The Family Left Behind

Writers: Eimi, Suzee
Date Posted: 2nd June 2017

Characters: Tavia, Kaiafel
Description: Tavia spends time with her son's half-brother
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 6 of Turn 8

Tavia

Kaiafel lifted his little half brother high in the air, "Up!", and
then suddenly dropped him back down to eye level, "Down!" He grinned
as the little one screamed in delight. "Shall we do it again? Up!
Down!"

Tavia chuckled as she laid out the bowls for their evening meal. "Not
too much Kaiafel, or he'll never keep his dinner down." She put the
big bowl of stew in the middle of the table. "Did you finish your
homework? Turns end isn't that far off you know."

"Yes, I did," Kaiafel said with a roll of his eyes. "Besides, it was
only math. I'm not going to need math when I'm a dragonrider." He
set his little brother down in his chair and push it up to the table.

"Oh really?" She smiled and picked up a spoon to hand to Kaiavin. "How
many bags of firestone did you need this fall dragonrider? How long is
the fall, what color dragon are you riding and which wing are you in?"

The boy sat down in his own chair, his brow wrinkling thoughtfully.
It was an expression he shared his father. "Ten sacks. The Fall
lasted eight hours. My lifemate is bronze, and I'm not in a wing. I
_lead_ a wing. In fact, I lead the whole sharding _Weyr_" he finished
with rather cocky grin for an eleven-turn boy.

"And how did you come up with the ten sacks?" She took a bit of the
stew and then broke a biscuit in half for Kaiafel. "If you're in the
upper wing as the Weyrleader you'll use more stone than say, the
queens' wing. So how many sacks would you provide, as Weyrleader of
course, for my green Sawauth?"

"Well," Kaiafel gnawed a stew soaked biscuit thoughtfully. "You would
only fly half the Fall, so you'd get four or five. But I wouldn't
provide them. That's a weyrlings job."

"Oh? and do the weyrlings or minors somehow know how much stone is to
be delivered to the Weyr or is that maybe the Weyrleader's job?" She
lifted an eyebrow and another bite to her mouth. "How do you think he
figures out X number of dragons times X number of bags = X amount of
Firestone. Maybe math?"

This was definitely one of those moments when an adult was trying to
prove a point, and while Kaiafel caught it, he certainly wasn't
going to admit it. But how could he get out of this one... His brow
scrunched thoughtfully once more before his face lit up. "I'm
Weyrleader! I'll get someone else to do the math for me!"

"Nice try," she smiled. "But no, you'll never be even a Wingthird let
alone Weyrleader unless you can do the hide work. You may have help a
'second or other assistants but not when you start out. Oh no, then
you'll _be_ the help"

"Even healers have to do math. Your da is an archivist for goodness
sake. He is a fine Weyrleader." She said it with passion because
she believed it and the boys needed to hear it from her. Whatever
personal issues she might have with him she would never run him down
to his kids. U'kaiah was very good at his job... as a Wingleader and
Weyrleader she was certain of it.

"He's not just fine. He's the _best_ Weyrleader on all of Pern,"
Kaiafel corrected her with equal conviction. He too felt a need to
emphasize his father's quality, especially to Tavia and Aileyan. As
young as Kaiafel was, he understood as observant children usually do,
things that were not said. He could recognize sadness and loneliness,
even if he couldn't fully comprehend the complexity of it all. "If he
wasn't so good at his job, he would be here, but Pern needed him. And
protecting Pern is a dragonrider's first duty."

Her eyes were touched with sadness for a moment but then she put her
own feelings aside. "I stand corrected," she acknowledged. "But he
does know math and you need to learn all your subjects if you're ever
going to follow in his footsteps. Alright buddy?"

"Ok..." he mumbled, looking down into his bowl of stew, swirling the
spoon so a chuck of meat rose to the surface. The fleeting look in
her eye did not go unnoticed. "I _am_ good at history," he offered in
an attempt to cheer her up.

"Yes you are," she grinned. "You're very good at history. The Harper
told me your project was very good and the other kids learned all
about what happened at Amethyst Cliff." She knew Kaiavin was done
trying to eat as he'd stared painting the table with is stew. "Finish
up," she smiled. "Tonight we have pie."

The smile returned to his face, both at the mention of pie and his
apparent success in making her feel better. He took the opportunity
to show off a little of what he had learned. "The Vintner Hall had to
move because of that earthquake, too, you know. That's why it's at
Amber Hills now. And Amber Hills actually used to be pretty small,
but now it's bigger because so many people had to move."

She smiled as she pulled the bowl away from the little guy and wiped
his hands and face with a damp cloth. "How many people do you think?"
She stood and uncovered the pie on the sideboard. She brought over a
piece for each of them and shared hers with her son.

"I dunno," he shrugged before lifting the bowl to his mouth and
draining the last of the liquid. Wiping his mouth with the back of
his hand he said, "I've never been to a Hold, so I don't know how many
people are there. But I would say... at least three Wings worth."

She shook her head. "Napkin Kaiafel, not your hand." She half smiled
and ruffled his hair. "How about we visit a hold? Then you can see."

"Yes, ma'am." Kaiafel obediently reached for the cloth and wiped his
mouth. He then turned to do the same for his little brother, whose
face was definitely in need of a good wipe again. The pie and the idea of
a Hold visit definitely perked him up. "Can we go to Amber Hills?"

"Sawauth can take us anywhere we want to go and we know how to get to
Amber Hills," she smiled. "Why don't you check with your mother and
see if she has any plans for you next rest day." She picked up
Kaiavin. "Time for him to have a bath. Mind putting all the dishes in
the basket? I'll take them back to the kitchen later."

"I can take them," Kaiavin offered. It was more than just a kind
gesture. The weyrbrat knew that he could usually charm an extra treat
from the kitchen ladies, and he could always eat more these days!

"Alright," she said. "But make sure you get a bath before bed."

"I will," he promised, lifting the basket off the table. After
turning to leave, the young lad paused. "Tavia?" He hesitated again,
almost changing his mind before asking the question he was not sure he
should speak aloud. "Do you think some time... Could we maybe visit
Da?"

She took a deep breath searching for the right reply. "He's so very
busy 'Fel, but I'll see what I can arrange, okay?"

He nodded his understanding. Kaiafel knew it was a long shot. If his
father hadn't been so busy, he was sure he would have come to them.
"They say dragons always choose the best to be Weyrleader. Being the
best is a hard job. It's not his fault, you know."

She wrapped her arm around his shoulders. He was getting almost as
tall as she was. But she hugged and leaned her cheek on the top of
his head. "Thank you," she said softly.

Kaiafel leaned into her. As much as he tried to put on a brave face
for the family left behind, he missed his father, too.

Last updated on the June 16th 2017

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The Family Left Behind