David and Romana spent a full two hours waiting to speak with Oonu - or more accurately, waiting for Oonu to speak with them. For David, at least, the time passed in an agonizing, awkward crawl; he wanted to talk to his wingmate, to find out what was going on with her, but she stared at the cliffs and sky with a steadfast gaze and refused to look in his direction. David wasn't the best with nonverbal cues, but Romana was broadcasting "leave me alone" fairly clearly.

It made no sense. Romana had always been friendly toward him; she'd practically held his hand throughout training, for God's sake, and without her help he probably wouldn'tve have made it. This change in attitude was confusing at best and continued to cause him no end of worry.

"Hey," a voice shouted down from above. David looked up and saw Elwin and Kiyoshi leaning over a ledge - something he himself would never, never do - and waving down at them. "Good luck in there!" Elwin called.

"Easy for you to say!" David called back, and laughter drifted down from their perch. The night before, Elwin and Kiyoshi had been temporarily suspended from flying for "unauthorized activities," which meant that they and their skybaxes had staged a fake pteranodon attack on the newest cadets in the middle of the night. As a result, they got to bypass the status check, because, as Oonu and the other instructors had pointed out, they were clearly working very well together.

All in all, David thought it was a dumb way to get out of an uncomfortable situation (just as much overkill as flooding the school the day before report cards went home, which he'd heard Karl had done once) but waiting now, he sort of wished he had gone along with them.

"You're going to be sorry tomorrow," Romana called up, cupping her hands around her mouth to make her voice carry, "when the rest of us are flying and you're sitting on the cliffs!"

Kiyoshi hit Elwin in mock anger. "I told you we forgot something!"

Elwin swatted at him and missed, and then the two figures vanished from the rocks' edge. More laughter, spiked with shouts, trailed down, and David frowned. How come they got along fine?

Bridget and Seif, the two cadets scheduled ahead of them, emerged from the training room with obvious relief. "Good luck," Seif said as he passed David, who nodded. Everyone was wishing them luck; that didn't exactly bode well.

Romana, apparently more eager to jump into the jaws of death than he was, had already started down the path. David forced himself to follow, hoping beyond all hope that she was going to have a perfectly reasonable explanation and this review would be a smooth and painless thing.

He knew he was kidding himself, but he figured there was no harm in trying.

Oonu was waiting for them, standing with his hands behind his back and looking neither angry or glad to see them. "How are you doing?" he asked, almost before they had come to a stop. The question was also neutral.

"We're fine, sir," David said, risking a quick, darting glance at Romana. "Everything's fine."

Oonu shifted his attention to Romana, who said, "Fine, sir."

Their instructor nodded thoughtfully, his expression never changing. "I am, of course, not pleased to have both of you lying to my face."

David's first instinct was protest, but he didn't, mostly because squirming out of things was Karl's style, not his. It wouldn't do much good anyway, he suspected, his heart sinking. Oonu had a third eye, just like all teachers.

"Your performance during the past week has been abysmal," Oonu continued.

Romana lifted her chin, undaunted. "We're the best in the squadron, sir. You said so yourself."

"I'm aware of what I said, cadet," Oonu said, his voice carrying an unmistakable note of warning. "That only highlights the fact that you've been flying well below your ability level. I want to know what the problem is."

David glanced at Romana again. "I don't know, sir."

Oonu's eyes narrowed. "Cadet Romana?"

She squared her shoulders and said nothing.

"Cadet Romana," Oonu repeated, a scowl appearing on his face. "An answer, please."

Romana swallowed. She didn't look intimidated, but David felt sympathy for her anyway. All the times that Oonu had brought that quiet, forceful presence to bear on him during training came rushing back with a vengeance. He wanted to say something to take the pressure off of her, but couldn't come up with anything. With a steady voice, Romana said, "I don't know either, sir."

Oonu stepped closer to her. "I hope you're telling me the truth."

"Yes sir," she said, swallowing again. "I am honored to be partnered with David. He's an excellent rider."

Oonu stepped back, nodding fractionally. "And you, David?"

"Uh - honored, sir," David said quickly, caught off-guard. "I mean, I'm honored that I've been partnered with the daughter of William Denison. She's - she's an excellent rider. Just like her father. Sir."

Their instructor stood motionless for a long moment, scrutinizing them both with a faint frown. David tried not to move either - so, of course, his foot immediately began itching unbearably. The next time he saw Dad, he was going to ask how he'd managed standing at attention in front of his COs all those years.

"You are the best riders in the squadron," Oonu finally said, the frown vanishing into an intent expression. "You may be two of the finest riders in the entire Corps. However, if this problem is not resolved, your careers will be ruined before they start. Settle it. Understood?"

"Yes sir," David said, Romana chiming in a half-second behind him, and Oonu nodded again.

"Dismissed. Breathe deep."

David had never been so happy to hear three words in his entire life. He snapped to and said, "Fly high," with ill-concealed relief.

They left the room, Romana leading by a few paces, and passed the next set of wingmates entering on their way out.

As soon as they were safely away, David reached out and grabbed Romana's arm, forcing her to stop. She looked at him, indignant, but he was past worry and into anger now, and he didn't care. "Okay, tell me. What the hell's going on?"

She gave him a dark look until he released her arm, and then she glared at him for another long moment before brushing past him with a curt, "It doesn't matter."

"Yes, it does," he said, walking after her. "We just got chewed out in there for something you're dealing with, and I want to know what."

"Me?" she exclaimed, stopping and turning around to face him, one hand pressed to her chest in an entirely insincere display of wide-eyed innocence.. "What could possibly be bothering the daughter of the great William Denison?"

"Come on, Romana," he said, knowing his frustration and anger were showing and still not caring.

"It doesn't matter," she said again, this time serious and with a tinge of sadness. "I don't think you could understand."

"Well - you could give me the benefit of the doubt and let me try. "

She hesistated, clearly wavering, and then said, "No. I'm sorry."

"Why not?" he asked, unwilling to let it drop. She shook her head and turned away, walking faster than he dared on the narrow cliff trail. "Romana -!"

"I'm sorry," she called back without slowing down.

He glanced down at the gaping chasm two feet away, then at her disappearing figure, and debated the wisdom of running after her. His vertigo won out by a narrow margin, and once again he found himself staring after her with a feeling of mixed confusion and frustration.

It wasn't getting any easier with practice.