Gone Away, Gone Ahead - 27. Misunderstandings

After visiting J’rud a second time, D’gar invited some of the Wing up to his weyr, then ordered more wine and ale for them all. He realised that he wanted H’rek to walk in and see that he was able to have a good time whether he was there or not. Yet as evening fell and it became dark outside, there was still no sign of him. Several times, he pondered asking Herebeth to bespeak Rioth, but some stubborn part of him was determined that he’d not be the one to make the first move. The argument had been stupid, of course, although it was what had happened afterwards that bothered him. According to N’bras, L’cal had a reputation for flirting with anyone, male or female. If he didn’t know that Rioth was still a while away from rising, he’d think H’rek was acting proddy, but there wasn’t even that excuse.

‘You’re quiet tonight.’ M’rell had joined them. It was his final night in Benden before going south the following day with one of the working parties. They’d been told that they’d be staying down there for at least a couple of sevendays.

‘Thinking about what happened to J’rud.’ It was only half a lie; that was on his mind as well.

‘You know what he’d say if he was here; “get drinking, stop thinking”.’

‘Very true. I think I will.’

M’rell looked around the weyr. A couple of the riders were in the pool, splashing around, N’bras among them. ‘The Benden lads seem to have settled in well.’

‘Yes, I think they’ll be fine once they get into our way of fighting.’ Absently, he massaged his shoulder. It was starting to ache again.

‘Where’s H’rek got to? I’d have thought they’d be back by now.’

D’gar shrugged. That definitely hurt. ‘Not sure what he’s up to these days.’

M’rell’s expression changed. ‘Hey, have you fallen out with him, or something?’

‘We had an argument. He walked out yesterday and I’ve not spoken to him since.’

‘I’ll have a word with him, if you like, when I get down there.’

‘No need. It’ll sort itself out.’ He sighed. ‘It’s just, we’ve got on so well up until now and I wish it hadn’t happened.’

‘You and S’brin used to fall out now and then.’

Both D’gar and S’brin had occasionally and separately taken refuge in M’rell’s weyr. ‘Yes, but that was usually when Zemianth was getting close to rising. You know what a temper he had and being proddy just made it worse.’

M’rell nodded. ‘Shells, yes. Do you remember when he threw that table across the dining hall? And he was well known for punching people during mating flights.’

‘That’s beside the point. H’rek doesn’t have a bad temper. We just disagreed, that’s all. I was tired and shouldn’t have pushed it.’

‘You can’t go back and change things.’

‘Unfortunately not.’ Not even with a dragon. Timing it didn’t work that way. From what he understood, what had already happened was set in stone.

‘So, back to my first point. Get drinking.’

The party went on for some time. A few of the riders were too drunk to safely ride back to their own weyrs, so D’gar got out some spare furs to let them sleep in the chairs, or on the floor. He’d had a lot more wine than he’d normally be comfortable with, so he drank plenty of water before getting into bed, carefully stepping over the unconscious bodies before shuttering the glow basket. He fell asleep fairly quickly.

At some point during the night, he awakened. He wasn’t a heavy sleeper and usually woke several times, getting back to sleep once he’d turned over and settled down. When H’rek was there, or back in the old days, when S’brin had been, they’d sometimes just snuggle together for a while before he dropped off again. This time, he woke to find someone spooned against him, with an arm across his chest.

For a moment, he was confused. In his drowsy state, he couldn’t remember straight away where he was, or who should be there. He still felt slightly light-headed from the alcohol, enough that he didn’t over-think things, just settled back, accepted that someone was sharing the bed with him and fell asleep again.

The next time he woke, it was closer to morning. He had a slight headache, a dry mouth and a full bladder. Someone else was still in his bed and this time he was sober and conscious enough to know that wasn’t a good thing, especially as some of the other stop-overs were also beginning to stir. The faint grey light of dawn slid under the curtain.

Herebeth. Are you awake?

Yes. I gather you are, too. Was it his imagination, or did his dragon sound slightly disapproving?

I think I drank a bit too much.

Not just you. I have two other dragons on my ledge. There is not room out here for so many of us.

I’m sorry about that. I’ll wake up the other riders.

As he sat up and stretched, his shoulder protested. Injuries always felt worse the next day and this was no exception. He needed numbweed. He needed to get all these people out of his weyr. There was the morning exercise session looming; even if he couldn’t participate, it was still his job to supervise it.

All that was visible of the sleeping man next to him was a tangle of dark hair on the pillow; the rest of his body was burrowed under the furs. As he threw back the covers a hand reached out to grasp his thigh. ‘Don’t go,’ someone said sleepily.

‘It’s time everyone got back to their own weyrs.’ He disengaged the hand and swung his legs around, wincing as his bare feet touched cold stone. Someone must have taken the bedside rug.

There was sufficient light to pick his way across to the necessary without tripping over anyone. it felt a bit like stepping back in time; like the morning after one of the parties he and S’brin had held back at Fort. Except he wasn’t so young any more and was supposed to be a responsible Wingsecond. On his way back, he checked who was here. M’rell, obviously. If anyone was going to drink too much you could rely on him. G’reden too. V’chal was snuggled in the largest chair with T’rai. And in his bed, half-awake, was N’bras.

‘Did you two have fun?’ V’chal had woken up and was obviously overjoyed that he might have discovered something worth gossiping about.

‘Nothing happened. He just slept with me.’ No, that sounded all wrong. ‘I mean, we were in the same bed, asleep. Isn’t that right, N’bras?’

N’bras looked hungover. ‘To be honest, I don’t remember much about last night.’

‘You and half a dozen others.’

V’chal was still grinning. ‘What’s H’rek going to think about this?’

‘I’m hoping he won’t get to hear about it before I’ve had a chance to talk with him first. Anyway, like I said, nothing happened. I’m sure if it had, your finely-attuned ears would have alerted you to what was going on. N’bras has a weyrmate and so do I.’ D’gar started to pull on his discarded clothing.

Which dragons are out there with you? he asked Herebeth.

Lilith and Toth.

I’ll tell their riders.

That would be good. Herebeth still sounded put out about sharing his space.

Have you seen Rioth this morning?

She is not at Benden Weyr. She is in the south.

Ah. Well that went some way to explaining why H’rek hadn’t come back last night.

‘Finished chatting to your dragon?’ V’chal asked.

‘Yes, he’d like his ledge back. Your Lilith is still out there.’

‘She’s a terrible flirt.’

‘Well, you know what they say. “Like rider, like dragon”.’

M’rell groaned. The voices must have woken him up, too. ‘My head hurts,’ he complained.

‘Not surprised at that. Good job you don’t have to join us all for exercises this morning.’

It was V’chal’s turn to moan. ‘You’re not going to make us do that, are you?’

‘Afraid so. Every morning was what I promised R’feem. I’ll get Herebeth to give everyone a wake-up call shortly.’ He finished dressing, finally pulling on his boots, then turned to N’bras. ‘You’re part of our Wing now, so that means you as well.’

‘You’re a cruel bastard,’ V’chal said. ‘Almost as bad as F’drun.’

Beside him, T’rai stirred. ‘No-one’s as bad as F’drun. He wouldn’t even have thrown a party in the first place, unless he wanted to push us all off his weyr ledge.’

D’gar relented slightly. It was partly his fault they’d got drunk. ‘I’ll order some klah, all right. Then you can leave. Exercise before breakfast, as usual.’

He went over to the service shaft and called down to the kitchen for six cups of klah. Glancing back into the weyr, he could see that they had all taken his words to heart. M’rell came past to dunk his head in the pool, then emerged dripping. ‘That’s better,’ he said. ‘Well, a bit, anyway.’

The exercise session went fairly well, considering quite a few riders were suffering the after effects of the impromptu party. D’gar didn’t believe in asking anyone to do anything he wasn’t prepared to himself, so he ran round the lake with them, at least for the first circuit. Numbweed had eased his shoulder and it didn’t feel too bad. Bearing in mind the healer’s advice, he didn’t overdo things. There was Fall again tomorrow, late in the day, and he wanted to be fit to take part.

He took pity on those who were suffering and didn’t ask too much from them. This meant the session broke up sooner than usual, leaving riders time to wash and change clothes before breakfast was served in the dining hall. For himself, he went back to his weyr and tidied up the worst of the debris, piling all the dirty cups and plates into the service shaft. Then he made his way down to join the others.

It was obvious V’chal had already been telling everyone who hadn’t stayed over his own, highly creative version of events. T’burrad made a show of shuffling along to create space so that he could sit next to N’bras, who had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.

‘I dd try to tell them, you know,’ he whispered, having to lean closer to D’gar in order to be heard. That caused a few more ribald comments around the table.

‘Look, we’ll talk later, when this lot aren’t around.’ D’gar busied himself with breakfast and ignored the rest of the Wing, knowing that the speculation would die out as soon as something newer and more interesting caught their fancy.

You two got anything planned for later?’ V’chal called out.

‘I’m going to visit J’rud again and I expect N’bras will be seeing his weyrmate.’

As he made his way back from fetching a refill of klah, R’feem beckoned him over. ‘I’ve been asked to provide some volunteers to help ferry stuff down to Southern later on today. I imagine you’d like to be included, so maybe you could pick out a few more from the Wing to go along.

‘Sure. I’m not going to be able to lift much, though.’ He’d forgotten his sling again, he realised.

‘Oh yes, your shoulder. Well, you can get the others to do any heavy work and maybe spend some time with your weyrmate.’ He smiled in a kindly fashion. ‘Give yourself a break.’

‘Thanks.’ It would certainly create an opportunity during which he could find out what H’rek had been up to and forestall any gossip he might hear. He’d definitely not be taking V’chal.

On the edge of the landing area, supplies had already been packaged ready to go; some were boxed, others in sacks. A couple of Lower Caverns workers were bringing out more bits and pieces; storage jars, bowls and other utensils. It reminded him of the days before the Big Move, at Fort.

Fancy doing some work today? He asked Herebeth.

I am catching up on my sleep.

Later on, not now.

That is all right, then.

It would be unfair to disturb him, so rather than go directly back to his weyr, D’gar took a walk over to the infirmary. He noticed that Zurinth had been housed in one of the ground level weyrs and had regained some of her colour. Dragons always recovered quickly and now that J’rud was conscious, she’d feel much better. Just a few openings along from her he spotted the unmistakeable pale bronze of Ryth’s hide. F’drun was putting straps on his dragon, so he must have been pronounced fit enough to help with transport today.

‘D’gar! Wait.’

D’gar turned at the sound of his name, to see N’bras hurrying over. ‘What is it?’

‘You said we’d talk later. Then I went up for more klah and when I got back, you’d left the dining hall.’

‘We can talk any time. I just didn’t want to provide any more fuel for the gossips. Look, I don’t know why you thought it was a good idea to get into bed with me last night…’

‘Neither do I, really, except it was cold on the floor and I was drunk enough for it to seem like a sensible thing to do.’

‘Wish you’d tell that to V’chal.’ Not that it would do any good. He was too caught up in his own version of events to be swayed by simple truth.

‘Look, I’ll make it all right. I’ll tell H’rek what really happened,’

‘It’s probably best if I talk to him. R’feem’s asked me to rustle up some volunteers for transport duty, so I should get the chance to clear things up later today.’ Seeing his worried expression, D’gar smiled and patted him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t worry about it. We all do stupid things when we’ve had too much to drink.’

Inside the infirmary, N’bras went off to see C’vash, while D’gar made his way through to J’rud’s bed. He was sitting up this morning. Someone had already got him a cup of klah and some food.

‘How’s it going?’

J’rud looked up. ‘Not so bad. Zurinth’s feeling a lot better.’

‘I know. I just saw her on the way in. What about you?’

He shrugged. ‘They’re keeping me well dosed up. I’m not in any pain. Don’t feel much like eating though.’

‘Fellis does that. You should try to get some food inside you, though.’

‘Says the man who can never eat before Threadfall.’

‘There is a difference. At least if you throw up here, you can do it neatly in a bowl.’

‘There is that.’ He bit off a small piece of sweet roll, then washed it down with klah.

‘We’re off down south today to help out. I’ll bring you back some of the fruit that grows there. If that doesn’t tempt you, nothing will.’ He sat down in the chair. ‘Did you get any more visitors yesterday?’

He nodded. ‘Quite a few from our Wing. And Sh’ran. He was upset by what happened, but said it wouldn’t make any difference.’

‘Well, that’s good news.’ At least someone’s relationship seemed to be going smoothly. ‘Listen, you might hear some wild stories flying around today. I invited a few folk back to the weyr and some of them drank far too much.’

‘Just like the good old days, eh? So, who did what? And who with?’

‘I’m pretty sure V’chal and T’rai got to know each other better at some point. But the main gossip’s going to be about me and N’bras.’

J’rud’s eyebrows went up. ‘Didn’t H’rek have something to say about that?’

‘He wasn’t there.’ That sounded terrible. ‘And in any case, nothing actually happened, except in V’chal’s vivid imagination.’

‘Tell me more,’ J’rud seemed intrigued.

‘Well, N’bras climbed into bed with me. And we slept. That’s all.’

‘Really?’ He looked dubious.

‘Honestly. On the shell of Herebeth’s egg. N’bras has a weyrmate. So do I.’ At least, I hope I still do, he thought.

J’rud chewed a piece more of the sweet roll. ‘It sounds like a mess. Shells! Why do I miss all the juicy scandal?’

‘I expect you’ll hear all about it. Exaggerated by about one hundred percent, of course. You can tell me what they said later.’

‘Ah, so that’s why you came to visit me so early. Knew there had to be an ulterior motive.’

He did sound a bit more like his old self, D’gar thought. Cheering up J’rud might be the only good thing that came from this. ‘Anyway, I’d best get off and pick my team. Think I’ll take most of the ones who are still banned from leaving the Weyr except for work. It’ll give them a break.’

‘Take care. And make sure you speak to H’rek before anyone else does.’

‘I intend to.’

Herebeth had plenty of chance to rest before they left. It wasn’t until mid-morning that all the dragons assigned for transport began assembling on the landing area. The work parties had left earlier; M’rell and F’drun along with them. F’nor was in charge of the loading operation, much to the annoyance of some of the Benden Wingleaders, whose bronze dragons had been co-opted to carry some of the bulkiest items. To be fair, Canth was almost as heavily laden, as were the other brown dragons in the group. The blues and greens took most of the smaller bits and pieces. F’lar and Lessa were also going along and their dragons were taking the largest items, slung between the two of them. That was going to be tricky, D’gar thought, particularly when taking off and landing, but he supposed they’d had enough practice flying together.

Will you be all right carrying this lot? he asked Herebeth.

I have carried more in the past. Anyway, it is not me who has a sore shoulder.

Very true. His shoulder didn’t feel too bad at all; it was a lot less painful than the aftermath of the lake incident. A lucky escape, then, from something that could have been much more serious.

There was quite a lot of waiting around before they finally left the Weyr, with lists being checked and a few more items added here and there. Eventually, F’nor gave the signal to take off, while Canth supplied the visuals for the jump between. The group of dragons arrived in a less than tidy formation over the familiar beach. Unlike the last time he’d been there, when it had been totally deserted, now the place was bustling with all kinds of activity. The building H’rek had found was almost completely uncovered, with people busily repairing damage to its structure. Riders and dragons were working together to clear the area. As they descended to land, he saw a brown dragon uprooting a tree, scattering soil over several people working nearby.

F’nor brought them in to land on an empty portion of the beach. As soon as the dragons were safely down, people came over to help unload. D’gar recognised Bavi from the laundry, as she waved to him.

‘I didn’t realise you were down here.’

‘Funny thing. I couldn’t wait to get back to Benden, then I found I was missing this place. Think I might transfer here permanently.’

‘Have you seen H’rek?’

‘He stayed last night. Most of us did. They decided it's better that way. Then we can get more work done before it’s too hot and relax for a while during the afternoon.’ She glanced around. ‘Although maybe not today with the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader here.’

‘They’ll feel the heat as much as anyone else.’ D’gar started unfastening Herebeth’s load. Can you find out where Rioth is?

After a short while Herebeth gave him the reply. She is on a beach. Just not this one. She will send me the visual.

Good. He expected that they’d be here for some time. A few of the blues and greens, already relieved of their lesser loads, were heading for the sea.

Bavi picked up some of the sacks he’d dropped. ‘Is everything all right with you and H’rek?’ she asked cautiously.

‘If I tell you, promise you won’t ruin any of my clothes.’

She smiled, obviously remembering the threat she’d made. ‘What happened?’

‘A silly argument. I was feeling fed up, he was tired. That’s why I took the opportunity to come down today, so I can say sorry.’

‘He’ll be pleased to see you. He seemed a bit down yesterday.’

That sounded promising. Maybe things weren’t so bad, after all.

‘I’d better take these before someone shouts at me. It’s all going over there for now.’ She pointed toward a new-looking structure.

‘Fine. I’ll bring something, too.’

It took a while to get all the dragons unloaded. D’gar was careful not to over strain his shoulder and made sure to put his sling back on so no-one thought he was shirking by only carrying one item at a time. It didn’t take long before he stripped off the wherhide riding gear. Everyone else was doing the same as they began to overheat from their exertions. Herebeth had joined the other dragons, frolicking in the surf. It is lovely bathing in this warm sea. You should join us.

I will as soon as I can. Dragons didn’t always understand human obligations and responsibilities.

Once everything was unloaded and checked, cool drinks were provided in the dining hall. They’d left a few mature trees around the perimeter and while this went against everything D’gar had ever learned in relation to safety during Threadfall, he could see the benefit of having shade in this climate. Once again, he considered whether Thread fell less frequently here. Surely if there were as heavy and regular Falls as in the north, all this vegetation would have long since been eaten and the land left a barren wilderness.

‘Weird, isn’t it?’ B’lin came to sit next to him. ‘All this greenery and no-one in the least bit concerned about it.’

‘I was just thinking that.’

‘Don’t think I’d fancy living here myself. Too exposed.’ He glanced up at the blue sky above them and shuddered. ‘Where’s everyone going to go during Threadfall?’

‘The hatching caves?’ When he’d been here before, H’rek had pointed out the cone of the extinct volcano where Prideth had laid her eggs and he had Impressed Rioth. It seemed to be the only rock in the area. Maybe other parts of this unexplored continent were more suitable for human - and dragon - habitation.

B’lin finished his drink. ‘They’ll have to fly Fall over this area and for a good few kilometres around it to stop burrows spreading. Oh well, their problem, not mine. Think I’m going to go for a swim with Ondiath now before heading back. They’d better not try and get us to do any more work here. This is supposed to be a rest day, after all.’

‘I know. Think I’m going to find where H’rek’s got to. Herebeth said Rioth is on a different beach.’

He made his way back onto the sand. The sun was now almost directly overhead and it felt as hot as Southern Boll in midsummer. The idea of a swim appealed, but he wasn’t sure how his shoulder would cope with swimming through the breakers. It was probably best to find H’rek. He might know of somewhere where there were some calm pools, then they could just lie around in the water while the dragons played to their heart’s content.

Get yourself out of the water, you big beast.

Herebeth gave a grumble. I am having fun with the other dragons.

You can have fun with Rioth, too. Let’s go and find her.

He brightened up. That sounds like a good idea.

D’gar stashed his wherhide gear, tying it to the straps. It was far too hot here and the short flight would cool him down. Herebeth set off in a westerly direction. The blue expanse of a lake went past, beside which many herdbeasts browsed the foliage. That must be the feeding grounds, he reckoned.

Those herd beasts look very tasty.

I’m sure they do. But they don’t belong to us.

Pity. He paused. Think they’d miss just one?

They might. Can’t you wait until we’re back at Benden to feed?

Herebeth sighed. I suppose so. But the beasts there are old and stringy.

Maybe if Rioth is hungry too, she’ll let you share one.

I shall ask her. It is not far now.

Another, smaller beach was just around the headland from the main Southern Weyr stretch. More golden sands, with a few rocks to one end, where the sea lapped gently into a series of clear pools. Ideal, he thought.

Down below, a small group of people worked at clearing another area. Some of them looked up, shielding their eyes against the fierce sun as Herebeth banked, then began his descent. Several dragons swam in the sea, along with some of their riders. D’gar recognised Rioth’s distinctive leaf-green colour. There she is.

For a moment it seemed as if Herebeth had decided a splash landing would be fun. Don’t do that! My clothes will get all wet. Set down on the beach first, then you can go to Rioth.

No sooner had he taken the straps off than Herebeth launched himself into the turquoise water. The waves here were much smaller, the conditions ideal for a gentle swim. D’gar took off the rest of his clothes and waded in, feeling the sand between his toes and the lovely coolness of the sea enveloping his body. He didn’t have to go far before it became deep enough to swim. The buoyancy of the salt water made it easy to float and he swam on one side, saving his aching shoulder from having to do too much work. On the way out, he went through what he was going to say to H’rek. There might be a little awkwardness at first; that was always the way when folk had argued, but H’rek was generally reasonable. D’gar had no qualms about apologising first; he’d become accustomed to that whenever he and S’brin had argued. Plus, in this case, he knew he’d pushed H’rek a bit too far. The only thing that made the situation less than ideal was that there were other people around. Still, they could always go behind one of the dragons to have a private conversation.

Herebeth was still splashing around, acting as if he was a hatchling rather than a mature dragon. He was obviously pleased to see Rioth again and she had swum over to him, so the feeling must be mutual. That was a good sign.

There were three other riders in the water with H’rek. D’gar recognised them as his clutchmates, but, as always, had trouble remembering their names. One of them - the one treading water next to H’rek, must be L’cal. The Holder’s son had that indefinable air of superiority that came from growing up in a privileged position. Plus, he’d Impressed bronze.

D’gar caught H’rek’s eye. ‘Hello,’ he began tentatively. ‘Are you all right?’

H’rek shrugged. He seemed uneasy. ‘We’re all fine.’

‘What are you doing here?’ L’cal asked.

‘Same as you. Having a swim. We’ve just brought a load more stuff down from Benden.’ Staying afloat wasn’t so easy when one arm didn’t work so well as the other. He caught hold of the nearest dragon for support. ‘Look, could we just have a word,’ he said to H’rek.

‘Sure. What do you want to say?’

‘Could we… speak alone?’

‘You can say whatever it is in front of my friends.’

That wasn’t like H’rek at all. ‘Well, all right then.’ He wasn’t comfortable, but if it was the only way, then he’d swallow his pride. ‘I just wanted to say I’m sorry. I said some things I shouldn’t.’

H’rek nodded shortly. ‘Is that it?’

‘Well… I miss you.’

‘Really? That’s not what I’ve been hearing.’

Who would have said anything? More to the point, who would have had time to say anything? ’You know how Weyr gossip works. Not everything you hear is true. Or even half true.’ It must have been over breakfast, he realised, when V’chal had been making all those comments. Some of H’rek’s clutchmates could have overheard, then first thing, when they got down here, taken a delight in telling him all about it. ‘Please. Let me explain.’

For a moment he thought H’rek was going to relent. If he’d been alone, he undoubtedly would have done. But L’cal touched his arm and said. ‘Don’t listen to any of this. Remember what I said?’

H’rek nodded in affirmation. ‘I don’t want your explanations,’ he said to D’gar. ‘Just leave me alone.’

‘H’rek.’ D’gar didn’t know what else he could say. ‘Shells! I love you. Isn’t that enough?’ Maybe it would have been, but just then the dragon he was holding on to decided to duck under the water, so he was left flailing and spluttering. By the time he recovered, H’rek, L’cal and all the others had swum away. It was all too clearly a dismissal.

Herebeth. We need to leave.

But we have only just got here. Rioth is pleased to see me. She has missed me.

Maybe. But Rioth’s rider is not happy to see me. Come and get me. It was a long way back to shore. As he waited for Herebeth, he looked longingly after H’rek. How could everything have gone so wrong, so fast? And what could he do about it?