A Promise Delayed

Writers: Aaron, Estelle
Date Posted: 18th December 2018

Characters: R'fal, K'don
Description: R'fal confesses to K'don that they won't be able to visit his family as soon as he'd hoped
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 24 of Turn 9

K'don

R'fal had woken early that day to clean and oil Marlath after his
hunting. What with his extra duties in the infirmary and the intense
concentration needed to carry out aerial formations while jumping in and
out of /between/ with his dragon, he had been so exhausted he'd fallen
into bed the previous evening and slept like a log. The resilience of
youth had meant he'd woken refreshed - which was good, because today
looked like it was going to be much the same.

With his dragon well fed and gleaming with oil, he headed back towards
the Weyr for a bath before breakfast. On the way, he saw another young
weyrling - K'don - on his way back too, and suddenly remembered a
promise he'd made that he was going to have to break. His heart sank,
but he thought he'd better explain, rather than have his classmate think
he'd forgotten or changed his mind.

He ran to catch up with the young boy. "Hey - K'don? Can I talk to you
for a moment?"

"Y-yeah," said K'don, his heart jumping into his throat. "I didn't say
anything to K'sedel!" he insisted immediately, sure that R'fal was about
to tell him that he was disinvited from every party or gathering from
then on until forever. "Honest."

R'fal blinked, distracted for a moment. It hadn't even occurred to him
to wonder how the Weyrlingmaster had known about the party. "Oh - I
didn't think that. But whoever it was, they were in the right. It was
getting out of hand."

K'don relaxed a bit. That definitely matched what he heard about what
happened after he left, but still. Nobody wanted to be the guy who
tattled. At least, K'don did not.

"Oh. Well. What's wrong?" he asked, not at all able to think of another
reason R'fal might start a conversation that way.

"Nothing's wrong exactly, but...the Weyrlingmaster wasn't very happy
about what happened at the party. He said that Marlath and I are
confined to the Weyr for now." That was the hardest part of his
punishment - worse than the extra chores. "So, I won't be able to go
back to my family's hold just yet. I wanted to tell you because I know I
said we could go there together, and I didn't want you to think I forgot."

"Oh," said K'don. He nodded, trying not to look too disappointed. After
all, R'fal was the one who was confined away from his family, not him.
It would not do for him to get upset about postponing a fun day trip
when R'fal was missing out on a visit home.

K'don reached out to gently touch R'fal's arm. "I'm sorry," he said with
a sympathetic wince. "We'll go when you can, alright? Can I, uh... help
somehow?"

R'fal wondered whether there was any chance K'don could persuade his
grandfather to relent, but it seemed unlikely. His best hope was to keep
his head down and avoid getting into into any more trouble. "Not
really...well, you could smack me around the head if I ever get the idea
of having a party again," he suggested with a wry smile.

K'don smiled back, but he shrugged and said, "I had a lot of fun at the
party. I know maybe the older guys don't want a kid around, but... well,
I'm glad you invited me. So. Maybe next time, we just have the songs and
the food instead of the, you know... the drinks."

"Probably a good idea. After how I felt the day after, I'm not sure I
ever want to drink again." R'fal was comforted to know that his party
hadn't been a complete failure. Although it hadn't ended well, it was
true that for most of the evening people had enjoyed themselves. "I
don't think you should worry so much about being the youngest, though.
We're classmates, and we do things together. I wouldn't have left you out."

K'don smiled brightly. He was glad to be able to count R'fal as his
friend. He most definitely felt close to his classmates, but he could
not help but let their inevitable separation feel like a wedge. And that
separation would be because of his age. They would go on to fight, while
he was safe. Relatively, anyway. Refueling the fighting wings was more
dangerous than staying inside, at least.

At least I have that. And I have my classmates for now, he thought.

"Thanks," he said aloud.

"You're welcome. And thank you for understanding about the visit," R'fal
said, relieved that he hadn't disappointed the younger boy too badly.
"How's Maciath doing? Is he enjoying the new drills?"

"He likes drills. He wants to do anything that makes us better fliers
and fighters," said K'don, though his expression showed just how
exhausting that all was. K'don was not eager to fight, exactly. He was,
but at the same time, it was because he wanted to protect his family and
friends and his people.

To Maciath, the protecting was there, too, but there was a deeper
underlying... something. An eagerness to do battle. To prove himself
stronger, faster, more agile, maybe. K'don did not quite fully grasp it
yet, but there was an eagerness to fight for fighting's sake that he did
not share with Maciath.

"How about you and Marlath?" he asked.

"He's the same. He can't wait to learn to chew firestone. But then, he
was like that about flying and going /between/, too." R'fal couldn't
hide the delight in his voice. Despite the best efforts of the
Weyrlingmasters to emphasise the dangers they faced, he wholeheartedly
shared his dragon's excitement at the prospect of facing Thread.
"That'll be a sight to see, won't it? Our dragons, breathing flame."

"As long as they don't try to outdo each other and set us both alight
instead," said K'don, folding his arms with only half a grin. Maciath
was competitive. And he would be hard to keep hold of when it came time
to learn to flame. "Maciath likes to get that kind of thing going, you
know..." K'don added that last so it would not sound as though he was
criticizing Marlath. He hoped it would not, anyway.

The older boy laughed. "Tell him that if he doesn't do exactly as the
Weyrlingmaster says, he'll get in trouble and won't be allowed to flame
with the others. That usually works with Marlath, although I have to
keep reminding him, most days. Or you could ask Dessa to get Santhiath
to have a word with him."

"He really has gotten better," said K'don. "As long as I remind him. I
almost wonder if he doesn't just like having Santhiath's attention." He
folded his arms and grinned a little. The implications of that line of
thought escaped him.

"There you go. If we concentrate on getting them to remember to behave,
we shouldn't be in much danger of ending up being toasted in our own
dragons' fire." R'fal looked up at the sun, trying to judge the time.
"We'd better hurry and wash up before breakfast, or else we'll get there
and find all the best food is gone."

K'don's stomach dutifully growled on cue at the mention of food. "You
don't have to remind me twice!" he laughed. "I'm right behind you."

Last updated on the January 29th 2019

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A Promise Delayed