It's early afternoon in the weyrling barracks, almost a fortnight after the hatching.
**
Zerra sits on her cot, legs swinging slowly back and forth as she reads a letter, chewing her lip, eyebrows knotted. Minalth, mottled wings curled in tightly beside him looks less like a dragon and more like a shell, with his neck tucked in, legs under, tail only just peeking out. Snoooooore. Dragons do snore!
After a few moments, Zerra flicks to another page in the letter, idly swatting as her blue firelizard whizzes close overhead. Perhaps it’s the sound of Hotness’ wings that wake her lifemate, and Minalth streeeetches, muzzle first, neck unravelling, pokey legs suddenly popping out from beneath his barrel torso. Awake!
« Zerra…..»
No response as the weyrling is deep in thought and letter.
« Zed?…» A slightly worried salt spray accompanies his mindvoice, earthy and warm.
Zerra glances over, smiling at her dragon and rubs a hand across his muzzle. “Yeah, Mini?” her voice is full-warm, loving, still slightly in awe. “Ha- ‘Zed’-that’s a new one”
The dragonet twists now, leaning out his neck from his couch and planting his muzzle on her lap. « It came to me in my sleep. » the salt spray is fainter but detectable as he asks « Why are you all…worried? Did something happen? Are you sad? Zerra? » his concerns come tumbling forward, tossed around on a rough sea of his mindvoice.
The weyrling leans down to plant a kiss on the dragonet’s head, soothingly rubbing his headknobs “Oh no, Minalth, I’m not sad. I’m just reading a letter from my Dad.” She waves the note with her other hand in example “He’s kinda pissed that, well….” Not wanting to hurt the dragon’s feelings she tries to find more suitable vocab “..that I’m not going to come back to the cothold to live.”
The dragonet ruffles his wings in agitation and she catches the emotion before it becomes more than this “…but –I- am happy I’m here with you. He’s just being Dad. And it’s so embarrassing, he says he’s sent Lyna a scathing note too-blames her for 'This Whole Situation'” she mimics her father's deep voice.
Minalth sits up a bit higher now, interested, questioning « Why would he send one to Lyna? Granaith did not make you stay. » A pause and a faint heat of desert dry accompanies his mindvoice « I would have found you, even in your cothold, Zerra, tell him that » It’s such a self-assured statement that the weyrling chuckles out loud, nuzzling her cheek against his mottled brown own.
“Well this other note is from my brother and sister and mum. They are way impressed I’m going to be a dragonrider-when we are good at flying and betweening, Minalth, I’ll take you to visit them. They will love you!” This makes her forget about the less-than-happy letter, and the redheaded weyrling grins. “Whaddya think?”
Minalth settles then, satisfied with that. « Ok then, sounds like a plan, man » Salt spray fades out the desert red-centre heat, a white-wash of foam forming over the rough and tumble seas of his thoughts « Hey ‘Zed’, Elinth seems a bit bummed out, let’s tell her that joke about what you get when you cross a fish with a weyrlingmaster…» Didgeridoos resound out the words now as the dragonet is consumed by his private laughter at the joke.
His weyrling just shakes her head in amusement, elbowing his heavy head from her knees. “C’mon then, ‘M’..” she replies brightly “I bet you could even make Zhoreth laugh with that one..'come to you in your sleep, did it?”