Not the End

Writers: Francesca, Len
Date Posted: 18th February 2025

Characters: J'nne, Kamalia
Description: J'nne surprises Kamalia with news of his transfer.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 6 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: I'serin, Uetia, Jaylene, J'zen

Kamalia was still feeling the exhilaration of the previous day's
Threadfall as she headed to breakfast. Not that it had been a
particularly good 'Fall for the new Weyrleader, but she and Alaudath
had flown their first 'Fall since their injuries and had made it
through. They had not been perfect, and she had been nervous the
entire time, but they had performed well and even helped out their
wingmates on a few occasions.

When she saw a certain handsome bronzerider who was, surprisingly, not
sitting with any of his siblings, she took that as a sign and took a
seat across from him, setting her plate and mug down. "Hey there," she
said, feeling her breath catch as his large dark grey eyes met hers.

"Hey you." His smile for her was warm, and a small flush coloured his
cheeks. "How d'you feel after yesterday? Alaudath did really well! You
and she saved P'rell's pretty face," he teased.

Kamalia pretended her answering flush was just her excitement to talk
about 'Fall. "I was so nervous, but as soon as we were in the air and
Alaudath started flaming, I calmed down. And," she smiled, "P'rell
owes me a drink."

“He does indeed.” J’nne raised his klah to her and smiled. She was so
pretty, he found himself thinking about things he hadn’t thought about
since Uetia and he had broken up. But…maybe she didn’t think the same
way back.

"Doing anything exciting tomorrow for the restday?" She tried to keep
her voice casual, but was too nervous to look him in the eye. Instead,
she took a bite of redfruit.

“Well…I suppose I should tell you know, you’ll find out later this
morning anyway.” J’nne looked down at his food, feeling shy in that
moment. “Barrier Lake Weyr has poached Jaylene to take over the
wingthird role for the queen’s wing, she couldn’t turn down such an important opportunity.
She and the wing leaders are going to tell our wing just after
breakfast.”

"Oh, wow. That's pretty cool. Good for her." Kamalia had never thought
seriously about seeking a leadership role herself, but seeing a fellow
greenrider find success was nice. "It will be strange having a new
Wingthird though." Then, she thought of J'nne. "And that will be hard
for you, not having her around. I know you're close."

"Well...J'zen and our mom are going too. We're a gang, you know..."
His voice trailed off, feeling bad in that moment.

Kamalia's heart sank. **I'm such a wherry-brained idiot.** She had
spent the past few days daydreaming about him, and now he was leaving.
"Oh, well that's exciting," she finally said with fake enthusiasm.

J’nne’s heart dropped. Did she have feelings for him? “I…uh…are you
okay? Like really okay? Want to go somewhere quiet to talk?” He wasn’t
surprised that his heart was beating fast. If she cared about him…no
one cared about him since…since Uetia. At least no one that he was
interested in too.

"No, I'm fine," she replied unconvincingly. Embarrassingly, her eyes
were welling up. What was wrong with her? It's not like he would
suddenly not transfer because she had a crush on him. "I just..." she
wasn't sure what to say. "It's just a surprise," she finally said. "I
thought you were pretty settled here."

“I’m not sure, to be honest. I mean, I’ve Impressed Tribeth here. But
I don’t think we’ve ever felt completely at home. Our home is gone,
the place where I grew up, where all the memories of my da and J’lan
are…that place is gone. So all I have now are my sister and my brother
and our mum. Everything else from River’s Buff is gone.” He reached
his hand out and gently took Kamalia’s. “I am sorry you’re upset. But
this doesn’t have to be an end, if you don’t want it to be.”

His hand felt warm, comforting. She could not really imagine not
really having a home. She had no family at the Weyr but felt
completely at home. "Maybe we can meet up?" she asked tentatively.

He squeezed her hand and smiled. "Absolutely, and..." Go on, he told
himself, take a chance, she did seem to like him. "And...if you
want...we could go to dinner tonight, at the Tavern at the Vinter
Hall? I heard they have a nice red vintage that they've started
selling." His voice trailed off, feeling suddenly shy. What if she
said no?

Her face immediately lit up. "Really? That would be great! I've never
been there before."

"Great, I'll pick you up at 6ish, sound good?"

She nodded, smiling widely. "See you then."

Last updated on the March 4th 2025

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Not the End