Scrubbing and Planning

Writers: Avery, Estelle
Date Posted: 2nd November 2021

Characters: R'fal, R'kehr
Description: Two wingmates hang out and toss around ideas for what to do in downtime.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 7 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: S'kand, K'ran

There'd been a lot of changes in Rapids Wing, with many of the riders
transferring out to the new Weyrhold and a new Wingleader taking over,
and R'fal found himself having to concentrate hard as they tried out
different formations and arrangements of riders. As they landed after a
long morning's flying in the blazing heat, he realized to his surprise
that he was starting to feel more as though he belonged, trusting to his
instincts to guide him through the drill almost without thought, as he
and his wingmates followed the bronzerider who was leading their nine.
As though he was a real dragonrider, not a complete impostor. He'd not
felt that way since weyrling training.

Feeling energized despite the morning's work, he dismounted and pulled
off his riding helmet and jacket, pushing back sweaty hair from his
face. **Let's go down to the lake and get cleaned up, Marlath. It's
baking out here!**

As they set off, he passed the young bronzerider who'd been ahead of
them in formation. He still didn't know many of his wingmates that well
- even without all the new faces, the situation with his father had kept
him quiet and withdrawn for a long while after graduation - but today,
he gave the other young man a cheerful smile.

"Hey R'fal, how's it going?" R'kehr called over. "Marlath demanding a
bath too?"

"We both are!" R'fal brushed his hand over his brow. "Whew, it's hot. It
was a good drill, though, right?"

"It was. You two are doing really well," R'kehr said.

Maybe he sounded a little fake giving the praise. He felt a little fake.
He was working on trying to watch how other people flew, when it wasn't
disruptive to his own concentration. The knowledge that as a bronzerider
he was going to be leading nines eventually, and possibly wings after
that, was making him want to feel grown up and responsible.

R'fal didn't appear to notice anything amiss, but brightened at the
encouraging words from a bronzerider only a few Turns older than
himself. "Thank you! I'll tell Marlath, he'll be pleased. We've both
been trying our best." He fell into step alongside the other young man,
while the dragons walked beside them. "It's good we've got S'kand as
Wingleader now. It was harder when everything kept changing."

"Absolutely. Not that we can blame folks for moving, but the changes
have been a lot to adapt to," R'kehr agreed. "Are you happy in the
wing?"

"Yes. It was hard at first, when I'd just graduated. I didn't know if
I'd ever fit in." His father had still been in the mine then, and
there'd been an edge of resentment in the air between some of the
Dolphin Cove riders and those who'd come in from River Bluff. R'fal had
kept his head down and tried not to be noticed or attract the ire of
either side, but the strain of trying his hardest not to make a single
mistake or let anything slip about his family had taken its toll. "I
liked Wingleader K'ran, but after he left for the Weyrhold I wasn't even
sure if the Wing would stay together. I'm glad it did."

"I agree. Having it split up would have been rough." He paused, asked,
"Did you consider leaving, or are you happy here?"

"I thought about it," R'fal admitted. At the worst times, like when he'd
got in trouble with the Weyrleader, he'd wished he could simply leave.
"But I couldn't go to Barrier Lake with the others; I don't have a craft
and I'm not experienced enough to be accepted without. And my friends
from weyrling training are here. I don't know anyone at the other Weyrs.
Then I started going to dragonhealing classes, and met some other
people...and I ended up wanting to stay." He smiled. "What about you?
You didn't want to go with the Wingleader?"

"My mother and half-siblings are all here and they didn't plan to move.
I don't have a craft either and while K'ran might have taken me out of
sympathy, but I really like the ocean, and a lake just doesn't seem the
same."

"That's true. Marlath would miss the ocean, he swims like a dolphin."
R'fal looked over at his brown with a smile, and the dragon gave a
pleased huff. "Your family are dragonriders too?"

"My mother is. My siblings craft," R'kehr said.

"Oh, which craft?" R'fal had quickly got used to seeing girls and women
working in the infirmary, and he wondered if any of them had been
R'kehr's sisters.

"Uriana's a woodcrafter."

R'fal nodded. "My sister's husband is a journeyman in that craft.
They're out in Verdant Grove Hold, though, in Emerald Falls." They'd
reached the lake and took care to stand back as the dragons splashed
their way in before collecting sweetsand and scrubbing brushes. The cool
water rippled over R'fal's feet and he sighed in relief. "Ah, that's
better."

"It certainly is." R'kehr spun his brush around idly as he spoke. "I
never crafted but I wanted to be a cook, so I was in the kitchens all
the time before I Impressed. I still make food for my friends when I
can."

"Oh, that's a good skill." It was funny to think of a bronzerider doing
something as down-to-earth as cooking, after all of the heroic ballads
R'fal had been brought up on. "What's your favorite dish to make?"

"I like things that blend together smaller flavors into a deeper item.
Stews, definitely. And cooking over a fire. Going out to catch fish or
hunt an animal and then making a fire with your friends to cook it all
down, that's fun."

"Yes. I used to go hunting with my Da, before I came to the Weyr. That
was a lot of fun." R'fal sighed, remembering that time when his feelings
about his father had been straightforward, uncomplicated by all that
he'd discovered since. "And when we went hunting in weyrling training,"
he added, brightening. "That was one of my favorite classes. It would
have been even better if we'd got to eat together too."

"I liked doing that as well. After River Bluff collapsed, before they
could figure out where to move all of us, we needed to get food and some
of us went hunting to bring meat to be cooked," he remembered. "I know
some of the other wings have gone hunting. Kind of jealous."

"Well, we could just go. Get a few riders together from the Wing on a
Thread-free restday, fly somewhere in the Weyr's lands and spend an
afternoon hunting..." R'fal's voice trailed off. Would R'kehr really
want to hang around with someone like him? Maybe he'd meant with people
from his weyrling class, or other bronzeriders.

"That sounds great. We should check with S'kand just to make sure it's
okay and there's nowhere we shouldn't be. Maybe he'll be pleased with
our initiative."

The young brownrider's smile lit his face. "Good, let's ask him. We can
get some good marks from the Headwoman, too, if we bring back meat."

"Ooh, being in _two_ people's good books. I like the way you think,
R'fal." R'kehr grinned.

"It's always worth doing the Lower Caverns a good turn." R'fal thought
of the tasty treats that might be on offer for hungry young riders who
were in favor with the kitchen staff. "How about we ask after the next
wing meeting?"

"Sounds great. You bring it up and I'll support you, that way S'kand can
appreciate you."

R'fal felt a pang of nerves at the prospect of being the one to make the
request of the Wingleader, but he nodded. "All right. It's a plan."
Then, at a prompt from Marlath, he got back to work scrubbing his
dragon's hide until it gleamed in the hot sun.

Last updated on the February 10th 2022

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Scrubbing and Planning