Sisterly Affection
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 30th October 2014
Characters: Alina
Description: Sisters can be cruel
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 4 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: J'ackt
"Letters!" The courier walked into the Weyrling's barracks with a small packet of hides and parcels in his hands. Alina set down her hide and sat up as he started calling names. "I have letters for... Satai?"
The greenrider squealed and nearly fell off her bed. Alina suppressed a shudder as she watched the other girl's newly-shorn hair wisp around her face. She could be mistaken for a boy now. No wonder Satai had spent all last night crying.
"P'lo." The courier held up another packet. "Alina."
Alina's heart thudded in her chest. She slowly stood and made her way across the floor to accept the packet. It was larger than the others, and the courier winked at her as he passed it over. "Looks like someone misses you," he said.
Alina nodded as she accepted the package, which was carefully wrapped in a soft scrap of burlap and fastened with rough twine. "Thank you."
"Any time. L'revit!" The courier held up a letter, his attention already back on his task.
She carried her mail back through the shared common room to her bed and sat with it in her hands. It was thick, but not bulky. Something from her mother? Or-- Elana. Alina bit her lip, suddenly afraid to open it. Would it be worse if Elana didn't include anything, or if she had? Was her twin still angry that she'd Impressed?
The inquisitive touch of Imarith's mind in hers helped nip her rising anxiety in the bud. }:What happened?:{
**I got a letter from home. Remember my family?**
}:Ye--es,:{ Imarith replied slowly. The dragon sent a shower of impressions to her lifemate; the folds of her mother's gather skirts, her father's voice, the feel of her brother's hand on Imarith's hide, and Elana's face contorted with scorn.
Alina paused with her hands on the string. Imarith's memory of Elana was... awful. But no wonder. Elana had been so angry, and they'd said such terrible things to each other. There was no way that Elana had forgiven her, not yet. Elana held grudges. They were so far apart now, and it felt harder to repair the damage between them. There'd be no letter from Elana.
But there would be something from her mother, and maybe her father and brother too. Alina unpicked the knot with her fingernails and unwrapped the burlap from the package. Inside was a sheet of rough paper-- a letter from her mother! There was also a small packet wrapped in a hankerchief and tied with another bit of string. It had a tag with her name on it. Alina couldn't quite help the grin that split her face. Her name was written in Elana's handwriting!
She set the letter aside for later and eagerly attacked the knot holding the hankerchief closed. The packet gave slightly under her fingers. What could it be? It felt like-- something cloth, maybe? Or a dried flower sachet for her drawer? A peace offering of some kind--
The knot gave. Alina unwrapped the string and eagerly unfolded the hankerchief to reveal-- a handful of ashes? She wrinkled her nose and poked at the pile with her fingertip. Why would Elana-- there, a familiar outline, a familiar stench. This was hide. Burnt hide. And there was a scrap with her own writing on it. Elana had burnt her letters and sent them back to her.
The realization was a punch to the gut. Her expression hardened as she re-wrapped the hankerchief more forcefully than necessary. As soon as the knot was secure she threw it under her bed where the hateful thing could lurk like a tunnelsnake until tomorrow. Some of the ashes spilled over the edge of her hand onto her bedspread, and she tried to brush them away but ground them deeper into the fabric.
She should read her mother's letter, which would no doubt be full of kindness and news. Alina found she couldn't stomach the thought of it, and instead she left her perch on the edge of her bed and left the Weyrling barracks, curfew be flamed. It wasn't quite time yet. Imarith was curled just outside the door, her hide pressed against P'lo's blue. Alina sat down next to her dragon with an irritated huff.
}:Why did Elana do something to hurt your feelings?:{ Imarith put her head in Alina's lap, her eyes whirling with concern.
Her rider absently rubbed her dragon's eyeridges. Hurt feelings-- it sounded so stupid and childish. But she _was_ hurt and Elana _had_ done it deliberately. "She's just mad."
}:Why? Because of me? I didn't mean to make her mad...:{
**It's not anything to do with you... much.** Alina sighed, then touched her forehead to her dragon's when Imarith began reflecting her own hurt feelings back at her rider. It was so hard to remember that she was still a baby... a sharp-toothed baby that was over seven feet in length from tip to tail. **She's mad because I got to come to the Weyr, and she's mad because she didn't want _any_ dragon to choose me. And she's probably mad because she misses me.**
}:Oh.:{ Imarith's hurt began to subside. }:Why are you so mad?:{
"Because she's a wherry-faced fart of a tunnelsnake." It felt good to say something so crude. Perhaps J'ackt was rubbing off on her. Her mother would be horrified. Alina smiled a little, her hurt already starting to twist into anger. "Don't worry. I'll get her back."
}:But...:{ A gentle pressure in her head; Imarith was rummaging through her memories and feelings. It still felt strange, but no longer entirely unwelcome. }:You miss her.:{
**Sure I do. But that doesn't mean I'm going to let her walk all over me.**
}:She's here?!{ Imarith tensed in alarm, suddenly scanning the shadows for an Alina-shaped shadow that wasn't Alina.
Her rider laughed a little. **It's just a figure of speech. Like how the Headwoman has no heads. Remember?** Imarith settled again, a little sheepishly, and Alina resumed scratching her eyeridges. "If I don't get her back somehow she'll think that she's won, and she'll be insufferable forever. And I _want_ to do something back. I just don't know what yet."
}:Can I help?:{
**Maybe.** Probably not, but the offer made Alina smile. Imarith was everything that Elana wasn't. Even a baby dragon knew what to say to make her feel better. **But you should go to sleep. We have to go to class tomorrow.**
The green yawned and her teeth glimmered in the moonlight. }:Feed me first?:{
**No! You'll get fat.**
}:I want to get fat. Then I will eat all the time. Any time I want. As much as I want!:{ Imarith sighed. }:That would be nice.:{
Alina laughed a little again as she stood. "I'll feed you first thing tomorrow. I promise. Goodnight, Imarith."
}:Good night.:{ Imarith put her head back down, already half asleep.
Her rider watched her for a moment, then drifted back to the Weyrling barracks and her own bed. Tomorrow she'd plot her revenge. Tonight... tonight she'd let herself be hurt, but tomorrow, she'd be strong again.
Last updated on the November 16th 2014