You Look... Familiar?

Writers: Heather, Sia
Date Posted: 12th January 2025

Characters: A'khal, E'ben
Description: A'khal welcomes a new transfer to the Wing
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 12 of Turn 12

E'ben

Denebith's welcoming roar startled A'khal enough that he spilled klah
across the front of his shirt. The blue, almost unnaturally quiet,
hardly did more than a rumble when he conversed with the other
dragons. He looked down at the stain, surprised, and then out towards
the ledge.

}: Sorry. Our latest transfer is here. You said I should be more welcoming.:{

"I did. The blame is on me." A'khal said. "Would you kindly let them
know they can call on us once they're settled in? We're assigned as
the Cyclone Welcome Party."

}: Come see us, Tirlath. :{ And, after a short pause filled with a
protest and a reminder to _be welcoming_, :} …when you are ready. :{
He added.

The sun and sparkle of light on the tropical waters in the cove were a
welcome sight to E’ben. When he’d decided to leave Far Island Weyr,
he’d been set on avoiding cold locations if at all possible. He was
made for water and sunshine, and his turns as a Seacrafter had never
left him. The urge to swim every morning was something he still
indulged in, if possible.

}:Thank you, Denebith. We’ll be there shortly,:{ Tirlath replied to
the blue’s welcome while he spiraled down to the weyrledge that had
been assigned to him and E’ben.

Stepping into his new weyr, his new _home_, E’ben looked around the
modestly small, but clean and tidy weyr with approval. It wasn’t much,
but he didn’t require much. With children grown and a weyrmate
deceased, he didn’t need to worry about extra space.

Returning to the ledge, the brownrider pulled down the bags and two
trunks that held all of his personal belongings. Setting them just
inside the weyr, he vaulted back to Tirlath’s neckridge. The brown
ferried him back across the Weyr where E’ben struck off on foot to his
new wingthird’s office.

“Hello the weyr,” E’ben said, knocking on the bluerider’s open office
door and stepping inside.

Compared to the clean and previously empty weyr E'ben just left,
A'khal's office was chaotic. Hidework was only a small part of the
mess; star charts and weather reports covered the rest, and on the few
shelves haphazardly rested several astronomical tools. A'khal himself
looked much better, with his klah-stained shirt shoved into a drawer
and replaced with a slightly out-of-style spare. "Hey there!" He
called back as the door opened, "And good mornin', since it's still
the crack of dawn out at Far Island." A'khal grinned, holding out his
hand. E'ben looked …familiar, somehow, but he couldn't quite place it.
He was certain they'd never met before. "Take 'er easy while you get
used to the /between/ lag. Eleven candlemarks ain't nothing to sniff
at."

E’ben was immediately flooded with a sense of dejavu as he stared at
the man behind the desk. There was something… _familiar_ about the
bluerider, but E’ben couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Yet.

“Thank you, sir, it’s good to meet you. E’ben,” he said, holding his
hand out to the Wingthird.

A'khal took the offered hand with a firm grip and an easy grin.
"A'khal. I'm new to Cyclone Wing too. Not comin' as far as you,
though. Just from another Wing. Have you been to Dolphin Cove before?
Should this meeting be part of a tour?"

Even the way A’khal spoke felt achingly familiar to E’ben, but he’d
met so many dragonriders over the last twenty-five Turns that he still
couldn’t place where he knew A’khal.

“This is my second visit to Dolphin Cove. I came for a brief day-visit
a month back to see if this might be a place I’d like to live out the
rest of my life. I’ll admit, the beaches did most of the persuading.”

"Our Wingleader has a mind to get us doing some kind of drill in the
water, so at the very least it'll be fun for you the first few times."
A'khal said, "Here's hopin' he sticks to waterball. Oh, before I
forget." He rifled through a drawer at his desk and pulled out the
Cyclone wingrider knots and handed them over.

“Waterball?” E’ben asked with a tilt of his head.

"Kind of like football, except you're throwing the ball and you're
chest-deep in the ocean." A'khal said with a good natured roll of his
eyes. "Something about building teamwork. You're in for a treat, if
you've never played at Far Island."

He studied E'ben for a moment longer, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Have we met before? You look familiar but I'm drawing a blank. It's
going to bother me. Did you spend any time at Vista Point?"

“You know,” E’ben ran his hand across the stubble on his cheek. “I was
thinking you looked familiar, too. I Impressed at Far Island. Been
there for the last twenty-five Turns. Never visited Vista Point.”

"Huh. Well, it'll come to one of us eventually. We could've been like
two ships passing in the night." He shrugged, then at started to move
towards the door, "Let's do a tour of the Lower Caverns, at least. I
know it ain't close to suppertime for you yet, but I can at least
introduce you to some Cyclone folks in the dining hall."

“Perfect. I’d like that,” E’ben agreed, falling into step beside of
his new Wingthird.

Last updated on the January 15th 2025

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You Look... Familiar?