And not one of them looked to her. True, there were more candidates than eggs. But... It stung. To have been taken on that ride all the way to the sands, and nothing.
For a day or more, Avery, like some of the other candidates who had not impressed, sulked in her shared weyr. It was now shared with someone new, since both their prior room mates had impressed at the clutch with the Light-dragons.
"I didn't want one anyway..." moaned the girl. "I didn't think I would impress, and look at me now. Sitting here with you, not impressed."
"Hey," Avery said, sharply, "don't drag me into it. Dragons choose." She sighed, pulled her legs toward herself, and nestled her chin on her knees. "They just didn't choose us."
There was a long pause, half-filled with a sob from the other girl. Avery wondered why she'd been cornered into rooming with someone at all. Back at Alabaster, she'd been given a small private room and all.
Her thoughts moved toward her life at Alabaster and what she would say to the Lord Holder. What *could* she say? She was unimpressed, after being told she had a place here at Ryslen.
What kind of place now? She was consoled, as were all the other unimpressed young people, with the fact that there was soon to be another clutch layed on the sands, and they would be standing for that one next. Until they were unable to impress any more.
Or until they could take it no longer.
She visited the sands when the weyrling classes were allowed. She diligently studied, and obviously surprised some of the weyrling trainers with her expertise at catching and sorting firestones, and the like. Having grown up around the professionals at Alabaster Weyrhold, of course, taught her an ease about learning. It was just something you were expected to do.
Not like some Holds she'd been to. There, the education was either expensive or shoddy, depending on the attitude toward Harpers. She spoke -- unusually much -- about it to people. When Avery realized that she was babbling to people she would have considered strangers mere sevendays before, she shut up again.
When the sands seemed... bulkier than they had been before, Avery held back when the class was dismissed. She knew that getting caught at the sands would get her punished, but she intended neither to get caught nor to shirk her punishment if she were caught.
Though it was first announced that there were only about eight eggs on the sands, typical for a green, that was accepted. But then half a day later, and the green took credit for fifteen... Even Avery wondered what had happened. She was expert at listening to rumors and whispers in the halls, drudges spoke of this and that, while weyrlingmaster D'lrik was given to ponder aloud in his sleep. (Don't ask, don't tell!) Something was different about this clutch.
Avery looked over the eggs. Some of them were large, very large in fact. A second green must have flown, and laid, but... Didn't that usually mean the eggs would be abandoned? Not at so many weyrs, which encouraged their flameless greens to particpate in breeding before becoming fighting members of wings. So... Who? Who were the parents of the other bunch of eggs at this clutch?
Without being able to read dragons minds, Avery slunk off to her weyr -- now her own lonely weyr -- and wondered.
***
She wondered until a hot, humid day broke into storms and rain, and the clutch was announced as hatching! As the sun began to set, the rains came closer to the weyr, but the hatching had already started. The first to come was a fine brown, typical of a green-brown's clutch! And a good sign, even with greens laying. It was unlikely to have any other shades than their own.
The blue which came next was large and healthy, too. This would be a good clutch, and Avery stood near the back, watching everything with her eerie eyes. She saw as a blue came breaking out of his shell. But he wasn't just blue, he was... black, too. Like...
Like the light-dragons. This was a ... a dark-dragon! A black blue... The next was a black and green dragoness, and Avery's heart soared. This clutch had obviously been paired with Naoth's because no one would believe it! First whites and then darks... how wonderful!
Another brown dragon from Naoth's lay, then a green obviously from it as well. Sxoith, the watch dragoness, a green, was joined by the rich black Faloritoth from the Protectorate, obviously the dam and sire of this half of the clutch. Naoth was being rather pissy about letting them share the sands with her! She was a very fine mother indeed!
The next to impress was a brown from Naoth's clutch, then a blue. A black-blue followed. Then, a large egg hatched with a smaller than average dragon inside. As large as a blue, yet his hide was rich brown and black at the end. He slipped out of his shell and slunk toward the wall of candidates, and Avery suddenly knew.
"Zujirth," she said, stopping the night-brown in his tracks before the others could get near him.
That is I. I am yours. Teach me. You have so much to teach me. And I will make you proud.
Avery, I like that sound. What is it you are doing?
Suddenly, the sound caught in the thief's throat. But it burst out again briefly when she bespoke the dragon.
It is a laugh, my love. And I know you like it. But it will be rare...
Like me?
Like you. I rarely have things to laugh about.
But you and I are flying, and soon we will flame. I will love that. My clutchmates do not know how to fly yet, do they?
"Nope," yelled Avery, "and they'd best learn quick! You're going to be the sleekest, fastest, most incredible dragon in the world -- and you're mine!"
Their gather was marred by death. But it was more than that. A dragon had actually asked the impossible. Had asked that his rider be killed... To spare people more pain in the future. And what was more incredible? That this dragon was still alive and resting up in the Protectorate's isle.
"Well, they're an odd bunch. And so are we," Avery said. She rubbed the deep dark skin of her bond, and he leaned gently into her hand.
I would never want to lose you, Avery.
"Nor I you, Zujirth."
I think I will miss it here. And you will too, won't you. Admit it?
Avery sighed. She hated to think, that her two turns spent in this bright, loud weyr had been some of the finest days of her life. She met some great people, and she avoided others. But not once did she shirk her duty as a rider.
Zujirth and she flew just behind the wing third of their temporary wing, while they fought Thread. It was exciting, daring... Dangerous in a way that Avery knew well.
I will not be scored, my friend. I cannot see behind me, is there Thread?
"Nope, it's clear, we got it all. Now... Threadfall ends!" The dragons whooped and their riders gave weary cheers. Then, it was time for Avery and Zujirth to depart. Though they were exhausted from their work in the air, Avery's things had already been transported to Alabaster, her home.
At last, comfortable in their new marble digs, Avery introduced her night-brown dragon to her Lord Holder, Engell, who appeared quite appreciative to have such a fine brown-black on his side.
Gold and Black Striped Pallienth, bonded to Fortune
Blackest Brown Oiharauth, bonded to Orion
Opal Rainbow Kunapipith, bonded to Chris of Earth
They are now participating in the Cross Gender Frenzy, and hope to have a great flight!
