Reassurance

Writers: Devin, Estelle
Date Posted: 20th February 2022
Series: Bad Meat!

Characters: R'lor, R'ayl
Description: R'lor checks on R'ayl after the Hatching
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 17 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Y'gel, Irradis, Reyela, Enamra

R'lor

R'lor had been checking in through the dragons, so he knew little
Delorth and his rider were okay, but once he had the other weyrlings
settled he went to visit the pair for himself. "Hello? I hope I'm not
disturbing you. R'ayl is it now?"

The boy was sitting on a small couch in the dragonhealers' infirmary,
next to the curled-up shape of his sleeping dragonet with one hand
stroking the soft sea-blue hide. At R'lor's words, he straightened, with
a flash of fear in his eyes. "Y-yes, sir."

"How are you and Delorth feeling?"

"He was tired and his throat hurt, but Master Y'gel says he should be
better when he wakes." R'ayl didn't know what to say about himself. He
had never felt more complete, more comforted by the presence of another
mind, and at the same time he felt so close to panic he was afraid to
think about his situation.

"That's good. We were all very worried. The people who did this..."
R'lor blew out a breath, not wanting to get too angry in front of the
boy.

R'ayl's hand stilled on Delorth's back. If they didn't believe him, that
hadn't known anything about it... He tried not to think about that. "Are
the others all right? I never saw who else Impressed."

"Everyone is fine." R'lor assured him with a smile. "Are there any
friends you were hoping to see Impress?"

"Irradis?" the boy replied, remembering how kind the other Candidate had
been, when they'd been on laundry duty together. "And Reyela, she helped
me in classes, and Enamra..." He frowned, trying to think when he'd last
seen her. He couldn't remember seeing her when they'd been waiting to go
out onto the Sands, though maybe he'd missed her in the excitement.

R'lor smiled. "I'rad and Reyela both Impressed so you'll be
classmates. Enamra..." He frowned, trying to remember. "She didn't
Impress. I think she may have gone back to the Dolphin Hall."

"Oh." R'ayl remembered that Enamra was the Hallmaster's wife. Perhaps
they missed each other, but he was still sad that she wouldn't be in his
class. "But I'rad and Reyela, that's good. They helped me, when we were
Candidates."

"Ah, that's good. I'll put you with one or both of them for group
exercises."

"Thank you, sir," the boy replied, grateful that he'd be teamed with his
friends - if they still wanted to be his friends, once they found out
who he was. They might think he'd been dishonest, even though he hadn't
told any lies. Perhaps the Weyrlingmaster would, too. He was afraid to
speak up, but... "Please, can I tell you something? Something - maybe, I
should have said before."

R'lor nodded, his brows drawing together in a slight frown of concern.
"Of course."

"When I came here..." R'ayl hardly knew how to explain. "I didn't come
because I was Searched. I mean - I was Searched, but I came here
because..." His voice trailed off to a whisper. "I wanted to clear my
brother's name."

"Oh? Your brother got into some kind of trouble then?"

"He's dead," the boy replied in a small voice, his gaze dropping. "H-he
was sent to the mines and...there was an accident."

It had been a _very_ long and stressful day so R'lor's mind was not as
sharp as usual and it took a long moment for him to make a connection.
"You don't mean the man who tried to kill a dragonrider?" R'lor had
been at Rising Moons at the time but such shocking news had traveled
fast.

"That's what they said." R'ayl felt the tears prickling in his eyes.
"That dragonrider nearly killed our father. He was hurting all the time
and in the end, he couldn't go on and..." A shudder ran through him as
the image of that lifeless body returned, as it often did in his
nightmares. "I thought if I came, I could help make it better, somehow.
I never thought any of this would happen."

"You didn't...have anything to do with what happened, did you?" R'lor
asked carefully. It was unthinkable that anyone would poison their own
dragon, but perhaps R'ayl had been kept in the dark about that aspect.

"No!" The boy's instant, horrified response was enough to make the
little blue hatchling stir uneasily in his sleep, his claws scraping the
stone of the couch. "I would never, ever hurt Delorth! Never!"

"All right, all right," R'lor said gently. "I know you wouldn't. But
perhaps someone asked you to do things, things you thought might help
clear your brother's name?" R'lor would be horrified but not surprised
to find that the people behind this plot would use a vulnerable boy
for their own ends.

R'ayl shook his head, and a tear spilled over and ran down his thin
cheek. "I didn't do anything. I only wrote to my Master. He said he
would help me."

R'lor made a note to ask for details about this later. Now wasn't the
time to press the poor kid. "All right. You just focus on taking care
of Delorth now, okay?"

"Yes, sir." R'ayl's voice wavered with mingled fear and exhaustion. "But
I don't know...what will happen to him, to Delorth? If I'm sent away, or
put down the mines?"

R'lor put a hand on the boy's shoulder. "No one can ever take you away
from Delorth, R'ayl." Did that mean he was guilty of something, or was
that only fear talking?

"They won't send him somewhere bad as well?" That frightened him as much
as being sent down the mines himself.

"Why do you think we'd send you somewhere bad?" R'lor sighed in
exasperation. "What _are_ they teaching you out there?"

"You sent my brother," R'ayl said softly, staring down at his hands.
"My Mama said we must never come to the Weyr. She said no good would
come of it... She said she couldn't lose another one of us."

"Your brother tried to kill a dragonrider," R'lor said gently. "Unless
you plan to do the same, you have nothing to worry about."

The boy shook his head instantly. The thought of killing anyone,
dragonrider or not, was so horrific as to be beyond imagining. "Then I'm
not in trouble?"

"No, R'ayl, you're not in trouble. Focus on taking care of Delorth,
and make sure you both get some good rest, all right?" He patted the
boy's shoulder.

"Yes, Weyrlingmaster." R'ayl put a hand to his mouth to hide a wide
yawn. Between Delorth's sleepy thoughts and all the many exciting and
terrifying events of the day, his eyelids suddenly felt very heavy.
"Thank you."

Last updated on the July 15th 2022

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