Never Too Late

Writers: Aaron, Devin
Date Posted: 13th September 2026

Characters: T'lin, F'darras, C'nal
Description: While washing Calaroth, Fidarras remembers the fateful day the blue first brought him to Dolphin Cove.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 22 of Turn 13

T'lin

Fidarras's eyes remained unfocused as he scrubbed Calaroth's hide. Everything had seemed like a blur since he had finally left White Hollow. That place could never be home. It was a prison.

But this place... Even after nearly two Turns, it was hard to feel at home there, too. Hard to feel like he belonged, like his place was secure. It had been a while since he really smiled. But that had started before he had come here, too.

"You excited for the Hatching?" T'lin asked from his spot on Calaroth's back.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah." Fidarras was not sure he could get excited anymore. "Darra's fit to explode from excitement." His sister had taken to the weyr like a fish to water.

T'lin stopped scrubbing and studied the Candidate for a moment. "It's hard to be left standing. I stood for Turns before Cal found me. You'll get your dragon, Fidarras -- you both will. If that's what you still want?"

Was that it? Did he just not want it enough? Maybe... He would do his best to want it harder. He could not have them getting sent back because neither he nor his sister Impressed in time.

"It is. Yes." He smiled, though it was empty, as usual. "I still have time."

"You do. And it's okay if you're uncertain, too. I was always a little torn because I love my craft, and I would've been happy to keep focusing on that," the bluerider said. "And I know you wanted to get out of White Hollow."

"Maybe I should get serious about learning a craft," said Fidarras. It would not do to run out of time and then have no backup plan for supporting his family.

"There's lots of options here." T'lin shifted to get an itchy spot on Calaroth's shoulder. "Or you could specialize in some kind of work without having to do the whole craft thing."

"I don't know much aside from mining." Thank the sun no mining needed doing at Dolphin Cove. If Fidarras had his way, he would never go underground again. Get one of those weyrs on the ocean side and live in the sky as far away as he could from that place he had finally escaped.

It was like another lifetime. And it was like yesterday.

---

(Flashback: d15 m6 t11)

Calaroth was unsettled by his rider's mix of emotions. }:Search is a good thing. You should be happy.:{

T'lin felt guilty that he was dampening his dragon's mood. He patted Calaroth's neck as they circled down for a landing. **I know. It's just . . . there were bad people here, and there still might be. But lots more people here were hurt and scared, and they deserve a chance.** That was why T'lin had volunteered to be the first to Search White Hollow after the Holder and several others were arrested.

The Weyrleader had insisted on extra security, so T'lin had two guards this time instead of one. The three dragons landed in what might be a poorly kept Gather Square or might just be a bare patch of land.

He slid down as a small crowd started to gather, more than a few of them looking wary. "Hello! I'm T'lin, and this is Calaroth." He introduced his partners, C'nal looking even more glare-y than usual as he watched the White Hollow residents, not moving from his brown's neck. T'lin cleared his throat and went on. "We're from Dolphin Cove, and we ride on Search."

The showing was sparse by Hold standards. Most if not all of them had been fed the same stories painting the Weyr as villains that had turned craft masters and pregnant women alike to brutal violence.

Fidarras had had enough of the violence. And of the lies. Everything they had ever told him was a lie or a threat to keep him working in those mines. The dragonriders could whisk him away in one moment. Of course, they wanted him afraid of them. Fidarras wanted to get as far away from the underground as he could and never go back.

So he was not afraid to step forward toward the dragons.

Well. Not _too_ afraid, anyway. The beasties were still enormous and looked like they could swallow him whole in one gulp.

"Ho, there, dragonriders," he said. What were the proper words for greeting a dragon? He had no idea. "And dragons. Welcome. I'm Fidarras."

He turned and stared expectantly at the others, and some spoke up. Many of them mumbled their names, and most said not a word.

"Shall we... form a queue?"

"Yes, exactly." T'lin smiled at the group. "It's nice to meet you all. Please line up in front of Calaroth, and don't be afraid if he gets close. He _loves_ people. If it helps, you can think of him as a really huge flying runner."

Among those who were of the age to be Searched, Fidarras was -- as far as he knew -- the eldest. So he wrangled up the others to go ahead of him.

"'Mnot gettin' anywhere near that big ol'--"

"I don't wanna hear a single disrespectful thing come outta that mouth o' yours," Fidarras interrupted the grumbling boy before he could say something rude. Fidarras's glare told the story of what would happen if he did. "Now get up there and let him look at you."

When at last it was his turn and all the others had gone, Fidarras stepped forward.

Calaroth leaned close, his breath wafting over Fidarras. }:Oh yes! This one glows bright. We must take him!:{

"Congratulations, Fidarras, you've been Searched," T'lin told him. The young man had shown no fear and had been vocal about respecting dragons, which were very good signs for a potential rider, but T'lin told himself not to get too excited. Fidarras would still need to accept the Search.

Fidarras eyed the dragon. What a curious creature. It was almost enough to distract him from how heavily his heart had begun to pound the moment the rider Searched him. This could be it. He had dared not let himself hope. But perhaps now he could.

"Can I talk to you about it somewhere a little quieter?" he asked, voice lowered.

"Oh, sure." T'lin looked around. "Maybe over on the other side of the, uh, square? We have to stay within sight of the other riders. It's not personal, just with everything that happened here . . ."

Fidarras's eyes widened as he understood the implication behind the Searcher's words.

"Of course. Of course," he said. "You can search me. I mean. _Search_ me, search me, if you want to. Check my pockets. I have a belt knife. I can hand it to you, like I'm shaking your hand. It'll look smooth, no one will notice. And you can put it in your pocket."

"Is there some problem?" C'nal said from his perch atop his dragon.

"No, no! Everything's fine," T'lin said. "We're just going to go talk over there so we can have a little privacy. Come on," he told Fidarras. He didn't exactly trust this strange holder, but he didn't _dis_trust him, either. Though maybe T'lin should be a little more wary.

}:I would never let anyone hurt you,:{ Calaroth said.

Olisrath hadn't been able to stop G'fand from being murdered in front of him . . . T'lin quickly pushed that thought away and walked toward the far side of the square.

Once they were far enough away not to be overheard -- and with his back to the square -- Fidarras nodded to the rider. He knew there was no way to trick him into giving him what he needed to make this work, no way to bargain. Even if there was little hope, he just had to be truthful, or else he would have no hope at all.

"I have a family," he said. "And my father is disabled. He can't walk. I can't come to the Weyr unless they can all come, too. I can fetch my sister?" he suggested. "And maybe you could Search her, too, if that would make it easier?"

T'lin had not said anything about accepting his knife, so Fidarras did not want to reach for it. If someone did see, he knew what that would look like.

"Please. I need to get them out of here. Whatever will make it worth your while, I'll do it."

T'lin shifted uncomfortably. Oh, shards. "I can't make that decision, but you can ask the Weyrwoman. Calaroth can take a look at your sister, if she's the right age."

Fidarras frowned. He was used to working with people who were a little more willing to bend rules if something was in it for them.

"She's a bit younger than I am, but he looked at folks around her age from that group that formed up when you got here..." She could have been busy with any number of things that kept her from joining that crowd already, but she would come if he brought her. Nevertheless, Fidarras would not send her to the Weyr without the rest of the family, either.

"Would the Weyrwoman be more likely to say yes if she were Searched, too?"

"I don't really know if that would make a difference." If T'lin could, he'd take everyone to the Weyr who wanted to come. "But she deserves a chance to be Searched just like everyone else."

"All right." It was as good as it was going to be. "I'll go fetch her. You won't leave, right?" Fidarras could not help but be a touch anxious that the opportunity would slip away before he could lock it in.

"I won't leave," the Searchrider promised. "I'll just go back over there while we wait." C'nal wouldn't be happy about it, but it was part of T'lin's job to look over all the eligible young people.

"Thanks for not thinking I was gonna stab you," said Fidarras. He left for a time, jogging off back to his home, and when he came back, he was with a young girl, around five years younger than he.

"Is this him, Feef?" she asked. "Ohhhh. He's gorgeous... Can I pet his nose?"

Clearly, she cared much more about Calaroth than she did T'lin.

The blue was already lowering his head to put his muzzle within reach. "Yeah, go ahead," T'lin said with a little laugh, her obvious delight making him momentarily forget his concerns.

"This is my sister, Darrafia," said Fidarras. "It's polite to introduce yourself first, Darra."

"O-oh, of course! I'm sorry." The girl made a curtsy. "It's... my pleasure to meet you, um... Dragonrider, sir." She knew the proper words as poorly as did Fidarras himself. "And _you_, handsome boy!" She hugged the blue's muzzle. Clearly, she had never taken to heart the things they said about dragons. Fidarras was... non-plussed to a degree, but proud at the same time just how much he had succeeded in keeping his sister safe.

Though she was wary of T'lin himself. That was for the best.

"I'm T'lin, and this oversized canine is Calaroth." After a pause, he added, "He says you have the potential to Impress a dragon of your own. I could bring both you and your brother to Dolphin Cove as potential Candidates, and you could ask the Weyrwoman about bringing the rest of your family."

The blue soaked up the attention, eyes whirling happily.

"Oh, can we, please, Feef?" Darrafia begged, turning her pleading eyes to him.

Fidarras pursed his lips and sighed. It was half of a perfect solution with no guarantees for the other half.

"How much time will you give me to get packed up and talk to our parents, sir?" he asked T'lin.

"I can give you half a candlemark." T'lin cast a slightly guilty look toward his escorts, knowing he was offering their time as well. "And if things don't work out, I can bring you back."

Fidarras nodded, eyes scanning as he was deep in thought. Soon enough, he had led his sister back to their home and then returned with a small bag packed with a change of clothes and a few personal things.

"Our parents have insisted that we go and then send for them if the Weyrwoman permits it," he reported. He spoke slowly as he strove to use his father's exact formal-sounding wording.

"I'm taking both of these potential Candidates to the Weyr," T'lin told his guards.

"I could take one of them." C'nal looked more than a little reluctant to be making the offer.

"Oh, no." T'lin waved him off. "Cal is happy to take them both, but thank you." He smiled as he turned back to Fidarras and Darrafia. "I'll help you up and show you how to buckle in." He hoped the Weyrwoman would agree to let the rest of their family move to the Weyr.

---

If it were just him, Fidarras would go Holdless before he would go back to his birthplace. But it was not just him. He would find his backup plan. It seemed like learning the forge would suit him. Swinging a smithing hammer was not all that different from swinging a sledgehammer or a pickaxe, was it?

But the idea of spending his days in a sweltering place, swinging and swinging... No, it would be too much like before. He needed something else.

"Maybe I could try something completely different. Is it too late to learn... technicianing?" he asked T'lin.

T'lin laughed. "No, it's not too late. You might feel awkward to sit in a class with twelve-turn olds, but it's not that unusual for older people to take up a craft here."

"I'll try not to scare anyone too badly."

Last updated on the October 27th 2026

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Never Too Late