It's been awhile since I've mentioned this: Dragonriders of Pern is still not mine! SHARDS!
Mara woke early, before any of her weyrmates, and ran and walked her morning lap before any of them woke. As she waited for them to stir, she began reading the dictionary Master Mekelroy had gifted her. She made it only partway through the first page of the 'guide to pronunciation' before Cally's giggle disturbed her.
Cally was rather amused by her friend's deep concentration accompanied by silent movement of her lips. "What are you reading?"
"A dictionary."
"Why?"
"So I can learn more words."
"Why?"
"So I can . . . say what I'm thinking."
"You do fine," offered Cally.
"But, so many times I don't have the words to . . . explain things right."
"Maybe you just need practice."
"I need to learn and use more words. Do you know what 'perusal' means?" When the girl shook her head, Mara grinned. "Let me show you how this works."
Angalyn woke next. As she munched on more salty dried bread and sipped tea, she listened as Mara and Cally looked up various words, some at her suggestion. After awhile, she finally asked, "How does the dictionary define 'pregnancy'?"
As they looked it up, D'don joined the group. He wasn't quite as fascinated with Mara's book of words, but finally chimed in with a question of his own. "What is 'prepubescent'?"
"Pre . . . pu . . . what?" asked Mara. Both green riders looked confused as well.
Sheepishly, D'don explained where he had heard the word. "The boys at Ista Weyr called me a prepubescent punk."
"How is it spelled?" Mara did have an idea, of course, but was hoping to get D'don involved in their new game.
The young blue weyrling shrugged. "P-r-e-p. I don't know."
A gruff voice from outside the wall spoke. "P-r-e-p-u-b-e-s-c-e-n-t." L'ret walked into the girls' side of the weyr. "'Prepubescent' means that you are not fully grown yet, much like your dragons. Now, if you wish to continue to grow, I suggest you GET TO WORK!"
The weyrlingmaster rolled his eyes as Cally giggled a 'yes, sir' before skipping around the wall and down the hall to the dressing room. Angalyn was little better; she smiled her 'yes, sir' and merely walked the same route. D'don had snapped to attention for his 'yes, sir' and then climbed over the dragons' couch to reach his area. Mara was the most contrite, looking quite abashed. She stood slowly, popping and cracking all the way up with the dictionary clutched to her chest.
"You should never sit so soon after running. The youngsters can do it, but not us older folk."
"Yes, sir. I'm sorry I kept them from their work, sir."
"Never apologize for learning, Weyrling. But in the future, hold your extra learning for free time."
"Yes, sir."
L'ret watched as she almost ceremoniously placed the book under the head of her mattress. Was that another book she placed it near? He fretted a bit about her now depressed mood. When she faced him again, he asked, "Do you know what 'exemplary' means?"
"No, sir."
The weyrlingmaster pointed at the head of her cot. "Look it up." He watched patiently as she retrieved her dictionary even as she sounded out the word, found it, and read the meaning aloud. When she looked at him in confusion, he smiled. "You are an exemplary student, Mara. Keep up the good work, and don't fret over minor mistakes."
"Yes, sir." Stunned, Mara watched the big man follow D'don's path. "Thank you, sir." She put her dictionary back under her mattress and – trying to ignore the rather loud whispering in D'don's area – decided to see what the giggling and laughing girls were up to.
As she approached the hallway opening to D'don's room, there was no ignoring L'ret's humorous order.
"Scratch that itch, boy! Just do it in private, or you will definitely invite more teasing. And if it bothers Gredarth, stop!"
Mara bit her lips to keep from giggling, and almost ran past the opening.
oOoOoOo
After bathing and oiling, the youngest dragons – being deemed old enough to begin concentration exercises – were included in an outdoor lecture session. L'ret read the entire, though surprisingly short, Charter of Pern. Weyr Journeyman Harper Selikar, with help from Master Harper Mekelroy, then answered questions and explained the rather simple intricacies of the document.
All three men were rather disturbed by the fact that a full quarter of this class had either never heard of the Charter of Pern or had been told that it was a worthless relic no longer pertinent to 'modern' Pern.
Mekelroy took mental notes on the 'Does that mean . . .' questions. Of particular interest – and the source of considerable anger from all three men – was the question of a girl of probably sixteen Turns. She asked if a particular paragraph meant that her Lord did not have the right to remove girls from their homes to be placed with unmarried men 'for training'. Her phrasing and demeanor indicated she certainly believed her Lord to be in the wrong.
The Master Harper fought a cringe, and maintained his harper smile as he asked at what age the Lord Holder removed young girls. When told that this particular Lord – who remained unnamed – claimed that twelve was the ideal age to begin proper training, he did cringe, but recovered quickly before explaining that no child should be removed from their home without their parents' or guardians' express permission, and at the age of sixteen the child had the right to decide their own future.
Mekelroy made note of the questions and Selikar and L'ret made note of the questioners. Later, they would combine their notes to learn which Holds were in most need of Harper interventions. Mekelroy knew of quite a few holds – mostly small, but some major – where Harpers had been placed – sometimes covertly – to teach lower ranking people their rights according to the Charter, and hoped the list would not grow this day. Small, pocket-sized copies of the Charter were helping to spread the word, but there were still quite a few hidebound pockets of Pern where people even frowned upon reading. The reemergence of printing presses, mused Mekelroy, would not diminish Harper Hall's duties anytime in the foreseeable future.
As the young dragons reached the end of their concentration limits and began to feel unfairly starved, they were commended for their patience and the class was dismissed. There would be many more sessions on the Charter of Pern during weyrling training and L'ret was pleased with how much they had covered this day. The young dragons would be included in more and more lecture and discussion sessions as time progressed, so they too would be exposed to their riders' new knowledge. Even if they wouldn't remember the details, they would have thought about them in their past and would more easily recall parts of those memories until they became nearly as fully engrained as with their riders.
After their dragons were fed and comfortably bedded down, the weyrlings were allowed to eat. More classwork was followed by marching exercises, morning chore duties, and finally a bit of free time until dragons woke again.
Mara, sitting near the Istan dragons with her dictionary, felt guilty that the other Istans were using their free time to run their morning lap, but was relieved of that guilt when she noticed Angalyn smiling while Cally bounced along beside, apparently sharing something quite amusing.
D'don was much further along in his lap, running with a group of weyrlings his age. As she watched them, D'don took a sudden tumble and rolled several times. Mara quickly opened and focused her hearing to find out if he was all right.
"What happened?" asked L'ret from just behind her. He motioned for her to stay seated.
"Someone tripped and pushed D'don, but the other boys are helping him . . . and standing up for him!" Mara was quite pleased by this turn.
"Who tripped him?" L'ret's tone indicated he'd already guessed.
"B'rand, sir."
"Shards. I'll have yet another talk with that boy. Just don't understand where all that anger's coming from."
"Should I listen closer?"
"No! I don't like how it affected you earlier. We'll figure it out. Is D'don all right?"
Mara listened to D'don for a few moments and smiled. "He's worried about all the blood on his arms; doesn't want Angalyn to see it. And numbweed should keep Gredarth from worrying."
"Keeping a level head, is he?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good." With that declaration, the weyrlingmaster moved on.
oOoOo
Angalyn and Cally were both upset that D'don had been hurt and pushed him mercilessly for the name of his assailant.
"It's being taken care of," was all D'don would say though, even when they tried to get confirmation of their guess – B'rand. "It's being taken care of," repeated the young blue rider, and finally clamped his lips shut refusing to say anymore.
Cally was pleased to have another patient, still having plenty of bandages and numbweed in her healer's carisak for just that purpose. D'don had stopped at the Healers' Cavern for his initial treatment, but Cally was entrusted to provide continuing treatment, much to her delight.
Some of the weyrlings worried about their dragons sleeping so long, until L'ret reminded them they had stayed awake far longer this day than in the past. They began waking just before midday meal, requiring quite a few weyrlings to eat later than normal. With the dragons awake, bathed and oiled yet again, weyrlings took their meals in shifts, some staying near the lake to keep little ones occupied with various games designed to improve mobility, agility and strength.
The Istan dragons were the last to wake. Being three days younger and trying so hard to keep up with their elders had thoroughly worn them out. Mara volunteered to stay with the dragons, declaring that she had more energy – at which point she jiggled her still large waist – than any of her weyrmates, and could probably go a full day without food, not that she would ever volunteer for that, she quickly confessed.
As her weyrmates ran and walked at Angalyn's best pace, Mara and Klamath led their clutch-mates toward the lines of playing dragons. B'roghe and Dandreth – and one of L'ret's assistants – led one line over, around and through various obstacles at the southern end of the bowl. Little dragons flapped their wings whenever Dandreth did, and stopped and stood in various positions to stretch little muscles. As a bit of fatigue began to show, all the little dragons were freed to play independently.
Mara grinned as her Klamath played chase with another brown and a blue. Gredarth played a less strenuous version of follow the green, while Nayrith and Mynth sat rather quietly with a group of blues and greens. Duranth and several other dragons stood watch over all the play and rumbled gentle warnings if anything might prove dangerous.
All the dragons seemed fully engaged in the draconic play session. One little bronze, though, sat alone in knee deep water. Several little dragons tried unsuccessfully to include him in their play. Mara noticed that little Tagamarth wouldn't even speak with any of them, until Dandreth walked into the lake and sat next to him. Listening to theirconversation, Mara's grin faded quickly; young Tagamarth sounded so very lonely. An arm pressed against hers broke her concentration.
"Dandreth says that Tagamarth hurts, but he won't say where," said B'roghe quietly. "Would you mind checking him?"
"Not at all." Mara hesitated, then, "Where's B'rand?"
"Eating."
"Good."
Bronze and brown weyrlings waded into the lake. Tagamarth allowed B'roghe to pet his head and neck but shied away from Mara. Both B'roghe's and Dandreth's reassurances were required before the little bronze would allow the woman to touch him.
Mara knelt at Tagamarth's side, making every effort to prevent his feeling trapped in any way. "I won't hurt you Tagamarth." She began stroking his neck. "What's bothering you this day?"
My rider says you're dangerous . . . that you kill bronze dragons.
The brown weyrling wasn't the only one shocked by the bronze's statement. Duranth and several other dragons grunted disapproval, while Dandreth looked a bit bewildered.
"I've never killed any dragons, Tagamarth, or anyone or anything." She resumed her gentle petting until the bronze relaxed and nearly melted from the pleasure. "Now, where do you hurt, Tagamarth?" She stopped one hand and pressed it gently to his chest. "Oh, ouch. No wonder you don't feel like playing."
"What's wrong?" asked B'roghe.
"He hasn't been cleaned properly. B'rand should know better."
"I'll find some cleaning sand."
"No sand, just some cloths." Mara regretted her shortness and grimaced an apology to the bronze weyrling. "And some oil, please?"
B'roghe nodded, held a brief, silent conversation with Dandreth, and ran to the storage room.
"Let's go deeper into the water, Tagamarth." Mara led the little bronze further out until his back was covered with the sun warmed water, Dandreth on his other side.
B'roghe returned, sat a bucket of oil on the sand, and walked toward the trio with two cleaning cloths.
"Can you leave one on shore, please?"
The bronze weyrling threw one of the cloths to the sand near the bucket. "Why no cleaning sand?"
Mara raised one eyebrow as she took the other cloth from the young man. "Do you use sand on your genitals?" His shudder was answer enough. "Neither do I." To Tagamarth, she said, "Stand tall, dear, and spread you legs, please."
My rider says if I want to be clean . . . there . . . he needs to use lots of sand.
The water rippled as bronze and bronze weyrling both shuddered uncontrollably. Several disapproving grumbles were heard from elsewhere.
Mara gently cleaned the area, using her fingers to locate sand hidden in folds of swollen hide. "Sand should never be used on such tender hide, Tagamarth. Perhaps you should remind your rider next time he bathes you."
He knows how to take care of me. Despite the statement, Tagamarth did not sound very convincing.
"So he says, huh? Well, we all have a lot more to learn. That's why we're in weyrling training."
When Mara removed a particularly bothersome bunch of sand, poor Tagamarth first gasped and then sighed with relief as he melted into B'roghe's soothing caresses.
After running her fingers one more time through the folds of hide, Mara decided against using a cloth – it was far too rough for such a tender, swollen area – and patted the bronze's flanks. With far more cheer than she felt, she said, "Let's get you dried off and see if you need oil."
Waiting patiently on shore sat four more little dragons. Gredarth, Mynth, Nayrith and Klamath sat just past the bucket of oil, all looking quite worried. Tagamarth hesitated at the sight.
I'm not supposed to talk to or play with anyone but bronzes.
"Is that right?" asked Mara not quite casually.
They're beneath us. Again, the bronze sounded very unconvinced.
"Is that how you feel, Tagamarth?"
No, but . . .
Dandreth interrupted. These are my friends, and we all talk and play. All dragons talk and play with each other. You can be our friend too!
B'roghe smiled with pride at his little bronze. To Tagamarth, he said, "Come along, Tagamarth. Meet our friends."
While the dragons talked, Mara thoroughly dried Tagamarth's genital area, and then asked him to lie down. With help from B'roghe to protect fragile wings, they rolled the bronze nearly to his back so Mara could have a closer look at the swollen area.
Gredarth and Dandreth lay down facing Tagamarth's twisted head. Mynth and Nayrith lay on either side of his neck nuzzling his shoulders and licking his neck. Tagamarth cooed in delight at all the attention. Klamath stood near his rider, observing.
"Definitely needs oil," said Mara to no one in particular, smiling at the dragons' cheerful chatter. She looked up at B'roghe. "Do you have any numbweed?"
"I've got some." K'remin, who had come to see what was going on, reached into his belt pouch and handed a small jar to Mara. "Oil first, though."
Mara used fingers again to oil the swollen area; the oil rag was just too rough. Finished, she started wiping her hand on her tunic.
"Keep your hand oiled or your fingers will go numb."
"But I'll get oil in your numbweed."
"Won't hurt it. Just dilutes it a bit. Looks like you'll need the whole jar anyway."
Mara applied a generous coating of numbweed to the distracted bronze. As she finished, Tagamarth curled his neck toward his belly. Blue-green eyes surveyed the brown weyrling and the area she had just treated.
Thank you.
"You're very welcome, Tagamarth."
B'roghe and Mara helped the little bronze roll back to his feet. His eyes swirled calmly with blue and green, until he turned to face north; then his eyes spun faster and became suffused with yellow.
Weyrlingmaster L'ret marched toward them with B'rand in his iron grip, held just below his armpit. Both looked furious, though for different reasons.
"I told you . . ." B'rand's rant was jerked to silence.
"What happened here?" growled L'ret.
Mara looked around and found both B'roghe and K'remin looking at her. So, she faced the weyrlingmaster. "It seems that B'rand has been using sand to clean Tagamarth's genital area, sir."
The man shuddered, though he already knew through Duranth what had been discovered. "And what did you do about it?"
"We . . ." A loud throat clearing from B'roghe surprised Mara. "I . . . cleaned the area, dried it, oiled it good, and then put numbweed on, sir."
"Good. Tagamarth, do you feel better?"
The little bronze raised and lowered his head.
"Good. You come with us, please. I'm very angry with your rider right now, but I want you to see that I will not hurt him. K'remin, with me. Weyrlings, back to work."
With those orders, L'ret turned back toward the north end of the Weyr, B'rand in tow.
The errant bronze weyrling tried to protest. "She had no right . . ."
"Shut up, boy. K'remin, you take him before I hit him."
As bronze and brown weyrling, along with five little dragons watched, Ramoth dropped from her ledge to land outside the Living Cavern. Lessa mounted and both flew to a spot halfway down the eastern wall. Mnementh and F'lar followed close behind. Gold and bronze faced each other, and as the weyrlingmaster, his assistant, and a weyrling and his dragon joined the weyrleaders, they spread their wings to create a private area.
Mara turned to B'roghe, who shook his head in disbelief.
"I wish I knew how to help that young man," said B'roghe. "He's just so angry!"
"And scared," added Mara.
B'roghe was even more perplexed. How could anyone with a dragon be frightened of anything? A dragon was the ultimate security; constant companionship, immeasurable strength, intelligence, and unconditional love.
"Back to work?" asked Mara. They had helped Tagamarth and there was no more to do for B'rand unless he was willing to accept help. And they had five little dragons looking up at them, waiting patiently for their next game.
B'roghe studied the big woman at his side. Was she really able to dismiss this so easily? Was she really that simple? Or did she simply choose to put it aside for later consideration. When he followed her smiling gaze, he had the answer. The problem of B'rand would have to wait; five little dragons looked up at him full of hope. "How about 'follow the brown'?"
oOoOo
Cally, D'don, and Angalyn returned shortly thereafter, and quickly changed the game to 'follow the green'.
Mara and B'roghe ran to the Dining Cavern – and walked some – for their midday meal. They talked a bit about what little they knew about B'rand, but not too much; their dragons were listening in after all. So they concentrated on eating quickly. After thanking the kitchen staff and scrubbing a few tables each, they left the Cavern and were only mildly surprised to see Ramoth and Mnementh still providing a privacy screen for the discussion along the eastern wall. Weyrfolk took special care to avoid walking within two dragon lengths of the huge pair and made every effort to not seem too interested in the spontaneous meeting.
Bronze and brown weyrlings soon found the Istan dragons – and their riders – had an esteemed visitor. Masterhealer Oldive was on his knees, sitting back on his feet talking to the little creatures, admiring their fast growth and complimenting them on their impressive strength and endurance. Loralin stood nearby holding the arm of Benden Weyr's frantic Master Healer Tarminas. The Istan weyrlings, standing with Master Mack, answered the Masterhealer's questions, translating for their life-mates.
As the older weyrlings approached, Oldive spoke to the little brown. "I see her, Klamath. Will you ask her to help me stand, please?" After a moment he responded to a question. "No, I'm quite all right, young Klamath; just feeling my age." Even as Mara helped him to his feet, he spoke to the little brown. "Well, my little friend, if you'll allow me to speak with her, I just might be able to fix that."
"Inquisitive little fellow," he finally said to Mara, his eyes sparkling and his face shining with joy. "My very dear, sorely missed friend, Robinton, once told me how thrilling it was to hear a dragon in one's mind. Now I finally understand his elation over the mere memory!"
Mara knew Robinton had been the Masterharper of Pern. She had heard when all the dragons talked him into staying with them, and she had heard them mourn his death. He must have been a remarkable man, but then, so was Masterhealer Oldive, and here he stood, mourning his friend and rejoicing over what should have been a shared experience.
After a few pleasantries, Oldive explained that he had come to share news with Angalyn. The girl, somewhat reluctant, asked if Mara could come along. Cally was easily soothed by mention of Mara's age; she might know what questions should be asked.
The healers, two weyrlings and their dragons – at Oldive's invitation, since he'd been informed they wouldn't need to eat for awhile – all walked to the Healers' Cavern at the dragons' best comfortable pace. Tarminas seemed worried about his Master walking so far, but was quickly quieted by his Master's assertion that exercise was always a good thing. Besides, he quipped, he had two lovely escorts, one on each arm, to keep him from tripping over his own feet.
In a small meeting room, with dragons at their riders' sides, Angalyn was informed that she was indeed very pregnant. There was a bit of an abnormality discovered with further testing of her blood, though.
"The Ancients called it diabetes. Your blood contains only slightly higher than normal glucose concentration. At this level, this condition is very manageable with nothing more than watching what you eat and getting proper exercise. It could, however, make having a baby a bit more difficult."
Angalyn was stunned to the point of merely staring at the Masterhealer.
Mara tried to help. "What should she watch for when she's eating?"
Oldive started listing some of the foods that could increase glucose levels in the blood, and should therefore be avoided. As Angalyn still only stared at him, he began a simple explanation of what caused diabetes, and then some of the symptoms that the girl might have experienced.
Angalyn nodded at several of the symptoms. She had experienced several of them, but mostly when she'd eaten anything sweetened, or had been forced to go long periods between meals, or was unable to get any exercise.
As the girl wasn't talking yet, or asking questions, Oldive explained how the Ancients had special little machines that could test blood sugar anytime of the day or night, but it was also possible to monitor one's sugar levels by simply, carefully observing how one felt at any given time. This monologue was interrupted suddenly.
"Could that be what killed my mother?" asked Angalyn timidly.
They discussed her symptoms and reactions to various foods, and her final contraction of a common fever on Ista. Oldive concluded that she probably had the same condition. Seeing fear in the girl's eyes, he quickly pointed out that knowing the problem was the first step in lifelong management, and proper management could ensure a very long, healthy and happy life.
Relieved beyond words, Angalyn sighed deeply before hugging Nayrith. "We'll be all right, Nayrith."
"Indeed you will. Most especially with help from your little friend. There are other dragonriders with this condition and dragons are very good about telling their rider or someone else when something doesn't feel right."
"There are?" Angalyn immediately blushed at having questioned the Masterhealer's statement.
Oldive took no offense though, recognizing the girl's relief at not being alone in her predicament. "There are indeed! With your permission, weyrling, and of course your weyrlingmaster's, I will attempt to arrange some visits. Until then, I've had these guidelines printed for your perusal." He pulled a small stack of paper from his satchel, leafed through it, and handed half the stack to Angalyn and the other half to Loralin. "I'll also speak with your weyrlingmaster, the weyrleaders, and most important, Headwoman Manora. You should keep certain foods close to hand constantly, cannot be allowed to skip meals, and may even need extra food at odd times of the day."
He went on to explain that Loralin – and of course Tarminas – would assist her with learning what she could and could not eat, and would monitor her condition at least daily. He handed her a hide-bound book of blank pages and asked her to record her physical reactions to everything: food, exercise, stressors, everything. And he reminded her that her dear little Nayrith's input would be invaluable.
Eventually, Angalyn remembered the original purpose of this meeting. "How will this . . . diabetes . . . affect having a baby? I don't want to risk hurting Nayrith."
Oldive explained all the possible problems if the condition were not well managed, and listed the activities pregnancy would make more difficult. He also informed her that Healer Hall would provide Tarminas and Loralin special training on the subject of diabetes and in testing her blood when necessary, using equipment available in the surgery, and of course, he or other specialists would always be just a dragon-ride away.
The Master, seeing the girl's eyes lose focus as she spoke with her dragon, droned on about the training Benden's healers would receive and all the Masters and Journeymen, and women, who were studying this and many other conditions they finally had names for, thanks to Aivas and the Ancients' excellent Records. When the girl's eyes refocused and she grimaced in confusion, he stopped his meaningless drivel. "Any questions?" he asked in poorly disguised innocence.
Angalyn smiled at his comic expression. "Not until I read all this." She held up her sheath of paper. "But, Nayrith and I would like to have this baby."
"Are you sure, Angalyn? Stopping this will be much more difficult and even dangerous in just a few sevendays."
"Do you think we should stop it?"
Oldive smiled compassionately. "Knowing now about your diabetes and knowing that you will try very hard to manage it properly – for Nayrith's sake if no other reason – I see no health related reasons to stop this pregnancy. But the decision is completely yours, young lady. You will have to live with your decision for a very, very long time. No one – except Nayrith, of course – can even come close to understanding or appreciating your reasoning."
"My mother could never have a second baby. Could that have been due to the diabetes? Or could it have been something else?"
Oldive now had a good picture of the girl's reasoning, and struggled to give her hope for future pregnancies. Honesty won out though; Oldive abhorred lying to anyone, especially his patients. "Without a full examination and a lengthy discussion with your mother, there is simply no way to know for certain."
"Then, we'd like to have this baby, Master. It might be our only chance."
"Very well, young lady. We respect your decision," he pointedly looked at Tarminas, "don't we Master Healer Tarminas."
"Yes, of course, Master." Tarminas then smiled at Angalyn, with sadness as well as conviction. "We will do everything we can to make this as easy and comfortable as possible, Weyrling Angalyn."
"Thank you, Master and Masterhealer."
They all spoke for a while longer about her diet, exercise and herbal needs. Oldive finally asked Mara to contact the weyrleaders and weyrlingmaster through their dragons.
F'lar and Lessa, with Manora between them, entered the meeting room soon afterwards; they must have been waiting just outside.
As two little dragons were growing hungry and tired, Lessa suggested they all meet near the lake. As the other Istan dragons were also ready to eat, and their riders should be made aware of their weyrmate's special needs, they were invited to join the growing group. B'roghe, being a special friend of the Istans, asked to be included and was welcomed.
Angalyn was in awe of so many high ranking people, and rather embarrassed at so many people sharing in her problems, but hid it quite well, something Lessa admired greatly; the girl had good control over her emotions and her facial expressions.
After Oldive provided a brief, but detailed synopsis of Angalyn's condition and decision, L'ret teased the girl about her testing his training adjustment abilities. F'lar countered by teasing L'ret about needing to be tested constantly to maintain one's edge. Oldive teased – or perhaps taunted – by questioning dragonriders' ability to cope with new situations, which earned him – as he fully expected – derisive looks from full riders and weyrlings alike. Those looks alone convinced him that Angalyn would be well cared for at Benden Weyr.
Further discussion included what everyone should watch for while Angalyn experimented with various food combinations and exercise intensity. Oldive detailed which reactions might require sweets, and which might require more exercise or different foods.
Manora gave Angalyn some hard sweet rolls filled with dried fruits to keep at hand, and promised to keep more available in the storerooms. She would also inform her kitchen staff to keep track of which foods were sweetened and at what level.
By the time evening meal was ready, Angalyn was near tears with all the help being so freely offered. She controlled herself though, well into the evening, knowing Nayrith would need one more feeding before the day was through.
Late that evening, after all the Istans and B'roghe had read through all the pages Oldive had provided, Angalyn began to break down from the stress of the day. Mara, having heard her thoughts throughout the reading and following discussion, indicated with her eyes that B'roghe might want to sit on her other side.
B'roghe had also noticed her slow breakdown and was growing increasingly worried for the girl.
When Angalyn began to sob uncontrollably, Mara put a hand on her arm as B'roghe asked what was wrong.
The bronze rider rolled his eyes at Mara at such a stupid question, but offered a hug as the girl blubbered – about so many people being so nice and helpful and was she doing the right thing? and everyone was being so supportive – even as she slid into his arms and hugged his waist. The surprised young man rocked her gently, rubbing her head and arm and back as he crooned soothingly and repeatedly; of course, everyone was willing to help, and she was doing the right thing if she thought so, and of course, she would be just fine.
The other weyrlings just watched and listened, and kept quiet out of respect for the girl's anguish. D'don grew embarrassed though, feeling he was intruding, and excused himself to go to bed.
When Angalyn had fallen asleep and had been carefully tucked into her cot, B'roghe excused himself as well, declaring he needed to rest up for another training day.
Mara, now worried about the young man, followed him out of the small weyr.
"I don't understand," began B'roghe. "She was . . . raped! How can she allow me to even touch her?"
"She's a smart girl. She knows that not all men are like those on that ship. And she trusts you." Mara shrugged, pretending to not understand the last statement.
B'roghe leaned against the wall and looked up at the stars. "Do I deserve such trust?"
Mara listened to the young man's thoughts, wondering why he should doubt himself, and quickly realized he was only considering the massive responsibility inherent in so much trust. "She thinks you do." When he finally looked a question at her, she added, "And so do I, for what it's worth. Can you handle it?"
Nothing like a challenge to snap a man out of self doubt. "Of course, I can handle it," the bronze weyrling smirked. "I have younger siblings, and cousins." Even as he said this though, he wondered if he could possibly treat Angalyn like a sibling or cousin. She was . . . different. "I can handle this!" he snapped at the grinning brown weyrling. "Good night, Mara!" With that, he marched off to the weyrling barracks.
"Good night, B'roghe." Mara grinned at a smiling Master Harper as she returned to the weyr and settled in for a good rest. She couldn't help briefly comparing B'roghe to G'raden; both were strong, kind and highly trustworthy men. B'roghe just needed a little more confidence in his own value and abilities.
PLEASE NOTE: I am far from an expert, and not even very knowledgable about diabetes, as should be noticed in my leaving out any deep level of detail. I needed another affliction for poor Angalyn and did some quick research, so please don't spam about any major discrepencies. I would sincerely appreciate corrections though.
Once again: THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING MY LITTLE STORY!
and
REVIEWS ARE ALL GREATLY APPRECIATED!