Stepping Over the Wall

Writers: Anika, Jane
Date Posted: 6th February 2015

Characters: Taine, R'taran
Description: R'taran seeks out Taine to find out how he managed to adapt to Weyrlife.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 5 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: V'con, Rayche

After talking with Rayche, R'taran had been looking for an opportunity
to speak with Taine. Her description of their relationship rather
intrigued the brownrider and he found himself wondering about a
holdbred man who could adjust to be weyrmated to a greenrider. When
he saw the Master Crafter eating his midday meal alone, R'taran took
the seat next to him.

"Mind if I join you? Name's R'taran, rider to Qharterioth. Rayche and
I fly in the same wing."

"She's mentioned you," Taine said, gesturing to the empty seats with
his hand in a silent response to the man's question. "It's a pleasure
to meet you, R'taran, and you obviously know I'm Taine."

"It's good to meet you as well. Rayche has spoken of you as well.
You're a Master Mason, right? Come in to help with the electrification
project?"

"Indeed. Such projects don't come along every day and given that I'm
weyrfolk now -" He shrugged. "It was a opportunity not to miss."

"It must feel good to be part of creating something big or important,"
R'taran said, thinking more of the man's profession in general not
just this current project. "My father's dream was always to rebuild
our minor holding into what it once had been and when I was younger I
loved being a part of that."

"And now you're part of something else that's both big and important,"
Taine pointed out. He wondered if dragonriders felt the lack of a
physical structure to bequeath to the next generation. His own work
would outlast him by decades or centuries, and so would that of the
dragonriders, but only in the sense that Pern was unchanged, unravaged
by Thread. It seemed far less tangible, though ultimately more
important.

Thoughtfully cutting a piece of roast wherry and lifting it to his
mouth, R'taran gave that some consideration. There was no arguing
that fighting thread was one of the most important jobs on Pern, and
Taine was right in that preserving Pern was a legacy, but it was
different. "As important as it is to destroy Thread, it's still
destruction rather than creation. I have Qharterioth and am content
with my life, but I do miss the idea of having a family and passing on
to them something that I have had a part in building."

"Ahh, that's what I was thinking - but hadn't found the words.
Creating, building. I wonder if the dragonriders who are weyrborn
feel the lack less. Generations of tradition, and all that sort of
thing, though they couldn't - didn't - know their tradition would come
to life again because Thread returned."

"That's a good question. Rayche might be able to provide input on
that. She mentioned that you weren't raised in the Weyr. Was the
adjustment to weyrlife difficult?" This was closer to the subject
R'taran really wanted to broach with the crafter. Rayche had provided
some interesting insights when they had spoken and the brownrider
really wondered about her weyrmate's perspective.

Taine laughed. "Shards yes! Even when I was trying to be a good,
accepting person I was still inadvertently making a mess of things. I
came to the Weyr - not this one, of course, to find my father and I
knew he was a bluerider, but the first time I saw him? He was with
his weyrmate - a man - and I spent the next six months pretending I
was just some random master mason who was working at the Weyr because
I just _couldn't_ acknowledge him." He raised his hands to his cheeks
and sighed. "Blushing. Still embarrassed about it."

"No need to feel embarrassed. I've been dragonrider more than six
turns and I still struggle with my Hold values." He thought about his
meeting V'con and how uncomfortable it made had made him. "You did
finally meet him, though, your father?"

"Oh, yes. Heard his 'side' of the story -" Taine shrugged. "It took
a while to understand what I was hearing. Accept, perhaps, rather
than understand. And then, when I finally got that resolved I met
Rayche and had a whole lot of new issues to grapple with."

With a shake of his head, R'taran gave the mason a look of admiration.
"How were you able to overcome your upbringing? As a dragonrider, I
have accepted the ways of the Weyr because I must, for Qhaterioth.
Even still I struggle. How did you come to accept the differences
enough to...to make the commitment you have with Rayche?"

"Wanted to be with her." Taine shrugged again. "Everybody gave me
advice - not always welcome - and it was clear she was going to have
nothing to do with me if I couldn't make the changes ... in the end,
one day, somebody told me that nobody else _could_ make the adjustment
other than me. The situation couldn't change. He pointed out I would
have to adjust eventually if I wanted to be with her; so why not stop
chipping away at the wall and just step over it into a new and
acceptable attitude."

R'taran chuckled. "Easier said than done." The brown rider took a
bite of bread as he considered the other man's words. He thought he'd
done a pretty good job of accepting Weyr traditions, but had he just
been chipping away at a wall, carving out just enough for he and his
dragon to reside somewhat comfortably? Living in a small temporary
weyr when there were larger more luxuriant ones just on the other
side.

"Oh, I agree. But ... almost once I was behaving as I should - and I
mean 'should' as the weyrbred see it - it became always easier to feel
what I should than cling on to attitudes that didn't match my
behaviour." He peered into his klah mug and sighed, looking around
for somebody passing who might be persuaded to find him a refill.
"Let's face it, most of what _I_ felt I had to deal with was mating
flights, though Rayche would have said it was that Tahirath came
first. See, even in that I was focusing on something she didn't
regard as an issue. It was a very special time for us and our
weyrmating wasn't a lightly made commitment."

"You are certainly to be commended," R'taran said. "I know many men
who have found Weyrlife extremely appealing, but few if any are
interested in any commitment." Quite the contrary, many of the men
who embraced Weyrlife were enthusiastic about gleaning the benefits of
a female (or sometimes male) partner without the necessity of a
commitment.

"I don't know about being commended. I have a wonderful weyrmate;
that was what was important to me."

Taine's words were going to take a bit of time for the brownrider to
mull over. The man said it as if it were quite simple, but R'taran
wasn't really sure. He finished his own klah, before grabbing up
Taine's cup as well as his own and standing. "It does sound as if
you've found something special with Rayche. You're lucky." R'taran
couldn't help but wonder if he might be able to find such luck some
day.

"I am. I know it. Are you off to get a refill?" he asked hopefully

"Indeed," R'taran nodded. "And when I return you must tell me about
how you get on with Rayche's family."

Last updated on the February 10th 2015

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Stepping Over the Wall