Different Than Other Men

Writers: Francesca, Halyonix
Date Posted: 15th October 2024

Characters: V'dryn, A'lin
Description: V'dryn and A'lin talk about Impressing blue dragons.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 1, day 2 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: L'rin

A'lin

It was strange how quickly new routines became, well, routine. Now in
his second month as a weyrling, A'lin rolled out of bed, gave Oberlith
his breakfast, then gathered supplies to wash and oil him. The blue
seemed to be growing every day. However, he was still, of course, tiny
in comparison to any full-grown dragon. Stomach full, Oberlith made
his way to the water, going right up to Zhomoth and greeting him with
a nose-poke to his side.

"Morning," A'lin said to V'dryn with a smile. Both weyrlings watched
for a moment as Zhomoth reared back, playfully pawing the air, before
shoulder-butting his clutchmate, initiating a round of light tussling.

"Soon they'll be too big for those antics," V'dryn remarked with a
wistful smile to A'lin.

"I know. Isn't it strange? I'm both excited for them all to be big
enough to fly and scared," he admitted.

"You're not alone in that," V'dryn agreed. "Though, imagine the cliff
diving we'll do then." He winked at A'lin, remembering their night
sneaking away to drink and dive.

A'lin tried to focus on V'dryn's words and not the wink. "That will be
amazing." He tried to imagine what flying on Oberlith would be like,
but his thoughts kept returning to the wink, and other comments V'dryn
had made in past conversations. He lowered his voice slightly and
tried, but failed, to keep his tone light. "You don't have to answer
this if you don't want to, but were you surprised when you Impressed a
blue?"

V'dryn grinned and shook his head. "I had been hoping for it,
actually," he said. "I've always known that I was...different...than
other men at the Hold. I used to think it was just because of the way
that I thought, the things I was interested in, but the older I got,
the more I realized that there were other reasons for that. Coming to
the Weyr confirmed it all for me."

"Really?" What a relief. "I wondered, but I wasn't sure." A'lin
watched their dragonets for a few moments, building up his courage.
"Don't tell anyone, especially not my brother, but I knew I'd Impress
a blue or green. If I Impressed at all."

It was no surprise to V'dryn, who had an inkling that A'lin swung a
different sort of way than his brother. His grin stayed put. "Have you
always known?" he asked gently.

"I didn't know what it was at first. It's not something that's talked
about at the Hold. But then, when I was 10, two men were caught
together and were told they had to leave. The adults wouldn't explain
what had happened, but one of my cousins was happy to go into a lot of
detail. That's when I understood, and realized I couldn't let anyone
know."

Now that he had started, A'lin could not stop talking. The
overwhelming relief he felt at being able to share a part of what he
had gone through, with someone who had a similar background, kept
Oberlith from reacting negatively to his emotions. The blue continued
playing in the water with his clutchmate.

"The Weyrhold being constructed here, then being Searched, and now
Impressing, has changed everything. I don't think my family will ever
be comfortable with me, although I hope L'rin will come around. It's
so nice to be here though. It's a completely different life than I had
imagined."

A'lin felt like he had more to say, but he suddenly felt
self-conscious about how much he had already shared. "It's nice being
able to tell someone, finally." He couldn't look V'dryn in the eyes
but hoped he felt the sincerity.

The other bluerider's smile shifted to one of understanding and
empathy. He knew what it was like to have to hide a part of oneself
from one's family but also the relief that came with finally being
able to talk about it with someone else. "As cliche as it may sound,
you now have a family here, with a dragon who accepts you just as you
are. I believe, given time, that your brother will come around. He is
your brother, after all. This is a surprise to him but I am certain
that he loves you."

"Thanks. I hope so. I know it's hard for him; all his friends
Impressed blue or green." Not wanting the conversation to focus on
himself any more, he tried to think of something else to talk about.
"How are Zhomoth and Mora getting along?"

"She is a wonderful help, I must say," V'dryn admitted. "She's always
been well-behaved. But now, with Zhomoth being so young and consuming
so much of my time, she's decided that she's to make herself extra
useful somehow, usually by retrieving some item that I've forgotten
due to a lack of sleep."

"That sounds great. Is it confusing having both of them in your head?"
A'lin felt just having Oberlith overwhelming enough. Firelizards were
pretty cool though.

V'dryn shook his head. "Not at all. Firelizards don't really speak.
They mostly share strong feelings or an image. Mora tends to be very
polite on that front and doesn't interrupt me much. I'm quite thankful
for that." He called her to his side, holding his arm up for her to
appear and land. She trilled a hello and then focused on A'lin, making
a curious squawking sound. "She wants to know if you have any food,"
V'dryn explained.

"I don't, sorry," A'lin told Mora. Then he felt a little silly for
feeling sorry. "Do you always carry snacks with you?" he asked V'dryn.

"I used to," V'dryn said and then he started chuckling. "Until the
time I left a meatroll in my pocket for a few days and it was a mess
to clean out. Now I just remind her that she'll be fed shortly in some
form. She trusts me enough on that or will find her own food if she
cannot wait."

"She seems very well behaved." A'lin hadn't expected that; especially
not from a green firelizard. He did not think they could be reasoned
with. "Can she help wash a dragon? Because I think we need to get
started."

"We can certainly ask her. She may try to play with the bubbles more
than help at one point," V'dryn said with a chuckle. But he clicked
his fingers, pointed to the young dragons, and Mora flew off as if she
understood the assignment. Rolling up his sleeves, V'dryn said, "Let's
begin."

Last updated on the October 18th 2024

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Different Than Other Men