Learning to trust again 2 New Friends
Carynth circled round and glided down to land outside his weyr while Wirreth settled not far away. L'san and Jothan dismounted and waited for Hestia to join them. Both youngsters looked around them, Hestia with open curiosity, Jothan more warily.
'Carynth, where is the Weyrwoman?'
[In the living cavern. I called her.]
'No need, we'll go to her.'
[The little one won't go in. He is afraid.]
'What! Why didn't you tell me before?'
[He needs us. You would not have brought him.]
'Maybe you're right. But you get to tell Kirri why.'
Carynth lowered his head and nudged his rider gently as the weyrwoman reached them, none too happy at being called away from what she'd been doing.
"We've got new candidates for you," J'vor said cheerfully, unaware of the conversation that had been going on between the brown rider and his dragon.
"Why was I summoned out here?" Kirri demanded.
"Ask him," L'san replied, pointing at Carynth.
She turned her intimidating glare on the brown dragon.
[The little one is afraid to go inside. Because he was hurt he doesn't like places with lots of people.]
'And yet you still brought him here. What were you thinking?'
[He needs us. We can help him.]
After a moment's consideration Kirri nodded. She turned to Jothan.
"Is this what you want? Did you come here willingly?"
He gazed at the weyrwoman and nodded, swallowing nervously.
"Yes. I was searched. I agreed to come here. I couldn't stay at home anymore, I didn't feel safe there."
"Did someone there do something?"
"Not my family. It was someone else, someone I never saw. I was afraid they'd come back but they can't find me here."
Kirri reached out to touch his arm and he flinched.
"No one will hurt you here, you can stay for as long as you need. But you (she pointed at L'san) will be responsible for him."
L'san nodded.
She turned her gaze on the girl who stood near him.
"And you, girl. Why have you come? Do you mean to stand for Impression?"
"No. I don't. I'm here for Jothan," Hestia said. "He needs me."
"Indeed? Well if you can make yourself useful you'll be welcome here."
Kirri turned and walked away as another woman approached the group, and came to L'san's side. He pulled her close and bent his head to kiss her. Taller than the weyrwoman, almost as tall as L'san, she wore a loose gown that moulded to her body and did nothing to hide her pregnancy.
"I've missed you," he murmured.
"Oh please," J'vor said in an exaggerated tone.
L'san laughed at his friend.
"No one asked you to stay and watch. Go find Z'kiel."
The blue rider remounted.
"Have fun with your babysitting," he teased before urging his dragon upwards to land on a weyr ledge across the bowl.
"Babysitting?"
"Kirri's request. She wants me to look after these two."
He beckoned the two youngsters closer.
"Jassenthe, these are Jothan and Hestia. Jothan is a candidate."
Jassenthe held out her hand in greeting. Hestia took it readily, Jothan was a little more hesitant, but the woman's grasp was firm and reassuring, her fingers marred by the calluses gained from the regular use of a bow.
"We need to find somewhere for Jothan to sleep. He's nervous about going into the lower cavern."
"I can't say I blame him. It can get rather overwhelming in there if you're not used to crowds. Well, as it'll only be until the hatching we could make him up a bed in our weyr. There's room enough."
L'san nodded.
"And what about you, Hestia, my dear? Do you have any particular needs?"
"No, I don't mind where I sleep, so long as Jothan doesn't need me."
"That's fine then. Let's get you settled in and leave the men to deal with getting a bed sorted out."
Jassenthe took one of Hestia's bags then led her away towards the entrance to the lower cavern. She skirted the tables where weyr folk were gathering for their midday meal and led the way to a passageway leading to the sleeping quarters. Pushing aside the curtain to a small but comfortable single cubicle she gestured the girl inside. Hestia entered then stood waiting.
"This will do you for now, until we know where you'll be sleeping permanently. Will Jothan want you with him when he has his own weyr? Or will you prefer to stay separate?"
"I don't know," Hestia replied, almost in a whisper. "I just don't know any more."
Jassenthe heard the sadness in her voice.
"Oh, my dear," she said, putting a comforting arm round the girl's shoulder and guiding her to sit beside her on the bed.
"Would you like to talk about it? You don't have to but it might help."
"Yes, I think I would."
Quietly, hesitantly, Hestia told Jassenthe the same tale she'd told L'san at the hold.
"I wouldn't let him break his promise to me. Whatever happened that he can't tell me, I still love him, still want to be with him. It's why I came here. But it hurts so much that he won't touch me anymore, won't let me or anyone touch him. I just want us to be wed like we promised. Can we still do that if he becomes a rider?"
Jassenthe gazed at her thoughtfully, realising that life in the weyr was going to come as quite a shock to the girl.
"Not exactly. A dragonrider has to mate where his dragon chooses during mating flights but other times he can choose whoever he wants. If you make it known you are a couple people will respect that and leave you alone.
"I understand how you feel, better than you think. I was the daughter of a minor holder, L'san, a journeyman blacksmith. We'd barely been wed a sevenday when he was searched. I'd fought long and hard to persuade my father to let us marry, there was no way I was going to be separated from him, so I insisted on coming too.
"The hardest thing was having to be apart while Carynth was young, but (she grinned mischievously) we made up for it afterwards. It's not easy seeing L'san pair with another rider if Carynth wins a mating flight, but I know he'll come back to me when it's over. I'm the one who shares his weyr, not them. That is how you need to think."
"Thank you," Hestia whispered, "that does help."
"Good. Now leave your things here. It's time to eat."
Jassenthe led the way out of the cubicle where she paused to fish a piece of chalk from her pocket and write Hestia's name on a plaque beside the curtain.
"You'll be able to find your way back later. Now I'll show you where everything else you need is, then we'll get some lunch before that greedy lot finishes it off."
They filled trays with food for the four of them and headed back to L'san's weyr.
L'san watched Jassenthe and Hestia walk away, then turned to Jothan.
"Let's see what's in the stores. There's bound to be something you can use. Leave your bags there for now. Carynth will watch them."
He led the way past the living cavern and down into the stores. Jothan followed somewhat apprehensively. With an effort he quelled his rising panic at being so far underground and helped the rider to retrieve the simple bed frame and mattress he'd found. They carried them outside and over to L'san's weyr. As they put them down the rider turned to look at the boy.
"Are you all right?"
Jothan nodded.
"I will be. I don't like to be in caves. I feel trapped even when I know I'm not. I'm sorry."
"No need to be, lad. It's not something you can help. Now let's get this set up for you."
They finished the job just as Jassenthe and Hestia returned with food. Jassenthe set out the food on L'san's table, then they sat down to eat. While they were thus occupied L'san and Jassenthe explained what they could expect from life in the weyr. Hestia, they quickly realised, would accept anything for Jothan's sake. His happiness was all that was important to her.
Jothan, on the other hand, L'san couldn't figure him out. He wanted to be here, he'd said as much to Kirri. But something was troubling him. He wouldn't talk about it, in fact he hardly said anything at all, preferring to let Hestia speak for him. L'san had the feeling that Carynth knew more than he was saying. The dragon had been so insistent that they brought the boy to the weyr but he wouldn't say why.
Well there couldn't be more than a few days before the hatching. Riders were bringing in candidates from all over the region and there was a sense of anticipation prevalent in the weyr. L'san could wait, he was patient, an attribute he'd learned as an apprentice at the smithcraft hall. You couldn't rush the crafting of a fine weapon or piece of jewelry anymore than you could rush the hatching of an egg.
Over the next few days more candidates arrived at the weyr. Jothan hardly stirred more than a few yards from L'san's weyr. He showed no inclination to get to know the people he'd potentially be spending most of his time with for the next turn or two. Increasingly worried about the boy, the brown rider tried to get him to open up, to talk, to interact with anybody, but to no avail.
In the end L'san settled for telling him what to expect at the hatching, how to keep himself safe from bewildered, hungry, clumsy hatchlings, and what he'd need to do for a dragon in its first few minutes. Even then he wasn't sure what the boy took in. Hestia, not even a candidate, understood more.
It was several days later before Jothan was finally persuaded to go any further, and then because he had no choice.
J'vor climbed the steps to L'san's weyr.
"Hello! Anyone home?" he called out cheerfully.
Jassenthe strolled out onto the ledge which was currently empty, Carynth happily sunning himself on the rim.
"Can I help you, J'vor?"
"Just letting you know, it's the official lunch for the candidates. Jothan needs to be there."
He looked past Jassenthe to see Jothan and Hestia.
"I'd rather not," the boy said.
"Sorry, lad, it's not optional. Candidate master wants to get you all together to meet and get to know each other. But you don't have to go alone. It's lunch time, I'd guess we're all hungry about now. Right?
L'san appeared just then beside his wife.
"Just food, J'vor. You need to behave."
J'vor shrugged.
"Z'kiel's coming too."
"Like that will make you behave any better. You forget, I've seen you when there's new candidates around."
With a theatrical pout the blue rider turned to make his way down the steps to his weyrmate who waited at the bottom.
It'll be all right, Jothan," Hestia said, taking his hand and gently tugging him towards the stairs.
"I'll stay with you. You don't need to worry."
They all joined J'vor and Z'kiel, and, as a group, headed for the dining hall.
E'mond, Prominence Weyr's candidate master, was already shepherding his charges in. They'd been gathering for weeks now, some already lived in the Weyr, others had transferred from Hidden Grove or been searched. But now they were present, barring the odd last minute additions.
Hidden Grove's candidate master wasn't there yet, she was probably still gathering up stray candidates, the ones who could never remember where they were supposed to be or when.
Taegan, unlike the last time she'd been a candidate, wasn't late. She was already in the dining hall, or more accurately in the kitchens, by the time the two candidate masters had started the round-up of candidates from every corner of the Weyr.
For once she hadn't been causing trouble, but helping to prepare some edible tunnel snakes for the pot, at the same time fending off troublesome fire lizards whose owners hadn't taught them manners. Her own pet, Sparks, wasn't one of the pests. Her already well fed bronze had spent the time resting lazily on top of a shelf and seeing off nuisances that annoyed him with a well placed bite.
As the cooking wound down she was shooed from the kitchen to the hall as the first candidates started arriving. She waved and called out a cheerful greeting to them.
J'vor secured a table not far from the one that was filling up with candidates, and managed to arrange his companions so that he was sitting between Jothan and Z'kiel. He leaned back in his seat and gave a delighted sigh.
"Such a feast of delightful young things, " he said.
"J'vor," L'san warned.
"Hands off."
"Oh, don't fuss, L'san. I can look without having to sample. Imagining can be as much fun as the reality sometimes."
He stood up.
"I'm hungry. Z'kiel, give me a hand."
He wandered across to the servery and filled trays with an assortment of dishes which the pair of them carried back to the table. J'vor sat down and passed round plates while Z'kiel went back for jugs of fruit juice and klah. Amply provided for they settled down to enjoy their meal. Even Jothan began to relax and do more than just pick at his food. Feeling safer in the company of his friends he observed the other candidates, the people with whom he would be spending at least the next few sevendays.
Was this the right thing for him? He still wasn't entirely sure but he felt more optimistic now than he'd done in all the sevendays since he'd been attacked.
Taegan gazed around at the gathering candidates before spotting J'vor and his group. Deciding to chat with them first she trotted over to their table and greeted them loudly,
"Heya, all. Here to observe the madhouse?" she asked the riders with a grin before turning to the two holders.
"Jothan and Hestia, if I'm not wrong. Welcome to the crazy."
It didn't bother her that only one was a candidate, if she even knew it.
"An' another thing, watch your food unless you want to feed the flying pests. We've a lot of fire lizards about, and some of 'em like begging for food."
She turned her attention back to L'san.
"I don't think I've seen your Tassi there today, but if he turns up with bite marks… Sparks has been biting again."
L'san grinned at Taegan.
"Don't worry. Tassi is curled up with Carynth, far too stuffed to bother anyone. He's too lazy to go looking for food when it's offered on a plate. He wouldn't even know how to hunt. But thanks for the warning."
Jothan just gave a timid smile but Hestia returned Taegan's greeting. She liked the look of this friendly girl.
"Jothan's a candidate, " she said.
"Are you?"
Taegan laughed, amused.
"Well, someone's been failing to feed their fire lizards, or they just like causing trouble."
She nodded in reply to Hestia's question.
"Yep, candidate 'n' weyrbrat. Though some people just say I'm a brat with no manners. My name's Taegan."
She reached over to offer a handshake, first to Hestia, then Jothan.
"So where ya from?" she asked curiously.
"From a small beast hold near Highland Rivers. Our fathers breed runners. Low Rivers runners are the best around."
Hestia knew she shouldn't really boast but she was proud of the beasts Loren and Ruarii bred and she and Jothan had helped train.
"We'd never left there until L'san brought us here. we never expected all this."
Jothan listened quietly, seeming happy to let Hestia do all the talking.
Taegan held up a hand, moving it as though she was measuring distance, at the same time her mouth moved silently. Then she nodded.
"I think it's a longer straight flight than it is from Hidden Grove to Prominence.," she said, then before any of the riders could say anything she added, "Yes, I know, between pretty much cuts all that short.
"Runner, hmm? I know S'lal has a string of runner beasts himself…"
She considered for a moment, then asked, "You're proud of them, I guess you work a lot with them?"
She looked at Jothan, "And do you work with the runners?"
She smiled.
"I hear it's usually a surprise when the riders find you, not that I'd know, having grown up at Hidden Grove, but it's a lot wider world when you've got friends with wings.
"So, Hestia, I guess you're here to support Jothan. But lemme guess, partners in crime, smuggling criminals across hold borders," she grinned, teasing, holding back laughter, "part of a team of anarchists trying to overthrow the Lord Holder?"
Her guesses got wilder and more implausible as she went on.
Hestia grinned, amused by Taegan's sense of humour. Jothan on the other hand gave a choked little cry, seeming to shrink even more into himself. Hestia turned to him and rested her hand on his trembling arm.
"Jothan, it's all right. You're safe here, they can't find you here."
She turned to Taegan.
"Shortly before we came here Jothan was attacked by a gang of holdless criminals. Not your fault, you weren't to know but I guess what you said must have reminded him of it. I had hoped he was getting over it, but I guess we still have some work to do."
Keeping a tight hold on Jothan's hand, for she sensed he wanted nothing more than to flee the room, Hestia continued talking, changing the subject to deflect Jothan's panic.
"As for the runners, yes, we helped train them. Jothan was the best at it. He could have a runner fully trained and gentled in no more'n a sevenday, and so obedient you could trust it to carry a child."
"Not Sparky. He threw everyone,"
"That's right, he did. Your dad wouldn't let anyone ride him, but you. But the foals he sired, they were beautiful."
Jothan gradually relaxed again as Hestia encouraged his better memories, drawing on his passion for training runners, hoping that she wasn't boring Taegan. But the girl did stay to listen.
Taegan didn't flinch back, even if her smile gentled slightly without the uproarious humour of before. It wasn't that she was oblivious to pain and suffering, it's that she's never seen the point of flinching back. It was what it was. People hurt and people suffered and all flinching back did was make you back away from the person in pain. You couldn't help that way. She's got no weapon to fight the shadows that lay in another's head but the relentless cheer she's always worn like a shield and a sword, but that's not always enough. In the end she can't put someone else back on their feet; she can't make them stand steady and strong. In the end they've got to do it themselves and even if she can extend a hand, lift the glow in the dark -
Sometimes, sometimes that's not enough.
She inclined her head and turned the conversation away.
"Tell me off your runners; what were their names? she asked.
Hestia took a breath before answering Taegan.
"Well, our fathers have been breeding and training runners longer than we've been around. Mostly for riding, that's what most people want. But we also breed draught animals which are popular with travellers for pulling their wagons, or for drawing ploughs. We don't usually give them names because we sell them as soon as they're trained. Except for the studs, of course. They have names. Like Sparky, and there's Goliath and Artie and Jacko. They get the best of care 'cos without them we wouldn't have a business."
"Sparky's gone now," Jothan said softly.
"They spooked him and he threw me. Never saw him again."
"He's smart. He'll find his way home if he's able to."
The boy smiled briefly.
"Yeah. He's a survivor, is Sparky. The number of times he's run off an' I've found him without a mark on him."
Out of sight below the table Hestia gently squeezed his fingers in reassurance, pleased that Jothan was making an effort to join in at last.
"I'll bet that next time we go home he'll be waiting there for you."
"That would be great," he replied.
Taegan grinned at them both as they answered her questions, then perked up as she spotted Asena walking past up towards the stairs.
"Oh! Um, just a sec, I'mma go say hi for a bit," or more than a bit, because sometimes Taegan wasn't the best at keeping track of time. Already distracted, the impetuous girl dashed off without waiting for much of a response, waving back at the group and bouncing up to the green rider cheerfully and falling into step next to her as they took the stairs up to the second floor.
"Heyas, Asena!" she greeted brightly, "who're you looking for?"
They watched Taegan run off.
"Where does she get all that energy?" Jassenthe wondered.
"I don't think I've ever seen her less than bouncing around."
"I like her," Hestia said.
"What do you think, Jothan?"
"Like an unbroken runner, excitable," was all the boy's comment.
J'vor gave a laugh.
"Never heard our Taegan likened to a runner before. Best not say that to her face, lad."
Without thinking the blue rider clapped Jothan on the back. He only meant it as a friendly gesture but the boy flinched as though he'd hit him in anger. J'vor pulled away.
"It's all right, lad, I'm not going to hurt you. Shards, you really are nervous. Relax."
"J'vor," L'san interjected, "don't you ever pay attention? Didn't you hear what Hestia said?"
"What? Oh, yeah. Sorry, lad, I'll back off."
As good as his word, the man rose and moved to a seat the other side of his weyrmate, putting his arm round Z'kiel's shoulder.
J'vor reached for his mug of klah, watching Jothan as he drank.
"Are you sure this is the right place for you?" he asked gently, concerned that the boy seemed so afraid of everything.
"I'm not sure of anything," Jothan admitted.
"All I know is that I couldn't live the life I was left with and search offered me a new chance."
Hestia pushed Jothan's plate closer.
"Eat up. What would your mam think if you go back to her all skin 'n' bones?"
"She'd feed me up 'till I went pop," he replied with a grin.
"Yes, she would. But she's not here to tell you. I am, and I'm gonna nag you like she would. I promised I'd look after you."
Jothan rolled his eyes.
"Shards, what have I let myself in for?" he said.
L'san and J'vor laughed at his expression while Hestia tried to look offended.
"Girls are just too much trouble, kid," J'vor commented.
"Get yourself a nice boy like Z'kiel. Much better."
"J'vor, I warned you..."
To everyone's surprise Jothan started to giggle.
"No offence, Z'kiel, but Hestia's prettier than you. Bossier, but prettier."
Only Z'kiel heard J'vor's comment. barely audible through their laughter.
"Wish I'd had a mam to care for me."
Z'kiel lifted a hand to J'vor's where it still rested on his shoulder and squeezed it gently in reassurance. He hated it when his weyrmate sank into these occasional bouts of melancholy. It wasn't always easy to lift him out of them. Hopefully the anticipation of the imminent hatching would divert him.
J'vor smiled at the smaller man.
"Sorry, love, didn't mean to worry you. I might not have had a mother, but I had Madirra and she's as good as. She and A'ran and Betra gave me more love than my father ever did. Can't complain about that, can I?"
Z'kiel grinned, contented, just as a disturbance from the kitchen caught their attention.
"I'm not making it up, Mam, he really did speak to me."
The voice was that of Cassie, daughter of one of the cooks. The girl darted into the dining room and came to an abrupt halt as several people turned to look at her. Her mother Janai followed behind.
"Cassie, come back to the kitchen and stop making a fool of yourself. Dragons don't speak to people like us."
Cassie pulled free of her mother's grasp and stood her ground.
"No. He did. He told me to come here, that I should speak to the candidate master."
"Cassie, who told you?" Hestia asked her friend.
"The blue dragon. I was out by the lake getting some fresh herbs and he came down and looked at me and said I should be here, that I b'long here."
Having said her piece she fell silent and stood there defiantly, as though daring anyone present to disbelieve her.
"Wirreth, it was Wirreth who spoke to her," J'vor said then.
"And only now he decides to tell me. Still, better late than never, wouldn't you agree, E'mond?"
He looked across to the candidate master sitting at the nearby table.
E'mond smiled slowly.
"Well, if Wirreth says she's a candidate, who am I to say no? Welcome to our company, candidate Cassie."
Cassie turned to her mother.
"Please don't be mad at me, Mam. I've always wanted to be a dragonrider like Da was. I just didn't know how to tell you without making you sad."
Janai hugged her daughter.
"Go on with you," she said, a little tearfully.
"I won't stand in your way. Just don't be getting yourself killed like he did. I couldn't bear to lose you both."
"I won't, Mam, I promise."
With a delighted smile Cassie joined her friends as Janai went back to the kitchen.
Taegan is owned by Shimmercat and used with her permission.