Open Door
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 8th February 2018
Characters: J'ackt, Cyradis
Description: J'ackt comes for advice
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 9 of Turn 9
J'ackt knocked softly on the open door to Cyradis' office. "Hey. You
got a moment?" He held back visibly, a slight frown on his face. "If
you're not busy or anything."
It was unusual for J'ackt to come to see her without an order to
appear. So Cyradis set aside the hide she'd been reading and invited
him in with a wave of her hand. "Of course J'ackt. My door is always
open. What's up?"
He came and shut the door behind him, then moved to take a seat across
from her. He was silent as he sat, a frown remaining on his face as he
debated how to approach the matter. "I was wondering if I could ask
you about something."
"Of course," she said automatically. It was apparent from his body
language that this was a bit awkward for him. Yet who else did he have
who wasn't either a love or... yeah that was pretty much it. J'ackt
didn't like to socialize so he wasn't overrunning with buddies.
He shifted, not really looked at her as his jaw twitched.
"Uhm...what's it like to be weyrmated?"
"Interesting question," she said. She paused for a moment to organize
her thoughts. "Well first of all, it's the closest relationship you'll
ever have with another person. It's deeper than just emotional
closeness. In the best of relationships, it's about trust and caring
and the knowledge that another person cares about you more than anyone
else in the world."
Alina didn't trust him. Not really. He wasn't really sure how she
felt. The tension in his shoulders slumped just a bit. "Oh. So it's
not just...living together or something. It's more."
"It _can_ be more," Cyradis clarified. "The very best relationship
_are_ more than just living together. But sometimes they don't start
that way. Think about a child growing up. A relationship grows if both
people work at it and put effort into showing the other person how
much they care. When it works, it's the most wonderful thing in the
world other than your Impression."
His brow furrowed even further. It was obvious that he was taking them
into serious thought as he drummed his fingers on his knee. "How do
you know when you're ready for that sort of thing? I mean, as a
woman."
"I'd say it's a realization that just seems to dawn on you. Not like a
bolt of lightning just more like the sun rising when things go from
gray and black and then you realize there is color." She wasn't a
dimglow and could readily see J'ackt was talking about himself.
Something was happening and he'd come to her to ask the questions.
That in and of itself was a victory she'd like to crow about yet she
wouldn't let him see how much it really meant to her. "For a woman,
it's the beginning of hope for that closeness and a willingness to
try."
His frown deepened as he paid attention and as he fell silent again,
his seemed to be lost in thought for a long moment. "And how do you
know if you're ready? How can you tell if someone else is ready?"
"You have to ask the question to know if the other person is ready."
She smiled gently. "As for yourself. I think you pretty much know if
you _want_ to ask the question, and you probably have a good idea of
what she's going to say when you do. If you think about it."
"She'll say no." He replied softly, regretfully. "She wants marriage
and all the things she had at her Hold. Riders don't marry." He shook
his head and looked up at Cyradis. "Thanks. Didn't know who else to
ask."
"Of course J'ackt. But are you _sure_?"
"Pretty sure, yeah." He rubbed at his temple. "And...and I think she's
still a little scared of me. Skittish. We haven't..uhm...well...she
wasn't prepared for her first mating flight. Promised her I'd never
push her on that." He shrugged.
**'Flight', a dragonrider then** She nodded. "That's a good promise to
keep. But I was hall bred so I kind of understand how she feels." She
sat forward and folded her hands on the desk. "She will be very happy
if you were to offer her Weyrmating before you ever... get close."
**Especially with your very public track record.**
"I have kept it." He replied simply, but kept his frown. "How do I do
it to get her say yes?"
"You said she wanted marriage, but that isn't available to a
dragonrider and she knows it. But she wants the trappings of a
marriage so you should ask her like this." Cyradis took a deep breath.
"Find a nice ring with a single stone. Take her somewhere nice,
somewhere she likes. Have a nice meal. Then get down on one knee and
offer her the box with the ring inside. Open the box so she can see
the ring, that's very important." She smiled. "Then said. My dear
whatever her name is, will you please weyrmate with me?" She nodded.
"If she takes the ring, you're in."
He blinked slowly at her. The last time he'd tried something romantic
like that with Alina, she'd laughed at him and it wasn't a good
memory. And he didn't have any sort of marks for a ring of any kind.
But he understood her suggestion of the trappings of marriage. He
could do something like that, if he decided it should be done. "I
think I understand." He nodded. "I can do something like that."
"If she see's you're serious it will go a long way. Believe me she can tell."
Musing on her words, he nodded. "It's not something I'd joke about
anyways." His brows knit. Maybe he shouldn't do it. It's not like he
knew how to be a good weyrmate. "It's gonna bother Saidrene though."
He blinked, surprised he'd even mentioned her. "Never mind, forget I
said that."
Cyradis bit her lips for a moment. He'd come to her in a way he had
never done before and she didn't want to overstep his expectations.
"Alright, but that leads to one more subject. You'll need to discuss
your expectations for your relationship if she says yes." She held up
a finger, "Not right away, but before you move in together you must
both agree to the rules. Would you like some examples?"
"We need rules?" He blinked slowly.
"Only so you both know what the other person expects, and you both
agree to them," she nodded.
"Like who straightens up the weyr and who gets dinner and that sort of
thing?" His brow furrowed. "I kinda thought we'd both just do that."
"No," she shook her head with a small smile. "Though those are good to
talk about at least. More like who it's okay to sleep with outside of
flights."
He stared at Cyradis for a long moment, then barked out a laugh. "Oh,
I can tell you that right now. Alina's not going to want me to do that
at all. She'd pull my balls over my head if I even thought about it."
**Alina, now there's an unexpected turn of events.** "Well as long as
you know that in advance you can prevent what happened to D'hol when
he stepped outside the rules of his relationship. But," she held up a
finger. "How do you feel about her? Can she sleep with others or just
you?"
"D'hol?" He frowned. "Don't really know much about him." He shrugged,
then shifted in his seat, looking uncomfortable. "Alina? Well...I...I
want to weyrmate her." He thought about her sharing a bed with someone
else and her reactions to flights. "She won't sleep with others. She's
kind of...rigid like that."
"I probably wouldn't sleep with anyone outside of flights, other than
K'deren," she responded. "If the good of the Weyr didn't depend upon
it. That is understood in our relationship. I like N'vanik very much,
even care about him. But I'm _in_ love with K'deren and I make certain
he knows it. He's the very best of the men I know. That is the way I
should feel about my weyrmate. Don't you think?"
"Well, sure. I suppose so." He sat up a little. " I know that Alina
won't want me to do things outside of flights. Shards, I haven't since
I started courting her." And it was frustrating as the blazes. "I
don't want to hurt her."
"Then it sounds to me like you've already made up your mind." She
smiled. "I wish you all the best in your effort to win her J'ackt."
His lips curled in a more welcoming smile. "Thanks." He paused and
tilted his head. "And thanks for answering my questions."
"Anytime J'ackt," she nodded. "I mean that."
Last updated on the March 2nd 2018