Kailin frowned at Jordin. "Are you sure?" He nodded, smirking at her. "I bet you're lying, Jordin! Now way in Threadfall would Lorith let you stand as a candidate. I think she likes Trevin more than you!"
He rolled his eyes. "If you're so sure, why don't you go ask her? She spoke to me an' everything!" He sneered. "Unless you're scared?"
She faltered, stepping back. "I--I'm not scared. It's just... just..."
"I knew it," he said disdainfully. "You'll never be a dragonrider because you're afraid of dragons! Even Kylia's runt!"
Kailin shook her head. "No, no... that's not it! It's just, weyrchildren don't walk onto the Sands uninvited..."
Jordin and his friends laughed, making Kailin's face turn red. They walked out of the room, elbowing each other and hooting. Kailin's eyes brimmed with tears, and she angrily pushed them back. She would not cry. Her brother wouldn't get to her this time, about something unrelated to her. She whirled around and did her best to stomp to her weyr, and instead ended up running and crying. She flew into her weyr and slammed the door, trying to stop the tears from running down her cheeks. Her hair had fallen out of the tie she kept it in. She took a deep, unsteady breath and curled into a little ball, reaching for her handkerchief. She wiped her eyes just as K'ven entered, calling her name softly. She tried to stop hiccuping, but couldn't help it. She heard his boots as he walked over to her.
"Kai? Kai, what's wrong?" He peered over the wall to look at her.
"Go away." She crumpled the kerchief up and weakly threw it at him. He caught it and kneeled down next to her.
"Kai, I'm not going to go away until you tell me what's wrong." Tirzath crooned from somewhere. "Has Jordin been teasing you again?" She let her sniffles answer that for him. "Don't worry, I'll talk to him. Okay?" She nodded, and he patted her shoulder, standing up to go. He gently closed the door behind him.
Kailin stood up and walked to her bed. She sat down on the edge and wiped her eyes with her white hands. She knew she was special--she was pure white with red eyes. The healer had called it "albino," and said that it wouldn't effect her much, she just had to stay out of the sun. Jordin, her brother, was forever teasing her because of it, and it always got to her, because Kailin was sensitive. She was very much so, even when he teased other people, like the whiterider Kylia. She frowned and sighed. Jordin was such a mean dimglow. She couldn't believe Lorith was going to let him stand as a candidate. He'd probably get green. That'd show him. She smiled and felt her sadness abate. It would be funny if he got green; boys very rarely got greens, and green weyrlings were teased by blueriders and brownriders--taunting was usually above a bronzerider's dignity.
Kailin lifted her head as she heard noises outside her weyr. The door opened and M'iki stepped in, his black hair as messy as ever. "Kailin? You here?"
"Yes," she answered quietly.
He walked over and smiled at her, bowing, like he did to everyone--even the fire-lizards. "Congrats, Kailin. You've been Searched for Seascape Weyr." Her eyes widened. "Yes, really," he said, as if he could read her thoughts. "Pack your things, the Hatching will be in a few days. Sorry that there's no queen egg, but greens are just as important, huh?" She still stared at him. "Oh, fine, I'll help you if you need it. Don't stand there like a dumbstruck wherry. You can be a dragonrider!"
Kailin sat, again, on her bed. The Weyrwoman had accepted her as a candidate, although there were now ten candidates and only nine eggs. That would mean one of them wouldn't Impress. Kailin sighed; with her luck, the unlucky one would be her. And that would give Jordin something else to tease her about. Idly she wondered if she should try for a fire-lizard, but shook her head. Fire-lizards were very curious and friendly critters--they didn't exactly suit her tempermant and lifestyle. Kailin ran a list of pets through her mind that might make up for it if she didn't Impress. Runnerbeasts, herdbeasts, canines, felines, dolphins... A dolphin? Could she be a dolphineer? Again, she decided not. She was afraid of the water; her first feline Kitty had fallen into a lake and drowned.
Ever since Kailin had been born, she had been stared at and ridiculed. Her shy, easily-hurt personality did nothing to help her. Her brother, Jordin, and his friends had always told her that she was a freak and a runt of all humans--she was sort of short. They always compared her to white dragons, and said even a white dragon was better than a white human... Kailin's eyes brimmed with tears as she remembered. She would not cry again, not twice in one day. Her only friend at the wretched Lower Caverns had been Kayven, who had later Impressed bronze Tirzath, and now his life was completely absorbed in dragonrider duties and dragonrider responsibilities. Kylia, who had become much more outgoing after Impressing Trymmeth, talked to her a lot, but their relationship was very formal and distant, so Kailin never really referred to her as a friend--although she had given her kind words about Impressing a dragon.
Kailin wondered what color the other candidates were likely to get. Walaprin was such a nice person now, and he seemed a natural leader--perhaps he'd get brown... no, Kailin decided, bronze. Toranimah she hoped would get blue like he wanted, and Faline would probably either get blue or brown. There was a third candidate--Koran? Yes, Koran. What would he get? She hadn't known him long enough to be able to tell. Kaylei was very imaginative, and Catilan was a very sweet, hopeful person--too bad they both would get greens, as there was no gold. If they Impressed, that is. Kailin hadn't seen Caemlyn so she couldn't be sure--but she was fairly certain she would get green, and Sandry seemed like she had good dragonrider skills, which meant that Kailin would be left alone... Kailin sighed. She really didn't feel as if she was worth a dragon, but dragonrider seemed to beckon her like a platter of sweets to a child. Oh well. If she didn't Impress, she'd just try again until she turned too old!
With that comforting thought in mind, she laid down and slowly drifted off into sleep...
Jordin laughed. "AHA! I knew it! You'll never be a dragonrider, Kailin!" His friends were all pounding each other on the back, but she was suspiciously quiet. "You couldn't even get a green, and that Kaylei girl got a BLUE!" He nearly fell down laughing, then started taunting her. He went right up to her face, pretending to be a dragonet, and his friends all laughed.
That was too much for her. Kailin felt all her rage, all the bottled up emotions, suddenly explode. In one deft manuever, she hit Jordin across the face with her fist, tackling him in a grip as strong as iron. She pressed down on his throat while he tried to scream and gagged instead, his friends standing there, too shocked to do anything.
She might have killed him had not K'ven and R'att seen her from the distance and ran over. They managed to seperate Kailin from her brother, all the while she struggled against their grasp, no sound coming from her but her red eyes gleaming with such a fury as no one had ever seen. Jordin gasped for air, his face red, and stared at her. "Kailin! Kailin, stop it! Kai, STOP IT!" K'ven bellowed, pulling her back further. "Kailin, do you know what you're doing?" R'att frowned at the boys.
"In my office, all of you!" he said coldly, and turned to help K'ven. Kailin had tears streaming down her deathly pale face, and suddenly she went limp, sobbing, as her contained emotions finally burst. "Kailin, why in the blazes..." R'att leaned down, patiently waiting for it to all come out. "K'ven, let's take her to her weyr."
R'att lifted her up in his arms and carried her, K'ven worriedly telling him where to go. He set her down on her bed, and she curled into a little ball, stilling crying. Kai knew that she sounded ridiculous, making little mewing sounds, but she didn't care. She wished they would go away. No one left her alone, they always wanted to know Why, Why, Why. She sat up, trembling, her face tear-stained probably permantently, and R'att gently asked her what happened. "The eggs... they hatched and... I didn't... Impress... Jordin started... teasing... and his friends were laughing..." She took a huge gulp of air, on the verge of exploding again.
"I'll see what I can do about them." R'att sighed. "You just stay here. I'm sorry about the Hatching, Kai. I'm sure you'll do better next time. You just have to keep trying!" He grinned and clasped her shoulder. "It took me five tries until I got Kith. Don't worry." And with that, he turned on his heels and left.
K'ven stayed. "Kai, if there's anything I can do..." he began, timidly.
"Just leave me alone."
He paused, then nodded. "All right." He stood, pausing, then left.
"K'ven...?" she said quietly.
"What?"
"Thank you."
He nodded, and closed the door gently. Kai took another deep breath and lied down, determined to get herself under control. You will do better at the next Hatching, a voice said in her head. I am sure you will Impress. Kailin's eyes widened as she knew who spoke to her.
Thank you, Tirzath.
It is no problem. And then there was silence.
Kailin set her head down on the pillow, amazed at how tired she felt...
She stood, strangely quiet, as they gathered around her. The others looked excited, some looked scared. She stared, not quite looking at the eggs, now hard, on the Sands, but not out of it, yet. The eggs started moving. A blue hatched, and immediately made for Gorin. "His name is Zadoth!" the new rider exclaimed happily.
Next came a brown, and he immediately chose Walaprin, from Everest. "Okay, I'll show you the Weyrlake, Malloth," Walaprin said.
Two eggs hatched next; one blue, one green. The green chose Caemlyn, whom, after "Well, hello to you too, Sheevath," led her dragon off the Sands. The blue chose Kaylei, who announced his name was Iamarth. There was a pause, then the eggs started moving, and two more hatched--a brown and a bronze. She looked at the eggs and shook her head. It was useless beyond this point. But the bronze looked at the candidates, then the stands, then the candidates again, then buried his head in the sand and started bawling. No one noticed as Toranimah cried the brown's name was Haranth, except her.
Faline ran across the Sands. He said something but she didn't hear. Then he sighed and said something else to the bronze--something "Shelomith." But she no longer paid any attention to anything. Just stared. Green Akeloth chose Catilan. Chereth chose Sandry. She didn't even look at the last egg. She knew it was bronze.
And then it hatched; a healthy, kicking bronze. It immediately chose Koran, who called "His name is Hezirth!" Her eyes searched the Ground. She could find nothing here. She lowered her head, eyes to the ground. The Weyrleader said something to her. But she left in pretended dignity, letting them form their own conclusions about her, and the soul that screamed inside.
Name: Kailin
Age: 12 Turns
Gender: Female
Hair: White
Eyes: Red
Siblings: Jordin
Candidate at: Seascape Weyr
Pets: None
