Opening Up is Hardly Fatal

Writers: Bree, Erin Smith
Date Posted: 3rd August 2006

Characters: Vir'en, Isaline
Description: Virnoren meets up with his friend Isaline, who he hasn't seen in a while
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 3

Virnoren was bored. And bored never was a good thing for him, as bored had a knack of leading to three things: inebriation, promiscuity, and general mayhem. He found himself in the mood for the latter, so he sat down the small wooden dragon figurine he was whittling at, and decided to head down to the Weyrlake for a swim. He'd been meaning to get into better shape recently, and now seemed as good a time as any to start.

Arriving at his destination, he realized that the weyrlake was quite crowded. Scanning the crowd, he found Isaline, who he had known since his glory days as a mischievous weyrbrat. He knew she had gotten her own weyr at some point recently, and hadn't really seen much of her since she had Impressed. Isaline was one of the few girls Virnoren would invite on his exploits, because she was the only one who didn't whine, cry or tattle about it, it seemed.

Isaline caught sight of him almost as soon as his feet hit the beach, and she waved an arm at him in an enthusiastic manner. "Virnoren! Over here!"

Virnoren smiled despite himself. While he preferred being alone, he realized that no man could exist by himself. After many long sevendays beating himself up and wondering why he still hadn't Impressed, he had made the decision recently to attempt to open up... a bit. At least spend more time around people, even if he didn't make himself vulnerable in doing so. If he couldn't even make friends, how could he expect to make a lifemate?
"Isaline! I haven't seen you in sevendays! Thanatath has been keeping you busy, I wager?"

"Day and night," Isaline replied with a grin, her eyes going out to the water where her dragon was splashing happily after a good scrubbing. "But I've got my own weyr now, at least! No more barracks for me."

Virnoren smiled. "That's good to hear. Must be good to have your privacy back, I'd wager." He followed Isaline's glance over to the green dragon, noticing with a bit of a sting the loving look the girl had for her dragon.
"Thanatath is growing fast." After spending his entire life around dragons, Virnoren recognized that Thanatath would always be a small green, but she certainly looked healthy.

"She is! We can fly together now..." Her voice trailed off as she remembered that first, short, harrowing flight. "It won't be long before we're learning to go /between/, and then we'll be able to go anywhere on Pern."

"Freedom sure sounds nice doesn't it." Virnoren replied. Freedom was an integral part of a weyrbrat's life. True, there were chores and classes and such, but to no where near the same extent as the Holds or Halls. And when one foster mother said you couldn't have something, there were always other foster mothers, drudges, and dragonriders to beg to. "So where will you go first?" He was honestly curious, as he knew after spending 19 long turns in the tropics that he would love to see some snow capped mountains.

Isaline considered the question for a moment, surprised she hadn't even thought about it yet. "I don't know! I mean, I've never really been anywhere but here, I guess. Maybe somewhere really different."

Virnoren nodded. He too felt the wanderlust that was tempting him to explore Pern. "I've never seen snow." Virnoren replied thoughtfully. "I wonder what it's like? Cold, obviously, but it can't be as cold as /between/ can it? I hear it's fun to play with..." Virnoren grew quiet. He wasn't often one to share his hopes and dreams with others, and even if he _was_ he didn't have a dragon and lacked the freedom of his friend.

Isaline knew all too well what it felt like to be the one who didn't Impress--after all, it had taken her the last five turns. "Well, then. As soon as I have permission to leave the Weyr, we'll _both_ go find some snow!"

Virnoren smiled. "That sounds like a fabulous idea." His smile turned mischievous. "I forewarn you though, there might be a snowball fight involved." He stretched, a thoughtful look appearing on his face. "I wonder if this is my time." He said, gesturing vaguely in the direction of the Hatching Sands. The thought had been plaguing his mind for a while now, but Isaline was the first he would vocalize it too.

Reaching out, Isaline gave Virnoren a quick, impulsive hug. "If it is, it'll happen. Look how long it took me! And R'alt was even longer."

Virnoren was surprised, but comforted by the girl's impulsive actions. It was still hard thinking of Isaline as a woman. They'd known one another since they were little, and to Virnoren she was like a little sister, albeit a little sister that had outgrown her tomboyish stage. He hugged her back.
Normally, his relations with women were brief. A quick tumble or three between the furs, and he was done with them. He fought the urge to take a tumble with Isaline, knowing that he respected the greenrider too much for that type of behavior. "Thanks, Isaline. You've been a big help. I think it's good we ran into one another today." He had been fighting depression on and off the past couple of sevendays.

"I wish we got to see each other more," she replied a little sadly. Her eyes drifted out to the water again, though, and the sadness faded into another smile. "You'll find out soon enough how little time a weyrling has, though!
And speaking of time..." She rolled her eyes skyward. "I've got to go get ready for drills."

"Well don't let me hold you up then! And I hope I will find out how little time weyrlings have soon." He said, smiling ruefully. "And I'll do my best to keep in touch." He meant it as well. He had to open up, if only a little bit, if he was going to ever Impress.

Last updated on the August 3rd 2006

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Opening Up is Hardly Fatal