Phlox's Filibusters

[FirebrandPhlox]

Table of Contents

1. House Arrested and Missing Home - Chess and Kichsk, Early Fall 2776
2. First Feast - C'stanza and Ivalyth, Late Winter 2776
3. Imposter Syndrome - Raev and Rask, Early Summer 2777

[FirebrandPhlox]

House Arrested and Missing Home

It was early fall, the part of the turn where the trees became vibrant warm tones and all the critters began hunkering down before winter. It meant that back home the family would be preparing for the harvest, getting the horses ready to plow the neighbor's farms. If she were back home, she'd be helping fit them with new shoes that were suited to clomping through the fields and enjoying the hold's harvest festival.

Instead, she was still stuck rotting away in her weyr, still under house arrest. Kichsk was getting more and more ornery the longer he was cooped up, and he was the only company she had in this dingy room.

Miss outside. The wher grumbled, pawing at the floor idly. Want fresh air.

"Ah'd love that too, ya big lug, but yer the reason we're stuck in here under heavy guard!" Chess scolded the wher for what felt like the hundredth time. "If'n ya hadn't gone wild bitin' and maulin' all those people, we'd be free to go outside as much as we'd like!" She could feel the frustration boiling over, she was also getting stir crazy, being stuck in her weyr. The only time she wasn't staring at the walls of her weyr were heavily regulated and strictly supervised.

Too crowded, too many people. The wher grumbled back. Want go home, he said with a long sigh.

Ya think Ah don't want that too? Chess yelled, tears forming in her eyes. She'd had enough of his constant complaining. Day in and day out, all he did was sleep and grumble about their situation. The situation he had landed them in because he couldn't be bothered to keep proper control of himself. Ya had to be a big brown idjit and get yerself all riled up for no good reason! If it weren't fer ya goin' bonkers, we'd be livin' it up here!"

If not for you, we be back home! The wher snarled back.

He knew it was a low blow as soon as the thought escaped his head. The tears that had been welling up in her eyes now poured down her cheeks. Her voice became shrill as she hollered back at him. "Ya think Ah wanted this? Ah'd love to have never had to leave home. Yer the one who insisted on comin' with me." She collapsed on her bed, face in her hands. "Ah HATE it here," she wailed.

Kichsk watched as her body heaved with each raspy sob. He could feel the unrelenting misery she was feeling, had been feeling, but had kept as bottled up and blocked off from him as she could manage. For every ounce of frustration and sorrow he had felt, she was feeling a pound of it. He had been wrapped up in his own head, he hadn't seen all the hurt he had caused and was continuing to cause the one person he was sworn to protect. The person he had given up his comfortable life willingly for.

Hey, he said, walking towards the bed. He gave her arm a nudge with his snout. Am sorry.

Chess peeked through her fingers and tears at the brown. She could feel the sincerity of his apology, but was still mad and sad and a whole bundle of emotions she didn't quite have the words for. "Ah'm sorry too. Ah'm still upset though," she choked through her tears.

Kichsk sat down and gave Chess an uncharacteristic nuzzle. Is fine. He said, placing his head in her lap. Chess held his snout tight and cried through the night.

[FirebrandPhlox]

First Feast

C'stanza had always figured that the Candidatemasters had always been exaggerating when they insisted that caring for a hatchling was difficult work. Turns out, they were absolutely correct. After the hatching had concluded, the day had been a whirlwind of moving to the weyrling quarters, bathing and oiling Ivalyth, and now preparing for the feast. He was finishing buttoning up his tunic as Ivalyth settled into his bed, flopping dramatically onto the plush surface.

Goodnight! She called to him with a big yawn.

"Wait, what? No!" He cried, looking up from his work. "We have to go to the feast tonight, it's for us! And besides, that's my bed! Where am I supposed to sleep if you're in it?"

We could snuggle? It's cold enough here that would be nice, actually. Why don't you go to bed too?

"We can't go to bed yet! The feast! It's celebrating us!" He gestured rapidly back and forth between himself and Ivalyth. Babu chirped anxiously as the man worked himself up. "There's food! The adoration of the people! We absolutely need to go!"

Another yawn from Ivalyth. But I'm tired. It's already been such a hectic day. You could go without me, if it's really that important. I want to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!" C'stanza hollered as he stormed over to the bed. "You're coming with, even if I have to drag you with me!" He bent over the bed and lifted Ivalyth, groaning and straining to do so. She was small for a garnet, but she was still plenty heavy for C'stanza, who had taken every opportunity given to him to shirk chores and building the muscles necessary to be a rider. Tossing the dragonet over his shoulder with all the ceremony of throwing a flour sack, he began trudging towards the dining hall.

Ivalyth offered no resistance and dozed, her head resting on his shoulder.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Imposter Syndrome

Raev stared at the election results, checking that a mistake had not been made. She had already checked a dozen times, but no matter how many times she read it, she could not believe the words on the page.

She won. She was now the Wherleader.

Raev had expected to feel something when she won the title. Joy, satisfaction, some kind of pride in her own abilities. Instead she just felt the same nagging feeling that she wasn't doing enough, the same voice in her head that told her she wasn't cut out for this kind of work, otherwise she would have impressed a dragon like her sister had. Frustrated, she crumpled the paper up and tossed it aside, the discarded notice landing near where Cervantes was napping. The flit hissed at the disturbance.

Sensing the distress of her handler, Rask lumbered over to the desk where Raev was sitting, nudging Raev's arm. Rask proud of Raev! Know Raev deserve! The large garnet sat next to Raev, forcing her head into the woman's lap. Rask looked up at her handler. Raev work hard. Weyr think so too!

Raev sighed, "Then why don't I feel like I've earned it?" She asked her wher, not expecting an answer. Rask wasn't good with words like that. Absentmindedly, she put a hand behind Rask's headknobs and scratched where she knew the wher liked it.

Rask rumbled happily, eyes narrowing as she enjoyed the affection. Raev deserve Wherhandler! Raev work hard every day! Raev best handler Rask could ask for. The wher nuzzled Raev's torso gently. Rask work hard for good partner! Be by Raev's side whole way, She promised.

"Thank you, Rask," Raev said, giving her wher an appreciative pat. She could tell Rask was being earnest, and really did think that Raev deserved the world and more. Raev didn't want her to worry, so she put up a mental shield and kept the swirling doubts to herself. Rask didn't deserve to feel all of the uncertainty and inadequacy Raev was experiencing. Raev knew she didn't actually deserve this promotion, she hadn't done enough to prove she was worthy of it. She would just need to work harder, and keep working so no one realized she was not qualified to be Wherleader. She could handle that burden, work was what she did best.