Tavern Talks

Writers: Heather, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 5th December 2017

Characters: K'yne, R'ien
Description: K'yne would like to talk. R'ien would like to listen.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 6 of Turn 9

K'yne

K'yne pulled up a chair beside of R'ien in the dimly lit tavern that
many of the riders frequented not far from the Weyr. R'ien was one of
the few that K'yne didn't mind having a conversation with outside of
wing drills and wing drama. Perhaps it was because they both rode
brown, or just that they had some things in common.

"Did you hear I'm leaving the Wing?" K'yne said by way of greeting as
he took a sip of his ale and set it back on the table.

"Yes, I did, and it's about time you got a promotion," R'ien
responded, not looking up from the Mark he was playing with. It was so
old that it had lost all monetary value, the stamp marking its origin
nearly worn away, and the parts of the surface that weren't nicked
were rubbed to an almost satiny sheen. Currently he was "walking" the
Mark across the backs of his fingers, making it "disappear" into his
wristband and then "reappear" in his left hand. Caravan tricks, easy
enough to learn, but he was still proud he could perform them so well.
"I've often thought you'd be a good Wingsecond, so to hear someone
finally got the note is good news." He momentarily palmed the coin and
looked directly at the other man with a smile. "Although why choose a
tavern to celebrate in? Isn't that a little cliche?" he joked even as
he lifted his own mug of apple ale for an appreciative gulp of the
liquid.

"Who said we're here to celebrate? The Wingsecond promotion is about
the only good thing happening in my life at the moment." K'yne
muttered with a hint of dejection in his voice. He'd almost turned
down the promotion but, if he were honest, he missed being a
Wingsecond as he had at his former Weyr, and maybe having a little
more responsibility and work would help keep his mind off of his
family problems.

The other brownrider paused, processing K'yne's tone, and he set the
mug down. He set his hands in his lap to fuss with the Mark in a less
distracting manner, rubbing it between a thumb and forefinger like a
worry-stone. "My friend L'kaz would say that trying to drown your
sorrows is a bad idea, since sorrow knows how to swim." Not that he
knew; he never drank to excess anyway. "Would you like to talk about
it instead?" he inquired gently.

K'yne barked out a laugh, "Sorrows can swim, I like that." He took
another drink of his ale. He was a tall, well muscled man, it would
take quite a bit for him to feel any strong effects from the ale. "I
found out I fathered a son I knew nothing about," he held up a hand,
"I know that sounds like the opening to many a story from a
dragonrider, but it isn't. It wasn't a flight child, it was by a woman
that I... cared a lot about, she was dragonless." He didn't want to
dwell on Ocktima, so he quickly summarized the rest, "She ended up
marrying a holder and raising my son as a holdless and never told me.
Now he's some messed up young bronzerider at Dolphin Cove who nearly
caused a meltdown between Emerald Falls and Dolphin Cove." The
brownrider raised his mug of ale in a passionless toast, "Cheers to
fatherhood."

R'ien directed his stare to the wall to take its weight off K'yne as
he sorted through the details in the statement. "I don't know how to
say this tactfully, so I'll have to be honest: I may not be the right
person to talk to about this," he stated, looking back to the other
man. "I don't have any advice, or consolations, except to say I'm
sorry you weren't told; that you didn't have a chance to do right by
your boy. I can also buy you a couple more rounds and make sure you
get back to the Weyr safely if that's what you think you need. And I
can keep listening."

"There isn't much else to say. The boy hates me, blames me for
abandoning him and his mother, who is dead now, by the way, and never
wants to see me again." K'yne lifted his shoulders. "So you can see,
the Wingsecond position was a boon when I needed one the most."

"Forgive me, again, for not knowing how to ask nicely, but will you be
able to keep your head in the right place once the promotion is
complete?" R'ien inquired, the concern in his voice not wavering.

K'yne nodded, finishing off his mug of ale and sliding it aside, "I
believe so. Right now wing drills, practice and Threadfall are the
only times I feel like myself. I know how to fight Thread, and I know
how to work in a Wing, nothing has come along to confuse or muddle
that." The corner of his mouth tilted. "Thanks for the concern,
though."

"It's part of the job description," R'ien said with a shrug, only
partly kidding. "Shall I buy you another?"

K'yne waved off the offer, "I'm good. I've talked enough about me.
How's that new formation going with the Wing?" They'd been working on
it before K'yne had left.

R'ien rested his hands on the table to resume playing with the
battered Mark more overtly. "The changeover is going to be a problem.
The greens and blues will manage just fine, of course, but the browns
and bronzes are going to move like molasses in the dead of winter," he
said bluntly. "We'll need more time and space to maneuver, but
plausibly, it's doable."

"It's ambitious, for sure, but smart if it can be pulled off." K'yne
wasn't sure what the new Wingleader coming in to Torrent Wing would
want to do, or even who that would be at this point.

"Then we just need to practice it and see what happens." The other
brownrider temporarily put his Mark down to have more of the apple
ale. "How many riders do you think will hate our guts for trying it?"

"Oh, I'd say all of them," K'yne grinned a little, glad that he
wouldn't have to hear the complaints.

"Excellent. If you'd said 'only a few,' I would have said we weren't
doing our job correctly," R'ien kidded, and signaled to one of the
bartenders for another drink for himself.

Last updated on the December 10th 2017

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Tavern Talks