AltBenden Candidates

R’ly felt it the most, it hit hard. Not the impact, no. The feeling of that power her son had overtaking her own, utilizing it in a way that she’d never even imagined. It was exactly as instinctual as she’d had it happen to her once or twice in the past, but it was so very focused. And more importantly it wasn’t just affecting her - or him. When she’d had this sideways inside-out reversed-color flash happen to her, it was only R’ly moving from... one world to another.

Haad was adept enough with it, even though he clearly hadn’t practiced this ability - thanks to her own interference with his powers of course - that he brought not just her, but this blue...water-shaped wolf woman along with them to wherever it was they’d gone.

The smell hit hard too. A beach, faintly remembered by the antelope-splice, but obviously quite clear and sharp in her son’s mind, was where they’d almost wound up.

Almost, because the beach was some distance away. Once the trio fell out of the air and into this choppy sea, it was a scramble for them all. Disoriented, afraid, angry, still wound up from whatever it was that triggered Lheevdho’s attack. But she was water.

And this was water. Would she wash away? R’ly almost wished she would, but then realized she was sinking - fast. Hardly any Zekiran swam with any regularity, the waters of their world were mainly fresh, no one floated worth a darn there. It was a quick way to dispose of annoying people, on a boat trip. It was something that a lot of people avoided for that reason. Waterways were for drinking and fishing from the safety of the shore, not for paddling around in.

But her son, and this Izraethi woman, weren’t typical - wolves could swim, Haad was able to keep himself just above the surface, though it was mainly his snout that bobbed and sometimes gasped there. But Lheevdho... she was water. 

Suddenly in her element, quite literally, she got her bearings as much as she could, and drew the two ... well, she seriously considered leaving R’ly to drown - but realized she wasn’t going to want to be responsible for that messy paperwork later. As a clump of colorful fur and horns they then floated to a halt, the water around them reduced in its swell thanks to her innate abilities. Around the brilliantly colored trio, the slate-green water was still dangerously cold even if it was more calm. It was oddly buoyant, heavily salty, tasted of brine and smelled of things not typically found on a Zekiran’s vacation checklist.

R’ly gasped for breath when she finally realized that she wasn’t actively drowning. It almost felt like the seawater itself was pressing up under her hoofed feet. That was in fact what it was doing, at the behest of the woman she’d managed to insult so badly that she attacked in the first place.

“What were you thinking!” Lheevdho yelled, her wolf-shaped head was still translucent with the watery appearance, but her features were becoming more solid by the moment. “I can’t keep this up indefinitely and we have a long way to swim, stay close.”

With her shout, Haad visibly winced, which the wolf woman instantly recognized was due to his Status. Budak were always getting chastised or ordered around, but... he was also gifted with wolf-like ears. She hardly saw them, they were pressed back against his head, covered by his dark grey hair, but also surrounded by those weird ... those weird double horns.

Those horns belonged to only one member of the Izraethi bloodline, and he was exiled from them. He was exiled by choice - he followed his father, Lheevdho’s much older brother, into that exile according to the family history. She was only six when this happened, she’d hardly heard a word about them since then.

For the moment, however, Lheevdho concentrated on manipulating the water around them as best she could, to nudge them toward what she hoped was solid land. Even if she was a master water manipulator, she had her limits. She was glad that her specially made carry sack was waterproof, but she doubted very much that the paperwork inside it was going to survive all this. And that it hadn’t dropped off of her when they fell from ... well, they fell from one world to another, but she didn’t yet realize that.

From a nearby boat, several people saw a distinct flash, but they knew better than to do much about it. That was where the Waypoint would often spit people out. They weren’t a rescue crew. Someone would be called up, the teams with their dragons were better suited to this than fishermen and women.

From that nearby boat as well, someone squinted and nudged their companion, pointing out that those ‘people’ that just fell from another world into theirs had horns and fur. Then they went on with their work, hauling another large fish aboard.

***

Somehow they made it to the shore, Lheevdho was exhausted and the other two were still in shock. Haad was also shaking from his use of his own power; this wasn’t a nice warm tropical beach like from his childhood vision. This wasn’t... this wasn’t it at all. Where were they?

And who were these people that had gathered around them? True to form a rescue had been put up, but it was a little later than useful. And of course... as some had seen before with arrivals from the Waypoint, those people had never seen dragons before.

It was almost rote for them; no they won’t eat you, yes we’re friendly, yes you’ll be fine if you let us bring you out of the water, no we don’t speak the same language, what of it?

They seemed to understand - somehow - the complex speech that R’ly and Lheevdho shot at each other, but the content of it was over most heads. Something something water rights, something else about their companion, something important about them.

It was only when the silver dragon showed up that everyone just gave them room, it was no longer their problem. Whatever dispute that these people had, would have to wait.

Because Mara was on the scene, and she didn’t look too pleased. Only the locals, and perhaps of them only the dragon riders, really knew how to tell whether a dragon looked anything other than ‘terrifying’. Lheevdho however recovered quickly enough that she stood upright once more, losing her watery look, losing the ‘paws’ on her hands in favor of thumbs. 

Still wet, his grey and violet marked fur positively soaked, Haad watched as the blue wolf woman did this, his gold eyes wide with amazement. There was a strong pull between them, he didn’t quite understand it though. He felt like... well, he remembered distantly that time he summoned those wolves to his side and was duly punished? He didn’t realize yet: she was of his Pack. She was of the sort that might respond to that power even when she stood on two feet. Haad wasn’t ignoring the massive dragon, but he wasn’t really gawking at her either.

R’ly, on the other hand... absolutely was. She shook, physically, and not merely because of the cold seeping into her skin through not just short fur but elegant clothing. Was she the only one who was dressed here? She tried desperately to think only on this - because anything else meant she had to look up at the silver dragon.

She’d been around large animals, of course. But nothing like this. And there was nothing about Mara that was ‘animal’, to boot - there was a look in that big eye, the way her posture and display of wings spread... She was no beast. And she still made R’ly quiver in fear. 

Haad said nothing, as the dragoness approached: he was Budak, it was never his turn to speak. But Lheevdho summoned her voice.

“Where are we? Where have you taken us?” She spoke to the male mutt, who clearly was R’ly’s offspring as much as Herrek’s. The boy was obviously not well versed being addressed by anyone other than his Lady-Breeder. She could tell by how he held his ears, his tail - not a wolf tail like her own - and his whole posture, that this was never going to be easy for him. Made less so because of R’ly standing there. Perhaps if they were alone...

“You are on a world known as Pern,” the dragon spoke, throwing a chill down all of their spines, “and you are lucky to be alive. You will follow me into our meeting chamber and we will discuss what happens next.” 

If the choppy slate-colored sea was cold, her voice was even colder. She didn’t sound angry, or even markedly displeased. But she did not sound friendly. All business? That was fine with Lheevdho, and as she straightened her satchel (how had it really remained with her? it was sopping but not sloshing), it seemed that R’ly was catching on as well. 

She was still quaking, it was easy to see her heavy fingers tremble, as she put one sand-covered foot forward to follow. Having been given an order by a clear authority figure, even though it wasn’t his mother, Haad obeyed the dragoness and stared straight ahead while they walked. Whether his mother would punish him for walking in front of her, he didn’t know.

R’ly didn’t seem too apt to be punishing anyone, just now. He’d never seen her like this, shaken and afraid rather than vibrating with anger as he had observed. It was rarely at him, he’d learned how to avoid being on her bad side. 

If and when she recovered her senses, what then? Would she chastise him in front of these people?

And on looking around, finally, when they were headed into a cavernous entry off the beach by a ways, Haad realized that the people here were gawking too - but at them. Not at this creature, who’d spoken as though she was a person? Who was he to judge: he was many things, but a Budak rarely was perceived as a ‘person’... 

Those people here, whether native to the area or also visiting, maybe not so dramatically as this trio, they were mainly like all the rest of the people of Zekira more or less familiar to the group. A head, a torso, two arms, two legs. No extras, not like any of them had, but then all three of this group had been specifically Bred to be different. The thing that struck them was that the locals were all ... so dully colored. Brown, tan, beige, cream, reddish, yellowish... Some had more vibrant hair, but most of that hair was collected under fishing hats and sun coverings, it was hard to tell whether anyone sported blue or violet or green anywhere on them. 

As R’ly was a Peridian, she did notice this, but it was still tucked away in the back of her mind for quite a while before she even thought on it. Also they were ... short. Not dramatically so, but definitely not as tall and slender as the typical patrons of the Animal Foundation. More like workers, Kaumburuh that scurried around trying to make ends meet, they rarely had time to stand up and look an Atasan in the eye even if they were of a good enough line... 

Lheevdho took a very brief moment to pry in on her companions minds. Telepathy was not her strongest point, and R’ly absolutely was able to notice her poking around - shutting down her mind from intrusion with a sudden glare. But thankfully R’ly didn’t then try that same trick again, the one that got the wolf-woman to attack in the first place. Lheevdho on the other hand decided to simply let it drop. She’d felt the confusion, anger, fear, from both of them already. She also, however, detected a liberal amount of amazement and wonder from the Budak, and that was nice.

Lheevdho felt a massive presence otherwise - and that was the dragon. There was something very different about her; she was no beast, she’d spoken, but she was also immensely powerful, and it was easy to detect. As sure as she was that R’ly had felt her poking around telepathically, Lheevdho was positive that R’ly could do nothing to prevent the dragon from doing it. That brought a smirk to the blue wolf’s muzzle.

R’ly did feel that dragon’s presence, a mind but also more. Much more. Though her own telepathic prowess was limited to enforcing illusions and changing emotional states, rather than outright communicating via thought-words, R’ly absolutely knew that there was no way that she’d be able to so much as nudge this dragon’s mind. She’d had training for her powers, sparring against people whose job it was to expand users abilities. She could cause a well-trained expert to roll, emotionally speaking, as though a boulder in a ground-quake. But this silver dragon’s mind? It wasn’t a boulder, it was a mountain. And R’ly was no fool.

After quite a walk, they reached a massive chamber, hardly having noticed the lighting and temperature changes from the beach. It was both cool and stable, no wind, no stray pressure changes. Lheevdho’s mother would love to see this place, she thought. A natural cavern but expanded with walkways and viewing ports? And a nice calm air. Not stale, not like it had been stuffy in here. Lheevdho became keenly aware of the eyes on them, as they walked past rooms and arched exits.

To Haad it was both thrilling and terrifying. He was no coward, but the presence of an underground or covered area like this, with tunnels and the like? That was where the wolf pack resided when they had to, that was forbidden territory to him under the Bok zoo. He easily picked up muttering and whispers, which echoed around the halls and were quite confusing to him. On their first notice, he could understand the words. But if he listened to the echoes... not so much. It sounded like baby talk, like unpracticed speech of children trying to pronounce hard words. It was speech - it wasn’t intelligible to him. But why could he understand it once, and not again?

He did not know the word for ‘magic’, Zekira didn’t have ‘magic’. Only the almost-extinct Neresian people, the natives left over from a much older local stock, used the word. And he did not know that. They would have all had heart attacks and died the moment they saw him, let alone the dragon that paced slowly in that large room. Superstitious to such a degree, they were hardly fit to live with the so-called Rainbow People. 

But was Haad fit to live with these brown-skinned and brown-eyed and brown-haired ones, himself? Were his mother and this blue-wolf woman? They would find out, wouldn’t they.

The dragon’s features could be described as ‘elegant’ and ‘dangerous’ in equal measure. Silvery scales, long body and tail and limbs, horns decorating the head in a way that almost resembled a crown. Large wings, folded for the most part while they walked, but clearly they shifted around to make for comfort or move through more narrow spaces. 

Because they were in such a strange setting, and... frankly, because his mother was distracted and fearful herself in a way that Haad had never seen before, he began growing a little more bold in his step, looking around with more interest. His motion was still fluid as ever, he was graceful though not as practiced in his movements as his mother normally was. 

Since he had little opportunity to practice most of his powers, he was not sure whether what he was feeling was normal. He got a sense, not just a thought but an actual sensation that pinged his genetic power, from this dragon. He could pick out bits when her tail swung closer to them on their path toward the main room, and for all the world it was ... like the blue wolf woman nearby?

Why?

Very soon, he and the others would learn. The dragoness came to a halt, her head and shoulders turning to face the trio before the end of her tail had even left the arched entrance. When that tail finally curled around her feet, as a pair of guards dropped the heavy curtains over that arch and left the room to the small group, the dragon assessed them once more under her stern, terrifying gaze. They’d noticed how large the chamber was, and even though this dragon was very, very long, she fit into it somehow. 

Probably more magic, as this was hardly her full size. Had she been at that size... they would probably have thought about diving back into the dangerous ocean waves to get away from her...

The dragon though, Mara, looked at the trio and then changed - into a humanoid; losing not just the shape and extra limbs, but that massive size as well. Haad felt that, it was the same as the blue-wolf, but also not. Not at all. Whatever this ability was, it was both in her genes, and... more.

He was curious, but they were also all struck by how lovely this woman standing at the end of the long table in the middle of the room really was. She reminded Lheevdho of portraits of some of the high-Status women among the Marad clan on Zekira, with the silvery pale brown hair and eyes, and that not-quite-white skin? She was a far bit more like a Zekiran in appearance like this, than some of those muddy-colored ones outside. Something about her skin still resembled that dragon’s scales, though not overtly.

“Now,” she said, her voice exactly as commanding if not as voluminous as before, “we must discuss your arrival here, and what to do with you.” She indicated the tall-backed seats, and though the women eagerly took their places (wet as they were, she couldn’t wait until their fur was dried?) Haad hesitated.

“You too,” she urged, of the horned wolf. Being addressed directly like that had a profound effect on him, but Mara wasn’t certain what that effect actually was. Had she ever seen this? Perhaps... long ago, she’d have to consider where or on whom later. For now, the boy seemed both scared and measured: his behavior was of a servant, but his mind and other features were clearly high-born ones. Powerful, she could tell he was the reason they were here, and somehow not the Waypoint itself. 

Eventually Haad took a seat near his mother. He clearly pondered whether to put himself between this shapeshifting woman and R’ly, or if it would be more respectful to allow her to remain unhindered in her gaze - acting as a bodyguard indeed, but also acting out of the deference to her station that she deserved.

The dragon-turned-woman remained standing, though her posture wasn’t as aggressively commanding as before. She seemed to be assessing the trio, lingering with those silvery eyes on each of them in turn. She narrowed her eyes slightly at R’ly, when doing this. R’ly shuddered with a strange gasp, closed her eyes, and seemed to accept the fact that whatever this woman was doing, it was far, far stronger than she’d ever be. Her defenses down, R’ly had to face the consequences of putting up a resistance in the first place - but privately. If there were words between them mentally, the others didn’t hear.

R’ly felt the presence of the silver dragon’s mind snaking through her own, deeply but quickly. Her own psionic resistance would have failed anyway; she might be able to put a wall of thought between her and Lheevdho, but not this mind.

Lheevdho also felt Mara’s intrusive queries, but let them roll through her. It oddly felt like the sinuous stride of that dragon’s motion down the hall, soft-footed but with purpose. Whatever she found in the wolf-woman’s mind was enough to elicit a little grunt of approval.

And Haad. Haad could only sit and stare with a faintly concerned twist to his brows. The dragon-woman kept glancing between him and R’ly, but could clearly tell that whatever the mother did to the son, was for reasons only suitable to their homeworld. Not here.

“I am Mara, and I bid you a tentative welcome to our home, this is Coast Hold, and it is... a particular place on this world of Pern.”

She explained briefly - the world was besieged by weird semi-biological assault on a regular basis from some ... other planet? They weren’t really clear on this - Zekira had three moons and none of them remarkable in any way, and they didn’t watch the stars for much other than peaceful entertainment on long northern nights. The idea that dangers could come from the stars was almost preposterous. Zekirans themselves came from the stars to their world, more than ten thousand years before and had left space to put down roots, that was that.

Only Haad seemed to think that perhaps the idea of a big dangerous planet wasn’t as strange as all that: something he might have glanced upon while ‘daydreaming’ maybe?

Mara seemed impressed by the group’s abilities, but at the same time warned them sternly that those abilities were absolutely forbidden to be used here, for the duration of their stay. That the consequences of their actions would be serious indeed. And that if they were to leave Coast Hold for any length of time they must first be thoroughly disguised in order to fit in visually with those locals. Beyond that: they must act as local as possible as well, mentioning their origins or anything unusual would be dire.

On first reaction to this, it seemed that the women were quite put off - but moment by moment they realized it wasn’t going to do either of them any good to be throwing around whatever powers they had at their disposal. This was not their home. This was in no way different from them visiting an important Atasan’s estate for a vacation; you wouldn’t want to be leaving the place in disarray, you wouldn’t want to be kicked from their guest list thanks to errant commands or flippant use of unusual abilities, and apparently you didn’t want to have to explain why you have horns, tails, fur, or indeed something other than brown colors everywhere. 

They’d both had their own experiences with exactly that last one: casually being asked things like ‘how do you fit through doors with those horns’, ‘do you have to spray for fleas’. It was patently offensive. If somehow they actually could be disguised, rather than as R’ly had sometimes done with her illusions? But it wasn’t much different with ‘magic’, apparently. R’ly even vocally pondered what difference would it really make if she did it herself, or if someone else handled that?

Mara stressed that it did make a difference, it was simply the rule they must follow. Lheevdho nodded and side-eyed R’ly.

While they internalized this on their own, Haad pondered in his own way. He seemed a little disappointed, but then he hardly did anything other than at the whim of his Lady-mother in the first place. And only he... asked what the repercussions were if they failed.

“It would depend on what, exactly, was done,” Mara stated, flatly and pointedly looking at R’ly. “I have to say that... I cannot claim to understand what goes on... on your world? But it will not be tolerated here.” She glanced at Lheevdho, “if you must transform, it will be when no one is watching you do it. I... know from experience that this is a bit... traumatizing to those who don’t understand the workings of magic.” 

But what was ‘magic’? All three of the Zekirans expressed a little confusion at the term, but had to go with it - it was obvious what she meant. And it was true, in Lheevdho’s experience people were quite freaked out by seeing transformations like her own. They were certain that they hadn’t expected Mara’s change to be so dramatic either, if they’d ‘expected’ it at all. Come to think of it, Lheevdho had hardly ever seen it happen with her own eyes, she’d only practiced it with others observing when she was little. And only her mother could possibly understand her liquid form...

The thought of her mother brought a concerned furrow to her brows, “....will we be able to get home?” She looked at Haad, “do you think you can bring us home?”

Once more, he sort of choked before being bold enough to reply to someone without his mother’s express permission to speak. “I think I can, but... I don’t know if I can do it yet. It was just instinct.” He almost said ‘accident’. And Lheevdho ‘heard’ that word echoing in the mental space.

She turned back to Mara, “my own powers are often working on their own, senses I can barely stop from working. Is that... acceptable? I can try not to openly pry into minds, but it’s something that just... happens. Like sensing the weather or the pull of the water, it’s like hearing and touch to me, you can’t just stop hearing.”

“I understand that,” Mara nodded toward her, “do not use it against anyone. Do no harm with these senses.”

Her grey eyes sought R’ly, and lingered. “I expect you will need some time to adjust to this, but I also expect to be obeyed, is that clear?”

It was almost like a wound to R’ly, she was clearly used to giving orders, not getting them handed to her. But that was the life of a Pemilik, buying and selling servants was her entire lifestyle. Having that switched on her was certainly going to be challenging.

Yet she still raised her head, a half-sad look fading only after a clear gulp. “I understand...” she clearly was trying to add - something - and Lheevdho knew exactly the feeling. What was this woman called? What title ought they add? She was clearly the most important person in this place, Coast Hold? So she was certainly much more than a mere ‘holder’, but... Lady? Mistress? Atasenne? Suzerinne? Who knew? 

There was a moment, a long one, where the trio were expected to ponder all of this. Mara then cleared her throat gently, sat finally, and folded her long fingers before her. “I will request that you each swear to uphold your end of this deal. If you cannot, I cannot allow you to remain, though how you leave would indeed be in question.” There was a strange pressure behind those words, “do you agree to these terms?”

Lheevdho was the first to nod, easily the most used to participating in contracts that benefited everyone. As a Curran representative with authority over waterworks and reservoirs, she knew how much of an impact either side of a contract had.

R’ly’s teeth could almost be heard gritting, as she also allowed this intrusive contract to be formed. She first said, “I accept these terms.” But a moment later, also, “Haad will obey,” she said - and then made note of the flicker of... anger? Consternation? on Mara’s face.

“He must answer for himself,” she reminded the Peridian, “I realize you... are used to deciding for him. But he’s clearly an adult and can think for himself.”

Lheevdho all but held her breath watching R’ly’s expressions change, but finally the antelope-woman closed her eyes and gave a tilt of her head - her horns swept in an arc, making the slight motion much more visible. 

With that approval, Haad nodded enthusiastically. “I will do this, I hope that I don’t disappoint.”

That actually elicited a bit of a grin from Mara, he was absolutely not used to being trusted to think for himself, she got that much just by her own glance over their attitudes. “I have no doubts you will do just fine, young man.”

With that said, all three of them felt a strong sensation - not one of them could say what it was. In truth it was Mara’s doing; setting into stone their decision. This wove around their spirits, and as one - including Mara - they felt a compulsion, a drive, that meant it was sealed. Mara seemed to breathe it in as though fragrant.

“I will have rooms prepared,” Mara paused, and glanced significantly between Lheevdho and R’ly, “I understand that you will want your own quarters, though truth be told... if you do remain here for... other reasons,” she seemed to want to say something more but didn’t, “you will have to get used to being housed together with others.”

While Lheevdho seemed reasonably at ease with that, once more it was R’ly who almost verbally balked. But... she’d been on trips, she’d had to camp with groups, tours, and the like. Surely it wouldn’t be worse than that. Surely.

***

The weather was cool and calm, at least over the Hold, and Lheevdho was somewhat relieved that her perception of it wasn’t somehow limited by whatever strange pact had been enacted a few days before. It had taken a while for the group to get set in their dorms, it would be a while still before R’ly would ever be comfortable there. She was clearly used to plush settings and comforts, not this... rustic quaint township. The two women regarded one another, as the sun set and the massive ‘red star’ (it was a planet, why did they call it that?) loomed in the sky.

It was clearly not Zekira’s sky. It was so different in fact that at least... They had that in common. It was clear that R’ly didn’t want to talk about their situation, preferring to sit sullenly in the ‘cramped tiny accommodations’ and have her son deliver food to her. At least she wasn’t expecting Haad to do the same. Apparently, after their group meeting, Mara had taken R’ly aside and specifically addressed her behavior toward her Budak son.

Slave or no, she claimed, here he was his own man and to be treated as such. What happened after they were gone wasn’t her problem any longer, but here... it was as if he was a proper citizen. To hear R’ly grumbling about that was almost music to Lheevdho’s ears.

She could, of course, hear her grumbling through the brick walls of their current housing with ease. But for the moment, the horned woman had been encouraged to go outside and at least savor the area as a vacation resort or... something.

The pair had to settle for the smell of the ocean and the sounds of the port, rather than any big shopping trips or visits to exotic restaurants. Apparently the place was at least somewhat used to ‘visitors’ arriving from whatever the ‘Waypoint’ was well enough that they did have services fit for those who had no particular job or money. But they were expected to participate somehow. 

Without using their abilities, at least without permission? That was straining all of them, it was practically a daily thing that all of them had been long used to. Even Haad expected to be able to perhaps daydream a little here and there: with others in the mindscape... But no, if they were to pass themselves off at least politely they carefully practiced ‘thinking like a local’.

“Why do they keep staring like that,” R’ly grumbled. “Have you noticed?”

“They look at us because we’re- ” Lheevdho started to say, but R’ly waved her hoofed hand.

“No, not them, and not because we look like monsters of their lore,” she said, low. “I mean the other ones, the dragons. They stare. I don’t think it’s because they want to eat us.”

“We’ve already been told the dragons are companions and won’t harm people,” Lheevdho said, and though her tone was slightly chiding, even she was occasionally worried that if they crossed the wrong dragon’s path it might just chew them up with one bite.

She had, however, caught the eyes of blue, green, or brown-shaded dragons that visited this active but small Hold. They did stare. Which made their riders stare. They would then mount back up and fly away, up into the cloudy skies, or over the rugged land, or across the choppy sea. 

“I wonder why, then,” Lheevdho said, as the sun finally vanished from the sky and they were basked in a violet-colored light. 

They would find out soon enough. But in the meantime they heard Haad’s voice, surprisingly as he laughed with several locals. They had him hefting crates and barrels with fish in them, it was an activity that made him useful as well as got him out of anyone’s hair until dinner time. Apparently someone had told a joke, or perhaps they were mocking him and he didn’t realize it? No, even at this distance, neither woman thought that those dock workers were the type to be cruel.

Besides, Haad was far from ‘simple minded’. They’d learned of some history of this place, how for a long time the drudge work was done by those with little else going for them. Was it similar to Zekiran society? Only marginally. They had things here that just defied Zekiran definition: highwaymen, wandering vagabonds. Homeless? Who went without shelter when the weird ‘thread’ stuff fell then? 

If there was one thing that Zekirans prided themselves on, it was that everyone did their share. Whether that was back-breaking mining and farm work, posing with pretty clothing to advertise a particular tailor service, or indeed creating specifically made people for individualized tasks... They had a niche and they had an income or at least a stipend. It stressed both of these women a bit that they had no such coin here - while R’ly earned a decent living doing her Peridian work and Budak trade, and Lheevdho received not just a stipend from Curra to maintain their weather monitoring systems and waterways but had her own wilderness park to profit from, they both had only a few coins physically on their person. And those coins, while exotic and quite pretty (and made from valued metals and crystals to boot), didn’t match at all what was used here on Pern to trade for things.

Apparently... Haad was the first of them to actually earn a living here. So used to being Budak and being required to report to his mother for such things, he all but ran up the embankment to where they were still sitting in mostly-silence, with a ‘Fisher’s Mark’ in his hand. He had no pockets to put it in anyway, so handing it over to his mother was the obvious choice, wasn’t it? Lheevdho lifted her wolfish eyebrow and watched as the woman examined the coin and fretted about how it smelled.

It did, in fact, kind of smell like fresh-caught fish. And the inside of a leather coverall pocket. Haad was the only one who didn’t care in the slightest about that.

“I’m glad you’ve found a task,” R’ly surprisingly said, after a moment of pondering, and finally putting the coin into a carefully-folded cloth that she’d brought from their rooms. She was at least glad they had some kind of cleanliness, now she’d have to find a way to clean the cloth too. “Are you feeling up to moving us home?”

With that, he visibly deflated. He cast his eyes to the ground, “I ...don’t,” he lied badly, this one. It was very clear to Lheevdho that he was fit and healthy, ready to try using his power, but did not want to. Clear as well to R’ly. She gritted her jaw shut, and took in a deeper breath than she really wanted to, given the scent of the dock nearby.

“I suppose I should let you do this on your own terms,” she stated, darkly, “remember that I too have the ability.”

Lheevdho picked up his mental scream, you don’t know how to use it either. He was right. Lheevdho wasn’t sure whether his mother ‘heard’ it or not, but it was clear that she knew what he was thinking either way. He stewed mentally but outwardly his head remained bowed. Interestingly, to Lheevdho at least, it meant that their horns were about to butt together. How fitting.

“I don’t think we’re done here,” Lheevdho spoke to break the tension. “I think... something else is going on. Nothing dark or sinister,” she pointedly looked at R’ly, “but... I don’t know what, and you know I’m quite curious. Admit it, so are you.”

R’ly turned away, but nodded carefully, “I am. I’ll say this, their dragons are quite intriguing.”

“For a Peridian of your Degree,” Lheevdho warned, mostly testing to see what reaction she’d get, “you ought to be looking closer at the men and women riding them, not the creatures themselves.”

R’ly stiffened a bit, and finally shot, “perhaps this Peridian will be adopting a Pelatih Status to suit her needs, then,” and rose to go back to their rooms. 

Both Haad and Lheevdho knew that she’d hear them if they conversed openly. The wolf woman shrugged, and stood, herself. She put her pawed-hand on his shoulder and smiled. “I think you earned your pay, good work.”

Haad went off to secure their meal, at least he knew there was stew and bread for the women and himself. He liked being able to eat his own amount, not that his mother had ever withheld food from him. But he got to eat his fill before even picking up their share. It was a strange delight that Budak got to do things like that on their one holiday a year, but people did it like this all the time here?

He really was somewhat enamored of this location. So vastly different from his home, a little scary with the threat of whatever that huge planet was going to drop on them. But the dragons! They had dragons that reached the skies and beyond, apparently. A busy waterway - hardly a typical sight on Zekira - could get land bound people all around their world. They didn’t have jets or hovercraft, but they had boats and some railways for overland and sea travel. 

In the days ahead, the women finally started to ask around: what could they do in the meantime, while their companion was helping unload boats? The answer might have been ‘help him unload boats’ but neither of them were about to hear that.

The solution presented itself rather abruptly, however, when Mara - in her humanoid guise - approached them. She had a strangely serious look, regal features drawn into a mask of uncertain appraisal. She carefully guided the women through a few corridors, and had someone summon their male companion, before sitting them all down in a much smaller room than the one they’d been in before.

She drew in a long and measured sigh. “It has come to my attention, frequently, that our riders believe you ... all three of you... are,” Mara hesitated, “dragon rider material.” She didn’t quite draw it out into a question, but they could all hear it that way. She seemed rather put off about this, but resigned in equal amount.

“What does that mean. Wait,” R’ly sputtered, “dragon - rider - material?” She sounded out the words as though they were entirely foreign. Lheevdho had furrowed her brows and stared at the thick wooden table rather than anywhere else. Haad, once more, was the one who brightened.

“I’ve heard the fishermen speak highly of the dragon riders!” He said, growing somewhat more bold in his speech around his mother. “Do... do you mean that we would be...?”

Mara’s fine silvery eyebrows rose, carefully. “Yessss,” she replied, “if a clutch was right, if the hatchlings decided one of you were correct for them, the dragons... the dragons know.” Her voice was barely a whisper. 

Lheevdho prodded, “so, those riders,” she nudged R’ly (who wanted to be annoyed but frankly she was already both scheming and intrigued), “those riders and their dragons that kept staring at us? They were looking for traits their offspring would want?”

R’ly ground her jaw, “dragons with the Breeder’s Eye?” She stopped herself from saying ‘preposterous’, because it was obvious that was exactly what had occurred. Lheevdho nodded enthusiastically.

“Of course, if they’re telepathic as those riders have said,” she pondered, “they’d have ways of reaching out to their potential friends. I understand from... well, ‘overhearing’ some conversations myself, that they choose at hatching?”

“Or before,” Mara said, finally resigned to having these three somewhere on their currently-available sands. “Touching the eggs is sometimes allowed by the dam, others not so much, but it often yields results.”

She drew in a long sigh, “I will admit, I am not entirely sure why they’d choose three completely non-human people, these dragons are more meant to seek out a specific breed. But at this point, I suppose it doesn’t matter. They’ve chosen.” She lowered her head, and raised her eyes with a very faint smirk, “and now the work for you will get started. And it is work. A lot of it.”

***

She wasn’t wrong. They were transported to the Weyr proper shortly, after Haad bid his new acquaintances on the docks farewell, and they enthusiastically hoped to see him again on a dragon some day. On their way, Mara determined how best to get their reading skills to match the local script - speech was one thing, but visually recognizing script was another entirely. Then again, she realized: they would not remain here. At some point, they would manage to get home to this ‘Zekira’ place, thanks to their own abilities, and they would definitely be taking any dragons they Impressed with them. Perhaps a Harper to instruct them would be enough.

She once more specifically addressed the higher-Status women, privately, in order to lay down some rules. It was clear that R’ly would be somewhat hesitant to do the gritty work of mucking and cleaning, but that, Mara stressed, was part and parcel of caring for a dragon at all. It was expected, it was not hired out or done by others - until that dragon was bigger and old enough to choose to have other people help. 

R’ly listened to this with a more passive look than expected. “I’ve cared for children and animals all my life,” she said at long last, “while it’s not... exactly my favorite activity, I don’t expect a newly born creature to care for itself.” She hazarded a glance at Lheevdho, “they’re just a little larger than the ones I’ve been around. We’ll see how that works out.”

Lheevdho nodded back, “there are actually very few creatures on Zekira that match these dragons in size, overall. And... I don’t know of too many of them even half that large that can fly.” 

“On Kiran, there are,” R’ly said, pondering, “wherever there are updrafts I think... But I don’t tend to go to the desert. And you,” she glanced at the blue wolf-woman significantly, “would be out of place where there’s little water, yes?”

So they were finally starting to get along, ...ish. That was good, Mara considered what a mess it might be if they had to be around each other furious all the time. Mara could speak with Lheevdho and be understood, when she meant business. The wolf morph had asked pointed questions about this new location they were in: were they allowed to, say, use powers while alone? To clean their dragon? It would be quick work for her, if she had water and her psionics to control it. Lheevdho explained too that back home, they would have servants - Budak and Bayaran - who might aid in this task, provided their dragons if they Impressed would allow them to approach. 

Mara noted well that Lheevdho added ‘if they Impressed’ or ‘with their permission’ or other such phrases with the care that a lawyer had. Keenly aware of the process and the legal aspects of life on a world dominated by business and laws, where the wrong wording might mean disaster? Lheevdho had the strangest powers, but the most determination to make sure that she followed the rules here as well as at home.

R’ly would have to remember that if her son Impressed, he would have his own whole life and responsibilities to that dragon, and could no longer ‘serve’ her. Not that he did particularly, apparently, Mara learned, R’ly gave him minor tasks, but could easily live without his aid, perhaps save while she was busy doing ... whatever odd ‘fixing’ she did. The matter of manufacturing and trading in people was obviously distasteful to Mara, but - that was how Zekira was. They didn’t run on slave trade, in fact both women made it eminently clear that the vast, vast bulk of the population were ‘free workers’, Kaumburuh that were trained and hired to do whatever they were suited to - and not Budak, the slaves. Still... what would come of Haad’s Status there? 

How would they live with dragons?

They would - eventually - learn...