A New Dawn
- Dragonriders of Pern
Disclaimer: I do not own the World of Pern it is owned by author Anne Mccaffrey, I do, however, own the individual characters seen in this story. This is also donw for fun, not profit and so no money is being made from this!
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A million thoughts were running through Tonya's mind. She was a farmers' child from Ruatha Hold and here she was, riding a brilliant blue dragon, on her way to Fort Weyr to participate in the Hatching.
Two dragons and their riders had come to the hold to Search the children for potential Candidates. She had been Searched and selected by Nirlith, the blue she now rode. The dragon's rider, K'lor, had shown as much interest as his dragon, so she had been loaded into the riding harness along with four other children her age.
The other dragon had been similarly loaded with Candidates when they finally took off for their destination; Fort Weyr. Together, the two riders signalled then jumped between. Tonya held her breath against the sudden chill of between, this she knew was something she may have to get used to. In the time it took to cough three times, they burst out in the skies above Fort Weyr.
There was a distinct silence among the other children, each trying to get their minds around the possibility of Impression. This could well be the turning point for any or all of their lives.
The watch dragon bugled a greeting to the approaching dragons as they descended into the Bowl. All the new arrivals were greeted by the weyrlingmaster, J'kor.
J'kor clasped hands with the bluerider in greeting. "K'lor!" he exclaimed, "good to have you and F'san back." He turned his attention to the other bluerider. "Has Ridith picked out any good ones?" he asked.
"I certainly hope so," F'san answered, amiably. The dragon beside him uttered a soft rumble and suddenly, F'san turned his eye to Tonya, who had watching the bluerider in rapt fascination. She looked away quickly and felt the heat rising to her cheeks.
As the Candidates were directed to where they were to stay, in the weyrling barracks until the Hatching, F'san managed to single Tonya out and approached her.
"Ridith seems to have taken a liking to you," the rider commented lightly.
Despite his attempt at humour, Tonya felt her blush deepening. F'san chuckled, sensing her embarrassment. He offered an arm to her and raised an eyebrow, saying, "may I escort you to your quarters?" in such a way as she couldn't refuse.
When later she lay back on her bed, she thought about her encounter with F'san. Part of her wished to Impress merely to be able to stay in the weyr and see him, but she quickly ended that train of thought.
Instead she thought about Lolanth, the junior queen at Fort Weyr, and the clutch of 23 eggs that lay upon the Sands. The Hatching was expected to be in about a severnday, going from the time that she had Clutched. She found that she was surprisingly excited for one that had tried to fight against going. Maybe Nirlith was right in choosing her.
Well, she thought, she would have her answer at the Hatching when the critical moment came. It was, after all, the dragon's choice as to who should become their rider.
Slowly, she slipped into a contented sleep.
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Author's Note: This is a more updated version of the old chapter, let me know what you think to the improvements. Thanks in advance and buy for now!!