Mutual Acquaintances

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 22nd December 2020
Series: The Lighthouse Keeper

Characters: Alina, J'pil
Description: Alina wonders about her Starsmiths
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 16 of Turn 10

Alina

Alina hummed as she headed down to the weyrlake, her bucket of supplies to care for Imarith's hide swinging loosely from her hand. The day was drawing to a close and the air was warm and fragrant with flowers. As much as she chafed under the leadership at Dolphin Cove Weyr, it _was_ very beautiful here, much moreso than Barrier Lake Weyr or Dragonsfall Weyr. Neither of those Weyrs had half as many flowers.

The lake came into view and she paused, then told Imarith to meet her by a certain blue dragon. She raised a hand in greeting when she got far enough down the beach to say hello. "J'pil, it's good to see you!"

The bluerider in question was an older man with a shock of white hair and brown, weather-creased skin. He grinned broadly when he saw her. "Alina, good to see you as well. I was just finishing up with Fenolth."

"How is he?" Alina asked. The blue dragon's strained wing was what had gotten her onto weather duty in the first place months ago.

J'pil's wide smile faded a little as he looked over at his dragon. Fenolth was lounging in the lake while Imarith pounced on waves beside him. "Better, but we're not where we were before the wing injury. M'gan's had us on light duty and delivering firestone… I'm not sure when we'll be ready to rejoin the fighting Wing."

She nodded. J'pil and Fenolth were an older pair, and age had its consequences. "Well, I am glad that we're sharing the weather route. Doing it alone took up a lot of evening time."

J'pil nodded. "That it does. The Starsmiths are a chatty bunch, aren't they? Comes with being alone at their outposts for weeks at a time. Hopefully none of them are giving you trouble?"

Alina shook her head. "They've all been very good to me, Master Ebran especially. He's been teaching me a bit about what it is the Starsmiths do out there and how their weather instruments work. It's quite interesting."

J'pin gave her a sidelong look. "Well, better you than me. Master Ebran will talk your ear off if you let him. I honestly find it kind of boring. I know that the work they do helps protect us in Threadfall and predict bad storms, but I also feel like /betweening/ to a location and just looking at the weather also works."

"Unless you /between/ into the middle of abad weather," Alina replied. Perhaps that was an all right thing to do if you rode bronze, but for a little green pair like her and Imarith, the high winds and hail could be dangerous. And lightning was always dangerous.

"How is Journeyman Reehan?" J'pil asked. "I always liked that old coot."

Alina blinked. Journeyman Reehan looked like he was younger than J'pil. "Ah, he's fine. He's one of the quieter ones on my route."

J'pil's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really? I wonder why. Every time I visited he'd come tottering out of that lighthouse of his and talk at me for at least a half a candlemark. I never understood how a man with a bum leg like that could move so fast."

A chill ran down Alina's spine. The Reehan she knew wasn't an old man and he didn't limp. He was middle aged and taciturn-- and his weather readings had been off. "Ah-- oh." J'pil was looking at her, so Alina managed a small smile. "Perhaps it's because I'm new, or a-- uh, greenrider."

"Well, tell him I say hello next time you see him," J'pil said. He bent to pick up his bucket of brushes and oily rags. "I should head on in and get some supper. It was nice to speak with you, greenrider."

"You as well," Alina said. She watched the old bluerider trudge up the beach, then turned her worried gaze on her dragon. Imarith had stopped playing in the water and was crouched, looking back at her with eyes whirling with worry. **What am I going to do?** Alina thought.

No answers came. She bent and picked up her bucket of cleaning supplies and went to tend to her dragon. That, at least, was one problem that she could solve.

Last updated on the January 13th 2021

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Mutual Acquaintances