D is for Destiny
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Curious
Date Posted: 31st May 2024
Characters: Inyara
Description: The world's best green chooses the world's worst rider.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 11
Inyara hadn’t planned on attending the hatching. She spent so much time contemplating whether or not she was going to bother that she was almost late to see the first egg crack. When she sat down in one of the few remaining seats, high up in the stands, she regretted it almost immediately. There was work to be done. No progress could be made if she was sitting on her butt and watching people who didn’t matter to her impress.
Consequently, Inyara spent the first few impressions wondering if it would be acceptable for her to get up and leave. It was with great reluctance that she decided that no, walking away from the senior queen’s hatching was not acceptable behavior from a visiting crafter. There was no guarantee that someone would both notice her departure and recognize who she was, but if they did, there was every risk that she would be in for an uncomfortable conversation. So, with a great deal of reluctance and a few bitter words that would not leave the confines of her mind, she resolved to waste a great deal of her time.
It would be a lie to say that Inyara was interested in the impressions happening on the sands. Quite frankly, she spent most of the event waiting for it to end. She did not know any of the people on the sands other than Lenorin and Ketlyn. Lenorin was nothing more than a passing acquaintance. Ketlyn, an unremarkable apprentice who would be utterly useless to the smiths if a dragon chose her. They did not matter in the grand scheme of things. The dragons did not matter, for it was unlikely that she would ever come to know them or their riders. For Inyara, the best thing that would come from the hatching would be its inevitable ending.
Yet even she paid attention when a dragonet started keening in distress.
Inyara sat up a little straighter, zeroing in on the little green dragonet staggering across the sands toward her mother. A frown played at her lips. The dragons may have been of no consequence to her, but even she did not want to see a dragonet go _between_. A death was a death, no matter how you spun it. And at that moment, it looked dreadfully inevitable that that little green would die.
Or at least, it did until she stood up and made her way toward the stands. At that point, Inyara’s frown deepened, her head slowly turning as she scanned the stands for the person who was about to have their life torn to shreds and be thrust into a duty that they never agreed to. Yet no one was exclaiming in joy or rising to their feet. No one looked startled or surprised. She searched frantically, yet all she found was"
}: You! :{
“Who said that!?” Inyara exclaimed, whipping her head around as she frantically searched for the speaker. Because it certainly wasn’t, it couldn’t have been"
}: Inyara, why are you all the way up there? :{ that sweet voice asked. Except now it was not only a voice, but a feeling. Gnawing hunter, the fading remnants of a terrible fear, indescribable relief, and above all, all-consuming lo"
_No, no, no, no, no._
}: Inyara? Will… Will you please come down? :{ the sweet, beautiful, _perfect_ voice asked, fear begin to surface once again. }: I am your Selesinath and I am hungry. :{
Inyara’s entire body jolted as her heart screamed with the impulse to move, to tend to the dragonet’s every need, to make sure that she was away. To ensure her future at the cost of her own, to do anything, _anything_, to hold onto that incredible love.
}: Please? :{ Selesinath asked, that fear starting to break through the love and hunger to threaten to turn into something truly heartbreaking. }: I need you. :{
Inyara did not choose to stand up. She did not want to forsake a future that had gleamed so brightly only a moment ago, did not intend to abandon all that she had worked for for so long. She simply _acted_, driven by a force greater than herself and a feeling that she never could have imagined. She felt like her limbs were weighed down by led shackles as she walked down the stairs of the stands, but at the same time, she knew that she wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she didn’t do it.
And she couldn’t help but hate herself a little when, upon reaching Selesinath, that wonderful little green looked up at her and asked, }: Do you not want me? :{
“I never said that,” Inyara hoarsely said, raising a hand to wipe away the tears that she hadn’t realized had begun to fall. “I just… this wasn’t part of the plan.”
}: Well… Plans change, right? :{ Selesinath hopefully asked. }: I’m sure we can figure something out! After you feed me. :{
Inyara swallowed roughly. “Right.” Laying a gentle hand on Selesinath’s head, she murmured, “Come on. Let’s… Let’s go.”
They would figure something out. She would find a solution. After all, she never agreed to stand. She did not sign up to be a dragonrider. Inyara didn’t even belong to the northern continent, let alone _Barrier Lake Weyr_. She was destined to be the youngest Master Smith in the history of Pern; they could not force her to abandon her craft for a lifetime of fighting thread.
…Right?
Last updated on the June 1st 2024