Encouragement

Writers: AL, Cali
Date Posted: 16th January 2010

Characters: F'gol, Ri'len
Description: F'gol and Ri'len have a chat on their first evening as full riders.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 20 of Turn 5

Ri'len took a long drag of the beer he had procured. Sorsha was still inside chatting with some of the other female riders. He had retreated to the solitude of the outside, just to get away from the noise for a while. He lowered his mug and turned his attention to a couple of dragons who lay together on an elevated rock nearby. The sun was setting and the green and brown hide were turned red for a few moments. It was a peaceful night. The next work day, they would all be full dragonriders in their first practise with their wing. Their lives would change - not as drastically as they had when they first Impressed, but it was still a huge leap.

"You know, as an apprentice, I wouldn't be allowed to have one of these." F'gol said as he came up behind Ri'len with his own mug of ale. "Funny how something as trivial as risking your life changes people's opinion of your ability to handle your liquor."

"Really?" Ri'len looked down at his mug, then back up at F'gol. "They didn't let you have any? Seems rather harsh." Yes, it was funny how things changed when one became a dragonrider. People _did_ look at you different. Shards, one looked at one's self differently. "Well, drink up. I'd say you can handle it."

F'gol nodded and took a long drink. "I don't know about more than this one though. I've never had the misfortune of a hangover yet and I don't think I want one before my first day of drills."

"I've yet to overindulge." Ri'len admitted with a half grin. "I've seen way too many of my friends make fools of themselves to do that. I generally stick to one. That shouldn't give you a hangover."

"Two doesn't either, though that's the farthest I've ever pushed it." F'gol revealed as he thought back to the first evening after they made senior weyrlings.

"I can go up to three, but only on a full stomach." Definitely not on an empty one and even that many gave him a buzz. Not enough to really be drunk, but enough to make him want to head in for the night. "From what I hear, hangovers aren't worth it."

F'gol chuckled. "I don't know, I've heard they're _very_ worth it. I almost gave it a go after our first Blooding." he added in a darker tone. So many of them had gotten injured that first time up. He still didn't know how he'd come out unscathed.

"I'll let you do the exploring then and you can tell me later." Ri'len's tone was of distaste. Too much could happen when one was drunk, and all of it bad. He didn't want to do something he regretted and he didn't like not having his wits about him.

"If I ever do, I'll let you know." Not that F'gol had it marked on his calender.

Ri'len chuckled and finished off his ale. "Day after tomorrow is our first day with our new wings." The young bronzerider suddenly commented as he glanced into his empty mug.

"Nervous?" F'gol asked.

"I would be lying if I said no." Ri'len gave F'gol a half grin. "I'll be even more nervous, I'm sure, when we go into our first Threadfall."

"It's not really our first though." F'gol reminded him, though he knew what he meant. "It'll probably be easier, we're used to formations. Blooding is more random I think, kind of a hard way to break us in if you ask me."

"Yeah." Ri'len cast his eyes to the sky. "It's just going to be different people. We'll have to get used to different styles, I guess, even if we are used to formations."

"True." F'gol said with a nod. "Well at least now you don't have to take orders from me anymore. Probably won't be too long before I'm taking orders from you."

"I don't know about that." Ri'len would have inherited a hold, he would have given orders then - but that was a lot different from being a Wingleader or even Weyrleader. "Maybe you'll be the first ever bluerider Weyrleader."

"Ha!" F'gol would have spit out his ale if he'd had any left. "I don't think the Weyrwoman would approve of that at all."

"If Tealth caught her, she couldn't do anything about it." Ri'len laughed. Both of them knew it would be impossible, but hey, dreams were often of things impossible.

F'gol chuckled. "Tealth thinks he could. He says he can fly just as high and fast as any bronze. He also says that Monilath was lucky the days we had those races and he'd win if we raced again."

"Does he now?" It was amusing. That little blue had more confidence than some of the larger dragons he'd met. "Well, who knows what he'll be capable of if he puts his mind to it.

F'gol just shook his head, he could feel the confidence from his blue and it cheered him up. "He'll get himself a strained wing is what he'll do. But I wouldn't have him any other way."

"No. Then he wouldn't be Tealth. Who knows, maybe he'll surprise us, do something people don't think blues can do." It was possible. Tealth was already large for a blue and he certainly had great spirit. Ri'len knew that size didn't necessarily matter, but that spirit...yes, that could definitely make the pair go far.

F'gol wagged a finger at Ri'len. "Don't go filling his head with that sort of talk. You've got a different perspective, being a bronzerider, I'm realistic, and I know that even if he's the biggest and the fastest and the best blue, he's still no match for a bronze in any sort of extended race. Perhaps a brown though, maybe I should encourage him to set more attainable goals?"

"Don't discourage him too much either though." Ri'len wondered what the blue _would_ be capable of. He wasn't a seasoned rider and hadn't even come to the Weyr for more than a couple of weeks until he had followed Sorsha. "Don't want to hinder him."

"How about more races then?" F'gol asked. It wasn't that he expected to win, but it was fun to fly fast for any reason. "Next restday maybe?"

"I'm for it." Ri'len nodded back in the direction of the others. "Want to invite anyone else?"

F'gol just laughed. "You know, it's not really showing off if you win against a blue."

"Who knows, he might just win." Ri'len lightly punched F'gol in the shoulder. Tealth certainly had the confidence, and confidence could carry a person (or a dragon) a long way. "And he's getting faster."

"Let's just have it be us." F'gol suggested. "If he ever starts winning _then_ we can invite more people."

Last updated on the January 19th 2010

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Encouragement