To Reinvent Yourself

Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 12th June 2014

Characters: Kapera
Description: Moving makes Kapera introspective.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 9 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, Cyradis, Saibra

Kapera

Picking a weyr was a task every dragonrider faced at least once in their
lives. It was usually fairly simple - what was free and could fit your
dragon's size and hopefully wasn't too out of the way? Unless you wanted
that. After all, dragonriders choosing a place to live had to balance
privacy versus accessibility, the importance of those factors varying
based on a pair's physical abilities and preference for solitude or
company. So Kapera hadn't expected it to be a difficult task. Yet she'd
spent several candlemarks checking out a few different weyrs, which
probably telegraphed what was going on to anyone observant. Well, they'd
know soon enough.

Dolphin Cove's local geology meant that there were three possible groups
of weyrs, all of which had their own appeal. The seaside weyrs were
inaccessible except by dragon, but had an outstanding view of the horizons
and the sea. She'd been told that this was a disadvantage during the
hurricanes which occasionally hit. The upper weyrs had a great view of the
weyrbowl, and could be accessed by stairs and dragonback. The lowest weyrs
had the quickest access to the weyrbowl and the Hatching Sands, but lacked
the dramatic views. It was much more interesting than the choices of other
places she'd lived, where it was basically choose how far away from the
conveniences of the weyr you wanted to be.

Since queens wound up grounded more than any other color, and she was a
gregarious person, Kapera had historically chosen a ground-level weyr.
Fueled by an impulse to do something different this time, and tempted by
the excellent view, she chose one of the weyrs that were higher up. It was
still reachable via stairs, for when she wanted visitors, but it had a
lovely view, and it wasn't something she would have picked even 5 Turns
ago. That counted for something.

Now she sat on said ledge, leaning against Riyanth's side, the pair
looking out over the weyrbowl and being grateful for her decision. It was
twilight, so the day's heat was dropping off, but there was still a bustle
of activity taking place below. She'd been told that due to the weather, a
lot of tasks took place at night, when it was cool - and after seeing how
hot it was mid-afternoon, when she'd arrived, she saw the logic in it. She
couldn't imagine drilling in the heat of the mid-day, and wondered what
time the queen's wing drills would be.

A dragon burst out of /between/ and spiraled down to land on a ledge. In
the growing darkness, Kapera couldn't make out color or identity. But
Riyanth lifted her head, her eyes whirling a little faster, and let out a
little croon.

**Someone you know?** she thought teasingly.

}:The bronzes here are fine,:{ the gold replied.

Her lips curled in the tiny smile she reserved for those she cared about.
**Staking a claim so early? We've only just arrived.**

}:It is only proper for a queen to know her bronzes.:{ There was a slight
stress on her, and Kapera wondered if it was a sign spelling trouble for
the future.

It seemed as though the long period of recovery hadn't dented Riyanth's
confidence. Of course, she'd probably forgotten her injury now that she
was no longer grounded. If she remembered being the senior and only mature
gold of a weyr, or whether that had been forgotten in the recent turns of
being one of the juniors, Kapera didn't know. She never wanted to ask, in
case it triggered any territorial instincts that could cause disaster.

Did Cyradis worry that she wanted to usurp the position of senior
goldrider? How did Saibra feel about giving orders to a woman who once
outranked her? No such worries had been mentioned at her interview, but
she suspected that the other women must be feeling at least a bit of
apprehension. That had been a running undercurrent at Windswept Islands.
Gold dragons were territorial and suspicious, and often so were the women
who rode them. She would have been more surprised if they had held no
doubts. But they'd trusted her enough to bring her in regardless, and she
wanted to repay that in her actions.

Her own confidence, which had never been exceptionally high in her life,
had suffered after her health troubles and resignation. Sometimes she
still craved the recognition she'd been awarded as a senior Weyrwoman, the
way everyone knew her name and her authority. Sometimes envy of the
senior of Windswept had stabbed through her heart.

But she had come to find that there was a certain freedom in being one of
the juniors at Windswept Islands; as respected and known as all goldriders
were, there was attention paid to seconds and seniors that the juniors
could avoid. Slowly, she'd started to put together a sense of self-worth
that wasn't position-based. It was such a change from the version of
herself who had first left Windswept Islands for the position of Second at
Dragonsfall. She wondered if anyone who had known her there would
recognize her now.

Responsibility changed a person. For some, it made them better versions of
themselves, brought out the potential they'd always had. For others, it
was a leaden cloak that bent and broke them under its weight. She hadn't
done the best with what she had the first time, and her health had paid
the price. The process of recovery had taught her a lot, and now she
wanted to put that into practice.

Well, N'vanik had re-invented himself here, hadn't he? This would be her
chance to do the same. She wasn't going to be the irresponsible senior in
over her head, nor would she be the invalid who needed all the care. She
wanted, most of all, to be someone who others could depend on to carry her
share of the weight; the person her gold dragon knew she could be.

Feeling hopeful about the future, she retreated from the ledge to spend
her first night in her new weyr.

Last updated on the June 13th 2014

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To Reinvent Yourself