Klah Delivery Boy

Writers: Halyonix
Date Posted: 11th June 2024

Characters: O'dyn, M'trel
Description: Delivering klah and coming up with questions!
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 24 of Turn 11
Notes: Fixed some wordings

There were so many dragons!

Ocaridyn stopped in his errand-running to look at the Wings assembling for Threadfall that day. His green eyes grew rounder. There were more dragons now! He had been so busy running to and fro, delivering klah to the gathered riders, that he hadn't noticed that more dragons were waking up, getting ready, wings shuffling, jaws masti...masta...oh shard it, it was a big word and meant "chew" and now he couldn't remember it.

Didn't matter. Ask someone later. He had to get this klah delivered.

His little legs propelled him forward with a tray full of cups that only youthful agility kept from spilling. He was fourteen Turns and hadn't hit his growth spurt yet so he was small and able to wind through the crowd easily enough, going from rider to rider and offering a cup. When his tray was empty, he rushed back to the Lower Caverns and fetched another. By the third or fourth tray, he realized that he was approaching some of the bigger dragons, the bronzes and browns. They were huge!

He stopped to look at one of them, a brown dragon that reminded Ocaridyn of the dark bitter klah that some people liked, whose rider was speaking with some other very important-looking men. "Wow," he breathed softly, amazed.

And then the dragon turned his huge head to look at him.

Ocaridyn eeped.

He didn't mean to attract attention! He was just delivering klah! He didn't expect the dragon to actually _look_ at him. Well, yes, the Search dragon had looked at him like that but that had been a green dragon and she was much smaller and this dragon--

Oh no. It was bringing its head closer. Was it...was it going to...eat him? No, no, he was absolutely certain that dragons didn't eat humans. Lots of people had told him that and he believed them.

The rider, noticing what was happening, chuckled. "Noruith, I think you're scaring our little Weyrbrat."

Being called a Weyrbrat snapped Ocaridyn's attention to the rider. "I'm a Candidate!" he corrected, eagerly, without rancor, and with a little bit of pride. He straightened as tall as he could get.

"I stand amended," the rider said with a bow of his head and an amused grin. "I'm M'trel. This is Noruith. And you?"

"Ocaridyn!" he answered loudly, beaming. "I've only just been Searched, rider sir. I've been here...five days. I came from Printer Hall! This is my first Threadfall at the Weyr and I'm delivering klah to all of the riders and...oops, I forgot." He lifted the tray up. "Would you like a cup?"

"Much appreciated," M'trel replied, taking a proffered mug. "Don't let Noruith scare you. He's just curious about youngsters, that's all. Especially promising ones."

With the attention returning to the big brown dragon, Ocaridyn stood very, very still and did not process the veiled compliment. He could see himself reflected a hundred times in the facets of the dragon's eye. How did they see like that? Was it like a broken window, fragmented? Or did it all come together somehow into one big picture? Should he ask the rider? His teachers had always told him that there were no stupid questions. He believed that.

"How does he see?" Ocaridyn blurted out. "With all of those facets?" As he asked, the facets turned a greenish yellow. Didn't the colors mean something too? There were so many questions he wanted to ask!

M'trel shrugged one shoulder and reached up to scratch his dragon's head just behind the knobs. "He just does. I've never really asked him how but I do know that he has better far vision than I do. It helps him spot Thread or distress flags when we're flying."

How far could the dragon see? Miles? Way up high? Could he see other Holds from here? So many questions! Ocaridyn opened his mouth to ask but suddenly the dragon's head swung up. A roar erupted from some of the bronzes, echoing and rippling down throughout the ranks. What did that mean? Was it time to fight? He knew that dragons talked telepathically to their riders but did they have a dragons-only language through roars?

"That's the call," M'trel confirmed. He downed the klah and put it back on the tray. "Thank you, Ocaridyn. That hit the spot. Good luck in your Candidate studies. Maybe we'll see you another day before Threadfall." He moved to mount Noruith, who was now furling and unfurling those big wings. Ocaridyn congratulated himself for remembering that verb -- to furl.

Hope and excitement flared within the small Candidate as he realized what M'trel had said. Another day? Another day! Then he could ask more questions! And maybe...maybe he could touch the dragon. Maybe. Another day. Oh! He should be polite! Manners were important! "Good luck, rider sir! Be safe out there!"

Noruith's head swung close again, fixating on the young teen.

Ocaridyn eeped again.

"Um. Good luck, sir dragon. Be safe too," he said in a much quieter, reverent tone. The dragon could hear him, right? His reflection in those facets was now colored in orange. That _definitely_ had to mean something. Oh, if only he knew! He wanted to know so badly!

Another day, he could ask those questions. For now, he darted out of the way so that Noruith could take off, his little mind forming a dozen other questions to ask rider M'trel the next they met.

Last updated on the June 16th 2024

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Klah Delivery Boy