Words of Wisdom (1/2)

Writers: Aaron, Corrin, Sia
Date Posted: 24th May 2025

Characters: E'kirim, Z'renh, Sybana
Description: E'kirim shares his notes on mating flights with his other metallic clutchmates
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 18 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: K'aur, J'ler, R’enh, Saibra

Sybana

The weyr E'kirim shared with his brother was unusually quiet without K'aur stomping around in his riding boots or muttering. The man wasn't happy unless he was unhappy, as it turns out, which wasn't entirely a surprise but it was nice to have proof. E'kirim, however, was happy to pilfer a plate of snacks and a carafe of hot klah from the kitchens to ward against the chill of the outdoors, and tidied up enough of their clutter that he felt comfortable inviting a high-class lady like Sybana over.

"Just toss your boots by the door," he called as he heard the thump of large dragons and the excited rumble from Norrianth on the ledge. "Norri's promised to behave. I know how he likes to pick on Adamanth, poor guy."

Sybana hesitated in the doorway, fingers brushing the smooth stone. After almost four months of weyrling training, E’kirim certainly wasn’t a stranger, yet coming to his weyr still felt oddly intimate. But he’d invited Z’renh too, and she wasn’t about to turn down a chance to brush up on draconic leadership tactics with the metallics of her class-- especially now that they’d started working in trios and nines. Falling behind wasn’t an option.

Drawing a breath, she slipped out of her boots and stepped inside. “If Galgi has her way, they’ll all be playing down in the ‘bowl while we work.”

"That's better than Norrianth annoying Adamanth. He's just not getting the hint. Fianwyth gave him a good smack when he was small and he hasn't tried it since." E'kirim said brightly, even as they heard the whoosh of dragonwings and an excited bellow cut short. By Galgaith, probably.

“Adamanth is going to spend his whole weyrlinghood pretending to be an adult and miss out on all the fun,” said Z’renh as he arrived. He knew Adamanth was not listening. “You know, he’s always moments away from deciding that he could deign to play, and then something interrupts him. Don’t tell Norri, though.” He grinned.

"I don't think that would change Norri's behaviour." E'kirim said. "Come on in, though. I have snacks and klah. I do actually want to go over tactics at some point, because it's like playing multi-layered dragonchess to me, but I sorta want to start with the awkward topic first. I went asking J'ler some questions about mating flights after that lesson the other day, and I thought you guys might want to know what he said, too. I know you're weyrbred, Z'renh, so I dunno if you need this information as much, but Sybana and I aren't. I've been at the weyr a lot longer, but it's still not something I've really thought about experiencing."

Then, with a nod towards Sybana, "And bronzes and golds have the extra pressure of producing good clutches, so it's more serious for us than it is for everyone else."

Talking about mating flights--sex--with her male classmates was pretty much the last thing Sybana wanted to do. She was mentally scrambling for an excuse, a polite exit, when E’kirim’s last comment drew her up short. It was her duty. Probably her most important duty, if she were to be honest. She owed it to Galgaith and the Weyr to prepare as best she could. Which meant staying. “Right…”

She followed him in, sitting and placing her notebook down on the table besides the snacks and klah. “So what did J’ler say?”

E'kirim flipped his own notebook open with a flourish, because of course he took notes. Not good notes, considering how…distracted…they both were before, during, and after the conversation. "Right, well, J'ler's been in a bunch of Flights, though not in any goldflights, but he didn't seem to think that the difference between green and gold matters a whole lot once they're in the air. He said the Flights are overwhelming, and it's a race to get to the flightrooms before you lose control. He can see through Maishoth's eyes, and feels everything he feels. So when M'thos and T'lonas were so intent about blooding the kill, it's because it's so easy to cede control to the dragon, and we don't want to do that."

He glanced over to Z'renh, looking for a nod of understanding or approval, before continuing on, "The lust is like a punch in the gut, and then it takes over completely. Hopefully she'll be in the air by then, and you won't have to worry about it so much, Sybana, because Galgaith is going to want to lead the bronzes on a long chase. The bronzes and browns are going to try to overpower and outmaneuver each other, to the point that they might snap and claw at each other. And of course, we're feeling that too, so there's a lot of carrying on in the flightrooms. Everyone wants to be the _best_. And -- we knew it already -- they aren't about romance or whatever. Like, it's not sweet or gentle. It's more instinctual. All we're going to want to do is claim or be claimed, and it's not going to matter that there's a room full of other people there."

Those weren't exactly the words J'ler had used, not really, but "bend her over and fuck her until she can't walk straight" was not leaving his mouth in front of Sybana.

“Shells. I… always kinda thought it was more private. Like. They always talk about ending up in the flight room, but… I guess it's not like everyone is in the corridor before that. If you're all in there together… Do they really expect us to practice for _that_?” Z’renh wondered. There were so many things he assumed he had learned from Kamalia, but this…

"I don't think they want us to practice _that_ part." E'kirim said, though the thought made him uncharacteristically flush. "J'ler made it really clear that that part isn't going to matter once the Flight has started."

“I guess the dragons do it in front of the Weyr and everyone,” Z’renh conceded. “Skies. It just seems like… the way they talk about it… I didn't think it would be a big deal. But maybe I should have been paying more attention in this class. Sybana, are you going to be all right with this? I mean… There's going to be a lot of really experienced bronzes horning in on Galgi’s first flight, but… I'd hate for you to wake up next to someone, er… you know, someone you don't know and trust.” Someone old and gross, more like, but he felt weird saying that.

Sybana had been dutifully taking notes, as if distilling everything onto the page could tame the creeping embarrassment she felt and make mating flights--which were sounding increasingly wild and fraught--into something more manageable.

“I won’t break, if that’s what you mean,” she started, more than a little defensive, before catching herself. Z’renh had meant well. It was kind of him to care. Her gaze softened, and her tone, as she turned to him, “Z’renh. I was raised with the expectation that I would one day share a bed with someone I didn’t exactly pick myself. Honestly, I can handle not knowing or liking my partner. It’s the rest that… that I have to get used to.”

Z’renh's eyes widened. Clearly, he had never meant…

“This is all sounding… way more public than I realized,” Sybana continued. All the talk of claiming or being claimed… it was sounding like the reality was more like the book Sanvi had lent her and less like the ‘master’s lecture. Her gaze flickered to E’kirim, thoughtful and worried. “He said the-- the dragonlust takes over completely. What does that actually mean? Do we still know what we’re doing? Can we-- is there _any_ control?”

"He tried a couple analogies, but I don't think there's anything really comparable." E'kirim said. "Like we'll feel it, and we're both in control and not. We're going to think the same way that the dragons do. We'll know what we're doing and we'll just think it's a good idea. We'd have enough sense to grab the oil, Z'renh, if it's a guy greenrider and it's a habit to do it, but not enough to… not go through with it. If that makes sense? J'ler doesn't ever black out like you might if you drink too much."

“So… if we win, it'll be like we earned it,” said Z'renh. He sighed. “I don't like it… It doesn't feel… Well. It's probably not going to be something that really concerns me. Adamanth doesn't exactly have a flight-winner’s physique.”

"There's probably a girl that likes that, though." E'kirim said with a shrug. "I don't think it's smart to discount Adamanth. M'thos' weyrmate is a bronze, he must win at least some of his Flights. And it's not like you'll just walk out of the flightroom perfectly fine when you lose, either."

“It's different if she likes it. I just don't want anyone to end up with me because it's just what they're supposed to do.” Z’renh folded his arms and sank down in his seat as though he were hiding the back of his neck from the sun.

“That’s… a remarkably romantic take,” said Sybana, not hiding her surprise. “I didn’t realize the weyr encouraged that sort of thinking. Though I suppose there has always been a lot more freedom at the Weyrs to make a love match…”

“It’s a good thing you’re not the goldrider,” she said with an attempt at levity. “I’ve heard riders can take their dragons away in order _not_ to chase, but there’s no way _not_ to rise. I will always end up with someone who is ultimately just doing what they’re supposed to do-- what their dragon is _making_ them do… I don’t mind that so much. To be honest, I don’t think I’ve ever been pursued for my self and not my dowry or my connections… and now Galgi’s hide will be part of calculations… That’s just life.”

She looked to E’kirim for some sensible holder backup.

E'kirim shrugged. "I heard it was like that for the highborn ladies. I was a farmhand and uh…out of my four other siblings, only the twins have the same father. I understand transactional sex. But at least in this case it's not like you're stuck with some guy forever. He can boast about it, I guess, but that's all it really is in the end. And hopefully it's something you can both boast about. He's not going to be so cocky if his bronze cuts the Flight short and the clutch is small."

He did, however, glance over at Z'renh, "And that's just it, though-- in the moment it's not going to matter if she actually likes you. Her dragon likes Adamanth, and she'll want you to be doing whatever it is they're doing up there. That's why Flights and weyrmating aren't really connected, yeah?"

“I'm more worried about what comes after the moment,” said Z'renh. “Not about the sex. You know, my dad…” He stopped himself. He had been bragging about his father for so long. But for once, he realized his experience was truly relevant.

“He has a goldrider for a weyrmate. Sometimes, a dragon will choose the one she really wants and not just get caught by the best, but… golds don't really have that luxury as much as greens. They have to produce a big clutch. Especially now. But they _are_ romantic. My dad and Saibra. They love each other. So… really, all of this flight stuff is going to be just that. In the moment. And I guess, after that moment is over, it doesn't have to matter anymore what happened up there, and in the flight room.”

Z'renh had never truly realized how much he wanted what his father had. Not just the bronze dragon, but the relationship. But he had also never been so directly faced with the consequences of flights before. Adamanth may have shown him just how much more difficult riding bronze would be than he thought, but this part did not have to be that hard. You just had to have a partner who trusted you.

So maybe it was not all that different after all.

“Someone could just be, you know. Loving you because you're you. And not just because a shiny dragon liked you best.”

Last updated on the May 27th 2025

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Words of Wisdom (1/2)