Disclaimer: I don't own Pern. I do, however own most of the characters in this story.

Chapter Three: Memories

"Now that was laying it on a bit thick," protested Talsan as she saw Nairyry blink without saying anything. "Just look at her- you've gone and made her think I'm somebody important." she scolded. Though her tone was stern she was grinning. "To rephrase W'lam's glorifying titles: I'm Talsan, rider of gold Sanmyth."

Nairyry jumped to her feet and took the offered hand. "Nairyry, rider of Thyrath."

"I came here for music, not to dance around with titles, W'lam," the other Goldrider told their mutual friend firmly as she raised her violin again, and set it ready to play her part. "Anyway, she's older than I am!"

By now, it seemed, all of them had their music memorized, but Nairyry kept her music with her. Better safe than sorry if she forgot in the middle.

000

They started the opening verse, and soon forgot about the audience. Glancing up once at Talsan Nairyry smiled to herself as she plucked out her notes on the harp and took a breath for singing. Somehow she was still unnerved at playing in a trio with the granddaughter of likely the most famous Weyrwoman and Weyrleader to date.

When the song ended in the graceful flourish she had come to love she sighed, part from regret, part from relief. It was nice to be done with the stomach-fluttering performance, yet she had liked the piece and it was hard to give up. And playing with Talsan had been quite a treat too; each knew they were all great musicians. They bowed as their audience applauded them, then the Queenrider left the stage to the Weyrsinger, who began a widely-known song as a duet with a Brownrider. Others joined in, not including Talsan and Nairyry.

"It's over," commented Talsan. Nairyry could hear the same regret in her voice that she felt. "It was a pleasure, Nairyry. I hope we shall play together often soon." She offered her hand and the Queenrider took it, nodding.

"Yes, it was good. But now it'll be just poor W'lam and I. Do come as soon as you can."

"I shall, and this time I won't be so late in rehearsals." The young woman grinned at her new friend.

"If you please, Talsan."

They shared a last smile over Talsan's well-joked-over overdue appearance to join their little band before she turned to listen to something an elderly rider told her.

Nairyry stopped at a table to get a glass of wine and congratulate a new female Greenrider. She remembered well what it had meant to her to be welcomed by people she had previously thought to important to bother with her. The Greenrider still seemed dazed from the Impression, having never thought she'd have a chance with so many others there.

The Goldrider remembered the Hatching, and young Roencally's Impression to her little green Chutith.

As always, the boys crowded around the first hatchling, a brown. He looked around at them as a blue hatched, and they made for a pair of boys at the same time. The taller of the two had looked at the little brown as he stood and stared, then knelt slowly and put his hand on the dragonet's neck. Then he had hugged the little brown to him as the blue butted his chosen rider. More eggs had cracked, spilling more blues and browns as well as greens and the five sturdy bronzes. Even without a queen egg there were girls, for the greens, and four of the six girls had already Impressed the female dragons when the last egg cracked her shell.

Chutith had emerged, a smaller, daintier green even than most, and stepped lightly away from her shell. Roencally had been standing against the wall, looking quite overwhelmed by it all, and Chutith had looked around at all the remaining boys and the other girl. Then, without hesitation she had strode much more steadily than most of the other newly hatched dragonets across the hot sands and stood squarely in front of Roencally.

She had only stared, then suddenly sat. Chutith had come over and thrummed at her until Roencally had hesitantly, absently scratched the little green's eye ridges. She had grinned, her face lighting up, and took the hatchling dragon in her arms.

Nairyry remembered her own Impression, as well as all those she had witnessed, over and over again through the feast. Thyrath touched her mind gently, and they remembered together.

Eventually Nairyry sought fresh air, and returned to her weyr. There she exchanged her party dress for riding gear and called her queen to go flying to the beach. By now it was late in the afternoon, and the shadows were lengthening. She gave Thyrath the coordinates for a beach they knew, and her dragon rumbled happily as they transferred between.

It was still warm and Nairyry gave her dragon permission to swim while she lay back on the sand.

What will be do? she asked, not consciously trying to reach her dragon, but knowing vaguely that she heard. Pern will no longer need us. You are a queen of dragons; there will be little need for clutches. She gazed at the stars as she lay on the cool sands with her sun-gilded brown hair spread out, remembering with awe the Harper's diagrams and charts from the Aivas of the orbits of the Red Star and of Pern.

"We came from Earth," the Harper said. "And other worlds."

Other worlds. Do they have dragons? If we have no place here… would they perhaps need us, these other worlds? The explosion of the Red Star's orbit had taken place long before her Impression of Thyrath. She had been too young to fully understand the significance of that action, but she had understood one thing:

Thread is gone. But it was not gone. She had misinterpreted. This would be the last pass, is what they had said, not this is the last of Thread now.

But we are so close to the end… why should be stay? Earth… why should we not go there? Her eyes lingered on the stars again. She did not know how far her mind-call reached. We will find the coordinates and find Earth. We have no use here.

Nairyry stood, giving Chilfer, who had just popped out near her, her arm to land on and called her dragon from her swim.

Down the beach a queen fire lizard stirred, memories from the memories of her forbearer's human friends rose to the surface, awakened from their long sleep.

Go to Earth…

The memories as old as the settlement of Pern woke and were born anew. The queen fire lizard sent those to Chilfer.