A New Look

Writers: Aaron, Devin, Halyonix, Shawna
Date Posted: 8th January 2025

Characters: Cirina, Oriene, Saedyna, Tirraze
Description: Tirraze shows off her new haircut.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 5 of Turn 12

Oriene

Tirraze felt lighter. Her hair had surely never been that heavy and she had never felt that it had restricted her, but without it, she nevertheless felt freer. She could not stop running her fingers over it and smiling.

It was fortunate, too, that most of her closest friends were all gathered together already to eat when she arrived at the dining hall. Now they could all be the first to see it together.

"Sorry I'm late!"

Oriene dropped her fork. "Tirraze! What...you....what did you do to your hair?"

"A Lady Holder bought it from me for five and a half marks," she answered cheerfully without missing a beat.

Saedyna looked up and her eyes went wide. The sight of Tirraze with short hair made her stomach do a funny little flip.

"Oh, you look great Tirraze," Cirina said, "but what made you decide to do it? Is it hard to take care of flying?" Her hand absently went to touch some of the strands that had fallen out of her bun. It had long been a worry for the red-head.

"Thank you! Well. Kind of," said Tirraze. "But that wasn't why. We had this class... Well, I'm not sure it's exactly mealtime conversation, but." She laughed. "You know how some of these classes go. I just. I suddenly thought that I would feel really good if I cut it off. And I did."

"I can imagine a class that makes you want to pull your hair out, but not cut it off," Cirina laughed. This also made Oriene giggle.

Saedyna mentally shook herself and tried to focus on the conversation. "What class?"

"SAEDIE. Can I call you Saedie? That's new. They put me in this room full of boys who have neverâ€"" Tirraze looked to each of the others.

"Well. Like I said, it's not exactly conversation for the table, unless you're into that kinda thing." She giggled. "But you know, Riamorth is blue, so. They think I need to know how all that goes. And just. While we were talking about leather and glass and all of that, I just... had this spark of an idea, and..."

"I never hated having long hair or being girly or whatever. But just. I felt so alive. I _feel_ so alive."

The nickname echoed in Saedyna's head. Saedie . . . Saedie . . . Saedie . . . Her cheeks warmed and Avarith curiously nudged at her mind. Then she realized what Tirraze had said. "Wait, the mating flight lecture?!?" Surprise made her voice higher than usual. "How did a mating flight lecture make you want to cut your hair?"

"Search me!" Tirraze shrugged. "But it did." She paused as worry crept over her. "Y'all don't like it, do you?"

"It's not bad," Oriene said, trying to figure out her feelings about how different her friend looked without sound like she was being a downer. Obviously, Tirraze liked it so Oriene should be supportive! "It's different, that's for sure! But it's...kinda cute, Tir. Really."

"I said you look great!" Cirina repeated. She made herself stop touching her own hair defensively, although it was personal vanity not judgment. "O'rosin definitely did not mention any part of the lecture involving leather or glass," not that he'd really said anything at all, "what was in that lesson?!"

Tirraze leaned in close to minimize the risk of being overheard.

"It was a class about catching greensâ€" especially greens with male riders," she said. "And they don't know much about how I'll react if Riamorth wins. So. We discussed some possibilities for me." She grinned from ear to ear. "I'm still not convinced I'll have much time to get strapped up if he does win, but that doesn't mean I can't practice anyway."

Oriene suddenly coughed, shocked. "Straps?!" she blurted out before she could stop herself.

Saedyna stared into the middle distance, trying to figure out what all of that meant. It had crossed her mind that Riamorth would chase greens, but while they were junior weyrlings she'd tried not to think about the details. Now she was thinking about all sorts of things and she felt her face getting hotter and hotter. }:Do humans really mate like that?:{

**I don't know!**

Tirraze's friends, by and large, were not as intrigued by all of this as she had hoped they would be. She began to wonder if she was damaging something.

"Er... Sorry, this is probably a bit much..."

"No, it's not that." Cirina was frowning. "Straps and glass just seems very complicated for a flight. Was that suggested? Has no one ever just shoved R'lor down and ridden him like a show runner?" She thought about the sentence that had just come out of her mouth and then looked a little horrified.

Saedyna's head whipped around, her mouth open in shock. "Nooooo!" She put her hands to her face. "He's the _Weyrlingmaster_! He's _old_! Don't make me picture that!"

Tirraze laughed heartily.

"Well, that was mostly our conclusion," she said, still trying and failing not to laugh. "So I probably won't try to use any of that in an actual flight. But the idea has stuck with me."

Even Oriene, who was still trying to wrap her head around all of it, managed a weak chuckle at the thought of the older Weyrlingmaster having sex. "I just...it does seem like a bit much," she said to Tirraze. "I mean, from what I hear about mating flights. You're kind of...you're your dragon."

"That's what I've heard, too. But if R'lor is going to pay for my _equipment_, I'm certainly not going to tell him no over it." Tirraze grinned.

Saedyna had to look away. Tirraze was so _different_. It wasn't just the hair, it was the air of confidence she seemed to have ever since they learned to /between/.

"I guess so," Oriene answered flatly. She really didn't like thinking about her friend with...equipment. It was really just too weird for her.

"Yeah..." Tirraze tried to hold onto her smile, but she could tell she was making Oriene uncomfortable. A subject change was clearly in order. She cleared her throat and sat back up straight.

"So, what have you all been up to?"

Cirina laughed at the idea of R'lor paying for Tirraze's 'equipment' but she could also sense the need for the subject change. With a dramatic groan, she said, "Oh, just candidate lessons, craft lessons, reading lessons and study sessions with O'rosin. I'm telling you though, I'm going to be the best in my class in the weyrling lessons. Well. The books part."

"Ugh, O'rosin. I don't know how you have the patience." But Saedyna was grateful for the subject change.

Cirina turned to Saedyna with a frown, "Why don't you like O'rosin? He's so polite and earnest."

Tirraze had no firm opinions on O'rosin, but she certainly was curious to hear what Saedyna had to say about him.

"He's annoying," Saedyna declared. "He screws up in drills and just lets Aeoluth do whatever, and then he looks all surprised like 'oh I don't know how that happened'."

"That's not really a good thing," Oriene remarked. "He's going to get held back a class if he keeps that up."

"He's having a hard time. He had to come to the Weyr, learn to read and write, learn to be a candidate, and then learn to be a dragonrider all in a few months. It's taken me Turns to do just the first two things," Cirina pointed out, sounding frustrated. "Imagine going through every class without being able to take notes or read the material. He's getting better."

"It can be hard to get used to new things," said Tirraze. "Big changes. Especially when they come so fast. Maybe he will get held back, but that's all right if he does. What matters most that he gets all the support he needs."

Saedyna chewed her lip. "I know reading and writing are hard for him, but we _all_ started in the same place with drills. B'lyse can hardly hear, and he was doing pretty okay even when nobody knew." She sighed. "I mean, I don't want him to get hurt or anything. He's just . . . annoying."

"He's not annoying, he's struggling. If you can't be helpful, you could at least be forgiving," Cirina said flatly. "B'lyse can read his book and understand what the Weyrlingmasters are writing on the board. O'rosin mostly just has to go by memorization. Have any of you even offered to share your notes with him?"

"He's not _my_ responsibility," Saedyna said.

"I guess I need to get to know him better," said Tirraze. "He's always seemed... uninterested in that. But maybe that's how he sees me, too."

Cirina gave Saedyna, and a little bit Tirraze, a less than friendly look and then sighed, standing up and picking up her half eaten tray. "Well, I have a lot of work I should be doing, so I'm just going to take this back to the barracks. Bye. Nice haircut, Tirraze." She didn't quite stomp away but it was close.

Last updated on the January 15th 2025

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A New Look