F'real and Ninuta stared after the retreating figures of the Fort weyrleader and their junior weyrwoman. Neither of them were willing to chase after the pair, and as far as they were concerned they wouldn't have to. They could simply have their dragons, the largest in the Weyr, blockade the sky over the weyrbowl. At least such was Ninny's thinking, and Ithalth relayed the idea to Erlith as though it was an order. The dragons did as they were bid, although Erlith was reluctant about it given his distaste for confrontation.

"What was that?" F'real growled at Ninny.

The diminutive weyrwoman turned and looked up at her handsome partner, batting her dark eyelashes in an unconvincing show of innocence. When this ploy proved unproductive, as she had suspected it might, Ninny gave a short, irritated sigh that came out in a puff of air. Ithalth had not reported seeing Lin and L'ki in the weyrbowl yet, and so she supposed she would have to give F'real some sort of answer before Erlith thought to tell him about what she had asked the dragons to do.

"It sounded like you supported me," she answered. "I thought for sure your resolve would weaken when Lin tried to make herself all helpless and appealing, but you didn't. Thank you."

It really had meant a lot to the weyrwoman that F'real had stood with her instead of taking Lin's side. Her move had been bold and controversial, and he would have been well within his rights to countermand her decision, but he hadn't done that. She could only believe that meant he supported it, since she was aware that he did not have any affectionate feelings for her, despite her own devotion to him.

F'real scowled. "I presented a united front because that is what weyrleadership does. I do not agree with what you said though. The idea of separating a rider from their dragon is barbaric."

The way he was looking at her made Ninny's insides churn. She wanted so much for him to love her as she loved him, and yet nothing she did seemed to please him. She had not expected him to be pleased by what she'd said to Lin, but she was shocked and hurt to have her method called barbaric. It was hard, true, but Lin's behavior was beyond the pale. She had to understand that she couldn't just do whatever she wanted without regard for the consequences.

"It wouldn't have been a permanent separation, and they could still communicated mind-to-mind," Ninny blurted out. She hadn't wanted to say that. She had wanted to say something that sounded stronger and more authoritative, but instead she sounded like she was pleading for his forgiveness and trying to ameliorate F'real. Which is exactly what she was doing, but she was a very proud woman who hated to look like she was in a supplicant's position.

A deep breath and Ninny was in better control of her emotions. "F'real. She broke her word to return and have her dragon flown by an Igen bronze. That behavior cannot be allowed to go unpunished. You know that as well as I do."

F'real continued to scowl. "Of course there have to be consequences, but what you proposed was, well, it's no wonder L'ki reacted like he did. He stood up to us for the first time since Horvath flew Opreth. He's never done that. Now he has. It's set a precedent that could be problematic in the future."

The weyrleader wasn't normally the sort of man who liked to have other men kowtowing to him, but he didn't care for confrontation and he found that his life went much better and more easily when the weyrleader he was dealing with was not inclined to disagree with him. Now it seemed there would be more likelihood of disagreements and debate at weyrleader conferences, which would not only drag them out but would probably prove a pain in his a**.

"Don't worry about that, F'real. We have them in a very awkward spot. They have made an enormous mistake and compounded it by insulting us. We can ask anything of them and they cannot refuse." Ninny smiled at him, pleased to be able to point out a benefit to the harsh edict she had issued with regard to punishing Lin, although it wasn't really a benefit to what she had done. Really it was a bright side to the whole situation.

And F'real was considering it. As irritating as he found the weyrwoman's machinations and petty jealousies, she had a point in this instance and he would be a fool not to take advantage of it. Thread would be falling soon and there were not enough golds to go around, nor were there enough dragons. It was worrisome.

"I expect you already have something in mind," he said before he dropped onto a nearby couch in preparation to listen to Ninny's plots and how they might be turned to Igen's benefit. He was a good weyrleader, and that sometimes meant dealing with irritating women to ensure the good of his constituents.

He sat bolt upright a moment later as Erlith reported to him what was happening in the weyrbowl. "What did you do? Did you order my dragon to prevent L'ki and Lin from leaving the Weyr?"

"Of course not. I asked Ithalth to see to that. She may have asked Erlith to help her, of course, but I would never give an order to your bondmate. That would be the height of rudeness. No matter now, they've left. Rude. One more thing we can use as a bargaining chip in the future." She was using her coy behavior, and it wasn't impressing F'real.

"Fine." He wanted to get out of there. It had irritated him to see L'ki acting all protective of Lin and Lin allowing it when she barely tolerated his affections during Serith's flights. "What do you want from them, anyway?"

Sensing that she was losing the weyrleader's interest Ninny hurried to explain her idea. "We should bring some candidates to their Hatching. Our status guarantees us an excellent vantage, and we can use some pull to see to it our candidates are located as close to the sands as possible. Wouldn't it be a coup if we could Impress the majority of the clutch? After all, those eggs should be ours anyway."

F'real shook his head. "They're not going to like that."

"They have no choice, really."

He stood up and walked to the entryway. "Do whatever you want. Make the arrangements, choose the candidates. I'll try to figure out some tactful way of getting Lin back here following the Hatching."

Word Count: 1,120