Encouragement

Writers: Devin, Estelle
Date Posted: 23rd October 2021

Characters: R'ayl, T'lin
Description: The morning after the Hatching, T'lin checks on new weyrling R'ayl
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 18 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Y'gel, Aviday, T'nep, K'don

T'lin

Delorth raised his snout and sniffed cautiously at the hunk of meat that
he was being offered. His stomach growled. He was very, very hungry,
but... }:Is it safe?:{

R'ayl nodded. "I cut it up myself. Well, one of the others helped, but I
was there all the time. And I saw the bigger dragons bringing it over
from the feeding pens." Closing his eyes, he pictured the scene as best
he could, sharing it with the little blue hatchling. Then,
encouragingly, he waved the bloody piece in front of Delorth's nose,
letting him breathe in the raw, metallic scent. It might not be pleasant
to him, but he could sense how mouth-wateringly delicious it seemed to
Delorth. Suddenly, before he could blink, there was a snap of teeth and
the meat was gone.

The young blue chewed, then swallowed it down with a gulp, and his
tongue flickered out to lick his jaws. }:It's good! More, please!:{

"Furayl, are you okay?" T'lin asked as he came up to the new pair.

The boy looked up and a wide smile lit his face as he recognized the
rider he'd helped to bathe his dragon. "Hello, Bluerider T'lin! I'm
fine." He offered another piece of meat to Delorth, who gobbled it
eagerly. "This is Delorth. He's all better now. Master Y'gel saved him."

"That was terrifying. I can't imagine what it must've been like for
you." In the chaos of the moment, T'lin had tried to gather
information from Calaroth and the riders around him and pieced
together that someone had tried to _poison_ the hatchlings with felis.
Only Delorth had ingested any before they realized it. "I'm so glad
you and Delorth are okay."

"It was scary. He got Greenrider Aviday to pull the bad meat right out
of Delorth's throat and I could feel it. I was sick." R'ayl put a hand
to his throat, remembering. As bad as the memory was, he preferred to
think of how Delorth had been saved than of how the fellis had got into
the meat in the first place. "At least they found it out before any of
the others ate some."

"Faranth, yes. I can't imagine who could _do_ something like that."
The horror of what could have happened was too terrible to think
about.

R'ayl's gaze dropped and Delorth, sensing his rider's emotions, left off
chewing and crooned in concern. He could still hardly believe that Enali
would have done what she did. She had promised there would be justice
for his brother. But how could hurting the hatchlings be justice? The
only change her actions had brought about was that the rift between Hold
and Weyr was worse than ever.

He touched Delorth's head to comfort him and offered him another piece
of meat. T'lin seemed kind, but if he knew who R'ayl's family was, would
he want nothing more to do with him? "Maybe it was someone who was so
angry...that they didn't know what they were doing. Maybe they thought
it'd just make him sick."

"_Everyone_ knows felis is lethal to dragons. And firelizards." T'lin
sighed. "That poor little thing." But the unfortunate firelizard may
well have saved Delorth's life, and that of many other hatchlings.

The boy nodded. Just as he and Delorth had found each other, another
bond had been broken. "I won't forget him." He looked up. "Is Calaroth
okay? It must have been frightening, not knowing what was happening."

"He was very upset, but he's better now knowing all the hatchlings are
okay." It had been a trial, trying to manage his own emotions and his
dragon's, all while trying to figure out what was going on.

"I'm glad he's better." From the short time he'd been in the Candidate
classes, R'ayl remembered how the dragons shared emotions, with each
other and with their riders. If the queen had feared for her hatchlings,
they must all have known it. He looked up at the older rider. "And I'm
glad I Impressed a blue. They're the most beautiful...I think, anyway."

T'lin gave him a wide grin. "I think so too." He turned to look at the
hatchling. "Oh, I got so distracted with all the worry I didn't even
introduce myself! Hello Delorth, I'm T'lin. It's a pleasure to meet
you."

The little hatchling left off chewing for a moment and looked up at
T'lin, his eyes whirling a pleasant blue-green. There was a pause before
R'ayl realized. "He says hello! I'm sorry, I keep forgetting other
people can't hear him." He shook his head. "I'm still getting used to this."

T'lin chuckled. "It takes a while. At first I kept talking to Cal out
loud and I had to remind myself to do it in my head." He fondly
remembered when Calaroth had been as small as Delorth was now.

"The others in my class do that. It's kind of funny, when someone starts
explaining what the sun is, or tells everyone "not now" or "go back to
sleep", out of nowhere." He handed Delorth another piece of meat. "I
guess I'm just used to talking in my head more. It was quiet back home."

"The Weyr must be overwhelming with all the people and dragons and
noise," T'lin said. "I'm from a small hold, but I had a lot of family
around so it was hardly ever quiet."

"That must have been fun." R'ayl thought back to his home, how his
mother and sister had most often been too weary to talk much at the end
of the day. He still missed them. "One day, when Delorth is big enough,
I'll go back to see my family." And then, he'd be able to help them, and
maybe his mother wouldn't be angry that he'd gone to the Weyr.

"Oh, that's the _best_ day, when you can make a big entrance on your
dragon." The older bluerider grinned. "Though if you want to see them
sooner, I can pick up a few people and bring them here for a visit."

"Really?" The boy's whole expression brightened, but then he remembered:
his mother didn't even know he was at the Weyr, let alone that he had
Impressed. Nor did she know about Enali. How would she react to an
unknown dragonrider arriving at the cothold with such news? He
considered for a moment, but knew he'd have to confess to her
eventually. "Thank you. That would be so wonderful, but I'll have to
write and ask. There's only the two of them at the cothold, I don't know
if they can leave."

"Wow, only the two of them? That's small even for a cothold." T'lin
wondered what it would be like living in such an isolated place. "I
hope they're able to take a little time away to see you."

"Me too." R'ayl sighed, wondering if they would come even if they could.
She had been so insistent that he and his sister promise never to set
foot in the Weyr, that night when they'd heard about Grevan. She might
come herself, but she wouldn't leave Evalya behind on her own. Then,
perhaps the Weyrleader wouldn't permit them to visit anyway.

Delorth nudged him for more food, distracting him from his anxious
thoughts. "Um...can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Was anyone in your class...like me? I mean - smaller, and younger than
the rest." R'ayl had never expected to Impress, and between the shock
and euphoria of finding Delorth, the poisoning and the events that
followed, he'd not had time to think what it meant that he was now a
dragonrider. In the morning's classes, though, as they were told what
their training would consist of, he'd begun to worry. What if he
couldn't do this? He wasn't sure he could lift a firestone sack, let
alone catch one in the air.

"Oh yeah, T'nep and K'don were about your age when they Impressed.
They're both still in the weyrling Wing. If you ask them, I bet they'd
be willing to talk to you about what it was like for them." T'lin
remembered them struggling a bit, trying to keep up with their older
classmates.

"I'd like that," R'ayl said, wondering if he'd have the nerve, though it
would be less frightening than speaking to the Weyrlingmasters. "I don't
want to let Delorth down by not being as good or as strong as everyone
else."

}:You would never,:{ Delorth said loyally, touching his head to R'ayl's
side between bites.

"You won't. And don't feel bad if you struggle with some of it.
Weyrlinghood is _hard_, even for those who start out big and strong.
There's a lot of mental effort too. I bet you'll be good at some
things other people have problems with." T'lin patted his shoulder.

The boy looked up at him, and for a moment he knew he could be the best
young weyrling ever. Even Delorth broke off from eating for a moment and
warbled in pleasure. "Thank you, Bluerider T'lin." He glanced over at
the others, who were starting to return to the barracks. "I'd better get
to class."

"Okay. If you need anything, just let me know," T'lin said. "I'm happy
to help." R'ayl seemed like a sweet kid and T'lin wanted to make
things a little easier for him if he could.

Last updated on the February 6th 2022

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Encouragement