Manora laughed softly. I never saw the Mastersmith so excited. They found some odd-shaped instruments and bits and pieces of glass I cant make out at all.
An Oldtimer room? Jaxom was awed at the scope of his discovery. And hed had only the shortest look.
Oldtimers? Manoras frown was so slight that Jaxom decided hed imagined it. Manora never frowned. Ancient timers, Id say.
As they entered the Main Cavern, Jaxom realized that their passage interrupted the lively conversations of the dragonmen and women seated around the big dining area. Accustomed as he was to such scrutiny, Jaxom straightened his shoulders and walked with measured stride. He turned his head slowly, giving a grave nod and smile to the riders he knew and those of the women he recognized. He ignored a sprinkle of laughter, being used to that, too, but a Lord of the Hold must act with the dignity appropriate to his rank, even if he were not quite turned twelve and in the presence of his superiors.
It was full dark, but around the great inner face of the Bowl, he could see the lambent circles of dragon eyes on the weyr ledges. He could hear the muted rush of air as several stirred and stretched their enormous pinions. He looked up toward the star Rocks, black knobs against the lighter sky, and saw the giant silhouette of the watch dragon. Far down the Bowl, he could even hear the restless tramping of the penned herdbeasts. In the lake in the center, the stars were mirrored.
Quickening his step now, he urged Manora faster. Dignity could be forgotten in the darkness and he was desperately hungry.
Mnementh gave a welcoming rumble on the queens weyr ledge, and Jaxom, greatly daring, glanced up at the near eye which closed one lid at him slightly in startling imitation of a human wink.
Do dragons have a sense of humor? he wondered. The watch-wher certainly didnt and he was the same breed.
The relationship is very distant.
I beg your pardon? Jaxom said, startled, glancing up at Manora.
For what, young Lord?
Didnt you say something?
No.
Jaxom glanced back at the bulky shadow of the dragon, but Mnemenths head was turned. Then he could smell roasted meats and walked faster.
As they rounded the bend, Jaxom saw the golden body of the recumbent queen and was suddenly guilt-struck and fearful. But she was fast asleep, smiling with an innocent serenity remarkably like his foster mothers newest babe. He looked away lest his gaze rouse her, and saw the faces of all those adults at the table. It was almost too much for him. Flar, Lessa, Lytol and Felessan hed expected, but there was the Mastersmith and the Masterharper, too.
Only drill helped him respond courteously to the greetings of the celebrities. He wasnt aware when Manora and Lessa came to his assistance.
Not a word until the child has had something to eat, Lytol, the Weyrwoman said firmly, her hands pressing him gently to the empty seat beside Felessan. The boy paused between spoonfuls to look up with a complex series of facial contortions supposed to convey a message that escaped Jaxom. Jaxom missed lunch at the Hold and is several hours hungrier in consequence. He is well, Manora?
He took no more harm than Felessan.
He looked a little glassy-eyed as you crossed the weyr. Lessa bent to peer at Jaxom who politely looked at her, chewing with sudden self-consciousness. How do you feel?
Jaxom emptied his mouth hurriedly, trying to swallow a half-chewed lump of vegetable. Felessan tendered a cup of water and Lessa deftly swatted him between the shoulder blades as he started to choke.
I feel fine, he managed to say. I feel fine, thank you. He waited, unable to resist looking at his plate and was relieved when the Weyrleader laughingly reminded Lessa that she was the one who said the boy should eat before anything else.
The Mastersmith tapped his stained, branchlike finger on the faded Record skin which draped the table, except where the boys were sitting. Fandarel had one arm wrapped possessively around something in his lap, but Jaxom couldnt see what it was.