The Barking Flit

Writers: Halyonix, Yvonne
Date Posted: 30th July 2026

Characters: R'hil, Katora
Description: Katora's begging flit leads to a new connection
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 4 of Turn 13

The man had a yummy-smelling meatroll and Bark was starving. He was tired of waiting on his owner, who was securing a meal just then, because this man had exactly what Bark was looking for _now_. So Bark did what he did best. He landed in front of the man, assumed his best pose, and _barked_.

The man in question jumped, then squinted suspiciously at the tiny brown. He checked under the table for a canine, then scowled at the flit when he discovered nothing but boots and crumbs. "You are not a canine."

Bark looked pointedly at the meatroll, then back at the man's face, and barked again.

He sighed and broke off a bit of his meatroll to hold toward the flit. They overran the Weyr and were, in his opinion, a certifiable menace. "Don't bite me."

Bark did not bite but his eagerness to take the morsel meant that his head darted forward, lightning quick, and biting was a near thing that happened. He chomped down appreciatively.

"Bark!" a familiar, feminine, and not pleased with him voice said sharply. Bark let out a sad creel as he looked in the direction of that voice. There was his owner, Katora, coming their way. Bark drooped his shoulders, trying to look cute, as he finished his bite. "Sorry," Katora said to R'hil. "He gets impatient to be fed and then bothers someone. I'll need to train him better about that." Or have Saoirth talk to the firelizard about it. Sometimes dragons were a good influence on their smaller cousins.

She tilted her head to look at other dragonrider. Her expression was one of mild curiosity, as if she was trying to figure something out. "I'm Katora. You are?"

"R'hil," R'hil mumbled. "It's okay. Your firelizard. I don't mind." Being confronted by the owner made his concerns shrivel up and blow away in the wind. "You're in Alpine Wing, right?"

Katora nodded her head in confirmation. "Katora, Saoirth's rider." There was a note of pride in her voice, the kind that all dragonriders had when they announced their dragon. "That's Bark. He's a beggar but he's harmless. You are?"

"R'hil." He broke another bite from his meatroll and tossed it to the flit. Belatedly he realized that Katora was standing there with her arms full, so he gestured at the chair opposite his. "Nobody's sitting there. You can, if you want to. I'm almost done so I'll leave you alone soon, if you're meeting people."

The greenrider shook her head though. "I'll join you, it's fine." There was something about his name. Or was she misremembering? Doubtful. Katora was very good with details. "Are you from the Weyr?" she asked, though the moment those words left her lips, she knew the answer.

The question used to make R'hil squirm but after two Turns at the Weyr it no longer bothered him. "From Amber Hills territory, near a mining hold. You?"

Katora thought this over. Her family traded all over Dragonsfall territory and then some. She would know most of these places. "Virdan? Or Calura?" she asked.

R'hil leaned forward eagerly, the remains of his meat roll dangling forgotten from his fingers. "Wait, you've heard of Verdan Hold?"

She nodded. "My family traded there once or twice. Sevensis Caravan. That's my family." She wasn't sure how much other people ever remembered the name of the caravans that traded around but it was an important name to her.

"Really? When? Do you remember a kid named Pernin?" he asked eagerly. It had been so long ago, and she'd been to so many places, she probably wouldn't. He couldn't help himself though. "I remember going to visit caravans whenever they came through. Maybe you were there too?"

She didn't remember someone named Pernin so she shook her head. "The name doesn't strike a bell but I was younger then. I wasn't always talking to the Holders. The adults did that." But now, she was an adult. The though of being her own person, especially with Saoirth, briefly filled Katora with a sense of purpose and pride. "I remember that there were these big plants there, huge leaves. Green like no other. I wanted to take one of the leaves with me since it was big enough for me to hide under."

R'hil wilted a bit when she didn't recognize his cousin's name, but rallied at the mention of the leaves. "We used to use them as umbrellas when it rained, and as roof slates when we built tree forts. I kinda miss that," he said quietly.

"Tree forts? That sounds like fun," Katora remarked. "We never stayed in a place long enough to do something like that. Longest we stayed anywhere was for two sevendays." And most of that time was spent during business. Even the Trader children had lots of tasks to complete during a stop. "Have you been back since you Impressed?"

R'hil looked guilty. "Just once. You?"

"It's a little harder to find my family since they're Traders but so long as they keep to the same routes, I'm usually able to find them at their latest destination. Or along the way. I've been doing a lot of exploring though. Saoirth is good at finding interesting places while we're on sweep." Why did he look guilty when she asked that question? Was he embarrassed?

"Yeah? What's the most interesting?"

Katora picked at her meal while feeding some bits to Bark. "We found some really tall waterfalls in the west. I bet they would be fun to dive from if the water's deep enough below. I've been thinking about maybe searching for some opals down at Opal Cove too. I've always wanted a pendant with one. And then there's the peaks on the Barrier Range. Might be fun to try to fly up to the top of one. We've only passed near them so far. You? Anything interesting?"

It sounded _exciting_ when she said it. R'hil hadn't ever thought about flying to the top of a mountain or leaping into mountain waterfalls. His mind flew to the overgrown ruins of an abandoned Hold he'd spotted on sweep, but she'd probably think that was morbid. It was probably full of Holdless or wild felines. "You can really find opals at Opal Cove?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Why else would it be called Opal Cove?" she countered.

"I never thought about it," he admitted. "I... maybe they just liked... opals... I guess. What do opals look like?"

"You've never seen one?" Katora asked but before he could answer, she continued with, "They're about as big as your fist. Well, most times. But they get cut up into smaller pieces for jewelry. They're this creamy white with rainbow flecks. Really pretty."

He tried to imagine a rock with a rainbow in it and couldn't. "That does sound pretty. And anyone can just go find them?"

"Sure, if you get permission to go into the mine. Sometimes they can be found elsewhere but that's harder." She paused for a moment, tilted her head, and then asked, "Would you want to go with me to dig?"

"Sure!" The words tumbled out of his mouth before he'd properly thought them through. R'hil felt himself flush. He tended to stick with the people he knew from his Wing or his Weyrling class, and Katora was neither of those. But looking for opals sounded fun, and if he found one he could sell it to send marks back to his cothold. "Uh. If you want. It's okay if you'd rather go alone. Maybe next rest day?"

Her head canted to the side. "I wouldn't have asked you to come with me if I wanted to go alone," she pointed out matter-of-factly. "Next restday is good. After breakfast?"

"All right. I'll meet you in the Weyrbowl." R'hil looked down at his plate, then broke off another bit of his meatroll for Bark. "Opal Cove, huh. And they're just lying around waiting for you to find them?"

Katora snapped for Bark to settle on her shoulder. "Guess you'll find out if I'm lying or not," she taunted with a flirty smirk. "See you next restday."

Last updated on the August 7th 2026

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The Barking Flit