Left Standing (2/2)

Writers: Nicole
Date Posted: 10th April 2006

Characters: Saralorn, Aseda, Laurdea, Saredon, Ageldor, Ojer
Description: Saralorn sees his family after the Hatching and worries about his friends.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 11, day 8 of Turn 3

"Saralorn!" Aseda yelled as he approached his family. "Are you coming back?"
To his surprise, she ran at him, giving him a hug. He guessed he'd been
missed.

"Yes, are you coming back?" His mother asked, her wide, emotional eyes
staring him down.

He stared back at her for a moment and frowned.
"Actually, I'd planned on staying."

"But what about your craft?" She stammered.

"There's a lot going on here with the beast plague I'd like to keep working
on," he said, "and I think I'll get a lot more experience here than I ever
would working with the runners back home. I could make mastery here, and I'd
be closer doing it here than going to the Hall."

"Let the boy alone, Laurdea," his father insisted, shaking his head.
"He's got his chance and he's made up his mind."

"I just worry about him," she said, giving a look of concern to her son and
a glare to her husband.

"Mom, I'll be fine," he assured her with a grin. At about that time, two
heavy bodies just about tackled him from behind, and he lurched forward,
spinning around to see Ageldor and Ojer standing behind him laughing.

"What're you doin' here with out a dragon?" Ojer demanded, playfully
punching him in the shoulder.

"Oh yeah, real good thing to say to someone after a Hatching, you wherry,"
Ageldor accused.

"When did you start going all sensitive?" Ojer demanded, looking the jockey
over. He leaned his bulky frame towards Saralorn and whispered: "There's a
greenrider there, if I ever saw one."

"Hey! Now who are you callin'-"

"Hey! How about you guys not beat the shards out of each other in front of a
bunch of dragonriders," Saralorn said, stepping between the two of them. He
looped an arm over both of their shoulders and walked them towards the
Barracks. "Besides, there are lonely ladies to see and wine to drink, and
we're missing it."

"Oh yeah, and you're a real lady killer in that white dress of yours," Ojer
joked.

"Like you have room to talk! The last time you saw a pair of breasts, they
were coming out of the oven," Saralorn cackled, dodging a punch.

But, even after he'd changed, they didn't end up at the party. Instead, the
prospect of having to dance scared them off, and they ended up looking out
at the Weyrlake, passing a small skin of wine around. Dragons of various
colors from various Weyrs were bathing themselves, and they watched, silent
and thoughtful for once in their lives.

"So what are you going to do if you don't Impress?" Ageldor finally asked.

"I dunno. Just stay here and work with the animals, I guess."

"Maybe you were meant for a bronze or something. There weren't any at that
Hatching," Ageldor said, passing the wine skin to him.

"Yeah, Ageldor, I'm sure I'm meant for a bronze like I'm meant for a hole in
the head," Saralorn smiled, and took a long swing.

"How would you know, anyway?" Ojer asked.

"I dunno," Saralorn shrugged. "I guess I'm just guessing. I mean, one of my
buds had been standing for turns and he just now Impressed."
He paused a moment to think about Sherevair...and Illiana...and Jerric, and
everyone else for that matter. That's what was the worse: not that he didn't
have a dragon, but that he wouldn't be able to go through weyrling training
with them. They wouldn't develop into riders together. They wouldn't fly in
Thread together for a long time, if ever at all.
He couldn't be there to help them with first flights, and _betweening_, and
Blooding...They'd probably grow apart over time. They could _die_ and he
wouldn't be there. And that was what scared him most.
'The greens go fast,' someone had told him, when talking about the dangers
of Threadfall. It could be taken in more ways than one.
The concept rocked your brain. Illiana...those little dragons. She could
just go _between_ one day and not come back. Go to fight 'Fall one day and
not come back...Any of them could.
It wasn't like he had a crush on her, or anything. (Not him.) He wouldn't
want to step on Jerric's toes like that. But, he had really liked her, and
he really worried about her now. They'd take care of her, wouldn't they?
He worried about all of them really. Sherevair could get aggravating every
now and then, but he would never want the guy to get eaten by Threadfall. He
supposed that was life in the Weyr, and when someone had told him to
'treasure each moment like it was the last', it took on whole new meanings
now. Treasure every moment indeed...

"Are you okay?" Ojer asked him, and Saralorn snapped out of his train of
thought.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Yeah...Let's go inside, though. I have some friends I
want you to meet."

Last updated on the April 22nd 2006

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Left Standing (2/2)