Early Morning Runs

Writers: AmajoS, Eimi
Date Posted: 27th May 2019

Characters: T'min, Celianne
Description: T'min and a fellow weyrling discuss the trials and tribulations of dragonriding while preparing for an even more onerous task.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 17 of Turn 9

T'min tied the laces on the running shoes he was wearing tighter and
sighed. He hated this part of weyrlinghood more than any other part,
he decided. Even the meat cutting part, which was messy and until he'd
been shown how to do it properly, frustrating. But this, this was just
painful.

Osgrath lay, dozing in the sun, his belly full and his thoughts lazy.
He'd be sleeping soon, but he was awake enough to suggest, }:Why don't
you just not do it:{

T'min barked a little laugh and replied, **If I thought I'd get away
with it, I'd do just that.**

Celianne groaned as she stretched her arms wide, her back giving an
audible pop. "By the Red Star, I hate these early morning runs.
Couldn't they start us off with a leisurely evening stroll around the
lake or something?"

T'min blushed when he glanced around and realized she was talking to
-him.- Or, maybe just talking out loud, but he was the only one close
enough to give a reply. But then, he always blushed when he thought
girls were talking to him. "I think they think it wakes us up or
something?" He replied after a moment of screwing up his courage.

"Yeah, cause we could just sleep through our hungry lifemates," she
said with an eyeroll. Didn't chopping meat give them enough of a
stamina boost?

He snorted at the idea of sleeping through Osgrath's hunger. "I don't
even think the dead could sleep through a dragon's hunger." The humor
in the idea made him forget to be nervous and he even grinned at his
fellow weyrling rider in amusement.

"I know they say eventually they can feed themselves, but that day
can't seem to come fast enough," she said, stretching up on her toes
and reaching for the sky.

"Just think of all the free time we'll have," he joked, knowing that
the 'free time' would be taken up with something else.

Celianne rolled her eyes. "Oh, hadn't you heard? We're dragonriders,
now. There no such thing as 'free time' for us anymore. Even after
we graduate we'll have Watches, drills, sweeprides, meetings, strap
mending, dragon bathing... Oh, and the occasional Mating Flight."

T'min's face turned the same color as a tomato at that last. He knew
about them, of course. Had even witnessed a few since he'd arrived and
felt the vague stirrings that they caused. It has an altogether
bewildering and embarrassing situation, and, he imagined, one of the
more unpleasant things he'd have to deal with as a dragonrider. He
could barely even talk to girls, much less... that. And then, what if
the rider of the green his dragon caught one day wasn't even a girl?
He pushed that idea out of his head completely. No sense borrowing
trouble!

After clearing his throat a few times to be able to speak without is
voice breaking like it had when had been twelve, T'min said, "Well
sure, but dragonriders have rest days just like everyone else. Just
not on the normal days is all."

"Recovery days, is more like," Celianne snorted. "Forty more Turns of
drill, fight, try to relax, drill, fight, try to relax. Don't get me
wrong, someone has to do it and it might as well be us. But I've
watched my father and mother change since Thread came back. It's not
truly Rest when you know it just never ends."

T'min stared in surprise, he'd never heard anyone complain so much
about being a dragonrider. And, maybe she was right, but he couldn't
imagine it. She made it sound... hopeless. "But, we're going to be
protecting everyone. Doesn't that make it worth it?"

She looked back at him as if he had asked the most ridiculous of
questions, and she hadn't heard him right. "Well, yes, of course.
Why else would we do it?"

The weyrling brownrider was confused. He wondered if he'd missed
something or if girls were just generally confusing. He wanted to ask
her why she seemed so contradictory about it, but felt tongue-tied by
his confusion. He had been doing so well, chatting without stuttering
or making a fool of himself, and he didn't want to ruin it by giving
the impression he was too dim to follow the conversation. So he just
shrugged and nodded.

"Looks like we're forming ranks," Celianne said, stretching up to her
full height and reaching for the sky for one last stretch. "We should
head over there. I hate being stuck at the back of the pack."

T'min nodded, "Yeah, it's the worst. The worst place to start, I
mean." He usually wound up near the back by the time the run was over,
of course. He followed the weyrling greenrider to where everyone was
lining up and mentally prepared himself for an hour of torment. He
envied his dragon, who was firmly asleep in the sun.

Last updated on the June 3rd 2019

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Early Morning Runs