Pleasant Moment Interrupted

Writers: Avery, Estelle
Date Posted: 8th February 2024
Series: Bad Meat!

Characters: Irrkali, M'gan
Description: Irrkali and M'gan attend the fateful Hatching together
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 17 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Irradis, Cyradis, Z'ku, K'deren

Irrkali had taken some extra time on her last restday to look through
her closet to see if she had anything suited for the Hatching that was
coming up. She wasn't on the weyrlingstaff and thus going to be getting
bloody with the meat for the dragonets this time, so she could dress up
to watch as well as for the feast and dancing. And she _did_ really want
to dress up, not just in the hopes Irradis would Impress this time, but
because she was going to want to spend extended time with M'gan.

**At least time at the Feast, and dancing,** she thought. And perhaps,
if she was very lucky, and he was interested - her skin heated,
remembering Jeath's flight and his win - and she thought he was, based
on the way they'd been drifting towards each other... They might spend
the night... and so she intentionally chose a dress that flowed down her
body closely to show her off and left one shoulder completely bare.

On the day of the Hatching, when the dragons began to hum, she rushed up
to her weyr and took the dress from the chair she'd hung it against, and
pulled it on. Then she had Jeath reach out as she headed to the caverns.
}:Isarth, are our riders sitting together?:{

}:My rider feels unusually thrilled, even for a Hatching,:{ Isarth
replied, his voice warm and amused. }:So I expect so.:{ Excused from
transporting guests by his rank, the bronze had already taken his place
in the Hatching cavern, humming his greeting to the eggs. }:He is
waiting for yours near the entrance.:{

M'gan was indeed there, his gaze passing over the crowd in search of the
woman he was waiting for. He was unusually smart in a brand new tunic in
slate blue, with bronze embroidery at the collar matching the thread in
his knots, dark grey trousers and new, polished boots. His eyes lit
up when he caught sight of her, and he made his way as best he could
against the flow of arriving weyrfolk, notables and families of candidates.

"Irrkali!" He reached her, oblivious to the people streaming around
them, and drew in a breath. "Stars, you look wonderful. Ah..." He
hesitated, tongue-tied for a moment, then cleared his throat. "I have
some good seats kept for me, not far from the Weyrleaders. I wondered if
you'd like to join me?"

"M'gan." She gave him a broad smile. "I love the embroidery. I'm pleased
to join you at your seats."

The bronzerider grinned in relief and offered her his arm, leading her
to the Stands. They were a few rows back from the seats set aside for
the riders of the gold and her bronze mate. The Weyrleaders hadn't
arrived yet, but Panitath was there, guarding her clutch, her hide
gleaming in the light.

"This takes me back," he said, remembering the day when he'd been one of
the nervous, white-robed Candidates. "The clutch wasn't so large then,
Isarth was the only bronze. But I imagine the feeling was just the same."

Irrkali took his arm and escort down. "It must have felt very special to
Impress the only bronze in a clutch. I remember some clutches that never
had bronzes, because we didn't need as many dragons in general. But that
feeling of being down there, waiting... Hoping it's your chance this
time. I know Irradis has been nervous."

"Perhaps his dragon's waiting for him out there." M'gan looked out over
the clutch as they took their seats. There had been larger ones in the
Turns leading up to the Pass, but there were still a good number of
eggs. He hoped there were enough Candidates; he'd heard from
Searchriders in his Wing that there had been several refusals from
Emerald Falls territory. It wasn't unknown, but it was usually rare and
it concerned him.

As he watched, the Weyrleaders arrived in the cavern and began to make
their way to their seats. "How is the Weyrwoman holding up?" He knew
that Irrkali had been working even harder as wingthird during her
wingleader's pregnancy.

"Shards, I hope he gets his dragon. I don't even know what he's hoping
for or expecting, he's pretty quiet about it," she said.

"Cyradis is tired a lot. I admit, I was a bit surprised by the idea of
rotating different bronzeriders through the 'second position while she
isn't at her peak, since they each bring a slightly different style to it."

"I'd imagine it's good practice for them. Not all bronzeriders get the
chance to see what it's like in the Queen's Wing." M'gan never had, his
ambition had always been for the high altitude wings as a young man,
even before Thread's return. "One of my wingriders, Z'ku, has been in
that role these last few sevendays. He was one of the first to be
chosen. A fine young rider. I'm pleased for him, though I don't like
having to lose him even temporarily."

"That’s fantastic experience for him. He’s been great in the role."

"Shouldn't be too long before he's chosen as a wingsecond for real, I'd
imagine. Oh, there they come." M'gan looked down to the entrance to the
Hatching Cavern, where the Candidates were filing out onto the Sands in
their white robes, spreading out among the eggs. He picked out Irradis
in the line, a dark-haired boy walking in front of a red-headed girl, as
he looked up and waved in their direction.

Some of the eggs were visibly rocking now, and M'gan felt the familiar
anticipation growing. It was nearly time. He turned to Irrkali, unable
to keep the grin off his face. "Any bets on which will Hatch first?"

She tilted her head and furrowed her brow as she analyzed the scene.
"That one," she said, pointing at one towards Panitath's foot that was
wiggling enthusiastically. "I hope it's bronze, as a good sign."

But the first dragonet came from a different egg, and was not a bronze.
It was an egg off to the side by some other Candidates, Hatching
out a blue. "Oh, that boy looks so young to Impress," she said when she
saw who he chose, a slight lad.

The boy hardly looked old enough to be on the Sands at all, M'gan
thought as he applauded along with the others. "It must be his first
time, I don't remember seeing him before." He watched as the pair made
their way, dazed, off the sands, then his attention was caught by
another cracking shell. "Over there - a green. And another one!" A cheer
went up to their right as another boy Impressed, from what looked like a
weyrfolk family.

Eggs were cracking everywhere now, too many to follow at once. M'gan
focused on the side of the cavern where Irradis was standing. "Look,
maybe that brown..."

The rest of his words were drowned out by a thunderous roar that echoed
around the cavern, the deep note of a bronze joined by the watching
dragons. M'gan felt a sudden, sickening surge of horror as Isarth rose
up and joined his voice to the others, his eyes now a burning red.

}:Bad meat! Aughashyth says the hatchlings' meat is poisoned. Delorth
has eaten some!:{

Gasps and some screams could be heard from the audience, and a lower
sound, a groan of dismay. A chill gripped M'gan. Delorth - that was the
name of the blue hatchling, the one who'd Impressed to that young boy.
"Did you hear that?"

Like M'gan, she stared with fixed intent over at Irradis, hoping that
each dragonet that drifted to that site was looking for her son. Bronze
or green or anything in between, she just wanted her son to be happy,
and the love of a dragon certainly made one happy. She remembered her
Impression to Jeath, when -

}:Danger! Poison!:{ Jeath yelled in her mind at the same time as the
sound of upset dragons rang out, echoing across the cavern.

Irrkali had most definitely heard that and her hand tightened
convulsively on M'gan's. "Jeath says there's poison, but _how_?"

"I don't know. Perhaps the herdbeasts ate something bad..." The
alternative - that this had been deliberate - was hard to even imagine.
He looked down at the Weyrleaders, who were speaking urgently to each
other. For a moment he thought they'd get up and leave the cavern, but
it was the Weyrleader's bronze who sprang up and flew out over their
heads, drawing a gasp from the crowd.

Emotions washed over him from his bond with Isarth, fear turning to
anger and a desire to follow. **No, stay here.** There were still
hatchlings on the Sands who had to find their riders, and they didn't
want a panic and a rush for the exits. **Listen for orders from Loseth.
Tell our Wing to stay where they are and be ready.**

He let out a breath, realizing he'd half-risen to stand himself. "The
Weyrdragonhealer is with Delorth. They're helping him." Shards, that
poor boy. He felt himself tense, bracing himself for the unearthly keen
of loss and hoping that it would not come, and scanned the Sands. Most
of the new weyrlings were milling uncertainly around with their
dragonets, but two hatchlings still remained, a blue and a green,
huddling close to their mother.

Irrkali could feel a fury rising in her dragon, a powerful storm surge
of emotion that her green only found in Fall or flight - or, apparently,
the desire to fight against a threat to hatchlings. Reaching out to
clamp her mind down on Jeath's and control her meant she lost a few
precious moments of watching the sands as she tamped down the green's
temper. But it also gave her clarity. She was Cyradis' wingthird right
now, and Panitath was guarding her hatchlings, and Santhiath was young.
That meant it was her job to handle any wing response needed right now,
if it was called for.

}:Loseth goes for meat,:{ Jeath told her as the bronze dragon suddenly
winged over their head.

"He must think something's wrong with it. I hope Delorth is okay."

The hatchlings by Panitath were staying still, in communion. She scanned
her eyes over the sands, found one more egg with a dragon stumbling
free, and looked for her son in crowd of Candidates. "There he is."
Unimpressed, but that meant he was safe from whatever was happening.
she'd always wanted her son to Impress, but right now, with danger
happening...

M'gan had been scanning the crowds, looking for unusual movement or
anyone approaching the Weyrleaders. There was definitely unrest, as
non-riders turned to others in confusion to find out what was going on,
and others, like him, were looking about for signs of trouble. His gaze
shifted to the Candidates. The remaining green had gone straight for
another young man, one of the older ones, all but knocking him down in
her determination. The others were starting to leave, but...

"Look!" He pointed. "That blue!"

Irrkali's attention had been caught by Panitath, so M'gan's shout and
point caught her attention. Her head turned to watch his finger point,
and her eyes widened as she saw a fog blue dragonet approach her son and
nudge his knees from behind. "Irradis..." she breathed out.

**Are they?** she asked Jeath.

Her question was answered by the way Irradis' expression transformed as
he looked down at the blue. She could see the broad smile crossing his
face. She leapt up to her feet, hand jerking M'gan's unintentionally, as
she waved frantically.

}:He is Echovath,:{ Jeath told her.

"Irradis and Echovath!" she shouted.

Even the worries about the poison melted away in a bright moment of
celebration for her son.

M'gan leapt to his feet with a shout of delight, and the others around
them joined in the cheering for the last Impression of the day. Even as
the moment passed, he spoke silently to Isarth to confirm that the rest
of the hatchlings were safe and fresh meat was being brought for them.

"Congratulations!" He slipped an arm around Irrkali's waist in a
sideways hug. "What a handsome young blue. And brave!" He couldn't begin
to imagine how the hatchlings must be feeling, so new from the shell and
one of their number poisoned.

Irradis had stood up and waved at them, before turning to lead his
dragonet off the sands to the meat.

Once he was moving, Irrkali turned into M'gan's hug so it went from
sideways to full on, and kissed him. "Oh, that was a positive ending for
us."

"Wasn't it? I'm so glad for him." M'gan heard a scattering of
good-natured laughter from the people around them, diffusing some of the
tension of the earlier events. He returned the kiss with one of his own.
"You want to go and congratulate him? Isarth's telling me that relatives
can speak with the new weyrlings once the hatchlings are fed." It
sounded as though the rest of the celebrations were in doubt, though.

"I've got to tell him how proud I am," she said. "I don't know what will
happen later," she added after a moment, thinking of how this would
affect everything. "I had been going to ask you to dance, but..."

"Duty calls," M'gan completed her sentence with a rueful sigh. He'd have
enjoyed that dance very much. "We can always save it for next time." He
needed to check on his Wing and speak with K'deren, and he expected she
would too.

"Duty calls," she repeated with her own sigh. "But we'll catch up when
we can, have a drink."

"We will." Though who knew when that would be, if this had been a
planned attack. M'gan tried not to think of that, of what the
consequences would be for Weyr and Hold. He leaned down for one more
kiss, lasting as long as he could before Isarth gently reminded him that
his Wing was gathering outside in the Weyrbowl. "Give my very best
regards to Irradis and Echovath." Then, reluctantly, he hurried away
through the thinning crowd, speaking silently with his bronze.

Last updated on the February 10th 2024

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