Dolphins of Pern Read online

  "Tillek! Tillek! T'ere is a Tillek?" cried the dolphins with such passion and surprise that Alemi and Master Idarolan were startled.

  "No, no Tillek here,” Alemi said. James, and Alemi stressed the first name, "Tillek is dead. Long dead. Gone." The dolphins nosed each other and a sad sort of sound came up from the group. "Any rate, the captain " and Alemi grinned at using that reference to forestall another violent delphinic reaction, was one of the first settlers to chart our Pernese waters. I've been reading about how the dolphins helped people get safely to the north after the volcanoes erupted. Amazing journey. Lots of small boats and the dolphins saving everyone from drowning in one of those squalls you whip up down in these latitudes." He gave Idarolan a dour glance for such squalls. "Hmmm, smart as they are, maybe they could take messages now and then. Maybe not as fast as fire‑lizards but some of those distract easily. Not smart enough to keep their mind on one thing at a time."

  The other dolphins had reached the float by then and were crowding about to be recognized, to speak their name and find out what Idarolan's was.

  "How do they tell us apart?" Idarolan wondered.

  "Ezee. Mans color,” Kib said, gargling.

  Alemi was positive the dolphin was laughing at them.

  "These are clothes, Kib, clothes,' Alemi said, holding out the fabric of the light vest he wore with one hand and the sturdy sailcloth short pants.

  "Dolphins not Kib enunciated clearly, dresssssss.” Then he rolled over and over in the water as if convulsed with mirth.

  Iddie' was what they could say of the Master Fishman's name but the man didn't feel at all insulted.

  "I'm honored, you know. I've talked to an animal and it has understood my name, Idarolan said, puffing out his broad chest a bit in pride. Then more confidentially, Never would I tell of this morning to Yanus of Half Circle Sea Hold! Never! But I shall enlist the assistance of those Masters I know would appreciate the connection." He was nearly butted off his feet by an impetuous prod of a rostrum. Excuse me, where was I?"

  "Ski‑ritch Temp,” he was told in a very firm request. "Ski‑ritch Temp.”

  Idarolan complied.

  "This's one thing I never thought I'd find myself doing,” ‑ he remarked in an undertone to Alemi.

  "Nor me!”

  Chapter Five

  Alemi was not the only one wanting to have a closer understanding of the dolphins.

  After T'lion and Gadareth returned Alemi to his Sea Hold, and collected the clothes which T'lion had hastily borrowed from a sleepy brown rider, the boy and the bronze did not immediately return to the Eastern Weyr.

  "They're not as good as you, Gaddie,' T'lion told his dragon as the bronze leaped skyward. "But don't you think talking sea animals are great?"

  Would they talk to me, too?

  "Ah, Gaddie, don't for a moment think I'd trade you for a dolphin,” and T'lion laughed at the very notion, scratching the bronze neck as hard as he could with gloved fingers. He had yet to grow into all his flying gear and the glove fingers were a joint too long so scratching was difficult. "You and me are different You are my rider and I am your dragon and that is a good difference,” said Gadareth stoutly. “I chose you of all who were there the day I hatched”

  "And I wasn't even supposed to be a candidate,' T'lion said, grinning. vividly remembering that most exciting of all days in his life. His brother, Kanadin, had been the official candidate and, even though he had impressed a brown, Kanadin had never quite forgiven his younger brother for making such a show of himself and impressing when he hadn't even been presented as a possible rider. Impressing a bronze was an even more unforgivable injury.

  "You're too young!" K'din had yelled at his brother when the weyrlings were led to their quarters. "You were only brought along because Ma and Pa didn't dare leave you home. How could you do this to me?"

  It had never done any good for T'lion to tell K'din that he hadn't meant to impress a dragon, much less a bronze but K'din saw it as a personal offence. Not that he would have swapped Gadareth for his Bulith even ten minutes after the Impression was made. It was the fact that what should have been a momentous day for the eldest son of a journeyman resident at Landing had been trivialized by a much younger brother who had been barely the acceptable age at the time of his Impression.

  T'lion had tried to explain that perhaps if this had been a Weyr like the northern ones, an interior cavern with tiers of seats set up high for the witnesses, instead of an open space around the Hatching Ground, Gadareth wouldn't have found it so easy to reach him. But the little bronze had flopped and crawled, keening with anguish, from the Hatching sands and right up to himself where he had stood with his parents and sister. It wasn't as if Tarlion had tried, in any way, to attract the hatchling's attention. He hadn't so much as moved a muscle. Of course, he had been so flabbergasted to find a little dragon butting him, that he had had to be urged by T'gellan, the Weyrleader, and the Weyrling master to accept the impression. Not that he could have resisted much longer, not with Gadareth so upset that he wasn't immediately accepted by his choice of partner.

  Even three years on, at fifteen, T'lion stayed out of K'din's way as much as possible. Which was easier now that K'din was with a fighting wing and could sneer that T'lion had Turns yet before he, as a bronze rider, would be useful to the Weyr which housed and nurtured him.

  T'lion was very grateful to T'gellan, the Weyrleader, and his weyrmate, Mirrim, green Path's rider, because they never once made the youngster feel unacceptable.

  "The dragon chooses,” T'gellan had said at the time, and often at other Impressions, shaking his head ruefully at dragon choice.

  Then he'd congratulated the stunned family on having two such worthy sons.

  Since T'lion could not be included in a fighting Weyr until he was sixteen, T'gellan used the bronze pair as messengers; giving them plenty of practice in finding coordinates all over what was settled of the Southern Continent as well as the major and minor Holds and Halls in the North. T'lion took pride in being a conscientious messenger and was infallibly courteous to his passengers, never once mentioning the behavior of some of them who found going between frightening or unnerving.

  Or those who tried to order him about as if he was a drudge.

  No dragon ever chose a drudge personality. Of course, being so young made some adults feel as if they had to patronize him him! A dragonrider!

  There are some of the fins, Gadareth said, adroitly interrupting his less than amiable thoughts. And, knowing his wish before T'lion could even think it, the bronze glided down toward the pod.

  Being up high gave T'lion a superb view of the pod, leaping and plunging, of their sinuous bodies under the water. It was sort of like the formation of fighting wings going against Thread, T'lion thought. Only he'd heard that shipfish ‑ no, dolphins ‑ liked Thread. They'd been seen by dragonriders, swarming with other types of marine life, actually following the leading edge of Thread across the ocean.

  "Less for us to flame, boy,” V'line had remarked.

  However, being airborne made it a little difficult for T'lion to speak to dolphins even though Gadareth was agreeable to flying just above the surface, being careful not to plunge a wing into the water and off‑balance himself.

  Then a dolphin heaved itself up out of the water, momentarily on a level with dragon and rider, eyeing them as it reached the top of its jump before sliding gracefully back into the water.

  The surprise was enough to make Gadareth veer, catching his wing tip in the water. He struggled to recover his balance, tipping T'lion dangerously against his riding straps.

  "Squeeeeeeh! Squeeeh! Carrrrrrrerfullllll !"

  There was no doubting the shout from several dolphins as Gadareth righted himself and kept a reasonable distance above the waves. Then two more dolphins launched themselves up, each eyeing dragon and rider.

  Recovering from the fright, T'lion responded to their scrutiny with an enthusiastic wave, trying to keep his eye on them as they cu
rved up and down. Then Gadareth caught the rhythm of the dolphins' maneuver and, dipping down as he saw a dolphin nose appear, arched up and over with the acrobat.

  This is flin! the dragon said, his eyes whirling with green and blue.

  "Funnnhn! Funnnhnn! Gaym! Pullay gaym!" cried dolphin voices as they leaped up and over.

  Did they hear me? Gadareth asked his astonished rider.

  Getting any dolphin to answer that question was beyond the physical constraints of their present maneuvering, though T'lion shouted as loud as he could at each dolphin arching past him.

  "I'll have to ask Master Alemi, Gaddie,” T'lion told his dragon. Maybe he'll know. He said Aivas told him a lot about dolphins. That's what they really are, not shipfish, you know."

  “I know now. Dolphins, not shipfishes. And they' can talk.”

  "I think we'd better go back to the Weyr,” T'lion said, checking the slant of the westering sun. "And, Gaddie, let's keep this adventure to ourselves, shall we'?"

  It's fun to know something other people don't, the bronze replied as he had had occasion to do several times when he and his rider had spent some private time investigating on their own.

  There was so much to explore! Of course, if T'lion had not been conscientious about his duties, Gadareth would not have been so willing to take free time, but T'lion was very good about doing fun things only when he had finished his assigned chores.

  Sounds were sent that the dragons which mans had made still liked dolphins. Dolphins had seen dragons in the skies since mans went to the New Place North. Dolphins had sung to dragons but had not been answered. Dragons talked to their riders in a fashion that dolphins did not quite understand. They felt the speech and saw the resuks ‑ the dragon doing what the rider asked. Dragons provided many new games. They liked having their undersides ski‑ritched and mans were always inspecting them so they did not have any more blufiss. They did not mind being jumped and providing sport for dolphins. They had very big and colored eyes, not like dolphins. Dolphins had jumped to see. Dragon had been pleased to see them play.

  So T'lion and Gadareth reported back in Eastern Weyr to the Weyrling Master, H'mar, bronze Janeruth's rider. T'lion was sent off to help in the kitchen which he never minded because it gave him a chance to see what dinner would be and he always managed to sneak a few bites. His brother might twit him about having to do drudge chores because he wasn't big enough or old enough for anything else. T'lion invariably gave K'din the reaction his brother expected and never admitted that he liked doing the tasks set him. The best part was that he never knew from one day to the next what he'd be doing.

  Before appearing at the main Weyr Hall, T'lion saw Gadareth comfortable in his own sandy wallow, a clearing in the thick jungle that T'lion had himself prepared for his dragon when they were considered old enough to leave the weyrling barracks. He lived in a single roomed accommodation that looked out on to the clearing. He even had a covered porch so, on the hottest nights, he slept out on the hammock slung between wall and porch support. Having lived, up until his Impression, in a hold too small for all the brothers and sisters he shared it with, T'lion treasured his privacy. He felt very lucky indeed because he could just remember the cold winters and the harsh winds of his birthhold in Benden Hold. Living south was much better. Living in this Weyr was even better than living in, say, Benden Weyr, because there riders had to live in cold caves high up on the Weyrside which was nowhere near as convenient as living right in the forest, with fruit to be picked from branches whenever you wanted it.

  Over the next few weeks, T'lion and Gadareth spent a good deal of time conveying Master Menolly about and usually by direct flight since she was too pregnant to go between: sometimes to Landing but most often to Cove Hold to see Master Robinton, old Lytol and D'ram. Neither were long flights, if the winds were right as they often were at this time of year. A dragonrider in Eastern had to be weather wise, too. While he was waiting to return Master Menolly, he and Gadareth had plenty of time to bathe in the lovely waters of the Cove. Then, when he and Gadareth went exploring one day, they found a second cove to the west, with deep waters, where dolphins swam.

  That was quite a boon for T'lion and Gadareth for the dolphins seemed as eager to talk to them as they were to improve their relationship. Neither rider nor dragon realized that dolphins swam in groups, called pods, patrolling certain areas as their home waters, just as dragons had certain areas they patrolled to keep Threadfree. T'lion didn't have a bell, couldn't find one at the Weyr Hall, but Gadareth's melodic bugle seemed to work just as well. Gadareth got brave enough, too, to settle on the water, wings spread wide to aid flotation. This provided the dolphins with yet another entertainment ‑ leaping across the wings or coming up between Gadareth's forelegs. The dolphins also enjoyed ‘tickling’ the bronze dragon by caressing their bodies on his ticklish underside: a ‘game' which had caused T'lion to be submerged on several occasions before he unfastened his riding straps so that the dolphins could ‘attack' Gadareth.

  It was Menolly's custom to send her fire‑lizard, Beauty, or one of the bronzes, Rocky, Diver or Poll, to summon him back to Cove Hold. The fire‑lizards were fascinated by the dolphins, perching on one of Gadareth's outstretched wings and learning just where dolphins like to be scratched with the excellent talons that were fire‑lizard equipment.

  Gadareth would know the gist of what the fire‑lizards wished to express, he'd tell his rider who then informed the dolphins. It was a three‑cornered conversation but T'lion thought it helped develop more usable words and terms. Sometimes he felt like a harper, teaching dolphins proper pronunciations. They were using words more properly now: like ‘we' instead of ‘oo‑we’ and ‘report' instead of ‘reporit' and ‘bell' instead of ‘bellill'.

  Sometimes he'd come away from these sessions feeling bigger than T'gellan!

  What with all these flights and despite being in and out of Paradise River often, it was nearly six sevendays before T'lion saw Master Alemi again.

  “T'lion, Gadareth, how are you?" Master Alemi said, arriving with a creel of fresh fish for Menolly.

  "I'm fine, Master Alemi. How are your dolphins?"

  Surprised, Alemi grinned at the boy's proper pronunciation because he was still having trouble getting others to say the word properly.

  "You remembered?"

  "Yes, Master, I'm not likely to forget a day like that.” And Then T'lion hesitated.

  Alemi took him by the shoulder, looking down at him kindly ‑ for T'lion hadn't got his full growth yet and looked younger than his fifteen Turns. "And you've been talking to dolphins since, have you, lad?" He looked up then at Gadareth who turned calmly spinning eyes on the Fishman. "And Gadareth?

  “What does he think of them?"

  "He likes them, Master Alemi, he really does. You know the cove west of Cove Hold? Well, the water's real deep there and the dolphins love it too, and we've sort of had a chance to get to know some of them.

  "Good!" And Alemi was delighted. "Which ones? I'm trying to make a list of dolphin names. They're rather proud of them, you know.”

  T'lion grinned mischievously. "Don't they just get stroppy when you miscall them! Well, the ones I've met are Rom, Alta ‑ she's pod leader ‑ and Fessi, Gar, Tom, Dik, and Boogie, that's Alta's latest calf. And

  "Steady on, lad, Alemi said, laughing at the torrent of names he had unleashed as he fumbled in his belt pouch for pencil and pad. "Give me that list more slowly, will you?"

  T'lion complied. "Have you met any of them, Master?"

  "No, but i've met Dar and Alta from Monaco, Kib, Afo, Mel, Jim, Mul and Temp. You ask yours if they know mine and I'll do the same. Let's compare notes later, shall we? I see you now and again, flying in to collect Menolly but it's usually when I'm making out to sea and can't turn back. How do you call them? D'you use a bell'?"

  "Gadareth bugles and they come. They like him!”

  "I'd be surprised if they didn't."

  "Well, we're sort of on the opposi
te side from the dolphins, though, aren't we?" T'lion remarked, looking up at the tall Fishman. "They eat what we char."

  "Point. Dolphins and dragons are both intelligent creatures.”

  “I'd say they'd respect each other's ways."

  "Yes, yes, they do,” T'lion said excitedly.

  "What do you talk about? Does Gadareth understand them, too?"

  "That's what I wanted to ask you,” T'lion said, turning solemn.

  "Could they hear what he thinks?"

  Alemi considered that. "Well, now, I've never heard a dragon not in my head as you riders do. I understand dragons can make themselves heard to people they want to talk to but, well, I haven't been so complimented.

  “I will speak to you, Master Fishman,” Gadareth said immediately to T'lion's surprise because he hadn't asked him to.

  The stunned expression that overcame Alemi's tanned face gave evidence that the Fishman had heard very clearly.

  "Ooosh,” and Alemi put a hand to his temple, rolling widened eyes. "The words do just come into your head." Then he bowed formally to Gadareth. "Thank you, Gadareth. That was very kind of you."

  “My pleasure, Master.”

  "Yes, well, to answer your questions, Aivas didn't say anything about any telepathic ability in dolphins, just that they had had mentasynth enhancement.”

  "What's that?"

  Alemi chuckled. "I'm not at all sure I understand but it was a treatment the Ancients used and it allowed dolphins to use human speech."

  "The reason I wanted to know is, well, sometimes they say something just after Gaddie and I have been talking and it just seems as if they're answering us. Only I'm not talking out loud."

  "Really? That could be merely coincidence, you know. Great minds thinking along the same lines."

  T'lion absently hauled off his riding helmet, scratching at his sweaty scalp. "I suppose it could be. But you'd know since you talked to Aivas."

  Alemi gave a chuckle. “Aivas only told me what he knew and that he got from the records. I doubt he's enjoyed our personal contact with the dolphins, or yours with your dragon."