It Gets Better
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: Iluva, Sia
Date Posted: 31st May 2025
Characters: O'rosin, Z'kylo
Description: Not everyone is comfortable with the Weyrleader’s behavior at the Feast
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 26 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, Z’kim
Concurrent with ‘Hot and Sweet’
Out of all the people the Weyrleader had intended to scandalize, young O'rosin was probably not one of them. And, perhaps, not for the reasons that N'vanik thought, either. He'd seen all kinds of raucous behavior at the gathers near home, but they were never quite the same caliber as the ones at the Weyr-- and especially not with someone as important as The Weyrleader himself taking part in it. Especially not when the Weyrleader was _laughing_ like it was all some game.
His face flushed with secondhand embarrassment, O'rosin mumbled something about needing air and made a beeline for the exit before someone noticed him gaping like a hatchling. The cool evening air hit him like ocean spray, blessedly quiet compared to the cacophony of the hatching feast. He took a few steadying breaths, trying to erase the image of the Weyrleader's shirt hitting the floor from his memory.
Z'kylo jumped - at the sudden appearance of another rider, at the thought of yet another person trying to coax him into dancing. Nope. No way, out of the question - he didn’t dance at his own Hatching feast, nor was he about to here. Especially not with whatever was happening between the Weyrleader and that other greenrider threatening to spill over to the rest of the guests, the way some people had looked at _him_ on his way to the exit.
It took a moment of silent observation to clock the now rather obvious discomfort happening on O'rosin's face, the same weight burrowing deep in the pit of his own stomach.
After a moment, Z'kylo cleared his throat. “I feel like I just walked into someone's bedroom,” he confessed woodenly, looking and sounding none too thrilled about it.
O'rosin's laugh came out more like a bark. "Yeah, that's exactly it. It's for the best that my parents missed my hatching feast. I wouldn't be able to explain what's going on in there. Yes ma, that's the Weyrleader of Dolphin Cove Weyr without his shirt on. Yes, he's dancing with a man. Yeah, it's mostly normal around here. I'd just like to spend an evening without having to stare at my feet."
Z’kylo grimaced like he was in serious pain. “My mother wouldn’t have taken an explanation. She would have walked out the second they started-” He shook his head, desperately trying to shake the image loose. Not to mention his mother had, technically, walked out of his Hatching feast. He was fairly sure that other greenrider, Z’kim, had been there, too, and the thought of Dream's End made the grimace worse.
“I'd heard the Weyrleader had a nasty reputation, but I didn't think it was - _that_. They must have a lot of Weyrbred candidates here.” Z'kylo sighed. “Where are you from?”
"Not enough to justify that, I don't think. I'd rather not know much about the Weyrleader. And if I keep my head down he won't know much about me." O'rosin said with a shrug. "I'm from a cothold out past Topaz Seahold, right on the coast. Not far with a dragon, but it might as well be on one of the moons. What about you?"
It was a relief to know he wasn't the only one who still held onto their morals and decency. Each Weyr - and he'd only ever seen the interior of two - was, quite frankly, more mentally scarring than the last. “That sounds nice.” Z'kylo offered. Somewhere small, far. “I'm from Sapphire Meadows Hold - I was studying weaving there. Before. Now I almost get killed once a sevenday and have to watch…” He knew he was being rude. But where he came from _no one_ would even think of orchestrating such a raunchy display. “I don't know what I expected. You hear stuff all the time, but seeing it…”
"I've only been to Dream's End in betweening lessons, so I don't know." O'rosin offered, "But it's a little colder there than here, right? So it's probably worse here. A lot of weyrfolk go nude in the hottest parts. That was a shock. Even if I wanted to, I'd be too worried about sunburns." His face heated a little at the thought. "I'm sorry, that doesn't make the Weyr sound good to a new transfer. It's a fine place."
“Yeah, it’s real swell. It’s all in the name - the place where Dreams End.” Though the sunburn remark got a real laugh out of Z'kylo for once. Oh, he was becoming familiar - whether he liked it or not - with that part of the Weyr as well, some part of him always seemed to be burnt or burning. “No, it's fine. It’s just… it's a lot.” But if someone from a cothold was adjusting, maybe there was hope for him, too. Maybe. He took a step into the bowl, eager to depart, to put a period on the end of the disturbing night’s sentence. “It was nice meeting you- I’m Z’kylo, by the way.”
"O'rosin." He supplied. "Brown Aeoluth's." It still felt new in his mouth, that acknowledgement, even though it'd been almost a turn since Aeoluth found him. "It does get better. Slowly. You get used to it."
The greenrider sighed, though he wasn't holding his breath over any of that quite yet. “Mine's Veth.” He was so used to not saying the color, just grateful to hear from someone who understood. “Thanks, O'rosin. I hope you're right.”
And as he set out across the Weyrbowl, the steamy dancing and flood of laughter trickling out behind him, it was just gratitude for the cool breeze that met him there.
Last updated on the June 10th 2025