It was breezy and cool on the day the weyrlings were given some much-needed time off. A trip to Little Madellon was in order, and the fields near the weyrling barracks were full of young dragons and riders preparing for flight.
“Come on, Kaiya, hurry up!” Jopha said urgently.
“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Kaiya made a face at Jopha as she adjusted Mabonth’s harness to fit.
She was interrupted by a loud bugle, followed by a strange wave of sensual thoughts that quickly filled her mind. She looked up to see a bright, glowing green dragon streaking across the sky, with a horde of blue and brown dragons following her.
“That’s the third green flight this sevenday,” Kelaki remarked, “It’s like every time you turn around, there’s a mating flight! And it won’t be long before…” She caught Kaiya’s eye and fell silent.
Kaiya felt a familiar wave of foreboding wash over her. It wouldn’t be long before Mabonth would rise to mate. The thought of it made her uneasy. She wasn’t sure if it was the fear of losing control, or the idea of being with someone she didn’t know in such a vulnerable way, or her lack of experience. But the uncomfortable thoughts had started coming more often, and Kaiya wanted nothing more than to wish them away.
She gave her head a shake and returned to what she was doing.
Just then, a loud, indignant voice shot across the field.
“Blue rider!”
Ignoring the voice, Kaiya adjusted Mabonth’s flying harness one more time, making sure everything was secure.
“Blue rider!”
Continuing to ignore the voice, Kaiya finished with Mabonth’s harness then continued on to inspect her own flying gear, making sure nothing was worn out or broken. Little Madellon was a relatively short trip, as the dragon flies, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
“Hey, blue rider!”
Kaiya sighed. Whoever was yelling needed to keep it down – none of the weyrlings here were deaf. Speaking of weyrlings, why weren’t any of the blue weyrlings answering?
She looked around, and to her dismay she saw that nearly all of the other weyrlings had already taken off, save for the three of them. Had she really been dawdling that much?
“I know you hear me, blue rider!”
“I think they’re looking for you,” Kelaki said softly, tilting her head toward the shouting voice.
“Me?” Kaiya said sharply, “Why? I’m not a blue rider!” She let out a huff. “Just because Mabonth looks blue doesn’t mean she is…” she muttered.
“BLUE RIDER!”
“Don’t answer,” Jopha replied, “They’re just yanking your chain!”
“You!”
Kaiya let out a yelp as a hand gripped her shoulder and whirled her around to face an angry young man she had never seen before in her life. The knots on his shoulder identified him as an apprentice Minecrafter.
“I’ve got a bone to pick with you!” the apprentice snarled in her face. “My stash of explosives disappeared from my room last night, and you’re the one who nicked ‘em!”
Kaiya opened her mouth and closed it in shock. “E-explosives?” she said faintly, “What in Faranth’s name are you talking about?”
“Don’t play dumb!” the apprentice shouted, “The Masters said it was a young man with a bright blue dragon who took my explosives, and you fit the description to a T!”
There was silence for a long moment, then a muffled snicker as Jopha tried in vain not to laugh.
“Jopha!” Kelaki whispered sharply.
Mabonth’s cheeky laughter rang through Kaiya’s head as she stared at the apprentice in disbelief. “Now look here,” Kaiya shot back, livid, “I’m not-”
“You’d better ‘fess up, right now!” the apprentice bellowed over her, “Or I’ll tell your Weyrlingmaster what you did!”
Kaiya scowled and shoved the apprentice away. “Let go of me!”
The apprentice raised a hand to strike her, only to be stopped by another pair of hands pulling him away.
“Bran!” a stern voice shouted.
The apprentice looked up at the source of the voice – a young man with tanned olive skin and black hair, who held a tight grip on him.
Bran narrowed his eyes. “This isn’t any of your concern, Valoran!”
The young man glared. “It’s V’lor. And it is my concern when you disrespect your Craft by assaulting a young woman, much less a green rider!”
Bran’s eyes widened. “Young woman?” he repeated, “Green rider?”
Kaiya sighed and pulled off her flying cap to reveal her braid of dark brown hair. “I tried to tell you,” she said wearily, “And Mabonth is green, by the way.”
Bran gawked at her, then shifted his gaze to Mabonth, then back to her. “I-I-” he stammered, “B-but my explosives-”
“Are illegal to bring into the Weyr,” V’lor replied testily, “So the Master Miners asked Tylanth and I to dispose of them.” He nodded toward a small turquoise blue dragon sitting nearby.
Bran gulped. “S-so the blue rider…”
V’lor smirked. “Exactly, dimglow. The blue rider who took your explosives was me.”
Bran spluttered some more, then slowly backed away as Mabonth stepped toward him, her eyes whirling a dangerous shade of red. She then let out a deep-throated growl, which immediately sent Bran running for his life.
Kaiya laughed along with everyone else, then reached out to stroke Mabonth’s wing.
I scared him good, didn’t I? Mabonth asked with a toothy grin.
You certainly did, Kaiya replied, and serves him right!
Kaiya then looked over at the young blue rider, V’lor. “Thanks for stepping in,” she said gratefully. “Things were getting ugly fast.”
“It’s no trouble at all,” V’lor replied, “Bran’s always been a tailfork, and it doesn’t seem like the Minercraft has helped him any. At least he’ll be leaving tomorrow with the rest of the mining envoy from Telgar Hold, so we won’t have to see him again.”
Kaiya stared at him curiously. It seemed like he and Bran had some history between them, likely none of it good.
V’lor looked up and met Kaiya’s gaze, and Kaiya felt her cheeks redden.
“Sorry,” he said, “I haven’t properly introduced myself. I’m V’lor. And this is Tylanth.” He gestured toward the turquoise blue dragon.
Kaiya smiled. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I see you’re preparing for a flight,” V’lor said.
“To Little Madellon,” Kaiya said hastily, glancing over at Jopha and Kelaki. “It’s our day off, so…”
“I’d be surprised if we can make it there by sunset, the way things are going,” Jopha grumbled.
“We’ll make it,” Kelaki answered, “If we take into account our dragons’ flight speed, and the wind speed…”
Kaiya sighed. “You guys…”
V’lor laughed. “I won’t keep you, then. Have a nice flight!” He waved goodbye as he and Tylanth walked away.
Kaiya smiled as she watched them disappear from sight.
Tylanth is quite handsome, Mabonth said matter-of-factly.
Kaiya’s heart skipped a beat, and she looked up at Mabonth in surprise. Is he, now? she asked calmly. Meanwhile, her mind was whirling. This was the first time Mabonth had ever expressed interest in another dragon. A male dragon. Was she rising soon?
She peered closely at Mabonth, but Mabonth looked like her usual self – she wasn’t glowing at all.
He is, Mabonth answered, not noticing Kaiya’s distress. And you think his rider is handsome too, don’t you? She grinned.
Kaiya blinked. Uh… She stared at Mabonth, at a loss for words. Then she gave her head a shake and pushed her poor, confused thoughts away. I’m not answering that!
You do! Mabonth said excitedly, You do, you do, you do!
Come on, let’s go! Kaiya said, flustered. She climbed up Mabonth’s back and sat herself down. As she strapped herself in, she looked up and saw Deimoth and Laishanth already airborne. They must have gotten tired of waiting for her.
As Mabonth launched into the sky, Kaiya’s thoughts drifted back toward V’lor, and she wondered whether they would meet again.