Rain and Responsibility (2/2)

Writers: Corrin, Yvonne
Date Posted: 15th April 2025
Series: The Perfect Storm

Characters: Tsaera, Sybana
Description: As the weyr rallies to save a group of Holdless, Tsaera makes Sybana examine her own convictions
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 5 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra, I’serin (not by name)

Sybana

(cont.)

Sybana clearly hadn’t considered that there might be families. She had been thinking of a misanthrope or criminal monolith, justly excised from society. It hadn’t occurred to her that they would be _children_. “…No,” she admitted at last, though reluctant and a bit uneasy in her speculation as to what sort of children holdless might beget. “They shouldn’t.”

She sighed as well and followed Tsaera’s glance up to the dark skies. “Is that what we’re doing then? Accepting them into the weyr so long as they break no laws?”

"They have asked for help, and the Weyr will help them," Tsaera said. "What happens after that is up to the Weyrleaders. As for what you and I are doing..." She smiled down at the young woman beside her. "Tabanirth and Galgaith are rather visible out here, aren't they? Why do you think Saibra has asked us to stand here in the rain when wingriders could just have easily done this job?"

After all the difficult questions she’d been posed, Sybana took some heart in Tsaera’s smile. She wasn’t accustomed to being challenged in her convictions. It was uncomfortable, but her senior’s approval, however slight, was encouraging.

“To make a statement,” she said, glancing back at where the golds gleamed in the stormlight. A remarkable sight in any weather. “To show the Weyr that this is sanctioned. That it isn’t an accident or oversight, but something the Weyrleaders stand behind. And that we--” she hesitated, “...that we stand behind it too...”

Tsaera nodded approvingly. "Precisely. When things are... unsettled, a Weyr will look to its goldriders for reassurance. We stay, Sybana. Weyrleaders will come and go, but goldriders are the rock that the Weyr is built on. The Weyrfolk will follow orders but they will also take their cues from what _we_ say and do. If they see us welcoming the Holdless beside the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader, they will too."

We stay.

Sybana's pulse quickened with something she couldn't quite name. Excitement seemed too trite a word for the thrill Tsaera's words evoked. She had always _wanted_ to be important-- to be involved-- to _matter_. For the first time since Impressing she felt as though she was really stepping into something bigger than herself. Not just being a goldrider in name, but one in action.

It was just a shame it wasn't an action she approved of.

Her gaze flickered to their guards, lingering at a respectable distance. That distance and the rain had already provided their conversation more privacy than usual, but she lowered her voice anyway when she turned back to Tsaera to ask, "What would you do, if you were Weyrwoman?"

Tsaera glanced at Sybana, then sighed. "My answer is based on the knowledge of my own weyrhold. My former weyrhold. And right now isn't the time to go into that. Ask me again in a few days time and we can talk it through together. For now... tell me what you think the task ahead of you is."

Sybana studied Tsaera’s face, searching for something more in the older woman’s expression, some hint of her inclination in those grey eyes-- but there was nothing she could be sure of. Very well. She could wait a few days.

Her gaze drifted back out over the weyrbowl again, taking in the storm-streaked sky, the stirring readiness, the tension in the air. "The task ahead of me..." she said quietly, knowing the answer, even if she didn't quite like it. "Is to publically stand by the leadership's decision. We need to show a united front." She met those grey eyes, green ones resolute even as she kept her voice low. "I can do that. I know how to set aside my feelings and do my duty. I'll stand here in the rain and greet the _holdless_ and be _seen_, but--" She paused, biting back a myriad of heated words. "--but I still don't like this. Holdless are _dangerous_."

"Noted." It would surprise her if Sybana wasn't upset. The girl was Holdbred and Galgaith was still immature, and the Southern Continent had experienced its share of frightening events of late.

}:She is young,:{ Tabanirth reminded her rider. }:Be gentle with younglings.:{

"I know you're probably frightened," Tsaera said after a moment. "As you said, many of the Holdless became so because of their own actions, but today they're just frightened people stuck in a flooding cave. With Galgaith and Tabanirth here, and the guards, you'll be safe."

"I'm not frightened," Sybana said, shaking her dark curls. Something in her rebelled at the thought of showing weakness, here and now, even if it was at least partly true. "I just-- I'm worried for the Weyr. _But I will do my duty_."

Tsaera caught a flash of green wings through the clouds. "Good. Because here they come."

Last updated on the April 15th 2025

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Rain and Responsibility (2/2)