Interview with the Leaders

Writers: Avery, Emma, Heather
Date Posted: 1st September 2021

Characters: K'reyel, Saibra, Kadira
Description: The Weyrleadership takes stock of the unusual situation.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 3 of Turn 10
Notes: Part 2 of 3 ; takes place immediately following hatching
Mentioned: Ki'ben, Aglayath

K'reyel

Saibra

It was typical for the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman to mingle with the newly
Impressed Weyrlings before the hatching feast to dole out
congratulations and meet families. Tonight the Weyrleaders had one Weyrling in
particular that they needed to speak with - the female bluerider.

"Kadira," Saibra said with a smile as she approached on K'reyel's arm.
"Congratulations on Impressing such a handsome blue."

"He's a good looking hatchling," K'reyel said. "Would you tell us his
name?"

Kadira felt dazed from everything that was going on. Her anxiety and
nerves before getting on the Sands, the pain of the talon-slash when it
happened, the feeling of a new mind in hers when she Impressed, feeling dizzy when
she realized what it meant...

}:I am with you,:{ promised Ishath from her side, where he hovered. Her
dragon's mindvoice was cool like a deep snowfall and it steadied her.

"Ishath, sir. He says he's Ishath."

"And how is your arm?" Saibra asked, looking at the girl's bandaged
limb.

"Oh, it hurts. Dragonet talons are sharp," she murmured. "They stitched
it and gave me a topical and it's not anywhere where it severed a tendon,
don't worry. Ishath's hunger feels almost as bad."

"Ask for help if you need it," K'reyel told her. "If you feel that you
can't chop meat for him, let one of the staff know." It was what he would have
told any other injured weyrling, and almost a reflex as he tried to
process the fact that the little blue had chosen a young woman as his rider.

"Oh...I don't want to be a bother to the staff. I'll see if I can manage-
but don't worry, I won't let him - my dragon - go hungry." She fell over
her own words for a moment.

Kadira wanted her parents. She was struggling not to shrink into herself
as she looked up at the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman, both looking at _her_.
She knew intellectually they greeted all pairs who Impressed but there was a
reason they were talking to her right now, first. What had happened
between her and Ishath was - Unprecedented. Astounding. She was sure the eyes of
everyone in the Stands had been on them. In fact, right now, if she
turned and looked, the weyrlingstaff, and other weyrlings would be looking, and
so would other weyrfolk creeping around to come gawk at them, and -

She took a deep breath before she could panic too much.

"I'm sorry to ask but did you ever touch or spend time with Chioneth's
eggs?" Saibra had not allowed any Candidates to touch Chioneth's eggs
this go round, since the Queen had already been so wound up over sharing the
Sands with Aglayath.

"I never set foot on the Sands, Weyrwoman. I know you didn't want us to
because Chioneth was restless, and I just applied for Candidacy. I
wouldn't get myself kicked out by sneaking onto the Sands and getting in trouble
with her..." Chioneth was a big, protective gold dragon. While dragons didn't
normally put humans in danger, they were very protective of their eggs,
and Kadira would never have risked angering her directly.

"But I did go into one of the peep-tunnels to look," she added.

"But not onto the sands at all," confirmed K'reyel.

"Not onto the sands, you couldn't fit. The tunnel I'm talking about,
it's half-collapsed and you can get into it from an old blocked-up storeroom,
and there's a ledge you can climb up onto where you can look down and see
the sands, but you can only maybe stick your arm through. Couldn't fit out."

She wondered if she was telling the Weyrleadership something new by
telling them about the tunnels where weyrbrats went to stare at the eggs and
daydream about sneaking out _onto_ the Sands to touch the eggs. River
Bluff had had three that she'd known of, one of which let a small enough
weyrbrat actually get out onto the Sands. Dragonsfall had two she knew about.
Probably every Weyr had them. So maybe they already knew and just
toleratedbit because everyone wanted to look at eggs, and as long as the golds
didn't get too mad and nobody got hurt, it was okay? Or maybe she was about to
wreck Turns of Dragonsfall tradition by admitting this to them, if they
were closing it up.

Saibra's mouth twitched a little with a suppressed smile. "Yes, I think
I've heard Kaibren, hm, I mean, Ki'ben, mention going down there before." Her
son's new name still had not grown on her. "I suppose you understand why
we are surprised, then, Kadira. This has never happened, at least, not in
any records that I have seen."

"I've never heard of it either, ma'am. But of course you'd know best,
you have the Records Room." The Weyrwoman would know everything edge case,
wouldn't she? "I wouldn't believe it myself if I saw it from the Stands,
but...I _can_ hear Ishath. He's very hungry."

"I've never seen record of it." Saibra said but then the thought
immediately followed... What if it _had_ happened before but it was purposefully
kept off of the ledgers...

The thought that people might have hidden the fact that blue dragons
could sometimes impress a woman was also occurring to K'reyel. He was making a
mental note to ask his harper brother to search the records at Dolphin
Cove, as well as those that had been brought there from Thayan Peak. "You
should give him something to eat," K'reyel said after a moment, "before he
makes you feel so hungry that the meat will look appealing to you."

Saibra glanced over Kadira's head. "Ah, and I think I see your mother
approaching."

"I'll feed him, and then..." She turned to look at her mother, ahead of
the rest of her family, all riders. Then she turned back to look at the
Weyrleaders, and said. "So...everyone's going to be talking about it,
right? Do you want me to...not come to the Feast?"

"Of course you should come to the feast." Saibra smiled. "We have
nothing to be ashamed of, do we? I think your presence there will show mine and
K'reyel's support of you and Ishath. Now I can't guarantee how everyone will react
to you because it is a... unique situation. "

"If you'd rather have hidden me away, I understand. I'm so glad for your
support," she said. Because she and Ishath were going to cause problems
for Saibra and K'reyel, weren't they? It was nice to have their backing, but
she still felt bad.

"It's your right to attend. The feast is there to honour all of those
who impress, no matter who they were before," K'reyel told her. "You will be
more than welcome."

She gave the Weyrleader a small smile and bobbed her head. "In that
case, I'll feed Ishath, greet my family, get him settled, and then...see
everyone there."

}:You will be fine. There is nothing to be ashamed of,:{ Ishath told
her, filling her mind with his calm certainty in the Rightness of their bond.

Then the blue reached out to his sire and dam. }:My rider will be safe
at this event? She will be all right without me there?:{ He thought perhaps
he would need to defend her.

}:More than safe,:{ Erdenth assured her. }:My rider tells me so.:{

Erdenth was his sire, and more importantly the Weyrleader's dragon, and
Ishath knew that his statements would be true. }:Erdenth says you will
be safe there. You can tell me all about it - :{ He opened his mouth wide
at the same time as his stomach rumbled.

}:_After_ you feed me,:{ he amended.

Kadira beamed at Ishath with the besotted expression of all new
weyrlings who thought every action of their dragonets was the most perfect thing
in the world. "I'll get to feeding him while you speak to others, then.
Thank you for supporting us."

Saibra gave Kadira's shoulder a squeeze. "Of course. Enjoy your
evening." The Weyrleaders drifted away to congratulate the next Weyrling pair,
but they would no doubt be seeing plenty of the Weyr's first female
bluerider in the coming days.

Last updated on the October 1st 2021

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