Everything You Say to Me (1/3)

Writers: Aaron, Avery, Curious
Date Posted: 1st March 2024
Series: The Disaster at Dragonsfall

Characters: Kadira, K'don, Naradis
Description: Naradis wants to talk to the first female bluerider.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 25 of Turn 10
Notes: Everything You Say To Me series

K'don

There was a storm in Naradis' eyes that morning. She managed to keep
it off her face for the most part, but she could not erase the dark
glimmer in her eyes, the tense set of her shoulders, or the extra
weight within her footsteps fell. Even so, she still managed to force
a thin smile when she spotted K'don in the weyrbowl.

"K'don, are you busy?" she called as she strode over to him.

K'don was not entirely sure what was off about Naradis, but something
was off. He tilted his head and tried to figure it out for a moment...
but there was no telling. He shook his head and said,

"No. I've always got time for family," he said, returning her smile.
"How can I help?"

Naradis' smile became a little more genuine and the tension in her
shoulders relaxed a little, but the strain didn't fade completely. "I
need a ride to Dragonsfall Weyr," she said.

"Oh, is that all?" K'don seemed placated by Naradis's relaxing. She
was probably just worried he would not be available to give her a
ride. "We can go now if you're ready."

Naradis nodded. "Yes, please."

K'don waved to Maciath, who closed the distance between himself and
them, and then K'don climbed up. He held his hand down for his sister
to help her up.

}: What's this about?:{

**We're taking my sister to Dragonsfall.**

};Why?:{

**Because she wants to go there.**

That seemed like a good enough answer for Maciath.

Naradis climbed aboard Maciath with the ease of someone who had spent
her entire life around dragons. That was to say,she wasn't quite as
skilled as a rider, but she didn't struggle to either. She also didn't
bother closing her eyes - just buckled herself in and waited for the
cold and darkness of between.

The darkness came and went, and the trio appeared in the sky over
Dragonsfall. Maciath announced himself to the watchdragon and then
settled into the bowl near to the lower caverns.

"Do you need my help with anything?" K'don offered. Better than just
sitting around, waiting for her to get back, he supposed.

Naradis began undoing her straps the moment Maciath touched down.
Normally she would let herself savor the experience of flying in
dragonback, but not today. Today she was on a _mission_.

She opened her mouth to give K'don a firm denial, but hesitated before
the first syllable could leave her tongue. Naradis wasn't sure that
she wanted anyone else involved in this, but Dragonsfall was a bug
Weyr, and she was looking for one specific person. So...

"Maybe," Naradis said. "I'm looking for someone. Her name's supposed
to be Kadira. Of blue Ishath."

"Oh, do you know her!?" K'don asked excitedly. Everyone had heard of
the girl who had Impressed blue. His first inclination was simply to
ask Maciath to bespeak Ishath, now that K'don knew his name, but that
was not wise. They were strangers, and Ishath was young.

"I can ask the Weyrlingmaster if you can see her," he suggested. "They
might not mind if you're friends." Then again, most people did not say
something like, ëher name is supposed to be...í of someone they knew.

Naradis grimaced faintly. "I... Don't." Would that effect K'don's
willingness to help her?

Didn't matter. Naradis had to do this, so even if he spontaneously
decided that he wanted nothing to do with her little quest, she
wouldn't let it stop her.

Squaring her shoulders, she plowed on, "I do need to talk to her
though. It's important."

"Is..." K'don stopped talking to ponder, though he kept up with
Naradis's stride. Being on the weyrlingstaff, even in an assistant
role, K'don had to learn about certain things, like chains of command
and spheres of influence and areas of responsibility. "Will Cyradis
catch guff from this? You're just talking, right?"

"She shouldn't," Naradis said. "This is my decision and mine alone.
I'll make that clear if needbe. And yeah, just talking." She snorted
as she took a sharp turn to approach what she assumed was the
Dragonsfall Weyr weyrling barracks. "You sound like you're scared I'll
punch her or something."

"Well, you seem like maybe you're kinda mad ñ are you OK?" In pursuing
this line of thought, K'don had forgotten all about asking the
Weyrlingmaster for permission first.

"Not angry, just serious," Naradis said, voice short and clipped as
she scammed the area for people in weyrling knots. Specifically, girls
with blue weyrling knots. She was ready to dig in and search for
Kadira, but if she found her quickly, then even better.

It was lunchtime for Kadira. In the past sevenday she'd had the habit
of going to the Dining Cavern and grabbing meals on a plate and then
retreating back to eat outside of the entrance to the Hatching
Caverns. She was doing it for
a couple of reasons: her temporary weyr was so small she liked to be
outside it during the daylight candlemarks, and Ishath was a bit
clingy - she thought, and
_protective_, he thought because he was so young and wanted her near.
Plus, she was still being stared at by people and it wasn't
comfortable to eat in the Dining Caverns.

So it was that Naradis and K'don would see a dark-haired girl with the
right knots coming towards the Hatching Grounds cavern carrying a
tray.

A stroke of luck - it didn't take long for Naradis to spot the girl
with the right knots, the ones that stuck out like a sore thumb. The
candidate swerved and made a b-line for her in a matter of seconds,
not bothering to hide the excitement or intensity in her expression.

"Excuse me!" she called as she approached. "You're Kadira of blue
Ishath, right?"

K'don shot Kadira an apologetic glance from where he stood half behind
Naradis. He was becoming increasingly nervous about how this encounter
was going to go and how he would be held responsible if it went north.

Kadira stopped dead in her tracks with the tray and looked at the
person heading towards her, eyes flicking to the knots of her, and the
man behind. She recognized Dolphin Cove knots immediately as her
father wore them. That meant that these were visitors, coming to stare
at her. Suddenly she wished she could hide her own knots and pretend
she was someone else, but that was childish. - besides, what if they
had news of her father?

Ishath felt the nerves, and responded with a burst of love and
strength. She drew herself up to have a steel-straight spine and said,
"I am. And you are?"

Naradis grinned. "Great! I'm Naradis. I was just wondering..."

She hesitated for a second. What she was about to ask wasn't an easy
question by any means. But she'd come too far to _not_ ask it, and no
amount of dancing around the subject would make it easier. Therefore,
it was probably best to just dive right in.

"...Are you interested in women? Like, sexually."

Kadira was stunned. Who was this Naradis who was asking such personal
questions? Making her think about girls? Deep necklines and pushed-up
chests and the way legs flashed through slirts in skirts as weyr women
danced... A feeling washed through her as she thought about that. And
how shameful it was to think about it while a weyrling, when they were
told they couldn't do certain things... and how dare someone else just
ask her? She knew people had been _muttering_ it but saying it to her
face was another thing. Irritation warred with embarrassment warred
with anger.

Ishath felt the mix of emotions from his rider, and jumped out of his
wallow, onto his legs, and began pushing his way through the barracks
to get to his rider.

"I'm not supposed to talk about anything like that while I'm a
weyrling!" she said.

K'don's eyebrows climbed into his hair, too. Of all the things he
thought Naradis might be about to say, this was not among them.

**Mash, talk to the little one, please. Make sure he's OK.**

}:Hello, Ishath,:{ Maciath bespoke the blue along with his best
approximation of the comforting feelings he could still remember
coming from his own teachers and elders when he was upset. }:Are you
well?:{ he asked. }:My dear rider is there with yours and the other,
his sister. He will do his best to quell any more unseemly asks. He is
learning to be a dragonhealer. You can trust him. Everything is
well.:{

"Naradis..." K'don reached out to touch her arm. While this was not
what he expected, he still felt guilt at having brought Naradis this
far. He was responsible for whatever happened. "It's not safe for
Ishath for Kadira to be thinking about this kind of thing."

There was zero possibility K'deren, Cyradis, _and_ K'sedel were not
going to hear about this now. Skies, but he was in for it.

}:Maciath. You are not from here?:{ Ishath's mental voice was cool in
tone, but he didn't sound angry, just like his tone was often remote
and frosty. }:Why is your rider and the other asking questions?:{

}:Coming here was weighty to the other, and she is K'don's sister. He
did not know why until we got here. I am sorry for our deal in
upsetting your rider. We only wanted to help K'don's sister,:{ Maciath
explained.

K'don has a point. The logical part of Naradis' mind /knew/ that he
had a point. However, her mind was a hurricane of anxiety, stress, and
untold complicated, formerly-buried emotions. Such a mindset did not
leave much room for emotions, only the frantic urgency of impulse.

"I'm surprised that no one's asked her about it /before/, considering
what she impressed!" Naradis told K'don, her voice all impatience and
impudence. "It's an important question!"

Naradis turned her gaze back toward Kadira then, gaze piercing,
questioning, searching. "You shouldn't have to think about it that
much anyway," she coaxed. "Don't you already /know/?"

The great justification for asking such a blunt, prying question.
There was no need for Kadira to linger on subjects that could
potentially upset her dragonet if she was just reciting a fact about
herself.

Of course, that was assuming that she knew herself at all.

Last updated on the March 5th 2024

Series: The Disaster at Dragonsfall [Next: Everything You Say To Me (2/3)]

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