Golden Memories

Writers: Shawna, Sia
Date Posted: 30th November 2024

Characters: Aydhan, N'kevyn
Description: Aydhan remembers her own weyrling milestones
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 22 of Turn 12

Aydhan

N'kevyn

The security at Dragonsfall was _tight_, and Aydhan was thankful for it. She didn't think she could have convinced N'kevyn to let her go without it, and even so he hovered at her elbow for the entire trip, his mood much greyer than the flurries of snow that delighted Tymborikath. The gold didn't exactly _remember_ High Reaches anymore, but the swirls of snow along the ground brought back a cozy feeling that she couldn't quite place. Avicath stayed close, too, reflecting his own rider's anxiety at being so far from home.

Aydhan, however, was not about to miss the hatching of a new gold. The egg itself sat silent as the eggs around it began to crack, and Aydhan couldn't help but reminisce about her own weyrling training.

---- Flashback to High Reaches, 17 turns ago---

Milestone 1: Can explore the Weyr when not asleep

Tymborikath's curiosity was a gentle caress in Aydhan's mind, pulling her away from her notes on proper wing formations (that were helpfully annotated by a different, neater hand) and towards the sense of the 'feeling' that made up the newest gold of High Reaches.Tymborikath's presence with hers was nothing short of euphoric, even in the sevendays after the hatching, and Aydhan could still hardly control her smile as she caught sight of her.

Even though this draft runner-sized dragonet was investigating a small child. _Her_ small child. Nikayden was standing on his tippy-toes, little fingers splayed and squeezing on Tymborikath's snout. It was…surreal, and the happy confusion radiating from the gold changed what should have been panic to mild concern. How he got there and how long he'd been wandering by himself were questions for later; he was found, he was safe, and Tymborikath was too preoccupied to be accidentally dangerous. "Nik, sweetie, what are you doing?" She asked as she got closer, touching the gold hide and kneeling down to wrap her arms around the toddler.

"Teef." Nikayden explained. His fingers momentarily loosened on the snout as his mother pulled him back and lifted him up. He accepted the sudden confinement, though leaned forward to reach for Tymborikath again.

"Gentle." Aydhan prompted, and Nikayden gently pat-patted the snout instead. "You don't go up to dragons you don't know, Nik. Tymborikath is a good girl, but she's very big and she could hurt you." The gold answered with a snort and a wave of indignation. She would _never_.

"But teef!" Nikayden insisted. "Wanna see teef."

Tymborikath obediently opened her mouth, undignified and a little confused, and Aydhan had to back up to prevent the happily shrieking qtoddler from leaping at them.

There was the sound of pounding boots, and panting breaths, “There he is. I turned around for two minutes to change Aydhara….” N’kevyn leaned over to catch his breath. Aydhara was not with him.

That was the downside to a ground-level weyr, but the safer option considering their child was a feral critter. "The blowouts are no joke." Aydhan agreed, "You almost need a harness to tether him to you. Where _is_ the baby, N'kevyn?"

“Avicath is watching her. She’s probably asleep already, she was nodding off.” He checked, and the bronze was, indeed, still staring almost unblinkingly at the baby. “I told Nik we could come see you later, after dinner time,” he said with a scolding look at the child.

"No, now." Nikayden insisted.

"I do love squeezing you." Aydhan said and gave the child a tight squeeze. Nikayden shrieked happily, startling Tymborikath. She tossed her head and snorted, eliciting another shriek. "Why don't we walk you home? Tym's going to need a nap very soon, and I think you might too."

“Oh, I need to inform you that he doesn’t nap any more. That has made the last few days very exciting for everyone involved,” N’kevyn said dryly. He was looking a little worn, with some dark circles under his eyes. "And we only eat tubers now.”

"Your mother warned me about the naps." Aydhan teased. "Well, maybe we'll both have a nap with Tymborikath when she gets too tired. What do you think?"

Nikayden shook his head in protest.

Milestone 2: Moving into own weyr

Tymborikath was excited for her new space. It was _big_ and _hers_, and Aydhan left her sprawling in what she had declared her favorite spot.

Aydhan didn't know what she expected when she stepped into her brand new (to her) goldrider weyr. She expected to be alone, actually, with only the bags she carried from the barracks and the plain furniture of a previously unused space. She wasn't expecting the whirlwind of detritus that only children can create. Boxes filled the room where the mess didn't reach and she could hear cursing coming from the bedroom.

"Hello?" She called into the space. A shriek and the pounding of little feet answered her as Nikayden rushed over and leaped into her arms. A barely toddling Aydhara chased after him.

N’kevyn came out of the bedroom, shaking a hand exactly like someone who had just hit themselves with a hammer. “All the shelves were as high as they would go. I was adjusting them. Watch Aydhara,” he warned, “she keeps trying to climb the boxes.”

Tymborikath's startled shriek echoed into the room, followed by Avicath's confused rumble.

}:That’s my side,:{ Avicath protested. }:It’s smoother.:{

**I told you Tym got to pick her side.**

}:But it was supposed to be the other one,:{ the bronze sulked, wiggling himself in place to see if he could shove the gold over a little more.

}: This is our _goldrider_ weyr! :{ Tymborikath protested.

}: But I live here too! :{

N’kevyn sighed, “Why is he the only bronze who doesn’t want to cater to every gold’s every whim?” He knew the answer to that, though. The ego.

Milestone 3: First Mating Flight

Tymborikath's first Flight was perfect. Aydhan kept a tight hold on her until she was in the air, holding back the reins until the gold was well and truly airborne and climbing fast. Then she let go all at once, giving Tymborikath her freedom to fill the skies with bronze and brown chasers.

Aydhan, for her part, tried not to show a preference. It was hard when N'kevyn entered the flightroom with his stupid grin that quickly grew hungry. She'd mothed for him on more than one occasion (and may have been how at least one kid was conceived), but she'd always wondered what he was like when Avicath wasn't left wanting.

N’kevyn was not interested in whether or not it was fair. He entered the room with confidence, blatantly ignoring everyone but her as he pushed his way through the bronze and brownriders. He stepped up to Aydhan, looming over her, and he raised one hand as if to touch her, but stopped just before he brushed her cheek.

Avicath showed no restraint at all, and had already snapped at one of the other chasers before the gold took to the sky. It was a brown, who had no business chasing. Not this time, not this gold. He was one of the younger bronzes in the pack, but he was larger than most of them, and flying with a vicious determination, letting the others get out of his way or be knocked out of it. He could feel his rider in the back of his mind encouraging, pushing, taunting. Tymborikath deserved only the best.

The tension in the flightroom was thick as the riders’ emotions mirrored the intensity of the chase above. Aydhan could feel Tymborikath's fiery pride as the gold tested her strength against the pursuing males. Her exhilaration bled into her rider, making it impossible to ignore the heat pooling in her own veins. Tymborikath roared her challenge into the skies, banking sharply to throw off a too-bold bronze that veered too close.The rest of the chasers adjusted quickly, hot on her tail.
But Avicath didn’t falter. He was the best, and Tymborikath deserved only the best. He was ready when she surged upward again. With a powerful lunge he caught her, their bodies tangling in the air as they began their spiral downwards.

}:”Only the best for you”:{, N’kevyn’s voice and Avicath’s were indistinguishable as N’kevyn pulled the goldrider against himself roughly, lips crushing down on hers in hungry desperation. And then there was no more thought for words.

------ End Flashbacks-----

The gold egg finally cracked and shattered, and Aydhan gasped at the same time N'kevyn roared with laughter. "Oh, goodness." Aydhan managed as a hand flew to her mouth. "Stop laughing, that's bad manners. We are here as _dignitaries_."

“Oh, but look at that absolute monster of a gold,” he said with a delight that did not match his insulting words, “and I thought Avicath made giant babies. I’ll never make fun of him again.”

"You and I'serin need to commiserate. You see that massive bronze? A matching set." Aydhan said with barely contained laughter. "I hope that new goldrider isn't too let down."

Last updated on the December 10th 2024

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Golden Memories