Ryff shifted uncomfortably as he stood and watched the rest of the Candidates file in. His robe was about a foot - handspan, he reminded himself - too short and was definetly made for someone smaller. He crossed his arms impatiently and heard a sharp rip as the fabric tore. "Oh, crap."

Lena, whose robe fit as if it had been made for her, chuckled. "Awe, did Ryffie tear his robe? He's a big boy now, isn't he?"

Ryff glared at her and tried to pinch the tear together. "Why do they make all the robes so tiny? Most people aren't tiny."

"Most people aren't six foot three," Lena reminded him. "That's one of the biggest robes they have."

"They could have made a bigger one," Ryff grumped.

"To use just once or twice?" Lena scoffed. "You crazy?"

Ryff didn't reply because the last of the Candidates had filed in and the eggs were beginning to rock. Looking around him, Ryff noticed that some of the Candidates looked scared. What was there to be scared of?

The largest egg gave a violent shudder and the dark green mother of the clutch left the sands and joined her mate on one of the many ledges.

Trying to remember what he had been told in the candidate classes, Ryff concentrated his energies on the shaking egg. Peices of shell began to fall off and Ryff concentrated harder on the dragon inside.

The last peice of egg fell away, revealing a well sized night brown. Ryff watched in amazement as the handsome little dragon took one step, then another, and another in his direction. They were strong, bold steps for a hatchling. Ryff nodded his approval and stepped forward a bit as the night brown continued towards him.

I can feel the strength in you, Ryff. You will go far, I know; but together we will go further, a voice that was like a younger version of his own told him. Ryff looked into the gently whirling eyes of the night brown and couldn't help but smile.

"Wings and Flame, Redaelth! What we can do! Together with Lena and..." Ryff exclaimed, and then stopped and looked at Lena, still standing alone on the Sands. Lena just shrugged and offered
a grin of congratulations.

Redaelth nudged his rider gently in the direction of the kitchens. Her time will come.

Ryff nodded and cast one last glance at Lena. I won't leave you alone here, he promised her in his mind and in his expression before turning away and following Redaelth off the Sands.

Lena watched them leave, feeling more alone than ever. Another dragon Impressed, reminding her that she should turn her attentions back to the Hatching. Dragon after dragon found their riders, but none even glanced her way. After what seemed only a few minutes, it was all over, and she was being marched back off the Sands with the remaining sixteen candidates.

________________________________________

An hour or so before Adernyth's Hatching feast should have started, those same sixteen and one more, Lena included, were marched onto the Sands once again. Ryff and Redaelth were seated with the other new weyrlings and Lena cast a hopeful smile at them as she passed by.

Once again, she was passed by. Eight magnificent dragons Hatched and Impressed, none of them even giving her a glance. There were others in her situation, she reminded herself sternly, and there were two more clutches on the sands as well as two dragons who had yet to clutch. Surely in four clutches there had to be a dragon for her.

Lena went to the combined Hatching feast for both clutches to congratulate her former fellow candidates and to properly meet Ryff's little brown but did not linger. She snuck back to the barracks as soon as manners allowed. She told herself she shouldn't mope but having been turned down twice in one day she thought she deserved at least a little time alone.

No sooner had she lain down on her cot than there was a knock on the door. Wondering why people would not just leave her alone, Lena told whoever it was to come in.

It was Ryff who stepped in, ducking to fit through the doorway. Redaelth was behind him, looking very proud of himself. "Hey, you dissapeared on me," Ryff scolded.

"Well, I tried to, anyway," Lena grumbled.

"I didn't want you to be alone in your misery," Ryff told her, "so I brought you this." He pulled a firelizard egg out of his jacket along with a wrapped meat roll.

Lena sat up and watched as the egg gave a shudder in Ryff's hand. "I don't want a firelizard."

The egg gave another shudder and Ryff shoved it, along with the meatroll, into her hands. "Too bad. It's yours and it's Hatching."

Before Lena could get rid of the egg, it shattered and she found herself with a gold firelizard firelizard sprawled over her hands. She creeled her hunger and then slid off Lena's hands in Search of food. Redaelth nudged the meatroll in her direction and the little gold hummed her happiness. She quickly devoured the meatroll and then turned adoring eyes on Lena.

Lena automatically reached out and scratched her eye ridges. Why she had not wanted this adorable creature a moment ago completely escaped her.

The gold decided she had had enough of the scratching and jerked her head away, gazing defiantly up at Lena, who smiled back. "She's a fiery little lady."

"What're you going to name her?" Ryff asked.

Lena chuckled to herself. There was no question. "Elle," she replied. "Definetely Elle."

________________________________________

All too soon after Standing for Adernyth's and then Ainchisth's clutch, Lena dragged the familiar white robe over her head and followed the other Candidates out to the Sands. There were now eleven Candidates most having stood as many or more times as Lena had. And there were only six eggs.

Lena's eyes met Ryff's breifly as she walked across the Sands, not minding the heat so much this third time, and watched the eggs. She felt no nervousness - she doubted she would Impress. If dragons from two other clutches had not found her acceptable, why would any from this clutch?

The Hatching began with the entrance of a green, who didn't even flick her tail Lena's way. Lena ignored her, wishing she could be back in the barracks with Elle, who had decided to sleep through the Hatching. A blue followed the green and Impressed just as smoothly as his sister to the second fox-shifter who had been Standing.

Ryff chewed the inside of his cheek anxiously as the fourth dragon, a light blue, quickly found his rider without paying Lena - or any of the others besides his chosen - any attention. But it was Lena's stance and manner that worried Ryff the most. For the first time since he'd known her, she looked defeated. Resigned to fate, something she'd fought all her life. Damn it, she was Searched! he exploded mentally.

She will Impress when her dragon finds her, Redaelth chided his rider gently. Perhaps even this next egg.

Lena was watching Ryff, frowning at his expression. He looked... angry? She felt something like anger begin to boil up. Was he too good for her now? Was he angry with her for not Impressing? His expression softened and he smiled and nodded, probably in response to something Redaelth had said.

A suprised murmur from the crowd brought Lena's attention back to the Hatching. The dragon stepping cautiously from the shards of her egg was the most beautiful of any of the creatures Lena had seen. She was a delicate purple in the front, fading to a pearly lavendar and then white towards her hind legs. Though she knew this beauty belonged to someone else, Lena couldn't help but admire her.

Not much suprised Lena any more. Suprise, she had found quickly, was a terrible weakness and a moment of suprise could mean death. It was suprise, however, that caused her heart to forget how to beat for a few moments as the light purple headed towards her. Lena watched, eyes wide, though she knew that at any moment the dragon would probably turn away for her true rider.

But that moment never came. The light purple kept coming and finally stopped at Lena's feet, gazing lovingly up into her rider's eyes. "I told you!" Ryff shouted, not minding that the eyes of the crowd were glued to him.

Lena looked up at him, tears welling up in eyes that had been trained to stop crying. The light purple at her feet followed her gaze and hummed her approval. So that's Ryff...

Lena's eyes widened as she looked down at her dragon. "Nocesleth?" she asked, trying to keep the wonder out of her voice but failing miserably.

Nocesleth beamed up at her rider. You were thinking about him...

Lena beamed back. It's hard not to sometimes, she replied, not quite sure what she meant but knowing it was the right thing to say.

Nocesleth cocked her head for a moment, as confused as her rider. Then she shrugged, gave Lena a darling little half-grin, and moved on. I think we'll understand when we're older.

Lena couldn't help a chuckle. Hopefully, she replied, allowing her eyes to linger one last moment on Ryff's face before turning all her attentions to her dragon, who was terribly hungry.

________________________________________

Lena stayed the entire Hatching Feast and for quite some time afterwards, Nocesleth asleep under the watchful eye of a very indignat yet proud Elle. The little queen had been insulted at first but that hadn't lasted more than five minutes. When Lena left the weyrling barracks, Elle was perched on top of the slumbering Nocesleth, hissing at anyone or anything who dared get within ten handspans of the hatchling.

As the cook was throwing out the remaining feasters and Lena was heading off to the girl's side of the weyrling barracks, someone grabbed her arm and swung her around.

"What do you think the overseers would say if they could see us now?" Ryff asked as he caught her and pulled her into a warm embrace which suprised both Lena and himself.

"Probably be begging for us not to let our dragons eat them," Lena chuckled, pulling away slightly.

Ryff grinned and let her go. "If I didn't think they'd taste bad, I'd probably let Redaelth have at them."

Lena nodded her agreement and a tense silence settled between them. "So... what now?" Lena asked.

"Well, we're both riders, so I suppose just raisng our dragons," Ryff replied shakily, knowing that was not the answer Lena was looking for.

"I meant what are we now," Lena repeated. "I mean, I never really thought about it before, but I guess I've always kind of hoped that maybe after the Factories were gone and the Workers were free..." she let her voice trail off and offered him a hopeless smile.

Ryff sighed. "I really don't know," he answered truthfully. "And... well... I just don't know. But we can't really be anything until Redaelth and Nocesleth are older..."

Lena nodded, slightly relieved by the knowledge. "Yeah."

"And I guess we can deal with it then, huh?" Ryff continued, though he almost wished they could deal with it right then and there.

Lena's answer was a quick peck on the cheek before she fled for the safety of the weyrling barracks.