Mirror Images
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: 20th July 2015
Characters: Alina, Satai, R'bin
Description: Alina interrupts a conversation in the dining cavern.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 12 of Turn 7
"I went to go visit Hevalda today."
The voice was miserable, soft and impossible to shut out. Alina paused as she read, the star guide she was supposed to be studying suddenly becoming impossible to concentrate on. Why had Satai sat so close?! The Weyr was big enough that the other girl could have found somewhere else to be.
"How is she?" R'bin whispered back. R'bin was also in their Weyrling class, another greenrider. He wasn't so bad, but for some reason he and Satai had hit it off.
Satai shrugged as she stared at the scarred top of the table. "Bad. They don't know if she'll walk again, let alone fly. I-- I could barely look at her."
"But she'll be all right, right?" R'bin asked.
Alina tried to force her attention back to the hide, but couldn't. Eavesdropping was irresistible, and besides, everyone wondered about Hevalda. She herself had tried to visit the other weyrling several times, but had always stopped before getting to the Infirmary. What would she say? It wasn't as if she and Hevalda were friends, or had even gotten along terribly well. The other girl was too silly to bother with. The thought was a guilty one.
Saiti sighed. "If you call being horribly scarred for life 'all right'. I can't look at her. Every time I do, I feel sick. I think that it could be me lying there." She sniffed. "What if that was me?"
"Aww, don't say that." R'bin scooted a little closer to Satai on the bench and put a hand on her shoulder. "You're a good dragonrider. You'll be fine."
"But it wasn't even Hevalda's fault-- it was someone else's," Satai replied, her voice thick with tears. "And it wasn't even real Thread in the drill. I can't do this. I can't fight Thread. I'm no good at it."
That, at least, was true. In Alina's opinion Satai was the most useless member of the class, and here she was, once again whining and hoping someone would save her from the inevitable. In two days time they'd begin their Blooding. Alina's lips tightened with irritation as she stared at the hide. **Can't they go find someone else's table to sit next to?** The dining cavern wasn't full, after all. Just because Alina had a prime spot near the wall didn't mean that the other two weyrlings had the right to claim the table next to hers and disturb her studying.
"You're learning, just like the rest of us!" R'bin's attempt at comfort fell on deaf ears.
"I'm not! I'm slow, and I'm so scared. I don't want to see Thread ever in my life, and I have to go flame it? I'm going to _die_!"
"No you're not-- I'll be right there beside you," R'bin said. "Besides, I bet they put you in the Queen's Wing. You'll be fine."
"No they won't. I'll be right up there with everyone else, I know it. And then Thread will get me or someone will burn me or we'll get lost /between/. I can't do this." She was sobbing now. "I'm so scared all the time. I keep thinking of my family and wondering what they'll do when they hear I'm dead. I'm the worst dragonrider!"
It was awful hearing her own thoughts come out of Satai's mouth. That she was no good at fighting, that Thread was too scary. That she'd die. The events of the last few sevendays and the anticipation of their Blooding had left Alina on edge as it was, but having Satai put a voice to her deepest fears incited Alina's anger in a way that nothing else had. Her nightmare, shared by one of the people she admired the _least_.
Something snapped.
Alina set down her quill and looked over at where Satai hunched miserably on the bench. "Oh, don't be such a ninny."
Satai jerked as if she'd been slapped and looked over at Alina with her mouth wide open. Tear tracks glistened on her round baby face. R'bin half-stood from his seat, his hand still on Satai's shoulder. "What did you say?!" he asked, half-angry, half-disbelieving.
"Just the truth," Alina shot back. "I know that it's hard for you to understand, but your future is Thread, Satai. It's all our futures. But I do think R'bin is optimistic-- I bet you won't graduate at all."
"Shut up, Alina," R'bin growled.
"You prefer it if he tells you lies? I suppose if that's what you need to get up in the morning..." Alina smiled sickly-sweet at Satai, who was still sitting shocked and teary-eyed. She was so spineless, so contemptible... why didn't she ever fight back? "I'd be glad, if I were you. It means that you can continue to be like-- that," she nodded at Satai's teary face, "instead of growing up and actually being useful for once. And really, I know _I_ would hate to see you in my Wing."
"At least people _like_ Satai," R'bin shot back. "Nobody likes you."
"I'm sure Thread cares how many people like you when it falls from the sky." Alina rolled her eyes as she stood. "Thanks, but I'd rather be competent than liked and useless. And on that note, I'm going to go study. Maybe you should too."
She could hear R'bin trying to comfort Satai as she left, her back straight and her nose in the air. Needling Satai had provided a mean sort of pleasure, but it wasn't as satisfying as it should have been. In the back of her mind she could still hear Satai crying, J'ackt's voice as he humiliated her at the training grounds, the crackle of flame and Helvada screaming as she fell from the sky.
Just like Satai, she had no desire to fly Thread. But unlike Satai, at least she could try to approach her fate with some dignity.
Last updated on the July 29th 2015