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The bonfires, now held every-other sevenday, had moved into the dining hall due to the snow. It gave the gathering a cozy feel and gave people something to look forward to during the long, dreary winters.
“This is our last fire before High Reaches Weyr, so enjoy it.” Shenette slid next to Karathael on the bench where she was cutting up pieces of fruit for roasting. The basket full of sausages was already done, so Shenette took a piece and put it on a skewer, swinging it over the flames.
“High Reaches?” Karathael stopped mid-fruit to see the mischievous grin on Shenette’s face. “Are you insane!? We’d be on the road for months! What happened to Telgar Weyr? They can take us to Harper Hall just as fast going between.”
“We’re not going to Harper Hall. We’re going to High Reaches Weyr, and I’m going to Impress the queen.” Shenette straightened her shoulders, and Karathael went back to cutting.
“Is that so?” Karathael raised an eyebrow. “When did you decide that?”
“Remember when Jefisden wanted to talk to me the other day?” Shenette moved her sausage toward the white part of the coals.
“Yeah.” The younger woman picked up another piece of fruit and began to peel it, trying to make each bit of peel as long as she could without breaking.
“He told me that I would make a fantastic candidate for Weyrwoman.” Shenette informed her, rotating the piece of meat as the bottom turned brown. “And that High Reaches Weyr is in a hell of a spot looking for Candidates right now. They have a clutch due to hatch in a sevenday or two.” She deliberately left out the part about their teacher saying she was unfit to be a harper, forcing her to pivot her life trajectory no matter how carefully laid her plans. That had been a tough bite to swallow, though the exciting alternative he provided proved to be an effective distraction.
“Wait,” Karathael stuck a piece of peel in her mouth and chewed, “we’re not in High Reaches’ search area. We’re in Telgar’s. And what happened to all of their Candidates?”
Shenette leaned in, eager to share the gossip. “So… T’ron pulled a knife on F’lar, so F’lar got mad and exiled all of the Oldtimers to the Southern Hemisphere. Dragonmen aren’t supposed to fight.”
Karathael paused, putting her knife down. “F’lar is the Benden guy, right? With the honker of a bronze? But isn’t T’ron a Weyrleader, too? Can F’lar do that? Exile everybody? Who’s going to be left at High Reaches, then?”
“OKAY, SO…” Shenette began, lifting the stick out of the fire to let her sausage cool down. “Everybody at High Reaches is going to Southern Weyr, and everybody at Southern is moving up to High Reaches. Including the Candidates. But the clutch has to stay because moving the eggs now would be too dangerous.” She pulled the chunk of meat off of the stick and nibbled on an end, letting her friend process the information. “And as for F’lar… I guess he can do that, because he did. Saving the planet must come with certain privileges."
Karathel looked at the last piece of fruit and bit into it, pushing the basket of chopped slices next to the sausages. “So… they’re taking Candidates from everywhere, then?”
“Jefisden said he’s pretty sure they’ll have to take whoever they can get. And I came to mind right away.” Shenette sat back, rather pleased with herself.
“What about me, though? We can’t both Impress the queen.”
“No, but we can both stand. Candidates that don’t Impress have the option of staying at the Weyr afterward, if they want. That’s what my ma did, only she came back here once she found out about me. I could’ve been a weyr brat!” The blonde smiled proudly. Her grandparents told her she was dragonspawn, but they never did get a name out of her mother - Granny’s theory was that she didn’t actually know. “Having a dragonrider as a father means I have a greater chance of Impressing. And not growing up in the Weyr means I have a better chance of Impressing gold! That’s what tradition says, anyway.” She beamed proudly.
“You always tell me that traditions and superstitions are nonsense, and we have to make our own luck,” Karathael teased. “But… if you’ve changed your mind… I did see a bronze dragon today, out over the slag sheds. Just a little guy. But seeing a lone dragon is supposed to be good luck, and bronzes best of all! Maybe he was on Search.”
“No,” Shenette said thoughtfully, “the Search dragon won’t be here for another day or two yet. They’re still figuring stuff out at the Weyr. But do you want to go with me, when it’s time? For real?”
“Definitely!” Karathael shifted her weight and dropped her voice. “Anywhere has got to be better than here. My mom’s already talking about marrying me off again. Dakoral hasn’t been gone a month yet!” Shenette looked down to see her wringing her fingers so hard they were turning white.
“Ok.” Shenette put her hand on top of her friend’s, trying to get her to quit squeezing. “We’ll both go to High Reaches, we’ll stand for the hatching, and we’ll both stay no matter what. You don’t have to get married, and you don’t have to go alone.”
Karathael pulled her hands away, but Shenette could see the tension go out of her shoulders. “Just like we planned before,” she said, nodding. “We’ve got this. To the Weyr. Only…” she glanced at Shenette, then back down at her feet.
“Only what? A herd of wild whers couldn’t tear me from your side, ok? Even if I Impress the queen. There is no scenario where I forget about you or leave you on your own. I promise.” Shenette was well aware that her friend was reliant on routine and familiarity, and she would need her to provide stability as they uprooted their lives.
“I know. It’s not that. This is going to sound stupid, though. Don’t make fun of me.” Karathael took a slow, deep breath, but then spat out her words all at once. “When we get there, could you use they/them pronouns for me? You know how much I hate when people think I’m a woman, and there’s no way for anyone to know I’m not a woman unless people start using different pronouns for me, and you know my parents never will, because any time I hint at being nonbinary my mom says I’m just trying to be special, but I’m not trying to be special, it’s just the way I am. And I don’t know if I can keep pretending anymore, but I know I don’t want to. Is that ok?”
Shenette paused, narrowing her eyes as she replayed Karathael’s words in her mind to make sense of them. Meanwhile, Karathael looked like she was about to throw up. “So… you’re not a woman, and you’re not a man, so that makes you nonbinary? And you want me to say ‘they are anxious’ instead of ‘she is anxious’? Stuff like that?”
“Yeah,” Karathael replied, routinely anxious regardless of gender.
“Ok, sure.” Shenette shrugged, making a mental note while her friend deflated with relief. “Why do you think I would care? I don’t really understand it, on a deeper level, but I don’t know what it’s like to be a man, either, so… whatever.”
“Really?” Karathael asked hopefully. “You’re not… weirded out?”
“No. Why would I be? You’ve always been weird. That's not new.” Shenette grinned, stealing a chunk of fruit from the basket before standing up. “I have more research to do.”