Revelations

Writers: Devin, Estelle, Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 23rd October 2021
Series: Bad Meat!

Characters: R'ayl, Y'gel, Urlene, N'vanik
Description: N'vanik questions R'ayl in the infirmary.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 17 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Enali, J'ackt

Y'gel

Urlene

N'vanik

---

The dragonhealer's infirmary was busier than usual after a Hatching.
Many of the journeymen and apprentices had hurried there as the rumors
of a poisoning spread rapidly through the Weyr, and there was a buzz of
nervous, uneasy chatter, though fortunately no other dragons or riders
had arrived with symptoms.

R'ayl sat on the edge of a small couch set aside for hatchlings where
Delorth lay curled up, and watched the activity around him with wide
eyes. After being checked over, the little blue had eaten some freshly
chopped meat that one of the apprentices had brought and then dozed off
with his head in R'ayl's lap. The boy felt his warm, drowsy presence in
his mind with wonder. It was all too much to take in - the noise and
crowds and heat of the Hatching, the euphoria of Impression, the fear
and choking pain of what come after. What did it mean, that he was a
dragonrider? What would happen when they found out who he was? What
would his mother say?

Urlene stepped quietly into the room, glanced down at the sleeping
hatchling, and then faced R'ayl with red rimmed eyes. She'd felt
Stitch's demise, but hadn't understood completely until she'd held his
still little body in her hands. Even with her grief, however, she had
duties that she needed to fulfill. "Hello, Furayl." She stopped herself,
then corrected his name, "I mean R'ayl. How are you feeling?"

R'ayl opened his mouth to say that he was all right, he wasn't hurt, and
felt himself start to shake. "I - I'm..." Delorth stirred, uneasily, in
his sleep. "I'm sorry, Weyrhealer. I'm okay. I didn't eat anything."

Y'gel walked through the door from his office and put his hand on
Urlene's shoulder. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "There was nothing I
could do."

"No need to apologize, R'ayl." She looked over her shoulder at Y'gel
and briefly nodded. "I know." Clearing her throat, she looked back at
the young man and noted the shaking. "I still need to check you.
You've had a bit of a shock. I'm going to get you some warm soup to
drink and a mild tea to help your nerves, alright?"

The boy nodded. "Thank you, ma'am." His eyes widened as he wondered what
Y'gel's words had meant. "W-was someone else hurt?"

Y'gel's arm went around Urlene's shoulders for a moment. "Yes R'ayl,"
he nodded. "Her little Stitch didn't make it." He squeezed gently then
reluctantly let go. "But we need to make certain the two of you are
still fine," he said. "How is Delorth feeling?"

Urlene didn't comment, instead stepping out to address an apprentice
to gather soup and tea for the young man before coming back in. While
Y'gel spoke to R'ayl, she moved behind him and placed the stethoscope
on his back to check his heart and lung sounds. She nodded to herself,
then carefully picked up R'ayl's wrist to check his pulse. A little
fast, but no surprise considering the stress of the day. Picking up a
warm blanket, she wrapped it lightly around R'ayl's shoulders. "Here.
As soon as the food arrives, I want you to eat it and drink the tea.
It will calm you enough to settle, but it'll still allow you to enjoy
the festivities tonight." She looked up at Y'gel. "Physically, he's
fine for right now."

R'ayl had calmed as he spoke about Delorth to Y'gel, but now he looked
up at them, sudden anxiety evident in his face. A vivid image of the
Hatching celebration filled his mind. The crowds, the noise, the Lords
and Ladies, all the ranking folk of the Weyr - and worst of all, the two
bronzeriders who he feared the most, the Weyrleader, and the one who had
beaten his father.

Before, he'd always been able to hide in the background, knowing that
no-one would notice one candidate among many. But now, as a new
weyrling, with the Weyr in uproar over the attempt on the lives of the
hatchlings? And what if the poisoner was still out there?

"Please, could I stay here with Delorth?" he begged, pulling the blanket
more tightly around him. "I don't want to leave him."

N'vanik entered the infirmary and it didn't take long to find the
hatchling blue and his newly-Impressed rider. The Weyrleader fought to
keep his expression and his tone as even as he could. "Furayl . . .
R'ayl. We need to talk."

On her way out of the small room, Urlene met N'vanik as she moved to
slide past him. She laid a light, restraining hand on his arm and
spoke softly after looking at his face. "He's had a bit of a shock. Go
easy."

R'ayl was frozen with a terror so overpowering that Delorth's eyelids
flicked open and he raised his head, crooning in distress. But the
moment's distraction that the Weyrhealer provided gave him a moment to
gather his courage. He'd been chosen by a dragon, and dragonriders,
whatever else they might be, were brave.

"Yes, sir," he managed to say, though his throat was so dry the words
were barely audible.

"The woman who poisoned the meat claims that _you_ were involved in
the plot. Is that true?" It had to be a lie. If he knew about the
fellis, why would he have fed it to his own dragon? Unless the boy
hadn't known the specific type of attack the holders had been
planning.

"Gently N'vanik," Y'gel cautioned and flicked his eyes toward the little
blue and his whirling distress evident in the color of his eyes.
"Delorth has been through a great deal tonight."

Delorth rose to his hind legs, his wings half-unfurling as he reacted to
his rider's panic. Immediately, concern for his dragon outweighed fear
and R'ayl instinctively slipped an arm around the little hatchling.
"It's okay. It's okay, Delorth." His mind whirled. What woman? Why would
anyone say _he_ had done this? What if they believed it?

His one comfort was the the Weyrdragonhealer would not let anything bad
happen to Delorth. Taking a deep breath, he spoke, his voice still soft
but clear. "I didn't know. I would never hurt a dragon - or anyone."
Suddenly he thought of Enali, and a horrible, chill feeling struck to
the pit of his stomach. She had promised change. But surely she wouldn't...

N'vanik gave Y'gel a distracted nod. He didn't intend to upset the
hatching but he needed answers. "Do you know a woman named Enali? Did
she ask you to do anything?"

"I know her." The boy's voice shook and his arm tightened around the
hatchling. "S-she works in the kitchens. But she wouldn't have done
this." He pushed down his own uncertainty, the remembered hard look in
Enali's eyes. His brother had loved her, she couldn't have done
something so monstrous.

"She _did_. She nearly killed your dragon, Furayl," N'vanik said,
forgetting to use the boy's new name.

R'ayl's small jaw set, defiant. He thought of how Enali had told him not
to trust anyone at the Weyr, of how the Weyrleader had sent Grevan to
the mines, leaving their family to struggle. Now he was frightening
Delorth. The blue creeled in alarm, his eyes glowing yellow-orange.

"She didn't! She only came here because no one at the Hold would talk to
her any more. And she never told me to do anything but keep quiet."

"She came here to get revenge against the Weyr." N'vanik glared down
at the boy. "She confessed to it, and she's trying to drag you down
with her." It was hard to imagine this small, shy boy being involved
in such a horrible plot, but that would make it all the easier for him
to slip by unnoticed. Was R'ayl secretly cold and calculating?

Urlene stepped back in, holding a large steaming mug, and only caught
the last part of what N'vanik and R'ayl were saying. Her lips
immediately thinned and it was only after looking at Y'gel did she
stop herself from rounding on the Weyrleader for distressing her
patient. Instead, she took a breath and stepped around N'vanik to hand
the young boy the mug. As much as she disliked dragons, she could see
the upset in the Hatchling and spoke softly to R'ayl. "Calm him,
R'ayl. He feels what you're feeling. Here, drink this. It's soup."

The boy clasped his hands around the warm mug, breathing in the scent of
the steam that rose from it. His thoughts were all in confusion. Enali
had confessed? To what - to poisoning Delorth, and the Weyrhealer's
little firelizard? It was all too much, and he tried instead to focus on
his dragon.

**I would never let anyone hurt you,** he promised the little blue.
**Never again.** He felt safer now that Urlene was here as well as
Y'gel, and in response, Delorth refolded his wings and crouched. The
whirling of his eyes slowed, though they remained an anxious flame-yellow.

R'ayl then took a deep breath, and faced the Weyrleader. He wasn't sure
if it was his dragon's courage that helped him, but he spoke as
truthfully as he could. "My brother is dead because he came to the Weyr.
My mama made me promise not to come here, but I was Searched. I just
want to help clear his name. He was kind and good and he worked hard and
looked after us all..." Tears welled up in his eyes as he remembered.
"Enali told me she wanted justice and change, not revenge. I'm the same."

"Grevan was your _brother_? Shards and _shells_!" N'vanik put his
hands to his temples and turned away, trying to control himself.

Loseth sent soothing thoughts to Delorth. }:Mine is very, very angry
at the people who made you sick. He will not hurt your rider, little
one.:{

Urlene blinked in surprise. She knew, of course, who Grevan had been;
hadn't she treated him herself? Looking closer at the young man, she
could now see a faint resemblance and moved to stand near N'vanik
speaking softly to both Y'gel and the Weyrleader. "When he came to us,
he was near starved, N'vanik, and he was sickly. He's been nothing but
respectful every time I've seen him."

Y'gel nodded in agreement with U'rlene. "This Weyrling," he used the
word deliberately to remind N'vanik of the boy's status and whatever
he was thinking would affect a dragon as well. "...is not his
brother." He looked at Urlene for a moment. "I think we must check on
the rest of this family." He looked at R'ayl. "Who else is back on
your cot?"

"Just my mama and my sister." Delorth creeled in alarm again and lifted
his head, reacting to R'ayl's panic. He choked on a sob. "Please don't
hurt them. My mother doesn't want anything to do with the Weyr. She
doesn't even know I'm here."

The fog of rage in N'vanik's head cleared a little and he turned back
to R'ayl. "I'm not going to hurt them. Your mother warned us, R'ayl.
That some of the holders were planning an attack against the Weyr,
though she didn't hear the details. She might be in danger, but not
from us. From Enali's people." That was something to remember. Despite
everything, Alyena _had_ warned them... well, warned J'ackt.

Urlene laid a hand on R'ayl's shoulder. "Your family has been getting
supplies from us." She didn't tell them how or who had been bringing
them. "We've been helping them." She looked at both older riders,
her graze lingering on Y'gel for a moment. "This is business that I
can't help with and I need to check on a few Candidates. Will you need
me for anything else?"

Y'gel's eyes followed Urlene for a moment, then turned back to the
pair in front of him. "Your ma risked a lot to warn us," he said. "Her
actions made us ready for this attack. He looked at N'vanik for a
moment. "I'm positive we can do something for her. Do you think she'd
want to come to the Weyr?"

"I think she should whether she wants to or not. At least until it's
safer," N'vanik said. Then he turned to Urlene with a frown of
concern, all signs of anger gone for a moment. "If it helps you to
keep busy, go ahead and do that. But please take some time for
yourself when you can." He squeezed her shoulder.

R'ayl looked up at her. The revelation that the supplies which had fed
his family for months had come from the Weyr had stunned him, but that
was forgotten as he recalled what Y'gel had said. "Thank you, Master
Urlene. I'm sorry about your Stitch."

"It's not your fault, R'ayl." Urlene answered, keeping her voice even.
**Faranth, I hope it's not your fault. I hope I'm not wrong.** She
looked at N'vanik and nodded. "I will. Thank you." She nodded at the
group again and quickly left on brisk steps.

The boy watched her go, trying to hold down his panic. He hoped Y'gel
would stay, and not leave him and Delorth with the Weyrleader. "I don't
think my mama would want to leave the farm," he said softly. "But maybe
if you tell her about the supplies, she will come. Before they started
arriving, it was hard for us." He'd never thought he'd ask this of a
dragonrider, but... "Please help her."

"Your ma knows where the supplies are coming from," N'vanik said. "If
I send J'ackt, I think she'll listen."

"Aye," Y'gel agreed. "But will one rider be enough? Should we send a
six along with him? If she really is threatened..." Then he thought of
something else, "Don't you still have siblings with your mother
R'ayl?"

"Just my younger sister." R'ayl bit his lip. He knew his mother had been
to the Weyr and seen dragons, but...he didn't dare mention what J'ackt
had done to his father, or what Grevan had done to him, all the stories
he'd heard. Did the bronzerider hate his family? He could hardly imagine
it to be otherwise. What if he threatened them, or worse?

N'vanik nodded. "Yeah, a few other riders might be a good idea in case
someone tries to attack." The Weyrleader was tempted to go himself,
but he had too much to do here.

R'ayl huddled closer to Delorth as he listened to their plans and
imagined the dragons landing at the cothold, led by J'ackt and his
bronze. How afraid she and his sister would be - would they even agree
to come? Although he'd had nothing to do with the day's terrible events,
he couldn't help feeling guilty. His mother had told him not to come to
the Weyr. Had his actions only made his family's situation worse?

Last updated on the February 6th 2022

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