17.Jan.13, 03:49 PM
The answer surprised A'liran. He wrinkled his nose a little, eyeing the bronzerider from a short distance away. Astoreth rumbled beneath him, encouraging and yet curious. How different this bronzerider was from the average! Or was he? Katila seemed to have a lot of reluctant bronzeriders; it was common knowledge that D'ren had been hesitant to accept Weyrleadership at first, and a number of the others actively avoided appointments to wingleader positions and whatnot.
Astoreth found it a pure curiosity, but A'liran's interest ran deeper. Was it because of the plague? It had been so many turns now, but many still carried the scars. Were the bronzeriders particularly jaded, having been in positions of power before?
He entertained the idea for a long moment, but ultimately dismissed it. That would assume that a decent number of them were modest, and Ali didn't like anything that interfered too deeply with his worldview. Must be a coincidence.
"That's the best anyone can do," Ali murmured, but he couldn't keep the spark of hatred out of his voice. He'd always despised D'ren, but S'kef was even worse. What else might be in their future, though, if not him? M'bal? N'gelt? Were they any better?
Ali was having a hard time keeping his head down.
The next question sparked a little more reaction from him. He tensed up and shot into a sitting position, not having expected such a personal question. He almost took it as a challenge. He frowned slightly, glancing across the water at the bronze and his rider. "Do you know how many broken bones I got through flights when I was a weyrling?" he asked, responding to the question with a question of his own.
Astoreth found it a pure curiosity, but A'liran's interest ran deeper. Was it because of the plague? It had been so many turns now, but many still carried the scars. Were the bronzeriders particularly jaded, having been in positions of power before?
He entertained the idea for a long moment, but ultimately dismissed it. That would assume that a decent number of them were modest, and Ali didn't like anything that interfered too deeply with his worldview. Must be a coincidence.
"That's the best anyone can do," Ali murmured, but he couldn't keep the spark of hatred out of his voice. He'd always despised D'ren, but S'kef was even worse. What else might be in their future, though, if not him? M'bal? N'gelt? Were they any better?
Ali was having a hard time keeping his head down.
The next question sparked a little more reaction from him. He tensed up and shot into a sitting position, not having expected such a personal question. He almost took it as a challenge. He frowned slightly, glancing across the water at the bronze and his rider. "Do you know how many broken bones I got through flights when I was a weyrling?" he asked, responding to the question with a question of his own.