A Gathering of Dragons Chapter Nine

"Duo!" cried the dark-haired rider of green Tauruth, Hilde. She rushed over to throw herself into his arms and hold him tightly. He had made it! Another Threadfall and he had made it!

He smelled like sulfur and riding leathers, Hilde inhaled deeply, trying to remember everything about this moment. A tidal wave of relief washed over her as she noted that he was alive and uninjured. She also noticed with no small amount of private delight that he held her just as tight as she was hugging him.

"Aw Hilde-babe, don't tell me you were worried about me," he said as she burrowed her head into his shoulder.

"Of course I was worried about you dim-glow!" she said into the sulfurous-smelling leather of his riding jacket. "I always worry about you during these things."

Duo made no further comment on that matter but instead changed the subject.

"So when's the next time you're flying Thread?" he asked. He had promised himself a romantic dinner alone with her and he was going to get it, but first it might be wise to ensure no interruptions. Duo wouldn't have minded attending another Gather with her as his partner in a dance, he had enjoyed the last Gather he'd spent with her so immensely. He hadn't had that good a time in someone's company since Well, it had been a long time. He wanted things to go right between them, he wanted to do things right because he felt that there was something special about her.

"A seven-day from now," she answered. "Tomorrow's my free-day, the next day and after that is Hatching which will take all day, and a patrol to fly the day after, but my fourth and fifth-day's are going to be nothing but drilling from dawn to dusk. Why do you ask?"

"Ohhh, nuthin' special," he said casually. "I just wanted to know if you wanted to nip off for a private victory celebration is all."

"With you? I'd love too."

There was no mistaking the genuine surprise and pleasure in her voice as she accepted his invitation.

"And you must be starving," she said suddenly. "Let's get you to the caverns and get you something to eat!"

Duo willingly allowed her to pamper him to her hearts content. After all, who was he to deny her that" And she made him feel so cherished...

"Oh, um, by the way....I heard about B'ner. I'm really sorry."

And she was too, that was one of the things Duo liked about Hilde: Whatever she was feeling at the moment she was feeling completely. She didn't waste time with artifices or pretenses, she was sincere in her sympathies. He could read her distress for him and her distress about the life of a fellow dragonrider in her clear blue eyes as easily as he would read a message-hide.

"I heard that they're giving a memorial service for him later tonight," she said solemnly. "Perhaps we should go. I mean, I don't have to come if you don' want me to but I just thought...nevermind."

"Oh, no, it's okay. I want you there," said Duo readily. He had to be careful not to press her too much and scare her away, but also not to seem indifferent either.

"Okay," she said quietly, with a small nervous smile.

Duo looked around him....

As always after a Threadfall the air was filled with a strange mix of joyful and anguished sounds. The keening of an injured dragon as thread has scored through the thin membranous skin of its wing, the muted sounds of joyful laughter and greeting as the ones who survived were greeted and embraced by their loved ones. The joy they felt at returning to the arms of their loved ones was colored by the knowledge that there were others who did not, who had not come out of the encounter unscathed.

The impromptu victory celebrations were danced in the shadows of memories. Memories of incredible near misses, of pain, of death, of the agony of dragons and riders falling from a score. There were memories of life threatening maneuvers and miraculous saves. Also, memories of the now-departed, the dragon pair who would fly no more and how they would be missed sorely.

It always seemed to happen after threadfall. As Heero was fond of saying, no victory is ever complete. There was always a price to be paid. To a dragonrider the price was in blood, in pain or even with their lives, but it was a sacrifice willingly made for the sake of Pern.

"Come on Duo, let's go get you changed up," said Hilde. "You go to your bower and change out of those riding leathers and I'll meet you in the Caverns down below for a quick cup of klah before the memorial ceremony."

"Sure thing babe," he said, allowing his arm to remain slung around her shoulder as they walked over to the steps. "I'll meet you there in a few minutes."

...

The memorial service had been brief, as were most of them. Brief, but meaningful. All the riders in his wing stood up to say something about him and his two other friends, F'Kol and A'sim, who had been his best friends since they had all been wyerlings together looked out with red-rimmed eyes. His death would not be forgotten, not by any of them.

After the small service in which the weyr Harper sung a dirge, Hilde seemed to want to fuss over him and had him bundled off to bed before he could say "Hey, wait a minute!" She tucked him in (and Duo had not been tucked in since he'd been a small child) and gave him a chaste kiss on his forehead.

He once again made a note to do something special for her, for them both. He knew that everything she did for him she did out of genuine concernit was a promising start at least.

* * *

Master Healer Sally checked again the mix of Pragon's Tongue (Pernese Aloe-like pods) Poppy-Hips (a type of sleep aid berry) and Highbrush Elder-Hop Bark (bitter, but said to cure headaches, grown in Nerat) that steeped in wine. It was one of the foxy Tilleck varieteis. One did not waste good wine on medicine. Many Healers preferred to use vinegar in their medicinal work, but Sally figured, why make the taste of the awful stuff worse than it has to be.

The High-Reaches Weyr Healing hall had been just barely above "bad shape" when she'd arrived there to start in on her new job. Now, thanks to her fellow healers (who had been more than happy to donate already-prepared mixtures and plant starts to get her own garden going until she could get things running to her satisfaction) and a very helpful and concerned weyrleader things were almost manageable.

The hall itself had been in disrepair, shelves were knocked down of the walls, the counters were decrepit and the entire place had so much dust and pollen that it was likely to cause a medical condition in itself. Sally, not ashamed or afraid in the least of hard work, had knocked down the rest of the shelves for kindling (which was about all that it was good for) and ordered new ones built. The counters she had had replaced also with solid, level ones built to hold her work. Before the counters and shelves had been replaced however, Sally had appropriated a few of the drudges to scour the rooms inside and out. The leaky ceiling had been thatched and plastered right proper, the dust that had collected on the floors and in the corners had been swept out. After that Sally ensured that the room was scoured up and down with a water and redwort solution for sanitary purposes. No patient of hers would be exposed to anything that could aggrivate the wound, not in her facility! No germ or speck of dirt or bacteria would ever have the temerity to show itself in her workshop!

After the place had been scoured, a better word would have been "decontaminated," to the Master Healers own satisfaction she allowed the shelves and numerous work benches to be situated in the places she had had them measured for. All of this was done with the full backing of the weyrleader, over the wyerwoman's complaints. He told her that a wise weyr took care of its Healer so that the Healer could take care of them.

And did these people ever need taking care of! She could sense the Weyrleaders frustration, hidden carefully, but still there. She'd gathered from the complaints of her patients as she reset their bones or stitch up a gash in their side that things had been run quite a bit differently under the old Weyrleader's regime. Things had been more lax, more easy-going....but after careful questioning she'd also discovered that the ratio of deaths and injuries had been a lot higher. Sally did what she could to help them realize that the discipline and drilling were infinitely preferable to deaths and injuries Fall after Fall. When necessary she'd treated the dragonmen like the petulant folls they were acting like and shamed them into their realizations. One did what one could. Maybe if they started listening to their new Weyrleader with something other than grudging tolerance the Weyr would actually start doing what t was supposed to with more efficiency (and she wouldn't have as many wounds to tend to.) A healer lived to heal, but the injuries they sported due to carelessness or over excess sometimes were ridiculous!

She got the sense sometimes that Wufei knew of her efforts on his behalf and (even though he'd probably never say it) was grateful. He had a difficult time of everything. And that Weyrwoman of his, while competent and thorough, was not someone she'd care to spend her days with. Scuttlebutt around the caverns was that the two of them slept in different bowers. Sally tried not act too vitally interested in the fact, people would be sure to note it otherwise, but she'd been privately and very quietly delighted to hear that the young bronze rider was available. The weyrleader was roughly two and a half years her junior. Still, her second oldest sister had married herself to a man almost seven years her junior and her oldest brother married a woman who was far younger than he. Out of her entire family of seven, Sally was the only unmarried sister. Not that she was in any hurry, she was above all a career woman who loved her work and had worked hard to attain her position, but she would not have objected o a child or two. She didn't even really need the husband although it would be a nice bonus to have a life partner, if not to share her work with, then at least so she had someone to talk with when the day was through. She hadn't set her sights on him per se, some of her sisters had talked of landing a husband as if they were going out wherry hunting, trapping a man into matrimony was not precisely Sally's idea of wedded bliss.

"Well, the decanting is coming along nicely, another week and this batch will be ready for the third stage," she muttered to herself. "I should check with Veman to see if he has any extra clay pots to sell, I know he just finished a batch."

It was a habit of hers, musing aloud while she worked. She quickly stoppered the last jar, labeled carefully, then placed it in its proper place on one of the shelves and turned back to wipe down the mess on the counter with a bleached dry cloth and some redwort solution.

She was meticulous in her cleanliness, Sally didn't know a healer who wasn't. Unfortuneately it did not extend to her clothing, at least not often. Healing was a messy business, and her wardrobe tended to reflect that. Old stains that no amount of bleach could remove marred the loose-fitting tunic and trousers she favored. Sally rarely if ever dressed up, even her gather clothes were practical as well as decorative because Sally was after all, a practical person. Her tunic and breeches were a tad on the over-large side with large pockets sewn into them for carrying items she found on immediate use in her day to day work; clippers, tough twine thread, a sharp knife, a small stoppered jar of salve for emergencies.... the basic tools of the trade. To her large sash, which could double as a kercheif or a sling when the need arose, was attached her belt knife, a gift from her uncle when she'd made her mastery.

"Hmmm, I have no other pressing matters at the moment," she murmured, thinking out loud. Her potions and salves had been taken care of earlier this morning, she had toured the hold yesterday, so unless there was an accident or sudden illness, Sally found herself with time on her hands for the first time since she'd come here.

"Glad to hear it," said a voice from behind her. Sally gave a small start in surprise and turned to see who had spoken. Of course she already knew who it was, she hadn't been around him for very long but she could already pick his voice out of a crowd.

"Hello Wufei, what can I do for you?" she inquired, assuming that he was there on an official matter (and not just dropping in to see her as she secretly hoped her was.)

"A friend of mine from Fort Weyr told me that your friend in Ruatha is getting a tad on the anxious side to see you," he said. "My people will be running drills for the day so I thought I would extend the offer to fly you over there to give her a check up."

"Thank-you Wufei, that's so thoughtful," said Sally, inordinately pleased. "There's absolutely no reasoning with an expecting mother. Especially if it's her first child. Are you certain you don't mind me taking off for a few hours to soothe a friend?"

"No, of course not," he assured her. "I have some business I would like to see to in that place as well."

"Does it have anything to do with that meeting we attended earlier this past week?"

"Among other things, I want to see if s a few of my comrades have uncovered something new that might put a different light on things."

"I suppose there's no harm in trying. Very well, let me get my things and we can be on our way."

Healer Sally never "gathered" her things. A good healer always had things ready to go at a moments notice. And she was a good Healer. She had small travel bag of tools and medicines already packed and waiting for things like this, so, a quick change in aprons was all she needed to be reasonably presentable. She grabbed her bag and her riding jacket and indicated that she was ready to depart.

With a small smile of appreciation for her efficiency, they were out the door across the courtyard and on Shenloth's back. Sally loved flying, she especially loved flying with Wufei mainly because she got o put her arms around him and hold onto him tightly. The wind tried to disarrange her hair, but she had it so well-trained that only the bravest of fly-aways dared emerge from her meticulous twists.

The passing Between was as unnerving as ever. No matter how many times she experienced it, Sally kept expecting to feel something other than the cold surrounding her. Wufei didn't look bothered by it in the least.

<Then again,> she thought. <He's a dragonrider.>

Shenloth circled over the stones of the courtyard at Bendan Lazily, coming in for a landing with gentle aplomb. It wasn't showing off, but it was as close as she was likely to see out of the pair. Sally grinned, so the weyrleader had a bit of hidden showman in him after all. When Sally was helped from Shenloths back by Wufei who swung her off by the hips and set her gently on her feet "to make sure she didn't stumble" she found Lord Milliardo and Lady Noin waiting for her just out of range of Shenloths wingspan.

Noin and Sally enfolded each other in a welcoming embrace, like two sisters who had been separated for months. Wufei gave a slight bow at the waist to the Lord Holder of Ruatha and the two went off to his office to discuss whatever it was that Wufei had come to dicuss with him. Sally led Noin over to the infirmary, where they talked animatdly about what had been goin on in their lives since they'd been separated while Sally checked Noin over.

Weyrleader Wufei and Lord Holder Milliardo retired to his office to discuss the situation with th Raiders and the deteriorating relations between the Holds and the Weyrs.

"I've had spies and scouts up and down the lengths of my lands, but so far we have turned up no sign of the Raiders. Wherever their main encampment is, and they must have one, it is not anywhere on the lands beloden to Ruatha Hold," Lord Milliardo reported.

"My people too have been patrolling the High Reaches, Crom, Nabol, even as far as Tillek but all of our scouting forays have turned up nothing. It's almost as if they knew we were coming," mused Wufei.

"That might not be far from the mark," suggested Lord Milliardo. "They could have someone who can hear dragons. I admit, the gift is very rare and it's pretty unlikely that this is the case...."

"Unlikely, but not impossible. It's something to consider at least. Have you or Lord Treize made any headway in figuring out what these Raiders might be after?"

"We've poured over the ledger and have been able to figure out several caravans that the Raiders will be hitting next, but we still haven't been able to acertain why. It's frustrating I tell you. All of this is going on right under all of our very noses and we can only react to it as it hits us."

Wufei could certainly sympathise with the Lord Holder. He was more a man of action than reaction himself and the fact that they couldn't pin down their motives or catch them in action was an eternal needle horn in the Weyrman's side. His Weyrwoman Jacella was useless when it came to these matters. She operated on the assumption that 'if it didn't have anything to do with Thread or Dragons then it was not her problem.' She failed to see that it was indeed her problem. It was closed minds and closed eyes like those that allowed the Raiders to be so successful in the first place.

"So, how do things look with the other Lord Holders? What's the situation?"

"I don't like it Weyrleader," said Milliardo gravely. Lord Millirdo had originally thought that Wufei, because of his youth, was going to be even worse than the last weyrleader and get the rest of his weyr killed off. But over the months of the new Weyrleader regime he had gotten to know Wufei of High Reaches a little better and could honestly say he respected the young man. Wufei knew that he had a responsibilty to all of Pern, not just his own Weyr.

In fact Lord Millirdo would go so far as to say that he saw things more clearly than a lot of the other Lord Holders. Lord Meitch of Southen Boll for one, Lord Vanarr of Crom, both of them were well known for not looking far beyond the borders of their own lands. They just refused to look and see that these attacks affected everybody, not just them.

"They're so concerned about their own lands, and their own interests that they have forgotten to look out for the wellfare of Pern," said Lord Millirdo, inefectively trying to bruch his bangs out of his face.

"That's what dragonmen are for, right?"

"Partially, but that may be more of a problem in the future," said Lord Milliardo, sighing in frustration. "I didn't really want to say anything before, for fear of alarming other people....but I sense that you've gotten the same feeling I have recently."

"Tensions between the Lord Holders and the Weyrs is increasing," said Wufei flatly. "Yes, we've all sensed it, although Jacella seems to be of the opinion that 'Lord Holders will be Lord Holders and they do have autonomy'." He made a perfect mimic of her voice. "no offense meant of course."

"None taken," said Milliardo. "However true her statement may be it only goes up to a point. Hold autonomy only extends to Hold affairs and their respective borders. However these attacks have taken place across the length and breadth of Pern, they should be asking the Weyrs for help not making these ridiculuos accusations!"

"Accusations?" inquired Wufei. He had caught wind of vague grumblings, but there were always vague grumblings. If there was open talk, things could get messy.

"Nothing outright, at least not yet....but these patrols that the weyrs have started running are making some of the Lord Holders very nervous. Nabol and Bitra seem to take positive delight in making insinuations, and the more they tell their half-truth and outright lies the more the other Lords start to listen. It's easiest to make people swallow a big lie if you salt it with partial truths, and the more you tell this lie, the more people start to believe it."

"Has everyone started listening?" Wufei started to get worried...this could be worse than he'd originally thought.

"No, not eveyone. Many of the Lord Holders are treating the insinuations with the contempt that they deserve, still other are ignoring the matter in favor of pursuing other things."

"So how many are listening?"

Milliardo ticked them off on his fingers.

"Nabol, Bitra, Crom, Southern Boll, Telgar-"

"And I thought Lord Gelveren had more sense than that."

"Lemos-"

"Lord Estren? Does the phrase hen-pecked ring a bell?"

"And Nerat," Lord Milliardo finished.

"And those Lords in favor of us?"

"Myself on behalf of Ruatha, Lord Treize of Fort of course, High Reaches, and Bendan Hold."

"That's it? Just four?"

"There are Lords who are neutral...Ista, Igen. Keroon, and Tillek."

"Hmmm, if it comes down to a vote in the Coucil at Midwinter or Midsummer we would have to sway those four to our side to get a majority."

"It wouldn't be a two thirds majority...."

"It would be enough, barely. But there's something about Nabol I don't like," muttered Wufei.

"What's to like? You know the Nabolese, they're always stirring up trouble."

That was the entirety of the matter that the two needed to discuss and they were saved from awkward silence by a knock at the door.

"Come," said Milliardo.

It was MasterHealer Sally.

"Your wife and your baby are in perfect health," she began without preamble. "I've left her some salve for her swollen ankles, but the best thing she could do is stay off her feet more often. Oh, and make sure she drinks more water and no wine. Tell the cook to go easy on the salted foods also."

My wife won't be pleased with all these new orders," he noted wryly, sensing that she'd put up quite a fight with the Healer. Noin was notoriously stubborn and had never liked being told what to do and how.

"Yes well she's going to have to get used to it. I want to see both her and her unborn child through this first pregnancy well and safe. More women loose their firsts through carelessness with themselves in this trimester than in any others. If you're being too overprotective then you're not smothering her enough. I don't want her confined to bed just yet, but do all you can to cut back her workload for a while, she's been straining herself."

Sally noted with amusement the determined look on Lord Milliardo's face as Sally gave him his "marching orders". Noin was going to get Sally prescription filled if Milliardo had to tie her in the bed and spoon feed her.

"Oh, and I've also left a list of foods that I think she should start seeing more of.... A pregnant woman needs the right diet if she's going to birth a healthy baby."

"It will be done. Thank you Healer, you have no idea how relieved I am to hear that everything's going to be alright. And for the record, I'v been telling her she should take it easier, but she's been singularly resistant to the idea."

"That's Noin for you. And you just can't resist someone hearing you say 'I told you so' can you?"

Lord Milliardo did not seem in the least abashed to admit the fact.

"Please, can you come back in another few seven-day's? To check on my wife and baby?"

"Yes, I promise, I'll be back here in three seven-days to make sure everything is coming along smoothly."

With that the two bid their good-byes to Lord Milliardo and Lady Noin and Wufei conveyed Sally on Shenloth's back to the Weyr.

When they arrived at High Reaches Weyr, Sally was called away immediately to attend to the injuries of two of the weyrlings who had gotten into a scuffle in the courtyard. Wufei had to head up to his bower cum office and figure out how this new piece fit in the puzze, plus he still had the regular mundane details of his Weyr to attend to. There were the lists of supplies they were running short of, the records of Tithes, the reports from those Dragonriders her had appointed to patrol certain borders... it just went on and on. And that didn't count the inspections he had to do of the dragonriders and their drilling and the evaluations of their performance and placing.

Wufei knew from experience that he'd probably be here long into the night. He could feel the headache already.

* * *

Duo found that he couldn't sleep. His blood was still pumping from the flight earlier, and he knew that he probably wouldn't be able to sleep until he hit adrenaline crash, then he'd sleep like a lump. Sythe had been known to remark on the volume of his.......snores at that point. Duo didn't snore! Sythe had to be making it up.

He tossed and turned restlessly for an hour or so and then gave it up as a lost cause. Sat up and swung his feet out of his bed intending to go and get some food from the kitchens or something. But instead of going to the kitchens, he found his feet taking him to a different place altogether. He slunk down the corridors silent as a shadow and peeked in Hilde's room. Taurut cracked an eyelid and Duo put a finger over his mouth to signal that the dragon shouldn't make any noise.

-Hey Sythe ol' buddy, ask Tauruth if Hilde has ever wanted breakfast in bed,- Sent Duo to his dragon.

After a pause Sythe said

-Tauruth says that Hilde has thought of it, but has never found anyone willing to spoil her like that.-

-We-e-ell I guess it'll be a nice little surprise then. Something to butter her up for dinner later this week.-

-Tauruth wants to know if you intend on feeding Hilde until she submits.-

Duo barely restrained a chuckle and whispered

-I'd like to think it was because of my ample charms, but just in case, I'd like to have something to fall back on.-

Before Threadfall he had popped on by Southern Boll Hold and offered an exchange of services to the headcook. If her would make Hilde's favorite, the coks own recipe for baked waterfowl in citrus sauce served with citrus pastries and their chilled friut drink, then Duo would convey the cook to the next Gather anywhere on Pern and back. They'd shook on the deal and each went about their business with the feeling of a dicker well made.

There was still a light bit of arranging to do, but Duo could take care of that a little later. He crept back out of Hilde's room after taking a minute to gaze at her sleeping form "to make sure she was alright," and silently made his way to the kitchens. There was always a small hearth open for the late-night food run....schedules were thrown out of whack in a Weyr more often than they were kept smoothly running, so people usually needed to grab some food on the fly at odd hours.

-Duo, perhaps you should wait a few hours to make her breakfast,- suggested Sythe. Most likely the food would be cold by the time she awoke to eat it if you started making it now.-

-You've got a point there buddy,- said Duo. Say, ya feel like goin' out for a short flight?-

-I thought you might be asking soon. Yes, I like spending time with you.-

-Same here ol' buddy, same here.-

Duo made his silent way back to his bower, grabbing the harness and riding leathers on his way up, and took off on Sythe's back. He had the perfect spot for dinner all picked out. It was a lovely cliff-side place with a perfect view of the wide beautiful vista of a large freshwater lake of glacial meltwater in a lovely valley. For some reason the lake had an uncanny blue color he had yet to see anywhere else, and this place was the best place to watch the stars, they were so clear It was up near the Northern Barrier, where the glaciers had receded to. You could still see the occasional glacier inhabiting the mountain ranges and Duo liked flying over them and looking for the lateral moraines and the medial moraines and the end moraines. The alpine glaciers looked like giant rivers of banded white and brown with the jagged pointy peaks of mountain tops sticking up from around its sides. It was always a bit chill, but there was one thing that could combat the chill.

One of the best kept secrets about this place was the geothermal hotsprings. Warmed by the core of the earth, these pools kept a temperature warm no matter how cold the air was, the steam rising off the surface of the lake warmed the air quite pleasantly. It was a small bit of a walk form the place where he planned to hold dinner, but at this time of year, with the last of the snow melted from the nearest mountaintops and the spring flowers beginning to bloom on the hillsides, it was a beautiful walk.

It was one of Duo's favorite places. He'd never brought another person here, not even any of the other women he'd dated. But bringing Hilde here just felt right.

<Let's see here,> he thought surveying his handiwork to date. He had already transported a small table and two chairs here for the sole purpose of dinner for two. He had a small tripod set over a small firepit nearby for keeping the food warm while he went to fetch Hilde. The meal was probably being made in Southern Boll as he spoke, well, maybe not, it was still early there. He would bring the prepared food here before he brought Hilde, just to keep everything running smoothly. There was a large nearby with branches that spread out from thick gnarled limbs that were just beginning to leaf and bloom. It was under the huge tree that Duo had set the table for two, for the best showing of the beautiful veiw of the valley and the lake at the bottom. Hanging form those trees was his latest effort and something he was rather proud of... Jars. Well, they were all poorly-made, misshapen glass jars, the first works of an apprentice friend of his who had been one of his foster brothers. The glass was watery and bubbly and mis-matched and wouldn't hold food or liquids very well, but they were just right for holding glows, better than glowbaskets. He had tied cords around them and had suspended them from the branches of the tree above and around the table. The effect was very romantic, or so he thought. He was certain Hilde would like it too.

Everything was in place there...

Duo walked over to the hillside where the hotsprings resided. There were about twenty different pools in the hillside, and the farther up one went, the hotter the water got. The smell of sulfur was a constant, but it wasn't too bad really. He had picked one of the pools that had a natural privacy screening of rock and had set up small rag torches with more flawed glass jars from his glassworker-friends kiln. Inside the torces was a refined oil made from packtail oils.....it had a very woodsy smell to it now. It had cost a pretty penny from the sea-hold but Duo considered it money well spent. There were torches on poles as well and overhead would be the moon and stars. Sure, he could have used the hot bathing pools at Bendan, and many people did, but he wanted to ensure that there would be no interruptions. He didn't want some expectant bather barging in on his time alone with Hilde and completely ruining his mood, this way there would be absolutely no interruptions.

He checked his bucked of icy snow (collected from a glacier top, and had Sythe ever complained about that!) and his bottle of aged white Bendan that he had been saving for a special occasion. Nothing could be more perfect. Perhaps after this little interlude, Hilde might just start to consider moving into his bower.

When a Dragonrider moved into another Dragonrider's bower it was the same as saying they intended on forming a more permanent attachment. If the arrangement lasted for a year and a day all of the couples friend's and wingmates held a celebration congratulating the pair. ((A.N. It doesn't make any mention of Dragonriders going through an actual marriage ceremony, the closest they come is when a bronze flies a queen. However such an arrangement has been mentioned in McCaffreys other novels so I'm betting that if she were ever going to mention a dragonrider permanent attachment, it would be something like that. I did base it off some of her other works. Accuracy, heh heh.)) As far as he knew, only Holders went through the elaborate mess with special clothes and marriage-marks and vows and Harpers ((A.N. see "Nerillka's Story" for further information on Holder weddings, or "The MasterHarper of Pern.")) Dragonriders generally had neither the time nor the inclination to bother. They were a more laid-back group. Most of their couplings were more of the tacit acknowledgment variety than the official sort.

He checked around, well pleased with himself and the way the set up had turned out. It looked like everything was going to go smoothly.

-Well Sythe, everything seems okay here. Let's head back so I can get some sleep and surprise Hilde with Breakfast in bed.-

It was late evening there at High Reaches, but still midnight back at Bendan, there would be plenty of time to sleep.

* * *

Wufei looked up from where he'd sat crouched over his work for the last few hours. Deciding that he had earned a break he stretched his arms and arched his back, working some of the kinks out of it. The satisfying sound of his verebra popping testified to exactly how long he had been cramped into the same position.

-Sharding maps!- he thought, glaring at the map that lined one wall of his study. It was made of some strange substance that was not paper. It had an unnaturally smooth surface and it was shiny, he'd never seen anything made out of this material in present days. Yet another skill lost to the ancients, and probably lost forever.

It never seemed to end...and he had actually wanted this job? What had he been thinking?!

He rubbed at one temple, trying to rid himself of the throbbing headache that had formed there, no luck (as usual). He tried moving on to one of his shoulders, but he knew that nothing was going to get rid of the wall of tension that made up his back, neck and shoulders. Sally had mentioned something about that probably being the source of the headaches.....nonsense, how could one get headaches from ones neck and back?

No, the real source of those headaches had to be the map with its colored dots stuck onto it. The dots represented raids on caravans and routes. They were in no discernible pattern, completely random and no matter which way he turned the problem he only came up with more questions! It was so frustrating! Just thinking about thinking about it brought a sharp stabbing pain right behind his right eye. Would he never be rid of these headaches?

He looked at the piles of scrolls on his desk. More loose ends, the entire Weyr was nothing but loose ends. It made him want to gnash his teeth, except for when he did that usually only made the headache worse. Wufei let out a long, frustrated sigh. He had managed to read all of the report fron the wingleaders, those he trusted well enough o be honest, thourogh and competent that was, and on the good side....things were improving. His riders were finally getting the message he was trying to pound through their thick sculls. However on the bad side, they still had a ways to go. There were still daily injuries resulting from brawls, drilling maneuvers and plain stupidity.

He appreciated the Healers work and her willingness to put up with the Riders, he also appreciated the fact that she was trying to help him out by giving the riders a scold when they richly deserved it. Often, he was away from the Weyr on Weyr business and couldn't be there to chew them out (and Weyrwoman Jacella usually didn't bother). Sally had no qualms about treating them like young men who had done something stupid when they knew they were doing something stupid and did it anyway! If they wouldn't give her the authority then she took it and read them a lecture on the exact measure of their stupidity. He had to admire her that.

If he were to be perfectly honest with himself he admired more than that about her, but that would have to keep. She wasn't a drudge wench or a "discrete mistress," she was a Healer with a livelihood and an occupation all of her own. He would have to tread carefully with her for he wasn't sure if she even wanted a relationship with him and he got the feeling that anything with her was going to be lasting. He certainly wouldn't mind lasting. Contrary to the talk around the Weyr, Wufei hadn't spent the past few years completely celibate. There had been one or two discrete riders warming his furs, and while the occasional dalliance fulfilled his physical needs, his emotional ones were left severely lacking. He didn't have anyone to come back to. No one who would sit by and listen to him vent his frustrations, no one who was simply there for him, a comforter, a friend. Meiran had been that, but she'd been dead and gone for a long time. He still loved her, and honored her memory....but perhaps it was time to think of finding someone else. He wouldn't mind sharing his life with Master Healer Sally. She was probably one of the few people from outside a Weyr who understood the total dedication it took to be a Dragonrider, much less Weyrleader.

However, assuming she was interested, he didn't want to justhow was it that Duo had put it? Bash her over the head and throw her over his dragon's back. Even if she was a full-time Healer, she would probably be expecting some form of courtship. Besides only an idiot risked offending their resident Healer! She knew things about the way a body worked, she knew how it was put together and probably had a pretty good idea of how to take it apart. He had seen her in action at the Gather, she was certainly no slouch in the areas of combat. More likely than not she'd be the one to make him prove his mettle.

<And she's certainly no eyesore either,> he thought privately. Hair the color of sun-ripened grains, styled efficiently as ever simply begging for him to let it free of it confines to flow over his hands. Eyes of a lambent blue that peered straightforwardly into his own niether flinching nor making the least obeisance. She was his equal and knew it.

He could tell that beneath her oversized, practical tunic and trews Sally had a superb figurehe had covertly observed for a while and that was the conclusion he came to. She had a slim waist, curvy hips and well toned body from all the work she put in. Not everything in healing was reading, study and light-work. Some of it was real actual down-on-your-hands-and knees-work! Things had to be hauled and lifted, demijohns of medicines prepared, gardens weeded, things scrubbed daily to a fare-thee-well. No, she was no stranger to manual labor. And that wasn't even counting the hours and days spent aback a runnerbeast traveling from cot to hold to hall in the sector meteing out medicines and caring for injuries. He could recall spending days on a runnerbeast before....by the end of the day he had been so exhausted and sore hat he'd wanted to simply collapse into his bedroll and sleep for a week. If he was extremely lucky, the Hold or Crafthall would know of his coming and would have prepared a hot bath to work away the soreness in his muscles. If he wasn't, he would rise from his furs the next morning and wish himself dead only to repeat the grueling hours worth of riding the next day. That would certainly tone a person's muscles!

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his door.

"Come in," he called softly. It was quite late at night now and he didn't wish to wake anyone.

To his surprise the person who peeked in was none other than the object of his reflections (and affections). She was carrying a woven basket of what smelled like something quite delicious...his favorite foods in fact! And she had a small hopeful smile on her face.

"I heard you hadn't eaten all night so I brought you up some of your favorites. I know you've been cooped up in here since earlier this afternoon and you have that tiny crease in your brow that says you're nursing a headache. I've brought the cure for it."

"Ah so? Well, I'll more than welcome the respite. I am hungry," he admitted.

Sally smiled and walked fully into the room, shutting the door behind her. She walked over to a low table and cleared away a space to set up the dinner she had brought. It was a tender roast of herd-beast and tubers with a salad of young greens from the garden. There was also baked goods of warm sweet pastry, meatrolls stuffed with heard-beast and sauce, and a loaf of bread with a small pat of butter and some sliced cold-meats. To his utter surprise and he sorely wished he knew how she'd gotten hold of it, there was a delicate desert of frothy whipped cream and bramble berries! He loved bramble berries and whipped cream was osmething not often seen in High Reaches.

"Everyone needs a little pampering every now and again," she said as she removed delicious finger sandwiches he favored and an earthen jug of apple brandy mixed with some sweet klah. An unusual mix, but one that he'd developed an odd taste for. "And you, being who you are, won't take the time out to pamper yourself. I guess it's up to me to see that it's done for you then. You're troubled with something, I can tell. You don't have to tell me right now, you can sit and eat if you like."

Smiling and willingly obedient, Wufei joined her on one of the cushions at the low table while Sally removed several jars of something from the basket and set them near the hearth, not explaining. She joined him back at the table and, sensing that Wufei wasn't willing to talk about whatever it was that was troubling him at the moment, began to entertain him with amusing stories of the piccadilloes of some of the younger weyrlings. He was laughing freely in moments, the very act of laughing serving to loosen him a little.

Half way through the meal they were engaged in stimulating discussion on several theories involving a medical procedure that was said to have once been applicable but now the knowledge had been lost. It was some kind of "surgical" procedure that was supposed to remove an inflamed appendix. Wufei knew someone who had died of a burst appendix and he'd wished they'd retained the knowledge of how to remove it in time.

That was another thing he liked about Sally, she was great conversation. Sharp and inquisitive she knew the ebb and flow of a good discussion, when to talk and when to be silent. She also didn't bother holding forth over things she knew nothing about. He had met women who had tried to act and sound smarter than they really were in an effort to impress him, unfortunately they'd made the wrong impression. He'd been too polite to say anything, but he hadn't made any friendly overtures to them either. Sally listened when Wufei talked and didn't offer platitudes or try to pretend she knew more than him about things he speciallized in. If he was talking about training and fighting wings or riders difficulties in the air she listened and believed him and didn't pretend she knew better about it than he did, she didn't condescend or talk down to him. Likewise when she shared knowledge with him about threadscore injuries or healing methods or some of the weaknesses of the human body he listened to her and didn't act like he knew more about her area than she did. That was not to say that their conversation stuck mainly to the areas of their expertise eitherquite the opposite. She had a knowledge and a curiousity that was as far ranging as he could have liked. She kept abreast of politics, both within the weyr and abroad (Noin probably liked to gossip of holder matters with her) and her observations of behavioral patterns were insightful to say the least. Wufei prided himself that he was not slow when it came to conversation either.

"...And so I think it's a matter of environment that helps shape the major differences in how Holders and Weyrbred percieve things. That may be a reason why tensions always run so high between Holds and Weyrs, the two have a vstly different way of looking at things."

"I think you may be right," said Wufei. Time had slipped by unnoticed and entire hourHis headache had lessened, but it was still there. "It still doesn't really help with the current situation"

Suddenly he got that sharp stabbing pain behind his right eye. Gaze sharp with concern, Sally said

"Headache's still there huh? Well, not to worry.....I brought the rest of the cure along with me."

Wufei eyed her warily, anticipating a rather vile tasting drink that would take plugging his nose to get it down. It was the usual cure for headaches and hangovers.

"What's that?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh don't look at me like a little boy who's afraid of getting his medicine fed to him...You'll like this."

Whlie she was talking, Sally was arranging cushions and furs along the floor. Wufei watched her actions with a growing sense of puzzlement.

"What are you doing?"

"Hm? Oh, you'll see," was all she said. When she had gotten the cushins and furs arranged to her satisfation, Sally pointed to the nest and said

"Take your shirt off and lie out there in the center, on your belly," she instructed as she scrambled on her knees over to the warm hearth and messed with the jars she had set out over there.

Wufei gave an almost audible swallow, dubiousness written all over his face, but a her impatient gesture did as she instructed removing his shirt and laying stretched out on his stomach on the soft pile of furs and cushions.

"There, that wasn't so bad. Now, I want you to relax," she said in a soothing voice. "Take some deep breaths, close your eyes and just let yourself drift for a minute."

He thought at first that she was joking, but she sounded serious, so he hesitatingly obeyed her instructions. To his amazement he found himself relaxing, some of the tension and strain seemed to just seep out of his body, leaving him with a very lethargic kind of peaceful drowsy feeling. His mind did indeed begin to drift.

That was when he felt a pair of warm hands on his shoulder. He scented a very nice herbal fragrance as Sally began kneading at his tense shoulders. She started with the neck, working at the knots she found there, massaging them with her fingertips until they loosened, then she worked her way over to his shoulders. It was absolutely divine! Her hands loosened muscles that had been tight like coiled springs for the longest time and Wufei could not remember the last time he had felt something this good.

She was gentle, yet firm...not rough or dispassionate. She seemed to innately know how much pressure was too much and how much was too little. Her touch was magic, he felt every once of tension leave his body. She could have told him that she intended to kill him right where he lay and he would have lay there and let her.

Gradually he began telling her the things that were bothering him, his growing frustration at his inability to solve the puzzle of the raiders and his ire at his riders for being to stubborn and thick-skulled all the time. She didn't offer any judgements, didn't chide him for being childish or call him stupid for not understanding some things. She just listened patiently and offered a word of advice or simply a new perspective on a problem. He occasional gentle, probing questions sometimes made him see things in a new light, or made him consider things he would not have given a thought to otherwise.

After what seemed like too short an amount of time Sally had worked her way down and then back up his back and the massage ended. She helped him to his feet, massaging her own hand, for her muscles were indeed tired, and helped him over to his bed. There in the lamplight, with the sound of light rain falling on the metal roof of his own quarters (he liked a room with a decent veiw) promising that it would be a cold night, Wufei caught her hand in his and began to rub it gently. Things seemed to stand still for a moment as their gazes met, his dark eyes asking what his mouth could not.

She accepted his offer silently with an invitation of her own. Nothing more was said for a while after the lamp was blown out...

* * *

The day had gone perfectly so farnot a single hitch. Sythe had woken him in time to sneak a hot fresh breakfast from the Lower caverns up to Hilde and surprise her with it. He had cheerfully filched a loaf of fresh baked bread and fresh butter and some round loaves stuffed with some kind of herbal sauce and some with berry juice finishing the meal off with a carafe of hot, steaming klah. He heaped the trau with enough for two, hoping she catch on that she wanted her to share with him, and headed up to her room.

He snuck silently into her quarters and hooked his foot around the leg of a nearby stool, bringing it closer to the bed and setting the tray on it. He then bent over her bed where she lay sleeping (and did she ever look cute!) and woke her with a gentle nibble on the ear. She'd blinked her eyes open blearily, then her face was transformed into a grin by his smiling visage offering her a mug of klah and gesturing grandly to the breakfast he had laid out for her.

Her reaction was every bit as pleased, surprised and happy as he could have hoped for. Her face had positively glowed with delight and she had indeed seen that there was enough food on the tray for two and asked him to stay. After a relaxed breakfast, Duo had handed her her riding leathers and asked her and Tauruth to follow him and Sythe. At this time it was still early morning and he had a few other surprises planned besides the dinner and the hotsprings.

Hilde and Tauruth had followed them waiting to see what surprises he wished to lead them to. Duo had cleared it with two of his best friends and they had agreed to play for her, not only to play for her, but to back him up on a song he had adapted for his own use. It was a love song sung to the tune to "High Flight." Duo prided himself on having a passable singing voice, he had no pretensions for Harpering, but he could at least carry a tune.

Trowa and Quatre were waiting there at the waterfall for him. He had found this beautiful spot where a river dropped of a sheer cliff for fifty seven meters. Mist rose up from the bottom and created rainbows in the wind. There was a flat place jutting out from the side of the rock that created a perfect viewing place for a couple of riders, there would be enough room for Hilde, him, Trowa and Quatre, and the place was positioned enough to block out the wind.

When they landed, Trowa and quatre were already there, instruments at the ready and looking very pleased with themselves to be in on his little surprise. Quatre was an inveterate matchmaker, his favorite hobby was seeing two people who were just right for each other hit it off in a romantic setting of his own devising. Even though he hadn't set up the match between Duo and Hilde, Quatre (and by extension his best friend Trowa) looked pleased to be able to facilitate the path of True Love, or at least a good romance.

"Hey there you two," said Duo, noting absently that his dragon had already bid his good mornings (or early afternoons in this time zone) to the two dragons sunning themselves on a cliff top. "Is everything ready?"

"We're ready when you are," Quatre said amiably.

"Oh wow! This place is so beautiful!" Hilde exclaimed. A slight breeze and a light mist dusted her face and hair with tiny droplets, toying with her bangs and ruffling her hair. The sheer cascade falling over the catalyst seemed to enchant her and her face reflected a true sense of wonder. Duo couldn't help the pleased smile that stretched its way across his face, he had been hoping to elicit just that reaction form her.

With a conspirational wink, he nodded at Trowa and Quatre to begin their number. The lilting sound of pipes accompanies by the strains of a violin rose above the sound of rushing water. After the opening line Duo's deep tenor joined the music...

If you could see yourself through my eyes

you'd realize how perfect you are.

If you only knew how far I'd fly

to gaze upon your shining star.

You're my starlight perfection

my secret dream

and when I close my eyes to sleep

your face is all I see.

You've given me hope and shown me delight.

You're the light before my footsteps

holding back the night

I met you and I no longer fear the storm

not the lightning or thunder or rain.

For I've found safe harbor within your arms

your smile melting the ice and soothing the pain

Sure, maybe it was a sappy, sticky-sweet piece of drivel...but it was how he felt about her. And the look on her face was certainly worth any ribbing he might get on the part of his friends...not that Trowa had ever ribbed anybody at any time in living memory an Heero was as likely to make a joke as the sun was to rise in the west. Quatre was too polite to say anything critical or "mean" of anyone and Wufei was too serious.

After the song Trowa and Quatre made their introductions and played one or two more pieces at Hilde's request then made themselves scarce. Duo and Hilde sat there at the cliffside watching the waterfall and enjoying each others company. He intended to watch the sunset at the other cliffside, the one where dinner awaited them.

"...should have seen the dressing down that the new girl Heero rescued, I think her name was Relena, gave to the guy responsible for Heero's accident and injury. I've never seen such a dressing down! She reamed him up one side and down the other as if she had more a right to do it than the Weyrwoman! I wouldn't have been that guy for all of the gold in the mines at Crom. I'm sure she would have had him out sweeping the mews and the beastholds and the ashpits if it had been within her authority to do so. But he deserved every word of it if you ask me," Hilde prattled on. She did like to gossip, it was one of the things that Duo shared in common with her. Betwixt the two of them they knew about everything that went on inside the weyr and had at least a third hand account of most things that went on outside the weyr.

<I'd say the sun's about right, it should be getting towards sunset up near the barrier,> he thought.

"Hey Hilde, if you want to come with me, I have one or two more surprises set in store for ya," he said amiably but wasn't completely able to keep the note of anticipation out of his voice.

"Okay Duo," was al she said as she called Tauruth over and mounted her dragon.

And that brough them up to this pint, where they sat at a table for two watching the last of the sunset fade from a firey sky painted with vibrant hues of gold and red fading to purple. As the twilight slowly dimmed to darkness the glows from the lanterns he'd strung up illuminated their private meal. Duo had to admit that he liked the way Hilde kept looking at him, there was a shine in her eyes that made his chest oddly tight and he knew that he had a silly grin plastered across his face. He couldn't help it. The day was just so perfect!

After Hilde had finished with her meal He took her by the hand and led her to the hotspring he had set up for the two of them. Not at all body-shy, they had stripped and stepped into the hot water. Hilde sank in with a sigh of pure, unadulterated bliss, her eyes closed in pleasure. Duo joined her, remembering how it was for him his first time.

After a few minutes of just relaxing, soaking there floating on the surface, Duo drifted over to her and enveloped her in his arms just holding her to his body while she twined her arms around his neck. He wasn't sure which of them initiated the kiss, but it was only the first of many...

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Authors Note: There! I'm sorry that this took so long for me to get written out, I had mid terms to study for for the first weeks and a half so I didn't have anytime at all to write. I hope the stories I posted for you were able to tide you over until I could get this chapter out. I've been meaning to post them when they were finished, but I figured now was as good a time as any. I also hope you enjoyed my chapter o' mindless sap, if you're looking for lemons I'm so sorry to disappoint. If anyone wants to write a lemon to the chapters, they're welcome to it, just ask me first and allow me the privilege of beta-reading it. I'm on vacation now so I should be updating and posting more often, except for when I leave for Florida next month, then I may not have any access to a computer. That's all the notes I have for you right now, I hope the chapter was worth the wait.

Disclaimer: I've said it before and I'll say it againI don't own 'em. The characters of Gundam Wing belong to Sunrise, Bandai and Sotsu Agency, also to their original creators Yosiyuki Tomino and Hajime Yatate. The world of Pern and all of the phrases and places therein are the sole creative property of the Dragonlady herself Anne McCaffrey.

~Nightheart.