There A Little Touch
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Corrin, Steel
Date Posted: 5th June 2025
Characters: Rh'din, M'kadja
Description: As promised, Rh’din introduces Akadja to his dragon
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 9 of Turn 12
Notes: Directly follows “Here A Little Dip”
“All right, all _right_, you big lug.” Rh'din chuckled. “Settle down, I have to check your riding straps. Again. How are you _still_ expanding?”
Paskith stopped wriggling. Well… mostly. He still pranced his paws, fanned his wings, making a show of himself.
Akadja had followed Rh’din to the barracks, half-expecting him to change his mind, but the rider _had_ offered to introduce him to his dragon and apparently he had meant it. They were only waiting for a moment, during which Rh’din was apparently in silent communication with the blue, because a moment later, there he was: a big, stocky beast, stomping and flaring its--his--wings. Akadja took a reflexive step back. “...is that excitement or a warning?”
“He's just excited.” Rh’din hastened to assure. “He thinks everyone is his friend, don't you, you great big lunk?” He added aloud to Paskith.
Paskith, for his part, hopped in place a little bit. }:Who is that, is he the one you told me about a little bit ago?:{ he demanded, shoving his head forward to sniff deeply at the stranger, ignoring Rh'din trying to shove his muzzle away.
Akadja stiffened as the dragon advanced, his finely honed instincts told him to be wary, to be careful. This dragon--this _baby_ dragon-- was more than twice as large as any herdbeast or runner he had ever seen. He knew some teaching ballads, and that dragons were supposed to be noble partners of man, but it seemed it would be incredibly easy for this ‘noble partner’ to stomp him flat or cut him open by accident.
Still, he didn’t back off again. Maybe it was pride-- or maybe it was the same reckless curiosity that made him follow after Rh’din in the first place. He held his ground, tense but not hostile, letting Paskith snuffle at him like a gargantuan canine.
“I’m Akadja,” he said finally, holding up a hand, palm out in case the blue wanted to sniff more. “...You’re sharding huge.”
“I'm fairly sure he's the biggest blue in the class.” Rh'din agreed. “Most excitable too.”
Paskith stopped midstride, puffing up in pride. }:I am _big!_:{ he agreed.
Then he bent his head, regarding the new face with simple curiosity.
“He says hi.” Rh'din tells Akadja. “And he agrees that he's big. Gonna get bigger too.”
“I’m sure he will be,” agreed Akadja. Paskith was already massive in his book, but to hear the weyrfolk talk, the blue and his ‘clutchmates’ were still only ‘babies.’
He hadn’t forgotten his end of the deal. Though part of him still hesitated, wary of how the dragon might react, Akadja glanced up the cliffs of the weyr towards where felt his firelizard lurking and whistled sharply. A heartbeat later, a steely blue shape swooped down to alight on his forearm.
“Alright, Paskith,” Akadja said, glancing between his flit and the young dragon. “This is Dagger. He’s not as big as you, but he’s a scrappy little bastard.”
Dagger, for his part, seemed intrigued by the massive version of himself, cocking his head this way and that as he chirped at Paskith. Only a few months old, the firelizard had been no more familiar with dragons than Akadja was before their arrival at the weyr.
Paskith _pranced_ again, thumped his big paws down and stayed exactly in place. His eyes whirled in utter _delight_. He bugled back. }:Hello, little Dagger!!! I am Paskith! You are very small. Do you know any games?:{
Rh'din groaned, but the sound was fond. “Settle down, Pask. You're going to spook the flit.” He told his blue.
Paskith rumbled, and nuzzled Rh'din hard enough to make him stagger just a little.
Akadja snorted, the corner of his mouth twitching as he braced his arm under Dagger’s shifting weight. “He’s not spooked,” he said proudly. “If he was, he’d be halfway up the cliffs by now.”
The firelizard perched carefully, a taut line of quiet intent as he regarded the dragon with unblinking eyes. He was small--absurdly small in comparison--but there was nothing timid about his manner. He tilted his head, then gave a single, sharp thrill.
“That’s his ‘interesting, but you might be stupid,’ noise,” Akadja translated with dry amusement. “He uses it on wherries and small children.”
Aware that might be the wrong thing to say to a dragon and his rider, Akadja shrugged apologetically. “That’s Dagger for you. Not exactly cuddly I’m afraid. Go on, boy.” He helped launch the flit back up to the cliffs before any trouble could start and then quickly changed the conversation. “Can you ask Paskith why he picked you? Does he know?”
Rh’din laughed despite himself. “I'm pretty sure at least one classmate thinks Paskith's a wherry-brain.” He responded lightly, then followed the conversation shift, his expression going soft and fond.
“Big boy here knocked into me. Faranth, even knocked me _over_.” He responded. “Then he declared I was the Best, and to feed him.”
A pause. “I think… I think he's like me enough it works. He's just… more open about it. Bouncier.”
Akadja crossed his arms and gave Rh’din a sharp, searching look. What was the ‘best’ about this trader boy, who apparently couldn’t even keep his balance? How was that remotely impressive to a baby dragon? He needed to know more.
“What else were you doing? Thinking? Tell me everything you remember from the start of the hatching,” he said with a curious hunger. “Please.”
“Sure.” Rh'din responded easily. “Well, the very first part is always chaotic, I'm told. You hear the dragons, and then the next thing you know you're scrambling for the Impression robes, and to get in line to go in…”
Last updated on the June 10th 2025