Chapter 12

The lack of space in the female barracks and total lack of privacy was another shock to Silaya; as was the question posed by the woman already in there, whose poise and assurance spoke of being older than Silaya, even had she not worn senior staff knots.

Nadeena asked,

"Jess, what was that unseemly and ill-bred screeching out there?"

Jessenia shrugged.

"Silaya here had a misunderstanding over J'ton's status and ours," she said.

"Oh, I see," said Nadeena, surveying Silaya.

Silaya squirmed uncomfortably, horribly afraid that this assured-looking woman – who was VERY like the senior Weyrwoman – did understand, only too well!

oOoOo

Male candidates too were coming in, thick and fast, and Jessenia was concerned about her little brother. All their family were petite, her grandfather hardly more than shoulder high to G'narish, himself short for a dragonrider; though Fordel had a presence that made his stature seem much larger! Jessenia herself reached to the breastbone of most of the Riders here, and was small boned with it, and Roban was hardly any taller. She went to see V'sheran.

"How do you deal with bullies, sir?" she asked abruptly.

He surveyed her thoughtfully, his light, bright blue eyes piercing in his tanned face.

"We do as R'gar advised me at High Reaches; which is to watch, and do nothing, unless there is a real safety issue. Can you tell me why that is, Jess?"

Jessenia thought.

"To make people hardy, to stand on their own feet? But some can't, not without help, not without HOPE!"

"And that's where we do intervene – if we have to. This policy also sorts out the Bronze and Brown Riders from the pack – those that stand up for themselves and look out for others too, and organise their fellows against bullies. Don't worry about your brother; he's no quitter. He'll sort out any problems he has and be ashamed to ask for help unless it's for another."

"Should – was I wrong to ask?" said Jessenia.

"No. You KNOW your brother is a fighter; the comment about those who need help and hope was not about him. I wager you were thinking of Leealla," said the Weyrlingmaster.

Jessenia nodded.

"Yes, I was; and she's learned that she has backing. I see; people need their peer group to give them backing or it's just being babied. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome, Jessenia. I'm always here for your concerns – for any weyrling's concerns."

oOoOo

The arrival of a flurry of new girls left Jessenia too busy to worry about her brother for a while! Youngest was Geetta, still a couple of turns older than Jessenia, the daughter of a Journeyman Harper, and, as the girl explained laughing, a sad disappointment in being unable to carry a tune in a sack. Laughter gave animation to a rather plain, sallow face; the girl's crowning glory being a mane of chestnut hair. She had some Harper talents, for she could tell the simplest story with a skill that held the listener; but she seemed rather over romantic for Jessenia's tastes, asking with a sigh if any of the others expected to be swept off their feet by some handsome Brown or Bronze Rider.

Since the nearest Jessenia had come to being swept off her feet was Blue Rider A'tar's frank comment that he would welcome a Green Rider girlfriend, she just giggled.

"Too young for that!" she said, "better to make friends of some Riders and see if anything comes of it in the future! And don't be too pushy, or they'll think you're easy, like Silaya."

Silaya had coo'd almost aggressively at several Bronze Riders and at handsome J'ton; and had got nowhere.

At the other end of the age group of newcomers was a young woman from Keroon, named Falinn. She was a pretty enough young woman with white-blonde hair and blue eyes, who had managed to avoid tanning her pale skin to give an overall appearance of paleness. It was spoiled by a patch of eczema on her cheeks, and Jessenia wondered if she avoided the sun because that made it worse. At twenty four turns she thought she would be running the other girls; and was dismayed to find that her ideas of how things should be done were ignored as Jessenia, Carya and Leealla turned to Nadeena to ask politely if she felt this newcomer had any right to butt in. Nadeena suggested that the best policy for newcomers was to watch, and learn.

Falinn and Silaya were quietly at loggerheads; Falinn ticked off Silaya for behaving like a loving wench at the Riders, and Silaya told Falinn that she had no interest in the opinions of the low born.

"No more on the subject," said Nadeena, crisply, "I'm bored already. Falinn, it is Silaya's business if she wants to behave like a loving wench and none of yours; Silaya, birth is utterly immaterial as all candidates have to EARN themselves rank in the Weyr by Impressing; save those who have Crafter knots or specific duties, as Jessenia has Rank as physical trainer to the girls."

That silenced both of them!

Tragarra and Lineta arrived almost together; Tragarra craftbred in a small woodcrafter hall, but not herself an apprentice; and Lineta was Holdbred from Southern Telgar.

That Tragarra made a hobby of mischief making and was not entirely truthful was made apparent when she first tried telling rather embroidered tales to Nadeena of Silaya's insults. Silaya was surprised to find her 'enemies' Jessenia and Carya backing up her side, which happened to be true, over the newcomer. Tragarra got a brief and pithy lecture on exaggeration!

Lineta kept herself to herself; she seemed to scorn making friends, but as she plainly loved dragons, Jessenia, Carya and Leealla reserved judgement. Their opinion of Lineta did drop when Carya asked if Lineta was going to stand for the chance of a Green and was rebuffed with the brusque reply that decent girls only stood for Queen eggs.

Jessenia fought her temper.

"Well I'm sorry that you feel that our Headwoman is not decent to want the chance to be closer to her Weyrmate; whose Brown Dragon would not have a chance at a Queen," said the acrobat, tartly.

"What do you mean?" asked Lineta.

"Nadeena is standing for a Green just for the love of her Weyrmate," said Jessenia. "She's the twin sister to the Weyrwoman, you know: and I for one don't like your attitude."

Lineta flushed.

"I'm sorry," she muttered. "I – I didn't know. That – that's rather a lovely story, I hope she does Impress. I – I guess I might have misunderstood all motives."

"Plenty of us don't think we should aspire to hope for a Golden Queen; but still want to share with a dragon, and do our duty fighting Thread," said Jessenia. "I know that outsiders might be swayed by the frequent mating flights of Green dragons; but it doesn't follow that a girl who wants to ride a Green is after sex; merely that we accept that side of Impressing as inevitable and to be endured."

Lineta nodded rather stiffly.

"Is it an either/or choice?" she asked.

Jessenia shook her head.

"All candidates will view the Queen egg; those who wish to view the other eggs in the hopes of a Green if they are not chosen by the Queen may do so," she said; which information she had obtained from V'sheren.

Lineta nodded again, thoughtfully.

"Then I – I might view the other eggs, if Igen Weyr backs its Green Riders and puts right those who think them…promiscuous."

Jessenia snorted.

"To date, the only promiscuous candidate has stated that she is the ONLY possible candidate for the Queen egg," she said dismissively.

"Oh, Silaya… yes, she already has a reputation," said Lineta, "she's said to have half the young Bloods in her Hold on a string. She's related to Lord Larad as it's one of his relations who Holds Southern Telgar Hold and she'll make much of it being a major Hold. I bet though she's a minor branch of the family. I'm from a Hold down river, you see, so I know her. She sees herself as a second Kylara."

"I hope not," said Jessenia, "Look what happened to Kylara!"

oOoOo

It was after this batch of arrivals had settled in that V'sheren decided to institute formal chores and exercises.

Silaya refused point blank to bag firestone.

"Weyrlingmaster, you don't UNDERSTAND!" she said in her piercing voice, "I'm not standing for a Green dragon like some of these…girls. I am for the Queen egg!"

"All the more reason you should get your flabby self into condition, then," said V'sheren, in what he fondly hoped was a copy of R'gar at his most uncompromising. "A Queen dragon is more than twice the size of a Green, and that's just in length. She will be four times as large in weight, and therefore even more hard work to care for. Besides, if you get fit, the Riders you've been trying to moon over might even take more interest; we're used to women who know how to take care of themselves, here, not silly little girls who think that overdressing makes up for flaccid backsides and fat arms."

Silaya had always been proud of her softly rounded limbs; and was shocked to find that anyone should find her idea of feminine beauty a cause for disgust. For did not soft curves show that one was of a status that did not need to work? Did these Dragonriders actually admire the whipcord muscles she so despised in Jessenia's lithe and shapely limbs?

"But – but a Queenrider surely does not have to do manual labour!" Silaya protested.

"Anyone who can't work to bathe and oil a dragon isn't going to Impress," said V'sheren implacably. "Now either pick up that shovel or go and pack, because you're obviously not serious about wanting to Impress if you aren't ready to prepare for that possibility."

Silaya rather sullenly picked up the shovel; her work was desultory; and Jessenia, saw Carya and Lealla giggling and making mock by miming her movements and exaggerated expressions of disgust.

Geetta started joining in the horseplay and showed a fine comic streak, picking up a lump between a fastidious thumb and forefinger and saying,

"EEW! That's a funny shape – I can't bag THAT!" and tossing it aside.

Soon all the female weyrlings were in fits of giggles except Falinn and Silaya herself; even Nadeena was fighting not to laugh.

The boys craned their necks to see what was going on; and as soon as one of them realised, the word spread.

V'sheren blew his whistle, sharply.

"All right, some laughter is good to make work easier, but don't forget what you're here for," he admonished. "And make sure that laughter doesn't tip into being cruel, either!"

Silaya was just coming to the dawning realisation that the mirth was aimed at her! she flushed angrily.

"I'm not staying here to be laughed at by a bunch of low-borns and a cripple!" she said.

"You'll stay or you'll leave the Weyr," said V'sheren. "Your tone is unacceptable, candidate. I am sure that you are overwrought and do not mean what you say; the teasing was not excessive as I dropped the hint before it became inadvertent bullying."

"Sorry, Weyrlingmaster; we didn't mean it to be bullying," said Carya, at once. "If she hasn't got brothers and sisters of course, she won't be used to teasing."

"I know you didn't mean it; and I hope you, er, livelier spirits will stay the right side of the line and remember that not all people have large and ebullient families," said V'sheren.

Silaya hunched her shoulders grumpily and resumed her rather ineffective bagging.

"I'll help you and show you how to do it, if you like," offered Falinn.

"You keep your nasty nose out of my business," growled Silaya. "I don't want your ugly face near me."

Falinn shrugged, flushing; her hand involuntarily touching the patch of eczema.

"Suit yourself," she said, stiffly.

"That was as poisonous and bullying a remark to someone offering you good will as your nasty comment about Lealla's foot, you mean little tunnel snake," said Jessenia, "you apologise to Falinn!"

"Why should I take orders from you, kid?" sneered Silaya.

"Because in manners I'm heaps older than you, perhaps? I'm sorry she's got a nasty tongue, Falinn; I think you were kind to offer. I didn't feel charitable enough to do so."

Falinn shrugged.

"I made the overture. Let her stew in her own juice; she's incurable."

Jessenia did not much like Falinn; she thought her interfering. But the offer had been kindly enough meant, and Silaya was, thought Jessenia, in the wrong.

oOoOo

Who had been in the wrong over the causing of Roban's black eye, when Jessenia next caught sight of her brother, she could not know; but he grinned and gave her a 'thumbs up'.

She seized the opportunity to talk to him as they queued up to bathe.

"What happened?" she asked bluntly.

"You should see the other fellow," he grinned. "He's a big type, I caught him twisting the arm of some little kid – I couldn't have that!"

"No, of course not," said Jessenia, nodding approval. "You going to organise the little ones into defensive groups, huh?"

Roban made a rude noise.

"Oh teach your grandmother to hunt tunnel snake eggs! already done THAT!" he said.

Another bigger boy called over,

"Hey, acrobat, off to your lady love for comfort?" he was big, but his nose was swollen, and he moved a little stiffly.

Jessenia grinned sweetly.

"Start interfering with the girls, you big lug, and you'll find I can beat you up as effectively as my brother can. In fact, being older, I can do so better. I always win fights with him," she added.

"Guttersnipes!" said the boy.

"Oh dear," said Jessenia, "one of the ill-educated who can only resort to name calling. Roban, you KNOW what grandfather says about associating with rabble like that – I don't think you should have anything more to do with the fellow than you can help."

Roban grinned.

"Oh, I agree," he said. He added in an undertone, "he has two cronies; only they didn't expect me to use the hold they put on my arms as a lever point to kick him in the nuts!"

Jessenia chuckled.

"Never a dull moment!"

Roban had made friends with youngsters he had defended; but now it was known she was his sister, there were three bullies who might try to get at him through her.

She would stay alert!