A Moment to Breathe
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, Yvonne
Date Posted: 2nd September 2025
Characters: Ketlyn, R'bain
Description: Ketlyn and R'bain come to themselves after Varinth's first time rising.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 6, day 6 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: V'dryn, N'kayden, Casmari
Notes: Follows 'BLW: Firsts'
Ketlyn started up at the ceiling in the flight cot and marvelled at how strange Varinth's flight had been. Secretly she'd been sure that V'dryn's Zhomoth would win. Varinth liked Zhomoth, and she liked V'dryn. Very much.
Then the area around the flight cot started filling up and everything got hazy. She remembered seeing N'kayden and Casmari, and not for the first time wondering what it would be like if Casmari's Sebiath caught Varinth instead of a dragon with a male rider. Better Casmari than a stranger, and perhaps the rumors were right about women knowing what to do between the furs much better than the boys did. V'dryn had been great to sleep with...
She sighed, then summoned up the courage to look over to see whose arms she was nestled in, and was shocked to see R'bain looking back at her. "Um, hi?"
"Hey," he breathed, mustering a crooked grin. His dark hair was tousled and his face flushed from their recent exertion. He was clearly a little winded, a little dazed-- and enormously satisfied. "Shells, that was-- I mean, wow, right? It felt like I _was_ Brin, you know? Like we were one..."
He trailed off, tangled in the memory, in the sensation of Brinolth laying with Varinth in their shared afterglow. Then he remembered himself. "Was it like that for you too?" He glanced over at her, gauging her mood, and his expression turned teasing. "You look about as surprised as I feel. Were you expecting someone else?"
"Ah-- honestly, I was just hoping to survive the experience." She managed a guilty smile. "I was kind of expecting a stranger to catch Varinth."
R'bain chuckled warm and low against her. "Yeah, I don't blame you. This was Brin's first time chasing... I always knew he was good in the air, but I figured one of the more experienced dragons would have the edge-- or Zhomoth. You and V'dryn always seemed tight."
"Yeah. I... yeah." Ketlyn made a face as she sorted through her hazy memories of what had just happened. It felt like trying to recall a dream. "Did... I don't really remember what happened after Varinth started flying. Do you?"
"Bits and pieces," he shrugged. "It was pretty intense once the dragons were in the air. I _do_ remember N'kayden shoving V'dryn though. Hard. Shards, I thought they were going to get into it for real... And N'kayden is usually so laidback, and V'dryn so proper."
He glanced sidelong at her, expression turning a little sheepish, though he was grinning still. "I remember wanting to jump in. Not to stop them, but to join in-- it just... made sense. Brin was chasing, the other dragons were in the way, and suddenly I felt like throwing punches. Like _that_ would help him win."
"Shells, that really happened, didn't it?" She rubbed her hands over her eyes, embarrassed. She was _not_ worth fighting over. "The weyrlingstaff said that emotions would be.... well. I thought that was when the dragons caught each other, not before. I'm really glad nobody was hurt."
"Well, their pride may be," laughed her flight winner. "But they should survive. I don't remember it getting beyond bickering and pushing-- unless they took it outside after the Catch."
She bit her lip and tried to quell the urge to leap up to sort things out, feeling awful for being the one that had sparked the dispute in the first place. But V'dryn and N'kayden were also adults, and probably had been more in tune with their own senses than she'd been. She still felt blurred and fuzzy at the edges of where the girl ended and the dragon began. "I hope not. Um. I... I don't really know... I should probably let you get going. You probably had things to do."
"Probably had things to do-- Ketlyn! This wasn't an inconvenience," R'bain laughed. "This was the greatest thing to happen to me since flying or Impression, probably. It was a-- a honor."
"Look," he continued. "I won't keep you if _you_ have things to do, but I'm planning to milk this win for all it's worth. It's not like I can report to drills with Brin all cozied up with Varinth. I have a free day ahead of me, and I plan to enjoy it. I'm thinking a nap and then a trip down to the kitchens for a snack, if you'd like to join me."
A whole day to herself, and it wasn't even a rest day?! Ketlyn felt the candlemarks stretch ahead of her as luxuriously as a feline. "I don't really have things to do, but there is no way I can sleep after that! Maybe... I should probably bathe, but let me know when you're awake again. I could use a snack." And maybe if she was lucky, the kitchens would have some cake to celebrate her first flight with. She felt like she should do _something_ to mark the occasion.
Last updated on the October 3rd 2025