Celebrating

Writers: Paula, Eimi
Date Posted: 24th April 2008

Characters: E'naer, T'mahl
Description: T'mahl and E'naer share a beer to celebrate the flying Weyrlings
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 20 of Turn 4

"What a day," T'mahl sighed as he flopped back on his sofa, bottle of brew in hand. "Here's to our now _flying_ weyrlings."

"Aye," E'naer agreed, lifting his own bottle of ale. "I feel like I've been inspecting dragonets and their wings whole day."

"It was so much easier when they were newly Hatched," the Weyrlingmaster nodded. "But I think all in all, it was a fine day."

"Yes. Couple of them bear watching out. They were too eager to fly,"
E'naer said, closing his eyes.

"Yes, I was not happy when Sp'rell and Adalith had to be ordered down."
And even less so when the blue proved to have strained his wings.

"I had to tell M'delon to come down too. Fortunately his brown is strong one and wasn't strained. Adalith needs few days rest to recover."

T'mahl snorted softly. They all would have liked to have stayed up longer. Like all youths, they felt they were invinsible, even more so on the back of a dragon. He tried to search his memory to try to remember if he had been called down, or if he had known not to push Uluruth too far. Though he could remember little snippets of that day -
green tunic he wore, the smell of newly oiled straps, the fact that rain had pelted his face as he launched upwards - he couldn't really recall how long it lasted or how it felt other than the knowledge that he had enjoyed it. "Is it strange, E'naer, that I can't really remember that first flight clearly anymore?"

"It is," the greenrider admitted, trying to remember that day. "It was winter, and I had a little cold," he mused. "I remember how beautiful Eillispeth looked, and how nervous I was. But the actual fight?" he shook his head. "I do remember nearly been flamed later in the training, when a blue turned his head at the wrong moment. He was just squirting out a long flame."

"I remember almost colliding with another bronze that had drifted out of formation. Luckily Uluruth saw him and to action before we could actually touch, but I do remember I could feel the wind of his wing beat as we dove under him." Tangled wings could result in shredded sails or broken bones... It would not have been pretty.

"So many things that can go wrong..." E'naer mused. "And this is depressive subject. We should be celebrating."

T'mahl blushed slightly. "I'm sorry. I'm not known for my impressive social skills."

"Well, I am and I say we should forget near misses and concentrate on fact that we have gotten all junior weyrlings airborne, without too many injuries."

"We did," the Weyrlingmaster agreed. "I think it couldn't have gone any better. You were a great help today, E'naer, and I just want you to know how much I appreciate you."

"Thank you," E'naer said modestly, but inside the greenrider glowed.
Who didn't like praise?

"You know, I was thinking. We still have a little time before the weyrlings will go /between/ for the first time. Why don't you take a few days off. I'd give them to you. No one has worked harder over this last Turn than you. You deserve a break." It was at least some small reward for his Third's loyalty and devotion.

"Thank's, I'll need that," E'naer smiled. "Maybe there's gather or market day somewere where I could go," he mused.

"Do you have family somewhere you could visit?" T'mahl asked curiously.
He really knew very little about E'naer personally.

"I have mother at the Opal Cove Hold, so I go there pretty often. I try to overtalk her to retire and move here with us," the greenrider told him.

"Retire? What does she do?" **A kitchen worker, midwife, headwoman...** T'mahl tried to think of all the jobs women were allowed to do outside the Weyr.

"She's a cook," E'naer replied. "And she swears if she leaves, the kitchen will fall into a chaos."

"My mother was never much of a cook. She always complained about the heat of a stove, which is ironic since she is a glassmith." T'mahl smiled a little at the memory. His mother was coming close to retirement herself, though she didn't seem to be ready to slow down at all.

E'naer smiled. "I knew a glass smith once, he got very good lungs,"
his smile was slightly rancious.

"Good lungs?" T'mahl asked curiously, wondering if perhaps the smith sang as a hobby.

"For a blow job," the greenrider managed to keep his face deadpan.

The Weyrlingmaster quickly covered his mouth to prevent beer from spraying all over the greenrider. Shards, did he have to go there?
They were talking about his _mother_ for Faranth's sake! Well, no, he was talking about his friend, but by association... He quickly swallowed what was still in his mouth and flicked dropplets of beer from his hand.
"I guess that's not something I tend to think about when I think of glassmiths..."

"No, you don't" E'naer agreed with a laugh.

"I don't think its something I _want_ to think about." Even at his age, he would rather believe he had been Hatched of an Egg than think of his mother in that way. "Let's talk about something else, shall we?"

"What about?" E'naer asked.

T'mahl fell back on the topic he always took sanctuary behind. "So next comes jumps /between/..."

"Don't you ever think anything but work?" his 'third asked.

The bronzerider snorted softly as he studied the beads of condensation on his glass. The truth was he thought about a lot of things, but nothing other people seemed to find interesting. "I just lead a boring life, I guess."

"Perhaps you need to cheer it up. I have female-friends..." E'naer suggested.
He was not going to let him fall back to talk about work.

"That's supposed to be the solution to everything, isn't it. 'Lonley?
Find a girl. Work too much? Find a girl. Bored? Find a girl. Have trouble talking to people? Find the right girl and you won't need words.'" T'mahl shook his head doubtfully. "I've had girls, E'naer.
Sex doesn't fit anything, it just delays it for a while."

"Hey, it works for me!" E'naer protested, "expect the girl-part, of course." But deep down he knew T'mahl was right. It didn't solve anything. Just distracted you for a moment. He had never settled down to just one or weyrmated, he was afraid that people wouldn't like him anymore when they learned to know him better. Somewhere behind his concious mind haunted the beatings he had received in his youth from his supposed friends when he had confessed his feelings for them.

"It's not that I don't like finding a woman now and then, don't get me wrong. I mean, sometimes you just... _need_ to, you know?" But then there was the inevitable awkward silence that followed. Outside work, T'mahl had always felt somewhat invisible, like part of the scenery and not part of the party. He became a lot more noticeable in a party of two and in those situations he always felt like he was a bit of a let down. T'mahl had just never been one of those witty, charming bronzeriders. "Women... they expect things from bronzeriders. They look at your knots and they already have an image in their heads. But when I open my mouth... I can play the leader, I just can't be...
everything people want me to be."

"And why should you be?" E'naer asked. "I fit into the image of wantom green rider because that's how I am. I know greenriders who are loyal to one person or how are shy and reticient."

"I'm a great listener, though." It always saved him from having to talk. "Why don't you talk for a while?"

"And why don't we just have another beer?" E'naer suggested evasively.

T'mahl drained the last and handed the greenrider a mug. "Another sounds good."

Last updated on the May 1st 2008

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