Unpacking, Take One

Writers: AL, Clancey
Date Posted: 25th November 2008

Characters: J'darin, Zelle
Description: Zelle helps J'darin unpack in his new weyr.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 5 of Turn 4

J'darin

Well, that hadn't been any fun. He had left N'vanik's - his old - office just a little while ago. Even with a visit to Ylisahn to find out exactly which weyr it was, and then relaying the info to Zelle through her green, he still wasn't feeling very _good_ about that visit with N'vanik.

J'darin leaned against Hasaarth's warm hide, trying to untangle his emotions. He was quite certain he didn't like _not_ being Weyrleader of Dolphin Cove. It was _his_ Weyr. These were _his_ riders. It seemed to hurt more each day, not less.

He sighed again. The future...

}:You should not worry. We will fly together again and we will fight Thread again. :{ Apparently, that was supposed to balance all the rest? He couldn't help it, he laughed. Silly dragon.

}:I am not silly! I am Hasaarth!:{ He laughed harder.

That was how Zelle would find them, when she arrived to welcome him to his new, smaller home. One laughing and seemingly unable to stop, the other looked as offended as a dragon could, and snorting at his rider.

"Well, you seem to be in a good mood." The green rider paused to examine the man before her, hands upon her hips and head shaking back and forth. "I knew I was funny looking, but I didn't realise I was _that_ funny."

He turned to regard her with the smile still tickling his lips. "Silly greenrider. You are not funny looking! And I am _not_ in a good mood. But Hasaarth is funny.... " He shook his head and went to greet her with a kiss to her cheek.

No bandages in sight, and very little of a limp evident in his motion. Scars traced his arm but he had full use of it again.

He turned from her and nodded with a rakish tilt of his head. "Welcome to my new home... " He waved around him with his now fully functioning arms.

"Nice. Certainly bigger than my place." Zelle's voice was light and teasing. "I came here to help you move but it looks like you beat me to it. So I guess I shall simply have to help you unpack."

J'darin nodded, looking around once more. "Ylisahn was her usual wonderful self, moving my things here for me." The weyr was on the ground level, near the Harpers. He pointed in the Harper's direction. "The music will be nice, even if its not anywhere like what I left..." He sighed softly, then caught the rest of what she said. "I suppose they wanted to give N'vanik his weyr right away. But I would love you to help me unpack. There is probably stuff in these trunks that I won't even recognize. I haven't moved around in a while."

"Then maybe it's time to clear out some stuff you wouldn't necessarily need then, hm?" Zelle moved over to a large trunk and crouched down beside it. "So how much stuff do you have anyway?"

J'darin looked around at the stuff in sight and finally sighed. "More than I need, it appears. Maybe if we look hard enough, we'll find something for me to _do_. I can't fly Thread for another sevenday, though I certainly heard that N'vanik's first time leading Thread went well for him, no deaths. I am happy about it, Zelle, I truly am.. but it hurts more than I thought, to know I'll not be leading Fall again."

"He was lucky." Zelle snorted, "You've had falls without deaths, and just because there weren't any didn't mean there weren't any injuries. Come on, let's get you unpacked and settled. You'll feel better once we've made this weyr more comfortable for you."

"I have, Zelle. Thank you." He was touched by her very valiant defense of him. "I've had Falls with deaths too.. more than I wanted." He was silent for a moment, then went on. "He said he thought it was lucky. I told him luck is only a small part of leadership." He shook his head and sighed. "I suppose you're right, but it still feels so _wrong_ to me. Hasaarth is plenty comfortable and can't understand my feelings. I'm not sure _I_ understand them..."

He knelt beside her and began to help her sift through a pile of clothes, most of them heavier, from when he lived at Dragonsfall.

"It will happen. I wish it wouldn't, but it will and he's going to have to deal with it when the time comes. Yes, he was lucky, and that won't always be the case. Don't let it get you down. You were a great Weyrleader and the people of this Weyr know that." The greenrider plucked at the clothes, tossing aside a couple that had been patched up so much no one in their right mind would wear them in public. "What's all this?" Zelle asked as she pulled out a rather thick sweater. She turned it front to back and then back to front.
"This is the sort of thing I would wear in the mountains, not here."

J'darin looked up at her and smiled. His voice was soft, but full of emotion. "Your complete and total trust in me is wonderful, Zelle. Thank you. However did you come to think so highly of me in such a short time?" His eyes danced a little as he went on. "Most people come to the opposite conclusion in a much shorter period of time about me."

"Oh pish posh, you just don't think highly enough of yourself." Zelle flicked her hand in a dismissive, then carefully folded up the jacket. "Too bulky for flying Thread. We'll set this aside for now."

He looked at what she had in hand and nodded. "You're right, love. Its something I would wear at Dragonsfall Weyr. Thats where I Impressed Hasaarth, and I grew up near there at Amethyst Cliff, beforethe earthquake." The emotion changed to something else as he remembered. So different a man sat here in this new weyr than that one, it was hard to believe.

"I didn't know that." Zelle cast her gaze upon the former weyrleader. "I impressed in a mountainous weyr in the North. I'm sorry about Amethyst Cliff. I hear about what happened quite often still. Do you miss it? Living in the mountains, I mean?"

He smiled in memory. "Well, I didn't _live_ precisely in the mountains, but it was close enough. Lots of cold and snow and hills, leading up to the Western Barrier Range, and Amethyst Cliff even closer to the mountains. What happened at Amethyst Cliff ..." He didn't go on, but he had been lucky. His family had all survived.
Not like lots of others.

Instead he went on with something else, "I think the thing I miss most is snow.... I love snow." He grinned at her. "I'm going to take you for a snowball fight one day, Zelle, and I'll _win_. " He poked her. "Do _you_ miss it? We'll go find some snow, once Hasaarth and I are completely cleared to fly."

Zelle laughed and shook her head. "Oh the fights I would get into at the Weyr! I tell you, I'm one of the best snow slingers around, so if you want to fight with me, you're in for it!"

"Its a date then." He smiled warmly at her, maybe really looking at her for the first time.

"Yes, but for now, we've really got to clear out the things you don't need." Zelle pointed to the pile. "Back to work!"

He huffed at her but went obediently back to work.

Last updated on the November 26th 2008

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Unpacking, Take One