A New Dawn

- Dragonriders of Pern

When at last all the dragons had found their riders and the remaining Candidates had moved off, the Weyrleader, L'poll, came over to welcome them into the ranks of dragonriders.

He scanned the group with a critical look, eyebrows rising in tell tale surprise when he spotted Tonya and her green. It was rare that a woman would be bonded to a fighting dragon, but there were occasions when there were female green riders.

The queen dragon had eventually stumbled upon a suitable rider; a girl about her own age who was one of the weyrfolk who had been Searched. Her name, Tonya remembered, was Tierre. The dragonet had introduced herself as Pilenth, so Fort Weyr had gained another Weyrwoman.

And speaking of Weyrwomen, Tonya spotted the senior Weyroman, Lily, coming over to stand beside her weyrmate. The senior queen, Adith, followed behind her rider.

"Welcome, Dragonriders," she said, casting a glance at L'poll. She mimicked him in scanning the pairs, dragons and riders together.

Adith asks if we would like to feed, Selirth reported, can I go?

Yes, Tonya thought to her dragon. She turned and saw the other dragonets move after the great dragon as she departed.

The Weyrwoman spoke again. "Would you please follow us and we can begin the first lesson of caring for your dragons," she told them.

Obediently, all 23 children followed the older riders to where a batch of meat had been prepared for the hungry hatchlings. They were shown how to hand feed their dragons and methods of applying oil to flaky or dry skin.

The lesson ended abruptly when the dragonets had eaten their fill and became sleepy. They had all departed to the weyrling barracks to settle the dragons into their new homes, with the exception of Tierre and Pilenth who were assigned one of the vacant Weyrwomen quarters.

Selirth barely reached her assigned quarters before falling into an exhausted sleep. Tonya frowned in concern, thinking to herself if that were normal.

"Don't worry, they'll sleep an awful lot in their first few months," the answer came from behind her. Tonya turned to see F'san standing at the entrance to the female weyrling quarters. As there were only two female weyrlings, one from an older clutch and her, she had plenty of choice as to where to sleep and had picked a place in the corner, hoping for a bit more privacy.

She smiled a greeting to the older dragonrider and curtseyed slightly, as was proper for a dragonrider to do for one of a higher rank. Much to her surprise, F'san merely dismissed the need for such formalities.

"She's a fine young green," F'san continued, by way of making conversation. He reached down to scratch the dragonet's eye ridges then paused, looking up to Tonya for permission.

She gestured for him to continue and watched in amusement as her dragon leaned into the contact, relishing it. F'san seemed equally amused by the young dragon's reaction. Tonya was curious to find out why the other rider had visited but thought better of asking outright, deciding instead to wait until F'san was ready to tell her.

Finally, after indulging himself with several more minutes with the dragonet, he turned to Tonya. "I came to ask if you would like a personal tour of the weyr," he told her.

Confused, Tonya answered politely, "I would be delighted." F'san's apprehensive expression melted into one of relief. Still, Tonya wondered what this was about, as she had already been at the weyr for a while she pretty much knew where everything was.

The bluerider seemed to sense what she was thinking for he smiled and said, "trust me," before turning and leading the way back to the Bowl. Respectfully, Tonya followed, casting a fond glance back to her sleeping dragon as she left.

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Author's Note: Same as with the last two chaps. Thanks guys for all your reviews so far, bye for now!!