Starship Cherry Cream

Sean and Shawn fly to Cincanta Weyr!

"Do you think we need to bring the music?" Shawn asked, holding up a chip which contained half their collection of blues.

"Well, we've got our battery packs, why not?" Sean replied, packing away another set of clothing. "We're going to be gone a while... I wonder how it's going to be, being apart from the guys this long."

Shawn nodded, and put the chip and several others like it into a soft package which would protect it from any magnetic or elemental sources. "Weird, yeah. It's been so long."

"We've only been on board four years, sis," Sean laughed. "But it's going to be a big change. We won't be using ship board computers and stuff..."

"Well, it can't be that bad," Shawn said, "if the people of this planet live this way. It's not all that hard, is it?"

"At least there's indoor plumbing..." Sean muttered.

"It won't be like going into the freaking stone age, Sean!" Shawn laughed harder. "Now come on, I'm done packing, and Woodstock needs us up front. We've got to escort the others to their places."

Eventually the group dwindled down to a couple pairs of Cherry Cream officers, and Woodstock told them they'd be best off being dropped off while they could. Otherwise, they might stay on.

When they got to the planet, and Woodstock guided the ship into its "small" size format and down between mountains, they got their first look at this Weyr called Cincanta. It was fantastic, even more beautiful than its images suggested.

And the dragons flying in the skies were amazing. Strong winged and bodied, with long tails and lovely bright skin. Shawn and Sean were convinced more than ever that this place was for them.

They were dropped off near the bottom of the Weyr's bowl, where they were greeted by some of the local folks. Brought up into the weyr's lowest caverns, where the kitchen staff and non-riding folks stayed, then through the higher caverns and hallways, the pair looked on in wonder.

"Did you ever think we'd be doing this?" Shawn whispered, as they looked at the trio of dragons conversing with their riders on one of the inner ledges overlooking the bowl.

"Not in my wildest, sis." Sean muttered back. "But here we are and I love it. I wonder when we can meet the leaders and ask about standing?"

"You're looking at them," said a woman who had apparently been overhearing their conversation. She approached with a friendly smile, "Actually I'm the weyrwoman Second, but our Weyrwoman is out for the moment. Please, come up near our dragons, they'd like to see you."

Amazed, the twins walked behind the weyrwoman and looked at the dragons. They were large, tall and so real!

One of them began sniffing at the pair, a big brown. The dragon turned to one of the men standing around and he approached. "Well, I guess that letter we got was right - we were expecting you. And I think we should make some room in the weyrling barracks for you."

"The clutch has yet to hatch, silly," said the other rider, whose green rested quietly nearby. "But we've got some room. I'll go show them." She helped drag their bags to the weyrling barracks and helped the twins settle.

"Now, you're going to need to be studying all this information..." The green rider unloaded a chart of dragon anatomy, a book with flight gear and tactics, and other things. "You probably won't be needing these," she looked over the threadfall charts, "since I know you're going to be leaving us when your bonds are grown."

"Wow, you said when," Shawn said, awed, "not if..."

"Well there is always a chance that you won't bond at the first clutch - but there will be another soon enough after it." She said, punctuating it with a nod.

With a little relief Shawn started looking at the books. The green rider left them to their devices. "Dinner will be soon, you've been shown through the dining halls, right?"

"We have," Sean said, "and besides, we're pilots! We can find it!" He grinned widely.

"Then you'll do great." She said, and shut the door behind her.

***

Over the next few days, and weeks, the pair studied the dragon chart, got to see some of the dragons in the infirmary, helped talk about tactics and speeds of attack - their piloting skills would come in handy for that! Even if they were not considered for fighting training, they certainly did know how to get a bunch of students interested in how to fly in formation.

They got the class to run around down on the ground with far more enthusiasm than the weyrling master could get them to do. Even the dragons watching above started to flutter a little, knowing their drills by heart and seeing them in action by the two-footers down on the ground seemed to get them excited too.

Spending their days working with the other candidates and young weyrbrats seemed to be something they really liked, too. The twins had a way with younger kids, being from a big family had something to do with that.

Eventually... The eggs would hatch. But they were having so much fun, the pair might not even notice!

They did notice when the rock hard eggs began to tremble. Their mother was apt to tell everyone to get into their robes, long before they really began to hatch. But they were ready and that's what counted.

The group of bonders all gathered quickly, and the queen with her attendant Alskyran mate (who welcomed them graciously) looked proudly on as the eggs began to shatter. The first of the clutch came out and bonded.

Then a pair of happy looking dragonets broke shell. One a green, the other blue. They were both almost the same size, which made the green big, the blue smallish. They strode over to their new bonds - Shawn chosen by the green, Sean by the blue.

Do you think we will fit in? Asked the blue. His green sister seemed to be asking the same question of Shawn.

"You'll be a great addition to the crew, Pitoth," Sean grinned, and looked over to his sister.

"Aelironth says that she can't wait," Shawn returned. "Cincanta was a good decision." At the final remark, both of the hatchlings grinned happily and shot off towards where the tables of food had been set up.

Because they had studied and re-read everything so many times, it was almost like the classes they all had to attend were repeated for the twins. They learned now what it was like to communicate with only their minds, how it felt to have an itch coming from a dragon's skin. Why it was important to keep that skin soft and moist with oils - because the itching (Sean discovered after a day he'd forgotten his scrubbing duties) was almost unbearable for both dragon and rider!

I am compelled to look up, Aelironth bespoke to Shawn. What is that thing in the sky?

"Oh that!" Shawn exclaimed happily, "that's the big ship, Caledrus. They're just waiting for you to get a little older."

Sean nodded in agreement. "Then we've got to get you both up into the ship. You'll like where we can go in the ship!"

Pitoth crooned happily, and Aelironth echoed him sweetly.

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NEXT!