Nalira and Malta
:Story::Search::Candidate::Hatchling::Weyrling::Adult:
:Falas Weyr::Tripaldi Weyr::

The girls had been at Falas for about a week and Malta was beginning to think it was a huge mistake. Nalira was in rare form, teasing and flirting with all the male candidates and there were a lot of them! Thirteen of the twenty-three candidates were male and Nalira knew each one by name. She smiled and flirted during their lessons and Malta did all the work, learning how to repair riding straps and all about proper dragon care. About the only lessons Nalira paid attention to were the ones on Impression and that was probably because all the Candidates paid attention to that lesson. She couldn’t catch anyone’s eye during those lessons. But Malta didn’t mind that her friend didn’t pay attention, she was used to making up for her friend’s inattentiveness. What really bothered her was that most of the Candidates seemed as interested in Nalira as Nalira was and her friend was getting to be quite the royal pain from all the attention.

One day Malta was sitting in her room working on repairing one of the dragonriders’ weyrhide jackets. It had gotten around that she was as good at repairs as any Weaver and she soon had many of the dragonriders asking her for favors such as this. She rarely got anything in return but she was glad of something to occupy her time while she wasn’t involved in lessons.

She had almost finished the repairs when Nalira came striding into the room and fell back on her bed in a fake swoon. She promptly rolled onto her side and grinned prettily at Malta.

“Malta, this whole Weyr experience is so wonderful! Even if I don’t impress I’m definitely staying here for the rest of my life,” she grinned at her friend and Malta shook her head.

“I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself, Na, but it’s not all play, you know. If you Impress it’s going to be hard work taking care of a dragon. And if you don’t they won’t let you stay unless you have a job you can do.”

“Well, you’ve got it made then, don’t you?” said Nalira gesturing to the jacket that Malta had just finished and laid aside. “You can stay on as the Weyr-weaver if you don’t Impress.”

Malta just rolled her eyes and smiled, “Oh yeah, that’s what I want to do with my life, stay here and mend everyone’s clothing for the rest of my life and watch everyone else bond a dragon.”

“You’d do it, you know you would,” said Nalira with a teasing smile.

“Yeah, I know,” smiled Malta then picked up the jacket and shook it out, checking her work before she headed for the door. “I’d best go return this.”

And with that she swept from the room, jacket draped over one arm, wondering when the hatching would take place and whether she and her friend would Impress.