Mallie always wondered why the Ladies shunned her and her sister. They were both polite and sensible, proud enough. But they weren't the only ones that got stared at. Apparently, and Mallie learned this only much later in her life, her father was raised 'wrong'. He was raised in a Weyr, the son of two riders. But he was fostered out when he was around ten turns old, into a Hold which was badly in need of some new blood. He essentially replaced the Lord Holder's eldest, who had gone into the Weyr himself to ride - and died not more than three turns later in a bad fall. Ellan tried his best to think like a Lord. But ... he really couldn't. The wild lifestyle was in his blood. He'd never quite gotten used to the whole 'don't have affairs' thing. So he fell in love and he fell in bed, and continued to do so until one of the now-elderly Holders who had overseen his fostering finally caused him to stop.

"Take a wife, stick with her," was his advice. "Ignore the other children, because they cannot be called yours if your wife refuses them."

She didn't 'refuse', but the Lady who bore him two healthy sons and then twin girls was certain she had enough to keep her busy with them to take on the slightly older girls.

The girls' mother held no resentment of him, she wasn't pretty enough or high enough status to really matter. It happened that she inherited her portion of the Hold because she had no brothers, and was reasonably good at keeping things in order. But Mallie and her older sister Mekell knew they had other things in store for them. No one would marry a girl like Mekell - she was so boyish anyway, it would be best if she went to work with the runners. She enjoyed that job tremendously, and that left Mellie to remain with her mother for a while.

When she was Searched, it was a great relief - her sire's blood ran true, really, it would not be denied the way her younger brothers' was. Their mother protected them from being seen by the search riders, though they might never have truly been searched anyway. Coddled and soft, they made far better Lordlings, than they would ever have made riders.

Mallie however was a strong, healthy girl, pudgy in the right places, but as plain as her mother. She enjoyed animals like her sister did, but more helped with the smaller beasts like goats and sheep. It turned out that she was quite good at getting ornery goats or even mules to do her bidding, perhaps it was her voice, or maybe she was just gifted with something extra special.

After her Search she concentrated on learning more of her star charts and letters. She'd never really be great at either, but she did excell at learning dragon's habits, anatomy, and health issues. At Dragonhope, J'vana the dragon healer allowed her to help out regularly, until she knew every part and every plant needed to assist him. Without a dragon, though, she was still somewhat relegated to working with the goats and sheep again... Until Sedona Weyr came calling.

While it may have been unusual to have a weyr give off its existing candidates to others, dragon eggs needed their bonds! So they sent her off to Sedona with the hopes that she'd Impress early and come home when the dragon was fledged. She'd have a good spot with the dragon healers, that was certain, with or without a dragon this time around.

***

The search riders had brought Mallie and others to Sedona without much rush, apparently these eggs were going to be hatching on their own good time. Mallie had time to acquaint herself with the rest of the Weyr, do some help in the Dragon Healing area, and even assist with one injury outside of Threadfall.

"Silly dragon, you should have paid attention to the tides," Mallie chastised the small and rather dim-witted green. "There's less water where you wanted to dive when they're out!"

Soon enough, the hatching was called... at nearly midnight! At least, Mallie thought, they wouldn't be grumbling about missing dinner or lunch because of it! Numerous eggs were wobbling, but a pale blue struck out of his first. Handfulls of other dragonets broke free over the next few minutes, and finally a blue paused by his exhausted green sister, until she was ready to move again. That green strode up to Mallie and looked her in the eye.

You might not be hungry, but I am! I am Avareath! And hungry!

"Well hungry isn't your name, at least," Mallie giggled, and told the recordskeeper that her lovely green was ready to eat.

***

"Look at her, she's eyeing that brown, isn't she?" Mallie muttered at one of the other girls, as their dragons sunned themselves by the shore.

"She always eyes that brown. She's going to be proddy and she'll be eyeing him really close, soon enough I think."

"I know, I know," Mallie sighed. Thankfully the dragoness wasn't quite old enough for a clutch, and gorged herself into a stupor after flying with that very same brown... But Mallie knew that she would be a good mother some day. Sturdy, perhaps with a brown like that one there, a good clutch of smart, good-natured dragons would hatch.

***

Avareath stood, posed quietly and watched, as Mallie and the group of new candidates at Dragonhope were instructed. When the Master Healer's dragon wasn't available, she stood in with excellent results. Mallie showed off her wing sails, claws, eyes, everything that would be the basics of their education - things that every candidate had to know before they even set foot on the sands.

I am glad you like doing this, Avareath bespoke, because my one, I do not like the thought of Fall.

"I know you don't, sweet one," Mallie nodded, and smiled. "But since you hardly touch firestone you're of no use at all out there anyway!"

It is smelly and makes me slow in the air, I do not like that. It is like taking too much to eat before mating.

"And that's something you do so very well," Mallie laughed.