One Week
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Emma, Yvonne
Date Posted: 4th September 2015
Characters: K'sedel, F'lin
Description: F'lin gets his one sevenday review from K'sedel
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 16 of Turn 8
What a sevenday. It had been the busiest, most stressful seven days of his life, and F'lin counted them as among the best. Wingsecond for Rapids was a hugely demanding job but in just those seven days he felt like he'd learned enough for a whole Turn. This was his seven day review with K'sedel. The Weyrleader's feedback would be invaluable, but more than that... the Weyrleader's decision would mean that the knots on his shoulder stayed for a little while longer -- or they were gone almost as soon as he'd been granted them. No matter how much he coveted them, F'lin was very aware that his position was temporary. And precarious.
The bronzerider straightened his brown tunic with a sharp tug, then knocked on K'sedel's office door.
"Come in," came the fairly quick response.
"Good evening, sir!" F'lin forced himself to sound cheery as he stepped into the room. Hopefully it would mask his nerves. "Thanks for taking the time to do a review with me."
"It is something we need to do," K'sedel said. "But don't worry, there's nothing bad about this." The Weyrleader gestured to a seat.
**Flame it.** Apparently he wasn't as stoic as he'd thought. "I'm not worried at all," F'lin said reassuringly, his grin firmly in place. He sat across from the K'sedel and leaned back comfortably in the chair.
Turns of experience led K'sedel to think that might not be quite the case, but he wasn't going to let on.
"How do you think you've done?" he began. A somewhat deceptive question maybe, but one that would clearly give him an insight into the thought processes F'lin had used so far.
"Well..." This was a question he had anticipated. It had been a trick of Tsaera's to ask people to evaluate themselves as well. Answering was a balancing act between humility and pride. "I won't deny flying as Wingsecond hasn't been a challenge for me. I think that I can do better in the air; I'm not always where I need to be exactly when I need to be, however I think I did better in the 'Fall we flew than in drills - I respond well under pressure, and a lot of that knowledge comes from experience." He flashed a quick grin before growing serious again. "That being said, I know I have some work to do still when it comes to leading Rapids in a 'Fall, but Rapids is a tight Wing that is confident in the air and can take the initiative when they need to. They've been good teachers. I don't mind doing the rounds after a 'Fall to speak with the riders, nor do I mind organizing sweeprides-- I think that went well. The Wingriders know me and I know the territory,
which helps. And the hidework... I'm slow because I'm still getting familiar with it, but I think it'll take me less time if I'm allowed to keep doing it."
"I'd agree with the fact the hidework takes a while to get used to. Perhaps if you try to take a day at a time to deal with each type, it might seem boring, but it will help you to focus on sweep reports, and wing evaluations and the like."
F'lin nodded. "As long as you're all right being a bit flexible in when you receive it," he said carefully.
"For the first sevenday or so we can manage." K'sedel then decided to bring up the one thing he'd noticed. "Drills," he said. "It may be nerves," he began, "But I've noticed a little hesitancy at the start, it eases off once we get into manoeuvres properly. Don't take this personally, but there are one or two riders who may take advantage of that."
**Flame it again!** He'd noticed. But it was only a week in - thankfully K'sedel was taking that into account. "Duly noted. Who, in particular, should I watch for? T'rariz?"
"Him, and E'staken, they are the type to spark off each other." K'sedel said, pleased he'd noticed one of the wing's trouble makers. "Who else, in your opinion, should you look out for?"
His Turns riding in Rapids were coming in handy. F'lin didn't have to think too hard about it, but he did feel a twinge of guilt outing his Wingmates to their leader. "Waelin sometimes takes short cuts, if she feels she can get away with them. And P'mick can be... well." He shrugged.
"What would you do about it, if the sole responsibility was yours?" K'sedel decided on the test. Would he go with discipline, or the softly-softly approach of a quiet word, or something else entirely.
That was a question he hadn't anticipated. F'lin thought for a moment, trying to remember what K'sedel and K'reyel had done in the past. "That depends on the rider. I think Waelin... if you call her out publicly in the air, she'll respond better than if you bring her in for a one-on-one talk. But T'rariz and E'staken, if you call them out in the air they'll treat it like a joke and a way to get attention from the rest of the Wing. If they do something, it's better to talk to them separately after drills, with some sort of punishment in mind if they step out of line again. And then follow through if they do. That's just what I think."
"And if I asked you to do just that?" Time to see how he reacted to actually having to be the authority figure.
F'lin paused. "Of course I'd do it, but none of those three have actually done anything yet. But hypothetically speaking, if they do, I'll deal with them." It came with the Wingsecond's knots.
"Well done," K'sedel was impressed. He'd obviously put some thought into the whole idea of what went into this. It didn't involve just the glory of having the shiny knots that went with having a shiny dragon, or so some would think. "There are some who do not realise that it isn't just the prestige that go with the knots, there are some tougher things that you have to do too. and I think you have started to show that you understand that. How about we do this again in a couple of sevendays, and in the meantime we'll keep talking about things?"
The younger man relaxed a bit in his chair. "I'll look forward to it. And in the mean time I'll work on how I start out in drills."
"You can always ask me, or any of the other Wingleaders or their 'Seconds if you have questions. We all had to start out at sometime."
"Thanks, sir." This sevenday-in-review had gone so much better that F'lin had hoped.
Last updated on the September 6th 2015