In Need of a Friend

Writers: Estelle, Paula
Date Posted: 27th September 2018

Characters: E'naer, A'ten
Description: E'naer catches Arten skipping class
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 10 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: L'keri

It was mid-morning, and all good weyrbrats were supposed to be at their
classes with the harpers. Arten tried to push aside the nagging sense of
guilt at not being where he was supposed to be. It wasn't as though he
had never skipped classes before, but that had been with his friends at
his old home. He didn't usually go on his own, but he just hadn't been
able to face class today. All the other children his age had known each
other for Turns, and given the speed with which gossip spread in the
Weyr, they probably all knew about his father, too.

He pulled his warm outdoor coat tightly around him and found an
inconspicuous spot in the shadow of one of the outbuildings where he
could lean against the wall, watching a group of weyrlings gathered
around the Weyrlingmaster. Their dragons, now almost fully grown, waited
further back with their riding straps on, ready to fly. Arten watched
them wistfully, thinking of how close he was to being old enough to
Stand. Perhaps in a Turn or two, he would have his own dragon, and then
he wouldn't have to go to harper classes, or stay with anyone if he
didn't want to.

As far back as he could remember, Arten had been watching weyrlings
train, so that when it was his turn he'd be the best young rider in the
whole clutch. The patterns of their drills were now as familiar to him
as the Teaching songs, but still, he watched intently as they ran off to
their dragons to form into Wings, unaware that someone else was watching
him.

Eillispeth was not needed right now, so the green gave the appearance of
having dozed off. But her lids weren't fully closed and she was watching
the boy.

It was Feral who had attached Eillispeth's attention towards the
weyrbrat huddling in shadows. The firelizard has also soon lost
interest, since he was not doing anything. Eillispeth was pretty sure
there was some other place the boy should be and he was too young to be
candidate. She had vague recollection of dealing with weyrbrats that
yet-had-no-dragon. Mostly getting her hide scrubbed by them. She and her
rider liked them. After her rider was finished with what ever he was
doing (mostly it involved lot of talking to the weyrlings), she let him
know of their hidden observer.

**Too young to be candidate, eh? Then he should be at the harper class
at this time of the day," E'naer remarked. He walked over to Eillispeth
and stopped to scratch her eye ridge. It also allowed him to take a
discreet look at the boy.

Yes, that was the thing Eillispeth couldn't remember. Harper class was
like weyrling class but for humans who had no dragon. You weren't
supposed to skip them any more than you were supposed to skip weyrling
lessons. You might miss something important.

Arten tilted his head back to watch the weyrlings as they took flight.
This looked like a new formation that he didn't know. Perhaps it was
designed for the different weather conditions here? Even though he
wanted to Impress and train back at his old home, with his friends, it
would still be worth knowing about. He watched intently, trying to
memorise every detail.

E'naer gave Eillie a final pat and walked over to the boy. "Shouldn't
you be inside learning your teaching ballads, lad?" he asked.

The boy jumped, and a brief guilty look flashed across his face before
being replaced with one of wide-eyed virtue. "No, Weyrlingmaster, sir!"
He considered several excuses before settling on the least unlikely. "I
was feeling sick, and the harper sent me out to get some fresh air. I
just thought I'd watch the dragons training until I felt better..."

The Turns of dealing with weyrlings had made E'naer good at spotting
when he was being lied at. "It's Weyrlingmaster's Third and you don't
really expect me to buy that?"

}: You shouldn't skip lessons, :{ Eillispeth injected her opinion too,
}: You might miss some important information you need when you're older
and becoming a dragonrider, :{ she continued earnestly. She didn't make
a habit of talking to humans besides her rider but she did do it now and
then.

Arten glanced around him in confusion, wondering where the female voice
had come from. "Who was..." Then he saw the green dragon looking over at
them and all thoughts of the trouble he might be in and possible ways to
wriggle out of it went out of his head in an instant. "Sir! I think that
dragon just spoke to me!"

"Her name is Eillispeth, and yes, she did. You should feel honoured. And
rush back to your harper class," E'naer replied with a grin.

Unfortunately, the dragon's intervention had the opposite effect to what
was intended. Arten was now far too excited to quietly return to his
class. A dragon had spoken to him! Even his father's dragon, Rhalith,
had never done that.

"But the lesson will be half over, and I'll just disturb everyone if I
go back now. Really, it would cause much less trouble if I stayed here
and went back after lunch," he said earnestly. "Maybe I could help you
with something! I could scratch Eillispeth's eye ridges for you, if you
like. I've had a lot of practice at it."

"Yes, it will draw attention to the fact you missed a lesson and you
will be punished. You need to learn to face the consequences of your
actions. Take the punishment like a man," E'naer said sternly. He was
not going to encourage skipping.

"But I'm not a man," Arten protested, turning his best hopeful, pleading
gaze on the greenrider. "I'm a boy. If I was a man, I wouldn't have to
go to harper classes."

"It's a saying, not meant to be taken literally. In this case, the man
is short for human," E'naer replied. "Do you want me to escort you to
your class?" he asked.

The boy's shoulders drooped. It wasn't so much the prospect of being
punished for skipping the class that bothered him, as the thought of how
the other children would stare at him when he walked in. It looked as
though there was no escape, though. And a dragon had talked to him! That
made up for a lot.

"I can find my own way...but please, can I pay my respects to Eillispeth
before I go?" he asked. "She talked to me. I should at least thank her."

"Yes, you can do that. Polite manners are important," E'naer agreed.

"Thank you, sir!" Arten's face broke into a sunny smile and he raced
over to where the green dragon was watching them. He stopped a few paces
from her, and gave her a quick bow.

"Thank you for speaking to me, Eillispeth," he said solemnly. "You are a
very beautiful dragon."

Eillispeth lowered her head to be scratched and crooned with pleasure.
Who green didn't like getting compliments?

"Oh, she knows that," E'naer remarked dryly.

The young boy looked at E'naer for permission and then reached out to
scratch the green, choosing the places that Rhalith liked the best.

"When she spoke to me, she said I might miss something from class that
would be useful when I'm a dragonrider," he said, his voice filled with
hope. "Do you think that means there's a chance I might Impress, one day?"

"Eillispeth is not a Search dragon," E'naer warned him, so anything the
green said was not official. "But she's worked with weyrlings for many
Turns, so she does have pretty good instinct. Just not Search-level
good. Besides, you're weyrbrat. All weyrbrats have good chances of
Impressing."

"I hope so." The boy sighed. "I want to be a dragonrider more than
anything. Then at least someone would understand me."

E'naer felt sympathy for the boy and put an encouraging hand on his
shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze.

Arten looked up at him. "Thank you." For a moment, he thought that being
a weyrling here, rather than back home with his friends, might not be so
bad if E'naer was one of the weyrlingmasters. "Can I come and help scrub
her, some time? Do you think she would mind?"

"Sure, she would love that," E'naer replied with a smile. He did have a
nephew around Arten's age, perhaps he could introduce the boys to each
other that way. Arten seemed to be in need of a friend.

"Great! She'll be less work than my father's dragon. He's a brown."
Arten beamed. Bathing a dragon was one of his favourite activities. The
times when he helped with Rhalith were one of the few occasions when he
and L'keri got along. "Whenever she needs scrubbing, I'm usually here,
watching the weyrlings...when I'm not in class, that is," he added with
a virtuous look on his face.

"I'll remember that. Now, off you go, lad," E'naer said with bemused tone.

Arten sighed, but he could see there was no alternative to returning to
his class. "Yes, Weyrlingmaster Third, sir. Goodbye, Eillispeth." He
gave the green dragon a final pat, then turned and trudged back towards
the interior of the Weyr.

Last updated on the September 28th 2018

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