Throwing Rocks
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: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 17th September 2025
Characters: N'vanik, I'serin
Description: N'vanik tries to help I'serin process his grief
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 27 of Turn 12
Notes:
~*~
}:Mine wishes to speak to yours, if he has time.:{ Loseth told Aluneth.
}: He does, :{ Aluneth answered shortly before warning his rider. I'serin sighed softly, then rubbed his forehead as he waited for N'vanik to arrive.
N'vanik stepped in and looked over his fellow Weyrleader, noting the weariness and tension. "Wanna get out of here for a while?"
The short answer was no because I'serin did not feel like doing much of anything. But he understood when someone was trying to be of true assistance. "Did you have somewhere in mind?"
"Yeah. Quiet little lake, no one around to bother us. Come on."
That sounded just perfect. Since it seemed as though N'vanik had come prepared for this outing, I'serin followed him out to their dragons. **Follow Loseth,** he said to Aluneth as he mounted.
They came out over a glittering lake under a mid-afternoon sun. It was cooler than Dolphin Cove, but much warmer than Dragonsfall. The bronzes circled down for a landing on a strip of sandy beach, and N'vanik headed toward the water as soon as he dismounted. "You know how to skip rocks?" he called over his shoulder.
I'serin looked baffled. "I...uh...no," he admitted as he slid down. Aluneth settled near Loseth to have their own private conversations.
"First find a rock, the smoother the better." N'vanik scanned the shoreline until he spotted one. "One that fits well in the hand." He picked it up, feeling the weight of it in his palm. "Hold it like this." He demonstrated for I'serin. "Get it sorta parallel with the water, and whip it like this." The rock sailed over the tiny, lapping waves and bounced over the surface one, two, three times before sinking.
The other Weyrleader did not see the reasoning for any of this but did as instructed. He found a rock, discarded it, found another, discarded that one (how hard was it to find one of the required parameters?), then finally settled one the third one even though it was not up to specifications. He whipped it as N'vanik had done but it just sank. "I fail to see the utility in this," he remarked sourly.
N'vanik chuckled as he skipped another rock. "It can be relaxing. But we can try something else." He took a much bigger rock and hurled it at the water. It crashed into the lake with a loud, satisfying splash.
I'serin still did not see the purpose of the exercise but he found a larger rock and threw it. When its wet plop was unsatisfactory, he found a larger one and hurled it. That one made a better sound. Another rock, another thunk into the water. Before he realized it, I'serin was picking up the largest ones he could and throwing them into the water with an almost uncharacteristic anger, as though each one represented _something_ he could not articulate and yet had to be smashed.
They were just throwing rocks. Why was this suddenly so cathartic?
N'vanik threw a rock so big he had to use both hands. "When I heard about your da I thought, 'good riddance'".
I'serin let out a rueful, almost hysterical laugh as he threw another rock. Good riddance was a sentiment shared by more than a few. So why did he not feel the same?
"Got something you wanna let out?" N'vanik asked. "No one's around to hear you."
What came out was a ragged shout at the tail end of another throw. The usually eloquent and reserved Weyrleader let out a sharp, succinct curse as he stared where the stone had disappeared beneath the waves. And then...tears pricked at his eyes. "I...I h-hated him, N'vanik. F-For so much." He clenched his fists, trying to hold all of his emotions in. "Ev...everyone at River Bluff loved him. And I...I..."
He trailed off. If he said it, it would unfurl that monstrous thing within him and there was no telling if he would ever get it back under control.
"Say it," N'vanik urged. Shards, that poor man was wound so tight.
"I...I wished he would h-have died at River Bluff."
The moment he said, I'serin hated himself. It choked him in a different way than the grief did. But he had told himself before that once his parents were gone, then maybe, maybe he would start allowing himself to be happy. Allow himself to be free. And then he had become Weyrleader and none of that could happen. Not while he wore the knots. Not while A'len was alive. Now one of those things had changed and I'serin was left with so many things left unsaid, ends that would never be tied off.
In a sudden fit of anger, he roared and threw the nearest rock he could find. "How DARE he die like that! How DARE he die before...before..."
I'serin let out one long, inarticulate scream to finish that sentence.
"I don't even know if my dad is alive," N'vanik said quietly in the ringing silence that followed. "Cause if I go back, if I see him . . . I'm afraid I might kill him."
Deflated, I'serin sat on the shore with a soft thump. "You have no idea how I feared I would do the same some times when we fought," he admitted. His anger had become its own living thing during the worst of those arguments. Only the thought of having to explain his actions to the rest of the Weyr kept I'serin from handing himself over to his emotions.
N'vanik moved to sit beside him. "Scorch those assholes." It had been a little shocking to see the buttoned-up Dragonsfall Weyrleader unleash like that, but it was good. He bumped his shoulder against I'serin's. "Feel a little better?"
He did, though he knew it was only momentarily. I'serin nodded. "Thank you," he said softly. "This..." He rubbed his forehead and then let out a weak huff of laughter. "This entire Turn has been...arduous. To say the least. And now this."
"When it rains it pours."
"Of that, I am well aware," the other Weyrleader said. He exhaled again. "I do hope that it gets better. I cannot imagine another Turn like this."
"I hope so, too. I'm here for you if you need to talk." N'vanik gave him a small smile. "Or if you want some company to hurl rocks and scream at the sky."
The left corner of I'serin's mouth quirked. "I appreciate that," he replied. He looked up at the sky, embracing that light feeling while it was there. "More than I can articulate."
Last updated on the September 18th 2025