"I don’t think this is a good idea." Lilika looked nervously at the dragonsaddle.
Don’t tell me you’re scared of heights or something. Semonnith lowered her golden head to Lilika’s level, she found it easier to talk that way.
"No." Lilika looked around at the rest of her class as they were carefully mounting their dragons and waiting for their next instructions. "It’s just...if I fell....it’d be a long way down."
Do you really think that I could possibly let you fall? Semonnith was insulted. I thought you had more faith in me than that!!
"Not you dear-heart." Lilika rested her hand on Semonnith’s flank. "Faith in you is not the problem." Lilika remembered the many times she’d fallen in and out of consciousness during other parts of weyrling class. Somehow being perfectly aware of her situation while she couldn’t move and slowly slipped from the dragonsaddle had become one of Lilika’s worst fears lately.
"Is there a problem Lilika?" The Weyrling Master walked over patiently. Everyone was so damn patient with her and it was getting annoying. He had that tone in his voice that people always use when they know their talking to their inferior...that they use when they’re talking to babies...or animals...or stupid people. That they used when they talked to a poor slave girl with a stutter who spent half her time unconscious and the rest of her time dazed.
"I-I’m f-fine." Lilika cursed herself and the damnable stutter as she quickly mounted her golden weyrling.
A small whimper drew her attention back to the ground where a rather pathetic looking brown wher was sitting. Love sat at Semonnith’s feet, nervously waiting. Since they’d both grown up without much structure to their lives, the creature was not used to being alone for long periods of time. All morning was obviously now considered to be a long period of time.
As a few of her classmates snickered, Lilika rolled her eyes and felt like her day couldn’t get any worse. "L-love. G-go home!"
The brown wher looked up at her, a pathetically sad look on his face. He whimpered once or twice and then growled as a couple of the boys thought he was pretty funny. If they only knew how mean he’d been back with the slavers...if they’d only seen the look on his face when he’d been starving and hurt and alone. But they’d never see that look, no one would ever see that look again, not since the pathetic brown wher had become Lilika’s Love.
The golden dragon was amazingly patient with the simple-minded creature. Semonnith knew how much the wher meant to her rider. Love was what drew Lilika out of her hatred...in more ways that one. Love was what brought Lilika to Semmonith. The dragoness owed the little beast a big favour. Love, please return to the room. The queen put the power of her thoughts behind the mental command. The brown wher, whose smaller mind was easily influenced by the larger gold’s, hung his head sadly and slowly began to shuffle towards the Weryling Barracks where Lilika stayed when she wasn’t at Weryling Classes.
"Will there be any other distractions?" The Weyrling Master had no patience for whers, and came down hard on Lilika every time Love decided to interrupt.
"N-n-n-no." Lilika tried to smile apologetically, but it ended up looking sarcastic. She just couldn’t apologize for her creature. She didn’t understand what was so wrong with his desire to be near his friend. She didn’t understand how forcing him to stay alone all the time could possibly be a good thing.
"Is everyone ready?" The entire class had mounted their dragons and were waiting for their next instructions. Most of them were excited, it would be their first time flying. Lilika was terrified, it could be her last time flying. "Let’s go!" The Weyrling Master’s lifemate leapt into the air, followed by the Sr. Weyrlings.
Great gods of music!! Lilika closed her eyes and pressed her body tight against Semmonith.
The golden dragon bugled. What kind of curse is that?
One Mother used to use. Lilika pried open one eye to see the ground far beneath her. One that rather suits this occasion.
Why? Semmonith was throughly enjoying herself. She let her own peaceful, joyful emotions wash over her rider. The golden weyrling was obviously built to fly, and she wanted her rider to enjoy it as much as she did.
Because I want to make sure some god is paying attention to me while I die! Lilika tried to follow the moves the Weyrling Master was making, she tried to direct Semmonith like she’d been taught.
The little queen laughed. Let me fly rider-mine!! I can keep up with that old teacher, no sweat. To prove her point, Semmonith pumped her wings harder, pushing herself in front of her siblings. And you won’t die! Shards’ girl, have some faith in me!
Lilika didn’t answer. Semmonith bugled triumphantly, believing the silence was Lilika finally agreeing. Lilika still didn’t answer. The golden dragon knew something was wrong. Lilika? Rider-mine? Dear-heart? She searched for her partner’s mind among the tattered mess that was her brain. Master!! Semmonith called in desperation to the Weyrling Master. My rider falls! The queen slowed down, started to land, tried to be gentle, but no matter what she did, she could feel Lilika losing her balance, she could almost see Lilika falling. LILIKA!!
The Weyrling Master could not react quickly enough. Lilika began to slide and rather then let her slip from the saddle, Semmonith furled in her wings and began to plummet as well. It looked as if she’d been shot from the sky.
The dragon landed heavily on the ground, a painful roar echoing through the halls. The class landed. Neither Lilika nor Semmonith were moving, but Lilika was still on Semmonith’s back. The dragon had broken her fall. Lilika...
* * * Lilika could hear voices talking around her, but she could make no move to answer them. Her body felt too heavy to lift, her mouth too dry to speak. They were talking about her, and they thought she was dead.
"We’ve had absolutely no reaction from her at all in almost two months. You know she has a history of head problems. I say her mind’s finally gone."
"But her lifemate remains. The golden weyrling is injured, but alive. She demands day and night to speak to Lilika."
"The dragon doesn’t understand yet because she can still feel Lilika’s life, but not her mind. The brain is completely gone. I say we put her out of her misery. I’m sure a powerful queen like Semmonith can take another partner."
"I don’t think so. Queens bond very deeply. I think letting Lilika die will definitely kill the dragon."
Lilika could feel one of the people poking her in the arm with something very sharp. She wanted to move away, to cry out, but she couldn’t. A single tear slipped from beneath her closed eyelid.
"No reaction."
There was a pause. A rough hand wiped the tear from her cheek. "Let’s give her a few more days."
* * * Semmonith sat on the damned dragoncouch in the damned dragonhealer’s hall, wrapped in damned bandages, waiting for the damned healer and feeling very angry. The dragon’s tail twitched back and forth like an angry cat’s. The healer entered, took one look at the powerful, pissed off queen and smiled. She knew the dragon was only angry because she was worried. "You’re looking better today Semmonith." The healer knew the dragon would never speak to her, but she felt better speaking to the dragon.
Semmonith actually growled at the poor woman and gave her a look which clearly told her that she expected to be released this very instant and allowed to visit Lilika.
The healer, who’d learned to read dragon expressions over her many turns in this profession, smiled. "I’ll let you out of the bandages if you promise you’ll go easy for another couple of seven-days."
Semmonith snorted, and mentally let the woman know exactly what she thought of that arrangement.
The woman unwrapped the golden dragon and let her stretch. She noticed the Semmonith favoured her right front leg, but that was to be expected. She also noticed the dragon’s wince as she fully extended her wings. "If you don’t take it easy, you’ll hurt yourself so bad you’ll never fly again."
Lady, that’d probably be a good thing. Semmonith headed off to where her heart told her Lilika was.
* * * Lilika? The dragon’s voice seemed so small after almost four months of talking to herself. Rider-mine?
The brown wher sat on Lilika’s lap, moaning softly and snapping at anyone who came near to her. The healer’s were tempted to tie it up somewhere, but Semmonith protested. The queen usually got what she wanted.
Semmonith hung her head, her eyes completely devoid of colour, swirling a sad grey around and around. I’m so sorry. I was so selfish. I should have been more careful.
The dragon lay on her dragoncouch, Lilika on her bed only ten feet away. The dragon was surprised to see that Love had decided to join her. The dragon was almost happy for a moment. Are you saying you like me too Love?
Love like gold. The brown wher looked up at Semmonith with eyes whirling green.
Semmonith was beginning to think she was going crazy. She’d been alone, without anyone to bespeak, for so long that she was imagining the wher could talk. What?
Love worry Lily. Sem fix Lily. The wher made a rather absurd purring noise and rubbed his head against Semmonith’s neglected hide.
Love? You can bespeak me? How? Can you bespeak Lily? The dragon realized she’d used Love’s nickname for their lifemate and not her full name. Lilika? Can you bespeak Lilika?
Sem fix Lily...make Lily love Love The wher seemed to be talking to himself more than Semmonith.
The dragon realized what was going on and her hope faded slightly. You’re not trying to bespeak anyone are you? It really wasn’t a question. Lilika didn’t impress you. She can’t hear you. Faranth only knows why I can. The gold spread herself out on the dragoncouch, making sure she didn’t disturb the wher. Probably because we’re both draconic, and we’re both connected to Lilika. I can hear other dragon bespeaking...maybe it’s kind of like that. Although I have a hard time believe you’re above average intelligence for a wher.
Love love Sem. Love love Lily. Love love love. The wher was starting to get worried again. After all, the dragon was supposed to fix everything and so far she had done nothing but mope.
Sem can’t fix Lily. No one can fix Lily. Sem broke Lily. The dragon knocked the wher off the bed, getting upset that all of this was being placed on her, but at the same time realizing that a good part of it probably was her fault. Leave me alone. Sem hate Love!
The wher began to cry. It sat on the floor beside the dragoncouch and hollered, alerting everyone within a five mile radius to it’s unhappiness. Semmonith felt sorry for the creature, but wouldn’t apologize. She felt like crying herself, and as long as the wher was making enough noise that no one would hear her...
Love...shh....love...
Semmonith stopped her quiet sobbing and snapped her head up. She looked around the weyr to see who else could have possibly spoken. The voice was not Love’s and there was no one else in the room. Lilika?
Shhh....Loves....
Semmonith could feel Lilika again, it was like impressing all over. Lilika! Wake up! Come here! Please! She pushed the fact that she was calling the wher out of her mind.
Semmonith...my love...where have you been? Lilika’s hand began to flutter, but it stopped quickly. You’re disappearing!
LILIKA!! Semmonith didn’t know what to do, she was losing her rider all over again. Rider-mine... The dragon nuzzled her, not noticing the wher until it was already sitting on top of Lilika. Love?
Love wake Lily. The wher took Lilika’s hand in his mouth and bit down hard.
LOVE!! Semmonith moved to attack the treacherous wher when something else caught her attention. It was a voice she hadn’t heard out loud in too long.
"LOVE!" Lilika screamed and pulled her hand out of the wher’s mouth. She moaned and clutched her bleeding hand to her. It was the same had the wher had grabbed when she’d first tried to befriend it.
Lilika? Semmonith had knocked the wher onto the floor where it recommenced it’s crying.
"Semmonith..." Lilika opened her eyes and sat up. "I was lost..."
The dragon’s eyes were deep blue and whirling at an amazing pace. Your Love is waking up the entire hall.
Lilika smiled and rubbed her dragon’s eyeridges with her good had. "Good. Then the Healer can come bandage my hand." The girl used her undamaged hand to coax Love back to her and rub his head.
Lilika I’m so sorry. We’ll never fly again! I promise. The dragon refused to break contact with her rider.
Lilika smiled. "We’ll fly Semmonith....we’ll fly."
* * * Lilika dismounted in the Weyrbowl and removed her helmet. I hate training exercises.
You hate them? You don’t have to do anything. All you do is sit! I have to fly! The golden dragon stretched her wings. They still got a little stiff after a long flight, consequences of her injury.
Yeah, but sitting’s more boring. Lilika realized what she’d said and smiled. There had been a time when sitting atop a dragon hundreds of metres above the ground was a terrifying thought.
Lilika held out her arms and the brown wher leapt from Semmonith’s back into her arms. The saddle had been remodelled, with room for Love. Whenever they flew together, the brown wher sat in front of Lilika with his claws deep in the saddle and his teeth deep in Lilika’s leather harness. Lilika smiled, remembering the words she’d used to describe it to her Weyrling Master. Lilika and Semmonith were held together by Love.
* * *
Lilika impressed Semonnith at Alabaster Weyrhold.
Lilika got Love from Falas Weyr.
Background from Myrror Images.
