You May Have Heard of Me
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: Aaron, Sia
Date Posted: 17th September 2024
Characters: E'kirim, Z'renh
Description: Ekirim and Zorenh meet for the first time. Someone is a little nonplussed that he isn't as famous as he thought.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 15 of Turn 11
“Hi.” Zorenh smiled and held out a hand to the young man to shake. He was big. Handsome. The type who would surely have a bit of a following. The type Zorenh needed to make a follower of his own. Well, that would be easy. It was always easy to gain a few followers once they knew who his father was" especially now that he was, ahem, the _weyrleader_.
“Name’s Zorenh. Just arrived not too long ago. Joining my father, of course.” He waited for the young man to recognize the name, still smiling all the while.
Ekirim stared blankly at the other boy for a moment before taking the offered hand. He didn't realize weyrfolk did that. Everyone he'd met so far was much more casual. Zorenh's self confidence didn't stop Ekirim from looking him up and down, still confused, and asking "...who?"
Zorenh's smile faltered a bit, but only for a moment.
“Ah, you must be new, like me!” He may not have built up his own following yet, but he would be a good first addition to Zorenh’s.
"I started candidacy like a month ago, but I've lived here for the better part of a turn." Ekirim said. "But I don't meet a lot of older dragonriders in the Lower Caverns. My older brother is a dragonrider so I sorta know his friends, and the Searchrider that searched me, but that's it."
“You've been here a Turn, and you don't know… You know what, everyone knows different stuff, right? So. What's your name?” Zorenh could not imagine not knowing the Weyrleader’s name" especially when the way he had become Weyrleader was unconventional. But it would not do him any favors to belabor the point.
"Unless he dates my mom, probably not." Ekirim said easily. "I'm Ekirim. When I'm not a candidate, I work out in the Weyr gardens. There's a couple riders that come and help when they aren't doing dragonrider things, but it's not like there's an important Bronze Weyrgardener or anything."
Zorenh chuckled. This guy was funny.
“Of course, sorry. It's nice to meet you, Ekirim.” He should not have assumed that just because he was big and handsome that he had some kind of entourage. Not everyone knew how to leverage what they had.
"So, who's your Dad?"
“His name is R’enh.” If hearing the second half of his name did not ring any bells, he doubted Ekirim would recognize his name in isolation. But Zorenh could not deny, he was hoping to see that dawning of realization in his eyes when it all came together.
The wheels did turn in his head, but there was no dawning realization. It was all out loud. "Oh! The Acting Weyrleader, right? The previous one was…K- something? Does that mean the Weyrwoman's your mom?"
“No,” said Zorenh. He tried not to show annoyance when it seemed Ekirim would have been more impressed with a relation to the Weyrwoman. “Saibra isn't my mother.”
No one could expect a bronzerider not to want a goldrider for a weyrmate - especially when she was a weyrwoman. Zorenh had not lived with his mother since R’enh had left her and his childhood home at Vista Point and brought him along to Dolphin Cove.
"Oh, huh. Scandalous. At least at Amber Hills. Weyrfolk are neat. Being with someone you don't have children with. I don't have to risk getting caught kissing a boy and have to climb out a window. Unless I want to, anyway." Ekirim chattered, still oblivious. "Are you hoping for a bronze too, then?"
Ah! A boy-kisser. Well, nothing wrong with that, of course, but it meant no worries about competition for bronze from this one. Zorenh laughed, but his amusement was from Ekirim’s quaint holdborn view of relationships. Well. His quaint first instinct, anyway. It seemed he was well on the way to leaving quaint behind if he was already kissing boys without worrying about who caught him. Good for him.
“I'll Impress bronze, yes!” Zorenh declared with confidence. “My parents haven't been together for a long time.”
"My parents were never together." Ekirim said cheerily. "And good for you. I hope that all works out. My brother wanted a bronze and got brown instead, and I think he may keep a chip on his shoulder about it for the rest of his life. Remiath doesn't deserve it, but hey, I guess Remiath picked him so he sorta does." He wrinkled his nose a bit at that. He liked Remiath.
“Looks like you're bucking all the holder trends,” said Zorenh. “I'll love my dragon, whoever he is. But. He'll be bronze.” He grinned. “What about you, are you expecting any particular color?”
"Pff, nah. Blue or green, probably. Brown and bronze aren't nearly as colourful. I want to be able to pick out my dragon in a crowd, if any of them are dumb enough to pick me." Ekirim said with a laugh. "And besides, aren't most of the dragons in a clutch green? Statistics are on my side for a little lady."
“Harder to pick out a green from among greens, I'd think,” Zorenh chuckled. “What makes you think they'd be dumb to pick you?”
"No way! Have you seen all the greens? They're like a green rainbow. I could definitely pick one out better than I could some boring bronze." Ekirim said brightly. "I'm not exactly iconic dragonrider material. I've only flown like, three times. It's okay though, ladies like me despite my lack of skills."
Zorenh chuckled. This guy was a hoot. Maybe even a hoot and a half. One
-point-five hoots.
“You'll get plenty of flying practice in before they expect us to fly with the wings,” he said. “And if the ladies like you even with a lack of skills, you must be, ah… naturally gifted.”
Ekirim waggled his eyebrows at Zorenh. He had meant the green dragons, but he was fine with letting folks assume he was better than he actually was. "Practice makes perfect." He agreed with a grin. "I'm not going into this expecting anything. I think that's what messed up my brother, y'know? He put expectations on himself for things he couldn't control. Work is work regardless of what I'm doing, so I'm okay with sitting in candidate lessons and helping out where I can until I age out. Or maybe a dragon chooses me and I fight Thread instead. We all end up in the same place eventually."
Hm. Would that end up being a problem for Zorenh? Was he wrong to expect a bronze? Would he get ‘messed up’ if he never got one?
No, that was someone else's problem, because he _would_ get bronze. Nobody got bronze by settling for something less ahead of time. He had to know he was the best if his dragon was going to know it.
“Yeah. I suppose we do.” Zorenh knew Ekirim was right. They _would_ all be doing the same nothing once they were gone. So what they did while they were alive mattered all the more. “Is your brother still having trouble?” Maybe Zorenh could help.
"I don't think it's anything a good shake won't fix." Ekirim said mildly, "But lucky for him I'm a patient sort. I just wish he'd recognize how lucky he's been to get where he is, I guess. The rest is going to come with time and skill, but he's never been good at following through. It all has to be perfect, right now. Don't tell him I said that, though. He'd take it as some deep personal insult. What about you? Do your parents expect you to Impress a bronze?"
“Well, of course, they do.” Zorenh had never spoken to them about it, exactly, but why would they expect anything less? His father was a bronzerider. He had to live up to that legacy. “What else would they expect?”
He was running out of time for that.
"Well, if your mother is a greenrider, maybe she's really hoping for you to get a green." Ekirim said seriously. "My Mom would be just as happy for me if I kept working in the gardens. Or whatever else I want to do. The Headwoman doesn't seem to have any shortage of work that needs to get done."
“I don’t really see my mom very often,” said Zorenh. She came to visit every now and again for Turn’s End and his birthday and that sort of thing. “If she wants me to ride a green, she’s never said so.” He could not imagine why she would.
"Oh good. At least she's not putting any pressure on you, I guess." Ekirim said. "Well I hope it works out for you. We have another four turns of hatchings for you to get a bronze, anyway."
“Practically an eternity,” Zorenh muttered. To him, it felt much shorter.
"Three golds, right? Saibra, Ashela….Lanniya? Three hatchings a turn. That's twelve hatchings left, buddy."
“I had hoped it would be one and done after I came here,” said Zorenh. Like it was the Dolphin Cove golds who were the problem… but maybe it was just him. “But I can wait. For the perfect bronze for me.”
"I dunno if I believe that." Ekirim said thoughtfully. "Like the 'one dragon for me' bit. I'm sure it feels that way when you Impress, but what if that one dragon for you is over at like, Barrier Lake, and you live at Dolphin Cove? Wouldn't more dragons be dying?"
“Eh? Oh. I don't mean like… there is only one perfect dragon out there for me, and we're destined to meet" destiny is hokey,” said Zorenh. “I just mean if I don't Impress a bronze out of whatever clutch, then none of them were a good match for me. And if I do, then I was the best match here for him.”
"Oh good. At least you aren't holding out hope for the One Singular Bronze, I guess." Ekirim said with a shrug. "Anyway, I gotta get going. J'ler's meeting me for dinner after he's done sweeps. Nice to meet you?"
“Yeah. Nice to meet you, too. See you around, eh?” It was completely lost on Zorenh just how indistinct his belief that he would Impress bronze was from his idea of a hokey destiny.
Last updated on the September 21st 2024