A/N: So I would like to thank you all for ignoring the fact that I am such a procrastinator and after one night of the story being up my total hits jumping up by 150!! Thank you so so so much! And now onto the next chapter!!
Chapter 11
A Talk with Old Friends
Loan looked at Quanoth. It had been about a month since her golden queen had risen and she was beginning to look egg heavy. Loan smiled and gave a little giggle. Her sight had improved by leaps and bounds so that only faraway shapes were blurry and distorted. Also, Arestath had begun to fly again. There was a general feeling of peace over the Weyr. In many places where Thread would fall this time of year, it was so cold that it froze. Winter in the far north was definitely good for the Weyr.
You are happy. I am happy, Quanoth said, nudging her rider, her eyes dark green with contentment. Loan hugged her queen's head.
"Loan?"
She looked up to see S'lye walking into the room. She smiled and walked to meet him in an embrace. "Quanoth looks well," he said, inclining his head towards the large queen. Quanoth rumbled and blinked.
"Yes. She is starting to look like she is carrying eggs. Hopefully a large clutch."
"Let's not count our eggs before they hatch," S'lye said, smiling. Loan smiled as well. She leaned her head against his chest and sighed. All was well.
xxx
Kalin sat in the dark of her room, the shutters of her window closed against the cold. She wore thick furs and her breath clouded the air when she breathed.
Kalin, come out of there! Faith demanded. Kalin said nothing. Ever since the death of N'kret and Ornaith and the other events of the Weyr, Kalin had mostly shut herself in the dark, blocking out all draconic voices, sitting in silence. Tort, Sukai and Kita were all perched on a ledge that was near the ceiling of the room, silent. Kalin had disabled the heater and not lit a fire in ages. She had simply cut herself off from the world.
So Faith decided to take things into her own hands. If her rider wouldn't listen to her… perhaps she'd listen to someone else. She launched herself from the Weyr Ledge and circled a few times before landing next to Myriath and Kelth. She explained to them her problem and they both agreed to help, as did their riders. Orisia and S'ryc both started up the steps to Kalin's high weyr. The three dragons flew over and landed nearby as well.
Then, on some predetermined signal, both S'ryc and Orisia began to band on the door and all three dragons called out, LET US IN KALIN! All while bellowing.
Kalin nearly jumped out of her furs. Tort, Kita and Sukai started flying excitedly around the room.
Coming! She responded, more out of shock than anything else. Jumping up, she opened the huge window so that Faith could come in, then her door, letting Orisia and S'ryc in as well. Kalin turned to her dragon and the next things she knew she was hugging Faith so hard she was afraid that she might hurt her darling green.
Can you ever forgive me, Faith? I am so sorry, dear heart.
I love you, Kalinmine, Faith said. Orisia looked at S'ryc and smiled.
"Kalin?" he asked, walking forward and putting a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get some heat going. Orisia, call for some klah and some food." Orisia nodded and exited the room. S'ryc found the heating vent and opened it fully. Then he skillfully started a fire. Soon, the cold had been banished from the room, Kalin had taken off her warm furs and Orisia had returned with a pot of klah and some fruit rolls.
"So tell me Kalin," Orisia said after she had time to eat a little. "Why did you lock yourself up here?"
Kalin looked at Faith and went to sit by her. "I didn't want to feel the pain anymore."
"Of… Ornaith leaving?" S'ryc asked. Kalin nodded.
"And then Quanoth's rising got me thinking about Faith's eventual rising and…" she paused. "I realized that I would have no control over it or who…" she broke off into silence.
I was several moments before Orisia spoke. "Did you know that even though she's female, Myriath is of brown rank?" Kalin shook her head. "When she hatched and was just as big as any brown, they put her there. So when she was getting ready to rise, no one knew who would chase or what it would be like. I was terrified. But on the day she rose for the first time, she had bronzes chasing her! Bronzes to blues. But her flight was almost as long as a queen flight. It was new and when the males were chasing…" she trailed off, unable to put words to it. At that moment, however, S'ryc put his arm around Orisia's waist.
"Kelth caught her," Kalin said. Orisia nodded. Kalin couldn't help but smile.
"Kalin, you can't live in fear of the future. Go for a fly on Faith. Think a bit, but not so much. As your Wingleader, I told Faith that if your mind even starts to wander that way, she's to bring you back home," S'ryc said. Kalin nodded and vaulted onto Faith's back.
Let's go, Faith! Kalin said. Faith bugled and launched herself into the air.
xxx
There goes Kalin with Faith, Turyth said, looking out of the large, bronze-dragon sized window in D'ret's weyr. D'ret jumped off and looked out the window just in time to see Kalin look back then wink between.
"Where are they going?"
Faith said flying. Kelth says we must not go after her. Turyth turned his head to look at D'ret. You want to follow them though.
"Yes. However, if S'ryc says…" he trailed off and turned back to his desk. He was writing a letter to his parents, a letter he planned on delivering personally. It had been some time since he had been to his childhood home.
Are we going flying too? Turyth asked, as D'ret sealed his letter shut.
"Yes. I'll get your straps on." He quickly suited himself and his dragon up before mounting. Turyth launched himself into the sky before going between.
xxx
"Come now Rayine, I made him swear that he'd visit. A dragon rider's very busy though."
"Broan, you don't understand! I miss my little Deret…"
"He's D'ret now, woman! He's a Sharding dragon rider!"
D'ret looked into his old family hold and saw his parents standing, looking crossly at each other. "And my dragon's name is Turyth, in case you had forgotten," he piped up, smiling at his mother's reaction.
"DERET!" She shouted and next thing D'ret knew, his mother had wrapped her arms around his neck. "Deret, I'm so glad you came! I missed you so much."
"I missed you too, Mother. And you Father."
"What took you so Sharding long to visit? Your mother was worried sick," Broan said, his voice gruff. "And I know your dragon's name perfectly well! You boy never learned to mind us." Broan stalked off into another room. Rayine was crying into his shirt now. D'ret wrapped his arms around his mother.
"Do you want to come meet Turyth?" he asked her after she had calmed down a bit. She nodded emphatically. D'ret led her outside to the hold square where Turyth was surrounded by hoards of fascinated people, both children and adults. D'ret smiled, looking at a small boy and girl who were standing at the back of the pack.
Who are all of these people? Turyth asked.
I never thought of you as shy, Turyth! This is where I grew up. He looked at the small children again. They remind me of… well Kalin and I when we were young. He took his mother's arm and parted the crowd.
Who is this? Turyth asked.
"Turyth, this is my mother, Rayine."
"It's a pleasure, Turyth," Rayine said in her small, meek voice.
It is an honor to meet the mother of my rider, Turyth said to both D'ret and Rayine. Rayine faltered and almost collapsed.
"He spoke to me!"
"Dragons can speak to whomever they want!" D'ret said. His mother smiled and embraced him.
"Thank you. I'll go tend to your father now." She turned and walked back through the crowd, but only after D'ret had pressed the letter into her hands. He then turned to the thinning crowd. They all assumed that he was leaving. Except for the two small children. D'ret walked up to them.
"What are your names?" he asked them.
"I'm Sermory," the girl said. "And this is my brother, Shyzon. He can't speak, dragon rider. So he tells me what to say by writing it or something. Your dragon, Turyth, was talking to him earlier."
He was lonely, unable to talk to anyone. Except for me. So I spoke to him.
"It's been a pleasure to meet you both. I expect I shall see you two again when I return." He put a hand on each of their heads. Then he turned and gracefully ran and vaulted onto Turyth's back.
Until we meet again, Shyzon and Sermory, Turyth said, before launching himself into the air. They circled the Far North hold several times before D'ret envisioned the Weyr and the pair of them went between.
xxx
A little while later, D'ret lounged in his weyr, thinking about Sermory and Shyzon. They had to be only about nine or ten turns. And it was obvious that Sermory was the elder of the two.
I liked them, Turyth said. D'ret smiled. Faith and Kalin return. Faith is dropping Kalin off here. I shall go to the ledge with Faith. D'ret looked up to see Turyth go out of the room and Faith deposit her rider.
Kalin looked as beautiful as ever. In these past few years she really had grown into a strong woman.
"Hi," she said softly, looking at D'ret. She seemed paler than normal, but that was probably because she had been locked in her room for a bit.
D'ret crossed the room in two long strides and took Kalin in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him. "I'm sorry, D'ret," she said.
D'ret only hugged her harder.
A/N: So? Good, bad? I don't even know… )
Amere Mortal: Is this soon enough for you? ) Thanks for the "encouragement"!