Returning To Duty

Anjelie actually smiled as she watched blue Spalkoth climb high into the brightly burning afternoon sunlight. His wing felt strong and steady, none of the annoying twinges of pain that he'd experienced too often of late. The blue reached the apex of his climb and leveled out, entering a gentle turn that slowly tightened and accelerated as he increased his bank bit by bit. The bluerider shaded her eyes to watch him for a moment longer, and then turned with that same smile to regard the dragonhealer that stood next to her.

"As you can see, Journeyman May," Anjelie said, "He is flying well. I can feel no wing or shoulder pain today, even though his climb was straight up."

The need for a wide open space in which to assess Spalkoth's progress had led them here, to the hunting grounds, where the blue could stretch his wings out and perform such aerobatic feats as were required by the dragonhealer's assessment. Spalkoth, of course, was perfectly confident in his abilities and healed wing. Anjelie was, as well, but she still preferred to be cautious, and above all, to see that there was no question. It was simple enough to have a dragonhealer sign off on his flight, after all. And that way all the appropriate proprieties would be observed.

May watched in admiration and silence as the blue flew higher, his color high and form strong. She was glad to see there was no trace of lag or favor in the limb.

"I am very happy for it, Wingrider Anjelie. Blue dragons are the workhorses of dragonkind and the keenest of empathy. I am glad to see Spalkoth has healed so well. I will record this on his chart and as of this day, I clear him for return of regular duty." May said and she pressed her stylus to the hide she had been working on. She had pinned it to a board so that she might carry it as they walked.

Anjelie felt the surge of relief and excitement. Cleared for duty! They could return to their proper place in the wings, such as it was in this strange Weyr. But while she couldn't, at present, do anything about White Lightning Weyr's nontraditional attitudes and ways of doing business, she could now, finally, at least be of some use in fighting Thread again.

"Thank you, Journeyman," she said crisply. "I appreciate your report. Spalkoth will be eager to return. Pern needs every pair flying." She would have left it at that, but then she had that feeling that she hated, that some sort of small talk was required in this situation.

Bah. She hated these situations.

"Of course, with the eggs, perhaps Aliseth's clutch will grow as quickly as she has done, and we will have more pairs before long. Do you think that is possible?" she asked. May was a dragonhealer, after all. Anjelie supposed that it wasn't unreasonable to expect that she had an opinion on such things.

May tucked an errant strand of red hair behind her hear and tilted her head up and a little to the right to look at the bluerider. After a moment, she smiled and nodded.

"I would name it 'survivor's vigor', the rate of maturity of the shadows and smokes. With a shadow being the dam and the sire being a smoke, it is my hope we will see more of the two. Aliseth will carry the blood markers for cobalt, scarlet and quartz as well. I would say you might see few of the traditionals in this clutch but I have no evidence to support thinking there will be none. I was surprised once I had reviewed Yllaveth's chart that her latest clutch only yielded one traditional, that being brown Finnedath. All the same, as long as the eggs hatch healthy and bond I will be glad to see them all."

"Of course," Anjelie said, wondering if she'd said something wrong. Probably. She usually did. She hadn't meant to imply that the new colors were somehow lesser, or that not every hatchling should be bonded and cherished... but what she meant rarely mattered. She never failed to say the wrong thing.

As Spalkoth circled to land near the two of them, Anjelie felt the familiar sense of relief that the trial of talking to another human being was shortly to end. People were so difficult. She vastly preferred her own company and that of Spalkoth.

"Well," Anjelie said, "I will leave..."

No, Spalkoth said. Anjelie turned and looked at him, confusion writ large on her face. What? she asked.

No, we cannot leave. I am not finished with the dragonhealer. I like her. the blue responded, his mind tone patient.

"I don't understand," Anjelie said out loud, her gaze going from her magnificent blue to May and back again. "The Dragonhealer has released you for duty. You are done with her."

No, I am not. She is done with me, perhaps, but perhaps not. I like her, you see. For Aliseth's clutch. She must stand.

Oh. Oh! Anjelie could feel her eyes going wide and round.

"Journeyman May," she said, her voice nearly a whisper. "It seems I am offering you Search. Spalkoth says you must stand for Aliseth's clutch. Will you accept?"

May nodded as the bluerider confirmed her exit and offered her a parting smile.

"Sky be fair and kind to you both." she said. She then dropped her eyes back to Spalkoth's chart and made a few additional notes. She saw Anjelie turn to face her blue but otherwise made no motion to scrutinize the bluerider.

It was only when the Wingrider had spoken aloud did May look up, quizzically at first. Rare was it for her patient's riders to speak to them aloud where she could here and she did not want to seem as though she was ease dropping. They were referring to her, if not speaking to her directly. She folded the chart against her check and was about to ask Anjelie if Spalkoth had any lingering health concerns when the bluerider spoke softly. Her words were no more than a spinner weaving it's silken cord and all the same, it caught embers in the Journeyman's heart that sent dizzying warmth through her chest.

"Search?!" May breathed, her own eyes going as wide as Anjelie's. "I...am I not too old? I will be twenty two turns in late summer."

Anjelie shook her head. "That is old to be Searched, yes, but weyrborn candidates may Stand until they have twenty-four Turns. You will age out quickly if you do not Impress right away, but you are still eligible now. Will you accept? Generally, we do not like to poach full Journeymen, but as you're a dragonhealer anyway, perhaps that can be overlooked." Anjelie frowned at this. She hated overlooking rules, even if they were really more like guidelines anyway.

May's heart sank by a fraction; she was no weyrbred woman. She had been born at Eastern Hold, had done onto Eastern Weyr to be trained the ways of a Dragon Healer. Her brother had been accepted into the Harper Hall, where he had met his wife. For almost half her life she had lived in the Weyr.

"I cannot lie to you, Searchrider. I am no weyr born woman but I will accept this Searching if you will still give it to me." she said softly.

Anjelie shook her head. She'd said the wrong thing again, and been misunderstood. Then she realized that she may just have compounded her mistake by shaking her head in the negative.

"No," she said. "The Search is yours. Your breeding has nothing to do with it. Your age is acceptable to Spalkoth, and within the normal range of candidate ages. I only meant that you will likely not Stand for long. Either you will Impress, or you will become too old. But you've been offered Search, which means that you may stand as long as you would if you were weyrborn."

The bluerider cocked her head, feeling her dark hair fall away from her face as she did so. Did that make sense? Would the woman understand? Or had Anjelie messed the message up yet again?

The latter would be typical.

May looked up to where Spalkoth was standing, watching the sunlight pool over him. Her mouth parted and a smile came that rose all the way to her eyes. She was looking at Anjelie's blue dragon but at the same time seem to be looking beyond him. Indeed, to May's imagination it was like she could see a dragon just beyond Spalkoth. She could not see its color but it seem to shift through all of the them, green to white to red to blue and black and silver. She blinked and then she chuckled at her own foolishness.

"I am honored, Searchrider. Yes, I accept!" she said in a rush.

Anjelie smiled. Searchrider. That was a title she'd never thought to claim. Yet here she was, with Spalkoth unequivocally claiming a journeyman dragonhealer (no less!) for Search. That was something of which to be proud, and no mistake.

"You are most welcome, Candidate. Come, let us find Candidatemaster Brielody. If you were looking to settle in, she will get you directed correctly, now that your status has changed slightly. No doubt your skills will still be put to good use in the dragon infirmary, but you will likely have other duties now, as well. Until the Hatching, of course."

She smiled and May felt a thrill go through her. She tucked her report under her arm and nodded.

"I would love to go do that. I have some free time now before my break time. Spalkoth, thank you." May said, turning to grin at the blue dragon. Turning back to Anjelie, she looked at the other woman with open curiosity.

"What was it like, standing on the day you Impressed Spalkoth?" she asked, gently.

"Overwhelming," Anjelie answered promptly. "The Sands are hot, and there are too many people watching. And the candidate robe almost never fits right, because they're reused, of course. And you're terrified you're going to say or do something wrong and anger one of the dragonriders, or worse, one of the dragons... and then the eggs start to Hatch and you have no idea where to look!" A look of frustration creased her face. But then she shook her head, and her brow smoothed out as a tiny smile curved her lips.

"Of course, all of that falls away when your dragon touches your mind. There's only you, and him, and no one else in the world during that moment." Her eyes went distant, and nearby, Spalkoth let out a soft croon of love as he too felt, again, the love of the Impression bond.