-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do You Remember These? Date: April 9, 2003 Place: Telgar Weyr's Living Cavern Game: PernMUSH Copyright Info: The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kassi's Note: Help! I've gotten back into the habit of going to the Living Cavern for RP and I can't seem to stop! ;) This LC visit was worth it, though: K'than, son of Kenai, Kethran, and K'tyn, has traveled up to Telgar, and Kassi has a chance to catch up with him for the first time in many Turns. Mostly they reminisce about old gossip and scandals, making this a good log for anyone interested in that sort of thing. ;) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Log: You walk past the lintel and into the wide living cavern. K'than looks up from where he stands by the hearth, and grins briefly. "Igen's duties," he calls over. "Stuff it up your nethermost orifice crosswise and covered in shards of glass." No, that cheery greeting isn't for the visitor; it's completely for Pierron, and oddly fond, if accompanied by a dirty glance. "Someday I'm going t'ask Sionelle for some beautiful blackmail on you, so I can make you *stop doing that*. Oh, stop looking at me like that; so what if'n I say it every day? 'Tis still true... and why am I sticking around arguing with you when there's food, anyway?" Kassima finally leaves the poor cook in peace, drawing back the hood of her red-trimmed black cloak to scan the room for signs of that food, and insodoing, catch sight of K'than. "Duties t'Igen and her queens right back," she greets, amiably enough. "Shells, man, what brings you to the Icy Wastes at this hour?" K'than laughs a little. "I wanted some cold air?" he suggests cheerfully. "Couldn't sleep, Igen was too quiet... no real reason, really. Thought maybe I'd come out this way and borrow some snow for a friend of mine- makes a good excuse, I suppose." Kassima shakes her head in a gesture of exaggerated amazement. "If'n I needed *more* proof that the Igen sun must bake brains... easier t'sleep in cold than heat, 'twill give you. But I'd nay advise falling asleep in *here*. You're apt t'wake t'find your clothes have been stolen and someone's painted a bawdy limerick on your backside or some such thing." Pause. "Nay that I speak from personal experience there, mind you. For the record." Doffing the cloak, she slings it over the back of her chair at Thunderbolt's table, but doesn't sit; no, there's a food table waiting for her over there. "Borrow *snow*? What in Faranth's name do they need snow for, if'n you can forgive m'terrible nosiness? And hey, d'you want aught while I'm over here?" K'than: Being a rider has affected Kery's physique, giving him a bit of a topheavy appearance brought on by narrow hips contrasted by very broad shoulders. He just tops six feet tall, perhaps a shade more than that if he's wearing heavy boots. He has his paternal grandmother's bright grey eyes and both his mother's small ears and her small nose, which is doused with a liberal dosing of freckles that are visible even through his Igen tan. Even when he hasn't shaved, he doesn't have much facial hair- the best he can do is a glittery fuzz that follows his jawline and dusts his upper lip. Both his hands and his feet are a little long for the rest of him, and his tanned hands are marked by a small number of tiny, pale scars. Kery moves with an economy of energy: graceless, but not clumsy, quick and purposeful when required but ambling and relaxed when it's not.0, He has his mother's curly hair but closer to his father's coloring: dark blond and light brown near his head and brightened by Igen's sun to coppery-gold fading to pure white at his temples. It's a bit shaggy and in need of a haircut, tending to stick out from his head in all directions after he's run a hand through it. Kery is wearing a light-colored, loosely fitting sleeveless shirt, leaving his tanned arms and freckled and tanned shoulders bare of even a knot. His tanned legs with their bleached-golden hair are exposed by short trousers of a similar light, nondescript color. A pair of sturdy, scuffed sandals complete his attire. K'than seems to be in his early twenties or so-- certainly not much older than that. K'than's right eyebrow quirks a little. "A bawdy limerick?" he echoes. "They must have written very small. That's kind of a lot of writing." He glances over at the serving tables and adds, "If there's something warm to drink, I wouldn't mind that. And the snow- well, not borrow, really. I wans't planning on bringing it back. But I've got a friend with a wrenched shoulder, and he keeps running out of cold to put on it." "A'course small. Then they have t'use the wee, tickling brush, for extra torment just in *case* the victim wakes up." Kassi's managing to be deadpan about this, somehow. "*If'n*? We couldn't survive without warm things t'drink here--what's your fancy? Cider, tea, mulled wine, or klah?" For herself, she's poking into the stew. "Shells, nay fish in this *either*. But mayhaps...." After a moment's consideration, she ladles a bowl--then moves to the pot of kidney bean and porcine soup, and ladels some of that in on top of the stew. "I don't think we'd *want* it back, so that's quite all right. You might do better t'wrench a block of ice out of the Range, mind. What happened? Another casualty of that Fall?" K'than shakes his head. "No- just a bad catch. Most of the Fall injuries from /that/ Fall are to the point where warmth does more good than cold." He drifts toward the serving table, eyeing it speculatively. "Mulled wine?" he echoes. "Never tried that. Cider might be good, though. Cider," he adds decisively. "What are you mixing together, there?" Kassima nods agreeably and reaches for the appropriate pitcher. "They're in luck, then," she comments as she pours, "since warmth's one thing Igen always has plenty of. At least in m'experience, which is more limited than yours by far, so I probably sound like a moron even commenting on it." She sets that mug, and a second full of milk, on a tray with her bowl; she carries this to her seat, but stops along the way to set the cider in front of K'than. "Should be good if'n they've nay dumped too many spices in it. This? Oh, well. 'Tis herdbeast stew and bean and porcine soup. I could mix you up a bowl too if'n you like? I'd have offered a'fore, only it didn't occur t'me 'twould sound appealing." K'than eyes the bowl as it passes by him, both eyebrows going up as its explained. He picks the mug of cider up and asks, just to be sure he's heard right, "Herdbeast stew, and bean and porcine soup, together? In the same bowl? Is it good?" "'Tis if'n you're pregnant," Kassima answers, settling into her seat and flashing him a wry sort of grin. "If'n you're sane? Then, then I couldn't testify. 'Twould be better with some sort of fish in it, but the pickings at this time of night are a bit slim... you might like either the soup or the stew alone if'n you've hunger, though." K'than ahs. "Oh, I see. People do eat some odd things when they're pregnant, it seems. Not everyone, but some do. I'm not sure I've ever heard of anyone wanting that many different kinds of meat all together, though," he comments dubiously, setting his mug down again and going over to inspect the stew. "I wasn't really all that hungry, but that does look kind of good." Kassima admits cheerfully, "M'tastes are always slightly unorthodox--ask our cooks sometime about the frosted cabbage, or the asparagus and whipped cream, or the rivergrain pudding and garlic, or the kiwi iced cream and ketchup, or... well, the list goes on, unfortunately. Methinks they're relieved this time the mania's for something as easy as fish." After helping herself to a hearty spoonful of her concoction, she suggests, "Help yourself by all means. There's always plenty of it. The bread goes well with it, too." K'than glances at Kassima with a rather round-eyed startlement. "Frosted /cabbage/?" he echoes in horrified fascination. "But... cabbage?" he echoes again. "Ugh. Cooked, or fresh?" he wonders, reaching for a bowl and the ladle for the stew. "Stewed!" It shouldn't be legal, even on Pern, for Kassi to be quite so bright and chipper about giving that answer. "Smelled bloody awful, but it tasted good at the *time*. Do yourself a favor and be glad you're a male, hey? Since I'm guessing you'll *probably* never have cause t'eat stewed cabbage with frosting." Pause. "A'course, if'n you do it without cause, I'll have t'fear you." K'than grins over his shoulder. "Fear not, the very idea of stewed cabbage with frosting is enough to make my hair curl." Which it is, of course, but the observant would note that it was already curling. "Of course, the stewed cabbage all by itself doesn't really sound very good to begin with." Carrying his non-cabbage stew, he takes it and a spoon carefully back to where he left his cider. "Sounds like something the gang would have come up with for a dare when I was a kid." Kassima returns the grin, but not before affecting a dramatic shudder. "You won't hear me disagreeing with you *now*. 'Twouldn't even want t'be within smelling distance of the stuff. And with vanilla frosting... well, I don't even want t'think about that *too* hard while I'm eating." Not that the topic's been keeping her from demolishing that stew-soup at a respectable rate. "As if'n your hair needs more curling anyway, hey? What gang, the other--would it be Holdbrats, Craftbrats, or Weyrbrats? Doesn't *sound* like Holdbrats, but Faranth knows we got up t'plenty where I came from. So y'never know." K'than sets down his bowl and plops gracelessly into a seat. "Weyrbrats, always, except when we were visiting my mom's family at the the Hold. Now there's a crowd..." He samples the stew, and lifts his eyebrows in appreciation. "That is good," he agrees. "Different kind of flavor than I'm used to- I wonder what..." he hmms, taking another taste and considering it carefully. "Tell me about it. Your mother's another one of those whose family's trying t'repopulate Pern?" Kassi wonders, fishing a particularly large piece of porcine from her bowl. "I should likely be able t'tell you, but honestly, I've let m'cooking skills slip a bit. Methinks they got the recipe from Ofira, back when she was Weyrbaker here. D'you know aught about cooking?" K'than shakes his head. "No, she only had two kids, me and Kira, but her parents had 4, and their parents had about a dozen apiece or something, and a big chunk of them and their descendents all live back at Far Cry. Most of the Hold's related to my mom, I guess, if you go back far enough and follow the lines far out enough." He samples the stew again and hrms. "I only know a little about cooking- I helped some in the kitchens when I was younger, but mostly just chopping and peeling and stirring and washing." Kassima's nod is understanding, if a bit absent with some of her attention occupied by chewing. "I'm the only child of m'parents," she offers post-swallow, "but most of 'em had plenty of sibs, and for awhile seven children apiece was the fashion, so... nay quite as bad as a *dozen*, but I can at least imagine it." There's a low laugh. "Welladay, that much I could've guessed just from the fact that you ride. I envy any Candidate who *doesn't* get collared into doing some of that somewhere along the way. Or are the chores different at Igen? I'm guessing you did Impress there?" K'than grins. "Well, when they go through a couple of mates apiece, what with previous children and children from both marriages and all that, it tends to add up." Another swallow of stew, and he continues, "Chores would be much the same anywhere I guess, but yeah, I Impressed at Igen. About... 4 and a half turns ago. But I impressed sort of late- I had plenty of chores before I was a candidate, as well. Either time as a candidate." Kassima gives a low, comprehending whistle. "That's got t'be a bloody mess; 'twill nay even ask how they keep from inbreeding too terribly--far be it from me t'cast slurs on one of the Holds we protect, after all." And if that's slightly droll, can she be blamed? "Huh, nay long then. Which Hatching were you from? I might've seen it--" There's a pause. A pause during which a sheepish cast comes over her features. "A'course, it might *help* if'n I remembered manners and asked your name. Or offered mine. Kassima, green Lysseth's." K'than shrugs. "Well, a lot of people leave home, really- my mom and all of her siblings did. My aunts and uncle all're riders at Igen. Couple of my cousins are riders here, a couple at Fort, I think one at Reaches, I've got cousins in Healer, Harper, the Bakers, some of the Trading families, even down at Southern and a couple of their Holds. Oh, and- I knew that," he adds with a mischevious grin. "I know you don't remember me, though." One of Kassi's eyebrows pops up; she invites, "Try me. You'd be surprised, mayhaps, at what I remember--though you're right that I don't remember the *face*, so I'm guessing if'n I knew you, 'twasn't as you are now." She gives him a long, speculative look. "A'course, Far Cry and Igen are clues, so I could make a *guess*...." K'than beams, looking pleased. "Well, you might remember me from when I was really little, if you noticed- that was somewhere else but I've been here a few times in the turns since." "I honestly can't remember seeing you here when you looked like you do now." Kassi's tone is apologetic. "Which may or may nay signify; I've certes nay seen everyone who comes through here... but let's see. Somewhere else would have t'be Benden; you're nay nearly old enough for Ruatha--shells, wouldn't have *thought* old enough for Benden. You must've been a bairn then?" K'than nods quickly. "I was... about 4, maybe not quite 4 when the miners came to Benden. Almost 5 when we left." Kassima mutters, "Miners," bringing a hand up to rub at her forehead. "Far Cry, Igen, 'twere back at Benden; I *know* this, just give me a moment...." Think. Think. Finally, triumphantly, "You're *Kenai's* son! Aren't you? Kerythan, only nay anymore?" K'than grins broadly, delighted. "Got it!" he exclaims. "K'than, now. Ryeth's my green. I'm impressed- I didn't think you'd remember." "A good memory for names and facts is the secret of m'success, I sometimes think, at least with the gambling. But I had some help; *'twas* at that Hatching, and someone mentioned 'twere there. So all I had t'do was add two and two. Slowly," Kassi appends, voice wry. "But cut me some slack; *'tis* late at night... shells, though, look at you! A greenrider! A proper K-named greenrider! Your parents must all be thrilled. Tell me what you've gotten up to, why don't you, or at least the short version?" K'than grins and shrugs. "Well, my mom's thrilled- I haven't seen my father since we left Benden but my dad, he was pretty thrilled too, I think. And my aunts and my uncle.. well, when they weren't all worrying about what would happen now that one of the passel of relatives had impressed a /female/ dragon to go with all the males. That used to worry me a bit, too, when I was a weyrling. But! Anyway. I've been studying dragonhealing in my spare time since before I was searched, and I've been trying to teach myself how to draw, and I've been told I'm one of the most unsual proddy greenriders people have seen, and... what else." Kassima tilts her head to one side. "Would the father be Kethran and the dad be Kiat?" she hazards, before glancing down at her empty bowl. "Faranth. Still hungry. Mayhaps some bread." She gets up to fetch some--and takes the bowl with her, to refill with stew alone--but doesn't drop the conversation, instead talking along the way: "I know that worries both ways--one of m'cousins Impressed green, and his brother Impressed brown, and their parents were *nay* happy... and a'course Kaylira Impressed a brown. You've nay had any problems that way, I'm guessing?" Eventually she does make it back to her chair with food in tow. "Dragonhealing, drawing--what d'you draw, people? Dragons? Maps? And I want t'hear *all* about this proddiness, if'n only as gossip-fodder!" K'than nods to the first question about the father-dad comparison, picking up his spoon and having another bit of stew. "No problems with it, yet," he reports. "Not that I know of, anyway- I mean, with the way my mom's family is, half the people at Igen could be related to me and I'm not sure I'd know it. And as for my father- well- I hardly know anything about his side of the family, except where he's from and that his sister's a rider. I just decided that there wasn't much I could do about it, and that an aversion that strong ought to let any of my relatives coerce their dragon out of it, and, well.. I'll worry about it when it happens. Life's too short to worry too much about a thing that hasn't even happened yet." He reaches for the cider, then, and has a swallow before continuing. "I draw dragons and firelizards- and eggs and rocks because they sit still longer. The dragonhealing helps. I'm trying to practice drawing people, but I'm pretty awful at it. And as for proddy... well." He pauses to fortify himself. Making a sympathetic face, Kassi supposes, "So long as the relationship's distant enough... 'tisn't as if'n cousins don't marry cousins in the Holds, if'n they're far enough apart. So long as you don't find yourself partnering a sibling, or aunt, or uncle, or... well, that's just getting scary, that thought. Anyway. I could tell you a bit about Alyssa and her family if'n you wanted? Nay that I know all there is t'know by any means, but I know her children's names and whatall." She tears loose a piece of her bread to sop in the stew. "Huh. Aye, 'twould say, good luck in getting a 'lizard t'sit still unless 'tis sleeping... dragons oblige a bit better. Sometimes. Or so Khari tells me." There's no vocal prompt for him to tell the stories, but she does watch him with a combination of expectance and curiosity. K'than grimaces a little, and nods. "Well, my own aunt hit on me after her brown lost a flight, because she hadn't seen me since I was a brat half as big as I am now, which was when she transferred to another Weyr. So it's something I've thought about for sure, but... all I can do is hope it never happens, and hope my relatives get enough warning to get their dragons away." More cider. "I'd love to hear about Alyssa's family. My mom doesn't really like to talk about my father or anything connected with him, so I never hear anything, and now that da- Kia- K'tyn, I mean, has retired... Kyris doesn't really know anything- he's not that much older than me." He takes another swallow of the stew and chases it with a quick sip of cider before adding, "The proddy thing isn't really all that interesting, I don't think anyway. I just get really... happy. Very friendly. Kind of almost crazy-happy, really, like a 5-turn old who's snuck a whole mug of klah." The face Kassi makes at this point is less sympathetic than disturbed. "You have all m'pity for that, I assure. Which aunt was this? If'n naught else, you've something t'tease her about the rest of her days. Aye, I remember Kyris wasn't born long a'fore you... Keth got involved with your mother just after, it seems like? Or mayhaps 'twas even a'fore. I can't really recall, that was such a mess. Nay that good things didn't result from it, obviously." A grin for him at that, before she sets her spoon down and laces her fingers together, resting her chin on the net created. "I don't know much about Alyssa's ancestors, truth be told. But I can tell you she was weyrmated t'R'till once upon a time, then F'nar after that--'twas after she Stood with me, and didn't Impress; she Impressed Adonith the clutch after. They've a son; Alnar was his name 'til he Impressed blue Tifanth here, and he's A'nar now. Then she ended up with T'fian for a time, and they've a daughter, Lysian... Tiffy and Lys were paired after they stayed at Benden, but she came over here without him. That's when she ended up with A'lex, and they've a daughter, Mykaa. Named after M'kla if'n you recall her 'tall. How *is* Kiat, anyway? Haven't seen much of him since I won ten marks off him at that Hatching, then lost five back." She grins at the final part. "Ah, now. That's nay such a bad way t'be going proddy. Could be worse--you don't dress in women's clothing or chase men around the Cavern with dead fish at least?" K'than mms, setting down his spoon. "It was my mom's youngest sister- Taira. And yup- Kyris is a little older than me. He has a son, did you know that? Kiatin. And he's stepped down as Igen's Steward- he inhaled a lot of smoke in the storeroom fire we had, and he got better but never completely back to how he was before, and I guess he wanted a less stressful position. We stood for the same clutch but neither of us impressed that time around. My mom was sort of.. well, she was involved with both my father and my dad at the same time, actually. It wasn't until my hair grew in and my eyes changed color that they knew for sure whose child I was. And Kiat's doing well- he dotes on his grandchildren. Has three of them, now, I believe." Kassima's expression brightens with recognition. "Oh, Taira! I know her--well," cough, "sort of. Tyrinth caught Lyss once. But aye, I'd heard about Kyris's son, and Kiani's daughter--nay of the third, though; whose is that? A sharding pity about his lungs. And odd, how fast that fire came on the heels of Smithcraft's.... oh, aye." Her grin turns rather droll, but reminiscent at the same time, which is an odd combination. "Kethran, Kiat, and Karise all weyrmates, then Suzotchka brought in on it, and Kenai seeing both men on the side--*what* a mess. At least 'twas a grouping rife with K-names, and the progeny likewise named, and who could ask for better'n that?" K'than chuckles. "Well, I'll have to carry on the tradition if I ever have any children- assuming the mother agreed, that is. Kiani has another child- a boy, I think. I seem to remember Kyris saying that, anyway... hmm. Not a K-name though," he relays. "It's very sad." Kassima gives a grieved headshake. "What is *wrong* with these children... but aye, the fathers have a harder time of it, I'll admit. But I'll cross m'fingers for willing mothers. I'm taking that t'mean you haven't any, then--is that a relief t'Kenai, or is she pestering you for grandspawn?" K'than shakes his head. "My sister went and got herself all married off like a Holder girl, so I expect to hear news of an impending arrival any day, really. Her husband comes from a big family, and Kiranna always said she wished she'd had more siblings, so I expect they won't waste any time." "What, *married*?" Kassi's voice registers a cross between delighted and scandalized. A beat-long pause follows before she laughs. "Shells, that I should find marriage such a strange notion--I've been riding too long, methinks. Think you *they'll* at least give their children the Fortunate Letter?" K'than grins. "I don't know- I'll certainly encourage it, though! Isn't it funny how Weyrs are so different? My sister decided she wanted to live with our grandparents when she was about oh... 12 or 13, I guess. My mom wasn't really happy about it, but with her sister's kids needing looking after, and the other child she was fostering, it was really not all that bad, I suppose. Kiranna really threw herself into Hold life without a hint of trouble adjusting. It's strange. I suppose some people are just born to it." Kassima reaches to rub at the back of her neck absently. "I suppose. The way some take t'Weyrlife as if'n born to it--nay reason it couldn't work the other way around, you just usually don't think about it. Well, if'n you're me. But it probably shouldn't surprise me since I've a son methinks sometimes would be happier in a Hold; nay reason there couldn't be others. D'you miss seeing her?" K'than thinks it over, and then shrugs. "Not so much, really. She was just a kid when she left, and kids are, well... kids. Even when I was a teenager I didn't understand people my own age very well. She seems more like a cousin or some more distant relative- I'm fond of her, I like visiting with her, but we're not really alike." "I doubt there are that many sibs who are," Kassi murmurs with amusement, abandoning the neck-rubbing in favor of leaning back in her chair. "And certes some are closer than others. I've m'doubts that Kay really misses her sibs all *that* much. Well, then; you've told me of your family, now tell me about your green?" K'than's expression turns fond, and he smiles. "Oh, she's a handful," he declares. "Not as much now as she used to be, but when we were weyrlings, she ran me ragged right into the ground. Go, go, go, go and then crash, she's asleep. It was really hard to learn to separate myself enough that I could get anything done apart from her." Kassima grins; it's a grin half-reminiscent, half-amused. "Mayhaps that runs in the family--Alyssa had the same trouble with Adonith, as I recall. To the point where she nearly starved. I had it easy there, relatively, since Lyss has always been so sharding *different* from me; made it easier t'tell what was her. Nay *easy*, mind you, just easier. I'd be surprised if'n any pair doesn't have troubles with that at the start." K'than nods. "I think most must, to some extent. Ryeth, though- it took a good 3 turns or so for her to calm down. Every moment she was awake, she was going non-stop. Hardly ever even holding still. She's still pretty restless unless something's occupying her, and she's always so... /strong/ in presence that it's hard to tell when she's actually getting close to rising. Which I could wish was different, considering." Kassima snorts with decided amusement. "Lysseth's strong in presence too, but at least she doesn't have *that* problem--she's strong normally; she's bloody loud and bloody obvious, proddy or rising. But the difference between irritable and downright vicious is an easier one to detect than some shifts, I'm suspecting. Is Ryeth much like her normal self then, proddy?" K'than thinks a little. "More or less. The same only more... intense. She'll be a little more coy, a little more flirtaceous, a little more restless, but on any given day she might take the whim to act like that, too. It's just..." he moves one hand through the air in a straight line and then suddenly jerks the hand upward in demonstration. "Ach, one of *those*." Amused, but sounding more understanding, Kassi nods. "Probably easier t'deal with, but the warning *would* be good, with relatives in the area. Still. Naught without its price, when you get down to it, hey?" A yawn comes on her suddenly, though she does her best to stifle it. "Stars and starfires, K'than, methinks you might have t'be excusing me; I'm being told in nay uncertain terms by m'body that it wants *sleep* now that 'tis fed, and now, if'n you please. It's been a rare pleasure seeing you again, though. You should be coming by more oft!" K'than grins. "I should!" he agrees. "I ought to be getting home and to my bed as well, after I've fetched something cold from a bit higher up and delivered that to the infirmary. Have a good night." Kassima gathers her dishes and deposits them where they belong, before sweeping her cloak off the back of the chair and back around her shoulders in a swirl of red-edged black. "I should bloody well *think*, at an hour like this--hope you can sleep better when you've found your bed again, and g'luck t'your friend with the wrenching, hey? Regards too t'your parents, when you see 'em next, and your green; and duties t'Igen and her queens, and *there*, methinks that's the last of the rigamarole." That's said with a quick wink; she then makes for the exit, calling back over her shoulder, "G'night!" You walk down the short tunnel and out into the bowl.