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Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 18th July 2017

Characters: Alina, D'hol
Description: Alina has a hard time keeping her mind on the present after her encounter at Dragonsfall.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 13 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Ma'din, Jeyme, K'sedel

Alina

D'hol

}: Keep in formation! :{ The bronze barked at Imarith for the fifth time during the drill. }: Back in your place, Imarith. :{ Yumath peered over his shoulder at the younger green, eyes swirling with hits of annoyed red. D'hol turned too, but his expression was masked by his riding goggles and helmet. The set of his shoulders, however, also spoke of his displeasure.

They tried the formation again, moving through the expected paces. Yumath kept a close eye on Imarith and chided her again for not keeping pace. }: You know better than this. Land. We will speak to you when we are finished. :{

}:Yumath says to land,:{ Imarith said sheepishly. }:I do not think that he likes the way we fly. His rider will speak with us when they are finished.:{

**What!? No! We're not that bad!** Alina directed her green to land on the nearest rocky outcropping. Humiliation churned her stomach and she could feel her wingmates' eyes on her as they descended. This was a relatively new formation and she'd been getting it mixed up with an older one, apparently badly enough to warrant exile from the drill. Now she'd have to face an angry D'hol when all she wanted to do was crawl into a dark cave and hide forever. This was _not_ her sevenday.

The drill finished shortly afterwards, and when they landed, D'hol strode away from the remainder of the wing, letting K'sedel handle the majority of the debriefing while he approached Alina. Pulling his helmet off, he tucked it under his arm and put the other hand on his hip. "Do you have any idea why Yumath pulled you out of the drill, Alina?"

The greenrider straightened her spine and stared very deliberately over D'hol's left shoulder. "We weren't keeping up," she said around the lump in her throat. Better to admit to her failings straight up than feign ignorance. Maybe it would shorten their public shaming. "I got this new drill and the C formation confused and messed everyone up. I'm sorry."

For the past few sevendays, D'hol had been known to be more irritable and more likely to anger. Many said it was because of the incident with his former weyrmate, but when he looked down at Alina he looked more exasperated than angry. "Well that, yes. But he also wanted to show the others how to work around an empty spot in the formation for when you get threaded for not paying attention."

"I'm not going to get Threadscored." Alina glanced at D'hol and immediately regretted it. He looked _exactly_ like the man she'd walked in on in the watch shack at Dragonsfall Weyr, and that was not a memory she wanted to relive-- or associate with her Wingleader. Ever.

"If you don't pay attention during those drills and get so shaffing distracted, you will be." His lips thinned. "You are better than you were today, Alina. I expect better from you. Now what in the blazes has you as jumpy and nervous as a flit on klah?"

**Imagining you naked.** Alina tried her best to seem guileless. "Nothing!"

"So, you just decided on a whim to be careless today?" D'hol's expression became irritated and less pleasant.

}:What is it, Imarith? :{ Yumath decided to chime in. }: Why were you and yours flying so poorly today? :{

}:We went to Dragonsfall Weyr last night and Alina saw two other riders mating, and she thinks one of them looks like your rider.:{ Imarith tilted her head to examine D'hol. }:I am not sure. Most humans look the same, not like dragons. My rider keeps thinking about Dragonsfall Weyr.:{

The moment Yumath relayed the information, D'hol's brows shot up and he had to wrestle back a choke. He didn't know whether or not to laugh or being even further irritated. He cleared his throat and rubbed the impending smile from his mouth. "You met Ma'din."

**WHAT DID YOU SAY?!** Alina glared at her green, who cowered a bit. **Imarith! How could you!?**

}:Yumath asked,:{ the green said sheepishly.

"Uh-- I'm not sure..." Alina turned back to D'hol. "I don't... know..." **What can I possibly say now!?** Crawling into a cave and never being seen again seemed like a an even better option now.

D'hol now couldn't help but let a semblance of a smile quirk his lips upwards at her awkward and embarrassed stuttering. "Ma'din happens to be my son and some do say we look alike, but I don't think I've ever seen the boy naked. Is that what was bothering you? The thought of me naked? I don't know whether to be flattered or not." His lips then turned downwards. "If the thought of a man naked brings that much distraction, Alina, then I suggest you do something to fix that. I don't care what and I don't care how. You can't allow it to be a mental barrier for you during a Fall."

"What?! You can't-- you--" Alina's mouth took over from her good sense. "That's a _lot_ of assumptions you're making, and not a one of them is any of your business!" she snapped, her embarrassment melting into anger. Anger was easier to manage.

"It is _exactly_ my business if it's affecting your performance." D'hol quickly lost any good humor he had. "And you will watch your tone, Alina, or I'll have you flying sweeps for a sevenday."

The greenrider bit her tongue and simply glared at her Wingleader. Behind her, Imarith crept close until her nose was nearly touching Alina's back. Her wings were tightly folded and she hunkered down small, as if she could disappear behind her rider.

She could glare at him all she liked; he'd had worse than that. "Be out here in the morning, right after breakfast. We're going to practice. Understood?"

Great. More time with D'hol. Just what she wanted. Given how grumpy he'd been since Jeyme had left, this was going to be an awful session. And all of this was his son's fault, not her's. He should have been doing his Watch duty properly. "Yes, Wingleader."

He nodded sharply. "Good, now go get cleaned up. Eat a full breakfast too. You'll need it."

"Yes, Wingleader." It was a little more sullen a response than she'd intended. Alina remounted Imarith and beat a hasty retreat. D'hol wasn't being at _all_ fair, and she was dreading the next morning already.

Last updated on the September 1st 2017

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