Lena, for the last time I do not want to be part of the Flurry, Nocesleth assured her rider. If Redaelth cannot be in it, I don't want to be either.

Why are you so attached to him? Lena demanded. Nothing has or ever will happen between me and Ryff, so nothing could between you and Redaelth!

You and I both know that isn't true, Nocesleth reasoned. Why should I go to Ryslen when I have a mate right here?

"Yes, I'd like to know that too," Ryff asked, striding into Lena's weyr. "What is this Redaelth is telling me about you and Nocesleth heading to Ryslen for the Flurry?"

Lena glared at him. "Nocesleth might have a mate in Redaelth, but the last time we tried being weyrmates I seem to remember a certain greenrider getting in the middle of things."

Ryff tried to put his arm around Lena. Lena shook off his embrace and turned her back. "Oh come on Lena, I was drunk, I thought she was you!"

"Since I am so easy to confuse with tall, long haired red-heads," Lena snapped. "Damn it Ryff, I wish I could love you, I really do. But you make it very hard sometimes."

"Lena, you were never dumb," Ryff sighed. "But to throw away what we had because of one night with one greenrider..."

"Is perfectly reasonable from where I and most women stand," Lena finished for him. "If you want a woman who doesn't care who else her weyrmate beds down with, maybe you should go back to that greenrider."

Lena, stop this. You know you love Ryff. Can't you forgive him? Nocesleth reasoned, though her mental tone was frantic at the thought of losing Redaelth.

If he doesn't care enough to stay with me, I don't care enough to bother with him at all, Lena replied, but the pain her her dragon's voice kept her words from the egde she meant them to have.

Ryff watched as Lena locked wills with her dragon. I don't think even Nocesleth can convince her. I'm sorry Redaelth.

Don't be, Redaelth told his rider. I'm not mad at you. I'm not even mad at Lena or Nocesleth. If I'm mad at anyone, it's myself for not warning you about the greenrider.

So you think I should take him back? Even after what he did? Lena asked, trying not to see the pain in Ryff's face.

Yes. What he did was not right. But it is forgivable, Nocesleth replied.

Nocesleth says Lena is close to forgiving you, Redaelth announced happily.

For Lena, close could still be very far, Ryff reminded him.

Lena finally spoke into the silence that had settled between the two riders as they spoke to their dragons. "Nocesleth thinks I should forgive you."

"So Redaelth tells me," Ryff replied.

"Ryff? Ryff are you in here?" a woman called, and both Lena and Ryff stiffened as they recognized it. The next moment the tall, red-haired greenrider Cenali appeared in the room. She ran straight for Ryff and flung her arms around him before pulling his head down to hers in a passionate kiss.

Lena couldn't bear it. She spun on her heel and began to pull on her riding gear. We are leaving for Ryslen. Now.

Ryff saw her turn and pulled away from Cenali. "Lena! Wait I can explain!"

"Oh, you already gave me an explanation, a very graphic one," Lena snarled. "Get out of my weyr, and take that slut with you."

Ryff grabbed her by the shoulder and spun her to face him. "Listen to me Lena! Nothing has happened after that night! That night was nothing!"

"The night that started your child was nothing?" Cenali demanded.

"My... my what?" Ryff stammered.

"So was that it? You needed another woman to give you a child?" Lena snapped. "Well, you got her, and you got your child. And you have lost me."

Before Ryff could say anything else, Lena was striding out to the ledge where Nocesleth was waiting for her. To Ryslen, she told her dragon. Nocesleth obediently lept from her ledge and winked between.

Ryff couldn't move. He coudln't believe she was gone. Cenali walked up to him and kissed him on the neck. "Now that she's gone, why don't we go back to your weyr for a while?"

"Oh, I will be going back to my weyr. But you will not be joining me. Ever," Ryff snapped and, brushing past her, ran out of Lena's weyr and fled to the safety of his own.

Redaelth was standing on his ledge. If dragons could cry, he would have been. Ryff joined him, leaning against the dark brown for support. I lost them to both of us.

There are other females, the night brown replied stonlily. Perhaps I should get to know Cenali's green.

No. I don't want anything to do with her and I don't want you to have anything to do with her green, Ryff told him. Come on, we're following them.

Ryff, in case you hadn't noticed, I'm not exactly light... Redaelth reminded his rider. What do you think you're going to do? Stop them from being in the flight?

I don't know what I think I'm going to do, Ryff admitted as he pulled on his riding gear. But I'm certainly not going to sit around here at Quinalt while the woman I love and the dragon you love are at Ryslen replacing us.

________________________________________

They all look like perfectly nice dragons to me, Lena assured her dragon as she looked over the flight board, recognizing a few of the names of the males.

Perfectly nice, but not Redaelth, Nocesleth sighed. Sorry. I'll stop sulking. Yes, any of them would be worthy mates. Sign me up.

"Lena please don't!" Lena dropped the pen out of suprise at the sound of Ryff's voice. Ryff had to duck to get through the doorway into the room but that barely slowed him down. He pulled Lena into his arms and before she could make any objections silenced her with a kiss.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Lena exclaimed as soon as her mouth was free to talk. "And would you please put me down?"

Ryff grinned and set Lena gently down on the ground. "I'm here to keep you from doing something very stupid."

Lena raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What am I doing that is so stupid?"

"Signing up for the Flurry," Ryff told her. "Why sign Nocesleth up for the Flurry when she already has a mate?"

Lena bristled. "She doesn't have a mate. That is why we are going to be in the Flurry. To find one."

"Lena, why are you doing this? I love you!" Ryff demanded, fighting back tears he felt threatening to fall.

"I love you too," Lena replied, equally struggling against tears. "But you should have thought of that before you had your little one night stand with Cenali."

Lena picked up the pen and wrote Nocesleth's name and information on the board. "Goodbye Ryff," she said, and then strode out into the weyrbowl.

Ryff stood their for a moment, just staring at what Lena had written. "Trouble with your weyrmate?" a man asked.

"Ex-weyrmate, I think," Ryff replied with a sigh and a half smile at the black haired man. "Sometimes I just don't get women."

The man gave him a warm smile in return. "Any man who thinks he does is a fool. I ride a green and even she confuses me sometimes. I'm Anel'inh, rider of night green Roczath."

"Merry meet. I'm Ryff, rider of night brown Redaelth," Ryff introduced himself in reply, sizing up the other man as they shook hands. Ryff didn't exactly have a liking or disliking of the sort of men Anel'inh had just told him he was. To each his own, Ryff had always figured. But this man had something... something that made Ryff ask, "I thought I saw Roczath's name on the flight board."

Anel'inh grimaced. "Unfortunately for me, yes, you did. Just be glad that you only have to deal with females, not be bonded to one."

"Does she... does she need any more chasers?" Ryff asked haltingly, not sure what this meant but not really caring either. Even if Redaelth didn't catch Roczath, it would be giving Lena a taste of her own medicine.

Anel'inh arched an eyebrow. "She does, actually. I didn't think I'd get many brownriders in her flight, though. Not male ones, anyway."

Ryff shrugged and offered him a half smile. "Well I figure as long as Redaelth and I are here we might as well stick around and have a little fun," he heard himself say.

Anel'inh smiled. "Well I'll look forward to seeing you whenever Roczath deins to rise. If you'd like to come by my weyr and get better acquainted sometime before..." he let the invitation trail off.

"Or maybe just meet over dinner," Ryff suggested.

The greenrider shrugged, though his eyes told Ryff he'd prefer the first. "Whichever. Good day, Ryff."

Do you have any idea what you're getting yourself into? Redaelth asked as Ryff signed him up for Roczath's flight.

Absolutely none, Ryff replied cheerfully.

Redaelth is chasing night green Roczath @ Ryslen Weyr