Breakfast in Bed

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 16th December 2017

Characters: D'kere, Talwynn
Description: Talwynn and D'kere share a morning moment the day before Threadfall.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 18 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra, Teseada

D'kere tiptoed into the weyr, tray in hand and stealthily slid it onto
the table on Talwynn's side of the bed. "Oh weyrmate," he called
softly in a sing-song voice.

Talwynn had been up late doing some observations so she was sleeping
in. At the sound of D'kere's voice, she started and rolled over
towards where it was coming from. Blinking her eyes to clear out the
bleariness, she looked at the fuzzy shape of the tray, then looked up
at D'kere. "What's this?" she mumbled.

"Breakfast for my beautiful weyrmate, of course," D'kere replied. "Who
is going to be the star of the Queen's Wing tomorrow."

That was a shock of reminder that helped wake her the rest of the way
out of sleep haze. "Tomorrow. Right." She sat up and gave him a smile.

"This may be hard to believe, but I think I'll be even more nervous
than you." D'kere admitted as he took off his shoes, grabbed his plate
and sat in the middle of their bed to eat it.

"Surely the weyrlings will be enough trouble to keep you so worried
about them you won't have time to think about me, no?"

The bronzerider raised an eyebrow, "I don't think there's anything on
Pern that could keep me distracted enough to not think about you, at
least a couple times, during Threadfall."

It still amazed her that D'kere would call her beautiful. That he
would care enough to worry for her during Threadfall. She'd weyrmated
with him because they cared about each other and it deserved to be
formalized, but somehow seeing the tray he'd brought and hearing his
words really brought it home how much he cared for her. She still
didn't see how she was worthy of it.

If she was a different person, a softer one with skill at comforting
words, she'd tell him that it would all go fine and he would have no
reason to worry about her. She'd tell him that her candlemarks of
drilling would be enough to take her safely through the Threadfall. If
she was good at being complimentary, she might say the re-weyrlinghood
training she'd gotten from him and the other weyrlingstaff would be
why she would come safely home after the Threadfall were done.

But that wasn't the kind of person Talwynn was. Those would be good
platitudes to say and perhaps comforting to some people. But they
weren't words that would be authentic to her personality. She'd always
been prickly, difficult, and absolutely honest. She knew what the
risks were tomorrow. And D'kere was a sensible man who had one of the
most difficult jobs in the Weyr, training weyrlings to face this. Of
course he knew what the risks were.

So while she wanted to reassure him, she couldn't muster any lies to
do so. Instead, she said, "I'll only fly half the Fall, so you only
have to worry for a bit. Riveth will tell Kenirath soon as we're back
safe at the Weyr. And I promise, I'll be careful up there."

I'll be careful wasn't the same thing as I'll be fine, but it was the
most truthful reassurance she could offer.

"I know you will," D'kere had as much faith in Talwynn in the air as
he did any other dragonrider, the stakes were just higher when his
heart was involved. "Afterward we can have a celebratory soak in the
bathing pool," he smiled.

Her hand sought his. "We'll stay in there so long we wrinkle up like
dried fruits. Unless we leave early for another kind of celebrating.
We can do whatever we want all night," she promised.

The bronzerider gave her hand a squeeze in return, "Now that's a
promise I like to here." D'kere let the somber mood fall away as he
picked up another piece of fruit from his plate. "Is there anything
you need to do today in preparation for tomorrow?"

"I had the mindhealing appointment already, so I think it's just going
to be drill and then re-inspecting my straps to be extra-certain," she
said, before beginning to snack on her share of the breakfast.

"What about you, any interesting tasks or classes?"

"I've actually been summoned to the Weyrwoman's office later today.
I'm not really sure what that could be about," D'kere had been turning
it over in his mind but had come up with no real reason why Saibra
should want to see him.

"Maybe it's something to do with her latest clutch or something.
You'll have to tell me about it, I'm curious," the greenrider said.

"I will. I kind of dread it, actually. Goldriders make me nervous,"
D'kere admitted.

"I'm sure she's not going to fire you or anything like that," Talwynn
said. "You're good with the weyrlings."

D'kere's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "Fire me?! I hadn't even
thought about that! I just don't like being around goldriders because
there's this _thing_ where everyone expects bronzeriders to just fall
all over them. Just because my dragon wants to catch a gold doesn't
mean I have to want their rider too."

Oh, shards, she'd thought it would be performance anxiety of the job
kind that was what made him nervous, not anxiety of any other kind.
"Well, you're weyrmated, and she's in something serious, so she can't
expect anything from you, right?"

"I don't know that I've ever met a goldrider that cared about
weyrmates or something serious. They all seem to hop in bed with
whomever strikes their fancy," D'kere winked and leaned forward, "but
I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell any of the goldriders _here_ that
I said that."

"I only regularly talk to Teseada, and I won't breathe that you said
that to her," Talwynn informed him.

D'kere's grin said that he was being facetious about the entire matter.
He leaned in and popped a kiss on Talwynn's cheek, "I'd better go hop in
the bathing pool then so I'll be suitable."

"Want some help scrubbing your back? The actual kind," she clarified,
not wanting to distract him before it.

"I'd better just do it myself," he shot a grin at Talwynn, "I can't
trust myself around you."

She smiled back. "Well, tell me all about it tonight."

"I will," he promised, before disappearing into their small, attached
bathing pool.

Last updated on the December 21st 2017

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Breakfast in Bed