Back to Kalkin's Page
On to the NEXT flight he's participating in!
"Don't call me that, love," the tall, old man replied. "Please? Very few people know my name and I'd like to keep it that way..."
Raanatani rolled her big green eyes and snuggled up to her slender companion. "But if I don't call you that, our daughter's name doesn't make any sense..." She grinned.
Kalkin sighed and decided to let her have her way. That was the easiest thing, anyway, since the woman had that way with both her fosterling charges, as well as any man she would meet. He fluffed his fingers through her voluminous curled hair, and kissed her forehead.
"Feelings are good, love," Tani reminded him.
"But from Sixth any feeling still hurts a lot." He tapped his forehead and winced when Sixth gave another unconscious apology for his actions.
After all this time, rider mine, I am so sorry. Can you forgive me?
"I'll forgive you when you start using our speech again, Sixth," Kalkin grunted.
"Everyone else should be so lucky..." Kalkin breathed. "But the reason I am here at all, is to ask why he is sending me these odd things."
The white, was the small dragon's response.
"The white." Kalkin repeated, holding back the headache he knew he would get later. "What about it? The white what?"
The white dragon, Kalkin, she's going to rise soon and I wish to be with her when she does.
That was very nearly too much for the man's sensitive and bruised brain to handle.
He leaned heavily on Raanatani, and she sensed that he would best be put on a soft chair. There was no such thing in the hollowed out hillside where Sixth was kept. So Tani carefully placed her hand around Kalkin's waist, and began walking him closer to the cothold. Sixth followed, uneasily.
He let off a series of whoops and quiet noises, very complex. Speech, between the rider and the dragon. Tani shook her head and wondered what Kalkin had heard, since all she got out of it was a slightly deaf ear.
"I will be fine, Sixth, you know I will be... When have you seen this white? Where?... Tell Tani, will you?" Kalkin pleaded, and the dragon complied with his desire. Into 'Master' Mother Raanatani's mind, the dragon beamed thoughts.
I have seen her flying, when I go out and exersize. She is small, like me, only her skin is the color of ... that white stuff you people like so much that comes out of your tasty bovines.
"Milk?" Asked Tani, and Kalkin immediately wondered what had been said.
Milk! That is it! Her wings are wide and she flies with the style of any golden queen! Mother Tani, please tell him I must fly her! I have ... never! We have never been near anyone who would allow it! A tiny blue like myself would never have a chance with even a small Gold, and all the greens we know ... are not friendly to me...
"Oh, that's a shame!" Tani said.
Now that his head was only throbbing mildly, Kalkin gave the woman a look of curiosity, and she explained word for word what the dragon had told her.
Kalkin looked away slowly, a sort of bemused worry on his face. "That... rather explains a lot about my behavior lately..."
Tani snorted a laugh. "Oh, you've been rather randy too?"
"Have I ever been known not to be?" He grinned back at her.
I must fly her, Sixth boldly bespoke. She is at Seasparkul weyr, and that is not far from here. It borders the Protectorate.
With a wince, Kalkin reached to his small dragon's neck and scratched it. "All right, all right... I suppose... I must be there as well, is that right?"
"A dragon without a rider would be very unseemly, Kalkin," Tani scolded him.
"I am not a rider, Raanatani," he reminded her, "I am a healer. Who happens to have Impressed a tiny dragon."
Then you will be proud of me and see me fly her! Sixth happily bespoke and then took to the air with a fierce joy.
"Engell, he must rise. You forget that just because he looks like a weyrling does not mean that he is a weyrling. Sixth is..." Kalkin raised his eyebrows when he realized, "more than ten turns old now. And he has never risen in a flight, purely because he has not been around greens who have allowed it. It is, I must add, remarkably frustrating."
"Is that why you act the way you do around the women of my Weyrhold?" Engell shot back. Then, his stance and eyes softened. "Kalkin, there will be a disaster if this little dragon of yours actually does fly this white. And a white!" He said with an amount of disgust, "Aren't they supposed to be sickly, weak things?"
"Apparently not this one," Kalkin said, hazarding a look into Engell's light blue eyes. "He might not be able to do it anyway, Engell, there will surely be competition. From faster, larger blues. Perhaps even browns."
With that, Engell sighed and sat back down. He'd come from his seat in a fury, but realized that Kalkin was only asking because his dragon was so desperate to participate.
"This will... tax my resources for keeping the dragon -- and you -- a secret, Kalkin. Remember that."
"I will not forget, you will not allow it. I..." he sighed, "I will owe you greatly for it if you could keep it more secret."
"If he does fly her that story will change," Engell warned. "If he does... I cannot possibly keep people from asking about it. And you. And what will we tell them then?"
Kalkin looked to the floor, the ceiling, and then back at his Lord Holder. "Tell them the truth, Engell. I am quite tired of lying."
He turned to leave, and went to go find a good place to tell Sixth that they were going to Seasparkul.
Blue Samath, who had come from another weyr for Satineths flight, bugled loudly and the newly matured Blue Charismath looked about not knowing what to do.
As Creamith took flight after poshly looking over her suitors, another blue appeared. It was VERY, VERY small and there was no rider in sight. Everyone was too caught in the mating throes to notice the absence of a rider.
Charismath was not experienced enough in flights. He was not confident enough and quickly landed on the ground with his head bowed. Samath was close behind her but Creamith veered away. She bugled loudly in triumph but suddenly the tiny blue had her gripped tight! She struggled only a little then gave up and drifted to the ground. The crowd dispersed as Creamith and Sixth landed, and Omona was seen leaving with a man at least 40 Turns. But nobody suspected that this was the rider..
Kalkin blinked at the rough-hewn celing of the weyr, and wondered why his head didn't hurt. Sixth had been absolutely exhultant when he'd flown Creamith. It was tremendous relief that he had won, Kalkin wasn't sure how he would have taken loss.
He looked at the young woman laying beside him, grinning softly in her sleep. He had no idea what time of day or night it could be, after the brief but startlingly satisfying flight he could hardly tell his own thoughts from Sixth's.
"There will be hell to pay for this," he whispered to himself, "but I will stay here until this is over..."
Visit Omona's weyr by clicking on Clutch 1 at Seasparkul Weyr! Also view the hatching of Creamith and Sixth's clutch there as well! Both can be found in the 'Records' page!
Next page!
