Dragonriders of Pern: Fanfic: who knew delight could be so violent?

[schoolsasaint]

Title: who knew delight could be so violent?
Fandom: Dragonriders of Pern
Rating: General Audiences
Length: 593
Pairing: Lessa/Kylara
Content note: references to food scarcity, pineapple equivalent on pizza equivalent
Author's note: bronzerider Kylara au, because why wouldn’t I contribute to that?
Summary: There is no way to get around justified clashes of personality and taste.

Lessa is unlike all other daughters of the blood - and Kylara, who is sister to Lord Larad of Telgar and was daughter to Tarathel, the Lord Holder before him, has met as many as can be found fit to bare that title - in that she both can and will eat anything at least once, even strips of dried fish as tough and flavourless as boothide.

Kylara still lacks any idea what Manora thought she was doing, serving that kind of ration like it was fit for human consumption, supply issues or no supply issues. They are dragonriders. They could have collected fresh tithe from a smaller hold. It would take a strong will indeed to gainsay half a flight, even if it were made solely of blues. If they picked something near Tillek, there might even be fresh fish at meals.

And yet. And yet, at one and the very same time, Lessa is as strong-willed and obstinate as any Holder with dubiously stationary fence-posts.

Her Weyrwoman has definite opinions on what she doesn't like - and is far from shy from making them known, or worse, letting it be known which is its own kind of torment, the type that can be repeated if it is not understood (the fool of a green had, eventually, learned his lesson; the rest of the Weyr had learned it far quicker) - but, on the flip side of the mark, she will also occasionally find a strange liking to worst of things in the worst of combinations. The dried fish had been tedious and unpalatable. It's sheer blandness had been an offense in itself. Lessa hadn't particularly liked it (thank the first egg) but some of the things that she does enjoy ...

The Weyrwoman and Wyerleader share the same set of quarters - which is not, as Kylara smugly notes every time she climbs the deeply carved stairway to the prized chambers, a privilege that was afforded to previous Weyrleader, senior and hidebound as he was - so she is forced to witness evidence of said ... enjoyment. On their own, components of meal are acceptable. In limited combinations - Kylara had been pleased enough with the roast glazed with fruits from Southern, and certain varieties of hardfruit go well enough with or incorporated into cheese, and no more needs to be said about meatrolls - but bread and cheese and meat and fruit? It is unacceptable. Unacceptable, and yet accept it Kylara must if she wants sleep anywhere else than Pridith's embrace. And while Pridith is the finest dragon on Pern, save perhaps for the magnificence that is Ramonth, greatest and most glorious of golds, Kylara enjoys her furs too much to give up on them every time her weyrmate decides to mix fruit from Southern with slices of meat pies. Even if flies in the face of decency and good taste. Even if Lessa and the head of the lower caverns will collude to make a point about intraweyr communications. Then, even the stomach strengthened by turns of exposure to dragon feeding rebels.

Perhaps Kylara needs to reevaluate the benefits of being Weyrleader. Not that it would help much - Benden is her Weyr, and will be until Pridith goes between. And Lessa is not the kind of woman to ignore a weakness. Better to stay close and comfortable.

It is, for the most part, a habit that is tolerable. Kylara can always earn a bit of goodwill by riding a late sweep until the evidence has been disposed of.

Comments

[enchanted_jae]

An interesting take on Pernese relationships. Lovely story!

[schoolsasaint]

Thanks! <3