Fishing for Friends

Writers: Halyonix, Estelle
Date Posted: 12th February 2024

Characters: K'tu, Y'rim
Description: Y'rim meets another cute face at BLW
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 5, day 1 of Turn 11

}: Good morning, Kadidyith! Oh, let me make some room for you, :{
Quiroanth said cheerfully as she shifted her dark green body a few feet
to the side to make space for the larger brown dragon incoming. It was a
lovely morning, with many of the Barrier Lake dragons gathering along
the Rim, to catch the bright sun. With her usual playful arch in her
neck, she asked, }: And how are you today? :{ Compared to her rider,
Quiroanth was far more willing to chat with the other dragons of their
new home.

Kadidyith settled next to the green and folded his wings with a whuff of
pleasure at the warmth of the rock beneath his claws. }: I am very well.
I have been swimming in the lake, and then my rider oiled me. :{ He
tilted his head, showing off his gleaming reddish-brown hide. Quiroanth
was new to Barrier Lake, he thought. Even though his draconic memory
faded fast, he had a sense that he hadn't known her for long. }: How
do you find it here at our Weyrhold? :{

}: Oh, it is so lovely! We came from River Bluff Weyr, which has a port
like this one does, but this one is far more pretty and I just love
watching the ships come in on the tides. Do you? :{ She tilted her head
at the bigger dragon. As he formulated a response, her faceted eyes
looked over his coloring and size. She was a medium-sized green and
usually flown by blues, especially a certain blue that she would gladly
like to now forget, but brown dragons weren't out of the running
entirely. And despite what Y'rim said about her not trying to set him up
with anyone so soon, Quiroanth definitely wanted to start getting tabs
on the local dragons and their riders. For...research.

}: I do. There are many beautiful sights up here on the cliffs, :{ the
brown dragon replied gallantly, his blue-green eyes whirling in
pleasure. }: And if you are hungry, the sea is full of fish. You can
glide down from the cliffs, then dive to make a catch. They make tasty
snacks. :{

Quiroanth fluttered her wings excitedly. }: Oh, that sounds like a
challenge! A fun challenge! I like those. Is there anything I should
know about fishing? I don't think Y'rim would like it much but I think
it would be such fun for me to try when he's busy with something else. :{

}: You have to be careful of boats, :{ Kadidyith explained. }: If you
dive too close and make waves and splashes, they won't be pleased, and
nor will your rider. :{ He illustrated his words with a mental image. }:
But otherwise, just try it and see! I'm sure you will be a skilful
fisher. :{ He thought for a moment. }: Your rider wouldn't like it? Mine
likes to watch me have fun. :{

Quiroanth gave a condescending snort at the image of the boats. }: They
are such fragile things, aren't they? Unlike dragons. I have never
understood why humans like them so much but oh well. And no, my rider is
_not_ up for anything that spikes his...adre...adr...oh I can't remember
the word but it's that thing that happens when they get excited but also
scared and their heart races and some humans like it and some humans
don't. That thing. :{ She flicked the tip of her wing dismissively. }:
Anyway, he wouldn't like it. But I think I would. I'll just leave him on
the beach one day with a skin of wine while I try it. :{ She shuffled
her wings, resettling them into a more relaxed state again. She tilted
her triangular head curiously to the side and asked, }: How long have
you and your rider been here at the Weyrhold? :{

}: A long time. They were still building it when we came, :{ the brown
replied. His memories of the time before the Weyrhold were vague now,
apart from those K'tu sometimes shared with him. That wasn't often
though; the brownrider tended to live in the moment almost as much as
his dragon did. }: My rider is a smith. When we're not drilling or
fighting, he works in the forge. He used to make things that the
builders wanted. There might even be some in your weyr! :{ He shared
some images of the blazing forge fire, the sparks flying up as the
crafters worked at the anvil or the bench. }: Does yours have a Craft,
also? :{

Quiroanth's eyes whirled with surprise at the images of the forge. }:
Ooh! That looks dangerous! And he _likes_ it? :{ But to answer
Kadidyith's question, }: Mine was a farmer before I found him. He likes
playing in the dirt with growing things. :{ If dragons could wrinkle
their snouts in playful disgust, Quiroanth would have. She couldn't
imagine enjoying either smithing or farming. There was far too much dirt
involved!

}: It would be a shame to mar your lovely hide with dirt, :{ Kadidyith
said in response to her thoughts. He thought for a moment. }: Perhaps I
should ask my rider to introduce himself to yours? K'tu likes to talk to
other crafters. They could be friends. And then we can fish, while they
talk. :{ It was always worth doing a favor for a green. She might favor
him in return, when she rose...

Quiroanth's posture immediately brightened. }: Oh! Y'rim would _love_
that! He definitely needs new friends! Oh, this is exciting! When can
they meet? :{ She was practically dancing in place at the prospect of a
new friend for her rider.

}: What about when they all eat together? :{ the brown suggested. He
reached out for his rider's thoughts, sensing heat and the clinking of
hammers on metal. After caring for his dragon, K'tu had gone to work on
his craft, but he would stop shortly for the noon meal. Sensing the
brownrider's curiosity about what he was up to, he explained. }: I have
found you a new friend, with a lovely green. :{

}: What a perfect idea! :{ Quiroanth purred. She reached out to Y'rim,
who was just getting out of a bath, and said, }: I've met someone for
you! He rides a brown dragon, his name is K'tu, and his dragon is named
Kadidyith, which is a bit of a mouthful but still a good dragon name. I
mean, aside from mine, of course. But he's a crafter too! K'tu, not
Kadidyith. That would be silly. :{

**My, _someone's_ excited about something,** Y'rim thought back with a
loving smile as he teased his dragon.

}: _You_ need to make friends and I'm finding them! Now, get ready to
meet him for a meal at some point. We've already arranged it. :{ With a
flick of her wings, Quiroanth tilted her head back towards Kadidyith and
said, }: Just say when and where. Oh, this is a _great_ idea! :{

***

In the Weyrhold's dining hall, K'tu watched the arriving weyrfolk with
interest, searching for the face of the new greenrider that Kadidyith
had shown him. Barrier Lake was established enough now that newcomers
weren't an everyday occurrence, and he was interested to see the rider
of the dragon his brown had been doing his best to charm all morning.
Eventually, he spotted someone who might match the image, vague as it
was - most men who weren't him looked the same to his dragon - and had
the right knots, and walked over to meet the greenrider.

"Hello - you must be Y'rim? I think your Quiroanth's met my Kadidyith,"
he said, offering a hand with an easy smile. "I'm K'tu."

Y'rim looked up into those clear blue eyes and felt his heart flip. He
was always a sucker for a boy with blue eyes and even though Y'rim he
was older than K'tu (though not by much it seemed), those blue eyes and
that easy smile definitely had Y'rim smitten for a moment. "Oh,
um....yes, hello," he stumbled out. Oh, he was going to sound like such
a dimglow! He went to take the hand, then worried that it was damp from
nerves, wiped it on his pants, and tried again. "Sorry, Quiroanth is the
extrovert of the two of us," he explained with a nervous but hopeful
smile. "Yes, I'm Y'rim. I'm her rider. It's nice to meet you, K'tu. Quir
hasn't stopped gushing about Kadidyith since they spoke!"

"I thought he was sounding far too pleased with himself," K'tu replied,
as happy as any rider would be to hear good things about his dragon.
"I've been hearing a lot about a lovely green, too. And fishing, for
some reason. Kadidyith says you're new here?"

**Fishing?** Y'rim quickly asked his dragon.

}: Oh! Yes! Kadidyith was telling me how to fish! So you basically... :{
She prattled on for a good minute after that, explaining the process and
finer bits to it but Y'rim had long since tuned her out because it would
be so very rude to have a conversation with his dragon (even though K'tu
would absolutely understand it, being a dragonrider himself) why K'tu
was waiting for a response.

"Yes!" Y'rim answered. Wow, that sounded _way_ too bright. He cleared
his throat to lower his tone. "Yes. Just...just a few months ago. Oh,
maybe less. Time flies sometimes. And you?" Wait, had he called
Quiroanth a lovely green? Oh! Oh, was there...no, don't get ahead. Not
yet. Some men were generous in their compliments. It didn't mean they
were interested.

}: Are you _crushing_ on him?? :{ Quiroanth squealed.

**No.** Absolutely not. Not with those blue eyes, he wasn't.

"Oh, I've been here a while. Not one of the first, but early enough. I
was trained as a smith before I Impressed, so I got priority so I could
help with the building work - it was still going on when I got here. It
looked quite different back then," K'tu explained. "And a lot has
happened! Riyanth's flight to become senior queen, and Aglayath nearly
rising at the same time - she was another gold, that was nearly a
disaster - but I'm sure you'll hear all the gossip in time," he added
with a grin. "Want to grab some lunch? Don't feel you have to if you
have other plans - even if our dragons do want to arrange our lives for
us - but I know it can be overwhelming, transferring into a new place,
and I'd enjoy the company."

Y'rim visibly gulped, momentarily stricken at the mention of two golds
rising at once. Though he had never even seen something remotely close
to that, he had been drilled on how utterly disastrous it could be, and
his heart lurched at the idea of losing such beautiful, important
creatures.

"Lunch?" he echoed, his voice a near squeak. "Lunch. Yes, that...that
sounds delightful." Oh, overwhelming was _exactly_ the word Y'rim would
have used to describe leaving his old Weyr to come to a new one and
having to meet so many people.

}: But everyone has been so _nice_! :{ Quiroanth reminded him. And she
was right.

Y'rim took a quick, steadying breath and gave K'tu a shaky but game
smile. "You said you were a smith? And you were here while it was still
being built? Did you get to help with a lot of the building? What did
you work on?" he asked. And he gave himself points for pushing forward
the conversation.

"Mostly nails. Lots and lots of nails," K'tu said with a rueful grimace
as they headed over to the tables where food was being served and
grabbed trays. "I have my journeyman's knots, but I'm very junior, and
out of practice since Impressing, so I didn't get anything too
complicated, the Mastersmith and his senior journeyman did most of that
work. I did make a lot of tools, though - hammer and pick and shovel
heads, and hoops for cart wheels. Lately, now most of the building's
complete, it's been back to riding harness rings, which is more
familiar." He helped himself to slices of bread and wherry meat. "Do you
have a craft? In the early days, almost all the new transfers did, but
not so much now."

Making nails didn't sound very interesting, even after Y'rim realized
how many nails were used in the buildings. It still sounded boring but
then again, he came from farmers. Playing in the dirt with little green
plants was very boring to other people. "It sounds as though you were
utilized a lot though," Y'rim pointed out as he made his plate. "Far
more than my craft would be. I came from farmercraft. There's some use
for that in the Weyr, with the kitchen gardens and herdbeast fodder, but
not nearly as much as nails or harness rings." Y'rim sighed. "I do
miss...some...aspects of it though. I've always loved spring, seeing the
new shoots, all of the green sprouting up after a long winter. Being a
dragonrider doesn't leave me a lot of time to plant much anymore." Not
that he would trade it in a heartbeat, but his conversation with T'ner a
few sevendays ago came again to mind. He should find a way to keep some
potted plants on his ledge. That would make him feel better.

"Maybe you should ask the Headwoman," K'tu suggested. He scanned the
room and spotted a table with two spaces together, then headed in that
direction. "I'm sure she'd appreciate some more help in the gardens." He
grinned. "Make sure you don't get roped into boiling numbweed, though. I
got stuck helping with that once back at River Bluff, and I'm sure I
could smell it for sevendays after."

The idea of talking with the Headwoman about helping in the gardens did
sound like a good one. Though, the moment K'tu mentioned boiling
numbweed, Y'rim's nose wrinkled and he made a sound in the back of his
throat. "Oh, ugh, please, don't remind me! I hated those days at our old
Weyr. The wind always blew the stench of it in our weyr's direction! It
was _awful_," he declared.

As they sat down, Y'rim politely asked, "So how long have you and
Kadidyith been together?" It was an easy subject -- talking about their
dragons. One that Y'rim could gladly delve into without feeling
self-conscious or nervous. Of course, every dragonrider could talk about
their dragon without pause but Y'rim welcomed the familiarity.

"Seven Turns," K'tu said, his smile at the memory of Kadidyith's
Hatching lighting up his face. "We Impressed at River Bluff. It wasn't
something I ever expected - my family are crafters, not weyrfolk - but
it was truly wonderful. I don't think I'll ever get tired of thinking
about it, as long as I live." His eyes unfocused for a moment as he
shared that thought with his dragon. "And you and Quiroanth?"

"River Bluff?" Y'rim echoed. "That's where I Impressed! Oh, how did I
not run into you before?"

}: Magrith's rider, :{ Quiroanth said sourly, reminding Y'rim that
T'shel had been an absolute jealous sort so that made sense.

Y'rim's smile turned apologetic. "Quir just reminded me how. My old
weyrmate, he...oh, he was a nightmare some days. Possessive. At first I
thought it was endearing, I didn't know better. But then it just got out
of hand." He waved a hand dismissively. "Six Turns down the drain with
him. But to answer your question, Quir and I have been together
thirteen. And trust me, it _still_ feels like yesterday." His smile
turned equally happy, as K'tu would recognize that shared joy of finding
one's lifemate.

"I know what you mean. It's why Hatching days are my favorite," K'tu
replied, thinking of how the look in the newly Impressed weyrlings' eyes
reminded him of his own day. His expression softened a little, in
sympathy, and he wondered if Y'rim might have transferred here for a
fresh start. What better way to do that than to help build a new
Weyrhold, after all? "I'm sorry to hear about your weyrmate. I hope it
works out better for you here." His smile turned a little diffident.
"It's a good Weyr, and there are good people."

Y'rim's smile took on a tinge of hope mixed with tempered caution. "I
hope so," he said. "Quir loves it here already. She's been making so
many friends that I just can't keep up!" She was probably making a lot
of friends for whenever she rose to mate but Y'rim didn't want to say
that or even think about it just yet! "Besides fishing, which apparently
Quir just can't wait to do, what would you suggest that we see or try
out in the area?"

"There's plenty to do around here," K'tu said, enthusiastically. "The
nearest Hold, Barrier Hills, is pretty friendly to dragonriders - some
of the staff are from there. You take the road just past the healers'
hospital. Or if you just want a walk, you can turn off and go around the
edge of the cliffs. There's terrific views out over the bay, past the
Star Stones, and you come out back where the crafters' workshops are.
Then, if you wanted to fly out further afield, there are mountain lakes
in the range to the south - a bit chilly, but your dragon can swim and
they're peaceful - or for something more lively, in the evenings,
there's often harper music, or games down by the shore..." He caught
himself and laughed. "Well, I could go on for a while, but I do love it
here."

The way he made it all sound, Y'rim could see why he loved it there. A
smile widened on the greenrider's face. "Oh, it does sound quite
lovely," he agreed. "Especially a place to listen to harpers outdoors!
Quiroanth and I will have to try it."

}: Maybe they can come with us! :{ Quiroanth eagerly said. }: Kadidyith,
how does that sound? Do you want to go with us to listen to the harpers? :{

}: Of course! My rider and I like music. :{

"You should come along. I'll find out when they're next going to play
and tell Kadidyith to let Quiroanth know. They're usually on the beach
by the dining hall, opposite the Weyrbowl, and start just after dinner.
Sometimes there's dancing. It's lovely when the sun goes down, and it's
just glowlight and a few campfires, and the lighthouse flashing across
the bay. You can meet some riders from my wing, too, if you like," K'tu
suggested. He got the impression Y'rim was quieter than most, and it
could be hard, moving to a new Weyr and hardly knowing anyone.

"I..." Y'rim began, intending to turn the offer down. Socialization and
all. But at Quiroanth's quiet (okay, not so quiet) prodding, he paused,
smiled in surrender, and said, "I'd like that. Will you...let me know
when you next go?"

"Sure. Come and join us for dinner before as well, if you like. You can
tell me all about how you've been settling in. Whether you get a chance
to use your craft, and avoid numbweed-boiling duty," K'tu added with a grin.

Y'rim's nose wrinkled at the mention of numbweed boiling. "Definitely.
Anything to avoid that," he agreed. He gave K'tu a small smile after a
moment, adding, "Thank you."

"No problem. I hope you and Quiroanth like it here," the brownrider
said, his smile open and boyish. "Now, how about some dessert? There's
always plenty of fruit - we work hard at Barrier Lake, and we need lots
of fuel."

}: This is going splendidly! :{ Quiroanth remarked to Kadidyith. She
rustled her wings happily. }: A date! Okay, not a real date, but a
little date! Something to get him out! Oh, he's going to love this! :{

Y'rim didn't hear the dragons conversing (else he would have
_definitely_ corrected Quiroanth on her use of the word "date") and so
smiled at K'tu and answered, "Dessert sounds just perfect."

Last updated on the February 14th 2024

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Fishing for Friends