Maulings and Brawls
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Devin, Sia
Date Posted: 28th December 2024
Characters: R'lor, M'thos
Description: R'lor and M'thos chat about the Hatching and weyrling chaos.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 22 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: V'tian, M'kayre, R'enh, T'lonas
R'lor caught up with a few acquaintances as he made his way through the Dining Cavern, and then he spotted the Weyrlingmaster Second. R'lor didn't know him, but he felt more comfortable approaching a greenrider than a bronzerider. "Weyrlingmaster Second M'thos. My duty to Fianwyth."
Fianwyth supplied the name so quickly that M'thos hardly looked surprised before grinning widely and clapping the other man on the shoulder. "Weyrlingmaster R'lor," He said, his tone lilting with amusement, "Sure glad you aren't the Weyrlingmaster here, after today. May your next class be much less eventful."
R'lor laughed. "You certainly seem to have your hands full." After hearing about the absolute chaos at the weyrlings' first feeding, he selfishly felt much better about what had happened at Dolphin Cove's Hatching. A few maulings seemed minor in comparison. Sure V'tian had blatantly ignored all the warnings to get out of a hatchling's way, but no one had gotten into _fights_.
"You may notice some of our darling weyrlings have been sent to bed without supper. Some being children of _prominent_ southern riders." M'thos continued cheerily, because if he didn't laugh he'd be livid. He didn't, of course, name drop neither M'kayre nor R'enh, but expected the man knew which ones he referenced. "My own son included. Tomorrow will be a rough day for us all."
"I don't envy you that at all." A mean voice in R'lor's mind whispered that for all the judgment he'd gotten for being a bluerider Weyrlingmaster, a _bronzerider_ had been in charge of this disaster. He pushed that thought away and went on in a lighter tone. "But I'm sure you'll straighten them out."
M'thos chuckled with a shake of his head. "They'll straighten themselves out. I vaguely remember my first sevenday with Fianwyth. We weren't model students, either. They'll figure out what's a dragonet-thought and what's a person-thought and _hopefully_ have second thoughts about brawling over raw meat. And even if that doesn't, no dinner is a powerful motivator."
R'lor nodded. "But despite all that, congratulations on your new weyrlings." He held up his glass.
M'thos grinned again, raising his own glass in response, his tone warm but still tinged with the dry humor that had carried him through the day. "To surviving the first sevenday," he said with mock solemnity, "for both the weyrlings and those of us lucky enough to be responsible for them." He tapped his glass lightly to R'lor's, his expression softening for a moment. "Despite the chaos, there's something… humbling about watching all those new bonds form. Makes it worth the headaches."
He paused, taking a sip of his drink, the motion casual, but his gaze lingered for a beat longer than necessary. He leaned slightly closer with a conspiratorial gleam in his eye. "Of course, if the next sevenday starts with another brawl, I might consider handing the lot of them over to you. Dolphin Cove's weyrlings must be paragons of discipline if we seem so entertaining by comparison."
"A few maulings and other injuries, thankfully nothing serious," R'lor said. "Otherwise they were a pretty typical class. Still, it was a relief when they graduated." People might judge him, a few certainly were, but no one could say that he'd failed to teach his first clutch. "Yours might be a handful, but the hatchlings all seem strong and healthy. The new queen is certainly . . . robust."
"Robust is one word for her." M'thos said with a chuckle, "You're right about the rest of the clutch, though. The queens set the tone, when they grace us with their presence. Though, hearing your Dolphin Cove stories, we might be doing just fine. A ‘few’ maulings? That’s an impressive understatement. Makes a feeding brawl seem downright civilized."
"One of yours got a little sliced up," R'lor pointed out. "We had one Candidate too thick headed to get out of the way of a bronze, and the dragonet threw him aside straight into another boy." R'lor sighed. "_That_ was unfortunate, but they both safely Impressed. The other incident was purely an overeager hatchling, not anyone's fault."
"Out of all of them, that was the kid I expected." M'thos said easily, "And he didn't behave erratically. That blue looked like he could have Impressed him. And, well, the girl he did Impress makes sense. Any hatching where there's only one or two infirmary trips is a successful one. We've come a long way from the times where kids were getting killed."
"I can't believe they once threw a bunch of weyrbred kids, much less _holdbred_ ones, on the Sands with no training and just hoped they'd survive," R'lor said. There were some horrifying things in the records.
"Imagine Impressing a dragon that you just watched murder people." M'thos added, "The most important moment of your life tied to that? How can you reconcile the two things?" He shrugged, still grinning, "I'm a harper by trade, it makes me _extra_ dramatic, as my sons say."
R'lor chuckled. "Thank Faranth those days are behind us. Makes our jobs seem easy by comparison."
M'thos raised his glass again. "To progress, then. May our jobs keep getting easier." He took another sip, his eyes scanning over the bustling cavern. "On the thought of _progress_, how are you doing being the first blue Weyrlingmaster?"
"Good, I hope," R'lor said with a little smile. Then he went on more seriously. "I like it, but it's a lot of pressure. The job always is, but I'm also representing every other bluerider that might come after me. If I fail they won't just blame me, they'll blame it on my dragon's color." He tried not to dwell on it, but he couldn't help it sometimes.
"All greenriders, too." M'thos added with a grin, "You know how we're always lumped in together. So, y'know, no pressure. Good on you, though. I'm quite happy to give T'lonas that responsibility. Do you want an introduction. I'm sure he'd love someone to compare notes with."
"Yes, thank you. I would appreciate that." R'lor probably should have approached the Dragonsfall Weyrlingmaster himself, but he was a bit intimidated. A bit worried about being presumptuous. What if T'lonas shared the attitude of M'talis, the Weyrlingmaster he served under at Rising Moons?
"No problem. Follow me. Prepare yourself, he's an experience." M'thos said with a wide grin that hinted that perhaps, T'lonas was not. "He may even have a notebook to trade."
Last updated on the January 1st 2025