Avoiding a scolding

Writers: Eimi, Emma
Date Posted: 4th May 2006

Characters: Benaroy, Royah
Description: Benaroy cannot find the heart to be stern with his third son
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 11, day 12 of Turn 3

Benaroy looked up when he heard the door to his office open. He should have known it was Royah. That boy never knocked. "Come in son, and have a seat. I am just reading the last of your report here."

"It's all right?" asked his son somewhat nervously. He hadn't meant to get distracted when writing his father's notes up into something that resembled a coherent report, but when his children interrupted... Well it was so easy to just let them.

The Lord Holder rolled his eyes as he set the hides down on his desk.
"Royah, what is this?" he asked pointing to the report with a jerk of his finger. "I never said a thing about the spring lambs and yet suddenly, right in the middle of the paragraph about avians, suddenly we're talking about spring lambs. How did the lambs start having projected laying rates?"

"Lambs?" the younger man looked puzzled for a moment. "Erm.... But you said something about needing good laying rates and good lambing rates,"
he said after a moment. "Maybe I misunderstood you?"

"Yes, son, but those are completely separate subjects." He pushed the report to the edge of the desk. "Look in the third paragraph. You suddenly switch the word 'lamb' in for 'avian'. I don't remember talking about my lambs laying eggs."

The idea was so comical that Royah found it hard to suppress a laugh.
Instead, he bent his head, pretending to look at what his father was pointing out to him. But the idea of lambs and ovines laying eggs... "I, I see father."

Benaroy sighed as he leaned back in his chair. "Did you ever read over what you wrote before you sent this to me?"

"Yes, yes I did," replied Royah absently.

"Then how did you miss that you have lambs laying eggs?" If it weren't such a serious matter, Benaroy would have been amused at the slip, but his third son seemed to make a habit out of making mistakes.

"I, I don't know father."

"Royah, I just don't know what to do with you sometimes," the Lord Holder said shaking his head to pull the report back to look at it again. "Lambs laying eggs," he muttered.

"Yatia would think it was funny," Royah was not above reminding his father of his children at times like this.

"Yatia is a little girl, _I_ am not," Benaroy said with forced sternness. His son was so much like the brother he was named after.
They both knew his weak spots and knew just how to make his anger and frustration disappear, even when it shouldn't.

"And hopefully she'll have a baby sister soon," Royah thought if nothing else, the news of another grandchild on the way might appease his father long enough for him to redo that report.

The Lord Holder looked at his son with some surprise. "You think Tenia might be pregnant again?"

"We hope so," he replied. Tenia had miscarried a few pregnancies in the four and a half turns since Yatia was born. "Maybe this time she'll go the whole way."

"I hope so too. I know its been hard since Yatia was born." Benaroy's heart went out to his daughter-in-law. He was quite pleased with his son's choice of wife, and was as fond of her as any of his children.
"Make sure she goes down to see the healers as soon as possible."

"She's made an appointment for first thing tomorrow morning," replied Royah. "I said I'd go with her."

"And so you should," Benaroy nodded. "She must take it easy with this one. Make sure she has plenty of help with the children and time to relax. Perhaps you can talk to Zelenka about having meals delivered to your rooms from time to time."

"I suspect that's what the healer will tell her tomorrow." And it was probably what the problem had been, Tenia had got so sucked in to helping with the hold, that she forgot about herself.

"Well, I don't want to ignore their advice," his father said thoughtfully. He had seen how it had hurt her with the previous loses. "And perhaps you will need to spend a bit more time at home too. I don't want you working late."

"I'll try not to, but I will rewrite this for you father."

"All right," Benaroy nodded, no longer able to be upset about it anymore. "Just be sure to read it carefully before handing it back to me."

"Yes father."

Last updated on the May 4th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Avoiding a scolding