Fresh Off the Dragon
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: Noli, Sia
Date Posted: 21st June 2025
Characters: D'narion, Calonice
Description: Donnarion meets a new fellow candidate and shows her around.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 6, day 8 of Turn 12
There was going to be Threadfall today. Calonice splashed water on her face,willing the familiar dread that always accompanied a Fall day to subside. This wasn't going to be like the Falls of her childhood. She was not going to have to spend it hunkered in fear, underneath whatever meager protection her trader family could find as they crossed the vast continent. She was safe. She was at the Weyr now, and the dragons would keep them safe.
She felt calmer and exited the privy, entering the common room of the Candidate barracks. It was still early" Calonice had a habit of rising before the sun, and most of the barracks was still sleeping. Casting a glance around, she was trying to select a seat for herself when another person entered the room.
The Weyr was abuzz and so was Donnarion. The flurry of activity as the dragons roused ebbed into him, too, waking him early and lending him too much energy. Threadfall wouldn't be for candlemarks yet, and he was likely going to be reassigned to the ground crews instead of the forge. He was good at taking the big machines apart and putting them together again, enough that he'd joked about joining the Techniciancraft instead, but it didn't help his restlessness _now_.
He'd finally dressed and was heading out to scavenge breakfast when he spotted her. A pretty girl. Shells, the Weyr was full of them. He should have moved home sooner.
"Good morning, miss!" He said brightly. "I was just thinking how lonely I'd be in the Dining Hall, and you appeared. Could I interest you in breakfast? Or company here, if you've already been?"
Calonice whirled around to face the greeting, and felt her breath catch a little at the sight of the speaker. He was much taller than her, his brown skin a few shades lighter than her own, and his warm, gorgeous smile made her feel inexplicably _safe_. All remaining traces of fear and anxiety seemed to instantly evaporate.
“Hi! Sure, breakfast sounds great.” She gave a rueful smile. “I'm actually not sure where it is, so I'd love to join you.” She had only arrived at the Weyr late yesterday evening, and had not been able to pay much attention to the brief orientation speech she had gotten after presenting her Search token. “I'm Calonice.”
"Fresh off the dragon, are you?" Donnarion asked with a grin. "I haven't been here that long myself, but I can at least lead you to the dining hall and back again. If I manage that, maybe I can interest you in a very poor tour of the Weyr." He offered her his arm. "I'm Donnarion."
Calonice took the proffered arm with a giggle. “Nice to meet you, sir. Lead the way.”
As they walked, Calonice chatted excitedly, telling Donnarion about her Search. She had seen a visiting dragon on track to a nearby minor hold from where her caravan was encamped. Knowing her father would never approve of her being taken to the Weyr, she had waited until the entire group was settled in for the afternoon meal, then snuck away on one of the scrawny backup runnerbeasts the group kept in case their more fit animals was out of commission. She had ridden hard across the two clicks to the hold, and reigned into a sliding stop at the square where the blue dragon was crouched, about to lift off. There, she had leapt from the poor lathered beasts back with a shout, crossing the final dragonslength distance at a full-tilt run, and fell to her knees near the great dragon's head.
Thankfully, the blue had not been annoyed with her interruption, and had sniffed her disheveled head deeply as she wanted and gasped for air from her flight. Then, apparently the dragon had said something approving to his rider. A quarter candlemark later, Calonice was in the air above the hold, Search token in hand and the small bag she had managed to sneak off with clutched firmly to her stomach as the dragon's wings beat downwards. She caught a glimpse of the Trader caravan to the south and imagined she could see a flurry of worried activity in the distance before the blue, his rider, and the newest Candidate had winked /between/.
Realizing that she had barely paused to take a breath during her discourse, Calonice flushed in embarrassment. “I'm sorry. I didn't mean to monopolize the conversation. Where do you hail from? Are you holdbred?”
"Bold of you to chase after a dragon without being Searched at all. I love it. That's everything a story needs. Intrigue, action, a happy ending, I presume, since you're here. I wouldn't dare try and out-tell that, so let's just say I was born at Dragonsfall Weyr. I'm technically weyrbred, though my mother moved us home when we were small. My father was a bluerider. This _is_ going to be my first hatching though, same as you." Donnarion led them along the square that constituted a weyrbowl and through the door of the dining hall. The warmth from the kitchens felt wonderful after the chill outside. "Continue the tale! I'm dreadfully curious. Does your family know you're here?"
Calonice gratefully accepted a mug of hot klah from one of the kitchen drudge, smiling warmly at the matronly woman.
“No, though I suppose I should send word soon, lest my mother worry.” She sighed sadly. “They are not going to be happy, though. They had a husband all picked out for me. Now, even if I don't Impress, that isn't going to be an option.” She lowered her eyes, embarrassed. “My family doesn't… ah… appreciate the Weyr culture in regards to intimate relationships.”
"Oh yes, not many holder families do." Donnarion said mildly as he filled a plate with more treats than breakfast. His gaze lingered momentarily on a well-built young man with greenriders knots and ears that stuck out just a little bit, before snapping back to his escort. "Though it says something that their minds always jump straight to that when they think about the Weyr. How bad was this future husband of yours?"
Calonice laughed uneasily. “He wasn't… bad. He was a vendor my father did business with. His last wife died in childbirth. From what my mother said, he was always kind to her.” She hesitated slightly as she followed Donnarion to a couple of empty seats in the busy dining hall. Then, in a rush, “the problem is, he's more than twice my Turns, and I KNOW that if I married him, I'd spend the rest of my life stuck in a Hold somewhere popping out babies. I can't do that. I _need_ to be able to travel, to come and go. Plus"” she broke off suddenly and took a bite of her pastry. She had almost blurted out the fact that her father had marketed her as a virgin, and she was not. Far from it, in fact. She felt heat rising to her face as she pictured her would-be husband's reaction to _that_.
Swallowing, she tried to redirect the conversation. “So you said ‘we’. You have siblings, then? Was it hard to leave them when you came here?”
"Oh, of course. An _old_ husband is worth running away from, I agree." Donnarion said, "I miss my mother, of course, and my aunties and uncles. I transferred in as a glasscrafter when my contract at my last posting ended. Being able to Stand is just an added bonus for me. I thought I'd miss my brother, but lo and behold, he got himself Searched and brought to the Weyr on his own. I'm luckier than most."
Calonice giggled again, relieved that she had not been judged for her escape from the arranged marriage.
“Oh, wow, that is lucky! Your brother… is he as handsome as you are? Or did your luck extend so far as to steal all the good looks in your family?” She cocked her head slightly and winked, her previous nerves entirely forgotten. She was entirely enjoying herself. Drinking hot klah she didn't have to boil herself and flirting with age-appropriate peers whilst waiting for her dragon to hatch… _this_ was the life she wanted.
"If I was being nice, I would say that we share our looks equally. We look nearly identical, though I daresay I'm the _most_ handsome of the two." Donnarion joked with a returning wink, "But if you start talking to a man who looks remarkably like me and he seems confused and maybe a little scared, that would be my brother, Kedolin. It doesn't help that we're both glasscrafters."
Calonice made a small, surprised noise at his words. She didn't exactly know what answer she had been expecting, but it wasn't _that_. There were two? Faranth, how delightful!
“That's very good to know, thank you! I look forward to meeting him. I'm utterly confident that he cannot compete with your charm, though. No one family is _that_ lucky.” She punctuated her compliments with a brilliant smile and a brief, ever-so-light touch on Donnarion's thigh.
Taking one last delicate sip of her klah, she placed the mug on top of her empty plate and sat back. Looking around in interest, she asked, “so, you mentioned a tour?”
Donnarion's grin deepened at the light touch, and for a heartbeat he forgot where they were. He was discovering very quickly that he enjoyed how bold he could be here. How bold they _both_ could be here.
"Ah, yes, the grand and very official tour of Barrier Lake Weyr, as led by an entirely unqualified candidate." He took her plate and cup and stacked them on top of his, scooping them up to carry them back to the kitchen staff. Then, taking her arm again, he led them both on a very foolish, half-accurate tour of the Weyr.
Last updated on the June 22nd 2025