Trust Fall

Writers: Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 3rd August 2016

Characters: A'kua, Firelloa, Nariise, Datrino
Description: A'kua loses his temper, and with it, a momentary measure of his sister's trust.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 28 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Genna and Lissath.

The snow was coming down along with the temperature, but A'kua felt warm. It was a feeling he'd carried with him ever since Firelloa had come to live at the Weyr. He was coming to pick her up at one of the Weyr entrances for lunch and a chat. He could see his sister now, standing and watching the snow and talking with her new friend Nariise, another singer apprentice. Those two had fit together like toast and butter from the moment they met, and A'kua was thrilled Firelloa was making friends so easily.

A slim, blond boy with a dark look and a green tunic had come up behind the two and was trying to get their attention. A'kua wasn't close enough to hear what was going on, but as his steps took him closer, he could guess that Firelloa and Nariise were attempting to ignore the boy, judging by the way they didn't include him in their conversation.

And then the angry-seeming boy grabbed Firelloa's braid and yanked, hard. "Don't ignore me!" he shouted loud enough to be heard outside, and Firelloa cried out in pain.

Nariise whirled and slapped the boy's hand, making him let go, but their rising voices were all drowned out by the bellow of "_HEY!_" that exploded from A'kua's lungs. The girls jumped, offering a clear view of the boy, and in seconds, he had sprinted between them. His left hand lashed out and grabbed the boy's wrist, pulling him up on his toes, and his right hand came up as if to deliver a brutal slap.

The boy screamed and covered his face with his other arm while he whimpered, and A'kua waited, lowering his right hand and making a loose fist. It took a few minutes, but when the boy uncovered his face to see why the slap hadn't connected, A'kua uncurled his index and middle fingers to flick him sharply on the nose, making the boy squeak. "That was your _warning_," the redhead said dangerously and without accent. "If you lay hands on my sister again, you _won't_ like what happens."

He let the boy dropped, and the second he had recovered his balance, he sprinted away. The weyrling let out a long breath, shaking his head, and turned around, hesitating at the sight of Firelloa and Nariise staring at him with panicked expressions. He made his shoulders relax and tried to smooth the scowl from his face, and forced a gentler tone into his voice. "Who was that kid?"

"Datrino. He's another apprentice. Kind of mean. He wanted us to do his homework for him; he tries to make people do that a lot," Nariise supplied with wobbling words.

"W-We were just trying to ignore him. Mother says to ignore the mean people," Firelloa added.

"Let me take a look at your head," A'kua said, motioning for his sister to turn around. "Did he pull out any hair?"

"I don't think so," Firelloa said doubtfully, but she turned around, and her brother carefully examined her scalp. Thanks to the snug weave of her braid, the yank had only hurt, not pulled out any hair or caused any bleeding. When he cleared her to turn around again, she looked him in the eyes and blurted "Why did you do that?"

The tall weyrling shook his head. "If I hadn't, he would've done it again, and he wouldn't have stopped at pullin' your hair. Trust me, I know. I've seen it before." He reached for Firelloa's shoulder, but she stepped away.

"Nariise, I'll see you back in class," she said, hugging the other girl, and walked into the snow without waiting for her brother. Nariise scurried off as well.

A'kua followed his sister with a sinking heart, catching up, but not saying anything, or even moving too close.

"You were really scary," the girl stated once they were halfway to the entrance that would take them to the dining cavern.

"I'm sorry," the redhead said quietly. "I didn't mean to frighten you or your friend."

After a few minutes, his sister edged closer, the back of her hand brushing his, and he curled his fingers over hers to warm them. "Genna invited me to her weyr for some sewing in a couple days," Firelloa ventured.

That made A'kua smile as some of the tension fled. "Then let me tell you a few things about her dragon."

Last updated on the August 5th 2016

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Trust Fall