Dragonets were walking, talking stomachs. Kailisu was very aware of this as she cut Rhavishath's meat up into little bite-size pieces, and fed them to her one by one. Rhavishath daintily took each piece, until she finally got tired of the small, fire-lizard sized morsels.
You don't have to make them so small, she complained. I can handle something bigger.
Weyrlingmaster Z'lek says to make them small so you don't choke. So I'm making them small.
Yet Rhavishath wouldn't act like some of the other dragons and stick her head in the meat bucket, inhaling the succulent (to her) morsels. Meejit's brown Denzath, on the other hand, had no such qualms. It was a wonder Denzath didn't get the bucket stuck on his head, and Kailisu had her reservations about how Meejit was going to handle this dragon. Shells, the brown was about as big as he was!
M'jit. What? It's M'jit, not Meejit. Don't you know anything? Now, pay attention and feed me.
Obliging her bossy, beautiful queen, Kailisu began feeding Rhavishath slightly larger chunks of meat, interspersed with drinks of water. That was not in the books either - that newly hatched dragons needed water as badly as they needed meat. Mentally she shrugged. There were a lot of differences that weren't shown in the books.
What books? I'll explain later. Now, we need to put some oil on you before you start to itch. Only if you wash me off, first. I've still got sand and egg goo on me.
It was amazing what Rhavishath chose to pick out of her mind. Well, maybe not so amazing. Kailisu tried to compare what it felt like having another entity in her mind to not having one, and realized that she could no longer imagine herself without. It was as if her whole life had been lacking something up until the events of a mere thirty minutes ago. How was this possible? Five years ago she wouldn't have believed anything like this could even happen and now here she was, living it.
Another voice entered her mind. R'mez says to stop dwelling and take care of your Rhavishath!
There was a distinct impression that Adexith was going to say more, but suddenly Rhavishath was on her hind legs, wings outspread, hissing up at the Rim where the adult dragons were grouped together, catching the sun's first rays of the day. Mine! she hissed menacingly. Go away. Mine! Kailisu dropped to her knees, wrapping her arms around Rhavishath and was surprised to find her shaking, the rage emanating from her small, sticky body. Making meaningless sounds, she tried to sooth her queen.
"What happened? What's wrong with Rhavishath?" Z'lek, one of the Weyrlingmasters, had hurried over at Rhavishath's obvious irritation. Then, his eyes narrowed as he looked at Kailisu.
"You were talking to another dragon? With yours barely out of the shell?" His voice was both incredulous and scathing, causing Kailisu to shrink back from him, coincidentally pressing closer to Rhavishath.
Head shaking in a side to side motion, Kailisu denied culpability. "No, sir, I wasn't talking to Adexith, he was talking to me. He's talked to me for several Turns now and . . . ." she trailed off as she noticed the other weyrlings looking at her. Z'lek had that withdrawn look most riders got when their dragons spoke to them, and finally he nodded.
"Tosquith talked to Adexith, and he verified that you're telling the truth," the weyrlingmaster said in a much kinder tone. "Sometimes there are people who can talk to other people's dragons, but it's not a good idea to do so right after Impressing their own. Adexith says he's sorry, and he's apologized to Rhavishath as well."
The little queen's shaking had stopped, and her eyes were losing that angry red tinge dragon eyes turned when they were upset. Kailisu hugged Rhavishath one more time, but she made no move to withdraw from the proximity of her queen. Especially when she saw the looks of awe the other weyrlings were giving her.
"No wonder you knew so much," a new bluerider breathed. "I thought you were smart but this, this is just even better!"
The only person who didn't look surprised was Haneset. Instead, she raised her head from her position at the other end of the feeding area and winked at Kailisu.
Zizzakath says that her rider says don't worry, be happy. Rhavishath relayed this, then looked back up at the Rim, as if daring one of the adult dragons to say something.
Kailisu laughed and drew away from Rhavishath. "I'm very, very happy. You have made me the happiest person ever. Now, let me wash you and oil you, because I'm sticky and itchy too."
The lake was too far for the new weyrlings to take their dragons on this first day of Impression, so barrels of water had been brought up by some of the older weyrlings to be used as bathwater. While Rhavishath imperiously nudged her, Kailisu started over towards the barrels, then felt herself grinning. An'jer was standing by the one he and Novoth had ostensibly brought up from the lake, waiting for her with a big smile on his face.
Oddly enough, Kailisu did not have a compulsion to run and fling herself into his arms. She preferred Rhavishath's company over her former lover's, and suddenly her eyes widened.
An'jer saw the expression on her face and laughed. "Now you understand, don't you?" he asked. Kailisu nodded, remembering the Hatching where he Impressed Novoth. She had been one of the first to greet him that day, to congratulate him on Impressing his blue dragon, yet he had seemed distant and detached. The only thing that had kept her feelings from being too hurt was Adexith and Breylith telling her it was a natural reaction from one who had just Impressed.
Even in the months since that Hatching, though she and An'jer were still close friends and lovers, she had felt a lack of their pre-Impression closeness. Now - well, she looked at him and still saw a friend and a lover, but no longer the love of her life. That title was now held by a small gold dragon baby who was getting incensed that her Kaili was not bathing her like she promised and she itched, and there was sticky goo and sand all over her body, and if this gunk wasn't washed off now she would take matters into her own claws and that might not be such a good thing.
"Talk later," Kailisu gasped, reaching both arms around herself and scratching frantically. "I need to bathe and oil Rhavishath here now. Rhavishath, this is my good friend An'jer, rider of blue Novoth." Quickly she took one of the small buckets that was next to the large barrel, scooped up some water and poured it over Rhavishath. She felt the tepidness of the water through her own skin as it poured over her dragon, and her itching was relieved somewhat.
Seeing a movement out of the corner of her eye, she looked over and saw An'jer holding out a sponge. "This will do for now. Once she gets bigger though, you'll need to use the scrubbing mop," he said, his voice still holding the excitement of watching a good Hatching.
Gratefully Kailisu grabbed the sponge, wet it with the water and sprinkled soapsand on Rhavishath's back. As the coarse granules dissolved into little foamy bubbles, she felt the itchiness of her own skin subside. Soon, Rhavishath was cleaned of egg goo, sand, and anything else her pale gold hide had picked up, and oiled to a glossy sheen. Standing back to admire her handiwork, Kailisu noticed that Rhavishath was mostly pale yellow, but with small whorls of variegated shades of yellow-gold on her hide. Newly oiled, the swirls and whorls really stood out, giving her a stunning shimmery look. Her wings were even lighter in color, as was her underbelly. At first Kailisu wondered if her underbelly was white, but realized it was a very pale yellow-beige. Contrastingly, her tail started off at its base as pale, but darkened as it got to the tip.
An'jer snaked an arm around Kailisu's waist from his position standing next to her. Leaning against him, she nodded to Rhavishath. "Stunning, isn't she? And look, she's surveying the rest of the clutch as if she needs to protect them."
Of course I want to protect them, Rhavishath stated haughtily, but her jaws opened wide in a draconic yawn. Well, maybe after I've slept a little. Kailisu tried to laugh, but instead it turned into a yawn to rival her dragon's.
"We need to get her to bed now," An'jer said knowingly. "Your things have already been moved into the weyrling barracks.
Kailisu's forehead started to crease in a frown - where did he get off telling her what to do? Just because he had been through this before . . . her face smoothed out and she turned and hugged him. "You're right," she said, briefly laying her head on his chest. He was right, and she should be grateful that he was there to help her. Lifting her head, she looked over at Rhavishath, who was curled up on the ground, the first and second eyelid membranes covering her eyes, the third at half-mast. "Come on, love, we need to get you to bed."
As they walked to the barracks, Kailisu realized that even though she had been hugging and kissing on An'jer as if today were like any other day before Impression, it didn't feel the same. She didn't feel the same. Eight months ago they had been in love with each other. Then for the last seven months she had been in love with him, but had not been able to spend much time with him. Now - now she didn't love him with that all-consuming curl-your-toes-up love any longer. All that mattered was the golden beauty walking beside her. But how could she tell An'jer this?
In the weyrling barracks, the bronze, brown and blue dragons and riders were on one side and the gold and greens were on the other side, presumably because most greens would be Impressed by females. The bronzes and the gold had the largest dragon wallows, but since there was usually only be one gold at a time, there was only one large spot on the "girls'" side of the barracks.
Kailisu quickly found her things and was pleased to note that Haneset and Zizzakath were bunked next to them. She looked up and down the barracks, wondering who else had Impressed. With the exception of M'jit, she couldn't put faces to any dragons.
With An'jer looking on, Kailisu knelt beside Rhavishath as the little queen made herself comfortable in her bed. "Do you need a blanket, love? Are you okay with me going to get something to eat?"
Why shouldn't you eat? the queen asked sleepily. You fed me, now it's time for you to be fed. I'll be fine for now, but hurry back. Rhavishath curled up on her straw-filled wallow, and immediately fell asleep.
"C'mon, she's asleep," Kailisu whispered as An'jer followed, grinning. He was obviously remembering his first day as a weyrling, and for the first time since she Impressed Kailisu felt close to him. This reminded her . . . .
"An'jer," she began as they started walking towards the dining hall. The sun had finally made its way up and over the Rim, bathing the Weyr in full pre-noon light. How could it still be so early? The day was barely getting started, and yet it had been at least ten hours since the eggs had begun to rock! No wonder she was starving, and her hunger was even more enhanced as smells of roast beef, pork and wherry came wafting out of the kitchen area of the caverns. Kailisu's mouth watered, and her stomach growled. It was time for breakfast, or at least the mid-day meal but it smelled as if a feast were being put on.
Ah, as it should be. Tables had been set up outside the dining hall, and guests still in various states of dress were eating, talking, laughing and enjoying themselves. Today's Hatching, while unexpectedly early, had been a full success. No one had been hurt, and it seemed that most candidates who had been expected to Impress did. And there was one weyrling who was getting ready to break another's heart. Might as well do it on an empty stomach.
Before getting any closer to the crowd, Kailisu stopped and turned to An'jer. "I don't know how to say this," she began, her face a record of emotions.
"But you don't feel about me the same as you used to," An'jer finished softly. Kailisu's eyes widened and her cheeks flamed red. She opened her mouth to splutter something out, but An'jer beat her to it.
"How do you think I've felt the past seven months?" he asked her, again, softly. "I was relieved we weren't able to see each other, but I knew that if I said something to you, you wouldn't understand."
This surprised Kailisu. "What do you mean, I wouldn't understand?" she asked, though she knew the answer.
"You're Holdbred. I'm Weyrbred. Even though I didn't understand firsthand, I still knew that it would happen. I would like to say that if you had Impressed before me I would have been able to handle this talk, but I don't know if that's true. At least now that we both have dragons looking to us, it's easier."
Kailisu exhaled a breath she didn't even know she was holding. "I see." She couldn't even be mad at him, because no one could understand unless they Impressed. "How has R'lan done it, all these Turns?
"Faranth only knows. Maybe he and Haneset are closer than you and I are." Kailisu opened her mouth to deny this, but stopped, allowing An'jer to go on. "Or, well, he was Holdbred also. Maybe he felt it was the right thing to do. Either way, we'll see what happens now." He turned and gave Kailisu an impish grin. "Hug?"
"Of course." Moving in to hug him, Kailisu's stomach growled again, this time long and loud. An'jer broke the hug, laughing.
"Let's get you something to eat!"