The Dolphins of Pern

CHAPTER II

READIS FELL ASLEEP that night some time after his third repetition of their adventure.

“He’s got it down as pat as any harper,” his father said with some chagrin.

“Just so long as you’ve made it plain,” Aramina said, emphasizing the word, “that he isn’t to swim out or go sailing—”

“Skiff’s gone, remember?” Jayge put in reassuringly.

“—to try and find those shipfish again,” she finished, glaring at him.

“You heard him promise, ’Mina, that he wouldn’t go too near the water without a companion. He’s a child of his word, you know.”

“Hmmm,” Aramina said ominously.

But, as she kept strict track of her son’s whereabouts for the next two days, he did not disobey, though she saw him often shielding his eyes from the sun, gazing out across the restless waters of the Southern Sea. Perversely now she worried that he had taken a fear of the sea. When she hesitantly mentioned this to her mate, Jayge stoutly denied there was a fearful bone in Readis’s body.

“He’s obeying—isn’t that what you wanted of him?” Jayge demanded. “You can’t have it both ways.”

Aramina sighed and then was summoned out of her preoccupation over Readis by a loud cry of frustration from Aranya, who was having trouble with a toy cart that kept losing its wheel.

The next afternoon, while holders were taking their midday rest, avoiding the heat of the sun, Aramina received a polite message from Ruth that he and Lord Jaxom were visiting Paradise River. She told her husband. She was halfway to the kitchen to prepare the fruit juices that she knew Jaxom liked when she turned back, puzzled.

“They’re already here at Paradise,” she said. Then she went to the edge of the wide veranda that shaded their house and peered up into skies empty of the recognizable form of a dragon. “But where? Isn’t that just like Jaxom? Although why he would tell me he was coming when he’s already nearby … Oh, maybe I misheard Ruth. I do that now and then.” She sighed in exasperation, shrugged, and went back inside.

Jayge seated himself where he could command a good view of the approaches to the house and propped his feet up on the railing. The days when Aramina had heard every single dragon conversation were long past—to her infinite relief. Now the dragons had to think specifically at her to convey a message. Jayge couldn’t imagine what could have delayed Ruth, who was generally very prompt to follow any announcement of his coming. Lord Jaxom of Ruatha Hold was always welcome, but Jayge smiled at the surprise Readis would have to see the white dragon when he woke from his afternoon nap.

“Not that that would rate as high now as swimming with a dolphin,” Jayge murmured aloud. As well it was Ruth and Jaxom who were the first dragon pair to land at Paradise River after Readis’s adventure. The very ones to answer candid questions.

Just then Ruth glided with deft backwinging to land in front of the house. Jayge rose to his feet and went to greet them, a broad grin on his face. “Ara started squeezing juice the moment Ruth told her you were coming. You’ve confused her. She said you were already here, but we couldn’t see the white hide anywhere. And I’m glad you’ve come, because something’s come up!”

Jaxom grinned and Jayge frowned because he suddenly realized that Jaxom was carrying his riding jacket and had sweated through his light shirt. His face also bore sweat marks. Considering that between was beyond measure cold, Jayge was confused. Then Ruth turned and, in a hop-glide gait, made for the shore while happily chirping fire-lizards converged above him.

“Off for a scrub, is he?” Jayge gestured his human guest up to the coolness of the porch. “How could you work up such a sweat in between, Jaxom?”

“Stealing sand.” The young Lord Holder grinned with mischief. “We’ve been examining the quality of your local Stuff.”

“Indeed? Now what would you need Paradise River sand for? As I’m sure you’re going to tell me anyway.” He motioned for Jaxom to take the hammock, strategically placed at the corner of the house where it caught any breeze, seaward or landward. He leaned against the banister, arms folded across his chest, awaiting an explanation.

“The settlers had a sandpit back in that scrubland of yours. They thought highly of Paradise River sands—for glass making.”

“There’s certainly enough. Did Piemur and Jancis find those whatchamacallums …”

“Chips?” With a grin, Jaxom supplied the proper term for all the odd bits that had been stored in the Hold’s barn by the Ancients. It was only in recent days that anyone had understood their purpose: parts for computers, of which the Artificial Intelligence Voice-Address System recently discovered at a Landing building was the most complex. Aivas, as it was known, was the receptacle in which all the Ancients’ vast knowledge had been stored. Jayge had had a brief glimpse of the incredible machine, in its special room at Landing, and heard what miracles of information it had.

“Chips, then … useful, after all?”

“Well, we managed to salvage the usable transistors and capacitors, but they haven’t actually been installed yet.”

Jayge gave him a long suspicious look for the way the strange words came so easily from his mouth. “As you say,” he said with a grin.

Just then young Readis, clad only in a clout, came out on the porch, Ribbing sleep out of his eyes. He peered at Jaxom, swinging lazily in the hammock, then swiveled his head around to the front of the house. “Ruth?”

Jaxom pointed to where the white dragon, surrounded by industrious fire-lizards, wallowed in the shallow water.

“He’s enough of a guardian, isn’t he?” Readis asked, tilting his head back in a stance that mirrored one of his father’s postures.

Jayge nodded, glad that Readis was so conscious of his promise not to go in the water unattended. “But Ruth’s bathing right now, and besides, I’d like you to tell Jaxom what happened to you and Alemi the other day.”

“Did you come just to hear?” Readis asked, though he knew that Lord Jaxom had a lot of other things to do, since he was aware of how hard his own Holder father worked. On the other hand, he was certain that even a busy man like Lord Jaxom would find his adventure interesting: because it was a real adventure.

“Well, that was one reason,” Jaxom said, smiling. “So what did happen to you and Alemi the other day?”

Aramina emerged from the house, carrying her squirming daughter under one arm and a tray in her free hand. Jayge quickly sprang to relieve her of the tray, but she gave him Aranya instead, and served Jaxom a tall cool drink and some freshly baked sweet biscuits. It took a few more minutes until Readis was settled on his stool, with two biscuits and a small glass. When his mother was seated, Readis looked to his father for his cue to begin.

He took a deep breath and launched into the well-rehearsed tale. He kept his eyes on Lord Jaxom’s face to be sure he was listening properly—and he was—almost from the start.

“Shipfish?” Lord Jaxom exclaimed when Readis got to that part of his recital. He glanced at Jayge and Aramina then, and Readis saw their solemn confirmation of his claim.

“A whole pod of ’em,” Readis said proudly. “Unclemi said there must have been twenty or thirty. They pulled us far enough in for us to reach the beach safely on our own. And,” he added, pausing to give emphasis to his final words, “the next morning the skiff was found beached up by the fishhold, like they knew exactly where it belonged.”

“That is some tale, young Readis. You’re a harper born. An amazing rescue. Truly amazing.”

Readis caught the genuine feeling in the Lord Holder’s tone.

“The redfins weren’t by any chance returned with the skiff?” Jaxom asked.

“Nah.” Readis dismissed that with a flick of his wrist, despite his own disappointment at the failure of the lockbox to reappear on shore, as well. “They drowned. So we had to eat ol’ stringy wherry ’stead of good juicy redfin steaks. And you know something else?”

“No, what?” Jaxom responded.

“It wasn’t just that they rescued us—they talked to us, too!”

“What did they say?”

The expression on Lord Jaxom’s face was suddenly alert, and his eyes bored into Readis as if he’d caught him out in a lie. Readis stiffened his back and threw out his chest.

“They said ‘wielcame’ when we thanked ’em. And they called themselves ‘mam’Is,’ not fish. Unclemi will tell you!”

Readis caught Jaxom glancing at his father, as if doubting him. His father gave a slow nod to Jaxom, then turned to him. “Readis, why don’t you run down and see if the fire-lizards are giving Ruth a proper scrubbing?”

Having said his piece, Readis was delighted to be released to help bathe Ruth, who was his favorite dragon of all the ones he’d met so far.

“Can I? Really?” And he looked up at Lord Jaxom.

“Really, you can,” Jaxom said.

Readis let out a loud yell as he jumped off the porch and pelted down to the shore where Ruth was afloat.

When the boy was out of earshot, Jaxom turned to his parents. “I know for a fact that dolphins—what we’ve been calling shipfish all these centuries—came with the original settlers. And they speak? Amazing.” He glanced toward Ruth.

“They’ll never be competition for dragons,” Jayge said quickly, flashing Jaxom a look.

“No,” Jaxom replied with an easy grin, “nothing could be, but you seaside holders might want to encourage a renewal of the old friendship. Especially with the squalls you have.”

“Hmmm …” Jayge was clearly taken with that idea.

“You are not”—Aramina paused to emphasize the negative—“to give my son any more ideas than he already has.”

“Why not?” Jayge said, blinking at her. “Catch ’em while they’re young and train ’em up in the way they’re to go.”

“Readis will follow you as Holder of Paradise River,” she began hotly.

“And, as he is Holder of Paradise River right on the coast, I think it’d be smart if he is aware of all the possibilities available,” Jayge said, sweeping his arm out to include the sparkling waters beyond. “Of course, only when he’s old enough to appreciate the advantages,” he added as her expression turned slightly mutinous.

“Can’t start ’em too young, you know,” Jaxom told Aramina.

“You’re as bad as he is. Don’t tell me that Sharra would allow Jarrol to go careening about the coastline?”

“We don’t have much of a one at Ruatha,” Jaxom said with immense good humor. “And speaking of my wife, I’d best get back to her. Surprise her with my early return. So I have your permission, Lord Holder, to use Paradise River sands …” He turned to Jayge.

Jayge raised both hands in broad assent. “However much you need,”

“Thanks.” Jaxom drank the last of the juice, made a satisfied smack of his lips. “That hit the spot. Now, to entice my dragon away from all his admirers.”

Jayge, circling Aramina’s shoulders with one arm, waved a farewell. Then he looked down at his wife, always somewhat amazed that she had chosen to live her life with him.

“Some people have affinities for the sea, others for runnerbeasts or dragons.” He gave her an encouraging squeeze when her face clouded, hearing that preamble. “Readis has had a great adventure for a young lad. Let’s bend with it for the time being. I would like to hear what Aivas has to say about the shipfish, After all, love, we, too, owe our lives to them—and all that they brought us to. We ought, for the sake of our son, to listen to what is known about them.”

She leaned into him, borrowing his strength once again. “He is just a little boy.”

“Who will grow, I hope, into a fine sturdy man. Who will probably be as stubborn as his mother.” He grinned down at her.

“Ha! And not just his mother by any means,” she replied tardy. “Just don’t force the issue, Jayge.”

“I hadn’t intended to, but I must admit to being curious as to what Aivas will say about talking fish.”

“Yes,” Aramina said, moving away from his side to take a sand-covered biscuit out of her daughter’s hand. “People can imagine such odd things in moments of stress.”

“Didn’t we though!” Jayge’s grin was for their own rarely mentioned rescue. “We never thought to thank them, either.”

Aramina gave him a long and indignant stare. “Considering we barely made it to shore, and never really thought the shipfish were speaking to us, why would we have?”

The dolphins kept patrolling the waters off Pardisriv, hoping to ask mans to remove bloodfish. Most of them had the annoying things. Sometimes one could bite it off a podmember, but the parasites could take a hold that only a man’s sharp knife could remove. It had been one of the great things about having a partner: he or she would keep the dolphins’ flesh free of the parasites. So when they found the broken pieces of the mans’ boat, they pushed it to where the tide would bring it ashore, since the waters were not deep enough for them to swim all the way in to the sands. Maybe, seeing that the dolphins were remembering the tasks tradition had told them to perform, mans would perform the tasks dolphins could not do for themselves. They kept watch until they saw mans finding the wreckage. Kib called and called, asking when the bloodfish could be taken off, and where should they go for that healing. The mans were so happy to find the ship pieces that they walked away without answering.

If there was only a bell, Kib thought. There should be a bell Then they could ring it as their ancestors had, and mans would answer. The dolphins at Moncobay had a bell that they could ring, but they had not yet had the bloodfish scraped off. Had mans forgotten their duty to dolphins?

The Tillek had said that, one day, when the dolphin bells were rung again, mans would remember what mans should do to help dolphins.