That Dreaded Talk...Mating Flights!

Writers: Ames, Anaria, Len, Paula, Suzee
Date Posted: 9th May 2011

Characters: K'ale, E'naer, G'wen, S'vin, Cardella, J'nor
Description: The Weyrlings have THAT lecture!
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 6

K'ale

Cardella

Oh dear, this was the lecture he was dreading, G'wen thought to
himself. It was certainly going to be a day for squirming and red
faces, that was for sure. Already there were a few girls looking
mortified and E'naer hadn't even opened his mouth yet. In becoming a
green rider, G'wen knew this was in the cards, but even so, the thought
of waking up next to someone he might not know or might not like made
him nervous. And the thought of being hurt...

}:Don't worry, I'll choose a nice bronze for you,:{ came Neath's
confident reply.

He glanced over to his lifemate, who was still one of the larger
dragonets in the group. **Blue dragon, you mean, then. A bronze
would be the worst, for me**

}:Why? Bronzes are for the queens, they're the best!:{

**For you maybe** Oh yes, he was dreading this moment in his young
life. He sighed mightily and directed his attention to the
Weyrlingmaster third.

K'ale pretty much knew about mating flights having been raised in the
weyr. He'd even experienced the broadcast emotions of a gold flight a
time or two though his parents had assured him that when it came to
Imalkyth it would be vastly more intense. He kind of knew what was
coming. He'd even felt a mild interest in his link to his brown lately
when green's rose. There was nothing approaching desire but he could
tell the activity was drawing his attention. All of that didn't make
him any more comfortable with the subject in this setting.

E'naer watched the class to settle in. This was one the most
interesting lessons. They weyrlings reacted usually with two different
ways: they either rolled their eyes and tried to look jaded or blushed
and giggled.

G'wen wasn't either of those. He resolutely kept his eyes trained on
the ground before E'naer's feet. If he had any look, it was resigned.

"Well, with that expression you may not need this talk, no one'll want
their male to fly Neath!" S'vin sat down next to his small friend and
gave him a quick hug to let him know he was only teasing. He, for
one, was quite surprised to be on the male end of this talk, so
certain he was going to be chosen by a green. Unlike G'wen he would
have gladly woken next to some handsome male rider. Now he had to
think about the dreaded possibility of waking next to a female! His
expression glumly fell into an echo of his friend's.

J'nor sat down near behind G'wen, reaching in front of him to grip his
friend's shoulder comfortingly. "It could be worse," he said, "We
could be getting this lecture from one of the old aunties or retired
greenriders." He shuddered mock dramatically.

"Yeah...really." G'wen leaned his head into J'nor's hand, comforted
by his presence. "I wouldn't mind if she was caught by you...or even
K'ale and S'vin." He crinched his face at S'vin, who looked horrified
at the thought. "No, you don't understand. It's not about lust or
who you like or anything like that. It's about not being hurt...and
being respected. I mean, what if I woke up to someone who hated
me..who had..y'know, really hurt me during the Flight?" That first
time with F'neb had hurt enough...what would it be like with someone
who had no idea what it was like with a fellow male? He shook a bit
at the thought of it all.

K'ale heard G'wen and his complaints but he was struggling with the
fact that at some point in the future he'd wake up with his arms
around a man. The man could be any green rider older or younger. It
could even be one of his friends He wouldn't have the choice. But he
would not deny Imalkyth in anything he chose to chase, well except
Solith or even Racheneth. He'd take him away before that happened.

That was part and parcel of being a dragon rider. He only hoped E'naer
had some words of wisdom for him.

Cardella, who normally chose seats closer to the front for
their classes, had this time chosen a seat more in the back, with her
friends. She was utterly mortified that they would be having an _open_
discussion about what happened between people and dragons. She had known
this was coming, but she still found it hard to completely shed the
thoughts she'd been raised with all her life. No one _ever_ spoke openly
about such things in the Hold. She tried to give G'wen a reassuring
smile when she heard his words, but she thought it might have come out
more as a grimace. She clenched her hands together in front of her, as
her anxiety of this whole discussion and what it _really_ meant weighed
heavily on her mind. At least, the one good thing was knowing that she
and G'wen would never have to wake up beside one another, but that
thought didn't lift the burden she felt at knowing she would have to
give herself to some man, friend or not, each time Awenth rose.
What if she _couldn't_ do it?

"Come on guys, it'll be okay," S'vin said, slipping an arm around
Cardella. "You guys might_not_wake up next to some pimple face like me
or K'ale. You_might_wake up to some hunky guy like M'shan or Sh'lua."
He knew G'wen liked the blue rider and got a nice blush from his friend
at the thought. "And you never know, K'ale might get a cutie like
Hanni, and I might get..."

"T'bel!" G'wen gleefully said.

S'vin blanched and deflated. "Thanks for that. Remind me later that
I actually hate you."

She smiled weakly at the boys, trying to still her own racing heart.
"I just can't imagine being so...free," she whispered. Sure, she'd had
sex with J'nev that one time, when she felt her heart was telling her
it was right. Even though she wasn't sure yet whether it was just lust
or love between them, she still couldn't imagine finding herself in
bed with...just anyone. She took a deep breath as she listened to
S'vin's words. For some reason she couldn't quite explain, she felt
her stomach twist into knots a bit at the thought of K'ale waking up
beside someone like Hanni. Why she felt that way she couldn't explain
even to herself. She _wanted_ her best friend to be happy and find
himself good partners. "At least none of this is actually going to
happen _soon._" She mumbled. She really didn't know if she'd _ever_ be
ready for this.

"It'll be here sooner than you think, girl, just be prepared," S'vin
said, turning to G'wen. "Remember how early J'rel's green rose? He
was in the middle of class too!" Quickly he shut his mouth when he
saw the glare G'wen was giving him.

"Okay, ladies and gentleman, quiet down!" E'naer called and knocked
the lectures table with his knuckles.

J'nor looked up attentively when E'naer called for order. He had a
feeling that he was one of the few weyrlings present that wasn't
nervous about the whole lesson. Sure, it was going to be awkward, but
J'nor had come to terms with what being a bluerider meant, as he had
discussed it with O'ryn in the past. It meant he could finally pursue
his feelings regarding other men without fear of persecution.

K'ale turned his attention back to their instructor and tried to hold
himself still. He didn't need to borrow trouble and worry about the
future. It hadn't seemed to bother his da, so he'd just have to roll
with it.

Still feeling small and helpless, G'wen leaned against J'nor. What
would it be like if his blue flew Neath? Or K'ale's brown? At least
K'ale would be good for a laugh and a pint after. Not like some of
the horror stories the boy had heard, growing up in the Weyr.

"As you know, female dragons Rise to mate on regular interval. On
greens the cycle is about three months, Golds rise around twice in a
Turn, give and take month or two. Various things can throw a dragon
off-cycle; injury or rider's injury, a incident that upsets the
dragon," E'naer started with the basics.

**So far, so good,** Cardella thought. She did know this part, though
the thought of having to sleep with a possible stranger nearly once
every three months left her shivering a bit.

E'naer proceeded with explaining the signals for a green nearing her
Rising and how it affected her rider too. "So, you're not dealing just
with a proddy green but with a proddy greenrider too."

S'vin laughed at the thought of either G'wen or Cardella being proddy
and covered his mouth, less E'naer tell him off. G'wen gave him a
hard elbow in the ribs for good measure, knowing the giggling was
about him.

Cardella's eyes opened wider at E'naer's comment and she just _knew_
her face had infused with color. **So, not only are you going to have
to sleep with some random rider, but the whole _Weyr_ is going to know
about it before it happens, too.** Cardella wanted to groan and hide
her face in her hands. Would she really survive all this?

K'ale couldn't help thinking he'd love for those to to just shut their
traps. They were acting like children. He crossed his arms and sent a
scowl toward S'vin.

E'naer continued explaining the actual mating flight. "So, the
dragon's rider has no choice of who wins the flight, although rider's
preferences can sometimes affect the dragon's opinion too. Most greens
pick males they know and get along with, so if you have regular mate
and your dragons spend lot of time together, it's likely she chooses
him. However, some greens are known not to choose the same male twice.
While some greens show preference to blues, some notably like more
browns or bronzes, so stop smirking you bronzeriders. You have even
less influence over the Flight's outcome than the green's rider. You
have to be prepared to wake up with someone like _me_." He paused to
let the laughter die away. "Males are not always interested in every
flight but if they show an interest towards greenflight you absolutely
don't want to take part, the only way to stop is to take your lifemate
out of the Weyr, and fast, before the Mating lust really sets in. Some
of you have relatives in this weyr. You must stay aware, when, for
instance, your mothers green Roses, so you can leave the weyr in
time." Somethings were still taboo, even in the weyr.

G'wen glanced around at some of the bronze riders. If he woke up next
to any of that lot he would just be sick on the spot. Why did Neath
have to be so fascinated by them so much? If he_did_have to sleep
with_any_bronze rider, the feeling of disgust was certainly going to
be mutual.

Cardella hadn't thought about _that_ aspect of things. So, sometimes
things didn't go the way the other riders wanted either. It still
didn't lesson her discomfort, but it did help her realize she wasn't
the only one who might be feeling the way she felt.

Last updated on the May 12th 2011

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That Dreaded Talk...Mating Flights!