Bless His Heart
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: Halyonix, Noli
Date Posted: 13th June 2025
Characters: Y'rim, N'tur
Description: Graileth fails to impress Quiroanth with his hunting skills.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 6, day 13 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentor Approved by Heather
Quiroanth was coming in for an arrow-sharp landing on a wherry when a shadow covered her approach, startling the flock. }: Oh, watch it! Watch it! I’m hunting! Oh, blast. There they go, :{ she cried to the other dragon.
Graileth wheeled around in the air, his neck extended, searching for the source of the voice. He spotted the green and adjusted his approach to land near her. }: Oh dear, I'm sorry about that. Would you like me to go catch you one? I'm rather a good hunter, you know.:{ The brown was half-sheepish, half-excited at the prospect of being able to rectify his error with an impressive kill to present the female dragon. He bobbed his head at her, confident that he could charm his way out of her righteous irritation. **Watch it, sir,** N'tur tried to warn his dragon. **You've not had much luck lately with the ladies.**
In response, Quiroanth tucked her wings close to her sides, cocked her head at the errant brown dragon, and said, }: If you would be so kind. :{ She may as well let the larger dragon do all of the work if he was going to offer.
}:My luck is changing.:{ The brown shot back at his rider. }: Now please get off so I can go get the most beautiful green Quiroanth her lunch.:{
N'tur laughed silently to himself as he unstrapped and dismounted. **Every green you speak to lately is the most beautiful, eh?**
}:Yes.:{ Without even a hint of irony, Graileth launched himself skyward and sped in the direction of the fleeing wherry flock.
“Apologies, Y'rim,” N'tur grinned amicably as he approached the place where the greenrider was waiting. “He's not himself lately.”
Y’rim was leaning against the fence. He raised his eyebrows in agreement. “He’s doing his best, bless his heart,” he said. Some dragons took Turns to grow into their skins. It seemed like Graileth was going to be one of those. Unlike Quiroanth, who was dainty and graceful from the day she Hatched.
}: Biased, :{ she tossed back at her rider adoringly, who just smiled.
N'tur felt a flicker of annoyance at Y'rim's comment, though he couldn't pinpoint exactly why the phrasing irritated him. He forced himself to shrug it off and chuckled. “He really wants to impress the greens these days. I thought he would have mellowed a bit by now, but it seems to be getting worse with each chase.”
“Oh, sometimes all they need is a bit more practice,” Y’rim suggested. “Quir’ll be happy to race him, if he wants. She loves that.”
Before N'tur could respond, Graileth appeared in the sky above the riders, bugling triumphantly as his wings beat slowly to hold himself in position. In his talons, he indeed gripped a wherry" the scrawniest, most pitiful wherry that N'tur had ever seen his dragon catch. His stomach sank as the brown angled downwards to present the offering to Quiroanth. He did not expect the green to be impressed.
**Shards, old boy, where did you find that one?**
}:It was struggling to keep up with the flock. I wanted the big one, of course, but this one was a quicker hunt.:{ Graileth was feeling too much pride in the rapidity of his kill to notice his riders anxiety about it's quality.
**Well, now she wants to race you.** _Perhaps he can redeem himself._ N'tur kept that thought carefully private. His heart swelled proudly over how hard his dragon tried… yet the brown always seemed to miss the mark lately, and N'tur wanted desperately to find a way to salvage this situation… for Graileth's sake.
Quiroanth tried not to appear offended at the paltry offering but Y’rim felt it clearly. }: I’ll hunt more later, :{ she told her rider as she bit into the wherry. It was stringy, chewy, gristly. She sighed softly. }: Thank you, :{ she said to Graileth out of obligation.
“Well, it was nice of him to catch one,” Y’rim remarked, equally trying to be polite but feeling sorry for Quiroanth. **You can have Abaroath catch a better one for you,** he told her. That cheered her up.
Graileth stretched, eyes whirring contentedly as he watched Quiroanth eat. }: You're welcome. I am sorry again about scaring them off. I do hope you can forgive me.:{ He edged closer to the green. }: I would like it if we could fly together sometime. Do you like to fly? You look so beautiful when you are hunting.:{
**Graileth, heart, please stop.** N'tur saw the brown inching his way closer to the female dragon. Unlike his dragon, he could read the green's body language enough to see that the wherry had been a disappointment. To Y'rim, he responded: “It's my fault, really. I spend so much time studying, we don't get out enough.”
“Oh, you should! Barrier Lake territory has some _amazing_ sights! Look for them when you go sweepriding, especially towards the northern side. Quir and I found this quaint little meadow with so many flowers. I made a flower chain harness for her.”
N'tur smiled amicably at Y'rim while simultaneously keeping an eye on his now-deflated dragon. He was frustrated, feeling almost paternal anxiety for his life mate. The brown was taking these repeated rejections hard, and N'tur was going to need to get Graileth's mind redirected soon.
“Thanks, we'll check it out. I doubt Graileth would want a flower harness, but we do love taking in new views.” He straightened from where he had been leaning beside Y'rim. “Speaking of sweeps,we probably better get going. We have one scheduled for in a few candlemarks.” And he stepped forward to meet his shuffling dragon.
“Have fun,” Y’rim answered in a sing-song voice, quietly ready to be rid of the dragon pestering Quiroanth at least. Though the rider wasn’t too bad. Oh, well. They couldn’t all pair perfectly.
Last updated on the June 22nd 2025