Goodbye Illuminated
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Mirren
Date Posted: 29th February 2016
Characters: Darez
Description: Darez has a shock.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 2 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Fraga; Pt 2 of storyline
"Ma!" Darez closed the door and looked around. The cothold was silent, eerily so. "Ma?" he called again. He took a few steps, listening intently for any sign of a response. His mother hadn't been well for a while now, but she'd been alive when he'd left.
He wiped his brow, damp with sweat from running to the hold and back. He hadn't wanted to be gone too long, just in case. Just in case… no…
He swallowed down the rising tide of panic and stepped further into the room. He recognized a thumping sound as his heart racing, his body prepared for a quick response should he be in danger. He recognized the reflex, but it was out of place. He was in no danger here. This was home, the place he'd been born, the place his father had died before he even took his first breath. This place was safety, it was Ma…
He finally saw her, lying still on her bed. Sleeping. He watched to see her chest rise and fall. He blinked in the dim light, focusing, concentrating, waiting.
Nothing.
He stepped closer, the movement bringing him to her bedside. The silence, he realized, included a lack of the rattling breath she'd had these last few days, each one a struggle. She'd never have to fight to breathe again.
He dropped to his knees on the floor beside her, not caring that the action would leave bruises. They wouldn't hurt as much as the hole torn in his heart.
He took her lifeless hand in his. It was still warm, but barely. She'd been gone a while. He dropped his dark head to lie across her belly, inhaling the lingering scent of her. Some sort of herbs and tea, mixed with klah, infused with the natural oils of her body. He wanted to remember that smell, so in turns to come he could recall it and think of her.
He wouldn't cry later, in front of everyone, but he cried now, fiercely, but brief.
When he finally lifted his head, his blue eyes, so unlike hers, noticed an envelope beside her bed. On the front, his name was scrawled in her hand.
Frowning, he picked it up and opened it. A letter fell out, neatly folded. Gently, he teased the hide open and read.
And the rest of his world fell apart.
Last updated on the March 4th 2016