Chapter 10
As the humming started early in the morning, Kitiara sat bolt upright in bed, turned faintly green, and took a large bit out of her sweet yeastpastry flavoured with cinnamon.
"I wish Brieth were big enough to fly you across" said H'gey as she scrambled into her white Impression tunic. It still had a faint stain of blood on one shoulder; it must have been Z'ira's last time! Kit took that as a good sign.
She kissed H'gey.
"T'arla's taking me" she said "F'lim and E'ledur are taking the boys between them."
E'ledur was not strictly speaking one of the Harperweyr, but as cousin to Lyseder and nephew of Allessa counted as an honorary member, as well as being F'lim's friend and clutchmate.
The sands of the hatching cavern were hot; and Kit grinned as ladies minced in their thin slippers. It was a point of honour that the candidates ignored the discomfort to their own bare feet, and however much one might wish to keep moving there was a certain principle in appearing unspeakably brave. The other girls were all about her, a dozen in all counting herself – a DOZEN?
Kit counted again. Twice.
There should have been eleven of them.
She peered at faces.
The lowered head with the secret smile….
"Mayana, you IMP!" she whispered.
Mayana grinned a little defiantly.
"If there's no dragon for me there's no dragon for me" she said "but I am of age and more. And I'm ready. And if I Impress they can't UNImpress me."
"Have you viewed the eggs?"
The younger girl nodded.
"I asked Daenilth if I might" she said.
Kit shrugged.
"If Daenilth let you she's got nothing against you standing" she said. "Keep your head down and stay in the middle of us."
Mayana beamed.
"THANKS Kitiara!" she said "I half wondered if you'd tell on me."
"I think if you feel ready you are" said Kitiara "And the eggs have had a chance to feel you; unfair on them to withdraw you."
Mayana grinned. Kitiara understood!
It was always considered a good sign when a Bronze hatched first; and the Weyr was buoyed up when the little creature stumbled right into the arms of weyrbred Belor, his little brown firelizard trilling encouragement!
Flute sat on Kitiara's shoulder also giving little trills of excitement.
Suddenly eggs were cracking all around; Kit noted a Brown for Darel, and the largest Green in the clutch falling into Tyasha's – T'asha's – arms. The little creature had no gold sheen, Kit did not think; perhaps she was just like Leviath, larger than average. A Brown like Firrianth would however have no trouble flying her!
Beside her Mayana – M'yana – was giggling into the neck of a dragonet saying,
"We showed them – we SHOWED them, Olveth, I KNEW you were waiting for me!"
There would be consternation amongst the child's relations of course; and someone like T'rin would smooth it over and get the child out of trouble by pointig out how much less embarrassing than having Impression in the tiers. It would not be High Reaches without some drama!
Some more drama was happening to Kit's left.
A dragonet seemed to be having trouble breaking out of its shell, the small green claw seeming somehow deformed.
Jarla heaved a sigh of irritation.
"I know I'm not supposed to help you, Ailyth, but what choice have I?"
"None at all" muttered Kit "If she already knows the dragonet's name she's Impressed already and so I will testify if anyone murmurs. Why, I believe the little creature has only three claws to each foot like some of the early carvings at Fort Hold!"
Kit was so intent on worrying about her friend's breaking of Ailyth's shell she was taken by surprise by the nudge in the small of her back.
She turned around; and knew that Idrith was so very hungry that it gnawed at her own guts!
"Oh darling, we must get out of here and feed you!" she gulped.
"You weren't facing me" said Idrith.
"It was silly of me, wasn't it?" murmured Kit. "I'll always be here for you from now on! I'll always take care of you!"
Together they stumbled with the others to where R'gar and older weyrlings were handing out meat, coats and felt slippers, for it was still cold!
"K'iara" said R'gar "Well done. Once again we have girls who could have ridden Queens choosing to Impress Greens to give them a chance to ride and serve; and we at High Reaches appreciate it."
Kit – K'iara – blinked.
"Who could have ridden a Queen?" she asked.
"You; M'iandra and T'asha" said R'gar."along with plenty of those who have Impressed in earlier clutches. Unfortunately there aren't enough Queen eggs to go round; I for one think this is a good solution."
K'iara assimilated this.
"I guess so" she said. "I don't want to be a Queenrider in any case; Brieth couldn't fly a Queen. Dragons know what they're about I guess."
R'gar smiled.
"They do indeed, K'iara; they do indeed. And if we let them, they make us ecstatically happy."
T'lana's theory that dragons could sense Between time to Impress with a candidate to cause the most happiness was not to be dismissed out of hand!
Once the ravening hunger of young dragonets had been assuaged, and the newly Impressed had had the chance to sleep it all off, they could start to find out who their clutchmates were.
K'iara was startled to find that all but two of the girls had Impressed, even diffident Ishelle. Sh'elle, as she had been dubbed, was a different girl in the light of the love of her beloved Dyanth!
It was no surprise that Zeya had nor Impressed; and the girl was eager to get back home. Carinn was bitterly disappointed and shed many tears to be without a dragon friend.
K'iara sought the little girl out, head buried in her bedclothes in the candidates' barracks.
"Carinn" she said "It doesn't mean you WON'T Impress you know. You're still very young for your age as well as very young in turns. Stay on and learn to grow up; we'll all help you, and stay your friends, you know!"
Carinn's tear stained face emerged.
"That Dwissom said I'd never Impress 'cos I'd only lose a dragon on the way back to the caverns and certainly if I ever went Between" she sobbed.
"DID he" said K'iara grimly. "I didn't see HIM with a dragon either."
Carinn gave a hiccoughing sob,
"He didn't Impress either; but he said his egg hasn't been shelled."
"My dear child – sorry, didn't mean to sound that patronising – Carinn, it's far more likely that YOUR egg isn't shelled than him being in waiting for one! You're a heedless little piece but you're a good hearted kiddie. Chin up; if Dwissom lasts his three goes without pissing off someone badly enough that he gets thrown out, I'll muck out Idrith with my tongue!"
Carinn managed a weak giggle.
"I'm the only girl who didn't" she said dolefully. "'Cos you can't count Zeya. And even one who wasn't on the list Impressed. And she's half a turn younger than me."
"And has been walking sweep any time the last three turns" said K'iara. "It develops a sense of responsibility you know. Cheer up kid – you'll get there! And you can help us all with our dragonets in the meantime for practice!"
"Oooh….may I really?"
"Certainly, speaking for myself. Though I can't say any girl with sense would turn down a spare pair of hands from time to time!" laughed K'iara "C'mon – meet our dragonets."
Carinn nodded and scrubbed up quickly, giving her tearstained face a desultory wipe on a grubby drying cloth.
She'd get dirtier helping with the dragonets, reflected K'iara.
For the girls the added bonus was the Impression of B'rint to Blue Bazlith; the boy had adopted all his sister's friends as honorary sisters, and if the older ones thought him merely rather sweet, the younger ones found him encouragingly protective!
The Harperweyr too had done well; all three of its new apprentices were now Impressed, T'gar to Brown Tancluwth; C'nar to Blue Naith; and even little K'bet to Blue Wyeth, to his sister's pride! K'bit was walking on air; music AND a dragon; it was almost more than he could take in!
"Though it puts paid to him training with Master Shonagar" grumbled T'rin.
"H'llon's pet logicator Holmes recorded himself playing a fiddle" said L'gal "Get H'llon to invent the device and play it to Master Shonagar. I guarantee he'll come here hotfoot for a few sevendays, inconvenience or no, to get K'bit started."
T'rin grinned.
"Elementary, my dear L'gal" he said.
L'gal cuffed him amicably.
If R'gar had laid marks on his choices for Brown and Bronze riders he would have cleaned up, as T'lana said.
As well as B'lor, T'lon and C'lon, once Tarlon and Callon, were Bronze Riders; the Browns were the brothers D'rel and Sh'mon, K'et – a surprise to both his mother and his Blue Rider father who did not think the boy would even Impress – C'oss and of course T'gar.
Nobody who had been watching them was surprised that Sh'ret Impressed a Green and his lover T'mo a Blue; any more than anyone was surprised that Stoffer was amongst the unImpressed.
Stoffer seemed quite unconcerned.
He seemed happy in his own little world whittling on offcuts of wood H'llon had found for him. What his creations were meant to be was not really apparent; he seemed to be emphasising and enhancing the grain. Still, the abstract shapes that emerged under his knife were pleasing enough; and, losing interest once they were finished, the boy was glad to take a few marks for those who felt his strange sculptures would enhance their weyrs.
At least he was causing no trouble.
H'llon said to T'bor,
"We can't send him into the rest of society. He's not capable of dealing with it. He's got as many needs as our various cripples if you ask me. If he tries to deal with ordinary folk he'll get into trouble and end up Holdless and that will kill him. He's mostly harmless – except to himself" H'llon had patched up the boy's various cuts, none of which seemed to teach him a thing " – and he doesn't seem to care. I say we keep him and treat him like he's away with the firelizards."
T'bor nodded.
"You've housed him near your woodhall, have you? I hate to ask you to be responsible for him…."
"I asked Elissa's parents if they'd foster him; they agreed. I CAN'T be responsible for him. I have my apprentices to put first, T'bor. But I'll keep half an eye on him; I hope that will do."
"Oh yes, certainly" said T'bor in heartfelt tones of thanks; for half an eye from H'llon was worth more than another promising to take responsibility!
All in all it had been a good hatching; the only dramas had been minor, and if many of the Blue Riders were, by R'gar's standards, a little mediocre, the higher colours and the women at least lived up to his hopes and expectations!
And K'iara was deliriously happy that Idrith and Brieth would one day be together as she and H'gey were!