Silver Linings

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 4th September 2025

Characters: Ketlyn, Kemmin
Description: Ketlyn returns from her errand home and is greeted by Kemmin.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 8, day 18 of Turn 12
Notes: Notes: Follows 'BLW: Kill the Messenger'

Ketlyn

It was late by the time Ketlyn and Varinth came back to Barrier Lake Weyr. They came from /between/ and on a whim flew down the lakeshore together, suspended between the deep black water and void of a sky spangled with stars. Beilor rose over the horizon as they turned back toward home and its soft, pearly light gilded the edges of the waves below. The lighthouse's light shone like a Barrier Lake's own small moon to guide their way through the soft night.

Ketlyn felt a measure of peace as Varinth landed on her ledge -- until the door to her weyr burst open and Kemmin strode out. "Well? What did they say?"

So much for peace. Ketlyn handed him her riding helmet and slid from Varinth's back. "Just about as you'd expect. Mother and Father are furious and Mother told me that she wishes I'd never been born. Oh, and that I'm not ever welcome home again."

He winced. "Shards. I'm sorry. I didn't think they'd do that to you."

"You knew fine well that they would." She glared at him as Varinth snorted in agreement. "I even _told_ you they would."

Her brother shuffled his feet like a two-turn old boy instead of a man. "I'm sorry."

"No you're not." Ketlyn sighed. "Help me with Varinth's straps, will you?"

They worked together in silence, and Ketlyn dawdled to give Varinth some extra eyeridge scratches before she reluctantly followed Kemmin into her weyr and shut the door. She shrugged off her jacket and boots and hung them next to her riding straps, and turned to find Kemmin extending a mug toward her. "What's this?"

"Whiskey. I figured you'd need it," he said sheepishly.

"In a mug?!"

He shrugged. "It's not full to the brim. I wasn't able to take the whole bottle from the Kitchens so this was the best I could do. They were really strict about taking bottles from the Dining Cavern tonight. I heard a rumor that the cellar got raided yesterday. Do people do that here? Everything is just... there. Free to take."

She suppressed a laugh and took the mug, which was indeed just over a knuckle full of a dark whiskey that smelled like smoke and amber. The eggs on the Sands were soon to hatch and she could hazard a guess at who the thieves were. As grateful as she was for the treat, it wasn't enough for her to forgive Kemmin so she said, "Mother's been crying herself to sleep every night since you left."

Kemmin winced as he sat on the edge of her bed. "She cries when she has to kill a v-tol, though..."

"And Father won't let Milyn or Kevan out of his sight. He's going to need to ask for help with the harvest because you left, and you know how proud he is. You could go back just for the harvest, you know. I'd take you."

He shook his head. "You think I trust you to pick me up again, after today?"

Ketlyn smiled. "You figured that one out quick." She slumped in her armchair, grateful for the small fire that Kemmin had kindled in the fireplace. When she stretched her toes toward the heat she noticed that the heel of her left sock was wearing thin. "I saw Minterin, Vekal, Verraki and the baby but only briefly. Tris says hello."

"Did you see Milyn or Kemmin?" Kemmin's voice was laced with guilt.

"They were somewhere with Father. I was only able to speak with Mother and Tris."

He looked down at his mug, then shot it back in one gulp. Then he coughed. "Shards."

"You're picking up a foul mouth," Ketlyn told him. "Mother would hate it."

"All the more reason to swear. There's good ones here. Flame it, scorch it, shi-- hey!" He dodged as Ketlyn threw a pillow at him.

"Shut up! No talking like that in my weyr!"

He laughed and held up his hands in defeat. Something had relaxed between them. It wasn't quite forgiveness, but rather the ease of siblings who knew that blood bonds were stronger than their argument. They sat in silence for a moment, savoring the whiskey and firelight, before Kemmin spoke again. "Thank you. For everything. I don't think... I know I made everything hard for you, but I don't think I could have survived another Turn at home."

"I hope it's worth it," Ketlyn said softly. She sipped at her whiskey again and let it roll over her tongue. There had to be a silver lining in all this family strife for them both. Her mother's words, whether honestly meant or just a weapon in the heat of the moment, were going to fester like a thorn stuck in her heart. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well... stay here, maybe see if I can apprentice at something. Meet people. I want to learn to sail," he said slowly. "And I want to see if the Headwoman accepts your bribe and puts me in a room with people who snore," he said with a sly, sidelong look.

The greenrider snorted. "You caught onto that plot too? I'm going to have to be sneakier. If you end up with tunnelsnakes nesting in your closet, it wasn't me."

"Sure it wasn't. Like it wasn't that time you filled my boots with river slime."

"I never did that!" Ketlyn laughed, remembering how stinky the slime had been and how carefully she'd poured it into his shoes. She must have been ten turns old, if that. "And even if I did, you deserved it."

"Did not!"

"Did too. You lit my hair on fire."

"That was an accident!" They were both laughing now. "And I promised never to do it again. I kept that promise, didn't I?"

The greenrider gave him an arch look. "For now." She felt like making him promise something else, sensing that whatever she asked for in this moment he'd agree to.

Except she didn't trust him to keep it, or worse, to not ask her to promise him something in return. She'd broken her last promise, to take her siblings to the Weyr. She'd procrastinated and in that sense, she was as responsible as Kemmin was for this whole sorry mess.

Instead she held out her hand to him. "I'm really mad at you for making me deal with Mother for you. But I'm also glad you're here."

He took her hand and gave it a squeeze. "Me too."

"I haven't forgiven you," she told him.

He nodded, resigned. "I know."

But the heaviness had lifted. It was as close to a genuine apology as she was going to get, and it would do, for now.

Last updated on the October 3rd 2025

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Silver Linings