It Takes Guts
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Iluva, Steel
Date Posted: 18th July 2026
Characters: T'thalin, A'radess
Description: Two bronzes and a minor clash at the feeding pens
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 3, day 6 of Turn 13
Notes: Mentioned: Tymborikath, Imbeth,
Notes: Day after Threadfall
Weather - showers 45°
Standing at the fence to the pens, A’radess was leaning comfortably against the boards, his chin in his hand; all he had to do was watch the bronze as he zeroed in on everything that moved.
Threadfall had gone late into the evening, and he had returned to Barrier Lake smeared with ash and concerned only with giving Tarvanneth his bath, then his own, before passing out in a sprawl on his bed. Much later he woke with his neck cricked at a weird angle, but the sort of deep satisfaction that came from having the half-terror, half-thrill of fighting Thread made it hardly noticeable.
He ate two heaping plates at breakfast, half-starved, and then it was Tarvanneth’s turn.
And Tarvanneth was in the mood to kill. To feed. Then one thing. Then he was aloft, wound so tight that he shot through the air and landed on a buck with a hard snap of bone and a deep roar of triumph.
}:That was _mine_!:{ Roxarith objected, having swerved aside at the last moment to avoid Tarvanneth. He came down on another herdbeast and tore into it without hesitation.
T'thalin winced. “... Let it go, Rox!” He called across to his bronze. There were plenty of prey for his dragon.
}:Sorry.:{ Tarvanneth didn’t look up at the smaller bronze, just kept chewing and wolfing down chunks of flesh with a frantic gastronomic joy. }:You really should have got it first, then. Or said something.:{ He pointed out amicably. }:Did you not see me coming?:{
“Sorry!” A’radess echoed, offering the weyrling rider a smile and a small salute from where he leaned. “He’s still famished from Thread yesterday, but he does have manners in there.” He sent a small mental prod. “Somewhere.”
“It’s, um. It’s all right!” T’thalin hastened to assure. “Your bronze is senior.”
}:For now.:{ Roxarith told his rider, privately, and tore into his own meal before he responded to Tarvannath. }:I did not. But I suppose you did not land on me, at least.:{
“Flying hard does, um, make a dragon hungry.” T’thalin offered. “... Hi, by the way. I’m T’thalin.”
}:I’m here to hunt beasts, not bronzes.:{ Tarvanneth said. }:You dodged just fine, though.:{
A’radess nodded in obvious agreement about the flying part. “Good to meet you, T’thalin.” He turned slightly towards him. “And don’t say that too loud-- he’s senior, but only just. We’re not that long out of Weyrling training ourselves. I don’t want that going to his head.” He grinned. “I’m A’radess, by the way.”
“Good to meet you too, A’radess.” T’thalin responded, and offered a smile of his own, awkward at first, before he gained confidence. “We’re, um… we’re getting more skilled every day.” He offered.
Roxarith snorted. }:Of course I did. I am excellent.:{
“It's rough, but it's a great feeling. Your guy looks to be in great condition.” A'radess said easily, at which point Tarvanneth relayed Roxarith’s words with an acerbic flatness that almost made him laugh. “You transferred in from Dragonsfall, didn’t you?” He tried to recall the exact particulars his sister had been ranting about after the most recent hatching, but hadn’t retained much in the months since then. “Did you have an eye on a bronze or did he just have an eye on you?”
“Yes si-- A’radess.” T'thalin responded. “I mean… yes. I'm, um. I transferred from Dragonsfall.” He offered. “I, um… I wasn't planning on Roxarith, I was hoping for _any_ colour. Maybe… um. Maybe a blue. But… But Roxarith… he's amazing. I wouldn't change a thing.” He finishes.
}:I am what you needed.:{ Roxarith told his rider, with the mental equivalent of a fond nudge.
A'radess knew that amazement and adoration well, the kind of enthrallment that never aged, never faded. He briefly watched Tarvanneth tackle another beast into the ground, a fondness in his gaze even amidst the screams, and if he noticed that little slip into formality, he didn't show it. He was not accustomed to being a ‘sir’ anywhere.
“Of course you wouldn't change anything, he's _yours_.” He snorted softly. “It's funny -- I'm Vista Point, originally. My whole family, generations of us all the way back through the Interval. But it wasn't until I moved here that my luck changed.” A'radess ran a hand through his hair. “I didn't care what color, either, I just wanted a dragon. _My_ dragon, you know? Tarvanneth was there my first time on these Sands. My sister Impressed here too, in Imbeth's first clutch.”
“... I just wanted to _belong_ somewhere.” T'thalin said, after a long moment, and hesitated only a moment before he added, “I was… um. Before Dragonsfall… I was kind of… Holdless.”
A'radess had heard about someone in Tymborikath's class being formerly holdless, but he hadn't expected that someone to be so soft-spoken, so self-effacing. He looked over more sharply than he intended, more surprise than shock or outrage, though it might not have been immediately obvious given the height of his eyebrows. “Shards, Holdless.” He blew out a bit of a breath, letting the weight of it settle. Their dragons were still busy, and he studied the smaller, lighter-hued bronze for a moment. Dragons never chose wrong, and since Roxarith had chosen him, that was all that mattered. He looked back at T'thalin. “You’ve come a long way.”
“Dragonsfall is very far away.” T’thalin agreed. “But… if coming here meant, um, finding Roxarith… I'm _glad_ I did.”
Roxarith finished his kill and went for a second, smaller one. }:Of course you are. It would have been hard to get to you if I could not fly.:{
“I bet.” A'radess said, with obvious sincerity. “Starting from scratch is hard, with so many unknowns. What about your family? Are they back at Dragonsfall?”
“I, um.” T'thalin started, then rallied. “I… don't actually, well. I… wasn't with them when I made it to Dragonsfall. Besides. I'm here at Barrier Lake now.” He offered. “... What about you?”
A'radess knew a redirection when he heard one and hoped his casual curiosity hadn't been taken as prying. By now, Tarvanneth had finished his meal with a deeply satisfied rumble and began rubbing his blood-stained muzzle in the grass, then his neck, his shoulder, before flipping inelegantly onto his side to roll lazily about. A clot of herdbeasts at the far end of the pen bleated anxiously, and he rumbled to them, too.
A’radess grinned. **You big wherry.**
“Well, the majority of my family’s back at Vista Point,” he said to T'thalin. “Aunts, uncles, cousins. Foster-cousins. Grandparents. Step-grandparents. They’re all riders, though, so we can see each other whenever, but mostly for special occasions and the like. Thread makes it really tricky to get everyone together these days; someone’s usually in the infirmary.” He shook his head absently, watching Tarvanneth’s great unrepentant sprawl. “But my parents and siblings are here. We're pretty much a packaged deal at this point.” His grin widened. “Can't have one of us without the other. It's home now.”
“I do like it here.” T’thalin offered up. “The weather is nice, and Roxarith hatched here. When we’re older, um, it’ll be nice to… to see more of the area, too.” He tried a smile back.
Roxarith watched the older bronze, then licked his muzzle and yawned. He settled down himself, tucking his paws neatly rather than sprawling.
“You might enjoy sweep-riding, then, too,” A’radess mused. “A lot of people complain about it, but I don’t know why. Barrier Lake’s got it all -- forests, fields, a bit of the mountains, and the river takes you all the way to the sea. It’s gorgeous. What are you looking forward to most?”
“... Sweeprides, actually.” T'thalin offered up. “And being able to _between_ will be nice. I have friends at Dragonsfall I’ll be able to go see, then.”
}:I will soon fly as far and fast as you.:{ Roxarith told the other bronze.
“Well, there’s never a shortage of people looking to trade sweep shifts, so you’ll be in luck.” A’radess said. “Dragonsfall’s nice from what I’ve heard.” Nice-- but with the kind of cold that ate into your bones. “And we’re all in the same time zone, so that’s convenient for you, too.”
}:You will,:{ Tarvanneth agreed, though not exactly vehemently, as he preferred to think no one was quite up to the mark. Finally, he pulled himself upright and shook bits of grass from his neck. }:You’ll be a formidable opponent, I’m sure. And you will be able to hunt outside the Weyr, too. _That_ is where the real fun is.:{
A’radess let out a loud groan when he saw the state of his dragon’s face. The dried, crusty blood had glued bits of bright grass all over him like a child’s art project gone horribly awry. “Come on down to the lake if you want -- might as well get Roxarith cleaned up too. Or I’ll catch you around later,” he said with a grin.
“When he's done eating.” T'thalin promised.
Last updated on the September 2nd 2026