Dark Days
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Len, Sia
Date Posted: 5th August 2024
Characters: E'kavas, Jaylene
Description: E'kavas and Jaylene commiserate over the anniversary of RBW's closing
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 17 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: G'zan, Jevikas (NPC), Kevia (NPC), Ellenico (NPC)
E'kavas had been in a sour mood for weeks. It always got worse as it neared the 20th, and he knew that. He volunteered for extra shifts, thinking that if he could work himself to exhaustion he wouldn't have the energy to think. At least he had the good luck of flying 'Fall this time. It was well-flown, by all accounts. He'd checked himself and Roquath over, checked in with the Wing, and went straight back to his weyr and poured himself a drink.
His sooty riding jacket was tossed haphazardly over a chair; his gloves on the table, where Peeve considered them with an indignant whirling of his eyes. Once, E'kavas had insisted on no firelizards on the table, but that hardly mattered now.
He heard the rustle of wings on his ledge and reached for another glass, even as Roquath was relaying who was visiting at this hour. "Jaylene!" He said, a little too jovially, "Good flying today. Want a drink? I have…whatever this is."
The tall woman strolled in, unbraiding the tight bun she kept her long hair in during ‘Fall. She took in the way his fighting gear had been thrown and the way he looked. Okay, it didn’t look good. She slowed her walk when she came to him and picked up the glass. “You left rather quickly according to your weyrsecond, so I thought I’d check in, make sure you’re okay.” She took a sip of the drink and grimaced as it burned from her throat all the way into her stomach. “What gut rot is that? You got a beer around?”
"Shards, who even knows. G'zan made it. Could probably strip that meat grinder they installed in the kitchens, too, but it gets the job done." He grimaced at it, then gestured over to the kitchen. "Yeah, I think there's beer in there. Help yourself. To a 'Fall well flown, our health, all that music. How'd you and Reanth make out?"
“Reanth is so fast, I just have to feed her stone and hang on.” Jay strolled over to the cool box and took out a bottle. She counted herself lucky to be a rare rider who’s dragon nor herself had ever had a proper ‘scoring. “I’m hoping D’ale will take J’nne on as a mentor, teach him some about being a wingsecond. I know he’s my baby brother but I think he’s got some talent to be a good wing leader one day.” She sat down beside her old friend. "How’d you and Roquath do today?”
"Tribeth is only young, yet. He's still learning how to fly 'Fall. Don't rush him." He nudged her as she sat down. "Roquath is fine. I need to have a bit more wits about me than you need with Reanth. He forgets that he's not as agile as the greens swooping around him."
Jaylene smiled at her friend and patted his knee. “The anniversary is coming up, how’re you doing with it?” She guessed the answer would be ‘not well’ but she wanted him to say those words and let her know what he needed.
E'kavas held up the glass of half-drank spirits. "Not well. How is anyone with it? You can almost see the grief creeping up on what remains of River Bluff here." The liquor burned on the way down, pooling into a heat in his stomach that did nothing to his mood. "I know the kids notice it, too, but they don't say anything. I almost prefer the silence to them asking me about it."
Jaylene quietly watched the way her friend downed his spirits and mused over his words. None of it was good. For many, the trauma of what had happened had begun to fade slightly, like it had for her and her brother, J’zen. For others, like baby brother J’nne and their mother, going to a mindhealer had helped immensely. But then again, they hadn’t lost weyrmates. “How are the kids? Do they ever mention anything?” She asked in a quiet voice. She assumed they had been to mindhealer too, after what they had seen and been through.
E'kavas poured himself another glass despite the look. "Nico used to, when we first transferred here." He said with a grimace. "He thought that when someone died they 'started over', like you do when you're playing a game. That was _rough_. But they don't talk so much about it anymore. I haven't been the best person to talk it out with. Their mindhealer says they mention it once in a while."
Jaylene made a mental note to check in on the kids, or perhaps, ask J’nne to do so. He might even still have one or more in the music tutoring that he did from time to time. “What I wouldn’t give to go sit on River Buff’s beach, I miss that. Dragonsfall is so cold.”
"That's why I did it. I thought about asking for a transfer to Dolphin Cove, because at least the weather would be similar. But I didn't want anything that reminded me of home." E'kavas stared at the glass. "It snowed the first day we transferred. I remember thinking 'what in the world did I get myself into?' Jevikas was furious with me. Rightly so."
Jaylene laughed and shook her head. “I remember that, all our dragons played out in the snow, Tribeth had never seen it before, he was freaked out!” The mental picture of that day made her laugh to the point that tears poured down her face. “Poor J’nne…poor Tribeth.”
E'kavas stared somberly at her. "The kids hated it. First stop was to the Lower Caverns for cold weather clothes. I dumped them in the creche while I tried to unpack. I still have a couple boxes tucked away that I can't unpack."
Jaylene reached over and squeezed E’kavas’ hand. “I don’t give much advice, E’kavas, but it might help you to go talk to the mindhealer. I know too that J’nne does some exercises with music and mind healing with some of the River Buff youngsters.”
E'kavas squeezed her hand back, then let go to pour himself another drink. "I do see a mindhealer. I'll get to the boxes eventually, maybe. Someday. For now, let me grieve."
‘Okay.” She stood up and glanced towards the weyr opening. “I need to clean Reanth and get my hide work done, but I’ll have her check in with Roqualth later, just to make sure you don’t need any help. I’ll have someone bring you up some food too, and see if J’nne can entertain your kids tonight.” She hated to leave him like this but there wasn’t much more she could do and she still had her responsibilities towards her own wing. But even so, she hated leaving him like this. “You want me to let R’ehn know anything before I go?”
"Nah, that's fine. I appreciate the concern, but he's not expecting me until the wing meeting tomorrow." He waved a hand in dismissal. "Don't bother your brother. I'm not leaving the kids to their own devices so close to the anniversary. We'll talk later."
Last updated on the August 29th 2024