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What a beautiful day! The perfect day to get outside, stretch your legs and enjoy the sunshine. Stoloth could not agree more. Watching his little brown prance around happily with the sun gleaming off his freshly oiled hide, stopping now and then to poke at something sticking out of the ground brought a smile (closed lipped of course) to T'go's face. "T'gomine, look! Danath is here with her rider! What are they doing?"

T'go stopped beside Stoloth and followed his snout toward the green and her rider. His smile faded a little. Since he arrived so late to the hatching feast he barely got to know the other jr. weyrlings. Even after spending a year at the Weyr he only made a few acquaintances. He knew this was going to be embarrassing. If he could talk to other people the way he talked to Stoloth his life would be a lot easier. "I don't know. Looks like they're planting something. Maybe it's mystweed..."

Before he could think another word Stoloth was trotting toward the green. T'go bit his lip and followed Stoloth reluctantly. "Be careful, Stoloth! Mystweed is very fragile. We probably shouldn't be getting in their way."

"I will not hurt it, mine! I only wish to look." Stoloth slowed to a walk as he approached his smaller sister. He glanced curiously in T'san's direction before turning to Danath, thrumming with happiness at seeing her again. "Good morning, Danath! What do you have here? Is it a mystweed?"

T'go walked up behind Stoloth and peered at the plant his dragon was sniffing. So this was the mystweed everybody was talking about. He glanced at T’san, who had just now spotted him, and started to say something. “No, I –“

Too late! Before he could explain about being late to the feast the boisterous rider strode over and clapped his shoulder in what T’go supposed was meant to be a friendly manner. He curled his arms in and timidly shrank away. Most people would love this kind of attention, but T’go was still getting used to the celebrity lifestyle. After eighteen years of solitude he suddenly found himself showered with praise for what amounted to the luck of the draw. He didn’t deserve the extra attention. Regardless, he tried to pull himself together. “I, uh, T-Torgo. M-my n-name is T-Tor—I-I mean, T’go. N-n-nice to meet you, uh…?”

"Mine is not perfect either. Maybe T’san will help him practice talking," Stoloth chuckled. His tone and his swirling blue eyes showed nothing but love for his rider, imperfections and all.

T’go ducked his head in embarrassment. He knew Stoloth was probably right. Avoiding conversation would not fix his stutter. The fact that his poetry improved with practice gave him hope that he could improve his voice, too. Unfortunately, while he could keep his poetry to himself, his voice had to come out in public. That was the embarrassing part. He knit his brow and nodded reluctantly in answer to T'san's question. "I-I k-know a bit. M-my p-p-parents are f-farmers. I-I'm s-sorry f-for m-my s-s-stutter..."

T'go nervously bit his lip. "Should I help him?" he asked Stoloth, who was good at sociable things. "I could explain how to do it, but it would take me forever with my stutter. If I make him impatient he probably won't like me anymore."

"It would be rude not to help him. Besides, he told you not to worry about your stutter," Stoloth answered.

After Stoloth chose him T'go had asked his new partner if he could speak for him. Stoloth, with his warm inner voice, could not stutter, so he could act like a translator for T'go's shaky speech. Stoloth had politely turned down T'go's proposal. His would have to learn to speak for himself. Stoloth believed His would get better with practice. T'go wasn't so sure.

He nodded shallowly at T'san. "Y-yes... u-um..." T'go glanced at the plant and back at T'san. Should he start now or should he wait for T'san to ask a question? He didn't want to presume anything.

Meanwhile, Stoloth sat down beside Danath to watch their boys. "I like T'san. He seems friendly and honest, just what Mine needs."

T'go hesitantly followed, kneeling down by the hole in front of T'san. He picked up a bit of dirt out of the bottom of the hole and rubbed it between his fingers. Stoloth titled his head to the side. As T'go examined the soil Stoloth's head suddenly intruded from the corner of his vision, causing him to flinch. Stoloth chortled softly and poked his head into the hole.

Shaking his head, T'go brushed the soil off on his pant leg and stood to survey the area. He pointed to a patch of darker soil and gestured for T'san to follow.