First Solo Flight

A/N
This story leaped into my head as I beheld the following art work:
www dot deviantart dot com slash karissar23 slash art slash AzureFlightFantasy-Flight-of-the-Blue-Dragon-1008614726


I am Rhodith!

The voice burst into Boriander's mind as he made eye contact with the newly-hatched blue dragon, and he suddenly knew that his entire world had changed. The bullies in the Lower Caverns would never mistreat him again. He would never again know a moment of loneliness. His destiny had changed from cleaning out the Weyr's middens to soaring through the clouds. Everything would be better, and it was all Rhodith's doing.

As the adult blue rider led him and his new dragon friend down the ramp, he tried to find his family in the crowd below. Cander and Borrenia, his father and mother, would be overjoyed at his good fortune. It was unfortunate that they hadn't been allowed to watch the hatching, but their work in the kitchens had been delayed by a minor stovetop fire, and they had to stay and work until they had finished preparing enough food for everyone. At least his young cousin Alepha had been there to watch him Impress his dragon. She was more like a sister to him; she'd been living with his family ever since her own parents died of a fever, three Turns ago. She would be among the last of the guests to leave the Hatching Cavern and join the party. For one thing, she was so tiny that adults often stepped right in front of her without realizing it. For another, she wasn't a pushy kind of person; if someone else wanted to go first, she would let them without a moment's thought. She, like his parents, would be very happy for him.

By the time they reached the bottom of the Bowl, Boriander was being assailed by Rhodith's overwhelming hunger. All social considerations were set aside as he lunged for a bowl of chopped meat (possibly his mother's handiwork) and popped the juicy chunks into his dragon's maw as fast as Rhodith could swallow them. No sooner had he finished this task than the dragon began to feel itchy in eleven places at once. Fortunately, the oil and the paddles were nearby and easy to find. At last, the dragon relaxed, and Boriander – or Bor'der, as the dragon now called him – could search for his family and show off his new friend.

His parents' joy knew no bounds. They called themselves "culinary specialists," but everyone else called them kitchen drudges. For many Turns, it had seemed that their only son had been destined for nothing better. But then Lessa visited the kitchens on some errand that Manora could not attend to, Ramoth had brought her attention to the slender boy who always got the dirtiest jobs, and Boriander the drudge had become Boriander the Hatching candidate. Now he was Bor'der the blue rider! They were only a little bit curious about the dragon; their focus was on their son and his huge step upward in Pernese society.

He was downing his second meatroll when he saw Alepha making her way through the crowd towards him. In a way, she was hard to miss; her flaming red hair was quite unusual on Pern. Still, she was small for her age, and she was only five Turns, so it wasn't hard to miss her in a crowd if you weren't looking for her. She kept asking people for directions until she found her older cousin.

"Oh, Boriander, he's beautiful!" she exclaimed.

"I think he's going to be a big one, for a blue," Bor'der replied proudly. "He's a little bit bigger than the other new dragons. We're going to flame Thread together!"

"You must be so happy," she sighed. "This changes everything for you!" She turned and bent down to stroke the little dragon's eye ridge. "Thank you for choosing my cousin."

You are welcome. He makes me happy.

"Oh!" she burst out, pulling her hand back as though burned. "I think he talked to me! I heard a voice in my head!"

"Maybe he did," Bor'der said shortly. "Dragons can talk to anyone they want to. My name is Bor'der now." For some reason, he felt mildly irritated that his dragon was even willing to talk to someone besides himself.

Do not be jealous. I am yours and you are mine. She is no threat to you. But she is very nice. She knows how to scratch my eye ridges just right.

"Okay," he thought back. No, Alepha was not a threat. Her childlike enthusiasm for his new dragon would fade as she got more accustomed to the idea of having a blue rider for a cousin. He knew some of the other new riders would be beset by relatives who wanted favors from the Weyr; Alepha would never do that to him. He smiled and stroked Rhodith as he finished his meatroll.

The next few weeks were a welcome change from cleaning middens, but at the same time, they were harder than anything Bor'der had ever known. As a new weyrling, he had to learn everything about the Weyr and how it was organized; he had to memorize famous Weyrleaders and Weyrwomen; he had to become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of all the dragon types; he had to start learning the hand signals that dragonriders used in the air; and he had to do it in a state of constant fatigue from the many physical exercises that all the weyrlings had to undertake. Rhodith was a source of comfort and encouragement, as was his family. But he didn't see much of his family anymore. He ate and slept with the other weyrlings; his parents and his cousin still had kitchen duties. All they could do was set aside the best of the food and make sure he got it on his plate at mealtimes. Well, that was all that his parents could do.

His cousin had other ideas. She was young enough that only half her day was spent working. The other half was spent with the Weyr Harper, learning to read, write, and sing the Duty songs with the other children. The Weyr could not divide up the children by age, but taught them all together, with the older ones teaching the younger ones while the Harper supervised and introduced new ideas. Alepha was learning slightly above her level, but not enough to mark her as precocious. She liked reading the best, closely followed by the time for games and sports. Whenever she could, she would sneak away to watch the weyrlings.

"I don't understand it," Cander told the Harper one day. "If she's neglecting her schoolwork so often, then why isn't she falling behind?"

"I think she's listening to the weyrlings' lessons and learning from them," the Harper answered. "I'd prefer that she stay in my class and learn from me, but as long as she's progressing normally, I'm not ready to make an issue out of it." So they turned a blind eye when Alepha kept turning up among the young dragonriders. Because she was so young and small, they informally adopted her as their mascot, and promised her rides in the sky when she was old enough. There were days when she seemed to know almost as much about dragons as the riders themselves.

She maintained a special relationship with Rhodith. She knew that the blue was her cousin's dragon; she had no misunderstandings about that. But she often talked to the blue and offered him food. He was always willing to take whatever she offered him, and he frequently spoke to her. That made her feel extra-special; she would chatter about it endlessly as she ate supper with her family. The novelty of relating to the blue dragon did not wear off.

As the riders grew, so did their dragons. All of the dragons took their first flights without their riders; it was best if their first time in the air wasn't distracted with the weight and responsibility of a rider. None of them had the slightest problem taking to the sky. But there was one oddity. Rhodith was growing, but he wasn't growing as quickly as the others. He was only a few feet longer than he was on the day he hatched! All of the other dragons would soon be ready to fly with their riders, but not Bor'der's blue. He wasn't big enough.

"He's eating plenty," K'lune, the Weyrlingmaster, told Bor'der. "He's doing all his exercises, and I know you're doing your part to keep him healthy. Some dragons are just slower off the mark than others when it comes to growth. Don't worry; he'll catch up with the others eventually."

"I'm not worried about him," Bor'der replied. "But how can I learn to fly with him if I can't fly with him? The rest of the weyrlings will be learning how to fly with their dragons soon, and I'll be left behind."

"Please don't get your hopes up too high," the Weyrlingmaster said hesitantly, "but I may have a solution. There's a theory going around the Weyr. I don't know how much faith I put in it. But some of our leaders believe that a dragon can lift as much weight as he thinks he can lift. If that's true, then Rhodith will be able to fly with you, even if he isn't the same size as the others."

"That's an odd theory," Bor'der nodded. "How can we find out if it's true without putting me and my dragon at risk of falling?"

"I'm working on that," K'lune said. "My plan involves borrowing a full-grown bronze, or maybe a queen. You and Rhodith will jump off the edge of the Hatching Cave while the big dragon flies nearby, and if you can't stay in the air, then you'll land on the back of the other dragon before you can fall far enough to hurt yourselves. The problem is that those big dragons tend to keep very busy. They don't have time for one weyrling, even if they wanted to. I'm having no luck lining one up to help us."

"I guess I'll have to wait patiently, then," Bor'der sighed.

Do not worry. We will fly together.

Alepha had overheard the entire conversation. Questions of aerodynamics and wing-muscle strength did not concern her. All she cared about was that her favorite dragon wasn't allowed to fly with his rider. She went to Rhodith while Bor'der was eating lunch.

"Rhodith, you want to fly with Bor'der, right?"

Yes, of course I do.

"They say you can carry him if you think you can lift him, but you have to prove it somehow. Do you think you can carry me?"

Of course I could carry you. You are small and light. I have no doubt of that at all.

"Then let's go for a quick flight together so they can see you carrying me. Then they'll know you're ready to carry Bor'der, too."

My first flight should be with my own rider.

"But they won't let you try it until they think you're ready! Let's just show them that you're ready. That's all."

A bronze or a gold would have put up more resistance. But blues are not the sharpest blades in the forge, Alepha was very persuasive, and Rhodith really wanted to show the Weyrlingmaster that he was ready to fly with his rider. He allowed Alepha to sit on his shoulders, she got a secure grip on his neck, and he galloped across the Bowl, flapping as hard as he could.

When he took off running, several of the weyrlings noticed and started shouting. By the time Bor'der got out of the kitchens to see his dragon running away with someone else, Rhodith was bounding into the air higher than a grown man, then settling back to earth. Two more such bounds, and then he stayed up and began gaining height.

"Rhodith!" he shouted. "Where are you going?"

We are showing the Weyrlingmaster that I am ready to fly with you, of course.

The blue circled inside the Bowl and flew back. There was no question who was riding him; Alepha's red hair was streaming back behind her like a flaming comet. "I guess we don't have to offer her a free ride anymore," one of the other weyrlings said to Bor'der. "She took one on her own."

"Are you mad?" another weyrling asked him. Rhodith was still gaining height and would soon be able to fly right out of the Bowl.

"I guess I should be," Bor'der said after thinking for a moment. "But I know she isn't trying to one-up me, and I know my dragon's motives are pure. No, I'm not mad. I'm relieved to see that my dragon can carry a rider."

"Call her back," K'lune ordered. "That dragon has never flown with a rider before, and the girl doesn't know what she's doing."

Bor'der watched as his little dragon turned gracefully, with his tiny cousin holding on as tightly as she could. "She's in no danger," he decided. "Rhodith won't let anything bad happen to her. And... look at them! They look so beautiful up there together! This will probably be the only chance I ever get to see my dragon flying with a rider on his back. Rhodith, come back as soon as your wings start to feel tired."

I will. Is the Weyrlingmaster convinced yet?

"I think so." He turned to K'lune. "There won't be any problem with me and Rhodith flying together with the other weyrlings, will there?"

"I suppose not," the Weyrlingmaster nodded slowly. "The leaders' theory has been proven, thanks to your young cousin. I won't make you wait until your dragon reaches full size before I let you fly with him." Bor'der's smile nearly split his face.

Meanwhile, up in the sky, Alepha was having the time of her life. She was slightly nearsighted, so she couldn't make out many details in what she saw below. But the dragon was warm and strong beneath her, the wind was in her face, and she knew that this was a once-in-a-lifetime ride that she should enjoy for all it was worth.

"Can you go higher?" she asked.

I think I could, but my wings are starting to feel sore, and I promised Bor'der that I would return if that happened. When I am larger, I can take you to the clouds.

"That would be amazing! But please keep your promise to Bor'der." She breathed in the chill air. "This is amazing, even without the clouds!" They spiraled down to an ungraceful landing in the middle of the Bowl, where they were quickly surrounded by the Weyrlingmaster and his entire class. The weyrlings bubbled over with questions about what it was like to fly. They always had those questions in their minds, but it seemed disrespectful to ask the adult riders. Alepha was small and unimposing, so they let their curiosity fly. She answered them with just as much enthusiasm as she tried to pat her wind-blown hair back into place. At last, everyone's questions were answered, except one.

"Is this ever going to happen again?" Bor'der asked his cousin. "The right answer is 'no.' Nobody should ride my dragon except me."

"I wish it would happen again, but it probably won't," Alepha answered as they walked back to the kitchens. "You and Rhodith are going to be too busy learning to fly together. He won't have time for me anymore."

"That's just as well," he nodded. "Remember, he's my dragon, not yours!"

I am yours, and you are mine. But she is very nice.

A sevenday later, all the weyrlings flew with their dragons for the first time, including Bor'der and Rhodith. The blue grew slowly, but by his fourth Turn, he was nearly the same size as the rest of the blues. By that time, they had been assigned to a fighting wing. Rhodith's size didn't hold him back from doing what all dragons do when Thread falls. His relationship with his rider was as close as any dragon's.

But every now and then, when they had a rest day, Rhodith would take Bor'der and Alepha into the sky together. Even when she was old enough to pair off with a green rider, the red-haired girl never lost her fascination with her cousin's dragon. Sometimes, when the overcast hung low over the Weyr, the blue dragon even took his two favorite people as high as the clouds.

The End