Today's The Day

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 13th March 2019

Characters: T'ner, T'kala, Ayressa
Description: T'kala transports Tener and his wife Ayressa to the Weyr.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 7 of Turn 9

Tener's heart pounded so heavily that he was almost sure Ayressa must be able to hear it. It all seemed so much more real now that he stood there with her, the baby wrapped close to her in a sling, the bags packed with what clothes and personal effects they could bring. Waiting. All of their goodbyes said, a dragon was going to take them to the weyr. What seemed now like a world away. And it would be a very long time before they came back.

He turned to smile at Ayressa and snaked his arm around her waist to pull her close for a moment.

Ayressa leaned into Tener, taking comfort in his presence as they watched the blue dragon land. She had never ridden a dragon before, and she was slightly worried at the thought of keeping Resser tucked as tightly to her body as possible. She had heard how horrible going /between/ was and she dreaded taking her baby to that horrible place.

T'kala saw the couple standing, belongings by their side, and new immediately they must be the ones he was transporting to the Weyr. "Hello there," he called as he pulled off his riding helmet and leapt from Dagreth's neckridge. "I am T'kala, this is Dagreth, and we're here to take you to Dolphin Cove."

Tener smiled and reached out to shake the rider's hand.

"Well met and fair skies, sir," he said, doing his best to remember to be on his best manners and that now as a Candidate, he was more or less a junior apprentice relative to the rider. "And our duty to you, Dagreth," he added. The poor thing was going to be well-laden with the lot of them if they went all at once.

"What's the best way to, ah... climb up?" he asked. This was going to be quite the feat.

"Let me get your things strapped to the riding harnesses first, and then I'll help both of you up." T'kala said, grabbing the first bag at Ayressa's feet. The bluerider walked it over to Dagreth and tied it to his left flank strap. He made a couple more trips, alternating strapping things to the left or right flank rope so that the weight would be evenly dispersed.

"I'll take you know," he said to the woman, offering her his hand.

"Ayressa. Thank you," she smiled at him, although her hand felt clammy from nerves.

Tener blushed as he realized then he had neglected to introduce his family to the rider in turn. Well, there was nothing to do for it now but to follow his wife's example.

Dagreth crouched low and extended his foreleg. "I am going to mount first and then reach down for you. Just use your feet to walk up his side as I pull, okay?"

Ayressa nodded, one hand pressing Resser's bundled form closer to her chest, and the other taking the dragonrider's hand as he pulled her up the blue's side and settled her in front of him.

Tener watched, feeling as though he should be helping somehow. But as the rider did not tell him what to do, he was sure if he tried to go shoving about, he would upset something and hinder more than help.

"I'm going to strap you in," he said in her ear as he placed her into the straps that Dagreth wore specifically for transporting multiple passengers.

T'kala turned back, still on Dagreth's neckridge. "Okay, you next," he said, offering his hand down to Tener.

This would be where he was supposed to give his name. But it felt almost silly to do so now. Well. He felt he was already making a dunderhead of himself, anyway. Why not go for it?

"Tener, sir," he introduced himself and then took T'kala's hand, walking up as he had seen Ayressa do before him.

"Nice to meet you," T'kala said with one of his easy-going grins. He settled the man in between himself and Ayressa and strapped him into the harnesses. "If you've never ridden before, I'm going to give Dagreth the signal, he's going to jump into the air, it'll be a little jostling at that point, but once he gains altitude everything with smooth out. We'll stay above the Hold for a moment before Dagreth takes us /between/. It'll only last a heartbeat and then we'll be above the Weyr. When we make our descent remember to keep your posture, you can lean back a little if you need to."

Ayressa took all of the directions in, one hand grabbing the riding belt tightly, even though the dragonrider had made sure it was secure, and the other still pressing tightly to Resser, who was beginning to get restless after being swaddled so tightly against his mother's chest.

"Here we go," T'kala said. Dagreth flared his wings out to their full length, raised back on his powerful back haunches, and then sprang forward, making an impressive leap into the skies. His wings caught the currents beneath their sails and pushed them downward, his tail acting as a rudder as he aimed them up to a higher altitude. Once they had sufficient space he leveled off into a smooth glide.

**Show off,** T'kala thought, grinning.

}:They seemed nervous. I wanted to make them realize that I am the best dragon they could have ridden with.:{ Dagreth said with a sniff.

Tener tried his best and succeeded in not crying out or grunting or making any vocalizations to show his discomfort with the novel feeling of flying. But he was stiff as a board and his knuckles were white as he, too, gripped the straps.

He hoped that this would feel different when it was his own dragon. Not so much like he was completely out of control and in someone else's hands entirely. Having nothing to compare it to, it was the single most terrifying flight he had ever taken. He leaned back just a touch, wanting to remain assured that Resser and Ayressa were still there.

Ayressa's eyes were clenched shut. Having Tener in front of her and the dragonrider behind at least made her feel a bit more secure. She didn't like this flying business at all. The ground was so far below and the only thing keeping them from plummeting was the leather straps attached to the dragon.

**Take us home,** T'kala told Dagreth, sharing with him the mental image of the Dolphin Cove star stones.

The blue did exactly that. One heartbeat they were above Green Valley, the next heartbeat they were in the cold, nothingness of /between/, and the heartbeat after that they were gliding high above the tropical, coastlined Dolphin Cove Weyr.

This time, Tener did let out something of a gasp as they reappeared in the light of day. How did anyone get used to that? he wondered. He reached back to touch Ayressa's leg, hoping to comfort her if she was at least as shaken as he was. At least it was over quickly. That was probably the way. It never lasted long, and anyone could face that emptiness for a moment or so at a time. Right? Well, it had to be right if he was going to ride a dragon for himself.

Dagreth made a slow descent, so as not to frighten his passengers further, into the Weyrbowl and landed with a gentle backwing that stirred dust and pebbles about.

"You two made it," T'kala said with a grin as he began unbuckling them from the straps. "Welcome to Dolphin Cove."

Ayressa couldn't believe how beautiful the Weyr was. The sun was beaming overhead in a blue sky, the sea air wafted through, and on the way down she had been mesmerized by the way the ocean waves glistened in the sunlight.

Dagreth crouched low again as T'kala helped Ayressa and Tener to the ground. "This is Erven," he said, clapping a young man on the shoulder. "He works for the Headwoman and he'll be showing you to your quarters."

As soon as he was on the ground, Tener leaned in to kiss Resser's head.

"You OK, buddy?" he asked softly. "We're here. This is our new home," he said and smiled. Then he shared the smile and a hug with Ayressa.

"Thank you for the ride, sir," he said to T'kala, and then he patted Dagreth's hide. "And thank you, Dagreth. Should I grab the bags?" he asked.

"You two go ahead and go see your new place while I unload Dagreth. We'll make sure they make it to your place." T'kala assured the younger man.

Ayressa smiled, slipping her hand into Tener's. They were here, at the Weyr, away from the families that they'd grown up with their entire lives. Now their lives were in their own hands, and boundless opportunities awaited them.

Last updated on the March 19th 2019

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Today's The Day