Not an Early-Wher

Writers: Avery, Rochelle
Date Posted: 21st October 2006

Characters: Eleada, L'pin
Description: Eleada sits with L'pin early one morning after a rough night, and the two discuss weyrlife and weyrlings.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 27 of Turn 3

Eleada staggered into the dining hall, rubbing her eyes with the back of hand. She paused, sniffed, and then followed her nose to the nearest pot of klah. It was far too early to be up. She'd swear that the whers would still be up if she had been in High Reaches.

Which was part of the problem. It had been a long, rough night. Even giving up on her bed and sleeping with her dragon hadn't helped. Arieoss had gotten so disgusted with her clinginess that the feline had left them both to sleep on the bed. When she had finally seen daylight seeping into the cavern, she had given up and dressed. Gliorith hadn't been happy at being forced out of her bed to take her to the floor of the weyrbowl, but since she had yet to wake during one of Eleada's panic attacks over being alone at night, her rider wasn't very sympathetic. The green slept as deeply as her rider -when she wasn't freaking.

She poured herself a mug of klah, and cradled the precious beverage carefully as she scanned the dining hall for a seat. There were plenty of empty tables this early in the morning, but she didn't _want_ to be alone.
Her pickings were slim, but she saw a familiar figure bent over some hides, and she sighed in relief as she slid in across from him, not caring whether L'pin wanted company or not. "Morning."

L'pin looked up to see Eleada, looking rather tired and clutching her klah like a lifeline. "Good morning Eleada, my duty to Gliorith." he responded automatically. He wasn't sure if they'd speak again- a lot of times flight partners were just that, and never wanted to look at you the next day.
Unless they were Minara, but she was gone now wasn't she? "Early morning or late night?" he quizzed with a smile.

She grimaced. "That obvious, huh?" She said wryly, and gulped down the klah. It scalded her tongue, but it had the wanted effect when she felt the drink hit her stomach. "Late night." She admitted, setting the mug on the table. "Couldn't sleep. Are you always up this early?" She asked, eyeing the hides in front of him.

L'pin nodded. "Always." he confirmed. "I get up a candlemark before the little ones have to, that way I'm awake enough to deal with anything."

"That sounds disgustingly smart." She admitted, running a hand through her curls, belatedly remembering she'd forgotten to run a comb through them.
"I'm not really a morning person. Well, sometimes. I get up in the morning, just not really early unless I have to." She had another mouthful of klah, more warily now that she knew how hot it was.

L'pin smiled at her. "Not everyone's an early-wher." he remarked. "I know what it's like to not sleep sometimes. You could come by if you're ever having problems; sometimes company helps."

She struggled not to wince at his comment. Lack of company had been her issue since Linrary died. The thought still hurt. According to her mother, it always would. "Be careful what you offer." She said wryly. "I may get desperate enough to take you up on that." She shivered, and covered her moment of weakness by gulping some more klah, remembering the too long candlemarks spent with her face pressed into Gliorith's side, just barely managing to keep the panic from setting in.

"It wouldn't bother me if you took me up on it." L'pin reassured.
**Unless I have another guest...** He shoved aside that thought.
"There's nothing wrong with wanting company."

She smiled weakly. "No, but it's not good manners to show up unannounced in the middle of the night, particularly at the door of anyone with rank.
I remember what my class put our weyrlingmasters through -you need all the sleep you can get!"

L'pin smiled. "Oh trust me, _I've_ shown up at the doors of people with rank. I don't care about whether it's mannerly or not, I care about being there. Just have Gliorith bespeak Chaneth, then you won't be unannounced." He grinned.

"Ah." She waggled a finger at him. Just talking to someone was making her feel better, and the klah had woken her up enough she was feeling closer to normal again. "But what if the dragons are asleep? I don't know what Chaneth is like, but once Gliorith falls asleep she doesn't move for candlemarks."

"Hmm, that could be a problem I guess. But you should still feel free to come by." he remarked. "Chaneth sleeps lightly because weyrlings often bother him."

"I can believe that." She said with a smile. "Three sons are enough to keep me up at night. I don't think I could handle fifty or more weyrlings and their dragons pounding on my door every night."

"Oh, it's not every night, only when someone misbehaved. One curious blue brought in a tunnelsnake, which panicked his rider, which woke up the barracks." L'pin shook his head. "That was about a sevenday ago.
Most nights it's okay, though."

Eleada shuddered. "Yuck. I don't like tunnelsnakes. Arieoss loves hunting them, but she always leaves the dead ones in my furs. Makes for some nasty surprises some nights."

"Arieoss?" L'pin asked. "Sounds like a canine or a feline, if she likes to hunt tunnelsnakes."

"She's a feline." She admitted, taking another sip. "Gliorith adores her, but she's not the one with dead tunnelsnakes on her pillow."

He laughed. "I've noticed that some dragons like pets and others don't.
I wonder why?" he pondered. "And felines are wonderful pets, my family had one when I was younger."

Eleada smiled faintly, trying to push away images of Linrary playing with Arieoss. Shards but it was harder in the morning... "They can be good pets I've heard, but most of the ones I know have egos as big as a dragon. I think Arieoss is convinced Gliorith is her pet, and I'm her personal servant."

L'pin laughed. "Some animals are so imperious. I'd like a pet, I think, but probably not a feline or a canine." He looked at her carefully.
"Your eyes look sad for your age."

She blinked, feeling suddenly self-conscious. Could he have read her thoughts from her face? She was normally pretty good at concealing them, but it _was_ morning... "What do you mean?"

"Just that you're young and lovely and shouldn't look so sad." L'pin sighed softly. "Ever notice how so many of us do? Riding a dragon brings love and loss- I think we die inside faster than the Holders."

"I have noticed." She admitted softly, memories of Linrary, of friends lost and gained and tragedies endured or averted wheeling through her brain. "I can't say I would know much about holders, as I'm weyrbred. And thanks for the compliment." She smiled warmly at him. She was going to have to hunt him out more often, she decided. He was good for her ego, without making her feel overly pressured to perform.

"Weyrbred, eh?" He laughed. "Would you believe I'm Holdbred, then Hall-trained, then I Impressed? I've been around."

"You certainly have." She agreed. "Is that an advantage when you're working with weyrlings?"

"I think it is." L'pin said softly. "The Hold-breds need a special kind of care, especially if it's a boy who Impressed blue or green. The Weyrbred are generally- GENERALLY- the easiest. Hallbreds are somewhere in between. Crafting usually loosens them up a little more. Not always."

"I've noticed that too. One of my best friends in High Reaches was a holdbred greenrider. He never did manage to adjust..." Her voice trailed off and she forced a sad smile. "He died in Fall a turn ago."

"I'm sorry." L'pin said softly. "We've all lost friends. Another problem I have to deal with." he admitted. "Some holdbred or craftbreds, they have no idea about Threadfall... they take stupid risks."

"Mmm." Eleada agreed, looking vacantly into her mug. She shook her head.
It was time to perk this conversation up -it was veering too close to her nightmares. "So... will you have to watch the weyrlings on Turn's End, or will you be free for some of the fun?"

"I have time for fun, thank Faranth. Would you care to dance with me?"
he invited. He was really enjoying Eleada's company.

She smiled warmly, surprised and pleased by the invitation. "I'd love to."

Last updated on the October 23rd 2006

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Not an Early-Wher