Lamanir watched sadly as Asaria led her tiny white dragonet into the weyrhall, stroking her eyeridges softly. There were six dragonets, and he and Etala had been the only two that were left standing. He'd found it a bit embaressing. One of the new bluerider weyrlings had commented to him that dragons didn't like thieves, and Lamanir had been ready to go and start a fight with him. He controlled his temper, though, and acted like the roast wherry was the best that he'd ever tasted. The bluerider had left, obviously discouraged that he hadn't annoyed Lamanir.
Ghenal chirruped from Lamanir's shoulder, and he stroked the klah-brown firelizard, soothing it slightly. He'd hoped to Impress from this clutch, but he obviously wasn't even good enough for a blue or green. How was he supposed to be worthy for another dragonet?
"I stood once, too," Someone said, and Lamanir turned around to see Asaria standing next to him. Her tiny white was curled up in a ball over where she'd been sitting before, snoring slightly. "Before I Impressed Alingath." A smile spread over the petite Candidate's face. "But don't worry," She reassured him. "After all, you can only expect so much of yourself. Don't get angry over this. If a dragonet doesn't choose you, it doesn't mean that you're not good enough for something higher-ranked. I was turned down by blues, greens, and browns, but my beautiful Alingath found me acceptable." She glanced over at the snoring white. "Color doesn't matter at all."
"Color matters alot. It's easy for you to say that because you've Impressed a white," Lamanir replied, feeling slightly angry. "That's more than any of us can hope for."
Color rushed into Asaria's face as she grew angry, too. "Trust me, if I thought that color mattered I wouldn't of taken Alingath! Do you have any idea what it's going to be like? There are so few whites that my dragon is going to be considered a freak. A tiny runt. And do you know what?" Asaria fumed. "She is. It's the truth. But color doesn't matter, which is why Alingath is wonderful."
She gestured to the new green and blueriders. "Do they look a bit disappointed that they didn't Impress my Alingath? No. Color does NOT matter." She turned on her heel and strode away to feed Alingath, who had awoken again.
Lamanir stared after her. She was right. Fhandi seemed just as happy with Wenaveth as the goldriders were with their dragons, and G'yr didn't care that he rode a blue, not a bronze. Color didn't truly matter.
Sighing, he decided that he'd better go and apologize to Asaria after she cooled down a little bit. If she could fogive him, then maybe he was good enough to have a dragon find him acceptable. Ghenal nuzzled him slightly, and Lamanir smiled. Maybe standing wasn't as horrible as he thought that it was...
Because the clutch of eggs was so small, the new weyrlings hadn't been moved to their own table, but still sat with the Candidates. Asaria took her usual space at the end of the table, and after Lamanir heaped his plate with bread and fruit, he sat down next to her. "Uh, Asaria, there was something that I needed to say to you," He muttered. "I just wanted to apologize about what I said the other day. You were right- color is entirely irrelevant."
Asaria smiled slightly. "No," She said. "I should be apologizing to you. It's hard to imagine that color doesn't matter until you actually Impress, and I can guarantee you that I felt exactly the same way after I stood. If the greens in Olanath's clutch couldn't find me acceptable, then how could a green in Wenaveth's clutch?" She grinned and continued. "But I truly discovered that it's not that a color of dragon finds you acceptable- it's the dragonet itself."
Lamanir felt himself smiling, too. "Well, thanks," He muttered under his breath, and tried to control the blush that was rising up on his face. He lowered his head down towards his plate, and began to eat hurridly so that he could excuse himself before anyone noticed his face.
He didn't eat fast enough, though. From the other end of the table, one of the male Candidates that had been brought in for the next clutch made a whooping noise. "Ooohhh, look, it's the whiterider and the firelizard stealer. Imagine that."
The blush rose deeply on Lamanir's cheeks as he excused himself and walked as compsedly as he could out of the Weyrhall, heading back to his weyr. The blush was replaced by a smile as the Candidate's comment came back to him. "Well," He muttered to Ghenal as the brown landed on his shoulder, "I kinda wish that it was true."
Click on Ghenal for Iraith's hatching!