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Rider
Name: Set'al
Age: 42
Gender: Male
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
Rank: Wingrider
History:
Like most Runners, Set'al was born into the craft. There are Runners in his family pretty much all the way back, and it was always expected that he would be the same, which was fine by him. He was an only child, and more than happy to follow in his parents' footsteps.

...until, while delivering a letter, he decided to watch a Hatching at Southern, and Pipith came snarling into the stands looking for him. His Weyrlinghood was something of a rollercoaster ride while he adjusted to this abrupt change and his strong-willed, ambitious dragon. Eventually, they settled into a relatively comfortable relationship and matured into Wingriders. They perform well, thanks to the bronze's fierce desire to be the best, as long as Set'al keeps him from getting carried away trying to one-up someone.

There was, for both of them, one constant irritation in their first six Turns as a pair: another bronze dragon that Pipith absolutely could not abide. No amount of persuasion from his rider could change this deep-seated hatred, which finally came to a head when a junior gold rose, and he and his rival both lost when they bumped into each other. The situation degraded into a fight, and though it was stopped before there were any serious injuries, it was much too close for comfort.

Set'al immediately opted to transfer to Trine, although his timing was poor, as he arrived shortly after the death of crimson Alumanth, so a sudden bronze transfer was viewed with understandable suspiscion. With time, however, they proved that they were reliable, loyal, and didn't quite fit the stereotype of metallic and rider...or, well, Set'al didn't fit the stereotype. Pipith had always been a little bronze with something to prove, and he continued to be so in their new environment, pushing his rider to try out for a wingleader position they weren't selected for - no surprise, since there were plenty of Trine natives pursuing such positions, and Set'al was relieved. Despite all of Pipith's pushing over the years of their partnership, Set'al never came around to wanting rank or power. Ultimately, it was Set'al who would prove to have more influence as time wore on, bringing his bronze around to appreciating that there was more to life than power. Together, they became Time Riders, flew in First Fall, and when the Revolution struck, helped to defend Trine.

Over the course of it all, much to Pipith's delight, Set'al formed a friendship with Trine's Junior Weyrwoman, Narisa, and Pipith bonded with Cepheith as well. Over time, friendship turned to deeper feelings, to maybe-more-than-friends after Set'al agreed to stand-in during Cepheith's maiden Flight, and with no shortage of awkwardness, into a real relationship that led to them becoming official weyrmates. If it weren't for Narisa, it's unlikely that Set'al would have involved himself overmuch in the Wherwars; while his dragon relished any chance to prove himself, Set'al disliked the fighting, even if much of it was unavoidable or justified. But Narisa was deeply affected and involved, and wherever she and Cepheith went, so did Set'al and Pipith. Not that they weren't eprfectly capable of taking care of themselves! But they could hardly sit in their weyr worrying while their mates risked themselves, not after everything that had happened.

Set'al was greatly relieved when the fighting ended, and almost as relieved when the traditional system was overturned. Though he had never begrudged golds their right to rule, especially when they were perfectly reasonable, responsible golds like Cepheith (not that he was biased!), he had always resented that, as a bronzerider, he was expected make something more of himself, like being 'just' a wingrider wasn't good enough when he was perfectly happy with that. Now, at last, he's free to be a happy underachiever and not be viewed as some strange anomaly for it. His allergy to responsibility is not completely all-encompassing, however; he's actually made a decent father, an unexpected task he's taken to happily and well with his and Narisa's three children. And Pipith is more than happy to babysit, hoping to instill in them the discipline and ambition that he got hold of Set'al a bit too late to successfully impart.

Description:
Tall and lean, a good portion of Set'al's height of 6'1" is leg, making him well-suited to his former Craft. He has straight, medium-brown hair that just brushes his shoulders (and has absolutely no gray hair, don't believe Narisa if she tries to tell you otherwise!), expressive green eyes and a hawkish nose, and all things considered is a handsome fellow. He has a few scars here and there, from Thread and from fighting, and keeps himself in very good shape with regular running. He may or may not be able to keep up with a younger Runner, but he likes to think that he could.

Personality:
Like any good Runner, Sethal is as trustworthy as they come. He would never have even thought of reading someone's message, much less not delivering it at all - not only would there have been serious consequences, it's just plain wrong. The only lies he ever tells are white (ask him if your hair looks okay, and the answer will always be yes), and he wants nothing whatsoever to do with getting in trouble.

The truth is, though, he doesn't always stay out of it. He has a little bit of a problem in that he's not very good at keeping track of time, and is easily distracted - a bad combination for a Runner! Urgent messages were not for Sethal; there was a good chance it wouldn't get there as quickly as it should. He doesn't mean to get sidetracked, he really doesn't, it's just so hard to say no sometimes, whether it's to himself or to someone else. An hour or two can't hurt, surely... Set'al just cannot resist stopping to smell the flowers, as it were. Oh, you just finished making dinner and would love it if he stayed awhile? Of course he'd hang around! A pretty lady would like a little something special with her delivery? He'd be happy to oblige! You have dragons about to Hatch? No way he'd miss that kind of show!

At the rate he was going, he was going to need to shape up or find something else to do with himself. He couldn't be an Apprentice forever, but with his habit, well...his chances of ever becoming a Journeyman were slim to none. Pipith, however, took care of that quite handily. Despite his dragon's best efforts, Set'al never did pick up any semblance of ambition, although he has acquired a little more self-discipline (or, rather, he has Pipith to make sure he gets where he's supposed to be, sort of maybe close to on time).

Other: --

Dragon
Name: Pipith
Age: 23
Colour: Bronze
Description: x
Very Small/Average
Personality:
The first thing that you need to know about Pipith is that he's tough, tougher than any bronze ever and you better not forget it. Best described as having tiny dog syndrome, his size is something that has bothered him from the day he Hatched. He's very much on the smaller side of the scale, almost small enough to be considered a brown from afar.

Since he can't do anything about his size, he does his best to influence everything else he can get his claws into. A highly competitive individual, he almost needs to be the best just to convince himself that he's good enough to be a bronze. During Weyrling lessons, he was always the first to volunteer, even if he didn't have the slightest clue what was going on. He had to have first dibs on meat, had to be the first one up in the morning, and the first one in the lake even if he had to get up before sunrise. How far he takes his obsession with being the best depends on the hand of his rider. With Set'al to temper him and focus his energies on something more constructive, Pipith has at last become a strong, well-rounded dragon. Their relationship can sometimes be a friendly tug-of-war between their respective desires, though less so than it once was.

As hard as he is on both his rider and himself, Set'al understands that for the most part Pipith's all bark and no bite. Pipith needs his rider to be both his confidant and his support, especially in times of trial. This bronze does not take losing well.

While Pipith would still love to be Weyrleader one day, he has finally resigned himself to the reality that that is never, ever going to happen. There was some slim chance, under the old system, that he could catch the right gold at the right time and advance to the rank whether Set'al liked it or not, with the change to how rank is obtained, he knows that it's impossibility. His rider wants nothing to do with rank, and actually...that doesn't bother Pipith much at all anymore. He does have his gold mate, even if her rider isn't Weyrwoman, and she is magnificent anyway. He and His are happy, and that is not an unremarkable achievement.

Other:
Sethal definitely needs to shape up and—SETHAL PAY ATTENTION. This is no time to be getting distracted! What Pipith saw was a boy he could grab a hold of and make into something. Being an apprentice put the boy at the bottom of the totem pole, so to speak, which is something that this bronze can understand. While Sethal may not have the proper ambition to drive himself up to the top, Pipith certainly has enough for both of them. Sethal may also find that his calmer, more easygoing temperament can in time soothe the snarling Pipith, who needs a rider to show him there's more to life than competition. In return, the bronze will make sure his rider doesn't spend too much time getting waylaid. They have work to do, after all.

Though they may butt heads in the beginning, Pipith chose a rider that he could put his absolute faith in. Sethal's honest and trustworthy nature was what sealed the deal for this bronze. They may not agree on the best way to get to the end goal, but at least at the end of the day they'll still be together as one.