[SRP]As the Red Star Turns: Turnover Special(Le’x/Emo/Kar)

[Teiha]

Le’x/Kratoth

Though he was rarely out of sight of his dragon, Le’x never got tired of looking at him. Kratoth, at seven months of age, was immense. He was nearing thirty feet of husky brawn, and built like a splendid draft runner. His hide, the color of klah with copious amounts of cream and froth, was just beautiful to behold. But not to wash and oil, there being so much of it now. Le’x was thankful that Kratoth’s growth had slowed down a great deal, and those jobs needed less and less doing… especially in the dead of winter. It was the eve of Turn’s End, and Le’x was spending it with his dragon in the barracks, smoothing the few small dry patches of the brown’s hide with warm oil.

Kratoth was enjoying the pampering, but he knew that today was considered a special day for the humans. The fact that his human wasn’t participating bothered him. Most of the other weyrlings had gone to the modest celebration put on by High Reaches, since they weren’t allowed to go to the big gather at Tillek, but Le’x hadn’t shown much interest. Why haven’t you gone to the Turnover celebration with the others? The dragon sensed part of his rider’s answer before it came.

He was sad.

“We can’t go to Tillek.”

Why does that matter, Le’x? We can celebrate with our clutchmates here!

The boy looked up into his dragon’s whirling eyes, but didn’t say anything. Just another wave of sadness, and another brush with oiled fingers.


Emori/Inannath

Emori was celebrating Turn’s End with a tiny green dragon, a slightly larger glass of wine, and a rapidly-growing pile of crumpled parchment. When she ran out of parchment, she picked up one of the crumpled ones, flattened it as best she could, and started writing on the other side. She was already tipsy at this point, and when her hand slipped, etching a deep, dark line through the parchment and onto her desk, she threw her face down on it and sobbed like the actress she’d been before getting drafted into a fighting wing.

Inannath idly watched her rider’s strange solo performance with contented green and blue in her eyes. The dramatics, in one form or another, were a near-daily occurrence, usually in the quiet time before bed. With noisy, inebriated sniffling, Emori got up and went to the hearth, where a firelizard egg was ensconced in a nest of warm woolen socks. She knelt and petted the egg, a soft look leaking in through the tears. Then it was gone, replaced by indignant surprise as Inannath laughed at her. “What is so funny?!” she snarled.

Firstly, my darling, you are drunk, Inannath chortled. And secondly, at this rate that egg is going to hatch before you even give it to him. Perhaps this should be the subject of your Turnover resolution?

The woman’s first response was to slur something unintelligible, though clearly meant to be unsafe for young ears. She endured another burst of draconic laughter as her reward, then huffed out an exaggerated sigh. Okay, maybe you’re right. I… I’ll do it. Right now. With that, she carefully slipped the egg into one of the socks and tucked it into the pouch on her belt. Then the pair went went out to their ledge and took off, the green dragon belting out a gleeful trill as they headed for the very place she’d been trying to get Emori to go for months.


Karone

There was yet another at High Reaches who shunned the celebrations that night. In fact, he’d snapped at the candidates who tried to get him to go to Tillek a few hours before. He’d been doing that more and more lately. Snapping, that is. It was the frustration talking. For seven months Karone had been trying to reconcile with a lot of things, not the least of which was that the only real family he had within reach… was no longer reachable. Not like he used to be, anyway.

Since Lenix Impressed, Karone had been trying to come up with a plan for his life, should the dragons continue to reject him. It was so easy before Thread. He had known who he was. He was the son of Lord Holder Dusiph, practiced in the ways of his father who would someday bequeath him a little cothold of his own. There was a freedom in knowing. And now, as a candidate, he was little more than a glorified drudge, while Lenix… Le’x, rather… was learning to be a dragon rider. More recently, the comfort of his father’s letters, irritating and nosy as they could be, was also taken away. Dusiph’s mental health had vastly improved, he’d been told, but the man’s mind was still frail, and meditating on what he’d lost—including his son lost to dragon Search—could upset that fragile balance. So the letters he received nowadays were often just updates on his father’s status from staff at Healer Hall.

In short—Karone was lonely. He lay on his stomach on his cot with his elbows and chin resting on his pillow, fondly remembering the days before Thread, when he and Lenix were inseparable. Did that really have to change, just because Len was a rider? The weyrlings were graduating soon, would have their own quarters… So Len would be in charge of his own life again, right? Could they reconnect, and have days like the old times?

Suddenly, he needed to find out the answer. To know if he’d be getting his cousin back. The weyrlings were confined to High Reaches tonight, he was certain. So off he went to find Le’x.  

[Teiha]

Le’x/Kratoth

Enough oil, Le’x. Tell me what is bothering you. Kratoth held up a paw, barring his rider from making further ministrations.

Le’x knew better than to try to fool Kratoth. If the dragon really wanted to, he could just pull the answer from his rider’s mind. But he respected and valued Le’x’s personal sovereignty in a way that no one else ever had.

“Well… I miss Kar.”

The brown was a bit unsubtle with the wink of yellow that shot through his eyes, but it wasn’t surprising. Early on, Kratoth had encouraged their friendship, and even spoke directly to Karone a few times to try and help him as he struggled with where he was in life. But the two boys were set in their ways, both in the manner they treated each other and what they expected from the world. Kratoth had gotten fed up with what he saw as a sense of entitlement in the Lord Holder’s son, and a servile tendency in his own rider that seemed to crop up most often in Karone’s presence.

A dragon’s and his rider’s minds are completely linked; emotions are shared, repeated, and enhanced, particularly when the dragon feels very strongly about something. So some of the separation that had occurred between Le’x and Karone was actually more Kratoth’s doing than V’mel’s. As Le’x grew with Kratoth, he learned to tell the difference between his own feelings and his dragon’s. And he began to realize how much he missed his cousin, who’d been as close as a brother since they were babes.

That’s why you wanted to go to Tillek. To see Karone at the gather.

Le’x nodded miserably. He was about to say something else when there was a knock at the door. It creaked open a moment later to reveal a rider pair who were decidedly not their roommates.


Emori/Inannath

It was pale, black-haired Emori who peered in at the boy and his brown, fighting with everything she could give not to tremble with the terror she felt at finally meeting them face to face. Inannath’s nose nudged between her shoulderblades, the perky green sending burst after burst of love and support. Oh, Faranth, that brown was huge. Still just a weyrling, and he already dwarfed green Inannath.

“Uhhh… Can I help you find something?” the boy asked. He was standing now, his back towards his dragon, those big brown eyes quite wide at the sight of the tipsy woman in his doorway. Even with the rigors of weyrling training, or perhaps because of them, he was the very picture of health. Tall, broad of shoulder, chest and thigh, a head of thick brown hair, and though naturally pale, he was not wan. She found him beautiful.

Faranth! He’s perfect! she gushed to Inannath, leaning heavily against the doorframe. Such a sweet boy, such a strong, handsome boy! She would take him into her arms and—

Of course he is! But do remember, dear, you are a tad drunk. Try to stand up straight.

Clearing her throat, Emori did as her dragon suggested, wobbling just a bit as she let go of her support. After gathering a little more composure, she chanced a shake of her head, and was able to remain upright. “It’s all right, I found what I was looking for,” she belatedly answered, and started toward him. Oh, he was adorable when he hastily glanced around like a cornered wherry!

Inannath saw the big brown’s orange eyes staring a hole in her rider, and gave him a mental tap on the shoulder as she bulled her way in through the man-door. Good evening, Kratoth! she brightly greeted him. Her next sentence was enough to make his eyes turn a tentative yellow-green. Oh yes, he was curious now!


Le’x/Kratoth

Humans were strange creatures, aside from his Le’x, or so Kratoth was convinced. This odd little woman, the one that rode green Inannath, was certainly one of the strangest. He’d noticed her a few times, watching them from a distance instead of coming over to introduce herself properly. If it weren’t for Inannath, he would have taken his rider away from there the moment that woman made him feel threatened.

Le’x, on the other hand, was not so calm. He broke out into a sweat as the woman, much shorter than him and looking so slight that a sneeze would blow her away, stopped in front of him and looked up into his eyes. Her eyes were pretty, but so uncannily large and her stare so direct that he had to look away after a moment, focusing instead on her mouth while he tried to slow the mortified hammering of his heart. Her smile was hard to interpret to his young male mind, something about it seemed as though she was quite familiar with him—or was it that her smile was familiar? But no one had ever smiled at him like that before. Was this… what V’mel warned them about in class? He wanted to run, but found himself paralyzed with fear.

And then he yelped out loud as she opened her arms wide and threw them around him.


Karone

Any Turn’s End celebration at High Reaches would likely be held in the dining hall, so that was where Karone went first. He idly picked through the buffet as he scanned the room. Some of the weyrlings were among the group there, but Le’x was not. Karone could guess where he’d find the other boy, but he took a couple of meat pies and walked slowly while eating on his way there, taking the time to steel himself for a potentially tense private reunion. It would have been easier to do it in the middle of a party, where everyone was already having fun.

As he came close to the barracks, he wrapped the remainder of his meal in a kerchief and slipped it into his pocket. He saw that Le’x’s door was left ajar, and curiously looked in without knocking. He saw the rump of a bright green dragon closest to the door, and Kratoth looming above, both focused intensely on something. The green wiggled suddenly, dancing in place. As she shifted, Karone saw what the dragons were looking at.

“LEN!”

He dashed over to where his friend was flailing in panic, pinned against his dragon’s side by some girl—whoever she was, she should know such things weren’t permitted for weyrlings—and attempted to pull her away. He didn’t pull roughly, but she suddenly went weak and fell back into him, and he could smell wine on her breath when her face nearly collided with his. She was irritated at first when she realized what had happened, but then her eyes widened with recognition. “Oh, Karone… What are you doing here?”

“What…? Have we met?” If they had, he didn’t remember her. At any rate, he probably wouldn’t have befriended this weird little woman who was short enough to look him right in the eye. She was young but still a good ten or more turns older than Karone—and definitely too old for Le’x. “Look, you’re not supposed to be here. I’ll take you back to the party.”

At that, the woman stiffened, then shoved him away. “I will not leave my son, thank you very much! I just got him back!”

Karone stared stupidly, and when he finally looked over at Le’x, his cousin was just frozen, both eyes bugging out. Probably shock. Yes, shock would have been very appropriate.  

[Teiha]

Le’x/Kratoth

The world around Le’x was muted, moving in slow-motion. The woman was in his face and then she wasn't, then suddenly Karone was there. He could see and hear them talking, blurry and muffled as if through an ice-glazed window.

“I will not leave my son… I just got him back!”

The words rang poignantly in his ears, and yet he almost failed to comprehend them.

A mental query from Kratoth brought the dazed boy back to his senses, and Le'x shook himself as if waking from a dream. He stared at the two who stood nearby. Karone and the woman were side by side, about the same height and looking strangely alike, though their eyes, nose and coloration were quite different. Those things, though the woman’s eyes were almost too big for her face, were a lot like Le’x’s own.

It hadn't been that long since he'd begun to wonder what his mother would be like, but he'd been sure she was supposed to be a good, sensible person who would speak softly, lovingly, and to whom he would instantly want to run to. This small woman was something else, akin to a yappy little canine, jumping and pawing in such a manner that it was impossible to tell if she was being aggressive or just over-exuberant. Hopefully that was because she was… well… sloshed.

Bending over his boy, Kratoth’s eyes were a dark orange, nearing red. Shall I tell Inannath to take her rider elsewhere? He repeated the question that Le’x clearly hadn’t caught the first time. His tone suggested that he hoped Le’x would agree.


Emori/Inannath

Standing beside Karone, Emori watched her son holding some sort of internal debate with himself while his dragon looked on. The massive brown was clearly ticked off, and rightly so. What had even come over her, that she would just… throw herself at Le’x like that? Blast that wine, and blast herself for drinking it before making important decisions. She wanted to shrink into herself and just disappear, but she forced herself to stay put, instead reaching through her bond with Inannath. The green continued to pour out her approval, telling her rider again and again that she was doing the right thing, it would all work out! …But yes, next time, we should come before the wine…

Le’x looked up at his dragon and Kratoth suddenly turned his head away from the group, seeming to be sulking. Then the boy warily looked at his mother. “So, uh… What’s your name?”

“Emori,” she said, and bowed her head in a fit of shame. “Sorry. This really… wasn’t the way I wanted to meet you.” Then she hiccuped.

Almost like a reflex, the boy exhaled sharply in a stifled laugh, lips pinching together in an effort to cut it off. Emori perceived it as a derisive laugh at first, but when she looked up, she could tell by the little spark in his eyes that Le’x was fighting a smile. A thrill of hope shook her heart.


Karone

The courteous thing to do in the face of most maternal reunions would be for any extras to make themselves scarce. Karone was thinking about it, but his concern for Le’x’s safety and his own desire to reconnect with the other boy made it a tough decision. He glanced toward the still-open door, just in time to see a brown firelizard swoop in from outside. It perched up in the rafters, looking perfectly comfortable with the room and the goings-on below. Supposing it belonged to Le’x’s roommate, Karone didn’t worry about trying to shoo it away and went to close the door. Another brown and a green flew in at the last moment, their wings brushing his arm as he reached for the handle. He shut the door quickly after that.

“You knew Karone. How are you related?” Le’x was asking.

“He’s my nephew,” Emori replied. “Lord Dusiph is my brother.”

“Lord of what?” Karone hadn’t intended to interrupt them, but the words had come out before he even realized he’d spoken aloud.

The greenrider fixed her moon-like eyes on him, a pained expression on her face. “I know there was a lot of damage, but Duse can rebuild. He’s good at that kind of thing. You’re his son, you should know that.”

“Obviously you have no idea what happened during that first fall,” he retorted, face flushing with ire. Such ignorance, and she claimed to be kin! “Rusadh was completely razed to the ground. Not even grass is left there. Just dead soil. There’s nothing left to rebuild.”


Le’x/Kratoth

A small popping sound heralded the sudden appearance of a gold firelizard in the air above the humans, drawing a sharp glare from both Karone and Emori for disturbing their conversation. She flew down to attempt a landing on Emori’s shoulder, and the woman jerked away with a squeal of surprise. The other firelizards in the room seemed to think that was funny, as did Kratoth and Inannath, judging by the rhythmic chuffing sounds they were making. A couple of other firelizards popped into the room at a loud chirp from the gold flit—this time a bronze and another brown.

The bronze and gold flew at Emori, grasping and snapping at her flailing arms while the brown flew in to tug at her belt.

Kratoth? Le’x was braced to try and frighten the firelizards away from his mother, but he had a feeling something wasn’t quite right.

Nothing to worry about, the brown assured him.

Still trying to slap the little beasts away, Emori ripped the pouch from her belt and thrust it at Karone, who was nearest. “Take it!” she yelped, and fled from the barracks. The three firelizards, in a sort of frenzy, followed her. Her bright green dragon visibly wavered between staying there or following her rider, and did follow Emori in the end after a chirrup goodbye to Kratoth.

The other three lizards, calmly positioned around the room, stared at Karone with bright eyes and began to make a noise that sounded oddly familiar. Kar opened the pouch and then peered into the top of the sock that was inside. His eyes sharpened like those of a hunting feline, and he reached into the sock for something… a tiny egg!

The egg was already striated with cracks, and faint scrabbling sounds came from within. Karone put it down on one of the cots, his hands forming a wall around it so it wouldn’t roll. He sat down and lowered his face just above the egg, amazed to see a chip of shell fall off and an impossibly small, wet little nose poke through the hole, nostrils flaring as the creature breathed the fresh air. The adult lizards had been humming, just like the dragons did when Kratoth hatched!

Le’x hurried over to watch, resting a knee on the edge of the cot, and Kratoth leaned his head over the boy’s shoulder. “What color is it?”


Karone

“Not sure… it looks really dark.” Just after Karone spoke, the baby firelizard pushed its head through the top of the shell, wrestled its upper half free, and the rest of it just spilled out after that. Glistening with egg slime, the tiny beast was indeed so dark that it almost seemed black, but the lighter hide stretched through its wingsails was definitely green. Lifting herself on trembling legs, she tilted her head up toward Karone and cried pathetically with a voice not unlike the shrill sound of creaky door hinges. Then it hit him: She needed food, now!

He glanced about the room for something, anything that could be given to the hatchling, and a spark of recollection pricked his mind. He slapped at his clothes and found where he’d stashed the leftover bit of meat pie. He unwrapped it and then paused, glancing at Le’x with raised brows, silently asking permission.

“Hurry, feed her!” his cousin urged.

He needed no further encouragement, picking a bit of meat out of the pastry and holding it out to the hatchling. She snatched it, her teeth grazing his finger in her haste to consume the offering. She gulped it down and instantly screamed for more. Karone could barely keep up with her demands, and suddenly he was putting the last scrap of meat into her tiny maw after what felt like just seconds. She looked a bit bloated, but still wanted more. When she realized none was forthcoming, however, she quieted down and pressed her little body against Karone’s hand, and suddenly he could actually feel her warm, sated contentment. The boy couldn’t help but scoop her up and cup her in his hands. She didn’t even fill them halfway, she was so small. What a precious little thing!

Karone looked at Le’x, a burst of gratitude welling up inside of him. “I’ve never even touched one of these before.”

Le’x reached out to stroke the little green’s head with one fingertip. “You can pet her all day if you want, now. Firelizards bond to the first person to feed them.”

That little detail prompted a stab of guilt. “You should have been the one to feed her, Len.”

His cousin shrugged. “I have Kratoth. And now you have someone to keep you company until you can ride with us.”

The boys’ eyes met, and they grinned. “Someday,” they said as one. Then they laughed and punched each other in the shoulder, just like old times.

NEXT TIME ON...

KRATOTH: Oh, and by the way, Le’x: Inannath has asked me to tell you to keep some salted meat handy for when the egg hatches. Your mother hopes that you will like your new firelizard. Inannath would also like you to know that she faced a wild gold mother and her fair to get it for you.

LE’X: Oh…

[LE’X looks at KARONE and GREEN FIRELIZARD, mortified]

LE’X: Sh-shards...

[Canned audience groans and laughter]