New Knots and New Responsibilities

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 24th August 2015

Characters: A'kades, F'lin
Description: A'kades checks up on the newest (temporary) Wingsecond
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 14 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: K'sedel, Lanniya

"F'lin! Got a moment to speak with me?" A'kades called as he spotted the younger bronzerider. He'd been wondering about the call that had put him as the new Wingsecond, and had been meaning to ask about it.

F'lin paused, not immediately recognizing the voice, but grinned when he saw who it was. He and A'kades hadn't had much reason to speak before this, but after his sudden promotion F'lin had found himself talking with folk from all over the Weyr. "Sure, A'kades. I was just heading back to my weyr. What can I do for you?"

A'kades fell into step. "I was wondering how you were feeling about the new role. Quite a big jump for you."

If he puffed up his chest a little at the question, it couldn't be helped. F'lin was proud of what he'd done. "It is. I'm feeling pretty honoured that K'sedel was willing to take a chance on me."

"You're a good flyer. T'rabi and I wanted to take you for our Wing," the dark-skinned man admitted.

It was good to hear that you'd been fought over as a weyrling. "Aww. Thank you. It would have been good to fly with you as well," F'lin said. A bit of a white lie. He'd wanted to be in Rapids from the moment Seneth's shell cracked.

"Not all weyrlings thought that. We flew a tight Wing." A'kades paused for a moment. He was enjoying working with the weyrlings. But he also missed the disciplined chaos of a real Threadfall. If K'sedel had known the Wingsecond spot was coming open - if he'd known, would he have waited?

"How are you holding up?" he asked.

He was exhausted and stressed out, but so very happy. F'lin left out the first bit. "I'm well. It's taking some adjusting to, but so does anything worthwhile. I like the challenge."

"The challenge of flying as a leader, or the joys of all the side work that comes with it?"

"Can I say both?"

"You could say it, but I'm not sure I'd believe you. How many people like the minutiae of something like hidework?" He didn't mind it, and that's what T'rabi had dumped it all on him.

F'lin shrugged. "Nobody likes it until you need to go back and remember something. It's like stretching before running; nobody likes doing it, but if you don't stretch, you'll suffer the consequences."

"That's more pragmatic than I expected from a young cocky bronzerider. Tsaera's lessons?"

"Maybe." F'lin arched an eyebrow. "Although I'm not sure I appreciate being called 'cocky', old man."

A'kades threw back his head and laughed. It might have amazed the weyrlings who thought of him as a humorless stick-up-his-tail wherry. "All bronzeriders have some cocky. Goes with the territory."

F'lin grinned, but let the topic slide. Provoking a laugh was enough of a win. "How about you? How are the werylings doing?" The Wingsecond of Rapids had to pay attention to the weyrlings as well as his own riders; if he kept the knots for any length of time there was a very real possibility that he'd be called on to consult with K'sedel over which of the clutch would be good enough to join their Wing.

"They're a handful, but we haven't lost any yet," A'kades said. "One of the greens went the wrong way in a /between/ jump, but we got her back."

"That's a relief." Nobody liked it when the weyrlings died. He paused. "Which greenrider?"

"Fadira. Craftbred, dark hair, dark eyes, round."

A flattering description. Fadira... he made a mental note of her name. A mistake on your first jump /between/ couldn't be held against any weyrling, but it was good to have a reminder of what they were up to. "Rapids has early morning drills tomorrow. Do you mind if I watch the now-Senior Weyrlings drill afterwards?" That would be Lanniya's class, and he found himself suddenly curious about how the young goldrider was performing. She was friendly and outgoing, but could she focus and lead?

"I'm okay with the idea as long as you don't distract them. Some of them have issues keeping on task," the dark-skinned man said. Two of them were still in punishment after the stunt.

"Seneth and I will do our best not to," F'lin promised. "We probably won't be there for the entire drill, either. I have some leftover hidework from tonight to do as well."

A'kades had a thought. Presumably F'lin wanted to look at the weyrlings to assess their potential. So why not see what he thought? "After your hidework, if you want to stop by and let me know your impressions of them, I'd appreciate it. There's a couple I think would fit into Rapids."

F'lin blinked, surprised. "Sure. K'sedel will be the ultimate decider, but I'd be happy to give you my opinion."

"That's all I need. Another eye on how they're doing is appreciated."

"For sure. I can do that," F'lin said with more confidence than he felt. He'd never evaluated a weyrling before, but he'd have to start somewhere. **At least it's not Riven's class...** Besides, how hard could it be?

"Then I look forward to speaking to you tomorrow. And if you need any advice on a 'second's job, feel free to ask me," he offered.

"Thanks." That was a kind offer. A'kades apparently didn't feel threatened by F'lin's temporary knots, which was oddly relieving. They'd reached a split in the hallway; one direction led to F'lin's weyr, the other down towards the
Weyrling barracks. The younger bronzerider stopped and held out his hand. "Looks like this is where we part ways. It was good talking with you."

"Good speaking with you, too," A'kades said, shaking his hand. "Best of luck."

Last updated on the September 7th 2015

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New Knots and New Responsibilities