On the final day that the Snowflake clutch would be living at Benden Weyr, the Weyr turned out a feast and arranged activities that the whole population could join in on. Of course, after twelve months of getting up at 6am, most of the weyrlings wouldn't be sleeping in. However, instead of being allowed to choose whether to eat breakfast or to oil their dragons first, they had all been told the night before that they needed to oil their dragons first thing in the morning.

Some of the weyrlings probably realized that it had been a year since their Impression, but others may not have. And most of those who did chose to keep it quiet and pretend to be surprised; it wasn't often that the older riders had a chance to do something unexpected where their younger siblings and weyrmates were concerned.

So it was when the dragons were all oiled - and some of the older riders recruited the weyrlings to help oil THEIR dragons as well - that the weyrlings were told to go wash up and take their time. When they were finally allowed into the dining hall for breakfast, they found a feast laid out for them at one large table.

At the head of the table were two chairs, one decked out with gold gilt and one with bronze gilt: obviously for Alyena and L'nex. The other chairs were marked with ribbons of the weyrlings' dragons' colors. Aside from Alyena's and L'nex's places, they were allowed to shift the chairs around.

Once they'd settled in their seats, the older riders brought around trays of food to serve to the weyrlings. They weyrlings could pick from eggs (cooked any way they wanted), bacon, ham, sausage, toast of different types of bread, different butters, assorted jams, oatmeal with their choice of honey, butter, sugar, or fruit (or any combination), flatcakes, a variety of muffins, and a selection of fruits. To drink, there was milk, klah, fruit juice, and water.

In short: the weyrlings were being treated like royalty. At least for breakfast.

Alyena was annoyed that she wasn't allowed into the kitchens when she woke at her usual 5am wake-up call. In fact, she was chased out of them. Grumbling about her hunger, she pulled a biscuit out of her personal stores and nibbled on it while she waited for Hetty to wake up.

She and L'nex still kept separate quarters, although L'nex was determined that they'd share a weyr soon enough. Alyena wasn't sure if he'd realized that if he insisted on staying with her, he wouldn't graduate with the rest of their class. She'd known for months that she wouldn't graduate with her clutchsibs; she and Hetty would have to stay at the Weyr until her clutch hatched. Possibly longer if...well, she didn't want to think about that. She'd taken the Healer's advice after Hetty's flight, so that wasn't an issue.

When Henriettath woke a short time later, she banished those thoughts from her mind and greeted her gold affectionately. "C'mon, love, let's get you shined up." She slipped on their riding straps and they glided down to the lake. Even though it wasn't bathing time, the gold enjoyed taking a dip and getting a little sand scrub before the got oiled. Scooping up handfuls of sand, Alyena began scrubbing her dragon, barely containing her annoyance as L'nex and Rilath landed nearby. While she couldn't fault the bronze's attention to her gold - which actually wasn't much, although he didn't completely ignore her, either - L'nex's attention to her was frustratingly protective, bordering on the obsessive. Fortunately, most of their dragons still demanded a sand scrub before they were oiled, since they were still growing, so he was occupied with his own dragon for a while. And since she had a head-start on him, even though Hetty was larger than Rilath, she was already finished oiling the gold's massive head when the bronze took his rinsing dip. However, the greens were so much smaller than their two higher-ranked brethren that when one of the greenriders came over to offer her a hand, she didn't turn down the assistance.

Why do you not like him? Hetty asked. He is a good choice for a mate.

Alyena sighed. It's not Rilath who bothers me, love. It's his rider. I'm not some fragile, blown-glass ornament that needs wrapped up in gauze for protection! Neither are you, and he treats us both that way.

There was a pause while the gold digested that statement and the mental images that went along with it. Why don't you just tell him that, then? He says that he thinks you are going to clutch, too. Alyena sputtered. It was a good thing that the mental images cleared up the dragon's inherent lack of proper name usage. The first "he" was Rilath, the second was L'nex.

Well, I'm not! I'm not ready to have a baby! And why are you talking to Rilath about this?

Well, you aren't going to solve anything by complaining to me about it, now, are you? the queen snapped back at her rider before launching in a huff to perch on the ridge of the Bowl to sun, leaving her rider standing down by the lake with their riding gear.

"What was that all about?" the helpful greenrider asked curiously. Alyena just shook her head in response before gathering up her things.

"Want a ride back to your weyr?" That was L'nex, looking hopeful.

She bit back the angry retort on her lips. "No, thank you, I'll walk. Besides, it looks like we're still not allowed in the kitchens yet," she gestured at the older dragons who were stretching out alongside the lake and their riders who were flagging down the weyrlings for assistance. "It'll take a while to walk across and stow things."

Just then, one of those older riders clapped L'nex on the back. "If you're in such a helpful mood, how about helping me with my dragon's oiling?" She shot Alyena a sympathetic look and the gold weyrling fled with as much grace as she could, lugging her riding straps over her shoulders.

When she got back to her weyr, she realized how tense her back, shoulder, and neck muscles were and she was starting to get a headache. So instead of the quick shower and scrub she'd planned to take, she decided to take a long, hot bath. Hetty had shut her out, so she'd have to listen for the others returning to know when it was time to get breakfast. While she was bathing, she finally realized that Hetty was a full Turn old that day - that explained all the hubbub.

When that happened some while later, she further frustrated by the obvious fact that she and L'nex were expected to sit together at breakfast. It was so frustrating that she took her seat stiffly and his fawning presence severely detracted from what should be her enjoyment of the breakfast spread, and the grins of the older riders as their roles were reversed, serving the weyrlings instead of the other way around. Seeing that she was only picking at her food, L'nex tried to engage her and find out what was wrong, and that was the final straw.

"Will you stop?!" she snapped at him, reaching out with her mind to have Hetty communicate the same to Rilath, although the gold refused to acknowledge her. "I'm a queenrider, L'nex, I'm not frail, and you're trying to smother me."