She puts her arms back and laughs. "If I'd known you were gonna be this fussy, I'd've asked for my own neckridge!"

F'gon raises an eyebrow, as he is still twisted a bit in his own straps. "My, picky picky..." He winks, turns around, tightens the straps, and taps Hollerith on the neck.

Hollerith begins a long SEEMINGLY slow banking turn, although you can tell from the wind that you must be going VERY fast...and you feel completely seated from the inertia, but Hollerith is almost completely on his side during the bank, so you can see EVERYTHING on the ground....

Chailyn's breath is torn away from the wind for a few moments, and then an odd noise can be heard from behind. It takes a moment to place it - laughter. She's laughing her head off in a moment of complete joy, as unguarded as any child. Watching the terrain flash by far below she keeps her word, not moving or doing anything to spoil the view.

Hollerith continues to circle, making lazy S turns over the course of the following 10-15 minutes...

As you look at F'gon, you see that he isn't looking down at the ground. He looks back at you occassionally, but mainly, up...up at the stars and the sky above.

Chailyn watches avidly, and as the second few turns begin, she tips her head up to the night sky. About halfway through the banking, she starts to shiver lightly, though she doesn't come any nearer for warmth. Thin clothes for the day at Igen are hardly suitable for high level night flying, though she offers not one word of complaint.

Hollerith begins to slowly circle down towards Igen Weyr.

Below, to your left, the Telgar river cuts through the terrain like a blue ribbon, winding its way to the sea. Soaring towards the southeast, the Igen desert spreads out beneath you, while you see the blue-green coastal waters ahead.

F'gon is silent...

Hollerith circles slowly lower, the ground rushing up gently and easily....

Over the Ground in the Igen Weyr Bowl(#769RLae)
The oval shaped caldera surrounds you, and the peaks which cast long shadows across the Bowl at various times of the day reach up past you to the sky, towering in all directions. There is a sense of productivity in the air, with dragons flying to and fro on business all over the Bowl. The air is slightly cooler closer to the ground, although that's scant consolation to those visitors from the north who are unaccustomed to the desert climate.
Down to the northwest, the glint of water betrays the lake's position, while to the northeast a large field leads to the Pass out of the Weyr, and a large gap in the wall betrays the location of the Weyr's Hatching Grounds. Southeast, the activity indicates the main entrance to the inner Weyr, and the sounds of herdbeasts travel on the wind from the southwest. Straight below lies the center of the Bowl, where there appears to be a bluish-white imprinted silhouette of a dragon, laying on his back, wings outspread. A few ground weyrs are accessible from this level.

Hollerith lands gently, with nary a bump.

F'gon unstraps the two of you, and otherwise doesn't yet move.

Chailyn finally begins to wiggle again, and says, "Thank you for the flight. I appreciate it." She leans away once more and stars to dismount.

F'gon offers a hand to help Chailyn leap off.

Chailyn shakes her head. "I can manage, thanks though." She rather precipitously tucks one leg through the tiny space between herself and F'gon, and then slides down the brown's hide at breakneck speed, a pleased grin on her face. She lands with a fairly heavy thump, but is otherwise fine.

Chailyn smiles at the brown and thumps his hide gently. "Thank you for the ride, Hollerith. It was terribly fun."

F'gon jumps off Hollerith's back with one powerful, agile leap.
F'gon has arrived.

Hollerith croons softly to the human.

F'gon unstows his walking stick. "I'm glad you liked it, Chailyn..."

Just overhead, Cevodnioth wings up from the Guest Weyr's ledge.
Just overhead, Cevodnioth backwings to a landing on Ladonyth's Ledge.

Chailyn nods. "I did, thank you. Sorry if I was a bit of a pest. I didn't mean to frighten you or anything."

F'gon nods. "You didn't frighten me, per se...I just didn't want you falling. Even Hollerith can't always help that, if he's banking and you aren't strapped in and holding on correctly..."

Chailyn shakes her head. "I was strapped in. Besides, you take care of your equipment, right? There's nothing that could have happened to me." She grins a bit. "If I can ride Umirieth when she's showing off, I think I can manage to stay aboard Hollerith."

F'gon nods and smiles softly. "Ok, ok. You win."

Chailyn shrugs. "Besides, I wouldn't want to be accused of seducing anyone."

F'gon chuckles. "Touche."

Chailyn sniffs. "There's more to life anyway. But thank you for taking me to look at the stars. They're different up high. Wish there was a way to hike to the rim, but..."

F'gon looks at you. "Did you want to go to the Rim, Chailyn? I figured you had about enough of me up there..." He winks.

Chailyn shrugs. "I never tire of being outside in the evening. If I can watch from the rim, I don't tire out poor Hollerith playing guide."

F'gon chuckles. "Well, climb back up then..."

Chailyn beams, and then takes that little running hop again, to swing up to catch the straps and haul herself up.

Chailyn settles in comfortably.

F'gon straps the two of you in.

On the Rim Overlooking the Desert(#782RJ)
The rim of the Bowl is wide and flat here, providing one of the most spectacular views in the region. Stretching out to the west is the Igen desert, its red and yellow sands shifting in ever changing patterns of dunes and valleys. Occasionally a section will be swept threadbare and from here you can just barely make out the unusual honeycombed rock. When the sun is at its zenith, it catches quartz overlay and the entire landscape seems to glitter as if jeweled. The night is no less spectacular, for Timor and Belior cast an eerie glow over the desolate area that seems to promise that anything is possible. The most striking time of day, however, is sunset, for at this time Rukbat casts its fiery rays across the sky and desert, seeming to set the dunes ablaze, while the sky above is spattered in orange, red, purple, and finally, a deep midnight blue.
The only way off the Rim is a-dragonback.

F'gon unstraps you both.

F'gon jumps off Hollerith's back with one powerful, agile leap.

F'gon reaches upt o help Chailyn down.

Chailyn slides down the same way she did before, but is caught befoes she can hit the ground. Blushing, she starts to extract herself. "Sorry..."

F'gon slowly lowers Chailyn to the ground. "Don't be sorry..." He says as he sits her down in front of him.

Chailyn clears her throat. "I coulda bowled you over. Didn't mean to."

F'gon sets you down. He's very close to you. He doesn't look away. "That's ok...."

Chailyn clears her throat and starts to step away. "It's a long way down." Whether she means from the neck ridges, the rim, or something completely different is entirely unclear.

F'gon nods, not following, but just looking at Chailyn. "Yes...it is..." He says softly.

Chailyn steps away, face heating. Then she turns her attention out to the desert and the sky. "I've never been up here before."

F'gon sits down on a rock. "Beautiful." But he's looking at your face, not the view.

Chailyn nods, her attention fixed out on the horizon. "Is this what the ocean's like at night? Can't tell the sand from the sky, really?

F'gon nods. "Yes, really..." He says, still looking at you. "Its amazing up here."

Chailyn looks back, and then pushes windblown curls out of her eyes. "What?" She arches her eyebrows curiously.

F'gon just smiles. "Nothing...." He is blushing!

Chailyn tilts her head, blue eyes confused. "No, what is it. It's something - you sound funny." She takes a step or two back towards you in the dark.

F'gon just stands there, looking at you, with a gleam in his eyes. After a long pause. "I should take you down. This isn't healthy for me or for you. Come on, let's go..." He limps back to Hollerith and ties up his walking stick.

Chailyn frowns. "What in the world are you talking about, F'gon?"

F'gon looks at you...as you walk closer. You have to walk very close to see the expression on his face....

Chailyn draws close, tilting her head to peer up into your face. "You're not tired are you?"

F'gon looks at you...Eyes glued to yours. "No, Chailyn, I'm not tired..."

Chailyn frowns. The expression doesn't sit well on her face. "What is it then?"

F'gon looks right into your eyes..."Its that...well...you are very beautiful..."

Chailyn wrinkles her nose. "Hah!" She pulls away slightly. "You really do need to see the healers about your eyes, F'gon."

F'gon shakes his head. "Like I said, its not good for me to be up here with you. I want things I shouldn't want, in ways you don't want to give." He looks at you. "Shall we head back down?"

Chailyn frowns. "I don't understand."

F'gon looks at you. "I...last night you made it clear what you were willing to do and not. Chailyn, I'm...for all my abilities...I'm very alone."

F'gon reaches up and stows his walking stick on Hollerith. He turns around, face close to yours. "Shall we mount up and head down?" He asks slowly.

Chailyn's brows furrow, and she looks entirely bewildered. "But I thought - I mean, there's Kyralla and Shayne..." She blushes faintly.

F'gon nods. "Shayne and I bedded once a few nights ago. Kyralla is special, but we aren't tied together. I don't know what will happen. But I haven't bedded her. You're special, too....

Chailyn sniffs faintly. "I fail to see how being lumped with several 'special' people makes that rule apply to me as well."

F'gon says "I am not ready to be mated yet. I told you that."

F'gon says "But...if I can please you...""

Chailyn shakes her head. "Why do you assume that I want a weyrmate? Why do you think that *I'm* ready for that?"

F'gon shakes his head. "Because of....Ok, now I'm confused...what DO you want?"

Chailyn objects, "I don't know you that well. And I'm not about to go weyrmating to someone I don't know well - weyrmating should be permanent, shouldn't it? Or as permanent as things can get in a weyr. Faranth's teeth, d'you think I'm silly enough to want that from a rider I barely know?"

Chailyn doesn't exactly answer the question.

F'gon pauses. "I guess not." He pauses again. "Shall we fly down?"

Chailyn frowns again, drawing back. "I've offended you, haven't I?"

F'gon shakes his head. "No, Chailyn, you haven't offended me....can I ask you a personal question?"

Chailyn nods cautiously.

F'gon says "Have you ever...well...have you ever been with a man?"

Chailyn's face flames. "Does that really matter?"

F'gon shakes his head. "No, not at all, not really. I just wanted to know...well...I wouldn't ever presume, no matter what the case, to give you an experience you didn't want, and...well...forget it, I'm sorry..." He turns and checks the straps.

Chailyn's tone is strangled, "Why would you want to know that?"

F'gon shakes his head. "Forget it. I'm sorry....Would you like a hand up?"

Chailyn points out, "You asked."

F'gon nods. "I know, Chailyn. I know. I was trying for something I didn't have the right to try for. Shall we, Chailyn?"

Comprehension dawns in Chailyn's blue eyes and she asserts, "Oh! I'm not like Macami or anything. If that's what you're thinking."

F'gon raises an eyebrow. "No, no, not that...Chailyn, I very much want to kiss you and...pleasure you. But only if you're comfortable with what that would or wouldn't mean for an 'us'."

Chailyn flushes darkly. "I... haven't wanted anyone to. And no one's ever asked." The words come out slowly and she looks away. "Pretty funny, I guess. This old and... inexperienced in a weyr. I just avoid riders after flights..." She shrugs.

F'gon nods. "Well, if you don't want me to, I understand..."

Chailyn frowns faintly. "Well, there wouldn't be much point in it, would there."

F'gon raises an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Chailyn flushes. "I'd at least like it to be someone who loves me, F'gon. And there's not much likelyhood of that."

F'gon nods. "True, Chailyn. Right now, I'm not capable of loving anyone. Non that way. I can love you PHYSICALLY, but emotionally, I'm just not there yet. And I won't be for awhile..."

Chailyn shrugs. "And I think that's not love, it's lust. No different than a flight."

F'gon shakes his head. "Not quite the case, butI can understand that sentiment." He's still facing away.

Chailyn frowns again. She's doing that a lot this evening. "Why won't you look at me?"

F'gon chuckles and turns around. "Because I I don't want to pressure you..." he says, as his clear blue eyes, so compelling, looking into yours. Those ARE compelling eyes, full of strength. "I'm an altruist at heart...in bed, as well...but, I shouldn't be your first, and if I'm not your first, I shouldn't even be ONE of your first. For that you DO deserve someone who loves you. But if you ever change your mind, we could, as friends, have some incredible fun together. The sort of fun that they can hear the...results of...on the other side of the bowl."

Chailyn's face turns blood red. She looks away, and then turns away. "Well, there's not much chance of that then. I... don't think I'm the type of girl most men would want like that."

F'gon looks at Chailyn, still in the eyes, not letting you turn your face away, but lifting his hand up and turning your chin to face him. "Chailyn, I would like to do that for you. The question is not whether you are desireable. You are. The question is whether or not you want that, and are comfortable with the boundaries on that. If you aren't, you aren't. If you are..." He lets the statement hang, full of meaning.

Chailyn is silent a long few minutes. Then she asks plainly, "Why should I trust you?"

F'gon looks at you. "Chailyn, you do or you don't. I won't sit here and tell you WHY you should trust me. Its very simple. I like you. You are a friend. I like my friends to be happy. Right now I'm not with anyone. Right now I'm not ready for any kind of relationship more than a friend. But I still like to make my friends happy. For those of my friends who are female, attractive, and who find ME attractive, I like to make them happy in bed. I'm very good at it. But that's what it is and would be." He looks at you. "I wanted you to have all the facts at your disposal...I won't be offended either way, but I must admit, I would love to please you..."

Chailyn's expression is uncertain, and she drops her eyes. "I..." She asks sowly, "Why would you want to? You don't love me. You don't even know me that well. And I know I'm not pretty, so don't waste your breath saying that."

F'gon looks at you and tilts his head. "You really believe that, don't you. Its true, Chailyn, you don't have the body of a Shayne or a Siara...BUT...you have a very beautiful face and eyes any man could gaze into all day...so, that said...I like you. I know you pretty well. As well as I know most of my friends, with a few exceptions. No, Chailyn, I don't love you. Nor probably will I. But that's a failing in me, not in you."

Chailyn says quietly, "I don't want to be another conquest. Nor do I want your pity." She swallows, and then says, "It's getting late. I guess we should go down now."

F'gon pauses, before moving. "Chailyn, If I wanted a conquest, there are dozens of women I could go after that are 'harder to get' than you are...if I wanted a challenge, I'd go after someone who didn't like me. If I wanted someone easy, frankly, there are plenty of Riders I could talk to. And if I wanted someone to pity, well, there are people a lot more lowly than you, Chailyn." He turns, as if that statement was a slap to his strange set of morals/ethics, and mounts Hollerith.

F'gon jumps onto Hollerith's back with one powerful, agile leap.
F'gon has left.

F'gon reaches down to help Chailyn up, however.

Chailyn's jaw sets, though this time, she doesn't distain the help up.

F'gon helps you behind him, this time not placing your hands, and straps the two of you in. "Where to, Chailyn?"

Chailyn is silent for a good long minute or two. She finally says, "The caverns, please." The words come slowly, her jaw setting.

F'gon nods and pats Hollerith's neck.

Hollerith spreads his massive titian brown wings, and with a massive sweep and push of his powerful legs, he launches into the air.

Field outside the Main Entrance
Activity surrounds you as you gaze over the road which runs beneath the huge cliffs which form the southeastern section of the Igen Weyr Bowl. The wall opens here in three places... the middle one seems the most busy although the northernmost one is the largest. The ground under your feet is solid and rocky, and in the brightest sun it glares uncomfortably.
To the north the road continues, winding its way past the hatching grounds and barracks to eventually leave the bowl. Cutting across the bowl to the northwest brings you to the center of the bowl. To the west lies a green field full of beasts- the Weyr's feeding grounds. The infirmary weyr opens to the northeast, and the living caverns to the east.

F'gon unstraps you from Hollerith's back.

F'gon helps Chailyn down, still on Hollerith's back.

Chailyn backs away a step or two, looking up to the brown's neck.

F'gon talks down to Chailyn from Hollerith's back. "Chailyn, please understand that I think you are a wonderful person, and I haven't offered what I just offered to you to very many people. I can count on one hand the number over the past 5 Turns. If you ever change your mind...."

F'gon nods and turns to tap Hollerith's neck, before Chailyn can respond.

Hollerith steps away from the littlehuman so that he can get room to leap up.

Chailyn watches silently, her expression decidedly bewildered.

Hollerith tenses, then springs upwards.
Hollerith has left.

PST