To Be a Good Rider

Writers: Jane, Vix
Date Posted: 28th December 2007

Characters: K'hetah, I'ster
Description: K'hetah has a talk with I'ster, the youngest member of the Wing.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 12 of Turn 4

K'hetah couldn't shed his jacket fast enough when the wing landed. Standing beside Loeth he considered tying the heavy garment to his dragon's straps but Loeth's rumble of disapproval put paid to that plan. Resignedly he slung the jacket over his shoulder and walked through the Wing speaking briefly to many of the riders and dismissing each of them as he went. Drills were over for the day and there was just one more thing to do.

"I'ster. Well done today. Do you have time to talk now? No pressing plans?" He wouldn't expect a wingrider - and one of the most junior of the breed - to do anything but agree, but it was worth checking. Sometimes people did have other plans and having their attention split between what they wanted to be doing and an interview with the Wingleader was just asking for problems, in K'hetah's opinion.

The youngster grinned, brown eyes peering at the Wingleader from under too-long brown curls. "Yes, sir, all the time you want!" His eyes unfocused as he directed his dragon to return to their weyr to wait. "We really did well?"

"You were where you were supposed to be, when you were supposed to be there, and there's nothing more important to your wingmates." The bronzerider's light eyes followed the brown as he took off. There was certainly nothing about the dragon that would give him cause for concern. "Or to your Wingleader," he added. "Shall we get out of this sun?"

"Yes, sir." The boy's excitement clouded as he realized that the Wingleader wanted further discussion with him, beyond that critique of the day's drills. "Where did you want to go?"

"My office is - well, it's not quite ready for public scrutiny, shall we say. How about we get a drink in the dining cavern? I'm sure there's a quiet corner there where we can have a chat." The Wingleader's office was always going to make any discussion feel formal, regardless of assertions to the contrary, but having a drink in the dining hall ought to put the young man at ease.

I'ster nodded. "I could definitely use a drink of juice. My mouth gets dry during drills." He was still nervous about this discussions, but he decided that he might as well follow as normal as possible his normal after-duty routine.

}:Usually you are with me,:{ put in Tynnath.

**Yes, but this is the Wingleader,** was the young rider's reply.

"And I sweat buckets," K'hetah said, pulling at his shirt and looking ruefully at the damp patches it bore. "Don't get down wind of me, whatever you do." He started walking across the Weyrbowl toward the dining cavern. "Everybody's been warning me to drink plenty so I've dividing my time between drinking and visiting the necessary. Are you from around here, I'ster? From this climate?"

**Shards!** I'ster thought to himself. **All that makes him seem almost like one of us.** He nodded to the man's question. "Yes, sir, completely weyrbred. Until Tynnath and I were able to fly, I never really traveled from this Weyr."

"_Really?_ Oh, no, now I think about it. I didn't leave my home until I was nearly as old as you are now so I shouldn't be surprised. But when I did leave I didn't have the freedom of having a dragon. That wasn't until much later, for me."

The boy shrugged. "Without Tynnath, I doubt that I ever would have left the Weyr. I may have chosen a craft - I was still thinking when I Impressed but hadn't decided on anything - but it would have been something that I could study here. I never really had an urge to leave."

K'hetah nodded. Some people seemed driven to see new things, some people seemed as driven to leave what they knew. He thought he was more like the youngster than either of those; he moved because he had to, not because he particularly wanted to. "The ability to be happy where you are is a blessing."

This produced another shrug from I'ster. "I've all I've ever needed right here."

The bronzerider admired the young man's certainty. As they arrived at the dining cavern K'hetah glanced around, assuring himself that there would be a quiet table where he and the youngster could chat. "You think we can take a whole pitcher of juice back to that table over there?" he asked, feeling his pace increase now that something to drink was almost a reality. "You grab the glasses, I'ster."

"Yes, sir," the young man nodded and went to the serving area to choose two cups for them. He walked carefully toward the table rather than moving at his usual half-running pace - one which as often as not ended in at least a stumble. This was different and he wanted to arrive at the table with his own dignity and the cups intact.

"They let me have a pitcher and promised to bring more if I ran out," K'hetah said happily as he approached the table. "Here -" He poured juice into the two glasses. "- Try that."

"Yes, sir," was I'ster's response. He picked up a glass, wincing as he sloshed a bit of it onto the table before gulping down some of it. More sloshed onto the table as he set it down, coughing profusely.

The bronzerider reached around and hit the youngster on the back a couple of times, giving him a chance to get his breath back. "You all right? Getting air?" he asked, trying to balance not making a drama out of the incident with not letting the brownrider suffer any real harm.

The youngster nodded, his face growing redder by the moment, more from embarrassment than through the choking. He attempted to clear his throat, tears streaming from his eyes. "I. . . I'm fine."

"Good. Now you know how young dragons feel when they don't think of the right stomach when eating firestone. Bit of a surprise for them."

I'ster blinked at the older rider. "That's not really the same, is it? We don't normally need to think before drinking or eating."

"Perhaps sometimes we should!" K'hetah said with a smile.

"Oh," was the young man's only comment, still embarrassed from his mishap while swallowing.

"Don't worry, I'ster. We all feel stupid in front of other people sometimes." The bronzerider sat down and sipped at his own drink, sighing happily as he felt the cold juice ease down his overheated throat. "That's good. Now, tell me how you've been finding the drills we've been doing. Anything unexpected in them?"

"Tynnath's stamina," was the young man's immediate reply. "I find myself to be tiring long before he does."

"I still find that with Loeth," K'hetah admitted, laughing. "But that's something we can work on - more stamina for you and some useful tricks that can help you manage all right even when you're tired."

"I'd appreciate that, sir. I'd hate to fail him when he needs me most."

K'hetah nodded. "Most riders feel that way. Most _good_ riders," he amended.

I'ster smiled shyly, looking down at the table. "I really want to be a good rider."

"And there's no reason why you shouldn't be," K'hetah said simply.

Last updated on the December 28th 2007

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