A Day of Firsts (3/4)

Writers: Heather
Date Posted: 3rd May 2024

Characters: X'eri, Yasmeane
Description: X’eri and Yasmeane return to Dragonsfall after their unsuccessful Search.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 11 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra

X'eri

Yasmeane

**Dragonsfall,** Yasmeane thought with relief as they appeared out of
/between/ above the familiar cliffs. She studied the triple waterfall
as it flowed down into the peacefully lazy river that wound its way
idly out of the territory. It was the first time she could ever
remember being _relieved_ to be back at the Weyr.

**_Relieved_ to be a Dragonsfall,** she thought with amazement. Ever
since that whole fiasco with the good-for-nothing D’kere, she’d been
convinced that it was the Weyr and its system of doing things that
were the problem. She had remembered her time living at home with
rose-colored glasses, making the Hold and its way of life perfect in
her memory.

Today’s visit had been far from perfect. The rude man and his attitude
were common enough among hold people. Seeing it firsthand again had
unlocked memories of other such comments she’d heard growing up.

Maybe… Maybe the Weyr wasn’t so bad…

She snorted.

Isaroth followed Kohath to the bronze's ledge. Yasmeane figured that
X'eri had probably prepared a lecture for her on their return flight.
She was sure it would be something to the effect of how she hadn't
handled the situation properly. **Ugh, Saibra's going to bite my head
off for sure. Why do I always screw up when the Weyrwoman is
involved?** It was like no matter how hard she tried she would never
be able to win the woman's approval.

Except, X'eri didn't stick around for a lecture. The moment Kohath's
talons touched their weyrledge, the bronzerider leaped to the ground
and stormed inside his weyr.

Yasmeane stood on the ledge, torn between following him or slinking
back to her own weyr. The safety and security of her small weyr called
to her with almost tangible tendrils. But she couldn't get the sound
of X'eri's voice out of her head.

Walking cautiously into the man's weyr, she found him at his dining
table where he had already poured himself a small glass of alcohol
that he downed in a single, fluid motion. She noticed that the glass
decanter rattled against the cup as his hand trembled to pour another
shot.

**Wow. He is really pissed at me.** In the two months they'd been
working together, she'd never seen him so distraught.

She waited for him to look at her so she could apologize. Only, he was
studiously avoiding looking at her. **Odd. He never misses an
opportunity to put me in my place.**

In Yasmeane’s mind she could hear exactly what Saibra’s words were
going to be: ‘You represent Dragonsfall when you go out there.
Dragonriders should be above petty arguments and blah blah blah blah…’

“X’eri,” she said instinctively before making a frustrated noise. He
still wasn’t looking at her.

**Tell him I need to talk to him,** she told Isaroth.

}:Isaroth's rider would like you to look at her so she can talk to
you.:{ Kohath's voice was soft, hesitant. He knew what bothered his
rider. There was a dark, dark place where his rider went sometimes. He
did not like it.

X'eri looked up at Yasmeane.

[I'm sorry. I didn't mean to mess that up, but clearly I did. I'll
tell the Weyrwoman it was all my fault. On the bright side, she'll
probably release you from being my 'mentor,' or whatever she calls
this thing we're doing,] Yasmeane signed.

She waited for X'eri to reply. To berate her, or tell her it hadn't
all been her fault (**Because it wasn't!**) but he didn't do either of
those things. In fact, the only thing he did was raise a trembling
hand and run it through his hair.

X'eri glanced at Yasmeane again. If she didn't know better, she'd
guess that he was building up his courage to say something...

[What...] his hands moved slowly, hesitantly, [What did I _sound_
like? When I talked? Did it...Did my voice sound... strange?]

A lump formed in Yasmeane's throat at the anguish in the bronzerider's
eyes. **That's why he doesn't talk.**

Yasmeane's first instinct was to lie. To tell him he'd sounded
perfectly normal, but... That wasn't exactly true. He'd been
completely articulate, but there had been something slightly off about
his pitch and the pronunciation of the syllables. She felt certain,
though, if she lied... Lying about this would be the nail in the
coffin of their partnership.

There was some appeal to that. She'd been looking for a way to get out
of this weird arrangement ever since Saibra had created it. This could
be her way out...

Last updated on the May 9th 2024

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A Day of Firsts (3/4)