When Jaejir was quite young, perhaps only three or four turns, he heard something that made him alert and calm. His mother mistakenly interpreted this as something she'd done, and his brother mocked him constantly for it. His younger sister he barely had much contact with, while they were moving across the stormy scrublands. Jaejir waited more than two years to hear that same kind of voice in his mind - dragons above would be talking quietly among themselves thinking that they were not heard by any save their riders.

But they were heard. From quite a distance, actually. Jaejir knew by the time he was ten that this was a skill most people didn't have - and when they did it was usually in a woman. Why was that? He didn't know. But he did know that he'd be mocked even further by his nasty-tempered brother Jojo if he brought it up. After all they had the same limited amount of harper's education, from the brief encounters the troupe had as they traveled back and forth delivering goods. The journeymen and women harpers gave their all - in the hopes that maybe one or two of the illiterate band of gypsies would somehow pass their knowledge on to their own. Franly that wasn't going to happen.

But it meant that whenever Jojo and Jaejir had the same thoughts about something, Jojo had to have the last word in it. Be it in racing, betting, listing off relationships, travel destinations, or just plain one-upping each other. If Jaejir ever told his brother the truth, that he'd been hearing these snippets of conversations from the dragons above for years, Jojo would probably blab all over the place that he was the one who could hear them, and he deserved some kind of trophy for it...

Jojo was two years Jae's senior, and apparently, twice as mean. Though Jaejir wasn't always absolutely kind and gentle, he certainly knew his place among the troupe. He was polite to the elders where Jojo was rough or ignored them. He kept track of people's goods better than many, and without a real literate education that made Jaejir somewhat of a celebrity. Jojo of course had to up him there too.

So one day, when Jojo was thirteen, he plotted out a theft that would leave Jaejir holding the goods. To be fair, it was a complicated string of events that the boy had hatched up. Inventory missing from one person's goods list that wouldn't be noticed for a few days, turning up here and there in places where Jaejir was known to habit. And it almost worked too. But for the fact that Jojo was known well to be a bit of a jerk, impolite at best, and Jaejir asked for what he had, or worked for it. Plus once he had something worth having, Jaejir held on to his precious items, he'd never leave them just lying about for folks to notice.

So really, through no fault or defense of his own, Jaejir proved himself worthy to his family and the clan. While Jojo was singled out as a troublemaker.

Apparently that suited Jojo just fine...

***

"The runners are acting up," Jaejir's father said, pulling the reigns and looking around to the skies and horizon. "I wonder what's on the way. It can't be Thread, we checked at the last outpost when it's due..."

"Could their charts be out of date, father?" Jaejir asked, with a lump in his throat. What could be wrong? He didn't sense any dragons nearby, not for many miles, so if Thread did begin to fall they would be taken unprepared.

They'd been caught in it once, and only his fool brother had been out in it long enough to sustain a wound. But Jojo seemed to relish his scarred shoulder with a fierce and crazy grin. Like a battle scar, like a rank marker. That was why he wasn't out in front with their father - because Joaji didn't trust his eighteen turn old son with the runners.

The wandering clan had been headed this direction for some weeks, the terrain had been uplifted and broken by an earthquake the year before, just after they'd headed back west over it. Jaejir realized what was wrong.

"Maybe they're sensing the ground, father," he said. "We should ... I don't know what we can do. What if another quake hits this place?'

"Well it can't be a big one if it does," Joaji said, gazing around, "it's rare to have two very large ones in the same area after this much time."

Jaejir trusted his father's words, but kept his guard up. The runners weren't prancing about or being too dangerous, but they were having a hard time finding a place where the wagons could be easily moved through the landscape now!

"This route might be useless to us, now," Jaejir said, looking at the ground. It was as though a gigantic trowel had dug up a random section of ground for miles in either direction. The ground was soft, pliable, in places it had sunk down into gorges which were quite dangerous and couldn't be walked on even gently. His keen mind realized that the ground's very softness was what was making it so hard for the runners to trot. The wagons were never coming through here.

Pulling his runner up to a halt, on a little ridge nearby, Joaji looked around with a grim expression. "Well, there's no point in coming any farther east here, we've got to turn north or south."

"South had that small village, remember?" Jaejir suggested. "We were there when I was younger. I liked it there, remember the big rocks?"

His father adopted a strange, sudden concern. "Jae, we must go that way. I didn't even think of them when we felt that quake last year. They could still need help." Though it had been half a dozen years since they'd been through that area, trading runners and stories, the troupe was well-recieved there unlike in many other larger towns. "Go tell the troupe, we're headed south a bit, and toward the village. If there's anything left of it. If there is much damage like this," he waved his hand at the trundled and upturned ground, "I can't see how they'd be making their living."

Jaejir urged his steed into whatever pace she felt comfortable with, on this unsteady ground. Soon though they were out of the immediate area and the land got harder as she was used to, so he gave her full rein. Within minutes, he saw their caravan of nine wagons and two large carts, surrounded by their 'herd' of runners and other beasts of burden.

He quickly explained the situation, and just as quickly Jojo lept onto his own runner (well, he lept onto another of his mother's, because he wasn't able to tame his own) and said, "it can't be that bad, you're just making that up to come back to momma. I'm going to check it out myself. Father needs a real man to help him make a road through here."

Jaejir didn't bother protesting. Why should he? Maybe they'd get lucky and the runner would throw him - into a ditch - and come back unharmed himself. They couldn't afford to lose a runner.

They couldn't afford to lose a runner. Which he'd taken. And given how headstrong the young man was, Jaejir knew he needed to go after him. So he urged the mare back into a trot to carefully look after where his brother had bolted off to. He'd taken a route similar to the one that his father and he had, but deviated from it in ways that told Jaejir he just wasn't cut out for this kind of living.

He didn't notice rocks in the dirt, he hadn't seen a root, there was where his runner had almost tripped on a tunnelsnake hole. Reckless. And to bring that up to him, of course, Jaejir was going to have to be extremely tactful.

Or maybe not. For when he did next see his brother and the runner, they were on their sides in a patch of soft dirt that had given way. A patch that Jaejir's father had carefully pointed out was too soft to ride on for this very reason. Jaejir sat on his runner looking passively on at his brother, who took a while to notice he was there at all.

"Well help me up! This stupid beast fell into a pit!" Jojo said.

"I'm tempted to pull him out and leave you, if I could," Jaejir said. "If you'd followed the tracks that father and I made on our way out here, you'd have known not to pull him over there."

"You're just lazy and don't want to help me!" Jojo yelled. The runner was trying hard to right himself, but since Jojo insisted on being upon his back the whole time, instead of removing himself and getting free, they were both going to have a hard time.

"Get off his back, Jojo, let him right himself. You've not broken your leg I can see. Nice soft ground saved you from that."

"Soft!" Jojo sputtered. But he did try extracting himself while the runner struggled. Upon freeing himself, he immediately kicked at the runner's flank!

"Jojo!" Came a voice clear as a bell. The young man froze, it was their father. Jaejir hadn't even seen him approach, he was concentrating on his brother's predicament. "You've mistreated the runner enough. If I see you come within arms reach of another I will put you out of this clan. Do you understand me?"

Jojo spun, "father! You're going to need a strong back and good hands to help make a road through here so I thought I'd come out to-"

"I asked your brother to inform the clan," Joaji said, "that we weren't coming through here."

"I did, sir," Jaejir asserted. "He ignored me. The rest of the clan are packing up and readying their runners. It's all right."

Their father nodded. "Jojo, you can walk back to the troupe if you can find us. If you can't, ... I guess you were never part of our clan anyway."

He sped off toward the wagons, and while Jojo stood there covered in dark dirt and rubble, Jaejir collected the reins of the other runner and began trotting with him. He ignored his brother's yelling, it was the same as always. Somehow, dumb luck would assist him in getting back with the troupe. Somehow, they'd accept him again.

Why? Jaejir sighed. He didn't wish anyone ill, he wasn't like that. But his brother! He was so... infuriating! All he ever thought of was himself. It was true that he was better looking than most of the young men in the troupe. It was also true he had a good strong back and hands. But that was it - and it wasn't from their use, either, it was that he was used to posing and posturing for the girls. Doing actual work? That was almost unheard of for Jojo.

A part of Jaejir's mind drifted into wishing that maybe Jojo would get the hint, and just not come back at all.

***

They picked through the remains of the village carefully. It had clearly been vacated - not destroyed entirely, and if there had been any deaths they were taken care of already. The big rocks that Jaejir was fond of in his youth had tumbled onto what used to be a beautiful garden plot, and with it crushing the hopes of whoever lived there to harvest from it. Sadly, Joaji pointed out the route they'd taken.

"It goes far to the south, too far to be concerned with." He looked around, appraising the situation. Just about the time they had begun to dig in for a short stay, Jojo came plodding in on foot. Almost everyone ignored him, save his mother Aotah. She rushed to greet him, oblivious to the angry stares that everyone else was giving the man.

Jaejir continued to help set up the runnerbeast area. He made sure to count each and every one of their beasts - from goats to oxen and runners - and committed them to memory as best he could. For some reason, he just didn't trust that they'd all be there come morning.

And when morning came, and Jojo was gone? He had been right in worrying. Jaejir clapped at Hogan's wagon, and when the older man came to the side flap, Jaejir said simply, "my brother seems to have stolen a goat of yours, and a burro belonging to Stathas. I'm going to try getting them back by evening."

A bit stunned, Hogan nodded and went back inside.

Jaejir took his mare and checked her for any damage or weakness, and then mounted up. His father appeared at his side, holding a crossbow up to him. "Don't be afraid to use it, if you wound him we'll find a healer and make sure to get him some real help. If you kill him," he sighed, "be sure to round up the animals."

The cold part of Jaejir's mind had to overtake everything else. Though he was not intending to kill or even try to injure his brother, he knew: if Jojo had stolen weapons too, which Jaejir hadn't inventoried, it might very well be a fight for life and death.

With the morning sun at his side, Jaejir headed north following the easy trail that his brother left. He'd apparently hurt his foot while walking behind the caravan, because his tracks were heavy on one side as he favored the other. The goat hadn't gone willingly - there were signs that Jojo had to run after it several times. But by midday, following an injured man practically carrying a goat, and tugging a burro behind him, Jaejir found his quarry.

Yelling at the burro, clearly frustrated. Jojo didn't notice his brother coming up over the slight rise. Faintly bemused, Jaejir chuckled. He noticed as well that there were no obvious weapons dangling from his brother's belt loops.

"Jojo, why don't we come back to the camp. There's enough room for you if you want it."

Fiercely red, black hair tussled and dirty, Jojo screamed back, "to hell with you! I know when I'm not wanted!"

"Then I've got to ask you to let the goat and burro come back with me, their owners want them back."

Sputtering, Jojo fumed. "Owners? We don't own anything, not even the land we walk on! These animals are as much mine as yours as theirs!"

"Only if you're part of the troupe, Jojo," Jaejir warned. "If you run away with them you're stealing from us all, then. You'll have the whole clan on your trail soon enough, if I don't come back with you or the animals."

Apparently this meant little or nothing to the young man. He threw a rock at the burro, pulled on the leash he'd made from his own rope belt placed around the goat's neck, and began walking north.

For a moment, Jaejir wasn't sure what to do. His father knew that there might be violence, but perhaps not this. Jaejir was not an inherantly violent young man. He could not even concieve of pulling the crossbow and shooting at his brother as he walked away.

Fortunately, even though he was at a loss as to what could be done, the situation would remedy itself quickly.

For over head, Jaejir felt the distinct and thrilling presence of a wing of dragons.

***

"So you would have just let him walk off?" Joaji asked. He wasn't being harsh, but Jaejir knew he was being judged. "Knowing that the animals were vital to our troupe."

"I... wasn't sure what I could do, father. I didn't have to decide. I'm ... I'm glad I didn't decide wrong and regret it." Jaejir said, quietly but proudly.

His father tilted his head, at first looking like he was going to be angry. But then his expression softened. "I could never ask you to kill an unarmed opponent, let alone your brother. We'll take care of him now. You have better things to worry about now."

Jojo would be furious, when he awoke. He'd actually just passed out, falling down a little gulley just as the dragons flew overhead.

They'd been on their way east, not even quite close to this area. But in a moment of inspiration and desperation, Jaejir decided to turn his ability to hear into the first projected thoughts of his life. He begged simply for some aid in a moment of deep need. The dragons heard him clearly - if he was able to cast his mind into theirs at all was an achievement. But to do so to three distant dragons? Curiosity if nothing else spurred the dragons into a dive.

Two of the wing continued on, while a bronze and two blues remained. One of them, Varmath, bespoke with a charmingly amused tone into Jaejir's mind. You are far from civilization, human! Should we drop you off somewhere?

He'd replied with the situation, and the other blue, Borsteth, collected his brother, the goat as well as the burro (which tried to flee) while the others were still speaking. H'aeny the rider of bronze Rath appraised the young wanderer, and between he and the other riders, via their dragons, wondered what to do with him.

"You know I can hear you," Jaejir said with a grin. "Well, your dragons' side of that."

"Even when it's private?" Asked F'nek, the younger blue rider. "Amazing!"

"Such strength of mind should be rewarded," said the older, bald blue rider. "We should."

While the other two nodded, Jaejir hadn't quite caught on. "Should, should.... what?" Then his eyes had grown wide. They welcomed the riders into the caravan area, thanking them for the timely return of their goods - and congratulated Jaejir on his Search.

"It's about sharding time," said Aojah, Jaejir's sister. "He's been on about dragons all his bloody life."

"How would you know?" Jaejir said, stunned. "You're never even around me!"

She rolled her eyes. "Do you think you've the only talent of our family? Hmm?" She winked, kissed him on the cheek, and sprang away before he could say any more.

***

"Now I can't say for sure, because that'd be the weyrleader's call," Gr'krrs said, the eldest of the riders and a starcrafter to boot, "but I'd say others who've been in your position have been allowed leave before. Even shelter, if they need it. We've got nothing against gypsies in our Weyr."

"And it's a good thing," H'aeny said with a froggy grin, "because I was a wanderer too!"

"And ... you ride a bronze now!" Jaejir said, looking at the large long-necked bronze. "That's ... encouraging!"

"Do you know how to read?" Asked F'nek, and Jaejir's expression told him everything he needed to know. "It's all right, we've got excellent teachers at our weyr. You'll be able to read quickly, and learning to write is easy after a while. You'll have help, it's all good."

"I know some numbers," said Jaejir.

"I daresay you must," Gr'krrs said. "In your clan it's a must, isn't it?"

Nodding, "it is, sir. I'm ... I'm very honored by this Search! I can't believe it!"

"Well believe it," the older man replied. "We'll have you on the sands somewhere as soon as we can, after a bit of training at the weyr. How does that sound?"

"It sounds wonderful," Jaejir said with a big grin. He'd have to say good bye to his clan, but he'd be back. He most assuredly would be back to show off!

And showing off was about the only thing he could do.... Jaejir, now known as J'ir, was the proudly Impressed rider of bronze Akitoth! When he got to Dragonhope, the dragons there were almost overwhelming in their mental voices. The Weyrleader had several talented members of his family help with getting that down to a low rumble that Jaejir could all but ignore.

However when he got to Tripaldi, those voices... they weren't big bold adults, or feisty weyrlings. They were unhatched, half-formed, but learning every moment. When the candidates were led several times to the egg sands, the voices chorused to Jaejir - they were hot, cramped, confused... They would need guidance.

So when the hatching finally arrived several weeks later, Jaejir's mind was blissful when the particular soft yet confident sound of his own dragon's mind came to his own.

I am for you, Akitoth bespoke fresh out of the shell. I am ... hungry!

I'd kind of like to see the rest of the hatchings, J'ir told the dragonet. But Akitoth strutted away - he smelled the meat, he knew what it meant already!

Light colored bronze Akitoth was nowhere near as large as the other bronze, Z'an's Torsyth. But he made up for that by being fast in the air - at least, without a rider... So when they had to put a riding harness on, Akitoth had to concentrate on not breaking his rider's neck with his twisty turns!

"That's sharding impressive," said one of the Weyrling master's assistants, "he turns like a green, you don't see that often in a dragon that size."

"It's his dainty paws," J'ir laughed, "he's light on his feet too, he knows how to swish his tail around."

J'ir and Akitoth were side by side with Z'an and his bronze - and behind the lovely dark golden Sayaith and her Master Scribe rider Aniz, on the way back to Dragonhope. They were followed by two greens and the dark blue that had also impressed Dragonhope candidates. The bronzes complimented one another nicely, one lean and one strong, light and dark.

So it was no real surprise that Z'an and his bronze, along with J'ir and Akitoth were chosen as new Wing Seconds to replace the retiring pair that had seen enough battle to last a lifetime. S'xon and his Wing Third D'nih conferred with the pair and would give them the spots provided they could continue earning the honor.

There was never any doubt in J'ir's mind that he wanted to keep the role. His family would be mighty proud! With that in mind, he traveled to the plains where his clan was often camped. They were a bit closer to the Weyr now, and when they saw a bright dragon circling overhead their burden beasts scattered.

J'ir ran to his father and family, and they all asked questions in rapid succession about his new life. Eventually talk turned to his rank in the Weyr, and Jaejir never saw his father look more proud.

When the night came and the bronze had fallen to sleep on the warm desert-like grounds surrounded by still-curious children and adults alike, J'ir confided in his father yet again with his worries.

"I don't know what might happen if there's ... if something unexpected comes up. In Threadfall. I mean... Wing Second, that's a big job, and if I screw up, people's lives are at stake."

"People's lives were at stake here too, remember?" His father said, placing his work-worn hand on his son's shoulder. "But I think you might just do what's best, what you did before."

"Listen to the dragons," J'ir chuckled. "All right, that sounds like a good plan."