Thinking

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 6th November 2007

Characters: Jh'slaen, F'naren
Description: Jh'slaen thinks over his midday meal; F'naren puts a stop to that.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 7, day 3 of Turn 4

Jh'slaen liked special feel of the Weyr before Threadfall. There was something of a more purposeful atmosphere about the place. Perhaps it was in the faces of the dragonriders – He looked around.

Perhaps it wasn't, though possibly there was less laughter at the midday meal. More concentration for the 'Fall they would face later in the afternoon.

It was one of the reasons the young greenrider liked 'Fall later in the day. The extended period of preparedness seemed to give a special atmosphere to the day and he had to admit he enjoyed being part of it.

"You're odd."

"Hmm?" Jh'slaen glanced away from his people watching to look at F'naren across the now almost empty table. "Am I? Why this time?"

"Because you like all this," the brownrider said, waving a fork around to indicate the subdued hum of activity around them. "You were probably born to be a dragonrider in a Pass. That's probably why you think there's a difference between an Interval Impression and a Pass one."

Jh'slaen wasn't surprised that his friend knew exactly where his thoughts had been wandering. They had grown up together and over twenty Turns of familiarity certainly gave an insight into another's mind that could be exasperating at times.

"I doubt I would have Impressed during the Interval. Just not enough dragons to go around so no need to Search so far afield that they found us in our backwater little cothold."

In an Interval of over twelve hundred Turns it was a miracle that dragons had survived. If not for each generation of dragonriders knowing what an incredible thing Impression was and, because of that knowledge and their sense of 'duty', encouraging anybody suitable to Stand at the few Hatchings ... He wondered how close it had come. How few dragons had there really been at the lowest point in their population? How few golds?

All the dragons now would be descended from those few fertile gold dragons and the greenrider wondered if anybody worried about inbreeding.

"You're not thinking again, are you? You know what sort of trouble you got into last time."

Jh'slaen sighed. The whole Weyr knew what sort of trouble he'd ended up in over his theory about – He turned his thoughts away, not even prepared to think about it since he still thought his opinion had merit and the problems it had caused him still rankled. Was he not supposed to think? Or speak? Perhaps he wasn't.

It was probably the greenrider thing.

Every dragonrider might be needed in the battle to keep Pern free of Thread, but that didn't always equate to equal status for riders of all colours of dragon, even within the Weyr. Not in a command and control sense; the greenrider knew perfectly well that Saradath took orders from other dragons because there was an innate ranking among dragonkind. No, this was a people thing.

Perhaps it was – F'naren extended his arm and jabbed his fork into Jh'slaen's hand.
"Stop thinking! You're making my head hurt just watching you. And Saradath's probably climbing the walls of her weyr trying to deal with all the things that churn away in your brain. Just relax. Enjoy the meal." The brownrider looked at his friend's plate. "_Eat_ the meal.
That'd be a start."

Jh'slaen rubbed the newly made dimples in his hand and sighed. "All right. Just one question though. Do you think other riders have less respect for greenriders because they – the greenriders – only face Thread for half a 'Fall at a time?"

"I don't _think_ that hard. Not ever." F'naren waved the fork around in what could only be regarded as a threatening manner by a tablemate who had already suffered a wake-up call from its sharp tines. "And neither should you."

Last updated on the November 9th 2007

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Thinking