A Valuable Pair

Writers: Len, Paula
Date Posted: 4th March 2012

Characters: Sh'lua, S'vin, G'wen, Catrien
Description: S'vin finds out why he's been put in the Queen's wing
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 18 of Turn 6

This was quite enough, Catrien thought to herself. First that other
day when S'vin was moping about because he had been involved in a
girl's flight and now the long face over being informed he was now on
the Queen's Wing. What was the big deal? She'd privately be pleased
if she and Oranth were also put there. Anything to keep her lifemate
'score free and happy.

"Come on, S'vin, you_could_have been a moron like G'wen here and have
been held back in the Weyrling's Wing." There, that should cheer him
up, she mused.

"Oh, thanks!" G'wen retorted, glaring at her from over S'vin's bowed
head. "I was_not_held back, I'm now on the weyrlingmaster staff."

"Riiiiight. You just keep telling yourself that, if it gets you
through the day..." She reached over and patted the small boy on top
of his
lovely head before chortling. G'wen, for his part, merely huffed and
crossed his arms.

S'vin sighed. He knew they were only trying to cheer him up but it
wasn't going to help. The Queen's Wing?! Why him? Hadn't Kadeth
proven himself one of the better weyrlings during the Blooding? They
hadn't even had a sniff of a close call, this was so unfair! He
blinked as he realised that G'wen was speaking, so lost was he in his
own thoughts he hadn't heard the beginning of what he was saying.

"...And so maybe it's just they want to keep all Queens together,
dragon and human. Oh, hiya Sh'lua."

S'vin stopped glaring at G'wen and his smart arsed comment to see the
older bluerider walking up to them.

"Hi ladies, S'vin," Sh'lua replied. "What's up, kids?"

"Lady? Who you calling a lady?" G'wen stood up to face Sh'lua..or
rather, Sh'lua's shoulder.

"Oh? You want me to use some less courteous word?" Sh'lua replied
teasingly. "Sweetheart, I still haven't recovered from Neath's
Flight."

"If you can't keep up, that's not my fault," G'wen teased back before
giving him a little kiss on the lips. "No, it's this one." He turned
to point at S'vin. "He's really down, they put him and Kadeth in the
Queen's wing and he wanted to be in a proper fighting wing."

"I'm not as young as you are," Sh'lua murmured and gave his rump a pat.

"Oh, yes, that one," he said when G'wen pointed S'vin. "I need to talk
about with you," he said to the younger bluerider.

"Yeah?" S'vin looked up at the older man and caught the pat on
G'wen's bottom, which made him even more miserable as it was a
reminder that he would never know what it was like to be a green rider
in a Flight.

"Gee, you look like you're bitten into a trundlebug. Come, help me
fetch drinks to all. What are you taking? "Sh'lua said and looked
around. "You're taking juice," he added to Catrien. She was weyrling
after all.

Whilst she pouted, G'wen said, "can I have just a tiny glass of wine?
Otherwise you'll have my da and Neath for round two."

"All right," Sh'lua replied, and gestured S'vin to follow.

The tall lad trudged off beside him. "Great, all I am now is a waiter
for some little greenrider too clumsy to duck...but you watch, I
bet_he_gets put into a proper fighting wing one day whilst I'm stuck
down at the bottom with all the riders too slow to fight properly.
It's so not fair."

"You're not stuck at the bottom, quite the opposite. They suspect that
Kadeth is a searchdragon, so they like to keep your hide intact. At
least until you're fully trained. New riders are most like to get
Scored. After turn or two in a Wing, the likelihood for injury drops
down. Besides, Hygalia needs some good riders to balance all those
half-infirm," Sh'lua explained. He ordered ale for himself and wine
for G'wen.

S'vin let the older bluerider's words sink in. Kadeth, a
Searchdragon? True, he_had_done well when they had a brief training
on it, but as nothing more had been said, he had thought his tiny blue
must not had done as well as he had thought. But now Sh'lua was
saying the opposite.

Blinking at the drinks before him, and nodding at the pint the barmaid
asked him if he wanted, he muttered, "so...what did they tell you?"

"That I'm starting to teach you in Search riding. If Kadeth has it,
you're valuable pair to the Weyr," Sh'lua told him.

"Really? Like..really?!" He nearly dropped Catrien's juice, he was
so excited! "When do we start?"

"Next time I go to Search, which is day after tomorrow," Sh'lua
replied and grinned.

**Did you hear that Kadeth?** The only response he got was a snore.
"I can't wait!" he told Sh'lua and--feeling impish--gave the man a
hug.

"Feeling better already? They need you there in Sienna wing, you
know," Sh'lua grinned.

S'vin rolled his eyes at that.

Last updated on the March 4th 2012

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A Valuable Pair