“Whoa, Kris! Back off him, man!” Russel Zigler growled , trying to hold back his teammate. Kristopher Stempel’s highly active temper had been set in motion at the wrong moment just seconds earlier. The two Victory College hockey players were asked their names while they waited to meet with Beach Shards Weyr’s Weyrwoman and upon hearing Kris’ name the kitchen worker who was serving them klah chuckled. Kris nearly jumped over the table to get at the worker. “Let me at him, Crush!” Kris growled as he fought to chase after the druge who ran for his life. As soon as Russel was sure the drudge was well away, he made his own threat. We’re not on the ice, Kris, but, God help me,” the large player snorted, “if I have to I’ll crush some sense into you.” Kris immediately stopped struggling. He’d seen Russel “crush” sense into players on the ice; they weren’t fit to play until two periods afterwards at the earliest. “What the hell were you thinking?” Russel finally let his friend go, “You want to get us thrown out before we get a chance to stand for a dragon?” Kris shook his head sheepishly though he made no vocal reply. “Do you have a good reason for scaring my kitchen staff so?” the two dragons found themselves being scolded by a woman who, by her shifts, seemed to be of important stature yet still worked in the kitchens herself. On instinct, Russel elbowed Kris in the stomach just before the man’s temper got away with him to attack the woman over just one question. “Forgive my friend, milady,” Russel replied believing the mannerism correct for where they were, “his temper is short and being a hockey player doesn’t help the matter.” The woman eyed them for a moment and then seemed to remember something. “You’re some of those Old Terren people who’ve been the talk of the Weyr as of late aren’t you?” she asked a bit more kindly. “What’s that supposed to me?” Kris snapped before being winded again by Crush. The astronomy student glared at his so called “friend” while the woman seemed to find humor in the situation. “What I mean, lad is that the news of your friends all impressing from the stands at Ryslen has been buzzing about the Weyr,” she replied, “It’s rare to impress from the stands, much less twelve in the same hatching. What are your names?” “Kristopher Stempel, but most call me Kris,” the hot headed hockey player replied a bit confused at how fast news spread on this world. “Russel ‘Crush’ Zigler, ma’am,” Russel replied, “Some call me Rus. We’re here to see about standing for the gold clutch we’d heard was still looking for people.” “Ah, so you’re here to talk to Weyrwoman Mayhe and be officially searched?” she questioned then laughed, “Ah, excuse me, you’ve told me your names yet I neglected to tell you my own. I am Daseas, headwoman of Beach Shards Weyr.” The two Victory College students shook the woman’s hand in proper greeting. “A pleasure to meet you Daseas,” Russel replied while beside him Kris started to fidget. “You seem a bit nervous, Kris,” the Headwoman commented. “I don’t get nervous!” Kris shot back with more venom than he’d shown to the drudge. Daseas started to form her own retort when Russel motioned for her to let him whisper in her ear. “Don’t argue with him about it,” Russel advised, “he gets like this before games too. It’s a good habit for hockey, he’s ready to be aggressive then, but bring it into any other field and he’s a time bomb ticking down to detonation unless someone or something is able to cut the fuse.” Slightly confused about what a bomb was, Daseas frowned. She understood that it was a bad thing to prod the young man in this condition though and so she instead whispered back to the burlier of the two hockey players, “So what would cut this ‘fuse’ of his, Russel?” “The Weyrwoman talking to us for one,” Russel spoke normally now, confusing Kris even more causing the man to snort in anger; Russel, however, ignored this and continued on, “and for another, being totally sure that we’ll be allowed to stand for the young dragons.” “CRUSH!” Kris roared, only to find his face in one of Russel’s large hands. The astronimer growled into the hand like a territorial feline. If it wasn’t such a vertical, flat, surface that held his head so sternly Kris would have tried to take a bite out of it. “Quiet, Kristopher,” Russel gave a low, dangerious growl. Kris froze reflexively at his full first name having been used. When he was in deep trouble that name told him so. His temper started to shift back into gear again but got no further as he heard what Russel’s duel reason for stopping his out burst had been. “Are you sure about this, Yui?” a voice asked down a corridor. “Positive, Weyroman,” Yui replied, “Rysenth’s not a searchdragon but his dragon had been prime for it for turns and they’re finally letting him do so. According to that huge blue, all the Dragons are worthy of impressing a dragon.” “I’ll believe that when my Nikath tells me so,” another female mingled with the first two. “Don’t worry, Brenna,” Yui replied, “I’m sure that she will find them very acceptable.” It was then that three young woman walked into the cavern, one the two men knew to be their ride to the Weyr, Yui. The other two however were new faces to them. As the two came over both men noticed the shoulder notes which they had figured out showed rank. The one on the right had something that they recognized as being a gold rider and more than likely the Weyrwoman then. Both me stood as the trio approached the table. “Good luck, lads,” Daseas whispered to them then winked at the rider on the right and spoke in a normal tone, “Don’t try the patience of the short one, Mayhe, he’s worse than a watch-wher that one.” She walked away with a chuckle as Russel nudged Kris warningly when he turned his head to glare at the receeding Headwoman. “Well, looks like we have some live ones,” the woman known as Mayhe smiled, “So you two wish to be searched for our clutch then? What’s your names and ages, lads?” “Kristopher Stempel, age eighteen, Weyrwoman,” Kris replied sharply and for some reason feeling the need to leave out the part that he was regularly called Kris. “Russel Zigler, ma’am, I have twenty-one years to my name,” Russel replied also for some reason feeling the same reasoning that his young friend felt. There was a murmur between the Weyrwoman and Yui about something and then the Weyrwoman nodded. “You’re both around the right age to impress,” she smiled, “We just have one more thing to confirm it… Right, Brenna?” The one known as Brenna had been silent for a while looking the two men over. Her eyes clouded for a minute or so before she smiled and nodded. “Nikath agrees,” Brenna smiled, “If you wish to still do so, you are welcome to stand on our sands for Mykialyth’s clutch.” “Would we ever?!?!” Kris whooped finally out of his time bomb mode and smile at their ride to the Weyr, “thanks for getting us here, Yui.” “Very much thank you,” Russel agreed whole heartily. “No problem, lads,” she replied, “Settle in well, I’m sorry I can’t stay longer but I got to get back to check in on M’rec before going to tell his mother the good news. But be sure I’ll be there on the day of the hatching.” “Just make sure you don’t bring, Ar’wen please,” Russel grunted, “Kris isn’t the only one annoyed by him.” “And you two won’t be the last, I’m sure,” Yui laughed before starting to leave, “Take good care of them and teach them all about Pern, after all they’ll be here at least two turns even if they don’t impress.” The other two woman nodded and both parties went their separate ways, Yui to her green and the boys to settle into the candidate’s barracks. “They’re low,” Russel commented about the cots in the barracks. “You know, oddly enough I think I’m going to miss having my bed aloft,” Kris commented thoughtfully with a sigh. He watched, as a light seemed to go on in Russel’s head, just as he’d planed it to. “Well, I think I’ve found my first project here,” Russel smiled, “You want it about the same height as the ones back in the dorms?… never mind, I better make it a bit taller, then if a young dragon were to come along it could sleep under you.” Kris shook his head in amazement at his friend’s quick thinking in building, whether it be a small thing like a loft or a huge thing like a building, Russel was good at it. The young architect looked at his cot once more and nodded. “Could you go find Daseas and see if she can get me some wood for this, Kris?” Russel more stated than asked his friend. Kris grumbled good naturly at his friend’s command. He should have seen it coming but it didn’t matter. The younger college student did as he was told and left the room. Russel on the other hand started searching for something to draw on and a writing utensil to do so with. He grunted at not having paper and pencil to write with, instead he had to use a thin sheet of hide and a charcoal stick. Ah, it didn’t matter though as long as he was able to draw the sketches up of his idea. Twenty minutes later the clever architect had the sketches to his likings and started wondering about the whereabouts of his companion. With an annoyed sigh he set the sketch on his cot and walked out the door. Within moments the young man was into a run. Damn Kris for suggesting the project, he forgot about the other man’s temper when he asked him to get the wood he need. With a few curses the Victory College student checked ever room he passed for his easily angered friend. So intent on his search he didn’t have time to notice the boy he ran into as he dashed about the corner. The next thing the man knew he, like the boy was sprawled out on the ground groaning in annoyance. “Shardin’ dim glow,” the boy growled as they both sat up, “You’re just about as dangerous as that man who scared me and Nohre away from the clutch of fire lizard eggs.” “You’ve seen Kris?” Russel asked getting up and helping the boy only then noticing that there was a cat along with him. The rusty orange feline looked as if he was more intelligent than the cats back home, ah but that was beside the point. The boy on the other hand nodded as he assumed the man he was talking about was the same bad tempered one he’d just walked away from. Russel continued on in earnest, “Where is he?” “Around that corner, sir,” the boy replied a bit more civilly, “Two doors down and on the left.” Russel nodded his thanks to the boy and jogged towards the next turn T-junction in the hall. Finding the room the young man told him of he opened the door and immediately when wide eyed and lack jawed at what he saw. Kris sat in the middle of the room cradling something blue and dragon like in his arms. He smiled softly at it swaying his upper body slowly to an unknown song. The young man didn’t even know Russel was there… perhaps that’s why he talked so quietly and in a calm soothing voice to the young creature in his arms. “You’re too cute for your own good, you know that?” Kris murmured to the blue, “You remind me of our school mascot at that… the mascots not cute… the…” his next few words were too low for Russel’s hearing, “And because of that, I believe you’ll be named Wings.” “I didn’t know you were that sentimental about the school, Kris,” Russel finally jeered while announcing his presence. Kris looked up from the miniature dragon in shock and then sneered at his friend. “You’re lucky I’ve got a new born fire lizard in my arms, Crush,” Kris replied, “or I’d crush you! Not a word of what you just saw to anyone, you hear me?” “I’d like to see you try and crush me, Kris,” Russel chuckled, “Did you find Daseas?” “Promise you won’t tell a word of what I said before I knew you were here!” Kris demanded with a growl causing his buddle to chirp irritably before shifting its weight and going back to sleep. “Fine, fine, I won’t tell,” Russel chuckled, “I don’t see why you don’t show your sensitive side more, might get you a girlfriend faster.” The astronomy student shot him a warning look and instead looked down at his mini dragon sternly. “I found Daseas about ten minutes ago and she said she’d see what she could do,” Kris replied, “Supposedly wood’s very hard to come by here because of this thing called Thread. Anyway, before she went she asked me if I wanted a fire lizard. I asked her what it was and she showed me to the room. This egg just happened to be hatching and I found out this was a fire lizard!” he stood up and showed his friend the blue dragon in his arms, “they’re miniatures of what’s here at the Weyr, not that smart though, or so I’ve heard. So that means this blue is a male.” “And you named it Wings?” “Don’t start with me, Crush!” Story coming soon... Sorry about the delay! Return to the Main Page Beach Shards Weyr Background by Tiyanni!