Attention... attention... Tion, are you there?
Tion paused his drumsticks. He'd been listening to Jared's "Firecode" chatter all day; it had been almost seven Turns since they invented it, and so far no one had cracked it.
It was simple: "A" was a double beat, "B" was a triple, and so on. Add one.
"Attention: 2, 20, 2, 10, 16, 15." So his name, "Tion," was the last four letters: "2, 10, 16, 15."
Tion returned, Clear: 4, 13, 6, 2, 19.
Lessa says sorry. Hatching started; I'll keep you up to speed.
He swallowed tears; this wasn't the time or place to start crying to wake the dead. His father's voice repeated in his mind: "It's one in a thousand, lad, but your thousand will come."
Tion, respond please.
Am all right. Tell Lessa it's all right.
**
L'yonne grinned as his new dragon, Dhrenath, nibbled his fingers.
The blue was a startling sight: instead of a solid, dark hide, his sides and wings were spotted with silver. It reminded him of a stone he'd seen once: a lapiz lazuli.
Suddenly, the morning air was rent by drumbeats.
He counted them by reflex: "2, 20, 2, 10, 16, 15." 'Harper, harper, hear my tale; look at this, a stone so pale.'
He frowned. "Wait; it's numbers. Two... twenty... It's 'A-T'! 'Attention Tion... are you there?'"
Dhrenat hummed along as he decoded the entire conversation.
Questions (who started this anyway? I forgot.)
1. Is the use of bold and italic text helpful or jarring?
2. Do you feel there's too much dialog, or does it help the story?
3. To anyone familiar with the series: Do you feel that this piece fits the "spirit" of the Weyrs?
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