It's Uphill for Oddities

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 14th September 2021

Characters: T'ner, F'aen, R'nar, Y'sak
Description: F'aen's friendships with his new wingmates creates a moment of panic for T'ner.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 9, day 16 of Turn 10

"That was a tough one today, wasn't it?" Y'sak said as he, F'aen, and R'nar all collapsed into some chairs in the Dining Cavern.

"Tough? I wasn't sure whether we were flying or swimming at times." R'nar shook his hair back and forth, sending water droplets flying.

F'aen wrinkled his nose and shielded himself from the spray. "Drills in the rain are the worst." The greenrider sighed as he looked down at his riding boots. "I think I even have water _inside_ my boots. I wouldn't be surprised if a fish flops out when I take them off."

Y'sak, a bluerider and the oldest of the trio at twenty-seven, winked at F'aen. "I"ll help you dry off."

F'aen rolled his eyes while R'nar reached for a cup of hot klah. "Ugh, not at the table Y'sak."

"I'll help you dry off too, bronzerider." Y'sak flashed a grin full of teeth.

F'aen and R'nar exchanged long-suffering glances which said they'd endured Y'sak's flirting often since becoming wingmates.

"You do talk big," F'aen said with a little purse of his lips, humor twinkling in his eyes as he shed his wet jacket and draped it over the back of his chair, leaving the water to slough

"I have good reason to," Y'sak lifted his eyebrows suggestively.

R'nar shook his head as he stuffed a piece of bread in his mouth, but his shoulders shook with laughter.

T'ner's heart raced when he saw the forward bluerider grinning toothily and making eyes at F'aen. It took him a few moments to realize that not only was he frozen in place in the middle of the walkway, he was not breathing.

An "Uh, 'scuse me, sir," from someone who needed to get by restarted his lungs.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he moved, not even sure who it was he had been blocking.

He was handsome. Very handsome. More handsome than T'ner by far. And that smile. Far more charming.

}:Breathe! Slow down. You are frightening me.:{

**Sorry, Leh, I just. I'm OK. Everything is OK.**

"Got room for one more?" he asked as he approached, pointedly jockeying for a spot next to F'aen.

F'aen looked up at the voice and a smile cut across his face. "Sit," he said, sliding sideways a little so that T'ner could fit at the table. "R'nar, Y'sak, this is my weyrmate, T'ner," he said by way of introduction. "T'ner, this is Y'sak," he gestured toward the bluerider, "and you probably remember R'nar's name from Dolphin Cove."

R'nar lifted a hand but was in the midst of stirring the brown gravy on top of his mashed tubers. The bronzerider didn't love being reconnected with people from Dolphin Cove, not since most people knew his name either from his mother being Weyrwoman or from his weyrmate dying in Threadfall. So far, F'aen had been an okay sort to hang out with after wingdrills, and he normally never brought up anything from Dolphin Cove, which helped.

The full effect of Y'sak's handsome smile was turned on to T'ner as the bluerider sized the other man up, clearly pleased with what he saw there as well. "What a fetching weyrmate you have, F'aen. It's nice to meet you, T'ner."

T'ner smiled back. Just pretend everything is OK. Nothing is wrong, and there is no need to make anything weird.

"Hey, R'nar," T'ner held up a hand in greeting to the bronzerider. He, too, was more than happy to forget everything about Dolphin Cove aside from what he had already brought with him.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Y'sak." The fact that Y'sak was pouring out the charm onto him, too, did nothing to alleviate the feeling that he was in danger. If anything, it might have made it worse. But T'ner did a remarkable job of keeping his panic off of his face. The riders who did not know him well might never even know anything was on his mind.

F'aen knew him better, but if he asked, T'ner could chalk it up to being tired.

The greenrider could tell that T'ner was off, just as T'ner predicted, but for the moment F'aen wondered if it had something to do with Resser or the child's mother. It wasn't something that F'aen would bring up in front of others, so he filed it away for later.

"As you can see," F'aen said, putting a hand on T'ner's thigh beneath the table and giving it a little squeeze, "we've had quite a morning of drills."

"Y'sak here," R'nar tilted his head at the bluerider, "was just regaling us with his ability to dry others off, apparently."

Y'sak held up hands that showcased long, agile fingers. "Harper hands, they're good at everything."

"Except catching that sack of firestone earlier," F'aen retorted, earning a snort of laughter from R'nar.

"Ha. Ha. You'll be thanking me when they catch you sometime." Y'sak quipped, his spirit not the least bit dampened by the ribbing.

T'ner appreciated the contact, and he put his hand atop F'aen's. He should be happy that F'aen was settling in so well with his wingmates. He should be. But he absolutely did not love the idea of this particular bluerider's dragon catching Scarleth.

}:I am faster than he could ever hope to be. You've nothing to worry about,:{ Lehystrath promised with confidence. The blue did his best to push reassurance across their bond, but something was weird with T'ner, and it was still frightening Lehystrath.

T'ner wanted to make a quip about being full of hot air for doing the drying, but he could not form the words. Instead, he just laughed along with the others.

He interlaced his fingers with F'aen's.

F'aen glanced sideways at T'ner, wondering again at the man's quiet behavior. The bluerider had always been outgoing, at least, he had been before they left Dolphin Cove. It was unusual to see him so tense.

F'aen squeezed T'ner's hand.

"Well, fellas, I am ready to get out of these wet clothes… and I think I have someone willing to help me." F'aen winked at T'ner.

Y'sak flashed his eyes towards R'nar. "Does that mean you'll be needing my help, R'nar?" he teased.

R'nar rolled his eyes but his cheeks reddened just a bit. "You are incorrigible."

T'ner grinned back at the wink and felt comforted by the squeeze. Perhaps even more by Y'sak turning his attention elsewhere.

"You absolutely have someone willing to help you," he said, leaning his head on F'aen's shoulder for a moment.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," F'aen said, pulling T'ner to his feet and grabbing his wet riding coat.

As soon as they were out of the Dining Cavern and on their way to their weyr, F'aen gave T'ner's hand a squeeze and asked, "What's going on with you today? Did something happen with Ayressa?"

"What? No. Why?" T'ner blinked with confusion, though he held more tightly to F'aen's hand at the mention of his ex-wife and former weyrmate.

"Did. Was I." He rubbed his face and ran his hand through his hair with his free hand. "Maybe I need to see a Healer or something. I... I feel like. I swallowed a whole live wherry or something, I don't know."

F'aen frowned. "Have you felt like this all day?" They turned a corner and stepped out into the weyrbowl, which was wet, but the rain had stopped. Scarleth waited there to take her rider up to their weyr.

Lehystrath stood beside her, eyeing T'ner and still worried.

"No, it was... It was just when I came into the Dining Cavern there," he said. He began to shiver uncontrollably.

"Come on, you can ride up with me. Then we'll strip down and get warm." F'aen said, drawing his weyrmate over to his waiting dragon.

On the way up, F'aen kept his arms wrapped around T'ner's waist. "I probably got your back all wet." He said in apology once they were standing on their ledge. F'aen's clothes were still wet from earlier. Dry clothes and a warm bed sounded perfect.

T'ner grinned devilishly. Being home with F'aen, having him so close as they rode up, made the shivering fade. He pulled F'aen to himself and rested his head on his chest.

"Now my front is wet, too," he said.

F'aen wrapped his arms around T'ner again. "Feeling better?"

T'ner kissed F'aen tenderly and smiled.

"Much."

He was not sure what had come over him or why the other bluerider had unnerved him so much, but it was over with now, and he was fine. He was fine.

"Good," F'aen hands clutched at T'ner's clothing as he pulled the younger bluerider toward their bed. "I was thinking we see how wet the sheets get."

Last updated on the October 1st 2021

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It's Uphill for Oddities