The Chance To Try

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 16th November 2017

Characters: Talwynn, Saibra
Description: Talwynn speaks to the Weyrwoman.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 14 of Turn 9

Saibra

She'd been working on this for over a Turn. First, it had been the
secret practices with firestone. Then, it had been working in the
weyrling class, falling into their drills and patterns. Last, it had
been the two months of delivering firestone. She'd been cleared by the
Healers. She'd been praised by the Weyrlingmasters. Now, all that
remained was the approval of a Wingleader.

She _knew_ she'd prepared for this in every way she conceivably could.
Now that the moment was at hand, Talwynn was nervous. So nervous, she
thought she might throw up. She had to close her eyes and take several
very deep breaths as she approached the Weyrwoman's office door.
Finally, when she was ready, she knocked.

"Come in," Saibra said around a cracker that she was nibbling on,
anything to help keep her stomach from turning on her at any moment.
There was a small glass of wine on the corner of her desk as well, that
the healers said would help settle her nausea.

Talwynn slipped in, shut the door behind her, and stood at attention.
"Weyrwoman Saibra, my duty to you and Chioneth."

"Oh, hello Talwynn," Saibra stowed her cracker, and dusted her fingers
off. "Please, come in, sit. How is Riveth?" She asked.

Talwynn eased into a seat, but continued sitting upright. She was
concentrating on keeping her toes not tapping. "She's enjoyed being back
in the air delivering firestone very much, ma'am."

The Weyrwoman noted how tense Talwynn seemed to be, and while she
appreciated the respect, being called 'ma'am' outside of Wing drills or
formal affairs, still made her cringe. "Yes, I have heard how well you
and Riveth have been doing via the Weyrlingstaff. Is that what you came
to talk about?"

"It is. We haven't had any complaints at all about our performance with
firestone, and so I was hoping that we could work our way back up into
being in a fighting wing," Talwynn said.

Saibra could see the determination in the set of Talwynn's chin, "What
were the reasons the healers gave you back when you were grounded?
Lasting injuries?"

It was difficult to talk about those first few months after the
Threadfall accident. She remembered the pain of the infections, and then
the fear that they'd take part of her arm away. She forced away the
emotions and tried to stay dispassionate, calm, in control. Her tone
wavered only a little.

"Yes. The initial injuries were fairly bad. The muscle in my arm and leg
was eaten into. Infection set in in the arm. They worried about having
to remove it, and while that didn't happen in the end, they debrided
away a fair amount. It was months of physical therapy before I could do
anything, and when it takes that long, the Healers try to tell you you
should be prepared for it to never come back."

"So when did you start working toward coming back to the Wing? It must
have taken some time to be able to even join the Weyrlings for
practice." Saibra leaned back in her chair, pressing a couple of fingers
into her stomach to try and stave off a fresh wave of nausea. Her face,
to her credit, never gave away that she had anything on her mind other
than Talwynn.

"Around a Turn and a half ago," Talwynn said. "I started resuming a full
physical exercise routine, volunteering for duties more strenuous than
just couriering to work Riveth back up to it, that sort of thing. Once
we both hit a stage of physical readiness, I asked about joining the
weyrling group. I thought that working through formations from the
ground up again would make sense, since it had been a few Turns. I think
it was a good decision - we both had to remember how to fly in concert
with others, not alone."

It had been harder than she expected. She'd grown almost painfully
solitary since the accident. She'd had to re-learn how to work in a
group, with individuals younger and less experienced than her. There
were times when the weryrlings had pushed her buttons by seeming too
light-hearted, or absurdly stubborn, or childish and silly. But she'd
done her best to be patient with them, and fall into the formations and
work with them instead of trying to lecture them. It was like how she'd
imagined being a wingthird would be, back when she was freshly-Impressed
and that was her goal in life. Now her goals were simpler - get back to
fighting, and be useful.

"Chioneth has watched Riveth in the last couple of Threadfalls," the
Queen always kept up with injured dragons. "She's been pleased with what
she's seen, and so have I. Now, I can't promise you anything right now,
but why don't you come and practice a few formations with the Queen's
Wing? If that goes well, then we'll try a real Threadfall." Saibra had
no problem with Talwynn and Riveth flying in the Queen's Wing, it was
common for lightly injured dragons to do so, and would be a safe place
for them to test their wings.

Talwynn hadn't realized the Weyrwoman's gold had been keeping up with
her. Dragons delivering firestone were relatively ignored unless
something was menacing them, and golds didn't get firestone anyway. But
she supposed it was the golds' business to understand everything going
on with dragons, in the end. She was pleased that it sounded like
Chioneth had had no complaints.

And then Saibra's commentary hit home. As much as she was trying to keep
herself formal, she couldn't help but suck in a breath and her eyes
widened. And while Saibra herself said no promises, it wans't a flat
'no' and it wasn't, 'the Healers grounded you for a reason'. It was the
best thing she _could_ have heard.

"All I've wanted was the chance to try," Talwynn said honestly. "We'd be
happy to appear at practices as soon as you tell us to."

A chance was all Saibra could offer, but she had an open mind, after
all, the Weyr needed every able-bodied dragonrider to fight Thread.
"Then I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"I'll see you then. Thank you so much for giving me this chance,
Weyrwoman. And I'll have to thank Chioneth for watching us."

"You're welcome, Talwynn, you've earned it." Saibra said sincerely, but
even as she watched the greenrider leave, her hand was sneaking down for
some more crackers. Hiding this pregnancy wasn't as easy as she'd thought.

Last updated on the November 27th 2017

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The Chance To Try