A Friendly Face

Writers: Avery, Devin
Date Posted: 12th February 2021

Characters: R'lor, Irrkali
Description: After arriving at Dolphin Cove for his new position, R'lor meets with his friend Irrkali.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 3 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: M'gan (not by name), Irradis

R'lor

After meeting with those he needed to officially meet with, R'lor was
tempted to hide out in his weyr the rest of the day with the excuse of
unpacking. There were so many new people here and he already missed
the familiarity of Rising Moons. He didn't regret his choice exactly,
but the reality of it was making him feel unsettled.

}:We will do well here, teaching the young ones,:{ Kularth said.

**Yes, we will.** He took a breath to clear his head. And there was at
least one familiar face here. She was even on the weyrlingstaff, and
the thought of working with her again brought a smile to his face.
**Could you ask Jeath if her rider is free?**

}:Kularth has arrived. His rider wants to see you.:{

Irrkali dropped the pencil she had in her hand. Kularth? And R'lor?
That was a surprise. Were they visiting?

**Tell then I'm happy to meet them. Where?**

Jeath relayed that.

R'lor thought for a moment. Somewhere like the dining cavern would be
easy, but he thought of the noise and the crowd. No, he just wanted a
quiet conversation with his friend.

}:In our new weyr.:{ Kularth sent an image of the ledge, on a lower
level to give easier access to the barracks. The blue had been sunning
himself but rose so he would be easier to see.

Jeath passed over the image. Irrkali pulled two bottle of ales from
her cabinet and went walking over to the weyr, extrapolating which one
from the ledge visual.

She rapped on the door smartly.

R'lor was already smiling when he opened the door. "Irrkali! It's so
good to see you."

"And you, too. When Jeath said you were here, I thought it was on a
visit. You have a _weyr_?" She looked him up and down and held up the
ale bottles. "I brought a gift."

"Oh, thank you." He took one and turned to gesture toward the seating
area. "Please, have a seat. Yes, I've been accepted as the
Weyrlingmaster Third, so we'll be working together again."

"Oh, that's fantastic news," she said with a genuine smile. "I have
nothing poor to say about K'sedel but I look forward to a familiar
face."

"I'm glad you're here, too. The idea of getting used to a new place
with so many new people... it's a bit overwhelming." The last time
he'd moved had been before the Pass, when Rising Moons opened.

"I know what you mean. The only places I've lived have been
Dragonsfall and Rising Moons. But I just _couldn't_ bear staying while
Jeath was recovering, I couldn't do anything but work with weyrlings,
and M'talis was keeping me on night watch of the barracks and
explaining flights to candidates and greenriders." She rolled her
eyes. "Dolphin Cove's staff is more open-minded about the roles of
green and blueriders."

R'lor made a slight face. "Yes. I finally realized that if I wanted a
promotion to 'Third I was going to have to look somewhere else."
Things hadn't been as stifling for him as it had for Irrkali, but he
often felt like his experience was being overlooked and M'talis nearly
always deferred to bronze and brownriders over him.

"I hope you like it here. There's no snow, the beaches are lovely, the
men attractive..." she winked at him.

His lips curved up. "I have noticed a distinct lack of clothing."

"It's a perk you'll get used to. Makes the Candidates and weyrlings
apt to get in a little more trouble, though," she said.

"Hmm, good to know. I'll be sure to keep an eye on that." He opened
his mouth to say more, and then shook his head. "We can discuss
business tomorrow. For now I wanted to catch up with you. How is
Jeath, by the way? Healing well?"

"Excellently. More than fit to return to full duties, actually," she said.

"So you're thinking of moving back to the fighting wings?"

"I did get one interview for Cyclone's wingthird position," she said.

"How did that go?" R'lor sat down and took a drink of ale. "Mmm, this is good."

"I thought about it, but declined. And it might be a good thing. I'm
feeling a ways about the 'leader of that wing," she said.

"Do you not like his leadership style?" R'lor asked.

"Oh no, that's not what I mean at all." Her cheeks colored a bit. "I
meant it might be better to not be in the same wing because he's
rather...intriguing and I wouldn't want...complications."

R'lor's eyebrows went up. "Well, well. I need to meet this man who
causes you to think about intriguing complications. He must be very
interesting indeed."

"Well, all Weyrlingmasters are going to meet Wingleaders as you trade
them weyrlings, so you will at some point."

"Is that your way of saying you're not going to introduce me?" R'lor
took another drink of ale, watching her with a gleam in his eyes.

"Are you going to embarrass me if I do?"

"Not in front of a Wingleader, certainly." A little smile played on
his lips. "But I may tease you a bit afterward." He hoped he wasn't
overstepping. They _had_ been friends at Rising Moons.

"Feel free to tease me if I get to tease you back for when _you_ fall
for some pretty green or bluerider."

"So you've fallen for him already?"

"I've got him on my mind, a lot. Him winning Jeath's flight helped,"
she said. "I don't know if it's more than that. It's been a long time
since I've really fallen for someone, I think I forgot what that was
like."

R'lor nodded. It had been a while for him too. His life revolved
around weyrlings now and while he was content with teaching his young
charges and with his few friends, he sometimes missed having the spark
of romance in his life. "I hope everything goes well for you, truly.
You deserve every happiness, Irrkali." He smiled. "Although you're
making me more and more curious about this bronzerider."

"All right, I'll introduce you, I promise," she said.

"Other than that bit of excitement, how are you? And how are your children?"

"They're well. Alidre's thinking about going to the Harper Hall for
some direct training there, though with the recent tensions I'm
nervous about that. Irroska's struggling a bit in lessons. And Irradis
is eager for the next clutch, of course. If you plan on spending any
time with the Candidates before it, you'll run into him again."

"I plan on meeting all the Candidates, at least briefly, to get a
sense of them and what I might expect if they do Impress. Of course I
know Irradis already, but I'd like to speak with him anyway." Irradis
was a handful, but a good kid at heart.

"Moving sobered him up a bit, but he bounced back. I think - I hope -
a dragon will really steady him up."

"Maybe he'll get a nice mellow brown," R'lor said with a smile.

"A stable brown to settle him out would be good. He hasn't quite
realized even if he Impresses now he'll have to wait in the Weyrlings'
wing for a bit... that will be hard. I would have chafed at it. Most
of the ones in there now do too. A couple seem to like it, though."

"I can understand that, being left behind while your peers go out to
fight Thread." At least the young weyrlings knew they would eventually
get to join the Wings. While Kularth might be able to manage for half
a candlemark or so, it was extremely unlikely he'd ever be able to fly
a half or even a third of a 'Fall. Even longer drills with the
weyrlings was taxing on his bad wingjoint.

"Anything big you're planning on doing with the Candidates classes
wise? Or plans for some of the younger weyrlings who are looking for
something to do while they're left behind, make them feel engaged?"

"I'll get to know them a bit first. I plan on meeting with all the
Candidates and underage riders. For the young 'staff, I'll do what I
can to help them understand the importance of their role. Some just
need to be kept busy, while others do well given a measure of
leadership."

She nodded. "I'll be happy to give you my impressions of them when you
actually start working. I think you'll like the batch we have. And
being here."

"I hope so. And I'd definitely like to get your opinions, you've got
actual experience with them. Would you mind if I leaned on you a
little until I get a handle on the job?" He'd be uncomfortable relying
on anyone else, worried that they might doubt his ability.

"Of course. Anything for a friend," she said with a grin.

R'lor lifted his bottle with a little smile. "I'll drink to that."

Last updated on the February 19th 2021

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A Friendly Face