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 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:26 am
It was the morning of one of Veyes' rather rare free days, and L'thor was standing with Raith in the weyrbowl. A bag containing lightweight clothes and a painting was slung across his shoulder, and nervousness bubbled in his stomach. Today, he might find out something about D'los' family, about how he and Veyes were tied. Try as he might he couldn't stop fidgeting, or keep his mind off the captured moment in history wrapped up in several layers of cloth within the bag.
"It will be fine, L'thorMine," Raith assured him, dipping her head to nuzzle his cheek. "We will find some answers, and then both of you can relax. Knowing will help, I'm sure of it."
He hoped so. Sighing softly, L'thor reached up to run a hand along his lifemate's jaw. What if the family hated the idea of one of their blood being with another man? It could reflect badly on Veyes, and on whatever memories they had of D'los. Of Dephalos... Come to that, what if his parents didn't want Veyes to live at a Weyr anymore after hearing about how D'los had died; he doubted hold folk were all that aware that fatal flying accidents did sometimes happen.
"Don't. Worry." Raith nudged him harder and rumbled affectionately. "Everything will be fine. If things get nasty, I can have all of us away from there in a moment, remember?... And if his family gets grumpy, well, how are they going to get all the way up here to drag him back, humm?"
L'thor's lips twitched into a grin, and he turned to kiss his lifemate on the nose. "How wonderfully devious you can be." Right. everything would be fine. Relaxing a notch, L'thor shifted the hand of his bag and waited for Veyes to appear.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:49 am
It was morning, and Veyes finally got up from his sleep that was so sound he didn't even remember how he got all tucked into L'thor's bed. He couldn't remember much of what had happened after the 5th cup of wine either. Although he thought he had fun...well...he sort of remembered tickling L'thor on the feet. Then did Raith sit on him? Mm...he thought he might have kissed L'thor's face. But...great. It could have been any combinations of things. Well, at least from what he could remember he didn't do anything stupid that he might have regreted.
Either way, waking up in L'thor's furs was certainly nice even if L'thor wasn't there himself. His head felt a little sore but somewhere at night he must have had more wine...and water? Well at least his head wasn't pounding like other people said it might after getting drunk like that. He wondered if L'thor was feeling better today. Then, he remembered - They were going to his family home!
With that he sprung up out of the furs and rushed out...needing to get ready to take the flight. By the time, he was washed, dressed and back out into the bowl where L'thor was waiting it had been about an hour. "Hi L'thor!" He waved and then patted his small pack at his side. "I'm ready! And I remembered the scarves for my mom!" It was obvious that last night after the drinks must have not been in his head because he certainly didn't seem embarrassed as he might have been had he remembered.
He walked over to the two of them and smiled, "I can't wait to fly!" Patting Raith, he grinned. "You're faster than Con's boy. Well I'm ready when you are."
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:00 am
"Good!" L'thor grinned in return and swung up onto Raith's back. "Let's get going then," he smiled, offering a hand to Veyes to pull himself up by. He knew his friend could climb up without help by now, but he felt like making the friendly gesture.
Of course she was faster than a big silly bronze! Raith gave a rumble of amusement as Veyes climbed up; she'd show him how much better smaller dragons were! Once he was secure, the mottled green gave an exuberant bellow and flung herself into the air. It was good that things were getting back to normal between her lifemate and her young friend at last.
L'thor couldn't agree more, and his grin widened as they accelerated away from the Weyr. "Here we go!" he called to Veyes over the wind of their speed before calling to mind their destination. The fields, the homes, the healing hall that he had come to know far too well over those boring sevendays of convalescence...
The chill of High Reaches was replaced suddenly by the deeper cold of between. They remained in the black void for longer than usual thanks to the great distance they were covering, but it was still only about six heartbeats later that they burst out into the blazing sunlight of the Southern continent. As he looked down at Veyes' former home, L'thor found himself feeling somewhat nervous once more, though not as jittery as he had before Raith had calmed him down. A bit of nervousness was probably natural anyway. Who knew what he was about to find out?
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:21 am
Veyes took his hand happily and crawled up behind L'thor quickly strapping himself in and wrapping his hands around L'thor's waist. "Yay!" he squeaked in his merriment. "I'm ready!"
He patted Raith when they were finally in the air. "I've missed flying like this!" he said as he glanced around and looked to the ground. He lost his fear of the distance a long time ago. Everything seemed so...normal right now.
Between was a slight bit longer than usual and Veyes felt a shiver crawl up his back thankful that Raith and L'thor knew where they were going. Then they were suddenly over his home and in the bright sun! Veyes looked down and grinned. "I see my house! And someone's coming outside!" He hoped that it was his mom and he'd soon find out!
As they landed he could tell it was her and as soon as Raith settled down Veyes was unclasping the buckles and sliding off. He rushed forward to give her a BIG hug. "Mom! I'm home for a visit today." He said that immediate before anyone got the wrong impression.
"Oh is that so! And you bring...mmm...L'thor....and Raith with you." she hugged him fiercely then pushed him away just a little. "My...you've grown so much since I last saw you." But then pulled him right back in. "I'm so happy to see you, my son..." She was on the verge of joyful tears and soon she was wiping her eyes on her apron. Veyes' mother had the more delicate face, a feminine sort of Veyes...maybe a bit like D'los. If it wasn't for the harder life maybe more so but she did seem a bit weathered but the smile was genuine.
"And you, Young man." she waggled a finger at L'thor. "You should bring my son to visit more often. And look at you, scruffy chinned rider. You need a shave. Tsk." Just like a mom, she dragged both of them into the house. "Now now...you should both settle in and have some Klah. I was just heating it up when you arrived. Father's out in the field and you're little brother is out there helping him. I bet you they'll be coming back soon since they probably saw the dragon."
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:30 am
L'thor managed a grin and avoided retorting to her comment about him needing a shave. Maybe he wanted to grow a beard, eh? Maybe he just liked looking a bit disheveled? Maybe he'd just forgotten about it in the whole mess over her son looking like his dead weyrmate and her son nibbling his stomach? He was not a man who took well to being mothered, but this woman was important to Veyes so he would tolerate it with a smile. No sense making this more awkward than it had to be.
"Life has been busy," he said as he sat down, "but I shall certainly make the effort to bring him more often. He's lucky if he gets one day to himself a month though, candidates are worked hard." And his facial hair was none of her business. Come to that she was lucky he'd brought Veyes at all; riders did not run around at the whim of holders after all... Still, here he was, she was probably just being friendly and over-controlling like every parent in the world, and she was offering klah. No need to be tense.
"Thank you," he added with another slight smile, "some klah would be greatly appreciated." And now he didn't know what to say. Hopefully Veyes would think of something, surely he had a lot to tell her. The business that had motivated them to finally come down here could wait for now.
Raith, who was now lounging comfortably outside, rumbled to herself in amusement; for once, L'thor had calmed down without her influence. Next thing you knew, she'd be laying eggs!
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:41 am
Veyes laughed as she commented about L'thor's face. "He's just like that Mom. Raith is constantly on him trying to keep him in line. It's just impossible." He took the cup of Klah she gave him and watched as she handed a big full mug to L'thor. The Klah smelled strong and fresh with a slight hint of spice.
She grinned and patted her boy on the head. "Oh well I'm glad that someone tries to keep the kids in line even if its a dragon doing it. So only one day off a month? Goodness. No wonder you haven't been home. Well, I'm so happy you're here." She went to the stove and started to put food on a plate. Homemade biscuits and gravy with eggs on the side. "I hope you too are hungry."
Veyes nodded even knowing he had a little food before he left. He wouldn't tell his mom that he had been drunk as a skunk the night before. "Oh I am!"
Finally, after the plates were served she sat down as her husband walked into join them with Veyes' younger brother who immediate flung himself into Veyes' arms before he could speak. "YOUR HOME!"
Veyes' father a bit more salt of the earth, took his mug first. "Are you just visiting or are you returning here?" The man seemed 'nice' enough for the most part but not nearly as warm. "Hello Rider... I see you're looking well after all this time." He probably was referring to the first time he met L'thor after the cat attack.
"I'm just visiting, Father. I have to be back for chores in the morning." he said adding the last line to make sure the man understood where he must be.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:53 am
"Why thank you," L'thor flashed the man a bright smile, "you look well yourself!" Pleasantry dealt with, he happily tucked into the food proffered; he'd only had a redfruit for breakfast and was more than ready for more. "This is delicious," he said, turning to Veyes' mother with a smile, "thank you." A child, a grumpy father, and a clucking hen mother. Oh boy. Still, the food really was very good, and so was the klah; he could deal with this no trouble.
"Quite a lot has happened since we were last here," he added, shooting Veyes a smile. "Veyes probably knows as much dragon lore as a weyrling now." Not any of the stuff you had to actually have a bond to learn of course but he saw no need to mention that, might as well play up the best bits and leave some others out. That incident with the lake for example, no way his friend's father should be allowed to find out about that little moment of stupidity. It was all part of the learning curve of life of course, but that didn't mean the man would be happy about it.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:31 pm
"Oh that is good to hear! So our boy is doing well it sounds. Is that a lot of dragon lore" said Veyes mother rather curious because she didn't know so much about the Weyr workings. She finally sat and started to eat from her own plate only after situationing Veyes' young brother who was now yapping about dragons and flits.
"Where's your flits, L'thor??" he said and put some meat to the side. "Here River! Here Dusk! Come out come out whereever you are. I got nice meat for you!"
Veyes' father watched L'thor and Veyes for a bit then settled into eat as well. "So you ain't got a dragon yet? We thought you might already have one by now. What's it been...2 turns?"
Veyes nodded slowly, "Well, as L'thor said I'm learning a lot. Just waiting for a dragon to pick me that's all."
His dad sort of huffed in thought and took another bite. "So if it don't work out, you plan on coming back to the farm? We could use an extra hand with the herd."
"Oh Dear...Let's not talk about that. I'm sure that Veyes didn't come all this way for you to start telling him about working on the farm again." she laughed and tossled her son's hair. "I'm glad you came to see us even if it is for just one day. I've missed you."
Veyes smiled at his mom, thankful she spoke up and got between he and his dad about the matter. She was good about that fortunately. As he took another bite, he tried to insert the subject that had been eating at him. "Hey Mom, could you tell me some things about your sisters? I was wondering...did you're sisters have any kids?"
She paused for a moment between a bite and a sip of Klah. "Well, yes Veyes, both of my sisters had children."
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:43 pm
"Yes, there's a lot to know," L'thor affirmed with a nod. "You have to know their anatomy in detail, how to wash and oil them properly, etiquette for when they're very young, how to make and maintain a flying harness; all that and more..." Oh great, he hoped the child wasn't going to burst into tears or anything when he told him that the blues would not be appearing. "I'm afraid they're not with me right now," he said after a brief pause, as there really wasn't a way around admitting it. "They're somewhere around Ista right now... if your parents say its alright though you can go out and talk to Raith." Hopefully that would deal with it, and Raith quite liked children in any case, everyone was a winner; she got to be with a child for once, the child got to be with her, and he got to be without the child.
"It can take a long time for people to be chosen," he went on, turning to Veyes' father; no way he was going to let the man act like this! "I was very lucky, Impressed second time I stood, but my friend V'kain first stood aged twelve and didn't find his lifemate until he was seventeen! Sometimes it just takes a while for the right dragon to come along." And sometimes of course it never happened at all. No need to go into that though, it wasn't something Veyes would want to hear about especially after his father's poke to come back to the farm... Besides, it seemed that his young friend was getting towards the point. Forcing himself to keep calm, L'thor set aside his cutlery, picked up his mug of klah, and sat back in his chair to listen.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 1:57 pm
The smaller boy frowned and his lip pursed up with a small case of the sads coming on until L'thor said he could see Raith. "REALLY!!!??? OH Mom! Can I see the Dragon!!?" The kid was a bundle of excitement and his mom just started laughing.
"Oh I think it's alright. After and only after you eat...and you must finish." said Veyes mother her eyes glancing towards Veyes' dad long before he spoke up against it. Seemed like she had developed a bit more back bone over the past couple years too.
"Raith is a really sweet dragon." Veyes added quickly hoping his father wouldn't interject anything. His father watched his mother for a moment then took a drink of his Klah. "Very well but you've chores, boy so don't let the moment go to your head.
"YAY!" the kid squealed and started shoveling in food fast wanting to get outside quicker than could be!
"So Mom, did your sisters having an boys? L'thor might have known one of them. He looked a lot like me. His name was Dephalos."
"Mmm....Dephalos?" she covered her lips with her fingers and pondered the name then got up and wandered out of the kitchen and pulled out a box that had various small skins in it. "That name...mm..let me see. My sisters both had boys but...that name... mm.." She dug in the box and pulled out an old thicker skin. "Ok Veyes, lets look at the family tree that you're Grandfather Dephan gave me."
She walked over and sat back down beside her boy. "So you said he looked like you? Well you look like Grandpa Dephan quite a bit and the brief time I met his father...ummm...you never met him but he was your great grandfather....His name was...umm..Dephanos. Dephanos from what I remember looks a bit like you both. You fortunately got the best features of the family." She smiled and spread out the family tree skin.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 2:06 pm
Arg! Tension! Too much! Trying to force his muscles to relax, L'thor twisted around to look at the skin. His eyes hardly knew where to start, unfamiliar names one after the other invaded his mind. He didn't care about them, all he wanted to know about was D'los. Heart hammering, he cast his eyes towards the bottom of the skin; D'los would be close to there, if he was recorded on here at all. He had to be. The names, the looks, it was all there, all plain to see. All that remained was to slot all the pieces of the puzzle perfectly together.
"He studied at Harper hall from the age of twelve until he was fifteen," L'thor put in helpfully. "After that he was Searched to Ista Weyr, this would be about... just coming up to thirteen turns now, a little less." He was on there. Somewhere, he was on that skin. It was almost surreal, sitting around the table with members of his family after all this time.
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 3:56 pm
"Mm...we also have a painting of Dephalos too if that will help you, Mom." said Veyes as he peered down at the family tree.
"Oh? You do? I'd love to see it and it could help." she said as she started to look over the names on the branches working her way across to Dephanos' line. " Our family has quite an interesting history Veyes. Did you know that your great grandfather was a Harper? He used to paint and was very interested in depicting historical events. This is why we have such good knowledge of our family tree because Dephanos. His handwriting is all of this.." She pointed along the skin to a very elegant hand done in fine ink. "And Dephan, he was a Harper too but more of a storyteller like you are. He always said Dephanos took too much time for painting history rather than staying in the future with his family. I think there was many hard feelings there."
Veyes nodded and stared at the skin, "This is very interesting, Mom. You should see this L'thor."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 6:57 am
"Oh, yes, right." L'thor nodded and bent to open his bag, briefly wishing he had somewhere to go and change as he spotted his lightweight clothes but quickly forgetting that as he laid hands on the cloth-wrapped package. "Here," he pulled aside the wrappings and laid it down on an empty space on the table. "He painted it himself," he explained, gesturing at it, "we were about twenty at the time."
He remembered it well. The two of them had posed like that, and Allieth had fixed the image in her mind. After that, D'los had sat at his easel for hours, brush flicking lightly over the canvas, pausing every so often to check a detail in his lifemate's mind's eye. It had taken up all his free time for couple of sevendays, and Allieth had joked that she would never be able to forget the image after how many times she had called it to mind for D'los. While he himself had of course been happy that his weyrmate was so happy, he'd almost felt as though D'los liked working on the painting more than he liked him. Jealous of an inanimate object, well done L'thor! Ah well, he'd got over it when the piece was finally finished, and D'los had made it up to him...
It seemed like yesterday it had all happened, but it had been seven turns. Seven. Well, he supposed time flew when you were enjoying yourself, and he had been enjoying his life by and large. Even after losing D'los he had become happy again in half a turn or so. Thing were feeling a bit rough again now but they would get better, most things did in the end.
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 7:58 am
Veyes' mother took a look at the painting on the table and smiled. "He looks like he could be your brother, Veyes. Quite handsome if I might say." She winked at her son as any please mother would for having such a good looking boy. "Ah...I'm sure he's related, just a little more delicate than you." she smiled and looked down at the skin. Letting her finger not quite touch it's surface but running down a line of ink.
Veyes could only stare as she went over this. The information was actually interesting. It was amazing he had never thought about stuff like this before and now thought he was lucky that someone actually kept information like this. He wondered why his mother had the skins but that was a different question for another time.
"Mmm...." she paused at her elder sister's line. "3 girls?" That doesn't seem quite right. I was sure that....Oh wait." She peered very closely at the markings. "Theres a note...mm...see secondary skin. Oh...I'll be right back"
She got up from the table and pulled out the box again. Then just brought the small box to the table and set it down. She rifled inside poking around for another skin and pulled it out . "This is a family skin. Great grandfather was a little...um...a**l retentive and well he never could just leave well enough alone in the family tree."
She unrolled the skin and it had little swatches of hair sewn by inked boxes. She peered over it. "You're here, Veyes." She pointed to a swatch of hair that indeed was his color and wavy." Then her finger wandered back up the tree and over to another branch. "De...Dephalos. Yes. Here he is! Grandpa made this note I see. Looks like Great Grandfather goofed when he entered Dephalos and put him down as Dephala...a girl. Seems like Dephan corrected it but never corrected the larger skin. They really were so much alike. I guess that's why they didn't get along."
She paused for a moment then pointed to a healthy swatch of hair that was curly and looked similar to Veyes but had a bit more bounce. "That's Dephalos. He...is...well was a first cousin to you, Veyes. And he was my sister's boy. Mm...So he became a dragon rider. I suppose I should enter that information on the skin. We had one other rider in our line a very long time ago before Dephalos." She pointed back to the main skin and further up the line.
Veyes ran his finger along the swatch of curly hair maybe feeling a bit relieved that D'los was related rather than some uncanny resemblance based on nothing more than a whim of fate. The hair was soft and probably the only thing that was left of D'los' physical form on Pern. He wondered what L'thor might be thinking but at least the truth was finally revealed. "Thanks Mom. I'm glad we finally know."
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Posted: Sun Nov 22, 2009 8:11 am
Well. L'thor sat back in his chair, allowing all the information to sink in. Cousins. It explained a lot. It was good to know. That little lock of hair was creepy. Really creepy. It was wrong for it to be stuck on some old skin, kept away for just anyone to reference when they felt like it. The hair hadn't been necessary, not at all necessary... but there it was, and there was nothing he could do about it. Well, he could pull it off and burn it or something but he wasn't about to do something so drastic just because it unsettled him; he wanted to, but Raith was sending waves on sensible his way and he wasn't feeling inclined to fight them.
"His rider name was D'los," L'thor volunteered. "He Impressed green Allieth late in his fifteenth turn, died about half way through his twenty-forth." That was enough information for their little family tree; they hadn't known him, so they didn't deserve more than that. It was different with Veyes, Veyes was his friend and he had wanted to talk. He didn't want to talk to these people about D'los, they were not a part of his life, he would not bare his soul to them anymore than he had already had by showing them the painting.
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