Don't Choke

Writers: Steel, Sia, KC, Iluva, Heather, Halyonix, Duskdog, Devin, Avery, Aaron
Date Posted: 19th November 2025

Characters: T'ian, Z'vallan, L'tos, I'thralos, Zaidi, Tindral, K'daen, R'lor, H'yazi, N'jen, V'kirin
Description: The weyrlings of Jossenth's clutch have their first feeding.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 15 of Turn 12

Z'vallan

Zaidi

R'lor

Though he’d fantasized about it a thousand times, the reality of walking off the Sands with a new lifemate was beyond anything N’jen had ever imagined. He scarcely felt the heat beneath his feet as they moved, one hand reaching even now in search of his dragon’s hide as Falgryth loped along beside and just ahead of him, muzzle raised to the air, sniffing.  

}:Food!:{ the blue declared. }:This way! I can smell it… we’re on the cusp of discovery!:{

In this early, confusing jumble of thoughts where it was difficult to separate his own from his dragon’s (and he wasn’t sure he even wanted to), N’jen tried not to share the thought that they were certainly not “discovering” anything -- they were, in fact, among the last on the Sands, and their clutchmates were certainly already eating, some among them perhaps even finishing.

The blue found out quickly, enough, though. Nearly all of their clutchmates were already present, in various stages of feeding their dragons.

}:Well,:{ said Falgryth, a trifle disappointed but clearly looking on the bright side (and perhaps increasingly mollified by the prospect of filling his very empty belly), }:At least there is food aplenty! Here we are!:{

  He shoved his face into the nearest bucket that appeared untended, chomping down meat with a very undignified “wahrblgarblblarbl!” noise.

“Falgryth, wait, you’ll choke!”

}:I suspect they forgot to tell you.:{ Iarlath somehow made licking the meat juice from his own face look dignified and suave. }:But you’re actually meant to eat the meat, not breathe it.:{ There was a warmth to the blue’s tone, no bite-- something between jovial and familiar.

H’yazi wiggled his fingers in a bit of a tentative wave at N’jen.

Sitting back on her narrow haunches (as well as her rider's foot) Zagaltiath's mindvoice was a shimmering laugh for her two blue brothers. }:What does ‘wahrblgarblblarbl!’ mean?! It looks fun. I want to try!:{

The metallic smell of fresh blood felt as if it was coating Z’vallan’s throat as he stepped into the feeding room with Akariath by his side. He hesitated as he looked around, but a Weyrlingstaff member motioned him to a feeding station and bucket.

}:Oh? Just for me? Good. I’m famished.:{ Akariath sighed dramatically.

V'kirin was so busy exulting in the inarguable existence of his dragon that he hardly noticed or heard anything until N'jen's blue started sucking down the meat like a tornado. **No,** he shook his head with what felt like an obscenely reasonable amount of patience, given she would never do anything wrong, which actually felt like denying her the world, somehow. **Because we don't want you to choke and you are better at eating than that, aren't you, sweetheart?**

}:_Yes_.:{ She gushed at the praise, jaws working diligently, but still eyeing Falgryth with something between curiosity and confusion (and newfound jealousy).

“Woah, woah!” R’lor hurried over to Falgryth. “Tell him to slow down or he’ll choke. Get his head out of that bucket and feed him each piece. Make sure he chews.”  

N’jen managed to haul Falgryth’s head up out of the bucket. “You hear that? The Weyrlingmaster says you have to chew!”  

}:Yes, yes,:{ Falgryth relented, a trifle impatiently. }:So long as I eat!:{ He glanced over at Iarlath, giving a good-natured huff. }:Well, friend, it all goes to the same place, does it not?:{  

N’jen returned H’yazi’s little wave. “Hi… congratulations on your dragon!”  H’yazi perked up and smiled.

“Oh, hi! Th-thanks! You, too! I…” What? Never really thought I would actually be here? One could never admit things like that. You could not give away the truth of where you came from if you wanted to stay where you were.

“I’m really glad to be here. With you all.”

K'daen and Zarenth finally made it over to the others, their progress somewhat hindered by the brown’s unsteady pace. K'daen wasn't worried though, he had seen similar instances in the past, he knew that eventually his dragon would grow and probably be on the larger end for a brown; and even if not there was nothing that could make him believe Zarenth was anything other than perfect.

}:Yes, and right now I'm perfectly hungry!:{

K'daen chuckled, both from the commentary and the feeling of Zarenth’s rich tone in his mind.

**Of course** he responded as he slid a bucket over and began to feed his new lifemate, deftly ignoring the hatchling’s desire to have the bucket of meat upended over his open mouth.

}: That is _my_ bucket of food and not yours, :{ Mdorith barked at one of her clutchmates trying to sneak into her feeding. A quick crack of her tail emphasized her words. }: Your rider will get you your own. :{

“S-Sorry,” Tindral apologized to the other weyrling for her dragon’s…well…Mdorith was _right_, right? It was her bucket and the other dragon had been trying to steal. “Maybe…um…go a little…a little that way?” Tindral made a shooing motion.

Bharboth snarled, jaws wet and dark, and made another swipe for the bucket. }:It is yours because you brought it over here, but now it is mine. Your rider will have to get _you_ more.:{

Zaidi looked on, horrified, eyes darting between the two dragonets, looking at Tindral with desperate, silent terror. “That's okay.” She whispered, wide-eyed, to her friend. “I'm sorry. I…” Bharboth snarled again, a big floppy mouth without many teeth. }:Don't apologize, _you_ are fine.:{

Zaidi shut her eyes, not feeling confident in that assessment despite the barrage of feelings flooding through her. **Sorry.”

}:Stop. Stop apologizing!:{

“Bharboth, c-come over here. Leave hers and I’ll get you some--" The girl let out a startled yelp as she went down, tripping over someone else’s blood-stained bucket with a hard smack on the floor.

Bharboth's head was still in the bucket--a bucket, someone's bucket as she roared, squeaky and gurgling against the iron.

}:Bharboth,:{ Kularth said firmly. }:You do not take food from others. You have your own bucket with your own meat. Give that back.:{

Vorlogoth's second bucket upended with a metallic clang as Zaidi tripped. The bronze was back on all fours again, snarling at girl and beast, wings unfurling again to make himself look bigger.

"Stop it." I'thralos snapped. He shoved the big head aside, using his body to push the dragonet into sidestepping right. He carefully lifted Zaidi to her feet. "Bharboth, you said? Picture a big, full bucket of meat and tell her it's over here. Can you do that?"

Zaidi looked up into the face of this tall, thin man she’d never seen before in her life (was _he_ a Weyrling, too?) and despite feeling so many things in this moment -- panic, horror, disgust at the slimy layer of meat juice coating her arms, and above all: confused -- she immediately scurried toward him, recoiling from the eruption of menace from the bronze. “I don’t… I don’t know. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” She clung to I’thralos anyway, regardless of who he was. She just wanted to get scooped up and carried away. But it wasn’t to be. Mdorith’s meal abruptly forgotten and indignant at being chastised by Kularth, Bharboth came barreling over with a mean squawk. The big green flung her swampy wings out at the bronze in return, challenging him for her rider and his meal if need be.

Oh _no_. Zaidi let out a whimper. Out of fear for whatever else could happen next, she reluctantly gave in -- she blinked nervously, imagining a bucket with its interior painted dark and red. **Want some, sw-sweetie?** A tangled feeling of her stomach both clenching and growling followed, part of her nauseous while another salivated.

}:Yes, _now_.:{ Bharboth nosed I’thralos away, big mouth working in the air at him like a threat.

"Yeah, yeah, you toothless wherry- I SAID STOP IT." I'thralos pushed at the green nose but then quickly moved to smack the rumbling bronze chest with his outstretched hand. Vorlogoth stopped, more from confusion than from pain or the command itself. "Stand _down_, Vorlogoth. You've made enough of a mess today. You wait for your clutchmates to calm down or you can get put to bed."

Vorlogoth growled an answer but folded his wings and took an awkward step back. Yeah, I'thralos thought so.

"There you go, little miss." I'thralos said, his tone a little gentler now that the bronze had stepped back. "Don't let their ugly mugs scare you. She won't hurt you. Though you should go get a food bucket for her. Tell her to follow you."

K'daen was vaguely aware of the small commotion, the majority of his attention focused on the brown miracle made manifest that was finally slowing down in his demand for food. The dragonhealer-now-rider remembered his lessons on the dangers of letting the newly hatched dragons eat to fast and potentially harm themselves by biting their own tongues.

}:I am more than able to eat without biting my tongue:{ Zarenth told his rider with only a slight bit of indignation coloring his mental tone, that was also begin to sound drowsy.

**And I am very sure of that, still its my job just to make sure** K'daen assured his brown, his own mental tone laced with humor.

Zarenth didn't reply, only began to slowly chew another piece of meat, whether from trying to be careful or because he was fighting a yawn K'daen was not quite sure.

Z’vallan wished he had a notepad in his pocket, but the blasted Candidate robes offered no such amenity. He wanted to chronicle all of the excitement of the Hatching and now of their first task, feeding their dragons.

}:I’ll remember for you,:{ Akariath said confidently.

**I’m sure you will,** Z’vallan replied, not wanting to burst his new lifemate’s bubble. He vowed as soon as he returned to the Weyrling Barracks that night that he would journal _everything_ immediately to remember as many details as possible.

Tindral felt _horrible_ for Zaidi. Maybe she shouldn’t have something about the bucket. It was all her fault for suggesting it. She should apologize.

}: Bharboth was in the wrong for stealing from me and she’ll learn not to do that in the future. Don’t apologize for being right in asking her to go somewhere else, :{ Mdorith remarked sharply. She was licking the bucket clean of blood as Tindral held it. It was gross how much the dragon was enjoying the taste of her first bloody meal but Tindral didn’t say anything. She had her eyes closed and was looking away. }: There, :{ Mdorith declared as she sat back, satisfied. She licked her muzzle and then yawned. }: A nap is in order now. :{

“O…Okay,” Tindral answered. She started walking towards the Barracks, intending to lead Mdorith there, but the green charged out ahead. “N-Not so far!” Tindral didn’t like the idea of Mdorith being even that short distance away. What if she fell?

Mdorith looked back at her rider with patient exasperation but she planted herself still. }: Tindral, it’s going to be _okay_, okay? If I fell, you’d take care of me and if you fell, I’d take care of you. :{

“O…Okay,” the little girl answered with a spreading smile.

}:You're all making quite a mess!:{ Hallisenth declared as she marched into the feeding area. }:Let's have some order, _please_. We will all get as much as we can eat, right Mine?:{

L'tos winced. “Of course, Hallisenth.” He assured. “Just come over here and I'll feed you. Let the Weyrlingmaster handle… whatever is going on.”

With Falgryth eating properly, R’lor turned his attention to Zaidi. “Have you got a handle on her now? Don’t let her steal from her clutchmates. There’s plenty of food to go around.” The largest green choosing the smallest girl was certainly an interesting pairing.

Zaidi stopped herself from asking I'thralos to come with her. She gave him an appreciative and still violently desperate look, reluctantly leaving his shield so he could tend to his own upset baby dragon. That one was terrifying in a whole different way than hers. “Bharboth,” she said uneasily, even though she knew, like she knew her own name, that her dragon loved her more fiercely than anything. More than the food she screeched for. ‘More than anything’ It was a little frightening. Her body had never felt such love and terror and anger all at once. Meat was the only thing that mattered in any of this, even so.

“No. No, no.” Zaidi nudged her grumbling green away and then almost blindly around the room.

It took an uncomfortable amount of time diligently avoiding anyone’s bucket before they found the unclaimed ones and by then Bharboth was ravenous, so she clutched one tightly against her chest, trying to breathe.

Drool flooded their mouths and Zaidi cringed, not liking that, either. But how to get her dragon to eat carefully like the others?

She couldn’t remember the few lessons she’d had, so her voice was a hopeful declaration of, “Sit!” as if Bharboth were one of her canines.

}:Why?:{ Bharboth didn’t budge, her big orange eyes storming. }:I can eat standing up.:{

“You have to… S-sit, girl.” She thought for sure that would work.

A flailing feeling of _want_ ran hard through them as Bharboth nosed the bottom of the bucket, a rough protest. }:What I want is to _eat_, Zaidi. And that's done with my mouth. Now. Give it, give it, giiiiive iiiit.:{

Zaidi paled, nearly spilling it. “Chew, okay? Chew it really, really good.” She waited until the green’s head bobbed in a weirdly person-like agreement, then, with a deep breath, gingerly set the repulsive thing down.

A minute later, “Bharboth! You _promised_ you’d chew!”

Bharboth only got around to thoroughly chewing when she realized it made her rider calmer, and therefore her meal more pleasant. She seemed to do well with it after that, despite the guttural grunts that sounded otherwise. Pausing as a man suddenly approached, she grumbled her suspicions of his motives.

Zaidi wasn't sure she did have a handle on her. The euphoria may have been the only thing saving her from falling into the deep pools of conflicting emotion dotting their bond. And hunger. It was horrifying how the sensation gnawed at her belly, even as it ebbed away a little more with each morsel.

Looking up at R'lor like her father had just caught her doing something dangerous, her brown eyes swam with untapped emotion. Everything felt fast and tingly since the sands. Zaidi felt another rush. Embarrassed. Ashamed-- despite Bharboth’s quick reminder that she wasn’t supposed to. “I'm sorry, Papa,” she blurted loudly. “She's doing fine now.”

R’lor bit his lip. “You should feed her each piece until you can trust that she’ll chew properly.”

“Oh.” Zaidi didn't know what to do. Well - she did. She had had a few very confusing candidate classes, and understood the Weyrlingmaster's words right this moment. Grossness aside, calling the man ‘Papa’ aside (what?!), the very last thing she wanted was her dragon to _choke_, so she yanked the bucket up a little unsteadily despite the protesting squawk chasing it, and just… reached a hand into the bucket.

Oh. So cold. Solid. But - squishy. Slimy. Slippery. Wet. _Yuck_. Bharboth snapped for it, and Zaidi dropped it into her mouth like it had been startled out of her hand, landing in the green maw by coincidence and want rather than aim. “Like this?” She asked R'lor hopefully, nervously, her own belly hurting, too, but for other reasons.

“With a little more confidence,” R’lor said gently. “I know you can feel her hunger, and her impatience, but do your best to calm her. To help her trust that she _will_ get enough to eat, that she doesn’t need to rush you or take food from others.”

Feeling emboldened by R'lor's approval, Zaidi reached in again and offered her dragon-- her beautiful Bharboth-- another morsel. **I'm going to take care of you and you will never be hungry again,** she promised solemnly with everything she had in her.

Bharboth's eyes whirled faster. }:_MORE_!:{

“Good.” The Weyrlingmaster patted her shoulder, keeping one eye on the pair while scanning for any other problems.

“It won’t all be so chaotic,” said H’yazi to N’jen. He was not sure whether he was trying to convince his fellow weyrling or himself. He needed to be… safe. And the best way to get to safety was to pretend you belonged there well enough to convince those who truly did.

“Everything is going to be all right.”

“I hope so,” N’jen said. “I thought we were going to have to move, if that mess started to get out of hand.” He gave Falgryth another piece, stroking his head lovingly as he chewed. “I’m sure he can handle Bharboth, but better not to have to. I’m sure they’ll all be in a better mood once they’re properly fed.”

  }:Indeed,:{ agreed Falgryth. }:Breaking shell was hard. We’ve not ourselves when we’re so hungry, I think.:{

T’ian nodded in agreement with N’jen. “My oldest brother is always right angry when he’s hungry in the morning, and so is my uncle. I learned early on to not talk to them before they had their breakfast or else they’d snap my head right off. It’s like without klah and a full belly, they’re old watch-whers who snap at every little thing going on by…”

}:More,:{ Thazareth informed him, interrupting his chain of conversation.

T’ian reached for a second bucket of meat and began pulling out the pieces for Thazareth while he kept chattering with those nearby.

Last updated on the December 30th 2025

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Don't Choke