The sun shone brightly down upon the legendary minor hold of Bigahomla. Children frolicked freely, ignoring the fact that adults, men and women alike, were only starting to head towards the buildings just outside the main building of the Hold. Dragon Poker decks were out as well as craps tables and the odd chess game. One young man sat on one of the tall walls, his short legs dangling below him. He held a sour look upon his proud features. His brown eyes told of something that hadn’t gone his way earlier and now he sat upon the outer wall contemplating his problem. His auburn hair danced about playfully as he continued his thoughts, not even hearing another man walk up behind him. “Hey, babe,” the tall man smirked behind him, running his fingers through his own dark brown hair, it’s red highlights shining in the sun. “Zebraxsan, I’m not in the mood for your form of ‘Make your homosexual friend happy,’” the man replied only turning his head slightly at his friend. “Good, ‘cause I wasn’t going any farther with that, Jearostin,” Zebraxsan replied truthfully to his long time friend. Jearostin chuckled lightly at the reply and the brown haired man brightened, “See, made ya’ smile!” Jearostin held that smile for only a short while longer before turning his vision back down to the gambling huts. “What’s the matter?” Zebraxsan asked his dark green eyes flashing with concern. “Takanu used me like a rag doll and left without a word this morning,” Jearostin replied, his friend started to speak but the other man went on instead, “Yes, I know you told me he was nothing but trouble, Zeb.” “Worse than Frilonkin, er F’link’s own habits I remember saying,” the man replied sitting next to his friend on the wall, “I should know, F’link’s my brother… It makes perfect sense that he’s a green rider now.” “You know I never liked your brother?” Jearostin answered absently, “He’d go from one bed to another, didn’t matter what gender they were, he went. At least he had the mind to talk to a person again afterwards, even came back for more some times.” “We’re here to talk about you, not my brother’s mating habits,” Zebraxsan replied dryly. Jearostin spun around on the wall and landed on the battlements with a grunt. “I think that’s enough talk about my problems.” “Jearostin!” Zebraxsan sighed with a bit of an inward chuckle. It was hard to get his friend to open up, to his knowledge he was the only one who could manage to get anything out of him. He jogged after his smaller friend quickly gaining on him. Jearostin stuffed his fists in his pockets moodily and Zebraxsan jokingly mimicked him. Finally the taller of the men rolled his eyes. “Look, Jearostin,” Zebraxsan urged, “I came to tell ya’ about something and now I think it might help you get your anger out in a good way.” Jearostin looked up and glared at his friend but part of him showed that he was listening. “You remember a few turns back hearing about a bunch of people from old terra coming to Pern and then impressing at Ryslen Weyr during their odd visit?” “Vagly,” Jearostin replied looking a bit interested, “They claimed to be a hock-ee team from there by the name of the Victory College Dragons. What about them?” “Well I just found out about the construction they built over the spring time,” Zebraxsan beamed, “There’s been a lot of interest in this game they call hockey,” he effusive the correct pronunciation of the word, “It seems that my parents were very interested in this and requested that one of the players who knows quite a bit about building Hockey arenas and how to freeze water when it’s not cold. We’re getting an ice rink to play hockey on!” “We don’t know how to play hock-ee,” Jearostin stated after looking at his friend for a time. Zebraxsan sighed now irritated at his friend’s lack of interest. “They’re going to be giving lessons as soon as the ice is ready, now com’on!” the young man started yanking his friend towards the building in question, the homosexual complaining the whole way. Jearostin had to admit, he was impressed with the work of these hock-ee players turned builders. The ice a-ree-nah as they called it looked something like the paintings he’d seen of the hatching sands at Weyrs but with a flat floor that had a number of lines painted all over it and was covered with a two or three inch thick layer of still freezing water. There had been a number of dragons outside including a blue the size of a small bronze. Zebraxsan beamed as he watched at his shorter companion’s side. Yells were coming from different directions yet mainly from one of the dragon riding hockey players. It was an odd feeling to hear words, up till only a few turns back, that had only crossed the lips of those who’d first come to Pern. “Trick, did you get those zambonis?” the commander of the construction asked. “Don’t worry, Crush,” the one who’d been called “Trick” laughed back in replied, “They’ll never miss ‘em… then again their hockey experience on that alternate world is a disaster, can’t believe they knew enough to actually make such fine machines as these two.” The one known as “Crush” shook his head at his friend’s laughter. That was how he noticed the two holderboys. “Hello team, we have spectators,” He smiled making him look like a big brother. “Already,” one called out, “we haven’t even got the rink ready for a game and we’re being watched.” “Hi!” Zebraxsan replied brightly putting out his hand to the rider, “I’m Zebraxsan, son of Lady Panfre and Lord Jelon. And this is my friend Jearostin. We’ve come to learn to play hockey.” There was a ball of laughter coming from Trick but other than that there was silence. Crush chuckled and joined his hand with the Lady Holder’s son. “Well, Zebraxsan, I’m Russel Zigler,” he replied, “though you would call me R’sel here on Pern. That one over there is Conor ‘The Trick’ Kranks, here he’s known as C’nor; he the one who dreamed up this structure your parents asked us to build.” C’nor waved from his position where he was placing something that looked like glass, but was obviously too light to be so, above a thick board, one of many that circled the rink. “It’s well made for something that is built with stones rather than in the side of a mountain,” Jearostin finally stated admirably. “Many thanks, Jearostin was it?” one of the other men smiled, “M’rcel, blue Taesavath’s rider, formally Marcel Ryans. The real thanks goes to our dragons though, without them we wouldn’t be able to make Trick’s and Crush’s dreams come true.” “Just out of curiosity, do you all have nick names?” Jearostin asked as he looked over the riders, “I know you have sire names from old terra but what about these odd names?” “A few of us have them,” a female rider replied as she set more of the sheets of fake glass on the bleachers, “Some of us don’t though. I’m Aisu ‘Kanchou’ Ichiban by the buy, rider of gold Akemith’s.” “You ride gold?!?!” Zebraxsan was immediately at the gold rider’s side and started to put on the charm for the lovely woman, “Pretty name for a young woman, goes well for you. What’s yours mean, it’s not a word I’ve hear of before.” “Her name means Ice Best,” another rider commented as he passed, “And Kanchou means captain of a war ship so I’d be careful around her if I were you. She’s not our best defensive player for nothing.” Both Pern born men watched the terrain born man as he continued to walk. They looked at Aisu again not knowing what to say. The woman instead interpreted it to mean that they wanted to know who he was. “Kasai ‘Boomer’ Shugotenshi, other wise known as K’sai,” she stated, “Strong silent type, he’s Japanese like me, name means fire guardian angel... not to mention he’s my cousin.” The two mean made an O shape with their mouth though they tried to discern the meaning of angel, it must have been something good though. “So about those lessons,” Zebraxsan finally continued on to their original reason for being there. “When the ice is solid, kid,” R’sel replied, “no sooner. That will be in about a day or so, we have to be sure there’s no air bubbles in the ice. Do you know how to skate?” Jearostin nodded still checking out most of the men while Zebraxsan shook his head. “Looks like we’ll have our work cut out for us,” C’nor chuckled as he settled the piece of fake glass and winked. CHINK! “What was that?” Aisu snorted at the two holderboys, “You’ve been at this for Three weeks straight and you still can’t hit a puck into the net, Jearostin.” The young man grinned sheepishly at the alternate captain as he flipped a black short cylinder object on it’s side. “What can I say, I’m a great skater but when it comes to scoring… on the ice that is,” the homosexual shrugged as he chuckled at his bad pun before he’d finished his statement. Aisu let out a long breath in annoyance. Playing hockey was one thing, coaching others who’d not seen a game in their lives was another. At the other end of the new hockey rink Zebraxsan was firing pucks at a guarded net. The goalie growled in annoyance as a puck sailed through to hit the net behind her. Upon the thunk that was the sound of puck hitting net there was a huge thump as the lady holder’s son fell flat on his back. “Arrrrrrrrrg, this is unreal!” the goalie growled and skated towards Zebraxsan in a menacing way, “You have a great shot but you can’t skate to save your life!” “Looks like between the two of them we’ve got a damn good player, Jaqualin,” C’nor chuckled. “You want me to knock you out, Trick?” the goalie growled raising her face mask to look at the blue rider directly. “Of course not Jackel,” C’nor quickly corrected himself to the young woman’s name on the ice and sometimes off, “I’m sure if you didn’t get after me your green Geylioth will.” Outside there was a loud snort that could only be the green he spoke of. Both Jearostin and Zebraxsan shuttered at the haughty green. She was nearly as easily angered as her goaltending rider. “They’re getting better you know,” a young man with an A on his jersey commented as he skated about the rink. He didn’t really watch where he was going though he’d somehow dodge things as he skated backwards. “Yeah right, Carter,” Aisu snorted jostling her long time friend, not bothering to use his honorific even though he had one, “Zeb can stand on his own two skates now but he takes five strides and falls over, if even that many strides. While Jearostin over here can’t hit the brawd side of a barn, much less a hockey net.” “Now that’s not a nice thing to say, Aisu,” a voice called from one of the exits, a man with redish brown hair and ever-changing colored eyes snuck a look around before continuing, “Kr’stopher and R’sel aren’t here right?” the hockey players chuckled at the man’s slight caution. “You’re lucky, Ar’wen,” another man replied as he slipped on his hockey gloves, “They’re with the others visiting Ryslen Weyr… They’d make you get on this ice so they’d have a good excuse to knock ya’ down like they wanted to when you took me to Firestone.” “Thanks, G’len,” the rider replied, “It’s bad enough they try to get me on the ice at Seiryuu Weyr.” G’len, or Galen as he was known on old terra, chuckled and went back to his work of finishing up securing the pains of glass like substance to the boards of the hockey arena. “So what’cha doin’ here, blue rider?” Jackel asked him a bit snippily, “come to play pranks on us since we’ve been away from the Weyr for so long?” “Weyr business actually, Jaquilin,” Ar’win replied, “Camoth demanded that I come here and help Keandyn Weyr with searching for some New Years Clutch.” The hockey players all looked at Ar’wen in amazement, it was rare to hear a Pernese human pronounce the word “years,” it had been quite some time since they’d heard the word as well considering the word was turns on this planet. “So if you’re searching for this clutch what are you doing in here?” C’rter asked tilting his head slightly, “I mean we all rider dragons already.” The blue rider looked directly at C’rter but wasn’t really looking at him as his eyes unfocused. “That may be true C’rter,” Ar’wen replied, “But I believe your apprentices are not attached to a dragon… by the looks of things they’re not even attached to a fire lizard at that. What’s your names lads?” “Zebraxsan, one of Lady Panfre’s sons,” the young man replied finally finding his voice after hearing that Ar’wen was on search. “I’m Jearostin, handsome,” his friend replied slying and Ar’wen shifted a bit uncomfortably. “Don’t swing that way, lad,” Ar’wen finally answered with a cough, and watched as the homosexual smirked though he was crestfallen. “Do you two have a mind to impress a dragon of your own instead of playing with them?” Ar’wen smiled making a joke about the name of the team the hockey players from old terra were on. “Sure!” “When do we leave?” “When you’re ready,” Ar’wen replied, “I’d suggest you tell your loved ones of where you’re going before we do go.” Jearostin grumbled something but complied faster than Zebraxsan. Ar’wen looked at the young man questionably. Zebraxsan shrugged. “He’s had a bad run with loved ones resently… namely they keep dumping him,” Zebraxsan told the blue rider. Ar’wen chuckled softly and followed the two candidates out of the new hockey arena. On the ice Jackel snorted. “Now what are we going to do? Our only students just left us,” she growled. “You’re the one who didn’t even want to teach them in the first place, why are you complainin’?” Aisu shot back at her friend. “I was gettin’ a nice workout from Zeb’s shots,” she replied. “Oh, so that’s how it is with you miss, sieve head?” C’nor shouted his comment to the goalie. In only a few seconds Jackel was next to the one sometimes known as the Trick and knocked him out. The other looked at her and she chuckled dryly. “He annoys me more than Zeb scoring goals on me,” she replied.