Another Chance to Chat

Writers: Avery, Estelle
Date Posted: 10th March 2021

Characters: M'gan, R'kehr
Description: M'gan and R'kehr have another talk.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 27 of Turn 10
Notes: Follows "Good Memories"

Drills were done for the day and evening was falling. R'kehr had
unstrapped Thadath and was standing on the ledge of his weyr, looking
down at the activity and debating what he wanted to do with the evening.
See people, that was for sure, not just sit around his weyr. He scooped
up a well-worn pack of dragonpoker cards and tucked them in his belt
pouch - maybe he could start a card game.

He spied a bit of activity around the feeding pens, three greens all at
the same time. **You haven't eaten in a bit, want to do that? Could go
flirt with them,** he suggested to Thadath. And he could flirt with the
riders, of course.

}:A wherry and the company of a green would be nice,:{ Thadath said,
crouching down to let R'kehr climb his neck for the short hop down.

By the time they landed, one of the greens had left, and a second bronze
was winging in as well. **Two bronzes, two greens, still good odds,** he
suggested. One of the greens was male-ridden but the other was ridden by
Astahi, a pretty girl only a Turn or so older than him in Cyclone wing.
So he shifted his angle of walk to head towards her.

Isarth landed with a proud flourish of his wings that was more for the
benefit of the greens and the other bronze than for necessity. As soon
as his rider had dismounted, he leapt into the air, strong wingbeats
carrying him up above the pens, where he circled, casting his gaze over
the herd to find the largest, juiciest beast.

On the ground, M'gan had recognized the green as one from his wing and
raised a hand in greeting to the rider, but it was the young bronzerider
he was more interested in speaking with. Since he'd spoken to Kehrana
he'd been wondering how best to approach her son, or indeed whether he
should at all. The young man was gregarious, and almost always in the
company of a group of young wingriders, so finding him on his own was
not so easy.

Now they'd met by chance while their dragons hunted, he decided on
impulse to take the chance. "'Evening, R'kehr. Done with drills for the
day?"

R'kehr had been focused on trying to catch Astahi's attention, but she'd
been staring at Rusith's feeding intently. He was a bit startled when
the other bronzerider spoke to him, relaxed as he realized it was M'gan.

"Good eve. Yes, I don't have late sweep today for once," he said. "What
about you?"

"Finished with drilling, too. I've got a few reports to look over before
tomorrow, but it shouldn't take long." M'gan watched as Isarth winged
back, politely giving way to the young bronze who'd been there before
him to make his kill. He was almost entirely lost for words, which was
rare for him. Clearly this wasn't a good moment to tell R'kehr, but it
was hard to act like he was any other young rider either.

"I saw your mother, by the way," he said, grateful for a suitable topic.
"We caught up over dinner, talked about old times back at Vista Point.
It was good to see her again. She's just how I remembered."

"Oh, I'm glad you followed up on that and that it went well," R'kehr
said, pleased his tip had actually panned out for M'gan.

"Yes, we had a good chat. She's very proud of you, I could tell. Told me
you'd trained as a cook while you were waiting for your bronze," M'gan
went on, relaxing a little. "That's a skill. Never been able to do much
more than boil water for klah, myself."

R'kehr smiled at the comment. "It's funny to imagine a bronzerider as a
cook, isn't it? Now if you look at me and my knots, you wouldn't guess.
But it was important to me to be able to contribute in between clutches,
and I found I really loved the kitchens."

"I can understand that. Can't think of a friendlier or warmer place in
the Weyr," M'gan agreed. "And if there's a better way to make yourself
popular with your friends than whipping up a delicious meal, I don't
know it."

"I got into it because I was always hanging around the kitchen trying to
get scraps, and the head cook was all, "if you keep being here I'm going
to make you do something useful" and then she finally did, and then she
discovered I was good at it, and _I_ discovered I liked it and was good
at it," R'kehr said.

"Like you said, it made me popular with friends.
And ladies. Who doesn't like me bringing them fresh-baked bread and meat
pies to a picnic, just for them? I've often thought it would be nice to
have a little cot just to be able to cook properly."

"Perhaps when the Pass is over," M'gan said. He didn't expect to see the
end of it, or if he did he'd be very elderly indeed, but the young
dragonriders of today had a chance. "Back when I was your age, most
riders had a craft or a trade. Wing drills were more a way to keep the
dragons occupied, and preserve old skills. It wasn't the life or death
matter it is today. I used to yearn for the excitement of fighting
Thread, but I do miss the freedom of the Interval, sometimes."

"I wish I knew what an Interval was like. It sounds entirely different."
R'kehr tilted his head for a moment. "Thadath says he'd be bored."

M'gan laughed aloud. "By the time we get to it, he may have changed his
mind, and be glad for the chance to lounge on the beach all day and
flirt with greens."

"He can do that, while I have a nice little cot of my own with a good
kitchen, and I use it to cook meals for all of my friends. Imagine
seaside barbecues every night." R'kehr smiled at the thought.

"And when you get tired of that, you can fly to the mountain lakes.
Build a fire on the shore, catch some fish, camp out under the stars..."
M'gan remembered those days, back before the glowing Red Star had
appeared in the night sky. "It's something worth fighting for."

"That sounds really lovely," R'kehr said. "I love the adrenaline and
thrill of fighting, but there's something about that that is nice."

"Yes. It would be convenient if Thread could fall, say, once a Turn to
satisfy the dragons' urge to fight, and leave us with the freedom to
relax the rest of the time." The older bronzerider smiled. "Ah well, we
must do our duty as it is."

He looked over to see that Isarth had finished with his kill. The bronze
would want to be bathed soon, and he'd have to go. "R'kehr..."
Remembering what Kehrana had suggested, he started to speak before he
lost his nerve. "I wanted to say - your mother was a good friend, back
at Vista Point. Still is. So, if you ever wanted any advice, as a
bronzerider, I mean, or to talk about your future with someone outside
your Wing... I'd be happy to help." Shells, he hoped that hadn't sounded
strange.

"That sounds amazing. I know as a young bronzerider I'm going to be
expected to learn leadership and if a Wingleader is going to take
interest in me, I'd be a fool to pass it up." He was genuinely
flattered.

"Good," M'gan said, relieved. "Perhaps we could grab a jug of klah after
drills, sometime." He didn't want to tread on Rapids' Wingleader's toes,
but an informal chat shouldn't be a problem. "Well, I'll leave you and
Thadath to your evening, since it looks like he's caught the attention
of that young green."

"Ah yes, he's been following Rusith for a couple of days now... I'd be
happy to meet with you when you have time. Just let Thadath know and I'm
happy to join you," he said with a grin.

"All right. Clear skies, R'kehr." M'gan raised a hand in farewell and
set off back towards the lower caverns to fetch sweetsand and a
scrubbing brush for Isarth. He felt almost light-headed with relief that
the conversation had gone well and he hadn't seemed odd. At least, he
hoped he hadn't. Now he'd have to decide how much to say... He'd have a
lot to think about while he was bathing his dragon.

Last updated on the July 21st 2021

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