...Beans

Writers: Halyonix, Sia
Date Posted: 7th October 2024

Characters: E'tariax, B'nell
Description: B'nell and E'tariax play dragonchess
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 14 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: M'kayre, Nidre, Cyradis CW: light cursing

He wasn't playing anyone, B'nell noticed. With a plate of food in his
hands, he watched E'tariax for a moment, brooding -- maybe that was
the word, brooding -- over the chess board as though it was just one
move away from solving all of Pern's problems.

With one bite already in his mouth, B'nell walked over to his
Wingmate, watched for a moment, and then asked, "Is this how you learn
to do those opening gambit things?"

E'tariax hadn't been listening and only barely registered B'nell's
appearance near the table. His eyes briefly flicked up to the young
man with his face full of food. "Not quite." He said mildly. "There's
an uppity bronzerider at Dragonsfall that I've been playing
long-distance. I can stare at a piece of paper all day, but sometimes
inspiration strikes when the board is in front of me." Not to mention
that bastard M'kayre won their last game, and there was no way he
wasn't examining every option before he sent back a response.

B'nell sat down to continue the conversation. "I feel as though the
description of uppity can be used for lots of bronzeriders," he said.
"Though, please don't tell them I said that."

"Most." E'tariax corrected. "Don't worry, I tell them myself. M'kayre
especially, that dried stick of leather. Do you know this game at all?
Why do you think he'd move his Weyrwoman like that?"

The bespectacled brownrider shook his head. "I've never taken the
moment to learn it but I'm willing. If you're willing to teach me. Or
I can just keep you company while you...stare."

E'tariax made a tsk-ing sound, stared at the board a moment longer,
and then began resetting it. "I could do with a distraction from that
man. Do you know anything about how the pieces move?"

B'nell shook his head.

"No accounting for taste. Well, in this version the pieces are set
like opposing Wings facing off against one another. Each piece type
moves differently from the others, so you have to remember how each
piece interacts. The goal is to capture the other player's Wingleader.
That's this piece."

The brownrider nodded again. Over the next few minutes, E'tariax
explained the basic premise of the game, enough so that, after a few
questions, B'nell felt like he was ready to give it a try, though he
knew he was most likely going to lose. Still, in between moving
pieces, the two riders found other topics to talk about, starting with
B'nell asking, "What made you decide to become a mindhealer?"

"Minds are fascinating." E'tariax said easily as he took one of
B'nell's pieces. "The way that people understand the world around
them, and how it impacts them as they grow. Everyone has some sort of
trauma that affects them. Moreso now during a Pass, so I've had no
shortage of work. What made you become a harper?"

The mention of trauma and how a Pass added to that made B'nell pause
for a moment before moving his next piece. He had a thought about how
becoming a dragonrider had affected him in negative ways because he
had never considered himself dragonrider material but he wouldn't
trade Vorath for anything so he didn't pursue that thought. "The
music," he answered E'tariax. "Once my harper teacher explained notes
to me, how they made music, I wanted to learn everything about it. I
majored in composition and drums for that reason. Though I guess
having a pitch perfect ear also helps with being a harper." He didn't
say it as a boast, even though he was inwardly proud of his musical
ability. It was one of the few things B'nell actually _liked_ about
himself.

"Important skills." E'tariax agreed. "Learning the drum messages
probably made relaying messages mid-Threadfall easier, too. You never
know what skills transfer until you're in the thick of it."

"It certainly helps me now with oral reports. I just...remember it all." He shrugged because he really couldn't explain _how_ his aural memory worked, it just did. "It helps me help the Weyrwomen too. They're always asking questions about histories and a lot of those things get put to music -- I mean, the major ones anyway -- so it helps to know tha -- aw, beans, I messed up." He looked down at the board, where E'tariax was about to get a checkmate.

E'tariax didn't waste any time moving in on the checkmate. "A Wingsecond should learn how to curse." He said mildly. "But that's good. And why so much of our histories are made as ballads. Oral histories are easier to remember. What are some things you're researching?"

"Wait, why should I learn how to curse?" B'nell blurted out. Never mind the topic of histories and research -- why should a Wingsecond learn how to curse? It seemed so...so...crass!

"Why not? The other wingriders will like it if you learn to say shit."

This stunned B'nell. "They...will?" It didn't make sense. Why would others _like_ it if he cursed?

"Sure." E'tariax said. "Not everyone is fancy harper-trained like you. I wouldn't do it in front of Cyradis, but the rest of your wingmates? Makes you more like a person, in my opinion."

The bespectacled brownrider furrowed his brow. "But I already _am_ a person," he pointed out. "Just a...me." With the board reset, he moved a pawn forward. He wasn't sure how cursing would improve his standing with others but maybe he never would. "There's nothing wrong with being harper-trained. It's a good thing! It helps me do my job, remembering all of things that Cyradis needs remembered."

"You're not a person, you're Cyradis' Wingsecond." E'tariax pointed out. "I'm not saying your background is worthless, I'm saying you have to pick and choose when to pull it out. Being approachable is part of _my_ job, you know. I'm not just a fancy healer either."

This mirrored a conversation he had had with Nidre just a few sevendays prior and B'nell found it more than coincidence that it was coming up again. "I...I mean, I guess I could try it." He certainly wasn't going to just start dropping curse words like commas, like some people did. "Shard it?" The phrase didn't sound too bad to say. He could start there.

"Very good. You'll get better." E'tariax said. "Now, if you move that rook like you're thinking..."

Last updated on the October 17th 2024

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