Chapter 2

The first candidate in was Carinn, from a small but relatively prosperous timber Hold in Tillek. Her great uncle was the Holder, though she scarcely knew him; her relationship was though her mother, and the girl had spent more of her young life with her father's people, weavercrafters, for her father was senior Journeyman in the small crafthall there.

Carinn had light brown hair and a pleasant face, and her little blue firelizard seemed happy and well cared for: but it was soon apparent that there were certain flaws to her character that made her difficult to live with, without irritation! One of the first things she did was to ask to borrow breast bands because she had 'just forgotten' to pack them. Just forgetting to pack things was soon a standing joke about the less than well organised young girl! What she HAD remembered her firelizard generally rearranged helpfully – or not – and most of Carinn's time was spent searching for this or that essential! That the girl had little idea of the hardships of life many had to face and was inclined to blurt out comments, not intended as ill natured, but sounding unpleasant with the way they came out. This was a bit of a problem as she managed to antagonise half the Weyr by asking – in all innocence! – if Blue Rider H'gey would ever be able to fight Thread or if he'd be as tied as the useless sport out at Sarel's farm she had heard about!

As Warneth, the said sport, looked to Sh'allen, one of the most popular Riders ever, and as most of those who did not know the one time Bronze Rider were friends of H'gey and the Harpers, the bewildered girl had found herself shouted down by many loud voices!

"She IS only thirteen" said Kit.

"At least she means well" said H'gey, who had been one of the few NOT to take offence at her less than tactful comment about him. The rest of the Harperweyr had used every ounce of their Harper training and linguistic attainment to convey how much they disapproved of such comments!

Kit nodded.

"If ONLY she could manage to go more than a few hours without either losing things or opening her mouth and swallowing foot to knee!" she groaned. "I half feel the child needs a keeper; and I'm not sure if being it would be more or less exhausting!"

It was generally felt that it was fortunate that the next girl in was older. Zeya was seventeen turns old, the child of a Vintner at High Reaches Hold itself.

Zeya had her own problems.

Kitiara introduced herself, and the others, for having – as Meliandra put it – the Harper way about her; which was to say two parts charm and three parts sheer gall. Kitiara cheerfully accepted that calumnious description of her craft, and proceeded to employ it. Zeya smiled vaguely and murmured that she hoped she would remember all the names.

Attempts at conversation led not very far; Zeya had no conversation once the weather was exhausted as a topic. She apparently had no views on any subject raised; and did not even seem to like dragons much, though she appeared unafraid of them.

It was Kit's considered opinion that her apparent bravery where dragons were concerned argued instead a disposition too stupid and unimaginative to feel fear!

"Zeya, don't you feel at all that dragons are the most wonderful creatures?" Kit persisted, trying to find SOME passion.

Zeya shrugged.

"They do a job for which we are all duly grateful"

It even sounded like a platitude.

"Why are you here?" asked Kit bluntly "You don't seem to view standing with any enthusiasm."

Zeya sighed.

"I do try to be a dutiful daughter" she said. "My family would so like me to Impress to bring lustre upon the family. I'm not much of a vintner you see; I can't taste the difference between one wine and another, they're the same level of nasty. And my only other option is to marry well; but my parents think I should try here first. I've all the proper skills to be a good wife, but father thinks I should have a more exciting life."

Her lacklustre tone told what she thought of an exciting life.

"Surely it has to be better than being married off without your consent to someone your father deems suitable – though he sounds a decent sort of father to give you the option."

"Oh he's a kind father, no doubt of that" said Zeya "And I'm certain he'd find a kind husband for me, a nice older man who would guide me and take care of me. I hope he will; I'd like to be mistress of my own establishment and have control of my own inventory lists and stores!"

As this was the closest she came to showing any degree of animation, Kit gave up after that.

Some people you could do nothing with; even those who were not unpleasant.

"She's as exciting as wash day" she complained to H'gey!

Jarla sought out Kitiara before any more candidates came in.

"I say, you count as resident here because you have a craft" she said "And I thought us residents ought to kind of hang together in case there's any unpleasantness like there was last time."

"Unpleasantness?" queried Kit.

"Last hatching there was a girl, she was not just first daughter of a rich Holder she was also of the Blood: and she fancied herself big time. Tried to kill our Z'ira to prevent her Impressing Tiabeth!"

Kit gasped!

"That's – that's unbelievable!" she said shocked. "Not that I'm doubting what you say" she added hastily "It's just…that anyone should…. Well, it takes a lot to make a Harper run out of words!"

Jarla nodded.

"We were all shocked, and then some more. I thought H'llon was going to shake her until her brains ran out of her nose; and she was lucky at that 'cos he saved her being mauled by Tiabeth for hurting her Rider – Impression had already taken place, you see!"

"Serve her right!" said Kitiara unsympathetically. "I bet H'llon only saved her so Tiabeth wouldn't have the knowledge of having done it. Eastern Isles?"

Jarla shook her head.

"No, drudgery and Rankless in High Reaches Hold. Nobody wanted her to breed innocent brats on the Eastern Isles."

"There is that" said Kit. "Not the fault of any inevitable offspring. Yes, concerning your initial request, I think that residents should hang together – providing that you're not proposing an us against them thing even if there's no funny business?"

Jarla quickly shook her head.

"Oh no! Only I've also heard of other stuck up girls playing dirty tricks and other candidates combining and pooling firelizards to watch and such. I've not got a lizard, but I've quick ears and I'm handy in a fight. I'm Runnercothold bred and I've scrapped with jockeys since I was knee high to a trundlebug."

"Excellent" said Kit. "I've scrapped with the boys at the Harper Hall, so with Meliandra and Ishelle we should be all good. Ishelle needs protecting."

Jarla nodded.

"She's a 'to avoid' not a 'because'" she said.

"You said what?"

"She's here to avoid; marriage, ill treatment, or whatever. Some people come because: because they love dragons, because they want the status of swanning about dragonback, because they want to serve. I've listened to all the stories; and unless 'to avoids' become 'becauses' quickly, they don't tend to Impress. You need to be positive to attract dragons.

"So if you have a 'because the Weyr is a good place' in the 'to avoid unpleasantness' you start out more positive than if you're 'at least it's someplace other'?" said Kit.

Jarla nodded.

"So I figure; like S'ealle. She came to avoid being grateful any more to her husband's relatives, but also because she wanted her sons to have a better life."

Kit assimilated this, nodding.

"Is that semi official terminology or did you come up with it yourself?"

"I made it up…. I was a bit spoilt and immature when I first got here; it's only been a few months, but I've been watching and trying to learn ever since. And finding out what sort of people dragons like to try to aspire to be one."

"Sounds like you've done a good job – oh sorry, that sounded awfully patronising!" added Kitiara hastily.

Jarla laughed.

"Oh I know there are plenty of marks on YOU Impressing: K'len, who holds all the Weyr bets, was disappointed there wasn't a Queen because he'd have had you on the list."

Kit blushed.

"I don't see that somehow" she said. "And I'm glad there isn't; for I'd not want a Queen. Brieth couldn't catch her and I'd have to wake up with the wrong man every time she rose instead of there only being a small risk of that happening."

"Well you take the concept philosophically enough" said Jarla. "I confess it's one aspect of Impression I'm nervous about; and I've no lover as yet, so I'd have no choice to influence a dragon with – if I did Impress. And you Craftbred too!" she giggled teasingly, for the Craftbred were notoriously prudish.

"Holdbred, strictly speaking" said Kit. "Attitudes of the same kind do prevail in Holds too, but there's no point being unrealistic. H'gey loves me even if – should I Impress – I ended up in dragonlust with another. And as it's supposed to be very good I guess I wouldn't mind at the time even if I regretted if it happened."

Jarla laughed.

"HOW Y'lara shouted at M'kel – or so I heard – when Tanath wasn't flown by Vorth!" she said.

Kit winced.

She had heard of Y'lara's fine seabred temper!

Lord Deckter of Nabol Hold sent a rather diffident message to T'lana, telling her he presumed upon their distant kinship to ask if she would send a Rider capable of checking suitability as he had a couple of female candidates he felt might be the right stuff.

"Deckter's a good man" Meliandra said to the assembled 'residents' as they waited to greet the newcomers. "He has relatives who aren't pushy or stuck up."

"Like you dear" grinned Jarla. "Not to mention J'esha, I'linne, Ipominea and Jaysen. And if you stretch a point, T'lana, Z'linda, L'zayn and Z'nil. It's an impressive list – not just having nice characters, but all who've stood for Impression to date except Jaysen have Impressed. And he's very young and so wrapped up in his music, reckon it'll take a while, if indeed it ever happens."

Meliandra flushed at the compliment.

"I suppose I do actually have some rather decent relations these days."

"Yes, one rotten apple doesn't make the tree bad" said Kitiara, making reference to the relatively new industry of apple growing and cider making in the Nabol region as a suitable simile.

"Did you know" said Meliandra "That the cultivation of orchards was actually started by the Lord Holder who Fax deposed, not by my late and unlamented sire, he being only Fax's steward until he got himself confirmed by right of possession?"

"Heh" said Kit "And that's why all but My Lord Applemaggot are all right. No chance for the Blood to curdle!"

The others laughed, unaware that Kit was herself of the Blood.

Meliandra sighed.

"Alas if that were only true" she said "For a lot of my kin DO throw their weight around because they feel deeply that their claim to the Blood is not old; and they think that people secretly laugh and sneer at them."

"Which of course we do; but only because of their behaviour. So they ask for it by being stupid" said Kit.

"Exactly" said Jarla. "I say, how is it exactly that T'lana is related to Lord Deckter? I never found out. It's not really important, of course, but it would be handy to know if we have any horridly snobbish ones…"

"Being Queenrider supersedes being of the Blood and then some!" said Kit, hotly.

"Yes, but I take her point" said Meliandra. "I believe that Lord Deckter's mother is connected to T'lana's mother in some degree….he calls her cousin, as much of courtesy as anything."

"Does the Weyr worry about birth?" asked Ishelle "I never saw any signs of it before!"

"Shards, no!" said Jarla "It's just nice to be able to deliver ripping good put downs to snobs. The 'we think the way you behave's more important than Blood and so does so-and-so who was born such and such'. You know."

"Erm" said Kit "Will you hold it against me if I reveal I've some Rank to throw at such?"

"HAVE you?" Ishelle was surprised. "No one would ever guess it, for you're really nice!"

Meliandra gave a short, bitter laugh and Ishelle coloured.

"I keep forgetting you're Ranking too, Meliandra" she said. "And anyway, you're so much older than me, I've only got to know you 'cos of Jarla's scheme for us to hang tight."

"She said she thinks you're nice too if a little geriatric" Kit translated, getting an indignant gasp and a poke from Ishelle for the last part!

"What Rank do you carry?" asked Jarla, far too nosy to let the subject drift!

Kit shrugged.

"My grandfather is Lord Groghe" she said nonchalantly "So L'rilly is my cousin. And my mother's actually legitimate too, which is never guaranteed with the proddy old so-and-so." The love and pride in her tone spoke louder than her disrespectful description of her grandsire!

"HAH!" said Jarla "THAT's a full house to any piddley high card anyone else can pull!"

"H'gey used it shamelessly against his Ranking paying students" said Kit "But Meliandra outranks; she's daughter of Lord, and even though he's dead she's legitimate too."

"Sweetie, you may not have noticed, but that technicality doesn't count for many in the light of my dear father's great popularity" said Meliandra sarcastically. "I go as Lord Deckter's cousin thank you; it's less uncomfortable and gets me treated with a degree of respect, not reviled from the word go."

Kit made a rude noise.

"As if you asked to have such a creature for your father!" she said. "And if anyone has any right to comment, it's T'bor – and I bet he doesn't!"

Meliandra gave her a curious, twisted smile.

"No, kiddie, he doesn't" she said. "I've got better kin here than I ever had when I was a Lord Holder's daughter, and I don't just mean my sisters."

"That's the nice thing about High Reaches" said Ishelle "They DO make you feel at home here!"

"Dragon coming in" said Jarla "It's Vorth; reckon that's our new ones; let's see if they want to be made to feel at home!"

Neither Asada nor Seeta wore knots denoting any kind of relationship to Ranking members of either Nabol Hold or any minor Hold beholden to it.

Asada was the older of the two, probably older than Meliandra; and she almost fell off M'kel's Vorth in her eagerness to meet the girls waiting for them.

"Hello!" she said, cheerfully "I'm Asada, and I need to know right away if you're going to despise me for being an ovine herder!"

"Whoh, THAT's a tough job" said Jarla. "Me, I'm a Runnerbeast groom, and I help with other beasts here; so we've beasts in common. And no, we don't care. Kit – Harper. Ishelle – woodcrafter. Meliandra – aide to Queenrider L'rilly. There's two others, Carinn, who's just a kid, and Zeya. They're still settling in." Her smile and the introductions embraced the other girl too, who had approached a little more decorously, despite seeming the younger.

"It's nice that there are other crafters" the new arrival said. Kit judged her in age to be between herself and Meliandra. She introduced herself; "I'm Seeta; I'm a potter. My father's a craftmaster but….it seemed right to come." She had too a little green firelizard that was busy making friends with Kitiara's blue Flute, trilling little greetings at each other.

"Well" said Jarla, who had found out who almost everyone in the Weyr was, an asset in a logicator, "The Weyr potter is Journeyman Iavell. He's a nice chap; he's a logicator. He'l be happy for you to work with him if you want. And he puts some of his spare time fancywork on the Weyr craftstall."

"Yes, I've heard of the logicators" said Seeta. "Lord Deckter is very complimentary; and my father's a great supporter of his – and of the Weyr. I'd be glad to add my efforts to your care for orphans, for I know how lucky I am to have a supportive family and craft. I know how to hustle."

"Excellent!" several of them, pleased, spoke at once.

"I feel relatively useless now!" said Asada. "Do all candidates have their assigned jobs or crafts?"

Meliandra shook her head.

"No, we just have quite an industrious bunch at the moment! And Jarla overstated MY job really; I lie somewhere between aide and drudge, because L'rilly is a good sort and like all Queenriders is perpetually overworked! I do what I can to release her from some of the routine work. Besides, my next sister is married to a cousin if her weyrmate. If you'd like to help with the herds, it'll be gratefully accepted – especially at shearing; because if you should Impress, your dragonet will have stopped being quite so tiring by then!"

Asada brightened.

"Gladly! I hate to be idle!"

"Excellent!" grinned Jarla. "TWO complete antidotes to Prisca!"

"Prisca?" Asada asked.

"She's gone" grinned Jarla. "She featured famously in a drawing by our weyrartist demanding of a dragonet that it brought her klah and breakfast in bed. She's the most horizontal person I ever met, counting baby firelizards and new hatched dragons in that!"

"T'rin wrote a largo about her as a joke" said Kit "And it makes you want to yawn when he plays it!"

The others laughed. They might not know precisely what a largo might be; but the general meaning was clear!

"Good ol' Deckter, he's done us good again!" said the irrepressible Jarla!