Hello loves! While I haven't been writing, I have been working on updating some issues that have been hanging around on the layout! The Character change box is now at the bottom of the page, beside the up/down arrows! Green and Gold dragon flight dates have been shifted to the bottom of the page, where the (useless!) discord widget was located. Where the dragon flights were in the header, is now replaced by a Monthly Event box! This will be updated at the start of each month, with a fun mini-event you can take part in, if you want to! Thistle!
15.Aug.19, 04:26 PM
F’drel had no particular desire to be at the Telgar Gather. He’d gone, of course, because he was Lord Jalazmar and his lady wife’s designated ride, so he had to bring them to the Gather. And they, for whatever their reasons were, had given just about their entire household the day off and permission to attend the Gather. Thankfully, he hadn’t been expected to bring every single person from their household who’d wanted to go, but F’drel preferred to minimize the amount of dragonriders his siblings had contact with wherever possible - what if some random brownrider had been assigned to help him? - so he’d asked R’dal, who of course had been easy enough to convince (if barely asking the question before getting an exuberant ‘yes!’ even counted as convincing). Even though F’drel trusted R’dal not to hurt his siblings or anything like that - the idea was unthinkable - he was very aware of R’dal’s lack of awareness when it came to danger and F’drel worried he might give his younger siblings ideas about how great the Weyrs were that just weren’t the full story, or perhaps say something about F’drel’s life he wasn’t ready for them to know.
He worried about them, his five siblings, and even after Jalazmar, Xyliah, his siblings, and the other various people who worked for them had made it to the Gather grounds, and F’drel was technically relieved of ferrying duty until at least late afternoon, he stayed in case they needed him. Either him as their older brother or him as their ride home, didn’t matter. He wasn’t even really chaperoning them, Kelikki had put herself in charge of that (fair, as she was the oldest, and F’drel had always relied on her steadiness. The girls had gone to one of the tailors - apparently Xyliah had given all her female servants something of a Gather allowance to get themselves something nice, and his sisters all wanted new dresses, adding the marks from Xyliah to some of the marks Kikki gave to F’drel for safekeeping. F’drel had wandered off a bit from the merchant whose wares they were perusing, not in the mood to give his opinion on patterns or colors. Mostly, he worried about Kitelan.
His baby brother, only recently turned ten, had managed to endear himself to Lady Xyliah, who doted on him. This terrified F’drel, afraid of what the overly close connection to the lady - and therefore, her lord husband - could lead to for Kit. At the moment it seemed to be Xyliah bringing him around the Gather with her, spoiling him extravagantly all the while. F’drel didn’t like it one bit, but what could he do? He couldn’t tell Xyliah what she could or couldn’t do with anyone, let alone one of her servants. Kelikki had reassured him a few months back, when he’d first become aware of the lady’s fondness for Kit, that Xyliah meant well and had no hidden intentions for Kitelan. F’drel supposed he should trust her word - she was the oldest, after all, and she’d been put in charge of quite a lot of things in their new household, and he usually trusted her judgment on things, but still… F’drel worried. Proximity to Lords was never a good thing.
It almost made him want to find the nearest Searchrider (maybe R’dal, once he was officially allowed to Search on his own) and claim Kitelan for a Weyr, or even just request for his brother to live with him - he was family and also a child, that wouldn’t be too hard to get approved, right? - but it also brought a whole new set of problems. The Weyrs didn’t have Lords, but they weren’t necessarily all that much safer. And with Miri’s Flights apparently unpredictable still, how could F’drel justify keeping his ten turn old brother with him? There was no good answer. Ultimately, the Weyrs would likely be safer for Kitelan and the others, but… F’drel was still hesitant.
The Weyrs were better than being a drudge in Nabol, true, but they weren’t safe, and his siblings were used to the rules of Holds, they knew how to navigate them. F’drel was still learning all the complexities of Weyrs, and he had been living in them for several turns now. And, more importantly, if any of them came to the Weyr they would probably Stand as Candidates, which meant they might Impress a dragon, and F’drel desperately didn’t want any of them to Impress green. He loved Halomirth, with everything he had, but he didn’t want any of his siblings to be greenriders. It was alright for him, but F’drel wanted better for them. And if they came to live with him in Ista, there was a higher chance the girl would Impress green.
He had another, more selfish reason to not want them in the Weyrs as well; F’drel wanted to keep as many of the bad parts of his life hidden from them as possible. He wanted to keep his family safe from it. And, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was ashamed of a lot of it. None of them knew how Flights work, and they’d learn if they moved to the Weyrs. As long as they all stayed out of Flights F’drel supposed he’d deal, but the idea of them knowing still made his stomach twist uncomfortably. Only Kikki knew how bad it had gotten for him in Nabol the last few turns, after their mother’s death until he was Searched. And even being a greenrider was better than that, there was no question it was better than that, but… F’drel didn’t really know how to put into words how horrible it all made him feel - the concept of his siblings understanding what Flights meant, of learning how many Weyrfolk considered greenriders to be little better than whores, to name just a few.
F’drel went around in mental circles, having found a place to stand and wait towards the edge of an area set up for eating, going back and forth between wanting to get Kitelan away from the Lord and Lady and being afraid of bringing him to the Weyrs. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he didn’t see anyone approaching until it was too late, and the equally distracted young man walked right into him. F’drel managed to steady himself, but the young man wasn’t so lucky and fell. The apology was muffled by his hands, which he’d brought up to cover his face, and F’drel was almost positive he sounded choked up as if he were trying very hard not to cry. Even with his face covered, F’drel thought he recognized him from Hatchings that Miri had insisted they attend, which meant he was a Candidate. Why was a Candidate rushing through the Gather practically in tears?
“Don’t worry about it,” F’drel said, his worry for Kitelan and his sisters eagerly latching onto this new young person in front of him. He knelt down so he wasn’t looming over the boy; they were out of the high traffic areas, so F’drel didn’t feel a need to try to get him any more off to the side. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, waiting a few feet away for a response before trying to reach out.
He worried about them, his five siblings, and even after Jalazmar, Xyliah, his siblings, and the other various people who worked for them had made it to the Gather grounds, and F’drel was technically relieved of ferrying duty until at least late afternoon, he stayed in case they needed him. Either him as their older brother or him as their ride home, didn’t matter. He wasn’t even really chaperoning them, Kelikki had put herself in charge of that (fair, as she was the oldest, and F’drel had always relied on her steadiness. The girls had gone to one of the tailors - apparently Xyliah had given all her female servants something of a Gather allowance to get themselves something nice, and his sisters all wanted new dresses, adding the marks from Xyliah to some of the marks Kikki gave to F’drel for safekeeping. F’drel had wandered off a bit from the merchant whose wares they were perusing, not in the mood to give his opinion on patterns or colors. Mostly, he worried about Kitelan.
His baby brother, only recently turned ten, had managed to endear himself to Lady Xyliah, who doted on him. This terrified F’drel, afraid of what the overly close connection to the lady - and therefore, her lord husband - could lead to for Kit. At the moment it seemed to be Xyliah bringing him around the Gather with her, spoiling him extravagantly all the while. F’drel didn’t like it one bit, but what could he do? He couldn’t tell Xyliah what she could or couldn’t do with anyone, let alone one of her servants. Kelikki had reassured him a few months back, when he’d first become aware of the lady’s fondness for Kit, that Xyliah meant well and had no hidden intentions for Kitelan. F’drel supposed he should trust her word - she was the oldest, after all, and she’d been put in charge of quite a lot of things in their new household, and he usually trusted her judgment on things, but still… F’drel worried. Proximity to Lords was never a good thing.
It almost made him want to find the nearest Searchrider (maybe R’dal, once he was officially allowed to Search on his own) and claim Kitelan for a Weyr, or even just request for his brother to live with him - he was family and also a child, that wouldn’t be too hard to get approved, right? - but it also brought a whole new set of problems. The Weyrs didn’t have Lords, but they weren’t necessarily all that much safer. And with Miri’s Flights apparently unpredictable still, how could F’drel justify keeping his ten turn old brother with him? There was no good answer. Ultimately, the Weyrs would likely be safer for Kitelan and the others, but… F’drel was still hesitant.
The Weyrs were better than being a drudge in Nabol, true, but they weren’t safe, and his siblings were used to the rules of Holds, they knew how to navigate them. F’drel was still learning all the complexities of Weyrs, and he had been living in them for several turns now. And, more importantly, if any of them came to the Weyr they would probably Stand as Candidates, which meant they might Impress a dragon, and F’drel desperately didn’t want any of them to Impress green. He loved Halomirth, with everything he had, but he didn’t want any of his siblings to be greenriders. It was alright for him, but F’drel wanted better for them. And if they came to live with him in Ista, there was a higher chance the girl would Impress green.
He had another, more selfish reason to not want them in the Weyrs as well; F’drel wanted to keep as many of the bad parts of his life hidden from them as possible. He wanted to keep his family safe from it. And, as much as he hated to admit it, even to himself, he was ashamed of a lot of it. None of them knew how Flights work, and they’d learn if they moved to the Weyrs. As long as they all stayed out of Flights F’drel supposed he’d deal, but the idea of them knowing still made his stomach twist uncomfortably. Only Kikki knew how bad it had gotten for him in Nabol the last few turns, after their mother’s death until he was Searched. And even being a greenrider was better than that, there was no question it was better than that, but… F’drel didn’t really know how to put into words how horrible it all made him feel - the concept of his siblings understanding what Flights meant, of learning how many Weyrfolk considered greenriders to be little better than whores, to name just a few.
F’drel went around in mental circles, having found a place to stand and wait towards the edge of an area set up for eating, going back and forth between wanting to get Kitelan away from the Lord and Lady and being afraid of bringing him to the Weyrs. He was so caught up in his own thoughts he didn’t see anyone approaching until it was too late, and the equally distracted young man walked right into him. F’drel managed to steady himself, but the young man wasn’t so lucky and fell. The apology was muffled by his hands, which he’d brought up to cover his face, and F’drel was almost positive he sounded choked up as if he were trying very hard not to cry. Even with his face covered, F’drel thought he recognized him from Hatchings that Miri had insisted they attend, which meant he was a Candidate. Why was a Candidate rushing through the Gather practically in tears?
“Don’t worry about it,” F’drel said, his worry for Kitelan and his sisters eagerly latching onto this new young person in front of him. He knelt down so he wasn’t looming over the boy; they were out of the high traffic areas, so F’drel didn’t feel a need to try to get him any more off to the side. “Are you alright?” he asked softly, waiting a few feet away for a response before trying to reach out.
