Sunbow

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 30th September 2008

Characters: Lineal, Rahona
Description: Rahona and Lineal discuss what to do with their first 'grandchildren'.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 11, day 21 of Turn 4

Rahona snuggled into her husband's arms in the large chair on the balcony and sighed happily. Lineal nuzzled against her neck and chuckled, his eyes on the gleam of gold in Rahona's lap.

"Sleeping like a log."

"And why not? I think she flew further than she ever has before."

The Sungazer's waypoint, Nettleweed Dock, was more or less halfway between the sea and the end of the navigable river at Emerald Falls Hold and, since firelizards natural habitat was warm beaches the creatures weren't naturally plentiful in the area. But somehow some males had known, and there had been a trail of chasers as the gold has risen on her first mating flight.

"What are we going to do about the eggs?" Rahona asked, a little reluctantly because she worried that they might not agree. Her weyrbred background regarded the tidy dragons differently from the way some people did, and the riverboat life was very focused on keeping the marks flowing in for the good of the family.

"We have a month to decide, don't we?"

"A month until she clutches," Rahona agreed. "And then they need to be with her for a sevenday or more to harden enough to be moved safely.

"And you don't want to sell them," Lineal stated, knowing from what she had said - and not said - that it was so. His arms tightened around her waist as she squirmed in his arms, trying to look up at him. "I _know_
you, Rahona. You've such a soft heart - and you're stubborn."

She sighed and settled back against him. "I'd like to know who was getting them. To know they were going to good homes and to people who would care for them. Sunbow's been such a delight to have around the place."

"They won't all be as clever as she is," he warned, having had mixed experiences with a blue on the last ship he was on. While it had eventually been trained to take messages to and from Rahona (for a fee to the owner) it had always been more miss than hit. There was no doubt that Sunbow was smarter and more interested in doing things right than the blue was, and more affectionate too. He loosened a hand to rub the eye ridges of the gold though she was too deeply asleep to notice. "And if people didn't sell them we wouldn't have her."

"I know, I know."

Her brother had bought the egg under a common arrangement; a flat fee for the egg and a bonus to be paid to the seller if a gold hatched.

One had and R'harne had been good about the unexpected expense, refusing the marks Lineal would have given him to meet the bonus payment. After all, having a gold firelizard aboard the Sungazer was an undeniable mark of status, one that Lineal might not have sought out, but he was happy to pay the brownrider for the opportunity.

"But we don't need to sell them. We can gift them to people who would appreciate them, if you like."

Rahona smiled. "Useful people?"

"Naturally. Other riverboats ... the captains? Headwomen? Responsible people who would genuinely want the creatures." River folk never forgot favours and while unstinting in their willingness to help other crews 'up front' there was always a mental ledger being written. The Moonflower would be indebted to the Sungazer for Turns to come for them taking onboard her crew while she was on overhaul. It wouldn't hurt to have a bit of credit with a few other riverboats since nobody could predict when disaster would strike. Thread, floods, groundings, boiler explosions ... There was plenty that could go wrong with a riverboat going about her normal business.

"And one for R'harne. He could sell one -" she was sure her brother would choose the buyer wisely, "- to recover what Sunbow cost him."

"I doubt he'd accept but it would be nice to make the offer."

"And perhaps one to stay onboard? So Sunbow has company?"

Lineal laughed, suspecting that Rahona already had a recipient in mind. "Yes, we could have another, I suppose. Even the flighty ones are decorative."

"It probably wouldn't be _as_ flighty if Sunbow was around to supervise its upbringing."

"Only time will tell on that front," the Sungazer's captain said. "So, is that what we'll do? Find suitable firelizard owners and gift them an egg that can be picked up after the first day of month thirteen?"

"If you don't mind not selling them."

He didn't need to consider that for long. "I don't mind at all. Marks aren't the only useful thing on the river."

"It's going to be pretty, you know," Rahona said, relaxing into the curve of his arm. When there are a few around on the riverboats. When we pass other boats they'll all make a fuss and fly around, as well as the steam whistles tooting. The passengers will love it."

And, he thought, Rahona and her Sunbow will love it too.

Last updated on the October 1st 2008

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