From the sky, Thread will rain,
                                Turn and fly and wheel again.
                                Mighty dragons flame the threat
                                Though cost of life or wing be met.
                                Riders fearless strong and bold
                                Protecting crafthall, cot and Hold.
                                Holders, Lords and Ladies there,
                                For protection tithe the Weyr.
                                But at the Gather, all, Rejoice!
                                And in friendship find their voice.
                                They'll lay aside their quarrels and fights,
                                And rejoice in life and dance the night!
                                After all, as wise men say
                                "All work and no play,
                                Makes for a dull Gather Day."

Fourth Pass of Pern, Fort Hold.

The Gather-Day was bright and sunny, not a hint of the former winter's cold bit the wind that blew cheerfully through the gather stalls at Fort Hold. The stalls and the band stand had
been set up the previous day and now the traders and craftsmen were setting up their wares as the dew was still fresh on the ground. The craftsmen and traders, who had traveled from all
around, were busily arranging bolts of cloth or leather, stiff and warm jackets or the occasional Harper-crafted instrument, the Gather promised to be a fruitful one. Of course the first of
the season usually was the most fruitful unless as special event happened mid-season.

"Ah, Lord Treize....Lady Une, wonderful to see you out and about so early this morning," said one of the vendors as they passed by on their way to inspect the grounds. "Can I expect to
be seeing you attending the Gather today?"

"Yes of course," said Lady Une graciously, eyeing a bolt of fine burgundy cloth and making a note of it to buy some later. "We always enjoy a good Gather as much as the next holder."

"Far more than a holder you are and that's the truth of it. Me wife's al'ays sayin' what fine folk we have gaurdin' our lands she is," replied the Craftsman from the Weaver Hall. A
weathered man with hands gnarled from so many years at the loom.

"Well I'm delighted to hear that your wife is pleased with our efforts on behalf of our people," said Lord Holder Treize with his usual eloquence and charm. "A Lord Holder exists as a
servant and protector to his people. Am I not right my beloved Lady?"

"Your words ring true my Lord and we shall both strive in unison to bear out the veracity of themBut for the moment, all work and no play makes for a dull Gather Day," she said
and smiled meaningfully at him. Treize found himself smiling in return, he had been wedded to his beloved Lady for a little over seven turns and he blessed his parents daily for seeing
the wisdom in such a match. (Then again they hadn't had a whole lot of choice in the matter, being faced with one of Treize's machinations to win the eldest daughter of Bendan Hold
for his wife they hadn't had a prayer.)

"Papa! Papa! Look, there are Dragons in the sky!" called an excited Mariemaia. This was the daughter that had been delivered to them in the first year of their marriage and he loved the
child every bit as much as the mother. Lord Holder Treize could not remember being as happy or as proud as when he sat on the bed next to his wife and held the tiny baby in his arms
for the first time. Now she was a slightly larger and more energetic seven year old, romping over hills and climbing rocks or riding breakneck on a runner beast (usually with her mother
in joyful attendance). And no matter how he chided the both of them, they cheerfully went about dressed as plainly as field laborers. His wife was obviously passing on her wonderful
stubborness to her daughter.

"Yes I see that little one," said Treize taking in his young daughter's state. Her new dress was dusty and smudged with dirt and the area around her mouth was caked in berry juice. Some
one had been into the bubbly pies. The head cook could never resist one of his daughters pleading looks.

"I got a bubbly pie," she announced with some satisfaction.

"I can see that also, you have got it all over your face," he said. Lady Une chuckled then knelt down with a moistened handkerchief and wiped the remnants of the pie from her face.
Sparing an affectionate look for her precocious daughter as Treize said

"Your going to get you nice Gather clothes rumpled and dirty before the gather even starts."

Lord Treize looked dapper and well dressed as usual, wearing a light white long-sleeved shirt that gathered in a the cuffs, with a perfectly pressed sapphire blue over-vest, and a matching
cloak to keep away the early morning chill. The riding leathers he wore were dyed to match as well, and his thigh boots completed the set. He had managed to talk his beloved lady into
one of the dresses that he had prepared for special occasions. It wasn't often that he could get her into one of the formal dresses. She had a practical streak a mile wide. And she
continuously pointed out that she'd only get the garments ruined and dirty when she went around inspecting store rooms, or helping with the herder and runner beasts, or heading out
looking for herbs and all the other things that she considered part of being Lady Holder.

"Oh, she's seven years old," protested his lady. "She's supposed to get her clothes dirty."

"I think she could manage to keep them reasonably clean until the festivities start."

"I will papa," she promised, then ran off to find something else new to amuse her.

Treize smiled a small smile of victory and before his lady could chide him for it had his lips firmly pressed against hers forestalling all reprimands by kissing her senseless.

"I love it when you do that," she murmured when the kiss broke.

"Me too," he said smiling.

They continued walking the grounds arm in arm, conversing about prior Gathers, and occasionally the trouble they used to get into when they had been kids.

"And speaking of being kids," said Lady Une abruptly, remembering something. "Isn't your old childhood friend Lord Milliardo supposed to be coming here for the Gather?"

"Yes, and he'll be bringing his own beloved wife, Lady Noin."

"It's about time he married her!" said Une. Noin had been crazy about him ever since they were small, and Milliardo had been just as besotted with her (although true to his nature he
was a little quieter about it).

"Ah! Lord Treize! There you are, I've been looking all over for you!" said Milliardo, dressed in his Gather finery of red and gold with knee high boots for riding his beloved runner
beasts (the pride of Ruatha Hold).

"Lord Holder Milliardo, I see you've finally married her at last!" said Treize, turning from the race track with a glass of fine Bendan wine in his hand. Treize, like so many of the
previous Lords of Fort Hold, had a passion for fine Bendan white wine. He was a notorious connoisseur.

"Lord Treize, still charming the hides off the dragons I see," said Lucretzia with her usual straightforwardness. "And I'd like to introduce my best friend," she gestured to a woman
standing beside her with two golden twists on either side of her head. "This is Master Healer Sally. She's our Healer in residence at Ruatha."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Lord Treize," she said, shaking his hand firmly. She took him in with the frank proffesionalism of a trained Healer and then said. "You should drink
more water and get into the sun a bit more, you're looking a little pale. And some daily rides with your wife and daughter couldn't hurt either. Don't you ever see that Healer of yours?"

Treize chuckled and said

"Only when I can't avoid it."

"Well, see there's half your problem as it stands," she said. "I'll send him a note to come and see you as well as make sure my prescription is being followed. We can't have sick Lord
Holders, not when thread's so near."

"My," said Treize as Sally and Noin disappeared together into the crowd. "What a refreshing personality."

He turned to Lord Milliardo and looked around saying

"You know, I don't believe I've seen your little sister anywhere around here. Is something wrong?"

"No, she's just been fostered out to Bendan Hold for the turn. Noin thought it might be good for the girl to see someplace other than Ruatha Hold for a time."

"Your wife is a wise woman. One should not live so confined a life as Relena does. Maybe after a turn at Bendan Hold, she'll lose some of that shyness of hers."

"I hope so. Ever since our family died in that raid on Ruatha, Relena has been very...." he searched for an appropriate word.

"Skittish?" suggested Treize.

"Self contained," said Milliardo. "But you're right, she is that too. She spends so much time alone, either outside collecting grasses and edibles or inside hidden away in some nook
where no one can find her doing something just as useful. It's not that she's lazy, that's not it at all, but no one can get her to say more than two words at once in their presence, let
alone befriend her."

"Well, the death of her warder Darlian hit her pretty hard."

"Yes, our uncle was like a replacement father for her. The two of them were close. Losing him was probably a lot like losing our father all over again. I miss him as well, he took good
care of us and good care of the hold. I learned a lot from him."

"He was a good man. Heh! Listen to us, Gathers are not meant for such weighty matters as these. Come let us find a likely beast and place a bet."

"You'll find no better runner beast than my own steeds from Ruatha" boasted Milliardo. And the two old friends trailed off into the crowd to enjoy the Gather.

Fort Weyr

"Hey Trowa," said C'nell the rider of Cenmith, a brown dragon. "I heard you got promoted to Wingleader. Congratulations!"

Trowa looked up and over his shoulder at the intruder from where he sat, studiously checking his riding straps and harness in preparation for the next fall.

"Yes," he said.

"Short, to the point and uncelebratory as usual," said the brown rider.

Trowa said nothing to this, charactoristically he bent back down to his work waiting for C'nell to say whatever it was he had come to say in the first place.

"So I presume you'll be celebrating your promotion there at the Gather today?"

"I'll be there," he said simply. Whether or not he would actually be celebrating was another matter entirely. He might only be going to say hello to some old friends of his, all of them
dragonriders like him.

"I've been looking for you little brother," said Catherine from the doorway. She had a fresh and steaming bubbly pie in her hands. "Here you go, in honor of your promotion, I've saved
you a fresh bubbly pie."

"Thanks Cathy," he said.

Catherine was head of the hold in management capacity. She oversaw the preparation of meals, ordered new cloth and leathers when the need arose, saw to the appropriate neatening and
cleaning of the hold proper and a little of everything else. When the going got tough she was right in the thick of things shouting out orders like a drill sergeant. She was also one
protective older sister and took it as part of her job to nag him into eating properly and ensuring that he didn't miss meals when he wasn't out flying thread. It was a bit of a pain
sometimes but Trowa knew that she did it out of love for him.

Her job as assistant Headwoman had her constantly moving. In the course of a day she oversaw the records keepers and made sure every record was exact and up to date. She also oversaw
the repairs to furniture, rugs and tapestries, inventoried the storerooms. She saw that the riders clothes and leathers were cleaned and repaired, coordinated meals with the Head Cook,
ordered new herbs, spices and medicines and soothed the Head Cook when he swears up and down that the cooking was a disaster. The Head Cook had never had a cooking disaster in all
of the twenty turns he had been in command of the kitchen. It was all in his head.

Trowa dug into the still warm bubbly pie with carefully hidden relish. Truth be known, he loved bubbly pies! He was simply too dignified to show it. Catherine always managed to see
right through it anyways, but that wasn't the point, it was the principle of the thing. She smiled and went off to attend to "her" hold.

"See ya at the gather later, Trowa," said C'nell with a wave as he strolled from the room.

-Quatre and Roketh have arrived here for the Gather- announced his dragon, Armyth. -Quatre sends you a greeting and hopes you'll show up later.-

-Tell him I'll be down in a few moments,- said Trowa to Armyth. His Dragon was a bronze, and in Trowa's humble opinion had the best aim for flaming thread out of any of the
dragons ever. ­You can go up and sun yourself to your hearts content today. It's a Gather day and we all deserve a break.-

-I was going to do that,- said his dragon with a touch of smugness. Armyth was shaping up to be the largest bronze dragon there at Fort Weyr. Trowa had Impressed him a little over
two turns ago and he wasn't fully grown yet.

<It's amazing how your swiftly things can change,> he reflected. Two turns ago he had only been the orphaned boy of two holders, traveling to his sister Cathy in Fort Hold proper. A
gangly fifteen year-old with no prospects and only the fragile hope of possibly either finding a trade there, or maybe, just maybe, becoming a Harper. <Now I'll be riding a bronze dragon
in Threadfall. I feel like I belong here. For the first time in my life, I'm actually happy and not wishing I was someplace else.>

-As it should be,- his dragon said sleepily from where he had nestled in on a rock. ­You belong with me, and I belong with you. We will fly high and fight bravely together. That is
what matters.-

-Yes,- agreed Trowa. That was what mattered.

Quatre slid off from Roketh's back and looked around at the bowl of Fort Weyr.

-So this is where Trowa lives eh?- he thought privately to Roketh. ­Not bad. 'Doesn't get the sea breezes like Igen, but it certainly is impressive enough to suit anyone. I'll bet the
sunsets here are very beautiful.-

-Armyth says Trowa thinks so, and also thinks that you'd enjoy them,- replied Roketh. ­Armyth also says that the cliffs here are perfect for sunning.-

-Best not keep Armyth waiting then,- said Quartre, giving his Dragon and affectionate pat. With a mighty leap and a heave of his wings, Roketh was in the air, gliding lazily over to
where Armyth was sprawled out on a flat rock, sunning himself.

Quatre went to go and find Trowa so he could haul him out of whatever dragonrider-related activity that he had dug himself into and herd him outside the weyr to enjoy the Gather
today.

Another Bronze trumpeted overhead, Quatre recognized it as Wufei's dragon Shenloth. Quatre raised a hand in greeting as Wufei and Shenloth angled for the landing spaces. They set
down with their usual aplomb, Wufei was nothing if not meticulous, and a few minutes later Shenloth was in the air again making his way over to the sunning cliffs. Wufei walked over
to where Quatre stood waiting for him.

"Hello Wufei, I heard you made Weyrleader! Congratulations!"

"Yes, but the Weyrwoman is an imbecile," said Wufei with blunt arrogance. "Her and her Dragon don't have enough sense between them to fill a glow-basket."

"Oh come now Wufei, that isn't a very nice thing to say," said Quatre reprovingly.

"That doesn't make it any less true," was Wufei's reply. "Meiran should be in her place, if she were alive she'd have the weyr running properly and efficiently."

Quatre didn't dare disagree with that statement. He was of the few who knew just how deep Wufei's affection for his former betrothed went. Wufei's parents had been holders, and had
arranged a marriage with their youngest son and the daughter of a nearby holder to increase their lands and titles. At first the two had been resistant to the idea, then they had actually
grown to like one another, after that they fell in love. Sadly, Meiran had died when a party of Raiders, the same one's who had attacked Ruatha Hold and killed all but two of the Lord
Holder's family there Quatre heard, had attacked their hold. However, it had been five years since then, Quatre thought Wufei should think about moving on.

<That is, I f he can ever find a woman capable of living up to the long shadow cast by Meiran's memory.> thought Quatre, a little sad for Wufei. <She'd have to be more practical
and more intelligent than that Weyrwoman of his. But who else could possibly understand the sheer full-time devotion to duty demanded of a dragonrider? Most women don't like to
share.>

"Well, you'll just have to make do with what you have," said Quatre, shrugging aside his contemplations.

"I shall keep that in mind....Harper-boy," said Wufei with a slight smile. He was teasing Quatre about the Harper thing again.

Quatre frowned and stuck out his tongue. <He would bring that up.>

Quatre had been born the only male heir to his father's (Winner) holdings. Winner had been Lord Holder of Igen Sea Hold, and no matter how many wives he took, all he'd gotten were
daughters. Finally, his last wife gave him a son whom he had named Quatre. Quatre had grown up with a passion for music. Indulgently, his father had let him learn whatever he wished
from the hold Harper, as long as his son knew that he would be holding the lands when his father died. His son however had other ideas. There were more than enough sisters to
administer to the land, and the ancient Charter said that women were allowed to inherit lands the same as men were. So one night Quatre had run off to Fort Hold to go join the Harper
Hall there. On his way to Fort Hold, he'd stopped by Igen Weyr to say goodbye to a few of his friends there and had walked in on a hatching celebration. It was then that he'd
accidentally Impressed Roketh.

-Happiest day of my life,- thought Quatre.

-Mine too.- Roketh said into Quatre's mind.

"Hello. I'd heard you'd arrived," said Trowa.

<He's gotten taller,> noticed Quatre. His form, already long and lanky to begin with had grown even taller over the past turn. Quatre realized with a start that they were all quite a bit
taller than they had been last year when they'd met here. He'd have to start paying better attention.

<Let's see,> Quatre did some quick mental calculations. <Wufei Impressed Shenloth when he was fifteen, he's been riding the longest out of the five of us. I Impressed Roketh next,
eight months later, I was fifteen, tuning sixteen at the time. Trowa Impressed two turns ago when he was sixteen, Duo Impressed about a year and six months ago, and Heero just
Impressed last Half-turn mark so that was eighteen months to the day.>

"Do you know when Duo and Heero are coming?" asked Quatre of Trowa.

"Knowing the braided one," said Wufei. "He's already down at the gather, stealing bubly pies, conning suckers out of their marks, drinking the wine and flirting with the women."

Trowa chuckled quietly, but Wufei was proven wrong when "the Braided One" snuck up behind him and slapped him hard on the back.

"Heya buddy boy!" said Duo, with all of his usual enthusiasm and verve for life. "Howya doin' there Weyrleader? Heard your weyrwoman's a real fox."

"Among the chickens," agreed Wufei, removing Duo's arms from around his shoulders. "I would have thought you'd already be there at the Gather. You love these things."

"I wouldn't go out having a grand old time without my four best friends with me," he protested, sounding hurt. "Besides, I'll need you guys to pick the best runner beasts at the races."

Trowa, Quatre and Wufei all exchanged a three way glance. There was no one else in their fellowship quite like Duo. He was their spontaneity and he knew how to laugh and have a good
time.

Duo had been born in a small hold, where he had been mischievious as a small child. His older brother Solo used to bail him out of some of the messes he got himself into (like the
time he'd spread flout all over the kitchens when he'd been five years old). But when he'd been ten a fever spread through his Hold and killed his family. Duo had wandered about the
country side for days looking for help, then he'd been picked up by a band of raiders and taken in by them. But when Duo realized exactly what it was they did and what happened on a
raid, he'd decided that it was not the life for him and he'd gotten work at Bendan Hold. That's when one of the Dragonriders spied him on Search and after that he'd Impressed Syth, his
own bronze dragon. Duo had had a hard life, but he still managed to retain his sense of humor, and he was one of the few people who could get the last member of their little group to
laugh.

The five of them had all met one another sometime over the course of their lives, and after they'd each impressed one by one they had become fast friends. As a matter of fact, Duo and
Heero were both in the same wing at Bendan Weyr. Heero was the wingleader and Duo was his wingsecond.

"Hey Duo, where's Heero? I thought he was coming with you," said Quatre.

"He said he'd be along in a minute, he had to check on a few things first. That's Heero for ya, always thinkin' about his duties. I swear, that guy intends to become Weyrleader or
somethin'."

"Well if that's the case, Bendan Weyr couldn't do better than him," said Trowa softly. "He's conscientious about his duties, he knows the ins and outs of a Weyr better than anyone else
here and his wing always has the least amount of injuries Fall after Fall."

"That's true," Wufei allowed. "Too bad about the queen and her weyrwoman. I heard that their health is failing."

"You know the old saying," said Quatre. "Not many Dragonriders make it to old age."

"Sad yet true," said Trowa. "They said that this clutch will probably be the Queens last clutch before she dies. The weyrleader isn't looking so well either."

"I think there's more to the creepy old man than you guys give him credit for," said Duo, refferring to Bendans current Weyrleader, J'tor. Sure he was old and gray, but he was far from
being senile. They called him creepy because he had a tendency to cackle. He had taken a special interest in Heero and had trained him personally, teaching him the many tricks he had
learned in his sixty years of flying threadfall. It was assumed that Heero would be the next Weyrleader after the current ones passed on.

Then Duo started in on the gossip from Bendan Weyr and Hold.

"said there were over twenty eggs in her latest clutch and that a good ten of 'em look like they'll be bronzes. The old man also said that there was definitely a Queen egg hardening on
the sands and that an Impression would take place in another two to three weeks. Oh! And some girl's being fostered in from Ruatha Hold up north to Bendan Hold here south. They say
she's coming down with the traders two weeks before our own Gather."

"Well I'm glad to hear about the eggs," said Wufei. "But why mention the girl? People get fostered out all the time, what's so important about this one?"

"Nothin' just that she's the younger sister of Lord Milliardo. Half the guy's in the weyr are fighting over who gets to see her first. It's kinda strange, I've never seen them so worked up
before."

"It's probably because she has a dowry attached to her," predicted Trowa sagely.

"But that wouldn't make any difference anyway," protested Quatre. "Dragonriders aren't allowed to hold lands or titles, at least not during a pass. The other duties we have are too
pressing to worry about holding lands as well."

"Oh well, who knows. I hope Heero gets here soon, I'm starving and I'd like to get to the gather before the bubbly pies get cold."

"Armyth says that he's here. His dragon just joined them on the cliffs."

Indeed, Heero could be seen making his way across the sands towards them, riding leathers loosened, helmet and jacket thrown over his shoulder.

"Hi Heero. Boy, it sure has been a long time!" said Quatre cheerfully, clasping his hand in a warm handshake of greeting. Heero nodded to acknowledge the truth of the statement.

"Hello," was all he said.

Out of all of the Dragonriders that made up their quintet of friends, Heero was the most mysterious of them. No one knew where he had come from or who his parents were. He never
mentioned anything about his past, if his dragon knew anything he wasn't saying. Heero had just shown up one day on the sands of Bendan Weyr and Impressed a bronze dragon. He
was well known for his bravery in threadfall, his penchant for beating the odds flight after flight and his single-minded focus on his objectives. But even Trowa thought he took things a
bit too seriously on occasion. Duo kept trying to hook him up with either a lovely green rider or one of the women in the weyr. Heero never paid any attention to them, choosing instead
to focus on whatever task it was he had set for himself.

"Well, can we get going already? These sands are getting hot and a good time awaits!" said Duo. The four other bronze dragon riders followed him out of the wyer and on to the Gather
grounds.

The colorful pageantry of a gather in full swing swirled around them. There were vendors sellining meat pies and rolled meat pastries and other selling bubbly pies and pies filled with
other kinds of fruits. There were stalls with wines, fruit-drinks and water chilling away from the sun. Down another isle there were craftsmen selling their wares. Ready-made jackets,
boots, sandals shoes, riding leathers as well as an assortment of other kinds of skins and hide cured and uncut were on display at a few of the tanners booths. Bolts of cloth dyed brilliant
colors attracted the eyes for a closer look at a weavers stall. At another booth a vendor was selling Harper-made musical instruments, drums, flutes, guitars, harps, even an old-fashioned
violin. Trowa and Quatre stayed a while at that booth. The company had dwindled down to Duo, Wufei and Heero.

"I thought I told you not to show your ugly face here again!" a voice shouted from a few feet in front of the trio. He sounded pretty drunk, and it was only the middle of the day.

"I'm sorry my face bothers you sir, but I have as much a right to be here as you do," said another voice. It sounded female. Exchanging a quick glance with one another, the three rushed
over to see what the trouble was.

They arrived just in time to see a huge bear of a man wearing the knots of a journeyman lumber-worker (when he was well into the age of a master) take a swing at a woman of seventeen
in fine clothing and long, long blonde hair. She was obviously the daughter of some lord holder.

The lady expertly dodged his swing and smacked him hard with a reed cane being displayed at one of the stalls. The man went sprawling out into the dirt packed roads separating the
isles of stalls. She shook her head at him and was about to continue on her way. Amazingly the sot managed to stagger to his feet and was about to attack again he was restrained by a
woman with golden-blonde hair in two twists. He was held at the other side by a Lady Holder with short raven-dark hair.

"Okay chief, that's enough excitement for you," said the blonde one with the twists. "I think it's time you took a little down time."

The Journeyman struggled against the both of them, and was swiftly joined by five of his friends all of them drunk and spoiling for a brawl. The two women exchanged a glance. The
blonde one said

"Looks like old times, eh Noin?"

They grinned like two children conspiring for mischief. The blonde lady who had originally been attacked joined them with a small epee and the three of them prepared to fight. That's
when Trowa Quatre and Heero stepped into the imminent battle, joined at their sides by Duo and Wufei. The odds were now eight to five. The drunken brawlers sized up the competition
and raised their hands in surrender. They'd probably get a month of latrine duty for this.

"Dorotea, what on Earth did you do this time?" demanded the dark-haired Noin.

"Nothing," she protested innoscently. "The fellow was just sore about losing a racing bet with me that's all. I wasn't going to provoke a fight, I got in enough trouble with cousin Trieze
the last time."

"Well I'm glad you learned you lesson," said Noin.

"Healer Sally! Look out!" called someone from the sidelines. Sally jumped to the side in time to avoid a massive swinging fist.

"Oh what is it now?" she said, her tone betraying her annoyance. She rolled and came up crouched in fighting form. She looked at her attacker.

"I remember you," she said. "You're the idiot from Nabol who wouldn't take no for an answer."

Sally had been interning with a Healer at Nabol one winter and had made a wager with one of the workers there. By some fluke she'd managed to win the bet and had taken the man's
marks. By force because he would not keep his word. He'd obviously recognized her and was intent on getting some payback.

"I thought you learned your lesson the first time around," she said disparagingly. Time to try another tactic. "Now let's be reasonable about this. I'm a Healer, so it wouldn't make much
sense for me to beat you senseless if I'm only going to have to turn around and patch you up again. How bout you let me buy you some wine and we call it even?"

"I'm gonna take the marks out of your pretty little face, Healer."

Sally rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"Alright, have it your way, but don't say I didn't warn you." Then with no warning at all, Healer Sally flew at the man and landed a sweet right cross at his jaw, followed swiftly by a
back hand with the left. He swung at her but she had already ducked into a crouch. She grabbed his arm as it passed over her head and threw the bear-man over her shoulder. He went
sprawling into one of the stalls. Noin, Dorothea, and Wufei were quick to move to restrain him and they had the man from Nabol well and truly tied before he could react.

"Well, that was exciting," said Noin mildly. "Too bad Milliardo missed out on all the fun."

"Aw man, and I didn't even get to land one punch in a brawl," said Duo, a little diappointedly.

"Hey guys, thanks for your help," said the Healer. "I'm Master Healer Sally, This is Lady Noin of Ruatha Hold," she said gesturing to the raven haired woman. "This is Lady Dorothea,
Lord Treize's cousin."

"Oh, hello," said Quatre, his manners impeccable as ever. "I'm Quatre of Igen Weyr, Rider of bronze Rokoth." He said and gestured to each of his companions in turn. "This is Trowa of
Fort Weyr, Wingleader and rider of Bronze Armyth." (Trwoa inclined his head politely.) "This is Duo of Bendan Weyr, wingsecond and Rider of bronze Syth." (Dou gave a playful little
salute.) "This is Heero of Bendan Weyr, Wingleader and Rider of bronze Zeroth." (Heero nodded politely.) Quatre looked around. "Hey, where's Wufei?"

Wufei showed up a minute later, wineskin in hand. He passed it without comment to the Healer. Who took a small drink and passed it to her friend.

"I know where I've seen you before," said Noin after she'd swallowed. "You're the new Weyrleader at High Reaches right?"

"Correct," he said stiffly.

"Well, I hear you're doing a great job," said Sally. "Actually, I know you are because I've had to visit the Weyr to perform surgery a lot less since you took over. Why don't you tell
me how you do it?"

"Well I" He said hesitantly. Wufei wasn't quite sure what he should be saying or doing right at the moment. The good doctor seemed to have made him well and truly tongue-tied.
Duo and Quatre exchanged a look and a smile. It was time for a little help from his friends.

"Sure he'd love to," said Duo. "Why don't you two go off and talk shop for a while, wander around a bit, and we'll meet up with you all a little later."

"Sounds great to me," said Master Healer Sally as she tucked his arm in her and led him off down the aisles of stalls.

"Well, that worked out well," remarked Duo of his spur of the moment matchmaking. " I hope he see's more of her."

"Duo!" said Noin, feigning shock. "They've just met!"

"Not that way! I meant- Oh never mind!"

Noin grinned and lead Dorothea to where Milliardo and Treize sat in deep conversation about the bloodlines of Ruathan Runners and which likely colt would win big in the next few
years.

The four dragonriders mingled at the Gather, as much mingling as most of them ever did anyway. They drank wine and bet on the races, they looked at the items for sale. Quatre bought
himself some new strings for his harp, Trowa bought a beautifully crafted set of pipes. When played they sounded sweet and mellow instead of high and scratchy like the ones he had
bought previously.

Later that evening the dances commenced, the Harpers had some new tunes and the sound of laughter and merry making filled the air. Duo ran into a lady-friend of his from Bendan,
dressed in her Gather best and asked her to dance. She was a green rider, and in his opinion quite possibly the cutest looking green rider out of any of them. Hilde was her name, she
rode green Tauruth.

Wufei surprised everyone by asking the Masterhealer Sally for a turn on the dance floor. They made an admirable coupleand it seemed to some that Wufei might have even loosened up
a little and smiled. But it was dark out so no one could tell.

Lord Treize and Lady Une danced with each other all evening as usual. They had to be one of the best looking couples out there twirling and clapping in time to the music. Mariemaia
had long since given up and gone to bed so it was just the two of them.

Finally the Harpers signaled and end to the set and Lord Treize and Lady Une bid everyone a fine adieu and the ones who hadn't already slipped of found their beds for the night. Heero,
Duo, Quatre and Wufei caught some air on their dragons back to their own Weyrs, promising to meet up again at some later date. After all, they weren't due to fly thread fall for another
two days.

Author's Note: Well? What did you think? Not bad eh? I tried to get the charactors well integrated in the Pernese world, and I gotta admit I had fun picking out the perfect roles for each
of them. Sorry Relena wasn't in this chapter, she'll make it into the next one, I promise. I've already got her role picked out.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing does not belong to me. It belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. Pern does not belong to me. That is the sole property of the Dragonlady herself,
Anne McCaffrey. For those of you who do not know what Pern is, go out and read her series. You'll love it! (shameless plug.)