You've Made a Mistake

Writers: Eimi, Miriah
Date Posted: 4th August 2013

Characters: J'ackt, F'ral
Description: Jenackt refuses the unexpected
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 13 of Turn 7

J'ackt

Sitting in the shadows of a tree, Jenackt watched the ending drills
with interest. He'd not associated with many riders, but found their
drills interesting. He recognized the predator in them the way they
chased the fake threads, in their movements. He took a bite of his
meatroll, and continued to watch, gaze intense.

"Interested in dragons?" A voice asked. F'ral had been on his way into
the Weyr when his blue Pavreth had honed in on a possible Candidate.
It wasn't unusual for the Searchriding pair, and after thirty Turns
together, F'ral had learned to listen to his dragon's instincts.

The voice startled him and he jerked to attention, his head swinging
to peer at the approached rider. His eyes flicked over him and he
shrugged. "Guess so. They're interesting."

F'ral hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his pants as he cocked one
hip to the side, his eyes straight ahead on the Wing that was
drilling, "You ever thought about being a dragonrider?"

Jenackt snorted. "Shards, no." He looked out at the dragons again.
"Haven't even been close to one." He shrugged. "Just watching really."

The bluerider's lips quirked for he knew that Pavreth lurked behind
him, waiting to meet the Candidate, "Well, if you'd like to see one up
close my Pavreth is just over there." He jerked a thumb over his
shoulder.

Brows furrowed deeply as his gaze followed the jerk of the man's
finger. His eyes widened slightly at the size of the blue and he went
still. Up close the dragon was far larger than he'd realized. "Uhm...I
think I'm fine right here." He glanced around the man at the blue.
"He's staring at me."

F'ral glanced over his shoulder and barked out a laugh at the way
Pavreth was seriously honing in on the young man over the tree. **Ease
up there, killer, you are freaking out the Candidate.**

}:Oh,:{ Pavreth ducked his head, in a manner that F'ral would describe
as chagrined, }:Am I less scary like this?:{ The blue lowered his
proud head to the ground and settled his wings along the ridge of his
back.

"He's just very interested in meeting you." F'ral assured the young man.

Jenackt blinked at the sudden change in the blue. He had to wonder why
exactly the blue wanted so badly to meet him and arched one brow. He
glanced at the rider and then back at the blue before rising to his
feet. "I guess I could meet him."

F'ral could feel the shiver of excitement in Pavreth. That dragon
loved Candidates. As much as it was a dragons' duty to fight Thread,
it was Pavreth's Search duty to procure top notch Candidates for the
dragonets of the Weyr to choose from. He took the job seriously, and
F'ral did his best to help the blue communicate to the chosen ones .

"His name is Pavreth," and then F'ral raked his fingers through his
hair as he realized he had never introduced himself, "and I am F'ral."
He said as he led the way over to the waiting dragon.

"Amitko." Jenackt was getting more accustomed to saying the name, even
if it still sounded strange to him. Following F'ral, but keeping his
distance, he faced the blue with a mingling of awe and trepidation.
The bloody, sharding thing was huge. "Uh..hello Pavreth."

**Amitko.** F'ral turned the name over in his mind and then decided
that he had never heard it. The boy must have been new to the Weyr
then, because F'ral and Pavreth surely knew every youngster around in
the hopes of making them Candidates.

In response to Amitko's greeting, Pavreth emitted what he hoped was a
non-intimidating warble. The dragon's breath sent strands of F'ral's
hair blowing about his face, something he had grown use to over their
Turns together.

}:Oh yes, F'ral, he IS a Candidate. Don't let this one get away. Too
much potential.:{ Pavreth told his rider, his large blue eyes faceted
to the youth.

The warble finally made Jenackt's lips lift and it eased the severe,
wary expression. Perhaps the dragon wasn't so bad. The breath thing
was a bit odd, but he supposed it just was part of what a dragon was.
"So now what? He's met me."

Pavreth tilted his head toward the boy, earning a chuckle from F'ral,
"He's wanting a scratch now. Just above his eyeridge, like this." The
bluerider stretched out an arm and rubbed his fingers over his
lifemate's eyeridge, earning a pleased croon.

Jenackt didn't immediately scratch the dragon, but watched F'ral. He
took a step forward, then a breath and cautiously extended a hand to
lightly scratch the eyeridge. He liked animals, when he wasn't eating
them, and even though he really couldn't classify a dragon as strictly
an animal, Jenackt found himself enjoying the experience. " 'S not so
bad."

"They are pretty big babies once you get to know them." F'ral grinned,
and then added, "Pavreth wants you to be a Candidate at the next
Hatching. He thinks you'd be great on a dragon of your own."

At that Jenackt quickly stepped back, his eyes widening. "A what?"

Pavreth huffed as the boy drew back, sending a forceful blast of air
over them before craning his head back toward Amitko, obviously
wanting more attention to his eyeridge.

"A Candidate. You know, one of the people chosen to Stand on the
hatching sands when the eggs are hatching. Pavreth is always pretty
good at picking out Candidates that actually Impress. He's very
convinced that you have all the potential necessary to become a
dragonrider."

He stared at F'ral, then his gaze moved back to the blue dragon who so
obviously wanted more scratching. But he took a step back. "No. Shards
no." He shook his head. The idea of him, on a dragon, rattled him
completely. He wasn't a rider. He was Holdless, homeless and running
from holders, for Faranth's sake. "I'm not Standing. I'm not
Impressing. I don't even know if I'm staying here. No."

}:He can't say no, F'ral! There will be a dragonet on the Sands
waiting for him, I know it!:{ Pavreth complained.

Even though F'ral was realistic to know that his dragon couldn't
accurately predict who would Impress and who wouldn't, the bluerider
was still frowning. In all his Turns he had never had someone _refuse_
the opportunity to be a dragonrider. Most gladly jumped at the
opportunity to join the elite ranks of those that protected Pern.

"Are you sure about that, son? Pavreth is very insistent that you
Stand. You wouldn't want to leave a dragonet on the Sands to die
without a rider would you? You might as well try it out one time, and
then if you don't like it you can move on."

His face suddenly hardened and blue eyes narrowed. "I'm not your son."
Jenackt took another step back. "And he can be as insistent as he
wants. He's made a mistake." He wasn't one of them and would never be.
He wasn't any sort of protector, nor would he chance risking his own
life for Holders. "I'm not what you lot are looking for." He turned on
his heel, moving quickly to walk away.

}:Stop, young one.:{ Pavreth spoke directly to Amitko. F'ral's mouth
hung open, not from what the boy had said, but because he knew his
dragon was actually speaking to another individual. Even though the
blue loved Candidates, in all their Turns together, F'ral had never
known a time when Pavreth had spoken to someone else. The dragon had
just never had the desire and was comfortable with allowing F'ral to
speak for him.

_That_ made Jenackt stand absolutely still and his eyes widened. He
blinked and slowly turned to stare at the blue. Shock warred with
discomfort on his face. "Don't do that." He looked at F'ral and stood
straight. "I'm not Standing. That's all there is to it. I just want to
be left alone. Find someone else."

F'ral held up his hands, "Don't tell me, tell him." He jerked his
finger at Pavreth.

}:You are meant to be a dragonrider. It is your purpose.:{ Pavreth
assured Amitko, ignoring the boy's previous command to stop.

"No, it is not." Jenackt snapped in response. "Get out of my head and leave me be." He turned again and strode away, body tightened in frustration.

Last updated on the August 5th 2013

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You've Made a Mistake