As above, so below

Abry watched Avidian leave with so many conflicting emotions she just clasped her hands behind her back and rocked up on her toes for a moment. There were dragonriders at their canyon. And Dividia had found them. Of course she had.

Rather, Divisk had found them and Dividia had gone running - Divisk was about the only thing Abry knew of in the world that caused Dividia to run off rather than the other way round - and thankfully Abry had followed to see what the unusual daytime upset was, and had reported immediately to Avidian, and now...

Was at a loss. Totally. Something potentially huge was happening, and she had no role to play in it, and that was fine, she trusted Avidian more than anyone under the moons, but something was happening and she wanted to be in the middle of it.

And she wasn't. Avidian's daughter was. Well and good. Composing herself, she stretched out her arms and turned to do something useful while she waited. Whatever that could be.

Kane had watched the exchange between Abry and Avidian with interest, noting the expression on the young woman's face as he sipped from his mug.  She'd clearly been imparting something of importance to the stillmaster, or something she thought was rather important at any rate, and a  rather serious matter, besides.  Avidian had apparently agreed with her assessment, since the older man left the mess hall shortly after, leaving Abry staring after him.

Since there were no rumors flying yet, he was guessing it was a new matter that had come to light.  Someone who needed punished for revealing secrets, perhaps.  Or word of a would-be thief trying to make off with their products.

Any of those things would have been expected.  But somehow, he rather thought this was something completely different, given the intensity with which Abry had relayed her information to Avidian.

So, what was it?  Not that wouldn't find out eventually, but his curiosity was piqued.  And what better way to see what he could find out than by asking the source, herself?

Having dumped his empty mug off in its designated place, Kane made his way towards the young woman in question, reaching her just as she seemed to be contemplating what to do next.  Nodding towards the exit through which Avidian had left, he asked, "Something new come up?" and waited for her answer.

She snorted, eyes flickering up to meet his and away. While Abry probably could have been coy with anyone else, with him...

Well, it was harder. "Could say that. Divisk was on a daylight tear because there're pair of dragons here. The new ones. One must be a queen, because they were talking about clutching. Maybe it's too crowded at Eastern and they're looking for a place to keep the extra eggs?" She shrugged, with a casualness she didn't feel. Mostly she wished she had been quieter so she could have heard more before Dividia had sent her off, had more of a complete story to tell Avidian. "Know anything about dragons?"

"Dragons?" Kane asked, raising a brow in question.  By 'new ones' he was gathering she meant the mutated colors that had shown up at Eastern a few turns back-- especially since she wasn't sure whether one was a queen or not.  "Did you see them?"

Dragons, here?  What business would they have in a canyon?  Sure, it had plenty of caves that would be suitably sized for dragons to live in, but he hadn't heard any rumors that the Weyrs were finding themselves overcrowded and in need of a new site…  If one was so close to clutching, was it possible that was the case?  Were they establishing the new location early?  Surely they'd have sent scouts ahead of time, though, and someone in the canyon would have seen them… had one of the lookouts been slacking?

Crossing his arms over his chest and shifting more of his weight onto his good leg, Kane let his lip curl up slightly in a smirk.  "Rumor has it those new ones eat little girls like you for breakfast."  It was a tease, of course-- though he'd certainly heard some of the newer colors could be as fierce as whers, and far more temperamental then the traditional ones.

"Didn't. They were out of the cave, Divisk in between - just saw the riders' shadows." She shrugged, glancing back the way Avidian had gone. "I'd like to see the dragon that'd try'n eat me," she snorted again, looking at him and making a face. "I'm not that little of a girl anymore." She might have ruined it a bit by rolling her eyes.

"What d'you think the dragons are here for, other than finding tasty snacks?" Her sort of tease, there - dry and fondly mocking. Abry might have thought no one knew she'd harbored some sort of feelings for Kane, but that 'fond' in her mocking might have been a little more clear than she'd strictly like.

Whether he noticed Abry's potential feelings or not, Kane wasn't one to call her on them.  It wouldn't stop him from teasing her, though, as he'd already proven.  "I don't know.  You'd still probably serve as a good snack in between herdbeasts for a cobalt or one of the queens."

They did have far more serious matters to discuss than her suitability as a meal for the large beasts, though.  "You might have the right of it in thinking Eastern's needing more space.  Especially if they've sent a queen close to clutching."  It was certainly a strange thing to have done.  "Were those the actual words, though?  That one of the two was actually clutching?  They weren't referring to a dragon who'd be coming in the future?"

Then again, if she hadn't seen the dragons, how did she know they were the new colors, and not any of the traditional ones?  "Did the riders announce themselves, then, so you knew they were some of the new colors?  Were they men?  Women?"  Not that gender would tell him anything if the new colors truly chose whichever they liked, as rumor had it.

She rolled her eyes and blew out her breath. "You know Dividia didn't just let me sit there and listen. I came running back like a good girl to tell Avidian." The discontent in her voice, though obviously not aimed at him, was momentarily clear. "Couldn't see the dragons through the rock, but it was a man talking about how his is about to clutch, and that's only the new ones, yeah?"

Abry paused, thought about it. "Probably more than just two, if they need to keep a queen fed while she lays eggs, you think? Do they eat when all that's happening?" Dragons weren't a thing she knew a great deal about, now that she thought about it.

Nodding because he understood her frustration, Kane considered her description of the rider she'd heard speak.  "Yes, I'd assume it was definitely a new one, then.  The other rider didn't say anything?"  She had said there were two, after all, though she likely hadn't been there long enough to hear the other say anything.

He had to agree there were likely more dragons somewhere nearby, though.  "Yes, if they aren't already here now, they're likely to arrive soon.   They wouldn't leave a clutching queen unprotected."  He just had no real idea how many she would need to attend her-- dragons were fairly different beasts when compared to runners, and he had little experience with them.

He was guessing they had similar enough eating habits during pregnancy, though.  "They probably eat more than normal before they lay their eggs, like runner mares and women.  Afterwards, I don't know that they'd need to."  They didn't have to feed their babies anymore, so why would they need to take in the extra calories?  "They probably eat something, just not as much or as often.  What they're going to find around here is anyone's guess, though," he added with a shrug.  Would the dragonriders bargain with the local cot holders to purchase the herdbeasts they needed?  Or would they live on wherry for the time being?  Not that he had any real idea of the numbers they'd need.

"Was Avidian going to see the dragons for himself?"  It wasn't such a bad idea-- he'd like to catch a glimpse, too.  Plus, the stillmaster might need backup of the sort that skulked in the shadows with a bow and arrows.  The dragonriders wouldn't even have to know Kane was there.

"If he wanted us to go, he would have said," Abry replied, hiding her discontent a bit better, figuring that's what Kane was thinking because it was the dominant thought in her mind.

Dividia got to stay and see. "But you're right, I bet. More of 'em coming, so we'll probably get to see more dragons than we ever needed before long. 'Les he scares them away." And that tone had more than a fair bit of satisfaction in it. If the dragonriders needed to be run off, she had confidence the right man had gone to do it.

Still. It didn't mean she didn't itch to go up again herself and see what was happening. "What'd'ya think - that he'll find a way to get rid of them, or that we'll get to check them out later?"

Well, there was that, Kane thought, feeling a bit of the same irritation she was at not being around to see the newcomers firsthand.  Yes, Avidian would have called for them had he wanted them around-- he'd likely have sent Abry to find Kane right away-- and clearly that hadn't been the case.  It was possible the stillmaster was instead going to find other backup on the way, even if he hadn't called for either of them.

Shrugging in response to her question, Kane shifted his stance.  "I think it will depend on what he thinks their real purpose is here.  If they think they're going to lay claim to the territory, I'm sure he'll have something to say about it, one way or the other."  The stillmaster and his crew had been living here for quite some time-- Avidian wouldn't give up the canyon without a fight, no matter who wanted it.  "He might think it useful to have dragons around, though-- think of how much faster things could get transported?  Assuming he can… convince them to play along."  They knew where the canyon was, after all, and it was fatal to betray such knowledge.  Kane had little doubt Avidian would find some way to dispose of the dragonriders if he needed to do so.

Despite the tension, the feeling of being left out, the uncertainty, she laughed. "Riding dragons to make deliveries? We could do every hold in one night. What would we do with all our free time?"

Kane rather thought that depended on the company-- he could think of plenty to do in his free time.  But that wasn't something he wanted to suggest to Abry.  So, instead, he gave her a wry, sideways smile, and said, "I'm sure Avidian would come up with something else for us to do.  Like finding new places to deliver to, and building new vats since he'd likely have more demand."

That smile tugged at something that she squashed down as ruthlessly as she had ever done anything. "Course he would. Wouldn't be Avidian otherwise, would he? Guess we'll see soon enough."

She took the world's most casual step back from him. Slight, but necessary.

He nodded in agreement, noting the movement but not questioning it.  "You'd be able to see more of Pern, that way, at any rate, going along on some of those deliveries."

Another snort. "Seen plenty already, haven't I? Guess we'll see before long. I'm sure someone's taking bets."

Abry glanced around casually. She had, as ever, the urge to stretch out her conversation with him, which meant it was time to be going. "I'll let you know if I hear anything - do the same, yeah?"

Kane had to give her that-- someone was likely already taking bets.  There wasn't much that escaped the notice of those inclined to gamble, especially when the rumor mill spread information so quickly.  He might have to check out the betting pool himself.

"As always," he nodded in agreement, wondering just how long Avidian would be.  He'd certainly be keeping an eye out for the stillmaster, or Dividia, until he learned just what had transpired.    Dividia might be the more likely of the two to tell him what had happened, but he wasn't going to count on anything just yet.  "I'll see you later, then."

"More likely than not," she replied, with a quick half grin before she turned away. Perfectly normal.

Slightly easier, when her mind was occupied with whatever might be happening up above.