A Touching Sentiment

Writers: Avery, Corrin
Date Posted: 13th October 2025

Characters: Sybana, Yvase, L'val
Description: Yvase is ditched by her father, but she receives an even more compelling invitation
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 11 of Turn 12

Sybana

The feeding pens were always busy when a dragon was rising. The green in question swooped down over the pens, once, twice, harrying the beasts and causing them to scatter everywhere in a panicked stampede until she chose a wherry which had bolted too far from others. Snapping its neck, she dragged it to the side and sucked its blood down hungrily. Opportunistic male dragons who had been watching her make her choice dove into the pens now, choosing their targets to drain if they felt they needed the energy for the flight.

Outside the pen, riders called by the green’s bugle and the answering choruses of the male dragons began to gather, watching their dragons choose their prey and controlling them, or assessing each other, looking to see what rival might have the advantage over them when chasing the green prize, or looking covetously on the rider soon to be claimed.

Not everyone who was out by the pens was supposed to be part of the flight mob, though. “I know we were supposed to go out to Pearl Shoals today, but -” L’val said to Yvase.

“I get it. Kyverth wants to catch a green.” The girl’s arms were firmly crossed, her face fixed in a scowl. “It’s not fair. He’d already taken down his herdbeast and was starting to _eat_ it before Seryth jumped down here showing her tail like that. That means he has meat in his belly and he shouldn’t even _want_ to fly her now.”

But the bronze in question was paused in his meal, which was only partially consumed, his muzzle pointing at shining Seryth and his eyes whirling with lust. }:I will claim,:{ he bellowed at the green and at his rider’s mind, and he bent his head to drain the remaining blood from the beast carcass and leave the rest of the meat.

Then Seryth bugled loudly and threw aside her kill before leaping into the sky, seafoam wings shimmering in the cloudy sky. After her rose a few browns, blues, and bronzes, desperate to catch her and sate their need, Kyverth among them. The riders who had been clustering around the fence, watching their dragons blood their catches, began to back off and towards the flight cots, the female rider leading them along in a mirror of the way the sky chase would go.

“Yvase. I’m sorry,” L’val said, squeezing her shoulder. “I will make it up to you later, I promise. Just - find somewhere else to be right now -” and with that the bronzerider was off, jogging to catch up to the procession.

Yvase didn’t really know where else to go. The eggs were hard on the Sands and so Candidates had a full shift of classes, and chores, and things to do. Her father had gotten special permission for her to have time off so they could visit family before the Hatching was going to happen. If she went back to the Barracks…she’d probably get pressed into more chores. She probably couldn’t get a ride out of L’kav, who would be busy with duties. Maybe she could find somewhere to hide and not be noticed, but would that be fun? No, not on her own.

She picked up a rock, and tossed it angrily at the fence posts. “Stupid dragons rising and ruining everything!”

**See?** Leaning on the fence, Sybana was watching the rising green as she waited for Galgaith to finish feeding. **Look at that green. See how she’s draining the wherry, not trying to eat it? That’s what you need to do next time you rise.**

}:Didn’t I?:{ Muzzle deep in the belly in her own kill, the gold didn’t even glance over.

**You most certainly did not.**

The thud of a rock against a post nearby forestalled a larger argument/lesson and Sybana looked over to see Yvase. She recognized the girl from the egg touching a few days ago and a quick glance further identified L’val’s retreating back. Ah. “Yes, they can be rather thoughtless when rising,” Sybana observed dryly as the gold rumbled indignantly in her mind. “What exactly has--” }:Seryth. And I’m full of thoughts:{ “--Seryth ruined?”

Yvase whirled to the side to see Sybana, and her pity party interrupted itself when she realized one of the Weyr’s own _goldriders_ was watching her. She startled to attention and a rough-sketched salute with a suddenness that probably looked comedic. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you, ma’am,” she said, remembering her manners.

Picking up another stone, she turned it in her hands, frowning at it. “It’s just… my father was supposed to take me to Pearl Shoals this afternoon to visit family. It was combining Weyr business with a pleasure visit, and it would have been my last chance to see family there for awhile if I Impress, and then Kyverth had to go and chase Seryth just because she went and flicked her tail like that. Even if Kyverth _didn’t_ chase, he probably would have told me we couldn’t go,” she grumbled.

“I see… That is unfortunate,” said Sybana, hiding a laugh at the way the young girl had snapped to attention. A miniature wingrider-to-be. She must have learned it from her father. Sybana didn’t know L’val well, but she was getting the impression he must be a very professional man. “I’m afraid I can’t do anything about Kyverth or Pearl Shoals, but if you’re not needed elsewhere and want to wait until Galgi is done feeding perhaps we can see about improving your Impression chances?”

A chance to hang out? With the newest goldrider? That would be the best possible thing to do at the Weyr all day! “I have nowhere to be all day, so I can wait with you,” Yvase said. “I like to watch the dragons hunt and eat. I know a lot of people think it’s gross, but they look impressive doing it. Hunting is one of the things they’re made to do, just like flying Thread, and I can’t watch _that_ up close. And you can’t get up in the middle of wing drills without your own dragon, either.”

The goldrider smiled. “Would you like to see the eggs again?”

Her eyes widened. “Of _course_,” she blurted out, voice cracking in her enthusiasm. Any shreds of control, of trying to be mature for her age or seem smart to impress Sybana, flew out the window at the chance to see a gold’s eggs up close again, without a whole crowd bustling around.

Sybana didn't bother to hide her laughter now, but it was soft and warm like her smile as she regarded Yvase. Yes, the girl was young, but she seemed dutiful and respectful and had an excellent pedigree for it-- surely she would be a better addition to the wings than one of those holdless ruffians. Some extra time with the eggs certainly wouldn't hurt.

“Well, we can certainly make that happen,” she promised. “Were there any eggs in particular that caught your eye last time?”

Galgaith was still noisily eating.

“Two of them I liked. One of them had this pretty brown marbling over it? It was pretty far away from Galgaith and a few of the girls were around it. Tiyo, and uhm…one of the holdless girls. And Qelhelias. I looked him up later because I wanted to know who could recite textbooks like that. A Harper, of course.” She scrunched her nose again. It wasn’t that she disliked Harpers, but people who seemed to live by the textbook were…well, boring.

“Oh, and there was that pretty little one that was darker than the others and all freckled, over by Galgaith. Not a lot of people were going towards that one. I didn’t see any holdless there. Do you think they’re all afraid of her?” she asked, in a tone that implied _she_ certainly wasn’t afraid of Galgaith.

“They may be,” said Sybana with a fond glance back at Galgaith, who was now eviscerating a second herdbeast. “I expect none of them have had much experience with dragons before now. Honestly I don’t think--” She caught herself because she could finish that cynical thought and flashed Yvase an apologetic smile. “With me there, you can approach any egg you wish, and there will be no holdless to compete with.”

“Oh, she’s pretty,” she murmured again as she saw Galgaith get the second beast. What must it feel like to do that? To fly down and seize the animal in her claws and shred it and eat it? Would it feel good to her when her green caught prey? Did Sybana enjoy it or was she disgusted?

At the comment about the holdless, she blurted out, “I’m glad they won’t be here. I don’t think they should be here and Standing for the eggs at all. There’s so few of them. They should stay for the weyrborn and the really Searched from holds and halls.”

For a moment Sybana just started, shocked to silence by the girl’s blithe candor. It was only exactly what she herself had been thinking. “I don’t blame you,” she said carefully, her smile warm with approval. “It would be one thing if there was a shortage of suitable candidates, but there clearly isn’t. We all know dragonriding requires discipline and sacrifice. If it were up to me--”

She broke off abruptly again and shook her head. “Unfortunately, it’s not just up to me. I can’t bar the holdless from Standing, and I can’t say half of what I really think,” neither of which she should be admitting to Yvase, but the girl seemed so small and harmless. “But I _can_ do my best to see that those that deserve to Stand have every advantage. I don’t know how much egg touching matters--I never got to touch Galgi’s egg--but you’ll have all the time I can give you.”

“I know why you can’t say anything. You’re a goldrider, so you have to support what the Weyrleaders say. Just like my father is a Wingleader and so he’s cooperating on socializing some of them, because he is modeling doing what the leaders say. It’s very complicated to ride a metallic dragon.” She wrinkled her nose as she considered it.

“I’m sorry you didn’t get to touch Galgaith’s egg. Did you get a piece of the shell afterwards to keep at least? Some people do that as keepsakes.”

“I was too distracted to think of it in the moment,” Sybana admitted. Too busy fighting, more like. “But one of the assistants saved a piece for me. That’s one of the benefits of a gold, I suppose. Everyone remembers which egg _she_ came from. If you really want a keepsake, make sure your friends on that sands know. They can keep an eye out as well.”

There was a sudden blast of air as Galgaith took off behind her. Sybana didn’t flinch or even turn to look. “She’s done feeding now. Let’s get you to those eggs.”

“I’m glad that someone saved you that piece. I bet you’ll treasure it forever. I want to make sure to get mine, so I’ll make sure people look out for me. Thank you for the advice.”

Yvase beamed as she followed along behind Sybana. It was exciting that she was going to get to have this extra special moment with the eggs! Maybe it was for the best that Kyverth had decided to chase that rising green. She had visited Pearl Shoals several times before, but time with the Weyr’s new goldrider and time alone on the Hatching Sands? When was _that_ ever gonna happen again?

Last updated on the October 19th 2025

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A Touching Sentiment