Welcome to Cyclone Wing!

Writers: Aaron, Devin, Estelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 18th March 2025

Characters: Iskara, Cosani, Ç'pier, B'lyse, Alina, N'mon
Description: The newly graduated wingriders attend their first Cyclone Wing meeting, but don't get an entirely warm welcome
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 27 of Turn 12

Cosani

Ç'pier

Alina

Iskara arrived earlier than usual to Cyclone's wing meeting, mainly so
as to catch up on all the gossip about the newly graduated weyrlings.
Usually she wouldn't care that much, but there was one who was
particularly notorious and she was still fuming about it. If their Wing
became a dumping ground for unwanted riders, how was she supposed to
advance?

She wasn't the only one who'd had the same idea - there were a few who
were even earlier than she was. Iskara dropped into a seat next to
Cosani and put up her feet on the chair in the row in front. "This is
going to be interesting. Can you believe who they assigned to us?"

"He should be in the mines, not a Wing," Cosani said darkly.

Ç'pier, too, arrived early. He always did. He could not risk being late
and attracting any more ill-will than he was already due. But he took
his place quietly and did not bother the gossipers.

"Right? I feel sorry for his dragon." If Iskara had noticed Ç'pier's
arrival, she showed no sign of caring. "At least they should send him
off on permanent watch duty, in some Hold miles from anywhere."

Ç'pier felt sorry for his dragon, too, but Yuliuth did not like it
when he expressed that sentiment. So he had learned to shield him from
it.

Not much longer after that, B'lyse arrived, looking like he was not
quite sure he was in the right place. Someone bumped into him as he
hesitated at the door.

"Either go in or out," Alina said sharply as she stepped around him to
survey the room. She hesitated, then settled herself in a chair away
from Cosani and Iskara. New weyrling day was always a trial, and she
had the feeling that today was going to be extra bothersome.

Of course, B'lyse could not make out what Alina had said, but he was
clever enough to guess the gist. Once he saw Ç'pier, he knew this was
the right place. He wished they could have found some other place, any
other place to put him. He stared at the floor as he shuffled inside
to find a place he could feel out of the way.

"The tunnelsnake who tried to kill someone _and_ the guy who can't
hear," Cosani muttered to Iskara. "Did N'mon just roll over and let
them dump the worst weyrlings on us?"

"It seems that way." Iskara leaned back, tilting her chair. "M'gan was a
grumpy old watchwher but at least he had a spine. He'd never have let us
get stuck with them."

Ç'pier was glad that B'lyse could not hear them. But then, he supposed
if he could, they would not be including him in their scorn. Well, it
was inevitable that if Ç'pier spoke up, the wingleader would walk in
at the perfect moment to decide he was making trouble. So he merely
chuckled to himself.

Alina had no such compunctions. She rolled her eyes at Iskara's
comment and spoke up before she could help herself, even though she'd
been saying much the same things to her weyrmate just that morning.
"If you're going to be mean, at least be clever about it."

Cosani arched an eyebrow. "I know some of us like bad boys, but _I_
don't like the kind who beat women and leave them for dead in
storerooms."

Ç'pier nodded and tilted his head as though this were a very good point.
He did not like that kind, either.

"I never said that." Alina settled back into her chair, facing forward
and determined to ignore the other two greenriders. "I just advised you
to be clever. But if you'd rather not, that's up to you."

"No, I agree," said Ç'pier. "You're really selling yourselves short. You
can do better than that."

"Some of us," Iskara said, examining her nails, "don't see a violent
attack on a Candidate as an opportunity to make clever remarks. But if
you disagree..." Ignoring Ç'pier, she turned her head to Alina with an
eyebrow raised, mockingly. "That's up to you."

"Oh, I spoke too soon, didn't I?" Ç'pier winced and stroked his chin.
"If you won't take the opportunity to make clever remarks, you could
at least be just as judicious about making vapid ones..."

"You should keep your mouth shut, you murderous tunnelsnake." Cosani
clenched her fists.

"If you want to get a few slugs in, you'd better hurry. No telling
when N'mon will get here." Once upon a time, Ç'pier would have been
sneering and jeering, but today, he simply spoke matter-of-factly with
no particular expression.

"Don't tempt me." Cosani's glare intensified.

"Well, the offer's good for whenever you're interested." Ç'pier shrugged.

"Looks like he's got someone to look out for him, anyway," Iskara said,
with a sidelong glance at Alina. She smiled slowly. "You really do have
a type, don't you?"

Alina pressed a hand to her cheek in mock outrage. "Oh my, you got me."
Then she rolled her eyes.

"You should introduce him to your weyrmate," Iskara suggested. That, she
would love to see. "I'm sure they'd have a lot to talk about. They could
exchange tips on getting away with crimes."

"Well, I sure don't have much to bring to that conversation, now do I?"
Ç'pier could have gotten away with it, maybe. But he was not about to
let Blue take the fall for any of it. B'lyse.

"Are you all right?" he asked Iskara. "It seems like you've got a lot on
your mind."

"Just thinking about the next Fall, and whether I can trust all of my
wingmates to have my back. I mean, even she wouldn't actually let Thread
get me if she could help," she said, gesturing to Alina. "And I'm sure
the other new boy will do his best. But you? We'll all have to watch
ourselves."

"If you're worried about how I'm going to perform, have Hylith talk to
Yuliuth." Ç'pier was actually more than a little surprised they would
be worried about _him_ doing poorly on purpose, when he still could
not fully convince himself that _they_ would not leave him exposed to
die the moment they could get away with it.

"I might be a piece of shit, but he's a dragon. And he'll be doing
most of the real work."

"_I'm_ not worried about him in Fall," Cosani said. "I'm worried about
him lurking around in hallways. Or store rooms."

"See, that's much more reasonable.. Everyone can see me in Fall!"
Ç'pier pointed to Cosani.

Alina felt the beginnings of a headache start to stir. **I wish I had
klah...** Why did they have to assign a no-good, mouthy weyrling to
their Wing when they already had to suffer listening to Iskara and
Cosani? Life was _not_ fair, and this morning was proving it.

"Dragonrider or no," Cosani said. "If you come after me, I _will_ gut you."

Ç'pier swallowed the urge to make a quip about most women and the
preferred order of arrival, but he decided it was probably not the best
time.

"I would expect nothing less."

Iskara gave him a thin smile. "I'm kinder than she is. I'll just kick
you in the groin." She turned to face the front with impeccable timing
as N'mon hurried in, clutching an armful of hides and looking harassed,
but took advantage of his distraction to glance back over her shoulder.
"So stay away from us."

Ç'pier crossed his heart and held up his hand.

"All right, settle down, everyone." N'mon's eyes narrowed in suspicion
as he eyed Ç'pier, but he couldn't see any obvious signs of wrongdoing.
"As I expect you all know, we have two new wingmates joining us today:
B'lyse, rider of Azureth, and Ç'pier, rider of Yuliuth. I'm sure you'll
give them all the help they need to settle in over the next few
sevendays, and they'll soon be valued members of our Wing. Now, first
we'll be going over the report from last Fall..."

As the acting wingleader began to drone his way through his notes,
Iskara glanced at Cosani and rolled her eyes. "We should 'help' them to
stay on the ground where they belong," she whispered.

Cosani crossed her arms and leaned back. "That bluerider might be
okay." She wasn't sure he belonged in a fighting Wing, but being deaf
wasn't his fault.

Iskara shrugged. "We'll see. But there must be something we can do about
the other one."

"Greenriders." N'mon paused and gave them both a dour look. "Is there
something you wanted to share with the rest of the Wing?"

"No, sir," Iskara replied, all innocence. "Sorry. Please do go on with
your fascinating report."

The brownrider's frown deepened, but he appeared to decide against
making anything of it and resumed his reading.

Last updated on the March 19th 2025

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