Deciding Bonds [D'ren]

The midday heat had passed and in its place was the Weyr’s reluctance to resume work. Nobody wanted to keep working in the stifling Southern heat, no doubt many were considering a nocturnal life if only to avoid it. Even a flash between offered no relief, the icy darkness biting into bare skin for mere seconds before the heat dug in again.

The breeze that blew off the lake was hot, just like the surface of the water. N’gelt frowned as he flicked his fingers in the lake, contemplating whether or not it was worth taking a dive. Experience told him that while the surface was hot, if you went deep enough it would cool you right off. Saquith was already exploring said cool underworld, rising only to the surface when he needed another lungful of air. N’gelt envied the beast, with such great lungs he could spend what seemed like an endless time underwater, avoiding all the disgusting waves of heat that the humans had to deal with.

His musings were interrupted when a blast of chilled air washed over him, the glimmering form of Ronarth winging overhead. Yanking his boots and socks off he tossed them into the boat that was anchored beside him while he waited for the Weyrleader to descend. When he did he gave the Bronzerider a courteous salute. Sure N’gelt didn’t like Bronzeriders, but he knew when to put that gripe to the side for more important things. ‘They’re here.’ He sent to Saquith. Seconds later the large Brown burst from the lake, sending a small wave up onto the shore.

Hello D’ren. Ronarth! Come swim, it’s much nicer underwater. Saquith bugled, gleefully inviting the Bronze to join him. While not usually an overly-social dragon, Saquith managed to escape his shell a little easier when Ronarth was about. Being just the two of them put him at ease, he definitely wasn’t one for large groups. Having greeted the Bronzepair he dove quickly back underwater, eager to escape the heat.

N’gelt shook his head as another wave rolled up around the boat, smiling ever so slightly. He gestured that D’ren should get into the boat first as he moved to untie the rope that anchored it. “Lovely weather, isn’t it?” He asked, rolling his eyes noticeably to accentuate his sarcasm. Once the Weyrleader was settled within the boat he gave it a small push to dislodge it, climbing in as it began to drift away. Giving a small sigh now that he was finally in the boat he picked up an oar and began to slowly paddle. ‘Don’t hit the boat, alright?’ He warned Saquith, sensing his growing excitement as he swam below.

“So Krypth has flown and was caught by a Brown.” N’gelt couldn’t keep the pride entirely out of his voice. Unlike S’kef, he believed that Browns were just as deserving of a Gold as a Bronze was. Whether or not it affected the clutch, he wasn’t so sure. The matter of gorging however... That was definitely an issue.

Heat. It was one of D'ren's oldest and most primal enemies.

He'd always had problems with sweating. He groaned as he emerged from between, already oppressed by the cruel sun. Ronarth warbled and angled himself downward, putting them in a swift descent to try and at least offer a little bit of relief. This is unbelievable D'ren thought with displeasure. He couldn't remember it ever getting this hot back home.

More incentive to get things underway.

Ronarth landed on the lakeside with a mild splash. He chirped a greeting to Saquith and hastily dropped his head, allowing his rider to dismount.

"Good day, N'gelt. I wish I could say the weather was more to my liking," the Weyrleader mumbled. He wiped his forehead and gave Ronarth a quit pat on the nose. "Okay, one moment and we'll get started."

He removed Ronarth's straps and tossed them to the bank before climbing into the boat.

"That she has," he commented. He was both excited and concerned over the flight. It was good to see yet another clutch on the way, but he'd definitly noticed the gorging. He was prepared to give Jada a pass this time, if only because she was still just a weyrling. Next time, he hoped she would do a better job controlling her willful dragon.

He could remember having problems like that with Ronarth when they were young. Ronarth was a rambunctious and destructive dragonet, and a soft, akward young D'ren was no match for him at first. He'd improved though, and so would Jada.

"And an interesting match up at that," he continued. He wasn't sure where he stood on his former Weyrsecond. He still wanted very bad to like S'kef, but the sting of betrayal was something he never easily put behind him.

"Jada was very 'forceful' with me over my Impression policies when she and I first talked after the hatching," he said, diving right into business. The boat bobbed about a bit as Ronarth passed underneath, excitedly diving down to meet Saquith.

Saquith! Why do the humans not come swim WITH us? the excited bronze asked, his playfulness dancing in the back of D'ren's mind. It was enough to keep him in a good mood.

"She and I have come to an understanding, though."

N’gelt continued to row until they had reached a deep enough section of the lake, back paddling a little to keep the boat relatively still. Stowing the oar in the boat he picked up one of the fishing rods, attached some bait and flicked it out into the water. He listened to D’ren’s comments about Jada, rolling his eyes. She was one of those women. Equal rights or whatever. Women just weren’t good enough when it came to dragonriding, they were squishy and weak, useful only to rear children. It was the only reason he tolerated Goldriders, child-bearers should be the ones Impressing the clutching females. Greens... Well let’s just leave that for another day.

“This... understanding... better not be something idiotic.” N’gelt said. It wasn’t an insult at D’ren, but everyone knew how soft he could be. Though he did seem to be putting his foot down much more lately. N’gelt liked to think it was his influence. Even so, Jada... was filled with feminine wiles, it wouldn’t have surprised him if she had tried to demand a half half ratio between men and women standing.

N’gelt says they need to catch fish to eat. Saquith lamented as he swam over to the excited Bronze. I know! Why don’t we help them fish? Then they can come swim with us! He suggested. It was hard not to be inspired by Ronarth’s simple and strong emotions.

D'ren wasn't sure what he thought of N'gelt's hard line on women. D'ren shared many of his sentiments, though for different reasons and with different intentions. Women were weaker and made poorer fliers, it was true. They had their advantages; they seemed to keep the more spirited greens under control a bit better. D'ren was still loathe to think what a sky full of quickly-tiring greens with female riders would mean in threadfall. He was sure some of the girls were sturdy enough to perform just fine, but the current ratios were unsettling to him. Besides, the lives of greenriders were hard. They were so often subject to sexual harassment from the riders of male dragons...women should be protected from such fates!

"I explained to her that male riders were preferable for threadfall, and I believe she understands," he commented, choosing to not take offense to N'gelt's gruff tone. The brownrider always had been rough around the edges. "She has a point about the current candidates, though...they were taken from their homes for this. We have to offer them at least something."

"We're going to settle on a rotation. Only a certain percentage of candidates at the hatching may be female, with priority given to those who have given the weyr a child or who are nearing the age cutoff. Anyone who qualifies but doesn't want their spot can give it up to someone else. I think it works out well enough...we can stagger female Impressions without eliminating them completely." Which, he added more with his expression than with actual words, he didn't actually want to do. He'd been in the game long enough to know that one didn't make big changes like that overnight.

Down below, Ronarth let out a cloud of bubbles from his snout. That's the best idea EVER he decided firmly. The water surged as he flickered his tail and took off for a group of fish.

N’gelt nodded as D’ren spoke, female riders were so ill-suited to threadfall he wondered why the dragons chose them at all. The reminder that the potential Candidates had been taken from their homes in the North made N’gelt bristle a little. They had been cast out from their homes and almost died to make the journey south. He didn’t see what right the crafters had to complain when the surviving dragonriders and non-riders didn’t complain.

“The age cut off is approximately thirty, yes? How young will women be allowed to stand without having birthed a child?” N’gelt prepared himself for the worst. While he hoped it was something high like twenty-eight he suspected an age limit closer to twenty-five might be put in place for women.

He fell silent for a while, thinking on the entire situation. The clutch would no doubt be small, given all the governing factors that generally ruled over what made for a large clutch. Would it be better to have a small amount of Candidates then, or to simply shove them all onto the sands and hope the dragons picked wisely? It was always said the dragon knows best... but N’gelt wasn’t so sure sometimes.

“Should we be hand-picking a smaller sample of crafters to stand? There must be over a hundred potentials... I wonder if it’s worth having that many crowding a small clutch.” Was that N’gelt expressing concern? Yes, yes it was. He wasn’t stupid, these eggs were their only hope for the future. To crowd and potentially harm them would be idiotic.

When Ronarth decided his idea was the “best ever” Saquith gave a quick mental squeal, as well as letting loose a stream of bubbles from his mouth in his attempt to trill. Watching where the Bronze swam he angled himself so that he would come at the fishes from another angle, hopefully to guide them to the boat!

D'ren picked up on the bristling, and it wasn't something he appreciated. "We ruined a lot of those kids' lives," he reminded N'gelt as he cast his line. He frowned a bit when the boat started to bob and pitch. "I'm sure everyone one of us would have been miserable at their age, just like we were when we wound up here. I intend to repay them all one day..." He trailed off a bit and sighed. The decision to steal still bothered him greatly. It had been wrong, and really it made no sense the more he thought about it. He could still remember pleading with Tsuen to take everyone home. He could remember her not wanting to make the jump with Nirinath gravid...and he could remember how plans to correct it after the hatching just never seemed to work out in the end.

What a mess.

"The cutoff is thirty," he said after a moment, sounding sobered as he watched his line trailing off into the murk of the lake. The water roiled again. He gripped the edge of the boat and let out a grunt. What the shards?

"...Girls at 26 and above will be allowed," he added, somewhat distracted by the strange movements of the water. He paused to consider N'gelt's other words. "...And you're right. I want there to be plenty of candidates presented so the dragonets have a wide selection, but a hundred is far too many. Especially since I'm sure the clutch will be small. I suppose a second search is in order either way..." Shards, he felt so guilty.

Whoosh!

He ducked as a wave slapped the side of the boat. "....N'gelt, is it windy out here?" he asked with a hint of dread.

D’ren’s reminder didn’t do much for N’gelt’s attitude towards the grumpy stolen, he was a stick in the mud for many things after all. He didn’t however, persist with being annoyed for the time being. He looked over at the Bronzerider when he sighed, studying his face. N’gelt didn’t know much at all about the decisions or the arguments that had gone down in the early stages of Katila, he had spent a lot of the time hunting down sexual conquests or ignoring the populace at large, uncaring at the time for where the weyrleaders led them or kept them. He had no desire to return north with his parents dead and the lack of a proper relationship with his siblings and as such still didn’t bother to involve himself in such discussions. If asked, he most likely would shrug and say that he would follow the Weyr.

When the boat rocked N’gelt’s attention flicked out to the water, a frown on his face. The lake had been still when they had rowed out into it. “Twenty-six?” He echoed. Well. He supposed that was alright. Nirinath did only rise every four turns... This might be their last attempt at Impressing, especially if Krypth failed to rise within the meantime.

“Find those search riders, the best ones.” A slight at greenriders? Of course not. “They can assess and tell us the best ones. Say half...” N’gelt trailed off, looking over the side of the boat as it rocked again.

At D’ren’s question he looked up and around. The trees were still in the stifling heat and the lake was still everywhere but where the boat sat. “No... it’s not.”

‘Saquith... What are you two doing?’ He reached out with a growl.

Helping! Came his excited voice.

That didn’t sound good.

D'ren could tell it was best to let the topic slide. He knew N'gelt was something of a selfish man, but he didn't need to be reminded of it right now. He still wasn;t over his faith in his previous second being shattered. Hopefully this one would turn out better. It would, right?

"That sounds like a good plan. B'jin is probably my best searcher..." he commented thoughtfully. "K'ren and I'shan are excellent as well." He wasn't playing to N'gelt's ego with this one. He didn't have any intention of calling I'shan a good searcher just to flatter the man's lover. I'shan was good, but B'jin was better. It was sort an an amusing fluke; blues were better searchers in general, but that particular green seemed to be the best remaining.

"Any others you'd suggest for the panel? I figure we'll need to see the - whoa!" He grasped the edge of the boat again and caught his tongue before he swore. "....see the size of the clutch before we settle on an exact number. I just hate to leave anyone out when they'd been taken from their homes for this purpose. I certainly hope Krypth rises as often as she did early..."

"...Okay, what's going on?"

Ronarth!

What?

What's going on down there?

Saquith already told N'gelt that we're helping...

"Helping?"

D'ren shot a nervous glance to N'gelt. "Don't tell me..."

N’gelt rolled his eyes at the mention of B’jin. He could have been a Brownrider and N’gelt still would have thought the man insanity-incarnate. Not only did he hang out with that bat-shit crazy woman that was always eating but he was the most peculiar dinner guest he had ever met. Perhaps he had a mental illness that nobody had diagnosed...

His mood swelled when I’shan was also listed as one of the best searchriders. Of course. N’gelt wouldn’t have chosen some run of the mill rider to weyrmate! Because there was certainly a lot of forethought and planning to their relationship.

Right.

“The one on the darker Blue... Saq, what’s his name?” N’gelt mused aloud. He didn’t get much of a chance to even continue to try and think of the Bluerider’s name before the water swelled even higher. He heard D’ren speaking again but didn’t hear what exactly he said for he was glaring down into the murky waters.

‘Saquith...’ He sent, his voice riddled with growing impatience.

Yes? He chirped back as he swam, oblivious to his rider’s annoyance.

‘What, precisely are you doing?’

Helping you fish, so you can swim with us!

“Fuck.” His loud curse came right as D’ren’s nervous glance and unspoken question arose, along with a wave that tipped the boat threateningly. “Saquith!” He roared, but it was no use.

Another wave...

SPLASH!

The boat upended completely and unmercifully dumped its passengers into the lake as the two great dragons surged below. Saquith burst up and into the air, taking a great deep breath as he surveyed their work.

Ronarth! We did it! They’re swimming with us! He bugled happily.

Then he noticed the boat.

Then he noticed N’gelt.

Soaked.

Glaring.

Uh-oh.

Well, it looked like there was no point to fighting the madness.

D'ren closed his eyes tight and braced himself as he saw some dark shape sliding beneath the boat. The water pitched, the boat tipped, and bronze and brownrider alike went flying. D'ren managed to hold in a "Shhhhhhhh..." until he crashed into the surface of the murky water. He sank a couple feet before opening his eyes, where he saw a pair of luminous, playful ones staring right back at him.

The bronzerider bobbed to the surface and gasped for breath. "Ronarth!" he snapped, "If you two d-damaged that boat..." But shards, he just couldn't help but laugh! He chuckled deeply for a moment, trying his best to maintain a serious expression, but the break in the tension, stress, and the heat was more welcome than he would have previously imagined.

Ronarth's neck rose up beneath him, giving him something to hang on to so he didn't have to tread water. He gave the dragon a slap on the neck and shook his head. "I don't believe you," he said, watching as the dragon's head rose above the water and the long neck twisted to face him.

I'm sorry Ronarth said sheepishly. I thought I was helping... He felt stupid. D'ren sighed and brushed a bit of his soaked hair back, projecting as much reassurance to the dragon as he could. It will be fine he said, though he knew he ought to be a lot angrier than he was.

He glanced over at N'gelt, who he couldn't imagine would be faring well after that. "These two are a mess," D'ren said flatly.

Saquith backwinged as gently as he could to land in the water, trying his best not to cause more waves now that he could see his rider's anger. He hesitantly swam over to him, gingerly reaching his snout forward in offering for N'gelt to use as a buoy if he so chose. I'm sorry N'gelt... He whimpered.

The glare N'gelt sent to his Brown when they both surfaced was almost loathsome in its intensity. The ripples created from the dragons left him bobbing for a few moments. His first reaction was fury, as was clear. He wasn't oblivious to the break the dragons had caused, somewhat like an ice breaker if you would. Though in this heat, perhaps heat breaker was a more apt term.

The heat that had been beating down on them washed away with the water, something N'gelt appreciated. He was grateful at first that he was only wearing shorts and a light, short-sleeved shirt for the outing, but was quick to remember his boots that had been in the boat. Out this deep, it would be a fruitless search to retrieve them, never mind the fishing poles and the oar. Even with the little floating devices attached to the strings the weight of the poles would have been too much for the tiny bubbles.

Thankfully the boat was intact, just... upside down. N'gelt sighed, turning to face D'ren. "So much for fishing."

While he wasn't about to laugh he was certainly far from the initial rage the boat flipping had sparked. He drifted over to Saquith, resting against the Brown's large nose for support. "Mess? I think there are better words than mess." Which was saying something, N'gelt wasn't exactly a wordsmith.

"I've never seen him be so bold like that." He commented. Sure, Saquith had gotten feisty to protect his rider before, but nothing like the playful exuberance he had just displayed. N'gelt wasn't quite sure if he liked it or not.

D'ren sighed and ran his hands along Ronarth's soft hide. "I expect it has more to do with Ronarth than with Saquith," he said. He did well to keep the irritation out of his voice, but Ronarth still noticed it. I'm sorry the bronze said cautiously. D'ren wasn't angry, but the idea that Ronarth was being a bad influence on the new Weyrsecond's dragon was not exactly a welcome one.

You shouldn't encourage Saquith to act out D'ren said firmly. He slid free of the dragon's neck and started to swim to the bank. Can you push the boat to the shore? he asked afterwards as he ran his hands through his hair, trying to squeeze some of the water out of it and get fits of lake debris, mostly leaves, off of his face.

Yes said Ronarth, bashful. He creeled to Saquith and pushed his nose against the boat, slowly ushering it towards the shore. D'ren walked over to meet it, grabbing hold of the bottom lip and pulling it halfway onto the sand. Then, he reached out to pat the dragon's nose.

It's fine, love. Just be more careful in the future. Saquith seems easily impressionable. And, before Ronarth could vocalize his concerns, And you are NOT stupid.

D'ren sat down on the edge of the lake and wrapped his arms around his knees, looking out over the again-still waters and sighing. He reminded himself not to get worked up over so small a thing, and to instead think of it as humorous. It was so hard to smile these days.

"Sorry our first outing had to go this way, N'gelt," he said with a resigned laugh. S'kef had gotten used to it after a while. Shards; in spite of what D'ren viewed as a betrayal, he found himself wondering what the brownrider was up to and wishing him well.

N’gelt resisted the urge to slander the slow Bronze aloud. Of course it was his fault, Saquith never acted out like this! Not without N’gelt’s permission, that was.

Saquith gave a small, low croon to his rider when Ronarth began to push the boat back to shore. ‘Go on.’ N’gelt sent, pushing away from the Brown’s snout and following D’ren. The Brown helped nudge the boat through the water, keeping it on a relatively straight path. When he felt D’ren grabbing it he pulled back before walking up onto the sand. N’gelt stood beside D’ren, lifting the boat and peering underneath hopefully. Alas, nothing had gotten caught and stuck in the boat.

“At least we’re cool now.” He replied, lying down on the sand. The heat of the day would dry them off in no time, but for the time being, being drenched at least relieved that heat.

After a few minutes he sat up, leaning against Saquith who had laid down and arched his neck behind his rider to support him.

“So re-search the northerners. Get half of them, the best ones. By the time that’s done Krypth should have clutched.” There was a small niggling thought in the back of his mind that maybe Krypth wouldn’t clutch, that her body might reject bearing children so young. Could dragons miscarry? He frowned.

---

[sub]I think this is pretty much done, or at least the mood for SRS!DISCUSSION is gone. XD Sadly he’s not so good with the whole ‘light-hearted’ business.[/sub]

"That's the plan." And that was all D'ren had to say on the matter. He was tired, both physically and mentally. Ronarth had injected some comic relief into the afternoon, but it had still been a hard day. D'ren was content to lie on the sand and look up at the clouds for a while, taking the time to slowly think through the many issues he was facing rather than trying to bang them out of his head while sitting at his desk.

He glanced over at his volatile new second and paused in evaluation. N'gelt was taking the job seriously, so that was good. Maybe this would work out better. The sting of betrayal was still fresh, though. D'ren had trusted S'kef for turns. Would the same thing happen again?

His trusting nature won out. He would give N'gelt the benefit of the doubt, trusting that he would learn from the mistakes of his predecessor and stay on D'ren's good side. He needed more allies in this endeavor, an endeavor which had quickly become a constant struggle.

He laughed softly, briefly amused by his own situation. Perhaps it was promoted by Ronarth's lingering mirth and playfulness. Ronarth always had been good at inspiring smiles in the aging bronzerider, especially when he needed it the most.

After that, D'ren focused mostly on casual conversation, but N'gelt wasn't talkative and D'ren didn't need to talk. The conversation died off into quiet companionship before the dragonpairs finally made their way back to the Weyr, and back to real life.