Thoughts of home turned fondly in Theo's mind, and Sylfie's disbelief at the idea of such a chilly place made him smile. "I never really minded it when I was young. Not more than I imagine you must mind winter at High Reaches," which surely he felt couldn't be so very much. "I visit," when had he last done so? It'd been...turns. "Sometimes. I see Herg'r more often than the rest...by virtue of him being at the Weyr." Where he found himself roaming once or twice a turn for the hatchings at least. It was always nice to see his older brother, even if the blond was a bit rambunctious for Theo. Coming from anyone else it would have been painfully social, but not with Herg'r. They'd had that dynamic—push and pull, give and take, loud and quiet, since birth, after all!
"The travel gives me a chance to see many places, many things, meet many people. I miss home, sometimes, I do. But the world there was...was just so small. Safe, but small." He took a breath, steeling himself much as he'd done the day he'd left home to go to Harper Hall. "It can be overwhelming, but sometimes, well. Sometimes I think that's why it's so wonderful." His eyes trailed back to the young weyrlings all gathered around with their hatchlings, Past them the sun glinted off the sapphire sea. Jade jungles rippled with the light breeze, and all around
people talked, moved, breathed, lived. "Sometimes it's all I can do not to bury my head and hide, just for a while, until it seems a bit...less. But then I would miss
all this. And I could never forgive myself for it."
A moment later the man flushed, the back of his neck burning red beneath his ponytail. Oh, he'd just, ahhh. He'd meant every word, but it was so... He glanced at Sylfie, and then steeled his spine (as best a man made of rosewater and the softness of velvet could do), swallowing down the urge to lessen any of what he'd said by backing out now.
