Chap. 114 Hazed

Chap. 114  Hazed

T'ovar left the team at the dining hall. "Tomorrow's a rest day, lads, so I'll see you day after tomorrow," he said. He seemed to be in a hurry.

It was packed full of fishermen, seamen, and families.  K'ndar was still astonished at how old and cramped the Hold was. There was hardly an empty seat in the dining hall. They'd found a spot at the far end, at a table that had seen better days. The hall was bursting at the seams with people. It was small and noisy. 

D'mitran had noticed it, too.

"Where do they put all these folks?" he asked, aloud, though it was meant for himself.

"I don't know. I would think that the seamen would stay aboard their ship, but that's not what T'ovar said," D'nis added. "They've all got quarters, like we do at home."

K'ndar toyed with his food. He wasn't really interested in it. Was it a left over from his illness earlier that day? He was dreading having to spend another night in their assigned sleeping quarters.

They and their dragons had been assigned to a large cavern that was full of ships in various stages of disrepair. It was dank and dark, with a constant wind whistling through it. They had been given grimy cots to sleep on. It was, they'd been told, the only place large enough to accommodate their dragons.

But something didn't feel right about that. Something felt as if a game was being played, and they were the target. The man who'd shown them where they would be sleeping seemed to be smirking, but they dismissed it. 

K'ndar looked at his teammates.

"Maybe it's just me, and I know I'm full of complaints today, but I'm sorry, this food isn't…isn't the best. It's cold, it was cold the moment I picked it up.  And I haven't had a decent night's sleep since we got here. I'm cold all the time and there's one bast of a draft in there," he said.

The two nodded their heads. 

"I didn't think I'd be so cold here, but I am, too," D'mitran said.

Just then a quartet of teenagers brought their meals over to the long table they were sitting at. The kids ignored them. They were used to strangers in the Hold. 

They started talking amongst themselves, in a strong local accent that told them as residents. 

They'd been talking for several minutes before the team realized the kids were talking about THEM.

Of course, K'ndar's seasickness was the first thing they laughed about. D'mitran and D'nis watched his reaction. I'm over it, K'ndar thought, these are kids, let it go. Thus, he kept his attention on trying to find something edible on his plate. 

But then, they heard something infuriating.

"Did you go see their dragons?"

"I did, but didn't go near 'em. They're huge."

"I haven't seen 'em! Where are they?"

"In the cannibalization cavern, the one with all the broke ships that are being used for parts."

"Wow, that place is freezing, even in summer," said one, laughing.

"I bet they get icicles on their noses at night," another snickered.

They laughed.

"Why…why didn't they put them up in one of the smaller caverns, where it's not so cold? Some of them even have thermal heat, like our houses have," one said, sympathetically. 

"Ah, it was Arturo's idea, he don't like dragons or their riders, he says, so he figgered he'd teach them a lesson. He were laughing about it, when I saw him," said the first. 

"Does Lord Oterel know? Or Lady Bronwen?" 

"I don't think so. They'd not stand for it. Not for a moment.  I think it were all kept quiet. Maybe it's like the initiation some crews have to go through. I was always afraid the ship I would finally sign on to would have that sort of thing, but I'm on a good ship. They don't do things like that."

"My cousin did, though. Before he changed ships, he were hazed something awful, just because he was the newest and the youngest. They never let up on him. They thought it were funny, but my cousin, he hated every minute of it," said another.

 "The crew did things like cut the ropes on his hammock almost through, so they'd break when he'd climb in. Or threw a handful of fish guts in it when he were on watch. The minute he was offered a position on another ship, he jumped on it. He was still doing the dirty jobs, he said, but at least he weren't being hazed."

"But these are dragonriders, they…they're just passing through, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. I dunno much about it. I ain't even seen them, aren't they from High Reaches?"

"No, I heard they're from Southern. Don't know why they'd come all the way HERE."

"The High Reaches riders, they know all about Arturo," the first one said.

"Aye, everyone knows what a sod Arturo can be. I don't want him knowing anything about ME 'cept I'm just some dumb kid on a fisher boat. I stay away from him. He's just mean, pure through."

The three dragonriders looked at each other. The same thought ran through their heads.

They were being hazed. 

"Y'know," D'nis said, softly, "dragons can go between anywhere."

K'ndar and D'mitran looked at him.

"They don't NEED to be stabled in a freezer."

K'ndar looked at him. 

"I would much rather be sleeping in my own bed, and commute, like Francie does. She lives at Landing, but works at…" he said.

D'mitran shushed him before he could say the name of their weyr in case the kids overheard.

"The food's much better there, too. Not this slop," K'ndar said.

As one, the three stood up to return their still full plates.

"No matter what time of night it is, Oscoral's (their night shift baker) always has something hot to eat," D'mitran said. 

The kids didn't even notice them about to depart. 

"I feel sorry for them," one said, "None of them ever done me a wrong turn. I know how I'd feel if I were being hazed, like being stuck in that old cavern. It's wet and cold in there all the time."

"D'ya think we should tell the dragon riders? Maybe they'd give us a ride?" said the sympathetic one.

"And have Arturo find out who snitched? Not on your life, mate, not on your life."

____________________________________________________________________

They didn't even bother to tell T'ovar. Only Rahman knew that the three boarded their dragons and went home.

Chap. 113 The Girl and the Dolphins

Chap. 113  The girl and the dolphins

Rahman, the astronomer, had returned to his self-appointed task of managing the loading of equipment on the Sea Dragon.

K'ndar remained at the spot he'd fled to after being seasick on that ship. His teammates still aboard, he wasn't quite sure what to do now. He had no intentions of returning to the ship, which would mean running the gantlet of gossiping fisherfolk and seamen. No, he wasn't going back aboard the ship. What to do with himself? 

"Hello? Are you…um, are you lost? You're new here, aren't you?" a voice said behind him.

He looked behind him to see a girl…a very pretty girl, about his own age.

"I'm not lost," he said. Siskin chirped.

"Is that…a fire lizard? I've never seen one," she said.

"He is. His name is Siskin."

She sat down next to him.

"Um…can I …pet him?"

"Well," K'ndar hesitated.  Obviously, folks here had only a rudimentary understanding of fire lizards. 

"Fire lizards aren't 'pets'," he said, 'they're miniature dragons, and are bonded to their weyrmates. They can think for themselves, just like dragons. Let me ask him how he feels about it."

"He can understand you?"

"Oh, yes, they're highly intelligent. A friend of mine has three of them, and puts on shows at the gathers and markets for the kids. I've taught Siskin a few tricks, too. I don't have any treats right now, or I'd show you."

"That's okay, I believe you."

He felt the blue relax around his neck. "Siskin, would you let-excuse me, what's your name?"

"Devon," she said.

"Would you like Devon to give you a head scratch, Siskin?"

Siskin's eyes whirled an uncertain green and tightened his hold on K'ndar's neck.

He hissed, very softly. No.

"I hope you don't mind, but he's…he's not interested. I'm sorry, it's just how they are."

"It's okay. I understand, that's how dragons are, too, right? Because I can tell you're a dragonrider."

"I am, thank you, and while many dragons don't care to interact with other humans, my dragon LOVES to have scritches."

As long as she has sharp fingernails

K'ndar burst out with a laugh.

Devon look puzzled.

"My dragon just said that you can scratch him as long as you have sharp fingernails."

"So he can hear us, even if he's not here?"

"Yes, he can hear you through me."

She laughed, too, and extended her hands out. They were clean, but, like everyone else who worked with their hands, they were callused. 

"Looks like I can't do that, either. Most sea folk can hardly keep a nail on their fingers. Mine aren't sharp, not at all. But…I bet I could still give a good scratching. I know my cats like them just fine."

She sighed.

"It must be-must be fun, to be able to talk to a dragon," she said, "it must be fun, to be a dragonrider."

"It is. Especially now, when we no longer spend all our time fighting Thread. Before, all we had time for was fighting Thread, preparing for fighting Thread, or recovering from fighting Thread. 

Now we can do things, like other people, who had the time to learn other things, like a craft. Like me, I'm learning so much about so many things, I just want to know everything about everything."

"I know the feeling. I'm the same way..since Aivas introduced us to so many things, all I want to do is learn. For instance, I want to learn more marine biology. More oceanography. More things, like how do the tides work. Everytime I learn something it's like a dozen more questions pop into my mind."

She was, he thought, a lot like him.

"You're with the team that's going to survey Far Western?"

"Aye."

"You'll be on a good ship…Captain Sheila is a good sailor, and her Sea Dragon a happy ship," she said.

He felt his stomach tighten. Just the thought of going back aboard…

"Um, well, I doubt I'll be on it. I'm sure you've already heard the gossip about me, even though it's still morning. I'm the one who got seasick without ever leaving the port," he said, grimacing. 

"Oh……you…Oh." she said, unconsciously covering her mouth to hide a grin. "I'm sorry, but …yeah, I heard."

"But that's alright, because I don't need to go on the ship, I have a dragon."

"That's right and please, don't worry. Other people get seasick, too. Only a few people don't ever get seasick. It depends on the sea and how it makes the ship move."

"At the DOCK?"

She couldn't help herself. She laughed, just a little, but it wasn't a mean one. She touched his arm.

"Please, …?? who are you?"

"K'ndar of Kahrain Steppe Weyr."

"K'ndar, of course I heard about it. But please, it's okay.  It really is. We're-well, we pride ourselves on being seafolk, just like you dragonriders are, and I'm betting there are times when dragonriders laugh at us webfoots for not knowing anything about dragons."

"I don't know, I never heard it. Well. I guess maybe I have, but it was pretty embarrassing, for me to get sick within half an hour of my first time ever on a ship."

Devon shook her head. "It's still okay. Anyone here who says they've NEVER been seasick is usually lying."

"That's what we say about horses. Anyone who says they've never fallen off a horse is lying."

"Now see, that's what I meant. I've seen horses many times, but I've never ridden one, I would probably fall off!"

"Huh," he said, "That's exactly what a friend of mine said, she's never ridden a horse. I was riding before I could walk. And I've fallen off lots of times," he said. 

Part of him wanted her to go away so that he could nurse a grudge, and the smarter part of his mind said, are you crazy, look how pretty she is and she chose to talk to YOU.

"What…what do you, are you a fisher, like everyone else?"

"Well," she said, shaking her head, 'believe it or not, no. Even though I was born into a fisher family, I knew since I was little that fishing was not what I was meant to do. I mean, I can..I can fish, I had to learn, I was born into this life. But it wasn't what I wanted. I wanted something different. I remember the first time I saw dragons, the men from High Reaches Weyr were here, Searching, but I wasn't chosen. I felt bad about that," she said.

"It's okay, Devon, like you said, not everyone is born to something. I wanted to be a dragonrider forever even though I love horses. If I'd not been Searched, I'd probably still be at home, herding cows and avoiding my father.  I love horses, I'm a good herder, but…I was born to be a dragonrider."

Siskin chirped.

"Yes, and a fire lizard man," he said, scratching the blue.

Devon laughed. 

"So what is it you do?" he asked.

"Well, since Aivas introduced so many things, I'm interested in everything. Officially, I'm an oceanographer, but in my heart, I'm a dolphineer. The minute I saw one, years ago, I knew, that's what I wanted. To be with them. To work with them. When I was a kid I told my parents that when I grew up I was going to be a dolphin."

K'ndar laughed. "Dolphins are GREAT! We have a small pod of them living near my weyr."

"Do you know, a lot of folks still don't believe they can talk," Devon said.

"That's odd, but I know that there are people who are still afraid of dragons. Dolphins-I'd never seen one until I moved to the Weyr. They're so beautiful. They're friendly. 

 Sometimes, now, we'll be out swimming and the dolphins will come to play with the dragons. Dragons are fascinated by dolphins," he said, remembering. "I even helped pull a bloodfish off of one. That's when I learned how smart they are, how…like us they are."

"Then you kept a promise made to dolphins thousands of turns, I mean years ago. They don't forget, you know, once you've helped a dolphin, you have a friend and ally for life," she said. "Would you like to meet ours? Our pod is led by Tillek, you know, she's very, VERY old, she's the leader of all dolphins and everyone treats her like a queen."

"Like we treat our gold queens. Yes, I'd love to meet them, I've heard of Tillek from the ones at my weyr," he said.

Devon nodded, then stood, and putting her fingers to her lips, emitted an ear splitting whistle.

Wow, how did she do that, I'll have to learn that, he thought.

Within a few moments, he heard the familiar sounds of dolphins. They came leaping in their usual boisterous joy of being one with the sea.

"Wow, you'll have to teach me that. I've never heard such a loud whistle, and …you don't need a bell here?"

"Oh, we have a bell, but these dolphins-they're '''mine'''. Well, not mine like owning them, mine like being a member of their pod. Which I am, which is why I don't bother with the bell, they know me and the other dolphineers well enough to respond to the whistle."

A pod of six dolphins stopped at the base of the rock and squee'd

"Devon ello! Who your friend with little dragon?" said one.  

"Good morning, Honorable Tillek, please, this is K'ndar. He's a dragonrider from Southern Continent."

There was an outburst of squees and whistles.  The conversation continued unabated for several moments. 

Devon looked, amazed, at K'ndar. 

"They…they know you. You've been here before?"

"No…never, but …they know me? What do you mean?"

"Wait, they're still discussing you."

She stopped and listened to the dolphins, who were still talking amongst themselves.

"You..you can understand THEIR language?" he asked, amazed. 

"Some of it. Not all. And no, I can't speak it. Just…I've learned from them. Shh, for a minute, I have to concentrate."

But Tillek spoke first.

"Ello Keendar!! What you here for?"

He immediately took a cue from Devon, knowing he was in the presence of dolphin royalty. 

"Hello, Honorable Tillek, I am honored to meet you. I am here with other dragon riders to go to Far Western Continent."

Devon, perplexed, said, "Tillek. How you know K'ndar?"

There was another outburst of talk amongst them.

A very young dolphin, laughing, spoke up.

"Keendar! Mosar bite his dragon tail!" he said, giggling. 

K'ndar groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, for egg's sake, will I NEVER live that down?"

Devon frowned. "THAT is a story I'll have to hear. All you said was that you took a bloodfish off a dolphin."

"Well, that was the first time I ever met a dolphin and I didn’t do it alone. I had expert help."

"Yes, but, somehow, they equate it all to you. And now they say a mosar bit your dragon? 

Where in the world did you find a mosar?"

"Swash tell us. Prolar tell us," Tillek said, interrupting. "Keendar, you remember Promise?"

K'ndar grew solemn. He placed his hand over his heart. "Yes, Tillek. Never forget. Ever."

Devon put her hands on her hips. 

"OK, now what is going on? I have to know," she insisted, "I never heard this story. I know what a mosar IS but I've never seen one, never mind had any interaction with one. I thought I knew everything that went on with dolphins. And what is this 'promise'?"

"Devon," Tillek interrupted, "Keendar GOOD man. Friend of dolphins. He tell story if he want. We no make fun." She turned to the young male dolphin. "NO MORE," she said, admonishing him in human rather than in dolphin. 

If a dolphin could tuck its tail in submission, the male did. He shut up. 

Devon was impressed. 

"Keendar. You go on ship with Devon?"

"No, Tillek. I ride dragon. I don't like ship. Get sick."

"Oh, happens. Many times, human get sick. Is okay. No die. Just want to." 

K'ndar laughed despite himself. Then, just to show Devon he DID know a thing or two about dolphins, said, "Prolar tell you about diver?"

"Aye. Is being taken off beach now. What do with it?"

"Take to Landing. Put together like when alive so humans learn what diver is. Humans must learn NEVER hurt diver, make promise like me and others," he said, wondering if he sounded ridiculous speaking dolphin pidgin…and then realizing he didn't care.

"Not know what moo seum is."

"Building like humans live in. Humans not go underwater, like dolphins, so this way, we see it and learn."

"Okay. I go now. Appy to meet you, Keendar," she said, and with that, she turned and swam away, her honor guard falling into neat formation behind her.

K'ndar felt as if he'd been in the presence of some regal queen, akin to Ramoth.

"I'm impressed, K'ndar," Devon said, "you're able to talk to as if you'd been doing it all your life. Most folks who don't know them can't understand a word they say."

"Wellllll, I"ve been around animals all my life, and ..well, my mum used to say I have a 'way' with them. I did have to get my ear used to the way they talk, but once I had that, it's easy," he said.

D'mitran and D'nis are looking for you Raventh said.

He looked up to see his teammates standing on the wharf with T'ovar. 

He waved. D'mitran caught it and waved back, beckoning. 

"There's my teammates," he said to Devon, "I have to go now."

"Would it be..presumptuous of me to ask you about the mosar? I mean, I don't mean to pry but…"

He looked at her. "Um…I don't think I'll have the time, honestly," he said.

"Okay. But, there's something I have to tell you, before you go," she said.

"?"

"I'm going on the survey, too. And so are the dolphins."

Chap. 112 Recovering

Chap. 112  Recovering

K'ndar found a spot on a very solid, non-moving section of the wharf. It was far enough from the many ships tied up to the docks to give him some privacy, yet close enough that he could hear the laughter of the many fisherfolk going about their business. While all of them couldn't be laughing at him, he felt they were, indeed, he could feel their surreptitious glances and snickers. 

Siskin had arrived within seconds and was curled around his neck. He crooned to K'ndar, knowing that his master was upset. 

Raventh was concerned, too.

What happened? I felt you being sick!

I was! I am! I'm sick!

Why?

I don't know! I was on the boat. Suddenly I was sick, like the one or two times I tried to drink. But I've not had anything to drink! Maybe I've caught something?  I can hear people laughing, I think they're laughing at me. Or about me. No one else was sick, maybe something is wrong.

It felt familiar to me, like when I haven't had a chance to get rid of firestone ash in my stomach. Did you eat something bad? 

No! I've never felt anything like it.  One moment I was fine and the next…. I still feel bad, but not like on the ship. 

I always felt better after I threw up firestone ash. Siskin, too, felt it. He was very worried. 

Like me.

I'm feeling better now, but…it had something to do with the ship. I have no idea WHAT. But I don't ever want to go on a ship again. 

Why would you want to? What a strange way to move about. So SLOW! Get on me and we are across the world in a moment.

I know. Being your rider is the best thing of all. 

If a dragons' forelegs were arms, Ravenths were around him. Comforting. Just like the blue fire lizard, protecting him, consoling him.

Siskin purred his love. He gave the blue a skritching. He began to feel better, at least physically.

He felt reassured. He wasn't egotistical, but sometimes, a man's pride got very publicly shot dead in the arse, and it hurt. To have the love and devotion of a dragon, and a fire lizard…now that was something to treasure, to use as a touchstone. Their love was unconditional. No matter what, he had them to depend on, to rely on, without fear of rejection.

I don't HAVE to go on the boat, he thought, I have a dragon. What was it about a ship that made him sick and nobody else?

Siskin raised his head, alerted.

K'ndar looked behind him to see Rahman, the astronomer.

The elderly man looked down on him with an expression of bemusement..and sympathy.

"Well, lad, seems as if you've made a name for yourself, here on the docks," he said.

K'ndar hung his head. Even Rahman?

"Thanks," he said, sarcastically. "What are they saying?"

"Well, to be honest, they're laughing about the Man Who Got Seasick on the Dock."

"' Seasick'? Is that what they call it? When I'm not even on the sea? I might die from this and they think it's funny?"

"You're not going to die. Trust me. You aren't going to die, although it makes you WANT to. Please, don't take what I say as criticism or worse, amusement. Sometimes I speak with a harsher tone than I mean. I'm sympathetic, is all."

"Really." It was not a question, it was a retort. 

Rahman heard it. 

"Do you think you're the only one on the planet who gets seasick?"

"I have no idea. I don't know what 'seasick' is. It felt like it did when I tried to drink, and I haven't. I can't drink alcohol; it makes me sick, like this, this morning. I'd never even knew it existed until now, and no one else seemed to be bothered by it except me."

"Well, you're not…"

K'ndar, testily, interrupted. "What IS 'seasick'? It just HIT me. What IS it? Should I see a healer?"

Rahman let K'ndar's rudeness pass. 

"That's unnecessary, K'ndar. What seasickness IS, is a reaction from your cochlear canal, a mechanism in your inner ear, that tells you which way is up. It is how you balance yourself, every minute of your life. The canal has fluid in it, like water in a goblet, or the sea. It always seeks to find level. When you're on a ship, it doesn't get the chance to level without being turned over or sideways, and one is affected in other parts of the anatomy, like the stomachs.

 Your brain thinks something is very wrong, so it makes you empty out. Very soon you will feel normal again, but now you know, you are subject to 'seasickness'," Rahman said, gently.

"How…well, I apologize for interrupting, but how can it be that you know about it and yet you don't have it?"

"Oh, K'ndar, there you are wrong. You note that I was NOT aboard the ship. Because, my lad, I get seasick, too."

K'ndar stood up. "You do?"

The old man chuckled. 

"Aye, my lad, although I am not as smart as you, smart enough to get seasick where I'm able to immediately get off the ship. Nay, my cochlear canal stays silent because I'm not on the ship until the last moment.  My stomach lies to me, tells me this time I'll be fine, then, when we're hours out to sea, too late to return to port to put me off, then I'm sick. I'm sick for the length of the voyage. I can always count on losing weight and sleep anytime I'm on a ship, for I can't keep a thing down. It's the closest I ever come to committing suicide-drowning seems a far kinder way to end the suffering of seasickness. I've been told that eventually one adapts-and as is evident, hundreds of people here HAVE adapted. But it's never been soon enough for me," he said, shaking his head ruefully.

K'ndar felt his rancor melt away. You couldn't stay angry at the kindest of people, Rahman, a man who'd introduced him to science-and gave him books. He owed Rahman more than just an apology, he owed him courtesy and respect. K'ndar nodded. 

"Again, sir, I apologize. I…I was just scared about this, I had no idea what was going on. Being hit so suddenly, so out of the blue, without a reason that I could see…that's what scared me. Yet, I can't tell you how many times I've had a rough ride on Raventh when we would be fighting Thread, and not once, never did I feel sick."

"I have no idea the why of it, K'ndar. None. Why is it you can ride a dragon without ill effects, but being on a ship you get seasick? I think that's a question that will never be answered, at least not by me, an astronomer. But I know enough that I hate being seasick. It's why I've always requested dragon transport. I don't get sick riding a dragon. I am here partly to sympathize with you, but also to request transport on your Raventh."

He is a good man, K'ndar. We've transported him before. I am ready to take him wherever he might need to go. So that he doesn't get sick, too.

"Sir, there is always a spot for you on Raventh's back. I'd be honored-as is he-to take you wherever and whenever you want."

"Thank you, and convey my thanks to Raventh as well."

I heard. 

"K'ndar, right now your pride is wounded, and you think folks on the docks are laughing at you. They are, for now. It's not going to hurt anything more than your pride…and reputation. But there are worse reputations to have," Rahman said. 

K'ndar nodded.  

"Now, let's think like good scientists, because I just had something dismaying rise in my mind, and I want to see if you can corroborate my conclusion. Can you tell me why, were I to try and drown myself to relieve my misery of being seasick, why I would NOT die?" 

K'ndar looked at him, quizzically. "You're a good swimmer?" he guessed.

"Nay, at least not good enough to survive rough seas. Recall...the idea is to drown quickly, rather than die slowly from seasickness.  Think, K'ndar. Where are you, right this moment?"

"Um…on a rock by the ocean?"

"K'ndar…" Rahman said, in a tone usually used by disproving parents or taskmaster weyrlingmasters.

"OK, I'm on a solid, perfectly rectangular, unmoving rock by the ocean at Tillek Sea Hold."

"Correct. And Tillek is famous for what?"

"Ships. Fish. Dolphins." 

"Correct with the last. Dolphins. Dolphins are everywhere here. With my luck, I'd throw myself overboard, hoping to die quickly, only to be rescued by dolphins so that I have to go through it all over again."

Chap. 111 The Ship

Chap. 111 The Ship

T'ovar had brought D'mitran, D'nis and K'ndar down to the docks to see how the equipment for the new observatory was being loaded.

Burly men were moving large crates, securing each one in turn to a tripod on the back end of the ship and swinging it aboard. K'ndar was intrigued at how they used blocks and ropes to move even the biggest loads with finesse. 

Rahman, the elderly astronomer, was there, overseeing the handling of the telescope.

"Hello, K'ndar! It's been a while, hasn't it! Thank you for coming. I'd asked for you specifically, you know," the man said.

"Hello, sir! It's good to see you! Thank you for recommending me." K'ndar said. 

"D'nis, are you happy to be relieved of your duties a Weyrleader?" Rahman said to the bronze rider.

"You have no idea, sir. Yes, I am. Even without having Thread to fight, it's two jobs for one person."

But Rahman had turned away at the sight of a man apparently mishandling a burden.

"You there! Have a care with that crate, sir, it's got delicate instrumentation in it," Rahman chastised a stevedore. K'ndar backed up without thinking-the man was the size of a bronze dragon, with muscles to match. He towered over the tiny astronomer.

"Aye, sir, not to worry, I'll be careful," the man said, a smile on his face. K'ndar was surprised, he'd thought the man would react more…forcefully…but apparently, they knew Rahman, who, when it came to telescopes, could be testy.

T'ovar grinned. Rahman moved on. T'ovar said, "anyone else treat the men like that, you'd get at least some backtalk, but ah, these lads, they know the old man. He's always bringing them some sort of treat, or at least, treating them to an ale now and then. They appreciate it."

The bustling of the crew looked hectic. For all that, the crew was virtually silent, having been together as a crew for most of their lives.  They were moving large loads from the dock to the ship by crossing ridiculously narrow gangplanks, ones that seemed inadequate and awfully close to the cold, dark waters beneath. The ship rose up and down with the swell as well as rocking slightly, side to side. No one seemed bothered by the motion of the ship.

"Ever been aboard a ship, K'ndar?" T'ovar asked. 

"No, sir, I'm steppe bred. I hardly know how to swim. It looks very…very complicated. All these ropes, how do you remember them all?"

T'over laughed. "I'm the wrong man to ask that, K'ndar. I'm weyrbred myself. But my wife's sons and daughter are all fishers. See yon brute, over by the capstan? That's one of my stepsons."

K'ndar saw at least half a dozen men who could all be described as brutes.

"What's a …capstan?"

"It's that horizontal wheel, and don't quote me, K'ndar, as I'm a dragonrider. But, as I said, my boys are fisherfolk from birth, you know, and they've taught me a few things. Darman!, Hi, Darman!"

The man turned at the call of his name, and his face split into a smile. He headed for the break in the bulwark where the gangplank was. At the same time, a tall, officious looking woman, who was standing on a high point of the deck, turned as well. They both approached the side of the ship where T'ovar stood. 

 "Good morning, Captain! Permission to come aboard?"

She looked at him, shaking her head in doubt.

"I don't know, Dad. Looks like you've a couple strangers in tow," she said.

T'ovar laughed. "Sheila, she's my girl, AND the Captain!" he said to the dragonmen. Then, he said, "Aye, lassie, they're dragonmen. Come to do the survey."

"I see. Certainly, come aboard, but stay out my crew's way," she said. 

K'ndar was…wary. The only way he could see to board the ship was to walk out across the heaving waters of the sea on one of those skinny planks. The gangplank was NOT steady. It was rising and falling with the ship. Overhead, the masts were scribing small, invisible circles as they moved with the ship. 

 But T'ovar walked across it without a thought, followed by D'nis, and D'mitran. 

He didn't know it, but they had just as many misgivings as he did. He hurried across it, fearful of falling into the water, where he would certainly be squished between the hull and the rock wall of the dock.

"No fear of that, my girl, I can see they're busy." T'ovar said to Sheila, as he crossed. 

Darman and Sheila bear hugged T'ovar. He made introductions all round. Darman shook K'ndar's hand. Rough and callused, it engulfed his. They grow 'em big, up here in the north, he thought. 

"If you'll forgive me, Dad, gentlemen, but I have a ship to tend to," she said.  She returned to her deck, watching over her crew.

"What's her name?" D'mitran asked.

"Sheila," Darman said, perplexed. 

"No, I mean the SHIP, what's the ship's name?"

"Duh," Darman laughed, "She's the Sea Dragon. Sheila built her and named her for Mum's being a fisherman, and T'ovar's dragonriding."

"She BUILT this ship?" K'ndar said, amazed. 

"Well, not all on her own, mind you. The crew, here, and Sheila, they did the building, of course.  Like most of us fisherfolk, we're born aboard a ship. We live most of our lives aboard. We learn as kids what works and what doesn't. The crew stays together, it becomes family, if we get along with everyone else. We grow up dreaming of owning our own ship. 

Me, I sort of fell away from the idea-I wasn't sure I wanted to spend my entire life fishing. That and there was some friction between me and dad. Okay, a LOT of friction.  After my dad died, I didn't want to go the way he did, pulled overboard by a fouled net and drowned. So I did some wandering, tried working inland. I didn't care for it. I learned I wasn't cut out to be a farmer.  So I came home. To be honest, I still don't rightly feel I'm going to be a fisherman for the rest of my life, but for now, it's what I know. 

But Sheila, from the beginning, had her ship all planned. The name came later, but even as a kid, she talked of nothing else."

"Does everyone name a ship?" K'ndar asked, hoping to not sound too naïve. The ship's motion was unnerving. No one else seemed to be unsteady, but he found it hard to keep his footing.

"Does your dragon have a name?"

"Of course!"

"Same thing with ships. They have to have a name. They have their own personality. You get to where they're like a wife, you know everything about her, when she's not doing well, she complains until you hunt down what's ailing her. You take care of the ship, she takes care of you. Some captains, they neglect their ship, or abuse their crew, don't pay them right, don't feed them right, take risks for one last fish instead of heeding the dolphins, and then wonder why they can't keep crew. Just like a man who doesn't take care of his family or he treats them bad, his kids leave home soon as they can." 

That was too true, K'ndar thought. 

Darman looked him up and down. "Ah, looks like you've been in to see Mum. She's got you kitted up. She figured you'd be cold, you being southerners."

"She's right, Darman," D'mitran said, "Don't know how you can stand being bare armed, and me, I wish I had another six layers, feeling as if it's the middle of a cold winter."

"One works up a sweat on a ship, we do," Darman laughed. "That sweater, K'ndar, looks like it fits you just right." 

"It does. Your mum said it had 'errors' in the design, but I don't care, it's warm. Your Mum gave it to me, wouldn't take money for it."

Darman laughed. It sounded like from the depths of the sea. "Aye, no doubt! That one was a mistake on MY part, you know, I think I knitted it half a dozen times before Mum let up on me. I still am not the best of knitters, but…that 'un will stay together."

"Let's take you on a tour of the ship," Darman said, looking at the crew still loading. "I've got one of my best men looking after Rahman's gear."

"What does the 'capstan' do?" K'ndar asked.  

 Darman said, "Ah, that's as good a place to start as any." He led them to a horizontal wheel, one with long bars jutting out from the hub.

Crew raising the anchor via the capstan. The artist, however, had never actually seen a capstan in use, as he (or she) has the anchor cable running UP into the rigging, and worse, drew a man straddling the cable. That's a good way to get hurt. In reality, the cables were run under the deck.

"It's a wheel, you see, like the master's wheel, only it's set horizontally. When you want to up anchor, you push it around and around, it's the same thing as the spit in the kitchen, the ones the canines..I mean dogs..push to turn a roasting herdbeast, I mean steer. Same principle, just set at different angles."

"Ah."

"It's connected to cables that ultimately raise the anchor."

K'ndar had a vague idea what an anchor was.

Darman led them across the deck, dodging crates and working men and women. The ship seemed cramped, to K'ndar, how in the world did all these people FIT? 

K'ndar began to feel odd. His eyes suddenly weren't tracking quite right and he felt dizzy. And hot. 

"Where…where is the bow wave?" he asked Darman, trying to ignore his suddenly complaining stomach. 

"What?"

"My friend, Lindea, told me that dolphins ride the bow wave. I would like to see it, or them?"

Darman shook his head. "Lad, every ship that moves has a bow wave. It's not a thing, it's what the water does when the ship moves."

He looked closer at K'ndar.

"You look…green."

"I…I FEEL green. I feel so..well, strange. Like I ate something bad, but your mum's breakfast was perfect," he said, beginning to sweat despite the cold.

"Get your arse over to the side," he suddenly snapped, "Sheila doesn't like people being sick on her ship."

K'ndar was more than happy to obey. He rushed to the side of the ship and was sick over the railing. He felt dreadful.

He heard two crewman behind him stifle laughter.

"E's a landsman, no doubt. Seasick in a flat calm!!"

The other laughed.

But K'ndar didn't care. He lay his suddenly raging head on the railing, trying to summon up the courage to cross the bouncing gangplank and return to solid, non-moving land, and wondering if falling into the water would be a swift end to his sudden, unexpected misery.  

Within inches of his face, he saw a familiar looking object, securing a line to an eyebolt on the rail. 

"A flying cringle," he thought, and then ran for solid land.