The ridged tail of a bronze was so close to Robie that he could reach out and touch it. Which he did, greatly daring, while Lexey regarded him with staring eyes, aghast at his impudence.
“You’ll get left out for Thread for sure, Robie,” Lexey whispered hoarsely, pressing his sturdy body as close to the stone wall as he could, well away from the dragon’s tail.
“He’s soft,” Robie whispered back, surprised. Runner-beasts were soft, and the spit canines, but watchwhers had hard hides, sort of oily. At least the Harper Hall’s o1’ Nick did. Were watchwhers another kind of dragon, the way runner-beasts were another kind of herd-beast?
No, not precisely, a voice said in his mind. The dragon turned his huge head to see who had touched him, causing Lexey to hiss in alarm and Libby to whimper in terror. There are many differences.
“I do apologize. I didn’t mean to insult you, bronze dragon,” Robie said, giving a jerky little bow. “I’ve never seen one of you up close before.”
We do not come as often to the Harper Hall as we used to. It had to be the dragon speaking, Robie decided, because the deep voice couldn’t have come from anyone else near by. The rider had dismounted and was standing on the steps talking to his mother and father.
“Are my mother and father going to ride on you to Nerat?” Robie knew that was why the dragons had come, to take all the harpers to Nerat for the espousal. His mother had told him that. Nerat Hold had asked the Weyrleader to provide dragon transport. Going a-dragonback meant they didn’t have a long land journey to make, so they wouldn’t be away long. And besides it was a great honour to go a-dragonback.
They are harpers? the dragon asked.
“Yes, my mother’s MasterSinger Merelan and my father is Master Petiron. He writes the music they’re going to sing.”
We look forward to hearing it.
“I didn’t know dragons liked music,” Robie said, greatly surprised.
That had never been mentioned with all the other things he’d learned about dragonkind.
We!!, we do. So does my rider, M’ ridin. Robie could not miss the affection with which the dragon named his rider. He asked especially to convey your mother and father. It will be an honour for us to take a MasterSinger to Nerat.
“Who are you talking to?” Libby asked, her eyes still wide with fright for Robie’s presumptuous behaviour towards the huge and powerful creature.
“The dragon, o’ course,” Robie said, having no real sense of doing something unusual. “You’ll be careful with them, won’t you, dragon?”
Of course!
Robie was certain the dragon was laughing inside. “What’s so funny?”
I have a name, you know.
“Oh, I know that all dragons have names, but I’ve only just met you so I don’t know your name.” Robie turned his head ever so slightly to be sure his friends were observing how brave he was.
And courteous.
Cortath is my name. What is yours, little one ?
“Robie … that is, Robinton, and you will fly my parents very carefully, won’t you?”
Of course I will, young Robinton.
Greatly reassured by that, Robie took advantage of this unparalleled opportunity and asked, “Will you be fighting Thread when it comes back?”
The tail gave such a convulsive twitch that it nearly swept both Lexey and Robinton, who were nearest, off their feet. The dragon swerved his body around so that his great head, with its many-faceted eyes swirling with a variety of colours rapidly turning into orange and red, came closer to Robie.
Dragons always fly when Thread is in the sky, was the unequivocal answer.
“You know the song then?” Robie asked, delighted.
But, before Cortath could answer, his rider was at his head, turning it back so that he could introduce the bronze to Merelan and Petiron who were standing beside him. A nervous apprentice hovered discreetly behind them, carrying their various sacks.
“Robinton, what are you doing back there?” his father demanded, noticing him at last and gesturing for him to get out of the way.
“We were just playing hop-it, only Cortath landed in the middle…” At the boy’s words, the great dragon Cortath courteously moved his feet. “It’s all right, Cortath. You smudged the lines a bit with your tail, but we can fix it when you leave.”