D'ale's Bottle

Writers: Emma, Suzee
Date Posted: 7th December 2016

Characters: D'ale, K'reyel
Description: Old friends reconnect
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 4 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Yanley, Mai

D'ale

K'reyel

He'd found exactly what he was looking for once he'd convinced Yanley
to let him borrow the key to the liquor storage room.

He wasn't at heavy drinker but there was a particular item he was
looking for and he knew just where to check. And there it was behind
other taller bottles and dusty with time.

He smiled as he picked it up. Unopened it held the promise of
encouragement to a certain friend. So he tucked the bottle in one arm
and exited the room carefully locking the door behind him. He had
noticed there were several newer bottles in there but this one had
been aged almost 30 turns before it was bottled.

He smiled as he knocked on a familiar door frame.

"Come in!" The voice was slightly sharp as for some reason the
hidework stacked in front of him seemed to have had a mating flight,
clutching and hatching all in the space of the last candlemark or so.

A baritone chuckle sounded from the entry, "I thought you were never
going to be Weyrleader again," D'ale said as he pushed off the frame
and brought the bottle into view.

"That's what Erdenth said. After he was done with being smugly
satisfied." That feeling was something any rider of a male dragon knew
about, it didn't seem to matter what colour they had flown, there was
that sense of contentment, mixed with exhilaration, spiked with desire
and pleasure.

"Yes well, he doesn't have to do all the hidework." D'ale pushed some
things on the desk to the side and set the bottle down. "Oldest I
could find," he smiled. "Pays to know the headwoman really really
well," he winked.

"No he doesn't," K'reyel said as he located a couple of clean glasses.

"And as for you and our lovely headwoman... Do I sense a story there?"

"Absolutely," D'ale began to pour two fingers of the precious
distilled spirit into the glasses. "It was something I'd never
expected or even wanted," he said as he sat down glass in hand. "And
don't say 'I told you so.'"

"And spoil my fun?" K'reyel asked as he reached for a glass. From the
aroma slowly spreading across the desk, it was a finely aged drink,
and one that his father would probably appreciate too. But this was
for the two riders here and now. "I've known you how many turns?
And settling down didn't seem to be on the horizon for you."

D'ale lifted his glass and took a slow savoring sip. It rolled down
his throat and he sighed blissfully. "I don't often get a drink like
this," he smiled. "But short version? I stole the lady's heart with a
song. But then she stole mine right back." He looked deeply into the
amber liquid. "What can I say? Yanley is simply the finest woman I've
ever known."

"She's related to the blood at Amber Hills? Isn't she?"

"Yes," he nodded. "She's Benaroy's daughter and Lady Benani's sister."

K'reyel filed that away in his mind, he'd known there was a
connection, but had not been quite sure of the details. "You could
foster your child there for a bit if you wanted to," he said after a
moment to savour the drink in his hand.

"Yes, well I highly doubt Yanley would allow that." He tilted his head
and lifted his shoulder in a tiny shrug. "Not that I mind. She's a
great mother, not just to Daley but Dalora as well." Let alone that
she'd waiting so long to have a child she'd given up hope. "Her
ex-husband was a piece of work and blamed her for not giving him
children but it turns out it wasn't her fault..." he laughed.

"Sounds like you're both happy." K'reyel couldn't help thinking of his
own son with Mai, the only child they would have together, given that
the healers had told them that to try again would likely kill both his
weyrmate and any child she might be carrying. "My Mai loves kids as
well, that's why she teaches them."

"I can see that," D'ale nodded. "I hope my children get her as their
teacher. She's obviously good for you." He shook his head obviously
in response to internal thought. "I never thought this would happen to
me, I just figured you were a very lucky man."

"There's only one thing I can say now," said the Weyrleader after
another sip of his drink. "And that's I told you so."

D'ale simply lifted his glass with a grin. "So you did."

Last updated on the December 23rd 2016

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D'ale's Bottle