Enough is Enough (2)
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: Kane
Date Posted: 4th March 2026
Characters: S'kawa, N'amsa, S'neik
Description: Naskamek's efforts to annoy Sanneik do not go unnoticed
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 16 of Turn 13
Shooing was the furthest thing from Naskamek’s mind. It wasn’t the first time he had heckled his eldest brother while he trained and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. His ear still smarted from the guard’s cuff, and he rubbed it indignantly while eyeing the circle of men with renewed calculation.
Sanneik had the attention of everyone there. Guards laughing, watching, cheering when he knocked someone down. Not even just guards, a few residents and riders had joined the crowd to spectate the training. It was deeply unfair.
His gaze flicked upward instinctively, scanning the nearby rooftops and ledges.
No sign of Chisel.
Good.
That blasted firelizard had an uncanny sense for when Naskamek was about to “improve” a situation. More than once the little taupe menace had dive-bombed him mid-ambush on Sanneik’s orders. Naskamek had tried _very seriously_ to obtain one of his own to level the field. The problem was logistical. Every plan he devised required getting to a beach where firelizard eggs might be hidden. Unfortunately he had no dragon and apparently “borrowing a runner without permission” was considered a flaw in his strategy.
One day, though.
One day he’d have his own.
Then Sanneik would see.
Until then, he would have to cope.
Instead of shooing off like the guard suggested, Naskamek drifted casually toward a nearby supply wagon where a pair of drudges were unloading sacks of grain beside two enormous draft beasts. The animals stood with the long-suffering patience of creatures accustomed to human foolishness, tails swishing lazily.
Opportunity presented itself.
With the nimble disregard of someone who had never met a rule he liked, Naskamek scrambled up onto the wagon bed. The wood creaked beneath his boots as he climbed, but he planted his feet proudly atop the grain sacks and surveyed the yard like a Lord addressing his subjects at a wedding Gather.
From up here, the guards looked smaller.
Perfect.
He spread his arms wide.
“I could take all of you,” he declared loudly.
The guards turned, then burst out laughing.
Sanneik groaned without looking. “Get down you turd.”
“Cowards!” Naskamek declared. “All of you!”
He loaded the slingshot, aimed at Sanneik’s boot and released with an unnecessary flourish.
The pebble snapped past one of the draft runner’s ears with a sharp whizz.
The animal shied violently.
A hoof slammed down inches from a drudge’s boot.
The laughter died instantly.
Sanneik was moving before the wagon even stopped rocking.
Three strides carried him across the short distance. He vaulted the wagon’s side in one clean motion and grabbed Naskamek by the back of his shirt.
“What the... HEY!”
Naskamek twisted like something wild, elbows flying, feet kicking. Sanneik hauled him roughly down from the wagon, holding him at arm’s length, the boy’s feet barely touching the ground as Naskamek thrashed like a feral tunnel snake.
“Let go!”
“You nearly got someone crushed!”
“Nonsense!”
“You fired a rock at a runner’s head!”
“It was a warning shot!”
“TO WHAT?”
The guards were laughing again now that the danger had passed, though the drudges were still muttering darkly.
Naskamek continued wriggling with heroic determination.
Sanneik didn’t budge.
High above the stable yard, on the ledge of his weyr, S’kawa watched the entire scene unfold.
Tectonth had alerted him earlier to the sparring below. At first he’d simply watched and observed Sanneik’s footwork, the strength in his grappling, the cheers from the other guard when he turned a disarm into a victory. Accolades well earned.
Pride flickered and S’kawa once again wondered, as he did each time his eldest son had left a Hatching empty handed, what was it that dragons wanted, if not that? The qualities were there. Strength, courage, stubborn resolve. A wild spirit contained but not extinguished. All the things good riders were meant to have.
And yet...
He sighed. While he had long ago stopped trying to understand the reasons one Impressed and another didn’t, he couldn’t help feeling it was somehow a failure that none of his children, despite the numerous eggs these days, had Impressed.
Not one.
}: Maybe you need more kids, :( Tectonth offered.
S’kawa’s mouth twitched despite himself.
His attention returned to watch Naskamek’s proclamations from atop the wagon. It was impressive in its sheer audacity. The boy was hardly shy.
Then the slingshot cracked.
S’kawa’s expression changed immediately.
Below, Sanneik held the youngster firmly while Naskamek fought like a much maligned feline.
"Almost twelve," S'kawa voiced his thoughts out loud.
Enough is enough.
The time of unfettered freedom was over. Firmer boundaries were clearly needed.
Like twinned cobalt arrows, S’kawa’s firelizards launched in unison to deliver a summons.
Last updated on the April 1st 2026