The Downward Spiral

Writers: Emma, Anaria
Date Posted: 28th August 2010

Characters: J'klin, K'sedel
Description: J'klin is late to wing drills, and is disciplined by K'sedel.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 13 of Turn 5

K'sedel

J'klin awoke late the morning after Soravath's mating flight. Once
he'd bathed and got into properly attire, he found himself unable to
get settled down, and the brownrider spent several hours walking
around the corridors of the Weyr, chiding himself mentally for what
had happened. Less than desirable green flights were inevitable, a
part of Weyr life that most riders adjusted to withing a few turns
after Impressing, but they were controllable. If you didn't want to
participate, you could leave the Weyr - it was that simple. But he'd
been drunk, as he found himself spending many of his rest days
recently.

J'klin was typically an early riser, especially on days like this one
when he had early morning Wing drills. More often that not, as soon as
Rukbat had made it's way over the cliffs, J'klin was awake and tending
his riding straps or washing Nimyth's hide. Today, however, it wasn't
a comforting early morning light that awoke him, it was Nimyth's
worried voice.

}:Ridermine... I am supposed to tell you we are late for drills.:{
J'klin was awake in an instant. He was in the Weyrleader's Wing, he
couldn't afford to be late for drills. If Nimyth was waking him, the
Weyrleader had already noticed his absence, that was for certain.

J'klin stumbled from his cot, quickly disentangling himself from his
sleeping furs. It was at this point in time he had three more
revelations, all displeasing to him. Threadfall had been two mornings
prior, and he hadn't even had the presence of mind to *look* at his
riding straps, let alone adjust or repair them any. He ran to get
them, putting them on Nimyth with speed born of many Turns of
dragonriding. They didn't look too bad to him, but he didn't have time
to examine them thoroughly. The second revelation was even more
displeasing. He'd been wearing his good riding leather's prior to
Soravath's flight, and in his haste had left them at Mardria's weyr.
he would need to wear an older pair that were slightly the worse for
wear. Third, and perhaps most importantly, he had been too wrapped up
in wine and his own problems for the past few days, and had neglected
to properly wash Nimyth, so the brown dragon still smelled somewhat
faintly of firestone.

**Let's get to wear they're holding the drills. Try to keep a distance
though, Nimyth. I don't want them looking at us any more than they
have to.** J'klin instructed, mounting the brown dragon quickly.

}:Alright.:{ Nimyth responded, somewhat reluctantly. Within a few
moments, the pair had approached the area where the day's drills were
to be held, and J'klin heard Nimyth announce their presence to
Nikornath.

**Let's hope he goes easy on us...** J'klin thought, half to Nimyth,
half to himself. In fairness, he typically took his drills very
seriously, and was normally early for them, not late.

"Glad you could join us," K'sedel said in an even tone with what seemed to
be a casual glance as J'klin finally arrived. "We'll talk about this
later."

While J'klin was glad that the Weyrleader didn't single him out in
front of the entire Wing, he cringed internally. A private
conversation would make it more evident how sloppy he looked. J'klin
took a deep breath, and took a look at the Wing. They were already in
a V-formation on the ground. J'klin took his typical position on the
left side of the V, near the center. While Nimyth settled into his
position, J'klin quickly checked his straps one more time to ensure
that he didn't have a potentially dangerous accident during the
drills. He then focused his attention on the Weyrleader, awaiting
instruction.

Drills commenced, and ran for the usual time. As K'sedel released the
riders, he gestured to J'klin.

J'klin fought the urge to kick at the dirt like an errant weyrbrat as
he approached his Weyrleader. Instead, he forced his back straight,
and his head up, ready and willing to take whatever K'sedel was
planning to give him. "I apologize for my tardiness, it won't happen
again." He stated quickly, before taking a deep breath.

"Do you want to tell me why it happened?" The tone of the Weyrleader's voice
left no doubt that there was only one possible answer to that question, and
it definitely was not 'No'.

Despite his 30 Turns, J'klin felt his face flush. "Well, you see it's
like this..." He started, cringing to himself. No good story started
with those words. "I was celebrating my rest day with a bit of wine,
and Nimyth noticed that a green was about to rise, so I let him chase.
I didn't realize it was Soravath's flight. So.... um... we won..." He
felt himself start to stammer. "I may have been a bit indecent as I
left, and then I had a hard time getting to sleep as a result." The
excuse, while true, seemed feeble, even to the brownrider's ears.

K'sedel could understand some of that, it wasn't as though Sorovath's rider
didn't have a reputation for chasing the younger men of the Weyr. Even so,
the issues were some that should have been covered in Weyrlinghood, after
all, it likely would not be the first or last time that J'klin woke up with
someone that was not his personal choice due to being a rider.

"You've been a rider long enough to know how things work," it was a
statement. "That is the kind of behaviour I expect from a newly graduated
rider, not one with several turns in the wings."

}:You have been sad a lot recently. And you're drinking more.:{ Nimyth
stated to J'klin, his mental tone sad.

J'klin sighed audibly. "I guess that's not really the root of the
problem." He told K'sedel. "I left Dragonsfall several Turns ago,
hoping to make a new life for myself. And I really don't feel like
I've done anything with myself since I got here." J'klin felt somewhat
weak confessing this to his Weyrleader of all people, but this
weakness was impacting his performance as a dragonrider, so he figured
it was only fair that K'sedel knew the truth. "I've... I've been
drinking too much recently. I've been drunk and depressed to the point
where my dragon feels he needs to do something to knock me out of it.
And... I feel terrible, because I do have Nimyth, and that is more
than a lot of people can ask for..." He fumbled, throwing up his
shoulders.

"I ought to ground you for that," K'sedel told him. "But you've been honest
enough to admit that you feel you have a problem. Instead, I'm going to ask
that you see a mindhealer to talk this through. And I will expect to see
regular reports about your progress." The Weyrleader looked the brownrider
up and down. "If the healers ground you, I expect you to abide by that."

J'klin started to protest, but hesitated a moment, letting his
Weyrleader's words sink in. He examined what had happened that day.
Using unchecked riding straps, not having his mind in the right
place... these were both things that could hurt or kill him, his
dragon, or even another rider. He nodded solemnly. "Thank you, sir."
At another Weyr, with a less empathetic Weyrleader, he could have been
in a much worse situation, and he was well aware of that fact. "I
appreciate your understanding."

"Now, go. I want to hear that you have set up an appointment today, and I
do not want to have to talk to you again about this, is that understood?"

"I'll head there right away, Weyrleader." J'klin stated. Nimyth landed
beside him, and he mounted the brown dragon quickly.

"Good," the Weyrleader said.

Last updated on the September 22nd 2010

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The Downward Spiral