Author's Note: Thanks once again for the kind reviews. I'm glad everyone approved of Carima not Impressing the queen (things will be much more interesting this way, trust me). To answer a question, I'll try to keep chapters coming out every few days. At the moment I have lots of time to write, although as the summer moves on I might not have quite as much. I'm also a chapter ahead in my writing at the moment, so if I ever do run into a spot when I can't write, I'll still have something to post. I hope everyone enjoys the chapter, and as always I love and adore helpful feedback.

Chapter Three: New Weyrlings

8.2.198

6th Interval

Carima was greeted with mayhem as soon as she exited the sands. Everywhere voracious young dragons were tearing into the meat provided by their lifemates, with older riders watching over the process closely. The newly-Impressed queen, Caleyth, was in the corner with her delighted partner. And right in front of her, a fierce argument was raging.

The Weyrleader, J'rey, the Weyrwoman, Lirallen, and the Weyrlingmaster were engaged in a vicious three-way debate.

"This is unacceptable! The dragon is clearly sick, to have made the choice she did. Girls do not Impress anything other than gold!" The Weyrlingmaster was practically apoplectic with rage, standing mere inches away from J'rey's face.

"You know as well as I do that the dragon's choice is final and absolute," Lirallen snapped. "There is nothing wrong with that little dragon. She found her lifemate just like all the others."

"And so what if she did? What do you expect me to do with a girl? Shall we just house her with all the male Weyrlings in the barracks? How in Faranth's name do you expect a girl to keep up with all the boys in training? And what about when the green starts rising? I suppose her future Wingleader will be happy to let her sit out nine months of drill every time she gets herself with child."

Lirallen growled and looked like she was about to say something rude when J'rey raised his hand. "Come now, can't we reach some sort of agreement? The Weyrwoman is right in that the Impression is legitimate. No one can argue that. And you know as well as I do that there are several female-ridden greens in some of the other Weyrs. But I understand your concerns with training and her future in a wing. It is problematic at best."

The discussion continued on and Carima felt all the blood drain from her face. Now that the immediate aftermath of the Impression was over, she realized the seriousness of her situation. The Weyrlingmaster was right. Girls didn't Impress fighting dragons. Nothing like this had ever occurred at Telgar in her lifetime. Her Impression was a freak accident. Where could she possibly fit in now? For someone who had spent her entire life very certain of where she belonged and what she was supposed to be doing, Carima was now lost and adrift.

Do you not want me? Mayath's voice was quiet and a little hurt as she nudged Carima's leg.

"No, no, love, of course I want you. We just seem to be causing some problems for the Weyrleaders," Carima assured Mayath, trying to focus on her dragon instead of the hollow feeling in her stomach.

I do not care what problems we cause. I have a problem that needs to be fixed. I am hungry.

Carima realized that her dragon's eyes were whirling not from fear at the fight taking place in front of them but from stomach-cramping, nauseating hunger. It wasn't her own, but she felt Mayath's as if it was.

Resolutely turning her back on the Weyrleaders, Carima located a pail that was still filled with meat and set herself to the task of feeding her dragonet. The little green ate voraciously, devouring the meat nearly as quickly as Carima could pass it to her. Only when the very last piece of meat was gone did she give a delicate burp and seem to be sated.

Having kept an eye on the others who finished before her, Carima knew what to expect next. She grabbed a second pail, this one filled with oil, and used the wooden paddle to smooth the thick substance all over Mayath's bright hide. Oh, yes, that's good. More! Carima laughed at the bossy tone and complied, liberally spreading oil until Mayath was gleaming in the late afternoon light.

"She's a beauty," a voice said, and Carima turned to find the Weyrwoman standing next to her. Clearly she had been nominated the one to talk to her, since the two men were standing some distance away, the Weyrlingmaster with his arms crossed and a scowl on his thin face.

"Thank you!" Carima hastened to reply, unsure of how to address such an important figure in the Weyr. "Her name is Mayath." She paused and then burst out, "I'm not sorry I Impressed! I'm very sorry about all the problems we might cause, and I certainly didn't mean to bring trouble to anyone, but I'm not sorry to have Mayath!"

That was the truth, she realized suddenly. As determined as she'd been before to refuse Impression, now that it had happened she could think of no other way to live her life. Mayath was more a part of her than her arms or legs, integral and necessary and feeling like she'd always been there. It was just a miracle that Mayath forgave her for making her wait to Impress in the first place.

She put one hand on her dragon's shoulder as these thoughts flitted through her mind and was aware that Mayath had stood up to her full height and her eyes were spinning balefully at the Weyrwoman.

"Of course not," Lirallen replied soothingly, "no one is sorry that you found each other. I'll admit that we've never had a situation like this, but that doesn't mean we can't adapt. Dragonriders have never been as hide-bound as Holders, you know."

Carima felt the beginning of hope. "Does that mean I'll be able to train with all the others? And fly in a wing eventually?"

"If I have anything to say about it," Lirallen replied dryly. "For now you and Mariko will be sharing a weyr close to the Weyrling barracks so you won't be entirely separated from the rest of your classmates. Weyrlingmaster T'rut has agreed to train you along with the others, as long as he thinks you're capable of keeping up." She leaned closer, conspiratorially. "He doesn't think you can do it, but I sincerely hope you prove him wrong."

"Thank you, Weyrwoman," Carima said, filled with gratitude for the older woman's kindness.

"Don't thank me; we should be thanking you for keeping this Hatching a happy occasion."

Carima didn't even want to contemplate what would have happened to Mayath if that bluerider hadn't thrown her onto the sands.

I'm sleepy. Are we done yet?

Lirallen seemed to know what Mayath had said before Carima could relay it. She grabbed a passing drudge and told Carima to follow her back to her new weyr, where she would find her belongings had already been moved in.

Eternally thankful for the Weyrwoman's help, Carima made her farewell and followed the drudge to her new home.

Carima hesitated at the entrance to the dining caverns. She knew the normally bare, gray walls would be covered in bright banners and the gigantic tables laden with wine and food. Harpers would be set up in the corner, playing all the traditional dance songs. The new Weyrlings would be making the rounds, receiving congratulations from family and friends, recounting the unbelievable experience of Impression, and bragging about the superiority of their dragons. It was a scene she had witnessed a hundred times before, but never as one of the newly-triumphant riders.

Triumphant was the wrong word. Giddy with the intensity of the emotional bond and completely and thoroughly in love with Mayath, yes, but certainly not triumphant. She couldn't for one second forget that she was different from all the others, an abnormality. What would people say? Rumors flew faster in a Weyr than dragons could blink between and Carima knew her story would be recounted over and over with embellishments added each time. If the Weyrlingmaster was any indication of the general mood of the Weyr, most would not be sympathetic to the way she had challenged tradition, however inadvertently. "Influencing the poor beast in the egg," or maybe "interfering where she had no business getting involved," or…

"You look like you could use some company." One of the sweetest, smoothest voices Carima had ever heard addressed her, and she turned to see the girl who had Impressed the queen standing next to her. She had changed into a red dress and although she wasn't particularly attractive, her voice more than made up for her average looks. She had light brown hair cropped in a practical style just below her chin, a stubborn mouth, round face, and hazel eyes. "My name's Mariko."

So this was the girl she would be living with for the remainder of Weyrling training. Carima immediately had a positive feeling about the girl, who looked to be a few Turns younger than she was. "I'm Carima. Have you gone in yet?" she asked, motioning to the entrance. As the newest goldrider in the Weyr, she knew Mariko would be receiving the most attention.

"Yes, I've already said my hellos to most of the guests. Who would have thought that Impressing the queen would be boring news tonight? Everyone's talking about you."

Carima blanched. Maybe Mariko wouldn't be getting a lot of attention. She'd known the gossiping would happen, but hearing it from someone else made it real. "I can't do this. I'm going back to our weyr."

"Oh no you won't," Mariko insisted, pulling her towards the entrance. "No one will be rude if you're with me, and you should enjoy the feast with the rest of us."

Carima reluctantly let the much taller girl pull her into the dining caverns and flushed as a low buzz greeted her entrance. Mariko resolutely led her to the overflowing tables and insisted that she fill her plate. They were just about to sit when a voice shouted her name and she barely had time to set the plate down when C'rin wrapped his arms around her and twirled her in a big circle.

"You did it! You Impressed." He beamed down at Carima, face slightly flushed from wine and filled with doting adoration. "I knew you would do it. She's a real beauty," he said.

The three of them sat down and discussed every aspect of the Hatching. Carima felt herself slowly start to relax and she was able to ignore all the whispers and glances directed at her, or at least for the most part. It helped that through the bond with Mayath she could feel that the little green had slipped into an exhausted sleep. At least one of them was able to escape the pressure and relax.

While C'rin and Mariko animatedly discussed the finer points of dragon bathing, Carima let the music and good food lull her senses as she gazed around the dining caverns. It was only when she spotted a familiar figure in the corner that a prick of guilt forced her into action.

She excused herself from the other two and headed straight for the corner. She stopped in front of the bluerider and took a breath. "I just wanted to apologize for being so stubborn earlier. Without you, I never would have found Mayath." That didn't even begin to convey the depth of her gratitude, but she hoped he would understand what she was trying to say.

"That's funny, because I was hoping to apologize to you. I was rude and not particularly sympathetic, and I assumed you were meant for the gold, which now seems out of line. I probably wouldn't have even thought about you if the gold had Impressed right away, and then what would have happened to your little green?" He shrugged. "As far as I'm concerned, everything turned out the way it should have, and that's enough for me."

He sat and motioned for Carima to follow suit, which she did. Now that they were up close and she wasn't in a panic or trying desperately to avoid his attention, she got a better look at the rider. He was young, probably around the same age as her brother or maybe even a few Turns younger. With tall, messy dark hair, a thin face with just a hint of stubble, and dark eyes, he made an attractive picture. "You'll have to convey Cirinth my thanks, but I'm afraid I don't know your name."

"K'say, newly transferred from Fort, at your service. You were actually the first person I talked to at the Weyr, before even my new Wingleader. Cirinth spotted you walking across the bowl the second we arrived from between and insisted that I talk to you."

It was a sobering realization. If she had crossed the bowl a few minutes earlier or he had arrived just a moment later, she might never have found Mayath. "Why did you transfer here?"

"Fort's bursting at the seams with young dragons and riders. We've got three queens, you know, and they've all been producing huge clutches lately. Since Telgar only has the one queen, or I suppose two now, you haven't been getting as many new riders. With Thread coming in a few Turns, they want to even out the number of dragons in each Weyr. I imagine Telgar will be getting quite a few young transfers in the upcoming months."

"Do you miss Fort?" It must have been hard to leave everyone and everything he'd ever known to come to a brand new place. She was having a hard enough time adjusting to the changes Impressing brought, and it wasn't like she was going anywhere different!

"In some ways," K'say replied. "I miss the riders I graduated with, and I'll certainly miss most of the riders in my wing, but I hated my Wingleader. Actually, the feeling was kind of mutual. I spent two Turns straight doing more watch duty than any other pair in the wing. And of course he wouldn't let me transfer to another wing, because then he wouldn't be able to torment me. When they sent out the call for transfers, I was the first to volunteer."

Carima arched an eyebrow at K'say. "I feel like there's something missing from this story. Any reason why he hated you so much?"

K'say grinned and took a liberal pull from his wine glass before admitting, "I may have pulled a few pranks back in my candidate days. Most of them were directed at St'ron. I'm still surprised the Weyrleaders let me stand for as long as it took to Impress Cirinth. There were always bets going on how long it would take me to be sent back to Fort Hold in disgrace." He leaned forward and winked before continuing, "Lucky for me just about everyone, including the Weyrleaders, thinks St'ron is a sour, hidebound fool. My pranks certainly had an admiring audience, even though I probably did more latrine duty than any candidate or Weyrling in the history of Fort Weyr."

Carima was laughing outright by the end of K'say's story. The bluerider was much less intimidating now that she'd gotten to know him. She opened her mouth to ask him another question but was surprised when all that came out was a yawn. "Sorry," she apologized, covering her mouth. "Guess I'm more tired than I thought." The food sitting heavy in her stomach and the harper music were taking their toll on her.

"It's not surprising. You've had a busy day. You can go back to your weyr and I won't be too offended."

Smiling again, Carima stood and said, "Thank you, K'say, both for your company and for your actions earlier. I don't know if I'll ever be able to repay you."

"How about this. Make some time in your busy schedule and come talk to me every once in a while; take pity on a poor transfer who doesn't know many people in the Weyr yet. Deal?"

Carima nodded. "Deal." She walked through the dining caverns this time with her head up and back straight. She didn't even notice the stares and whispers that followed her out the door.