Telling Her Wingleader (Again)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 1st March 2019
Characters: Saibra, Erivana
Description: Erivana speaks to Saibra.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 12 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: K'yne, Saidrene, Kaibren, Yanley
Now that Erivana had made up her mind and talked it over with K'yne,
it was time to tell Saibra. She reached out to Seryth to ask Chioneth
when would be good. She hadn't been in the wing long enough to know
the Weyrwoman's busy schedule - after all Saibra had Wingleader duties
like overseeing her riders but she also had the whole rest of the Weyr
to worry about so she was probably _terribly_ busy. Especially since the
hatching and what had happened there... Whereas for her, the
timing didn't much matter to the greenrider, she was fairly free.
Maybe Saibra would prefer to talk after drills, or in the afternoon
when she was doing hidework, or maybe she had a particular time she
kept for speaking to wingriders...
}:My rider wishes to speak to yours. When would be a time when it is
convenient? She does not need a specific time,:{ the green asked the
gold.
}:Now is fine.:{ Chioneth relayed, even as she tried to squeeze close
enough into the weyrcouch to peek a look at her rider.
Saibra was sitting woodenly behind her desk, papers in front of her,
but eyes staring straight ahead. Ever since the hatching she'd had a
hard time getting herself motivated to work. There was an odd empty
place inside of her that she had never experienced. It was almost like
losing a child herself. Maybe it was because she found blame in
herself for what had happened.
Erivana came as summoned and knocked on the door. When she was called
in, she entered the room and brought herself up to salute the
Weyrwoman as was proper. "Ma'am, my duty to you and Chioneth."
Then she hesitated for a moment, seeing Saibra's expression. Could she
say something? Would it help or just be stepping over the bounds?
"Seryth said she checked to see if it was all right, but if it's not
it can wait..."
"It's fine, come in." Saibra's eyes flicked to Erivana and she
straightened in her chair a bit.
Erivana came on in as requested. "I wanted to update you on the
decision I had to make. I know it's been a - busy few sevendays," she
said hesitantly. For her personally, it had been, with all the people
she had to talk to. And for Saibra, for the whole Weyr, with the drama
of the Hatching and new weyrlings and also the tragic loss, she
imagined the Weyrwoman was still dealing with so much.
"I needed to take my time thinking about how I wanted to handle the
pregnancy and talking to people about it, and then I made up my mind.
I'm going to keep it."
Saibra nodded slowly, "I'm glad for you then, and K'yne. I know how
much this means to him." He had made it very clear to Saibra when he'd
come to her after finding out about the pregnancy.
"I knew after visiting the creche that I thought I wanted to keep the
child. But I don't know if I would have wanted get through it just on
my own, you know? I think any child ought to be wanted by both of
us...if he'd told me to get rid of it, then it would have been a lot
scarier."
"K'yne is many things, stubborn, forceful, but he will always allow
you to choose your own mind." Saibra knew that very well.
"I'm glad he let me know he'd be there," she said again. "I don't
think I'd realized how enthused he was, maybe because he was trying to
not pressure me.
Erivana thought about what Tarley had said about rumors with Saibra
and K'yne and impulsively ventured, "You sound like you know him very
well...did you Impress in the same clutch or at the same Weyr?"
"I have known K'yne a very long time. Since I was a teenager. He's
about six Turns older than I am, but he only Impressed four clutches
before I did, so we were in similar Candidate classes..." she trailed
off a bit as those thoughts led her to thoughts of K'fel. He had been
ten Turns older than her, and had enough attitude that she'd at times
wondered if his head would fit through the door. That was what had
drawn her to him first.
"No wonder you know what he's like." She suddenly thought about what
the age difference must be between herself and K'yne, if he was older
than Saibra, and Saibra was certainly older than her... Maybe she
could look up his record, she felt shy to just ask him. "Do you think
he'll be a good father, ma'am?"
"I have no doubts about that," Saibra assured her. "He's been a very
active part of daughter and son's lives." Kaibren especially, she
thought, looked to him almost like a father more than an uncle.
Erivana sighed, relieved. "I'm glad someone's going to know what
they're doing," she admitted.
This brought a little bit of a smile to Saibra's mouth. She remembered
what it had been like being a first time mother with Saidrene,
although that had been a little different since she'd been born before
the Pass. There had been plenty of time for Saibra to raise her
daughter herself with K'fel, rather than sending her to the creche as
often as she was required to do now. "Well, if you ever need help, as
your Wingleader, and from mother-to-mother, you can always ask."
Erivana's eyes lit up a bit. "I have to admit I'd feel a little better
asking you than my own mother, you've got a weyr perspective and not.
Well. My ma was holdbred," she explained, thinking Eridhiya really
still acted like a hold woman who happened to ride a dragon and
endured her flights, and thus really was not relatable for questions.
"Of course, I don't mind at all." Since the Queen's Wing often
harbored pregnant riders, Saibra had been asked for advice from young
mothers on more than one occasion. "Remember as your body starts
changing to visit Headwoman Yanley, she'll help acquire some maternity
clothes for you."
Erivana thought about that for a moment, and then said, "That's the
difference between Dragonsfall and River Bluff, it's too cold here. I
knew some girls who just walked around in a very loose sundress or
nothing to deal with it."
That brought a little chuckle out, "It is cold here. I struggled with
it when I first moved from Dolphin Cove, but I actually found that I
liked the cold while I was pregnant because I had hot flashes all the
time."
Erivana decided she'd better ask the Healers for a detailed timeline
of what to expect when. There was going to be so much to learn...
"Hopefully I won't sweat out of my leathers in drills. Oh, and thank
you for the tip about the crackers, it's been incredibly helpful."
"I am glad that it helped. Feeling like you want to throw-up all the
time is miserable." Even if she had been secretly glad of it at the
time because it assured her that the pregnancy was going correctly and
that the baby was fine.
"I thought I was going to throw up _on_ Seryth last Threadfall," she
admitted.
Saibra winced empathetically, "Hopefully that will pass for you, it's
temporary in some women, but I've heard of others who had it the whole
time."
"How was it for you?"
"Just at the beginning, and then a little bit again toward the very
end." Saibra admitted.
"I'll hope for it to end quickly then," she said. She almost got up to
leave, figuring the conversation was nearing an end. But her curiosity
won out. "Is there anything else you think I should know about K'yne,
ma'am? To make getting to know him easier?"
That actually made her chuckle out loud, "There's a lot to know about
K'yne, but I feel as though I don't have the right to tell them.
Perhaps as you get to know him he will share some of his past with
you. He's unfailingly loyal, I will say that, so when he says things,
he means them."
"That's reassuring, thank you," Erivana said sincerely. "It sounds
like he was the right person to have this happen with."
Saibra thought about how badly K'yne wanted a child, "Yes, I believe so,
too."
Last updated on the March 3rd 2019