Chap. 81 The hatching and the blue waves

Chap. 81 Hatching from the other side of the sands

Mirth's eggs were hatching. Somehow, the weyr's Searchers had managed to bring in enough  candidates. Now it was just a question of, would everyone Impress? There had been a few occasions when a Candidate hadn't been chosen, leaving the teen sad and disappointed. 

The dragons were humming encouragement to the eggs, telling them it was safe for them to emerge from their prison. 

K'ndar was riveted by the odd feeling of déjà vu'. This was the first hatching since he Impressed, a period of two years, and he'd forgotten what it had been like.

Did I look like that? Scared witless?

He was in amongst the audience of family members and other dragonriders.

The eggs were rocking. The candidates were rocking,too,  from foot to foot, trying to keep their feet from burning. The sands were hot!

One egg cracked, then another…and suddenly, the rest all seemed to crack in unison. Girls and boys wandered onto the sands, mesmerized, almost hypnotized. They seemed to wander aimlessly. Then, when they made eye contact with THEIR dragonet, they'd arrow right to it, hot feet forgotten in the crash of Impression.

The crowd held its breath as the very first egg to crack produced a….green. The audience let go an almost audible sigh of disappointment. Tradition wanted a bronze first. But it was okay. A young girl fell to her knees, suddenly uncaring of the heat, and began to stroke the dragonet's head. She was crying, but it wasn't in sorrow.

In a shorter time than he remembered…to him it had seemed like hours, all but one of the eggs had hatched. As people had guessed, three of the eggs had held golds. The dazed candidates, now Weyrlings, were led away with their dragonets and a mentor, who had provided a platter full of meat for each hatchling.

There would be a big feast for dinner, he knew. This time, he'd actually be awake long enough to eat!

The crowd dispersed, save for K'ndar. What, he wondered, had failed in the one lone egg? 

Siena came out to hug her gold.

Why didn't it hatch, I wonder? she said to the gold.

I don't know. Perhaps it died?

Can I touch it?

Yes. I don't think there is any life in it.

Siena touched the egg, and as if she'd hit it, it shattered into tiny pieces. It had been far more brittle than the other, occupied eggs. 

K'ndar had to come look. First, he nodded respectfully to the queen.  "Congratulations, Mirth," he said to the queen, "this was a very, very large clutch. "

Her eyes whirled bright blue.

The failed egg held a tiny, much smaller than a fire lizard, dragonet.

The two looked closely at it.

It just never grew Mirth said.

Siena reached up and scratched under her gold's chin. But the others did. You did very well for your first ever hatch. Three golds!

It was a good mating flight. 

The biologist in K'ndar was suddenly intrigued.

"Ma'am, would it upset you or Mirth if I took this little thing and examined it later? I've been tasked to clean up the sands after the hatching."

"By all means, K'ndar. I'll ask Mirth to leave so you can clean up."

He looked at the gold. 

"She sure is a beauty, ma'am."

"That she is, K'ndar."

"And BIG…I never get over how big they get. I'm so used to 'smaller' ones, like Raventh."

"I bet you don't miss the length of time it takes to bathe and oil a gold, though!" Siena laughed.

"Funny thing, ma'am, the hatching felt so familiar and yet so strange, being on this side of the hatching. Like I was there…but am so glad I wasn't!"

"Oh, I know the feeling. I thought I'd never get Mirth fed."

"Like she had hollow legs? Aye, Raventh was the same."

That night, he relaxed next to Raventh on their ledge. The night was sultry, with not a breath of wind. 

He missed their beach weyr, where there was always air moving to keep the insects away and things cool. But he had to admit, there was plenty of room for him and Raventh in this cliff weyr and he had an incredible view of the sea.

The moons were just beginning to rise.

He looked at them with his binoculars. Despite their dual purpose, that of binocular and microscope, he still referred to it as a binocular.

Without a sound, the surf and the sea bloomed with a blue light.

 

He doubted his eyes.

Raventh, does the sea…look blue? 

It does. I see dolphins out there. They are shining with the same blue light. What is it?

I have NO IDEA.

The light intensified. Now he could see dolphins, leaping out of the water, shining, as Raventh said, with the same blue light.

"Phosphorescent Wave" by Andy Libecki

I want to go see what is making it blue

Me, too

Without bothering with a harness, K'ndar jumped aboard Raventh, who then hopped off the ledge, had just enough air to spread his wings and glide to the beach.

By this time, the sea was glowing blue almost to the horizon. 

K'ndar tentatively placed a hand in the surf and felt something…something odd, on the skin of his hand. It glowed blue for a few moments, and then the light disappeared.

Raventh waded into the surf. He was soon covered with the blue light, but it went away as the water ran off his sides.

This is fun. I've never been swimming after dark. 

He heard a dolphin squeeee.

"Dolphin! Dolphin!" he called. 

He felt a bit foolish…maybe they couldn't hear him, and he didn't want to ring the dolphin bell for no reason. It was saved for important things, like rescue missions. 

But within a few moments, he saw leaping forms in the blue light, and knew it was the dolphins.

They stopped several meters from the shore. The glowing surf turned them into ghostly, lit forms.

"Who that?" one called.

"It's me, K'ndar."

"Keeeendar! It's Swash! You took bloodfish off me!"

"Yes!'

"Your  bloodfish bite? Is it all healed up?"

Swash squealed. "Yes. You and friend did good job. No more blood fish."

"That's good!"

"Leap here too. Leap teach you to swim. You swim now?"

"No. What is this blue light?"

Swash made a sound that sounded like a giggle. 

"Is…glow plankton. Take light from moon and turn it into light."

Amazing.  "How does it do that?"

"Don't know. Just does."

Raventh was glowing in the dark! He looked awesome in the light.

"Is harmless. Won't hurt you. Too small to eat but fun to play in." Swash said.

K'ndar removed his shoes and waded into the warm surf. He felt something clinging to his bare legs, and could see them in the dark, covered in blue light. He wished he'd brought something to examine it closer. Ah, maybe a shell?

He waded back to the beach, looked around in the dark for a whole shell, but only succeeded in crushing them. 

"What you want with glow plankton?"

"I want to look at it closely, to see what it looks like."

"Too small. Too small small. Need…."

"Microscope?"

"Yes. Healer has one. Looks for tiny parasites. This not parasite, this just tiny thing glow when hot air and rising moon."

"Does anything eat it?"

"Little fish eat it all time. Then bigger fish come when blue is glowing, eat little fish. Then we come and eat bigger fish! 

We go now. Fish are running. Thank you Keendar."

Swash did a corkscrew leap into the air, and he and Leap made several glowing leaps until they were gone. 

K'ndar waded back to the beach. The moons had risen high enough to give him enough light.

Raventh came out, the still glowing plankters coming off him like sliding sheets of light.

Then, as suddenly and silently as it had come, the blue light vanished.

By the egg, he thought, this is utterly fascinating. He'd have to go to Landing to learn……..wait. 

DUH! He'd purchased "Pern Oceanography and Marine Biology". It was on the shelf in his weyr.

Do you need to rinse off?

Yes. You?

I can do it in the weyr. Maybe I can collect enough of these things to see what they are.

I will take you home and then rinse in the lake. I won't be long. I like being out after dark. I can see. 

Your eyes glow, you know that? Like these glowing things.

Yours don't. 

He deposited K'ndar neatly on their ledge, then took off.

Feeling oddly maternal, K'ndar entered his weyr, got a glow and placed it on the ledge, for Raventh to home in on.

It wasn't necessary, he knew. But he had always appreciated it when his mother had done the same thing, when he was coming in, late. Somehow, a glow at the door of their home, lighting his way in the dark, had made it cozy.

By the time Raventh returned, K'ndar was deep in his book.

You are going to read all night. I know it.

Yes. Good night, lizard

Chap. 17 Swimming with Dolphins

Chap  17 Swimming with the dolphins

Raventh was fascinated by dolphins. He'd seen them in the distance, their shining forms flying through the air in leaps.

But he'd never met one. Until today.

I'm going fishing Raventh said, and galloped into the sea. Once his feet left the sand he swam powerfully out to a depth where he was floating. Then he began to dive, searching for fish.

K'ndar had walked very gingerly into the sea, not going beyond a depth more than waist deep. Despite it being calm, without any wind, he could feel the waves gently moving him back and forth. Being steppe bred, he'd never learned to swim, and was very much afraid of going any deeper.  Some of his classmates had given him a few preliminary bits of advice, but this was not the lake, and they weren't here. He was confident, though, that as long as his feet were on the sea floor, that if he got in trouble, Raventh would rescue him.  

Surfacing with a snort, Raventh shook his head. 

You are alright?

I am but I will not go any deeper

You are afraid

Yes

At that moment, six dorsal fins sliced through the water, surrounding Raventh.

Dolphins.  Five of them stood upright in the water, looking at Raventh, whose eyes were an astonished green. The sixth one leaped out of the water just in front of the dragon.

Dolphins. K'ndar, dolphins! They are so shiny. No legs! No wings!

One of the dolphins swam up to K'ndar, touching his arm with its blunt nose. It stood upright in the water, looking at him. K'ndar noticed it appeared to be smiling. He was astonished at the intelligence in its eye. As there was no rubber on Pern, he had no words to express the sleek, shining appearance of the dolphin's skin.  

"Who you?" asked one.

K'ndar had been told, several times, that dolphins could talk, but he'd never been so close to such an amazing creature, and his brain took a few moments to decipher the strange voice and accent.

"Who you? Your name?"

K'ndar was still slow on comprehending.

"I Leap. Who you?"

"I'm..I'm K'ndar."

"Keeendar."

"Yes"

It is talking to you!

It is. He says his name is Leap.

"Dragon name?"

"Leap, my dragon is Raventh."

"Ravehhhhhhhn", Leap repeated, in a high pitched tone that was quite clear,now that K'ndar had the pitch. 

"Yes. He has been wanting to meet dolphins for a very long time."

"He wants to play?"

Tell him yes, I want to play

You can understand him?

Of course. You can, yes? But I don't think he can hear me. I tried.

"Yes, Raventh wants to play."

"You want to play too?

"No"

"You no like dolphin?"

"I like you very much. But I don't know how to swim. I am afraid."

Leap made a funny noise, sounding like a laugh. How could anything be afraid of water??

"No worry. We will take care of you. You hold onto my fin."

K'ndar, timidly, took hold of Leap's dorsal fin and was suddenly being towed at high speed through the water.

"Stop!! Too fast!" he shouted, having almost taken in a mouthful of salt water.

"No worry. We never hurt humans. We save humans all time. Please no worry. Play with us and your dragon."

"How can I play?"

"You climb on dragon. Jump into water."

"I'm afraid."

NO FEAR, Keendar, we never let you drown. How you learn swim? Trust me."

So K'ndar climbed aboard with difficulty the slippery, joyous Raventh, and holding his nose as he'd been taught, jumped from the dragons' back, feet first. He went under…and felt a strong body underneath his. Then he was astride, just behind the dorsal fin. It was like being on an extremely smooth and  hairless horse, but much stronger, catching him and pushing him up to the surface. 

He realized that that..had been..if not fun, at least not deathly fearful.

"You like?" Leap asked, his head lifted from the sea. Kandar was still chest deep in the water, holding on tightly to the dorsal fin. His feet were NOT on the sea floor. That bothered him…but he forced himself to trust the dolphin under him.

"I …I like."

He won't hurt you, K'ndar. He will help you. He is fun. They all are. See how they play with me!

But you can swim.

So can you. Trust them.

"You ready?" Leap said.

"For what?" 

"What you did. I toss you. You fall into water I catch you."

"Um……"

Without another word, Leap made a giant leap skyward, twisting,  and K'ndar went flying through the air. He splashed down on his back, gasping in surprise, and was immediately lifted again by the strong body of another dolphin. She shook him into position behind her dorsal fin and tossed him again.

After the third toss, he began to believe he'd be fine. It was like riding a bucking horse, without the painful landing on solid ground. 

Raventh's joy must have broadcast to every dragon in the weyr, because several joined him, with their more confident riders. 

"Why should you have all the fun!" shouted Siena, a girl who'd graduated last year, and rode a gold. Her gold, while still a long yearling, was already much larger than Raventh. She plunged into the water with a happy rumble. SHE knew what dolphins were and immediately engaged them in play. Siena climbed aboard her gold and dove expertly into the water, eliciting what could only have been happy cheers from the dolphins. 

She popped up, shaking her head, a dolphin on each side of her, laughing.

"Try that!" she called, her smile bright.

"I can't swim!" K'ndar called.

"Seems you're doing alright, anyway. Hello, dolphins! It's me! Siena!"

"Seeena!  We know you! I Bounce!"

Bounce then leaped straight up into the air, turned over onto his back and hit the water with a mighty splash. Everyone…dolphins, humans and dragons, all laughed.

Then transpired the most entrancing, at times scary, at times exhilerating time he'd ever experienced. As long as he held onto the dorsal fin, he felt safe, allowing the dolphins to throw him, while the others were leaping OVER Raventh's back, swimming underneath him, laughing and squealing. Raventh was laughing too, in his dragon way, throwing great gouts of water with scooped wings and creating rainbows. 

After what seemed to be forever, the dolphins slowed their play. 

K'ndar was towed to Raventh, where he grabbed onto one of his brown's  gently paddling forelegs.

"You learn swim now. Watch Seena." the dolphin said.

Siena swam over with powerful, graceful strokes, a dolphin alongside her. 

"Show K'ndar swim like canine," she said.

"K'ndar, it's easy. For now, do what we call a dog paddle. Just trot like a horse with all fours in the water. Keep your mouth closed except to take in air."

Siena began to dog paddle around in circles. K'ndar, self-conscious, tried it. Leap was right alongside him.

After a few strokes he began to realize it was easy. It wasn't that smooth graceful motion that Siena made, knifing through the water almost as neatly as a dolphin…but it was swimming. 

"See? You swim. Swim to shore. Next time we come we have more lesson," Leap said.

K'ndar, who by now was more than ready to get back to land, dog paddled a little more strongly than need be.  Raventh was behind, solicitous of his rider, but trusting…and liking very much, the coaching dolphins.

His feet touched bottom and he stopped paddling and walked, staggering as he left the water. He was exhausted.

Raventh had followed, making sure K'ndar got to shore safely. Then he said, I'm going back out. I'm not done playing. He returned to the water.

K'ndar turned back. The dolphins were in water just barely covering their backs.

"Thank you. That was fun! You will come back someday?"

They all squee'd. "We will. When we hear dragons, we come back if we not hunting."