Father and Son
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: Jane
Date Posted: 10th January 2007
Characters: O'rian
Description: Odarian goes for a walk to think about his relationship with his father.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 23 of Turn 4
Even when it rained, Dolphin Cove was still hot enough that Odarian didn't bother to change his plans. This evening, between coming off duty at the infirmary and dusk, he was heading out on a long walk down the coast. Past the Dolphin Hall now pretty much settled in the abandoned SeaHold. Soon enough the rain would stop and then the incredible baking heat of the tropical setting would steam him dry.
Dressed in washed-thin shorts and shirt, with sturdy, comfortable sandals on his feet, Odarian strode along the beach under the high water line where the sand was firmer and easier walking. He wore his hat on his back, held on place until he needed it with a thin strip of leather, and the hat sat on top of the very light drawstring bag slung across his back. Just essentials – redwort, numbweed, insect repelling ointment, and skin protecting slave just in case the cloud disappeared unexpectedly. A bandage and a small knife and a little distilled water that could be either for rinsing wounds or drinking completed the kit that he never left the Weyr without. Although the area was safe enough for those who were sensible, Odarian tended to caution these days.
Preparation and caution.
He knew why, of course. He wasn't so lacking in self-knowledge that his changed attitude came as any surprise. His father's responsibility for the devastating losses in Threadfall had changed many lives in the Weyr – and taken more than Odarian cared to count. One of those lives that had been changed had been that of his son, but the young healer doubted his father even realised that.
The sand underfoot was giving way to rocks, the distinctive rocks of the volcano the Weyr was housed in. Nasty stuff, always sharp and prone to infecting the wounds it caused. He started to clamber around on the rocks, pleased the tide was retreating so he didn't have to keep his eye on the water as he worked his way out around the headland and out of the cove that had been his home for eleven Turns.
In the next bay Odarian jumped down into the small surf and waded to the sand. The rain was easing but the clouds didn't show any signs of breaking up, which would shorten his walk somewhat. Without the clear skies more typical of the darkness would arrive earlier and it would be foolish to attempt the rocks on the return journey in less than adequate light.
As the young man walked over the damp sand again he allowed himself to think a little more about his father – and his relationship with O'dan.
"Or lack of one."
Odarian had been fostered with a wonderful woman who he was appreciating more and more as the Turns went on, so O'dan and his mother, both dragonriders, had had only a limited influence in his life. He felt he had only realised how much his real mother meant to him when she had been killed in the first Fall of the Pass and suddenly wasn't there, the way she had been all his life.
And he could have lost his father, six months ago, when so many others lost family members. It ought to have reminded him how he had felt after his mother had suddenly disappeared from his life but he had let the attitude of others affect his actions. Although he could never truly isolate himself from the way the Weyr regarded their former Weyrleader, he could concentrate on his own relationship with the bronzerider.
"Father and son," Odarian said aloud as he stepped off the sand again and onto the rocks that spilled out to form another headland.
Last updated on the January 12th 2007