Who Knows Why Dragons Choose?

Writers: Halyonix, Suzee
Date Posted: 6th May 2024

Characters: Cyradis, B'nell
Description: A question about dragon choices
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 14 of Turn 11

Cyradis

Notes:
Mentioned: R'lor, Kadira
~*~

}: Do you need help? :{ Vorath asked as he watched his rider make his
awkward way across towards Cyradis’ weyr.

**No,** B’nell replied stubbornly. No, he would not ask for help. No,
he would carry all of these records by himself without aid. No, he was
not going to drop any of them. That was just not going to happen!
Wingseconds -- especially ones that served the queens -- did not
embarrass themselves with buttery fingers and dropping valuable
information.

Even after Turns of being a dragonrider, B’nell wasn’t strong. He
wasn’t fit. He was never going to be. It was just him, how he was
made. But he was able to do his duty as a dragonrider when it came to
Vorath and he wasn’t going to fail in that duty now.

Vorath, sensing his rider’s mulish determination, wisely remained
silent. Even though all he was carrying was records.

“Good afternoon, Weyrwoman!” B’nell greeted, slightly out of breath
but still keeping up the bravado of having it together. “I’ve brought
those records you were asking about.” This was, by far, the most
favorite thing about B’nell’s rank as Wingsecond -- whenever the
weyrwomen asked him about records. Harper by nature and training, he
loved all things written, be it history or music. And the request to
look into older Hatching records for more…anomalous incidents…was
right up his alley.

He deposited the records on the open table, inwardly relieved to be
done with carrying them all. “I have to say -- I didn’t find much. I
mean, openly, anyway. But I think…well, I think we may have something.
Kind of.” Maybe. Or maybe not really.

Cyradis smiled up at him and held up a finger then finished her
thought to the Headwoman before folding the hide she'd been working on
and setting it aside.

"So what did you find?"

He wasn't quite bouncing on his toes with contained nerdy excitement
but it was in his expression for sure. He touched the bridge of his
glasses -- the ones he had been wearing to read -- and then realized
that he still had them on and didn't need them anymore so he removed
them. "I didn't...find exactly Kadira's situation persay. But I
found....trends." He proceeded to spend the next few minutes detailing
the ebb and flow of the gender choices of dragons throughout the
histories that Harper Hall had been able to maintain. He finished
with, "But always the dragons deciding! They just..._know_." Yes, it
was an anecdote, something that all dragonriders said, but here was
written histories of it happening over and over again, giving both
precedence and puzzle as to how it happened. "This...might just be the
next step in them _knowing_ what to do," he added.

She nodded and held her hand out for the hides so she could take a
look for herself. B'nell had been a great find. His Harper's mind
truly loved doing research she could hand him for occasions like this.
"This is excellent B'nell," she smiled. He visibly glowed at the praise.

"I know it...it isn't a hard precedent, not the kind you were looking
for," he said, sounding half apologetic, "But I considered it trend
enough. We've always trusted the dragons when it came to other things.
Like how they know when Thread is coming. This just...seemed to be the
next natural step." He bounced on his toes for a second with his hands
laced behind his back as he considered what more to say. "Do you
think..." A pause, a gathering of words. "If I may be forthright,
Weyrwoman, do you think Kadira's situation is unique or just the
start?" Or was it even possible for anyone to form an educated guess
on that with just one data point as an indicator?

"Well," she said, "we must be careful not to label it until we have at
least three data points to compare. Right now there is only one." She
pressed her temples as she thought. "It could be either, but until
there is another we can't even begin to assess _why_ the blue chose
her. But like you said, we must trust that there _is_ a reason. That
reason has to have something to do with Kadira. But we can't know
exactly at this point."

The brownrider nodded. He seemed to ponder something, scratching his
cheek near his ear, and said, "And it isn't like we can ask Kadira. I
mean, we can but..." He spread his hands, then added, "I certainly
wouldn't be able to answer why Vorath chose me of all people. Can any
of us?"

"Not really," she half smiled. "We kind of know why a green chooses
women and sometimes certain men. Why browns choose those steady
reliable types of men. Or Bronze ambitious and capable leaders. Same
with gold but we have no idea what a blue sees in men or now women to
choose them over all others. I look at someone like R'lor and his
obvious leadership qualities and wonder why blue and not brown. It's a
mystery."

Another agreeing nod from her Wingsecond. "And the leadership we see
in some greenriders who are Wingthirds," he pointed out. He completely
missed over her subtle compliment about browns choosing steady
personalities and it wasn't until Vorath made a harumphing sound that
the harper-turned-dragonrider went back to review the conversation
that he found it. "Oh," he said sheepishly, blushing. "Steady,
reliable -- I um...those are not words I...um...I'm just doing my
job." Suddenly, he looked less than thirty Turns, boyish with that
awkward but happy embarrassment that came from getting a compliment
from one's superiors. "I'm just doing what every dragonrider is
supposed to," he said.

"As are we all," she nodded with a genuine smile. "But it doesn't hurt
anyone to say you see it. Trust me B'nell. I see you."

Last updated on the May 9th 2024

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Who Knows Why Dragons Choose?