As they were gently herded to the Weyrling barracks after feeding their new charges, Nemeryn felt as though he was moving on autopilot. His mind felt strangely blank--and also far fuller than it had ever been. Lailokenth filled spaces he hadn't even known were empty, pressing against his awareness. Indisputably, the brown was his equal in every way he could imagine. He stripped off his Candidate robes, aware he needed to change and then quickly follow the rest Weyrlings down to where they would be bathing and oiling the dragonets.

He'd never thought much of being a dragonrider. A worthy aspect, surely, but what had truly brought him to the Weyr had been the vain hope of finding Aneirin. Once he had, Nemeryn had been content to merely linger at the ex-courtesan's side, enchanted as he always had been. Unlike most, if not all who came to Stand, Nemeryn didn't feel that desperate, wild urge for a hatchling to look his way. He always assumed he would be a pirate... until Lailokenth had smashed that notion into bits.

Even now, the small dragonet had turned to face him, mantling his wings and fixing him with a baleful, red-eyed stare. You are a fool. The brown growled. Did you think this was a game? Should I have settled for someone less worthy, so that you could continue to moon and pine and content yourself with being good enough? The emphasis on the last word was unmistaken. Nemeryn was adequate as he was. With Lailokenth, he would be more than great.

Despite the ferocity being thrown his way, Nemeryn could sense Lailokenth's unspoken words. Would he be forced to share? Set on an equal pedestal with some human? The mere thought was enough to cause genuine distress in the baby, and Nemeryn could see the barest hint of white beginning to whirl around the edges of those red eyes.

With a low, tired sound, the big man carefully kneeled so that he was face to face with the brown. "I don't know what I thought," He said slowly, "But I know what I think now." He fell silent, never one for speaking much more than he had to. He loved Aneirin, truly... but he knew, without a flicker of doubt, that he would die if something were to happen to Lailokenth. What better pair than they to join the fight against Threadfall? Who better to protect his family? No, there was no one more important in his world now than Lailokenth.

Slowly, the brown's wings began to close, the whirling in his stare growing less and less intense. Though he made a motion of seeming to consider his rider's words, he knew that Nemeryn did not lie.

Very well. He said decisively, shrugging off the only one thing he truly feared in this world. Come, then. There was nothing more that needed to be said, and if he paused just long enough to brush himself against his rider's legs, well. A fool Nemeryn might have been, but he was Lailokenth's fool.