“There can’t be that many firelizards looking to those inside,” he said to Menolly, who had just joined them. “Or have you acquired a couple more clutches?”
Brushing the laugh-tears from her eyes, she denied guilt. “I’ve only the ten and they go off on their own, sometimes for days. I don’t think I could account for more than two besides Beauty, my queen. She sticks by me constantly. You know,” she turned a serious face to him, “they’re going to be a problem. Not mine, because I make mine behave, but this sort of thing.” She gestured toward the covered roof. “They’re such dreadful gossips. I’ll wager most of those don’t look to the people within. They’ve been attracted by the dragons and by your Ruth in particular.”
“A fair gathers like that wherever Ruth and I go,” Jaxom said a bit sourly.
Menolly looked across the valley to where Ruth was lying on the sunny riverbank with three other dragons and the usual wing or two of ministering firelizards.
“Does Ruth mind?”
“No,” Jaxom grinned tolerantly, “I think he rather enjoys it. They keep him company when I have to be elsewhere on Hold business. He says they have all sorts of fascinating and unlikely images in their minds. He likes looking … most times. Sometimes he gets annoyed-says they get carried away.”
“How can they?” Menolly was bluntly dubious.
“They don’t have much imagination, not really. They only tell what they see.”
“Or think they see, maybe?”
Menolly considered that. “What they see is usually pretty reliable. I know …” Then she stopped, looked dismayed.
“Never mind,” Jaxom said. “I’d be as thick as a hold door if I didn’t realize you Harpers keep busy down South.” Jaxom then turned around to say something to F’lessan, who was nowhere to be seen.
“I’ll tell you something, Jaxom,” Menolly dropped her voice, “F’lessan was right. Something is going on down South. Some of my lot have been very agitated. I get an image of a single egg but it’s not in an enclosed weyr. I thought maybe my Beauty had hidden another clutch. She sometimes does that. Then I got the impression that what she was seeing happened long ago. And Beauty’s no older than Ruth, so how could she remember any more than five Turns back?”
“Firelizards with delusions of locating the First Shell?” Jaxom laughed heartily.
“I can’t quite seriously laugh at their memories. They do know the oddest sorts of things. Remember F’nor’s Grail not wanting to go to the Red Star? For that matter all the firelizards are terrified of the Red Star.”
“Aren’t we all?”
“They knew, Jaxom, knew before the rest of Pern had any knowledge.”
Instinctively they both turned eastward, toward the malevolent Red Star.
“So?” Menolly asked cryptically.
“So? So what?”
“So firelizards have memories.”
“Ah, leave off, Menolly. You can’t ask me to believe that firelizards could remember things Man can’t?”
“Got another explanation?” Menolly asked belligerently.
“No, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” and Jaxom grinned at her. His smile turned to alarm. “Say, what if some of those fellows up there are from the Southern Hold?”
“I’m not worried. The firelizards are outside, for one thing. For another, they can only visualize what they’ve understood.” Menolly chuckled, a habit of hers which Jaxom found a pleasant change from the giggling of Holder girls. “Can you imagine what nonsense someone like T’kul would make of Wansor’s equations? Seen through lizard eyes?”
Jaxom’s personal recollections of the High Reaches Oldtimer Weyrleader were sparse, but he’d heard enough from Lytol and N’ton to realize that man’s mind was closed to anything new. Though nearly six Turns of fending on his own down in the Southern Continent might have broadened his outlook.
“Look, it isn’t me alone who’s worried,” Menolly went on. “Mirrim is, too. And if anyone today understands firelizards, it’s Mirrim.”
“You don’t do badly yourself-for a mere Harper.”
“Well, thank you, my Lord Holder.” She gave him a facetious salute. “Look, will you find out what the firelizards are telling Ruth?”
Don’t they talk to Mirrim’s green dragon?” Jaxom was reluctant to have more to do with firelizards at the moment than was absolutely necessary.