Those Who Ride Green

Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonriders of Pern. All rights belong to Anne McCaffrey. I do however own L'kar, Piqueth, T'mas, Sigeth, and any other OCs that I have created for this tale.

A/N: I am issuing a warning to all. This story contains a MALE/MALE relationship. If you do not like such pairings, please refrain from reading any further and move on to another fanfic more suited to your taste. I will not tolerate flaming or any insults for writing this tale just because of this issue. It is well known to all fans that such relationships occur in Pern. Seeing as there are so few tales about such riders, I have taken the chance to throw in my own. Other than that, please feel free to comment and criticize my work.

Time: Whenever there was still female green riders or after their renewal into the ranks of dragonriders. (I could say Ninth Pass. Either way these are tales of dragonriders never mentioned in the stories. Thus the involvement of Queens is almost non-existent and only a handful of Bronzes shall appear. This will focus on the less talked about Greens, Blues, and Browns.)

Chapter One: Harsh Reality

This can't be happening… Why? No…

With riding a green it was well known what nature your life would turn to. A life with many mating flights and waking with possibly a different rider at your side after every single one. That was how it worked. How it has always worked and nothing could ever change that very nature of riding greens.

L'kar himself had woken many mornings next to some rider he had never seen before inside the Weyr and some he had seen and knew very well. Not once had he been bothered by this ordeal as he had grown used to such situations. Weyr-life expected that such should happen and that riders were forced to adjust. Hold bred or otherwise.

Except this morning was different from all the other mornings. His heart wasn't prepared for the sight of the man next to him. Light green eyes felt tears pooling in them as he looked at the slumbering male. Broad shoulders, golden skin rising and falling with each calm breath. The shock of jet black hair falling lightly across closed eyes.

He felt a tad betrayed by Piqueth's choice in this flight as he looked at the man, whose name he knew well, T'mas. T'mas was a stoic man who rode the largest bronze dragon of the Weyr. It was odd that the man was not Weyrleader already for his bronze was sure to capture any Queen that rose to the sky. However his dragon Sigeth seemed to enjoy catching greens more than anything.

Why?

He sobbed softly, hastily escaping from the bed, grabbing whatever clothes he could find and throwing them on. He ignored the pain that ran up his back and the complaints of sore muscles as he dashed out of the weyr, past his contently slumbering Piqueth and into the bowl.

He was careful to guard his emotions, slipping on the soft sand of the bowl as he ran down to the lake. He had a special hide-away there, a place where he could be alone with his thoughts, a place where he had hidden to avoid trouble or duties.

Why? Of all the greens why did he have to fly mine…?

He angrily wiped the tears from his face, huddling up into a ball inside the small crevasse in the stone wall of the bowl. His heart hurt within his chest as he kept quiet and just kept repeating the same line over and over again.

His pain was caused from his emotions for the bronze rider. Piqueth was two clutches after Sigeth's clutch. As such L'kar was younger than the bronze rider by a full four turns and thus he was still a little fragile when it came to his emotions. Despite the many turns of having paired with his green and being the focal point of many a flight.

It was simple, the reason why he was reacting this way to the pairing of this flight. T'mas held a special place in L'kar's heart more so than any rider he had ever met within the Weyr or outside of its walls.

He loved T'mas. So deeply it was almost able to rival the love he had for Piqueth. That was why he felt betrayed by Piqueth's choice of Sigeth. Why he was so shell shocked to wake next to the man he had fallen for.

His heart had not been ready. He had not wanted things to happen this way between the two of them. Running out on the slumbering bronze rider probably made things even worse than he realized.

He cursed himself for his folly. He should have acted better than this.

He might not like me now… It was rude of me to leave him there alone…. He thought to himself, peeking through the crack to where he could see the entirety of the Bowl, catching the glimpse of dragonriders milling about for the day. He caught the sight of that familiar shock of black hair, still mussed from the night's activities of the evening flight.

The damage is done…. I have no hope now… He sighed. It was time to pry himself away from his cubby and back to check on Piqueth. He knew other riders will note T'mas' arrival alone into the dining hall that morning instead of being escorted by L'kar. As was the custom after a mating flight.

The consequences would have to wait. Right now his dragon came first and then himself. His jade green eyes looked up at the massive green, larger than the usual greens that had hatched. In fact she was the largest one out of her clutch. He ran a hand over the smooth hide, delighting in the shade of green it was for it matched the color of his eyes.

Many a blue and brown rider had commented on that fact before, causing him to beam slightly with the remarks. She grumbled and stirred at the feeling of his hand moving down her side. Lids slid back and revealed sleepy eyes that swirled a nice shade of blue-green. Her massive head lifted from the ground and gently pushed her nose against his side.

Morning love… He smiled up at her, hands reaching up and rubbing her eye ridges, causing him to chuckle at her croon and forget his earlier distress.

Morning to you to…. The soft feminine voice echoed in his mind as the green shifted to her feet and stretched herself out in the weyr.

How are you feeling?

Fine as always… She scoffed, tilting her head to the side, sensing the still roiling emotions her rider was experiencing. Something troubles you… have I done something wrong? Piqueth quested, eyes whirling yellow as she became worried for her rider, wondering if she had erred somehow.

Its nothing… don't worry love. You haven't done anything wrong… go back to sleep. L'kar replied, reassuring her he was fine before heading down himself to get food. Maybe he would locate Selina, another green rider and ask her for advice while he was down there. Though he was usually the one to give the younger green rider advice for she was still adjusting to her new life.

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The noise the eating area seemed light and jovial as dragonriders and weyrfolk alike got the simple breakfast of klah and the leftovers of the other night. It seems the Headwoman was fighting off a cold after her accidental drop into the lake the other day.

The five Weyrwoman sat at their table, each one engrossed in their debate over thread and the challenges every rider was facing with the fact that after this thread will not fall. Each female at the table was the symbol of power for the Weyr itself and every dragon followed the commands of the Queens, young or old.

A few bronze riders came to join them, one of the being the Weyrleader and the others the current weyrmates of the highly ranked women. The other bronzes of the Weyr sat anywhere else as every color sat in a jumble. When you rode a green, blue or brown… it didn't matter who was sitting next to you. In all of Pernese history blues and greens never obtained a position of power in the Weyr. A few browns had once, but never a blue or a green. It was almost frustrating that the more essential dragons to a fighting wing were the lowest of the pack.

Such was the fate of those who were chosen by the more numerous colors.

L'kar shook himself from his rampant thoughts, letting out a sigh as the hall quieted slightly after his entrance. At once he could hear the gossip flitting about between all the riders of how rudely he had treated T'mas. A bronze rider being treated like that by a green rider was… a bit of a scandal within the Weyr.

He hung his head in shame, noting that T'mas was no where to be seen as he moved to sit next to Selina without saying a word. The small female tilted her head to the side, reddish-brown hair falling across her shoulder as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"What happened? It's so odd that you left a rider alone and to walk himself down to the hall this morning." She quested, pouring him a cup of klah for he had yet to do so himself. She then scowled before filling his plate full of food and pushing it under his nose. "Besides that…. Get something in you already. After such a long flight you need to eat…"

L'kar had shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to talk about it with so many others around the two of them. He gave in to her insistence and started to pick at his plate before finally slipping a slice of roasted wherry through his lips. Once the still flavorful meat hit his tongue he finally realized that he was indeed starving and quickly tucked into the meal, pausing to swig down some more of the bitter morning klah before it could get cold.

Selina laughed, rubbing her fellow green rider's back. "Take it easy… we can't have you wind up choking like some ravenous hatchling can we? The food isn't going anywhere…" She teased, brushing back her long hair, feeling it come to rest at the middle of her back.

L'kar smiled at her jibe and slowed down. He was feeling better again with just talking to her like this. "Alright… geeze… you can be worse than a mad wherry…" He teased back, chuckling at her indignant glare.

"Humph..." She pouted, crossing her arms and looking away from him. She couldn't hide herself long before laughing freely and leaned against him. "There we go… that's my old L'kar…" She looked relieved, soft blue eyes reflecting her relief. "Come… let's get moving before J'ter arrives. He has a lesson to learn…" She grinned, barely hiding the tinge of anger beneath that grin though.

"Oh dear… are you two fighting again? What did he do this time?" He quested, moving to stand with her, grabbing their dishes and leaving them in the regular drop off area and heading out of the clamor of other riders still eating.

Selina and J'ter were an item. Her green Rigedth had been caught by his blue Narteth during her last flight. This worked well in Selina's favor for she had fallen head over heels for the blue rider ever since he searched her out from the minor hold she once lived in.

"It's not like he did something, but more like he didn't do something!" She ranted, launching into the tale of their more recent struggles of being together. As she talked her hands waved animatedly through the air, accenting just how annoyed she was right now with the blue rider. As usual L'kar just listened to her ranting as they walked towards her weyr, waiting until she was finished before offering any advice.

"Well… you should talk to him more. Communication is the key for any relationship. You can ask any person in this Weyr and outside it and they will tell you the same exact thing. J'ter might still be feeling a little unsure on how to deal with such a wild woman like your-self." He teased, causing her to blush a deep shade of red, rivaling the Red Star with how deep it was.

"Oh… fine…." She grumbled, deciding right there and then was the best time to stop herself from mentioning anything else concerning her and her weyrmate. "Tell me about what happened… I am slightly concerned L'kar." She offered him a seat before taking her own, waving Rigedth's curious head out of her section of the weyr to leave them alone.

L'kar scowled. After the pleasant forgetting of the past events she had to drag up something he still didn't really want to talk about with her. The look in her eyes eventually convinced him to talk with her. He could trust her.

"I…" He didn't know where to start. He felt confused and suddenly very foolish as he looked away from her, glaring at the wall in his frustration. "I didn't want to be paired with T'mas…." He finally blurted out, ignoring those blue eyes going wide in shock and a hand covering her mouth.

He swore they widened so much that he could see himself from the corner of his eye reflected in hers. He growled, taking in the messy tangles of his rich umber colored hair, the slight baggage under his eyes and his wrinkled clothes. He was an embarrassment. He had been looked at just because of his appearance as well. Was that….?! He reached up and touched a small bruise-like mark that covered a small area of his neck.

As he did so he noticed that he was littered with the small marks and felt a mix of heat and emotional turmoil race through him. Selina seemed to understand that he had just finally taken thought to just how he looked and covered her mouth.

"T'mas seems to be quite the amorous lover despite that stoic exterior…" She teased, letting out her laughter with the shocked look on L'kar's face before he shouted at her to silence herself in his embarrassment.

"So why did you not want to be paired with him? Who wouldn't want a bronze rider to pair with? We all know they can be the best bed-mates in a flight…." She commented, after getting herself back under control.

"I… its complicated…" He murmured, trying to hastily readjust his clothes and hair to hide the many marks that littered his body and were exposed. He threw up his hands, finally giving up in his efforts as they were proving to be fruitless.

Selina looked cross as she flicked him harshly on the nose and glared at him. He could feel the weight of her dragon's eyes boring into his back from her section of the weyr. "L'kar… complicated or not there is still no reason to treat him that way. No matter how he acts…." She chided as she stood, hands on her hips and almost acting like an enraged Weyrwoman.

The sight was quite comical as the short woman glared up at him. She was at least a full two heads shorter than he was, but had signs she was still growing. She had two turns before it could be deemed that she was done with her growth.

"Look… promise to keep this quiet…." He murmured, forcing her to sit back down as he let out another sigh. How many times would he be doing this today? He wondered to himself as he tried to gather the will to explain things as best as he could to her.

"What do I look like? Some gossiping fire-lizard?" She scoffed, looking a tad hurt that he hadn't really thought her close enough to share any secrets with her. Despite the fact the two had been close for at least three turns now. He had been her mentor ever since Rigedth hatched and impressed her.

"No… sorry…" He hadn't realized how much that had hurt her and felt a tad guilty for not having told her sooner. "He didn't do anything wrong…. He is not guilty at all and I agree did not warrant such treatment from me." He sighed.

"You see… I… am in love with him…. Not just some girly crush and wanting to spend some nights in his bed…. This is something deep, something on par with how I feel about Piqueth." He rushed out. Love was an emotion that became hard for dragonriders to grasp and cling to. Yes there was attraction, but with how dragons were it made it very hard to actually settle on one person and be set for life.

Essentially, your one and true lifemate was your dragon. Those you happened to be with were temporary and strained at best. For dragons chose who flew them, not the rider. A few riders were able to cope with their unique situation by really understanding that the nature of dragons will never change.

They would spend many nights together, but if their dragon flew with another, that night had a chance of being spent with another. Before they could resume their relationship as it was before.

It was rough riding a green for it could eventually be a strain. Such that one is forced to hide how much of a strain it is from the very dragon they love so much. Queens suffered the same fate, but not as frequently as Greens. Besides, with the lower number of Bronzes it also happened rarely. Some Queens were caught by the same Bronze for many turns before choosing another.

So love was a harsh emotion to deal with because of the infrequency of dragons.

It was why so many hold-bred riders took so long to adjust. Hell, there have been a few that literally couldn't take such a drastic change and showed signs of being a tad messed up in the head.

So Selina was a little stunned. She had been hold-bred true, but she was able to adjust better due to her younger age of impression and not having the rules of hold-life beat into her. "You can't be serious… L'kar…. He's a bronze rider! Best bed-mates they may be, but we all know most of them only bed with us greens until the next Queen rises! How could you have fallen for one of them…" She hissed.

L'kar hissed back. "Because I hadn't known back then that he had impressed a bronze!" He shouted at her, feeling slightly wounded with her outrage. He quickly ducked and ran closer to the door as Rigedth sent a warning growl towards him.

Selina quickly ran over to calm the upset dragon, crooning to her and eventually getting the worried green back to resting. "I'm sorry L'kar… I didn't mean to…"

He shook his head. "No I'm sorry… I upset Rigedth…" He brushed back his hair and shook himself and tried to calm down. Rigedth had actually frightened him slightly. "I-I…. I need to go…." He stammered and quickly left the weyr, bumping into a shocked J'ter on his way out and running off down the hall.

J'ter blinked, brown eyes looking confused as he entered Selina's weyr. "What was that about? Narteth told me something had upset Rigedth so I came to check on you…"

Selina looked to him, a few tears in her eyes. "It was more my fault than his…. Oh J'ter…." She suddenly charged him and buried her face into his chest.

The blue rider was slightly confused, but rubbed her back soothingly. He decided it would be best to calm her down before figuring out just what was going on. One moment she was angry with him and now she was crying into his chest. Seriously, she was such a handful…. But one that he had a soft spot for.

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Before the noon-time meal they got the call for thread and all riders alike rushed to strap their harnesses to their dragons. Change into their riding gear and get their bags of firestone for the first portion of the flight. Dragons hic-upped flames after filling themselves with firestone, filling the air with the scent of the burning gas and flames.

One by one the wings took to the sky and vanished between and over one of the minor holds they protected. L'kar was one of the first to go before Selina and J'ter were to arrive on scene. The two happened to be in the same wing. L'kar knew those of his wing very well, but it was the wing next to his that seemed to bother him. T'mas was in that wing, leading it against thread.

There wasn't much time to exchange pleasantries as the sky darkened slightly. The wing above his cheered as they caught that silver shimmer against the sky, dragons erupting flames from their mouths and searing the deadly organism into mere ash.

With that the chaos, as holders below could only see, began. Dragons were ducking, diving, letting loose their flames against the thread. Some winked between with a cry as an unseen clump landed upon them or their rider. Some returned and continued to fight, injured minor enough that they were not bothered by them. Those who did not return most have fled to the Weyr and in the worst case scenario…. Fled forever. The injuries harsh enough that dragons knew better or riders had perished.

There was no time to mourn as a few re-fueled their dragons at a safe distance; others caught sacks of fire stone for they had already ran low. This fall was thicker than usual and caused for more flame in order to hit every clump.

L'kar had no time to worry about Selina and J'ter as Piqueth dived, narrowly missing a clump of thread that would have eaten into her wing. He checked to make sure that the Queen's Wing beneath them had caught the stuff before it could burrow into the forest beneath them.

His break was coming up for while greens were speedy and useful during a fall, they however had less endurance than the tad slower blues. He let out a sigh as Piqueth dodged another dragon, the two barely avoiding collision and flaming each other before he caught the hand signal that the greens of the currently fighting wings were to swap out with the greens of the same wing back at the Weyr.

Let's go Piqueth… back to the Weyr… She bugled in response, her massive bulk suddenly darting in front of the fall, getting the coordinates before winking between and back for a chance to rest.

Just as he arrived with the other greens, those on reserve took off with their own cheers and winked out of the air and to all the fighting dragons over the hold. Before she landed, Piqueth purged her stomach of the used up firestone before it could become fatal for her. Weyrlings quickly rushed to clean up the smelly mass of stomach juices and used firestone from the bowl to keep it clean.

A few younger riders ran up to check and make sure he wasn't one of the injured that had kept on fighting despite knowing better. Agitated and in need of rest he sent them a glare that caused the still learning young ones to scatter away from him and to other riders.

The pair quickly exited the bowl to make room for other dragons and to not be confused as one of the injured. Love… please contact Rigedth… ask if Selina and J'ter are alright…

Anything for you love…. She replied, going quiet for a moment before drifting back to him. Selina is fine, Rigedth says she was hit by a stray thread but they winked between before it could cause serious damage. Narteth has informed me J'ter is fine. Though he is making a fool of himself at the moment…. Piqueth sounded amused from something else the blue had said to her, but had chosen to not tell him.

L'kar was fine with that because he got a picture suddenly from Piqueth of J'ter hovering worriedly over her as two Weyrlings tended to her arm and leg. He shook his head, reaching for the set up cups of klah and meat-rolls for those who were taking a break before returning to fight Pern's menace.

His moment of peace was interrupted however as T'mas moved next to him. The bronze rider looked a tad rough but seemed to be in one piece. Noting that caused him to feel some relief that he hadn't gotten injured… well. He might not have, but Sigeth could have gotten hurt.

Piqueth… check on Sigeth… is he alright? He quested of his dragon, awaiting her reply. As he did he tried to make himself small and unnoticeable to the weary rider, but as the dark haired man turned, steel-grey eyes fell upon him. It was too late for escape.

Sigeth is just tired and his wingtip has been injured. Anything else love? She quested, looking at him from where she and the other greens were resting, eyes whirling with concern and worry.

No… just rest love… He replied, backing up as T'mas took a step towards him. His heartbeat was racing with his nervousness and his need to cut off his emotions from Piqueth.

The bronze rider had tilted his head to the side slightly, his usually blank face expressing a hint of concern for L'kar. He stopped his advance, much to L'kar's relief as he exhaled. "Did… I do something to hurt you?" T'mas quested in an almost flat voice, a tinge of worry barely highlighted.

L'kar noticed the worry and bit his lip, feeling unsure of how to proceed in this situation. "N-n-no…" He stammered, turning crimson as he could see a few riders had caught sight of them and were eyeing the pair with interest.

T'mas looked like he was about to say something, his fingers twitched along with his arm, but it remained at his side. "I see… then… why?" He asked, referring to this morning and how he had awoke alone in the bed and sensed he had been deserted.

L'kar scowled, not ready to reveal himself to this man at all. "It's none of your business…." He growled, just wanting some distance to think about this. He tried to move and run back to Piqueth, but an iron grip snaked around his bicep and kept him from vanishing in the crowd of riders flooding towards the klah stand.

"Wait…" Came T'mas' voice, wavering slightly with some emotion L'kar could not out a name to. "Don't go… I sense it is my business… or at least something I should know." There was a tinge of anger to that flat voice and it caused L'kar alarm as he swung and faced T'mas.

He was unaware of the tears that were quickly pooling in his eyes or just how he looked to the shocked bronze rider. "Just because you ride bronze doesn't mean you have the right to every detail of my life!" He shouted, the green rider was angry that T'mas wouldn't leave him alone and angry at himself for being a bit of a coward.

Then without warning a slap echoed in the air and riders froze, their eyes flocking to the red faced L'kar and the glowing red handprint on T'mas' cheek. There was a collective gasp from such a bold move on L'kar's part. No green rider was ever so bold to slap a bronze rider so openly.

T'mas released his grip in his shock, letting L'kar escape into the crowd and from sight. The steel-grey gaze blinked rapidly and then he lowered his head. He was greatly confused and suddenly became aware of the eyes that fell upon him. He could see it now, they were judging him and wondering if he was a harsh man to cause a green rider so much distress.

He didn't think he was a rough and mean tempered man. Something else was bothering Piqueth's rider and he knew it had something to do with him. He just had no idea what that might be.

TBC…