Do you think I can claim Reya as someone I Searched? Makh mused to T'of. I definitely would have chosen her if she hadn't Impressed first.

T'of leaned forward in the slowly emptying stands, chin on his hands. As usual, there was blood on the sands, along with shards of shells from scores of eggs. He was not lost in reminiscence, as some riders might be in looking at the aftermath of a hatching. His sharp eyes were instead picking through the remnants of eggshells to determine which belonged to the sky blue egg from which the uncoordinated green had hatched before Impressing to the woman seated beside T'of. He also sought the pale grey and pink egg whose dragon had eventually Impressed to Torin.

You can claim whatever you like, T'of answered his dragon as he climbed stiffly to his feet. He twisted his spine brutally as he descended toward the sands, emitting a series of pops and cracks which would've made a sensitive observer retch.

What are you doing? Makh asked. Now that excitement on the sands had passed, many of the dragons who had been on the ledges to watch the hatching had cleared out - particularly those from Western - and so he could finally get a first-hand view of the area. It was not an impressive sight, to his mind.

I was going to ask one of the people responsible for clean-up if they could save some shards from Torin's dragon's egg and the egg of the woman you say you Searched, T'of replied.

In fact, he'd been about to go onto the sands and collect them for himself, but they were by no means alone in the massive cavern, and he had no business being on the sands. Particularly not when it would mean intruding on the golden mother's grief, just to pick up some keepsakes. Granted, he wasn't planning to keep them. He was going to give them to the new weyrlings. But the more he thought about it, the less necessary it seemed. How likely were they to forget the moment they Impressed a dragon?

Incredibly unlikely, I would say, Makhmilith interjected. You'd be more useful taking a bath. I bet there's no one in the bathing pools right now.

That was a good point well taken, T'of allowed. Since the influx of visitors and candidates from Western Weyr and elsewhere, T'of had been really hard-put to achieve his preferred level of cleanliness. With so many strangers, it was difficult for him to ascertain exactly how hygienic the bathing areas were. It had been making him both itchy and irritable for days now.

"Rot!" he muttered under his breath.

? Makh queried, sending an impression of curiosity rather than an actual question. The dragon's bond understood what he meant.

The rider who was with the woman who Impressed. The one who followed her. I should probably find him and try to sort things out.

Any other creature might have asked why T'of felt that was his responsibility, but not Makhmilith. The blue dragon understood perfectly what was in his rider's head, and the responsibility he felt toward the woman, even though he didn't know her name or anything about her, except that she seemed to have been at the hatching as the companion of a brownrider from Western.

I'll see if I can figure out which dragon is his, Makh volunteered. That might help you locate the rider more quickly.

Thank you, T'of replied, already heading toward the cavern beyond the sands where the new weyrlings would be feeding and grooming their dragons. It was the last direction he'd seen the brownrider moving, trailing in the wake of the newly Impressed pair wearing an expression which in no way resembled delight.

While his rider walked, Makh made inquiries among the Western dragons, most of whom seemed to be fairly appalled by the behavior of That Idiot Bronze. He exercised considerably more tact than usual, aware that relations between the two Weyrs might be a bit strained going forward. Working from his impression of T'of's memory of the brownrider and then his companion, it still took a bit of time for the blue to determine that the brownrider was R'bin of Huarangith.

They're siblings, Makh volunteered once he found out. Not lovers.

I didn't ask, T'of pointed out in a repressive tone. It didn't matter to him one way or the other, though he supposed it would have mattered a great deal to the pair in question had they been lovers. That five-turn period of separation while she and her dragon trained at High Reaches almost certainly would have put a strain on any relationship.

There was a smugness to Makh's tone as he replied, I know. But Huarangith volunteered the information. He also said to tell you his rider says there's no need for you to sort anything out. I can't tell if the human is offended, but Huarangith doesn't seem to be. Also, I'd like to remind you once more that humans have inefficient brains. It is so absurd to have to relay messages in this manner.

Thanks for the reminder, the bluerider replied in a dry tone while he considered this new piece of information. Let's leave them to it, then.

If the pair were siblings, it did seem unlikely that he would need to step in. So thinking, he once again changed direction, moving toward his weyr to collect his personal bathing accouterments, which meant he never had to use a towel someone else had used, nor soap that had ever touched another human being's naked body. These things mattered to T'of, who planned to have the best bath anyone ever had while everyone else sorted out the hatching feast.

Please let me know if anything comes up, T'of requested of Makh while he assembled his bath supplies in a bucket he kept specifically for that purpose. I have the feeling there's going to be fallout from this hatching.

Of course, Makh agreed. I expect we'll know soon.

Word Count: 1,010