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Candidate at Falas Weyr
P'mir helped her settle into her shared den, and Tekata kept the silver candle holder and candle that he'd given her, it did come in handy while the eggs were hardening. They had to work hard, the candidates did, things like thread fighting techniques and formations, looking at the stars and memorizing places...
Tekata studied late into the night. The star charts were difficult for her, but eventually she got it into her head to make up patterns that looked like steeds or trees, or a stream... They would make more sense now.
She was more suited to the classes in dragon healing. The volunteers that stood around in the dragon's infirmary were real: the damage done during threadfall was intense. Some of the candidates couldn't handle it, one even fainted at the sight of dragon's blood!
"But how could you handle fainting on a dragon's back, with your mind connected to its, while it is scored..." muttered the rider who stood his ground beside the small blue. The wing sail of the dragon was ripped to a messy end, but it would heal.
"He'll be all right," Tekata said, and her mind soothed the dragon.
Then the call went up -- the hatching was going to occur! Gold Niayith and Bronze Allionith's clutch! Everyone was shuttled down to the hatching sands, where the beautiful queen wouldn't leave the area where her golden egg was resting.
There was another clutch on the sands, too, a green's which might hatch the same time. No one knew!
Excited, Tekata threw on her candidate robe as it was handed to her at the entrance to the sands. She shakingly took her place near the other girls, hoping beyond hope that everything would turn out perfectly.
Of course, everyone else was hoping that too.
The first egg which hatched was a beautiful copper hatchling, starting things off with an unusual color -- that probably made those gamblers up in the stands quite miffed! They'd have been betting on brown or green. A light bronze, then two greens hatched. A green and white hatchling came next, proving that the odd genes found in the Weyr would continue as long as they could.
A white and two browns hatched -- well, the white ALMOST hatched, it was having difficulty, and Tekata could feel its struggle... But she must not help it... That tradition was paining her deeply. How could people stand this? But she realized that not everyone could feel the pain or anger or the hunger...
Someone finally ran to the white and helped it out, as a bronze impressed. A blue and a green impressed brother and sister from the Protectorate, and they both seemed quite happy about it.
It had been raining, and a peal of thunder accompanied a burst of lightning outside. Shaking, some of the candidates almost fainted away. But the queen stood her ground next to her golden egg, and her rider seemed quite miffed about that.
A black shattered his shell, followed by a brown and a green. Then another peal of thunder and a silver and white hatchling came out. She impressed, and then... Then there was only one egg left. There were five girls, and ... one golden egg.
The horror of this all suddenly struck Tekata. That egg was not hers. She just knew it, shortly before the egg bucked open. The hatchling burst through the queen's legs, and slipped behind Tekata and another of the girls, to their great surprise. Yet... Tekata did not know the dragon's name, felt only the anger at the queen for not letting the girls see her, and the queen's great ire at everything and everyone around her.
All was so painfully clear. Like everything was seen under glass. Tekata watched as the dragonling impressed a girl named Laryn, and they were both so happy Tekata could still smile even though it was not her impression.
But moments later, when the pair was off the sands... The feeling of lonliness had overtaken her. Tekata stood numbly on the sands, her hands limp by her sides. She'd gone, and she'd not impressed.
The Weyrleader stood and told the girls left that they could stand again, and Tekata accepted the concilitory pat on the back and was led into the dining hall where everyone else seemed to be celebrating.
Tekata was about to head back to her barrack. But then the weyrleader and several others called out to the disappointed candidates like herself. There were three more eggs! The queen had uncovered them and they were hatching!
Two hatched to show dark and light blues... the four girls left focused their attention on the last egg -- maybe it was green... maybe wasn't good enough. It too hatched blue. The boy he chose was so happy.
Tekata cried fully, now. There was nothing for it. She and the other girls sobbed into each other's shoulders like there was no tomorrow.
The most interesting thing were the winged wolves, of course. They were scattered around, some of them protecting the fire lizard area, some seemed to guide people about.
Oddly, though, Tekata couldn't read them at all -- her mind remained curiously blank when she tried reaching out to contact them mentally. They were so different! Not like the dragons, though. So Tekata found her pleasure in hovering about the infirmary tending to the wounds of dragons.
For almost three years, Tekata remained. Four clutches came and went on the beautiful sands, and Tekata still worked with the injured. She did not really want to go back down to the sands, didn't really want to be faced with the lack of bonding that shattered her for several nights. It was that alone which kept her away.
But now... There was a new baby for the weyrwoman fostered away, and a very queer clutch on the sands. A golden queen was nothing out of the ordinary. But ... a clutch with a gold, sired by a blue? That bore investigation.
So Tekata would go and watch that clutch. She'd see about being there for the hatching, this time. And maybe...
Hah... maybe...
She usually avoided places where the winged wolves rested, but Seneca was still friendly enough to allow her to get near the firelizard eggs which were bred in Falas. There...
When she picked one of the eggs, it hatched almost immediately, and the bronze flitter which lept out of it clung on to first her hand, then shoulder, then her hair, then jumped off onto one of the counters...
"Jumper, that's your name, little guy!" She laughed, the hunger of the bronze flitter saited by a good chunk of fresh meat. Tekata thanked the beautiful winged wolf for allowing her to come in, and bond this tiny wonder.
There were far more candidates than eggs, though. The flutter in Tekata's stomach didn't go away, as the eggs began hatching with a bizarre pair of gold-and-blue dragonets!
'I've never seen anything like those!' Tekata thought. Browns broke shell, beautiful and bold, followed by a pair of greens. Then, blues came from one egg. With a sigh, the greens and odd gold-blues passed her by with their bonded girls. It was hard, and Tekata stood with her feet buried in the hot sand.
Twins kept coming, browns -- three of them, appeared too! Blues arrived and bonded, and more greens... Tekata was ready to drop, ready to run again. The flitter in her stomach was matched by the young bronze Jumper on her shoulder. He chittered and tugged at her ear. He distracted her while other greens and blues came from their shells in pairs and singly.
But then, it looked like the last egg below the dam's wing, Flynnth's last egg... Tekata saw a look from Synde who was obviously chastising her Queen. But Yakima urged Tekata to remain.
The third of the last candidates on the sands -- Tekata and Zulyeva and a girl who'd arrived late were the only unbonded -- took off in tears. The queen had demanded her to go away! How harsh!
Tekata almost felt her emotion -- then she realized that it was more the queen's anger at allowing a girl who wouldn't be among her offspring's chosen to remain near by. But still! That was pretty rude! Shouldn't all the candidates at least get the chance?
But then... It wasn't a chance she wanted, Tekata realized. It was a hatchling that came from the shell with her golden sister. The pair of dragonets strode over to the pair of girls. Eagerly the golds ran up as they gained their legs!
As the other dragoness announced herself to her own bond, the other went right up to Tekata and said, And I am you Shtarikath, Tekata!
With a gasp Tekata cried out, "Shtarikath! At last --" she sobbed into the golden hide, as they rested on the warm sands.
