Even Good People Make Mistakes

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 21st November 2005

Characters: Gaiya, U'val
Description: Gaiya pours her heart out to U'val after her run-in with Ar'lis
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 9, day 7 of Turn 3

Gaiya had never been shy about knocking on U'val's door. She had always felt completely comfortable talking to the bluerider about _anything_ in her life. But this was different. This... scared her. The way Ar'lis had looked at her. So angry. So painful. So frightening. She knocked gently on the door. She had to talk to someone, for both their sakes.

There was a muffled reply from the other side of the door, and after a few moments it opened up on a tired looking bluerider. "Gaiya... I was hoping it was you." U'val didn't wait for the young girl to come inside, reaching out to pull her into his arms without hesitation.

The warm comfort was enough. Wrapping her arms around the older man she felt safe and protected. She buried her face in his tunic as tears began to fall. Gaiya followed him willingly as he pulled them both inside his weyr.

"Oh, sweetheart..." He coaxed her to the couch and helped her sit. "Tell me what happened."

"Ar'lis... he... he says... he raped her..." Gaiya could barely think, let along speak and the tears continued to flow from her eyes.

U'val sighed and shook his head, tucking Gaiya under his arm. "He's hurting, Gaiya. He's been through something very hard."

"But he looked so... angry..." She buried her head further into the bluerider's tunic as she remembered the fear she felt as he looked down at her with those hard eyes.

"I know." There was nothing U'val could do but stroke his fingers through Gaiya's hair and whisper soothing words. "I'm sorry, sweetheart.
I'm so sorry."

She leaned into him for a few minutes silently, allowing his soothing words and caresses to chase the fear away. Taking one last shuddering deep breath she pushed herself up and wiped her eyes on her sleeves.
"How could this happen, U'val? It was just a flight!"

"Shhhh...." He kissed the top of her head lightly before pulling back and looking at her. "You just need to give it a little time, Gaiya. He has a lot of confusion to deal with. Just understand that."

"Did this..." she still fought for air through shudders and inadvertent sobs, "did this... ever... happen to... to you?"

"Gaiya..." U'val squeezed her shoulders and forced her to look at him.
"You're weyrbred. You know what flights can be like. Sometimes they can get a little overwhelming, and we have to deal with the aftermath the best we can... and everyone deals with it differently. Ar'lis is a good man... and more importantly, he's a kind man who doesn't like to think he's hurt someone else."

She nodded slowly. "I know things can happen during flights, U'val.
But the way he looked at _me_ tonight." It brought a slight shiver down her spine and she wrapped her arms around her body. "U'val, I'm frightened.
What if... what if there is a side of him I don't know..."
What if she had been wrong to trust him again...

"I don't know, sweetheart," he replied sadly. "I can't make promises about anything, you know that. But I think that Ar'lis is a man who is struggling with guilt and pain... a good man, to be sure, but even a good man can make mistakes."

"And a good woman, too," she whispered, a spark of shame in her eyes.

"And a good woman, too," U'val agreed with a gentle smile.

Gaiya leaned into the bluerider again, tightening her arms around him. "I was there, U'val," she whispered.

"It's another bump on a long road, dear." U'val gave her a hug. "Just promise me you're not going to do anything without talking and thinking about it first. So much pain would be avoided by doing that."

"I mean I was at the _flight_ U'val. I was waiting for Ar'lis and... And I left with someone else." Gaiya shook her head. "Someone I shouldn't have left with. All this was happening to Ar'lis, and I was off with L'cian."

"Oh." U'val blinked at Gaiya. "Oh... oh, Gaiya. Surely you don't think you could have changed anything!" "No, of course not," she whispered, her eyes closing slowly. "I could not change the fact that Ar'lis' bronze caught the gold. I couldn't change what happened that day. But, U'val, it felt so _good_ to be with L'cian, and not just because of the dragonlust."

"Shhhh." U'val wrapped an arm around her again, hating the pain in her voice. "I'm sorry, Gaiya." "How am I supposed to help him U'val when I _still_ don't know what it is I sharding _want_!"

"You think about it," he answered quietly. "You figure it out. And _then_
you try to help him." Gaiya nodded her understanding as her body leaned into his. When had thing become so sharding complicated! She sighed and buried her face against U'val's warm and comforting shoulder, wishing that someone would just tell her what was right to do for Ar'lis, for L'cian, for herself. "I will think about it."

Last updated on the November 21st 2005

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Even Good People Make Mistakes