A Trip to the Falls

Writers: Jane, Kaysea
Date Posted: 22nd November 2007

Characters: Lihona, Linli
Description: Linli and Lihona visit the waterfalls that give the Hold its name.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 7, day 11 of Turn 4

In the great Gather Square at Emerald Falls Hold the two girls paused; decisions had to be made. Lihona wanted to go up the path to look at the waterfalls from the top but Linli had other plans and despite Lihona being a little older she still took the riverboat girl's advice more often than not. After months of following Linli around the Sungazer it just seemed natural to follow her around the busy Hold.

"We'll go to the kitchens first, they're always welcome me because they know Neke and Tahna'll be along soon after me, with all the new quilts and what-nots they have to sell."

"I want to _explore_ Lihona complained. "Kitchens are just kitchens."
Then she added as something of an afterthought, and before Linli could correct her: "Except on the Sungazer where the kitchen is a galley."

Linli laughed at her cousin, "Okay, where would you like to go? The falls?" she asked, knowing almost full well that Lihona wanted to go there first. "You don't want to go to the stables? Or even the smithies? It's really interesting watching them shape the metal."

"My uncle's weyrmate's sister -" there was a pause while Lihona checked that in her head and found it an accurate description of the relationship, "- is a smith. I've visited her in the smithy. And the stables ... Perhaps next time. But can we _please_ go and see the falls. You know the way, don't you? The boy said it was easy to find."
The boy, a youngster a few Turns older than they were, had been a passenger on the upstream trip and told them lots of tales of life at Emerald Falls Hold. Lihona wasn't sure she believed them _all_ but had liked the sound of climbing above the great waterfalls and seeing them from a totally different angle.

Linli paused for a moment trying to figure out who Lihona had been talking of. "You have a relative who is female _and_ a crafter?" she asked, ignoring the rest of Lihona's words.

"I don't know that she's really a relative. My uncle is her sister's weyrmate," Lihona reiterated.

"Too hard." Linli shrugged and nodded towards her left, "Come on, the Falls are this way." She took Lihona's hand and tugged her forwards.

"Is it a long way?" Lihona asked. She could see the falls from the riverboat each time they docked at Emerald Falls' wharf and she admired them from that distance, but that didn't give her much idea of how long it would take to walk to the top of them.

"About a half candlemark walk, or so."

"Let's go then," Lihona said, happily starting off in the wrong direction.

"Where are you going?" Linli stopped and turned to look at her cousin, "It's _this_ way."

"Oh?" Lihona would have pretended - something, if she hadn't been feeling foolish. "Oh," she said again, nodding and following her cousin.

* * *

Rounding a bend in the river, the sound of the waterfalls had been growing louder the closer they got. The cooling spray was drifting on the breeze and where the sun hit, a rainbow of light was cast over the quick flowing river. "There!" Linli stopped and pointed to the Falls.

Lihona couldn't answer; she was awestruck. Although the noise had always been there at Emerald Falls and had been growing louder while they climbed, seeing the massive flow of water flow smoothly over the edge and then break up suddenly explained the sound in a way she hadn't imagined possible. The drifts of spray ... She turned her face to meet them head on and grinned.

Linli hadn't been that interested in the Falls, she had seen them lots of times before, with Tahna and Neke and even her dar once or twice, but seeing it again with Lihona, she found she was enjoying it all over again. The look of happiness on her cousins face, brought an echoing smile to her own. "You like?" she asked, but knew the answer from the look on Lihona's face.

"This is where our river comes from!" Lihona said, raising her voice to be heard over the noise of the falls. "It's not our river before this, but from here on it is!"

"Yep, that's right." Linli grinned across at Lihona, the spray dampening her face. She pointed at the rainbow arcing over the Falls, "That never leaves the Falls," she called out. "Every time I come here, its there."

"That's the sunbow! Like on the paddlewheel that Rahona's firelizard is named after." The older girl looked around. "Can we go and look from further up? Along the river?"

"If you want to." Lihona's enthusiasm was contagious and Linli was feeling as though she hadn't really seen the Falls before, she could explain it, but she felt excited to be here again.

Without a backwards glance Lihona scurried up the path which followed alongside the swiftly flowing river.

Last updated on the November 28th 2007

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A Trip to the Falls