A/N: Welcome back. Here is the next chapter. Reviews are appreciated and missed when absent.
Disclaimer: The Dragonriders of Pern is a trademark of and copyrighted to Anne McCaffrey and her son Todd McCaffrey. This is fan fiction which garners NO MONEY WHATSOEVER for the author of this fan fiction.
Jonah awoke to a creeling sound and felt like he was starving to death. Suddenly the events of the past day snapped into sharp relief in his mind. He wasn't starving. It was his beloved Ratath. He could feel the hunger pangs through the bond.
"I'll get you something to eat straight away," he told his dragon.
Thank you. I'm so hungry.
Jonah, no, J'nah he reminded himself, grabbed a shirt and a pair of pants. He dressed quickly and led Ratath out of the Weyrling barracks. There were buckets of meat just outside the door.
After Ratath had his fill, the weyrlingmaster said, "Take him down to the lake. There are others there who will show you how to wash and oil him. After that's done let him nap there. Then get your breakfast and report to the east end of the bowl."
Jonah had two bowls of porridge in him when he reported to the east end of the bowl as instructed.
He saw the cows, what were called herd beasts hanging from tripods and felt a bit queasy.
The Weyrlingmaster saw him and smiled. "Looks like you're the first. You come from Earth, do you not?"
J'nah nodded.
"Well, then, this probably won't be very pleasant." He handed J'nah a rather large knife. "Careful, now. That blade is extremely sharp. You will need to cut hunks off of one of those carcasses and put it in one of these buckets. After you have the bucket full, you'll need to take it and one of the empty buckets to the weyrling butcher room, I'll show you where, and cut them into bite sized pieces small enough so Ratath won't choke."
J'nah was looking at the man like he had grown horns. "What? What about food synthesizers?"
"We don't have any of those here, son. You have to butcher the meat he needs, yourself. Or would you rather him starve?"
"No!!" Jonah exclaimed. "I'd do anything for him. But this is barbaric."
The Weyrlingmaster nodded. "Yes it is. But that's the way of things." He reached into a belt pouch and removed a sheath. "Here is the sheath for that knife you are holding. I figured you didn't have a belt knife, seeing as you were not from here. That knife is yours now. This sheath is as well. I'll show you how to attach it to your belt after you have prepared Ratath's next meal. I'll also see you get a sharpening stone and show you how to sharpen it properly." He replaced the sheath in his pouch and said, "Watch closely. I am going to show you how to cut pieces of meat off this carcass."
J'nah's stomach rumbled as he watched the man deftly remove a piece of meat from the cow in question. He then handed the piece to J'nah and said, "Here. Put it in one of your buckets."
J'nah did and heard, "Okay, son, your turn."
J'nah stepped up, took a deep breath and mimicked what the Weyrlingmaster had done.
He dropped the bloody hunk into the bucket with a smile. 'That wasn't so bad,' he told himself. And it's for Ratath. He really would do anything for his dragon.
The Weyrlingmaster nodded. This boy was a quick study. He stood back and watched. Another boy came up, saw what J'nah was doing and nodded. He removed his belt knife, grabbed two buckets and began work.
As they were working, the Pernese boy looked over at J'nah. "I thought you were from Earth," he said.
"I am," J'nah replied not even pausing in his task.
"You're cutting that meat like someone born here."
J'nah gave a quick shrug. "It's for my dragon. I'd do anything for him."
He dropped a last piece in the bucket and eyed it critically. Then he nodded. 'Yes, that should be enough.' He went to pick up the buckets when the Weyrlingmaster stepped up. "Here lad." He showed J'nah how to attach the sheath to his belt. When that was accomplished, he said, "Sheathe your blade and follow me. I'll show you where the weyrling butcher room is."
They arrived at a room with long wooden tables that were sectioned off. "Pick a place to work. It doesn't matter where. First come, first served, around here."
J'nah stepped up to one of the sections on a table and the Weyrlingmaster removed his belt knife, grabbed a hunk of meat and said, "Watch."
He then proceeded to cut the hunk into small bite size pieces. When he was done with that hunk, he said, "You've got to do this with all the meat in that bucket. That's what the empty bucket is for. Carefully examine the ones I've cut. If you think any of them is too big for him, don't hesitate to cut it smaller. I won't be offended. It is for your dragon, after all."
J'nah sat the empty bucket on the table and dropped each morsel into it one by one. He did see a couple that he thought might be a bit too large so he cut them into two, just to be safe. The Weyrlingmaster nodded. He had intentionally left two pieces larger than he thought the little white could swallow, just to test the boy. He was glad he didn't have to stop him from putting those pieces in the 'finished' bucket.
When J'nah was finished cutting up the meat, the 'finished' bucket was two-thirds full. He didn't think there would be enough. He grabbed a cloth hanging from a wire strung over the table, wiped the knife and sheathed it. He then took both buckets and went to cut more meat off a carcass.
The weyrlingmaster nodded. Some of these whelps underestimated how much their dragon would need or want and didn't cut up enough. And thought they knew better than he. He was forever having to order them to cut up more meat. This young man took initiative. Rather than argue, he just went to cut up more meat because he wasn't sure there was enough and he wanted to make sure his dragon had enough. Yes, he would enjoy teaching this whelp.
Marcus Keely dismounted the blue dragon that had conveyed him to Telgar Weyr and went looking for his son.
He checked the weyrling barracks and dining cavern and his son was nowhere to be found. He wandered around a bit till he heard something coming from an enclosed portion of the bowl.
He found a barrier with a double wide door. He went through it and almost lost his lunch. There were young people busily cutting meat off of the carcasses of cows hung on tripods. They were dropping the meat they cut into buckets. He saw the back of one boy and gasped. That was Jonah. Or J'nah as he now styled himself. The boy looked like he had been cutting meat off a carcass his whole life.
"Jonah?" he called.
J'nah looked around and saw his father. "Dad! Wait for me in the dining cavern. I'll be in there in a few minutes."
"What are you doing, Son?" Marcus asked incredulously. "Butchering a cow?"
J'nah nodded. "It's for Ratath. I'll be in the dining cavern in a little bit. Wait there. Unless you want to watch."
The Ambassador shuddered. "I'll be in the dining cavern."
The Ambassador was waiting when his son arrived with two buckets. One heaping full, one empty.
"Come on, Dad. I can't finish processing Ratath's next meal here."
They walked to the weyrling butcher room in silence. When they got there, J'nah picked the nearest available workspace and placed both buckets on the table. He removed his knife and began cutting the meat into bite sized portions.
Marcus Keely stared at his son. Where had he gotten that knife? It was a beautiful piece. Utilitarian but very well made. And the way he was cutting up meat made the man wonder. His son was all business.
"Where did you get that knife, son?"
"The Weyrlingmaster, Dad. He gave it to me after Ratath's second meal."
"I guess he taught you how to carve meat off a cow and cut it up like that too."
J'nah nodded. "I thought it was gross at first, but it's for Ratath. He is so grateful for this food every time I feed it to him."
"But why?" Ambassador Keely asked. "I mean why cut meat off a carcass? Surely there are food synthesizers here."
J'nah shook his head. "Nope. Just in Landing. From what I learned, dragons kill their own meat once they are able to hunt. I always thought the people here were backward, not wanting all the modern conveniences, but I'm beginning to understand why they do things the way they do it. I feel better than I ever have. I suppose impressing Ratath has something to do with it, but I'm sure eating real food, as opposed to synthesized food helps too."
Keely reflected back on the hatching feast. That was some of the best food he had ever tasted. And he hadn't seen a food synthesizer anywhere but in Landing.
Well, Jonah; no, J'nah, he reminded himself, looked happy if a bit tired.
He finished cutting up the meat and said, "I need to get a quick nap before he wakes up. Keeping him in meat, bathed, oiled and myself fed and rested takes all my time. But I wouldn't trade any of this for all the universe."
Keely looked, really looked at his son and saw someone much older. The boy had matured quite a bit in a week. He was much more confident and smiled more than he had before.
They arrived in the weyrling barracks. J'nah clamped a lid on the bucket of morsels and laid down.
"I'll see you in a couple of hours when he wakes up, Dad."
"Rest well, Jo... J'nah," Keely said.
The boy was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. Keely went looking for the Weyrlingmaster.
He found him in the dining cavern.
"You're the Weyrlingmaster, aren't you?"
The man looked at him. "Who wants to know? Wait. I've seen you. You're the Ambassador from the Confederation."
Keely nodded. "Yes. My son was the boy who bonded with the little white dragon."
The man smiled widely. "Congratulations! You must be very proud."
"Well, I was concerned at first, but he seems happy. What more could a parent ask for. He says you gave him a knife. I'd like to reimburse you for it."
The Weyrlingmaster waved that off. "Nonsense. As a dragonrider, he is entitled to anything he needs to feed his dragon. He needed the knife seeing as he didn't have one. And it's just a knife." The man shrugged. "We have a dozen or so just like it in Stores."
"In the Confederation, we pay for what we get."
"And you have paid. You no longer retain guardianship of the boy. He belongs to his dragon and the Weyr now. I think that's more than sufficient to pay for a belt knife."
The Ambassador scratched his head. "Hmmm. It just goes against the grain to take something for free."
"Oh, it's not for free," the Weyrlingmaster said. "Once he and his dragon are trained, they will be expected to earn their keep. We will get much more than the value of a belt knife."
That was true, Keely conceded to himself. "Well, thank you for looking out for him. Even though I know you did it mainly for his dragon."
"There's that," the man nodded. "But we would make sure he was fed and clothed, no matter what."
Keely nodded and went back to the dining cavern and got some food. He set his portable to alert him in two hours.
Two hours later he went back to the weyrling barracks. J'nah and the little white were still sleeping.
He had to admit that the little white dragon, Ratath, was a handsome fellow. And it was obvious he adored his rider.
Of course I love him. He is everything.
Keely looked around but there was no one there. Then he saw the little white had awoken and was looking at him.
"Did you just speak to me, Ratath?"
Yes, that was me. He loves you, you know. You are much in his thoughts.
Keely knew dragons usually only spoke to their riders and other dragons, so he felt honored that this week old hatchling would address him directly; even if it was a bit disconcerting to have a voice just appear in your head.
"Aren't you hungry?"
Yes, but it can wait a little. He is tired. He needs to rest some more. I'll wake him when I can't wait any longer.
Marcus Keely knew at that moment that his son would be fine. This dragon would take care of him and always be there for him. He had thought all hatchlings thought about was their stomachs. But Ratath clearly cared deeply for his son and was even willing to delay a meal so his rider could rest some more.
He reached out to shake J'nah when he heard, You don't have to wake him. I'll do it when I can't wait any longer.
Keely shook his head. "No, you need to eat. He'll get enough rest. I don't want anything to happen to you. You are important to him."
He shook J'nah awake.
""Dad?"
"Your dragon is awake and hungry. You'd better feed him."
"I can't believe he didn't wake me up."
Keely chuckled. "He thought you needed some more rest. He would have."
J'nah's eyes went wide. "He's been talking to you?"
Of course I would speak to the sire of my rider. He is very important to you. So he's important to me. And I am hungry. I could have waited a little longer, but since you are now awake, I really would like some food.
A/N: That's it for this chapter. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.