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| Razi stared suspiciously at the young man on the easygoing blue. <<Chareth?>> she queried, her lithe body held gracefully, neither stiff nor slumped. <<It�s only Ka�shan and Beridonth, Razi. Don�t get in a tizzy,>> the green burbled. <<He�s a former Smith Journeyman. Last posting was NoWher Hold. Beridonth,>> and there�s no mistaking the possessive hooks which Chareth has embedded into her tone, <<is from Talor Cliff Weyr; his mother is gold Veralineth, his father is brown Rajinath.>> <<Thank you, oh fount of knowledge,>> Razi retorted, rather acidly. The come-hither looks her weyrling green was tossing toward the serene, lightly-built blue�who, by Razi�s estimation, could barely have graduated�made her irritable. A good deal of the irritability, she realized with exasperation, was because she wasn�t sure if it was dragon-coquettishness or her own traitor self that was soppily yearning after the muscular figure of Ka�shan. ***** Ka�shan fought not to raise an eyebrow as he seated himself at the weyrling�s table. The puzzled looks that the tall, athletic Mooncrest weyrling was shooting him were hardly usual, and her light golden skin flushed a little as she realized he was staring back at her. <<Beridonth?>> he begged, and the flame of his lifemate�s presence sprung to life in his mind, as steady as that of an oil lamp. <<Yes, Ka�shan?>> <<Who does this girl,>> and he closed his eyes and pictured her, long-legged and energetic, with the reddish brindling in her black hair, <<ride?>> <<Green Chareth,>> replied Beridonth, shyly. The pale green roundness of a Mooncrest-bred filled his mind�s eye for a moment. <<She is flirting with everyone, but Oroshth says that she said she liked me best. I don�t know what to say to her, so please don�t ask me to bespeak her!>> Ka�shan bit his lip. <<All right. Does Oroshth know her rider�s name?>> Eyes as liquid as any runner�s fixed upon him, and he could feel a blush rising on his own cheeks. <<Chareth isn�t proddy, is she?>> Beridonth winced mentally. <<No, I don�t think so. Just friendly. Her rider is Shaharaza, or Razi.>> <<Shaharaza?>> Ka�shan said skeptically. <<What will they come up with next? Thanks, Ber.>> ***** The meal ended without fanfare, and one of the male weyrlings grinned. �Race you for the hot springs over here,� he invited to the weyrling table at large, and those that were athletic rose. Amused, Razi watched Ka�shan rise to the occasion. Hmm. I wonder if he runs. He�s a lot taller than he looks when he�s sitting down. She took her place at the entrance to the Living Caverns, dropping to a light crouch beside the too-tall ex-Smith. �I didn�t know senior weyrlings dropped their dignity like this,� she challenged him, but he merely smiled. �Senior weyrlings don�t have a shred of dignity, Shaharaza. They�re just desperately proud.� His voice was a pleasant baritone, and she smiled back, involuntarily. How did he know her given name? �On your marks�get set�GO!� called out one of the more indolent young riders, and the weyrlings were off in a flash. Ka�shan�s easy lope carried him along effortlessly, but Razi�s flat-out sprint blurred her bony legs, and she was first to the hot springs, crowing and panting as she splashed into the heated pool. �You�re faster than you look,� he remarked, as he plunged in, the sixth or seventh after her. �You, unfortunately, aren�t,� she told him, and twitched her soaked braid back over her shoulder as she dove. ***** The weyrlings dried out in front of a roaring bonfire, fueled by the greenery they�d plucked earlier from the heights of the abandoned weyr. One tiny lass, a former Harper, told deliciously frightening stories, and they shivered agreeably as hair and clothes began to pick up the smoke-perfumed warmth. A class from another weyr�Ka�shan did not know the name�got rowdier and rowdier, finally demanding dance-tunes from the grinning Harper. She complied. �Ka�shan,� they fussed at him, whirling by in a blur of dull uniforms and Cheshire-cat grins. �Don�t you dance, Ka�shan? Where�d you learn to party?� He sighed and rolled his eyes at them, climbing gracefully to his feet. �I don�t party, you silly wherries. I /polka/!� He closed his eyes and whirled around, hand outstretched. �And I�ll dance with�you!� His finger had stopped on a wide-eyed Shaharaza, and he regretted his impulse. �May I have this dance, m�lady?� She flushed and rose to her feet, eyes downcast. Karelise the Harper struck up a lively fiddle piece, and he swept her away. Ka�shan guessed that she had never danced before. Although her movements were graceful, they were ill-defined, and her cheeks were red with embarrassment. He hoped that anyone watching would attribute it to the firelight. He released her after the one polka, and claimed a dimpling clutch-sib for his partner the rest of the evening. ***** |
| See Ka'shan's Candidate page |
| See Razi's Candidate page |
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| The morning was overcast and a little chilly, to the dismay of the Southern weyrlings. The lonely stonework of the abandoned Weyr echoed with the soft half-conversations of rider with dragon, rider to rider, and rider to obstinate strap-buckles. Shaharaza was already aboard Chareth, and Mooncrest�s Weyrlingmaster ready to take his charges home. Hastily, he mounted Beridonth, and cued the dragon to walk beside Shaharaza�s green, wings tightly folded. He checked the rose he held for any damage it might have incurred during the climb; it was perfect still, crimson petals blowsily open around a creamy center. �Shaharaza!� |
| She turned to look haughtily over her shoulder, and he smiled sheepishly. �You forgot something.� Her sharp features stretched as she arched one thick black brow. �My apology. I couldn�t let you leave without that.� He stretched from his unbuckled straps, and she, with a shy smile, leaned over and accepted it. �That�s all right,� she said, and to his surprise added, �I wasn�t too kind after the race, either.� �Friends?� She grinned. �Friends.� He beamed back at her, aware that Beridonth thought he was making a fool out of himself. �When do you think they�ll have something like this again?� Shaharaza frowned. �Probably long after we graduate. But,� she said, and her eyes sparkled, �they should do this with less of a crowd. Three�s a crowd, you know.� Beridonth and Chareth snorted almost simultaneously, and leapt away from each other, into the air. |
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