Authority

Writers: Estelle, Paula
Date Posted: 21st September 2018

Characters: L'keri, G'nir
Description: G'nir is disturbed by a loud party in L'keri's weyr
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 6 of Turn 9

L'keri

G'nir

It was the evening before a restday, and the night was cold and clear,
the stars glittering like splinters of ice in the black sky. Sound
carried far on a night like this. One weyr in particular was brightly
lit, and voices could be heard inside singing a raucous chorus from a
popular ballad. They were just about in tune, but slightly slurred due
to having indulged themselves in enough alcohol between them to give a
dragon a headache.

When that song came to an end, there was a brief pause. But just when it
seemed that the party in the new brownrider's weyr might be over at
last, they started up again, this time with a cheeky set of lyrics about
the superior prowess of Cyan Wing's riders in all areas of life. Far
from being tired out after their evening's fun, the singers showed no
signs of exhaustion and were clearly aiming for volume rather than quality.

G'nir had tried burying his head under pillow and even stuff cloth to
his ear. No effect, he could still hear it and it ruined his sleep.
Even Nirreth was disturbed by it and the bronze was always more easy
going as his rider. He was Weyrlingmaster, he needed his sleep.
Finally, he had enough. G'nir pulled a robe on and marched out to give
his new neighbour's door a loud bang.

The singing stopped abruptly, and there was some loud shushing and
whispering from the inside. A few moments later, the door was opened by
a young woman with greenrider's knots and a half-unbuttoned blouse, who
eyed him with befuddled amazement.

"Look!" She turned and called to the others in the room. "The
W...Wer...Weyrlingm'ster's come to the party!" Then she broke into a fit
of giggles.

"I'm not here to join the party. I'm here to ask you kindly to turn
down the noise level, please. You're disturbing people's sleep," G'nir
said, his tone frosty, the politeness being a force of habit. His
blond hair was tousled from his sleep and his grey eyes were hard as
flint.

"'s not my party." She managed to stifle her giggles with a snort, and
turned to call over her shoulder. "L'keri!"

The party guests were lounging on a group of couches, drawn up in a
circle around a low table piled with glasses, bottles and empty
wineskins. At the sound of his name, one of the heads turned. "What?"

"Weyrlingm'ster says we're too noisy..." The greenrider dissolved into
peals of drunken laughter again.

The man who'd answered her clambered over the back of the couch and
sauntered over to join them. He seemed to be marginally less inebriated
than his friend, and slipped an arm around her waist to help her stand
upright. Then he smiled at G'nir, a mischievous gleam in his eye. "You
must be my distinguished neighbour. Come in and have a drink! There's
plenty left."

"No thank you," G'nir replied. "I want you to stop the party. Some
people here have duties tomorrow and need their sleep."

"But we've only just got started," the brownrider protested. His smile
widened, but kept just short of outright insolence. "It's my
welcome-back party. Surely you don't want to spoil the fun?"

Nobody threw G'nir a welcome party when he came back from North. But
then, he had not expected one either. "Yes, I'm quite willing to ruin
your fun," G'nir replied. "I'm sure some of you have duties tomorrow,"
he let his gaze sweep thru L'keri's weyr. He recognized quite a few
of them. Some of them he had disciplined when he had been the
Weyrleader.

"But surely if we have to do our duties feeling a little tired and
fragile, it'll be an important learning experience," L'keri replied.
"There's nothing like first hand experience to make a lesson stick.
That's what my old Weyrlingmaster used to say." He turned back to the
others. "See! I could do his job. Maybe I should apply for it - don't
you think?"

There was a round of drunken applause from the guests. Clearly some of
them remembered G'nir's discipline, too.

"It could get you killed," G'nir was getting very annoyed with his attitude.

"Ah, it's just sweeprides and watch duty. No Thread tomorrow," the
rider said easily. "It'd be more dangerous for me to try and stop the
party now. This lot would probably toss me in the lake. Wouldn't you?"
he asked his audience. "The Weyrlingmaster wants us all to go home to
bed. What do you think of that?"

He was answered with a chorus of boos and jeering. L'keri spread his
hands in a helpless gesture, though his eyes glinted with mirth.
"Sorry. I'd like to help you, bronzerider, but there's nothing I can
do."

"Well, I can. I can command you to disband and go to your own weyrs,"
G'nir said softly. **Nirreth, time to flex muscles.**

The bronze stirred full wake from his half-sleep stage. He contacted
several dragons whose riders were involved at the party. Using his
authority as a bronze and former mate of the senior Queen, he told
them: }: It's time for yours to stop making noise and disturb their
neighbours. :{

His intervention had the desired effect. Some of the guests fell silent
and, after a few moments of arguing with their dragons, reluctantly got
up to go. A few glares were cast in G'nir's direction, but no-one made
any further protest. Even the greenrider who'd been clinging to L'keri
let go of him and swayed over to the door, where another wingmate helped
her out.

L'keri watched them leave in disbelief. **Rhalith? What's going on?**

}: Nirreth said that they must leave quietly. :{ The brown sounded
weary. L'keri felt slightly guilty that his lifemate had been woken for
this, and it didn't make feel any friendlier towards his neighbour.

"That was a low trick." His pleasant smile vanished.

"It's called authority," G'nir smirked, too irritated and tired for
more diplomatic attitude.

"Sounds more like overstepping authority to me." The brownrider stepped
deliberately closer and leaned on the door frame. "I could complain to
the Weyrleader."

"Feel free," G'nir replied. He wasn't tad bit worried about his threat.

L'keri realised that he had no idea whether the Weyrleader would blame
G'nir for ruining the party, or him for letting it go on so late. Most
likely, he thought with resentment, the bronzeriders would stick
together. Making a complaint might be risky. There was little he could
do now except plot his revenge.

"You'll regret doing that," he muttered.

"Have a good night, brownrider," G'nir said, feeling smug and turned
to return back to his own bed.

Last updated on the September 28th 2018

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Authority