Sail On, Silvergirl

Writers: Duskdog
Date Posted: 22nd April 2026

Characters: Chandrany
Description: Chandrany doesn’t really have anyone to talk to about her troubles with Ç'pier and V’tian. But she does have a couple of concerned firelizards.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 10 of Turn 13
Notes: Mentioned: Ç'pier, V’tian

Chandrany

“I’m so stupid, Gallant,” Chandrany said, falling back on her bed and covering her eyes with one arm.

The brown firelizard cheeped in concern, landing on top of the headboard of the bed. He looked down at her, worried eyes whirling yellow. He might not understand the source of her distress, but he certainly _felt_ it. His person was so confusing sometimes -- full of emotions, sometimes without rhyme or reason that Gallant could detect, though he trusted, in his vague firelizard way, that if she felt something there _was_ some sort of reason there.

“He didn’t do anything wrong,” she continued. “I don’t own him. I mean, what did I expect? He never said he wanted only me. Why would he? Why would _anybody_ want just one person, when they don’t have to?”

Gallant had just one person, and that was right and good. But maybe she meant something different. Maybe he just didn’t understand. He knew some people-words, but most just sounded like lip-flappy air-noise. Feelings were much clearer. But sometimes there were a lot, and right now there were a lot.

“Can you imagine?” she asked. “Living at a Hold? Having to get married, and just be with that one person for your whole life? And not even being able to choose who you get stuck with sometimes?”

Gallant had no idea what she was talking about, but he chirped an affirmation, just because she seemed like she needed it.

“I’ve heard that the women have to obey their husbands, too. Like even if he’s stupid, or mean. It must be awful, to be… second-class, just because you’re a woman. To have somebody tell you what to do all the time. It’s not like that here. Nobody’s forced to be with anybody. There’s flights, yeah, but that’s just sex -- you don’t have to hang around, or live with that person, or… well. Whatever marriage is supposed to be. Having babies? Ugh. I want one someday, but not because some guy _makes_ me. I’m lucky to live here. I’m lucky to be able to choose.”

Chandrany groaned. “So why would I want to take that choice away from Ç'pier? Hasn’t he been through enough? And V’tian -- at least I’m not alone in feeling like this, at least he didn’t know, and he’s still my friend, but now maybe I’ve ruined this for him, too. He’s from the Holds, and he's here and that means he can choose now, too, and he deserves that -- but I made him mad at Ç'pier, and what if they break up? What if V’tian is alone now, just because I’m stupid and selfish and can’t be grateful for what I have? Because I _know_ Ç'pier won’t want me anymore -- eventually -- if he has V’tian, or somebody else, or _anybody_ else, but instead of just accepting that and enjoying him while I have him, or stepping aside so that I don’t mess everything up for other people, I have to make a big fuss about it and make everybody else miserable, too!”

None of that made any sense to Gallant, either. He knew who Ç'pier was, though; he helpfully supplied an image of him, with an inquisitive feeling, to Chandrany, and she laughed softly through a sniffle.

“Yes, him,” she replied, removing her arm from her face to look up at Gallant perched above her. Tears stood in her eyes. “Oh, you don’t understand, do you? This must all sound so silly to you. I wish I was a firelizard. Life would be so much simpler… all I’d have to worry about was mating and sleeping and eating. I wouldn’t care about attachments, or what people thought of me, or anything else.”

This was one of those things that confused Gallant about people, and his person in particular: making the happy-face with her mouth while the sad-water was coming from her eyes. Her feelings told him both happy and sad, too. And other things: emotions that he didn’t entirely identify with, but which had shades of things that _did_ make sense to him, at least. Something else with the sad, something a little mad, something happy-affectionate, too.

Flower must have felt the happy-affection, because she winged down to the bed and pressed herself up into the space between Chandrany’s face and shoulder, nuzzling against her cheek. Chandrany reached up to touch her, tilting her head against the little green.

Gallant puzzled over all of this as he watched his person relax a little just from the affectionate touch of Flower. Could he fix it? She’d said words that he understood because he’d heard them often in reference to himself or his clutch-sister -- mating, sleeping, eating -- but it took him a moment to work through why they’d come up. Mating did not seem to have anything to do with what was happening right now (vaguely, distantly, he thought maybe it did because it’s something he also associated with Ç'pier and his person, but he didn’t completely make the connection), and he didn’t know any way to make his person sleep.

But he _did_ know about eating.

He gave a brief little chirrup, sending feelings of love and reassurance, and then flapped up from the headboard and disappeared /between/.

Out in the shallows along the beach, where the waves petered out into gentle rolling water and the foam pushed its way onto the sand, the smallest fish darted along in their little schools, visible through the clear water from above. Gallant found a spot far from any bathing dragons or careless fishermen, and dove down on the first fish in the first relatively stationary school he saw. The fish scattered briefly, then came back together and zipped away -- but it was too late for the small fish wiggling in his claws.

He reappeared in their room all at once, and dropped the flopping little fish directly onto Chandrany’s chest.

It took her a few seconds to realize what it was, and when she did, she sat up abruptly, shrieking. Flower, upset by the sudden movement, also shrieked and immediately took flight, flapping in frenzied circles. The fish fell onto the bed, still wriggling.

Perhaps his person didn’t understand.

Gallant landed carefully on her knee, picked the fish up gently with his teeth, and dropped it in her lap. ~~Hungry?~~ he sent. ~~Hungry? Help. Proudproud.~~

“Oh,” she said, looking down at the fish, the confusion and faint disgust on her face softening with understanding. “Oh Gallant. You brought me fish? You’re trying to make me feel better, aren’t you?”

She picked him up gently in both hands, careful of his wings, and drew him up against her chest, cradling him as she had when he was a hatchling. He felt her sad-water fall on his hide, but her embrace was warm and the feelings she was sending to him were happy-affection-love-toomuch-overflowing, so maybe the sad-water was just a mistake.

“I can’t eat a raw fish, sweet baby,” she said, sniffling again, but her voice sounded happy-okay, if a little rough. “You can keep it. You can have the fish. Look, I feel better. I’m happy. Do you understand? You made me happy. But you can have the fish.”

Gallant looked up at her, then down at the fish, and back up again. He understood happy feelings. The sad was still there, but small now. But she didn’t want the food?

“Or we can go get a meatroll, and share. You’ll understand that, won’t you? That I mean thank you, if we share?”

He understood the word “meatroll,” at least, and trilled enthusiastically.

“Okay,” she said. “Come on, Flower, you too. It’s okay. We’re going to get meatrolls, and we’re not going to think about Ç'pier for the rest of the day.”

Or at least she’d try.

Last updated on the April 26th 2026

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Sail On, Silvergirl