Chapter 10 - Aurieth Rising
Spring, 36th Turn of the Present Pass
Aurieth's first rising took them all by surprise, coming as it did on a bright spring day a little under two Turns from her Hatching, and two months after S'gan's untimely death.
B'lee was early to breakfast, and had already finished his meal when D'min came in. The first sign he noted was that D'min, who was never very cheerful in the morning,was in a particularly bad mood when he entered the dining hall. More than that - he was in a downright filthy mood. When B'lee mentioned how nice the weather was outside, he was answered with a snarl. When a passing rider knocked against the bench and caused D'min to spill a few drops of his klah, the response was vicious.
B'lee stared in amazement. He'd known D'min for almost two years now, and though he'd seen him lose his temper once or twice, he'd never seen him like this. What on earth could be the matter?
"What's wrong?" he asked softly.
"Nothing." spat D'min, stabbing a slice of cold wherry with his fork as if it were Thread.
"Are you ill?"
"No!"
"Well, you don't seem -"
"And stop being so bloody inquisitive. You're not my mother."
"But -"
"I'm fine! All right? Just leave me alone." He grabbed his mug of klah and stalked off, muttering curses at anyone who came within an arm's-length.
B'lee stared at the retreating figure, absolutely stunned. It was if his friend had turned into a completely different person overnight. He shut his mouth abruptly, realising that he must look like a half-wit, and tried to finish his meal. His appetite had all but gone, though, and he pushed the plate away.
K'lon, a blue rider in 4 Wing and one of D'min's many former lovers, sat down next to B'lee and started to assemble a mighty breakfast. "What's up, B'lee?" he asked. "Someone tickle your arse while you weren't looking?"
B'lee shook his head, as much to clear his thoughts as to deny K'lon's light-hearted question. "No. It's just ... D'min's acting really strangely this morning. I asked how he was and he practically flamed me in my seat. Then he got all moody and stormed off without eating his breakfast." He frowned, anxiously. "I know he's not exactly cheerful in the mornings, but it's not like him to be so ... so ..."
"So much like a woman just before her monthlies?"
"Exactly! Only not, of course."
K'lon snorted. "Only not, of course. Hah!" He gave B'lee a light cuff on the ear. "How long have you been in the Weyr? He's proddy, my friend, and you are about to experience at first hand what happens to a green rider when his dragon wants to mate."
"Proddy? But he can't be! I mean she can't be - it's too soon. Aurieth isn't old enough."
"Oh, I don't know, it's what - two years come summer solstice? She's a little early, to be sure, but not all that unusual for a green. Especially not when her rider is so ... hmm ... enthusiastic."
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely." He grinned, made his breakfast into a sandwich, and got up. "Time to see to Rogeth," he said with a sly grin and a wink to B'lee and strolled off, adjusting his pants as he went.
B'lee stared after him. Aurieth proddy? Oh, this was going to go so very wrong.
* * *
Aurieth was already gone from the weyr when he got back from breakfast. He hurried to get Margroth's riding straps on and took himself to the landing area on the east ridge early, hoping to ask F'neldril for his advice, but he was too late. Any hope he had that K'lon might have been mistaken in his assumption was dashed as soon as he reached the ridge and found his friend and the Weyrlingmaster standing toe to toe. D'min was red-faced and held his fists clenched tightly at his side. The snarl from breakfast looked like it had been etched permanently into his features. Had he been arguing with F'neldril?
"Ah, B'lee," said F'neldril, urbanely. "Good. I was just explaining to D'min here that Aurieth will probably rise today. He needs to take her away from the Weyr. I don't suppose Margroth would ...?" He looked expectantly at B'lee for a moment before saying, resignedly, "No, I suppose not."
"I think K'lon might," suggested B'lee with a little hesitation, remembering the way the blue rider had left the breakfast table.
"Would K'lon and Rogeth be acceptable?" F'neldril asked, kindly, and D'min nodded abruptly.
F'neldril looked into the distance for a minute, the blank stare indicating that he was talking with Mnanth - probably asking him to tell Rogeth to bring K'lon.
A few of the other trainees appeared, and one or two of the dragons twitched a little as they caught Aurieth's scent. None of them flared up, though, and B'lee realised that they were still too immature to react to her condition. Even Margroth felt slightly bored with the whole matter, merely asking B'lee if they were going to practise more fire drills. I don't think so, love, he replied absently. Not today.
Rogeth appeared on the heights, landing with an elegant - and completely unnecessary - flourish about two dragonlengths away. K'lon appeared to have used his early warning to some effect, for there was a carrying net tied to the riding straps, and B'lee could see that it contained a brightly-coloured blanket and a small sack which probably contained food and drink. He felt somewhat relieved to know that K'lon was taking the time to make the ordeal as easy as possible for his friend.
K'lon slid down from his perch and walked up to the little group of riders. He nodded a greeting to F'neldril but went straight to D'min, saying, "Rogeth is willing if Aurieth will have him, and if you will have me."
D'min gave him a bleak smile and nodded. "Thanks."
K'lon smiled back, and B'lee was relieved to see that his expression was sympathetic rather than mocking or lascivious. "Don't worry about Aurieth. It can be a little overwhelming, you know, but everything will be fine. I promise you that. Come on, call her and let's go."
They walked off together, K'lon continuing to talk to D'min in a low voice and putting an arm loosely around his shoulder. Whatever he was saying, it had the effect of calming D'min and B'lee breathed a sigh of relief as the riders mounted their dragons and flew off towards the coast.
"Right, now, lads," said F'neldril. "Let's get back to the day's planned activities."
* * *
D'min didn't return until sundown, and after waiting a couple of minutes for him to appear, B'lee went to his friend's weyr, carrying some food which he'd brought back from the dining hall.
"D'min?" he called. "May I come in?"
"Sure," replied D'min, wearily.
When B'lee entered the bedchamber, D'min was stretched out on the sleeping furs, his hands behind his head. His clothes were rumpled, but there was no other indication that his day had been the least bit unusual.
"I brought you something to eat. I wasn't sure if you'd had dinner or not."
"Oh, thanks." He grabbed the food and starting eating. "Mmm. This is good - I'm starving."
"So how did it go?"
D'min raised an eyebrow and gave B'lee a curious stare. "Do you really want to know all the details?"
B'lee swallowed. "Well, no, actually. I just wondered if you were all right. I thought ... well, I hoped that K'lon treated you well."
D'min's face softened. "Yes, he did. It was a bit strange, though - it's a lot more intense when it's your own dragon, and I didn't expect that. But he was really good. I'm glad I was with someone I knew, and not a total stranger." He shuddered. "I'd hate to be a gold rider and have to do that in an open flight."
B'lee thought about that and had to agree with D'min - the thought of being taken by anyone who flew his dragon was not one he cared to dwell on. "I wonder if they tell the girls that, when they're Searched."
"Not likely. Only once they've impressed and can't get away. There are stories about queen riders - the Hold-bred girls - who've gone insane after their queen's first flight. Or they've never allowed her to rise again."
"Is that true?"
D'min shrugged. "Only what I've heard."
"Bizarre."
D'min finished his food and lounged back on the bed. "So how was the day without me?"
"Long. Tiring. Quiet."
D'min smirked, and B'lee was forced to add, "And not nearly as much fun without your running commentary."
D'min laughed. "I knew you'd miss me." He finished the meal and set the plate aside. "Anything interesting happen?"
B'lee groaned. "Margroth almost got flamed by Mallorth again. I swear he projects flame further every week."
"Shells, I really hope I don't end up in the same Wing. I mean, B'ret's pretty decent for a bronze rider, but Mallorth needs another five Turns just to grow into himself."
"He'll be brilliant once he's done growing, though."
"Yeah ..." D'min's voice trailed off. "I wonder how long it'll be before B'ret's Weyrleader."
"You think that too?" asked B'lee. "I've felt it for a while now."
"Bloody bronzes."
"Jealous?"
"No. Yes. Oh, I don't know."
B'lee smiled. "Well, that's informative."
"I don't want to be Weyrleader, if that's what you mean, especially Fort Weyrleader. Trying to get the Weyrs and Holds to work together is impossible. But I hate the way that people look at Aurieth, or my shoulder knots, and I can see them thinking, 'Oh, it's just another green rider, no one important'."
"They'd be lost without the greens."
"I know that, and you know that, but they only see the bronzes. It's like all those ballads we were talking about back in the barracks. Golds and bronzes - they're the only ones who get remembered."
"I told you I'd write The Ballad of Margroth and Aurieth one day."
"I'm looking forward to it!' He sighed, and slumped down again. "But we have to do something you can write about first."
"Hmm. I don't suppose that a routine training flight would count?"
"I don't think so. We'd have to do something heroic, like rescuing the Weyrwoman, or a Lord Holder's daughter." D'min settled back on his bed, smiling up at B'lee.
"Hmm. I don’t see that happening in the near future. Leri's quite capable of rescuing herself from anything Pern can throw at her, and Lord Tolocamp has so many daughters I doubt he'd even notice one was missing!"
They laughed, and B'lee was glad that nothing fundamental had changed. D'min was still the same cheeky lad with the attractive face and eyes that reminded him of the ocean. "So are you and K'lon going to be together for a while, do you think?" he asked.
D'min laughed. "No, silly. It was just a favour. K'lon's seeing someone at Telgar now, I think."
"Oh. I thought ... well, he's very attractive. If you like that sort of thing."
"Oh, he is," D'min agreed, smiling broadly. "Totally delicious in all the right places. But we had our fling last summer - when I was finally allowed out on my own! - and it was only for a couple of months. I'm not ready to settle down with anyone yet. Not for a long time."
"Oh." And B'lee really wasn't sure if that was good or bad.
As he walked down the corridor back to his own weyr, he wondered if he should ask Margroth to thank Rogeth for his part in making the day tolerable for D'min, but Margroth merely snorted and rumbled as he settled more securely into his weyr. That one is already too smug.
Maybe, he replied, but at least D'min and Aurieth are all right. That's the important thing.
B'lee sighed. He wondered what he would have done had Margroth given any indication that he was interested. Could he have allowed the blue to fly Aurieth, knowing that he would end up in bed with his friend? Would they have had the opportunity to arrange alternate partners? Or would D'min have viewed that as cheating?
Luckily for his peace of mind, they weren't questions he had to answer today - or ever, if he were really fortunate.
* * *
D'min appeared at breakfast the next morning with just the same cheerful, nonchalant manner he'd always had, as if the previous day had never happened. K'lon had already eaten and was heading out to see to Rogeth as D'min walked in, and B'lee could see that although they smiled at each other, there was no indication that any lasting attachment had been made.
D'min had obviously been right when he said that those in the Weyr were used to such things.
It still didn't feel right to B'lee.
* * *
One thing did change after that, though: B'lee himself became a lot more aware of the undercurrents of sexuality in the Weyr. It wasn't that he'd been ignorant of it before but it had never seemed particularly relevant to him; it had always been something that happened to other people.
Now he saw it all around him, between green and blue rider, between riders and caverns staff, old and young, comely and plain. There was flirting in the dimmer sections of the corridors; there were teasing glances exchanged over the tables and not-quite casual touches in the dining hall - it was everywhere.
B'lee sighed. It was everywhere he looked ... except around him. He tried once more with the lower caverns women, but although his smile got him a pleasant tumble or two, he really couldn't find any of them worth more than a casual fling. He wanted to find the One, the one woman who would make it all worth while, the one he would want to share his weyr with, the one who would make his life complete.
He knew she must be out there somewhere, but he was starting to think he'd never find her. Not in the current occupants of the Weyr, at any rate. He needed to looked further afield, so he probably wouldn't find her while he was confined to the Weyr, but maybe later on, when he was a rider. He'd have a lot more freedom to move around between falls, then - he'd be able to go to gathers all over the continent, visit Crafthalls and Holds, and meet a lot of people. He might even end up on Search, if Margroth proved as sensitive as Salteth had been two years ago. Surely he could search for himself as well as for the Weyr? Surely there was someone out there for him?
He wanted a lover. He wanted someone who would be companion and friend and confidant, and he didn't think he'd get that from any of the Weyr girls he'd met so far.
He looked at the bulge in his trousers and wondered if he should seek out Surina and take the edge off his frustration. He'd settle for sex, like any man, but he really wanted love, even if he had to wait for it. The problem was, he was beginning to wonder if it would be worth the wait.
* * *
A few nights after Aurieth rose, he woke to find the sheets sticky with his emissions. He groaned, looking at the mess and wondering if he'd have to explain it to the drudges who collected his laundry. It hadn't happened since he'd left the Weyrling Barracks and had been able to wank in the privacy of his own weyr, and he wondered why it had happened now; what had got him so charged up that he was having wet dreams.
He tried to work out what the dream had been about, but it was elusive. There had been warmth, though, and a feeling of being loved. Even if he couldn't remember the details, he knew it had been a very good dream.
He rolled over and tried to find that warmth again.
* * *
It was about halfway through the fourth month, well into spring, when it became clear that Ilith, one of the junior queens, was about to clutch. She no longer flew, but waddled across the Weyr bowl to bathe in the caldera lake or inspect the Hatching Ground. Clioth, her mate, brought her food and hovered protectively, even when her rider, Lidora, came over to help oil her massive, egg-swollen belly.
It had been a good, high flight, and there was much speculation on how big the clutch would be. After all, Clioth had flown Orlith two years ago and that clutch had been 31 eggs - a good size for so late in a Pass. Bets were laid on the total, the number of bronzes and whether or not there would be a queen egg. One of the Tradecraftsmen ran the book, and B'lee couldn't believe the amount of money that was being laid out. He had no wish to spend the few spare marks he had on gambling, but many others did, and he had to endure many hours of discussion on the various omens and indications that riders and weyrfolk quoted to back up their guesses.
One of the hottest topics was the possibility of a queen egg. Since Fort already had four queens, B'lee couldn't see that it was a high priority, but there were always doomsayers to predict disaster if the Weyr didn't have the maximum number of golds.
"Honestly, you'd think we're all about to die," complained D'min. "Sure, we're not quite up to full strength, but the last thing we need is too many queens."
"Is that a bad thing?"
"Depends on how well they're kept under control. It's not easy - every time one of them gets proddy, all the others have to be sent away to prevent any accidents. If one of the other golds is close to rising herself, you can get fights between them, and no one wants that. There's a story that two queens killed each other during the last Pass because one wasn't taken far enough away. And the more queens you have, the more likely they are to get proddy anyway, and the more disruption there is for everyone. Leri and Holth are pretty good, though, and Moreta's done really well for having come to Fort so recently."
"She's good with the dragons. I suppose that's the healer training."
"I suppose so."
B'lee was running through the queenrider lists in his head, but he couldn't think of any Weyr that had less than three queens at the moment - most of them had four or five. "All the Weyrs have queens enough, I think," he said.
D'min nodded. "Even if we lose a couple to accidents, we only need about one gold egg every ten Turns. And with the end of the Pass due in another fifteen Turns or so, we could get by on what we have now."
"End of the Pass," repeated B'lee, softly. It wasn't something he'd thought of before. "I'll only be thirty-five when it ends."
"Poor old man," teased D'min. "I'll only be ... hmm ... thirty-one."
"What do dragonriders do during the Intervals?"
"Whatever we like," replied D'min, promptly.
"Somehow, I don't think that's true," B'lee looked at him suspiciously.
"Well, not quite true, perhaps. I don't actually know. I'm sure that L'mal and Leri will work it all out. We'll still have to fly - even if it's just transport flights."
"We could go exploring, perhaps."
"Where?"
"The mountains north of Telgar."
D'min shivered. "Not fardling likely! I was thinking maybe the southern continent."
"But we can't! I mean, no one can live there - that's why they had the Crossing."
D'min shrugged. "The Crossing was a long time ago. Places change. It could well be inhabitable once it's had a chance to get over Thread. And it's got to be warmer than Telgar!"
"You're just thin-blooded."
"That's why I have you to keep me warm," he said, wrapping his arms around B'lee and batting his eyelashes.
B'lee laughed, but pushed D'min away gently. "You've got a Weyr full of blue riders to keep you warm. You don't need me."
D'min laughed, and said, "But none of them have your pretty green eyes!" He didn't push the issue, though, just leaned back and smiled.
B'lee smiled back, gratefully. He didn't mind a bit of teasing from time to time, but he still thought occasionally that D'min took things a little too far for comfort.
* * *
As if to prove D'min right, Orlith rose unexpectedly five days later. With Ilith about to clutch and unable to leave, this could have been difficult, but luckily a bellyful of eggs and Clioth's assurance that he would stay with her made her complacent, and she merely hissed as Orlith, a vibrant gold, rose to her haunches on her weyr ledge. Lidora controlled her long enough for Moreta to send Orlith out to blood her kill, and the other queens went to High Reaches for the day.
This time B'lee felt the oddness in the air and a twitchiness between his shoulder blades. It seemed that everyone was on edge, and he was glad that his watchdragon duties kept him isolated on the rim for the day. He was able to watch Orlith blood two herdbeasts and take off into the sky, pursued by a dozen bronzes, but lost sight of her long before the mating flight was concluded.
As was usually the case when a queen rose, the spillover of emotion affected a large percentage of the Weyr. Tempers frayed and a certain amount of crockery was broken, but there were no all-out fights, as had been known occasionally. Most of the riders managed to find mates to their taste, and there were several absences from the dinner tables.
It may have been a residual effect of Orlith's mating that led D'min to proposition B'lee that night, something he hadn't done seriously in quite a while - not since that odd night they'd spent together after S'gan's death.
B'lee's watch had earned him the right to attend the second sitting of dinner, and he sat over his ale afterwards, listening to Willan play a few songs and happy that no one was asking him to move. He was tired after a day doing almost nothing except look at the horizon, and not inclined to an additional exertion. D'min had slipped in to join him, managing to scrounge another dessert and more than a few ales, and was leaning against him while listening to the music - something he did quite often when he got the chance. His left hand had dropped to B'lee's thigh, and he was gently stroking the flesh in time to the music.
"Stop that," muttered B'lee, and pushed D'min's hand back onto his own leg.
A couple of minutes later, D'min's hand was back on B'lee's leg. He pushed it away again, and this time it stayed away. Perversely, B'lee missed the touch.
As they climbed the stairs that led to their weyrs, D'min was behind him, and B'lee realised that this had been a tactical error when D'min said, "Have I mentioned lately that you have a cute arse?"
"Yes. And stop looking at it," said B'lee as they reached the corridor that connected their chambers.
"Why? It's a very nice arse."
"Don't."
"Come on, you know you enjoy it."
"No, I don't."
"Why don't you let me show you how good it can be? I could make it so good for you," he murmured, trying to nuzzle B'lee's ear.
B'lee pulled away.
"Just leave it, D'min. I like girls, not boys. Stop trying to seduce me."
"You want to be seduced."
"No, I don't."
D'min looked into his eyes, and B'lee almost shivered. D'min's eyes looked almost green in the yellowish light of the glow-basket, and his pupils were enormous.
"Won't you let me?" he asked softly, his hand caressing B'lee's shoulder, his face leaning in close until his lips were so close that B'lee could feel D'min's breath on his skin.
B'lee felt something odd happening in his middle, and almost leaned forward to touch his lips to D'min's. Then some voices drifted up from the corridor behind them, and B'lee pulled back and turned away.
"Don't do this, D'min. You know I like girls."
D'min made a face but allowed B'lee to move. "Never said you didn't. Just thought you might like boys as well. You've been here long enough to get used to it."
"It's not for me, D'min," said B'lee, firmly.
D'min shrugged and allowed B'lee to return to his own weyr without any further attempt on his body. B'lee told himself he wasn't disappointed. No, really he wasn't.
* * *
B'lee woke in a sweat, his body sticky with the residues of his dream. He looked at the mess on his stomach and wearily got up to find a cloth.
Wet dreams were becoming more frequent for him, something he wasn't exactly pleased about. He was a normal red-blooded man, after all, and would much prefer to be lying with someone in reality rather than just in his dreams, but he was still having difficulty in finding any girl that really caught his fancy.
There was something different about this dream, he realised, something tugging at the outskirts of his consciousness that he couldn't quite grasp. It was like trying to catch a fish in his hands - the more he tried to focus on what it was that bothered him, the more it slipped away.
He stood naked in the middle of his bedchamber for several minutes, but the dream continued to elude him. He sighed and threw the soiled cloth onto the pile of clothes that needed washing. It probably wasn't important, anyway.