J'hu

Dawn Sisters Weyr
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Jerahu had just finished feeding Last Hope, and was washing his hands when he heard the Senior Queen's brassy bugle echo around the Weyr. Somehow he knew that the Hatching was starting--possibly becasue the dragons had just started to hum. Jerahu careened out of the weyr and down to the Hatching Grounds, almost crashing into the corridor walls.

Jerahu watched, wide-eyed, as several of the dragonets Impressed. He craned his neck over to watch the young dragon leave the Sands, smiling at their awkward progress.

His attention was drawn away just then by the cracking of two more eggs. A sturdy brown and his light green sister kicked off the remains of their shells and moved for the Candidates. Jerahu saw the brown stare at one of the other boys momentarily.

Then the hatchling was running towards him, and rubbed a damp brown head against his leg. Jerahu smiled brilliantly and began to cry in joy, much to his embarrassment. "He says his name is Charibdith!" he announced in a ringing voice, his chest swelling with pride. Charibdith trilled. I'm hungry!

"Isn't Charibdith rather small for a brown?" J'hu gritted his teeth at the memory. He hated it when the less charitable riders remarked on his dragon's size.

Am I too small? Are you disappointed in me? I'm sorry, I'll try to grow more, you'll see! Charibdith crooned apologetically as he sprawled on the weyrling couch. J'hu threw his arms around his dragon. "You know I'll never be disappointed in you, Char! You're just the right size, too. You're the greatest brown in the whole world, better than those big clumsy ones! And I love you!" he murmured fiercely into the brown neck. So what if Charibdith wasn't much bigger than a blue of his own age? That didn't prove anything. And besides, he had the most perfect conformation of all the other browns in the clutch. His dragon could outdo the best of them!

Charibdith crooned lovingly again, half-rising from the couch and rubbing his head against his rider's arm affectionately. I love you too, rider mine!

J'hu leaned against his brown's warm neck, taking a deep breath of Charibdith's spicy, musky dragon scent. The dragon rumbled affectionately, lowering his great head so that one faceted eye was level with his rider's. J'hu laughed up into the whirling blueness and patted Charibdith's soft nose. No one could make fun of his dragon's size now! Charibdith had started growing later than his clutchmates, but boy had he shown them! The brown was now a match for any bronze in size, except for Branth of course. He'd kept his fine conformation fairly well, though now his legs seemed a trifle too long for the rest of his lean, earth-colored body. Charibdith was better than any ratty old bronze!

I am not bronze, my rider, I am brown. Charibdith told J'hu, and whuffed softly into his rider's face. Suddenly his wedge-head jerked up, the jewel-like eyes focusing on the Feeding Grounds below them, in the Weyrbowl. "What is it, Chari?" J'hu asked, following his brown's gaze. It is Persepith! She is the most beautiful gold you have ever seen, is she not? Charibdith replied dreamily, if dragons can sound dreamy. He always used perfectly formal language, a quality that his rider found amusing. "She's a pretty dragon, I know. Kaelay was always nice to me when we were Candidates. Why?" J'hu mused thoughtfully, arching one eyebrow at his dragon.

Kaelay is as lovely as her bondmate. No other dragon shall fly Persepith but me! She is my queen and will be my mate! Charibdith's voice grew fierce, and he bugled one long, clear note. J'hu just stared at him, speechless. "But you're--but you're a brown, Chari! Surely there will be bronzes who want to fly her?" the rider stammered, blinking bemusedly at the brown. It matters not that I am a brown. You said yourself that I can rival any bronze, and so I will! Charibdith retorted in a tone that brooked no arguments.

J'hu....she will rise soon. I am to blood now! Charibdith warned his rider, spreading his wings and gliding down to the Feeding Grounds. Persepith glowed brightly as she slumbered restlessly on a sunny ledge.

J'hu excused himself from the Dining Caverns and hurried outside to be with his dragon. Charibdith had finished blooding and was waiting patiently among the other bronzes and browns. J'hu swallowed nervously and looked towards Persepith's weyr. Some of those bronzes were pretty big...Do not worry, J'hu. They are no match for me. Charibdith reassured him calmly.

The rider had no chance to reply, as Persepith's eyes snapped open and whirled red. The golden dragon growled as the other queens disappeared between, and leaped down to the herdbeast pens in one fluid motion. She seized one of the terrified animals and opened her jaws. Abruptly Persepith shrieked in defiance as Kaelay commanded her not to gorge. Whipping her huge head around, the young queen hissed in the direction of her weyr before latching greedily to the throat of the buck. Persepith pounced again, bringing down her quarry with a swipe of her talons. Again she screamed protest of her rider's orders, but obediently drained the beast of blood.

Twice more the golden female fought and lost a mental battle with her lifemate. Throwing her last kill aside, Persepith shrilled contemptuously at the waiting bronzes and browns before springing into the air. In a flurry of wings, the males were after her, jostling eachother in their haste. J'hu found himself in Kaelay's weyr, with the other male riders surrounding the young woman, held in thrall with their dragons.

Charibdith let himself stay behind the main pack of bronzes and browns, content to bide his time. Despite the unruffled reassurance he had given his rider, the brown knew he was up against some fine strong beasts...There! One of the smaller browns had dropped out already. Charibdith banked upwards, above the other dragons. Therefore he spotted Persepith's sudden plunge first, and stayed where he was.

Soon the gold came hurtling back up, behind her pursuers. Luckily Charibdith had remained in the back; else he would never have caught up. Several other males were not so fortunate--he saw three bronzes and the last two browns leaving. That left him and four of the biggest bronzes. Charibdith started increasing his speed, bit by bit, so that his competitors didn't notice. They most likely had dismissed him, a mere brown.

Charibdith banked sharply right as Persepith went shooting past. The brown was above her in the blink of an eye. He twined his neck sensuously with hers, his brown tail wrapping around Persepith's golden one.

She struggled, of course, hissing furiously at him and raking at him with her claws. Charibdith crooned softly, and the queen evidently decided he was worthy of her, and stopped writhing in his grasp. She trilled sweetly back at her captor. They drifted slowly down towards the Weyr, wings outspread.