The weather could be better for this trip, though the storm has passed, at least. Mid morning has been chosen for the visit, and the sun glimmers off the puddles that linger in Salt Flat Hold's courtyard as Wendryth blinks out of between above. There he hovers, waiting for Edleveth and Liowyth to join him in their formation before he leads them down to land, claws clacking on the stones as he settles to the ground. For once, the bronze's voice isn't bellowing, but rather more moderated; a reflection of his rider's subdued state. « H'rik says we must remain in contact about what our riders are talking about. » H'rik is already dismounting, pulling off riding gloves and helmet, attaching them to Wendryth's straps and trying not to glance about too much; to show weakness.

Sesa and Edleveth are not far behind, and Sesa is grateful for the warmth of her riding leathers as she looks around. Landing is an easy thing, and Sesa dismounts with aplomb when they hit the ground. Of course things like straps and riding gear have to be removed and taken care of before anything else, but she finds herself nodding when Wendryth's orders are relayed. Silently, she has Edleveth relay her response. «Of course, orders received.» Ed's mind is an inky storm, morphing into this and that, his mindscape unsettled.

And bringing up the rear is Liowyth and Xanthee, the emerald green in perfect formation behind Wendryth and Edleveth. Following bronze and blue to the ground, Lio alights daintily with a back sweep of her wings before settling to the ground. It doesn't take long for Xan to reach the ground herself, hopping down from her green's forelimb with ease. Slipping the riding helmet off her head and undoing the ties on her riding jacket as her lifemate passes Wendryth's message on, she relays her acknowledgement of message received before running fingers though raven hair flattened by the helmet.

H'rik finishes fiddling with Wendryth's straps and straightens, pulling shoulders back and standing that bit taller. With his jacket removed, his knot is clear at his shoulder. A Hold's natural curiosity for draconic visitors has a few faces appearing at doors and windows, though none have entered the courtyard itself yet. That honour falls to the Lord Holder, who strides out with a rather dour look on his face. "Weyrleader - to what do I owe the pleasure?" H'rik only has a moment to send quick looks at Sesa and Xanthee, certain that they've had the message from Wendryth. "Greetings, Lord Ebwaur. I was hoping for a meeting with you, to discuss a few matters, if it's not inconvenient." There comes some further talk, voices lower, the Lord drawing the two towards the Hold proper. Meanwhile, one curious face is growing bolder, a young woman starting to emerge from another door, staring at the dragons - the blue and green in particular - with blatant awe.

Sesa shoots a look Xanthee's way after receiving the one from H'rik. In a hushed voice she looks over at Xan and relays something, head jerking just ever so slightly in the direction of the faces peeking out into the courtyard.

Sesa mutters, "… it's almost … … they're scared … come out." to Xanthee.
Xanthee keeps a respectful distance when the Lord Holder comes out, casting her gaze casually over the Hold instead. She's been here once or time with Nasrin when she was still the Goldrider's assistant and so some of the faces look a bit familiar. The young woman approaching is given a warm smile and a little waggle of her fingers in greeting before the greenrider bends an ear to Sesa with a subtle nod of her head. Subtly, she murmurs back.

Xanthee mutters, "What … her? She … … …" to Sesa.

With the Lord Holder and Weyrleader now in the Hold itself, the mood around the courtyard, though still subdued, does shift. The woman who receives the finger waggle has come out of the doorway, steps a little hesitant at first as she heads across the stone, but by the time she reaches the two riders she looks a bit more certain. Sesa, the unfamiliar face, gets a brief look, before the young woman smiles softly at Xanthee. "You didn't have a dragon last time you were here," she comments quietly, with an awed look turned to Liowyth. Faint murmurings can be heard at the edges of the courtyard, and a boy, seemingly made bold by the first to go out, runs across and over to Edleveth to look up and up at the blue. Woahhh.

Sesa mutters, "Maybe. … … … be … look smart, and remember to … … Wendryth as … talk to …" to Xanthee.

Sesa moves to the side as Xanthee is approached and eyes the girl that comes up with a keen, but covert glance. However, her attention is pulled away when a small child approaches Edleveth, who lowers his great inky blue head to turn a whirling blue eye on the boy. The blue rumbles, blowing a bit of air at the child in a playful manner. The sight makes Sesa smile, and, it makes her look around, paying sharp attention to people's reactions to this.

"You are correct. I impressed about a turn and a half ago now," Xanthee remarks with a look up at her green with loving adoration, "This is Liowyth. You can say hi if you want to." With a mental prod, the green lowers her emerald head to regard the girl more closely, a soft croon in greeting. "She says hello." She remarks before resting her hands on her hips with a tilt of her head. "So how have things been since I was last here? I hope the Hold is prospering."

"Hello, Liowyth," the girl says easily, smiling gladly at being up so close with a friendly dragon. Xanthee's question gets a pause, as the answer is considered. "It's - it's all fine, going on as normal. When they came to Search last time…one of the dragons was interested in me, I think." She admits, and there's a rueful note in her voice. "But girls aren't allowed to accept here - did you know that?" Her voice has gone quieter, as if she's worried about being overheard. The boy, however, laughs aloud when Edleveth blows air at him, puffing back at the blue. "Have you come to Search?" He asks the blue, rather than Sesa. He's no older than 8 or 9, most likely.

Sesa smiles as the interaction between Edleveth and the little boy goes well. Sesa drops down to the kid's level, bending a knee. "Not today kiddo, maybe soon. Do you want to ride a dragon someday?" Edleveth settles down, lounging like a great big cat and stretching his chin out for scratches from Sesa, who does so and then waves to the kid, he can scritch too if he wants! Xanthee is eyed when Sesa overhears the bit about girls not being allowed to except. The idea seems backwards to her, but then again….she's a female rider, and grew up IN a weyr, not on the fringes of one like these folks.

"Oh?" Xanthee replies as casually as she can manage, one eyebrow barely hiking up in interest as she rest her hand on Lio's nose, idly offering the green scritches. "Yeah…I think I've heard that. That's a shame though, if a dragon though there was something about you, you belong on the Sands. But you know me, I'm weyrbred, out here, I'm sure they have their reasons right..?" Shooting a glance at Sesa and the little boy she smiles softly before looking back at the girl. "Although…" and she leans in as if about to ask about a particularly juicy bit of gossip, "I heard last Search they also refused boys for Search, but that's ridiculous right?"

"Yeah!" With the enthusiasm of a kid, the boy shouts his reply back, eagerly scrambling in to copy Sesa and scratch at Edleveth's jaw. "Will I be old enough next time you come?" He asks without any hint of subtlety. People are starting to go about their business again, with a particular focus on having to be somewhere in the courtyard doing something. How convenient that they can observe the riders, though no one else approaches as yet. Aleena's face has a hint of sadness as she looks at Xanthee's interaction with her dragon. "I know it's been that way for a long time…." Loyalty to Hold wars with the wants of a young woman. There's a sense of relief at being able to talk to someone about this turn of events, and she gets a little closer so her low voice can carry to Xanthee, a glance to Sesa as well to include the bluerider - she must be safe if she's with Xanthee? "They did. The Lord did this big proclamation that the Weyr was taking too many men that we needed, so they weren't allowed to accept Search. They had to make a reason not to." She clearly doesn't agree with it, looking troubled.

Sesa hmmms. "Maybe not quite old enough by the next time, but you'll get there." She's amused by the boy's enthusiasm but her ears are trained on the conversation going on between the holder girl and Xanthee, each bit of it being relayed via Edleveth to Wendryth and beyond. Sesa's eyes flick to those watching, landing on each pair of hidden eyes she can find. Taking too many? Really?

"Yeah, and for a long time even the Weyrs didn't let women on the sands unless there was a gold egg, and that has changed," Xanthee replies nonchalantly with a shrug, rubbing her hand over liowyth's speckled nose lovingly, using the moment of silence to ask Liowyth if she's relaying it all which the green replies in the affirmative. As Aleena goes on about the male population also being refused, Xan's brows furrow together slightly in worry. "Hmmm, has there been illness or something, is Salt Flats' male population diminished in some way?" She sweeps her gaze over the courtyard and definitely sees just about as many men as women milling about.

"Aww," the boy says, but his moment of sadness lasts only a moment as he holds Edleveth's jaw with both hands. "I'll have a big blue just like you one day!" A sharp call comes from his mother, and with a grin at Sesa, off he runs to be led away, still craning his head back to watch the dragon and rider until the last possible moment. Aleena is still close, though her body language is more withdrawn, as if she knows she probably shouldn't be saying this - but she's going to anyway. "No. I just think - the Lord doesn't really agree with the Weyr. The way things are there. No offence," she adds, a sad, apologetic smile offered to both riders. "We don't all feel that way. I - was hoping I might be able to get there myself, one day." She's not outright asking the two to take her, but the desire is there, underneath her words. Having taken on the information from his comrades, Wendryth returns with: « The Lord maintains that they need every man here to supply enough tithe for the Weyr. H'rik is negotiating a suitable agreement for both parties. » The bronze's uneasiness is no doubt his rider's leaking through their bond.

Sesa straightens as the boy runs off, an uneasy feeling in her gut. Moving closer to Xan and her companion, Sesa shoves her hands in her pockets and tries to look friendly. "None taken dear, weyr life is definitely…different than most folks are used to." Her mind is still ruminating on that sharp call from the boy's mother. How many others thought the weyr was taking too many? And how could they deprive the weyr of candidates for the sands when it is the riders who protect them from thread? These questions circle round and round as Sesa looks for anyone else brave enough to step forward and talk to them.

"No offense taken at all," Xanthee replies with a warm smile in response to the girl, eyes flitting briefly to watch the boy run back to his mother. "I'm sure your Lord Holder isn't the only one who disagrees with how things are done in the Weyr." There's a little sigh of regret for that, but when the girl goes on, she raises a brow in the girl's direction and drops her tone to a near whisper. "I'm just a firelizard message away Aleena, and I know for a fact they always need more help in the lower caverns, which is where a lot of the weyr's candidates are chosen from."

Aleena seems glad that the pair are both fine with the Hold's general views. At Xanthee's assurances, she reaches for the greenrider's hand, and will squeeze it gladly with both of hers if allowed. "Thank you," she murmurs, eyes shining with gratitude as she looks into Xanthee's face. H'rik and the Lord Holder emerge from the Hold then, seemingly at ease with one another. Aleena gives a final look to Sesa and Xanthee, and then she's heading off across the courtyard as if she wasn't just speaking with them. The two leaders stop, there is a hand shake, and then H'rik continues on to join the dragons. Wendryth looks down at him with a tinge of concerned yellow in his great eyes, mirrored in the tension in the man's jaw. The look he gives his wingriders implies he's not entirely happy, and he heads for his jacket and helmet at Wendryth's straps, undoing them wordlessly.

Sesa watches the exchange between holder and Xanthee but for a moment before her sharp gaze catches H'rik approaching. "Well that didn't take long…." In fact, the short length of the negotiations has the ex-harper worried and more so when she spies H'rik's features. "I think we best get going Xan… our Weyrleader looks not at all at ease." Turning, she moves back towards the dragons and the brooding H'rik.

Squeezing back, Xanthee nods, no more words needed. She watches the girl go with a heavy sigh before catching the return of the Weyrleader. His look does nothing to soothe the girl's nerves as she nods in Sesa's direction in agreement. She itches to ask how it went, but knows that they still have many pairs of eyes on them, so as she casts fleeting glances in H'rik's direction, she starts to prepare herself for the trek back to Igen Weyr. She does have Liowyth pass on a message to Wendryth, « Mine would like to know if yours is ok? And also what was said, but she said that can wait till we're back at Igen. »

For the sake of appearances, H'rik manages to turn to his riders and give them both a quick smile, and the gesture to mount up. As he climbs to Wendryth's neck, the bronze reaches out to Liowyth and Edleveth. « A deal was agreed, but H'rik is still…troubled. He will be well. He needs to ruminate. » The bronze is keeping upbeat, for all that his rider is still silent as he gives the signal to take off. Wendryth takes the lead, bounding aloft with a strong push and waiting until the last moment to sweep his wings down. Reaching a good height, he waits for the others. Below, one might be able to make out Aleena at the edge of the courtyard, watching the dragons' departures.