Breakfast Diversions
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: Corrin, Heather
Date Posted: 8th February 2024
Characters: N'kyri, Saibra
Description: N’kyri visits his foster sister after a rough night.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 26 of Turn 11
Notes: See Threadcount Woes for Part 1
The sun eventually came to Dragonfall as well and N’kyri returned with it.
“Breakfast!” the drudge called through the door" but it was N’kyri who waltzed into the weyrwoman’s office with a cheeky grin and the tray balanced on one hand. He was dressed in flight leathers, an unusual choice considering the early hour and the fact they just flew Fall the day before. Even more unusual was the bucket he carried with him. A metal pail really. He carefully set the tray down on a side table and maneuvered a couple of chairs over. “Leave the work for a moment, Saibra. Come eat.”
Had it been _anyone_ but her foster brother who’d strode through her office door at such an early hour, Saibra would have ripped their head off for breakfast. She was not known for her morning graces.
“N’kyriiiii,” she groaned but rose from her desk. The sight of breakfast marginally improved her mood as she made her way over. “What’s with the bucket?”
N’kyri recognized that groan and playfully waved his hand over the tray, wafting the scent of the best breakfast the kitchens had on offer towards Saibra. She knew him well enough to know he wasn’t a morning person either. The laughter on his lips and his flight leathers said he’d been up for some time now, while the dark circles shadowing his eyes said he hadn’t slept well" he was fueled by something other than sleep right now.
He dropped into a chair beside the table, the bucket in his lap. He made a show of reaching in and selecting, with a flourish" “Only the ripest and sweetest redfruit of the season. Polishing it against his jacket he was about to toss it to her, but changed his mind at the last minute. Out of consideration for the early hour he plonked it gently down on her tray instead.
Saibra's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Ripest and sweetest, huh?" Taking the piece of fruit she crunched down into it, the juices gushing down her chin. She laughed and swiped at her face. "Okay, first, why are you up so early, and second, where did you get these?"
“Good aren’t they?” N’kyri grinned, punctuating his point by biting into his own fruit. He dodged the questions for a long moment, showily enjoying the messy treat, but his brow furrowed and the grin gradually faded. Finally, the facade fully dropped. “I couldn’t sleep. Saiba.” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and then his hand with a napkin he snagged from her tray. “I… I was nearby when U’thirn got hit… I’m sure you have the report on your desk. I kept hearing the screams. His and Certath’s. Poor bastards…”
Reaching over, Saibra put a hand on the bluerider's arm and squeezed gently. "I'm sorry, Nik, I didn't realize you were in his vicinity when it happened." The keening of dragons when one of their kind passed was unmistakable, but since Thread had returned, it had become an inevitable sound in the Weyr. "You should have come over if you couldn't sleep, I'd have gone with you."
He covered her hand with his, quietly accepting the comfort for what it was. He let the moment linger before her offer brought a faint smile to his lips, and a hint of his usual self. “Would you? I may have been out... being naughty. The Weyrwoman might not approve."
He never did say how he got the redfruit.
“Nickyyyyy,” Saibra drew out his childhood nickname the same way she did every time she learned about one of his ‘adventures.’
“What did you do?”
}:You’re not going to like it,:{ Chioneth said, her voice filled with amusement.
"Just some early morning fruit picking," N'kyri protested innocently. "The fruit was so ripe the next breeze would have brought them down-- in fact, one of Ori's downbeats _did_ knock a few loose. That's how it started, just picking up the mess. Then I grabbed a few extra, for breakfast, you know. Saiba, there were so many, they'll never be missed. I swear!
"...And they were U'thirn's favorite," he added, playing it off almost like an afterthought. "We weren't close, but I knew that at least. Always made a fuss over them in the dining hall."
Saibra didn't believe for a second that N'kyri was just picking up the windfalls from an orchard, but she did believe that his troubles over U'thirn's death prompted his actions.
Raising her redfruit, she held it out towards the bluerider. "A toast then. To U'thirn."
"To U'thirn, and all those we lose /between/," he intoned solemnly, touching his fruit to hers.
As she bit into the piece of fruit, Saibra's mind immediately went to K'fel and the day she had lost him in Threadfall. It remained the worst day of her life, so far. Who knew what other ways were ahead of her? Right now she had a weyrmate, and two children, all dragonriders who faced Thread regularly.
"This is far too melancholy for us," Saibra said firmly, setting the redfruit aside. "Let's go do something fun," she held up a finger. "Something that _won't_ get us in trouble. I'm sure there's some tropical water we can find to go skinny dipping in."
She said the magic words. N'kyri stirred out of the gloom that was settling on them, glad of the offer-- the distraction.
"I know just the place."
Last updated on the February 10th 2024