And Time Keeps Moving Forward [Open to Weyrlings]

[Hiko]

((Set a week after the Hatching Feast.))

Mollin scrubbed at Daltilith's hide in silent frustration.
The day had started fine. Fatigue from lessons and a hunger roiling in her stomach, but emotionally, she'd been level.
And a single trip to the dining cavern ended it.
“Didn't she slap A'zael the other night?”
“Lovers' quarrel, obviously. He's the father of her child, you know.”
“But isn't he with Danovelith's rider?”
“Ooh, a love triangle? How tragic!”
“But didn't she leave with Mastromideth's rider?”
“Now that is a proper bronzer!”
When the gossip had devolved into girlish giggling, Mollin could tolerate no more. Hunger had fled her, instead giving way to impotent rage. It wasn't uncommon to hear the odd whisper of her name or her situation in the kitchens, and she'd given everyone an eyeful the night of the feast, but too much was too much. Rather than earn a name for herself by slapping the smug looks off of the talkative cavern girls, she merely left the dining hall.
It was then that Dalti had complained of an itch.

Soapsand in hand, she worked at the dragon's blue hide, allowing herself to take some small comfort in her lifemate's happy croons of enjoyment as she worked out the itches. His skin was peeling, and Mollin had a moment of panic as she worked to slough the dead skin away. The dragon had suffered with her through all of the past Turn, without any complaints. But suffer he did, and it was obvious in the appearance of his skin.
“I'm sorry, Dalt. I've neglected you for far too long,” she told the dragon quietly. The blue in return only snorted.
You're taking care of me now, though. Keep scrubbing! It feels so good!
“Of course, love.”

By the time she was done with the dragon's bath, her hands were red and raw from the grit of the soapsand. At least they could both enjoy the oiling. Daltilith gave a shake, flicking excess water from his hide and looking like a well-groomed canine for the effort. Despite her earlier annoyances, Mollin laughed at the sight.
What? the dragon asked, confused at the mirth.
“Should I get you a bone? A nice collar? If I took a leash to you, we could even go on walks.”
I am not a dog! Daltilith retorted, then added in afterthought, But a collar would look fine on me, wouldn't it? Silver would bring out my hide.
“Don't go vain on me now, Dalt.”
How else am I supposed to attract Hawedith?
It occurred to her, then, just how old Daltilith was. Of course, he'd stopped referring to his clutchmate as “Hawey” some months back, but had it been in a growing interest of the green, rather than the blue merely growing up? Mollin frowned at the loss of time. No longer was he some waddling hatchling, but instead a fully grown, fully male dragon, with wants and desires of his own.
“Don't... Don't go getting ideas, Dalti. We've still got training to finish.”
The blue snorted again and laid his head in his paws, unrepentant as his rider continued to oil his hide.

[Zen]

M'kal :: Bronze Draveth

Draveth was quite eager for his morning oiling. The task had very quickly become second nature to M'kal. It was the same thing every morning, after all. Bathing. Oiling. Feeding, when necessary, though now that their dragons were flying they could take care of that themselves. Caring for his bronze was a point of pride for M'kal, but he certainly wasn't complaining about having one less chore to do now that Draveth could fly out over the beast pens and choose a meal for himself. It did make the bathing more of a necessity, however, and the routine had switched to feeding first now that the dragons would come back bloody from their kills. They didn't eat as often as the did when they were smaller, and supposedly when they were full grown they would eat even less often. M'kal found it strange to imagine that a creature could go several days without eating and be just fine.

Draveth was too big to get down to the springs where they had first bathed their dragons, in waters warm and pleasant. Now he had to bathe the bronze in the lake, and with autumn turning to winter, it was hardly a pleasant task. M'kal found it entirely inappropriate that the greens, who could still fit down the passage to the springs, still got to use them, while he and his bronze had to suffer the cold lake water. Draveth, for his part, didn't particularly care what temperature the water was, but his rider did his best to impress upon him that it was the principle of the thing. If they had to bathe in the lake then the rest of the class should have to as well. And Draveth had been too big for the springs for some time now.

Heading back to the barracks, though it wasn't very far, Draveth took the air, reveling in his new freedom. M'kal shook his head, but he'd already asked his dragon about it the first time, and he really should have known the answer. Draveth was that much more impressive in the air, of course. Besides, K'ton had actually encouraged them to let their dragons take small flights when possible, outside of normal practice, so at least they wouldn't get yelled at for it. Draveth took it to the extreme, however, flying everywhere now. It's a shame you can't join me up here. Yeah well. K'ton would probably ground us for life. He jogged his way back to the barracks, both to get there faster and to warm up. He spotted Daltilith before he saw Mollin. Her blue was too big for the barracks, nearly twice the size Draveth was currently.

He really didn't know why she was in their class at all. It hadn't exactly been explained. He hadn't been at Mavros very long before his Impression, and since then he'd spent most of his time in the barracks, caring for Draveth, with trips to the dining cavern being the only other place he tended to go on a regular basis, though he never stayed there for long, so he hadn't really had the chance to hear the rumors that floated around about her either. He didn't like being separated from Draveth, something that was getting a little easier now that the bronze was starting to get more independent. But he had been there at the Hatching Feast. That had been some show. He couldn't help but wonder what the Weyrleader had done to make her slap him like that. It certainly hadn't been a light slap.

Wait outside for me Draveth, I'll be right back with stuff for oiling. He jogged past the older weyrling pair and inside, fetching his supplies before returning outside at a slower pace so as not to spill his oil. Draveth was settled a short distance from Daltilith, his wings held in what was clearly a pose meant to make him look regal, to which M'kal snorted. They're just gonna get tired with you holding them like that. I don't know what you mean. He rolled his eyes and set down his pail of oil. If you wanna go into flight practice today with tired wings, be my guest. Picking up the soft bristled brush, he dunked it in oil and started brushing it over the dragon, Anywhere need it in particular? Back of my neck itches.

The bronze turned a whirling eye to the older blue as his rider used his leg to step up and reach his neck, You could make this easier you know. He lowered his head slightly, and M'kal glanced over at Mollin. He hadn't really talked to her at all, despite the fact that she had been an official part of their class for about a sevenday now. As curious as he was about the hatching feast fiasco she'd been involved in, he wasn't completely tactless and managed to refrain from asking, not that he didn't think about it. He was also dying to ask her about her being in their class instead of her own, but... well... people didn't get held back for good reasons, so that was likely just as tactless. With a soft noise of frustration, he settled for what he considered to be a safe topic, sarcasm clear in his voice and likely letting Mollin know just what his thoughts on the matter were, “So, that was some hatching, huh?” He was curious just what the bluerider's thoughts on it all were though. It had only been his second hatching ever, he'd Impressed Draveth at his first, and that hatching had been completely lacking in any sort of drama in comparison. Other than the concern about Sonath, nothing out of the ordinary had happened. There hadn't even been any Betweens.

[Hiko]

Mollin had found herself in her own little world, humming softly as she worked the thick oil into her lifemate's blue hide. He moaned with itchy pleasure, and as the sound echoed in her mind, she grinned. How could she not? He was far too content for her to stay morose, and when he gave a full body shake, slinging excess oil at her, she laughed and held her hands up in mock defense.

“I'm not the one that needs the oiling, love!”
A little moisturizing never hurt anyone. Hello, Draveth.

Mollin turned at Daltilith's greetings, only then noticing the bronze in their company. When M'kal spoke up, there was a moment of surprise before the blue weyrling realized he was speaking to her; few had attempted to interact with her out of her new class, so far, and she supposed she'd expected as much; with being not only the oldest pair, but with she herself being one of the oldest weyrlings, it was natural that they might keep to their own.

It wasn't unexpected; hadn't she tried to get that across to friends and family? Well, whatever. New horizons and whatnot, right? Though she smiled at the other weyrling's approach, it soon faded to a frown, and she snorted at M'kal's question, not caring for the lad's tone. What was he trying to imply?
“A little drama never hurts a hatching,” she sniffed, wiping her hands on her trousers before moving to pack up her supplies, “Why, would you have preferred a different outcome?”

Zen

[Zen]

M'kal :: Bronze Draveth

Draveth raised his head slightly as Daltilith greeted him, eliciting a grunt from his rider as he had to shift not to get dislodged from his spot. Daltilith. Fine day for flying, isn't it? He began to stretch his wings out a bit, but the light slap on his neck had him folding them back, Don't forget I'm here, eh? Mollin's first response to his question was to snort, though M'kal didn't initially know whether it was an agreeable noise or not. Her words cleared up the matter. Drama never hurt a hatching? M'kal paused in his oiling to eye the woman for a moment, “Oh, so you enjoy drama? Guess that makes sense.”

Well, that last bit wasn't exactly supposed to leave his mouth, but he could hardly take it back now. Whatever. He shrugged as she asked if he'd have preferred something different to have happened, “I mean, hatchlings are sensitive yeah? It doesn't seem like a hatching is any place for drama.” He thought it had been a bit stupid of T'vir to start something there and then, though if what he said was true he found he couldn't really blame him for his outrage. Honestly, what the shell? How could a man Impress a gold just by parading around like a girl? It made no sense at all. Dragons weren't stupid enough to fall for something like that. It was a confusing topic, and one M'kal honestly would rather not think about.

The girls Impressing browns was another matter. It was sharding weird, but rather eclipsed by the absolute insanity of the gold's Impression. And well, Mollin rode a blue herself, M'kal couldn't imagine she found girls on browns to be too offensive. Still. “I wonder if this girls on browns is gonna become a regular thing,” his tone gave little away about his feelings on the matter, mostly because he wasn't honestly too sure himself about them, “It's only happened at Mavros, hasn't it?” He was aware of the girl and her brown in the class ahead of them as well, though he'd never interacted with her but in passing. To M'kal it just spoke of Mavros's desperate need for more candidates. If they had proper numbers on the Sands, would the browns be so eager to look to girls? From what everyone said, it had never happened before Mavros. Ever. If it had, he supposed it was hidden well.

[Hiko]

Wait.
What exactly did this little prat mean, he guessed it made sense?
No.
She was not going to start a fight. She was just too emotional lately, and he likely hadn't meant anything by it. Probably.
Mollin stopped herself from snorting again, when the bronze weyrling spoke once more.
“And what I meant is that there's bound to be a little drama, when infant dragons are finding their lifemates. Birth is dramatic. I could have easily done without dimglow outburts from the peanut gallery, though.”

The thought of T'vir rankled; what did it matter what the boy had said? It was no one's business but Aleni's what was under her skirts, and if a gold had deemed her worthy, it shouldn't matter to anyone else, either.

When M'kal brought up the fact that there were so many women on brown, thanks to the hatching events, she actually grinned.
“Let them keep Impressing, if that's the route the brown wants to take. Dragons know better than we do, and it's not like any of the girls are incapable of fighting in a wing.” After a moment, she considered his question. She set her equipment back down and crouched by Daltilith's side, patting the blue.
“Mm, there were none at Ista, to be sure. I can't say my knowledge goes much past there and here, but it's definitely not common. I do have to wonder if the bronzes won't try at some point, with the rest of the colors now in flux.”

Zen

[Zen]

M'kal :: Bronze Draveth

M'kal supposed she wasn't wrong, and a laugh escaped him at the way she chose to refer to T'vir's outburst. The young bluerider had certainly made a name for himself in the Weyr with that, and not an altogether good one, depending on who you asked. Like Mollin, for example. It was quite clear what she thought of him. And her grin as the discussion turned to the browns Impressing girls told him well what she thought about that too, even before she spoke. He gave a grunt of hesitant assent. A girl could do just as well against Thread whether she rode green or blue or brown, he supposed. All of them flamed and flew in the fighting Wings. Logically, it shouldn't make any difference. Other than the fact that browns were more likely to gain rank, there really wasn't any, and that maybe was where the issue was? Sure, golds were at the top of the hierarchy, but goldriders didn't lead the fighting Wings.

He rubbed the back of his hand over his forehead, not any more certain how he felt about it than he'd been previously. Stepping down from oiling the itchy spot on his bronze, he looked over at Mollin as she continued, answering the question he'd put to her. He didn't know a whole lot about the other Weyrs so he was interested in her answer, not that he had any idea if she was any more qualified to give an answer. But, well, her dragon was older, so she'd at least been at Mavros longer if nothing else. She'd been at Ista before Mavros as well, it seemed, though she admitted no further knowledge of any other Weyr.

He tensed a bit at the thought of a girl on a bronze, unsure why the idea put him off more than the girls on the browns did. He nearly protested, because surely bronzes ONLY chose men, but then thoughts of Aleni and T'vir resurfaced. He blew out his breath in an unhappy huff, giving her a rather flippant response, “Well if men are Impressing golds, who's to say what will sharding happen next?” A woman Weyrleader? No, he didn't like that idea. All he could think about was some woman like his airheaded mother in charge of leading the Wings and wasn't that a terrifying thought? Draveth, a bronze would never pick a girl for their rider, would they? Draveth snorted dismissively, What other bronzes do is no concern of mine. After all, I already have the best rider. No one they choose could possibly compare, whether male or female. M'kal smirked at that, returning to oiling his dragon.

He moved on from the topic of the hatching, as it wasn't feeling as safe of a topic as he originally thought it would be. He supposed he should have known better, talking to a female bluerider. “So, did you always want blue?” He'd never met any girls dreaming of Impressing a blue before. Typically it was gold, of course, when it came to girls in the Hold, but there were those that wanted green on occasion, more since he came to the Weyr. He eyed her briefly, considering what he'd heard of girls on blues tending to attraction toward their own sex. He didn't know if it was true or not, but if it wasn't, it sure was a widespread lie.

[Hiko]

Mollin sat down by her pack and stretched, touching fingertips to toes. She was restless, she realized, and craving an argument. Well, bad decisions were her strong suit, she thought, but not today. The other weyrling genuinely seemed interested in their discussion, and so she was hardly about to come out of the cage fighting, just because his wording might irritate.

Even if he dwelled on rumors.

“Honestly?” she replied, grinning up at Daltilith while the blue attempted to preen. He wasn't terribly good at it. “I just knew that I didn't want gold. I hated the idea of being cooped up somewhere, stuck with a dragon on the sands. I wanted to be in a fighting wing, wanted to prove that I was worth more than domesticity.”

With a wan smile, she looked over to M'kal. “Daltilith suits me, and if not for poor choices, I'd be doing that now.” It was hardly a lie, and the hatching feast merely helped remind her of that. She sighed and leaned against her ridiculous blue. The dragon flopped thetip of his tail onto her lap.
“And you? Did you always hope for bronze?”

Zen

[Zen]

M'kal

She didn't want a gold? He frowned at that as he continued oiling the bronze. He supposed her reasoning behind it made some sense if he stopped to think about it. A gold brought power, prestige, but... it did seem boring, not being able to fight like the other colors. There was no such compromise to make for a male rider, only fighting dragons would choose a boy, and one could gain plenty of power on a bronze.

Well, he could respect wanting more from life, more than what others thought you capable of. He glanced over curiously as she mentioned 'poor choices', his curiosity about why she was in their class piqued once more, wondering if she would explain. Instead she asked the same question of him, though he couldn't fathom why. “Of course.” What sort of question was that to ask? “What sort of proper man doesn't want a bronze?”

He wasn't about to go into details about a life he'd rather pretend never existed to explain himself, though. He wanted power, respect, to have influence, to be heard when he spoke and not dismissed like some simple drudge. “I wanted more than what life had given me, too. And now I have it.” He looked up at Draveth, rubbing one hand over freshly oiled metallic hide. He would never go back to being nothing, just another face of many that would never amount to anything of importance. He was going to make a name for himself, one way or another. He was going to be remembered.

“So...,” he fished around for something else to say that wasn't why are you in our class, “Is it... strange? Being in our class when your dragon's... grown already?” It wasn't QUITE why are you in our class, anyway. He couldn't imagine what might have happened to have set her back this much in her training, other than extensive injury or terrible illness. But she had mentioned poor choices... injury, maybe?

[Hiko]

Mollin rolled her eyes at the bronze weyrling's reply. She thought of the riders in her life. S'fin was a wonderful support, and could be considered A'zael's personal kick-in-the-ass, but leading material? Hardly. And poor G'rett was seeing the strain on something he genuinely loved and was good at because he was bonded to Mastromideth.

“All sorts might not want the responsibility that comes with riding bronze, M'kal. Some prefer to be cogs in the machine, or to only worry about fighting thread. With that Draveth of yours, you might one day be Weyrleader – I can understand not seeking that sort of power.”

However, she could easily sympathize with M'kal's want for Weyrlife. She had watched her brothers succeed in the Hold when she was left to the home, watched her sister be married off at an age too-young for a few trading connections; these things just didn't happen in the Weyrs. Women were seen as capable, the Weyrwoman herself as a leading partner, not just some mother-to-be. She supposed the man likely had a similar reason, but had no interest in prying. Some days were too exhausting for backstory.

Mollin sighed; he'd come very close to asking about the skeleton in her very open closet.
“It's not ideal, no. As much as I wanted to come back to training, it's ridiculous to watch Daltilith with the younger weyrlings. He just hovered during flight practice, while I stood and watched dragons barely out of their shells in their first flight exercises. It's ridiculous, but it's the best we can do for now.” As she answered, she eyed the other weyrling.
“You want to ask, so just ask.”

Zen

[Zen]

M'kal

Her words sounded like a scolding to M'kal, and his dark gaze narrowed slightly over at her as she explained how not everyone wanted the responsibility of a bronze. She might understand it, but he definitely didn't. He didn't understand how his siblings could be content with mediocrity, with less than mediocrity. Even Isali had seemed content to waste away toiling in the Hold before they'd been picked out by that Searchrider. He'd been surprised she even agreed to come, though less surprised that a green had ended up picking her. If his sister was going to have a dragon, green seemed to suit her in his opinion.

He sniffed at that, “Well I don't understand it at all, and I'm quite looking forward to that possibility.” Weyrleader. He wanted it. And honestly? Mavros was the best place to be, the best chance at the position. From his understanding, they had far fewer bronzeriders than any of the other Weyrs, and that meant fewer people standing between him and the possibility of Weyrleadership. Or fewer dragons, as it was. As badly as he may want it, it would be up Draveth to secure the position for him, when he was old enough. The fact that he had no control over it rankled, but he trusted his dragon, and was sure Draveth would be more than capable once he was fully grown.

As Mollin shared her feelings on being with a class with dragons so much younger than her own, he did feel for her a bit. It was annoying enough to be held back from one activity with the rest of his class on account of K'ton's instigating bronze, but to be completely left behind and getting stuck with all these younger dragons going through their milestones when yours was already more than capable would be hard to take. “Well, some of the stuff your blue has to do in class might seem kinda pointless, but... if you've been held back this far, most of the other lessons should be new to you, right?”

Then she dangled the question he really wanted to ask as a possible line of conversation, and if she was offering he wasn't going to pass it up. “Why are you in our class...? That's... a long time to be held back.” The class she Impressed with was nearly graduated, his was only in their 6th month of training. That was an entire turn that she'd been out if she had that much to catch up on. He couldn't imagine what would possibly hold her back that long.

[Hiko]

Mollin took in a deep breath. She'd given the other weyrling a chance to ask, and of course he'd taken it; she couldn't be surprised if the offer was accepted. And, truly, it was better to come from her than the gossip of the caverns. Swallowing, she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, dismissive of the sheen of oil still on her hands.

Rubbing them together, both as a distraction and as a way to work the dampness into her skin, she looked over to Daltilith. It would be so easy to give the flippant flirt right now, but she couldn't, not when she knew the question would come up with these newfound peers. If she fell into poor habits, K'ton would skin her.

“Candidates – they're not discouraged from relationships back at Ista. When I left there, I'd just come out of a long-term relationship. I was, well, stupid. Stupid and hurting. And our Weyrleader was charming and willing.”
The blue weyrling's eyes flicked to the ground, refusing to even look at her dragon, then. She couldn't help but constantly feel regret for her mistakes keeping the dragon behind.
“A few months into training, I discovered I was pregnant. Stayed out after that, stayed in the infirmary for a time after Zaelin's birth. It – It was hard on me. And when we were finally able to return to lessons, the Champions were the closest to where we'd left off.” She stroked at Daltilith's tail as the forked tip flicked in her lap. The blue felt on edge, concerned over what M'kal's reply might be, but his rider could already hear the argument forming. She sighed through clenched teeth, wondering if dismissing the matter might have been the better option after all.

Zen

[Zen]

M'kal

When she first started her explanation, M'kal wasn't entirely sure where she was going with it, though it didn't take him that long to figure it out. No, only the girls were discouraged from sexual activity when a hatching was nearing, and that was only to prevent pregnancy going into weyrlinghood.

Pregnancy.

He hadn't even considered the possibility. Pregnancy had held her back? And if the Weyrleader was the father, M'kal supposed that explained something of their little scene at the feast, kind of. He snorted derisively, eyeing the bluerider more critically. So she'd just hopped into bed with the Weyrleader even though she'd just ended a relationship elsewhere? Were all women like this? The bronzerider could imagine his mother leaping at the chance to share a Weyrleader's bed, feather headed as she was.

They'd all gotten the lecture, after Impressing, about what they were forbidden to do for several months on account of their bond with their young dragons, and just why it was so important not to go breaking those rules. If their rider having sex could harm a young dragon, just what did giving birth do to it? He'd heard his mother's screaming often enough to know it was no pleasant process, though he'd never stuck around to listen for long. She was at least a half decent mother for the months following; stuck as she was caring for a newborn, she had little better to do but actually mother the rest of her children while she was at it, until the babe could be weaned and she could regain her freedom and leave the squalling thing to be tended by her older children.

Things were different in the Weyr though. There was the creche and fostering, a communal way of raising children due to the constraints of riders, unable to be proper parents to their offspring. He supposed that must be where Mollin's brat was. “Must be nice, being able to dump your unwanted kids off on someone else,” he growled, more to himself, rubbing oil into Draveth's hide with renewed vigor, as if it might wash away the disgust and resentment he felt over the matter. And carelessly to Mollin, “Guess you're lucky your stupid choices didn't kill your dragon, huh?" He figured she was sharding lucky she was only held back rather than left dragonless, and found himself lacking any patience or pity for the woman.

[Hiko]

Mollin felt her teeth grind as they clenched even harder at M'kal's berating. He wasn't wrong. His delivery had been biting and bitter and bullheaded.
But he wasn't wrong.
It wasn't as if she were unaware of how lucky she and Daltilith had been,nor how stupid her actions before were. But his sharding tone!

Mollin breathed. In. Out. In. Out. She needed to calm her breathing. Had to. If she let herself spiral now – her fingers tapped erratically on Daltilith's twitching tail. The blue rumbled a low growl, eyeing the other weyrling as his own thoughts turned dark.
She couldn't let herself fall back down into that hole. She couldn't let Daltilith's own anger overtake her attempts at steadying herself.

Slowly, carefully, she brought her gaze back to M'kal and his embittered washings.
“You're right,” she replied in an attempt at an even tone, “I was an idiot. I'm the best example of what not to do. I do find comfort in leaving Zaelin with a foster, and I try not to feel too terrible about it. And yes, I am lucky. Daltilith suffered by being held back, never mind my own problems. I didn't tell you for want of pity. You asked, and I'm not about to hide what happened. But please, let me know just how asinine my actions were as if I'm too stupid not to be aware. Shower me with your wisdom.” And then the dam broke.
“You don't know me anywhere well enough to judge, and you've been just fantastic so far on the topic of women. So,what's the story? Your mother a whore, your father some nameless client in a sea of many? You can't have that sort of attitude without something driving it.”

[Zen]

M'kal :: Bronze Draveth

At least she knew she was stupid. That was a start. But when she turned the conversation around to him, asking if his mother was a whore, he whirled away from Draveth to face her, “How dare you! My father was a bronzerider! It's hardly my fault if women can't keep their legs closed for men with power.” He eyed her pointedly, “I swear the lot of you are nothing but selfish, and your children suffer for it when you can't deal with the consequences of your own actions. It's not our fault... it's not our fault if you're a shitty mother and don't want us! So no, I don't have a very high opinion of women, especially women like you!”

Draveth growled low, teeth bared, eyeing the larger blue and his rider with eyes whirling with hints of red. M'kal was even more pissed he'd allowed himself to get so caught up that he'd let slip a hint of the pain he felt at being so unwanted by his own mother. She sure liked to tell them she loved them, to pretend like they were some big happy family, but then she'd run off with some new man for days at a time and try to come back like she hadn't completely abandoned them to fend for themselves. Selfish. She didn't really care about any of them, discarding them all when it suited her.

“I hope you leave that kid in the creche and never go back,” he spat, thinking of all the times as a young boy his mother had promised she wouldn't leave them alone again, how he had stupidly believed her so many times. It would have hurt less if she'd only told the lie once. “She'll be better off without you.”

Hiko

[Hiko]

“Riding bronze doesn’t mean squat, if you’re the end result,” Mollin spat back, furious now. She picked up the sponge she’d been using when oiling Daltilith’s eye ridges and threw it at the other weyrling. Breathing be damned! Her first instinct had been right - the boy was a prat.
“You have any kids, M’kal? Do you have any idea what it’s like? Do you care? What happens when you father some poor bastard, hm? You can’t raise them, either, not with Threadfall. That’s what the creche is for, you blinding idiot! So Mommy didn’t come visit, kiss your bruises, inflate your ego? Oh, you poor little prince.”

She rose and turned to the blue at her side still emitting the low, uncharacteristic growl. As she slung the oiling pack about Daltilith, she stroked his snout. She forced herself to pace her breathing before turning back to level a steady glare at the bronze weyrling. His words had done more than just sting, and it took every bit of willpower in her not to tear up for the self-loathing that threatened to return in full
“Faranth forbid you ever make a mistake. I said I was stupid in what I’d done, but how dare you tell me what to do with my own child, and how dare you try to make me feel guilty for her. It’s a good thing not ever bronze rider is like you,” she said, preparing to leave, “because I don’t think the Weyr could survive it.”

Zen