McShep Fic: Flying In the Face Of Tradition
Fandom SGA crossover with Dragonriders of Pern
Pairing McKay/Sheppard
Rating NC17 (unless you think I could get away with R?)
Word count: 2932
Disclaimer. Sadly none of these guys are mine.
Lots of thanks to my beta for checking this. All remaining mistakes are my own.
Summary
A flu epidemic that sweeps Pern leaves the Weyrs short of dragons and riders. Bronze rider J'hon is sent to search for candidates for a hatching at Benden Weyr, and finds Harper Rodney.........
Notes
This is a plot bunny that has been running round in my head since I posted Catch Me As I Fall, but it's not a sequel to the other story.
In honor of Author Anne McCaffrey, who passed away at the beginning of the week:
http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/11/anne-mccaffrey-april-1-1926-november-21-2011.html
Harper Rodney sat at the top of the cliff overlooking the Dragon Stones and watched the fire lizards as they played. It had been a busy day in the Half Circle Sea Hold and Rodney was grateful for this rare moment of peace. His morning had been spent teaching the hold children their traditional teaching songs, and in the afternoon he had been drafted to gut and clean fish from the morning catch. There had been Threadfall over the Nerat coast line at dawn and the fishermen had launched their boats as soon as it had passed, to catch the shoals of fish that had risen to feed on drowned thread.
This was not the life Rodney would have chosen for himself, teaching children, gutting fish and entertaining the Sea Holders with folk songs in one of the most remote places on Pern. However, he had found some measure of happiness at Half Circle. Life here at the edge of the world was not easy, but the sea holders respected him, both for his musical skill and his tendency to speak his mind. He wondered briefly if he would still have that respect if the tradition bound fishermen knew why the Master Harper had sent him here.
Rodney's mistake had been to fall head over heals in love with Lord Cameron, the oldest son of Lord Landry of Southern Boll. Rodney had been celebrating his promotion to Journeyman Harper at the Fort Hold gather when the handsome young Lord had introduced himself. Cameron had been very persistent in his courtship and Rodney had eventually given in, despite his misgivings. Unfortunately, Lord Landry had arranged a marriage for Cameron with Lady Samantha of Fort Hold, and Rodney was an unfortunate complication. To avoid a scandal, Landry had convinced the Master Harper to banish Rodney as far away from Fort and Southern Boll as possible.
Deep in thought as he was, Rodney didn't notice the approach of dragons until they swept right over him, blocking out the sunlight. He looked up with surprise to see a large bronze dragon and two smaller browns heading towards the Sea Hold. He scrambled to stand up and started to run along the cliff path, back the way he had come. Dragons rarely visited the Sea Hold, yet alone a bronze, so it was quite likely that the Sea Holder would be calling for his Harper sooner rather than later.
Bronze Rider J'hon of the Benden Weyr was not impressed by the standards of hospitality at Half Circle Sea Hold. Sea Holder Hammond had invited J'hon and his wing seconds, Brown Riders R'non and E'van, to take refreshments in the great hall. He pretended to listen politely as Hammond discussed the morning's Threadfall with E'van, nodding and smiling when it appeared to be required. R'non was busy tucking into the simple lunch the holder had provided. There was dark rye bread, some sort of sliced cheese, a bowl of locally grown fruits and the inevitable fish pie. He took a bite of pie and tried not to grimace. He was heartily sick of the taste of fish, but Half Circle always tithed generously to the Weyr, so it was on the menu more often than J'hon would have liked. R'non grinned at him and poured some more wine into his glass. Sadly, the wine was not one of the Benden vintages, but at least it masked the taste of fish.
“Why did we agree to stop here when we could be back in our own Weyr?” John asked, speaking through the telepathic link that was part of the bond between rider and dragon.
“You know why,” Pegasus reminded him. “We are here on Search.”
Weyrleader O'Niell had sent them to the Sea Hold in a desperate attempt to try and find potential new riders for the dragon eggs that were hardening on the Hatching Ground at Benden Weyr. The population of Pern had been decimated by a flu epidemic, and even the dragonriders had been affected. There were currently only twenty five young people to present as candidates for the thirty two eggs, and no young women with the strong empathic ability required for the rider of a queen dragon. The Weyrs were currently at half strength, with only three older queen dragons to help them repopulate, in the middle of the harshest Threadfall in recorded history. Isolated Holds like Half Circle had managed to escape the sickness people were referring to as “the great plague”, which made them the best places to go on Search.
J'hon was convinced that the trip to Half Circle would turn out to be a waste of everyone's time. He let his mind drift back to his last search, and the pretty young thing from Lemos Hall who had shared his Weyr for a while.
“He's arrived.” Pegasus announced, startling J'hon out of his daydreaming.
“Who has?” he asked, curiously.
“The Harper, of course. I mentioned him earlier.”
“Oh right, the kid on the cliffs. Why was he important?” J'hon asked.
“We are sure he has the Ability.” Pegasus explained, patiently. “Pay attention, you might actually like this one!”
Just then, the hall doors burst open, and a very pretty young man rushed in, looking breathless and just a little bit rumpled. He had clearly just thrown on his official Harper tunic, since the blue fabric looked creased from being thrown over the back of a chair. His blond wavy hair was damp and tangled, and his face was slightly pink from running. J'hon noticed all of this in passing, but his attention was drawn to the young man's intelligent blue eyes.
It had been a day of surprises for Rodney, and he hadn't decided yet if that was a good thing. As a Harper, he had always been taught to be polite to dragons, to greet them in a friendly manner, but they were not supposed to answer back. Apparently, nobody had told the dragons that. On his way back to the hold his path had taken him past the ridge where the dragons had perched. When he had stopped to welcome them to the hold, the dragons had shocked him by replying, the words turning up in his head like his own thoughts. Then the handsome dragonrider with the messy dark hair had looked at him like the last berry pie on Gather day. Rodney had heard some pretty crazy stories about dragons eating people, but was pretty sure that a dragonrider should not want to devour him.
Rodney had always had a hearty appetite, and he was especially fond of the yellowfish pie that the cooks had produced for the honored guests but this this evening he picked at his food, distracted by his thoughts. He only spoke when the Sea Holder asked his opinion concerning the Threadfall or the repairs to one of the fishing boats. This earned Rodney some strange looks from Holder Hammond, who was used to his mouth running away with the conversation. Rodney wanted to blurt out that the dragons had spoken to him but he was not sure if it would be a good idea, or even if anyone would believe him.
Every time Rodney looked up from his food, the bronze dragonrider who had been introduced as J’hon seemed to be looked in his direction, with a speculative look on his face. Those looks were making Rodney feel nervous, because the messy haired dragonrider was exactly the sort of man Rodney was attracted to, but he knew that it would be far to risky to act on that attraction.
As soon as he could, Rodney escaped to the music room, where he could try to calm his nerves by practicing his guitar chords. He was too shaken to even consider touching the ancient harp in the corner of the room. He couldn't be in the same room as J'hon, knowing the man wanted him in a way that would almost certainly get him banished to somewhere a lot worse than Half Circle Sea Hold, maybe the High Reaches.
Rodney picked up his favorite guitar, and strummed the opening chords of a simple folk song. As he played, he realized that he could hear the faint hum of the dragons in his head - it sounded like they were singing along with him.
“I like this tune.” Sateda interrupted, startling Rodney. “Will you play it for us when you come to Benden?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, trying not to sound worried.
“We want you to come back with us, for the hatching.” Pegasus explained. “We think you should be a dragonrider.”
“Oh, no, no way!” Rodney exclaimed. “I'm sure I would make a really horrible dragonrider. I'd be terrified of falling off, or getting hurt during a Threadfall.”
“We know that you're braver than you think.” Parrish tried to reassure him.
“Besides, you can hear us all.” Pegasus pointed out, with a smug tone to his voice. “That means you belong in a weyr.”
Of course, Rodney couldn't hide away for ever. Sea Holder Hammond had important visitors, who would expect to be entertained. Rodney picked up his guitar, and set off for the great hall. When he arrived, the room was already crowded, and two of the younger fishermen were tapping out a dance beat on the drums. The crowd spotted Rodney and started to call out requests for their favorite songs, mainly tunes the sea holders could dance to. As Rodney began the first tune, he noticed that the two brown riders were dragged onto the dance floor by some of the younger women, but J'hon turned them down politely. Rodney thought it was odd that the handsome dragonrider would choose not to dance, but did not think about it any further until he realized that the bronze rider had wandered over towards the stage and was watching him play. The man was leaning lazily against a pillar, and his hip was canted out in a decidedly provocative way, showing a flash of bare flesh where his shirt had ridden up. Rodney's fingers stumbled on the strings of the guitar, but he quickly corrected the mistake, trying his best to calm his racing heart.
Rodney found it difficult to concentrate, knowing that he was being watched so intently by J'hon. He was relieved when the other man decided to leave, possibly to attend to the needs of his dragon. The sea holders demanded several more dance songs, but eventually, people grew tired and made their way to their beds. Rodney sighed with relief and headed back to his room. He opened his door, only to gasp with shock when he saw J'hon stretched out on his bed. The man had removed his boots and his jacket, and his soft black hair looked even more tousled than usual. Rodney stood frozen in shock as he watched the dragonrider untie his pants and pull out cock, stroking it sensually with a blissed out expression on his face.
“You going to shut the door?” he asked, his voice husky with want.
This seemed to shock Rodney into action.
“No, no, no, this is not happening again. Get the shell out of my room before someone sees you here. I don't want to get sent to the High Reaches this time.”
“This time?” J'hon smirked, wickedly. “I do like a man with experience.”
“Well that's tough, because you're leaving right now, fly-boy.” Rodney insisted.
“Relax, Rodney. Sea Holder Hammond won't be sending you anywhere, not if I take you back to the Weyr.”
“So that's what this is all about? You want me to come back with you for the hatching?” Rodney asked, trying not to feel slightly hurt.
“Actually, I was just thinking of all the really hot sex we could have, “ J'hon said, stroking his cock again. It was fully hard now, red and throbbing in J'hon's hand. He arched his back and closed his eyes, basking in the pleasure of it.
“Oh shards, that's so hot.” Rodney groaned, his eyes unable to leave J’hon’s hard cock.
“So come here already,” J'hon said. “Wanna be top or bottom?”
Weyrleader O'Niell was decidedly unhappy with his wayward son.
“Shells J'hon, why couldn't you think with your head instead of your hormones for once?” he asked, sighing in exasperation. “You were supposed to find a young woman for the queen egg, not another pretty boy to share your weyr.”
“But Father...” John tried to interrupt.
“If you have to buck tradition and take a male lover, why can't you just settle down with a green rider?” O'Niell continued with his rant.
“Rodney can hear all the dragons,” J'hon blurted.
“Seriously?” O'Niell asked, one eyebrow raised. “Why didn't you say so?”
“I was trying to, but you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise,” J'hon muttered to himself.
“I'd like to meet this young man of yours. Bring him to my weyr after supper.”
“Yes father.” J'hon sighed. At least he had a couple more hours he could spend alone with his new lover.
Rodney climbed carefully down from his perch on Pegasus neck and took his place in the circle of young men gathered around the dragon eggs. The sand of the hatching ground was hot under his bare feet, and the traditional white gown of a hatching candidate hung loosely from his shoulders. There were thirty five young men and boys gathered together, hoping to become partner to a newly hatched dragon. The youngest was only twelve years old, and Rodney was the oldest at twenty two. He glanced briefly at the five young women huddled together near the queen egg. Rodney had a small side bet going with E'van that Vala, the smith's daughter from Telgar Hold, would impress the queen. E'van was betting on Katy, the pretty red headed farmer's daughter from Nerat. She had the strongest telepathic ability of the bunch, but Rodney was certain that the dragonet would prefer the more spirited Vala.
There was the sound of a shell cracking, and Rodney tried to contain his nervousness. Ever since his ability had been discovered, the dragonriders had been convinced that he would impress a bronze. The ability to hear all dragons was extremely rare, and all the previous holders of the ability had been queen riders. Since arriving at Benden, Rodney had already been asked to help coordinate a Threadfall. The general consensus was that he would make an ideal wingleader, or even a Weyrleader one day.
The first dragonet split it's shell and tumbled onto the warm sand. The tiny green dragon shook out her damp wings and stumbled away from her shell. Some of the candidates stepped forward, hopefully, but she seemed determined to walk away from them, towards the small huddle of girls. The dragonet tripped over her wing, but quick thinking Vala rushed forward before she could seriously hurt herself. Vala stared into the jeweled eyes of the green, and first Impression was made. Rodney could hear the rumble of discontented muttering from the stands around the hatching ground, and wondered if it was because Vala didn't Impress the queen, or because a woman had been chosen by a fighting dragon. He personally thought that the feisty smith's daughter would make a good companion for a green, although he wasn't going to enjoy loosing his bet if Katy Impressed.
The crowd were distracted by the sound of another shell cracking, this time a brown. As if a dam had burst, the hatching began in earnest now. Rodney was intent on catching the attention of a tiny bronze, so he almost didn't hear the shriek of fear coming from one of the girls. He looked over to see Katy frozen in fear as a gold dragonet stumbled towards her.
“Oh, for goodness sakes,” he muttered, rushing over to grab the frightened woman and pull her out of the way, before the dragonet could knock her over. “Don't you have any sense at all, you stupid woman?”
Rodney's harsh words seemed to have shaken Katy to her senses, and she stood up straighter, ready to approach the gold dragonet. However the willful dragon child had other ideas, for she had stopped next to Rodney and was butting his leg hopefully with her head. Without conscious thought, he reached out to scratch behind the prominent eye ridge, which he instinctively realized was itching.
“Thank you, that's much better.” Rodney heard a light female voice in his head.
“You're welcome” he answered the tiny queen.
“My name is Meredith, and you are my rider.” she told him decisively.
“No, no, no, that's not possible.” Rodney told her nervously. “You're supposed to pick one of the women.”
“You want me to choose one of those idiots?” the young queen asked, incredulously. “You are the only person here worthy, you have to be my rider. Unless you don't want me?” she added with such sadness that it pulled at Rodney’s heartstrings.
Rodney was quick to reassure the young dragonet that she was the most beautiful dragon he had ever seen, and of course he would be honored to be her rider. He ruthlessly suppressed his concern about how the rest of Pern and especially the Lord Holders would react. At the end of the day, you could not argue with a dragon's choice, even if that flew in the face of tradition. Anyone who was not happy with a male rider for a queen dragon would just have to learn to live with it.
Pairing McKay/Sheppard
Rating NC17 (unless you think I could get away with R?)
Word count: 2932
Disclaimer. Sadly none of these guys are mine.
Lots of thanks to my beta for checking this. All remaining mistakes are my own.
Summary
A flu epidemic that sweeps Pern leaves the Weyrs short of dragons and riders. Bronze rider J'hon is sent to search for candidates for a hatching at Benden Weyr, and finds Harper Rodney.........
Notes
This is a plot bunny that has been running round in my head since I posted Catch Me As I Fall, but it's not a sequel to the other story.
In honor of Author Anne McCaffrey, who passed away at the beginning of the week:
http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/2011/11/anne-mccaffrey-april-1-1926-november-21-2011.html
Harper Rodney sat at the top of the cliff overlooking the Dragon Stones and watched the fire lizards as they played. It had been a busy day in the Half Circle Sea Hold and Rodney was grateful for this rare moment of peace. His morning had been spent teaching the hold children their traditional teaching songs, and in the afternoon he had been drafted to gut and clean fish from the morning catch. There had been Threadfall over the Nerat coast line at dawn and the fishermen had launched their boats as soon as it had passed, to catch the shoals of fish that had risen to feed on drowned thread.
This was not the life Rodney would have chosen for himself, teaching children, gutting fish and entertaining the Sea Holders with folk songs in one of the most remote places on Pern. However, he had found some measure of happiness at Half Circle. Life here at the edge of the world was not easy, but the sea holders respected him, both for his musical skill and his tendency to speak his mind. He wondered briefly if he would still have that respect if the tradition bound fishermen knew why the Master Harper had sent him here.
Rodney's mistake had been to fall head over heals in love with Lord Cameron, the oldest son of Lord Landry of Southern Boll. Rodney had been celebrating his promotion to Journeyman Harper at the Fort Hold gather when the handsome young Lord had introduced himself. Cameron had been very persistent in his courtship and Rodney had eventually given in, despite his misgivings. Unfortunately, Lord Landry had arranged a marriage for Cameron with Lady Samantha of Fort Hold, and Rodney was an unfortunate complication. To avoid a scandal, Landry had convinced the Master Harper to banish Rodney as far away from Fort and Southern Boll as possible.
Deep in thought as he was, Rodney didn't notice the approach of dragons until they swept right over him, blocking out the sunlight. He looked up with surprise to see a large bronze dragon and two smaller browns heading towards the Sea Hold. He scrambled to stand up and started to run along the cliff path, back the way he had come. Dragons rarely visited the Sea Hold, yet alone a bronze, so it was quite likely that the Sea Holder would be calling for his Harper sooner rather than later.
Bronze Rider J'hon of the Benden Weyr was not impressed by the standards of hospitality at Half Circle Sea Hold. Sea Holder Hammond had invited J'hon and his wing seconds, Brown Riders R'non and E'van, to take refreshments in the great hall. He pretended to listen politely as Hammond discussed the morning's Threadfall with E'van, nodding and smiling when it appeared to be required. R'non was busy tucking into the simple lunch the holder had provided. There was dark rye bread, some sort of sliced cheese, a bowl of locally grown fruits and the inevitable fish pie. He took a bite of pie and tried not to grimace. He was heartily sick of the taste of fish, but Half Circle always tithed generously to the Weyr, so it was on the menu more often than J'hon would have liked. R'non grinned at him and poured some more wine into his glass. Sadly, the wine was not one of the Benden vintages, but at least it masked the taste of fish.
“Why did we agree to stop here when we could be back in our own Weyr?” John asked, speaking through the telepathic link that was part of the bond between rider and dragon.
“You know why,” Pegasus reminded him. “We are here on Search.”
Weyrleader O'Niell had sent them to the Sea Hold in a desperate attempt to try and find potential new riders for the dragon eggs that were hardening on the Hatching Ground at Benden Weyr. The population of Pern had been decimated by a flu epidemic, and even the dragonriders had been affected. There were currently only twenty five young people to present as candidates for the thirty two eggs, and no young women with the strong empathic ability required for the rider of a queen dragon. The Weyrs were currently at half strength, with only three older queen dragons to help them repopulate, in the middle of the harshest Threadfall in recorded history. Isolated Holds like Half Circle had managed to escape the sickness people were referring to as “the great plague”, which made them the best places to go on Search.
J'hon was convinced that the trip to Half Circle would turn out to be a waste of everyone's time. He let his mind drift back to his last search, and the pretty young thing from Lemos Hall who had shared his Weyr for a while.
“He's arrived.” Pegasus announced, startling J'hon out of his daydreaming.
“Who has?” he asked, curiously.
“The Harper, of course. I mentioned him earlier.”
“Oh right, the kid on the cliffs. Why was he important?” J'hon asked.
“We are sure he has the Ability.” Pegasus explained, patiently. “Pay attention, you might actually like this one!”
Just then, the hall doors burst open, and a very pretty young man rushed in, looking breathless and just a little bit rumpled. He had clearly just thrown on his official Harper tunic, since the blue fabric looked creased from being thrown over the back of a chair. His blond wavy hair was damp and tangled, and his face was slightly pink from running. J'hon noticed all of this in passing, but his attention was drawn to the young man's intelligent blue eyes.
It had been a day of surprises for Rodney, and he hadn't decided yet if that was a good thing. As a Harper, he had always been taught to be polite to dragons, to greet them in a friendly manner, but they were not supposed to answer back. Apparently, nobody had told the dragons that. On his way back to the hold his path had taken him past the ridge where the dragons had perched. When he had stopped to welcome them to the hold, the dragons had shocked him by replying, the words turning up in his head like his own thoughts. Then the handsome dragonrider with the messy dark hair had looked at him like the last berry pie on Gather day. Rodney had heard some pretty crazy stories about dragons eating people, but was pretty sure that a dragonrider should not want to devour him.
Rodney had always had a hearty appetite, and he was especially fond of the yellowfish pie that the cooks had produced for the honored guests but this this evening he picked at his food, distracted by his thoughts. He only spoke when the Sea Holder asked his opinion concerning the Threadfall or the repairs to one of the fishing boats. This earned Rodney some strange looks from Holder Hammond, who was used to his mouth running away with the conversation. Rodney wanted to blurt out that the dragons had spoken to him but he was not sure if it would be a good idea, or even if anyone would believe him.
Every time Rodney looked up from his food, the bronze dragonrider who had been introduced as J’hon seemed to be looked in his direction, with a speculative look on his face. Those looks were making Rodney feel nervous, because the messy haired dragonrider was exactly the sort of man Rodney was attracted to, but he knew that it would be far to risky to act on that attraction.
As soon as he could, Rodney escaped to the music room, where he could try to calm his nerves by practicing his guitar chords. He was too shaken to even consider touching the ancient harp in the corner of the room. He couldn't be in the same room as J'hon, knowing the man wanted him in a way that would almost certainly get him banished to somewhere a lot worse than Half Circle Sea Hold, maybe the High Reaches.
Rodney picked up his favorite guitar, and strummed the opening chords of a simple folk song. As he played, he realized that he could hear the faint hum of the dragons in his head - it sounded like they were singing along with him.
“I like this tune.” Sateda interrupted, startling Rodney. “Will you play it for us when you come to Benden?”
“What do you mean?” he asked, trying not to sound worried.
“We want you to come back with us, for the hatching.” Pegasus explained. “We think you should be a dragonrider.”
“Oh, no, no way!” Rodney exclaimed. “I'm sure I would make a really horrible dragonrider. I'd be terrified of falling off, or getting hurt during a Threadfall.”
“We know that you're braver than you think.” Parrish tried to reassure him.
“Besides, you can hear us all.” Pegasus pointed out, with a smug tone to his voice. “That means you belong in a weyr.”
Of course, Rodney couldn't hide away for ever. Sea Holder Hammond had important visitors, who would expect to be entertained. Rodney picked up his guitar, and set off for the great hall. When he arrived, the room was already crowded, and two of the younger fishermen were tapping out a dance beat on the drums. The crowd spotted Rodney and started to call out requests for their favorite songs, mainly tunes the sea holders could dance to. As Rodney began the first tune, he noticed that the two brown riders were dragged onto the dance floor by some of the younger women, but J'hon turned them down politely. Rodney thought it was odd that the handsome dragonrider would choose not to dance, but did not think about it any further until he realized that the bronze rider had wandered over towards the stage and was watching him play. The man was leaning lazily against a pillar, and his hip was canted out in a decidedly provocative way, showing a flash of bare flesh where his shirt had ridden up. Rodney's fingers stumbled on the strings of the guitar, but he quickly corrected the mistake, trying his best to calm his racing heart.
Rodney found it difficult to concentrate, knowing that he was being watched so intently by J'hon. He was relieved when the other man decided to leave, possibly to attend to the needs of his dragon. The sea holders demanded several more dance songs, but eventually, people grew tired and made their way to their beds. Rodney sighed with relief and headed back to his room. He opened his door, only to gasp with shock when he saw J'hon stretched out on his bed. The man had removed his boots and his jacket, and his soft black hair looked even more tousled than usual. Rodney stood frozen in shock as he watched the dragonrider untie his pants and pull out cock, stroking it sensually with a blissed out expression on his face.
“You going to shut the door?” he asked, his voice husky with want.
This seemed to shock Rodney into action.
“No, no, no, this is not happening again. Get the shell out of my room before someone sees you here. I don't want to get sent to the High Reaches this time.”
“This time?” J'hon smirked, wickedly. “I do like a man with experience.”
“Well that's tough, because you're leaving right now, fly-boy.” Rodney insisted.
“Relax, Rodney. Sea Holder Hammond won't be sending you anywhere, not if I take you back to the Weyr.”
“So that's what this is all about? You want me to come back with you for the hatching?” Rodney asked, trying not to feel slightly hurt.
“Actually, I was just thinking of all the really hot sex we could have, “ J'hon said, stroking his cock again. It was fully hard now, red and throbbing in J'hon's hand. He arched his back and closed his eyes, basking in the pleasure of it.
“Oh shards, that's so hot.” Rodney groaned, his eyes unable to leave J’hon’s hard cock.
“So come here already,” J'hon said. “Wanna be top or bottom?”
Weyrleader O'Niell was decidedly unhappy with his wayward son.
“Shells J'hon, why couldn't you think with your head instead of your hormones for once?” he asked, sighing in exasperation. “You were supposed to find a young woman for the queen egg, not another pretty boy to share your weyr.”
“But Father...” John tried to interrupt.
“If you have to buck tradition and take a male lover, why can't you just settle down with a green rider?” O'Niell continued with his rant.
“Rodney can hear all the dragons,” J'hon blurted.
“Seriously?” O'Niell asked, one eyebrow raised. “Why didn't you say so?”
“I was trying to, but you wouldn't let me get a word in edgewise,” J'hon muttered to himself.
“I'd like to meet this young man of yours. Bring him to my weyr after supper.”
“Yes father.” J'hon sighed. At least he had a couple more hours he could spend alone with his new lover.
Rodney climbed carefully down from his perch on Pegasus neck and took his place in the circle of young men gathered around the dragon eggs. The sand of the hatching ground was hot under his bare feet, and the traditional white gown of a hatching candidate hung loosely from his shoulders. There were thirty five young men and boys gathered together, hoping to become partner to a newly hatched dragon. The youngest was only twelve years old, and Rodney was the oldest at twenty two. He glanced briefly at the five young women huddled together near the queen egg. Rodney had a small side bet going with E'van that Vala, the smith's daughter from Telgar Hold, would impress the queen. E'van was betting on Katy, the pretty red headed farmer's daughter from Nerat. She had the strongest telepathic ability of the bunch, but Rodney was certain that the dragonet would prefer the more spirited Vala.
There was the sound of a shell cracking, and Rodney tried to contain his nervousness. Ever since his ability had been discovered, the dragonriders had been convinced that he would impress a bronze. The ability to hear all dragons was extremely rare, and all the previous holders of the ability had been queen riders. Since arriving at Benden, Rodney had already been asked to help coordinate a Threadfall. The general consensus was that he would make an ideal wingleader, or even a Weyrleader one day.
The first dragonet split it's shell and tumbled onto the warm sand. The tiny green dragon shook out her damp wings and stumbled away from her shell. Some of the candidates stepped forward, hopefully, but she seemed determined to walk away from them, towards the small huddle of girls. The dragonet tripped over her wing, but quick thinking Vala rushed forward before she could seriously hurt herself. Vala stared into the jeweled eyes of the green, and first Impression was made. Rodney could hear the rumble of discontented muttering from the stands around the hatching ground, and wondered if it was because Vala didn't Impress the queen, or because a woman had been chosen by a fighting dragon. He personally thought that the feisty smith's daughter would make a good companion for a green, although he wasn't going to enjoy loosing his bet if Katy Impressed.
The crowd were distracted by the sound of another shell cracking, this time a brown. As if a dam had burst, the hatching began in earnest now. Rodney was intent on catching the attention of a tiny bronze, so he almost didn't hear the shriek of fear coming from one of the girls. He looked over to see Katy frozen in fear as a gold dragonet stumbled towards her.
“Oh, for goodness sakes,” he muttered, rushing over to grab the frightened woman and pull her out of the way, before the dragonet could knock her over. “Don't you have any sense at all, you stupid woman?”
Rodney's harsh words seemed to have shaken Katy to her senses, and she stood up straighter, ready to approach the gold dragonet. However the willful dragon child had other ideas, for she had stopped next to Rodney and was butting his leg hopefully with her head. Without conscious thought, he reached out to scratch behind the prominent eye ridge, which he instinctively realized was itching.
“Thank you, that's much better.” Rodney heard a light female voice in his head.
“You're welcome” he answered the tiny queen.
“My name is Meredith, and you are my rider.” she told him decisively.
“No, no, no, that's not possible.” Rodney told her nervously. “You're supposed to pick one of the women.”
“You want me to choose one of those idiots?” the young queen asked, incredulously. “You are the only person here worthy, you have to be my rider. Unless you don't want me?” she added with such sadness that it pulled at Rodney’s heartstrings.
Rodney was quick to reassure the young dragonet that she was the most beautiful dragon he had ever seen, and of course he would be honored to be her rider. He ruthlessly suppressed his concern about how the rest of Pern and especially the Lord Holders would react. At the end of the day, you could not argue with a dragon's choice, even if that flew in the face of tradition. Anyone who was not happy with a male rider for a queen dragon would just have to learn to live with it.