Alyena was normally an early-morning person - but early morning was when they'd arrived at the Weyr, thanks to the nine-hour time difference!  She'd thought she was too excited to sleep when the Headwoman had brought her here, but she'd collapsed into slumber as soon as her head hit the pillow.  She likely would have slept until early afternoon, but noises in an adjacent room near lunchtime woke her.  She yawned hugely, and would happily have gone back to sleep, but her conscience got the better of her.

She sat up on the edge of the cot and realized she'd fallen asleep in the foul-weather pants and boots she'd been given for their trip; her coat, gloves, and hat had been removed by the Healer.  Which reminded her: she was supposed to go back to see him.  As she stripped off the now-overly-warm trews and boots and dug something more comfortable out of her pack, changing out of the odoriferous clothing she'd worn the previous day, she assessed her needs.  She needed to use the facilities, and a hot bath would be nice...but she wasn't hungry.  She wasn't sure exactly what time it was, but she knew she hadn't gotten much sleep.

The sounds from the other room were dying, and she hurried her steps - maybe she could ask someone what time it was and where the facilities were.  She stepped out and saw a slightly bewildered-looking girl standing in the doorway next to hers.  Alyena cleared her throat.  "Uh, excuse me, but do you know what time it is?"

The girl jumped and squeaked, turning to look at her with wide eyes.  The two blinked at each other for a moment.  "Um, well, it's a little before 11 o'clock. It's almost time for me to report for my chores shift, I guess."

Alyena pinched the bridge of her nose while she tried to figure out what that meant.  It had been just after dark...about 21 o'clock...when they were supposed to have been picked up by the dragons...but that was Fort time.  She knew the Weyr was nine hours ahead, so that would have been 6 o'clock, so it must have been almost 7 o'clock before she went to sleep.  So if it was going on 11 o'clock now, that was only four hours of sleep.  Well, it wasn't the least amount of sleep she'd every functioned on.  She opened her eyes and noticed the uncertain look on the other girl's face.

"I'm sorry, I was just trying to figure out what time it was back home...or what time it was when I got here...something like that.  I'm Alyena, by the way."  She held out her hand.

Lyeala's eyes got round again.  "Where are you from, then?  I'm Lyeala, I've been living here for a while."  She clasped hands with Alyena.

Alyena felt relieved; if this girl had been living here for a while, she could tell her where everything was!  She smiled.  "Fort Hold.  I just got here last night.  Or...I think it was this morning, actually."

The miner looked suspicious when Alyena announced her hold of origin, but then gasped.  "Oh!  You must be one of the ones they brought in this morning!  I heard there were..." her voice dropped to an excited whisper, "PIRATES."

Alyena winced.  "There were.  I don't really want to talk about it."  That reminded her, she didn't know what had happened to Polran...or Lord Tinas and Lady Yesia, for that matter.  "Do you know where I can find a privy, and a hot bath?"  She decided she wanted a bath before she went to meet with the Healer again.

Lyeala looked disappointed.  She shrugged it off quickly, though.  "Oh, we get our 'own' water closet, we can share among the...I guess there are three of us...just around the corner there."  She pointed toward the corner of the wall that her door was in.  "The baths are farther away, though.  I'm going to be heading up to the creche soon, though, so I can show you where to go, if you want."

"That would be wonderful, thank you!  I'll just be a minute."  The baker scurried off around the corner and, sure enough, found a fairly respectable water closet.  It was nice to know that she wouldn't have to go for a hike in the middle of the night if she needed to take a leak, too!  She met Lyeala in what was apparently their common room.  "Is there anyone in that one?" she pointed to the other door.

Lyeala shrugged.  "Yeah, but I don't really know her.  The name plate on the outer door says 'Theirasta' though. She came with the dragonriders.  C'mon, I need to get going!"

Alyena thought she was in decent shape, but the other girl set a brisk pace that was faster than a walk, but just shy of a jog.  Alyena tried to keep track of where they were going, but there were so many unfinished caverns and piles of rock that she started to lose track.  They came to a staircase quickly, though.

Lyeala took her up one flight of stairs, then took the right-hand tunnel.  She led the older girl through a myriad of construction, and Alyena finally begged her to slow down a bit.  "I need to get my bearings, or I'll be totally lost getting back to our rooms!"

"Oh, don't worry.  Anyone here can help you find your way back.  But the easiest way is to go to the Great Hall.  Just go out the southern exit - not the one that leads to the cafeteria, but the one to the left of it! - and take the first right-hand tunnel.  It'll bring you out to that staircase we came up.  Then just go down to the bottom of the stairs and you'll be in our area!"

Alyena wasn't sure that those instructions were much help, especially since she didn't know where the Great Hall was...  She wondered if there would be signs.  It seemed like an hour had passed by the time they reached the series of chambers that held bathing rooms, mostly noticeable by the increase in warmth and humidity.

"Here you are!  If you need directions, just ask someone."  The young miner started to jog off.

"Uh, wait!  Are there specific rooms for girls?  What about towels and soap?"

Lyeala laughed.  "No one's bothered making those distinctions yet, so far as I know.  And the dragonriders sort of turned everything upside-down anyway!  Did you know they all bathe together?  Anyway, there are towels and soap on the benches.  Just pick a room!  See you later!"  She left Alyena standing in the hallway, feeling very much out of place.

She heard some female laughter from one of the nearby rooms and decided that was a good place to start.  Cautiously, mindful of what her parting roommate had said about dragonriders all bathing together, she poked her head into the room.  She saw two women lounging in tubs; she couldn't make out much more than that they were female, because of the steam.  There was an empty tub off to one side, and, as Lyeala had said, folded towels and dishes of soap on a nearby bench.  Neither woman had noticed her, so she slipped in and headed for the nearest empty tub, hoping to not draw attention as she dipped her hand in the water to see how hot it was.  It was gratifyingly warm, just shy of scalding, and she quickly stripped her clothing off - setting it neatly on the bench instead of piled on the floor like the other women's - and slipping into the water.  It was just hot enough to make her gasp, and then sigh blissfully as she sank to her chin in it.  Her eyes closed, she didn't realized that her gasp had caught the attention of the other women until she realized their conversation had stopped.

Trepidatiously, she opened her eyes, unexpectedly meeting the eyes of one of the women.  She tried to drop her gaze, but found herself unable to look away.  Self-consciously, she cleared her throat.  "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your conversation, I just didn't want to accidentally walk in on any guys..." she trailed off.

The other woman studied her closely while she spoke.  "You're Alyena, right?"  At Alyena's surprised nod, she continued, "H'lee told us about you.  I'm Aqayla, and this is Vila.  We ride green dragons, mine is Kimith, and Vila's is Beloeth."  Alyena felt even more out of place.

"Oh, leave off, Aqayla.  She's had a rough morning.  Or night, depending on your point of view!  You couldn't have had more than four hours of sleep this morning, no wonder a hot bath sounded good!" The other greenrider grinned at her.  "I have to say, this is one thing that is much better than we had at Xanadu.  No one there ever wanted a truly hot bath, it was always so warm."

Alyena smiled back tentatively.  "We didn't have anything like this at Fort Hold, either.  If you wanted water this hot, you had to heat it yourself, and by the time you got it to your tub, it would have cooled off again.  It really is nice."  She reached over the edge and fetched the soap and began lathering up, feeling self-conscious of the scar on her right arm.  The two greenriders sank back down in their tubs to soak some more and seemed to forget that she was there, making it easier for her to finish cleaning up.  After getting her hair wet, she started cursing at the knots; she hadn't thought to bring her hairbrush!

"Here, let me help you with that," Vila offered, nearly causing Alyena to jump out of her skin.  She'd almost managed to forget that the greenriders were there, they'd been so quiet.  The rider stepped out of her tub and wrapped a towel around herself before coming to sit on the bench behind Alyena, scooping up a comb from her own bench.  Alyena started to protest - she was used to doing the serving, not being served! - but Vila clucked at her and settled down to start untangling her blonde hair.  "I used to brush my little sister's hair out like this; I miss it."  Alyena couldn't decide whether or not to ask about Vila's sister, but the greenrider solved her dilemma by continuing softly.  "She and her family were killed in an AW attack a couple of years ago."

Alyena frowned for a moment, before realizing that the woman was talking about a couple of years ago before they'd left their time and come here.  "I'm sorry..." she said softly, wincing slightly as the comb tugged loose a particularly stubborn knot.

"We've all lost someone to the AWs.  My tale is hardly unique."  Alyena saw Aqayla nod absently, her eyes closed as she soaked up the heat from her tub.  Before she knew it, Vila had finished combing out her hair and had tied it up in a neat braid.  "There!  That should keep for the rest of the day.  Just don't forget to brush it out tonight before you go to bed!"

It was then, as the two older women dried off and dressed themselves, that Alyena realized the two riders' hair was cut short, very similar to the men's.  She reluctantly pulled herself from the water and dried and dressed herself quickly.  She hesitated at the door, trying to figure out how to get to the Infirmary.  "Where are you headed to next?" Aqayla asked.  Alyena told her.  "Ah!  Master Tikal, huh?  I ought to check on that lad that came with you...Polran, I think?"  Alyena nodded.  "Well, come on, then.  Vila, I'll meet you back in the Cafeteria in a little while?"  The other rider grinned and waved, and headed off down the hallway at a sedate stroll.  "This way!" and started off in the opposite direction and a brisk walk; Alyena had to jog the first few steps to catch up.

After some distance, they moved from an area lit by glows - reminding Alyena of her surprise the night...no, morning...whatever! - to a space lit with electric lights.  "There's only a limited number of electric lights, they focused on putting them here where they're most needed.  You find the electric lights, you've found the Infirmary!"  The greenrider caught the attention of an apprentice healer and asked where they could find Master Tikal, and were told he was in his office.  "Can you please take Alyena to see him?  I need to check on Polran."  She also got directions to where Polran was, and which Healer was tending him, before bidding Alyena farewell and loping off down the hallway.

Alyena sighed and followed yet another guide down to another staircase, up it, and down yet another hallway.  The apprentice tapped on a door, receiving a muffled acknowledgement, and announced Alyena.  The baker entered the office, which was more spacious than she had expected.  Space was at a premium in Fort Hold, so offices tended to be cramped, and often shared.

The Master Healer who had checked out her arm when she'd arrived had his back to the door, putting books on a shelf.  Alyena hesitated diffidently at the door.  "I can come back later if you'd prefer," she offered.

Tikal waved a hand at her.  "No, no, no.  Just got this bookshelf installed and trying to get some of my books unpacked!"  The man seemed pleased.  "I'd have thought you'd still be asleep."  He turned back toward her and peered over a pair of glasses she hadn't noticed during their previous encounter.

She shrugged.  "I probably would be, but I guess I got a new roommate, and they weren't any too quiet about moving her stuff in."

The man snorted, setting the couple of books still in his hand down on the corner of a table that looked like it was serving as a desk.  "Probably just as well.  I always said that adjusting to a new time zone that was about eight hours different from your old one is the hardest thing to do.  A twelve-hour difference is easier, believe it or not!  You'll probably still feel like you need to be awake at bedtime tonight, so don't let me forget to send you with a couple herbal packets.  The sooner you adjust, the easier it is."  He pulled up a stool and gestured for her to sit.  "I think I detect Vila's handiwork in your hair.  You must have found the baths without too much difficulty."

"Um, yeah.  My new roommate showed me where they are.  Vila and Aqayla were there, too."  She hesitated while she rolled up the loose sleeve; she'd selected the shirt knowing that she was going to be meeting with Tikal and he would want to see the entire scar.  "Is it unusual for them to be there at this time of day?"

Tikal laughed.  "Riders are hard workers, but they're also hedonists.  Odds are, you'll find one or two there at any time, depending on what their duties are that day.  That pair had just returned from a short shift towing the Jonbee.  Greens aren't able to tow as well as the larger dragons, so they go in pairs and for shorter shifts.  Now, let's take a look at this arm."  He sat down on a shorter stool next to her, putting his eyes level with the top edge of her scar.  "How did you get this, anyway?"

Alyena winced.  She hated talking about that.  The look he gave her told her that she wasn't going to be leaving without telling him exactly what happened.  "Some holder boys were teasing me because I used to daydream about dragons.  One of them wrapped a belt around my arm, joking about it being a riding strap, and asked what I'd do if I fell off my dragon.  They shoved me, and the belt slipped."  She shifted uncomfortably on the stool.  She thought she heard the Healer mutter something.  "I'm sorry, what?"

"Nothing, just talking to myself.  Just hold still for a minute while I take a look here."  Alyena did as she was told.  After a moment, he continued, "Now, this might feel a little strange, but I want you to hold as still as you can."  Alyena pursed her lips and looked at him, but his eyes were closed as he focused.  After a moment, she felt something that felt like how his fingers felt on her elbow, except it wasn't where his fingers were resting.  Her instinct was to pull away, but she forced herself to hold still.  The sensation started at her shoulder and worked its way down through her fingers.  She shivered and clenched her eyes shut to focus better on keeping her arm still.

Tikal hummed softly to himself as he examined her arm.  After he'd checked the entire length of her arm, he went back to the elbow.  The biggest knot of damage that he could find was in the elbow, so he'd have to start there and work his way out to the shoulder and wrist.  He traced the twists in the muscles, ligaments and tendons, and blood vessels.  Then, using his gift, he carefully separated the bands where they'd gotten twisted together and had scarred into a single cord.  He only did a small section, not enough for her to be able to notice a change in how the arm worked yet, but probably enough for her to feel that he'd done something; he'd have to take this slow and easy.

Alyena inhaled sharply when the sensation in her arm seemed to become sharper somehow.  The feeling didn't last more than a couple of moments, but it made her pinkie finger tingle.  When his hands fell away, she rubbed the finger with her left hand, and the tingling stopped.

"Well, that's all I'm going to do right now.  Come back this evening before bedtime and I'll take another look at it.  It's going to take a few weeks to make any noticeable progress.  Don't be surprised if your elbow's a little sore later.  That's where the worst damage is, so I'm starting there.  I want to see you first thing after you take a hot bath every morning and last thing before you turn in every night for now.  The heat from the bath will loosen up the tissue and make my job a little easier, and it'll be less uncomfortable for you; if you have time and want to, you could take another hot bath before coming to see me in the evening, as well."

With that, he stood and went to a bench along the wall, returning with a couple of packets.  "Herbal sleep aids, until you adjust to the time change.  Up to you how you want to take them, but take them no more than an hour before bed.  You can steep them in a tea or put them on some food."

It was clearly a dismissal, and Alyena took the packets and let herself out of the office.  She really wasn't sure what he had done to her arm, but it did feel a little strange at the moment.  She supposed the feeling would wear off throughout the day.  She stood in the hallway for a moment, not sure which direction she was supposed to go, then remembered which direction they'd come from.  She turned back that way and soon found the staircase.  She headed down and, when she reached the first landing, stepped out and looked around.  There were rooms lined up along each side of the hallway, and people bustling in and out of different rooms.  Guiltily, she wondered where Polran was, and started walking down the hall, peering into rooms as she passed.

A journeyman stopped her and asked if she was looking for someone.  When she told him, he waved her away and continued on his rounds.  "Oh, him.  He was released an hour ago.  Probably found his way to the Kitchens by now, the way he was grumbling about being hungry."

"But where..." she started to call after him, trailing off as he ducked into a room.  She sighed and looked around.  The apprentice who had taken her to Tikal's office came out of another room, farther up the hallway, and she waved to him.  "How do I get to the Kitchens from here?" she asked, a little plaintively.

The boy took pity on her.  "Easiest way is to keep going up this hallway," he pointed in the direction she had been traveling.  Just keep to the left, and you'll come out in the Bowl.  Then you can go straight across to the Great Hall.  Kitchens are in the back there."

Alyena thanked him and took off down the hallway, dodging the other people.  Looking like she was on an errand was key to avoiding being shanghaied into other work.  It took about 10 minutes, but she suddenly found herself outside.  She thought this was where T'lon had dropped her off the night before, but she wasn't positive.  At first, she wasn't sure where the Great Hall entrance was, as she peered around the valley.  She hadn't realized how big the place was!  Then she saw the steps opposite her, and a flag flying over a gaping hole in the wall - that must be the Great Hall!

She started down the gentle slope that led out from the cliff-like walls, moving briskly to maintain the appearance that she knew what she was doing.  She nearly jumped out of her skin for the second time that morning when a fanfare broke out several hundred feet over her head, and a flight of dragons began a seemingly lazy circle down to the bottom of the caldera.  She couldn't help it: she stopped to watch them.  Only then did she truly realize how large the Weyr was; having ridden Roth earlier, she thought she had a fair idea how big the dragons were, and they were dwarfed by the walls of the Weyr.  Now she realized the other, apparently small holes in the walls were for the individual weyrs, and they weren't all that small after all!

Alyena heard a ruckus behind her and glanced over her shoulder to see people boiling out of the entrance.  Looking back to the dragons, she discerned their destination, and that they were carrying a fair amount of cargo.  Not wanting to get recruited into helping stow away whatever the dragons were bringing, she decided she'd better keep moving.  It took her the better part of half an hour to cross the Bowl, by which time the dragons had divested themselves of their burdens and taken to the air again, this time, each flying to an individual weyr.  Some of the dragons then flapped their way up to the rim of the volcano; that was when Alyena realized that there were several other dragons already sunning themselves.  At this distance, they didn't look any bigger than the felines that hunted tunnel snakes and rodents back home!

She found the steps leading up to a fenced-off area in front of the Great Hall entrance, and made her way back inside.  She had to stop for a minute to let her eyes readjust to the relative darkness in the Hall, which she saw was still serving as a makeshift barracks for a lot of people.  She could smell something enticing and remembered what the Healer apprentice had said, that the kitchens were "at the back" of the Great Hall.  She made her way across the cavern - which took her almost as long as it had taken to find her way out of the Infirmary! - and found that the odors emanated from several portals that were just tall enough for people to walk through.  They were wide enough for a wagon, though!  She peeked through one and gaped at the astonishing variety of kitchen appliances that ranged along the far wall.  Why, some of those things must be older than her grandmother!

She retreated quickly, before someone could rope her into something, however.  She was there to eat, not work, at least at the moment.  Looking around the Great Hall, she didn't see any tables set up, though, so...where did everyone eat?

Then she remembered something Lyeala had said, about how to get back to their rooms from the Great Hall.  She'd said something about making sure to take the left-hand exit because the right-hand one led to the cafeteria.  There weren't any exits to the right of the main exit, but there were two not far from where she now stood.  She headed for the right-hand one and was rewarded with a view of long tables set up end-to-end, with what looked like a self-serve buffet just inside the entrance - where another door leading back into the kitchens was.

Again, she stopped and stared, but this time at the variety of foods that were laid out.  Even at holiday, Fort and Benden didn't see bounty like this!  After a moment, she realized that most of what was there were the types that didn't store well, or that could be left sitting out without losing much of their quality: greens, soft cheeses, breads, cookies, and rolls stuffed with whatever was on hand.  On the side nearest the kitchen entrance, there was an old-fashioned cookstove with a few pots sitting on it; she could feel heat emanating from them, and when she lifted the lids, she found soups and stews.  One was clearly a fish stew, and after several days aboard the Jonbee, that was not at all appealing to her!  Another looked and smelled like some sort of herdbeast stew, dark and swimming with vegetables and chunks of meat.  The third one was smaller and contained a yellow concoction that smelled like cheese.

"Put some of that in one of the bread bowls," someone suggested from her elbow.  Startled, she dropped the lid back on the pot and looked to see who it was.  Although he was surely much younger than she was, he was her height.  "Get some of the veggie sticks down there, they're good dipped in it, too.  And it takes the edge off of some of the salted meats."

"Um, thanks.  What is it?"

"Alina calls it 'fawn-due' or something like that.  It's basically cheese, butter, and milk.  It's best when it's piping hot, though.  It gets kinda greasy as it cools.  By the way, I'm Lerane."

"That sounds a little rich for my tastes..." she eyed the small pot uncertainly.  "I'm Alyena."

"Oh, so you're the one Dad's been going on about!  Well, it's a pleasure meeting you!  And really, you should try some of it, it's really good!  But I just finished, and T'lon and Nadra are expecting me outside, so I'd better get going."  Alyena watched him jog off, a little bewildered.  Was everyone in this place so infernally...bouncy?

She considered skipping the cheese soup stuff, just to spite him, but it did smell pretty good.  When she opened up one of the bread bowls, she was delighted to see that the middle, which had been carved out to hold soup, had been cubed and put back in - waste not, want not!  She ladled a scoop of the cheese into the bowl and put the top back on.  He'd talked about the salted meats, but the scent of sausage steered her to a pan that was being kept warm with a couple of tiny candles.  Inside was crumbled sausage with some peppers, onions, and potatoes.  She dished up a serving of that and made her way carefully along the other buffet tables.  Toward the end were double bowls of fruits and vegetables, including the "sticks" the boy had talked about; the inner bowls contained the food and were set inside larger bowls that were filled with ice and water, keeping the produce well-chilled.  She took a generous helping of the vegetable sticks and some berries, then looked around for a table.  She spotted an empty one not too far away and carefully lifted her tray in her good hand and made her way to it, balancing the tray with her bad hand.

Then she realized she hadn't gotten anything to drink!  With a sigh, she looked back at the buffet, only then noticing that the last table held carafes of something to drink.  There were a couple of kettles being warmed by candles, like the contraption keeping the sausage warm; a whiff told her one held klah and the other held some sort of tea.  There was also ice water, water without ice, and several different fruit juices, most of which she didn't recognize.  She knew about the orange juice because they occasionally got some at Fort Weyr about this time of year, but she didn't know about the others.  One of the others smelled similar to the orange juice, with a sharp odor, but it was pale green, or maybe yellow.  She decided that smelled like it would be the best to cut the grease from the sausage and the cheese bowl and poured a small glass of it before returning to the table.  No one else had sat down while she got her beverage, and she settled onto the bench to tuck in.

As she started to eat, she looked around the cavern.  This wasn't the Great Hall, this was a chamber off to one side.  It was huge!  She tried to estimate how many people the cafeteria alone could hold.  There was a fair amount of seating, but it didn't even cover ten percent of the available space.  It did look like some of the alcoves were going to be walled off, perhaps for private dining.  She was finishing her assessment when someone called her name.  She turned to look toward the shout, seeing Aqayla and Vila coming toward her with their own trays full of food.  She smiled uncertainly, but it was clear they intended to sit with her.

"You weren't with Tikal very long!" Aqayla said, surprise tinging her voice.

Alyena shrugged.  "Didn't seem like he did very much.  I'm not exactly sure what he did, actually.  Kind of felt like he hit my elbow with one of those hammer things Healers use on knees, but he wasn't holding one.  Then he told me to see him again this evening."  Self-consciously, she flexed her right hand.

"What are you seeing him for, anyway?" the greenrider asked.

Vila clicked her tongue at her fellow greenrider.  "You telepaths have no sense of boundaries!" the other woman chided.

Aqayla rolled her eyes.  "I'm also a Healer," she pointed out.  "And we're both Assistant Weyrlingmasters, so we need to know about anything that might affect weyrlings!  Besides which, H'lee is absolutely certain that--"

Vila hissed warningly and Aqayla jumped - Alyena suspected Vila had just kicked the other greenrider under the table.  The latter took a quick bite of something and rolled her eyes.  Alyena wondered what she'd almost said.

The Candidate sighed.  She might as well tell them; it wouldn't stay hidden for long anyway, from what she'd heard.  She rolled her sleeve up a second time, displaying the scar again.  The women gasped sympathetically.  Aqayla leaned in to look at it more closely.  "How was this allowed to heal so badly?" she asked, shocked.

Alyena found herself once again explaining that her family hadn't been able to afford Healing, and facing the outrage of another Healer who couldn't believe that Healers in this day and age had the gall to charge for their services.  The Candidate was, once again, confused by the reaction.  But she finally had a chance to ask about it.  "But don't Healers deserve to get paid for their work, too?"

Vila shook her head, not as a negative response, but in frustration or maybe confusion.  "Their time is just as valuable, perhaps more so, than anyone else's, even dragonriders.  But everyone has the right to quality healthcare.  Marks shouldn't be allowed to dictate who gets proper care.  One of the things the AWs used against the Weyrs was how, when we fought Thread, we demanded the Holds and Halls to provide us with all the things we needed: food, healthcare, craft goods, and so on.  We didn't specifically demand that the best be sent to us, but most Holds and Halls treated it that way, not because they thought that's what we wanted, but because the best goods kept the longest and did the best job: quality leather wouldn't break during Threadfight, potentially killing a rider and their dragon; properly-harvested, -packaged, and -stored food kept longest.  By giving us the best of their goods, they didn't have to send us larger quantities to make up for spoilage or other losses.  We demanded those things in part as payment for our time and effort in protecting them from Thread, rather than being paid in Marks and then buying what we needed.  But at the time, at the peak of a Pass, we were fighting Thread as much as three times a day.  As riders, we didn't have time to pursue Crafts.  We had staff in the Weyrs who did have time, but on top of all the same needs as a large Hold, the dragons and riders consume a lot of food, and we needed a lot of medical supplies to treat injuries.  On top of that, the volcanoes we made our homes didn't have a lot of space for pursuing Crafts and other projects.  This Weyr is unusual, it has so much more space than any of our other Weyrs have!  But even it doesn't have enough space to keep as many herdbeasts as the dragons are going to need when we are at full strength and fighting Thread full-time.  When we thought Thread had been eradicated, we mostly stopped requesting goods; instead, we exchanged services for Marks or whatever goods were on hand that were worth the exchange, just like any other Hold or Hall.  The space problem is why we took first pick of the Southern Continent then: all that land that no one else was using, land no one else had used in 2,500 years.  But the AWs criticized us for that, too.  What I'm getting at, though, is that, in our time, the Healing Hall and its Healers were treated the same way: they were guaranteed everything they needed for comfort and survival.  Although they weren't paid directly by those they cared for, they were paid from the Hall, so they had some spending money, not just necessities.  Those funds came from the sale of surplus supplies - only surplus items, though, never necessary quantities - and from financial donations to the Hall; not every Hold produced products that could be donated to the Hall, or some years they'd have a bad year and not have enough to donate, so some Holds, instead, donated Marks.  That's why the Weyrs often tried to train their own Healers, because they had neither goods nor Marks to provide to the Halls, but it's also why the Halls have the right to call on riders for anything, at any time, because service is something we can provide, even when we don't have goods or Marks.  It was all very equitable, and it ensured that everyone had the right to get the medical attention they needed, at no direct cost.  The idea that people are going without proper care because they don't have enough Marks is enough to make my blood boil."

Alyena listened to the somewhat rambling explanation.  She thought about Fort Hold, and the Healer Hall there, and tried to imagine how different things would be if the people in the Hold had at least the bare necessities for survival without having to worry about the tax collectors, or a greedy landlord.  She shook her head.  "I'm sorry, I just...I can't imagine not exchanging money for every item or service.  That's how everything works."

Aqayla chuckled around a sip of klah.  "It'll take some getting used to, for sure.  I know it's driven Lery and Alina near to distraction having to explain it around here!"

Vila looked sharply at Alyena, and the girl wondered what she'd done or said now.  "Speaking of Lery, have you met with her yet?"  Aqayla looked a little puzzled.

"Ah...I met her last night...this morning?  When she took me to my room."

Aqayla's expression cleared as she picked up on what Vila was asking about.  "Oh!  Yes, you should go meet with her at some point.  She's probably not expecting you today, though.  She'll just have some questions for you related to becoming a Candidate."

The trio ate in silence for a couple of minutes, and Alyena tried the cheese stuff.  As the boy...Lerane?...had said, it was really quite good, and before she knew it, she was slicing up the remains of the bread bowl and sopping up every last drop.  Suddenly, she remembered that Aqayla had been looking for Polran earlier.  Shyly, she looked at the greenrider, who was finishing off the last of what she'd gotten to eat.  "Aqayla, did you find Polran?  I went looking for him after I met with Master Tikal, but someone said he'd already left."

"Oh, yes, I'd forgotten about that!  Yes, he was arguing with the Healers when I found him.  I checked him out of the Infirmary and brought him over to get something to eat.  He was pretty wobbly by the time we got here, so I got him set up with a basket of food and off to his bunkroom to eat and rest.  Other than the concussion, he seems to be in good shape."

Alyena looked relieved.  "Oh, good."  She didn't elaborate, turning her attention to the last bit of fruit on her plate.  The two greenriders exchanged a suspicious look, but for once, Aqayla didn't press the issue.

"Well, you're probably at loose ends for the rest of the day.  Vila and I have some responsibilities to attend to, so enjoy your free afternoon.  I'm sure Lery will have things for you to do starting tomorrow!"  The greenriders collected their dishes and took them to a hole in the wall to the kitchens that Alyena hadn't noticed before, sliding their trays through and then leaving the cafeteria.

Alyena noticed that there were a handful of other people seated at some of the other tables.  She considered the now-empty tray in front of her and debated getting something more to eat.  She decided to get one of the flaky rolls that had something stuffed in them - she thought she'd seen one with some fruit in it - and take it with her.  She thought about going back to her room; she thought about sticking her head into the kitchens, but she was tired and overwhelmed enough that she didn't want to get roped into working at the moment.  She decided to go back out through the Great Hall and take her time looking at the Weyrbowl.

She wandered back through the Great Hall, heading toward the main entrance.  There were a lot of cots piled up against one side, which didn't appear to be in use at the moment.  There was a sort of dais on her right as she ambled through, nibbling on her stuffed pastry with one hand underneath to catch the crumbs.  There was a table on the dais, around which several people were clustered, and a board propped against the wall behind them.  She thought she recognized a couple of the people on the dais, but she wasn't passing very close to them.

Off to the left, several hundred feet from the entrance, some folks were working on a wooden wall, it looked like maybe they were putting finishing touches on and hanging doors.  As she scanned the rest of the Hall, she noticed other partially-finished walls going up in other places.  She slipped through the doorway to the outside, dodging around workers who were hanging something in the entryway.  The meadow to the left of the door was bathed in warm sunlight, although that to the right was starting to enter a shadow as the sun moved west.