Private Lessons: Formations As Foreplay (2/3)

Writers: Devin, Emma
Date Posted: 1st November 2026

Characters: D'miran, M'sar
Description: D'miran helps M'sar study formations.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 16 of Turn 13

A shiver ran through D'miran's, and instinctively, he lifted an arm as if to slip it around M'sar's waist, draw him closer, his lips parting... He caught himself, and drew on every ounce of self-control he could muster to place his hand over the brownrider's fingers, lightly pushing away his touch. Pride demanded that even if he couldn't say no, he'd at least make M'sar work for this. "Study first."

"Formations as foreplay. That's a first for me." Oh, yeah. D'miran wanted it bad. How fun that M'sar still got to debauch holder boys, even at the Weyr.

"I mean it. If you don't pass my test, you'll go back to your weyr alone." D'miran stooped to gather up his work, keeping a wary eye on M'sar as he did so. "Come on in."

M'sar followed him. "I gotta know where me an' Nazoth are supposed to be, and where everyone else is supposed to be. I _do_ understand that some things are actually important."

"I should hope so." D'miran gathered an armful of his carefully made notes from the shelf over his desk and spread them out, doing his best not to be affected by M'sar's distracting presence. "Luckily, it's not as complicated for you. Mostly, browns and bronzes are up front, steadying the line behind the leader. It's us blues and greens who have to move through the more complex patterns," he added, unable to resist a small dig. "But you're right, you do need to know where everyone else should be, so... let's start with a simple V and go from there."

M'sar was so tempted to keep flirting, but he did need to learn and this way he could get help without actually having to ask for it. And there would be a reward at the end. Besides, if he didn't take this seriously enough, D'miran might use it as an excuse to back out. "All right, so . . . if Nazoth is here and Elamith is here, we can both move this far, but then we gotta move back, yeah?" he said as he traced a finger over the drawing. "So we don't flame anyone or mess up the formation."

"Right, and so Thread can't get through the gap. Keeping the shape's important, too, because they all have different uses. These V-shapes are good for bad weather and high winds; they can cover Thread coming from all directions, and the bigger dragons protect the smaller from the worst of the gusts." D'miran lightly traced arrows from all sides towards the lines of the shape, his enthusiasm for his studies overtaking his sense of who he was with. As a boy, he'd once traced out formations with a stick in the dust, and now he was flying them for real. "Then you need to learn how to switch between them - so, suppose Nazoth is here, up front, and the Wingleader calls for a change from forward to backward V..." He pulled out another drawing. "What would you need to do?"

M'sar frowned in thought and ran a finger from the place Nazoth would be in the forward V to where he should be in the backward V. "Gotta move back here, and Elamith would be in front of us."

"Right, if the Wing stays in place overall, then Nazoth has to back-wing and Elamith flies forward, but not so far as the greens out on the end, so the line flattens and then reverses..." Absorbed in the role of teacher, D'miran sketched out the shapes. "But if we were flying forwards into Fall rather than holding our position, then you'd just need to slow and let the dragons on your outside overtake, so you also have to think of how the Wing's moving as a group. Now, the next common pattern is the straight line. To get there from the V, everyone moves towards the centre and slots into place, keeping a safe distance. Try how Nazoth would move to get there..."

As the sky darkened outside and the night drew in, filling the weyr with shadows, D'miran ran through several more of the formations they'd studied and the flying conditions they were best for - while on a shelf above his desk, a candle burned down towards its mark.

There were moments M'sar thought D'miran was being a smug know-it-all, but after a while he realized the look on the bluerider's face was genuine interest. He _liked_ talking about formations. And M'sar really did pay attention, for about the first three-quarters of a candlemark, and he felt like he was understanding things a little bit better. That last quarter candlemark, though, his gaze kept flicking to the candle.

"Time's almost up," M'sar said with an edge of anticipation.

D'miran looked up sharply from the hides, his face drawn with nervous expectation in the flickering candlelight. "There's still the test..." His voice cracked a little. "D-do you think you're ready?"

"Are _you_ ready?" M'sar drew a finger along his arm.

This time, the blue weyrling didn't pull away. His dark-eyed gaze held M'sar's as he hesitated - then nodded.

"Okay. First question." He knew he'd have to choose something they'd studied that evening; it wouldn't be playing fair to pick some obscure formation from the back of his notes. If he started off easy, then his classmate would have no reason to complain. "Your wing is flying in a - a backwards-V formation, next to the bronze at the point, and the Wingleader calls for a forward V. What do you and Nazoth need to do?"

M'sar pictured little dragon shapes on a hide. Backward V, forward V . . . "Move up, stay next to the bronze, but behind him now instead of in front."

"Good. So you were listening." D'miran wasn't sure whether to be gratified or nervous about that. "And what flying conditions are those formations good for?"

It was so easy to get distracted by thoughts of having D'miran pinned under him. "Uhh . . ." M'sar knew this, remembered it from class, even. The answer was right there. He snapped his fingers as he tried to pull it of his memory. "Rough weather."

"Because...?" D'miran prompted, retreating into a scholarly manner as the answer sent a jolt of nervous energy through him. Two questions, almost. He couldn't make this too easy!

M'sar arched an eyebrow. "That your third question?"

"No, it's my second. You have to answer in full." The bluerider met his gaze with stubborn determination. No matter what, he refused to back down now, but if he was going to surrender he'd make M'sar work for his victory. "My test, my rules."

"You asked what conditions it's good for. That's one question. Asking me why is _another_ question." The brownrider glared at him. Was he trying to back out? "Fine. Cause the bigger dragons can protect the smaller ones from the wind." He was going to make D'miran squirm. He was going to make him _beg_ and admit how much he wanted it.

"Good." D'miran managed to sound suitably stern, though his fingers tapped nervously on the desk. Two questions right; he had been going easy, or M'sar was better at this than he'd anticipated. He'd not thought the brownrider was capable of concentrating for five minutes' studying, let alone a full hour. And yet...towards the end, had he seemed distracted? He thought back to the less commonly-used formations they'd looked at last. "All right. Lengthwise barred-diamond. Which places could Nazoth be flying, and what's his role?"

"A _what_?" M'sar wondered if he'd made that up. Would goody-good D'miran cheat like that? No, he was probably just picking something hard because he had cold feet. Or because he didn't want M'sar to win too easy? "Uh, he'd be . . ." M'sar racked his brain but it was just a blank. He had no idea what that formation was. "On the . . . right of the point. Or the left."

D'miran shook his head. "No, the bronzes and browns are in the crossbar, to steady the shape for the greens and blues on the outer edge. It's mainly used in calm, clear conditions..." Which weren't often seen at Dragonsfall. Despite himself, he felt a little ashamed at the success of his tactic, and covered it with a frown. "We just talked about this ten minutes ago." He'd been right, M'sar had been losing focus towards the end of the candlemark. Two questions right, one remaining; if he wanted him to fail, all he had to do was pick another of those rarely-used patterns that he'd left till last. He'd have done his duty, played by the rules and got his classmate to learn something at no cost to himself.

"Last question. You're in a forward V-formation, next to the leading bronze, and the Wingleader orders..." He hesitated, running over obscure patterns in his head, but when he spoke again, that wasn't what he chose. "Forward wedge." They'd talked about that earlier and he'd thought M'sar had been paying attention, but he wasn't sure and the uncertainty was strangely exhilarating, like a high-stakes roll of the dice. The air around him seemed electric with tension. "What do you need to do?"

M'sar was still lost in the frustration of D'miran asking him a hard question and getting it wrong. He shook his head a little to clear it. A wedge. He knew that one. A V to a wedge. "The ones at the end move in," he said, frowning in concentration. "So me an' Nazoth . . ." The frown suddenly disappeared, his eyes brightening, because he _knew_ the answer. "We stay where we are."

D'miran looked up sharply, his gaze meeting M'sar's, lips parted in surprise - and then, as if in a daze, he nodded. "Right. It's an important changeover to know. It's often called part way through Fall, when the smaller dragons are beginning to tire, to give them even more shelter from the wind, or..."

M'sar gave the other weyrling a hungry look. He was in control now, exactly where he liked to be. "You ever been kissed?" he asked as he ran a hand up his arm.

Last updated on the November 11th 2026

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Private Lessons: Formations As Foreplay (2/3)