Chap. 39 Threadfall at Turnover

Chap. 39 Threadfall at Turnover

K'ndar felt the fear climb up his throat.

It was his first ever Thread fall in the sky where he was in the middle of the fight.

Up until now, as a Weyrling, he'd followed the golds, who didn't flame Thread. Or he'd shuttled sacks of firestone to riders flaming it, or going between to the weyr for more.

But now, he was on deck, responsible for a sector of sky.

Heavy bags of firestone pressed against his knees. Raventh had ingested much of it and had a good belly full of flame built up.

He was so close to the Thread, now. No one had told him one could HEAR Thread. He could smell it, see it. It sizzled and hissed as it passed through the clouds. How could anything so innocuous be so deadly, and yet he knew only too well what it did to living things once it hit the ground. Images of his family's best herd bull, eaten alive to the bone by Thread, was forefront in his mind.

Only Raventh's supple neck and steady wingbeats kept him kept him centered and focused.

Ahead of him the golds were swooping in broad circles, their riders flaming Thread with flame throwers. Ahead of them, the other fighting wings were ducking and diving sheets as they flamed. Sacks of firestone flew from dragon to dragon. Dragons blinked in and out of between. Part of his mind reflected what a tremendous view he had of the fight, but most of his mind was quivering in fear of being scored.

He failed to notice that very little of the Thread got past the wings. The fall was well behaved, as the light winds were steady out of the west, herding the Thread into sheets. Below them, men patrolled the ground, hunting for any bit that escaped the wings.  It was an excellent fall to learn from.

It is okay. Don't be afraid. You are with me. I won't let it hurt you Raventh said.

He was wordless.

 See the golds! They are not afraid!

I am

I know. But it is US!! K'ndar and Raventh the best brown ever!

He dodged suddenly to the right, rolling over on a wingtip to flame a clump of Thread. K'ndar wasn't caught unawares…he'd ridden too many runners to be caught off balance, but still, it was a surprise.

"Well done, Raventh!!" shouted Careth, his dragon wingleader.

 Did you hear that? Told you. I'm the best brown ever. Everyone says so. This is kind of fun

K'ndar didn't think so. His mouth was dry as a bone.  Countless hours of drill allowed him to go through the motions, but in his mind, he desperately wanted to fly back to the weyr, crawl into a deep stony cave and hide. Concentrate, B'rant had said, and you won't be frightened. Remember your training. Allow it to direct you. It will become second nature.

He hadn't expected to still be frightened. This wasn't his first flight, after all, but he was. The hideous, stinking black rain that had nothing between it and him but air-and felt as if it had him in as its target.

Thank the egg the only one who could hear his fears was Raventh.

 Oh, no, Raventh said, Corvuth and Careth are listening. They can hear you

K'ndar blushed, embarrassed and ashamed. Raventh barrel rolled to the left and flamed another batch of Thread.

Oh. I didn't know. You do this as if you've done it all your life

 I am a DRAGON. It is what we do. And all the other riders are afraid, like you. Even D'mitran, Careth said. It is okay. They are all afraid..

He didn't see that. Sinala on her green was flying at high speed, attacking the Thread with what could only be described as ferocious glee. She was proving to be a tremendous team mate. She whooped when her green killed an especially large tangle of Thread. Her green was exultant at finally being able to open up and use her talents.

Without noticing it, his heart rate slowed as he began to see the mechanics of fighting thread, just as he'd been trained. He fell into the same sequence as Raventh, judging the fall of thread ahead of him, allowing Raventh to judge just when to flame, ducking the scorched stuff the queens had killed.

But it was suddenly over. For several moments, the wings flew aimlessly, looking for those last errant sheets. Then, D'nis called out, "Wingleaders, form your wings!"

K'ndar obediently put Raventh into their designated position in D'mitran's wing.

"Wingleaders, report!" came D'nis's call.

 From the various wings came "All present and accounted for, sir!" and at least once, "Two wounded and returned to Weyr!" You didn't leave the fighting area until everyone was accounted for.

"Prepare for between and return to Weyr!" came the order. K'ndar visualized the weyr's dragon stones.  D'nis cried,"On my mark: 3-2-1 between!"

For several black, empty seconds they were in nothing.

Then the wings re-appeared in the morning's sunshine over the familiar bowl.

The bowl was filled with people, all awaiting the wing's returns.

D'nis cried, "Any wounded dragons or riders, land!"

That was a formality. Sometimes a dragon/rider weren't so badly hurt they needed to depart the formation immediately. The wounded were always given priority. Healers for both dragons and riders were waiting, ready to aid the wounded. K'ndar could see them below him, just now shepherding a dragon to the infirmary.

By the Egg, he could see his sister, Glyena, amongst the folks with the dragon. That was so typical of her, always wanting to help an injured animal.

As they waited in the sky, waiting for the bowl to clear, K'ndar let his breathing resume a normal rate. His heart slowed.

D'nis called again, "Wing leaders, seconds, after action reports tonight after evening meal.

You newly graduated riders! Well done! Sinala!!! Did I see your green do a barrel roll??"

"Aye, sir, it was her idea," she called, a gigantic grin on her face.

"Nicely done, but…think twice next time. I'd hate to see you fall off," B'rant called.

"You mean like the first time we glided?" sneered F'mart.

Sinala had a retort all ready, but Falor, another green rider, was quicker.

"Hey, F'mart!! Want to remind us green riders how well you can hold your beer? I forget!"

Another cried, "F'mart, tell us how much you just lovvvve cleaning latrines, eh?""

"What? What?" F'mart cried.

"We green riders, we hang together," Sinala sneered back.

"At ease, F'mart," D'mitran called, "And Sinala,  Careth agrees that it was your dragon's idea to barrel roll, but please, don't do it while fighting Thread. There's too much risk."

"Aye, sir. Won't happen again."

Yes it will. It was fun. But I won't do it while fighting Thread  her sassy green said.

I don't think I could do that  Raventh said, surprising K'ndar. Usually his brown was the first to boast of all sorts of accomplishments. But it did look like fun.

Please, don't. At least without giving me a warning

D'nis cried, "Wings, dismissed."

Golds, by virtue of their rank, landed next. It looked so small. This is scary, K'ndar thought, that the gold wing was comprised only of their queen, Elanath, and three long yearling golds. Only one breeding female and four total golds for a weyr this size was worrisome.

There's Jianath

Yes, but….she's so old. She's retired, she doesn't have to fight Thread anymore. I doubt very much she'll ever lay eggs again. And who would want her Oldtimer Jenmay for Weyrwoman? Not ME

Wing leaders and seconds called for their wings to land in sequence. The bowl was too small to accommodate all of them at once.

Dismounting, he felt so odd, as if he'd been riding a bucking runner for days. He was tired.

They'd been called out before dawn for the Fall. Both of them were covered with ash and dust. He wanted nothing more than to get a bath and then sleep. That was from the emotional drain, he knew. But, as is always the case, the dragon's care came first.

Hariko and several of her staff were there, with klah, pastries, anything the riders might want. Lindea, his friend, pressed a fresh tart into his hand. He wolfed it down, just then realizing how hungry he was.

"How was it?" she asked, care for him showing in her eyes.

He shook his head. "I was so scared, Lin. But Raventh, he took care of me."

Raventh lowered and bent his head, indicating he wanted her to scratch behind his horns. By this time he was much taller than either of them. Instead of his horns, she reached up and began scratching between his lower jaw bones. THAT sent his eyes whirling.

"You are a handsome beastie, Raventh," she said, admiring him.

 She knows just where to scratch. Her talons are sharper than yours. I like her scratching better than yours, he teased.

He laughed. "Raventh says you scratch better than I do."

 She laughed, too, then spread her hand wide in front of the dragon's eyes. "Tell him I have sharper nails. We girls usually do."

Fingers. Humans don't have talons. But our fingers do have sharp ends, and girls are usually  sharper than boys."

Fingers  Raventh repeated, logging the word into his rapidly expanding vocabulary.

"Thank you, Lin, for the tart. I should be ashamed of myself, I just gobbled it down."

"That's okay," she replied, "you all were up much too early. I have to go and see to the other riders. Did I just see your sister Glyena, helping with the wounded?"

"You did! I'll have to sit down and tell you all about it. She's going to be staying on here after Gather, as a foster."

Lindea's eyebrow went up in a quizzical arch.

"Oh, I want to hear all about it, but…I have to go. There are others," she said, "but I do want to hear the rest of it. See you later," and she walked away.

Raventh made the short walk to their weyr on foot.

K'ndar began unharnessing the brown.

Okay, Raventh, let's get you cleaned up and oiled

I itch all over

No doubt. You did so well up there. Are you hurting anywhere?

No

Do you want a sea bath? Or shall we go to the lake?

A sea bath. It's too crowded at the lake right now. I'll go in and then you can scrub me after

As Raventh waded into the surf, he asked,

Are you still afraid?

Right now I think I am too tired to be anything

He stretched out onto the warm sand, as Raventh waded into the sea.

Am I still afraid. He was too tired to search his mind. He was just very glad to be on the ground, his mission done. 

He wanted so badly to doze off, but as soon as Raventh came out from his bath, he'd need to check him over for injuries, scrub him, oil him. It was going to take a while before he could take care of himself. 

 Then, of course, there would be the checking the harness for damage, and then getting something to eat more substantial than a tart…although he blessed Hariko's foresight. She knew that the riders would be hungry and wouldn't have time to eat for several hours. And he so appreciated Lindea's attention.

He was so very glad that he had no official duties other than caring for himself and Raventh. How in the name of the egg did the leaders do it? WHY would one want that job? True it would take time to care for the brown, but that task, so very familiar to him now, would be the best medicine for his fears. Just the physical repetitions of bathing and oiling would help. Just do the job, K'ndar. Care for your dragon first. Then you can eat, and sleep.

But, wait. No. Not tonight. Tonight, there was another family meeting, this time, with Sandriss and his family. And tomorrow was Turnover and Gathering. Would he get any sleep in the next few days?

Raventh came out of the sea just as K'ndar had dropped off to sleep. The brown's shadow, blocking out the sun, woke him. Having the sea right here was such a luxury, he reflected.

Sighing, he got to work. Raventh sprawled on the sand, wings stretched out to their limit.

Times like this, he said, I'm grateful you're just a brown. I can only imagine how long it takes to clean up a full grown gold.

What do you mean, just?

Before he could think of a response, salvation arrived in the form of Glyena, a carrying a bucket with brushes and a jar of oil in one hand and a packet filled with meat rolls in the other.  "I thought you might need some help, big brother."

He gave her a big hug. "I do, and you, my little sis, are the best."

They'd just finished with Raventh when a voice called, "Hello, the weyr! K'ndar, are you home?"

It was Nyala.

Glyena felt a bit of trepidation. But then she remembered her promise.

"Good day, Masterherder!"

"Good day, Glyena, K'ndar," she said, smiling. She looked Raventh over.

"My, he is a beauty," she said, appreciating his fine lines.

"Yes, ma'am, he is. What brings you to my humble weyr?"

She looked down at Glyena, but directed her comments to him.

"Turnover and Gather is tomorrow and the next day. We have horse racing, you know."

"I know you have some horses entered."

"The WEYR has horses entered. But the race card also has an Open Class for anybody with a horse. No weight limitations, no equipment standards…just ride the race. We call it "Run What You Brung". It's a lot of fun, and there is a prize for the winner."

"And?"

"I was wondering if you, Glyena, since he's YOUR horse, would want to run Jordan in it."

It took the girl a split second to decide.

"YES!!!!!"

"I'd need an adult family member to authorize it, as you're underage."

She looked at K'ndar.

"Please, Kandar, please please please," Glyena begged.

"I think, maybe we should ask Mum tonight."

Glyena prepared to argue-then stopped.

"OK. But you KNOW how well I ride."

"Like you're part of his spine. Yes, I do know."

Nyala smiled. "I have to make up the card tonight, but if your Mum says no, we can always scratch you."

"What does 'scratch' mean?"

"Tomorrow, you will see a blackboard with the number of the race, the name of the horses and the riders. If a horse or rider can't race, we 'scratch' the name out. It's mostly information for the bettors."

"Oh."

"Nyala, let's do that. Put her in, and if Mum says no, scratch." K'ndar said.

"Thank you, and I hope to see you at the starting line," she said to them, and left.

Glyena jumped up and down. "I'm going to win. I'm going to win."

She is, you know Raventh said.

K'ndar laughed.