[G] [O] 744.02.03 | Anywhere But Here

It was his third day on the road. He didn't really want to go through his pack because he was sure he was just going to count up his dwindling food again and get pissed off so Ereben wasn't going to open his pack at all today. At all. He'd figure out food and water while he walked, even if it was cold. Being Holdless meant that hunger wasn't unknown to him. He was used to scrapping around for food.

Still, Ereben had his bola wrapped around his hand just in case he spotted a small wherry. He couldn't remember how far it was to the next Hold. He had purposefully avoided the ones that his father...frequented...so that he distanced himself in just another way from the long line of shit his father had done. He wanted to find somewhere new, maybe out of this area entirely, where he could start over. No past, no lineage. None of that shit.

Or he'd just starve to death or get killed by a tunnel snake.

Still beat being where he was.

Ereben looked up at the irregular cliffs nearby. He had spent most of the morning in the forest and now he was at a break in it, as the rocks were stacked like pillars trying to touch the sky. Maybe if he could climb up one high enough, he could figure out where a Hold was. Beat just wandering down a road, dodging into bushes whenever he heard others just in case it was his father's goons.

Ereben readjusted his pack. He winced as it scraped against the still-healing scars on his back. Just another reminder. Determined, he gripped the first rock and pulled himself up, ignoring the pain in his back. He'd been through worse. He could climb rocks. He wasn't going to go back. He wasn't going back.

Rock by rock, he repeated that litany against muscles that protested being used so early. About halfway up, the remaining canopy broke away. The wind playfully ran its fingers through his dark hair. Another few rocks up, he stopped, hauling himself up on a ledge, draping his arms over his knees. In the distance were the peaks of High Reaches. Wasn't there a Weyr there? Could he go there? Probably not. Dragons hated Holdless, that's what everyone said.

Ereben looked away from the peaks towards other points of possible interest. There was a clearing maybe a few miles away? Hard to tell distance. That might work. Wasn't in the direction he had come so that was another plus. There was another one much further out that might be the clearing of a Hold, might just be a small lake. Ereben scowled.

He broke his rule of the day, dug into his pack, and pulled out a piece of fruit to eat while he thought about what to do next.

T'ryn did not want to make the trip to High Reaches in place of S'far but the Weyrleader had insisted, no matter the amount of times it was pointed out he had too much to do. I believe that was the point. He might be a nuisance, but even fools have a moment of sound advice. You needed to get out and I needed to stretch my wings properly. T'ryn sighed, knowing he was utterly defeated, and patted his dragon's neck affectionately. "And here I thought you liked being a lazy lump. Bedith doesn't Fly for several months... is Cazan's pregnancy starting to bother you again?" Syrendryth didn't bother to give that an answer so T'ryn took it as the correct guess. His dragon had grown antsy and extra grumpy the last few months of the first pregnancy, though he never said why it affected him. T'ryn's personal theory was the great bronze beast couldn't be as useful as he was to Bedith when she was on the Sands and didn't like floundering or being seen as weak or an imperfect mate--or extension of one. T'ryn really wished people would believe him when he said Syrendryth wasn't so bad.

It was because of Syrendryth's silent concerns and his overall love for the dragon that T'ryn decided they should take a little longer returning to Telgar and go for a nice flight around the High Reaches. It had been a while since their sneak out sessions, and his boy really did deserve a good long stretch of the wings--and maybe some fresh air away from responsibilities would do him well as well. T'ryn had quickly dropped off the gift from S'far to A'dis, passing along the message that the High Reaches Weyrsecond was still a Telgar bronze in the older rider's heart and deserved some woodwork of love. T'ryn definitely twitched as he passed along the pun that accompanied it, but had blocked it from memory as soon as the words left his mouth so he could enjoy the carefree flight. After chatting a bit about their new positions and assurances that V'lia was still doing well with the current weyrling class and seemed excited to move to High Reaches after the graduation.

They continued to soar away from the Weyr, gliding and dipping with the currents and Syrendryth's mood. T'ryn found he really did need a chance to let go and not worry about his tasks for the day, or sneakily doing Cazan's tasks, or tending to the twins. He was taking in the beauty of the region when on one of their lower dives, T'ryn swore he saw someone eating, possibly alone. Did I hallucinate or was someone just back there on a rocky outcrop among those trees? Hallucination. That confirmed there really was someone back there. Had he actually been alone? Did he need some assistance? Not everyone needs assistance, and it doesn't always need to come from you.. He knew that... mostly. He felt he was getting better at not meddling or inserting himself into some saviour role, but he also couldn't help it and now he was simply curious.

After a little back and forth, Syrendryth finally wheeled around and slowed his speed enough that T'ryn could call out as he waved to the young man, "hello! If you're in need of a lift or anything else, we'll wait for a bit at the clearing just over there." He pointed to the spot that seemed large enough for the bronze to land and smiled before they angled for that clearing.

Ereben spotted the dragon along the horizon before it spotted him. Or at least, he thought he did. He watched the slim, metallic shape glide over the canopy like a ship over smooth water. And since the dragon was far off, Ereben didn't think about hiding himself. He just watched.

His interactions with dragonriders hadn't been pleasant. Honestly, that was because his interactions with them were because they had been called in to find the thieves that had just raided the latest Hold. Thieves like Ereben. Look, if he had been given a choice, he wouldn't have done it. But his father had been manipulating him into that shit for so long, Ereben didn't get the option to say no. So, yeah, the only thing he knew about dragons was that he had to hide from them.

So when the dragon wheeled and began coming in his direction, his stomach dropped. Shit, he had been spotted. Shit, shit, shit. Could he get down in time? Shit. He quickly shrugged on his pack and was about to take his first shift down when he heard the dragonrider say, "Hello! If you're in need of a lift or anything else, we'll wait for a bit at the clearing just over there."

Wait, what?

The dragonrider was pointing towards one of the closer clearings, some place big enough for the dragon to land in but still not too far away for Ereben to reach within a few minutes if he hurried. Should he do it? What if the dragon scented Holdless on him? Because dragons could do that, right?

The dragon had started to wheel away when impulsion grabbed Ereben and he heard himself say, "Okay!" Why had he said that? He was going to get caught! Wait, for what? He hadn't done anything wrong by climbing the rocks. He hadn't done anything wrong at all! Lately anyway. He could lie to the dragonrider, give him a different name, story, whatever. No one would know. As long as no one figured out his lie, Ereben could start over anywhere.

Even at a Weyr, if he wanted.

He nimbly descended and raced towards the clearing. His pack banged against his back painfully but the possibility of getting as far away from his father as a dragon could carry him outweighed the pain. He reached the spot, out of breath, and that's when he realized how big dragons were up close. Until that moment, he had only seen them at a distance or broken up by treetops. There was nothing small, distant, or broken about this one. His hands gripping his pack's straps, Ereben gaped.

Until finally he recovered enough brain cells to blurt out, "You mean that? You'll give me a lift somewhere?"

T'ryn removed most of his own riding gear as they waited for the young man to join them--at least, he assumed the shouted 'okay!' meant he would soon have company. Either way, he was ready to make a proper introduction or to slack off a little longer with just his dragon as they enjoyed the peace around them. Not that he really knew how to slack off, but the chance was there, and a look around the area from the ground showed a nice spot to explore or to simply sit and listen to the birdsong. His guilt would eat at him soon enough anyway.

Syrendryth sitting up straighter and staring in one direction drew T'ryn's attention before he himself heard someone approaching. He turned as the youth emerged and smiled as Syrendryth's size, or just the dragon himself, caused the usual reaction. The bronze was rather impressive, though a lot of the new clutches seemed to be growing slightly larger now. I am still among the largest, Syrendryth pointed out to his rider as he continued to stare down the new boy in silence.

Due to the reaction, T'ryn was ready to answer questions about his dragon, so he was a bit surprised when he was instead asked about the offer. He supposed he shouldn't have been. There were still some holders that didn't like the return of dragons and believed they were selfish and didn't offer anything freely, so who knew what had been taught to him? "I do and we will. If a ride helps you at all, I'm happy to offer it."

Introductions.

I was getting to it.

"And I'm T'ryn of bronze Syrendryth," T'ryn gestured to the dragon as if there were any other dragons standing with them at the same time Syrendryth reminded him, rank. T'ryn resisted sighing as he smoothly added on, no matter how weird it still was to say, "Weyrsecond of Telgar."

Ereben looked at the dragonrider only when he spoke. He was just fascinated with dragon instead of scared. Dragons may not have been huge but they were still bigger than herdbeasts and those could hurt someone easily. But maybe he should be scared? What if the dragon suddenly realized that Ereben was Holdless? What then?

Ereben scowled briefly. Well if the dragons didn't want him, fuck 'em.

When the dragonrider said that he would be happy to convey Ereben somewhere else, the boy tilted his head to side, his expression still quietly disbelieving that a dragonrider would be so...nice. And his name was T'ryn? And the dragon was Syrendryth? Wasn't it said that dragons knew their names at birth? How was that possible?

"What's a Weyrsecond?" Ereben asked. He knew what Telgar was, but not really where. Well, it was east-ish, Ereben thought. He hadn't seen a map of Pern in a long while. Not since they got kicked out of the Holds. And even then, he hadn't thought to memorize one. Now he wished he had.

After T'ryn explained his rank, Ereben drew himself up and said, "I'm Ereben. I'm..." No rank. No lineage. No destination. So where was he going to tell the dragonrider to take him? Telgar? Nah, he didn't want to go there. Where was somewhere that no one wanted to go, somewhere where his father wouldn't try to find him?

"Can you take me to High Reaches?" Ereben asked. And then, belatedly remembering some sort of etiquette (who needed etiquette when you were Holdless?), he added, "Please."

"A headache," T'ryn muttered before quickly explaining what his rank actually was and that he actually did kind of enjoy it. Being kept busy was nice and S'far wasn't the reason he was overworked and exhausted--that was all his own doing with extra tasks. He just never wanted such a rank and still grumbled about it as a default response. Not that the kid, Ereben, needed to know his life story so T'ryn had kept it brief. Besides, he was still trying to find the right balance of being friendly yet still someone to respect and he found too many personal stories started to lean toward one and not the other.

It seemed like Ereben wasn't much of a fan of personal stories anyway given the very short and to the point introduction. T'ryn decided not to press for more information. It wasn't his place to judge someone and he had several friends that were introverted and hated sharing more than they absolutely had to. He had only offered to give Ereben a ride if he needed it and that was all Ereben seemed interested in as well. No harm in giving a stranger a lift. Unless he murdered someone and you are helping him escape. T'ryn slide his gaze to his dragon briefly and then back to Ereben. I doubt he's the Weyr killer, or a killer of anyone for that matter. Stop being dramatic. You almost died. I will be dramatic and protective if I want to be.

"Syrendryth and I are happy to take you to High Reaches," T'ryn replied to Ereben as he ignored the bronze beast that was still grumbling in his mind. "Did you want the Hold or Weyr? What brings you up that way?" Syrendryth finally fell silent and shifted into the best position for a passenger to climb up him. T'ryn pointed out the spots that would assist in the climb and promised it wouldn't hurt Syrendryth either since he learned a couple of his Hold friends had been stressed over that worry for years.

As Syrendryth knelt, Ereben's jaw slightly dropped. He was...he was about to ride a dragon. Whoa. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoooaaaaaaaa. This was happening? All of his Turns alive, running from Holders who called on dragons to chase Holdless... there was a part of him that was absolutely elated with the idea of taking to the skies aboard this creature. And part of him, the part of him that was wary about everything nowadays, that said this was still a bad idea.

The dragon could always decide to just drop him in flight.

No, no, Ereben...Ereben was a decent judge of character and he didn't think this T'ryn, or his dragon, were like that. They didn't give off that vibe, the one that always itched Ereben somewhere in the back of his head when he thought someone was being distrustful. Because Ereben met a lot of those people.

"Weyr," Ereben answered. After listening to T'ryn to describe where to grab on to mount, he did so with a deftness of age and the arrogance of that same thing as well. When T'ryn asked why, Ereben paused.

And went with a lie.

"My family lives there. I was...visiting family. Other family. I don't like them much." Okay, so half of it was a lie. He _had_ been with family and he didn't like them and while someone might eventually say that young Ereben was looking to create a new family that fit him, he didn't buy into that sentimental crap.

It wasn't until he was settled between the ridges that Ereben wondered if dragons could smell lies.