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Glinde had come from Ryslen to drop off some supplies with the healers at Talor Cliff Weyr. Being that East Rock Territory borders on hthe lands which Talor Cliff’s Wings cover, it was essential that they had good trade between them – be it goods, services, or candidates.
While Glinde was busy, Nantryth helped herself to a drink of water. She admired her cheetah-spots in the water, then looked across the lake at a Weyrling.
Glinde! There is a green here who is more than a little gray!
The stunt-green said."What do you mean, Nantryth?" Glinde said, looking out the window
She is NOT well.
Nantryth insisted."I can see that, Nan." Glinde said, and excused herself from the healers. The long-legged girl ran down the stairs, out into the bowl, and across the sandy flat to where Nantryth was, without having to stop for breath.
"Shattered Shells!" Glinde exclaimed, seeing the sorry state of the green. Obviously she’d dragged herself out to the shoreline from the senior Weyrlings barracks, but her rider was nowhere to be seen. "Whose dragon is this?" Glinde demanded. The standers-by didn’t answer. "Where is your rider?" she asked the green.
She won’t say.
Nantryth relayed, her eyes whirling yellow flecks in distress. Her rider is with some blue’s rider. She hasn’t seen him in days.Glinde winced. Not Naming strangers was one thing, but not Naming your rider? Ouch. "Which blue?"
One of the youngest weyrlings. She refuses to say more.
Nantryth passed on. Glinde rolled up her sleeves and approached the green."What’s your name, dollface?" Glinde asked, rubbing her hands across the green’s sickly grey-shaded hide.
Nuikath.
Nantryth informed her rider, still upset over the state of the green.Glinde examined the green, then turned and snapped at the bystanders. "GO find Nuikath’s rider, and bring him here. He’s with some weyrling bluerider. Bring that rider too. AND the blue." They hesitated. Nantryth whirled on them, roaring. They moved. Glinde’s dragonhealer knots may mean nothing to those dimglows, but an angry dragon was not to be fooled with.
Nuikath’s stomach was distended from unchecked gorging, her delicate hide was peeling and was on the verge of splitting rather painfully from lack of scrubbing and oil, and her tail was rather painfully thickened.
Nuikath’s rider is here. And the blue and his rider.
Nantryth informed Glinde. The Dragonhealer stood up and looked over the green’s back. Her rider went pale."Glinde! Uh..." G’leyr began, panicking. "About the betrothal..."
"Shuttup G’leyr!" Glinde snapped harshly. "I don’t give a flying wher’s egg about our destroyed betrothal. I’m not here about that. Why in the name of the Great Golden Queen did you let YOUR DRAGON get THIS BAD?" Glinde caught a glimpse of the ragged blue tagging behind the other rider. "And YOU!? Shells!"
Now it was T’zir’s turn to get pale. If it hadn’t been for Ilyboth’s constant hatchling hunger and growing hide making him annoyingly attention demanding, he’d be in almost worse shape than Nuikath.
One of the spectators began chattering "You think that’s bad? You should see their couches. Shoulder high in..." Glinde turned and gave the speaker a look. He quickly closed his mouth and went away. The other lookers-on quickly found somewhere else to be.
Talor Cliff’s Weyrlingmaster came upon them moments later. The string of profanity that followed would not be repeated by any, and probably would have been enough to make Stoic W’ren blush. "Thank you, Dragonhealer Glinde. I’ll take it from here." He said, and Glinde nodded. She knew full well how this man worked - she had dealt with Im’mel enough to know the products of his work.
"Oh, and Glinde? You were betrothed to this greenrider?"
"Aye, Weyrlingmaster. But that was long ago, and before he turned up Green." Glinde said, swinging up between Nantryth’s neckridges.
"I see." The man said, and turned to deal with G’leyr and T’zir and their unhealthy dragons.
"Just call us back if you need us." Glinde said. "We’re only a jump Between away."
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