My Dragon is my Wingman

Writers: Heather
Date Posted: 8th March 2019

Characters: Ranni, R'nar
Description: R'nar takes advantage of Ranni's candidate chores to get to know her better. She is less than pleased.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 18 of Turn 9

Ranni

}:You might need help today, I feel extra dirty,:{ Iorath said as he plunged into the weyrlake.

**Well, of course, you feel extra dirty. You wallowed in that mud this morning like it was bathing oil or something.** R'nar retorted as he stripped out of his shirt and pants, leaving them behind where they would stay dry.

}:It felt good,:{ the bronze said unrepentantly as he submerged into the water.

**I am sure it did,** R'nar chuckled to himself as he gathered his bucket and brush in hand. The young bronzerider turned to look and see if any Candidates were on duty for dragon washing that day, and his eyes zeroed in on a slip of a girl with a long, black braid. He recognized her immediately. The girl that A'vel had brought from Sunstone. What had her name been... Reela? Rona?.... **Ranni.**

She looked a lot different in the shorts and tank top that she was wearing than she had in the old dress she'd worn. _A_lot_different, he thought as his eyes moved from her shapely arms down to her legs. He hadn't even been able to see those the first time they'd met.

Even from a distance, he could tell that she seemed uncomfortable in the clothing that she wore. She stood with her arms crossed over her chest, one leg slightly crossed in front of the other, as if that was going to hide her from view.

}: Are you catching bugs?:{ Iorath teased, his eyes whirling as they set just above the waterline, watching his rider.

R'nar snapped his mouth shut. **Thanks, pal,** he replied sarcastically.

}: Anytime.:{ The bronze responded, clearly amused.

"Ranni, isn't it?" he asked as he approached.

Ranni had honestly been hoping that no one would notice her standing where she was. She had already assisted in washing Kapera's gold, and had hoped that no one else would ask her, especially not a man. Working with the women was rather easy and comfortable, but the men Ranni felt less comfortable around, especially when she felt as if she was wearing so little.

"Um, yes," she recognized the young man, probably her own age she surmised, as the bronzerider she had met on her first day at Dolphin Cove.

"I'm not sure if you remember, but we met when A'vel brought you in. I'm R'nar, that's my dragon over there," he gestured down to where Iorath sat in the water. As if on cue, Iorath blew some bubbles in the water from his snout.

**Real smooth, Iorath.**

}:My pleasure.:{

"Oh, yes, I remember," Ranni smiled tightly, hoping it came across as polite.

R'nar didn't notice. "I see you're on washing duty. You mind helping me out with Iorath? He decided to have a mud bath this morning."

She couldn't really say no, could she? This was her chore for the day according to the Headwoman's chart. "Of course," she replied picking up the bucket and brush that were sitting beside her.

"Thank you," he said, leading her down to Iorath. "Don't mind him, he's a big softy."

Big wasn't even the word, Ranni thought. Gigantic was more like it. Smaller than Riyanth had been, of course, but still much larger than A'vel's green. She hesitantly waded into the water as the dragon moved forward some so that he was more reachable. "Hello there," she greeted, in awe again.

Iorath swung his head around to look squarely at the Candidate, and then he searched his rider's feelings. }:You like her, don't you?:{ The bronze let out a small "whoof" of air right into Ranni's face that made her laugh.

**I mean, maybe, so try not to blow into her face anymore, would you?** R'nar smacked Iorath's flank with the flat of his brush.

The bronze warbled a loud apology that made Ranni wince.

**Or cause her to go deaf!** R'nar smacked Iorath's flank again.

"He's just teasing. He likes you," R'nar assured Ranni.

"Oh, it's fine," she assured the rider. From the few dragons she had met up close since arriving at Dolphin Cove, she was amazed at the differences in their personalities. She had expected them to all pretty much be the same, but they weren't, some of them didn't even seem to have the same personality as their riders.

"How are you settling into the Weyr, by the way?" R'nar asked, trying to make conversation as he began scrubbing on Iorath's mud-caked hide. It would have been more logical for them to each scrub a side of the dragon, to be done quicker, but R'nar wanted to be able to chat a bit with the new Candidate.

"It's different," Ranni admitted. Like having to talk to men, that was different. At Sunstone she'd only ever really had to speak to Lady Xeladrie and then some of kitchen drudges. Here, men would just randomly speak to her, whether it was to ask how she was doing, or to get her assistance with their dragons. It was rather unsettling. "I've been a drudge my whole life. It's left me feeling unbalanced now that I'm here and not treated the same anymore."

R'nar found the statement curious. The only drudges he had ever known were the ones that worked in the Lower Caverns of the Weyr, and over all, as far as he could tell, they seemed to be treated pretty fairly. Good food, a place to stay, restdays, and fair compensation. "How is it different than when you were at Sunstone," he asked.

Ranni's lips pursed together. She didn't want to talk about Sunstone. Her life there had been so different that she was sure a bronzerider, the son of the Weyrwoman, would never understand. This boy had probably lived a very privileged life, Ranni suspected, and doubted he would be able to comprehend how she had lived. "It just is," she said, ending that subject.

It was obvious she didn't want to talk about it, so R'nar opted for a change of subject instead. "How are Candidate classes going?"

"I like them," Ranni said, glad that he hadn't pressed for further information about Sunstone. She wished no one knew she was from there. "I always liked harper classes when I was young."

"The staff here is good. Weyrlingmaster K'sedel was the Weyrleader at River Bluff for a long time, and then Sh'del's kind, and L'pin. You'll really like L'pin, probably the most empathetic and supportive of the Weyrlingstaff."

"Yeah, everyone has seemed really nice. I guess that's kind of been one of the most shocking things. At the Hold the Weyr is talked about like some wild place where parties and orgies are happening every day and where the dragonriders do nothing but lay around on the beach all day until it's time to fight Thread." As soon as the words came out of her mouth Ranni realized that R'nar might take them as an insult. "That's just what people said, I didn't think that," she added quickly.

R'nar laughed. "You don't have to worry. There's a grain of truth in all stereotypes, right? I do enjoy laying on the beach, I must admit. But I also make sure all of my duties are done first."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply-"

The bronzerider waved off the apology. "I meant it, no apologies."

They finished scrubbing one side of Iorath and then moved back to allow him to rinse off. When the mud, soap, and suds were gone, his coppery hide was practically glowing in the sunlight. "So your mother is the Weyrwoman, right?"

R'nar lathered up his brush. "Yeah, that's right."

"What's that like?" she wondered. Her mother had been a drudge, just like her mother before her, and her mother before her, and so on.

"Tricky," R'nar said honestly. "Sometimes I don't know if I am going to be talking to my mother or the Weyrwoman. For dragonriders, duty to dragon and Pern always comes first, even before children."

"What about your dad? Does he live here at the Weyr?" Ranni didn't even know who her father was, just a passing sailor.

"He's a Weyrleader, just not here. I actually spent more time with him growing up than I did my mom. When she came here to Dolphin Cove I stayed behind to stay with my dad. Not that he had time for me with his new weyrmate and new children." R'nar lifted his shoulders. "I wasn't having any luck Impressing there so I decided to come here and give it a shot. Impressed on my first Stand."

Ranni couldn't imagine having two such important parents. There was no wonder, in her mind, that R'nar had Impressed a bronze. He had been destined for it. Her mother was a drudge and her father a nobody. What did that leave her destined for? There was probably no way a dragonet would want her.

"You want to wash Iorath's head while I get the other side?" R'nar offered.

"Sure," she smiled a little at the chance to be up close with the dragon again.

Moving around to the front, she lathered up the small hand brush from her bucket and began scrubbing along the dragon's snout, and then up around the eyeridges. Iorath shuttered a pair of his eyelids and made soft grunting noises of pleasure that reminded her of a feline purring.

They really were such wonderful creatures, she thought as she scrubbed at his headknob. She hadn't imagined that they could be so docile and sweet.

Ranni glanced around when she had finished the dragon's head to see what progress R'nar had made. What she got was an eyeful of suntanned skin with muscles smoothly rippling as he made quick work of the dragon's left side. It also made her realize that he could have easily done this dragon washing alone at the quick clip that he was cleaning.

She wasn't sure how she felt about that.

"All done up here," she called, stepping back as R'nar made quick work of scrubbing Iorath's tail, too.

Iorath sank backwards into the deeper water of the Weyrlake until he was completely submerged.

"Thanks for your help," R'nar said, panting a little as he walked up to where Ranni stood.

"You could have done it without me," Ranni pointed out.

R'nar grinned a little, realizing he'd been caught. "Well, sometimes it's nice to share the duty with good conversation."

Is that what he had wanted? Ranni didn't like that. She didn't want to get close to any man, ever. She realized that was in conflict with wanting a dragon because she realized that having a dragon meant mating flights. She'd learned about those already in Candidate class. But that was a hurdle she would cross when the time came.

"Have a nice day, bronzerider."

"Hey," R'nar's smile fell a little. "You're not mad are you?"

That he'd taken advantage of the fact that she couldn't say no because it was her assignment to help wash dragons? Why wouldn't she be annoyed?

"Good day," she said again, hefting her bucket up and walking back toward the Weyr, done with her chores for the day.

}:You want that I should blow some more bubbles for her?:{ Iorath's mind voice was all but laughing.

**Oh shut up, you big lizard.**

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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My Dragon is my Wingman