Children in Tow [Open]

[Dragon]

Things were, Melosa thought, starting to get more normalized. At least, she hoped they were. She had one-turn-old Merisk propped on her hip and Merrin at her side; her three older children had eaten earlier and gone off to lessons and such. The junior weyrleader was attempting to make time for her youngest two, though, despite the ongoing crisis behind the scenes.

"Grab a bubbly pie, Merrin," she instructed the five-turn-old. "You and Merisk can share one, don't you think?"

"I don't wanna share with Merisk, Mama!"

Melosa sighed at the child's pouting. "Either you share, Merrin, or you don't get any." She shifted Merisk, smiling as he babbled and reached for the pies. "A whole one is too big for you at breakfast time."

[Fel]

Some people, Korinda knew, didn't like the sound of very young children making their incomprehensible burbling sounds. She had never understood that. Why begrudge anyone for the happiness of the most wonderful thing on Pern: a child? She had been enjoying her breakfast--or trying to, given the recent concerns over the safety of the Weyr's supplies--when the small family had sat down.

She smiled as the slightly older child protested being asked to share a bubbly pie. She was absolutely certain her older brother had done something similar when told he had to share with her or to let her tag along with him.

"If you eat too many pies instead of other food, you won't grow much," she said to the older child. "It's what happened to me, and almost everyone is taller than me."

Actually she doubted it had been the bubbly pies that had resulted in her lack of height, though she had loved them as a child.

[Dragon]

Melosa smiled at the little blonde rider when she chimed in about eating too many pies being bad for a child's growth. One day, Merrin would know that sort of thing wasn't true, or at least not the full story, but for now, it worked. The little five-turn-old stared, wide-eyed, at the bluerider, then quickly turned to share the pie with his little brother. The toddler giggled, grabbing a handful of pie and shoving it in his face, and Melosa sighed - but making messes was what babies were best at.

"Thank you," Melosa said with a small smile. "I'm Melosa, and these are my two youngest, Merrin and Merisk." Having five children was a lot of work, and she had the two firelizards, too - but she wouldn't trade any of it for the world.

[Fel]

"It's no trouble at all, really," Korinda said, still smiling fondly at the two children's antics. She gestured vaguely at them and added, "I never had any of my own. A rider's life, you know? So I guess I never had enough time around children to really mind having them around." Not that she thought such a thing was possible. Or that being a rider had ever contributed to things not going as she hoped. But things were as they were, she supposed.

"I'm Korinda. It's nice to meet all three of you." And thank Faranth the woman had introduced herself and made it certain that Korinda hadn't simply forgotten her face.