The Rider's Pride - 10. Chapter 10

The day after the flight to Bitra and Ruatha, J’shon found himself restricted to the Weyr and teaching a group of the Weyr’s children.With the influx of new people to the Weyr, including new guards for the tunnel entrance, more kitchen workers, and skilled craftsmen that were needed to relieve the dragon riders of various tasks they performed during interval but would not have time to perform during Threadfall, the number of children in the Weyr had grown tremendously.Harper Warnel now had four additional teachers who handled things like figuring, writing, reading, and other topics while he focused on teaching the various age groups the appropriate Teaching Ballads.

Today and tomorrow, Warnel would travel to Igen Hold via dragon.He claimed he had need to purchase materials for the classes, and had been given a warrant for such supplies he needed by the Weyrleader. Igen and Keroon would now honor the warrants as part of their dutiful tithes to the Weyr.

“It is just a fragment of a record, really, but it is among the oldest in Harper Hall.” J’shon said to the class of eight children in the ten to twelve turn age range.Liliath’s condition was now growing obvious to everyone in the Weyr, and J’shon was feeling like everyone was watching him closely, especially several of the blue riders, and it made him even more nervous than usual. “The record says: When man came to Pern, he established a good hold in the South, but moved north to shield.”

“Then why don’t we still have holds in the south?” One of the twelve-turn boys asked with a frown. He was a smart lad.His mother was one of the new Journeyman Healers that had come to the Weyr. The Weyrs had all been requesting the Healing Hall to send more Healers to them in anticipation of Thread-related injuries to both dragon and rider.

“Because of the plague, silly.” One of the younger girls said with a little too much scorn in her voice. The boy frowned at her.

“Enough of that, Poma, Damonel.” J’shon settled them down with a voice perhaps a little sharper than needed. He was being peevish, he knew, but he tried to hold it in.“It is a valid question, and you’re right that the plague has something to do with why we now do not go to Southern Continent.What little we know about Southern is that it does not have caves like the North does. Wherever you go in the Northern Continent, with the exception of the desert to the west of Igen Weyr itself, you will find many caves.Even during Threadfall it is possible to travel from hold to another by using the many caves as shelter during Fall.Right now, holders all across the Northern Continent are preparing supply drops in the best of these caves so Traders and others will be able to make the journey on the ground.Southern does not have this system of caves to protect its people, which is probably the meaning of the phrase ”to shield” in that old record.”

“But why don’t we at least hunt or gather fruit down there during the interval?” The same boy, Damonel asked. “Mother says Healer Hall’s records reference many trips down there before the last Pass to gather numbweed, fellis, and many other medications.”

“As Poma said, the plague at the end of the last Pass made the Southern Continent off limits to everyone.” J’shon answered the question.“We know it was a sea captain pulling into a Southern Harbor that first caught the plague from one of the spotted cats that infest the continent. He brought it back to Keroon, and from there it spread across the Northern Continent like wildfire.Harper Hall, and Healer Hall, records all suggest that nearly a third of Pern died in that plague, including dozens of riders and their dragons. Would you really want to risk so many thousands of people dying, and so many dragonriders ill, just to collect some numbweed?”

“No.” Damonel said sourly. J’shon picked up his gitar and smiled at the boy, and the rest of the class.

“Now, since we were talking about the plague, let’s go over Moreta’s Last Ride again.” J’shon said as he began to pluck the first few notes of the ballad.When he began singing, they joined in with various levels of enthusiasm. It wasn’t the easiest of ballads to sing, which was why they were just now learning it in class. Warnel wanted to have them sing it before the Weyr after dinner in a few weeks.

In the afternoon, after he had worked with the students in rehearsing the Moreta ballad, he was surprised by a visit from his mother.Serece had arrived on Sharth, with his brother smiling as he helped their mother down. Their father had run up a message banner at Kapian hold, and had asked that Serece be given transport to Keroon in order to interview four drudges that might be hired for the Whitestone Hold staff. Serece, whose own dreams had once included having a relatively large hold, and who had put those dreams off to follow her husband’s, had already fallen in love with Whitestone. Kapian, having resigned himself to giving up his own dream, was taking solace in fulfilling his wife’s delayed dreams now.He had the marks from the successful harvests of Kapian to do it, and now wanted to repay her for her turns of toil following his dream.

K’mer had been assigned to run Serece to Keroon, largely because H’mal knew that their father would be hard-pressed to force his own son into accepting payment for the dragon ride. On the way back, K’mer had talked Serece into stopping by the Weyr to say hello to J’shon.

“You look good, son.” She said to J’shon after they had hugged in greeting.She had to crane her neck now to look at his face.“You’ve grown so much in the last turn!”

“So has K’mer.” J’shon said with embarrassment. Yes, he had grown a lot, and while K’mer had also grown, it had not been nearly as much as J’shon.

“Both my boys are making me so proud.” She practically shined with the pride she was feeling. “Where is Liliath?”

“She’s on her ledge, sleeping in the sun.” J’shon said with a smile, pointing up to where his green was asleep.

“Do you think we could see your weyr?” She asked in a little hushed voice.“I would like to see where both my sons live.”

“Sharth will be happy to take us.” K’mer said.

“I’ll use one of the weyrlings so we don’t overload him.” J’shon said and moved off before his brother could protest. Liliath had been looking at Sharth again this morning, and her comments were making him uncomfortable. Besides, he just felt safer on the green weyrling he rode up to his weyr.Sharth landed a moment later, barely disturbing the sleeping Liliath whose tail was twitching in front of her nose.

J’shon laughed remembering how Melodeth had woken half the weyr last night with her alarmed bugles. While she’d been dreaming, her tail twitched, hitting her in the flank.The little twitchy green had woken in a tizzy believing a tunnel snake had tried to attack her.

“My she’s practically glowing today.” Serece said with a fond smile as she slid off Sharth and looked at Liliath.

“J’shon takes good care of her.” K’mer said instantly, and J’shon breathed a sigh of relief when it appeared his mother didn’t understand the meaning of her color.

“Now you share this weyr?” Their mother asked as she noted the two dragon perches.They were really just stone raised above the level of the floor, and with several hides and furs covering them.

“Yes, with B’rrel.” J’shon said. “His dragon, Ojeth, is the other brown that visited both Kapian and Whitestone.”

“I do remember him.” His mother said firmly. “A fine-looking young man.”

“His room’s the one on the left.” J’shon said quickly, not liking the implication in his mother’s voice. It wasn’t that she had any hint of disapproval in it, just that she might be thinking he and B’rrel were…

“Then let’s take a look at yours.” His mother said and opened the door on the right.She seemed generally satisfied, although she didn’t like some of the tapestries. J’shon had picked them more because they were thick and colorful than actually pretty or nice to look at. The gray/black stone left the weyr looking a little drab for his tastes.“We really will have to do something about these tapestries.”

“Mother, there’s plenty in Stores” J’shon began to say plaintively, but she shushed him with a waggle of her finger.

“We have a long winter ahead of us, J’shon, and the women folk in the new hold will need something to work on besides cleaning and organizing that place.” She told her sons. “Your father is already hiring several wood workers and joiners to repair whatever furniture is there that is not totally ruined, and to make new furniture.Lord Bisal has been quite generous in helping us restore Whitestone to its full glory. I do believe that is why the previous attempts to hold there have failed.They did just what was necessary to survive with no glimpse of the big picture or care for the proud history of the hold. We will not make that mistake.”

“How long until father moves there?” J’shon asked her.

“Not for another two or three months.” She replied. “We are having the best crop of everything we grow, and the mares and female herdbeasts are dropping foals and calves like crazy.We will want the young to be as old as possible before we move them across the plains, and we will want to harvest as much as possible.Your father is sending Bevan and a few others to work with those hired at Keroon to work on Whitestone.There is a room on the first floor, behind the bestiary where we can keep saplings and our best crop seeds in planters until spring comes again.It is a large, warm room with the most amazing shafts that bring in the light without providing an opening for Thread to fall through. They can be shut during Threadfall with the pull of a lever!It had to be oiled, but once it was, they work just fine.”

“It sounds like Whitestone really is a nice place.” J’shon said as Liliath stirred on her ledge.

Is that your mother? She asked as she opened one eye.

Yes it is.He replied silently.

Tell her I greet her. Liliath said before closing her eye and going back to sleep.

“Liliath greets you, but she’s asleep again.” J’shon said with a laugh.

“I do like your new home, my son.” Serece said as they walked back out onto the ledge.She stood there, looking over the expanse of the Weyr with an odd look on her face.The newest class of Weyrlings were doing Ground Drills, moving in formations of three across the center of the bowl.The Tanner and his three new apprentices were cleaning and hanging several new hides. The smell of fresh bread baking and meat roasting came from the kitchens, while the herdsman inspected several of the most recent arrivals from a tithe train. Over in another part of the bowl, several of the new guards were exercising while about a dozen dragons lounged on the sands near the weyr lake.It was an almost idyllic scene, and once again J’shon felt awed by the fact that he lived here, and was a part of this place.“Has there been any more movement?”

“It’s almost seemed to stop.” K’mer answered her question while J’shon’s eyes traveled to the Star Stones.The Red Star was just growing visible as the afternoon stretched to evening.In the last few days its progress towards the Dragon’s Eye had slowed, and J’shon had privately begun to wonder again if his father had been right. Maybe they would have another Long Interval if the Red Star was never bracketed by the Dragon’s Eye.

“Now wouldn’t that just be irony at its best!” Serece laughed.“Your father grows convinced he was wrong and gives up his beloved hold only to discover that he was right after all!”

“That’s not funny mother!” J’shon snapped irritably.

“J’shon!” His mother was not smiling at that.

“Forgive him, mother, Liliath’s been proddy today.” K’mer said quickly and then his eyes widened.

“Thanks, brother.” J’shon snarled and stomped back into his weyr, heading towards his own room.

“It was only a matter of time.” He could hear his mother’s voice say softly. Sharth appeared shortly and K’mer took their mother off. J’shon was glad to be rid of them.

Can we go and wash in the lake? Liliath asked him fifteen minutes later and he got up with a sigh, changing into a light pair of breeches and a loose top that he’d take off before getting in the water. A few minutes later she glided into a landing in the middle of the lake with him still on her back. She’d flat out refused to land on the beach where the newest group of weyrlings were splashing into the water and raising a ruckus.

By the time he was done washing her, several other riders had returned from sweep rides and were now washing their dragons as well.Most of them were five or ten turns older than J’shon, but they tried to engage him in conversation. He brushed them off, barely remembering to be polite because he was growing irritated by the running commentary from Liliath about their dragons.

It felt like she was trying to get him to tell her which of their riders he might like.

I know you do not like this. She said softly from the beach where she was soaking up the warm sunlight.It was a mild summer, without the stifling heat of last turn. You are not ready.Tabath says I can try to keep it from happening.It is uncomfortable, but if you are not ready…

“Don’t you dare.” He growled at her. “I’ll deal with it when it comes.”

What about Abarth? She asked him suddenly.He is a fine, strong blue.

“He’s nice enough, I guess.” He said with a resigned sigh as he curled up against her and closed his own eyes.When he opened them again, the sun was setting below the rim of the Weyr, and the sands by the lake were all but deserted.Tabath and her rider were the only dragons near them.

“We should hurry if we wish to eat dinner!” S’flin called out to him when the other green rider noticed he was awake.

“I don’t think I’m hungry.” J’shon muttered before climbing on Liliath’s back for the short flight to their weyr. Ojeth was not there, and B’rrel was probably at dinner, so he went into his room and found his gitar. He was in a melancholy mood and so he strummed some of the sadder songs he knew while humming along.

Tabath and her rider are here. Liliath said nearly an hour later.They bring you some food.You should eat.

“Tell them to go away.” J’shon muttered.

I can’t. Liliath said with a hint of shame. Zoeth says Tabath’s rider should see you and you should eat.

J’shon cursed to himself and put away the gitar. If a gold dragon told Liliath to do something, he knew she would no matter what he might say. The fact that a gold had even bothered to put her nose in their affairs made him feel offended.

“J’shon?” That was S’flin’s voice and he let out a sigh before getting up from where he had been sitting on the edge of his bed and opened the door to the front of the weyr.

“I’m here.” J’shon said with a heavy sigh. The weyr was filling with the scent of roasted meat on a tray melding with the usual scents of dragon, oil, and hide that was most common.

“You need to eat.” The older green rider said with a stern look.He put the tray down on the round table across from the couch where he and B’rrel usually played a game of cards or would work on their riding straps or other such nonsense. Where was B’rrel anyway?Wasn’t he supposed to be J’shon’s friend?“Don’t give me any excuses about not being hungry either.We both know Liliath is going to rise soon, and unless you want to upset her, you need to take care of yourself.”

“If you insist.” J’shon muttered and sat down at the table, removing the cover from the tray.It was mostly a pile of roasted meat, greens, boiled tubers, and several chunks of the delicious sweet bread the new baker’s assistant was good at preparing. There was also a mug of klah, and to his surprise S’flin produced a bottle of wine. “What’s that for?”

“We’re going to get drunk after you eat.” S’flin told him and J’shon shook his head.

“You should share it with B’rrel.” J’shon said. “I don’t like drinking.”

“Trust me, this is one time to make an exception.” S’flin said.“You’re wound up tighter than a holder stuck out in Threadfall.You need to relax or Liliath is going to be snapping at everyone in the morning.”

“I don’t want that to happen just because I can’t…” J’shon’s voice drifted off and he took a bite of food instead of finishing his sentence.S’flin produced two small goblets and poured the Tillek red wine into them.

“You aren’t the first holder lad to come to the Weyr, Impress a green, and not really be comfortable with this aspect of being a rider.” S’flin said as he picked up his goblet and downed it in a gulp. If it had been a Benden wine, J’shon would have objected to such treatment of alcohol, but this was a Tillek. When he took a sip he grimaced at the harshness and decided tossing it back quickly was the best course of action.S’flin refilled his goblet as soon as he set it down.

“I know.” J’shon said disgustedly. “They covered green mating flights during Weyrling training, you know.”

“Yes, and there’s more to it than what they teach you then.” S’flin said calmly while his eyes urged J’shon to eat more. Instead, the young rider pushed the platter away and took another gulp of the harsh wine. This time he refilled his own goblet before S’flin could reach for the bottle.

“So you’re here to give me the lecture like K’tor did for N’sor.” J’shon muttered as he began to feel the effects of the wine.

“No, I’m here to talk with you, green rider to green rider.” S’flin said softly.“I consider you a friend, J’shon.”

“Why?” J’shon muttered, giving voice finally to doubts he’d never really even acknowledged before. “Why me?I would have been happy you know, to stay at my father’s hold.I never really wanted to come here!”

You don’t want me? The hurt and alarm in Liliath’s voice broke through the slightly dizzy feeling and J’shon paled.

“No!Liliath! I do want you.” He nearly shouted and S’flin reached out to put a hand on J’shon’s.J’shon flinched at the touch and S’flin pulled back his hand. Liliath, dear, I do want you.I just don’t know what I’m saying.

“J’shon.” S’flin’s quiet voice dragged his attention back to the older green rider.S’flin was older than J’shon, but he was still young, in his early twenties. “Can you really say you would have led a happy life in a hold? Forgive me if this offends, but it is general knowledge in the Weyr that your father’s opinions have played a major role in shaping your outlook on life.To his credit, he has raised sons who know their duties, and who respect the Weyrs – but in other ways, they have harmed you especially.”

“Why?Because I’ve never looked at a girl the way my brothers, even K’mer does?” J’shon muttered before downing more wine.

“There are young men like us in all the holds and halls of Pern, not just in the Weyrs.” S’flin said softly as he took a swig of his own wine.“I grew up in a mountain hold above Lemos.My father was so proud when I was Searched, but after Tabath Impressed me, he would have nothing further to do with me.He said he would have no son who would be a ‘filthy green rider’.I have not heard from him or any of my family since then and that was nearly eight turns ago.”

“So you’re happy you’re here.” J’shon muttered.

“Yes, I am.” S’flin agreed with a strange look in his eyes.“Being a green rider does not make us the way we are, J’shon.We are green riders in part because this is a part of us already when we stood on the Hatching Ground.Tell me honestly, was there a girl back at Kapian Hold that you were interested in?”

“Ilena was interested in me.” J’shon said defensively.

“But were you interested in her?” S’flin pushed and J’shon gulped down more wine.The dizzy feeling helped him distance the pain he was feeling and he let out a sigh.

“No, I wasn’t.” J’shon admitted. “K’mer was.”

“Did any girl catch your eye?” S’flin asked again.

“No, but there weren’t many of them at the Hold, you know.” J’shon muttered.

“You went to Gathers, I know.” S’flin pointed out and J’shon shrugged.

“Not the turn before I came to the Weyr.” J’shon muttered.“My brothers were talking about introducing me to… well… you know the type of woman. They were all excited about it, but I didn’t want to embarrass them.”

“So you knew, even then.” S’flin asked with sympathy and J’shon nodded.

“I… I had never really heard anything about… boys liking boys except as dirty jokes.” J’shon admitted. “For some reason I thought greens were neuter, really. I took the fact that they were infertile too mean that they didn’t rise, or mate.”

“Now that would be disastrous for the Weyr.” S’flin chuckled.

“Why?” J’shon muttered. “Wouldn’t it just be better if they didn’t rise and force their riders to mate with someone?”

“J’shon, do you really think Liliath would make you mate with someone you didn’t like?” S’flin’s voice held an edge of scorn at the idea.“She’s probably told you numerous times she’ll push back the urge to mate. They can do it you know, if they’re injured or there’s Threadfall usually, but if they wait too long to give in to the mating urges, it really messes them up.”

“I know, and I’ve told her not to do that.” J’shon muttered irritably.

“Good.” S’flin said as he poured more wine for J’shon.“Think about it J’shon. If only gold dragons rose to mate, there would be a lot of frustrated dragons in the weyr.Male dragons of all colors have sexual appetites.Even if they don’t catch whatever dragon is rising, the mere act of attempting to catch her gives them sexual release.Our dragons broadcast their feelings too, and if its strong enough it will affect even non-riders.What would it be like in a Weyr where every male dragon except the bronzes were sexually frustrated?”

“It would be awful.” J’shon admitted after his sluggish mind worked through the problem being posed by S’flin.“Still, why does it have to be us?”

“Because we’re naturally inclined for the roles the nature of our dragon’s give us in mating flights.” S’flin said softly.

“But I don’t want to be…” J’shon muttered and realized how childish that was.He knew his father hadn’t really been ashamed of him when he Impressed Liliath. Sure, it made Kapian a little uncomfortable, but he hadn’t come close to rejecting J’shon the way S’flin’s father had rejected him, and Kapian probably knew better than J’shon exactly what it meant.

“You can teach a dragon to swim, J’shon, but you can’t teach a fish to fly.” S’flin said softly and J’shon gulped down a little more wine while running the phrase over in his mind.

“Where’s B’rrel?” J’shon asked to change the topic.

“He’s in one of the ground weyrs for the night.” S’flin said softly.“Ojeth is not quite mature enough yet and being around Liliath this close to her rising might challenge him to try and fly her even though he’s really too young. The male dragons mature just a little bit slower than us greens.”

“Good.” J’shon murmured.

“You wouldn’t want Ojeth to fly Liliath?” S’flin asked softly.“I thought you and B’rrel were close?”

“I don’t want to ruin my friendship with him.” J’shon murmured.“I’m resigned to… the act of mating because of the flight, but I have no intentions of doing anything with someone when she’s not rising.I wouldn’t want B’rrel to get upset if I refused him after a flight. I’m not interested in a weyrmate the way you and D’kov are weyrmates.”

“Most green riders don’t become weyrmates with whoever flies their dragon, you know.” S’flin said and J’shon reacted with surprise at the news.

“What do you mean?” J’shon asked.

“Being weyrmates, or mating with someone isn’t like what you’re use to from a hold.” S’flin’s voice was very patient. “Being weyrmates, or mating with someone in a flight isn’t like marriage in the holds. There’s no implied commitment involved, unless you’re weyrmates and even then, if being weyrmates no longer suits one of you, you move into your own weyr.Sometimes there are fights over that, but not often.At worst, the former weyrmates give each other the cold shoulder, and if they are in the same wing, one of them will transfer to another wing if there’s real animosity.This is not a hold, J’shon, this is a weyr.The first, most important love in our life is our dragon. If there’s enough room in our hearts for another person, we usually fit them in, but for each and every one of us, our dragons must always come first. Everything in the Weyr is designed to support that outlook on life.”

“I… I knew the words, but I don’t think I ever quite understood it like that.” J’shon murmured, slurring his words slightly.

“Let’s get you to bed.” “S’flin said softly, and he matched words to actions by helping J’shon to his bed. “Sleep well, green rider. Tomorrow you’ll understand a lot better.”

The next morning, J’shon woke with a headache and a sour stomach.Liliath had another patch of skin that was flaking and was absolutely irritated in her tone. He arrived at breakfast late, but was quickly offered a seat between S’flin and another of his wing’s green riders.He tried to ignore the looks from several of the blue and brown riders, but failed utterly.

Their attention just made him more irritable, and he left his porridge half-eaten before getting ready for the morning’s classes. He gave up and dismissed the class an hour before the afternoon meal because he couldn’t concentrate on the Teaching Ballads at all.Liliath was constantly grousing in his head.It was too cool on her ledge, or it was too hot.The weyrlings were making too much noise and then things were too quiet.

He skipped lunch altogether, and instead curled up with Liliath on her ledge for a nap.

I am beautiful, am I not? Liliath’s voice woke him from his nap, and a quick look at the sun told him it was approaching late afternoon.His head felt clearer than it had all day, and his body felt like he was flying through a thunderstorm cloud and lightning was nearby.He looked at Liliath and smiled.

My love, you have never been more beautiful. He thought to her in all honesty.Her hide was practically glowing, its dark green color catching the sun’s rays and shining with the reflected light.She lifted her long neck and bugled out a challenge to the Weyr, and J’shon lifted his voice in a welcoming shout, totally overtaken by the feelings he was getting from her.

His worries, his fears tried to struggle up, but there was no room for them in his mind as an answering bugle sounded from somewhere else in the Weyr.There should have been more, he thought as he noticed Liliath’s eyes were red and spinning rapidly.With another trumpeting challenge, she launched herself off the ledge of their weyr and took to the sky.

Watch me fly! She roared in his mind as her wings beat quickly to give her more altitude. She was one of the fastest dragons in the Weyr, and was proving it as she climbed higher and higher, craning her neck back to see who followed her.J’shon felt another breeze as a blue blur hovered over the ledge and a single rider slid from the dragon’s back to land near J’shon.He barely noticed it though, as he joined his dragon in feeling slighted by the fact that no blue or brown had risen.The wind of another dragon approaching jostled him again, but he was not paying attention as he looked through his dragon’s eyes.

Dragons had multi-faceted eyes, and a vision that covered almost the entire sky.As Liliath dove and turned over the Weyr, trumpeting another challenge he saw the blue taking off from the ledge and a brown just dropping his rider off. J’shon realized he was lost now in his dragon’s mind, and shared the thrumming hotness of her blood, the desire to fly and to see who was worthy of her/him.Part of him knew there were two riders on the ledge with him, looking at him in eyes that showed their desire, but he ignored them as insignificant compared to the importance of their dragons.

Only two males rose to chase her, but if that was all that would try to fly with her, she’d make sure they had to work hard to catch her.The blue was already closing on her, and she pulled out of her dive, beating her wings with a fury at the insult.She was beautiful and should have more, far more dragons chasing her!

It was a beautiful warm day as she caught a warm thermal current rising off of the desert to the west of the Weyr. The blue and brown chasing her were working hard, but couldn’t quite catch her. Their riders reached out to touch her rider, but he wiggled out of their grasp even as she twisted and turned to keep the two dragons from closing the distance.The brown caught a strong thermal and rose quickly after her while the blue used the same thermal she was using.

With a bugling laugh, she slipped out of the warm thermal and dove between the two dragons, teasing them with her closeness. The brown dove after her, leaving his warmer and faster rising thermal, but with a turn and four strong beats of her wing, she claimed the current and began to rise quicker than the brown could catch her.Browns were not as maneuverable as greens, and he took longer to get back into the current. She trumpeted her laughter at the foolish young brown as her rider slipped further back into their weyr, eluding both the brown and blue rider.

The blue dragon caught her while she was still laughing at the brown, just as his rider also caught hers. She screamed in fury for a moment until his neck twined with hers, and they came together in a glorious moment. This was the moment she’d craved for days, when she had flown hard and found a dragon worthy of catching her, and her fury turned into a burning passion for more contact with this wily blue.

J’shon was lost in his dragon’s feelings, but he still retained some awareness of where he was. He knew the brown rider was his brother, K’mer and while part of him wondered why his brother would be here, now, and part of him worried if Sharth was old enough, another part didn’t care. His brother was handsome, as was his dragon, but his desire to tease his brother was what contributed to Liliath’s maneuver up above them. Like her, he slipped between the two riders, his brother and D’kov, the man who had brought him to the Weyr, the man who was S’flin’s weyrmate.He made it almost to his own room before D’kov caught him in his arms the way his dragon had just caught Liliath.The man’s mouth on his brushed away his scream of outrage, and as his dragon joined with the blue Aliarth, he surrendered into the older rider’s arms.

D’kov carried him into the bedroom, stripping their clothes off as they went, as their dragons plummeted from the heights outside. In that glorious moment where the flight of the dragons above them was consummated, so too was the passion J’shon had been filled with since he had awoken.

As Liliath and Aliarth separated before they hit the ground, D’kov pulled J’shon tight against his chest, running his hands through J’shon’s short, dark hair.He murmured something before his eyes closed and he fell rapidly asleep, drained from the experience.

J’shon laid there for a moment, following how Liliath returned to her ledge, and settled down under the protective wing of the mature blue dragon that had just flown them.He didn’t know where Sharth or K’mer had gone, but he knew riders of dragons that didn’t win the flight usually took consolation with some other willing rider or weyrfolk from the Lower Caverns.

Instead of worrying about it, or feeling disgusted, J’shon was happily surprised to realize he felt content, and the most at peace he’d ever felt in the Weyr.He had worried so much about this event, and instead of being scary, disgusting, or even just painful, it had been wonderful.No matter what anyone else said after this, he knew that what had happened was just a part of life in the weyr, and he was a dragon rider, so it was part of his life.

An enjoyable part, he accepted as he snuggled against D’kov’s warm, furry chest and settled into sleep even as his dragon was doing the same under Aliarth’s wing.