Sandra stood at the entrance to the Deep Cavern Sands. How many times had she stood on the sands to watch her mother's queen brood over her clutch, and not be Searched herself? Well, okay, maybe it had only been three times before, but why did Isifth have to choose to have candidates that were either too old for her age or too young for her age? She sighed in exasperation, blowing a stray piece of her hair out of her face.

Tai suddenly emerged from the sands and smiled down at her daughter.

"Ages?" Sandra asked, looking directly at her mother, not smiling nor frowning.

"Seventeen to Thirty." Weyrwoman Tai said. Sandra's heart leapt into her throat. Had she heard right? Had her mother just said that Isifth had said 17-30 years? Yes! She was 19, so she could be Searched! That is, if the Searchriders Searched her.

Too few people had come to this Weyr, rather rashly, and it needed a large amount of riders soon and desperately! Already three years had gone by in this Weyr without it having any golds and hardly any of the fighting colors. They had actually stayed inside while Thread fell! She shook her head.

"Anything wrong?" Her mother asked her as they walked away from the sands. Sandra shook her head.

"No...but the fact that the people's choice to build this Weyr so quickly, without a queen and a Weyrwoman, was rather nieve don't you think?" Weyrwoman Tai sighed.

"I agree. Unfortunately, not everyone knows what they're doing when they make their choice and so they start off on the wrong wing. Now they have paid for their swift choice and probably won't make another again." There was silence for a while as they stepped into her mother's weyr and sat down. Tai began writing something on a piece of paper and then rolled it up to be sent to all of the Weyrs for candidates.

Sandra held her breath...she wanted so much to stay here! It was a beautiful place...and...she wanted her mother to stay her as well...perhaps be the perminent Weyrwoman? Yet, dare she ask? She was old enough now, of course, to make her own decisions...but her mother was only a Jr. Weyrwoman at the other Weyr...yet here...here at Sidra, they considered her Weyrwoman. How could she pass up such an opportunity? She was intelligent, beautiful, though short, she accepted ideas from other people, she made sure everything was kept in running order. Yet, she wanted to leave after the clutch had hatched?

Sandra sighed heavily and let her feet swing back and forth. Why did her mother always have to turn down being Weyrwoman here? Everyone here liked her, and Isifth was, afterall, teh first queen to fly here, so that would make Tai Weyrwoman! Yet, she said she would only rule until the next girl was old enough. Tai really hoped she could change her mother's mind before then!