Tedry was content to wander Tiynarea's halls alone, but he preferred to be in on discussions. He'd listen in, then people would see him, and look away quietly. He knew he was a little different than everyone else. But that didn't make him any less good for a dragon, did it? They were all Searched, right?

It was when a small caravan of wanderers came to the Weyr that Tedry's skills showed up in full. The headwoman and her crew hardly had any experience dealing with this type of group. Tedry strode up with confidence and gave a sign with his hand that he was 'one of them' to the travelers. Though they were surprised, the group suddenly warmed up and started their bartering.

Afterwards, it seemed Tedry was a bit more popular, especially with anyone who wanted to get something from or to someone else! But that paled shortly, because the call went up for the hatching!

Though Tedry knew that there were such things as black and white dragons, he'd never seen one before coming to the sands at Tiynarea. The white mistress of the clutch was a bit put off by everyone even being near her eggs - she was fiercely overprotective of them!

But after all, what mother isn't?

Tedry's thoughts of his own mother were dim, he considered that dragons were much better at it.

The female grudgingly allowed one or two of her hatchlings to come out from between her forelegs, and that suddenly disappointed Tedry. He thought he was meant to watch the hatching - the hatching, which meant the eggs breaking open! With a little knot in his gut, he watched as the first couple dragonets chose their partners.

Finally, after a play of this hide-and-seek, the dragoness lifted her wings and the last of her small clutch bolted out from her protection. Tedry thought that they really wanted to go, find their pairs. That worked well for lots of people - immediately the blues and green sought out their partners!

And one blue came up to Tedry, after the boy next to him paired up and impressed. Hungry feelings went through Tedry's gut, and the words from his dragonet eagerly shot through his mind.

Oooh! Me too! Me too! Though Tedry knew the name of this blue, Ehteleth, he hadn't a clue what the dragonet wanted too!

"You too, what, Ehteleth?" He asked, confirming the impression and speaking the dragon's name. Curious, he sought out the blue's eager young mind.

Which there was merely one word in response: FOOD!

Laughing, T'dry helped the still-wet hatchling from the sands. With this glorious feeling in his heart, T'dry somehow didn't miss the eggshell-breaking so much!

Though F'iori worked hard at keeping up with the 'guyz' during classes, it soon became apparent that Akuaneth and he were better suited for the more eclectic work of transport and paperwork. He was strong enough to ride and make contributions to the dragonry, but he was albino in skin and had trouble remaining outside in the bright sunlight during training. The twilight hours and early mornings seemed to work best for him.

The same times that many of the vampires were there, but... Whatever.

Akuaneth butted her head against his shoulder, dislodging the sleepy Monster and making her angrily squawk and fly off.

I wish to meet these friends you keep dreaming about, she bespoke.

"And pretty soon you will," F'iori assured her. "You're flying pretty well now, and once we learn how to go between, we're supposed to transfer back to Dragonhope."

A feeling of glee and hope filled the dragoness, and therefore F'iori. He spent the rest of the day with a big smile on his face.

***

With the winds at their back, and the Red Star at a safe distance, F'iori and his lovely pale green Akuaneth flew over the white-lavender hillsides and water line near Dragonhope. It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

I thought I was the most beautiful! Akuaneth complained.

"This is the most beautiful landscape then," he laughed. "I wonder when we will see my friends... We went through so much together, but ..." he got a little sad, but perked up when he realized, "we spent more time apart than together! I wonder if we'll be in a wing together?"

If they are good, perhaps, the dragoness thought. So she really was as silly and vain as all that. F'iori laughed loudly on their way down to the Weyr...

When Milonna wrote to Dragonhope, it was one of her very first real letters to anyone. Her hand shook but she kept her penmanship neat by breathing slowly and concentrating. She wrote about her new dragon, and that she was a bit... different in color. She hoped that Dragonhope would accept her, should she return with an oddly colored female.

Using one of Shinack's local firelizards trained to send and recieve mail, she bid the bronze to go to Weyrwoman Kira. As Reginath picked her way through a number of lunches (fish, fresh meat, a small tunnel snake that had exited just beside their weyr), Milonna nervously waited a response. Would they be allowed to return? Some of the locals kept her worried, the whole time they were growing.

She would be queen sized, and with a bearing that her name bore out - regal. Reginath stood tall, her head and neck poised, even as a weyrling. They were all just learning to fly, but Reginath conquored the air as easily as she'd conquored Milonna's heart.

Abruptly startling the girl, the bronze flitter arrived again with a scroll in his paws. He accepted a scratch on the neck and a small piece of dried meat as a reward and flew off to his real owner. Milonna wasn't sure she wanted to open the letter. After all, it might be telling her that she should not return...

Well, what does it say? You might be able to read but I cannot... Reginath bespoke her.

"It says..." Milonna's hands shook, while she opened the scroll and squinted at the print. "It... says that we are more than welcome, and will be entertaining the idea of a full queen's weyr on our arrival!" Her words spilled over one another, in her excitement. "Oh Reginath you will be their next queen! You will be!"

And you their next weyrwoman, Reginath reminded her.

"I wonder... who would be my weyrleader..." There was another pang of worry - what if Zan didn't... But she refused to think more on that. They had flight practice now...

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