The World of Pern(tm) is copyright to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967. The dragons riders of Pern is a registered copyright.

This is a log of an online roleplay on PernMUSH. This is not fanfiction, and the characters are copyright their respective players

Courtyard - Harper Hall
The courtyard is the heart of the Harper Hall quadrangle, a vast expanse of grey flagstone without a trace of greenery. Several shallow flights of stairs tiptoe their way upward to a variety of doors around the courtyard's perimeter. The towering cliff walls of the Fort Mountains surge upwards in sheer splendor, the drum heights precariously toed into a large outcropping, as if climbing the wall. Several broad windows pierce the solid rock face, giving an air of lightness and welcome. The bustle and sheer exuberance of the courtyard atmosphere threaten to take your breath away.
As you pause, getting your bearings, your eyes scan the yard. The massive doors of the Main Hall rest at the top of a small flight of stairs to the west. The staircase to the drum heights rises to the northwest. The apprentice dorms are located to the north, while the entrance to the instrument workshop is northeast. The broad expanse of the arch crouches to the east, with the Voice Master's rooms to the south. A small flight of stairs in the southwest corner darts down into the kitchen.

Stomping her way out of the dorms and across the courtyard, Edris fails to really watch where she walks as she peers up into the sky. "One day..' she mutters to herself. "One day she's going to remember the she has a sister, and how awfully mean it is to forget about her." Muttering done for the moment, she flops down in the centre of the courtyard, eyes stil gazing hopefully skywards. "I mean.. it's not as if she can't just fly here. What else is a whuffly green dragon good for if not for bringing you to visit the best little sister that a person could have?"

In the sky, Imanath has arrived.
In the sky, Imanath emerges from Between with a blast of cold air!
In the sky, Imanath circles lazily for a moment before descending to the Courtyard of the Harper Hall.
Imanath backwings to a graceful landing.
Imanath has arrived.

Talisha hops down from Imanath, landing on the ground with a soft thump.

And look! Just like that, Talisha - along with her whuffly green dragon of course - pop into the sky, and swoop down to the courtyard. Tali dismounts, yanks off bright red beanie, stuffing it into a pocket, and trots across to where Edris is peering

"Shards!" Edris looks vaguely astonished. Who knew that she could just wish dragons into the sky like that, let alone ones with big sisters on them. Jumping to her feet and smoothing her now Imanath ruffled hair as straight as it will go, she peers curiously at Tali. "You don't bring gifts for no reason. What kind of gift is it? And what is Imanath doing anyway?"

Talisha smirks down at the little hairball she likes to call her sister, and waves vaguely towards Imanath. "It's a good gift, and that's all you need to know." There's a cough then, from behind the great green lump, and the sound of smothered laughter. "Shush! You'll ruin the surprise!" Tali shakes her head in annoyance, then returns her gaze to the fuzz-head. "The present it just because your getting so _big_ now. How old are you? Almost fourteen turns if I'm correct. Time for me to start turning you into a _proper_ young lady."

Edris looks suddenly as if she's about to beat a hasty retreat back into the realative safety of the dorms. "A -proper- young lady?" she echoes, as she takes the first step away. "Not yet. Nearly, but not yet, not nearly yet." That being the safest thing to say she thinks, and folows tht thought with another step. "How are you planning on turning me into one of those anyway?"

Talisha sweeps back one side of her long coat to reveal.. hairbrushes. Various sized ones all stuffed into the loops of her belt, along with a selection of tiny clips and colourful hairbands. "Just _trust_ me Edris dear. Would I do anything horrible to you?" Of course she would - but pay no attention to that little detail. Turning around, she strolls back over to preening Imanath, and disappears behind her for a moment. More muffled sounds float up and over - snippets of a hushed conversation complete with embarrased laughter - and then Tali is returning, dragging some poor dark-haired lad by his ear. "This is your present."

Edris's small steps turn into much larger ones as she attempts to run backwards, though not to conspicuously of course, away from the hairbrush weilding torturer from Telgar. Unfortunately, backwards running isn't her strong point, which is probably why she's going to be a harper and not anything that requires backwards running, and she falls with a thump on her backside. "But it's a boy. A giggling boy at that. You can't give people as presents. It's against the rules.. or something."

Talisha gives a roll of pale green eyes as she saunters close, still dragging the poor boy along by his ear. She pays no mind to the yelps the lad lets out, and simply gives him a whack on his backside, sending him reeling towards where Edirs has landed. "Of course I can give presents. And he is your present. Call him whatever you like, I didn't ask his name." Meanwhile the poor boy rubs at his knees, and tries _tries_ to get up - but is stopped by a look from Tali. Don't mess with the greenrider. "You didn't give back that necklace K'ryn and I gave you for your last turnday, so you can't turndown _this_ present." Sighing, "Of course he's a boy. What did you expect, a wherry?"

Edris scrunches her nose in sympathy as the boy is flung to the ground. She of course is somewhat used to Tali's little idiosyncrocies, but to be so cruel to a poor helpless boy is another matter. Of course, should Tali ever attempted to do the same to Edris she would find herself with a rather bruised nose, but that's not the point. "Well I dont' want a -boy- where would I keep him? I can't take him with me in the dorms now can I? They'd throw me out of the Hall! He's too big to hide in a trunk or something and I don't think that he'd like that anyway, would you?" A look is given the boy then, somewhat similar to Tali's, which dares the youth to contradict her.

The boy - who shall rename nameless for now - raises his bushy brows at Edris and wiggles them around. He doesn't speak, no, just keeps on wiggling his brows around. "Good boy." Tali praises, beaming a terribly _bright_ smile at boy and sister alike. "Oh come on Edris, what do you THINK this is, a HOONTA?" Shaking her head in mock sadness, she strolls over to where sprawled boy and sitting Edris are, and flumps down beside them. "Come on now, I can help you hide him. I know just what to do with him.." Would _you_ trust that smile?

"I don't -want- to hide him." Edris exclaims, thumping her hand on the ground to emphasise this fact. The boy is just given a distainful look. "And don't you look at me like that again. Or I'll.. I'll..." A threat dire enough eludes her at the moment, so she contents herself with rubbing at her hand, which is sore from the thumping on the stones. "And of course it's not a Hoonta." Eyes roll upwards dramatically at the use of a nonsense word from home. "How old do you think you are, Tali. I thought that you were supposed to be the mature one here.. you know.. the one to teach me to be a -proper- lady."

"How old am I..." Talisha echoes, nose crinkling up as she tries to think. Note, _tries_. "Actually I don't know. You'll have to ask K'ryn how old I am, I'm afraid I can't remember." Nobody remembers birthdays after their twentieth afterall. "And of _course_ you want to hide him! Look, he's a strapping young lad. Takes after his father." Firm nod. The boy - well, he cowers back from Edris. If she's anything like Tali, he'll have to watch out. "I am teaching you to be a proper lady though." She gets up, dusting her hands off and removing her coat. "I've brought you an assortment of hairbrushes. I'm going to give you a 'makeover'." The boy, in the meantime, tries to scamper off, and is stopped by a quick whack to the rump. "Stay put, or I'll tell V'der you were mean to my sister."

Edris tries to straighten her hair back down again, with no great success. "Well it was neat until Imanath made it all messy again.." Yep, blame the dragon. "Truly I had it al neat and straight." Eyes wide and brown appeal to be believed, until she realises that this is Tali, so she glances away and to stick-boy and the dust pictures that he's drawing. "Where did you find him anyway. Won't someone miss him? I mean, you just can't take someone's son away like that." Lookig back to the oh so neatly groomed Tali, she sighs in resignation. "I'm not a fuzzy hairball head."

Talisha runs a hand through her own long hair - long and _sleek_ hair, long and sleek and _shiny_ hair, then whips a hairbrush out from it's loop in her belt. "Well I can at least try to make your hair a little less fuzzy than it is now." Her brows scrunch together in a little vee, lips curling upward. "Don't blame Imanath. Only I'm allowed to blame her for things, aren't I.." she trails off into sickening mushy-rider-to-dragon talk, then coughs and returns her attention to the hairball. "If you must know, I found him in V'der's weyr." Just what she was doing in there, she doesn't say. "And I highly doubt V'der will miss him. He has enough spawn already anyhow, one less won't hurt him."

Edris raises her brows slightly, but doesn't ask what she was doing in V'der's weyr.. Nor indeed who he is. "It -was- Imanath's fault" she mutters softly. "Well come on then, what are you going to do to me anyway?" she eyes the brushes and assorted hair doo-dads, and pulls a face. "You can't do anything to me that will make them laugh at me. or anything that will make me too girly." Again the nose screws up. "Or else Tirom will tease me."

Talisha rolls her eyes most dramatically, "Tirom Schmirom. Your *my* sister and the only boy you have to worry about from now on is *him*." And she motions towards V'der's young son with one hand, the brush waving around in her other. "Trust me, Eddy. I won't make you look silly, so turn around." While she speaks, she trots off and fetches a latch-locked case of things from a pouch on Imanath's straps, and returns, flipping it open and fishing around inside. "Where'd I put that.."

Edris spins around hesitantly, keeping her eye on 'V'der's son' and calling out to Tali in the sternest voice that she can think to use. "I'm not going to worry about him at all, cause he's not staying." -I- on the other hand have to stay here and finish my apprenticeship, so you'd better be telling me the truth about not making me look stupid. Hey.." curiosity gets the better of her. "What are you looking for anyway?"

Talisha simply ignores Edris' little rant about not making her look silly. "Aha!" She exclaims, holding up a stick of something thin, black and slightly crumbly. "This is what I was looking for. And this!" In her other hand, she holds up a stick of something of similar shape and texture, only dark mauve in colour. "Now come here and hold still." V'der's son continues tracing patterns in the dirt with his stick, singing something about buttless pants under his breath, and fun-times at the lava loung. Tali ignores him. "Sit Edris!"

Edris eyes the sticks, all of them with horror. "You can't be serious, Talisha?" Eyes however do move across as the buttless pants comments drifts across on the breeze, and her eyebrows raise a little until she catches herself and gases back to the threat in hand. colour on her face! "I don't want that. it's just icky!" SHe does however, know that tone of Tali's and does as commanded like a little canine, and sits obediently.

"Good girl." Talisha praises, and even reaches to patty-pat Edris on her fluffy little head. "Now don't cry or anything.. but brushing your hair into straightness might hurt a little." Pause, as she draws the brush up, and makes to yank it through the poor aprpentices hair, "Or a lot." V'der's son sings a little louder this time, catching that glance from Edris. This time it include the details of what buttless pants _look_ like.

Edris tries to be brave, even as a little tear forms and starts on its way down the poor mistreated appentice's cheek. Until on a particularly savage yanking of the brush through the mass of unruly curls, she lets out a screech that could probably be beard even to the other end of the hall. Hands cover her mouth suddenly as she colours slightly. "Tali that -hurts-. Can't you be a little more careful with that brush? I want some hair left you know. nobody is going to want a bald harper to play for them, are they?"

"I want a bald harper!" V'der's son pipes up, still drawing pattens in the dirt. Talisha simply continues dragging the long-bristled brush through Edris' mass of curly brown hair, tugging hard on the occasional snag. "Oh dear, don't screech now - you sound like a dying wherry." After a while, she stoops down and removes a bottle of clear liquid from her bag, and sprinkles some onto the de-fuzzed hair. "This will keep it straight for a little while at least." That noted, she continues on the other bits of hair, then walks around in front, dropping to her knees. "Keep your face *very* still.." and she holds up the black stick. V'der's son wiggles his way closer, and daring boy that he is, reaches an arm out to try and wrap around Edris' shoulders - Tali nodding approvingly the whole while.

Edris, while keeping her face oh so still for Tali, simply holds out her hand towards V'der's son. and hand that turns slowly into a fist "Just try it." she mutters, still trying not to move, lest she incur the 'wrath of Tali.' "Do you have to put all that stuff on me. I'm just goin gto go and wash it off when you're gone anyway. I'll try and keep my hair straighter for you, well, brushed more anyway, but I'm not going to go about the Hall with that goop all over me. "

Talisha is quick - she traces a dark line around the rim of Edris' eyes, and then colours in the young girls lips with the mauve coloured stick. "Done." She announces, while trying not to laugh at the boy's attempt. Said boy sulks, pouting his lip out and slinking off to a bench on the other side of the courtyard. "Really would love to stay and chat, Eddy, but I've got to get back. Hides and stuff, you know? Plus I need to see I'sai about some shorts." And with that, she hopes up, dashes over to Imanath, and waves a quick goodbye. V'der's boy, may it be noted, remains behind.

Talisha scrambles up the sun-kissed green of Imanath's hide to perch in an unoccupied neckridge.
Imanath gathers her hind legs beneath her and pushes off, soaring into the sky above.
In the sky, Imanath disappears into Between.

Edris, looking shellshocked. Made-over, but nonetheless shellshocked, watches Imanath disappear, then looks back across the courtyard to -that- boy. Wandering over slowly, she thinks on the way. "You." she states very matter-of-factly "Are -not- staying here. I would suggest that you send a message to someone to come and get you cause I am certainly not going to explain that you were given to me as a present. Your father's a rider isn't he?" She waits for confirmation, then continues, "Then send a message to him to come and get you. " Without any other suggestions, not any offer for help, she turns on her heel and heads inside, leaving an open mouthed boy still sitting on the bench.