How Would You Feel?

Writers: Aaron, Miriah
Date Posted: 14th January 2020

Characters: Aviday, T'ner
Description: T'ner's conversation with F'aen reminds him of the day Aviday asked T'ner for a favor
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: F'aen, T'kala, Ranni, Tisafelle

Aviday

How would you feel if you had to do that with some random guy or girl
that's not really interested in you but was doing that as a favor to
the Weyrling staff?

The question had been on T'ner mind since F'aen had agreed to be his
teacher in matters of the bedroom. It had been, what, months since
Aviday had mentioned it? He wondered what she had managed to tell her
mother after all...

– Flashback to m12 d20 –

"Hey, T'ner..." Aviday poked her head around the curtain that
separated the male and female sections of the junior barracks. She was
bouncing on her toes, nearly dancing from side to side. "I need you to
look at something and give your honest opinion. I'd ask Ranni, but
she's asleep and T'kala is uh...busy, so you're who I got left. Do you
mind?"

T'ner raised an eyebrow, but he set aside what he was doing and walked
to the curtain. He could guess what T'kala was busy with, but it was
best not to think about that. He wondered if he was about to be
looking at a suspicious pimple for advice on whether Aviday needed to
see the healers for it. That would certainly quash whatever feelings
might have stirred from picturing T'kala busy.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Aviday shoved aside the curtain, revealing herself in a horrific, eye
burning, bright pink swimsuit that did not flatter her figure in the
slightest. Instead of accenting the slight curves she was developing,
it flattened everything, making her look rail thin and childish.
"What do you think?"

"It's very pink," said T'ner. Very pink, indeed. He was somewhat
impressed with the shade in terms of what trouble the weavers must
have gone to in order to create such a dye.

"What were you going for?"

"Is it horrible? Really horrible?" She looked down at herself, then
back at him. "It is right? My mama made me promise to go swimming with
her tomorrow, but honestly she never goes into the water. She's just
there to show off and get tan. Thing is, she'll probably bring some
rider or crafter that she's met and she'll try to shove me at
them....or then at me. So I figure if I look completely horrible mama
will give up!" She took a breath. "So what do you think?"

"Well," said T'ner, "I don't think there's anything *horrible* about
it. But if you're looking to make yourself look... unavailable, you
definitely found something that makes you look a bit younger than you
are. If they chase after you in that, they're probably the type you
don't want catching you."

That brought a bright smile. "Good." Then Aviday paused and studied
him for a long moment, a wider smile growing on her faces as another,
perhaps better idea came to mind "T'ner, you're a guy right? And
you're my friend. A friend that likes to help his friends, right?"

T'ner folded his arms and tried his best not to frown too much. Where
was this going? Nowhere good, that was for sure. A grin threatened to
creep in, but T'ner was sure that was dangerous.

"Uh huh. Out with it, then – what are you after?"

She grinned up at him. "You wouldn't mind helping me out, would you?
I can tell my mama that you've taken care of that," she held up her
fingers in air quotes, " 'little problem' and then she'll leave me
alone. If she asks you if you helped, then you can say yes, because
you have. The problem of my mama."

"This sounds like I'm about to set myself up for failure," T'ner
grumbled. "Am I to understand that this 'little problem' is what it
sounds like it is when you make the quote fingers like that?" Why any
mother would think that was a problem, he could never begin to guess.

"I'm a married man," he said. "More or less."

"I'm not saying you actually _have_ to do it, T'ner. I know you're
married. I'm talking about just _telling_ her that you did. You don't
really have to do anything. But telling her might just get her to
back off. I can't say T'kala did it because she knows he likes men
and doesn't look at me like that." She shrugged, then tilted her head
to the side. "And I know you don't either, but she doesn't know that.
And besides, we're about to /between/ soon. The sooner I can tell
her it's over with, the sooner there's no more mama-pestering."

"If you tell her that, then she's bound to tell someone else that. Why
not ask someone closer to your age? I've seen you running around with
a boy or two. Or are you worried they'd actually want you to follow
through on it?" The last thing T'ner needed was for it to get back to
Ayressa – or anyone else, really – that he had been fooling around
with little girls.

She stared at T'ner and then spoke dryly. " The boys I hang out with
want to ride greens, T'ner. They're really not options. Most boys _I_
look at think that I'm a boy half the time. They like boobs and
butts. I don't have those yet. " Aviday pouted and tried fluttering
her lashes. "Please? She'll be so glad that she'll probably just
forget about it and just go back to drooling over bronzeriders. Help
a girl out."

"Your mother shouldn't be pushing you to do something like that,
anyway," T'ner grumbled, wrinkling his nose. Especially not when she
was still a little girl, but not even when she had the boobs and butt
– if T'ner had anything to say about it. "Why is it so important to
her?"

"I gotta, you know. In the next few months." Aviday shrugged, but
the look of discomfort on her face was clear. "Kobeth'll rise about
the middle of the turn. But I got time to worry about that later,
you know? I don't wanna think about it, but she's been pushing me to
moth flights for about a turn now, even before I was a Candidate. I
guess she wants us to have something in common." She shrugged again.
"It's all she thinks about so I guess maybe she thinks it's all I
should think about to, especially before Kobeth rises. I just want her
to stop, that's all, but I don't wanna hurt her feelings either. She
cries when I do that and it makes me feel awful." She peered up away
T'ner again. "So can I tell her? Like I said, she'll be happy, then
she'll forget. She's kinda like that. "

"You should talk about this with one of the Weyrling staff," said
T'ner. He hated the reality of the flights he had not considered – she
really was too young for that! – but considering his own discussions
about the subject with their teachers, this was a thing she should be
considering. Independently of her mother's wishes.

"They'll assign you someone to help with that. And then you won't have
to tell anyone I did it."

"Ew, T'ner, no! I wanna do that with someone that actually likes me,
not someone who's _assigned_ to me." Her nose wrinkled. "How would you
feel if you had to do that with some random guy or girl that's not
really interested in you but was doing that as a favor to the Weyrling
staff? " Aviday sulked a little at the thought. No one ever looked at
her with interest. Either they saw her as a little sister, or they
simply weren't interested in her at all. Just once, she thought, she
wanted to be thought of as pretty and desirable...like Ranni, or even
Tisafelle.

Aviday sighed, then shrugged, deciding to just not think about it
until later. "Never mind. I'll just make someone up. It's not like she
knows all the riders anyway." She looked down at her swimming suit and
straightened her shoulders. "Well, this'll do for now, at least."

T'ner blushed a bit. In fact, he was planning to do just that. As long
as he could muster up the courage to ask, anyhow. But then, there was
technically more to it than that.

"Well, at least it will be less awkward for me if she asks to meet
this mysterious rider," said T'ner, offering his best apologetic
smile.

"Yeah...I guess." Aviday nodded, a bit regretfully. Was there anyone
else she could ask? She couldn't think of a single person. A made up
rider would have to do. Maybe even a visiting guard or something. That
way her mama couldn't check. Maybe that would work. "Well, I'll see
you later, okay? Thanks!"

"Hey, Aviday," T'ner called after her. "Be safe, OK?" He had no idea
what lengths she would go to to appease her mother without actually
capitulating, but whatever she did... he hoped she would be safe.

She waved as she left. "Ain't gonna get 'scored. I'm good!"

– –

Last updated on the January 18th 2020

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How Would You Feel?