Taking it all in (Attn: Any Rider/Weyrling)

Z'ash couldn't sleep and that restlessness found him wandering the halls down to Mess Hall. It was a couple hours after dark and he could find one member of the kitchen staff who disappeared at the bronzerider's nod. She returned with a bottle of wine and sat it down with a cup.

"Thank you." Z'ash said and filled the glass. He sipped slowly, mind roving through the dark passages of his thoughts.

You do not have to worry anymore. We went and we returned; there were many eggs and all is good. Eniseth will rise soon. We should not concentrate on the future or the past but be here, in our present. Manticath voice was firm but also, alert. The bronze also slept lightly, lying in wait for when his mate would rise to mate. Manticath had barely had to share Eniseth since they had left and he did not look toward to having more competition.

You are right, of course. Z'ash murmured back to him.

"Welcome home, Bronzerider," Cosenne said. The cobaltrider approached Z'ash's table with a smile and another skin of wine. "I had thought to offer you a drink and some company, but Vid's kitchen staff are just too fast and efficient for me. I will still offer company, though, if you're interested. I imagine it's strange to be back... or is it? You were still just here, weren't you?"

By now, the rumors of Teagan and Z'ash's wild ride had done the rounds of the Weyr. Cosenne had heard accounts from several sources, some of whom were actually in the council room when Teagan and Z'ash first reported. But still, she wondered about the thoughts that kept this young (if not as young as he once was!) bronzerider occupied.

And would any of them be of use to her?

Z'ash wave his hand in welcome, directing Cosenne to the nearest seat.  His hand drifted from the direction of the chair to another of the kitchen staff sweeping by and tapped his cup. The woman nodded, disappeared and returned with another for Cosenne. Z'ash poured the cobalt rider a generous cup and then himself in turn.

"Your presence is welcome, Cosenne." he said, then took a pull from his cup. The wine warmed him and he managed a smile despite his weary mind.

"Who knew nineteen could feel like ninety. I feel drawn, like butter scrapped over too much bread. Thankful to Faranth and all the Ancients to have come and gone and come back, alive, unmarred and with a healthy dragon yet....I pictured our return differently then I have experienced this night." he said and there was only the slightest line of bitterness to cross his pleasant tone.

Cosenne let out a laugh as she raised her glass in Z'ash's direction before taking a sip.

"That was your first mistake, then. One should never imagine how we want future events to progress. They never turn out the way we anticipate, and inevitably, we're left disappointed. I prefer to let fate surprise me." She took another sip, regarding him over the lip of her glass.

"Do you find the Weyr much changed from the future? I imagine it's rather larger in a few Turns, what with all the expanding and egg-laying going on around here."