Chap. 185 The Photographer

Chap. 185 The Photographer

Raventh was frolicking in the sea, with a cloud of fire lizards alternately playing or diving for the fish his antics scared up.

K’ndar sat amidst the rocks, watching. He had no desire to get into the water with his dragon. It was cold, and he didn’t care for swimming at all.

He heard a familiar voice.

“K’ndar!” his sister, Glyena, came running. He’d been so busy, he’d not seen her in a while.

She clambered up onto the rocks and gave him a hug.

He returned it. She’s getting so tall, he thought, and said, “You’re growing like a weed, sis!”

She smiled. “Shirae is a good cook and we’re learning too! I can make all sorts of things now, and I run every day, have you seen me?”

She found a level spot next to him and sat down. He put his arm around her.

“I haven’t, but it’s because I’ve been SO busy, what do you mean, run?”

“Running, K’ndar, just running. Not fast, but long distance. Like the Runners, the girls and boys who do message runs? Like from here to, oh, all over! What they do is run to a Runner’s Station, over the mountains sometimes, and then they stop at the Station and someone else takes the message and goes on. When I was little I read about a thing on Earth that was called the pony express and it was where people rode their horses kilometers and kilometers a day to pass on a message and they had to be fast and brave because raiders might attack them.” She paused for a breath.

She had always been a tsunami of speech.

“What do you mean, “When” you were little? You’re still little,” he said, “And how do you do that, talk without breathing?” he teased, squeezing her. She punched him.

“You’re a brat. I breathe in and out and the words just come out. But anyway we don’t do that here, the pony express, but I’d like to, it sounds like fun, and Jordan is so fast and he’s small, but now we have fire lizards doing that but there’s still a need for Runners and I might want to be one,” she said, “but it involves going by yourself and making sure everyone signs off so they know who carried the message and who it was from, and there were people on North who intercepted the Runner and took her messages. Those were bad people,” she said.


He nodded. “Well, it’s an honorable job and you’re right, it could be dangerous, but I know you’re not afraid,” he said.

“I’m not afraid but I DO keep my eyes and ears open, that’s what Shirae says we should all do, but anyway, guess what I’m doing today?”

“Besides talking my ears off, what?” he said, grinning.

She punched him again.

“I borrowed the camera from the library. It’s the one you donated! It’s the same one that D’nis has. And I’m taking photos. Look, see this little screen here, you can see some photos I took of Shirae and my sisters, they’re baking, and here’s a cat who lives with us, she just had kittens, and here’s my room and here’s Jordan, and Jordan, and Jordan..oh, that’s not a good one…”

The sun was dulled by the gray overcast sky, casting an almost brassy light, which made seeing the pictures hard to see. But that was okay. He was just enjoying having his kid sister alongside, chattering like a cuorl in a tree.

“It’s cold, today,” she said, cuddling up to K’ndar to steal some of his warmth, “but look at Raventh, he’s not cold at all, is he?” she asked.

“No, but I think he’s about ready to come out,” K’ndar said.

“Good, because I want to take a picture of him! Can I?”

“Of course, I can’t think of why not,” K’ndar said. Siskin flew in from where he’d been playing with several other fire lizards and settled on his shoulder.

Glyena gave the blue an admiring glance, then raised the camera and took several candid shots of K’ndar and Siskin. Then she looked at the screen again. “Oh, too bright. The light is so odd,” she said, in a professional tone of voice.

K’ndar shaded his eyes and by doing so, could see barely see the photos on the screen. He cringed, wishing he hadn’t.

“Yaah! Look at my ears, they stick out! I look like a wherry!” he said, grimacing.

“No, you don’t, K’ndar but your ears, they’ve always stuck out,” Glyena said, matter-of-factly, without looking up. She was scrolling through the photos.

“Oh,” he said, for lack of anything better. It’s not as if they could be fixed, now could they?

“Besides, no one likes having their picture taken because they always say they look ugly or stupid. So I don’t usually do it,” she said, “but you’re my big brother and I don’t care what you look like, I love you.” She smiled up at him.

How different the words were coming from his sister. He hugged her again, so happy to have her here at the weyr with him. Family. His sister, his dragon and fire lizard. Oh, and Jordan, ‘their’ horse.

“How long have you been playing with the camera?” he asked.

“A couple weeks. It’s been fun. We’re off of school for a few weeks, it’s called intermission, so I’ve been doing stuff I can’t when I’m in school. But I LOVE school, K’ndar, I love it, I kinda miss it. But now I want to take some pictures of Raventh,” she said. The brown was ashore now, the water streaming from his smooth flanks.

She wants to what?

She wants to photograph you. She has the molecular camera, the same tool that D’nis uses on our expeditions

What does it do? Does it touch me?

No. It is difficult to explain. I will have to think this through to explain it, but it doesn’t touch you.

“Okay, I think I have the settings right,” she said, and snapped a few pictures of Raventh.

She looked at them judiciously and shook her head.

“No, that doesn’t look right. Can you ask him to stand on those rocks, over there? With the sea in the background, it’s gray today, so that should make the camera happy,” she said.

K’ndar found himself shepherding Raventh to a set of boulders. The sea, quietly lapped sluggishly at their base.

What? I don’t understand.

She wants you to stand on these rocks, so you look nice for the picture.

I look...nice? What does that mean?

He ransacked his mind for...ah.

So you look handsome, the same as when you’re talking to the greens.

Handsome! I AM handsome. Like this?

And he posed.

“Like this?” K’ndar asked.

“Yes, yes, just like that, but I’m not ready yet,” Glyena called, “and not on that rock, no, move him just to that flat one, to the right.”

K’ndar sighed. He knew right then he had no patience to use a camera.

For the next few minutes, she had Raventh turning this way and that, until she was satisfied.

“That’s it! Now hold still, Raventh!” she called, and took several shots. And more and more.

“I don’t know, there’s something not right,” she said, looking at the screen.

“WHAT? This is getting old, sis,” K’ndar said from his spot near Raventh.

She looked up at him.

“You’re not in the picture, K’ndar, it’s okay, it’s Ravenths picture. But..oh, I know. He’s too happy looking, K’ndar,” she said.

Happy? I am happy all the time.

I know. I don’t understand her, either. She’s female.


They both sighed, making K’ndar laugh.

“What?” Glyena asked.

“Never mind. Raventh’s a happy dragon,” he said, grinning.

“Well, he needs to look fierce. Like he’s breathing fire, but without the fire,” she said.

Fierce?

It’s your face when you’re angry.

I’m not angry. She just said I look happy. She is confusing.

Well, you said it when I did...females…

Raventh laughed.

“He won’t look right if he looks happy, Raventh, can you look angry?” she called.

K’ndar sighed, growing exasperated, but…patience, K’ndar, patience.

Can you look angry? Make the face when the raiders shot at us and you pushed the bolts away

Oh, that’s easy Raventh said, and grimaced.

“Yes! Yes! Perfect!” Glyena cried, and shot a dozen pictures.

She looked at the screen and smiled-then frowned.

Can I go get a nap now?


“He’s done now and wants to go take a nap,” K’ndar said.

“Really? It’s not quite right, maybe just some more?”Glyena protested.

No more, I want a nap.

“He’s a dragon, Glyena, not an actor in a Gather play,” K’ndar said.

“I know, but,...oh, okay,” she said, disappointed.

Raventh crouched and leaped into the air, his powerful downbeat raising a cloud of sand over them.

Glyena shrieked, “My camera!”

Raventh flew to their weyr and vanished into his room.

“Is it damaged?” K’ndar asked, dismayed. Maybe such equipment shouldn’t be lent to kids.

She looked at it and blew the sand off. “No, it’s okay. It just will need a little cleaning, these are tough. Wanna see the pictures?”

“Sure,” he said.

This time he covered the screen with his hand to shade it.

“Wow, they came out nice,” he said, and Glyena smiled. “He’s a pretty dragon, K’ndar, I’m glad he’s ours,”she said.

Yes, he was hers, being family.

“But...”

“But what?” he asked.

She sighed. “It’s still not right,” she said.

“Why not? He looks fierce, right?”

“His mouth does, yes...but look at his eyes! They’re sky blue, he’s still happy!”

He shrugged.

“That’s Raventh. He’s a happy dragon,” he said, “that’s the fiercest you’ll ever get from him.”