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'Wow! Look at the seat on that one,' exclaimed Pao, watching a well dressed minor cot-holder cross the festively decorated hall. 'Hm. Nice,' replied Bao. 'Wonder if he wants company.' 'I saw him first, Bao,' and Pao gave her twin a dark look. The darkly handsome young man held his hands up in easy surrender. 'All right little sister, you can have first crack at him. But I reserve the right to try next,' and he gave her his favorite heart stopping, mind melting smile. 'Don't try that on me, Bao. I'm immune to your charm,' she said without malice. 'Of course, dear sister mine. It's not meant to work on you, just everyone else.' 'Sphlb,' Pao snorted. 'Amazing how effective it is. You're still grounded aren't you?' Bao grimaced, 'Not for much longer. Besides, it doesn't seem to work on family members.' 'Or anyone else who knows you.' 'Spoils sport,' and Bao stuck out his tongue. 'So, how much longer is this dinner party going to last?' 'How would I know,' her twin brother asked with an innocent look. 'Oh, come on Bao. You've got your nose into everything that happens around here. Come on Bao, give!' Bao smiled and looked at the crowd of minor holders and their kin. 'Baoner!' and Paonell clunge imploringly to her twin's arm. Looking up the half-a-head higher to Bao's dark eyes, she smiled winningly and saw the answering mischief. 'I hear we have a special visitor who's running a bit late. So as soon as he or she arrives we can get things moving.' Pao sighed heavily then caught sight of the cute cot-holder again. 'I'll just go keep him company than,' she said, brightening. Pao waved a smug goodbye to her twin and set out to capture her prize. Later.... 'Pao. PAO!' 'Not now Bao,' she tried to dismiss him and turn back to the attentive cot-holder. Baoner didn't give in that easily, grabbing her arm he dragged her from the lad with a reassuring smile. ' BAO!! How could you! We were just getting to know one another and...,' Paonell exclaimed, furious with her brother. Baoner ignored her fury and in a sheltered corner urgently whispered, 'Pao, you'll never guess who's here!' 'What, dragons,' snapped Pao, still irritated. A moment passes. 'There aren't really dragons here? Are there,' Pao asks, a lot less assuree. 'Yes! Two of them, both blue,' Bao said excited. 'They've come on Search and...' 'SEARCH?!,' interrupted Pao. 'and Father's got everyone gathering over in the Lesser Audience hall, well, everyone of the right age, and...,' continued Bao, ignoring Pao's interruption. 'and, well, come on Pao, let's go see....' 'Bao,' giggled Pao, 'Big brother, are you NERVOUS?' 'You are!' and Pao started laughing, tears coming to the corners of her eyes. 'I can't believe MR. Confidence is actually Nervous about a SEARCH,' and Pao collapsed against the nearby wall. 'As if you aren't Ms. Giggles,' Bao pouted, tickling Pao in the ribs. 'BAO! Behave,' Pao gasped as she dodged the handsome lout's fingers. 'What are we waiting for, let's go see the dragons.' Paonell took Baoner's hand and raced down to the Lesser Audience hall, and from there out to the clearing in front of the hold. There, they came to a breathless halt. Two sets of jewel bright eyes turned out of the darkness and stared unblinkingly at the twins. Pao clunge to Bao and stood transfixed. Transfixed until a brat cousin pulled her hair. 'What's up with you two? You'd think you'd never seen dragons before. Shards! Pao that hurts,' and the heathon quickly jumped out of the way of Paonell's clenched fists. 'We've seen dragons, just never this close, Clowdis. AND, I'll thank you kindly never to touch my hair again,' she hissed between clenched teeth. Cousin Clowdis took one look at her burning eyes, and without even looking at the murderous gleam in Baoner's eyes, the lad turned tail and ran to get behind a gaggle of the other young people starting to mill about. Seeing him well gone, Pao rubbed fretfully at the back of her head. 'Did the beast really have to pull so hard,' she asked plaintively. Still looking cross, Bao gently examined his sister's hair. 'You'd think that there'd be a more CIVILIZED way to get a body's attention, wouldn't you,' he growled protectively. 'Well, there doesn't seem to be any damage. If there was....' Stilling the defensively aggressive Bao, Paonell turned his attention to the hastily forming lines of young men and women a short distance away. 'Let's forget it, Okay? I don't want to miss seeing dragons up close!' 'As you command milady,' Baoner said with a dignified bow to his twin. 'Ooof,' he exclaimed as Paonell gave him an admonitory bap in the stomach. 'Alright, ALRIGHT, I'm coming...Spoils sport,' the last said under his breath and hurried with Pao over to join the lines. The dragon riders divided the task up and started on different lines. Looking over the many eager faces, the Riders and their dragons made slow work of examining the youngsters gathered together. It seemed to take forever before one of them reached the twins. Looking back and forth from Pao to Bao, the Rider's eyes crinkled in silent laughter. The twins were quite used to this reaction the first time they were seen together so they said nothing, just watched the Rider watching them intently. Just above and slightly behind the Rider, twin jewels of slightly swirling color regarded Pao and Bao. These eyes captivated Paonell and she found herself paying more attention to them then the Rider. 'Well now, either of you would do, I think, but which of you wants to come,' the Blue Rider drawled. The twins looked at him in confusion. (('Please come with us,')) said a gently laughing voice in Pao's head. Bao looked at his twin sister in surprise and concern, but Pao only had eyes for the jewel bright faceted ones looking down at her. 'Come with you where,' she asked. The Rider looked at her a bit more closely. 'To my home Weyr. To become a dragon rider,' he said, smiling gently at the inattentive look the mesmerized Pao barely spared him. (('You've always wanted to fly, why not come?')) 'That's not exactly what I meant,' a flustered Paonell ran her hand throught her shoulder length hair. (('Does that matter?')) Paonell laughed, 'No. No, it doesn't.' 'I'll come.' 'PAO,' and Baoner looked intently at his baby sister. Paonell smiled gently up at his ever protective eyes, 'I want to Bao. Let me fly.' 'What if I can't join you?' 'You'll find a way. You always have.' 'Besides, it's not as if I'm vanishing, you can write. In fact, you had better,' she commanded in a firm voice. With a rather sad expression on his beloved familiar face, Baoner conceded. 'As my dear sister wishes, don't forget me,' and he tried to look pitiful and forlorn. 'Who could ever forget YOU,' Pao half sneered, half laughed, mocking Bao's acting abilities. 'Well, if that's decided,' queried the Blue Rider with a great deal of irony. The twins jumped quiltily. 'Then I take it the young lady will be coming with me this time. Yes?' Things passed in rather a whirl, and all too soon Pao was on a Blue Dragon, just behind his rider, and waving goodbye to the one person in all the world that she had never been away from for more than a few candle marks. A giant fist seemed to grab her heart and pull, and for a moment Pao wasn't sure she could leave. Then she looked down at Bao, as he looked up at her, and without words knew that wherever she was and whenever she needed him, her brother was always with her. That wasn't going to change. Reassured, Pao held her breath as she, the Blue Dragon, and his Rider, went Between Paonell stood as a candidate at Sparkul Weyr Pao's letters home Pao impression
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