Bronzes Catch Greens

Writers: Devin, Len
Date Posted: 25th October 2025

Characters: N'vanik, Sh'del, P'ven
Description: N’vanik catches up with old friend and clutchmate Sh’del and thinks back to the first Flight that his bronze won with a male rider at Vista Point Weyr
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 8 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Cyradis, Talryne, R’lor, Z’kim

N'vanik

"I'm late, I know," N'vanik said as he stepped into Sh'del's weyr. They'd made plans to spend time together that evening before Sh'del got busier with a second class of weyrlings, and N'vanik needed a distraction from thinking about that terrible Threadfall.

And then a . . . different distraction had come up. N'vanik's open collar did absolutely nothing to hide the love bite on his neck. "Warroth rose."

“And how is the lovely lifemate of Warroth? Your former ‘weyrmate,’ as I recall…” Sh’del’s tone was dry as he tidied up his paperwork and gave his green flit a shove off the stack he had by his desk. No weyrlingmaster staff ever had an entire free day to not wade through paperwork. Trouble chittered in annoyance before spotting the new person in the weyr. With a happy chirrup, she flew over to N’vanik for a pet.

N'vanik chuckled as he absently patted the flit. "Yeah. Zeke's doing good. Wait til you see the outfits he designed for the Hatching." He kept wondering if Sh'del was going to ask about them after the dance at Panitath and Loseth's Hatching, and with Warroth spending the night curled up on Loseth's ledge once or twice a month. N'vanik still wasn't ready to talk about it, but if Sh'del asked him outright he might try.

For his part, Sh’del raised an eyebrow. He did note the dance and did wonder how R’lor had missed it too. He imagined the Weyrlingmaster frantically blotting out his notes on bronzeriders. Carefully sticking his paperwork into a neat pile, he asked, “you and he planning on wearing the outfits for the Hatching? They have handy openings to get out of them later or are they just designed for a few hours of wear?”

The corner of N'vanik's mouth lifted. "They're designed to look nice for the Hatching, but a little less formal."

"I can imagine R'lor frantically rewriting his notes on bronzeriders after," She'del said dryly as he stood up. "How's Talyne?" He asked in a tone that said 'I don't care who you shag but if you hurt that girl you're going to have to answer to me.' He raised an eyebrow as he asked, feeling protective of his friend.

Well, Sh'del definitely suspected something was going on, and having just come from a very satisfying romp, N'vanik was even less cautious than usual. "She's good. I give her a full report when I get home."

“And she’s fine with that?” Sh’del stopped gathering his things to look seriously at N'vanik. “Sorry but I can’t bear the thought of her being hurt and I know you mean a lot to her.”

"She means a lot to me, too. She means the world to me." If what Sh'del was concerned about was Talryne, that was easier to explain. "Tal uh . . . has always liked hearing the details."

“Does she then?” Sh’del snorted and slapped N’vanik on the shoulder. “I think we both need a drink…” part of him wondered if N’vanik was going too far, getting too bold. But on the other hand… “You worried the holders might put two and two together?”

So they were definitely talking about it without Sh'del flat out asking him. "I wouldn't have danced with him like that if I didn't want gossip."

Sh'del mused over N'vanik's words as he reached for a half empty bottle of wine and pored both of them a glass before handing N'vanik's his and sitting down on the sofa. "But...does your friend want the gossip? Have you spoken to him or considered his opinion on this? Cyradis? Remember, you're not that crazy weyrling anymore, your our Weyrleader." The look he gave N'vanik as he took a sip of wine was serious.

Despite the look, N'vanik laughed. "Have you _met_ Zeke? He's eating it up." Then he grew more serious. "Cyradis hasn't said much. And yeah I'm Weyrleader and I'm supposed to be dignified and all that, but sometimes I feel like ruffling a few feathers."

“We’re not kids anymore, you can’t just decide to upend the tables. And besides, what am I going to say to R’lor? Think of your poor Weyrlingmaster!” At that, Sh’del laughed, imaging the look on the poor man’s face.

"It was just a dance," N'vanik said, even as he thought of the way it had felt to have Z'kim pressed against him while everyone stared. He took a hearty sip of wine.

“You don’t know R’lor. The poor man lost his rag over brownriders, even though we’ve been hiding in plain site.”

"It would've taken me a while to notice if it hadn't been for you," N'vanik said.

Sh’del just gave him an ‘are you dense?’ glare and snorted. “You were always a bit slow, even as a weyrling,” he teased.

The bronzerider made a rude gesture. "I learn, though." He snorted. "Remember how awful I was the first time I woke up with a male greenrider?" Luckily it had been a middle-aged man and not someone young and sensitive. Or a fellow holdbred man.

“If that poor man could see you now…”

~*~ flashback ~*~

"I mean, I got nothin' against it if you're into that sort of thing." N'vanik gestured at Sh'del. "But I'm not like that." He'd known it could happen, but waking up holding a naked man and knowing they'd done . . . things had still been a shock.

“You ride bronze...and bronzes catch a lot of greens.” Sh’del gave him a long look. "Maybe you need to get over yourself. Or have Rhosyn come down hard on you." He snorted, thinking of their headstrong clutch mate and all the havoc she was causing.

N'vanik scoffed. "A goldrider? Why would I mess with that?" He'd stick to greenriders . . . the female ones at least.

Sh'del raised an eyebrow and glanced out to where N'vanik's quiet bronze dragon lay sleeping. "Yeah, I have no idea why you'd mess with...'that'..."

"I'm not sucking up to goldriders for that. Loseth's big enough, he can win on his own." A hint of warmth crept into N'vanik's voice as he watched the dragon who had for some reason chosen him
all those months ago. "Charming enough, too. That's why he's been catching greens."

“And_that_is why you need to grow up.”

Before he could say anything more, a certain greenrider walked up to them. P’ven, with all his green-eyed beauty, looked from bronzerider to brown and then back again. He laughed and wandered over to Sh’del, where he lightly leaned against his friend. “What do you need to grow up to, N’vanik?”

"Flights with men, apparently." N'vanik rolled his eyes.

“Ahh…yes, that.” The greenrider hopped up to sit on the ledge that Sh’del was leaning against. “So what’s your issue? You’ve got a handsome bronze, that sort of goes with the territory.”

"I don't want to do . . . that, with men." N'vanik shifted uncomfortably, almost a shudder. "It's too weird."

“You’re weird,” P’ven muttered under his breath.

Sh’del put his hand on the greenrider’s knee and grinned. “All joking aside, you do ride a male dragon, N’vanik, and we were given a lot of lectures what that entailed. So if you knew this was too much, why did you still Stand?”

N'vanik rolled his eyes. "Because I wanted a dragon."

Sh’del fought hard not to roll his own eyes. “Well then, dumbarse, you have to put up with what comes with that.”

The bronzerider crossed his arms. Loseth would keep catching greens, and a lot of them had male riders, which meant that N'vanik would be . . . Maybe he should pull Loseth from those flights. He looked at his sleeping dragon. Could he really do that, when Loseth had given him so much? N'vanik would just have to suffer through the discomfort and embarrassment of having his body do things he didn't want so Loseth could enjoy claiming a green. "But I don't have to like it."

“We don’t like to have to hang out with you…but we do.” P’ven’s tone was snarky.

N'vanik made a rude gesture.

Last updated on the October 28th 2025

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Bronzes Catch Greens