Big Brother, Little Brother

Writers: Aaron, Estelle
Date Posted: 4th March 2019

Characters: K'don, R'fal
Description: K'don and R'fal talk about families and the upcoming graduation.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 10 of Turn 9

K'don

R'fal finished twisting together the ends of the long strands of flax,
tied off and trimmed the end, and tossed his completed rope onto a pile.
Next sevenday, he'd been told, those ropes would be dyed and dropped
from above to simulate falling Thread, and he and Marlath would have to
try and flame them. After all the effort that had gone into making them,
they'd be burned to a crisp in an instant.

Better that than getting scored, he thought. And he didn't mind the work
of rope-making, which was a rare chance to relax in the busy day of a
weyrling.

He reached over for another handful of fibres and, looking up, saw
another boy approaching with more supplies. He waved. "Hey, K'don."

"Hi, R'fal! Is it OK if I sit here?" the younger boy asked. No harm in
making sure before he just plopped down. And better than sitting down
only to find out that someone else already had the spot but just went to
relieve themselves or something.

"Of course." R'fal moved the pile of rope strands out of the way so his
fellow weyrling could sit, and started on a new one. "How are you doing?
I heard you were helping the dragonhealers in your free time."

"I am. And I'm doing OK," said K'don. He sat down and without really
thinking about what he was doing, scooted closer to R'fal.

"Have you been OK, though?" he asked. Between the two of them, K'don was
sure R'fal was the one to worry about. He had been spending a lot more
time alone for a while. And while he would certainly love to ramble on
about helping in the dragon infirmary, he was not sure anyone would love
to listen to it.

"I'm fine. Just...well, with Blooding and everything coming up. It's a
lot to think about." R'fal felt uneasy about not having told the whole
truth to his friend, but he wasn't sure he was ready to burden anyone
with his family troubles, especially not a young rider like K'don. "And
I've been spending a lot of time studying, so I can graduate on time
with the others."

"I helped the dragonhealers too, for a bit," he said, changing the
subject. "When I was doing my extra duty in the infirmary."

K'don tried not to show just how much it was still getting to him that
he would not be able to help protect R'fal and his other clutchmates.
That he would not be allowed, that is. For that, he was glad that R'fal
steered the topic back to the infirmary. That was a place K'don could
help. Even if he would still be ferrying firestone during the actual
Fall itself.

"I like helping," said K'don. "I wish I could help with whatever you've
got coming if it's been worrying you. But, you know... Whatever you're
studying, it's nothing you don't know just as much as I do, I guess. I'm
sorry they won't let me fly with you yet."

"It must be hard. But it's only a few Turns, and we could be flying
together." If he survived that long, R'fal thought. He shook his head
and tried to put such gloomy thoughts aside. "And helping in the
infirmary is important. You might save someone's life, or their dragon's."

"That's why I'm doing it," said K'don, though he doubted he was going to
single-handedly save anyone as an apprentice. Not alone, but he could
help. "Why it's more important than going back to work in the stables."

"I know I grump about it too much," he said. "And I get that it's harder
for you. Because you actually have to go. I just can't stop wanting to
tell you guys that I would be up there with you if they let me. Even if
you already know and it's silly." He blushed. "I want to stop talking,
but it just keeps coming out."

R'fal smiled. "It's okay. I sometimes think it must be harder for you -
I mean, it's hard enough keeping Marlath on the ground on Fall days."
The closer they got to graduation, the more the young brown longed to
join his fellows in the sky. "I suppose there'll be another clutch,
sooner or later, and then new weyrlings. You'll get to help with them."

K'don was glad that R'fal's experience with Marlath was so like his with
Maciath. It helped tremendously to know that he was not an anomaly for
struggling in that way.

"Yeah," said K'don, a little smile tugging at the corners is his mouth.
"They'll probably mostly be older than me, too, I guess. But gr... er,
K'sedel will have work for me to do. And he's a good teacher."

"Between that and the dragonhealers, you'll most likely be working
harder than me." R'fal finished his rope and started on a new one. "So,
you're planning to apprentice to that craft?"

"I want to, yes," said K'don. "It just feels like that's how I can
really help. And it's not the same as beasthealing, I know. Beasts don't
get Threadscores. But there are some things that I've learned that still
work."

"The biggest, hardest part will be when we do start fighting. Maciath is
big enough to fly the whole Fall. So I'll mostly just be helping after
it's all over and on days with no drills," he added. "I'll probably be
pretty tired."

"That'll be a long day." R'fal hadn't thought of that. The dragonhealers
would have to fight Thread, tend to the injured afterwards and care for
their own dragons before they could rest. "Remember all of that exercise
they made us do, in the first months of training? It'll finally come in
useful."

"I'll get real, real big muscles," said K'don, grinning as he flexed. He
chuckled and went back to plaiting the rope. That day seemed forever
away. Far enough away to laugh about now. "I'll probably keep doing
drills and exercising with the seniors until then. Or with K'sedel and
the others."

"Then you'll be extra good by the time you get to the Wings." R'fal had
begun to feel apprehensive about flying alongside riders who'd been
fighting for Turns, although recently other worries had pushed that one
out of his mind. "I'm sure there's still a lot to learn from the
Weyrlingmasters." He'd never really talked to K'don about what it must
be like to be the grandson of the Weyrlingmaster, thinking he might
prefer not to be reminded of it. It must be a lot to live up to.

"Maciath thinks so," K'don said, shaking his head with an affectionate
chuckle. "I think maybe that means I should go into it guessing that I'm
not as good as I think I am just to make up for it." As much as the
brown thought of himself, he might need K'don to make sure they were not
overconfident in their first Fall. That was a good way to wind up scored
or dead.

"K'sedel has been flying a long time. Even if Thread is sorta new." New
by comparison to how long K'sedel had been flying. Thread had been back
for most of K'don's life. He could remember very sharply the day that it
came back, but he barely remembered anything before that. "So I think
there will always be something to learn from him. And from K'deren."

R'fal had forgotten that the Wingsecond of Cyclone Wing was also K'don's
father. "Do you think you'd like to fly in his Wing, one day? Or do you
think they'll put you in a different one?"

"I don't know if it would be fair for me to be in his wing," said K'don.
"He would have to be really careful not to look like he was going easy
on me. Which would probably mean he'd have to go hard on me, and I don't
think I want that, either." He chuckled. "But he can still teach me
stuff just as my father. He doesn't have to be my wingleader for that."

"Some of my best memories of home are learning from my father. How to do
chores around the farm, hunting, fishing, things like that. Although
mostly, he taught me a lot of card tricks," R'fal said, smiling. "Not as
useful to me now as what your father could teach you, but then, we had
no idea I was going to end up here."

"My father taught me things like that, too. Well, not exactly like
that... But things. He has a lot of responsibility," said K'don, giving
himself the same rationalization he always did when he wished he had
more time with K'deren to himself. "And I have brothers and sisters. Not
just me."

"You do?" R'fal supposed he should have guessed that. He'd always been
more cautious asking his weyrbred classmates about their family, since
their customs seemed so different. Many of their parents weren't
married, or didn't even live together. "Are they dragonriders too?"

"My big sister is – my dad's daughter. And, oh, do you know R'nar from
the class ahead of us? He's my brother – my mom's son. Er. Cyradis's
son. Not my birth mom or my dad's... well, my dad had another weyrmate
before her, and I... Well, she was my mom, too, but she died. " K'don
had not actively reminisced about Vonalie for a long time, and he felt a
pang of guilt for it. He still missed her, young as he had been when she
died, and the memories of her loss spurred a fresh bout of worry in his
gut over the possibility of losing K'deren or Cyradis, too.

"My brother through her is too young to stand, even. I've got more
brothers and sisters, but they're not riders, and that's what you asked,
so..." K'don viewed all of the children of his father's weyrmates as his
siblings as much as his father's own children.

R'fal was reminded of when he'd listened to weyr gossip about the
various relationships, while working in the kitchens as a Candidate. He
wasn't sure how they managed to keep it all straight! Although, perhaps
they'd find the ties of kinship and marriage between the cotholds in his
community equally confusing.

"So - an big sister, and a brother. You're lucky! I'd have liked to have
a big brother, but I'm the eldest boy in my family." Now more than ever,
R'fal thought. An older brother could be taking care of the family now,
while he couldn't leave the Weyr. "But I did have my cousins, so I can't
complain."

"Well, my older brother hasn't lived here for that long. So mostly, I
just had the big sister. But now that he's here, we can be closer, and I
really like that," said K'don. "A lot of you guys in our class are kind
of like my big brother, now, too," he added. "You know, like you. If
that's OK."

"As long as being your brother doesn't mean I also have to have the
Weyrlingmaster for a grandfather, a Wingsecond for a father and the
Weyrwoman for a mother," R'fal joked. Sometimes he was glad to just be a
holder from nowhere in particular. "Of course that's okay. I miss my
little brother, but having the class - well, it's like having family in
a different way. It'll be strange when we all move into different Wings."

K'don smiled softly. It was going to be strange. He had a feeling he was
going to feel rather alone for a hot minute. And then try to strengthen
his bonds with his new colleagues in the dragon infirmary.

"I think being brothers like this is different. Doesn't come with all
the extras," he said. "I'm kind of worried that after you all go to the
real wings, I kinda won't belong with you any more. Like you said, that
it'll be weird."

"Maybe. But I heard that you always have a bond with your clutchmates,"
R'fal said. He wasn't sure he could imagine being friends with the real
wingriders like he was with his fellow weyrlings, since he was still
rather in awe of them. "Graduating won't change that. I promise!"

K'don smiled again, this time with more confidence. How many more times
is someone going to have to reassure me about this? he asked himself. He
believed R'fal. He trusted R'fal.

It was too easy to keep worrying about it because it had not happened
yet. It was still an uncertainty.

But he trusted R'fal.

"Good. Thanks. Me, too," he said.

"Then it's a deal." R'fal put down his nearly finished rope and offered
a hand for the other weyrling to shake. He grinned. "And don't you
forget it, little brother. When you're a Master Dragonhealer, you can't
go pretending you don't know me."

K'don beamed proudly as he shook R'fal's hand. He really was being silly
worrying about growing apart from his clutchmates.

"I wouldn't dream of it! Especially because you'll probably at least be
a wingsecond by then."

"Who knows," R'fal said, laughing, and tossed his completed rope into
the steadily growing pile. "We've got to graduate first and to do that
we'll have to finish these... Hey," he said, having just had an idea.
"Want to have a race? We can see who finishes their rope first."

"You're on!" said K'don, excitedly kicking his plaiting into high gear.

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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Big Brother, Little Brother