Words of Comfort

Writers: Avery, Mirren
Date Posted: 7th January 2016

Characters: A'kades, L'airev
Description: L'airev tries to take A'kades mind off his woes.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 3, day 20 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Lenala, Jadirah

It was late evening, but A'kades was just eating. He'd expected all
the cooks to be busy feeding hungry dragonriders - Fall always took it
out of them and the meals were always particularly good those days -
and would have been fine with sandwiches. What he wasn't expecting was
a sympathetic cook to personally carried a meal to his weyr. She'd
letting him know that they'd "thought of him" and "wanted to make sure
he hate after being up all night". The gesture was unexpected and
touching.

He also wasn't expecting Volaith to stir and murmur }:Someone comes.:{
He rather hoped it wasn't a weyrling with an issue. He'd had a very
long day waiting for news on Lenala and then sleeping. He didn't need
their drama.

It wasn't a weyrling, far from it. A soft knock at the door preceded
the entry of tall, heavyset bronzerider who walked and spoke as softly
as his knock. "I have wine and dragonpoker cards, to help keep your
mind off things." L'airev held up large hands, each holding a pack and
a wineskin.

Definitely not what he expected, but he would take it. "You're
brilliant," A'kades said.

"I wouldn't go that far," L'airev said as he stepped inside. "It's a
difficult time, I thought you might need an ear. How is she?" He
looked around for wine glasses as he set the skin and the cards on a
table.

"Alive. No risk of losing her or Vilarth. She's sleeping now. Jadirah
kicked me out and told me to rest myself."

"And instead you're worrying," L'airev guessed. He located glasses and
filled each, not quite to the brim.

"Just a bit," A'kades said as he took the glass. "I didn't really
realize some pregnancies could be high risk. My first two children
happened with no issue."

"I can't claim to be an expert on either women or pregnancy," L'airev
admitted. He'd only seen his firstborn son once. His older daughter
had been a flight baby and the younger cam from a relationship which
had long since broken down.

"I wouldn't have said I'm an expert on either. I think the kids turned
out alright, though." And he'd been so looking forward to another.

"That's half the battle. The other half is trying to fit in time with
them. Not that mine bother unless they need marks." L'airev smirked
wryly.

"Ah, that's a pity. Mine are sometimes over-enthusiastic about visiting."

"Care to swap?" L'airev raised an eyebrow just slightly.

He laughed. "Want the dutiful Healer, or the outspoken young weyrbrat?"

"That depends, do you want the indecisive teen or the wilful
greenrider?" L'airev took the deck out of the packet and started to
shuffle slowly.

"Indecisive teen sounds like a pleasant change from my own, actually.
Are they both here?"

"Yes, I can't see either wanting to leave. Unless Zorra gets bored."
L'airev rolled his eyes and started dealing. The girl had a mind of
her own, which wasn't a bad thing in a greenrider.

"Gets bored and decides to transfer, you mean?" Some riders felt the
need to move. A'kades had always liked River Bluff. He had built
friendships here, become a part of the place. He would only leave if
something very tempting happened, and so far, nothing had looked that
good.

"I've tried to instil some loyalty into her," L'airev said. He placed
the deck on the table and picked up his cards. "If you can't be loyal
to your Weyr then I'd question your commitment to a wing." And that's
when people got distracted and injured, or worse.

A'kades looked at his own hand. Nothing great as a starter. "There are
reasons to head off and an infusion of new riders means new blood. But
to me that applies mostly to the bronzes and golds."

"Indeed, particularly gold. Swapping juniors can be useful to avoid
stagnation or overcrowding." Especially if she was related to most of
the Weyr's bronzes. "Speaking of stagnation…" L'airev chose four new
cards.

A'kades set one card down and drew another. "Both Vilarth and Orlaith
are from Vista Point, and since Anaeryth is Orlaith's so is she by
extension. It would be nice if we got a gold in from somewhere else."

L'airev nodded. "As long as we don't go around swapping leaders, then
I'd have to agree." A Weyr needed stability and consistency, at least to
some extent.

"We've had enough of the Weyrwoman changes. But swapping in a little
fresh blood wouldn't be a bad idea for diversity, even if dragon
inbreeding isn't like humans. Maybe one of the other Weyrs has too many
queens and would spare us one."

Four was a good number. Three was ideal for a steady rhythm of clutches,
and five or more and the queens got territorial.

L'airev nodded. "Maybe. I'm sure the leaders have discussed all of this
before." As a humble wingrider, he wasn't privy to that sort of discussion.

"I haven't heard anything about it. I hadn't really thought about it in
depth until I'd started working with weyrlings, and then I was looking
at the clutch charts and pondering it."

L'airev nodded. "Maybe it's something you should speak to them about."
He placed his woeful hand on the table and sat back to sip.

A'kades laid his down as well. Also low cards, but slightly better.
"Well if we get all the low cards now, we'll have a better chance next
hand?"

L'airev smiled softly. "That's the hope." He wasn't talking about cards
though. "It can only get better from here."

"That's something I hope is true. Once the eggs Hatch, I think that
everyone will feel better." The golds were the heart, and everyone's
heart was shaken right now after Vilarth's very public show of distress.
But a Hatching brought excitement and warmth to the halls of the Weyr,
and that seemed like the kind of spirit boost that everyone needed.

Last updated on the January 11th 2016

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Words of Comfort