The Best Wing

Writers: Emma, Estelle
Date Posted: 8th September 2020

Characters: M'gan, K'deren
Description: M'gan meets with his new Wingsecond K'deren
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 5, day 4 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik (not by name), Cyradis, R'nar

K'deren

M'gan ran a hand along the hides stacked on the shelves in the Cyclone
Wingleader's office. **A lot to read,** he thought with a smile. All the
wisdom of past Wingleaders. Despite his experience back in the North, he
had some catching up to do.

}:Donneth's rider is on his way,:{ Isarth informed him. M'gan nodded and
turned away from the records. There'd be time to look them over later.
Right now, he needed to know about the current wingriders, and the best
person to help him with that was the Wingsecond. He'd not met K'deren
yet, but knew he came from a well known family of dragonriders that
included Weyrleaders, and was weyrmated to the Weyrwoman. He was
certainly well connected. M'gan hoped they'd get on. It'd be awkward if
they didn't!

There was a knock at the door. "It's K'deren, you asked to see me?" came
a voice.

It was expected that the post would be filled, he couldn't wear the
knots of an acting wingleader forever. Much as the riders of Cyclone
wing would follow him and Donneth, there was always a slight tension in
the air over following a brown dragon, and he knew it as well as they
did. In a way, this was a relief to get things back in their proper
order, but even so, there was a hint of uncertainty. What if this new
man wanted his own second in place?

"Yes, of course. Come on in, K'deren." The bronzerider got to his feet
and offered a hand with a warm smile. "I'll say right away, I'm grateful
for your hard work leading the Wing these past months, and I hope you'll
be willing to stay on as Wingsecond."

K'deren took the offered hand, with a deep sense of relief. "Welcome to
Dolphin Cove, and Cyclone wing," he said. "You'll find that, in my
opinion, it's the best wing here. I've kept them in order."

"I don't doubt it. And the Weyrleader agrees you've been doing an
excellent job as acting Wingleader. He recommended I keep you in your
post himself." M'gan moved over to a table where there was a tray with
several jugs. "Can I get you a drink? Klah, or water?"

That meant a lot, hearing the recommendation and it's source. Although a
tiny, cynical part of him wondered if that was what the Weyrleader
thought it might take to keep his Weyrwoman and her dragon happy. But
that thought was swiftly brushed aside. "Yes, water would be good."

M'gan poured him a glass. "First of all, I should say that I'm not
planning to make too many changes, not at first. We can stick to
well-remembered flight patterns in drills and keep everyone in the same
practice groups, while I get to know the wingriders. Still, if there's
anything you'd like to alter then don't hesitate to speak up. I'll be
relying on you a great deal these first few sevendays."

K'deren took the glass, and drank from it before replying. "You'll need
to watch some of the younger riders who are new to the wing and flying
fall. I think they're only just realising that this isn't a drill. We
had a minor injury in fall a sevenday or so back, and it shook a couple
of them."

"Yes, I'll keep an eye on them in drills. If you've got any concerns,
perhaps we can move a few of the more experienced riders around, to
steady the wing. I trust your judgement," M'gan said. "Fortunately there
isn't Fall for another few days, so we have time to practice."

"There's a drill scheduled for tomorrow morning, how do you want to run
it?" asked K'deren.

"Let's start out as you've been practising before. You lead, and I'll
watch for a while, get an idea of how everyone flies. Then we'll switch
over, fly some straightforward formations," M'gan suggested. He felt
himself relaxing into his role, and was relieved at how familiar it
seemed, after so many months as a wingrider. "Then you can watch me, and
let me know afterwards how I do. And please, be honest. All wings are
different, and I'd rather know where I'm going wrong now than find out
when a rider gets scored."

"That sounds like a plan," K'deren began to relax. "We usually start by
having a quick meeting to go through the formations that we'll be
running, then check equipment before taking to the skies," he began.
"We'll run through the required drills, sometimes I might call out a
sudden change, or have Donneth order someone down to simulate an injury.
Then we'll debrief before everyone is released to other duties."

"Good, then that's settled." M'gan felt a sense of anticipation, shared
with his Isarth, at the thought of leading a Wing again. "Now, besides
drills, I'm planning to meet with each of the wingriders in turn over
the next few sevendays. Get to know them, find out if they have any
questions or worries, and so on. You can only learn so much from
records. From what I've seen, they seem to be a hard-working lot, but if
there's anything I should be aware of - or," he added, "any of them who
have leadership potential..." He was aware that he still had to name a
Wingthird.

"Watch out for Rediza, she has a tendency to be distracted during
drills, but will perform during fall," K'deren said. "C'vet has some
potential, and he and his blue are old enough to get some respect from
the rest of the wing."

"Right. I'll give it some thought." M'gan had wondered whether it would
be best to name a Wingthird who was already in the wing, given that he
was new to it himself, though he knew K'deren had a lot of experience
with Cyclone. "What about the bronzeriders and brownriders - what do you
think of them? I hope they weren't too disappointed not to be promoted,
but I believe they're mostly rather young."

"Most of them are pretty young, my feeling is that we do a good job in
training them up, and along comes someone else to take them from us,"
joked K'deren. "I think R'nar has some potential, and I'm not just
saying that as his mother's weyrmate. One day he'll make a good
wingsecond, and he'll be wanting to challenge for those fancy Weyrleader
knots if I'm any judge of character."

"No doubt he will. I'll be interested to meet him." He'd not realised he
had the Weyrwoman's son in his Wing, and wondered what the young man
would be like as a wingrider. The children of high-ranking riders could
be anything from over-confident to nervous about living up to their
parents' reputation, but it was encouraging to know that K'deren thought
well of the young man. "And I'll have a word with the Weyrleader, see if
we can't get an experienced brownrider or two assigned to us, to support
the younger ones."

K'deren nodded. "That make sense. I can also set up some meetings for
you with our current bronze and brownriders if you think that would be
helpful."

"I'd appreciate it. Thank you," M'gan said. "Well, I expect I'll have
dozens of questions for you over the next few sevendays, but why don't
we meet more informally, for a drink in the dining cavern? Or a meal, if
you're not busy with your family." He thought it'd be easier to get to
know his new Wingsecond in a more relaxed environment than the office.

"That sounds like an idea," K'deren said. "So long as you don't mind if
Cyradis and some of the kids join us. Bring someone yourself, if you
have a partner."

"I don't mind at all, as long as they don't mind a bit of Wing talk."
The bronzerider grinned. "Let me know when suits the Weyrwoman. I'd
imagine her schedule's the busiest."

"I'll let you know when works for us." K'deren smiled. "Welcome to the
Dolphin Cove, and the wing."

"Thank you." M'gan stood and reached out to shake his Wingsecond's hand.
"I look forward to working together - and burning some Thread!"

Last updated on the September 19th 2020

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