The dining cavern appeared to be unusually crowded for an evening when nothing of importance was happening. Salah paused for a moment as she gazed around her, wondering if she'd missed something that had been announced earlier that day.
'Tith's rider requested everyone be in the dining hall at the dusk candlemark.' Kraykth supplied.
'And you didn't tell me this because...? I'm a sharding Goldrider what if I hadn't come!' Salah sent back along their mental link, irritation sparking in it.
'You would have. I knew, I brought you. You never miss a meal.' Kraykth's response was slick and smug, content that her jibe had hit its mark when Salah's escalating emotions reached her.
'And neither do you, barrel.' The nickname was fond, despite the icy way in which it was said.
Salah continued to make her way through the hall, stopping off to greet some riders on her way to the high table.
"Ah, Salah! We wondered where you were. V'hau is not with you?" The Weyrwoman's voice was smooth and warm, just as her hands were as they grasped her arms from the side.
"No Weyrwoman, should he be?" Her lips pursed into a hard line, brown eyes staring the Weyrwoman down despite having to look up at the tall, willowy woman.
Priscilla saw the sharpness in her eyes and dismissed it with a wave of her hand, gently steering Salah to her seat. "Of course not, it was simply an enquiry. Now Salah, I wanted to talk to you sooner, but fate would have it you be as hard to find as a firelizard clutch. I have decided it is time for me to retire as the Weyrwoman of High Reaches." Here Priscilla paused, her eyes searching the fellow Goldrider's face for a reaction. Horror rippled across Salah's face, causing Priscilla to flinch somewhat. "Salah, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, nothing Weyrwoman." Salah spoke quickly and stumbled slightly, her knuckles white as she grasped the edge of the table with all the strength she could muster.
'Kraykth! Kraykth you're not due to-'
No. The Gold' s chiming voice soothed Salah somewhat, though the tension and anxiety that buzzed along their mental link didn't cease.
"Salah, my sources tell me that Kraykth isn't due to rise for a while now. Sarkth however, appears to be soon to rise." Priscilla continued to watch Salah, carefully gauging her responses, wary of the rider's apparently strong emotions.
"Mirale? She's barely out of her weyrling training!" Salah protested, more out of logic than desire. Inside her heart was skipping beats, as her mind warred with the potential consequences. An extremely young rider pair could lead an entire Weyr, or herself and Kraykth could, a pair who quite simply, had not a care for the politics of a Weyr.
"Yes, I understand that. Would you like to take my place then?" Priscilla chose her words well, as Salah's face was drained of its emotion, fear flashing over it momentarily before she regained composure.
"N-not exactly, Weyrwoman." Her eyes dropped from the woman before her, staring idly at her plate for a moment before they began to rove around the room.
"As I thought. I'm sure you remember the words said about yourself as a weyrling having Impressed dear Kraykth, " Salah's eyes halted, staring furiously at a drudge making his way around a table of rowdy male riders. "I understand that Weyr politics and the duties of a Weyrwoman aren't exactly your cup of klah, and as such I must out all my faith in Mirale. Of course I shall be guiding her every step of the way, and I wish I could stay in my place for a few more Turns but... Tith isn't going to rise to mate again, she's confirmed that and we pushed it long enough waiting nine turns since her last clutch."
Salah relaxed, shifting her gaze away from the drudge who was beginning to glance around uneasily. "I see. I will out my faith in Mirale as well. Hopefully Sarkth will catch well."
"Mm." Priscilla murmured her agreement, turning to the Weyrleader beside her to continue their previous conversation.
With a sigh, Salah picked up her fork, absentmindedly stirring the food on her plate about, a whole mix of emotions swirling about in the depths of her belly. It felt like dozens of candlemarks had passed before the Weyrwoman rose, her arms held out wide in a command for silence. Food barely touched, Salah turned her gaze up to her, but not before stealing a glance at Mirale, who wriggled in excited anticipation.
'Why are you worried?'
'Because the other weyrs won't like this. They'll mutter that Priscilla should have waited for you to rise.' The mixture of feelings running through her body spilled onto the mental link, and a sharp dragon bark was heard outside, though perhaps Salah was hearing it through their bond.
Stop worrying. Tith's rider knows what she's doing. The other Weyrs will not realize for some time. Kraykth had a point Salah mused, the Weyrs were autonomous, and very rarely stuck their noses into each other's business. As such, it could even be turns before they realized a young woman of only twenty-one was leading the weyr. She shook her head to rouse herself from her thoughts, glancing around the room as she tried to grasp where Priscilla was up to in her speech.
"-time then, for myself and Tith to step down from our leading position in the Weyr. Whoever rises next out of Kraykth and Sarkth, will take my place. I shall guide them until they are confident to lead on their own, and will always be there for a consult. That is all." The Weyrwoman seated herself, turning to talk to Y'don, choosing to ignore the whispers that were flying around the dining hall. Salah stood, food left on her plate uncharacteristically, and approached Mirale, holding out her hand.
"May the best woman and dragon win?" False mirth fell out of her mouth with her words, her eyes barely masking the dread she felt welling up inside. The young woman stared up at Salah from her seat, honey coloured hair falling back from her face as she shook her head lightly. A smile cracked her face open wide, the fleeting confusion at Salah's words having left her face. Reaching out she grabbed her forearm in the typical dragonrider fashion, blue eyes dancing. "Indeed! Good luck."
Salah held back a snort, only an inexperienced rider wouldn't realise that luck had nothing to do with it. She forced a weak smile out before letting go of the woman's arm, turning on her heel and striding out.
It wasn't till the cooling night air hit her face that Salah gasped, and realized she had been holding her breath for most of the walk out into the weyrbowl. Kraykth roared in anxiety, swooping down to land dangerously close to her rider, loping forward awkwardly and pushing her snout into her rider forcefully. Stumbling backwards Salah landed on the ground with a thud, and sat there for a moment before she burst into tears.
'Salah! Are you hurt? Oh I didn't hurt you did I?' Kraykth continued to push her nose into her rider, snuffling about to trying and find any injury she might have inflicted.
Salah shoved her head away with a bit more force than she intended, growling as she did so. "No I'm not hurt you sharding buffoon!"
'Buffoon?' Kraykth stopped stock still, satisfied that her rider hadn't been hurt by her, as curiosity filtered along their bond.
"Uh... silly person." Salah explained weakly.
'I am no person! And I am not silly either! What if you were hurt?' Kraykth lifted her great head to stare down at her rider with yellow eyes, her soft voice indignant.
"Well then a silly dragon. You're silly for thinking I was hurt when you should have felt that I wasn't." Her brown eyes glared up at the Gold dragon, though her voice betrayed the relief she felt at her dragon's concern.
'What if you were hurt where I can't always feel?' The Gold continued to stare at Salah, clearly pointing out her habit at locking her harmful emotions away from the dragon.
Salah sighed, resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to win this argument. Reaching out to the dragon she grumbled when the Gold didn't move from her disapproving pose. Standing up she dusted herself down, before walking around to Kraykth's side.
"I think it's time we retired."
'But I will still rise!' Kraykth protested, misunderstanding her rider's choice of words.
"No no, no. I meant that it's time we returned to out beds and slept." Salah swiftly mounted her dragon, managing to wipe her face of the damp tears that still lingered there. Kraykth pushed off from the ground, beating her wings furiously to rise into the sky before she turned and made her way over to their weyr. Landing gently on the ledge she crouched to allow her rider to dismount before she slunk into the outer weyr and curled up to sleep.
Salah ran her hands gently over the golden hide, admiring her work from earlier that day. Sighing contentedly she pushed her way past the hanging separating the outer and inner weyrs and made her way to her bed. Stripping down her clothes swiftly she almost literally dove into the pile of furs, wrapping herself in their softness and wriggling until she found a comfortable niche. Sleep then claimed her exhausted mind, all the worries of her day slipping away into the black.