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Dragonsfall Weyr
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NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: AmajoS, Estelle
Date Posted: 26th April 2019
Characters: L'keri, Benna
Description: Benna confronts L'keri after he oversleeps and misses a run
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 25 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: D'ale
L'keri awoke slumped across his couch, still in the previous day's
clothes and with a pounding headache. Sunlight poured in through the
weyr entrance and into his eyes as he tentatively raised his eyelids. He
groaned and pulled a cushion over his head. Reaching out with one arm,
he knocked what felt like a bottle, and smelled the sour scent of
spilled wine.
}:Our watch begins soon,:{ Rhalith reminded him. The dragon's voice
sounded concerned, with a frustrated edge that was unusual for the calm
brown. }:And Henerath has asked about you several times.:{
**All right, I'm getting up.** Groaning, L'keri pushed himself to a
sitting position. He was stiff and chilled and hardly felt rested at
all. Why hadn't he made it back to his bed last night? It wasn't exactly
far. **Tell Henerath I'm fine.** He supposed Benna had seen him in the
dining cavern last night, with his wingmates. He'd had a lot to drink.
And then he'd brought the bottle back here...
}:She says you were supposed to meet her rider earlier, for a run.:{
"Oh, shards." L'keri rested his head in his hands, guilt knotting his
stomach as he imagined Benna waiting outside, alone in the cold morning
air. He shouldn't have done that. But it couldn't be helped now, unless
he and Rhalith jumped back in time, and even he realised what a terrible
idea that would be. Maybe it was for the best... He rubbed his aching
eyes with his fingers. He had to go and do the watch. Getting in trouble
with D'ale wouldn't make this any better.
***
Later on, with the watch duty and drills over, L'keri returned to the
dining cavern and poured himself a strong mug of klah. He still felt
fragile, but he wasn't exactly a stranger to drilling with a sore head
and he'd made it through without incident. He hunched over the klah with
his hands cupped around the mug, breathing in the warm scent.
"Well, you look like something my mother's feline dragged in one
morning," Benna said, her tone falsely cheerful and her smile showing
a little more of her teeth than was really necessary. She was past
starting to get tired of this or even starting to be mad about it. If
he didn't like her anymore, if he didn't want to be around her, he
should just -say- it instead of leaving her wondering and waiting and
worrying all the time.
And she hadn't missed the way he was slumped in his seat either. She
didn't need Henerath to tell her that Rhalith said he wasn't feeling
well. She didn't need to ask -why- he wasn't feeling well either. And
that made her mad too, though for different reasons. He'd been doing
so well! A few more sevendays and she was sure the weyrhealer would
have let him off that diet he hated so much.
"Oh - Benna." He looked up guiltily, and ran a hand through his tousled
hair. As tired and hung over as he was, he couldn't miss the edge in her
voice. "I...I'm sorry about this morning. I overslept, and then I had
watch duty. I hope you didn't wait long?"
Feeling her ire rising still further, she took a deep breath and let
it out in a long sigh before sitting down. "No, after Henerath said
you were still sleeping, I realized you probably weren't coming so I
went running by myself."
Though she had actually waited a good hour before giving up. She'd had
Henerath check a few times to see if he'd woken yet before giving up
too. Then, she'd started running and she'd gone quite a bit faster
than they usually did. Even faster than she normally did when she ran
alone, she'd been gasping for breath when she finished and almost too
tired to do the usual cool down and stretching afterward.
"Oh." His gaze flicked away from hers, down to the klah mug. "Maybe it's
not all bad, then. At least you got the chance for a proper run. Without
me slowing you down."
She narrowed her eyes and glared at him, her temper ignited. Of all
the self-pitying things to say."Have I been complaining about running
with you, L'keri? Have I been? No. Don't act like this is my fault,
like you're doing me a favor by getting out of my way." She -liked-
running with him, shardit! She enjoyed their runs and looked forward
to them. She didn't mind going so slow, because each time they ran,
they went a bit faster and she was proud of him for it. She felt tears
sting her eyes and banished them.
"I said I was sorry." There was an aggrieved edge to his tone. L'keri
knew he was in the wrong, and worse, he could tell he was hurting her
more with every word that came out of his mouth, but he couldn't tell
how to stop. "Even a washed-up excuse for a brownrider deserves to have
a little fun in the evenings, once in a while."
"Oh, is -that- what you're doing? Having fun? Could have fooled me. It
seems to me that what you're doing is anything but fun." She glared at
him, her voice starting to rise. She couldn't believe what she was
hearing. Washed-up? How in the First Egg of Faranth could he be
washed-up, he was only ten turns older than her.
"It's a lot more fun than bloody running!" the brownrider snapped in
exasperation. Almost immediately, seeing the hurt in her eyes, he
regretted it. He'd only meant that it wasn't as painful. But it was too
late.
She felt the tears again and fought them back twice as hard. She had
thought he liked their morning runs as much as she did. Sure, he
grumbled and flailed about dramatically sometimes, but that was just
him being him. She hadn't taken it seriously. Maybe she should have.
Maybe that's where she had made the mistake. "Well, if you hate it so
much, you don't have to do it. I never dragged you. I don't exactly
like getting up that early either, you know. I did it for you!" Her
voice was just this side of a shout at the end.
"Well, perhaps I'm not worth it." He looked away, refusing to meet her
gaze, hating himself. It was true. He wasn't. "I'm never going to be one
of those hearty types who spends all their time working out so they can
get noticed by their Wingleader. So there's no point in me trying to be
like that."
Benna didn't know what nonsense to address first. She stood there,
flabbergasted for a moment, her mind bouncing from the the ridiculous
and heartbreaking idea that L'keri thought he wasn't worth the effort
and the infuriating idea that she was trying to turn him into someone
he wasn't. Since she was already angry, the angry response won out, "I
honestly don't give a damn if you never exercise again!" She cut
herself off before saying that his dragon might appreciate it if he
made the effort now and then. She'd gone too far that way the last
fight they had and had regretted saying it almost immediately. She
wasn't so angry to repeat the mistake. Yet. In fact, she better leave
before she -did- say something she'd regret.
"You know what? I can't talk to you right now. Feel free to skip
running from now on if you hate it so much." She shot at him over her
shoulder, and instantly regretted it. She didn't -want- him to skip
running.
"Maybe I will!" Their rising voices had caused a few heads to turn at
the nearby tables. As she left, L'keri scowled at the onlookers for a
moment and then ignored them altogether, staring down into his cooling
mug of klah. Why had he said that? He knew it was better that he didn't
get too close, and yet he hadn't had to be cruel.
His one consolation was that it had had the desired effect. She didn't
care about him, not enough to do anything foolish. Not any more.
Last updated on the May 6th 2019