An Interview, Sort Of

Writers: Halyonix, Heather
Date Posted: 4th February 2026

Characters: Tindral, Z'vallan
Description: Z’vallan wants to interview Tindral
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 28 of Turn 12

Z'vallan

He’d meant to interview Tindral _before_ the Hatching, when they were all Candidates, but time had slipped away from him. Now he had to nab a moment with her at breakfast before Weyrling lessons.

With his notepad in his left hand, Z’vallan carried a cup of klah in his right, and on top of it balanced a plate with a sweet pastry.

“Tindral,” he approached the younger Weyrling, “mind if I have a seat?”

Tindral, surprised out of her quiet thoughts, let out a squeak of surprise.

}: What’s wrong? What’s wrong? :{ Mdorith immediately asked, startled from her nap.

“N-N-Nothing,” Tindral answered, trying to calm her heart and her dragon.

“Nothing?” Z’vallan said in confusion as he waited, tray in hand, hovering over the seat across from Tindral.

Realizing that she had spoken aloud, Tindral made a small sound of despair. “N-No, not, not n-nothing,” she tried to explain. “I was talking to Mdorith a-and…”

}: Don’t apologize for talking to me, :{ Mdorith said stoutly. }: He interrupted you. No wonder you’re startled. He should understand that. :{

Tindral swallowed nervously. She was _not_ going ask Z’vallan to apologize for scaring her! But he _had_ asked nicely if he could sit, right? Timidly, feeling like she was messing up even a simple conversation, Tindral nodded her head at the open seat. “You…you can sit there,” she told him shyly.

“Thank you,” Z’vallan said, despite the hesitation. He was feeling a little less hopeful about his interview. Tindral seemed much more shy than he had anticipated. He decided to go for a more casual approach. “How is Mdorith?”

That was the right angle. Tindral immediately brightened. “She’s great! She’s…she’s um…she’s getting b-bigger. And bossier. But a g-good bossy, not a bad bossy. She’s making friends.”

Z’vallan nodded, feigning interest but glad to see that the question helped ease some of Tindral’s nerves. “Was this your first time Standing?” He didn’t open his notebook, yet. Like a wild runnerbeast, he didn’t want to spook her.

Tindral nodded once. Timidly. Like it was a bad thing.

**Well, shards,** Z’vallan thought. “Where were you before you were Searched?” he tried instead.

Tindral shrunk in herself. “Em-Emerald F-Falls. N-Near there.” She didn’t like being known as the Holdborn baby that had Impressed on her first try. Too many people had already picked on her for it. She didn’t want to add another person to that list.

“Oh, nice,” Z’vallan said. “I’m from that area, too. Not the main hold, but same territory.” Seeing her posture change, he tried a different approach. “Do you have family here at the Weyr? Or did you come on your own?”

The girl’s eyes made it clear that she had come alone. Alone in a big, big Weyr. She shook her head about the family question. “N-No f-family.” Just Mdorith. Mdorith who was pressed closely against her mind in that weird but wonderful way she could never describe to anyone who wasn’t a dragonrider.

Z’vallan’s eyes were kind as he said, “Would you like some family? I have a younger sister back home. She’s a little older than you, but I miss her.”

She wasn’t sure about this offer. So far, even though a lot of people at the Weyr had been nice, some of them had been bullies. Which bucket did Z’vallan fall into?

}: He seems very nice, :{ Mdorith commented. }: Polite. And Akariath is smart and personable. You should at least be friends with him. Friends are good! :{

Like she was proposing the end to the Charter itself, Tindral timidly answered with, “H-H-How about f-f-friends f-first?” It would give her time to decide if she could really trust Z’vallan or not.

“Of course,” he said with a flash of a smile again. This ‘interview,’ along with the others he’d been conducting among the Weyrlings, had given him quite an interesting set of statistics. Their ages ranged from very young to nearly too old and they had all come from such various places in life.

“What’s it like in the girls barracks?” he asked, changing topics, to hopefully something less personal. “It’s an untidy disaster on the boys’ side.”

The girls’ side was not an untidy disaster. Mostly because a lot of the girls, Tindral included, would not tolerate it. Tindral’s bunk was neat, with everything in its place. She couldn’t control much going on in her life right now but she could control that. “N-Not dirty,” she replied. “N-Not my b-bunk anyway.”

Seeing they had run out of topics and his breakfast was gone, Z’vallan began tidying up his area. “Well, consider yourself very lucky then, Tindral. I’m counting down the days until I can keep my own weyr neat and tidy.” He folded his napkin as he stood. “Thank you for letting me join you for breakfast.”

She should say thank you back but it had been a really awkward conversation and she still wasn’t sure what to say or think. Mdorith gave her a gentle nudge. }: Manners, Tindral dear. :{

So she nodded her head. “You’re um…you’re w-welcome.” Maybe being friends with him wouldn’t be weird. Maybe it would be nice.

Last updated on the February 21st 2026

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An Interview, Sort Of