Never Trust Rumors

Writers: Anika, Miriah
Date Posted: 7th May 2015

Characters: P'ton, J'ackt
Description: P'ton decides it's time to meet the infamous J'ackt.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 3 of Turn 7

J'ackt

Despite being a new weyrling, P'ton couldn't help but notice that most
the weyrlings had been giving J'ackt a wide berth. Of course everyone
knew about the incident with the Emerald Falls guard and the younger
rider supposed that was why. Knowing someone had the ability to kill
someone twice his size with his bare hands and almost had would
inhibit most people. P'ton, however found himself curious.

The Hold Guard had challenged J'ackt and then pulled an actual weapon,
so the Holder was clearly in the wrong so far as P'ton was concerned.
Still, J'ackt's history was a difficult one to swallow. P'ton had been
in the Hold when the notices had gone out about a renegade Holdless
boy who had attacked a girl. More than willing to shuck the
stereotypes of his upbringing, P'ton didn't care about the Holdless
part, but no one should go around attacking young girls. Of course,
J'ackt had impressed bronze and P'ton would like to think that meant
something.

Deciding that he needed to at least meet the person everyone was
talking about he looked for an opportunity and found one in the Dining
Hall. After picking up his midday meal he took the seat directly
across from the other bronzerider.

"Hi, name's P'ton."

J'ackt paused, his eating knife halfway to his mouth as he looked up.
He was alone at the table, unsurprisingly his general surliness had
increased the last few days with the amount of hard labor he'd been
punished with. "Hey." He bent back to his food, eating the tubers
quickly.

P'ton started in on his food as well but looked up after a few bites.
"So, senior weyrling, that all it's cracked up to be?"

Eating knife paused, J'ackt looked up at P'ton with a furrowed brow.
"It's harder." And it was, to be honest. More duties, more classes and
/betweening/. Not that he was doing much of that outside of digging at
present. "Why?"

P'ton shrugged, "Just like to know what I've got to look forward to.
Forewarned is forearmed they say."

"Why're you asking me?" J'ackt was blunt, his eyes searching P'ton's
face suspiciously.

"Well, you are a senior weyrling and a bronzerider," P'ton shrugged
popping a piece of fruit into his mouth. "And I suppose I was curious
to meet you. You caused quite a stir last month, you know. I'm not
one who values heresay much," he snorted and then the corner of his
mouth lifted in a cocky grin. "Back home anything that went amiss was
blamed on me and I know that I was only responsible for maybe half."

That caused J'ackt's brow to lift slightly and only a hint of
suspicion lingered on his features. "A stir. That's one way to put
it." He sat back and peered at the other weyrling. "You're holdbred,
then, aren't you?"

"Guilty as charged, but I couldn't get to the Weyr fast enough! My Da
is as old-fashioned and hide-bound as they come and we fought nearly
nonstop from the time I was about nine turns old. Faranth forbid
anyone use a little innovative thinking around the Hold or all of the
Southern continent might sink into the sea!"

His brow lifted higher, unsure whether or not to take his fellow
weyrling seriously or not. As far as he was aware and familiar with,
all holders were hide-bound and set in their ways. He stated his
belief plainly. "I thought all Holders were like that. Nearly every
holder I've met, especially the men, have had thorned branches shoved
up their arses."

P'ton laughed at that apt description. "Not _all_ of them, though I
suppose it's true of a hefty percent, certainly most of _my_ family."
He shrugged, "I suppose if their happy, I'll leave them to it. Just
glad I escaped! The Weyr suits me, though I'll be pleased enough to
have fewer restrictions."

He peered at P'ton after the open laugh and for an instant his lip
corner twitched in a semblance of a smile. "You're not like the ones
I've met." He tilted his head slightly. "The last holdbred boys I met
tried to thrash me." He tapped is eating knife on his plate. "Why
aren't you like them?"

"You mean besides the fact that I'm just inherently more brilliant?"
P'ton quipped before shaking his head. "Can't really say. One of my
brothers says I was dropped on my head. Who knows? But I've never
been okay with just accepting things the way they were. Some things
are good as is and others need to change. That's a simple fact."

J'ackt blinked at him for a moment before finally giving in to a low
chuckle at the other weyrling's joke. He didn't laugh often, but
P'ton's clear self confidence was amusing and refreshing without being
annoying. "You're not so bad."

"Oh, no. I'm bad, very bad. Otherwise I'd be boring and where's the
fun in that?" P'ton answered with a grin, pleased that he'd decided to
find out about J'ackt for himself. One never could trust rumors.

Last updated on the May 8th 2015

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Never Trust Rumors