Until We Can Leave
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: Heather
Date Posted: 3rd November 2025
Characters: Rathandra, Evanram
Description: Rathandra and Evanram finally talk after she unexpectedly Impresses Morivath.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 14 of Turn 12
"Rathandra?" Evanram's voice was tentative, and the set of his shoulders belied how uncomfortable he felt as he edged into the barracks that were solely for Weyrlings.
The others had already put their dragons into their little box beds and then left to attend the Hatching Feast. She was still sitting beside Morivath, watching the creature sleep. Perhaps the longer she stared at her lifemate, the less scary and wild the creature would look.
"Come in," she said, gesturing for her husband to come over to the bed. "Her" bed now, she supposed.
Evanram approached Rathandra and the green dragonet as if they might pounce on him at any moment. He remembered vividly the chaos those young dragons had caused the day they'd wandered into the Holdless refugee camp by the river.
"It's okay. She's asleep," Rathandra said, with more confidence than she possessed.
Seeing her, sitting there beside the dragon.... "So she's yours now?"
"That's what they tell me," she said weakly.
"But... how? You weren't even a Candidate or anything. You weren't even on the Sands." One minute they had been sitting in the Stands, about to depart and move on with their life, and now....
"I don't quite understand it all either," Rathandra confessed. "But we are _bonded_. I can hear her in my mind when she's awake. I can feel her emotions," she put her hand to her stomach, "as if they're living inside me."
Evanram was quiet for a moment as he processed what she had said. Behind his eyes, wheels seemed to be turning. "Dragons can live anywhere, right?"
Rathandra lifted her hands and shoulders. "I don't know. I've only ever seen them at Weyrs. Or well.... Holds usually have at least one watchdragon who lives there, I think."
"I don't see why we couldn't just take her on the road with us. We'll, uh, keep her fed until she can hunt. Dragons hunt, don't they? She could even protect us from Threadfall, couldn't she?"
"Evanram," she stood, hooking her fingers into the front plackets of his shirt. "I don't know the first thing about taking care of a baby dragon, do you?"
He chewed on his lip, shaking his head. "No."
"If I stay, they're going to teach me that while I'm here. How to care for her. How to ride her, eventually. And then, even how to fight Thread with her." Rathandra couldn't ignore the little wiggle of anxiety in the pit of her stomach at the thought of leaving the Weyr and dragging Morivath with her out onto the unprotected road.
Evanram inhaled loudly through his nose, but exhaled slowly through his pursed lips. "Yeah, I guess you're right. If she feeds a lot as a baby, we might have trouble coming up with the food." His eyes searched hers. "I guess we'll be staying a little longer then."
A cloud of worry melted from Rathandra's brow. "You'll stay?"
"Of course, Rath. I'm not leaving without you. When she gets big enough and you're trained enough, we can go then." Evanram pulled her into a hug.
Rathandra wasn't quite sure that she and Morivath would just be free to leave whenever they were older. Didn't dragons need firestone to breathe fire? How would they come up with enough firestone on the road? And what about Morivath? Could dragons live apart from other dragons? Or would she be lonely?
Still, Evanram agreeing to stay until she had more training was compromise enough for one evening.
"We can go then," she agreed, sinking into his embrace. "There's a Hatching Feast," she mumbled against his chest. "Why don't we go eat and dance?"
Evanram looked over Rathandra's head at the sleeping dragon. "Can you leave her for that long?"
"The Weyrlingmaster said we could." Pushing a smile onto her face, Rathandra pulled back so she could look into her husband's eyes. "Come on, let's go eat and be happy for the evening."
Pressing a kiss to her forehead, Evanram curled an arm around her waist and steered her towards the door, "As my lady commands."
Last updated on the November 28th 2025