OK, for today's disclaimer, we have... um... any volunteers?
"M'kai! Wake up!" Norekke hissed, poking him.
"Hmm? Oh, sorry," he mumbled, and raised his head, despite the effort it cost him. F'lar was making a speech, but the combination of the late night and the adrenalin of fighting Thread wearing off had left M'kai exhausted, and it took too much energy to concentrate. He could always ask B'kennor or V'lan or someone else about it later. He put his head back down on the table, and drifted off again.
"M'kai? Are you going to pick one?" a voice asked a little while later.
"What? What's going on?" he said muzzily, and opened his eyes. F'nor was looking down at him, a grin creeping onto his face despite his efforts to hide it.
The brown rider displayed a hatful of folded slips of paper, and said, "I noticed you weren't exactly paying attention to F'lar's speech, so I'll go over it again. The Weyrs are becoming crowded again, so riders are drawing lots to see where they're going. Some people are staying where they are, of course, like the current Weyrleaders and senior Weyrwomen, but all the wings are being broken up and reshuffled, to give everyone some experience. So, pick a paper, and see where you'll be going!"
He offered the hat, and M'kai reached out to take one. He carefully unfolded it, and read the words on it. He looked up at F'nor blankly. "Where's 'Hanrahan Weyr'?" he asked.
A loud whoop next to his ear made M'kai jump and fall off his seat onto the rocky floor. "That's where I'm going! This is great!" B'kennor exclaimed, snatching the paper. "It's the new Weyr being established on the northern coast of the Southern Continent. They named it after…"
"Sorka Hanrahan, Faranth's rider, and her family," M'kai interrupted. "I am a harper; don't insult me by presuming to instruct me in the history I teach to the young."
"Sorry, M'kai," B'kennor said, his grin proving he wasn't. "Anyway, it's great that we'll be together!"
"Stuck with both of you, am I?" said F'nor with a weary resignation. He was smiling, though.
"Sir?" M'kai asked, puzzled.
"I'm to run Hanrahan until the first queen rises," he explained. "Brekke and I are retiring at the end of the Pass, and that's in two Turns. F'lar decided to keep us busy until then. Even after there's a Weyrleader and Weyrwoman, I'll be staying on to advise them, and all you other younglings."
"Fantastic!" B'kennor exclaimed. "There are so many boring old riders we could have been stuck with, but instead we get you!"
"So I'm not boring?" F'nor said with a grin.
"Just old!" the cheeky B'kennor replied.
"So, who else got Hanrahan?" M'kai asked, glancing at the other riders talking animatedly with each other.
"I did," Riasa called from the other side of the room.
"So did I," V'lan yelled.
Another thirty or so riders called out that they too had gotten Hanrahan, and there were cheers as riders discovered who else was in their new Weyr.
"Riders, please, calm down!" F'lar called over the general uproar. It immediately ceased, and all eyes were turned towards him.
"Everyone will be inspecting their new Weyrs tomorrow as it is a restday, then everyone will move in once Hanrahan is complete. But for now, let everyone drink and be merry, for the beginning of a new Weyr is cause for celebration!"
Flagons of Benden wine were passed out, and very soon, there was a noisy party happening. In all the other Weyrs, there were similar scenes as riders were given new assignments, and it was a wonder that there were no midair collisions as fire lizards streamed in and out of Weyrs, carrying news of the new placements.
x
M'kai woke at dawn, completely refreshed. Pleading exhaustion, he had retired early from the party, though he heard the faint sounds echoing around the Bowl for more than an hour before he finally dropped off to sleep. As a result, he was much more awake than the other riders heading to Hanrahan, and everywhere else for that matter. B'kennor was actually snoring on Dioanth's neck, the bronze being careful not to let his rider slip off.
"Let's go, everyone!" M'kai cried. "If Canth will give us the visualisation?" he added courteously, with a nod to the big brown.
Canth inclined his head, and a vivid picture filled the riders' minds.
"B'kennor, wake up! We're leaving!" M'kai cried. B'kennor jerked awake and frantically grabbed the riding straps to stop himself slipping off. M'kai pumped his arm, and the wing launched as one and winked out.
"Ever thought of going for a wingleader, young M'kai?" F'nor asked as they reappeared over a wide bay.
M'kai opened his mouth to ask why, then realised he had taken charge as they left Benden. He shut it again, and F'nor laughed.
"There's nothing wrong with being a good leader," he added gently, realising he had upset him a bit.
"So, where's the Weyr?" B'kennor asked, bringing Dioanth in closer. "I don't see any caves."
"Hidebound traditionalist!" F'nor snorted. "Down here in the Southern Continent, we don't need caves. At Southern, each rider was responsible for making their own weyr. We've decided to adopt a similar system here, but we'll build communal buildings together," he explained.
"In the Southern Continent, you need to build with the tropical heat in mind," he said, raising his voice so the other riders could hear him. "It gets very warm here during the day, and is often very humid. Floods are also a problem, as are bugs. So you'll need wide windows, raised floors and we'll get the SmithHall to make us air-conditioning units for those who want them. Personally, I think I'd die without one, and I recommend that you all get them, though we have to pay for them out of our own marks," he added regretfully, making the others laugh.
"I need at least rough plans by the end of the day, and construction will begin when everyone is happy with their design. So, have a look around, find a spot and start sketching!"
Gesturing to Tyrith to make himself comfortable in the sand, M'kai pushed his way into the thick undergrowth and began his search for a suitable spot for his weyr. All around him he could hear the other riders crashing through the tangled vines and cursing as they were scratched by thorns and tripped into more. M'kai chuckled to himself, then swore as he too tripped.
"You all right there, M'kai?" B'kennor asked as he parted the leaves of a bush, an amused grin on his face.
"Would you be all right if you fell into thorns?" M'kai grumbled, clambering out of them.
"Ah, but am I dim enough to do that?" he laughed. His next step landed into a thicker tangle of them than M'kai had fallen into.
"I think the answer to that is yes, B'kennor," M'kai laughed, and pulled him out of them. "Now, let's stop needling each other and find somewhere worth living."
Groaning at M'kai's awful pun, B'kennor followed his friend deeper into the jungle.
x
"You know what, B'kennor? I think this might be it!" M'kai said thoughtfully, surveying the surrounding area.
In front of them, there lay a river happily bubbling away to itself as it churned over a bed of rocks. Beyond it, trees gathered close to the shore and some even draped into it. The river's banks were made of sand, so there was little undergrowth, but best of all, there were no thorns.
"I don't know, M'kai," B'kennor said doubtfully.
"Well, if we clear away some of these trees, shore up the river with rock so the banks won't collapse, we could build just up there. We'd need foundations of rock, but we'd have fresh water nearby and it's close enough to where we landed to be within range of the Weyr proper but far enough away to get a bit of privacy."
"Well, you can set up here if you want, but I'm going to keep looking," B'kennor said with a wave, sauntering onwards. "I want somewhere where there's enough room for two."
M'kai chuckled, because he knew how popular the bronze rider was among the women of the Weyr. He and Riasa were only in a casual relationship, and neither of them believed in fidelity.
This is what comes of being Hold-bred, M'kai thought to himself as he pulled out his sketchbook. You have morals.
x
M'kai! It is time for you to wake up. The others are preparing to leave, a voice told him. M'kai groaned and rolled over, and found himself underwater. He exploded out of the water and swam to the shore, where he sat dripping and coughing up water.
M'kai? Are you all right? Tyrith asked anxiously. You were scared.
I just fell into the water when I woke up. It's nothing to worry about, M'kai reassured him between coughing fits. He heard Tyrith laugh, and started grinning himself. Pretty stupid thing to do, really, he thought to himself.
After he had finished sketching, he had returned to the beach where they had landed, and moved further round the bay until he found somewhere nice and quiet. He had eaten his midday meal on a sandy point that protruded further into the water, fallen asleep, and it was here that he had rolled right off and into the water.
Are you coming? Tyrith enquired. The rest of the wing is mounting up.
"Oh no!" M'kai exclaimed. "I'll be there as fast as I can!"
He stood and made a grab for the bag containing his sketchbook and what remained of his midday meal and stumbled across the sand until he reached the point where the others were getting ready to leave.
"Great shells! What have you been doing, M'kai?" B'kennor exclaimed when he saw him. "You're absolutely covered in sand!"
"I fell into the water when Tyrith woke me, and the sand stuck to me as I came back," M'kai admitted as he clambered up to his seat on Tyrith.
B'kennor burst out laughing, and laughed so hard he nearly fell off Dioanth.
"Oh, shut up," M'kai said irritably. It had seemed funny at first, but now he was soaking wet, the wind was making him feel cold and the sand was starting to itch and annoy him.
Canth wishes to know if we are ready to leave, Tyrith said, breaking into M'kai's misery.
More than ready, Tyrith. I can't wait to get into a nice warm bath! M'kai thought longingly.
"Let's ride!" F'nor roared, echoed by Canth. With a pump of his arm, he led the riders into the air and between.
Note to self: Don't space out, don't space out, don't space out...