Worth More Than Just Sex

Writers: Aaron, Devin
Date Posted: 2nd June 2026

Characters: M'sar, R'bharra
Description: M'sar and R'bharra talk while their dragons play.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 3 of Turn 12
Notes: Follows "He Disrespects Us"
Mentioned: Galgaith, T'lonas (not by name)

}:Will you come play with me?:{ Nazoth's voice was soft and sad as he reached out to Reveroth.

}:I would love to! Are you sad, my dear?:{ Reveroth asked as she hurried to join Nazoth.

}:Galgaith got mad at M'sar and told us to leave. I only wanted talk to her.:{ Nazoth was standing with his rider outside the entrance to the barracks, shoulders hunched and eyes whirling yellow.

}:I'm so sorry she made you leave,:{ Reveroth landed nearby and approached slowly. }:Would a snuggle make you feel better?:{

}:Yes.:{ Nazoth hurried up to her and pressed his face against the green's foreleg.

"Thanks for coming," M'sar told her. "I . . . I fecked up and pissed off Galgaith and ruined things for him."

Reveroth gently nuzzled Nazoth with her cheek, and then she carefully reached out to boop M'sar with the end of her snout.

}:I will always come for you and your rider, if I can,:{ she told Nazoth.

}:You are very nice.:{ Nazoth crooned, feeling a little better already.

M'sar smiled at the green. She was the first dragon he'd met after coming to Dragonsfall and she'd Searched him, which led to him getting Nazoth. He was very fond of her and tension began leaking out of him as he reached up to rub her nose.

Nazoth half-turned with a flicker of worry. M'sar was thinking loving thoughts about another dragon, a _green_ dragon, like the one he sometimes thought about wanting. But . . . it was a nice feeling, better than the sad and angry feelings. And Reveroth was being very nice to Nazoth.

"I told him to call you cause I knew you'd be sweet."

Oh. M'sar was happy that Reveroth was being kind to Nazoth. That was okay. Nazoth nuzzled the much larger green. }:She said she will always come for us,:{ he told his rider. He stepped back to look up at her. }:Want to play?:{

}:I would love to play with you!:{ said Reveroth. She would have to be extra careful not to hurt the baby. }:What shall we play, my dear?:{

Nazoth tilted his head as he considered. }:Chase! Come catch me!:{ He bounded away as best he could with his chubby body.

}:Oh, I shall have to try very hard if I'm to catch you!:{ Reveroth moved in exaggerated slow motion after Nazoth, along with an exaggerated slow motion roar sound effect.

M'sar covered a laugh.

The yellow faded from Nazoth's eyes as they shifted to a happy blue. He managed a little more speed, glancing back at Reveroth. }:You must be fast to catch me!:{

}:Oh, here I cooooome!:{

Curious, R'bharra stepped up beside M'sar.

"They look like they're having a blast," he said. "Your boy is very handsome."

"Your girl is very pretty," M'sar said with a grin. He could almost forget about Galgaith's anger and Nazoth's distress. Almost.

"She is, isn't she?" R'bharra grinned. "How's your training going?"

M'sar shrugged. "Some of the classes are boring, but I like the stuff about taking care of Nazoth. I skipped class the other day and the stupid Weyrlingmaster made me go back."

"Yeah? What class?" R'bharra knew what it was like to be uninterested in something when it was not obvious how it was applicable or relevant to him. But he knew now that all of these classes had the ultimate purpose of keeping him (and others) from being eaten by Thread.

"Etiquette." M'sar rolled his eyes.

All right, maybe except for that particular class.

"Flame it." R'bharra snickered. "You understand it's hard for me to come up with a reason why that's actually super important. Thank Faranth, I'm not teaching that one. What did they tell you? You'll need to know these things for when you want to become a wingsecond? Or, I dunno, something something proper discipline and esprit-de-corps?"

M'sar laughed. "Said I had to learn patience and to do what I'm told."

Nazoth was still happily running from Reveroth. }:If you catch me, then I will have to chase _you_!:{

}:Oh, I will never be able to outrun you! Watch out, I'm almost theeeeere...:{

"Well, that's not nothing," said R'bharra. "At least, in the sky, if you don't execute quickly, you might _get_ executed even quicker."

"Think that's what they're really worried about," M'sar said. "That when us Holdless get up there fightin' Thread, we'll only look out for ourselves and let everyone else burn. Don't much care about people, but I wouldn't let a dragon get hurt."

"Well, there's that. But what I really mean is," said R'bharra, "sometimes, they'll be looking out for _you_. And if your first instinct is always to fight 'em on it, you might end up hurt or worse."

M'sar scowled. "So they're gonna let _me_ burn cause they don't like me?"

"They're gonna tell you how to keep from getting burned," R'bharra insisted. "And if your first instinct is not to listen to them, you might not have time for them to convince you. It might not seem like it now, but before long, almost everyone here is gonna look at you like you've always been here because of Nazoth."

The thought of that gave M'sar an odd flutter in his stomach. "I'm smart enough to duck when someone shouts 'duck'."

"I know you are." R'bharra smiled and patted M'sar's shoulder.

"Is that sarcasm?" M'sar asked with an arched eyebrow.

R'bharra laughed.

"You don't know me better than that by now? Shit, I was trying to be encouraging! Come on. You'll know if I'm taking the piss."

"Yeah." M'sar relaxed and then, unable to resist the urge, he bumped his shoulder against R'bharra's. It was something he'd seen his fellow Candidates do with their friends, something he'd done himself with playmates when he was a boy. Doing it now, though, it made him feel awkward and heat crept into his cheeks.

R'bharra leaned back against him without making a big deal out of it-- especially without remarking on M'sar's reddening face.

A tiny, hardly there smile tugged at the corner of M'sar's mouth. R'bharra made things so easy, and it felt good, but M'sar still felt a little too exposed and he wanted to get back on more familiar ground. "He's gonna be chasing her in a few months."

"She won't take it easy on him when he's grown," said R'bharra. "And she's fast in the air."

"All greens are. But browns can still catch them." M'sar smiled as he watched the dragons. "Glad they're already gettin' along. Might make his chances better."

"It might." R'bharra grinned. He would have loved to push that envelope further, but he was well aware of the distress it could cause Nazoth. So he left it there.

"How much longer til he starts flying?"

"Gonna be a month or so. I can't wait for that. Neither can he." M'sar chuckled. "He wants to fly now. Thinks he can do everything." His tone was full of warm affection.

"He'll get there," said R'bharra. "And I know he'll be great at it one day."

"He'll be great at _everything_."

"Before you know it!"

"It's hard to wait. There's a lot of things I'm waiting for." M'sar gave R'bharra a look.

"You and me both." R'bharra wanted to return the look, too, but he knew better than to feed that fire too much. So he kept his expression neutral. "They'll be worth waiting for."

M'sar was quiet for a moment, watching the dragons play. "I know we can't have sex for a while, but . . . thanks for spending time with me anyway."

"You're worth more than just sex, you know," said R'bharra.

M'sar's stomach did a funny little flip. "Still not really used to how things are here," he said quietly.

"It took me a few Turns to get used to it," said R'bharra. "There's just something about the Way Dragons Are that... well, it just makes things different from out there. They don't pick people who have nothing redeeming inside them. It might be up to us to actually redeem it, and half of us might never do it. But. They know where there's good seed to tend."

"I know he saw something in me. He picked me out of all those others, even though I don't like girls." The corner of M'sar's mouth turned up. Thoughts and emotions welled up inside him, and he struggled with the idea of saying something more. It was hard to be honest, even with himself. But R'bharra would understand. He'd been holdless, and now he was weyrfolk, and he seemed so . . . easygoing and happy. "I don't know how to live up to what he sees in me. Even when I feck up, like today, he still loves me and trusts me." M'sar wanted to be better, for Nazoth and for himself, but something in him kept fighting to hold on to who he used to be.

"As long as you keep trying to figure it out, you'll be on the right track," said R'bharra. "All you can do is your best. And he'll always keep loving you, no matter what."

It was a lot, to know that Nazoth would always love him, but he'd felt that undeniable truth from the moment of Impression -- bone-deep, heart-deep. Nazoth would never abandon him, never choose another to make his life easier. But by the same token, Nazoth was stuck with him. M'sar hoped he wouldn't screw up too much.

Last updated on the June 4th 2026

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Worth More Than Just Sex