Firsts
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: Corrin, Heather, Noli, Sia, Yvonne
Date Posted: 25th July 2025
Characters: Ketlyn, N'kayden, Casmari, R'bain, N'tur, I'rad (NPC)
Description: Varinth rises for the first time.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 6, day 6 of Turn 12
**She's going to rise.** Ketlyn chewed her nail nervously as she stared down at the shining lump that was Varinth. Her luminous dragon refused to wake, even when her rider gave her a not-too-gentle kick to the thigh.
This was a milestone for any greenrider. Ketlyn felt like she should tell someone but couldn't think of anyone to tell except Kailis, who was likely to say, "yes, and?" Instead she returned to her weyr to change into a loose dress that hit her mid-calf, her riding boots and jacket, and a woolen hat to keep her warm while she waited by the flight cots.
Varinth woke soon after her rider arrived at the cots. She yawned and stretched, as supple as a feline. She felt... glorious. Hungry. Restless. Dragons were looking at her, dragons that had never looked at her before, and she preened beneath their gaze.
**Are you going to rise?**
Her rider's thoughts were an unwelcome intrusion. Varinth snapped irritably at the air. }:I don't know what you're talking about.:{
**You slept for ages, you've been shinier than usual, and you're grumpy,** Ketlyn went on, but Varinth had stopped listening.
Instead, the green dragon sat at the edge of her ledge, watching the dragons around her with an uncharacteristic intensity.
Aberath, from across the Weyrbowl, had seen the glow of Varinth’s hide. While she had yet to move, the young brown had gone to the feeding pens and dispensed with a fresh buck… just in case.
Taxaceth stared back at her. The klah-coloured brown had been minding his own business. That is, until he noticed how radiantly beautiful Varinth was looking. She was due to rise, and soon. And he would chase.
He did not give much thought to his poor rider. Nothing he could be doing was as important as this, now.
Graileth called to N'tur in the dragon infirmary. }:Varinth rises.:{ He was crouched, motionless, watching the beautiful green, prepared to chase.
Brinolth had settled on a ledge nearby, drawn by the siren call of her glow. His talons flexed against the warm stone as he eyed Varinth. They had grown up together, green and blue, but he had never shown her much attention before now. Now he watched her like he would a herdbeast about to bolt.
Remembering their weyrling lessons, R’bain took himself off to the flightrooms as he felt Brinolth’s stirring interest and confirmed the young blue meant to chase for the first time. It didn’t take him long to find the right flight room. Varinth meant… Ketlyn. Somehow that felt better than it being a stranger. He tried to smile, tried to find the easy confidence that he felt should come with his knots, the confidence girls liked. It came out shaky and strained. “That time, huh?”
Her eyes were unfocused as she turned toward him. “Hmm?”
“That time indeed,” a male voice answered as V’dryn approached, his golden-brown eyes on Ketlyn. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Zhomoth hissed with uncharacteristic possessiveness. V’dryn felt a rising sense of his awareness, what made him his human self, being slowly consumed by Zhomoth’s lust and determination, like a fever taking over. Boldly, he reached out to run one finger along Ketlyn’s chin.
“Take it easy,” a voice said as a hand slapped V’dryn’s out of the way - it was N’kayden. There wasn’t even a hint of a smile on the normally happy-go-lucky brownrider’s face. His eyes blazed with intensity.
V’dryn’s lip curled in a challenging snarl that he would have never done outside of a flight. He squared his shoulders, ready to fight. “Her flight, her rules,” V’dryn said. “You don’t get to tell me what to do.”
“Could you both step out of the way?” The annoyed hiss came from Casmari, of all people. The normally docile bluerider was elbowing her way through those gathered so she could get closer to Ketlyn. Outside, Sebiath had made the same move, flying to a closer ledge near Varinth.
N’kayden met V’dryn’s gaze. “Then don’t touch her without asking,” he said between gritted teeth.
V’dryn shifted another inch towards N’kayden. “What would you know about what she wants?” he growled softly. He wanted to fight N’kayden so badly but didn’t understand _why_. Logic had no place, just overwhelming emotion.
“Get out of my face,” N’kayden snarled, planting his hand in the middle of V’dryn’s chest and giving him a shove.
“Enough!” A draconic snarl echoed through the room as Ketlyn stamped her foot in a sudden rush of anger. This was _her_ rising, and those stupid boys" “Oooh.”
She swayed as Varinth snapped her wings open and leapt from her ledge, dodging past the bigger browns and blues in a streak of mossy green. Varinth bugled, her voice ringing clear and high as a bell. }:Too slow, too slow!:{
Sebiath lunged, cursing his instincts for waiting a fraction of a second too long before launching himself after Varinth. It was easy, however, to speed past the browns.
As N’kayden had on the ground, Aberath jockeyed for position in the sky beside Zhomoth. Blues and their speed! Still, the brown worked hard to focus on Varinth’s glowing form as she shot through the sky.
Zhomoth snarled at Aberath as he tried to edge around the bigger brown. }: She will not be yours! :{
}:And she would want a scrawny thing like you? I don’t think so,:{ Aberath snapped.
}:Varinth,:{ Sebiath crooned, ignoring the two idiots behind him. }:Your beauty is unparalleled,:{ he said, intent on wooing her properly.
Content to ignore the two competing with each other, Taxaceth chased after the others, unable to swerve as neatly as the blues but able to dodge out of the way enough to avoid the rivalry.
Graileth strained, pushing himself to fly _faster_ as he struggled behind the pack of chasing dragons. His brown hide gleamed in the sunlight as he angled on a new trajectory, hoping that it would bring him closer to his prize as he attempted to anticipate Varinth's movements.
The green slipped sideways in the wind, exhilarated by the flight and the attention. She turned on a wingtip, tumbled, flared her wings and shot upward"
Quick and nimble, blue Brinolth followed in her wake, weaving around the males that struggled to follow her abrupt change in direction. }:Clumsy, clumsy,:{ he laughed.
Zhomoth was also tight on the turn after her. If his tail lazily lashed out in an attempt to throw Aberath off course, who could say, but he was _not_ going to lose to the brown!
Sebiath raced neck and neck against Brinolth. He felt an overwhelming desire to prove himself in a way he had never felt before…. It was coming from Casmari, he realized. This spurred him on, even if his wings were beginning to tire.
Determined to ignore Zhomoth from here on out, Aberath flared his expansive cedar-brown wings in an impressive display of wingspan. }:Come, lovely, Varinth. I will fly you far,:{ he promised.
Still behind, but having managed to close some distance by angling upwards at the first sign of Varinth's acrobatic turn, Graileth also called out to the green. }:My sweet, none of these others matter. Only you and I. Oh beautiful Varinth, twine tails with me and we will fly together!:{ From the flightroom, N'tur urged his brown _faster_ as he sought to press closer in the mass of riders around Ketlyn.
Taxaceth only roared as he overshot the sudden turn and clumsily barrelled after the pack. I'rad, on the other hand, kept further away from the cluster. "Give her some space, boys and lady." He said mildly, more to tease than to actually do anything. "It's her flightroom. She chooses _you_."
Ketlyn was beyond choosing and well beyond herself. She was Varinth and Varinth was her" and Varinth’s wings were tiring. She dodged Zhmoth and had to dodge again when she realized that Aberath was far too close, and ended up nearly colliding with Sebiath. She pulled up as Sebiath’s tail grazed her flank and squawked in surprise as Brinolth grabbed her.
The heat of Brinolth’s triumph, of his need and pleasure and pride, flared through R’bain like a wildfire through dry brush. It burned away any remaining restraint. He lunged, shoving past V’dryn and N’kayden with a growl to seize Ketlyn in his arms. “Mine!** dragon and rider exulted together.
Last updated on the August 1st 2025