Quiet Celebrations [R'nd]

He had done it.

They had done it!

T’bia leaned back on the bench he was perched on, legs sticking out under the table to balance himself, while he stared in mesmerised shock at the graduation knots he had just received from B’jin. He remembered when the greenrider had handed him his Sr. Weyrling knots, that small step in the graduation process, along with a gorgeous portrait of himself and his lovely Jycenth. A dopey grin formed on T’bia’s lips and he looked up, bright blue eyes full of tears as he suddenly leapt from the bench and threw himself first at the greenrider (completely missing the man’s shocked expression and worried stiffening) for a quick hug. He then threw himself at the various assistants’, completely aware of the way several of them laughed softly; clearly, he was not the only one that was shocked by his own graduation!

Of course we graduated, the blue’s gentle and feminine voice wrapped gently around T’bia’s mind and the boy (still grinning at their success) settled himself back in his seat, tripping over his own feet and very nearly planting his face firmly in the food he had been picking at before his knots were handed over. T’bia caught himself, not wanting to ruin his nice shirt, and smiled at one of his fellow classmates that made a laughing jab about him being clumsy. I told you we would, gently scolding amusement was lingering in the dragon’s tone, and T’bia held up the knots so the blue could peer through his own eyes to see them. Very fetching!

“Thank you, sir!” wide blue eyes flickered from B’jin, to whom his comment was aimed, to R’nd with a brilliant grin once more firmly planting itself on the young bluerider’s face. He could not believe it! He had graduated! He was officially a dragonrider! They were official! It was real! He could not wait to show his dad! T’bia’s chest swelled with pride, and the tears welled in the bottom of his eyes once more, but he was careful to blink them back before they could fall; that was all he needed! Nothing wrong with tears of joy, Bibi! Of course not! But not in public! T’bia’s thought trailed off into a nervous giggle and his attention returned to his knots; he was afraid to put them down, in case one of the men that had been training his class decided they’d made a mistake!

They had done it!

R’nd was only an unofficial and part time assistant but he was so proud of the class as a whole and one pair in particular. Everyone had worked hard to get where they were that day and despite the struggles some had had throughout the months, no one had worked harder than the dopey little blue weyrling that was now an official bluerider. T’bia may have started out being known for his question about browns and blues flying each other but R’nd knew him for a hard worker that was determined. The poor kid seemed like he had to prove himself to the entire world in his quest to graduate and it tugged at R’nd’s heart more than he ever let on. It was why after the first few classes that seemed to drag on forever that earned B’jin many pouts R’nd started to really concentrate on helping the kid.

He smiled brightly back at T’bia when he received his knots and everything they worked together on was recognized. R’nd had been excited the night before, something B’jin had noticed and poked gentle fun at but how could he not be? Their kids were graduating! The babies were growing up and so many beautiful hides had come out of it. Mine is still better than any of those other blues. R’nd couldn’t stop the snicker that his dragon’s haughty comment brought out but he agreed – mostly. Ayyonth’s hide was beautiful and absolutely perfect for them.

Once all the knots had been given out, R’nd said a few more words of congratulations to several of the class members before heading over to his favourite little bluerider.

He grabbed the vacant seat beside T’bia and made to sneakily grab the knots. “They look even better when you’re wearing them, T’bia.” R’nd was proudly wearing his own bluerider knots and couldn’t fathom why T’bia wasn’t already donning his and proudly showing them off.

A broken whimper snuck out from between suddenly pouting lips, huge blue eyes staring at where – once! – a set of beautiful bluerider knots had been resting in his hands, and were not very much gone. T’bia’s eyes welled with tears, feeling himself the butt of some huge joke as he shrank in on himself, barely finding the courage to turn his watery gaze up at R’nd, clearly heartbroken. He was oblivious to the way a classmate on the other side of the table had elbowed a mate and they were both watching with amusement. T’bia’s bottom lip trembled as he stared up at R’nd pathetically.

He barely heard the words the bluerider said; Jycenth had to repeat them for him, the dragon’s tone thick with loving amusement as he reassured his young rider that the world wasn’t going to crash around him, and that the older bluerider was attaching his knots for him! More tears attempted to join those his blue eyes were swimming behind, and toppled down his cheeks. So much for not crying in public! Shame coloured his cheeks, before T’bia hid his face by throwing himself at R’nd and burying his face in the older bluerider’s chest. He sniffled pathetically.

He is very proud of you, Bibi, Jycenth’s sweet voice wrapped around T’bia’s mind as he reassured his sweet human that R’nd really was happy for him, and had never meant anything malicious with his teasing. T’bia knew as much, but Jycenth felt that sometimes, a little extra reassurance was needed. Besides, it reassured them both when he was right all the time, and being right about obvious things helped keep both their faith in him strong.

T’bia sniffled again as he pulled back, brushing a hand over his cheek with an embarrassed swipe. His eyes were red rimmed, and his cheeks and nose were flushed, but the quiet air of pride had returned as he smiled bashfully at R’nd. Turning slightly, he poked at his food so as that he could attempt to not be so awkward. “Thank you.” He lifted his gaze, and flashed a soft smile at R’nd before quickly turning back to his food. How terrible it would have been, to have R’nd take back his knots! T’bia was not sure he would have been able to live with the shame of letting down the bluerider he idolised!

R’nd was pretty sure that was his heart breaking that he felt as he successfully acquired the knots and began attaching them to his favourite pupil. He hadn’t meant to scare the boy or upset him! In fact, R’nd thought they had gotten over the shock T’bia seemed to have every time R’nd appeared or made a sudden movement. Then again, R’nd thought he had toned down the sudden movements so the misunderstandings would vanish. He was such a bully to the poor kid!

Before an apology could come, R’nd found himself hugging T’bia as the boy clung to him. There wasn’t even a pause to consider what had happened or what he should do as arms wrapped instinctively around the sensitive young man. This wasn’t entirely uncommon given T’bia’s weyrlinghood being filled with tough moments that needed consoling as well as joyous ones that needed celebrating. They both had a habit of being touchy-feely in entirely innocent ways and the current moment was no different. He had upset T’bia and the young bluerider needed a moment to compose himself and reassure himself and R’nd was more than willing to give him all the time that was needed.

“I’m sorry, T’bia. I only wanted to see you wearing the knots to prove you would look as amazing as I always knew you would with them on.” That hadn’t always been the case. Early on, R’nd wasn’t sure the young blue pair would make it a month with their bumbling ways and the headache they sometimes caused him but they worked hard together and had so much to prove to themselves and others. It had all paid off and R’nd wanted to show off T’bia’s hard work and accomplishments to the world.

The smile was returned and R’nd let his young friend poke at his food and act like nothing was wrong for several seconds before he gave T’bia a light nudge on the arm. “I’m so proud of you, T’bia; and of Jycenth, of course. So is Ayyonth. So much so, that I’ve asked B’jin to recommend you to the wing I’m in.” R’nd’s smile grew larger at his surprise. Since he wasn’t an official assistant, he was still a member of a wing and had to attend practices regularly. There wasn’t a guarantee they would be placed together but given T’bia’s reputation and how closely R’nd had worked with him to get him to survive weyrlinghood, it only seemed logical to keep them together a little longer. He wouldn’t always be there to guide T’bia and be a safety net but R’nd wanted to be there a little longer anyway.

“It’s okay!” A bashful, but no less bright smile quickly transformed the young man’s features as he looked up at R’nd, before ducking his attention down to where his knots were now attached to his shoulder. Once more, and with much less wariness, the boy swelled with pride in himself, but most importantly, in his dragon. It was so official! They were real dragonriders! Blueriders! The best kind of rider ever! T’bia wriggled in delight where he was sitting, unable to resist petting his knots once before gasping loudly in surprise.

“Really?” Huge eyes stared up at R’nd, practically glowing with gratitude and honour at such a request. With his smile threatening to split his face, T’bia threw himself at R’nd again, wrapping the bluerider in a hug and squeezing tightly, before releasing him just as quickly. He was just about bouncing where he was sitting, excitement pouring off him in waves. Jycenth rumbled his amusement softly from where he was curled up outside, pleased by the surprise his young lifemate’s mentor had presented.

“That would be so amazing! Like-!!” words failed the teen as he brought his hands close to his chest, and then threw them out exuberantly, managing to throw his fork across the room in the process. He squeaked, expression changing in the blink of an eye to shocked horror as he spun around to make sure he hadn’t hurt anyone, and promptly fell backwards off the seat. Flailing arms grabbed at R’nd, managing to clutch onto a handful of the man’s arm and thus saving T’bia from connecting his head with the hard floor below him.

He gawked up at R’nd with his typical expression of flustered embarrassment, face hot and red and a dorky smile trying to laugh off the entire scene.

R’nd had been confident his surprise would go over well but there was still some relief when he saw T’bia light up in excitement at hearing he wasn’t about to be set aside now that he had graduated. Even if B’jin couldn’t get T’bia in his wing, R’nd wouldn’t lose touch with the boy. It was a small Weyr but he also had come to genuinely adore the young bluerider and wanted to keep him in the circle of friends he spent time with.

Even when T’bia did something awkward and slightly dangerous like tossing his fork across the room.

Grey eyes went wide as R’nd’s gaze shot in the direction the fork had gone and while he didn’t think it had hit anyone, he didn’t have a chance to verify as T’bia was suddenly flailing more than usual and grabbing him. R’nd managed not to topple over as well due to being startled and unprepared to hold up someone else and placed a hand over the one clinging to him as extra support. He smiled down at T’bia’s goofy grin and lightly shook his head in a ‘what will I do with you?’ manner but it was all in good fun.

“That might be the first time I’ve knocked someone off their feet while they’re sitting down.” R’nd’s smile turned wicked as he again teased his young friend and set about to hoisting T’bia back up and sitting in his seat. Hands quickly went to work at smoothing down T’bia’s shirt and once again checking that the knots were okay and nicely displayed. T’bia had worked hard for them and R’nd wanted everyone, every single naysayer, to see the achievement.

“And yes, really,” R’nd went back to the conversation that had caused the fuss and affirmed that he hadn’t been teasing T’bia about that. The fork that belonged to the seat he had stolen was picked up, examined, and deemed unused before R’nd set it beside T’bia’s plate. “This one is for eating; not gesturing.” A playful grin, and reassuring squeeze of the shoulder followed.

T’bia giggled, and shook his head right back at R’nd, with a playful sideways look and an upraised eyebrow before his gaze flicked pointedly towards B’jin and then back to R’nd. He radiated innocence as he let the elder bluerider hurl him back onto his seat, a winning smile flashing at the bluerider. “Are you su-u-r-re?” His voice was wheedling, teasing and full of amusement as he wiggled his fork at R’nd.

He froze mid wiggle of the fork, eyes widening dramatically in his face, and he put it down with great delicacy. Folding his hands together with great care, T’bia placed them in his lap with a frown, before turning his attention back on R’nd. A bright grin lit up his face as he, too went back to the original topic. “That would be amazing!” T’bia gushed, and unable to curb his enthusiasm for long, the boy began wriggling in his seat again. Hands once more left his lap, without T’bia even being aware of it, and he picked up the fork he’d so recently put down and stabbed up a chunk of vegetable.

“Who else is in your wing?” Excited questions bubbled forth with very little space between the words. “How often do you practice? What do you practice? Is it hard? Why? Do you learn new things? Oooh! Do you play games like we did in class? Or just get lectured? What position are you an Ayyonth? Do you like practice? What’s your favourite— ” realising he was babbling, not breathing, and probably just drowned his mentor in questions, T’bia’s face once more went red, and he shoved the forkful of vegetable in his face, ducking his head and focusing on his plate.

R’nd was used to the excitement that the young bluerider let loose at times but it still was always a surprise that left him smiling as the questions were rapid fired at him. He did his best to absorb each one since it would have been rude to overlook any and waited for the moment T’bia noticed what he had done and gave someone else a chance to talk. A hand snuck under T’bia’s chin and R’nd gently guided that adorable face to look up and back over at him again. He was far more entertaining than a dinner plate!

“A lot of my classmates actually. V’zire, Z’ia, C’vir, K’tir are there. Ravana, A’liran, D’hys,” the last name was said with a bit of a sneer though R’nd tried to keep his opinions on D’hys to himself. He especially didn’t want to sway T’bia’s opinion of anyone but he also wanted to keep the boy safe and D’hys definitely did not radiate that quality to R’nd.

What else had been asked? R’nd took a moment to go through the list and took a deep breath to return as many answers as he could. “We practice regularly but certainly not daily. Positions and working as a team are the big things we’ve focused on lately and it’s not too hard but it’s needed since it’s all about safety in the end. We sometimes learn new things but it’s best to make sure we’re amazing at the current things first. Back in R’nya’s wing we played a lot of games; not so much with T’rel in charge. We’re positioned wherever we’re needed. Ayyonth has proven to be a great dragon to have in almost any spot and I mostly like practice except when it’s ridiculously early in the morning or I miss out on something fun because of it.” A little glance was given to B’jin as R’nd tried not to pout at all the times he had to skip going to the lake or lazing in bed with the greenrider.

There was one question he couldn’t answer since T’bia never finished asking it. R’nd had been intrigued by that one the most since it just hung there between them, forever lost now that T’bia had forced himself to shut up. That didn’t mean R’nd still couldn’t tease the boy about it and he did exactly that as he playfully plucked a vegetable from T’bia’s plate. “What’s my favourite… position?” He asked with a slight emphasis on the word and quirked a brow.

He never truly thought about how he said things and that they could come across as flirtatious or inappropriate depending on whom he was speaking with. With T’bia, he treated the boy like he did Kerrin, I’shan, and even B’jin. T’bia was counted as a good friend now and flirty comments and teasing were natural. R’nd popped the swiped veggie into his mouth and waited for confirmation or denial of guess at the question.

Wide, emotional blue eyes stared up at R’nd when the bluerider gently forced T’bia to look back at him, a healthy blush covering the youngster’s cheeks. “Really?” T’bia gushed, before biting down on his bottom lip so as not to interrupt the other bluerider as he listed off some of his wingmates. Would he end up in a wing with a heap of his classmates, too? T’bia’s gaze shifted from R’nd, flickering over his fellow no-longer-weyrlings, before turning back to R’nd, completely missing the way the elder bluerider’s lip had curled at the mentioning of D’hys. T’bia was far more curious about his own fellows! He liked most of his classmates, but what would it be like to be in a wing with them? A real wing! A silly grin turned the corners of the boy’s lips up.

A naughty little giggle tumbled free from T’bia’s lips as he followed R’nd’s quick glance to B’jin and he smirked at the bluerider before using his fork to shove food in his mouth. Blue eyes danced mischievously however. Everyone and their firelizard knew how badly those two were wrapped up in each other – except those two, and even T’bia could see it! It was such fun to watch them, though! The teenager was in the process of attempting to put on an air of innocence, when R’nd’s mind was apparently further down the track with the greenrider than T’bia’s had managed to make. The youngster swallowed and breathed at the same time, choked, and ended up spitting his food back up onto his plate with a cackled of laughter.

Ignoring the disgusted look he was getting from a couple of greenriders on the other side of the table, and the way the one beside him just slid a good foot down the bench to be further away, T’bia pushed his plate (which was now home to well masticated food) away from him with another snigger. Wiping the back of his hand across his mouth, the youngster shook his head and side-eyed R’nd. “Oh, I’m sure I know,” he smirked, flickering a glance at B’jin again before lowering his voice and leaning close to R’nd. “Someone made it quite public!” Giggling again, T’bia turned his attention back upon his plate and frowned at it sadly. He wasn’t quite interested in eating what was on it, even if what was now making it disgusting was his own saliva. His nose scrunched.

“You only know a very small portion, my dear,” R’nd recovered with a smile and then crinkled his nose up as he realized why T’bia’s was scrunched with such an expression. He was thinking they needed to get up and celebrate anyway and this only served to confirm that idea.

“No more eating; it’s time to dance!” R’nd grabbed the hand closest to his and jumped up from the bench, giving T’bia a light tug to encourage the boy to find his feet and follow him. He left no room for refusal and the young bluerider even earned a pout from R’nd when he hesitated and took too long in agreeing. Dancing was fun and they had so much to celebrate! How they managed to get the boy through weyrlinghood would be the topic of conversation for some time to come but R’nd, Ayyonth, and especially Jycenth had been dedicated in the task and R’nd now felt they had the beginnings of a wonderful bluerider on their hands. Wing practices would be the next step but R’nd decided he’d worry about those later; he wanted to party that night and enjoy encouraging the boy to celebrate his current accomplishments.

Several large steps that nearly had a bounce to them brought them to an open area for dancing and R’nd smiled brightly at T’bia. R’nd easily fell into the beat and let the rhythm move him and he beckoned his friend to join in. “Let’s see your moves, T’bia.”

T’bia’s intent to tease R’nd about ‘small portions’ was lost as the bluerider suddenly stood up and started dragging him off the bench, and towards the centre floor. T’bia’s blue eyes widened quite dramatically and he leaned back, giving a gentle jerk against R’nd’s hand as the other man hauled him onwards.

“Dance?” T’bia squeaked, staring up at R’nd with blue eyes just about popping from his suddenly very pale face. It was quite the startling change from the warm red that had previously been colouring it at intervals, and made both the colour of his eyes, and his lips, stand out more on his face. It was not a particularly attractive image, but T’bia was quite unaware of that as he gaped at R’nd. “D-dance? I. B-but… Oh, okay then.”

The last was said on a sad little sigh as R’nd’s insistent tugging, with the slightly terrifying pout was aimed at him, and T’bia’s shoulders slumped slightly in depressed resignation. Not even the joyful bouncing of his mentor’s steps could brighten him, and T’bia watched with a sad pout as R’nd relaxed into the music. “I don’t have any,” T’bia sulked pathetically, watching with a worried frown as R’nd moved, while trying to keep an eye on those around them. The whole situation was a disaster just waiting to happen!

Relax, have fun, enjoy yourself! the blue’s words were comforting, but more because they came with the warmth of love and less because of what he said. T’bia’s pout increased. “I can’t dance.” He couldn’t even bring himself to the point of trying; if he could not walk without damaging either himself or someone nearby… how could he possibly ever dance? “I don’t know how.” As if saying that would convince R’nd to let him go back to his bench… T’bia’s eyes darted around, worried anxiously he’d cause a meltdown by those dancing around them.

R’nd stopped dancing and stared at T’bia. It hadn’t even occurred to him that the boy wouldn’t know how to dance. It probably should have been obvious given how hesitant T’bia was in most things but dancing was fun and it didn’t take much thought. In fact, overthinking it ended up ruining the experience. “Well, my dear, we need to fix that.” R’nd’s grin was nearly wicked as he sized up T’bia, trying to figure out the best way to get the boy moving as the song faded to a close and another one started up soon after.

Hands were placed on T’bia’s waist but instead of simply guiding the boy to start swaying to the beat, R’nd stepped around the young bluerider, his hands gliding over T’bia’s torso as he moved. He came to a stop behind T’bia and settled his hands on the boy’s waist again. Stepping in close until T’bia was nearly settled snuggly against him, R’nd gently encouraged T’bia to sway in time with him and the music. “Just move with the music, T’bia. Close your eyes and let your body find its natural rhythm.”

He’s at it again. At least T’bia should be used to R’nd’s hands on teaching method. Ayyonth drawled to Jycenth as he watched their riders try dancing together. R’nd’s actions and current position with T’bia were rather flirtatious but of course his well-meaning and entirely too friendly rider wouldn’t realize that himself. He was just being himself, helping a friend, and enjoying himself.

T’bia blinked up at R’nd when the bluerider smirked at him, a worried frown still furrowing his eyebrows. He had noticed the way R’nd had frozen in shock at his words, and he was worried about how the bluerider would respond. He should have expected the light hearted response, of course, but it still caused the young man to chew worriedly on his bottom lip before R’nd was manhandling him.

T’bia gave a startled squeak as R’nd swirled around him and then pressed up close, far more surprised than anything. Again, something he shouldn’t have been given the past year and a half that the bluerider had been around him, especially when he  had taken to helping the rather excitable teen underwing to help him graduate. Blue eyes darted to his shoulder, where the knots were still very neatly hung, and T’bia tilted his head back to frown up at R’nd.

“I have no natural rhythm!” He pointed out indignantly, eyebrows furrowed and a pout forming. Indeed, he was looking for all the world like R’nd was completely insane for even saying such a thing. How many times had he seen T’bia trip over thin air? Had he not, moments ago, just thrown a knife (or was it a fork? The boy could not remember!) across the room?

Indeed, the young blue’s light, feminine voice floated freely back to Ayyonth and was filled with laughter. Bibi is too innocent to make anything of it, Jycenth added, eyes sparkling with colours of fond amusement. Oh, one of his classmates would undoubtedly point it out to him later, and T’bia would flail most magnificently for a short period of time before Jycenth calmed him down with what had become a trusted routine. After all, if T’bia wasn’t making anything of it, and R’nd hadn’t made anything of it, why should there be anything to it?

As usual, R’nd didn’t let T’bia’s protests deter either of them from trying. It had been a bit frustrating early on but that was also due to B’jin throwing him into assisting with classes and then being unsure of what to do with the kid that needed a little extra help. Most of the time R’nd had shown up to help unofficially had been to focus solely on getting T’bia’s confidence up and to help him match pace with the rest of the class that was advancing at a quicker pace than the blue weyrling. It had been a long journey and at times it was definitely uphill but R’nd never gave up on the boy and the end result was worth it.

Dancing wasn’t a requirement for being an amazing dragonrider but R’nd liked to think a bluerider definitely needed to be able to bust out a few moves. Not only was it fun but he believed it could help in flights with making the rider light on his feet during his end of the chase. The main thing, however, was the fact that it was fun and T’bia deserved to smile and enjoy himself. “When you stop thinking about the rhythm, you’ll find it. But so long as you’re having fun, it doesn’t matter if you’re slightly off.” If the kid ever got himself drunk at a gathering, it really wouldn’t matter if he found the beat or not since he would have let loose and found the fun in everything that night anyway.

R’nd continued to guide T’bia through the remainder of the song and into the next before spinning the new bluerider around to encourage him to try more on his own. “Although, when you’re dancing with someone special, everything I just taught you will be forgotten as you move in time with them and nothing else matters.” There had been more than one occasion where he was completely wrapped up in his partner on the floor and nothing outside of that person mattered. Some of his friends liked to point out the most famous one of all at a graduation where he ended up making out with B’jin while dancing and had to be encouraged to go find a private room. Good thing B’jin hadn’t been all that sober or the greenrider may have died of embarrassment!

“One more song and then let’s go see what they have for celebratory desserts,” R’nd’s eyes twinkled with excitement at the idea. He had a weakness for sweets and hoped there would be a few varieties of cakes that he could dig into.

T’bia pouted. Couldn’t they go and find dessert now? But he did not say anything, instead puffing out a long suffering sigh and did as R’nd had asked, his face screwed up in a frown of concentration as he focused on putting his feet and arms, hips and Faranth knew what other part of himself in the right places at the right time to match R’nd. As a result, all of T’bia’s movements echoed R’nd’s, but were several beats behind him. With his face screwed up and his eyebrows furrowed, it was clear that the teen was putting far more thought and effort into his should-be-carefree dancing than he was letting go and enjoying himself, but that was the way T’bia rolled.

Unfortunately, for him – though perhaps fortunately for R’nd – T’bia’s vicious concentration on his movements meant he missed the opening to tease R’nd about his and B’jin’s unorthodox make out session a few graduations previous. By the time T’bia had processed that comment, woven between ‘hand – foot – hip, oh shit foot’, the music was fading and even T’bia knew the chance to make a teasing comeback had been lost. He shrugged; loosening stiffened shoulders as the music finally came to a halt and before R’nd could change his mind, T’bia grabbed the blueriders hand gave a hard yank towards the dessert trays.

“C’mon! Before all the good stuff is gone!” R’nd wasn’t the only one with a sweet tooth, and T’bia dropped his mentor’s hand to dart through the crowd, tripping over his own feet several times and almost falling entirely to the floor. Instead, his flailing arms grabbed a classmate around the waist and buried his face in the other man’s lower back – much to his irritation. T’bia was shoved off none too gently, but his cheerful grin and a hot flush were firmly in place and the teen bounced back to his feet and darted the last of the way to the dessert trays. Only to discover he had forgotten a plate.

Jycenth’s amusement could be felt in waves as T’bia swayed from foot to foot anxiously and stood up on tiptoes, trying to see where the plates were kept. He was going to miss out on everything because he forgot the thread-be-damned plate! Spinning around to try and get to the other side where the plates were kept, T’bia slammed heavily into R’nd’s chest with a grunt, and toppled back to land on the floor on his behind. Pouting terribly, the teen lifted his gaze to meet R’nd’s.

R’nd laughed, thoroughly enjoying himself even as toes were threatened by boots and when he was dragged off for dessert. He respected T’bia’s interest in the sweets since it seemed to match that of his own and it was a rare few that could handle the level he could. B’jin enjoyed sweets as well and that was simply one more positive in the man’s favour. As T’bia ran ahead and bounced off classmates, R’nd’s mind wandered towards setting up another dessert date with the greenrider where they sampled the collection of delicious treats he was able to procure through a smile.

With that wonderful thought in mind, R’nd grabbed a couple of plates from the end of the table and made his way over to T’bia in time to have the young bluerider slam into him and fall to the floor. R’nd held his footing, whether it was from too much time around T’bia increasing his stability or some other random factor, and frowned down at T’bia in concern before crouching down with a soft smile. “You okay, T’bia? My brother always said I had a hard head and could be a bit of a wall when I wanted to be but my sister would counter it with saying I had a soft heart so nothing else anyone said mattered.” He rarely talked about his family and it felt odd doing so then but at the same time it felt natural to give T’bia the fun tidbit of his past. The little graduate seemed to blossom a little bit more when things had a bit more of a personal touch to them than just a lecture or passing concern.

Offering a hand to T’bia while the other balanced the plates, R’nd got them both back on their feet. A quick brush to T’bia’s shoulder was given to straighten the knots and R’nd was soon flashing a larger smile and passing over a plate. “People won’t notice how many we eat if we pile up the plates and sneak off to the side.”

The pout vanished in an instant as the plates in R’nd’s hands were noticed, with the teen nearly springing to his feet as he grasped the offered hand, blinking at the words but far more interested in loading up the plate R’nd offered him, barely standing still as the bluerider brushed him off and straightened his knots. Cake! Grinning at R’nd, T’bia spun his attention back onto the tables loaded with goodies, and wove his way through the people, elbowing those that would not move so he could get closer to his prizes.

T’bia worked his way around the dessert tables with efficient speed, and returned to where R’nd had been standing but no longer was. Figuring his fellow bluerider was still loading up his own plate, T’bia shifted anxiously on the spot for several moments before Jycenth reminded him of what R’nd had said previously – sneaking off to the side! Grinning brilliantly again, T’bia bounced off to one side, carefully holding his plate with both hands lest he lose his mountain of sugary goodness. When a nice spot was found, T’bia leaned back against the wall and slid to the ground, asking Jycenth to let Ayyonth know where he was, so R’nd could join him if he wanted to.

With his legs crossed, and the loaded plate sitting delicately on his crossed ankles, T’bia stared with huge eyes down at his plate, and tried to decide which one would be the best to start with. Picking a large, sugar coated cinnamon bun, T’bia picked it up and shoved the majority of the cake in his face, looking up as he bit down, blue eyes searching to see if R’nd was going to join him once more.

R’nd watched in amusement as T’bia bounced around the table grabbing this and that, seeming like the happiest boy in the world. He wondered if he was like that when it came to dessert when he was that age. You’re still like that, Ayyonth added his two cents mildly, barely paying attention to the antics of the humans anymore as he chatted with Larrikith and some of the newly graduated dragons. R’nd laughed and shook his head knowing he was defeated before their playful fight even began. Too true, Ayyonth! I better get in there before I miss out on everything!

With almost as much enthusiasm and definitely with more interruptions from people that wanted to greet him, R’nd managed to fill his plate at last. He still wasn’t ready to find his young friend, however. A quick stop at the refreshment table produced two glasses of juice which made for quite the predicament. Eventually, R’nd settled on balancing his plate on a glass so all three items could be brought over to where Ayyonth said T’bia was waiting.

Carefully he made his way down the wall until he sat beside T’bia and both glasses were set before them. His plate was acquired and set on his lap and one glass inched a little closer to T’bia so the boy would know it was his and R’nd wasn’t simply dying of thirst. “This is a good choice. Quiet and out of the way of major foot traffic but we can still keep an eye on all of the antics,” he smiled at T’bia and then eyed two cookies, debating which to start with. When the decision was made, the cookie didn’t last long as several bites took it out and the runner up cookie soon met the same fate.

It would have been easy to pick any topic and start a conversation while they ate, but R’nd was happy with the easy silence between them that had the occasional snicker as one of them spotted a drunken rider enjoying himself too much. “Oh, I missed that one,” R’nd finally spoke as he grabbed a square from T’bia’s plate to take a bite out of. Purring his delight as he savoured the stolen bite, the square was returned and again a smile came out, this one almost sheepish. He was too used to doing such things with Kerrin, I’shan, and B’jin that it was second nature and he hadn’t stopped to think if T’bia would mind.

T’bia hurriedly swallowed the mouthful of food he had been in the process of masticating and threw a grin at R’nd when the compliment was given, the boy leaning forward to take the glass of juice with a thankful murmur before taking a sip. It was nice and cool, too, which meant someone had probably been up on the top of the mountain burying the drinks in snow for a couple hours. Not a job T’bia was envious; Katila was hot, but at least it wasn’t cold! …

T’bia blinked, frowned, pouted and then shook off the redundant thought, thankful Jycenth was not paying enough attention to him to notice it. His dragon was sweet, and very rarely poked fun at him, but sometimes he took to teasing T’bia and he was not really in the mood. Tonight was supposed to be about making him and his classmates feel grown up and mature, not like bumbling idiots! You’re not an idiot, Bibi. Relax and enjoy your food before R’nd steals it all.

“Hey!” T’bia pouted, staring up at R’nd with great big heartbroken blue eyes. “I went to great lengths to secure that!” He was still pouting, but the edge of a smile was curling the corners of his lips and there was a subtle sparkle in the pretty blue of his eyes. T’bia eyed off the piece he had been given back even as he playfully moved his plate to the other side of his lap with a smug sideways look at R’nd. “Now it’s got your spit on it.” He was clearly teasing, but he was also just as clearly slightly freaked out by that thought. Utterly virginal, T’bia had never so much as even kissed someone and the idea of swapping spit was not on a list of good things. At all.

His eyebrows furrowed and he carefully put what was left of the square on the edge of R’nd’s plate. “You can have it.” A genuine smile followed up; he was not really upset about losing the piece of sweet, but he wasn’t about to eat it now, either. It did not occur to T’bia that his actions or his words might be offensive to the friendly bluerider, and any expression that might have indicated such on R’nd’s face was missed as he turned his attention back to what was left on his plate, and then the people milling around.

“I think Weyrlingmaster B’jin is pleased to be free of us,” T’bia spoke slowly, a slight smile curling up one side of his mouth as he nodded towards the Harper stage, where B’jin was sitting on a stool. His guitar was settled across his lap, strings facing the ceiling, and he was smirking as he laughed at another greenrider, while two others were setting a ring of shot glasses around the rim of his guitar, being careful to set them where they would not slide off. “He’s going to drown himself…” T’bia sounded somewhere between awed and shocked. He had not been one to get out or stay out when Katila partied, he was, after all, just barely sixteen; as a result, he had never seen his Weyrlingmaster drink.

As B’jin started throwing back shots of Katilan spirits, T’bia took more note of the men surrounding him, and frowned slightly. “Why are they all greenriders?” Tearing his eyes away from the scene, T’bia looked up at R’nd. He was too curious about why B’jin was only hanging out with what was clearly half a dozen other greenriders, and not a mixture or blueriders or just other Weyrlingmasters, to wonder what R’nd might think about his mate getting very drunk very fast in front of his just-graduated class and without his company.

Even with the teasing tone that accompanied T’bia’s words, R’nd felt guilty when the treat he had nibbled on was placed on his plate. He had forgotten himself while with the young bluerider, growing comfortable in their friendship and forgot that T’bia wasn’t used to his quirks and possibly wouldn’t like the idea of sharing food or spit. “I’m sorry, T’bia.” His apology was genuine and R’nd resisted the urge to wrap an arm around the boy’s shoulder in a small hug or ruffle his hair. Too much contact might further bother T’bia right then. He did, however, make a note about what the square was and to ask one of his friends in the kitchen to make a batch for him so he could gift it to T’bia.

Thankful for the subject change, R’nd followed T’bia’s gaze to the stage where B’jin and some others were. “Nah, I wouldn’t say he’s pleased to be free of your class. He’ll just always be a Harper first. He enjoys teaching but he loves singing – and alcohol!” R’nd smiled fondly at that, knowing how much he loved hearing the greenrider sing as well. It had been yet another trait that young Orwind had found alluring in the perfect dragonrider that was B’jin. Even after learning bits and pieces of B’jin’s past and getting to know him better with each day, R’nd still found B’jin to be absolutely amazing and he hadn’t changed his original impression of the man.

T’bia’s question made R’nd frown. He had noticed everyone around B’jin rode green but as sad as it was, it hadn’t been something out of the ordinary either. “Well… remember the class about colourism and the unfortunate ranking of everyone? Greenriders especially tend to mingle with each other because they find their company to be safe and they all understand each other’s position.” R’nd wasn’t good at masking his emotions and the sadness in that truth reflected in his eyes as he looked away from the group down to T’bia. “I’m friends with a few of them and get along with all of them over there and I like to think I get along with all greenriders. It’s like I’ve tried to teach you; kindness and friendships don’t have to stay within your group of riders that all bonded to the same colour of dragon. They Impressed beautiful green dragons but are still men like us; still human. But not everyone thinks like that so divisions form.”

T’bia screwed his lips up, twisting them to the left as his nose scrunched up and he frowned towards where the greenriders were. “Yeah, I remember,” T’bia said slowly, his lips and nose returning to normal though the frown still furrowed his eyebrows. He clearly remembered the way B’jin danced around (in particular) the brownriders in his class. Not that T’bia didn’t, because some of them were really quite mean, but B’jin was their teacher and when the Assistants weren’t around, one of the young brownriders was especially self-righteous and down trod B’jin. Not that anyone said anything, and even then, T’bia did not dare. Faranth only knew how R’nd would have reacted to that.

T’bia puffed out a long breath. Being a dragonrider was so much harder than it looked! Even with all the information and things that had been shoved into his brain alongside Jycenth, T’bia was quite sure – especially of that moment – that he’d be learning about being a dragonrider for a very long time. It was very good that R’nd was still interested in having him tag along! He really did hope he would be assigned to the other bluerider’s wing! It would make life much, much better! “But… Why are they only greens?”

Despite what he knew, that did not explain why the other coloured riders did not join the group of greenriders. It was a social event, and he could see many other riders milling around, but the group looked as if they were in their own little world. Even when B’jin started playing the guitar and a rider on the far side of the room they were in (T’bia could not see his knots or face to know who they were) called out a song to be played,  there was the suitable response of cheers and catcalling and jeers, no one joined them and the group didn’t disperse.

They are most comfortable with their own company, love. Like you are more comfortable sitting there with R’nd than if you were with our classmates. The young dragon paused, his usually light and playful voice less buoyant than usual, but compared to the majority of other dragons, still bouncing gleefully. Unfortunately, it doesn’t help the divides between you humans, a little sigh followed that, and the dragon turned his mind from human concerns, attention returning to the conversation he was participating in with various other dragons. Dragons had no concerns for such silliness as company divided by hides!

T’bia’s nose scrunched up again as Jycenth’s thoughts and opinions bled through to him, even if the exact wording was not there. “Dragonriding is complicated,” T’bia pouted, though a light smile pulled the corner of his lips up as he reached over to steal a piece of dessert off R’nd’s plate and grin brightly at his companion. It lasted for several seconds before a naughty giggle burst free. “How did you meet them?” His head nodded slightly towards the group of greenriders, while T’bia’s eyebrows did a little jiggle to imply R’nd had known them before B’jin introduced him to his friends. He giggled again, and took another bite of the dessert.

R’nd didn’t say anything when asked about why it was only greenriders hanging out together since it was obvious by the faces T’bia was pulling that Jycenth was adding his own opinion. The following statement earned a faint smile and a nod as R’nd forgot about previous restrictions he had placed on himself and tossed an arm around his young friend. “It is but it’s also wonderful and rewarding. Look at everything you’ve accomplished in just over a turn and with a charming dragon that found something amazing in you.” R’nd had always had confidence – though it did sometimes flag under pressure of certain circumstances – but to have a dragon want him had been the ultimate form of praise in his mind.

The naughty giggle that came a moment later was a bit startling but the implications T’bia managed to shove into his question was impressive and shocking. T’bia wasn’t the sort to say such things, at least not without a blush or complete innocence as the conversation went over his head. R’nd could do nothing but laugh along with the giggles T’bia kept producing and finally nodded. “I’ve won flights with four of them in that group. Three of them I’ve been with outside of flights. One is a classmate of mine and finally, B’jin turned two of them from casual acquaintances into slightly better friends for me.” If T’bia was counting, he would have realised R’nd tallied up ten instead of the six that B’jin was surrounded by but he wanted to keep the young bluerider on his toes and wondering which men overlapped in categories.

“I’ll introduce you to a couple of them later,” R’nd teased with a naughty grin. He wouldn’t really, not in the way he was implying at least, since while they were all good guys, R’nd wasn’t sure T’bia was ready to handle any of them. If he was going to play matchmaker for his friend, he’d have to find someone a bit more gentle and patient.

T’bia was frowning down at his lap as he tried to make sense of the numbers R’nd had presented, his expression changing dramatically as he shifted through the numbers, the men and finally eyed R’nd sideways. “How many times did you count B’jin?” The greenrider in question could fit into… three? Of those categories, maybe? T’bia’s nose scrunched up and he shook his head slightly, throwing the thought to the wind as he turned hungry eyes back on his plate. So many lovely sweets!

“Wha?” T’bia, mouth full of some sweet or another, turned his head fast enough to near give himself whiplash, and gawked at R’nd. The grin on his fellow bluerider’s face was not at all reassuring and those wide eyes widened more. Choking down the mouthful he had taken and barely chewed, T’bia shook his head empathically. “Th-tha’s okay!” The idea of the introduction the expression on R’nd’s face was indicating was slightly terrifying, and the boy’s features lost a lot of their natural colour, even as a flush heated up his cheeks. How would he ever look at any of them ever again?

It was like when they had their sex ed. class and there had been all those riders (granted, mostly blue and green) and some of the men and women T’bia had learned were termed ‘flight moths’ all milling around and willing to lead off interested individuals to ‘finish the course’. He had gotten lucky (to his way of thinking) by being only fourteen at the time and no one had looked at him twice. Now though… he was a graduated dragonrider and a bluerider and what if Jycenth chased one of them? What if he chased Larrikith!? Would R’nd hate him if he did that? Oh Faranth, what if h won?!

I won’t, the dragon’s soft, sweet voice was tinged with amusement, reassurance and the quiet faith that slowly had T’bia relaxing from the brink of panic. Have faith, Bibi. I would never do anything to upset you, and nor would R’nd. He paused for a moment, wondering if he should add anything further, but T’bia was smiling again and eating once more, so Jycenth left well enough alone. His poor boy was far too eager to jump to conclusions!

“I didn’t,” R’nd replied to T’bia’s assumption that B’jin had been included in the counting. He could have added his lover in but they were discussing the men B’jin was chatting with so he was left out of the tally. The stats that were associated with B’jin were rather high and his fellow bluerider likely wouldn’t have been interested in all the details anyway. T’bia was a kind soul and his youth still left him oddly innocent despite growing up in a Weyr. Not that R’nd held it against the boy; he almost admired it. In fact, T’bia had a protector in R’nd now after all their time together in classes. He’d make sure the kid continued growing as a dragonrider and became a man that T’bia was comfortable with being. He had grown rather fond of his young friend.

That was also why his evil teasing didn’t go any further than the suggestive meeting of the greenriders. For one thing, T’bia hadn’t shown interest in anyone and R’nd wasn’t going to throw him at anyone until he was asked by T’bia to it. It would also be rude to the greenriders to assume they’d want to help out a bluerider with any needs he had and R’nd was favoured by greenriders for not being that colourist. “You know I would never do that to you, T’bia. Although, there is one over there that I think you could become friends with. Maybe later if he’s with B’jin still when I steal him away for a dance, I’ll introduce you. For friendship purposes.” R’nd was careful to stress the casualness of the meeting. He didn’t want to play matchmaker but finding a decent person to be friends with his shy friend didn’t hurt. R’nd thought about Rhaedalyn as well for someone that could get along perfectly with T’bia’s quirkiness but a goldrider was sometimes tricky to track down and chat to without a crowd or R’nya.

“Oh, assuming you still want to hang out with your old part-time assistant weyrlingmaster, that is.” The smile on his face showed he was teasing again but if T’bia really did feel awkward or smothered, R’nd would definitely head off and mingle with others. He owed a few more congratulations to graduates and he hadn’t been kidding about stealing B’jin for a dance either.

“Of course!” T’bia waved off anything else he might have said to gawk up at R’nd in surprise and slight dismay. Why wouldn’t he want to hang out with R’nd? The older bluerider was the closest thing to absolutely amazing that T’bia could think of and B’jin was okay, too, but T’bia was utterly terrified of the greenrider for reasons he didn’t quite have words for. Probably it was the man’s eccentricity; when the greenrider was as inclined to laugh happily, as he was to munch on heads, T’bia never knew what to expect! Jycenth’s soft amusement at that went over T’bia’s head, despite their close bond.

Taking his confused attention away from his amused young blue, T’bia fiddled with a piece of dried fruit as he turned wide blue eyes back on B’jin and his companions. A shy glance was given to R’nd, before the group regained T’bia’s attention. “Which one?” His voice was soft and low; T’bia himself was not quite sure if he wanted to be heard or not as he finally lifted the fruit to his lips and nibbled on it anxiously. The boy was not interested in anything more than the proposed friendship, but that was enough to make him squirm. T’bia was not overly good at making friends!

While clearly overwhelmed by the prospect of meeting someone new, T’bia finished the piece of fruit he had had in hand, and frowned worriedly at the greenrider in the centre of the little group. It looked like he had finished playing or singing (how many songs had they talked through? Any?) and was being hauled to his feet by a couple of other greenriders. “I don’t think he can stand… How will he dance?” Genuine confusion showed on T’bia’s face as he shifted his blue eyes to R’nd’s, then back to the giggling greenriders.

T’bia pouted. He did not understand at all. Being a graduated dragonrider was going to be a lot more work than weyrlinghood had, clearly! But such fun! Jycenth’s voice was filled with good cheer, and it melted T’bia’s pout into a soft smile. Maybe, he allowed.

R’nd wasn’t sure if it’d be crueler to tell T’bia which man he had in mind so he could fret about what he was like or to withhold the information so T’bia would wonder who it was. He knew his young friend would worry and overthink everything no matter which way he went and that made R’nd frown. He hadn’t meant to trap the boy in such a dilemma but he had anyway and that meant he’d have to find a way out of it or distract him.

The obvious answer was to go over and steal the greenrider for a minute to introduce a potential friend but after watching the greenriders laughing and drinking, R’nd started to think the introduction should happen on another day entirely. Besides, if he was off in his idea that they would get along, it would ruin T’bia’s night and R’nd really didn’t want to leave any sort of smudge on what should be a happy and perfect night to the new bluerider. Things should be remembered for the positive, not the negative. “I think you might be onto something with that statement. How about… I promise in the next few days when people can stand again to introduce you?”

He wrapped his arm around T’bia’s shoulder again and pulled the boy a bit closer to him, resting his head against the other bluerider’s. “And don’t you worry about dancing. There’s many styles and even when standing might be a challenge, you can still find a way to dance with someone.” R’nd had no qualms with B’jin being draped on him as they danced slowly or sensually. Even if the greenrider was more dragged around than moving in time, it would still be fun to R’nd and likely B’jin as well.

R’nd’s suggestion that they wait until the other half of the introduction was sober once more was met with a dazzling, relieved smile and T’bia nodded once in consent. The little bluerider would have followed R’nd over to the rowdy looking greens if he had insisted, but the boy was visibly relieved that such was not being asked of him. Still smiling, T’bia picked at his plate some more, choosing a new treat to chew on.

T’bia giggled quietly to himself as R’nd tugged him closer and babbled about different styles of dancing, the teen’s mind going in rather obvious directions as he glanced towards his Weyrlingmaster, and then back up at R’nd. Giggling again, around a mouthful of cake, T’bia shook his head in amusement and leaned comfortably into R’nd. Looking around the gathering, T’bia picked a rider at random, and quietly rattled off his name, dragon and current rank before picking another one out. A game that had been played to help him learn his fellow weyrfolk.

When he spotted one he didn’t recognise, T’bia paused, frowning – before squeaking softly after R’nd had started to fill in the blank and waving a hand as he excitedly filled in the rest, expression bright.