Dear Faranth Why [Future Designs Class, Open]

Sharding ridiculous.

Fellis let out a tiny peep, pressing his small body tightly against Talian's neck as the pair looked up at Khaduceth. At only four months old, the dragonet had two feet on Talian at the shoulder, and that was disgusting. It seemed like only the blink of an eye, and suddenly the comfortable bench-sized dragonet had become some sort of enormous monster. Talian had always known that browns were large dragons, much larger than Veeth or Larrikith, but only now was it beginning to sink in. His little Khaduceth, who had never truly been little, was actually going to get huge.

Talian looked at B'jin. They'd already put off mounting and riding for a month longer than they were supposed to. Surely they could put it off a little more. B'jin had been awfully conscious of keeping the class on as even a level as possible and was reluctant to move from lectures and mental exercises to things like this. Talian had been just fine with it, though his two brownrider classmates had complained bitterly.

Oh, why was he even trying? Both he and B'jin knew they'd put it off as long as possible. Talian sighed, acutely aware of his classmates' eyes boring into him, and looked back at Khaduceth. The dragon was looking at him patiently and expectantly, wings folded neatly on his shoulders and tail swishing softly behind him. Nearby, the other two brown weyrlings were already mounted and ready to go. Talian was next, and everyone was watching. Shards.

He took a deep breath. "All right," he said, motioning for Khaduceth to lower his head. The dragon crooned and lowered his neck, eyes settling into a soothing shade of blue. Talian bit his lip and stepped up onto Khaduceth's raised foot, as he'd seen B'jin hundreds times. He paused, however, when he found the next step a little more difficult than he anticipated.

Off to the side, one of their greenrider classmates groaned. Why are they so slow?! his impatient partner complained audibly, though whether or not the quip was intentionally broadcast was anyone's guess. Talian gritted his teeth and clung tight to Kkhaduceth's neck as the brown's head snapped in her direction and he hissed deeply, unamused by her impatience. He scolded her silently, causing her to creel and her eyes to flush red.  Fool the dragon mumbled to his rider, accusing eyes locked on the startled green as Talian tried and failed to regain his composure.

It's all right. Come on, ignore them khaduceth urged, though he sounded stiff and preoccupied, very much distracted by keeping an eye on his rude sister. Talian sighed and took a deep breath before trying again, pushing himself up and over the dragon's neck. He grabbed  awkwardly at Khaduceth's shoulders, wondering how the shards he was supposed to maintain his balance and actually slip into the gap in the spines. This was a mess! He'd always been able to repeat anything he'd seen done just once or twice, but this was so different then preparing medicine or stitching a wound. For the first time in a long time, his steady hands failed him. He lost his balance and slid inelegantly over the dragonet's neck, letting out an undignified shout as he fell to the ground seven feet below.

Khaduceth's eyes flashed red and he cringed. Talian! he gasped, lowering himself to his belly and curling tail, neck and wing around the young man to shield him from his classmates' eyes.

Talian just laid there for a moment and sighed. He was going to have a headache for days, and not just from the fall. "I'm fine," he groaned, trying to ignore his classmates' fits of laughter.

How humbling.