A Gather at Citrus Bay

Writers: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 14th February 2025
Series: Bronze and Blue Entwined

Characters: K'mai, I'serin
Description: K'mai and I'serin go on a date. That they don't know is a date.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 28 of Turn 12

K'mai

I'serin

The moment K'mai heard Citrus Bay was having a Gather, he knew he
_had_ to take I'serin. The bronzerider had looked so wistful when
talking about how long ago his last visit had been. So K'mai had told
I'serin to clear his schedule for that day and had reminded him --
maybe too many times -- so he wouldn't forget.

Now he was waiting for I'serin in the Weyrbowl, and even the rain
couldn't dampen his spirits. He'd convinced I'serin that leaving
together was okay. It was just a Gather, they were friends, and people
would see them together at the hold anyway.

I'serin did not like that so many people could potentially see him
leaving with K'mai but for the most part, the riders leaving were all
thinking about the Gather, and not who was leaving with whom. Still,
I'serin's low-grade paranoia remained as even he mounted Aluneth. He
briefly considered not wearing his knots but that would not work. He
would need to at least appear in his official capacity as Weyrleader
for even a brief moment to speak with the Lord Holder.

Still, it was a lovely day to get away and I'serin vowed to do his
best to enjoy it. Auneth landed near Sebeth. "Whenever you are ready,"
I'serin called over to K'mai.

K'mai flashed him a wide grin and gave the signal to take off. A whole
day relaxing at a Gather. Well, I'serin had to be sort-of official but
even Weyrleaders got to spend most of their time having fun at these
events.

}:Maybe I can find you a green to flirt with,:{ Sebeth told Aluneth as
he took off.

}: I would rather you not, :{ Aluneth said as they shifted /between/.

The whitewashed limestone and orange tiled roofs of Citrus Bay greeted
them as they left the darkness. The sun scattered glittering diamonds
across the cerulean bay. Colorful pennants had been put up for the
Gather, catching the ocean breeze. Coming from Dragonsfall, where
spring had only just begun, the sight was merrily welcomed.

Aluneth took the lead to land them far enough away from the Gather
square so that they did not disturb the celebration with their
arrival. }: We will sun here, :{ he informed I'serin upon landing.
I'serin slid off, straightened his tunic, and looked ahead at the
crowds, assessing, observing, planning where to go first, how to
navigate the tide of people, queueing up gracious responses in head
for when someone inevitably recognized him as Weyrleader.

K'mai came up to him. "_Relax_," he said with a smile. "Faranth, you
can even overthink a Gather, can't you?" The bluerider laughed fondly.

I'serin chuckled nervously, caught. "I can," he admitted. "As with
many things." He forcibly relaxed his shoulders, motioned for K'mai to
lead the way. "Where to first?"

"The wine you like. The citron-sweetened white." K'mai scanned the
area, wondering where the stall was. Near the Square was a good place
to start, so he headed in that direction.

"I..." I'serin started to say, erroneously about to state that he had
forgotten mentioned that to K'mai. Instead, he said, "You remembered."

"Of course I did." K'mai half-turned to give him a warm, soft smile.
When he turned back he caught sight of a promising sign. "Oh, that
might be it." He hurried over.

The Weyrleader drifted some distance behind, letting K'mai flit
through the crowd as he navigated it with a bit more caution. He had
never been one to like people in his personal space and Gathers were
notorious for people not paying attention to where they were walking.

When K'mai got there he realized it _was_ the right stall and he
happily waved I'serin over. "Two glasses please." he said as he
reached for his marks.

The vintner wordlessly poured two tall glasses of a pale citrine
colored liquid and handed them to K'mai in exchange. "That...did not
take as long as I thought it would," I'serin remarked, apparently
misremembering how common the vintage was.

K'mai handed him one of the glasses and took a sip from his own. He
gave a low hum of appreciation. "That's good." It had been a while and
the wine was even better and more refreshing than he remembered.

I'serin took his own assessing sip, letting the flavors coat his
tongue. "As refreshing as I recall," he eventually proclaimed. He
motioned to the vintner. "A skin of this, please." he requested, as he
deftly fingered out payment. This way, they could meander about and
enjoy drinks at their leisure.

Alcohol secured, I'serin's gazed drifted towards the tiled roofs of
Citrus Bay. "It is so much more colorful here than it is at
Dragonsfall," he remarked with a wistsful sigh.

"Maybe we could paint the Weyr," K'mai said. "Bright colors instead of
all that dull stone. It would really stand out against the snow."

The thought of painting the Weyr garrish colors brought a hint of an
amused smile to the bronzerider's lips but it did not last. "Where to
next?" he asked, letting his eyes idly scan the crowd while K'mai
picked their path.

K'mai hadn't missed the anxious way I'serin navigated through the
cluster of people so he moved slightly in front of the bronzerider to
part the crowd as they walked. "Is there anywhere you'd like to go?
Shopping? Food?"

Food sounded like a wise idea, especially with the wine to consume.
I'serin lightly tapped K'mai's shoulder and nodded towards a booth
selling skewers of grilled meat. "And then, perhaps browsing the other
vendors' wares," he suggested. Perhaps he would spy a gift or two.
Would his Wingleaders appreciate a small token from him? He tried not
to get any gifts for Saibra outside what was socially acceptable for
two working colleages. "A woodcrafter," he said cryptically, as
inspiration struck him.

"Hmm?" K'mai said as headed toward the booth.

I'serin secured them a few skewers of meat to share, then nibbled
absently at one while his eyes scanned the booths for his target
crafter. "If you spot a woodcrafter booth," he said to K'mai as he
looked.

"Ah, ok." K'mai licked juices from his lips and then took another bite
of meat as he searched. Only the fact that both hands were full
stopped him from tugging I'serin's arm. "There!"

The bronzerider followed his gaze and then strode forward. He quietly
reviewed the crafter's wares -- mostly bowls and eating utensils --
until he spotted tiny carved figurines. His eyes lit up boyishly even
though they were not precisely what he had in mind. "If I wanted to
commission you," he asked of the crafter, holding up the figuring.
"Could you do this same work but as a dragon?"

The woodcrafter straightened as he noticed the Weyrleader's knots.
"Oh, certainly, sir. It would be my pleasure."

"What if I requested twenty?" I'serin asked. "They are intended to be
small gifts." Even as he asked, he began to think of if he could
requisition a gift for K'mai. But would he like it?

The crafter blinked in surprise. Twenty? "That would take a bit of
time, Weyrleader, but I would be more than happy to make
arrangements."

K'mai watched the exchange, happily finishing his meat and washing it
down with the refreshing wine. "Who are they for?"

"The Wingleaders," I'serin answered. His expression turned
contemplative, far away. "They...have been a dearly needed resource
during this...transition. I am in their debt." A pause, and then he
added quietly, "I am in many debts."

The bluerider had to clench his fist around the empty skewer to keep
from reaching out to him. "Sometimes people just want to help. You
don't have to keep a tally."

"Still. They should know my gratitude," I'serin said softly. His eyes
locked with K'mai's briefly, seriously, before he turned his attention
back to the crafter. "How long will it take you to carve them? And
what price would be fair?" he asked, the Weyrleader returning to his
posture and voice.

The woodcrafter considered. "Two or three sevendays, for the fine work
a Weyrleader deserves. A mark apiece, if you tell folks where you got
them."

K'mai was left to ponder the strange feeling in his chest.

I'serin gave a sharp nod. "Done." He fished out five marks as a
deposit. "The rest upon delivery?"

"Of course, Weyrleader. I'm honored by your patronage."

The Weyrleader gave what he hoped was interpreted as a gracious wave
of gratitude and took their leave. With that business concluded,
I'serin nibbled happily on one of the skewers, letting his mind wander
a bit until he asked K'mai, "Where to now?"

K'mai blinked. "Oh, I should get something for Sabia." He turned in a
random direction and started walking. There should be children's toys
somewhere around here, and a little wandering would be nice. At the
end of the row of stalls, they came out to the edge of the dancing
square. At this time of day, there weren't many people moving to the
Harpers' beautiful music. Things would pick up toward evening, but
there were a few couples dancing, holding each other close, and K'mai
watched them with longing.

Of course he couldn't dance with I'serin here, but they couldn't even
do it at _home_.

The bronzerider had long grown used to not looking forward to dancing
with anyone -- he only danced because of social expectations of his
rank -- so he did not notice K'mai's expression for too long a moment,
until the bluerider stopped longer than expected. I'serin followed
K'mai's gaze. He dare not ask K'mai to dance, even in jest. He dare
not promise that one day, maybe they would. He dare not tease the
flirty bluerider, who usually had no issue jumping into a dance.

He was not certain what to say.

Eventually, bereft of words, I'serin, put a hand on K'mai's shoulder
and gave it a gentle, understanding squeeze.

K'mai turned to smile at him, the expression more than a little sad.
"Some things about holds are no fun at all." But the contact of
I'serin's hand warmed him. He would've thought the bronzerider would
avoid even such an innocent, friendly gesture here.

I'serin's hand slipped away as his smile grew thin, grim. "Some
things," he agreed. His gaze shifted to look over the crowd. "But we
all serve a place." It was an evasive response. I'serin was only ever
critical of himself. He dismissed the faults of others easily.

K'mai clenched his glass, fighting the urge to touch him. Had he poked
a sore spot? Or was the dancing a sore spot? "You're here with me, and
that's what matters. I didn't mean to get mopey on you."

The bronzerider made a quietly dismissive gesture. "This is a Gather,
K'mai. Yes, let us focus on what matters." He made a gesture to
follow, though he fell a step behind to let K'mai take the lead on
where they went next.

They crossed the far side of the dancing square, K'mai hoping to leave
any unpleasant feelings behind them. "I want to get something for
Sabia, but I'm not sure what. She already has a million stuffies, and
I'm possibly responsible for giving her half of those."

I'serin thought for moment. "Perhaps a bracelet?" he supplied. "Or a
puzzle box?"

"Oh, a puzzle might be good. She's really smart." A moment later he
saw a stall advertising children's toys and headed inside. He stacked
a few blocks and made a small wooden runner talk in a silly voice.
Then his eye was caught by something farther down the long table. "Ooh
. . ." He picked up a small boat with cloth sails that could be pulled
up and down and turned. "Uetia's family are seacrafters, and Sabia's
other dad was too." He felt a pang whenever he thought of how Sabia
would never know Sabonus.

Hearing K'mai talk about his daughter and her mother was new to
I'serin. Because he had not given K'mai's relationships much thought,
he had always assumed them fleeting or carnal. The depth that filled
K'mai's voice when he spoke about Sabia was not lost on the
bronzerider, who had never really considered fatherhood as a goal.
"That seems like a fitting gift," he said.

"Yeah." K'mai hugged the boat to his chest and went to talk to the
stall's owner. He haggled a little less than he should have, but the
boat was fine work and he was eager to have it. As they headed out,
K'mai asked I'serin, "Where should we go next?"

I'serin refilled their drinks. "Books. Or maps," he answered. Those
were always his go-to wares to seek out.

"Of course." K'mai chuckled. "What is it about maps?"

That gave the bronzerider a pause while he crystallized the words. "It
is another way of viewing our world. The vistas, the vastness. We
dragonriders know the breadth and scope of Pern. We can /between/
anywhere without any real understanding the distance between those
places. Maps reveal that. They serve to remind me how large our world
is and what is out there to explore."

K'mai half-turned to him as they walked, giving him a fond smile. "You
have such a way of looking at the world."

It made him blush slightly. "I...have a boring way of looking at the world."

The bluerider stopped. "No, it's beautiful. I'm never going to look at
a map the same way."

That deepened I'serin's blush. He was not used to anyone finding
anything that he was interested in as something beautiful. He looked
away as he tried to compose himself. And in looking away, he located
one of the things they were searching for. He made a motion to K'mai
to follow. It was not a large booth of books -- in fact, it was a
stall that sold journals. I'serin began browsing, thinking that he
could use another one to take notes in. He opened one, felt the pages
and the binding, closed it, replaced it. Repeated the process. Until
he had located one that was suitable.

K'mai watched him, noticed the bronzerider's careful scrutiny. I'serin
was a particular man. "Found one you like?" I'serin nodded.

"There is a tradition amongst Weyrleaders to record their notes for
future Weyrleaders. Not necessarily the day to day minutiae of Wing
formations but rather the...lessons learned." There was a thoughtful
pause. "I...had thought to begin adding my own entries to that
tradition."

"Good idea." And then K'mai had a terrible idea, but he couldn't
resist. He leaned to whisper in I'serin's ear. "You should write
blueriders are amazing in bed'. That's an important lesson."

I'serin flushed scarlet.

He snapped the journal shut. Cleared his throat awkwardly. Then went
over to the stall owner and paid for the journal with some mumbled
words. "Flirt," he muttered to K'mai as he made a quick exit.

K'mai broke into a wide grin and laughed as he followed the bronzerider out.

Last updated on the February 18th 2025

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A Gather at Citrus Bay