Fostering Hatchlings
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: Devin, Iluva
Date Posted: 5th January 2026
Characters: R'lor, Th'reyos
Description: Kularth and Zarkarth discuss parenting.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 15 of Turn 12
The little ones were asleep. From his ledge, Kularth watched the barracks with his head resting on his forearms, the sounds of celebration drifting across the Weyrbowl. }:You have sired good, strong hatchlings,:{ he told Zarkarth.
Thirty-six.
Thirty-six new, vibrant, _perfect_ minds.
Zarkarth ghosted each of them like wind whispering between flower petals, careful not to disturb. Still perfect. Each one. The only caveat to this momentous day was that their arrival had also heralded the beginning of the end of his time here. There was no fairness in it, and it had only made him all the more enamoured with them.
When he finally tore his attention away, he said, }:Thank you, Kularth. They mostly have their mother to thank for that,:{ with no small amount of pride.
}:She is a very fine Queen, yes,:{ Kularth said.
}:They are 'handfuls' right now, according to Mine.:{ 'Fighters' was what the brown heard and thought with approval, even if one little mind was still occasionally fighting sleep down there somewhere. The whirl of Zarkarth's eyes came a little quicker through the darkness now. }:It's going to be so hard to leave them, though. Even with their mother here.:{
}:I will watch over them,:{ Kularth said solemnly. }:I love teaching the little ones.:{ Guiding them and seeing them grow was a great joy.
}:I'm glad you are so used to 'handfuls', Kularth, as I have the feeling many of them will stay that way.:{ Zarkarth chuckled, a small burst of relief subsuming the thought. }:Is Yours the patient type?:{
}:Mine is very patient,:{ Kularth confirmed. }:And he is kind. He is very fond of the young ones we teach.:{
}:Good.:{ He said with such firmness it almost landed like a threat.
Kularth bristled slightly, wondering if Zarkarth doubted his rider's ability to care for the weyrlings. }:We have cared for many clutches, even before mine became Weyrlingmaster.:{
At first Zarkarth didn't realize he'd offended the other dragon, his protective instincts possibly being worsened by the anxiety of leaving against his will and the not knowing of when, nor when they would be back. Th'reyos would be getting a migraine every day until it happened, though.
He refocused on the blue, and his tone immediately lost its bite. }: It is only that I am worried for some of them. Their riders, specifically. Vorlogoth's was not expecting him and there are so many small ones, almost too small. Human children don't grow as fast as we do, how will they keep up with my hatchlings?:{
}:They will because they must.:{ Then Kularth's tone softened, too. }:We will help them. It will be difficult sometimes, especially for the younger humans, but we will teach them to be strong, and we will teach your hatchlings patience as they grow.:{ He focused on the barracks, on all those new, sleeping minds. Ready to soothe them if they were upset their lifemates were out if sight, or coax them back to sleep if they were restless.
Zarkarth had been imbued with new understanding since arriving at Dolphin Cove. He'd caught someone precious, and they had made many more darling, precious things, and the fleeting feeling of it all now that it was all here, blooming before him, was something he wanted to chase after the way he did a gold. And sulkily, part of him wanted to point out that Th'reyos chased his highs, whichever ones helped him at whichever time, for however long.
That little thorn of reluctance to return to Dragonsfall was stuck in the poorly folded corners of their bond-- a new thorn his rider insisted wasn't actually there. But Zarkarth knew.
His eyes were still glittering a pale, iridescent yellow under the joy, but he had to admit Kularth's words were bracing-- reassuring for a first time sire when coming from a longtime teacher of small, precious things.
}:I know they will thrive here.:{ He acknowledged at last, his pride putting him more at ease. They were strong hatchlings. Pern's finest. Kularth said he would look out for them, and Zarkarth believed him, resolutely. He rumbled softly, }:What about play? Do you play with them too?:{
}:Yes. It is fun to play with them.:{ Kularth gazed at the barracks, all those precious new lives tucked in safely. }:I can never sire hatchlings of my own. But the ones I teach, they feel like mine.:{
Zarkarth winged over to a ledge not far from Kularth, a heavy thump in the dark. He considered them all from this angle, as if to gage a little more of the blue's perspective.
}:Forgive me, Kularth. I never considered you might want to sire or look at a clutch that way.:{ he said curiously, sifting through Th'reyos' mind amidst the slow-growing haze of inebriation. }:Mine calls those... 'nephews'. He is quite fond of those-- his.:{
The blue considered. }:Nephews. I have heard that word.:{ He searched R'lor's mind to understand better. }:Raising young that you did not sire is called 'fostering'. Yes, I like that. I will foster your hatchlings, Zarkarth.:{
}:Teach them never to settle for less than what they are, or what they deserve, and I'll be beyond pleased.:{ There was warmth in the brown's tone now, an affection that did not end at the hatchlings.
Their young belonged to the deep, wordless sense of rightness that filled Zarkarth when he found himself entertaining the smoke of human notions now. Thoughts of a future, of far away points glistening in the dark, waiting to be shelled. And somehow he knew -- as if it were a surreptitious thing for a brown to know -- that many futures would take wing because of their union. And -- that they would be watched, cherished, as though the blue had sired them here himself.
As Zarkarth's low rumble rolled through the dark, melding with the merriment and shimmer of laughter on the night air, he added warmly, }:And very, very grateful.:{
Last updated on the January 16th 2026