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

Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall

Story Listing
Series Listing

Weyrling Training

Writers: Aaron, Steel
Date Posted: 24th March 2026

Characters: L'leb, T'thalin
Description: Aurelth bothers Roxarith
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 2, day 16 of Turn 13
Notes: Mentioned: Cirina, M’kadja

}:Ah, there you are.:{ Aurelth tickled Roxarith’s mind. It was not as though his bronze brother was hiding, but Aurelth was not looking for him in a physical sense. }:Were you sleeping?:{

Roxarith snorted, and lifted his head, freshly oiled bronze hide gleaming in the afternoon light. }:I am definitely awake.:{ the bronze responded. }:Hello, Aurelth.:{

One whirling blue-green eye regarded his clutchmate. }:What are you doing?:{

}:Watching you,:{ said the brown. }:You glisten very gloriously.:{

}:I am!:{ Roxarith declared, pleased. }:... Come, brother. We can practice marching as our riders do. This way.:{

}:Will you make Melciroth march in the green position?:{ Aurelth purred, eyes whirling green themselves.

Roxarith snorted, and arched his neck proudly. He remembered the incident only dimly, but his rider did, and that was enough for the currently-gangly young bronze to mantle his wings as his tail lashed. }:If he intrudes I shall.:{ he declared. }:No, it shall just be the two of us at this time. I will demonstrate my own skill, and yours.:{

}:Ohh.:{ Aurelth was intrigued. }:I would certainly love to show you what I can do.:{

}:Let us hone our skills together!:{ Roxarith declared, pleased. }:Aurelth, you shall take my right flank!:{

Which was, of course, when T'thalin arrived.

}:Your rider is here,:{ said Aurelth as he posted up in ‘formation’ beside Roxarith. }:Shall I summon mine as well? I have been sending him wafts of what we are doing, and he is curious.:{

“What are you doing, Roxarith?” T'thalin asked, unknowingly echoing Aurelth from only a little bit ago.

The bronze fanned his wings, and then settled them. }:We are training, Mine. Just as you do.:{ A pause, and then he sent approval to Aurelth. }:Yes. Summon Yours. We will show them our excellence.:{

}:I can feel you watching,:{ said Aurelth to L’leb. }:Come watch with your own eyes. Roxarith’s rider is here.:{

“Hey!” L’leb greeted his classmate as he arrived. “So they just started running drills on their own.”

“Hey.” T’thalin greeted, in response. “Yeah… I think it was Roxarith’s idea.” he offered. “Never mind it’s technically a bit of, um, free time right now. Do you… want to watch them?”

“Yeah, they look pretty smooth, right?” L’leb beamed.

“They do.” T’thalin confirmed, and offered a smile. “Roxarith, um, insists on a full detailing every time.” He added. “But he really _is_ a handsome bronze. And, um, Aurelth looks really good too.”

“Oh, thanks.” L’leb smiled with pride. He had been doing his absolute best to keep him well oiled and clean, after all. “I mainly meant the way they're moving, though. They look like they've been practicing.”

“_We've_ certainly been, um, practicing enough.” T’thalin offered. “I think he's sort of drawing on that? Look at them go.”

Despite his currently gangly build as he grew and filled out, Roxarith was all but marching along in the lead, head held high and neck arched proudly.

Aurelth, on the other hand, looked more like… well, maybe a dancer. Or a snake. A snancer. He matched Roxarith’s movements fairly well, and when he missed a movement, he recovered with an impressive grace.

“There they go!”

“... Come on. Let’s, um, follow them.” T’thalin suggested, and got back to his feet. “... Make sure they don't get in too much trouble.”

}:I would never.:{ Roxarith asserted simply, and turned his head back briefly to gaze at his rider with one scintillating blue-green eye.

}:I would,:{ Aurelth purred deviously.

**I know.** T'thalin thought back, unable to keep from smiling at the bronze’s certainty and affection.

**I know,** answered L’leb, grinning just a touch at his brown’s unpredictability.

The bronze picked a direction and set off.

T’thalin followed. “So… you aren’t from Barrier Lake either?” he asked L’leb after a long moment.

“My accent gave it away?” asked L’leb. That was a common tell. “I’m from a hold out in the islands north of Dolphin Cove. I was here visiting my brother, the technician, when I got Searched, and I figured, why not watch the Hatching from the Sands before I go home? Aurelth decided I should stay.

“What about you?”

“I heard one of the Weyrlingmasters mention it.” T'thalin said, after a moment. “I'm from… Dragonsfall. But… before that, um… IwasHoldless.”

}:You are not Holdless now.:{ Roxarith told him, with utter certainty. }:We are here, mine, and here is where we _belong_.:{

Ohhh, was that why he was so… tentative about everything?

“Well, I'm glad you made your way here,” said L’leb. Holdless hardly meant anything on the island. There was no way to get there unless you had business there. “Now I'm not the only outsider.” Cirina hardly seemed out of place, and even if she did, L’leb doubted she would have been any more interested in leaning on him than she was. No, he had clearly ruined all that forever, and she already had her friends here.

“... Thank you.” T’thalin told him, almost startled. “We aren’t the only two, though. Cirina and, um, M’kadja aren't… from here. Either.”

He offered L'leb another smile. “At least our two dragons are getting along?”

“They are! I guess we’re a regular class full of outsiders, aren't we?” L’leb doubted crying about Cirina not liking him or assuming M’kadja wanted nothing to do with him would do him any favors with anyone, so he kept it to himself.

“I think Roxarith decided Aurelth is, um, his friend.” T’thalin offered.

}:Turn here. Stay in step.:{ Roxarith told Aurelth. }:You are doing well.:{

“Of course! They’re brothers, aren’t they?” said L’leb. He was close enough to his brother that he would travel across the world to see him. And get stuck there with him. “My brother stayed here, too, instead of going home after I Impressed.”

“... Roxarith and Melciroth are, um, brothers too.” T'thalin muttered, shoulders hunched slightly, before he rallied. “... I want-- I mean, I know we'll be, um, trained on how to get to other Weyrs, but… I don't mind it here. I might… stay. Even after Roxarith’s big enough to go where he wants.”

“I hadn’t even really thought that far ahead,” said L’leb. “I figured I’d go back to the island whenever we felt like it. Aurelth is going to love it-- just hearing his voice in my head is like being there again on the cliffs above the lagoon with the ocean breeze in my hair and the stars sparkling on the water…

“Anyway, I think my brother wants to stay here forever and just couldn’t manage to say so before. So… maybe I’ll stay here with him, too.”

“We’ll be able to go anywhere, when they’re big enough.” T’thalin agreed.

Last updated on the April 1st 2026