Out Of The Nest Too Soon

Writers: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 5th October 2025

Characters: J'lyas, R'vkal, R'lor
Description: Braxialth tries to fly
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 15 of Turn 12

R'lor

Notes:
~*~

J'lyas was definitely grateful for two things. One was that Braxialth was sleeping through the night, which meant that J'lyas could collapse into bed without having to fuss over him or be woken up at midnight or some awful hour. Even though he was slowly starting to get used to the training and wasn't as exhausted as when he Impressed (which he was _not_ going to admit to anyone), it was still nice to get a full night's sleep.

The second was that Braxialth was only eating twice a day now and would be hunting for himself soon. So J'lyas was having to cut up food less often, and therefore not getting disgustingly bloodied up from it. All that was standing in the way of Braxialth hunting for himself was flying.

Which was changing today.

Not because J'lyas was making it happen. Nope. Braxialth was doing it. Down by the lake, no Weyrlingmasters in sight, stretching his spindly wings and testing the wind. J'lyas was standing nearby, hands in his pockets, watching with a scheming, fond grin at the confidence radiating off his dragon. }: I don't see why not, :{ Braxialth eventually said, certain that he could fly and uncertain as to why he had to wait any longer.

He broke into a charging run, gaining speed, and then, he hurled himself off the ground with wings spread. He might have been flapping like a drunken VTOL but he was doing it! He was flying!

}: Braxialth, what are you doing? :{ Indrath asked as he watched his clutchmate. His rider was oiling a rough patch of skin on the rapidly growing bronze.

}: Flying, :{ came the terse reply as Braxialth concentrated on staying aloft. This was a lot harder than the adult dragons made it look! Maybe if he could get a few more feet in the air, it would get easier.

}: Not supposed to be doing that just yet, :{ Indrath pointed out.

}: Shut up, :{ Braxialth shot back, flapping wildly.

"What's he doing?" R'vkal asked of his dragon in his usual calm drawl, but his expression was concerned and confused.

}: Flying, apparently. But too soon. I'm letting Kularth know. Can't be having him get hurt. :{

}:Braxialth, get down here right now!:{ Kularth snapped as soon as he got the message. He flew over, roaring at the young blue.

Startled, Braxialth lost the rhythm he was _finally_ (read: totally not) getting and began dropping towards the ground with a squeal. J'lyas came running over. "Hey, what the feck are you doing? He was getting it!" he yelled in defense of his dragon.

Kularth landed with a spray of sandy soil and turned angry eyes on J'lyas.

"What are you doing?" R'lor shouted as he came running up.

"What? He was flying! He was just trying it out!" J'lyas shouted back. He had reached Braxialth's side and was running his hands over the stripling dragon. "You okay? Did he hurt you?" he asked.

Braxialth shook the sand off of him. He swiveled his head towards Kularth. }: I _had_ it! You interrupted me! :{

}:You are not allowed to fly!:{ Kularth glared at the young blue.

"Did you not listen in class?" R'lor tried to push back Kularth's anger. He had enough of his own frustration to deal with. "He's not allowed to fly until we all do it as a class. _Supervised_ to make sure his wings are strong enough and he doesn't hurt himself."

"Yeah, I listened," J'lyas replied sourily. Stupid Weyrlingmaster! It was stupid that they had to wait. Dumb arbitrary rules! "Brax thought he could do it so he tried and he was doing it just fine until you showed up."

Eavesdropping, Indrath remarked quietly to R'vkal, }: He would have fallen from the sky. Don't think he had it as much as his rider thinks he did. :{

R'vkal definitely agreed to that but didn't say anything.

"I don't care what he thinks he can do, it's _your_ job to tell him to wait," R'lor said. "He could have strained a wingjoint or worse."

"Why should I tell him to wait when he thinks he can do it? He just did it!" J'lyas argued. "And he's fine!" **You're fine, right?**

}: I think so, :{ Braxialth answered. He stretched his wings to their fullest but winced towards the end. }: Just a little sore. Flying is a lot! :{

}: Why you should have waited til the Weyrlingmaster said so, :{ Indrath chimed in.

Braxialth's response was immediate. }: No one asked you! You tattled on me! I was doing just fine until you told Kularth! :{

}:Are you injured, Braxialth?:{ Kularth asked, his tone somewhat gentler.

"Because you need to do as you're told. For his safety, for your safety." The Weyrlingmaster shook his head. There was at least one in every class. "If you think you can do whatever you want, whenever you want, how do you think that's going to go in Threadfall?"

"It's going to go just fine because I'm not an idiot! I know what we can and can't do and I don't need _you_ to tell me that!" J'lyas argued back.

Braxialth, unconvinced by Kularth's tone, tucked his wings back along his spine and said, }: I'm fine. :{ He'd test out his wings again in the morning to see if they were still sore.

Kularth huffed. }:You will go to the dragonhealers.:{

"_I_," R'lor said firmly, "am your Weyrlingmaster and you _will_ obey me. For your insubordination, you're on latrine duty and you're going to write an essay on why you need to respect the chain of command."

Going on about obedience was the wrong tactic with J'lyas, who had been bullied by just about everyone at his Hold and told by every adult to follow stupid rules that only got him in more trouble. He'd do the latrine duty but an essay? Well, R'lor was going to get something he wasn't going to like but J'lyas wasn't about to tell him that. "Yeah, whatever. I'm taking Brax to the dragonhealers. Come on, Brax. Let's get you checked out."

R'lor sighed and watched him go, deciding not to push too hard right now. He turned to Indrath. "Thank you for letting us know."

The stripling bronze straightened at the gratitude but it was his rider who answered. "You're welcome, sir. Couldn't have him getting really hurt, could we?"

"I'm sure he'll resent you for it, but you did the right thing," R'lor said. "Looking out for your clutchmates is a sign of good leadership."

The resentment would probably bother R'vkal at some point. He tried to dig into some of the lessons he had learned along the way and said, "Resentment is his decision. Had to do the right thing, else it would've been worse." No one wanted to hear the keening of dragons. That was reason enough to do the right thing. But the Weyrlingmaster's praise showed in the way R'vkal straightened his shoulders too.

R'lor smiled and patted his shoulder. "You're going to be a fine bronzerider, R'vkal."

"Working on it, sir. Good luck with that one though. Figure he's gonna be a handful."

"I've seen his type before." Though each person was unique, R'lor had tactics to use for troublemakers like J'lyas.

And probably would again, R'vkal guessed. There was probably a troublemaker in every class, which was why R'lor had been picked for Weyrlingmaster and not someone else. He nodded thoughtfully. "Best be on our way. Gotta get Indrath cleaned up before class."

Last updated on the October 12th 2025

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Out Of The Nest Too Soon