Some First Date

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 9th March 2019

Characters: K'yne, Erivana
Description: K'yne escorts Erivana to the Dragonsfall Hatching.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 8 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra, K'reyel

K'yne

K'yne was in his best clothes for the hatching. Even though he was a
Wingsecond that didn't exclude him from picking up some Master
Crafters and others who had asked for transport to the Dragonsfall
event. It was good for strengthening relations between dragonmen and
holders for everyone to attend that could. Once he had picked up and
dropped off his last group of travelers, the brownrider directed
Arinoth to a small ledge for what he hoped would be his last passenger
for the evening.

"Erivana?" he called, hoping he hadn't missed her.

Seryth shifted aside to make room for the brown. "Yes?" came a call
from inside the weyr. "Who is i - oh, K'yne!" she said, interrupting
herself as Seryth let her know who it was. "Come on in," she invited.

She closed her wardrobe door so there was a little more room inside
the weyr. The outfit she'd picked out for the hatching was a formal
one she'd gotten as a gift from her mother when she'd made Senior
Apprentice - a few Turns old, but it was still in fine condition since
she only wore it to Hatchings and other formal events. Some women
wanted different clothes every time, but Erivana liked the familiarity
of this one.

It was a dress in a blueish grey color, falling midway between the
knee and ankle, short-sleeved and with a scooped neckline. There was
pale grey lacing along the neckline, the ends of the sleeves, and the
bottom of the skirt, and a little embroidered vine pattern on the
bodice in the same color thread. It was adjustable at the back with
lacing, which Erivana had been working on pulling out to make sure it
fit. She was mid-pulling it over her head when he entered.

K'yne cleared his throat softly to let Erivana know that she wasn't
alone, but he didn't avert his eyes. Instead he crossed his arms over
his chest and leaned against the entry, "I just came by to see if you
would like to sit together at the Hatching."

She finished tugging it over her head, then smoothed it down to settle
it. It was hanging baggily around her since the laces were pulled all
the way out. She wans't sure when she'd start showing, but it clearly
wasn't yet.

"I'd love to," she said as she turned around.

"You're lucky I have a sister and am well versed in women's clothing,"
he said with a hint of a tease as he stepped forward and adjusted the
laces in the back so that the dress fit more snugly as it was supposed
to.

She gave him a grateful, genuine smile. "Thanks for making it go
faster. I've been trying to figure out what's still fitting and when
that's going to stop."

"According to my sister, one day she fit into everything and the next
none of her pants would button." He lifted his hands since that was
all the experience he had on the matter. "If you're all set Arinoth
will take us down."

"I'm ready," she said, slipping on shoes and following him down.

The Hatching Cavern was filled to the brim, but K'yne had instructed
one of his wingrider's to save him a couple of seats. "Down here," he
said to Erivana as he escorted her down to the two empty places.

Her eyes widened. "How'd you get these?"

"I'm not the Weyrleader, but I do have my ways," he told her as they
settled into the seats. "It seems we got here just in time," K'yne
said as the Candidates paraded out onto the sands.

"Well, this is quite the benefit." She smiled at him. "Anyone you know
or care about down there?"

"Not this go round," K'yne admitted, "although, Kaibren will be old
enough soon."

A chance to ask him the question she'd been wondering. "You're pretty
close to him, huh?"

"Yeah, I am," the brownrider said as the first egg began to crack.

"He looks up to you, huh?" she asked, then got distracted b the eggs.
"Hey! Think it's gonna be a bronze first? Those are good luck."

"Yeah, he does," K'yne said, even though he was distracted as the
first egg opened to reveal a brown. He could feel Arinoth's pleasure
at the first one out being a brown.

"Still a good choice," she said, watching the new dragonets. "I've got
a couple friends on their last chances."

"Hopefully this will be their time." The Wingsecond's eyes flicked
down to where K'reyel and Saibra sat. They looked quite comfortable
with one another, he noted.

She leaned forward when a green dragonet emerged and began staggering
around towards a group of girls in the corner. Two of them were fellow
perpetual Candidates with Erivana. She liked Tasriel a lot, a fellow
dragonhealer apprentice. While she didn't care as much for Caleni, she
still hoped the other girl didn't age out.

The green circled the group of girls before finally butting at a
platinum-haired girl. "Oh, that's Tasriel, she's my friend," she
blurted out.

K'yne smiled, glad for the Impression, and glad that Erivana seemed to
be enjoying herself.

By the time they'd neared the end of the Hatching, K'yne was getting
restless in the small seat, since his long legs were folded so that he
wasn't kneeing the person in front of him in the back of the head.
"Looks like we're down to the last one."

"I wonder who she'll pick?" Erivana asked, watching to see who the
green was choosing. And then she kept watching as the hatchling
wandered around crying, and then knocked over some poor candidate, and
then... She pressed a hand over her mouth in shock. "Oh no, no. Nono."

K'yne's gut clenched as the green dragonet collapsed and then dragon
keens rent the air. His eyes went back to Saibra, he could see that
she had buried her face into K'reyel's shoulder, and the Weyrleader
was holding her in a consolatory manner. He couldn't imagine what she
must be feeling through the link that she shared with Chioneth as
Chioneth watched one of her daughters die from lack of a lifemate.
Instinctually he wanted to go to her, but he knew it wasn't his place,
she had her Weyrleader and her weyrmate.

White-robed figures had been herded off of the Sands and the Candidate
who had been trampled flat by the panicking green was taken away by
healers.

As Erdenth gently gathered the green dragonet to have her removed, the
Dragonsfall Weyrwoman fled the Hatching Cavern, breaking the spell
that had lulled the crowd into a tense silence.

Saibra leaving triggered everyone to start speaking again, a slow din
beginning as people turned to each other to ask what they had seen, to
find out where to go next, to know if the Hatching was over and where
they should go next. Erivana was frozen for a moment, then murmured,
"What do we do?" over at K'yne.

"We put on good faces for the holders and families that came." K'yne
replied as he stood and offered his arm to Erivana to escort her out
of the Hatching Cavern.

She swallowed and took his arm, clinging slightly. Seryth had stayed
up on her ledge for the Hatching but she could feel the green dragon
grieving as strongly as the rest of the other dragons were.

"Okay. Happy face. Feasting, smiles. I guess you don't much feel like
dancing now," she added.

"Death is a part of the circle of Weyrlife. We should dance tonight to
celebrate the strength that these new dragonets will add to the Weyr."
K'yne cut his eyes sideways at her, and then said, to lighten the
mood, "Besides, I need to see if the mother of my child has two left
feet or not."

"You're poetic," she said, surprised.

Her surprise made him chuckle, "Not often."

"You seem so stern all the time, but that was so well said. It's just
not at all what I expected."

Did he seem stern all the time? K'yne had never really thought much
about how his quietness might be taken by others, but he thought she
might have a point. "I shall endeavor to be less stern. I admit, I'm a
bit rusty at being overly social."

"You'll have to practice with me," she said, with a smile of her own.
"We're going to be getting to know each other after all."

K'yne covered her hand with his. "I will do my best," he promised.

Last updated on the March 22nd 2019

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Some First Date