A Lot to Explore

Writers: Avery, Estelle
Date Posted: 31st October 2021

Characters: I'rad, R'ayl
Description: Furayl learns more about weyr life from Irradis while doing chores
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 13 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Enali, Tirraze

Irradis ran his finger down this sevendays' chores listing to find
himself assigned to laundry today with someone named... Furayl. The name
didn't sound familiar. Wasn't someone weyrbred, must be new. He headed
over to the laundry, mentally grumbling about how this was his _least_
favorite type of chore.

Already waiting by the entrance to the laundry was a small, dark-haired
boy. Furayl didn't mind helping with the washing, he liked the friendly
gossip and chatter that filled the air, along with the clouds of steam
that made it easy to go unnoticed. He'd been approved by the healers to
do regular chores now, rather than the lighter ones, and felt both proud
of his growing strength and nervous about whether he'd be able to lift
the heavy baskets of wet clothing.

He looked up to see an older boy with Candidate's knots approaching, and
managed a shy smile.

"Hiya. Furayl?" He asked, wondering how old he was. **Another
left-behinder like me, if we both Impress,** he thought.

The boy nodded. "Hello. You're Irradis?" He'd not recognized the name
but he vaguely remembered the older boy's face from Candidate classes,
he was one of the weyrbred ones who knew all the lessons backwards.

"Yep! Pleased to meet you, officially. You're one of the newer Searched
folks, right? What size hold were you from?"

"Um, I'm from a cothold." Furayl managed not to flinch at the question.
There was no way that Irradis could know who his family was. "A small
farm. I lived there with my mama and sister, and then I was sent to the
Weaver Hall, until the Searchrider came. It was really different to
here. There wasn't anywhere near this much laundry!"

"Ohhh, so you're a _crafter_. That's exciting," Irradis said. "I've
never picked one up, as you can tell. I like floating around and doing
different things. But you must be smart or motivated to craft."

"Not really..." Furayl looked down for a moment, embarrassed. "I was
lucky. My family knew someone in the Craft, a master." He'd known he
ought to be grateful for the opportunity to learn a skill that might one
day support his mother and sister, and he hoped he hadn't thrown that
opportunity away. "But I like sewing, and looking at the colors."

"Candidates?" A man stepped out of the laundry room, his face reddened
from the heat and steam. He wiped his brow, then scribbled something on
a hide. "Good, you're both here. These bags need to go back to the mid
level weyrs. Check them off when you're done." He eyed Furayl, taking in
the boy's small size. "Best you take one of the trolleys, and the little
lad here can help guide it and open doors. Then you can collect from the
upper levels. Ask the weyrling on duty to take you up to any that don't
have ground access. Understood?"

"I know a couple dragonriders who are Weavers. If you don't Impress,
you've got something to do in the waits. If you do, you have a heads-up
on some of the uniform work," he said.

Irradis was going to say more, but the man came out and he nodded.
"Mid-levels, got it. Trolleys, got it. Let me go grab one." He went and
selected one from the storeroom nearby.

Once he'd brought the trolley back, Furayl managed to drag one of the
smaller laundry bags over and heave it on, wishing once again that he
was big enough that they didn't have to make allowances for him. Once it
was loaded up, with Irradis pushing and him guiding, they made their way
through the passages towards the upper levels.

"Do you think any of the dragonriders whose laundry this is, will be
in their weyrs?" he asked Irradis. A horrible thought suddenly occurred
to him. What if they had to deliver to that bronzerider with the sword?
What if he was recognized?

"Probably not. During the day they're usually all at work, doing drills,
or delivering packages, or riding sweeps. Do you know much about rider
duties outside of fall?"

Furayl shook his head. "Only that there's a watchdragon at the Hold, and
we'd sometimes see a rider overhead and my mother said they were on a
sweep, looking for Thread burrows." He thought for a moment. "Oh, and
Search."

"Those are all duties. Sweeprides also look for dangers like fires, or
tossed over caravans, or flags calling for aid. They also deliver
packages and mail for marks, and can carry people to other areas."

"They really do that? Help people in trouble, even holders?" Furayl's
brow furrowed. He'd only ever heard of dragonriders fighting Thread and
collecting tithes. Otherwise, they kept to themselves. It would never
have occurred to him to ask one for help.

"My mother once spotted a man whose runner had spooked and run away and
broken a leg. He was injured and couldn’t get anywhere safe. She flew
him to his home hold." Irradis decided not to mention that Jeath had
eaten the crippled runner.

"Oh. I didn't know they did that." Furayl remembered what Enali had told
him about not trusting weyrfolk, and before that, everything his father
and brother had said about dragonriders. Perhaps they weren't all the
same, he thought as he guided the laundry cart around a corner. Maybe
Irradis' mother was a particularly kind person, like the greenrider who
had Searched him. "It sounds like a good life, flying with your dragon,
and helping people."

"If only Thread didn't exist, then it would be a safe job. I hear
weyrfolk even used to farm and have cotholds if they wanted, Before."

"They did?" Furayl tried to imagine dragonriders working on a farm, just
like his family. "I can't remember that time at all. Before the Pass."

"I don't really, either. They were preparing for more clutches and then
Thread fell. But I heard about it from people who did live through it. I
think it sounds really wild, but riders had to do _something_ to support
themselves." He pushed the cart into the next room to put things in.

"I dunno what I'll do if I don't Impress," he added.

"What are your choices?" Furayl asked. He'd noticed that the other
Candidate didn't have craft knots, and until he'd come to the Weyr he'd
never thought of anyone but dragonriders living there. Cooks, he
supposed, and laundry workers, herders and stable workers, all the jobs
he vaguely remembered from his childhood at Emerald Falls.

"A life of the same chores we're doing now," Irradis said with
resignation in his tone. "My friend Tirraze says if we don't Impress,
I'll be her favorite Headwoman's Assistant when she gets the job. The
kitchens are all right, I don't like infirmary assistance or stables. I
don't mind stocking and keeping track of the numbers of things."

"I like that too." The storerooms were more peaceful than other chores,
and you didn't have to be strong if there was someone to help lifting
heavy boxes. "But I guess I'll go back to my Craft." The thought of
returning to the Weaver Hall, and the other apprentices who'd tormented
him, made his stomach churn with fear. Strange to think he'd become more
afraid of that than the Weyr, although there were still things - people
- here that frightened him.

"That's a good backup option. Would you go back to the Hall for it, or
stay and work under the crafters here?"

The young boy blinked. He'd not thought of staying past the Hatching, or
whenever Master Shuvan had the information he needed and ordered him to
return. "I thought I'd have to go back? I mean, I don't have any family
here."

"Did you have family there?" Irradis countered, keeping his tone light.
"There are Weyr-based crafters here, some even Hall-trained, who can
keep teaching you while you Stand again and again. If you want to stick
around and keep standing. But maybe you'd rather go back to the Hall? I
imagine for holders, being trained somewhere that prestigious probably
matters more."

"Oh. I don't know." Furayl hesitated. He'd never thought about it like
that. The longer he stayed, the more he risked being found out, but
there were times here when he forgot to be afraid. So many people here
were kind, he was sure that if he could just help to clear his brother's
name, they would understand. "I like the teaching here. Maybe I'll write
to my Master and ask for his advice."

Irradis put away the items at this weyr, and turned the cart around to
get back into the hall. "Sounds like a good plan. You've got a lot of
time ahead of you, and a lot of places to explore."

"Yes, I suppose I do." For once, Furayl's smile lacked its usual nervous
edge, and he forgot all about Enali's warning not to trust the weyrfolk
for now. He glanced over the remaining laundry bags. "Oh, look. I think
the next one is just up here..." Taking hold of the front of the cart,
he guided it round to the left. "I bet we can get this done really quick
and have some time to spare before class!"

"Sounds good to me. Let's get it done," Irradis said. He was liking
working with Furayl. Maybe they'd be weyrlings together. He could hope.

Last updated on the February 10th 2022

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

A Lot to Explore