Chapter 1: Meeting at the Gather

"Pssst!"
Devron looked around. He couldn't see anyone that had any interest in him. he shrugged. The Psst probably hadn't been meant for him. He and his brother were still new to Big Bay Hold. They had only moved recently and Devron hadn't made any friends yet. That was why coming to the gather had seemed such a good idea.
But when he thought about it, Devron would rather have stayed home. Once again Adamo, his older brother had dumped him and left to have fun by himself. Adamo was handsome yes. the girls loved him. Devron could understand these things, but he was family!
"Pssst!"
Devron looked up and suddenly saw a young girl waving for him to come closer. The girl seemed to be about his own age. She had long black hair and looked like she knew what she was doing. Devron went closer. He was suddenly aware that his face was full of acne and that he must look like one of the moons.
"Hi!" he said to the girl as optimistic as he could be.
"Hi, you looked like you could use a friend." she said.
"How could you tell?"
"Erm... it's quite obvious..."
"Well, my brother left me standing here and we just moved."
"You've found the right person then. I know everything around here!"
"What's your name?" Devron asked.
"I'm Axelle, and what's yours?"
"Devron."
"And your brother?"
"Adamo." Devron sighed.
"I get the feeling he is either handsome or popular." she smiled.
"Well, he's both in fact. We moved here 2 days ago and he already has dates till the end of the turn."
Axelle suddenly halted and put her finger on her mouth. In utter silence she looked through an opening in the stall, reached in and pulled out 2 bubbly pies.
"You shouldn't steal." Devron whispered.
"What if I told you the man who runs this stall is my father?"
"I'd tell you to go and introduce me to him. Why would you take it like this when you could ask it?"
"I already took 3 so he wouldn't give them to me." Axelle said pointedly.
Devron didn't know where the skinny girl would put 3 pies and still want more, but he and his brother could stow away quite a bit of food since they were growing. Maybe it was the same for girls.
"Thanks for the pie." He said, polite despite the strange situation he found himself in. Devron wasn't quite sure if he should even eat the pie.
"I'll tell you all about Big Bay Hold. Follow me." Axelle said, leading Devron away to a calmer place at the edge of the gather.
She'd never seen such an awkward boy before. He wasn't especially handsome, but he was far from being a monster. Her sense of righteousness wanted to give him some support in this new place. As she babbled on about the fishing hold and it's vicinity, she tried to think about ways to cheer the boy up.
As it happened, just talking to him seemed to help a lot.
"Wow, there is a weyr close by?" Devron asked when she told him about Dawn Watch Weyr.
"Didn't your parents tell you?" Axelle asked.
"Not really, my father is a fisherman so he's happy to have work here and has been away most of the time. Our mother died when we were 6, so it's basically just us. We might start learning a trade soon, though my father would probably want us to help him fish."
"The fishing here is good so you'd earn a decent pay." Axelle said.
"I think my father and mother would want me to conitnue the food stall but I have zero talent in cooking so they've abandoned that idea."
"So what do you like?" Devron asked.
"I want to be a travelling merchant." She said.
"Isn't that dangerous?" Devron exclaimed, wondering why a tiny girl like her would want to try something so dangerous. Even the move here, though well prepared, had left him haggered. They'd travelled in a large group, uncertain of what the road may bring.
"Well sure, but you make sure you have protection. Didn't they have whers around when you came here?"
"Sure, but even then..." Devron shivered.
Axelle shot him an undertain look and Devron suddenly realised he was being very uncool. It's just that his vivid imagination usually made him see detailed visions of all the possible dangers he might encounter. The fact that he liked to read probably didn't help with that.
Devron's mind tried to think of a way to redeem himself in the eyes of the only girl who'd ever willingly talked to him. But at that exact moment, Adamo appeared.
"Hey little brother." Adamo said, "Introduce me."
Inwardly cringing, Devron did what he was told to do.
"Axelle, this is my brother Adamo." and he thought, 'please don't be all over him like the girls usually are.'
Axelle extended a hand and exchanged some pleasantries while she took stock of the newcomer. Handsome and cocky. Not a boy she would like to spend time with. He was too full of himself and seemed like the type who'd grow easily bored of girls. Always searching, her mother called them, accompagnied with a warning to not let them fool her.
"Nice to meet you." Adamo said, taking Axelle's hand with a little floorish, "I hope Devron hasn't been sayng bad things about me."
Adamo gave the girl a once-over and decided she wasn't his type. He liked more feminine girls. Axelle definitely was a free spirit. She'd try to control him every chance she got and that just wouldn't be the way he wanted to spend his free time.
"Oh by no means.' Axelle answered.
At which point Devron interrupted the two of them, hoping Axelle wouldn't let out just how much she'd read his feelings without him needing to say them out loud.
"Wh-What have you been up to, Adamo?"
"Just looking around. I think I've been around the gather twice by now. I feel like exploring some more."
Offended about the way Adamo, who she'd heard from Devron, had grown up in a backwater tiny hold, was talking about her Hold, Axelle said: "Oh, you think you've seen it all huh?"
"Pretty much." Adamo grinned, enjoying to rile up the girl.
"I'll show you something cool." Axelle boasted.
"Like what?" Adamo asked.
"Brother..." Devron tried to intervene.
"The Weyr. I can get us to the Wher dens."
"I don't think you can." Adamo said, suddenly more interested than he'd admit.
"Chicken?" Axelle replied.
"You're on!"
"Can't we stay here?" Devron tried.
"We're going!" the two others shouted.

Axelle, Devron and Adamo are Candidates at Dawn Watch Weyr
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