Fiona snorted at the response and the girl gave her a startled look. “I’ll tell you this: It’d be hard to imagine a dragon Impressing someone who’s so certain she won’t.”

The youngster pondered upon that for moment and then nodded solemnly. “Yes, Weyrwoman.”

“So stop with the long face, and come find me tomorrow, and we’ll see if the queens are ready yet to accept visitors!”

A shriek broke quiet of the Weyr and Fiona glanced up as the first casualty returned to the Weyr.

“I never imagined I could be so tired!” H’nez said as Jeila hauled him into bed later that day. “It’s not even evening and I can—” he yawned widely “—hardly keep my eyes open.”

“The air, timing it, and the stress of fighting,” Jeila said in terse explanation as she drew the covers over him.

“Three days,” H’nez said, fighting back another yawn. “Three and we fight again. How can we be ready?”

Jeila shushed him, leaning down to brush his lips with her own. “Sleep. Rest and we’ll talk later.”

She straightened up, giving her mate an expectant look, surprised that he didn’t have some martial retort ready, but instead the soft, jagged sound of his snores rose up in response. She smiled lovingly, then her expression changed as she asked herself, how could they fight again in just three days?

“I don’t feel as bad as some of the others,” T’mar said the next morning at breakfast, as if in answer to Fiona’s unspoken question of the night before. Fiona quirked an eyebrow questioningly and the Weyrleader shrugged.

“I think it’s because I’ve felt so exhausted these past several Turns that the stress of timing it and flying in thin air didn’t affect me as much as the others,” he said, with a jerk of his head toward H’nez’s empty place.

Fiona reached for the klah and topped off both their mugs with a grin, saying, “Well, if it’s only that bad …

“They’ll be ready enough for the next Fall.”

“Only if we don’t have to time it beforehand,” T’mar cautioned.

“On the other hand, if you do have to time it, you might want to tap those who are suffering from this exhaustion,” Fiona said, “if they too prove as unaffected as yourself.”

T’mar raised his hands and spread them wide in a warding gesture, saying, “I wouldn’t consider myself all that well-rested.”

“But you could fight again, if you had the need.”

T’mar accepted her notion with a grimace, saying, “I’d prefer to leave it to another Weyr.”

“True,” Fiona said and was silent for a moment as she spoke with her dragon. “I’ve had Talenth relay the news to Melirth at Fort and Lyrinth at High Reaches.”

“Good thought,” T’mar said. “We should have done that last night.”