"Hey, you!" Kylia turned, looking for who had spoken to her. "Yeah, you. Over here!" Her eyes met a boy, about her age--maybe older.
"M...me?" she asked in her quiet soprano voice.
"Who do you think I'm talking to? Aren't you that girl who got that white runt?" Several of the boys around him snickered.
"Trymmeth's... Trymmeth's not a runt!" she said defensivly, backing away slightly.
"She came from a dud egg, didn't it? It's half the size of it's siblings, isn't it? It's barely as big as a fire-lizard!"
Kylia's eyes began to water. "N--no! Trymmeth's much bigger than a fire-lizard! Trymmeth's... Trymmeth's..." The boys began to laugh, hooting and bellowing to each other, laughing at her, at Trymmeth. "Stop it! Stop!" Tears streammed down her cheeks, making them laugh harder. "Just... just shut up!" She covered her ears and ran, sobbing, past the other riders, walking about to do their daily business.
Several times some riders tried to stop her, but Kylia's mind rang with the taunting of that boy, and she only ran faster. She didn't stop until she lurched into her weyr. She banged against the side, hurting her shoulder and tearing the weak flesh easily, but she kept running, now trying not to hiccup. She ran into Trymmeth's weyr and threw herself next to the alarmed dragonet, crying.
Kylia? Kylia, what is wrong? Kylia? Why are you crying, Kylia? Trymmeth nudged her, her eyes whirling yellow and orange. Several dragons bugled outside, trying to comfort her, and Kuzalth stuck his nose into her weyr, crooning inquiry. Kylia, you have upset the other dragons. What is wrong?
"I'm not... you're not... you're not a..." Kylia couldn't speak anymore; curling up into a tiny ball and willing herself to stop the tiny little animal noises from pouring out, as Trymmeth nuzzled her lovingly.
I am here. You are here. We are one and nothing can change that. Why do you let them upset you?
"Because... because... because they just do!" She wrapped her arms around Trymmeth and stroked her soft hide, crying less vehemently now that the white had evoked some sense into her.
They do not know. When they have dragons--if they ever do, Trymmeth's tone of distaste amused her rider, then they will know. If they get greens they will be taunted by the brown weyrlings. If they get blues it will be the same. Do not be distressed, Kylia. I love you. I will always love you.
"I know, dear heart," Kylia whispered, "I know."
Trymmeth looked at her slyly. Now that that is over, I am very hungry... her voice trailed off as Kylia smiled.
"We'll just go see R'att, then, okay?" Trymmeth nodded, her eyes reverting to blue, and Kylia led her out of the weyr, noticing Kuzalth had left.
She was greeted immediatly by her fire-lizards. "Lady! Zippy! Rush! Zippy, calm them down. Oh, nevermind. Trymmeth?" Trymmeth nodded, and bespoke the anxious flits, who managed to calm down enough to perch on Kylia's shoulders and head.
Do they always perch there? Trymmeth asked, eyeing the flits.
"You've seen it yourself, dear heart. I think they find it comfortable." Trymmeth cocked her head to one side, but before she could comment further, the tantalizing smell of meat was in her smelling range, and she eagerly loped towards R'att, whom Kylia could see was instructing over weyrlings.
Trymmeth wasted no time. She poked right through the other dragonets, sometimes walking right over them, and fell flat into the meat. "Trymmeth!" Kylia cried, embarrased. "Trymmeth, you're supposed to wait your turn!" R'att grinned at her as he picked the dripping white out of the meat.
"Ah, let it be, Kylia. Now, Trymmeth, if you'll so kindly come over here, so as not to diminish the greens' meat supply..." R'att prodded her towards a smaller mound of meat, but Trymmeth didn't seem to notice, and nearly dove in again if Kylia hadn't been so close. The latter gave a formal bow to R'att, and he shrugged. "No, no, we're all equal here, Kylia. Now don't be shy about eating that," he added sarcastically to a bronze weyrling who was eating with such flourish his rider was visibly fretting. R'att sighed, and gave her an apologetic shrug, walking towards them to help the young bonded pair.
Kylia turned back to Trymmeth. "Trymmeth, if you don't stop eating so fast, you're going to explode," Kylia said in a slightly amused tone. "You ate enough for five golds yesterday in one meal, so I don't see how you can still stuff yourself like that."
I am not stuffing myself, Trymmeth said indignantly. I am eating more than average. Kylia laughed.
"Trymmeth, remember that when you eat so much, you sleep, and sleep makes you grow, and you itch the next day." Trymmeth paused in the middle of several pieces of meat, blinking, as Kylia giggled.
But you will put oil on it, right? she asked in a wistful, longing tone. Kylia smiled at her, bending over slightly.
"Of course, dear one." Trymmeth greedily snatched up the last piece of meat and gulped it down. Suddenly, she burped, and looked so astonished with the noise she caused her rider to nearly go hysterical with laughter. When she had recovered, Kylia asked, "Ready for a bath, O mighty one?" Trymmeth, very daintily, stepped towards the lake. R'att saw what was happening and walked over towards one of the weyrbrats. Kylia's eyes widened, as she recognized him as the boy who had made fun of Trymmeth. R'att marched the boy and his cronies over, and handed them brushes.
"Scrub," was the Weyrlingmaster's one-word command, and Kylia watched, still gawking, as all five of them grudgingly started to clean Trymmeth. When she moved to help, R'att laid a hand on her shoulder. "No, watch them see the folly of their actions this morning." Kylia looked up, alarmed, and he smiled gently. "I'm the Weyrlingmaster, Kylia, I know these things. Good thing Kith saw it, though, or they would have gotten away with it."
She nodded and turned to watch them, smiling as she saw the five boys sweating over the "runt." Trymmeth did every dirty trick there was to get them all soaking wet, and jumped into the water too early, so they had to do it all over again. R'att nodded approvingly. "Vigilante justice," he declared in an undertone to her. At long last, the boys finished, but Trymmeth took her time in getting to the water, as they impatiently looked at R'att for a signal for them to leave. "Good work. Now, I want all five of you in my weyr, so we can discuss why you had to clean miss Trymmeth here." He nodded to Kylia and bowed to Trymmeth, walking towards his weyr, leading the five boys.
They deserved it, Trymmeth said angrily when Kylia commented on how cold they looked. They should not have distressed you. I will always get revenge on those who distress you. Kylia patted her wet hide.
"Want to sleep now, my love?" Trymmeth yawned and nodded, and Kylia led the half-asleep dragonet to her weyr, wondering what R'att was saying to those five boys right now.
