As Times Change
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: Aaron, Curious
Date Posted: 23rd February 2024
Characters: Ay'ell, Ç'pier
Description: Ay'ell tells Pierce about how things are going to change.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 17 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Blue
It was considered an honor for a dragon to speak to a human. Faranth knew it happened rarely enough. When a dragon saw fit to touch another human's mind with their own, it generally meant that they thought highly of them.
Generally.
There were exceptions to that rule, and if anyone would know that, it would be Pierce.
It was the early evening when Tseyth trod into the candidate's mind without any care for his personal boundaries and preference. There was no warning for the intrusion, nor did he give him a chance to adjust. Just a blunt, }: Ay'ell wishes to speak with you. Come to our Weyr. :{
And then the blue was gone as quickly as he came.
It had not taken long for Pierce to lose the awe of hearing a dragon's voice in his head. At least, when it was Tseyth's.
He took his usual circuitous route to be sure no one was following him, and then ended up at Ay'ell's weyr. He knocked his customary knock and then entered when bidden.
"It's me," he said.
"I know it's you, I called you here," Ay'ell said. With a sigh, he gestured for Pierce to sit down in the armchair across from his. Once he was settled, he said, "One of my candidates, Rynona, has proven a little more _fiery_ than anticipated. She's pushing her luck."
His luck. He was pushing _Ay'ell's_ luck, and for once, he wasn't sure that he could clean up the mess he had made. However, it wasn't too late to escape the potential consequences.
He really needed to make sure to take bribes from dumber, meeker, and generally lesser candidates going forward.
"I need you to take care of her," Ay'ell continued. "After that, it'll be time to move."
"You're going to move me and Blue both?" Pierce asked. He could handle ‘taking care’ of Ay'ell's problem, of course. He had expected it could come to that when he made his original offer and would not have made it if he was not ready for that. But keeping Blue safe and taken care of was his only stipulation for taking on this debt. If Ay'ell was not keeping that end of the deal, then he was out of luck. Obviously, things were coming to a head for him here.
Ay'ell shrugged. "Up to you. Leave him here, take him with, he'll be safe at a Weyr either way, and what you do with that boy doesn't matter to me." The bluerider tapped his fingers against the arm of his chair. "What matters to me is that _you_ haven't paid your debt."
"Weyrfolk just let Candidates waltz across the world on a whim?" asked Pierce. "If you don't have a good reason for us to go with you, then what's the difference if we just stay here? Dragonwings can take me whenever you need me. As long as Tseyth can avoid the watchers noticing him, he can pop in and out any time."
Ay'ell narrowed his eyes. "And if we were caught?" he asked, dry, flat, and unimpressed. "You realize that if I agree to this arrangement, if push comes to shove, I will be throwing _you_ under the runner, right?"
"Of course," said Pierce. "It's not as if you'd be jumping in to take the blame if I got caught any other way. What's the difference here? Look, if that's not something you're willing to try, then we still have to think of something to tell the Weyrlingmasters to get them to let one or both of us go somewhere else. As far as they know, we got Searched out of their territory and belong to them. There's nothing that says we can't leave the Candidacy, but then what reason does your new weyr have to let us stay there? And without me to have his back here, how long until they figure out Blue's nearly deaf?"
"Your boy really isn't my problem," Ay'ell said. Then he shrugged and sighed, looking up at the ceiling briefly before refocusing in Pierce. "Stay with him or come with me. It makes no difference to me as long as you accept the risks of the choices you are making and continue obeying my orders."
Nothing that would hurt my boy. That was one of Pierce's up-front stipulations, and leaving him alone would hurt him. But as long as Ay'ell was willing to accept his proposal, he did not need to press it.
"Of course," he said.
Oh, Pierce. Don't you know by now that Ay'ell has very different definitions of hurting someone?
But. No need to press. With a flick of his hand, he says, "You can go," and the matter is closed.
All that was left for Pierce was to... take care of Rynona. If he played his cards right, it would look like the weyr-hating Holders were at it again.
Last updated on the February 23rd 2024