Kindred
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: Halyonix, Iluva
Date Posted: 6th September 2025
Characters: Tiyo, Hesbia
Description: Hesbia moves into the barracks and meets her 'new' bunkmate
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 28 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: E'kavas, Oselle, Katora,
Hesbia wasn’t sure about moving into the Candidate Barracks. She didn’t like her sister being alone in their quarters. She figured she’d just make it a formality somehow. Or something. Claim a bunk but not really sleep there. Or find another Searchrider to get a token for her sister too. Dragonriding stuff ran in families, right? Maybe.
Hesbia eyed the opened top bunk warily. And then the person on the bottom one. “This your bunk?” she asked.
It took Tiyo a moment to realize that someone was talking to her. Turning on her cot, in mid-brush of her dark curtain of hair with its teeth caught in a tangle, her amber eyes swept over the new face with curiosity, the same way she'd read the page of a book or take in a painting. “Yeah.” She said with a nod and a small grin. “This is me.” Struggling a little to detach the bristles, once they finally let go she extended a hand to Hesbia. “Tiyo.”
Hesbia stared at the offered hand. Then at the woman again. Angry bravado filled her. She might be formerly Holdless, or might be always that in some regard, but she wasn’t going to be a coward. She took the hand with a hard shake. “Hesbia. They told me to find an empty bunk and claim it. No one’s gonna steal my stuff if I leave it here, right?”
Tiyo tilted her head to the side, peering at the underside of the bunk. “I doubt it.” She replied after a moment, a slight creasing between her brows. Then, brush clutched tightly, she slowly began to work down a few uneven columns of hair on the other side, an unfortunate consequence of vengeful Dragonsfall wind. “You should be fine. I don't think anything of mine’s been stolen. There isn't much to steal, mind you, but the Weyrlingmasters and Oselle try to take that pretty seriously. I'm not sure anyone's been brave enough here yet with her around.”
This girl, Tiyo, had obviously never lived in the caves with other Holdless. The amount of blind trust that Weyrfolk placed in each other astounded Hesbia. At least she had worked with Oselle and the Headwoman, so far, had seemed trustworthy. But she didn’t have eyes everywhere.
These Weyrlingmasters, though. They were dragonriders. And Hesbia still didn’t trust dragonriders.
“How long have you been here?” Hesbia asked as she tossed her bag in the top bunk.
“Four Turns.” Tiyo said with a little sigh of resignation. “I'm from River Bluff originally, so the move here wasn't exactly voluntary.”
This girl, Hesbia, obviously hadn't lived in communal quarters for a while. Maybe ever. Tiyo had met a few traders along the way, the sharp-eyed Katora quickly coming to mind, but after a second, lengthier look; intensely ambivalent; intensely assessing. A wariness that wasn't all that uncommon in new arrivals. But sharp.
Tiyo wasn’t bothered, however, just attentive. She pulled her hair around to the same side and reclined on her cot, nodding toward the wooden trunks at the end of the bunk. “That one’s yours, too. The one on the right there. And I do have a feline around here somewhere, if that bothers you.”
“As a pet?” Hesbia asked incredulously as she went to check out the trunk. Pets, aside from the rare firelizard, were absolutely barred from Holdless life. They were an extra mouth to feed in an already struggling unit.
“No, as a friend.” Tiyo grinned, “Yeah, of course as a pet, silly.” She wondered if the issue might be having pets at all, or having one that mostly laid around all day and didn't kill quite as many spinners as Tiyo told some of the other girls, which she elected not to divulge at the moment.
After a beat her brows knit just a little. With restrained curiosity, she asked, “Ever had a pet? She's pretty friendly. But if you don't want her on your cot just toss her down here.”
Hesbia was curious about the feline but she certainly wasn’t going to show actual _interest_ in a pet. “We Holdless don’t get to have pets,” she informed Tiyo. “It’s not going to bite me, is it?”
Tiyo shook her head. “I'd be more worried about her trying to sleep on your lap or something.” She admitted, curious how the other girl might react to that. Then, dropping her voice a little like Dansa might overhear and take offense, she rolled her eyes, saying, “She's incredibly lazy. Most of the time I'm pretty sure she just sleeps. I did see her chase a firelizard once, but that's because he _really_ pissed her off.”
The word Holdless explained the wariness, and Hesbia did look vaguely familiar in the way that most people in the Weyr on a daily basis became after a while. But then it was only one side of things to look like you belonged. Tiyo said, “I'm not sure where she is right now, but you are welcome to her. Dansa's happy as long as she's in someone's arms. So, what do you think of Weyrlife?”
Hearing how the feline had chased a firelizard was a little impressive. It sounded like the cat took no shit. Hesbia could appreciate that. But the question of what she thought about Weyrlife was complicated in so many ways. Hesbia stuffed down all of her feelings about the bronzerider who had pushed her father, even though it felt like it wasn’t all going to fit back into the box of her body, and said, “Beats being cold and hungry, that’s for sure. Getting used to the dragons takes a while. They’ve never been our…friends…before.” She didn’t really think that they were but at least they weren’t hunting and flushing her out. “Why’d you leave River Bluff?”
Tiyo stared at her for a moment, slightly taken aback by the question. But it made sense for Hesbia to not know. “An earthquake. Four turns ago.” She answered, voice softer as she shrugged a shoulder.
It'd been a while since Tiyo had actually had to outright explain it to anyone. Most people immediately nodded with a sort of grim yet anxious recognition.
“A little while after that… a tsunami rolled in. The Weyr collapsed.” Thoughts strayed back to the grey haze of Rivia and J’nico. To her friends. E’kavas, as she remembered him, was back there, too. Tiyo’s brows furrowed at the unpleasant well of emotion. “They made it kind of hard to stay.” She smiled humorlessly and continued, “They did do a survey afterward and thought we might be able to go back, but…” She shook her head. “Dragonsfall’s been nice enough to be home since.”
Shared trauma over rising waters softened Hesbia’s expression a little. “That sounds like some shit,” she said empathetically. “Sounds like how I got here. I don’t know if the caves are dry yet but I’m not going to be the one finding out.” She shifted her stance to be a little less defensive. Only a little. “Guess we’re both better off here. Doing this Candidate thing.”
Tiyo couldn't help the disbelieving grin that suddenly crooked the corners of her lips up. Not once had she ever thought to call that breath-stealing, earth-shattering day ‘some shit’. But at least -- at its core - Hesbia understood. That was a nice change -- almost a relief, in some intensely sad and twisted way.
“It was.” Tiyo assured her with a soft snort. “It was some absolute shit. Sorry to hear you’re familiar with that.” She rose up on one elbow to better regard the other woman, “If you need anything or aren’t sure at all, just ask. And don’t let anyone’s comments get to you - most people come in here not knowing anything about dragons. I still know almost nothing and my father rode one.”
Hesbia grunted. “Good to know.” At least she wouldn’t be terribly behind the curve then. Not that the curve, whatever it was, was going to stop her. She wasn’t going to let her little sister down, not when it was just the two of them left now. “I’m going to get some food. Thanks for the chat.”
Tiyo nodded and stretched back on her cot again, fishing out a book from beneath her pillow with a blind familiarity she almost begrudged. Her fingers fiddled along the pages, traced their corners, and before shoving her face in it for the night, she gazed up at the underside of Hesbia’s new cot, wondering how long it would be before the next new face was settling in up there.
Last updated on the October 3rd 2025