What About When?

Writers: Rochelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 15th January 2008

Characters: F'lin, R'syl
Description: F'lin has an important question for the Weyrlingmaster.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 7, day 12 of Turn 4

F'lin fidgeted all the way through a lecture on starcharts, his attention half-on R'syl, the other tangled up in a debate on whether to listen to his gut or his head. His head said 'yes'; his gut said 'no'.

}:Just ask,:{ Seneth whispered for the nth time. }:Then you- then _we_ will know and you will not be so torn up inside.:{
**But what will he say? People don't talk about it, but if they never talk, how do dragonriders learn?**

}:If you do not ask him when you are done the lesson, then I will ask Usaeth to ask him for you,:{ the juvenile bronze said firmly. }:Then you will stop with your wondering and _know_.:{ F'lin sighed; Seneth was right. He'd spent too long wondering, and asking R'syl was a better option than asking his grandmother. The class ended and F'lin took his time gathering up his notes, waiting until the room was nearly empty before approaching the bronzerider. "Weyrlingmaster? Can I talk to you for a moment?"

R'syl smiled reassuringly at the young bronzerider. "Of course. What can I do for you, F'lin?"

The weyrling glanced down at his hides, then met the Weyrlingmaster's eyes. "When do we learn to /between/ times?"

R'syl paused, looking steadily at F'lin. How did he know about it already...? Wait -his grandmother was the Weyrwoman. While R'syl couldn't see Tsaera talking to F'lin about it, he could easily see the weyrling overhearing a conversation. "You have some 'when' in time that you're in a hurry to get to?" He asked mildly, not answering the question.

"No," the weyrling replied, a little sullenly. "I just want to know when we get trained to do it."

His curiosity seemed genuine, but R'syl didn't trust the sullen mutter. "When we reach that lesson, you will find out. As it is, I'm not sure everyone is ready. Besides." He looked F'lin squarely in the eyes, his expression deadly serious. "/Betweening/ times is a very serious business, and one that is strongly discouraged no matter what the circumstances."

But not when lives were at stake. "I know that, sir."

"I'm not sure you do, F'lin, or you wouldn't be asking." R'syl said sombrely, holding F'lin's gaze with quiet intensity. "There are more dangers in /betweening/ times than just being in the right when and where. It is a horrible drain on man and dragon to be in the same when twice. People who go back with ideas of changing history, no matter how well intentioned, nearly always end up dead. I'm not going to risk losing you or Seneth or any other weyrling pair to that fate until I am absolutely certain you can completely understand the responsibility of having that knowledge."

F'lin almost asked again, but reigned himself in. R'syl had said that they would be taught - that would have to be enough. He swallowed. "I understand, sir."

"Do you really?" R'syl asked blandly, then shook his head. He was going to have to watch F'lin, maybe see if he could find out if there was a reason other than curiosity that would cause him to ask. So many weyrlings got grand ideas, just knowing it was possible, and he hated having to crush those dreams, but it was necessary. "You can't change the past, F'lin. Only what you do in the present. If something happens, there is nothing anyone, not even a rider /betweening/ times, can do to change it." He sighed, swallowing past the hard lump in his throat. "Going back in time wouldn't stop my wife or my daughter from dying. It wouldn't stop the earthquake that destroyed Amethyst Hold, Thread from Falling, or the Hurricane that flooded Dolphin Cove. We only include it in the lessons in case someone /between/ times by accident. It is a deadly serious business, and there are extreme punishments for pairs who try it intentionally."

"But the dragonriders knew about the hurricane that hit Topaz Sea Hold before the _dolphins_ did!" F'lin blurted out. He hadn't meant to, but he couldn't take it back now. "They arrived in just enough time to evacuate, and how did they know when the storm was offshore? We don't Sweep over the water."

"No, we don't Sweep over water." He agreed steadily. "But dragons have the ability to go anywhere, instantaneously. There is a reason that we include weather conditions in the training, F'lin." He said mildly, trying to remember what little he'd heard about the Topaz disaster. Had they gone /between/ times? It certainly wasn't something that was going to be announced to everyone.

}:Leave it be, F'lin...:{ Seneth said quietly. }:He is not listening, and you are getting too upset to make him listen,:{
**But the _dolphins_ didn't know, and the dolphineers know as much about weather as we do...** The protest went unsaid, though. Seneth was right. They'd just have to wait. That they _would_ learn would have to be enough -- he wanted to travel through time, so it didn't matter if he had to wait until he was forty-turns old to do it. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, sir."

"Legitimate questions are never a bother, F'lin." R'syl said with a smile. "Feel free to ask them anytime. Is there anything else?"

"No." F'lin's grip tightened a little on his notes as he turned to go. }:Patience,:{ Seneth whispered. It was just another skill they'd have to learn.

Last updated on the January 19th 2008

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What About When?