Gossip With Friends

Writers: Estelle, Francesca
Date Posted: 5th March 2024

Characters: Kamalia, L'keri
Description: L'keri visits Kamalia and they talk about injuries and the latest gossip.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 12 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: N'kyri

L'keri

Alaudath had just settled down for a nap; her second of the day.
Kamalia slowly shifted so she was no longer leaning against the
green's side and then gingerly stood. She half limped, half hopped
towards the small bed in the ground level weyr near the infirmary that
was their temporary home until Alaudath was cleared to fly. The
rickety table held a random selection of food and drinks: some brought
by friends and wingmates, some by the drudge who had brought lunch.

She popped a meatroll in her mouth, grabbed a bread roll, then took a
seat on the bed, injured leg stretched out. Her thoughts kept wanting
to turn back to the Threadfall and the moment they were Scored. She
simultaneously wanted to figure out what went wrong, what they should
have done differently, and never have to think about it again.

Luckily, the sound of footsteps stopped her circling thoughts. "Come
on in," she called, glad for the distraction.

"Hello!" L'keri peered around the entrance to the infirmary weyr, then
stepped inside, blinking as his eyes adjusted to the lower light
indoors. His tone was cheerful, but he lowered his voice so as not to
disturb the sleeping green. In one arm, he cradled a basket, and in
his other hand he carried a redfruit with a few bites missing.

"Kamalia! I brought you some fruit. Shall I put it down here..." He
slid the basket into a narrow space on the well-laden table. "How are
you feeling?"

"L'keri! Thanks for stopping by." The brownrider was always fun to be
around, which was just what she needed. "Is there another redfruit in
there?" At his question, she shrugged and pointed to her leg. "Thank
Faranth for numbweed. It's not too bad though. Should be healed soon.
And the Weyrdragonhealer said Alaudath is going to be completely fine.
That's the most important thing." She looked towards where her green
was, on the other side of the wall. "She got the worst of it." Her
voice dropped. "I wish I had instead, you know?"

"I know. I'd say the same. I have, before." L'keri pulled up a chair
next to the bed. "But she wouldn't want that. You two are one, you
feel each other's pain. What matters is that she'll be fine." He
handed her a redfruit from the basket. "From what I heard, you went
/between/ so fast that you saved it from being any worse. You did
everything right."

"That's what everyone keeps saying." She gave a frustrated sigh and
took a bite of redfruit. "I know it's supposed to make me feel
better." She knew Rhalith had at least one scar. "Do you mind sharing
what happened to the two of you?" She wasn't sure if it would help,
but it would give her something else to focus on.

"Not at all. It didn't happen in Fall, though, it was back before the
Pass began, in a drill. And it was all my own fault." Enough time had
gone by that he could talk about it more easily now, but the memory of
that overwhelming remorse was still sharp. "In those days, we didn't
take it so seriously - well, some people did, but we weren't certain
Thread would come back, and even if it did, no-one had ever seen any.
All we knew were stories and harper tales. You're probably too young
to remember," he added, teasing a little. "I was showing off, dived
after a clump of ropes we should have left, and got in the way of
another dragon's flame."

"I'm not that young," she said, almost automatically. She had been 11
at the beginning of the Pass. "And, that's awful. Did you get hurt at
all, or just Rhalith?" It did make her feel a bit better that she and
Alaudath had been Scored doing their duty and fighting Thread; not
that she would say that out loud.

"I was a bit singed, but my riding leathers protected me. He got the
worst of it." L'keri grimaced. "And of course, he didn't blame me or
tell me what an idiot I'd been. I wished he would, but that's not how
dragons are. My Wingleader made up for it, though."

"Yeah, it's nice to have someone always on our side, but sometimes
that just makes us feel more guilty." Alaudath wasn't second-guessing
what had happened at all. She was content waiting to heal. "Were you
put on punishment? Night watch duty?"

"Oh, yes. Night watch, cleaning out the weyrling barracks and the dragon
infirmary, every unpleasant job he could think of. I wasn't exactly
unfamiliar with punishment duty, but he really outdid himself. To tell
the truth, though, I knew I deserved it. It would have been worse if I'd
got off with a stern lecture." The punishment had helped, in its own
way, since his dragon would never blame him for the mistake. "It wasn't
long after that I transferred to Dragonsfall."

L'keri finished his redfruit and licked juice from his fingers. "At
least you haven't got that to look forward to when you're better."

"True. I still feel awful about the whole thing." She took another
bite of the redfruit, trying to organize her thoughts. "I'm both
excited and terrified about being cleared to fly 'Fall again. I feel
like I'm going to second-guess everything. We usually get into a
rhythm; become one. How can I trust myself, or at least trust
Alaudath, when I know it takes just a second to go horribly wrong?"

"I know what you mean," he said, remembering his own return to the Wings
all that time ago. "It's not as hard as you think. Remember when you
flew with your Wing for the first time, after graduation? It's
terrifying, you're sure you're going to miss a catch or time a jump
wrong, or make some other dreadful mistake in front of your wingmates -
until you get up there, and you don't have time to think. Your instincts
and your training take over. This is the same. Maybe that's not much
comfort right now, when thinking is all you can do - but it's true, I
promise."

His words made logical sense, but she wasn't convinced. She'd see soon
enough though. "Thanks, L'keri; for coming by, and everything." She
hadn't been very good in the past about visiting injured wingmates.
Now she understood that it wasn't about hanging out with friends but
about showing someone they were part of a community that was there to
support them. She felt a new sense of belonging at the Weyr as well as
an obligation to get back in the air as soon as they could to continue
doing their part. She also didn't want to continue dwelling on her
current situation.

"Now, can we stop talking about serious things? Is there any gossip
I've missed, or upcoming parties?" Turns End was coming soon, so she
assumed something was in the works.

"Of course! I heard N'kyri's going to be hosting one of his famous Turns
End parties again. He's got a birthingday on the same day, so it's a big
celebration, with plenty of good food and party games." L'keri rubbed
his hands in anticipation. "You'd better get well quickly - you don't
want to miss it."

"Oh, good." A smile crossed her face. "That gives me something to look
forward to." She looked down at her leg. "I might not be able to dance
the night away, but sitting and drinking sounds perfect."

"You'll have half the blue and brownriders in our Wing waiting on you
and bringing you drinks," L'keri teased. "A perfect night, indeed."

Her smile grew wider at the thought. "You think so? As long as
Alaudath is feeling fine, I wouldn't mind that." She realized she was
feeling a bit better. It was nice being able to think about the future
and a return to her normal rhythm. "It's always nice to talk to you.
Thanks for stopping by."

"It's always a pleasure to visit you, and the lovely Alaudath." He bowed
from his chair. "Please pass my compliments on to her when she wakes,
and tell her Rhalith and I are looking forward to flying with her again
when she's healed. Now, I've told you about parties - how about some
gossip?" He got a wicked gleam in his eyes. "There've been one or two
unlikely flight pairings. Have you heard about Aivanth being caught by
Ophinath?" He named one of the greens from their wing, whose rider was a
high-spirited regular at their parties, and a rather staid and stuffy
brown from Cobalt. "S'vanel was wandering around in a daze all the next
day. You wouldn't have recognized him. Turns out opposites attract!"

There was nothing like some good gossip to take her mind off of her
present situation. "No!" She wished she could have witnessed it.
"Nothing like a mating flight to make life more interesting. Remember
when Rella and M'dir had a brief relationship after his blue caught
her green? That lasted all of two sevendays before they could barely
stand each other. It's always better when dragons in different Wings
mate. Keeps drills from getting awkward."

"Oh, yes. I remember that." L'keri winced. The atmosphere around the
wing's table had turned decidedly frosty after that break-up. "Someone
eventually had the sense to put them on a long sweepride together,
didn't they, and they made a truce, but I hope her green chooses
differently next time. Oh, speaking of feuds, apparently Tr'gan isn't
speaking to A'nor over some seriously hot Candidate who just arrived,
although if you ask me, I think they're both reveling in the drama..."
He reached for another handful of fruit as he began to relate the story,
clearly not averse to a bit of reveling himself.

Kamalia sat back and listened, glad to focus on L'keri's exuberant
storytelling. She could pretend she was back in her weyr, just having
a conversation with a friend. Soon, he would go and she would be left
to her own thoughts. But, for at least a little while, she could let
herself believe that everything was okay.

Last updated on the March 9th 2024

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Gossip With Friends