How'd It Go?
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 29th May 2017
Characters: A'vel, K'zel
Description: K'zel checks in with A'vel after his flight.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 1 of Turn 8
K'zel had been hoping to catch sight of A'vel in the Dining Cavern,
he'd looked for him in there every day for a sevenday since Tsogath's
flight, but the greenrider did not appear. The bluerider didn't know
much about the young bronzerider that won A'vel's flight, but just the
fact that he was a young bronzerider made K'zel doubt that it had went
well for A'vel. Especially since A'vel was... well.... inexperienced.
**Will you ask Tsogath if her rider is home?** K'vel requested of Caprith.
The blue, who was lounging with the green that he'd managed to catch a
couple of days after Tsogath's flight, lazily lifted his head.
}:Tsogath, is your rider home? Mine wishes to visit.:{
Tsogath lifted her head up from her ledge. }:He is here,:{ she
confirmed. }:Do you need space?:{
}:Just a little.:{ Caprith said as he left his green mate, and flew
K'zel up to A'vel's weyr.
K'zel passed through the greenrider's weyrcouch, and pushed aside the
heavy flap that served as a door between weyrcouch and weyr. "A'vel?"
He inquired, looking around.
A'vel was slumped in a chair with a glowbasket mounted above his head,
flipping throrugh a sheaf of music. He started and sat upright.
"K'zel?"
"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt anything. Caprith asked
Tsogath if you were home." K'zel took a chair opposite A'vel.
"I'm just reading this new piece my mother sent me. I've got a taste
for fresh compositions," he said quietly. "How are you and Caprith?"
"We're fine," K'zel said, since he hadn't come here to talk about
Caprith. "How are you? I wanted to check on you after your flight."
He'd been surprised to see K'zel stop by, wondering what the bluerider
wanted with him. After all, the flight was over and he didn't require
any tutelage. The question made him blink. K'zel cared about what
happened with the flight? Even though he didn't need tutelage anymore?
Maybe someone had sent him here...
"Tsogath's wing is strained so I've been out of drills," he said.
"Ah, yeah, those can be annoying. Caprith has strained his before,
whined like a baby about it." K'zel said, making small talk since his
real question had been avoided.
}:I did not!:{ Caprith huffed, clearly offended.
"She did it during weyrlinghood, and then again this time. I didn't
really notice till the next day." A'vel was still beating himself up
about that.
"You were busy, I imagine." K'zel decided to just go ahead and ask,
"How did everything go with the bronzerider?"
"You mean, with J'ackt?" A'vel's voice was casual but he hunched his
shoulders slightly. "We got by."
If A'vel didn't want to talk about it, K'zel didn't want to force it,
but he wanted A'vel to know he had options. "I see that. You can talk
to me about it, you know."
"You're a bluerider. Aren't you always...you know..." A'vel couldn't
say the words, but he curled his left hand and used his right hand to
mimed poking.
K'zel raised an eyebrow as he tried to figure out the hand gestures, "On
top?"
A'vel just nodded.
"In flights, typically, outside of flights, not always." K'zel answered.
"I thought greenriders were always on the bottom, since we're girls and
caught."
K'zel shook his head at the misconception, "When you're not in a
flight you can do it however you would like. What do you think happens
when two male greenriders are together?"
}:What does happen?:{ Tsogath asked. She'd been listening in through
A'vel's ears and was intrigued.
A'vel realized he didn't know. "Uh. Mouth stuff? I've heard about
mouth stuff." Then he turned bright crimson.
The corners of the bluerider's mouth twitched as he fought off a
little laugh, "Well, yes, there is, er, 'mouth stuff' as you put it,
but they still have sex, just like if it had been with a bluerider."
"Oh. The weyrlingstaff just covered flight stuff, not anything outside
of that." And mostly it was just, 'how to know if you were badly hurt
and needed them'. Maybe the Healers could have covered it...
"You didn't come back to me before Tsogath rose," K'zel brought up,
remembering that A'vel had said he would.
A'vel looked down at his hands. "I meant to. I guess there wasn't
time. The Weyrwoman's Second was angry at me," he said.
"_I'm_ angry at you," K'zel huffed.
K'zel wasn't as scary as a goldrider, but anyone in a position of
authority over him who was angry was scary - and for A'vel that
included the more senior rider. "I didn't mean to lie and not do it."
"I know you didn't, that's what makes it worse. I should have insisted
the day you came over.... Been more persuasive."
Was K'zel blaming himself? For A'vel's mistake? "It wasn't that bad,"
A'vel protested. But he remembered the pain afterwards, feeling used
and discarded by an uncaring and unsympathetic J'ackt.
Tsogath made a noise from the ledge as she felt his emotions.
"She didn't go /between/. That's the worst that could have happened,
and it didn't."
"Are you going to take that chance again next time?" K'zel asked.
That made A'vel sit farther up and stare at the bluerider. "I thought
the concern was the _first_ flight. That once you
weren't...innocent...anymore the next ones would be bearable."
After all, he knew what it felt like. Being Tsogath fully. Drowning in
her mind and needs, soaring on the air. He'd felt it. He'd woken up
afterwards, covered in sweat and other fluids. He'd survived it.
"Each flight partner is different, no two experiences are the same.
I'm just worried you're going to continue to make things difficult on
yourself." Although, there really wasn't much help for a bronze or
brownrider winning your flight.
The greenrider looked over at the sheets of music so he didn't have to
look at K'zel. "Oh," he said again, softer. "And only practice helps
it get better?"
"Well.... Practice can make it easier for you to relax when it is time for
a flight, which in turn, makes the flight better." K'zel found it hard to
explain all of this, especially since it was different for him as a
bluerider than it was for a greenrider.
"That makes sense. It' s like...like rehearsing before a performance," he
said, lapsing back into Craft terms.
"Yes, that's a good way to look at it." K'zel thought that A'vel at
least seemed calmer talking than he had the first time they'd met.
"You're right." A'vel looked away from the music and at K'zel. "Do you
think I'm stupid?" he asked.
K'zel gave a soft snort, "No, I don't think you're stupid. I think you
didn't grow up in the Weyr, so this is new for you."
The words were far kinder than A'vel thought he deserved. He was so
used to thinking of himself as stupid and worthless. The kind words
made him sit up and look at K'zel. "Really?"
The bluerider sat forward, "Really."
"That's...probably the nicest thing anyone has said to me recently,"
A'vel said.
}:Iorath and his rider are here.:{ Caprith informed K'zel, which
prompted the bluerider to stand.
"You have other company. I just wanted to... check on you. You'll let me
know if you need anything?" K'zel raised an eyebrow at A'vel that said
he'd better.
"I will. And - thanks for checking in." K'zel's visit had been a lot
more pleasant than some of the other ones he'd gotten.
Last updated on the June 8th 2017