Anne McCaffrey - Dragonsinger

She nodded. “Would you like to meet mine?”

“I would, but not now,” he replied, shaking his head ruefully. “I must pick your brains about the seaman’s craft. So, tell me how goes a day at a Sea Hold?”

Amused to find herself explaining such a thing in the Harper Hall, Menolly gave the brown journeyman a dryly factual account of the routine that was all she’d known for so many Turns. He was an attentive listener, occasionally repeating cogent points, or asking her to elaborate others. She was giving him a list of the various types of fish that inhabited the oceans of Pern when the tocsin rang again and her explanation was drowned by shouts as apprentices erupted into the courtyard on their way to the dining hall.

“We’ll wait until the stampede has settled, Menolly,” Sebell said, raising his voice above the commotion outside, “just give me that rundown on deep water fishes again.”

When Sebell escorted her to her place, the girls treated her with a stony silence, emphasized by pursed lips, averted eyes and then sniggers to each other. Buoyed by Sebell’s reassurances, Menolly ignored them. She concentrated on eating the roast wherry and the crusty brown tubers, bigger than she’d ever seen and so fluffy inside their crust that she ate more of them than bread.

Since the girls were so pointedly snubbing her, Menolly looked about the room. She couldn’t spot Piemur, and she wanted him to come help her feed the fire lizards in the evening. She’d better strengthen what friendships she could within the Harper Hall.

The gong again called their attention to announcements; and to her surprise, Menolly heard her own name called to report to Master Oldive. Immediately the girls fell to whispering among themselves, as if such a summons was untoward, though she couldn’t imagine why, unless they were doing it to frighten her. She continued to ignore them. And then the gong released the diners.

The girls remained where they were, pointedly not looking in her direction, and she was forced to struggle from the bench.

“And where in the name of the first shell were you this morning?” asked Master Domick, his face set with anger, his eyes slitted, his voice low but projected so that the girls all cowered away from him.

“I was told to go to—”

“So Talmor me,” and he brushed aside her explanation, “but I had left word with Dunca for you to report to me.”

“Dunca told me nothing, Master Domick,” Menolly flicked a glance beyond him to the girls and saw in their smug expression the knowledge that they, too, had known there’d been a message for her, which Dunca had deliberately neglected to pass on.

“She said she did,” said Master Domick. Menolly stared back at him, bereft of any response and heartily wishing for Sebell to produce his assistance.

“I realize,” Domick went on sarcastically, “that you’ve been living holdless and without authority for some time, but while you are an apprentice here, you will obey the masters.” In the face of his wrath, Menolly bowed her head. The next moment, Beauty came diving into the room, with two bronze and two brown shapes right behind her.

“Beauty! Rocky! Diver! Stop it!”

Menolly jumped in front of Domick, arms outstretched, protecting him from the onslaught of winged retaliation.

“What do you mean, disobeying me? Attacking Master Domick? He’s a Harper! Behave yourselves.”

Menolly had to shout because the girls, seeing the fire lizards swooping down, screamed and tried variously to get under the table or off the benches, overturning them; anywhere away from the fire lizards.

Domick had sense enough to stand still, incredulous as he was at the attack. Despite the girls’ shriek, Menolly had the lungs to be heard when she wished to.

Twittering, Beauty circled once and then came to Menolly’s shoulder, glaring balefully at Domick from behind her mistress. The others lined up on the mantel, wings still spread, hissing, their jeweled eyes whirling, looking ready and quite willing to pounce again. As Menolly stroked Beauty to calmness, she struggled with an apology to Domick.

“Back to work, you! The rest of you, along to your sections,” Domick said, raising his own voice to energize the stragglers in the dining hall who had observed the strange attack, and the boys who were clearing the tables. “I’d forgot about your loyal defenders,” he told Menolly in a tight but controlled voice.

“Master Domick, will you ever forgive…”

“Master Domick,” said another voice near the floor, and Audiva crawled from under the table. Domick extended a hand to help the girl to her feet. She glanced toward the entrance, then gave Menolly a brief nod. “Master Domick, Dunca told Menolly nothing about your message, but we all knew about it. Fair’s fair.” With one more glance at Menolly, she hurried across the dining hall to catch up with the girls in the courtyard.

“How did you contrive to alienate Dunca?” asked Domick, his expression sullen but less fierce.

Menolly gulped and glanced at the fire lizards.

“Oh, them! Yes! I can quite see her point.” There was no flexibility in Master Domick’s attitude. “They do not, however, intimidate me.”

“Master Domick—”

“That’s enough, girl, Since you haven’t the native intelligence to be tactful, I shall have to—”

“Master Domick—” Master Sebell came hurrying up.

“I know, I know,” and the Master cut off the journeyman’s explanation. “You do seem to acquire some champions at any rate. Let’s hope the end result is worth the effort. I’ll see you tomorrow morning, promptly after breakfast, in my study, which is on the second level to the right, fourth door on the outside. You will take your pipes this afternoon to Master Jerint for the first hour. I’m told you made the pipes yourself in that cave of yours? Good! Then the second hour you’re to see Master Shonagar. Now, get yourself off to Master Oldive. His office is at the top of the steps on the inside, to your right. No, Sebell, you do not need to hover about her so protectingly. I’m not so lost to common sense as to punish her for being the victim of envy.” He gestured imperatively at the journeyman to accompany him and then strode out of the hall. Sebell gave her a quick nod and followed.

“Pssst!” Attracted by the sound, Menolly looked down and saw Piemur crouched under the table.

“Is it safe to come out?”

“Aren’t you supposed to be in chore section?”

“Yeah, but never mind. I’ve got a few seconds leeway. Hey, those fribbles have it in for you, don’t they? Or maybe Dunca made them not tell you?”

“How much did you overhear?”

“All of it.” Piemur grinned, getting to his feet. “I don’t miss much around here.”

“Piemur!”

“Menolly, can I help you feed the fire lizards tonight?” he asked, eyeing Beauty warily.

“I was going to ask you.”

“Great!” He beamed with pleasure. “And don’t worry about them ,” he added, jerking his head toward the door, meaning the girls. “You’re much nicer’n them.”

“You just want to make friends with my fire lizards…”

“Too right!” His grin was impudence itself, but Menolly felt that he’d have been her friend without Beauty and the others. “Gotta scamper, or I’ll be put on. See you!”

She made her way to Master Oldive’s office. He had the hard-gum ball for her and showed her how to exercise her hand around it.

“Not,” he said, giving her the grimace of his smile, “that your hand will lack exercise of other sorts around here. How much does it ache?”

She mumbled something, so he gave her a stern look and laid a small pot in her hand.