An Overdue Offer
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: Devin
Date Posted: 2nd March 2009
Characters: N'vanik, Cossida
Description: N'vanik asks Cossida to stay at the Weyr.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 14 of Turn 5
N'vanik walked back into the weyr, soaked again. He picked up a towel off the back of a chair and rubbed it over his head.
"I didn't mean to upset her dragon."
He turned to where Cossida sat in a chair near the center of the room. "They're both fine now. Don't worry about it."
"I don't know what I was expecting. I suppose I should have known she'd be mad at me." Cossida looked down at her hands.
N'vanik sat down on the couch near the chair. "She yelled at me too, when she found me. She's got a lot of pain and anger in her. I know what that's like. But she's also got a dragon, who'll love her no matter what. I know what that's like, too."
"I suppose she never wants to see me again."
"She might feel like that now, but she'll probably change her mind," he said.
"So now I go back and just wait? Hope she wants to see me again?"
"Not necessarily," he said carefully. He waited until she looked up. "You could stay here."
She frowned. "Stay? For how long?"
"As long as you want. Permanently."
Cossida's eyes went wide. "Why would you want me to stay here?"
"Because you're her mother. And because I wouldn't feel right taking you back there when I know he treats you like dirt." It was an offer he should have made fifteen turns ago.
"Are ... are you asking me to be your weyrmate?"
"Uhh ... no." Shards, no! "I'm offering you the chance to live at the Weyr. Make your own life, do anything you want to. To be close to Cosani when she stops being so mad at you." He was still mad at Cossida, too, but not so mad that he didn't want her out of that situation.
Cossida looked down at her hands. What he was offering was no small thing. She would have to leave her whole life behind. But what kind of life was it? She hadn't been truly happy since she was a child. With every turn that passed, she sank deeper into herself. She'd struggled on for Cosani, but with her daughter gone, there was really nothing there for her. For the first time in a long, long time, she felt a spark of hope. She didn't have to be trapped anymore. She didn't have to listen to daily insults from her father. No one at the Weyr would care that she'd had a child outside of marriage. The men here might look at her with hungry eyes, but not because of her past. She wouldn't be singled out and made to feel dirty. Only N'vanik and Cosani would know who she'd been. It could be a fresh start.
It was a frightening, wonderful possibility. "Do you really mean it? I could live here?"
N'vanik relaxed a little. He'd been afraid she would say no. "Yeah, I mean it. I could go back with you and help you pack anything that can't be replaced. You'll get everything else you need here."
Cossida put a hand over her mouth as fresh tears -- tears of relief -- rolled down her cheeks. "Thank you." She never would have expected this from the man she'd known all those turns ago. He'd changed. They both had. Fifteen turns was a long time. Long enough, she thought, to realize you'd made a lot of mistakes. Long enough, maybe, to deserve a new life.
Last updated on the March 13th 2009