The Dolphins of Pern (16 page)

“Didn’t they tell you life in a Weyr would never be boring?” T’lion said, silly with relief that the healer was complying.

He almost gagged when he saw the depth of the wound, the flesh laid bare to several levels. The moment of nausea passed as he became fascinated that any creature so badly injured had survived the journey here. Boojie was barely breathing, too exhausted to make so much as a soft squee. Only the gleam in the visible left eye was evidence that the bottlenose lived. T’lion placed a hand close to the lung, far enough away from the ghastly slice not to cause any additional pain, and felt the rumble of activity within the dolphin’s body.

“If you’re going to do something, you better do it now, Persellan,” T’lion murmured. “Boojie’s just hanging on.”

“How on earth am I going to do any suturing in the ocean?”

Seeing the problem, for the dolphin nurses had to prop the patient and that made it difficult for Persellan to reach the wound, T’lion called Gadareth.

“Dragon claws were made useful,” he told Persellan. “Gaddie will cradle Boojie, just enough in the water, but with his side turned to you.”

There was a flurry as the bronze dragon, perceiving from his rider’s mind what had to be accomplished, entered the water and approached the group.

“Gaddie’ll help, Tana. Tell the others to let him take Boojie. He won’t harm him. You know dragons wouldn’t harm a dolphin.”

Tana clicked, squee’ed, and spouted water so urgently that the maneuver was deftly accomplished, though it took a bit to get Boojie angled just right for the repair.

“By the first shell, will you look at this?” Persellan exclaimed, and pointed to the thick layer of blubber lying just under the dolphin’s rubbery skin. “I suppose it’s normal? Would she know? Come to think of it, a very fat herdbeast has a fatty layer. I suppose it’s all right. Oh, well, it can only bite me.” Keeping up a running monologue—which T’lion rightly had the sense not to answer—and muttering darkly about a most unusual healing, Persellan began to smear numbweed on the lips of the wound. “Don’t know if the stuff will penetrate enough to do any good, but the Masterfarmer always uses it on injured animals, so I don’t see why I can’t use it on a sea creature.” His dabbings were tentative at first, but his motions
became more confident when his patient did not twitch or move during the procedure.

T’lion helped when he saw what to do, and his smaller fingers managed to ease the paste all along the edges of the wound.

“I’ve never done anything so bizarre in my life,” Persellan muttered as he paused, the long thin needle he used for dragon flesh poised for the first stitch. “I’ve never heard of anything so weird as suturing a fish …”

“Boojie’s not a fish,” T’lion corrected, but he was grinning. “He’s a mammal.”

“Put your hands on either side, would you, and see if you can’t push the lips together?”

It was not an easy job Persellan asked of T’lion, and toward the end, though the healer worked swiftly, the young rider’s muscles began to spasm in protest. But together the humans finished closing the gash.

“Three hands long …” Persellan said, measuring and shaking his head. “I doubt he’ll live. Shock alone … Although saltwater wounds do heal well …” He shook his head again as he scrubbed the remaining blood from his hands before passing the brush to his equally gory assistant. He washed the needle and replaced it in its leather, then put it and what was left of the fine strong thread he had used back in his now-soaked healer’s bag.

“So what do we do with this Boojie now, T’lion? Nurse him here, in the shallows? I’m water-pocked from the waist down.”

“Afo, what now?” T’lion asked, seeing her in the circle of observant dolphins grouped on either side of Gadareth, who still held Boojie in his talons.

“You do good. Tell dragon to let Boojie go. We care him.” With a sharp series of whistles, she organized her helpers, Gar, Jim, and Tana among them, as Gadareth obediently and very carefully lowered his forearms into the water until Boojie’s body floated free. T’lion was relieved to notice a slight motion of fins as Boojie wearily responded to his freedom. Then his podmates renewed their support and pointed him seaward.

“T’ank you! T’ank you! Tank you!” came the unexpected chorus as the group headed slowly out to sea.

“Will he be all right, Natua?”

She gave a little leap in answer, which he took to be affirmative. Both he and Persellan watched in silence until the dorsal fins of patient and nurses were no longer easily visible.

“Never done anything like that before in my life,” Persellan muttered as he strode out of the water. He took no more than a few steps up on the sand before he collapsed, to spread out his length on the warm sand. “And I don’t even know if it will be enough. But I tried.”

“You did indeed, Healer, and I’m very grateful you did,” T’lion said.
Gaddie, you were great!

I know it I’ve never done anything like that either But the dolphin lives. We all did well Tell the healer

“Gadareth, too, says you did well, Persellan,” T’lion murmured, with a weary grin. A snore answered him. A nap seemed like a good idea, but he had enough common sense remaining to collect two of the wide leaves they often used to shield the harsh
sun rays. He put one on Persellan’s head and face, and draped the second over himself.

Gadareth, wings carefully tight against his back, rolled this way and that in the warm sands before he, too, settled his head on his front legs and relaxed in the sun.

E
ARLY THE NEXT MORNING
Persellan joined T’lion and Gadareth on the strand when the young dragonrider rang the Report peal He had spent an anxious night, worrying about Boojie, and was rather pleased to see that Persellan was also concerned.

No sooner had the last note of the ring echoed across the waters than two dolphins leaped above the surface, a distant squeeing audible.

“Hope that’s a happy sound,” T’lion murmured.

“Hmmmrn” was Persellan’s reply as he shielded his eyes and peered across the dawn-lightened waters.

“They feed at dawn, you know,” T’lion informed him conversationally. “Best time to get them.”

“Am I likely to be on call to dolphins, too, now?”

T’lion looked up to check the healer’s mood. He didn’t know the man well enough to judge whether or not his gruffness was genuine. Most people tended to be grumpy in the early hours of the day. Healers certainly had the right, called up at the most inconvenient of times.

“Would that bother you?” T’lion asked apprehensively.

“Hmmmm, Depends. I could see that the creature had to have that gash sutured. Are they often injured? How did that happen to it?”

“I don’t know about injuries in general. Most of the dolphins have scars here and there. I haven’t asked how they get them, though. We haven’t reached that sort of thing. Most of our conversations have been pretty basic. Maybe Master Alemi knows. I can ask him.”

“Who’s Master Alemi?” Persellan asked, his gaze still on the incoming dolphins’ progress.

“Master Fishman at Paradise River Hold. He got me interested in the dolphins. Aivas asked me to continue.”

“Did he?” Persellan shot a glance down at his young companion.

“Yes, yesterday wasn’t my first visit to report to Aivas,” T’lion said in a tone he hoped wasn’t boastful.

“Indeed! Hmmm, well.”

The squeeing was louder now and T’lion thought it sounded happy. Maybe because he wanted it to. He let out a sigh. Then, as the two dolphins neared the shore, he couldn’t wait any longer and ran out into the water until he was waist deep.

“Is Boojie okay?” he shouted through cupped hands.

“Squeeee yes. Squee yes!”

“Yes?”

“Yesssssss, squeee yessssss!” The two dolphins made it a chorus and seemed to speed up. Their final
leap splashed T’lion thoroughly but he didn’t care, Natua pushed his face right up into the dragonrider’s, and his ever-grinning smile was deeper than ever. He dropped his jaw and squee’ed again.

“Boojie best grateful. Ate well.”

“Swims little, is better.”

“Tell them,” Persellan called from where he stood at the water’s edge, “Boojie must have the sutures removed—are dolphins aware of time? I mean I don’t want to leave those stitches in forever. They could tear the flesh.”

“When d’you want Boojie back?” T’lion asked.

“In a sevenday. Would they understand that?”

T’lion nodded vigorously even as he repeated the instructions to the two dolphins. “In seven”—T’lion held up sufficient fingers, tapping them in turn on Natua’s nose—“dawns, Boojie is to come back to the healer. Understood?”

“Squeeee! Understand. Seven dawns.”

“We tell!” Tana added, clicking affirmatively.

“Thanks for coming,” T’lion added.

“You ring. We come. We promise. Thank medic.” And Tana did her half stand, nodding her head vigorously before she gave a final tail swish and leaped sideways, over and under the water, and swam off, Natua squeeing after her.

“Did you hear, Persellan?” T’lion asked as he waded back out. “Boojie’s very grateful. He ate and they understand to bring him back in a sevenday.”

“I must say, I’m gratified, since I hadn’t a notion if I was doing the creature any good at all.”

“Oh, you did, Persellan, you did!”

“Amazing incident, actually. I must report …
Now, who would I report to? Not the Masterfarmer, certainly, for the sea is not his province.”

“Master Alemi says that the Masterfishman, Idaro-lan, is interested in the dolphins.”

“Well, then, I shall report to him, and to T’gellan, as well as to Master Oldive. At least
he
will find this case interesting. Many wouldn’t, but Oldive will.” That seemed to please Persellan even more as they made their way back to the Weyr.

T’lion hoped he’d have a chance to tell Master Alemi all about yesterday and dolphin sonar. Well, maybe he shouldn’t talk about Minim’s baby yet, but he could tell about Persellan’s sewing up Boojie.

It was several days before T’lion had a chance to stop off at Paradise River Hold. He was on his way back from conveying Master Fandarel to Telgar Smithcrafthall and saw no harm in stopping off that evening to see Alemi. The big yawl, the
Fair Winds
, was not at anchor, nor was the other sloop, or the ketch that fished from Paradise River. T’lion was about to tell Gadareth to go on to the Weyr when he saw a ship sailing into the next cove. The northern coast of the Southern Continent had many inlets. He thought it very odd that the ship didn’t put into the Paradise River anchorage. Could they have mistaken their port of call? That cove also had a river, but a small one, feeding into the sea. Could the captain have mistaken this one for the true Hold? Puzzled, he asked Gadareth to glide over that way. What he saw on the beach did nothing to reassure him. For people were hurriedly unloading small boats: quite a mound of crates and stuff already on the beach. Was Paradise
River opening new holdings on its land? He’d heard remarks at dinner in the Weyr that more and more people were heading to the Southern Continent after what had been an extremely cold winter.

Gaddie, let’s just check with Holder Jayge
, T’lion said, and his dragon obliged, winking into
between
—before, he hoped, those on the beach had seen him. They’d had the sun at their backs and wouldn’t have been all that visible. There had been something furtive about the beaching.

“Holder Jayge, were you expecting more new settlers?” T’lion asked, presenting himself and apologizing for interrupting their supper.

“No.” Jayge frowned, rising. “Why?”

“Well, there’s a ship anchored next cove over and stuff’s all over the beach. I thought you should know.”

“Indeed I should, T’lion.” Angry sparks lit his eyes. “Did you happen to see the
Fair Winds
on her way in?”

“No, sir, we came out of
between
above the pier and no sign of any of your ships.”

“I know that dragonriders are not supposed to intervene in Hold matters,” Jayge said, beckoning T’lion to follow him to the front porch, “but if Alemi knew about this … intrusion, he could assist us.” He glanced west where the tip of the setting sun was just visible. “Could you estimate how many are on that beach?”

T’lion shook his head. “They were unloading two small boats, coming and going.”

“Did they see you?”

“No, I was coming in from the west. Sun behind me.

“Good.” Jayge emphasized that by gripping T’lion’s arm in approval “Possibly eight, ten men, if they had two boats. Well, if we start now, we should reach the cove by moonrise! But I’d want Alemi’s reinforcement.” He waited for T’lion’s response.

“I’d never find Alemi at sea,” T’lion began, half of him wanting to help Jayge and the other half most loath to get into further trouble with T’gellan. Which he would if he interfered even in a minor way. Someone would drop the word that a dragonrider had told Alemi.

Dolphins find Alemi faster
, Gadareth said slyly from the shadow where he waited.

“Dolphins! They could find Alemi and tell him to come,” T’lion cried.

“Good lad!” Jayge clapped him on the back now. “Those critters really are good for something.”

While T’lion knew that this was not the moment to mention the dolphins’ latest skill, he had no reservations about using them.

“I’ll just go ring the bell on the pier,” T’lion said, running back to his dragon.

“My gratitude, dragonrider,” Jayge called after him.

As Gadareth lifted into the night and angled himself toward the head of the bay, T’lion heard Jayge hammering on the alarm triangle.

The pier was long enough to accommodate the bronze dragon, so Gadareth set T’lion down right by the bell tower. He clanged it as vigorously as Jayge had been plying the iron. Dusk was always a good
time to get a quick response from dolphins, who would be looking for a game to play. In his head, T’lion sorted out the words to use to convey the message to Alemi.

Kib, Temp, and Afo answered the summons.

“You must find Alemi, Kib,” T’lion said, holding the dolphin’s head at an angle so the eye was on him.