When Nobody Knew (Part Two)
Title: When Nobody Knew
Fandom: RPS/Pern Fusion
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Summary: It was the last thing he said before the bronze dragon took them into the air. Jared didn’t have time to look for his friends before they were between.
“Worried they’ll drop you between?”
Jared shook his head as he pushed his shoulder back against Jake’s. “Just hoping they’ll drop you.”
Jake smiled at Jared but before he could say anything, Alona grabbed them both by the elbow. “Behave or they’ll leave you both here at Fort Weyr and you’ll never see the hatching grounds of Ista.”
Jared looked at Jake over her head and smiled. Of all the candidates that were transferring from Fort Weyr to Ista Weyr, Jared was lucky he had this group to go with him. He’d been searched from the Harper Hall two turns before and he still hadn’t impressed a dragon. He wasn’t the oldest candidate and he hadn’t been on the sands the longest, but Jared wasn’t really known for his patience. Maybe that was why the weyrlingmaster was ready to send him to a new weyr.
“It’s just three seconds, right?”
Jared smiled at Alona. “Remember what they say?”
“Black, blacker, blackest. By the time I’m done, we’ll be flying high over Ista Weyr.”
“Exactly,” Jake took up the telling. “Only three seconds of cold and dark and we’ll get to be part of Ista’s new candidate group.”
Jared was nervous about flying between as well. He knew it was safe, that the only time a dragon had ever been lost between was when they were seriously injured or during the occasional training accident. The dragons and riders disappeared between and never came out again. He’d been between once before, when he’d come from the Harper Hall, but Alona was a weyrbrat. Her parents were both riders and somehow she’d never traveled between.
“Here they are!” Osric came running up to join them with Colin in tow. Colin had just come to the weyr from Fort Hold before the last hatching and he was already moving. Jared thought the kid just had itchy feet. Osric had been at the Healer Hall and ended up at the weyr. Jared was fond of Osric but it was really Jake and Alona he was grateful for.
Above them, the sky filled with six dragons. Jared watched each as they appeared from between. The Weyrleader, Weyrwoman, and Weyrlingmaster of Fort Weyr were there to greet them and the candidates were rushed forward with water and wine skins for the new arrivals.
Jared found himself offering the two skins to the bronzerider who had come with them. “Wine please, Candidate,” the rider said with a friendly smile. Jared handed him the skin and watched as he drank deeply. “Your name?”
“Jared, Wingleader,” Jared replied quickly. Jared held his head up high and remembered to use his harper-trained manners instead of fall apart like some of the candidates did.
“M’sha,” the wingleader said with a smile. “My friends call me M’sha.”
Jared’s eyes widened but the bronzerider looked closely at him. “You Harper trained?”
“Yes Sir, Journeyman Harper,” Jared said with pride. “Walked the tables last year under the Fort Weyr’s harper. Figure if I don’t impress a dragon, the least I can do is make a song or two to try to do it justice.”
M’sha smiled. “So you would be the Jared I’ve heard so much about. There is a weyrwoman at Ista who is looking forward to seeing you again Jared.”
“Dani?”
M’sha nodded. “I had to listen to that last letter you sent her five times before she stopped. It might have been that we were stuck on the hatching sands too. Not a lot to entertain you while you’re on the sands. Unless you’re the queen of course. I was trying to take a nap.”
Jared realized then that M’sha was the bronzerider who’d won Dani’s mating flight. Dani had sent him a letter about it, and about him.
“It’s been a long time. I’m sure the weyrwoman has more important things to do than to catch up with a candidate.”
“True, but don’t be surprised if she finds a way to sneak in a visit. Our junior weyrwoman is rather persistent when she sets her mind to something.”
Jared laughed at that but before he could say anything else, the wingleader was called forward to speak with the Weyrleaders of Fort.
“You know him?” Osric asked as he came up beside Jared.
The others congregated together again and Jared shook his head. “I knew a girl at Harper Hall once,” Jared said with a smile. “Three years ago she was found on search and she impressed a Queen.”
“What? You never said.”
He smiled fondly but there was a reason he didn’t speak of it. As much as he loved Dani and wanted to tell everyone about the sweet kitchen girl he knew that had become a Jr. Weyrwoman, it was still a bittersweet memory. The letters Dani sent never said anything about Jensen and Jared didn’t ask. He still didn’t know what had become of his best friend.
“Three people were searched from the Harper Hall for the Ista hatching a few turns back. The Jr. Weyrwoman was one of them. I wasn’t searched for Fort Weyr until a turn later. Now she’s a Weyrwoman and I’m a candidate. There isn’t much to say. It will be nice to see her again though. We write letters when we can but it’s not the same as seeing her and knowing that she’s okay.”
He tried not to think about it took much. He hoped to catch up with Dani and to find out what had happened to Jensen but he knew that once a rider had a dragon to care for and thread to fight, riders didn’t always have time for old friends. He tried not to get his hopes up.
“Alright candidates, time to fly,” M’sha said as he motioned Jared back to his side. “You know how to do this, right?”
Jared nodded because while he hadn’t been on dragonback in the two years he’d been a candidate, that didn’t mean he hadn’t climbed atop his fair share to help wash one in the weyr lake. He listened with the others as they were given their instructions, put on their protective gear, and then they each climbed in front of a rider onto one of the great dragons.
Jared felt M’sha behind him and he let out a deep breath. “One giant leap, a few flaps of his wings, and Donath will take us between,” the bronzerider said.
“Black, Blacker, Blackest,” Jared recited.
“Exactly.”
It was the last thing he said before the bronze dragon took them into the air. Jared didn’t have time to look for his friends before they were between.
**
Jared didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until they popped out of the cold of between and into the warm Ista air.
“You alright, Jared?”
Jared nodded his head, unable to speak in the moment. His first sight of Ista Weyr was just as awe inspiring as he remembered his first vision of Fort Weyr being. Whereas Fort Weyr had been built in a smooth oval shaped crater, Ista’s Weyr had five spikes moving high into the sky around the crater. The large bowl in the center gave way to a corral at the end of the crater and then to a great plateau before it led off to the sea. Dotted along the walls of the crater were the individual weyrs of each dragon and rider. Unlike the other weyrs, Ista’s small size meant that there wasn’t enough room to house all of their dragon pairs in the weyr itself. Instead, the outside of the crater walls was spotted with what they called forest weyrs; weyrs built into the rock walls but that overlooked the island itself.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” The rider called out to Jared.
He nodded again but looked over his shoulder to smile at the bronzerider before he turned his attention back to the flight.
He watched as the other five dragons that had come with them landed and he was grateful for the extra time sitting on the back of the great bronze beast. He kept one hand firmly wrapped around the wherhide saddle - though he knew the rider wouldn’t let him fall - but with the other he gently patted the dragon’s hide.
He doubted the dragon could feel it through his thick skin but Jared felt it was appropriate to offer thanks in some way. He was always surprised by the warmth of a dragon’s scales. As a candidate they often had to help with the caring of dragons. Sometimes they worked with the dragon healers and sometimes they simply helped riders who had been injured in threadfall. The dragon healers of Fort had asked for him often due to his calming voice and the way he could tell stories for long periods of time. He’d talked many a rider and dragon to sleep while they endured treatment or waited for the fellis to kick in and help them sleep through the pain.
He felt the dragon’s angle change and then they were diving down to land in the great bowl of Ista Weyr. He refused to close his eyes or cry out when the dragon dove, but the great bronze snapped his wings out as they descended just in time to land cleanly.
“Show off,” the rider said with a firm pat to the dragon’s hide behind him. “Sorry about that. Donath likes to surprise people and he believed you were up for the challenge.”
Jared laughed. “I appreciate the confidence, and the safe landing,” Jared said as he and M’sha dismounted. He turned to the great bronze and bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Donath, for the safe journey. It is greatly appreciated and it was indeed a great, if short, adventure.”
M’sha clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. “We like you, Candidate. Good luck on the sands.”
M’sha left with the other riders and Jared was left standing in the bowl with the other four candidates. None of them knew what to do but they clumped together as Jared pointed towards what he hoped was the weyr’s entrance.
“It’s not as big as Fort Weyr, is it?” Colin asked.
Jared sighed as he looked over at Colin. Colin had been a Lord Holder’s youngest son and while he’d always been fun to have around, he wasn’t always the best at remembering old affiliations had nothing to do with weyr politics. They were Ista candidates now and there was no need to compare the weyr with Fort.
“She might be smaller in size, but she still packs a punch when it counts,” a voice rang out behind them.
Jared turned around and looked at the older man that approached them. He noticed the knots on the rider’s shoulder that denoted his rank immediately. The Weyrlingmaster of Ista Weyr looked grumpy with a serious expression on his face, but there were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. He watched them for a moment but didn’t make a further comment about what Colin had just said. Jared decided he might be disciplined, but not mean.
Reporting from Fort Weyr, Weyrlingmaster,” Jared said as the rider just stared at them. The man looked at Jared for a moment before he took them all in and nodded to each as he held their eyes.
“You all know we have a clutch on the sands. Fantith laid thirty two eggs, including a gold. We sent to each of the other weyrs to see if they had candidates they wanted to send along. Your former Weyrlingmaster assured me that you five were worth keeping around. See that you live up to his belief in you.”
Jared nodded and didn’t need to look to know his friends had done the same. None of them wished to dishonor the weyr they’d come from or make a bad impression with their new weyr.
“Normally I’d have you settle in and get to know the place, but Ista is a bit of a maze and we’ve all just accepted that everyone gets lost in the beginning. When you do get turned around, just ask for help. We’re all used to it around here. The other candidates are at the hatching grounds right now, so we’re going to head straight there. When we’re done we’ll get your things settled into the candidate’s quarters.”
The man turned and began to walk back out across the bowl of the weyr. He turned to walk backwards as he led them back out of the weyr. “I’m Weyrlingmaster J’mes. I’ll be in charge of you until you impress, or until you decided to pack it up and find something else. You lot don’t look like quitters to me, so it looks like we’ll be getting to know one another real well.”
“The current clutch was laid by Fantith. This was her first mating flight and Junior Weyrwoman Danneel doesn’t leave the hatching grounds at all. You’ll normally find Donath or Strith’s riders at her side. Danneel is an excellent weyrwoman but she’s got a wildfire temper so I suggest you put your best foot forward. After we’re done, we’ll get you settled. Should be about time for lunch then and you can meet the other candidates.”
Jared wasn’t sure which he was more excited about; seeing the eggs or getting his first glimpse at Dani in three years. He wanted the chance to talk to her, catch up, and see how weyr life had been for her. Not that Jared expected he’d get a chance to talk to her; she was a weyrwoman now and he was a candidate with a never ending regiment of training and work. It was a nice thought though and even if he couldn’t talk to her, he could see with his own eyes that she was doing well.
The hatching grounds of Ista were much the same as those of Fort Weyr. The weyr opened into a large cavern where the Queen could sit and watch her eggs. Warm sand covered the floor of the grounds and across the wall were seats where the weyrfolk and invited guests would come at the time of the hatching to witness the impression of new dragons and their riders. The cavern had ledges higher up for other dragons to watch.
Among the thirty two eggs currently on the sand, Jared could see other candidates as they moved around the eggs. They touched softly, reverently, as they walked along. Jared looked at Alona and gave her an encouraging smile before they both stepped onto the sands together.
Jared moved away from the others and began to make his way around to all the eggs. He spoke softly as he moved, hands softly caressing each shell before he’d move to another. There would be other days to come back and visit, but Jared hoped to make a good impression the first time.
On more than the eggs.
Only girls were presented to the gold egg but all the boys were expected to pay their respects to the Queen. At the back of the cavern, Queen Fantith sat with her rider. Jared stopped before her and stared at the beautiful woman before him. Junior Weyrwoman Danneel was stunning, but she would always be Jared’s Dani, the kitchen girl who helped him sneak sweets to Jensen and who helped him keep on the good side of the Harper Hall’s kitchen staff. She smiled as she looked down at him and Jared couldn’t help but return it.
“Weyrwoman, the humblest of respect to you and your beautiful Queen,” he said as he bowed low.
The cavern rung suddenly with the bellow of the queen and an answering bellow began outside the caverns. Jared looked up startled as the Queen bellowed a second time. Weyrlingmaster J’mes gathered them all up to lead them away, but the Queen bellowed a third time.
Jared was being led off the sands, but a dragonrider grabbed him by the arm. “Excuse me, J’mes, but the Queen wants this one still.”
“What the ever loving name of Faranth for?” the Weyrlingmaster asked.
“No clue, but Strith is insistent as well.”
Jared stared at the rider who had yet to look at him but when the Weyrlingmaster nodded, Jared was drug back onto the sands even though everyone else had been sent away. He was being led through the sands and towards the shelf where the Junior Weyrwoman stood watching. Jared had enough though and he pulled his arm out of the rider’s grasp.
“Jensen?” It only took a second to see the knots on his jacket to realize exactly who he was. “Wingleader J’sen?”
“Hey Jared,” Jensen… J’sen … said with a small smile. “Funny meeting you here.”
“Funny meeting … ” Jared fumed. It was the worst possible time for him to lose his temper but he forgot about the hatching and the Queen and the dragons and everything. “I waited for three years and not one letter? Not a single note to let me know you were okay? That you impressed a dragon? That you were a wingleader already?”
J’sen sighed. “You said I’d do it quick. You were right. Strith found me on the sands that first hatching and I managed to make wingleader earlier this turn.”
“Jared,” he looked up at Dani and her smile was indulgent. “While I appreciate your need to berate J’sen for his terrible behavior, Fantith sent everyone away for some reason and she wants you on the sands. Please stop manhandling one of our wingleaders and get on the sands.”
J’sen stepped back and Jared looked up at the Queen.
“I am so sorry. I beg your pardon,” he said as he walked away from J’sen and onto the hatching sands. As much as he wanted to talk to J’sen, he wasn’t about to risk angering the Queen or risking his chances on the sands. No one knew why a dragon chose the rider they did. He had no idea why the gold dragon wanted him down there now either, so he moved around the eggs again and touched each one as he’d been doing before. He noticed the way Dani and J’sen watched him and whispered to one another but he tried not to let that take his focus from the task at hand.
“You missed one,” Danneel said softly when Jared made his way back to her and bowed again to Fantith.
“Dani,” J’sen called her name but Danneel shook her head to forestall him.
“You can’t mean … I’m not supposed to touch the gold egg,” Jared said.
“Fantith insists that you be allowed to attend all her daughters as well as her sons.”
It wasn’t allowed, but then again neither was disobeying a Weyrwoman. He let out a deep breath as he stepped forward and found the egg. It was larger than the others and Jared could have sworn it was warmer too. He wasn’t sure what to do so he approached it the same way he had the others.
He let his hand skim lightly over the egg. “Hello little dragon,” he said softly. “My name is Jared. I am a journeyman harper, at least I was and probably will be again soon. Not that I wouldn’t want to be a dragonrider but it’s been two years and I’m beginning to think my dragon isn’t on the sands. I’m not the type to give up hope, but I must say that I wouldn’t mind being a weyr harper if being a candidate didn’t work out.”
He kept up a steady stream of conversation with the egg until Danneel relented and told him the Queen was satisfied.
Danneel disappeared and Jared was left with J’sen.
“Jared?”
“Yes?”
“That was … unusual. I’ve never seen Fantith that upset.”
“And the other dragon that bellowed with her? Was that her mate?”
J’sen shook his head. “No, that was Strith, my bronze. They agreed that you should be here.”
“What’s going on?” Jared asked.
“I have no idea. I think maybe they wanted you to have a chance to spend time with us. Dani and I.”
“You never wrote, J’sen.” He hated that he’d lost control of his voice, how small he sounded, but Jensen had been his best friend, his everything. He disappeared as if Jared had never meant anything and it still hurt.
J’sen looked down at his hands and shook his head. “How could I? The day I impressed Strith was the best and worst day of my life. I had just gained the most amazing thing, but in that moment, the person I wanted to tell the most? I’d just guaranteed that I’d never see him again. I didn’t know how to tell you all the things I was thinking and it was killing me. I wrote so many letters and none of them rang true. I just couldn’t do it. I just waited and hoped and every time someone went on search to the Harper Hall I hoped you’d come back with them.”
“So you were a coward?”
“Basically, yes,” J’sen admitted.
“And now?”
J’sen pulled him close before Jared could ask him anything else. “I missed you Jared. By the first egg, it’s good to see you again.”
Jared laughed to see J’sen smile at him and suddenly the world was okay again. He was sure it would come up between them, but Jared knew they’d find a way to deal with it.
“Not that I don’t appreciate a little time to catch up, but I’m pretty sure J’mes will have my hide if I don’t catch up with the candidates.”
J’sen smiled. “I’ll lead you to them. Strith said they’re just getting to the dining hall. I’ll make sure you get fed before I drop you off. Dani would have my hide if I let you go hungry. You still have a dragon’s 2 stomachs?” J’sen asked.
Jared patted his stomach and smiled. “I can’t help it J’sen. I’m a growing boy.”
They laughed together as J’sen began to show Jared around and it felt almost like old times.
Fandom: RPS/Pern Fusion
Pairing: Jared/Jensen
Summary: It was the last thing he said before the bronze dragon took them into the air. Jared didn’t have time to look for his friends before they were between.
“Worried they’ll drop you between?”
Jared shook his head as he pushed his shoulder back against Jake’s. “Just hoping they’ll drop you.”
Jake smiled at Jared but before he could say anything, Alona grabbed them both by the elbow. “Behave or they’ll leave you both here at Fort Weyr and you’ll never see the hatching grounds of Ista.”
Jared looked at Jake over her head and smiled. Of all the candidates that were transferring from Fort Weyr to Ista Weyr, Jared was lucky he had this group to go with him. He’d been searched from the Harper Hall two turns before and he still hadn’t impressed a dragon. He wasn’t the oldest candidate and he hadn’t been on the sands the longest, but Jared wasn’t really known for his patience. Maybe that was why the weyrlingmaster was ready to send him to a new weyr.
“It’s just three seconds, right?”
Jared smiled at Alona. “Remember what they say?”
“Black, blacker, blackest. By the time I’m done, we’ll be flying high over Ista Weyr.”
“Exactly,” Jake took up the telling. “Only three seconds of cold and dark and we’ll get to be part of Ista’s new candidate group.”
Jared was nervous about flying between as well. He knew it was safe, that the only time a dragon had ever been lost between was when they were seriously injured or during the occasional training accident. The dragons and riders disappeared between and never came out again. He’d been between once before, when he’d come from the Harper Hall, but Alona was a weyrbrat. Her parents were both riders and somehow she’d never traveled between.
“Here they are!” Osric came running up to join them with Colin in tow. Colin had just come to the weyr from Fort Hold before the last hatching and he was already moving. Jared thought the kid just had itchy feet. Osric had been at the Healer Hall and ended up at the weyr. Jared was fond of Osric but it was really Jake and Alona he was grateful for.
Above them, the sky filled with six dragons. Jared watched each as they appeared from between. The Weyrleader, Weyrwoman, and Weyrlingmaster of Fort Weyr were there to greet them and the candidates were rushed forward with water and wine skins for the new arrivals.
Jared found himself offering the two skins to the bronzerider who had come with them. “Wine please, Candidate,” the rider said with a friendly smile. Jared handed him the skin and watched as he drank deeply. “Your name?”
“Jared, Wingleader,” Jared replied quickly. Jared held his head up high and remembered to use his harper-trained manners instead of fall apart like some of the candidates did.
“M’sha,” the wingleader said with a smile. “My friends call me M’sha.”
Jared’s eyes widened but the bronzerider looked closely at him. “You Harper trained?”
“Yes Sir, Journeyman Harper,” Jared said with pride. “Walked the tables last year under the Fort Weyr’s harper. Figure if I don’t impress a dragon, the least I can do is make a song or two to try to do it justice.”
M’sha smiled. “So you would be the Jared I’ve heard so much about. There is a weyrwoman at Ista who is looking forward to seeing you again Jared.”
“Dani?”
M’sha nodded. “I had to listen to that last letter you sent her five times before she stopped. It might have been that we were stuck on the hatching sands too. Not a lot to entertain you while you’re on the sands. Unless you’re the queen of course. I was trying to take a nap.”
Jared realized then that M’sha was the bronzerider who’d won Dani’s mating flight. Dani had sent him a letter about it, and about him.
“It’s been a long time. I’m sure the weyrwoman has more important things to do than to catch up with a candidate.”
“True, but don’t be surprised if she finds a way to sneak in a visit. Our junior weyrwoman is rather persistent when she sets her mind to something.”
Jared laughed at that but before he could say anything else, the wingleader was called forward to speak with the Weyrleaders of Fort.
“You know him?” Osric asked as he came up beside Jared.
The others congregated together again and Jared shook his head. “I knew a girl at Harper Hall once,” Jared said with a smile. “Three years ago she was found on search and she impressed a Queen.”
“What? You never said.”
He smiled fondly but there was a reason he didn’t speak of it. As much as he loved Dani and wanted to tell everyone about the sweet kitchen girl he knew that had become a Jr. Weyrwoman, it was still a bittersweet memory. The letters Dani sent never said anything about Jensen and Jared didn’t ask. He still didn’t know what had become of his best friend.
“Three people were searched from the Harper Hall for the Ista hatching a few turns back. The Jr. Weyrwoman was one of them. I wasn’t searched for Fort Weyr until a turn later. Now she’s a Weyrwoman and I’m a candidate. There isn’t much to say. It will be nice to see her again though. We write letters when we can but it’s not the same as seeing her and knowing that she’s okay.”
He tried not to think about it took much. He hoped to catch up with Dani and to find out what had happened to Jensen but he knew that once a rider had a dragon to care for and thread to fight, riders didn’t always have time for old friends. He tried not to get his hopes up.
“Alright candidates, time to fly,” M’sha said as he motioned Jared back to his side. “You know how to do this, right?”
Jared nodded because while he hadn’t been on dragonback in the two years he’d been a candidate, that didn’t mean he hadn’t climbed atop his fair share to help wash one in the weyr lake. He listened with the others as they were given their instructions, put on their protective gear, and then they each climbed in front of a rider onto one of the great dragons.
Jared felt M’sha behind him and he let out a deep breath. “One giant leap, a few flaps of his wings, and Donath will take us between,” the bronzerider said.
“Black, Blacker, Blackest,” Jared recited.
“Exactly.”
It was the last thing he said before the bronze dragon took them into the air. Jared didn’t have time to look for his friends before they were between.
**
Jared didn’t realize he’d been holding his breath until they popped out of the cold of between and into the warm Ista air.
“You alright, Jared?”
Jared nodded his head, unable to speak in the moment. His first sight of Ista Weyr was just as awe inspiring as he remembered his first vision of Fort Weyr being. Whereas Fort Weyr had been built in a smooth oval shaped crater, Ista’s Weyr had five spikes moving high into the sky around the crater. The large bowl in the center gave way to a corral at the end of the crater and then to a great plateau before it led off to the sea. Dotted along the walls of the crater were the individual weyrs of each dragon and rider. Unlike the other weyrs, Ista’s small size meant that there wasn’t enough room to house all of their dragon pairs in the weyr itself. Instead, the outside of the crater walls was spotted with what they called forest weyrs; weyrs built into the rock walls but that overlooked the island itself.
“It’s something, isn’t it?” The rider called out to Jared.
He nodded again but looked over his shoulder to smile at the bronzerider before he turned his attention back to the flight.
He watched as the other five dragons that had come with them landed and he was grateful for the extra time sitting on the back of the great bronze beast. He kept one hand firmly wrapped around the wherhide saddle - though he knew the rider wouldn’t let him fall - but with the other he gently patted the dragon’s hide.
He doubted the dragon could feel it through his thick skin but Jared felt it was appropriate to offer thanks in some way. He was always surprised by the warmth of a dragon’s scales. As a candidate they often had to help with the caring of dragons. Sometimes they worked with the dragon healers and sometimes they simply helped riders who had been injured in threadfall. The dragon healers of Fort had asked for him often due to his calming voice and the way he could tell stories for long periods of time. He’d talked many a rider and dragon to sleep while they endured treatment or waited for the fellis to kick in and help them sleep through the pain.
He felt the dragon’s angle change and then they were diving down to land in the great bowl of Ista Weyr. He refused to close his eyes or cry out when the dragon dove, but the great bronze snapped his wings out as they descended just in time to land cleanly.
“Show off,” the rider said with a firm pat to the dragon’s hide behind him. “Sorry about that. Donath likes to surprise people and he believed you were up for the challenge.”
Jared laughed. “I appreciate the confidence, and the safe landing,” Jared said as he and M’sha dismounted. He turned to the great bronze and bowed deeply.
“Thank you, Donath, for the safe journey. It is greatly appreciated and it was indeed a great, if short, adventure.”
M’sha clapped him on the shoulder and smiled. “We like you, Candidate. Good luck on the sands.”
M’sha left with the other riders and Jared was left standing in the bowl with the other four candidates. None of them knew what to do but they clumped together as Jared pointed towards what he hoped was the weyr’s entrance.
“It’s not as big as Fort Weyr, is it?” Colin asked.
Jared sighed as he looked over at Colin. Colin had been a Lord Holder’s youngest son and while he’d always been fun to have around, he wasn’t always the best at remembering old affiliations had nothing to do with weyr politics. They were Ista candidates now and there was no need to compare the weyr with Fort.
“She might be smaller in size, but she still packs a punch when it counts,” a voice rang out behind them.
Jared turned around and looked at the older man that approached them. He noticed the knots on the rider’s shoulder that denoted his rank immediately. The Weyrlingmaster of Ista Weyr looked grumpy with a serious expression on his face, but there were laugh lines around his eyes and mouth. He watched them for a moment but didn’t make a further comment about what Colin had just said. Jared decided he might be disciplined, but not mean.
Reporting from Fort Weyr, Weyrlingmaster,” Jared said as the rider just stared at them. The man looked at Jared for a moment before he took them all in and nodded to each as he held their eyes.
“You all know we have a clutch on the sands. Fantith laid thirty two eggs, including a gold. We sent to each of the other weyrs to see if they had candidates they wanted to send along. Your former Weyrlingmaster assured me that you five were worth keeping around. See that you live up to his belief in you.”
Jared nodded and didn’t need to look to know his friends had done the same. None of them wished to dishonor the weyr they’d come from or make a bad impression with their new weyr.
“Normally I’d have you settle in and get to know the place, but Ista is a bit of a maze and we’ve all just accepted that everyone gets lost in the beginning. When you do get turned around, just ask for help. We’re all used to it around here. The other candidates are at the hatching grounds right now, so we’re going to head straight there. When we’re done we’ll get your things settled into the candidate’s quarters.”
The man turned and began to walk back out across the bowl of the weyr. He turned to walk backwards as he led them back out of the weyr. “I’m Weyrlingmaster J’mes. I’ll be in charge of you until you impress, or until you decided to pack it up and find something else. You lot don’t look like quitters to me, so it looks like we’ll be getting to know one another real well.”
“The current clutch was laid by Fantith. This was her first mating flight and Junior Weyrwoman Danneel doesn’t leave the hatching grounds at all. You’ll normally find Donath or Strith’s riders at her side. Danneel is an excellent weyrwoman but she’s got a wildfire temper so I suggest you put your best foot forward. After we’re done, we’ll get you settled. Should be about time for lunch then and you can meet the other candidates.”
Jared wasn’t sure which he was more excited about; seeing the eggs or getting his first glimpse at Dani in three years. He wanted the chance to talk to her, catch up, and see how weyr life had been for her. Not that Jared expected he’d get a chance to talk to her; she was a weyrwoman now and he was a candidate with a never ending regiment of training and work. It was a nice thought though and even if he couldn’t talk to her, he could see with his own eyes that she was doing well.
The hatching grounds of Ista were much the same as those of Fort Weyr. The weyr opened into a large cavern where the Queen could sit and watch her eggs. Warm sand covered the floor of the grounds and across the wall were seats where the weyrfolk and invited guests would come at the time of the hatching to witness the impression of new dragons and their riders. The cavern had ledges higher up for other dragons to watch.
Among the thirty two eggs currently on the sand, Jared could see other candidates as they moved around the eggs. They touched softly, reverently, as they walked along. Jared looked at Alona and gave her an encouraging smile before they both stepped onto the sands together.
Jared moved away from the others and began to make his way around to all the eggs. He spoke softly as he moved, hands softly caressing each shell before he’d move to another. There would be other days to come back and visit, but Jared hoped to make a good impression the first time.
On more than the eggs.
Only girls were presented to the gold egg but all the boys were expected to pay their respects to the Queen. At the back of the cavern, Queen Fantith sat with her rider. Jared stopped before her and stared at the beautiful woman before him. Junior Weyrwoman Danneel was stunning, but she would always be Jared’s Dani, the kitchen girl who helped him sneak sweets to Jensen and who helped him keep on the good side of the Harper Hall’s kitchen staff. She smiled as she looked down at him and Jared couldn’t help but return it.
“Weyrwoman, the humblest of respect to you and your beautiful Queen,” he said as he bowed low.
The cavern rung suddenly with the bellow of the queen and an answering bellow began outside the caverns. Jared looked up startled as the Queen bellowed a second time. Weyrlingmaster J’mes gathered them all up to lead them away, but the Queen bellowed a third time.
Jared was being led off the sands, but a dragonrider grabbed him by the arm. “Excuse me, J’mes, but the Queen wants this one still.”
“What the ever loving name of Faranth for?” the Weyrlingmaster asked.
“No clue, but Strith is insistent as well.”
Jared stared at the rider who had yet to look at him but when the Weyrlingmaster nodded, Jared was drug back onto the sands even though everyone else had been sent away. He was being led through the sands and towards the shelf where the Junior Weyrwoman stood watching. Jared had enough though and he pulled his arm out of the rider’s grasp.
“Jensen?” It only took a second to see the knots on his jacket to realize exactly who he was. “Wingleader J’sen?”
“Hey Jared,” Jensen… J’sen … said with a small smile. “Funny meeting you here.”
“Funny meeting … ” Jared fumed. It was the worst possible time for him to lose his temper but he forgot about the hatching and the Queen and the dragons and everything. “I waited for three years and not one letter? Not a single note to let me know you were okay? That you impressed a dragon? That you were a wingleader already?”
J’sen sighed. “You said I’d do it quick. You were right. Strith found me on the sands that first hatching and I managed to make wingleader earlier this turn.”
“Jared,” he looked up at Dani and her smile was indulgent. “While I appreciate your need to berate J’sen for his terrible behavior, Fantith sent everyone away for some reason and she wants you on the sands. Please stop manhandling one of our wingleaders and get on the sands.”
J’sen stepped back and Jared looked up at the Queen.
“I am so sorry. I beg your pardon,” he said as he walked away from J’sen and onto the hatching sands. As much as he wanted to talk to J’sen, he wasn’t about to risk angering the Queen or risking his chances on the sands. No one knew why a dragon chose the rider they did. He had no idea why the gold dragon wanted him down there now either, so he moved around the eggs again and touched each one as he’d been doing before. He noticed the way Dani and J’sen watched him and whispered to one another but he tried not to let that take his focus from the task at hand.
“You missed one,” Danneel said softly when Jared made his way back to her and bowed again to Fantith.
“Dani,” J’sen called her name but Danneel shook her head to forestall him.
“You can’t mean … I’m not supposed to touch the gold egg,” Jared said.
“Fantith insists that you be allowed to attend all her daughters as well as her sons.”
It wasn’t allowed, but then again neither was disobeying a Weyrwoman. He let out a deep breath as he stepped forward and found the egg. It was larger than the others and Jared could have sworn it was warmer too. He wasn’t sure what to do so he approached it the same way he had the others.
He let his hand skim lightly over the egg. “Hello little dragon,” he said softly. “My name is Jared. I am a journeyman harper, at least I was and probably will be again soon. Not that I wouldn’t want to be a dragonrider but it’s been two years and I’m beginning to think my dragon isn’t on the sands. I’m not the type to give up hope, but I must say that I wouldn’t mind being a weyr harper if being a candidate didn’t work out.”
He kept up a steady stream of conversation with the egg until Danneel relented and told him the Queen was satisfied.
Danneel disappeared and Jared was left with J’sen.
“Jared?”
“Yes?”
“That was … unusual. I’ve never seen Fantith that upset.”
“And the other dragon that bellowed with her? Was that her mate?”
J’sen shook his head. “No, that was Strith, my bronze. They agreed that you should be here.”
“What’s going on?” Jared asked.
“I have no idea. I think maybe they wanted you to have a chance to spend time with us. Dani and I.”
“You never wrote, J’sen.” He hated that he’d lost control of his voice, how small he sounded, but Jensen had been his best friend, his everything. He disappeared as if Jared had never meant anything and it still hurt.
J’sen looked down at his hands and shook his head. “How could I? The day I impressed Strith was the best and worst day of my life. I had just gained the most amazing thing, but in that moment, the person I wanted to tell the most? I’d just guaranteed that I’d never see him again. I didn’t know how to tell you all the things I was thinking and it was killing me. I wrote so many letters and none of them rang true. I just couldn’t do it. I just waited and hoped and every time someone went on search to the Harper Hall I hoped you’d come back with them.”
“So you were a coward?”
“Basically, yes,” J’sen admitted.
“And now?”
J’sen pulled him close before Jared could ask him anything else. “I missed you Jared. By the first egg, it’s good to see you again.”
Jared laughed to see J’sen smile at him and suddenly the world was okay again. He was sure it would come up between them, but Jared knew they’d find a way to deal with it.
“Not that I don’t appreciate a little time to catch up, but I’m pretty sure J’mes will have my hide if I don’t catch up with the candidates.”
J’sen smiled. “I’ll lead you to them. Strith said they’re just getting to the dining hall. I’ll make sure you get fed before I drop you off. Dani would have my hide if I let you go hungry. You still have a dragon’s 2 stomachs?” J’sen asked.
Jared patted his stomach and smiled. “I can’t help it J’sen. I’m a growing boy.”
They laughed together as J’sen began to show Jared around and it felt almost like old times.