Some Things Change---Some Don't

Writers: Paula, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th February 2014

Characters: U'das, Tsaera
Description: U'das comes to greet Tsaera
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 5, day 2 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Solieira, Uetia, K'sedel, Rhosyn, H'vack, Sabonus

It wasn't long after Tsaera had rolled up her sleeves and begun unpacking before Tabanirth informed her that U'das and Zackariath were on their way over. }:And Zackariath says that he missed me,:{ the gold dragon added smugly.

**Of course he did,** Tsaera replied, hiding a smile. She straightened, closed the trunk she'd been emptying, and tugged at the hem of her tunic to straighten it. An unexpected thrill of nervousness raced through her. It seemed like it was ages since she'd last seen the bronzerider, even if it wasn't more than a turn since they'd last visited.

"Hi, Tsaera, welcome back, for a while at least," U'das greeted from the door. He was wearing eye glasses whole the time now.

"U'das." Tsaera crossed the room to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek in greeting. He looked older, she thought. The lines around his face were more pronounced. "I've missed you, and I'm glad that you decided to stop by."

"I've missed you too," U'das replied with a warm hug of his own. He might never been in love with Tsaera but he did had warm feelings for her. They had led the Weyr together.

Tsaera gently touched the arms of his eyeglasses. "When did you start wearing these?"

"When I realized I don't recognize people from a distance without them," U'das said bit sheepishly.

"Getting old is so unfair. If it makes you feel better, I need glasses for reading now," the goldrider said, ushering U'das inside. "I realized about a turn ago that my arms weren't long enough to hold hides within focus."

"Well, my eyesight is just degrading faster than normal," U'das replied with a shrug. He couldn't do anything about it so he just had to live with it.

"But you can still see now, and that's the important thing. Come sit down." Tsaera led U'das through her weyr's inner rooms to the small cluster of furniture near the mouth of her Weyr. Solieira had chosen one that was open to the air so that she could enjoy the view, but Tabanirth was blocking most of the horizon. The dragon swung her head into the weyr when Tsaera and U'das entered, blinking her eyes lazily at the bronzerider as he approached. "She says hello."

"Nice to see you Tabanirth, you look well," U'das replied the dragon. "I'm sure Zack didn't miss her arrival," U'das grinned.

"I'm pretty sure I heard him bellow when we came out from /between/ over the Weyr." Tsaera gave her dragon a fond look before settling herself in into one of the chairs. "So! Aside from the spectacles, what news do you have?"

"Starting from where?" U'das asked rhetorically and took a seat too. "I've no longer Wingleader, instead I work with Weyrlings. My niece, Uetia, Impressed a green and now lives here, she's in K'sedel's wing. A good girl if she can stay out of my bathing pool," U'das started.

Tsaera raised her eyebrows. "I sense a story."

"It's actually quite funny, although I wasn't laughing back then. I had a greenrider under my arm and I walk into my bath room to find Uetia and her weyrmate there, in full action," U'das told her with amused expression.

The goldrider hid a smile behind her hand. "Oh dear. That's not something you want to see your relatives doing."

"Made me wish I was blind," U'das murmured.

"Well, hopefully she'll have learned a valuable lesson about other people's bathing pools."

"I hope so too. She's welcome to borrow it, if she just asks first," U'das said.

"Which is often more difficult for youngsters than it ought to be," Tsaera said. "And congratulations on another dragonrider in the family."

"Thanks. She's my late sister's daughter. One of her brother Impressed earlier, so it wasn't exactly a surprise," U'das replied.

"Did you train her, now that you're working with the Weyrlingmaster?"

"No, she Impressed and graduated while I was still a Wingleader. Besides, it's never good idea to train someone so closely related," U'das replied.

Tsaera nodded with approval. "Quite right. Although that's a technicality that can be easily forgotten in large dragonriding families. Do you have any family Standing for Vilarth's Clutch?

"No, the younger generation isn't old enough and the older generation has either Impressed or is past that age," U'das replied with amused shake of his head. "You get gaps like that."

Her own family wasn't large enough to Stand consistently, although she had been proud when two of her three children Impressed, and then her grandson. The thrill of watching eggs Hatch and the tiny dragons-- your dragon's children-- Impress your own children and grandchildren was immense. "Ah, more's the pity. Or not-- just think of how busy your bathing pool would be!"

"Faranth forbid," U'das rolled his eyes. "Almost makes me grateful that most of them live in different Weyrs."

She laughed and knew that U'das didn't mean it. For all that he was a dragonman, he was also very proud of his family. "I some ways, I agree with you. But tell me-- how is Zack? Is he still catching fish?"

"Oh, yes, very often. His wing sometimes gives him troubles but less now that we're not flying Falls," U'das replied. The wing Scoring had left the damaged wing permanently weaker, so under exhaustion, it had ached. Their retirement had surprising benefit when Zack's wing didn't get sore any longer.

"Well, it's nice to hear that some things don't change," Tsaera told him. And it _was_ true. Much had changed at River Bluff-- a new Weyrwoman, a new Weyrlingmaster, a Wing without a Wingleader and a plethora of new faces... but the cliff walls were still sturdy and strong, dragons still met Thread, Zack still fished, U'das was still her friend. And if that wasn't a foundation for happiness, then Tsaera would never be content.

Last updated on the February 8th 2014

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Some Things Change---Some Don't