An Idyllic Lull

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 13th May 2015

Characters: Kapera, J'nus
Description: The pair have a chance to get away from their troubles for a bit.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 24 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Cyradis, P'ton, N'vanik

Kapera

The sun was setting and the waves muttered softly against the soft
white sand of the beach. It should smell of sea and fresh air, but
instead the twilight smelled strongly of fish. Frying fish.

"The trick is to leave it until it's browned nicely," J'nus said. He
held a fork in one hand and a canteen of cool juice in the other as he
monitored an iron frypan of freshly caught and dressed fish, straight from the sea. The
frypan was balanced between a trio of rocks next to a fire, and a bed
of glowing coals turned the white sand red. "Most people poke the fish
too often so you don't get that nice crust."

She hadn't expected to enjoy this trip as much as she did. Though it
reminded her of one some time long in their past. Happy
memories...they had some from before, were building others, now.

"Why doesn't it?" Kapera asked him.

"Why doesn't it brown?" He shrugged "I'm not sure. It's just what my
father taught me. Here's the other lesson--" Skillfully he used the
fork to flip the fish filets. "Fish cooks quick, so to get that sear
make sure the pan is hot and don't cook it for too long. Hand me those
plates?"

She complied, watching with interest. "I'm glad you invited me along.
Do you do this a lot?"

The bronzerider shook his head. "There are so many things I'd like to
do, it never feels like there's enough time."

"If only we could just make more of it. Have two restdays per
sevenday." She sighed at the thought. "Imagine it...two days to relax,
no work but tend to these two...not be busy bronze- and goldriders."

"If only." A lovely notion, but Pern would likely grind to a
standstill if everyone had two days off instead of just one. The fish
looked done; he lifted the edge of one of the filets with the fork to
check, then nodded and flipped the cooked fish onto the plates.
"There. Fresh as anything," he said, passing one of the plates to
Kapera.

She took it and set it next to her. Her mind was still caught up in
fancy. "Was it ever like this before Thread? More time to do what you
wanted?"

The fading light caught the pale brand on J'nus' wrist. He looked
away. "Too much time," he said as he settled on the sand beside her.
"But you Impressed Riyanth before the Pass began, didn't you?"

"About a Turn and a half before - most of that was weyrlinghood though."

J'nus' smile faded a bit. "It's got to be a lot scarier now. For
weyrlings, I mean. When I Impressed, Kopth was a key to Pern and the
easy life, not a way to see Thread up-close and personal. The most
dangerous part of training was learning to go /between/."

She nodded. "People were starting to believe near the end of mine,
with the queens rising more often. Now I look at the boys and girls
who Impress in our clutch and I worry what'll get them first."

"They're so young. I mean, we were too, but things have changed so
much since the start of the Pass."

She knew what he meant. There was value in truth, she thought. In
understanding what was asked, and doing it anyway. Those who had
Impressed without knowing what came ahead, they had been violently
pushed into the fighting. And so many had fallen unprepared for it.
The new weyrlings were harder in a way, weren't they?

"At least they know what they're getting into. They might not have a
life of leisure to look forward to - but they _know_ what they're
being asked to do." Kapera took a couple more bites of her fish to
distract herself.

"I hope they do." The bronzerider stared at his dinner a moment before
picking up his fork. Young men and women inevitably thought they were
invincible until a death or a good 'Scoring taught them otherwise.
"They seem like they'll be a good bunch, though. Not so many obvious
troublemakers," he added dryly.

"That's a good thing," she agreed. "Looking forward to seeing how the
bronzes shake up. P'ton seems like a good kid. Maybe he'll do great
things. He seems like he's ready for the pressure of Impressing a
bronze and getting all the attention."

She had thought she was. But it was a lie.

J'nus smiled at that. "Honestly? I think they do better when they're
not so self-assured. A little doubt is a good thing."

"I had more self-doubt than Riyanth had size," she confessed. "You?"

"Impressing a bronze was all the proof I needed that I was the most
powerful, important teenager on Pern," J'nus confessed. "It went
straight to my head. I was-- not a good person because of it."

"So you speak from experience then. I can't imagine you as a
hot-headed weyrling," she admitted. "Now you're a stable, reliable
cornerstone."

He shrugged. "I've been called worse." Especially when he'd briefly
stepped in as Wingleader at Dragonsfall.

"Worse than stable?" she teased.

'Stodgy' came to mind. So did 'hidebound' and 'slow.' Ignoring the
gossip behind his back didn't mean that he hadn't been aware of it. J'nus
shrugged again. "Guilty as charged?"

"It's not a bad thing," she said gently. "Someone has to be a good
example around these parts, make up for some of the people in charge."

"And you do an excellent job at it," he said, putting the focus back
on her. The bronzerider was beginning to feel like he was edging close
to self-pity -- and for what? Because of a few rumors?

She snorted at the thought. "Me as an example, that's a terrifying
thought. I'm learning from Cyradis, though. If my first Weyrwoman had
been as good as her, I'd have learned so much more."

"Who was your first Weyrwoman?" J'nus asked curiously.

"Sedira, at Windswept Islands. She was already old when I Impressed, a
stern sharp martinet who scolded you when you mis-stepped in any way
and expected you to figure it out yourself. I was pleased to find out
her dragon stopped rising when I went back, it meant someone else had
the top job." But Sedira had still been there, with her acid tongue
not dulled at all.

"I've heard of her, but never met her," J'nus admitted after a moment.
He stabbed the last bit of fish on his plate and popped it into his
mouth. "Just the rumors... I was glad I'd never met her, and I'm still
glad of it. She sounded like a piece of work."

"She was strident," Kapera agreed. "Cyradis is - well, she expects a
lot of you, but she doesn't tear strips off you for failing. Dolphin
Cove has a pretty good team."

"N'vanik is... not as bad as I expected to fly under?" Better than
some, not as good as others, and _much_ better at leading a Weyr than
J'nus could have ever anticipated when he'd first crossed paths with
the other bronzerider.

"He's grown up, hasn't he?" She wouldn't have expected it either.
"Seems like we've all changed so fast."

"Some of us have. I, for instance, am somewhat greyer than I used to be."

"It's distinguished," she told him.

"You, lady goldrider, are cheekier than you used to be," he said blandly.

"And prettier, I hope," she said with a little smile. "Like a fine
wine with age...since the alternative is being over the hill."

"Trust me. You can't even see the _top_ of the hill from where you
stand." Daring, he put a hand on her shoulder and pulled her close for
a kiss.

She leaned into his arms and the embrace, taking comfort from his
warmth. When it was over, she grinned up at him. "And you're not there
either."

The bronzerider shook his head. It was flattery, but he'd take it.
"Eat your fish," he told her.

Last updated on the May 14th 2015

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An Idyllic Lull