Dragonsfall Weyr
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Healer Hall
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Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
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Leeward Lagoon Hold

Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold

Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr
River Bluff Weyr
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Story Listing
Series Listing

Weyrling Training

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 1st August 2024

Characters: F'lin
Description: F'lin has an uninvited guest.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 28 of Turn 11

Threadfall ended mid-afternoon but F'lin's day dragged on much longer than that. He visited the Infirmary and Dragon Infirmary, scrubbed the crackdust and char from his dragon's hide, and met with D'hol, K'ran and Timassa to go over how Ash Wing had performed in the skies that day. His mind was on other matters when he finally staggered into his weyr as the sun was setting, his dirty clothing sticking to his skin. He wasn't paying attention as he hung his flight jacket by the door and dropped his basket of brushes and dragon oil by his boots. He didn't bother looking around as he started taking off clothing in anticipation of a hot bath.

"Mrow."

F'lin froze, his shirt half-ways over his head. There was a _feline_ in his weyr. On his bed. Blinking up at him with beautiful green eyes. "Well, crackdust," he muttered. "Where did you come from?"

The feline bent her head to lick her paw.

He sighed and finished undressing, dropping his sweaty clothing into his bin before picking up the feline and heading for the door. "You can't be in here," he told her as he set her down in the hallway. "Go home."

Then he shut the door. F'lin sighed and crawled into his bath, where he sat until his fingers wrinkled and the tension from the 'Fall began to seep from his body. It had been a routine Threadfall, but even the routine ones left dragons 'Scored and riders injured. He'd visited them all in the Infirmary, but there was always the guilt that he should have done more, prepared them _better_ so that nobody had to be hurt at all.

}:Thread is our enemy precisely because it does hurt,:{ Seneth said, interrupting his thoughts. The bronze dragon lounged on his ledge watching the Weyr through half-slitted eyes. }:No Thread touched the ground.:{

**No Thread touched the ground,** F'lin agreed. And no dragons were permanently grounded, or riders without limbs or life. They'd all be able to celebrate Turn End the next day. He scrubbed his hands over his face and made himself accept that overall it had been a successful Threadfall, and a successful Turn. He was probably just hungry.

On cue, his stomach rumbled. F'lin pulled himself out of the hot water and towelled off, but was met with a "mrow?" as he wandered back through his weyr to his wardrobe.

The feline was back, and was sitting on his bed. _Again_.

"Seriously?" F'lin sighed and picked up the animal, who had the audacity to purr. It was a skinny thing with black and orange fur that stuck to his still-damp skin. He set it out in the hall again. "Go home to _your_ weyr. Not mine."

The feline looked offended as he closed the door and went to get dressed. **Did you let a feline into my weyr?** he asked Seneth.

}:I did not see a feline, but I was not looking for a feline. Do you want one?:{

**No!** His stomach growled again. **I'm going to the dining hall.**

}:Good. Your hunger is making _me_ hungry,:{ Seneth replied. He snorted. }:I do not want to hunt today. Maybe tomorrow.:{

**You're just lazy.** F'lin's smile slipped as he opened his weyr door and a streak of black-and-orange zoomed past his ankles. "Shard it!"

The flaming feline was back and immediately leaped onto his bed. It found the very centre and flopped over onto its side as if it owned the place.

F'lin glared at it. "This is _not_ your home."

"Mrow?"

He sighed and went to pick it up again, and it promptly bit him. The bronzerider swore and shook his injured finger. "Last chance before I feed you to Seneth," he told it.

}:A feline is barely a snack,:{ the bronze shot back. }:But if it comes out to my ledge I might eat it.:{

**It's someone's pet,** F'lin reminded his dragon. **No eating pets.** He held a hand out toward the little beast and the feline deigned to sniff it. It then bumped its head against his hand looking for scratches. F'lin sighed as he obliged. **Contrary thing.**

His stomach growled again. "Are you going to let me pick you up?" he asked it. The feline blinked innocently at him, so F'lin chanced it and slowly slid his hand beneath the beast. It froze, then leaped to its feet and stalked over to his door. "Glad you figured it out," F'lin said as he opened the door and the animal ran into the hall.

He didn't notice the feline watching him as he closed the door to his weyr and headed down to the dining hall for dinner. As soon as he'd disappeared around a corner, it sauntered off with its tail straight in the air until it reached the outside. It stood for a moment, blinking in the sunlight, before walking back across the outside of the Weyr, past several sleepy dragons (including Seneth), and back into F'lin's weyr where it curled up on his pillow and shed copiously on the blankets.

Last updated on the August 18th 2024