Our Daughter

Writers: Devin
Date Posted: 25th February 2009

Characters: N'vanik, Cossida, Alicos
Description: N'vanik delivers the news of Cosani's Impression to her mother and grandfather.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 1, day 6 of Turn 5
Notes: Golden Fields Hold

N'vanik

The place hadn't changed much. As Loseth circled, N'vanik could see a few holders look up, shading their eyes from the sun. Some started to move toward the small hold. N'vanik grumbled to himself. He didn't want an audience, but what did he expect? They didn't see many dragons out here, let alone a bronze. Loseth landed and N'vanik slid off, quickly stripping off his helmet, gloves and riding jacket.

A man approached. "Greetings, dragonrider. May I ask what brings you to Golden Fields?"

"Do you know where Cossida is?" N'vanik asked.

"Cossi--" The man frowned a little, confused, then a shadow darkened his face. He looked resigned to bad news. N'vanik supposed in a small hold like this, everyone would know that Cosani had disappeared. "Yes. Yes, I can take you to her."

"Tell her to come out here."

Again, that confused look. "Yes, sir." The man hurried off. N'vanik waited, leaning against Loseth's forearm. Some holders stood around, not quite daring to approach him. The man returned several long minutes later, a woman following close behind him.

After all these turns, she was still beautiful. Her hair was undone, drifting in the light breeze. As she neared, he saw that she looked pale and drawn behind her beauty. Cossida looked, he thought, like a woman whose child had run off. "You wanted to see--" Her words cut off and she stared at him. "N'vanik?" His name came out as a shocked whisper.

"Yeah, it's me." They stared at each other, over the gulf of long turns. N'vanik suddenly remembered the holders. He turned to the onlookers. "This is a private conversation. Go find something else to do!" The holders scurried off, leaving the two of them alone, with Loseth to make sure they weren't bothered.

"Did you ..." Cossida began. She pressed her lips together, looking up at him. Her eyes were full of questions she wasn't sure she wanted to ask.

He felt a spark of pity for her. "Cosani found her way to me," he said gently.

Cossida closed her eyes, fighting tears. "Is she ...?"

"She's safe. Your daughter is a dragonrider now. _Our_ daughter."

She looked up at that, several emotions crossing her face.

"Why didn't you _tell_ me?" he asked, voicing the question that had sat heavy on his mind since Cosani entered his life.

A touch of anger lit her eyes. That inner fire that had attracted him when they were both young and wild. "After what you said to me that last day? I didn't think you wanted a child dumped in your lap." Something must have shown on his face. "What?" she asked. "Would you have married me? Neither of us wanted that."

He shook his head. "I could've taken you to the Weyr. _Both_ of you. I could've made sure you were both taken care of."

Cossida opened her mouth to say something.

"YOU!" A voice roared.

N'vanik's head snapped up. It took him a moment to recognize the man. Time hadn't been as kind to Cossida's father. "I told you never to come back here!"

"I don't think you should talk to a Weyrleader like that," N'vanik growled. He snatched his riding jacket from the ground and held it out, displaying his knots.

Alicos stared, his mouth opening and closing with no sound. N'vanik thought he looked like a dying fish.

"Weyrleader?" Cossida said.

"Yes. Weyrleader of Dolphin Cove. And Cosani is now weyrling to green Shalith." N'vanik let that sink in for a moment. "She'll be where she's appreciated, valued ... loved." He looked at Alicos. Cosani hadn't said much about him, but she didn't need to. N'vanik remembered what he was like, and he could imagine how the holder had treated her. Probably a lot like his father had treated him.

Anger, surprise, and a little fear warred on Alicos's face. "She's a dragonrider?" he finally managed.

"I bet you told her she'd never amount to anything," N'vanik said.

Another emotion crossed Alicos's face briefly. N'vanik thought it might have been shame.

"I'm glad," Cossida said. N'vanik turned to her. "I'm glad she found her way to you. I'm glad she Impressed. She hated it here. She always hated it here." There were tears in her eyes.

"Yeah, I can probably guess why." He glared at Alicos. Loseth rumbled, startling Alicos and Cossida. Cossida eased, but Alicos remained tense, his gaze sliding up toward the huge bronze. "You'll never get to yell at her again, never get to tell her she's worthless. You'll never _see_ her again, unless she wants to see you."

Alicos's jaw clenched, but he didn't say anything.

Cossida laid a hand on N'vanik's arm. "Would you take me to see her? Please?"

His anger faded. What would it be like to have your child run away from you? To not know where they are, or if they were okay? "I'll ask her. If Cosani wants to see you, I'll take you to her."

"Okay." Cossida brought a hand up to wipe her eyes.

"What?" Alicos said. "You're _not_ going to the Weyr! It's bad enough that ungrateful whelp ran off--"

That was as far as he got, because N'vanik punched him. "Don't _ever_ talk about her like that!" Alicos went down on his ass, a hand held to the side of his face. He stared up at N'vanik in utter shock. "She's a _dragonrider_. A Weyrleader's daughter. And you _will_ give her respect!"

Loseth bugled. Everyone in the hold stopped what they were doing and turned toward the bronze. "Get out of my sight before I need to punch you again," N'vanik growled.

A flicker of anger crossed Alicos's face, but he got up and made his retreat. N'vanik watched him go for a long moment.

"I couldn't count the number of times I wished I could do that," Cossida said softly.

"I'll come back for you, one way or the other," N'vanik said. "If she doesn't want to see you, I'll let you know. If she does, I'll take you back with me." And maybe once he got her there, he'd ask her to stay. He was fifteen turns too late, but he still wanted to do the right thing.

Last updated on the February 25th 2009

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Our Daughter