Interrupted Get-Together

Writers: Francesca
Date Posted: 17th September 2008

Characters: Kamalia, Z'kin
Description: Kamalia and Z'kin meet at the weyrlake to wash Relarth, but are interrupted.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 24 of Turn 4
Notes: Comes a few days after "Not So Nice After All."

Even though this was only the second time they had seen each other,
Kamalia thought of Z'kin as a good friend. This was partly because she
made friends easily, but also because he was easygoing and fun to be with.
After their meal together in the dining caverns, they had gone to wash his
brown, Relarth. The three of them had enjoyed themselves scrubbing the
dragon, splashing each other, and talking.

At the end of their time together, they had agreed to meet again at the
weyrlake. So, here she was, scanning the lake in search of Relarth's large
brown form. It was nice, for once, to meet someone there, rather than
going alone and just watching the action.

"Hi! I hope I didn't keep you waiting." Z'kin came up, his brown right
behind him.

"No, I just got here."

"Well, I you'd better be ready for some hard scrubbing, because Relarth is
especially picky the day before Fall. And of course, right after too. He
insists we go immediately to clean him. I usually don't even have time to
get some food."

Kamalia grinned. "He seems like a very high-maintenance brown. I
thought only greens and golds were like that."

Relarth slowly turned one huge eye towards her and, for a moment, she
was scared she had angered him. But, Z'kin's laugh soon calmed her.

"He says the reason he needs to stay so clean is because of the greens and
golds. If the Weyr were full of just male dragons, he wouldn't worry
about it as much. But, he'd still insist on being cleaned before Fall, so
we'd still be here."

Kamalia wondered if he had always been able to discuss Thread so glibly.
"Have you been threadscored?"

Z'kin immediately became more serious. "Not badly. But, I have a small
scar on my arm from a close call during one of the first Falls," he said,
showing the mark to her, "and Relarth has a few. You can hardly see
them though. We've been lucky."

The look he gave Relarth made Kamalia feel lonely and young. She had
never fought Thread. She had just been sequestered inside every time it
fell. And she had no dragon- no bond like Z'kin, and every dragonrider,
had with his dragon. "How old are you?"

Z'kin smiled. "Relarth is 6 Turns old, but I Impressed late. I'm 26. And
you can't be more than 14."

"No!" Kamalia replied, somewhat indignantly. Everyone always mistook
her for being younger, just because she still retained some baby fat. "I'll
be 16 very soon."

"We'll have to celebrate."

Kamalia smiled. Even though he was older than she had thought, he
wasn't too old. Besides, a friend could be any age.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by Relarth's bugle. Z'kin's eyes
unfocused, then he cursed and leapt onto his dragon.

"Is something wrong?" Kamalia asked, concerned and wondering what
could have happened in the span of a few moments.

Z'kin looked down at her. "Mating flight. See you later. Make space!"

Kamalia jumped back without speaking, and covered her eyes as Relarth
quickly took flight, heading toward the Feeding Grounds. She
immediately began walking in that direction, unsure of what else to do.
Maybe the flight would be short, Relarth would lose, and they would be
able to spend some time together.

Or, maybe he would win. Was the rider of the green a man or a women?
She wasn't sure she wanted to watch if Z'kin won, either way. It was
fascinating watching green flights, but she had never really known any of
the participants before.

She remembered Arrilon's warnings about staying away from mating
flights. But, she quickly shoved the thought away. She wasn't going to
get close. She just wanted to watch from a distance, as she had done many
times before. Then, when it was over, maybe she and Z'kin could get
some food and wash Relarth, who would need consoling.

She hoped it would be a short flight. She had chores to do later.

Last updated on the September 20th 2008

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Interrupted Get-Together