noni

The new tapestry, sporting an unusual aray of brightly, interwoven colours, waving crisply in the breeze held Noni's gaze as she tried not to look at the weyrleaders. She knew when she did, they would begin to talk, and they would tell her she had to leave. Noni didn't want to leave. So she clenched her fists, and kept staring at the tapestry that she had just hung, not two marks before.
But Alina, the weyrwoman, cleared her throat uncomfortably, and Noni whirled around and shouted at her.
"You of all people Alina should know how this is! No! You cannot and willnot make me leave! I won't go!" Noni is glaring at the shorter woman, and sees a moment of anger flash through her eyes, but that quickly passes and the weyrwoman takes a more gentle tone.
"Noni, I understand why you're upset.."
"Upset!? You're making me leave the only home I've known for the past three turns and you say I'm upset? Shards Alina, I can't believe you'd say that!"
"Noni! Control yourself, I will not have disrespect for the weyrleaders breeding in my Weyr!" Alina snaps angrily, but then sighs as if giving in.
"I'm sorry Noni, but you've failed to Impress for the past three hatchings, and neither of us understand why." Alina nods her head towards the weyrleader, T'mark, "Noni, it's pretty obvious by now you won't Impress, and this weyr needs more dragons, and fewer people." Noni is seething with frustration and anger, but takes a deep breath so what she has to say is said logically. So in an unusually sweet voice,
"Oh Alina, I undertand what you're saying, but hear me out please. I may not have yet Impressed a dragon," Noni's voice takes a tone of remorse, but she continues more strongly than before, "But that doesn't mean I won't. Isn't it you who drills into the weyrlings that it's not the rider that choses, it's the dragon? And that every dragon will choose just the right rider? Well, maybe I wasn't "just the right rider" for any of those dragons. It doesn't mean I won't Impress..." But the weyrleader interrupts her.
"Okay, I understand what you're saying, no hear me out..."T'mark says holding up his hand, "Yes, dragons will choose the right rider for them, but if you haven't Impressed after three clutches I'm afraid your chances are growing slimmer. Noni, you can't stay in the weyr forever, not without a purpose that benefits the weyr in some way, and Rathlin's much too small to support anyone who can't benefit it."
"Benefited the weyr? That's all I've done, and I'm not being arrogant when I say that weyrleader," she uses his title sarcastically, "Since I got here all I've done is act as a headwoman, rider...a dragonless rider excuse me, and healer to everyone. I've done more good for this weyr than half the people who have Impressed dragons, and you have no right whatsoever to tell me to go!"
"Enough Noni!" Alina screams, "you haven't Impressed a dragon, and dragons are what we need right now, not headwomen, and not healers, we've enough of those to go around!" She snorts, "It is we who are weyrleaders here, not you, and you will not order the weyrleaders around as you would a drudge." But suddenly Alina stops, remembering into her long ago past, that she too, was once a common "drudge". Noni sees a tear roll slowly down Alina's eye, and knows if she keeps pushing, she'll loose.
"Please," Noni begins to plead, hating herself for groveling, "I've Impressed two fire-lizards," she indicates the two browns napping restlessly on a nearby stone ledge, "I've Impressed fire-lizards, I belong in the weyr. I'll Impress, just give me one more chance, please?" The weyrwoman looks like she might give in, but T'mark is first to speak,
"No, and don't you dare argue with me on this one girl. Every time you take to the Sands, there's one less girl standing there." As T'mark crossed his arms over his chest Noni felt, for the first time, hatred boiling up in her. Hatred...and loss. Would she never Impress? She gave up her life for the weyr, her family, her very being.... Now the weyr was telling her to leave? Noni snorted, well, if they wouldn't let her stand any more clutches, then she'd find someone else who would.
Sensing Noni's distress, the two fire-lizards, Liln and Tryk roused themselves from sleep and began to creel impatiently. Noni turned her back on the weyrleaders and walked purposely towards her bondmates. She stroked Liln's head, and Tryk's back, and when she felt she had snubbed the weyrleader's attentions enough, she whirled around and looked directly at Alina, because she knew arguing with T'mark was a loosing cause.
But suddenly a large blue dragon trumpeted and landed in the bowl. Noni couldn't recognize who the rider was, and as she tried to get closer Alina held up her hand.
"Wait Noni, I think I know who that is...wait here!" Alina says suddenly and rushed out to meet the bluerider. T'mark stares at Noni for awhile, before slowly turning around to watch Alina talk to the dragonriders.
"Who is that T'mark?" Noni asks quietly.
"K'var..." T'mark lets it drag, and Noni shurgs. She doesn't know who that is, nor his dragon. She turns around and heads back into the weyr. Obviously Alina and T'mark will be busy, because Alina seems to be argueing loudly with the bluerider over some Candidate or another, who wasn't supposed to be there. Noni couldn't care, or if she did, she hid it well, and raced up the stairs into her "weyr".

"Noni!" A voice calls her from her rooms later that evening. Noni recognizes it as T'mark's voice, and is reluctant to answer. But lina appears in the doorway of her room, looking upset and drained.
"Noni..." Alina sighs, "Congratulation. You've been Searched."
The widest range of emotions flashed across Noni's face. But mostly confusion and hope rest there. Was Alina's Nesyath refusing to let Noni go? KNesyath had always had an affinity for Noni, Alina confirmed that time and again, telling Noni that Nesyath said Noni would be a dragonrider, and shouldn't leave the weyr.

"Who?..What?" Noni asked urgently.
"The bluerider, K'var." Alina explained, and upon seeing Noni even more confused (afterall, weren't Searchriders supposed to meet the Candidates? To be sure?), continues to explain. "His dragon Merrenth has been here before, at the last hatching. You wouldn't have met him though. Merrenth said then you would be welcome at his weyr, and told K'var to consider yourself Searched. But since you were already a Candidate, K'var had to leave you here, because it was our right to keep you to Impress if that should happen later."
"Your right? What about my rights?" But Noni's voice wasn't angry, just sad, and hurt.
"Noni, had we thought that he was serious we would have let you go then, but at that moment, well, Noni your chances weren't looking to good."
"So this K'var, he and Merrenth are taking me to another weyr?"
"No, not exactly. Merrenth left, but I told them if you agreed to go, I would send K'net on Rolth to deliver you."

"Will I be allowed to return if I Impress?" Noni's voice was suddenly urgent, and took Alina completely by surprise.
"You mean you'd want to? After we all but kicked you out?"
"Of course I would Weyrwoman. Rathlin needs me afterall, and isn't it the dragonrider's choice to aid another weyr if necessary? Surely this will not be denied me? It's not like Rathlin's a worthless Weyr, we've holders to protect afterall." Noni's large fire-lizard Tryk began to warble enthusiastically from his perch on a nearby table.
"Well, Noni, that could be arranged, now come down and help with the dinner, then you can come back and pack."

Alina thought Noni took her sweet time packing for the trip to Dark Moon. The girl was exasperating in her ways, taking her time with everything.
Now that's not fair rider, you trained her to do so....."in case the need should ever come up for her to take control of the weyr for any length of time....." Alina rolled her eyes at her queen's voice in her head.
Honestly Nesyath, the girl was wonderful at first, I thought she'd be a queenrider without any problems.
Don't count you Candidates before the eggs are laid love. Honestly, Nesyath could be as exasperating as Noni sometimes. What was that supposed to mean?
It means just because you find her suited to a queen, doesn't mean the queen will! But no, you're right rider, it's good you trained her to be prepared. We need people like her around
"Too true my sweet Nessy, and oh look, here she comes now. Tell her to go find K'net, I suppose I don't need to tell her anything she doesn't already know."
I will....I have. Nesyath replied.
"And Nessy?"
Yes my lovely weyrwoman?
"Tell her 'Good Luck' for me, will you?"
I did, she says thank you. After a short pause, I itch horribly you know... Alina sighed and smiled and went to relieve her queen.

Not even a mark later Noni was preparing her fire-lizards for the fact that they would be leaving home soon. But just for a short while, darlings, because if we Impress we can come back! That received enthusiastic responses and Noni smiled and turned to face K'net, the bluerider who was taking them to where they were going.
"I'm ready K'net, let's go!" K'net smiled and reached down to give Noni a hand up onto Rolth's back.
"That's what I thought you'd say m'girl." Noni had always liked K'net, he was a gentle and loving person, but much too young to have Impressed when he did. At a mere nine and a half Turns. At least Noni thought so, but then, Noni hadn't even Impressed, so she quickly surpressed the urge to judge him on that scale.
"K'net, do you think I can Impress?" Noni asked him seriously as she strapped herself into the wherhide lacings.
K'net looked thoughtful for a moment, and then began to laugh out loud. Noni was taken aback and offended, but she quickly realized that he was conversing with Rolth.
"Rolth says the day that dawns when you weren't meant to Impress, is the day that all the weyrs forgo their promises to protect against Thread!" K'net snorts again, and Noni, not thinking it much of a joke, smiled wearily and nodded.
"Right Rolth." She muttered.

Problem with my sense of humour youngling? Noni jerked her head up. Was she really hearing Rolth? Why, all of a sudden were dragons speaking to her? She heard Rolth's mental chuckle, and then nothing from the blue dragon she was atop of. Noni shook her head to clear away cluttered thoughts. K'net watched her until she seemed to stop being confused, and then patted Rolth's neck, and Noni remembered that Rolth was the dragon who had Searched her, three long Turns ago.
"Come on Rolth, let's take Noni to stand Candidate at Dark Moon Weyr!"