Advice and Dinner

Writers: Anika, Len
Date Posted: 23rd December 2014

Characters: Ilyssia, G'wen
Description: G'wen congratulates Ilyssia for Impressing Gwynnyth.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 6 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: E'naer

Ilyssia

"See? What'd I tell you?" G'wen plopped down beside Ilyssia at the
feast table. "I knew you'd Impress!"

She offered the greenrider a brilliant smile. "You don't know how
happy I am that you were right! Gwynnyth is...well I just can't put it
in words yet."

G'wen looked at her for a moment before breaking out into a giggle. "I
know exactly how you feel." With that he winked at her. "Have you
gotten any sleep yet? Or is she waking up at weird hours in the night?
Neath used to steal my bed. More times than not I'd wake up on the
floor, in her wallow whilst she was all tucked in, even under the
furs." He rolled his eyes at that memory.

Ilyssia chuckled, "I wake up sometimes with her head on my chest, but
that doesn't really bother me much. Think I'm tired enough to sleep
through most anything by lights out. Thought the caravan work had
kept me fit, but taking care of a dragon tops it all. Although, I
think some of it's mental, too. There's tons to learn as well as lots
to do."

"It_is_mental. And I don't know about you but I found it kind of hard
having to live practically on top of all the other weyrlings. Getting
our own weyr was bliss. Of course that didn't last long." Though G'wen
reminded himself, his weyr_was_still technically his. He hadn't
actually given it up when he had moved in with E'naer.

"Oh, you practically read my mind! Some space to ourselves would be
wonderful! For the most part I'm too busy and too tired to worry about
it but there are a few people in particular I could use some distance
from."

"Yeah? You okay?" G'wen gave her a worried look. It never was good to
be bullied.

"Oh, yeah," she answered with a wave of her hand, remembering who his
weyrmate was. "You can't really expect to have so many people from
different walks of life and squash them together, adding in that
they've all just Impressed baby dragons and not expect some hiccups.
I'm one of the younger ones, so you know I'm bound to take some
ribbing. My foster mother used to say, 'That which doesn't kill us,
makes us stronger.'"

"True, very true." G'wen dropped the subject but made a note to talk
with E'naer about it later on tonight. To change the subject, he said,
"I don't know about Gwynnyth but Neath was_such_a bossy thing as a
baby! She pushed me all over the place." He giggled, remembering how
much shyer he was and just how bossy his green had been.

With a laugh, Ilyssia shook her head. "Not bossy per se, but she is
headstrong. She wants what she wants and goes right after it. She
doesn't understand why I won't let her chew firestone right now and I
have no doubt that if she had the opportunity and I weren't there to
rein her in she'd try it."

G'wen snorted in amusement. "That sounds familiar. What're you guys
working on in class right now?"

"Understanding our bond, how not to lose ourselves in our dragons, and
how to control them. Which goes right back to what we were just
discussing. I can tell I'm really going to have to master that
control element right quick, but I have to say so far she responds
well when I tell her, 'no.' Kind of interesting, I always thought I
had pretty good self control but now that I have to control what I'm
thinking and feeling - at least to some degree - for Gwynnyth's
sake...well it can be a challenge."

G'wen nodded. "I have to say, it does make you a better person. You
have to stop thinking only about your own needs and put hers first. I
really changed from having Neath. Before I Impressed there would have
been_no_way I would have just st down here and chatted with you, I
would have been too shy!" G'wen shuddered thinking about the painfully
shy, painfully put out little drudge he had been before Neath had
picked him on the Sands.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought that of you. I suppose you're
right, such a close relationship is bound to change a person. I
wonder how I might change," she mused, and then her mind traveled to
another aspect of being a dragonrider. "G'wen, how old we're you
when you Impressed?"

"It was just last turn, so...17." He flushed a bit, as he had to
remember just how old he was. It had seemed like turns and turns ago
that he had Impressed Neath.

"Oh," she said with a sigh, "So you were a bit older, too. You were
probably more than prepared when Neath rose for the first time."

G'wen's eyes went wide at that mention. "Actually...no, I wasn't
really ready. E'naer had to give me a right talking to about it, and
threw one of his friends on me, who got me drunk and I passed out and
my da almost got into a fight with the man and..." G'wen buried his
face in his hands, remembering the horror of that time. "The entire
Weyr knew by the next morning and...oh man...did I get harassed
something terrible! It was horrible."

"Oh, that must have been awful. I'm so sorry to hear you had such a
rough time of it! But, you obviously came through it okay. I mean
you're weyrmated with E'naer now and seem very happy."

"Yeah, that was a weird one. I didn't even know he was attracted to me
until he kissed me that day in his office." G'wen's eyes unfocused for
a moment as he remembered the scene. He shook his head, snapping out
of it and eyeing the girl. "How old are you again?"

"I'll be fifteen turns next month," Ilyssia answered. "Of course such
experience was considered highly inappropriate where I came from,
though Dyosha did explain the mechanics of it to me since I had been
betrothed," the girl stated rather matter-of-factly.

"Oh, you shouldn't worry about flights for a long time then. Greens
never Fly when their lifemate is too young for it." He nodded his head
as though he was the authority on all things green dragon related.

She nodded, though she wasn't so sure. At fifteen, she would have
been considered old enough to marry. "It tends to be a favorite topic
in the barracks," she said with a shrug, "But honestly it seems a long
way off before we're seniors anyway."

"It's closer than you think." He shuddered, remembering just how he
had felt about it when he was a weyrling.

Having noted G'wen's shudder, Ilyssia wondered all the more about his
experience, but she decided there was just no use worrying about the
future. She chuckled, "Right now I have my hands full just seeing to
her basic needs and learning all I can as fast as I can."

"Indeed." G'wen nodded to her plate of food. "And taking care of
yourself. Eat up!

Looking down at her full plate, she realized she'd gotten so caught up
talking to G'wen she hadn't so much as touched her food. Picking up
her fork she dug right in, knowing her friend's words were true - she
needed the sustenance.

Last updated on the December 30th 2014

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Advice and Dinner