Hey, Batter-Batter, Swing!

34.07.27, StarRise Weyr

The day was bright and sunny. That was no surprise. Most days at StarRise Weyr were bright and sunny. Leania was about to toss a cloud over all the shiny hopes that the senior weyrlings harbored for the beginning of the sevenday. She didn't particularly enjoy punishing them, but after yesterday's rope drills she couldn't see that she had much of a choice. All but two of the senior class were 'dead.' Those two were 'injured' to the point that their dragons would never fly again – if it had been Thread and not chalked ropes that had gotten them.

She just didn't understand it. The reports for most of the classes since StarRise had reopened had been worrying. Individually the weyrlings were doing well. As a group? They stank. Firestone ash smelled better. These kids just could not seem to work together. If they didn't get past their solo tendencies, they wouldn't be graduating. She couldn't risk turning them loose in the fighting wings when their solitary mindset would get themselves and their wingmates killed.

So while the morning breeze blew cool off the ocean, Leania paced in front of the combined classes. Her morning inspection preceded the assignment of chores and lessons, and the weyrlings waited with acceptable stillness for her to be done. Yes, some things they had learned well. 'Most of them,' she amended, sending a sharp glance knifing at one fidgeting bluerider. She didn't really care if they could stand statue still for half a candlemark – but it did show whether or not they were learning discipline.

"Good morning, weyrlings and dragons!" she finally said, pitching her voice to reach them all. She always included the dragons in her greetings, good-byes, and instructions. Too many people, including dragonriders, disregarded a dragon's intelligence. Leania didn't. Dragons had very poor memories. That didn't mean they were dumb animals.

"Good morning, Weyrlingmaster Leania!" The response rumbled forth, one great voice that had many tones and layers. Leania refrained from smiling; she'd never let the children know how much that sound thrilled her heart.

"I've had several requests for permission to attend the Horizon Hold gather day after tomorrow," Leania said, coming to a stop in front of the weyrlings and clasping her hands behind her back in a sort of relaxed parade rest. She could almost feel a vast sucking as the weyrlings caught and held their breath. "Permission denied." A moment of stunned silence was broken by a handful of aborted protests. "Several of you haven't learned to go between yet, so you should have known better than to ask. Those of you who have learned how to go between… think about yesterday's drill and you'll know the reason why you're staying home."

Leania looked at each of those weyrlings, holding their gaze until she was sure they knew that yes, she was speaking directly to them. "Training will be conducted that day as usual. Today's assignments are posted. You have a quarter candlemark to check the post and report to your assigned area."

Leania nodded to her assistants as the weyrlings converged on the assignment board, then sauntered off to the far end of the training grounds to wait for her class to gather for the day's lesson.

34.08.01, Horizon Hold

Lyonith circled over Horizon Hold for the third time before Leania asked him to land. The big brown had no problems staying in the air. It was his natural element, and no dragon Leania knew ever complained about being asked to fly too much. When Leania was busy with duties that didn't require him, Lyonith frequently spent the time in the air, flying around the Weyr.

The hold was certainly decorated fit for a grand celebration, and the day was perfect. The sea was a white-tipped deep blue, and the hold was surrounded by summer-green and gold. The stone of the hold itself almost glimmered under the sunlight. Yes, a perfect day for a gather. Thank Faranth her weyrlings were forbidden to come. Ancestors alone knew what trouble they'd get into and Leania really wanted this day off. Several of her weyrlings, bitter at being denied permission to attend the gather, had decided to get even. They were now scrubbing down the dragon infirmary under Weyrdragonhealer Lushin's supervision. He'd been pleased to have the extra help.

Lyonith's landing was light and graceful; it brought a smile to Leania's face as he settled on the ground. Lyonith wasn't given to showing off for anyone but the two of them. If the weyrlings and weyrfolk knew all the fancy flying tricks they could do, they'd be stunned. Most of those tricks were learned at a time when Leania's own Weyrlingmaster would have scorched their hides black for doing them, but skills once learned shouldn't be forgotten.

Leania quickly slid down Lyonith's shoulder and strode around to stand in front of him. He lowered his head until his nose pressed low against her stomach. Leania's smile gentled and she leaned against the hard, broad bridge of his face. The warm, spicy fragrance of dragon, accented with the sandalwood scented oil she used on him, surrounded her in a soothing cloud. Her own perfume was faintly citrusy, blending pleasantly with the dragon-scent that saturated everything in her life.

I will sun with the others, Lyonith told her after a long moment.

"All right," Leania sighed, straightening up and quickly shedding her heavy riding jacket. It would be safe enough hooked to the harness. "Call me – "

-if I need you, Lyonith finished affectionately. He nudged her away. I won't, but I will, he promised as she stepped clear of his wings and he launched himself.

Leania watched him until he reached the top of the cliff where at least a score of other dragons were already sunning themselves. She almost wanted to join them up there. Dragons were, generally speaking, soothing to be around. They didn't talk back, or if they did, she didn't have to hear it. After listening to children and young adults gripe and complain all day, every day, silence was a welcome thing indeed.

Instead, she turned and walked off the landing field and onto the road leading into the hold proper. A steady stream of people were already on that road, and she joined them, one person among many. Those closest to her could easily read her rank cords if they wanted to, but she had no intention of drawing more attention to herself than her white hair and young face would garner on their own. She was trying not to be Weyrlingmaster today.

Good luck with that, Lyonith whispered teasingly. Leania bit her lip to stop the grin that twitched her lips in response. Her brown did know her well!

Just beyond the entrance, vendors sold maps to the hold, with the location of stalls, performing stages, and major events marked on them. Other vendors sold small hold flags, cheap portraits of the Bloodline of the hold, and other 'souvenirs' for the day. Leania ignored them and strolled on into the hold. She'd been to enough Horizon Hold gathers now that she knew the general layout of everything. She was just as uninterested in flags and pictures.

'I should have brought someone with me,' Leania thought as she browsed over the tanner's booth. 'Attending these things alone is boring.' She picked up an oversized, heavily padded, and oddly shaped glove and looked at the tanner manning the booth with one eyebrow arched.

"It's a baseball glove, ma'am," he said, taking it from her and pulling it over his left hand. "If you use your right hand, you wear it on your left. You use it to catch the ball, and you throw the ball with your right."

"Fascinating," Leania drawled. "What ball?"

The tanner blinked at her, then grinned broadly. "Never seen baseball, have you, dragonrider?"

"No, I haven't. What's baseball?"

"Better than telling you about it, why don't you watch the game? They've got one starting in just a few minutes, out near the racetracks." The tanner's grin widened. "If you're a betting woman, lay some marks on the Horizon Hurricanes," he advised with a wink. "Home team."

Leania had no idea what a 'home team' was, but she did know that her curiosity was roused. She thanked the tanner and headed for the racetracks.

"STRIKE!"

"That's not a strike! Are you blind? Open your eyes, ump!" Talin's voice mixed with the rest of the spectators as they either cheered the umpire's call or cursed him for being an ignorant, sun-blinded wher. Indigo Hold had a reputation to maintain, and it was their team the umpire had just called a strike on.

"If it wasn't a strike, what was it?"

"A ball," Talin said absently, a frown turning his pleasant face grim.

"What's a ball?"

That one basic, simple question was enough to briefly divert Talin's attention from the batter. He wasn't doing much at the moment – just kicking at the dirt to set his feet just so. He glanced at the source of the dark, almost smoky voice that was asking the questions. The woman's odd appearance made the temporary diversion a bit more lengthy. Silver-white hair cascaded in silken strands around a face that had no business being beneath hair that color. She was young, at least no older than he was, and her clear, violet gaze met his steadily. Her golden-toned skinned contrasted exotically with the white hair.

"What's a ball?" she repeated, arching one slim eyebrow, the dark voice edged with a hint of sharpness.

"What?"

She sighed and his gazed automatically dropped to the bodice of her gown. The gown was neither prudish nor daring, but tailored to flatter her attributes. Talin appreciated the packaging. The rich, dark violet of the cloth went well with her unusual coloration. The silver and gold embroidery around the square neckline –

"Eyes up, holder," that smoky voice intruded.

Talin chuckled, not in the least embarrassed. "If you didn't want men to look, woman, you shouldn't have chosen a dress with that neckline." He obediently lifted his gaze and grinned unrepentantly at her. "Nice dress."

"Thank you," she responded drily. "I'll pass your compliments to the seamstress. Are you going to answer the question?"

Talin had to think a moment, then remembered what she'd asked to begin with. "A ball. Well, it's when the pitcher throws the ball at the batter, but it's outside the strike zone. Since the batter didn't swing, it's not a strike."

She nodded slowly. "Then why did the armored fellow call it a strike?"

"Because he's blind, or bribed." Talin glowered at the umpire again. He looked at the woman again. "I'm Talin, from Indigo Hold."

"Holder Talin," the silver-haired woman nodded. He was surprised. He hadn't given his rank, and he'd left his cords at home. Indigo wasn't so large that his name was that well known to anyone other than his nearest neighbors, his holders, and his Lord. "I'm Leania, brown Lyonith's rider, from StarRise."

Well, that would explain her recognizing the name! Talin eyed her again, trying to imagine this lithe, exotically pretty woman as a dragonrider. He couldn't do it. And a brownrider? Those were rare. "It's a pleasure to meet you, brownrider."

She snorted, a smile tilting at the corner's of her mouth. "No it's not. It's a distraction. However, since you're being kind enough to answer my questions, I'm going to continue distracting you." She pointed a slim finger towards the field. "Explain this game to me. I might have a use for it."

"Why don't you tell me what you know already, and I'll pick up where your own knowledge ends?"

Leania looked at him steadily, then her small smile grew into a larger one. "It's called baseball. Players wear leather gloves that seem unwieldy. They're supposed to hit a little white ball with that stick they call a bat."

Talin waited, but she didn't say anything else. "That's it? That's all you know?"

"This must be a Northern thing. I've never heard of baseball until today," she admitted with a shrug. "It looks like a team sport."

"Oh, it is," Talin agreed fervently. "It definitely is! If the players on each team don't work together, they'll lose. No one position is more important than another. See the guy out there?" She turned her head to follow the direction indicated by his pointing finger. "He's the centerfielder. Now, it looks like he's out there just to check on how well the grass is growing. It's easy to get bored out there. However, he's the last chance opportunity to catch a ball if it looks like it's going to be a home run."

Leania looked at him, and that eyebrow rose again. "Home run?"

"Hm." Talin paused and considered. Explaining baseball to someone as uninformed as the dragonrider was could be a challenge, especially if she expected it to be simple. Baseball was not simple. "I'll make a deal with you, Leania. If you promise to join me for the rest of the day, I'll tell you all about baseball." It certainly wouldn't hurt his standing to be seen with a beautiful woman from the Weyr, that was sure. If dragonrider women were as friendly as it was rumored, this could end up being a very entertaining gather for him.

Not to mention he could probably persuade her to give him a ride home so he wouldn't have to hunt down his watchrider.

"Men. You're all as transparent as water," she retorted. "But you have a deal. You answer all my questions about baseball until I have a complete understanding of the game, and I'll spend the day with you."

"Done, then," Talin said promptly. "That," he added, pointing to the man who had been standing on second base and who'd abruptly taken off as soon as the ball left the pitcher's hand, raising his voice to be heard over the shouts coming from the watchers around them, "is called stealing. He started running as soon as the pitcher threw the ball; he didn't wait for the batter to hit."

"I thought the point was for him to run to the next base."

"It is," Talin agreed. "But not before the batter hits the ball. If the ball fouls, he'd have to stay on his current base."

"Instinct, and trust."

Talin frowned and looked at her. "Well, yes, a player needs to have a good instinct for when to steal and when to wait. But trust?"

Leania nodded firmly. "Trust. Doesn't he have to trust his team mate to not hit the ball straight for him?"

Talin laughed. "Well, yes, I suppose so."

Leania grinned. "Go on, Holder Talin. Tell me more. Keep telling me more. You have no idea just how interested I am."

Talin shook his head, but turned back to the field. "There are nine positions to be played: pitcher, catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders…"

It was late when Leania dropped Talin off at Indigo Hold. She was kind; she didn't laugh in Talin's face when she turned down his offer to stay the night. The Holder had been an enjoyable companion and had suffered through her endless questions with good humor. He repeated the positions, the rules, and the goals of baseball to her as many times as she demanded it, and finally, as the torches were guttering in their stands, offered to have his team demonstrate the game to her any time she wanted, as many times as she wanted, if she'd just let him know when so he could make arrangements.

Leania had done better than that. She'd offered to bring him and his team to the Weyr to give demonstrations. He'd stared at her for a long moment, then gave a bark of laughter and made the deal. He obviously thought she'd have a problem finding the riders to bring the team in. Leania, fortunately, never had that problem. She had all the passenger dragons she needed, whenever she needed them.

You had a good time? Lyonith asked as he emerged from between over StarRise.

"I had an excellent time, love of mine," Leania said cheerfully.

Lyonith bugled at the watchdragon and deftly glided through the Weyr Bowl to his weyr. You feel relaxed.

"I am. If I didn't have training early tomorrow morning, I would be even more relaxed. Talin's a nice man." He also knew a lot about baseball, or seemed to. Maybe she'd give him a short tour of the Weyr when she brought him in with his team. A very short tour. "I think he's given me the solution to the little problem we've been having with the weyrlings."

That's good. Lyonith settled on the ground and paused long enough for Leania to undo her riding straps and slide down his shoulder. Which problem in particular? There are so many.

Leania's smile was sharp as she turned the glow outside her weyr and carried it inside, lighting the spacious room. "The problem of teamwork. These children will learn to work together as a team, or I'll find a new use for those bats." She yawned and stretched, then turned and unharnessed her brown. "Get some sleep, Lyonith. Tomorrow's going to be busy."