Visualization Lessons (1/2)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Iluva, Sia
Date Posted: 16th May 2024
Characters: M'thos, T'mhas
Description: The weyrmates celebrate M’thos’ promotion to WLM2 with a bang
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 15 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Tamerel (NPC), Merhaskel (NPC), Varethos (NPC), Kelthiros (NPC), Kadira (not by name), T'lonas, G’nir, Saibra, K'yne, T'shi
Kicking his boots to one side at the threshold and the bucket of
brushes and oils and sweetsand to the other, T’mhas was peeling off
his wet shirt and halfway across the living area before he finally
realized he was the first one home. Like a girl on blue, this too was
a rare thing. Rarer still for it to be so quiet, aside from the fuzzy
hum of the lights flicking back to life.
Now, in all that dark and quiet, the no bickering, the no wrestling,
the no delicate and supposedly breakable instruments strewn about the
weyr, he stretched the tightness from his huge arms. Not having to be
careful where he walked meant he wasn’t, not even a little bit. He
swung them absently, pacing the rooms, enjoying the rush of heat and
blood eagerly melting the tired muscles of his back and shoulders back
into readiness.
Into all that quiet, Tam exhaled and felt himself relax.
Out on the ledge in all his freshly bathed and oiled magnificence,
Ghraisath watched the sunset slowly shading the sky into a subtle
scarlet. Faint voices echoing from the bowl suddenly cut off by the
distant challenge of a young green, a shrill sound that only ever
meant one thing"
**No.**
}: What? :{
**Not now.**
}: I didn’t say anything.: { The bronze insisted innocently.
**Listen here, ya old hound.** Tam approached the ledge with faint
glare begging to become a smile. **You’ve had enough action for today.
Save some of that fire for tomorrow.**
}: Who - exactly - are you calling old here?:{
**Yeah.** He snorted. **My bad.** Tam smiled adoringly and for a
moment all he saw and felt was that metallic marvel that was his
dragon’s muzzle. A friggin’ handsome muzzle, sure, but one that wasn’t
going any further than their ledge that evening. **Now be good.** He
warned, carrying the crate holding a bottle of wine and a handful of
beer bottles to the kitchen. The meatroll that was supposed to be
Merhaskel’s snack got lobbed onto the counter.
Honestly, it was a surprise his son had helped with Ghraisath for as
long as he did. The boy looked as drenched and tired as Tamerel often
was, though several hundred degrees grouchier. Watching Rhas drift
back to the barracks, T’mhas half suspected the kid bailed just to get
away from his dad.
Which was for the best in one respect - said kid didn’t know how lucky
he was to have escaped before T’mhas conveniently forgot _he_ was an
adult - the parent - before headlocking and noogying the teenage shit
out of him.
And in another respect - **Ask Fianwyth when she thinks they’ll be
back, will ya?** He grinned as he leaned a hip against the counter and
cracked the seal from a bottle.
Ghraisath didn't have time to ask. The beat of dragon wings on their
ledge heralded the arrival of the little green. Fianwyth cocked her
head curiously at the bronze as her rider undid her straps. }: You
didn't chase? :{ She asked.
Much like his dragon, M'thos looked curiously around the strangely
empty roommate-turned-family weyr, then back at the handsome man
lounging in it. "No boys tonight? I thought Rhas was helping you with
Ghraisath."
}: I got vetoed. :{ The bronze might have sighed, but his eyes
whirled with obvious enthusiasm for her return. A huge wing flared
open as an invitation to join him. }: There is still plenty to
appreciate here. Come, you've been gone all day.: {
“Oh yeah, he _was_. Quit on us near the end of it lookin’ like a
drowned feline.” T’mhas chuckled. The kid did look tired though. Maybe
that would keep him out of trouble that night. “Too cool to hang with
his dads in public for long. We're only out here fightin’ Thread and
savin’ Pern every other day.” He made a face, still grinning. These
days the oldest two were not as vehement in their rejection and
usually only rolled their eyes or groaned.
“Not sure where Vare and Kel went after.” Tam raised the bottle to his
lips, trying to recall. “With the rest of the pack I think. Whatever
candidates do.”
"Ah yes, candidate things. I vaguely remember doing something back
then." M'thos said with a grin. "You can remind them you're giving
them a realistic view of being a dragonrider. Minus their giant of a
father throwing them into the lake whenever he has a chance."
M'thos also stretched in the strangely empty space. The tight muscles
in his shoulders protested. He looked back over at T'mhas, looking
more and more like the feline that caught the avian. "So, you know how
Saibra promoted T'lonas to Weyrlingmaster?"
“Glad you do, ‘cause I don't.” Tam snorted at the indistinct concept
of candidacy. “Y'might be the better one to remind ‘em. They seem to
listen to you at least half the time, which is more'n me. Besides,
they love it.” He made another disbelieving face, like he had
absolutely no idea what his mate was getting on about.
Still angled against the counter, T'mhas jerked his head in a ‘c’mere’
motion. “Sure. G'nir couldn't hack it. Nearly let the legend of the
lady bluerider end before she could fu- uh, flip it up herself.
T’lonas’ doin’ damage control" another guy just tryin’ to save Pern
every day. Who could forget that?” He smirked devilishly, though he'd
been doing that since M’thos started stretching.
M'thos tried (and still failed somewhat) to keep a straight face at
the shift of language. The swear jar was half-full of thirty-second
marks, and he'd been able to buy something nice at Turn's End for
….many turns. He grinned back and closed some of the distance, though
still stayed tantalizingly out of reach. He still needed to preen a
bit, after all. "It's good for the Weyrlingstaff to rotate every so
often." He said mildly. "Especially since T'lonas asked me to be the
next Weyrlingmaster Second."
Savouring a sip, T’mhas tried not to look impatient, though he’d never
been good at that. What he was good at showed in the rippling muscles
that sent veins flaring up as he twisted to set the bottle down behind
him. It was only a little on purpose. “Wish they’d had that
enlightened idea when we were Weyrlings.”
}: Yes. That would have solved everything. :{ Ghraisath lamented from the ledge.
**Shut it.**
Eyeing the distance between them like he didn’t give a shit what
subtle was supposed to look like (he didn’t, of course), Tam’s brain
finally caught up to the rest of him and his thick eyebrows rose. “He…
you serious?” It was neither easy nor natural to stay at such a slant
with the urge to rush forward, grab, embrace the man who was the
obvious choice for any- and everything surging up. The enthusiasm
danced in his blue eyes. “Don’t really have to ask if you took it, do
I? Best idea anyone’s had in a while.”
"Of course I took it." M'thos said. His casual grin shifted to match
his weyrmate's excitement, something he'd barely managed to contain
when he walked in. "K'yne is going to be 'Third, and T'shi is staying
on staff. Is it too optimistic to say that it's going to be a good
group? Fianwyth's the only green, too. I know some kids in our
weyrling class would have benefited from a greenrider on staff."
It did not sound too optimistic. The line up sounded solid and there
was nothing but faith in M’thos: he could have told him they were
moving to the Red Star and T’mhas would have thrown Tamerel into a
suitcase.
On a deeper level, knowing Merry would be close at hand and preparing
their kids for what lay ahead made the difficulties of the Pass feel
further away, lighter, less. He was practically giddy, and only some
of that was the brief but brilliant image of the boys’ faces when they
heard who’d be watching over them in the barracks and beyond.
“Good.” T’mhas said firmly. He was in far too good a mood to sit still
at this point. His legs either wanted him up and moving toward M’thos
or bringing the man closer, yet only an eyebrow lifted. “Yeah? Anyone
in particular y'think coulda used your touch back then?” He asked,
sounding curious and innocent, looking sly and anything but.
"There's always a couple kids that have their hearts set on any colour
but green." M'thos said easily, though his expression turned wicked.
He closed the distance left between them and pulled T'mhas closer with
a hand on the bronzerider's hip. "And there was that _one_ bronzerider
that could have used more greenrider role models. Poor guy was so
pent-up he nearly burst a blood vessel."
“This guy sounds awesome.” Tam enthused, though he couldn’t even try
to pretend any of that wasn’t true. His dumb crafter kid ass had been
obsessed with bronze and thought all his problems evaporated when such
a breath-taking example of one ( }:Go on.:{ someone crooned) actually
chose him. And M’thos. Time seemed to have skipped right over M’thos.
He never knew anyone with such natural confidence, who always made
everything look easy, effortless.
Tam had been as frustrated with jealousy as he was longing.
His eyes sparked as M’thos neared, immediately straightening out of
his slouch. It was only the latter now.
Making things easier for someone like him (and yeah okay the people
around him) seemed like a no-brainer.
But when he thought about graduating, when he thought about those
first few agonizing moments of being this close to this man, the
terror and the thrill of touching each other like they were now, their
skin on fire that first time, the hard way had never felt so good, so
worth it.
“Wrong.” Tam’s voice was low and full of affection. His eyes softly
intent. He intended to move slowly, but a hand was already up M’thos’
shirt. “I guarantee he wanted to do _a lot_ more than just have you as
a role model.” T’mhas’ other hand slid along M’thos’ jaw, the thumb
brushing the edge of his lips, along his cheek, lingered near his ear.
“But you’re right - I woulda paid a lot more attention in those
classes if a certain greenrider had been on staff.”
"Still would have been focused on only one thing." M'thos teased. "But
at least that thing would have been telling you about wing formations
and proper /between/ coordinates." He leaned ever-so-slightly into the
touch, enjoying the warmth of T'mhas' hands. A smooth roll onto his
toes let him capture a kiss. Then, quietly, he added, "Though I bet
you can't picture Dolphin Cove right now, can you?"
“Probably. Who knows - I mighta even listened to some of it too.”
Although, drawing M’thos close to him, kissing him, he knew that if
someone was lecturing him with this mouth they probably wouldn’t be at
it for very long.
“No, I can’t.” T’mhas eventually admitted, his soft laugh more a hot
exhale along his jaw. “Does any _part_ of me feel like it’s doin’
that, Merry?”
The bronzerider had always been more of a hands-on learner, and with
the hand in M’thos’ shirt drifting higher, ever diligent in the study
of his favorite subject, Dolphin Cove was the furthest thing from his
mind. “Admit it -” he bounced his eyebrows in mock challenge, “you’d
_hate it_ if I could.” A close maneauver of their faces had him
kissing him again, then pressing another to his neck, to the smell of
home. “You got my full attention now, though. Might just need some
help visualizin’, Teach.”
Last updated on the May 16th 2024