|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Thu Aug 27, 2009 3:50 pm
"Ruinnth. Would you please tell Lyveana that R'than is here to speak with her. It is important, but not truly urgent. If she is busy he can return later."
R'than straightened the cuffs of his shirt and blew out a long slow breath as he thanked his lifemate for the announcement. He had come directly from submitting is application, and honestly the reality of the situation had yet to sink in. It was quite fortunate that by now it took so little effort to know what his duty was or he might not be standing here now, he might be off to tell friends first. He was a rider though, a rider before he was R'than, Lyveana's second before he was R'than. He owed it to his wingleader to tell her of his decision right away.
Somehow he didn't have very high hopes for this meeting, especially as he was bringing her news that two other members of her wing had chosen to go to the new Weyr. As her second, it was his duty to keep her up to date on such matters though. At least the wing had a full compliment now rather than the initial twelve of them. Three riders gone was a blow, but they would manage. If enough riders left across the Weyr, one wing might even be disbanded, to make numbers back up in others. They would be fools if they disbanded any wing but Hurricane. A perfect chance to rid themselves of a terrible mistake...
But that was not why he was here. He was here to tell Lyveana that very soon he would be gone, and she would have a new wingsecond. He was here to explain his reasons, his professional ones at any rate. He was a rider and Lyveana's second before he was R'than. He was not here as R'than. R'than's feelings didn't matter. He had chosen this flight path as a rider, and he would explain himself as a rider. The fact that he was relieved he had been able to honorably make this choice on a personal level mattered not at all.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 7:10 am
Garith's rider is here to see you.
The thought, usually a wisp of emotion given a voice, fell heavily into the back of Lyveana's mind. Looking up from her writing, the greenrider peered beyond the curtain that divided her work space from Ruinnth's couch with a concerned expression. Does that bother you dearheart? Nevermind why they were here, it could be an number of reasons, but she had never heard that particular tone from the dark green.
They are waiting outside.
With that for a reply, Ruinnth suddenly turned away and adjusted her sleeping position so the only part of her visible was the bulk of her stomach and haunches. Even the line of her wings and the tension along her topline suggested that the green was irritated, but without any further explanation, Lyveana could barely begin to console her.
Which only left arching a brow at the dragon's obvious displeasure for the moment, with a swift mental caress promising something else later. She idly wondered what Garith or R'than had done to awaken the green's ill humor, but she rose nonetheless in a decent frame of mind to greet R'than at the entrance to the weyr she shared with Jevasi and her green Meridoth. She supposed it might be nearing that time for Ruinnth, but Lyveana was not the kind of woman to let such emotions cloud her reason.
Nearing the entrance, she turned the corner and caught sight of the older dragonrider immediately. Since he always looked officious, Lyveana could not immediately discern what the topic of this visit was going to be, but she beckoned him over easily enough. When not in meetings or on the wing, Lyveana found that she was more comfortable simply keeping up a polite informality with the riders of her wing, especially with R'than. Despite his sometimes cold attitude towards her, she valued his opinions as an experienced rider, and as long as he respected her position and her ideas, she saw no reason to antagonize him. Whatever the reason for this visit, she assumed it was business related, given the nature of her visitor.
"R'than, Garith. Good afternoon. Come inside off the ledge R'than, it is awfully hot out."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 11:07 am
Here went then. "Thank you Lyveana." R'than gave the other rider a respectful nod and stepped gratefully into the shade of her weyr. He saw no point in beating about the bush, might as well get straight to it. "I've applied to move with Favan whgen she leaves the Weyr," the grey-haired rider said somberly. "I felt you ought to be the first to know. From what I've gathered through talking to friends of mine, and through general gossip, not many experienced riders are choosing to leave. As we don't know what the knew place will be like, I felt that I ought to." There was that feeling of trepidation again, uncertainty was not a thing he relished. What would the place be like? How would Favan handle herself? Who else would actually go in the end? All unknowns, all things to worry about.
"I am sure you will be assigned another wingsecond soon," he went on with a slight nod, "but I know my leaving will inconvenience you and the rest of the wing. For that I apologise... And I feel you should also know, Lyveana, that two others from Hurricane wing are planning to leave; Z'ven and A'ras. I've not heard that any of the others intend to though."
There, that was his initial statements out of the way. Maybe he would have to defend himself further, maybe she would want to talk about other things. Frankly he didn't care either; he would humor her, could tolerate her for a short while longer. The day of departure, however, could not come soon enough for him. He'd had enough of this place that had once been home.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 30, 2009 4:29 pm
Her pleasant mood rapidly deteriorated once R'than made the reason for this visit plain. Her relaxed posture evaporated as he spoke, and her eyes focused sharply on his face while she waited for him to finish. Kudos that he at least had the decency to tell her first, and while she couldn't blame some for leaving due to the overcrowding, it struck her as terribly irresponsible for someone in R'than's position to do so.
"I did not realize that a Weyr with an older pair of Weyrleaders would lack experienced riders." Lyveana replied once the full weight of his words had sunk in. She couldn't help the tinge of acidity in her tone, but it really didn't require a lot of forethought for a Wingleader to be annoyed that their 'Second was abandoning their post for a reason like that. She may not look kindly upon the face of Weyr gossips, but even she had heard the rumor of why the unknown Weyr needed Favan. Senior queen no longer rising? In need of a clutching Queen? Really, it did not take a genius to get a feeling for the situation...
"My apologies R'than, I do wish you well." She added, though her facial expression proved that first part to be a lie. "The inconvenience will certainly be short lived, and I appreciate that you had the forethought to let me know of your decision and that of Z'ven and A'ras as soon as you were able." Ah, A'ras. Perhaps she would actually drink to that one's departure.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 3:42 am
Well he hadn't exactly expected it to go well. Egh. "At this point, nobody is certain if the Weyr she is moving to even has a senior pair or not," R'than said calmly. "Some gossip that she’s off to take over an established Weyr, some say that a new one is being begun to ease the crowding in many Weyrs. I do not know which is the case Lyveana, and so I am going. Even if I was sure that she was going to an established Weyr however," he continued before he could be cut off, "I would still choose to accompany her. Honestly, I don't know what sort of a leader she'll make, she's untried, and I'm not going out of respect for her. As I said, most of the people going are young and inexperienced, many are candidates. I think it would be good for them to have somebody older they at least recognise to ask for advice, or just to look out for them in a place that may not be entirely friendly to them."
This woman was just so... He couldn't stand her. The sooner he was out of here the better. She'd probably be better of with a second who could stomach her on a personal level in any case, if indeed such a man existed. Perhaps D'tai would be kind enough to choose one of the riders who had not been opposed to her appointment. It would certainly make his selection process an awful lot easier, most of the candidates would be counted out from the start. A wingleader who wouldn't be able to fulfil her duty when it came to a pinch. He couldn't imagine the rider who would be happy to be second to her.
"Perhaps one of our bronzes," Garith suggested. "They seemed to accept her... though I suppose they might look at it differently knowing they would one day need to cover for her weakness."
Mmm, yes, quite. Still, in all of this overpopulated Weyr there had to be at least one brown or bronze who would take the task. "In any case," R'than sighed and turned his head briefly to look out over the Weyrbowl. "One less rider and one less dragon to feed will do this place a favor. I am sure you and all who remain will benefit from an ease in the crowding."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 9:35 am
There was a lot she could have said in rebuttal, but Lyveana reminded herself that he was leaving before she spoke again. There was nothing he could say that would make her see the logic of his reasoning, and she suspected that there was little she could say at all.
Perhaps A'ras was not my biggest problem... She thought to herself, taking a mental step back to assess what was really going on here. All of this time, she had figured R'than for the type of man that had his priorities firmly in order, and while she certainly had held no illusions that he enjoyed being the wingsecond to a 'green rider.' For him to delude himself with logic like that.... something just wasn't matching up. To base his decision on a rumor, it just was not something she would have ever thought he would do, especially when he had duties and responsibilities here outside of being a wingsecond.
"Once again, thank you for letting me know." She said, keeping her eyes trained on his face. She wasn't going to argue with him, not when she suspected she did not want to know why he was really leaving. With Ruinnth already being in a foul mood, Lyveana doubted she would be able to keep her cool if she heard something prejudicial come from this rider whom she had trusted.
"You can go now, clear skies."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 31, 2009 10:33 am
It was over, thank goodness. R'than saluted Lyveana and nodded. "Thank you. I hope you're new wingsecond is appointed soon, along with replacements for Z'ven and A'ras. Fly well Lyveana." Giving the woman a final nod, he turned and walked swiftly out of the weyr, swinging onto Garith's neck and signaling the brown take take off the moment he was secure. It was a shame the other members of the wing weren't coming, he considered as Garith climbed towards their weyr. He liked most of them quite a lot, and he hated to think of them in danger. A wingleader who could never hope to fly a Threadfall. By the first egg he hoped she was removed before anyone was hurt, hoped it desperately.
Part of him wanted to try to talk those who hadn't decided to go of their own accord into following Favan, but he couldn't contemplate something so dishonorable even if it was for their own good. They were good riders all, they would survive one way or another. They probably would... Perhaps he should have opted to stay instead, so that he could protect them. No. It was too late to second guess himself. He was doing what he thought was right. Hurricane wing would be alright without him until the Thread began to fall, and when it did D'tai would have no choice but to remove Lyveana, or to only let the wing fly a third of each fall. Other wings would have to pick up their slack, but the men and women he had come to think of as friends would be in no more danger than any other rider. It would be alright. He hoped.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
