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

Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall

Story Listing
Series Listing

Weyrling Training

Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 3rd November 2007

Characters: Talwynn
Description: Talwynn is badly Threadscored.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 6, day 6 of Turn 4

Today was a miserable day, Talwynn thought as she finished her meal in the Dining Cavern. It was cold and it was snowing quite heavily. Talwynn
*hated* snow. Sure, she'd been born at Dragonsfall, but they'd moved when she was so young that she hadn't remembered it. Coming back to Dragonsfall and enduring winter had been quite the shock to her system. Worth it, though; if she hadn't come back, she wouldn't have had Riveth, and… it wasn't worth thinking about that. But she still hated the weather. Cold was bad enough, but cold on a Threadfall day? When your body would be stiff and numb and buffeted by wind and snow? Hopefully the snow would stop falling.

She hadn't even been able to go out the night before and stargaze. Even though she was a dragonrider now- and one in the Weyrleader's wing, a feat that had finally earned her the respect of her older dragonrider brother-
she hadn't lost the love for the night sky that had led her to become a Starsmith. It was fortunate for her that Riveth shared her love for the sky, or she might never have had time to properly stargaze again. The night before restdays, or on restdays if they *betweened* to a different location where it was already night, the pair always watched the sky.
Riveth couldn't see the stars very well through her own eyes, so she often looked through Talwynn's, and the green tried very hard to pay attention to what her rider was doing, even if she forgot it often. Those nights deepened the rider dragon bond immensely. It was also a tradition for them to stargaze for a bit before Threadfall, because the precision of celestial movement cleared Talwynn's mind and calmed her.

She left the Dining Cavern and headed to her weyr. Once there, she strapped Riveth up and made sure that everything was fine. There was a bit of wear on one of the straps that linked to Riveth's chest plate. It wasn't going to tear, but it was getting a bit stretched. She didn't think she'd have time to fix it before Threadfall. She looked at her secondary straps, but those weren't in perfect condition either; maybe she'd better spend the rest of the day after the Fall working on them. She couldn't get caught like this at the next surprise inspection. She sorted her fighting leathers out and had them all arranged, ready to put them on as soon as there was notice.

The moment finally arrived. She dressed herself, mounted Riveth, and went down to the bowl, assembling with the rest of Azure Wing. The snow had stopped falling heavily, but there were still flakes and the wind was still blowing stiff and cold. Her mood soured more as she fed her lifemate firestone. This was going to be a miserable Threadfall. They remounted, took off, and *betweened* to the location where Thread was going to be falling. Talwynn could barely see the silvery smudge, as cloudy and dismal as the conditions were, before it was time to fight Thread. Then there was no more time to think about straps or snow or anything- there was only the rhythm of fly and flame and turn and duck *between* and feed firestone and flame again.

As always, Talwynn paid the most attention to what she, the bronze she was guarding, and the blue she was flying with, were doing, though she made sure to know what was going on with the rest of her Wing as well. She heard Riveth's summaries of what was going on and winced internally when a brownpair near her was reported scored badly enough to have to flick
*between* to the Weyr. They didn't come back. Talwynn wondered who it was, but didn't have time to find out; Riveth pulled a sharp turn to avoid a tangle of Thread, and she had to clutch at her straps. **Can you try not to do that?** she sent.

}:Would you rather we be scored?:{ Talwynn considered that, and decided the answer was no.

Partway through Fall, Talwynn noticed her firestone sacks were running low. She had Riveth call for someone to bring them firestone. A rider appeared and as soon as she was clear, she signaled the toss. She caught the bag and strapped it to Riveth's side. She signaled the bringer that she was fine and they could go, but Riveth warned her of a clump of Thread and then she had to hang on as the green flamed it. She didn't see where the sack-bringer had gone.

}:I need firestone.:{ Riveth told the dragons closest to her. They acknowledged and created her a safe spot, and Talwynn took advantage of the lull to feed Riveth firestone. She was just turning back when she heard a dragon give a vocal cry of warning- Riveth jerked quickly, throwing Talwynn to her left side and straining her straps as she blasted flame desperately- but it wasn't sharp enough, it wasn't fast enough.

The loose tangle of Thread fell onto them, and there was suddenly nothing in the world but searing agony. Talwynn was barely conscious of a terrible pain on her left side, but she wasn't sure if it was hers or Riveth's. She heard an agonized bellow and a scream and realized dimly that they were both screaming. Somehow- Talwynn would be unable to remember how, later-
she drew an image of Dragonsfall's weyrbowl, picturing it and clinging to it with her remaining sanity. She'd barely got it before Riveth blinked
*between*.

Last updated on the November 9th 2007