A needle in a haystack.
The thought occurred to Kaiya that that was exactly what she was looking for, as she stood on an empty weyr ledge and scanned through the craggy walls of the Bowl, looking for a green dragon who most people thought was blue.
She shook her head and turned around, walking away from the ledge and toward the door.
“Didn’t see her?” asked the Wingsecond whose weyr Kaiya had invaded.
Kaiya shook her head. “No.”
“Ah, well…” the Wingsecond shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. “Hope you find her.”
Kaiya nodded. “I’m sorry for disturbing you!” she called out, briskly walking out of his weyr and down a sprawling hallway.
You haven’t found me yet? Mabonth asked sympathetically.
Kaiya gritted her teeth. Not yet, Mabonth, she said. You haven’t moved, have you?
Of course not! Mabonth said innocently.
Not that it helped Kaiya any – she was still no closer to finding Mabonth now than she was when she first started looking, two hours ago.
Next time we play hide and seek, let’s not use the entire Weyr as a hiding place, Kaiya said wearily. Okay?
Aww! Mabonth moaned. That’s no fun!
It’s also not fun if you’re never found! Kaiya retorted, walking down a row of lower-level weyrs. I’ll be lucky if I find you before sunset, the way this is going!
She could feel Mabonth sulking for a moment, then fall silent. Kaiya continued to search through different weyrs, apologizing to the riders every time. She was just about ready to give up when her head started pounding.
Are you Mabonth’s rider? A strange voice echoed in her head.
Kaiya rubbed her head in discomfort. Yes, she replied, who are you?
Mabonth asked me to give you a hint, the voice continued.
A hint? Kaiya asked.
The voice proceeded to give detailed directions to a high-level weyr at the completely opposite end from where Kaiya was. It was much more than a simple hint, but Kaiya didn’t complain. As she neared the entrance to the weyr, she noticed just how close she was to her own weyr, and her heart sank as she realized she had spent the last few hours running around in circles.
She stopped at the weyr’s entrance and peered inside, then her eyes widened at the person who walked up to meet her.
“V’lor!” Kaiya exclaimed.
“Hi,” V’lor said, smiling.
“This is your weyr?” Kaiya asked.
V’lor nodded.
“So… the voice in my head was-”
“Tylanth,” V’lor replied, looking over at the turquoise blue dragon sunning himself on the ledge. Hidden behind his wing was Mabonth.
Kaiya sighed. “Hello, Mabonth.”
You found me! Mabonth said excitedly. Kaiya couldn’t help but smile.
“Imagine my surprise,” V’lor said, “when Tylanth and I come out on the ledge and a weyrling green just drops right in!”
Kaiya flushed. “I’m sorry about that,” she said, “Mabonth loves playing hide and seek, and she just happened to pick your weyr to hide in!”
V’lor laughed. “It’s no problem. Tylanth and I appreciate the company!”
Kaiya smiled gratefully. “Well, we ought to be going now,” she said, “I’m sure you’re busy…”
“Actually, we aren’t busy,” V’lor answered, “Our Wing just finished our last hot drill the other day, so we have some time on our hands. Why don’t you stay for a bit and have some klah?”
Kaiya stared back at him in surprise, then nodded. “Sure.”
They sat and talked for some time, sipping mugs of klah, while Mabonth and Tylanth sat together on the ledge. As they talked, Kaiya discovered several interesting things about V’lor – He was seventeen Turns old (just a Turn older than her!) and he was a recent transfer from Telgar Weyr. Tylanth couldn’t go between, as many young dragons couldn’t, so he and V’lor were assigned to the Betweenless Wing. V’lor had also grown up in the Minercraft before Impressing Tylanth, and he was experienced in assembling and deactivating explosives.
“I’m not nearly as interesting,” Kaiya said, “My mother is Headwoman Second, and I’ve spent most of my life doing the Weyr’s laundry and cleaning up after everyone else!”
“That’s not true, that you aren’t interesting,” V’lor replied, “You know the Weyr like the back of your hand, and you know a lot of people, riders and not. Tylanth and I are newcomers, and I can barely find my way to the dining hall some days!”
“I can show you around sometime,” Kaiya spoke up. “There’s tons of places to go to get away from the hustle and bustle!”
V’lor smiled. “I’d like that.”
Kaiya smiled back, as a loud rumble filled her ears and mind. She looked over at Mabonth, who had fallen asleep.
Then, a thought occurred to her. She turned back to V’lor and asked, “When we first met, how did you know Mabonth was green?”
V’lor chuckled. “Well, as a blue rider, I’m pretty familiar with the color of my own dragon’s hide – blue with hints of green. Mabonth may look more blue than the average green, but it’s not enough to match Tylanth’s blue!”
Kaiya smiled sheepishly. “I see.”
“Not only that, I noticed how Mabonth looked, when the sunlight hits just so,” V’lor continued, “A beautiful shade of green, just like a certain green rider’s eyes…”
Kaiya blushed and looked away, focusing instead on the open ledge and the darkening sky. Her eyes widened.
“Oh, shells, is it that late already?” she blurted out, immediately standing up. “Mabonth and I should be going – we’ve got a flying exam in the morning!”
Mabonth sensed Kaiya’s distress and opened her eyes. Mmm?
“Let’s go, Mabonth!” Kaiya said.
Okay… Mabonth yawned, stretched and shook herself groggily.
Kaiya turned to V’lor and smiled hastily. “Thanks for the klah!”
V’lor nodded. “You’re welcome.”
They stood staring at each other for a long moment, then Kaiya blinked and looked away.
“Uh…” she said uncertainly, “Just let me know if you want to meet again. Maybe the next time I’m off I can show you around!”
V’lor nodded. “I’ll do that.”
“Bye!” Kaiya hurried out of V’lor’s weyr and turned down the hall toward her own, but not before turning around and waving at him, smiling when he waved back.
In the safety of her own weyr, Kaiya let out a deep breath in relief. A sweeping of wings and a thump signaled Mabonth’s return to her ledge and Kaiya walked over to meet her.
Did you have fun? Mabonth asked.
Kaiya smiled. “I did.”
So I did good by picking Tylanth’s weyr to hide!
Kaiya raised an eyebrow. “You mean you did that on purpose?”
I like Tylanth. And I thought you might like his rider. So the choice was obvious.
Kaiya burst out in hysterical laughter. “Shards. My dragon is playing matchmaker…”
Am I wrong?
Kaiya thought back to her conversations with V’lor that afternoon, a pensive look on her face.
“No… You’re not wrong.”
So, I was inspired to write this after browsing the Dragonchoice Facebook group and coming across some interesting info about the sea-green dragonet - mainly that she's constantly mistaken for a blue and thinks it's hilarious. And, well, I thought it was hilarious, too! I also wanted to explore Kaiya's feelings about Mabonth's upcoming first mating flight, and thought it appropriate that she meet someone nice before it happens. Will it lead anywhere? We'll see!