Author's Note - Sorry this took longer than intended, I had mid-terms last week. Review more! lol.
farewellandromeda: It is I! lol, wow. I've never met one of the people I've roleplayed with before on Fanfiction. I'm happy you like it. I'm actually re-writing it as I go, so it's the same basic plot but more characters. And better I hope.
Chapter Three - Skyfire Weyr
To the surprise of R'dim and Anna, Jaikel returned in a matter of half a candlemark, carrying a single pack. Kira and Zailos were perched on his shoulders, stomachs bulging and fast asleep. The drudge was smiling more than he had since his mother had died. He had two fire lizards, and now he was going to Skyfire Weyr! The fact that two others from the Hold were also going had not fazed him in any way.
"Well, someone's in a hurry." Anna stated with a smirk. "Siara has gone to get Kaiser and Marlya."
Jaikel almost tripped as the greenrider spoke the two names. Kaiser and Marlya! Kaiser was one of the most frail, shy children of the Hold! Well, the lad was only thirteen Turns, so he supposed anything was possible. On the other hand, Marlya was the middle daughter of Lord Taren and Lady Capris, and was a Turn older than him. Would they say something in opposition to him going? No, both Searchriders had insisted there was almost no way he'd be denied the chance now.
"Thank you for allowing me to come." He suddenly said, voice tinged with emotion, as much as he hated it. He felt he owed the two riders something.
R'dim, who was leaning against the huge side of Trynth, chuckled. "Thank the dragons."
Jaikel smiled slightly, unsure of how he was supposed to do that. Green Lindreth answered the question for him, snorting in his face and almost pushing him to the ground. Jaikel was startled by his own daring as he got to his feet and placed a hand on the dragon's eyeridge. He was even more surprised when she closed one whirling eye in pleasure.
"Well, so you're the third person coming?" A female voice said from a few paces behind them.
Jaikel turned to see Marlya smiling what could be called sweetly at him. It figured that the Lord Holder's daughter would know Jaikel in particular. Siara had had him tend to her during feasts often enough.
"So it's us three?" Kaiser asked from beside her. With his own messy blond hair and curious blue eyes, the young boy looked out of place next to the tall young woman, whose hair was a blond color that could only be acquired by hours and hours outside. The first thing that ever caught anyone's attention over Marlya were her eyes, which were an extremely dark brown, almost black. They never seemed to hold any expression.
It looked as though she was in fact going to turn on Kaiser at that moment, but Anna cut her off, offering to take their packs and tie them to Trynth. The three new candidates didn't say another word. Kaiser's blue eyes were locked on Kira, and it was obvious that Marlya was having a hard time at keeping quiet.
"There you are!" Came the voice of Lord Taren, seemingly from nowhere.
"Father!" Marlya exclaimed, running over to meet her parents. Kaiser looked even more uncomfortable, and Jaikel smiled to the younger boy, trying to somehow communicate that he understood.
"Kaiser, and Jaikel!" Taren continued, lifting his arms in the air in his enthusiasm. The Lord Holder had always been the opposite of his quiet wife, loud and boisterous. Nothing ever seemed to upset the man, and he knew everyone at his Hold, including the drudges. "I'm proud of you all! Make Katno Hold proud, I know you will, Marlya."
Jaikel sighed inwardly, wondering why on Pern no one had said anything about Kira and Zailos. He had a feeling that Anna had spoken to them sometime while he had been gone. He was very grateful. Kira stirred on his shoulder, lifting her gold head only for a moment before going back to sleep. Zailos had opened his eyes a few minutes before, and the blue was not planning on going back to sleep.
"…we should go, as the clutch could Hatch at anytime now." R'dim was saying to the Lord Holder, ushering Marlya away as discreetly as possible. The girl was somewhat resisting him.
"Where's Kaj! I won't leave without him!" She finally yelled, putting her hands on her hips in defiance.
"Oh dear, another firelizard?" Anna whispered to Jaikel, smiling. The drudge nodded. Kaj was Marlya's stubborn and antisocial brown. He only listened to his owner.
With a squawk the firelizard appeared from Between, hissing at R'dim before settling on his mistress' shoulder. R'dim took the opportunity to put his hand on Marlya's other shoulder, steering her towards his brown dragon.
"We'll be at the Hatching, of course!" Taren shouted, backing away to give the dragons room to take off. R'dim was already hoisting Kaiser to Trynth's back. Surprisingly, the boy had no trouble getting situated.
"Common Jaikel, you're with me and Lindreth. The two flits can stay on your shoulders." Anna informed, taking his pack and tying it to one of the green's neck ridges.
Before Jaikel could respond in any way the rider had leaped astride her dragon, gripping the riding straps with skill to hoist herself up. She offered him a slender hand, which Jaikel took. Attempting not to disturb his companions, he almost stumbled up the dragon's leg. Kira let out a chirp of protest, Zailos only wrapped his tail firmly around Jaikel's neck.
"Not so hard, is it?" Anna laughed as she put her riding helmet on.
"No." Jaikel replied, thinking that he had looked rather unsteady in his attempt. He glanced over to see Marlya sitting behind Kaiser. The lad looked absolutely thrilled and terrified at the same time. Kaj was staring at the candidate as if he were going to attack. However, not a word had come out of Kaiser's mouth. Maybe he did have potential.
"Hold on." Anna warned, and Jaikel felt Lindreth's muscles tighten as she prepared to take off.
As he tightened his hold, he was still unprepared as the green launched herself into the sky. The only discomfort he felt was his head snapping back, which did hurt slightly. Kira and Zailos, to his surprise, did not even move.
Jaikel contented himself with watching the powerful strokes of Trynth's wings. The two dragons remained level as they rose. Marlya was waving frantically to her parents. Kaiser was staring at the ground in what could be called extreme disbelief. Jaikel agreed, he never would have thought that he'd be riding a dragon.
"We're going to go Between." Anna yelled over the rushing of air. "You won't be able to feel anything or see, and it'll be cold. Just count to three slowly, and we'll be at Skyfire Weyr before you can cough three times."
He nodded, having read about the cold of Between several times. He had never wanted to experience it.
And then everything went dark. In the back of his mind Jaikel knew that he was still astride Lindreth, but he couldn't feel her. It was so dark, and he merely held his breath. How long could someone stand this?
One…two…three…f…
He practically gasped as light flooded his eyes once more. He felt Lindreth's muscles working in flight, and it was suddenly warm. The ex-drudge let out the breath he had been holding. Faranth.
Anna looked back at him, a smile flickering across her fair features. "See. Nothing too horrible, and you get used to it fairly quickly. Welcome to Skyfire Weyr, Jaikel."
Jaikel himself smiled, and he leaned over as much as he dared, looking at the ground that was slowly getting closer. Zailos nipped his ear, as if to say that he and Kira were still there. Jaikel laughed, coaching the two firelizards to his hands. In the clear sky and bright light, the shade variations of blue on Zailos' dark hide were quite noticeable, and Kira's own of golden hue seemed to sparkle.
Letting the two climb back to his shoulders, he chanced a look at Trynth. Marlya was looking at the Weyr Bowl that loomed below them, while Kaiser seemed to have his eyes closed.
Another minute later and the two dragons reached the ground, back winging smoothly. Jaikel barely felt the impact as Lindreth landed. Gray eyes surveyed the new area as Anna untied his pack from the green. Across the bowl he saw another brown dragon, this one smaller than Trynth, take off and wink Between. There actually was not a lot of people currently outside, though near what Jaikel discerned as the entrance to the rest of the Weyr people strode in and out.
"You'll have plenty of time to look around later." The greenrider said, she had already dismounted and now offered him a hand again. Jaikel had less trouble reaching the ground than he had mounting the dragon. Kira and Zailos, who were now both wide awake and alert, did not even complain as their owner's feet hit the ground.
"Oh, it is bigger than the Hold!" Marlya exclaimed as she, Kaiser, and R'dim met Jaikel and Anna.
"Of course it is." Kaiser mumbled. Jaikel almost laughed at the look on Marlya's face. Well, did she think it would have been smaller?
"Well, I'll be seeing you three at the Hatching. Good luck." R'dim stated suddenly. "I'll go inform the Weyrleaders that we've brought three more candidates, Anna. You go and show them the barracks." In another moment the brownrider and his dragon were disappearing in the direction of what Jaikel guessed were the rider's weyrs.
"All right guys." Anna said, catching their attention. "The barracks aren't far."
Marlya immediately matched the greenrider's pace as she led them across the bowl. Jaikel followed, and Kaiser was only a pace behind him, blue eyes wide with excitement as he tried to catch every detail. Jaikel himself was doing the same thing. Most of the people they passed did not even glance at them, though a couple seemed interested in Kira, Zailos, and Marlya's Kaj.
"Are firelizards common in the Weyr?" Marlya asked, her voice only revealing curiosity. Jaikel had a feeling she wanted to know if Kaj could get her any attention.
"Somewhat." Mostly it's just the Wingleaders, or other people of higher rank. The Holds have done a good job keeping most of the eggs we find for themselves. But we don't mind. We're the ones with the full-sized dragons, after all." Anna replied, laughing. "If anything, people will be interested in Jaikel's gold." At this she winked to him. Jaikel smiled back. At this point he would rather not have the attention.
The group was soon entering the Weyr, and even Marlya was startled by the amount of people everywhere. Anna led them down two hallways, where she stopped at a single door.
"The Candidate Barracks are right there." Anna informed the three. "Female cots are on the left, males on the right. You should be able to tell which are occupied already. I'm going to get the Candidate Master. I'll be back in a little while."
She was gone in a flourish, melding into the stream of people. Kaiser watched her go before casting a look at the door in front of them. Marlya looked at both boys as if demanding that they go in first. When neither of them moved, Jaikel was the one that finally pushed the door open.