Reconnecting

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 30th July 2015

Characters: Corran, Barran, Barielle, Randul, Lariel
Description: Corran stops by a cothold to find out if there's any trouble and to see some close friends.
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 13, day 22 of Turn 7

Corran's thoughts were in a whirl as he rode the runner along the path
to the cothold. He was glad that the trip had been approved. Originally
he'd wanted it for personal reasons; he wanted to see Barielle and
Barran close to. Turnover. But now that the odd happenings were occurring

around the main Hold, he found himself with professional reasons to
want to ride out by the border as well. Was it possible that the
thefts were spreading to the more isolated holds, and it hadn't
filtered back to Amber Hills yet? He needed to know. And if there were
thefts, was it possible they were in any kind of danger? So he wanted
to reassure himself that they were fine.

It looked peaceful as he rode up. A field hand waved at him and he
hollered a greeting back. When he saw the stable he swung off the
runner and led it in. How should he bring all this up first...

"Corran!" There was a shuffle and a spray of straw from the stable loft,
and then Barran jumped down without using the ladder. The boy grinned
at the guard.
"Welcome back. I hadn't heard you were coming our way."

"I've got a few reasons for being out here," Corran said, grinning at the
boy. "Some fun, some not as much."

"Yeah? Well, the folks will be happy to see you anyway. I-- wait." Barran
peered at Corran a little closer. 'Is that-- is that a firelizard!?"

"His name is Warden." Corran made a little rolling noise with his tongue.
The brown firelizard chirped slightly and stuck his head out of the carry
sling he was napping in. "He's not very old yet."

"Warden," Barran repeated, wide-eyed as he stared at the little flit.
Nobody at the Cothold had a firelizard, and it was the first time he'd
ever seen one.
And in that moment, Barran found that a firelizard was the one thing
he wanted most in
all of Pern. "Can I touch him?"

Corran undid the sling and held it in his hands, offering it to the boy.
Warden's head swiveled, but he didn't flap out of it. "Go ahead and pet
him. He likes food, but I don't think he'll nip at you."

"I don't got anything for him, unless he likes hay." Barran extended his hand
slowly, approaching the flit like he would a feral kitten. Warden was
small enough that he knew that if he did get bit, it wouldn't hurt so much.

"You could probably feed him at dinner. If your mom says so." Corran held
his breath as he watched them interact, willing the tiny brown to be good.

Warden was intrigued by the things coming at him. He lifted his head,
sniffed, and then batted at one with his front limbs.

Barran took that as a sign that he could touch the flit, and gently began
rubbing his fingers against the top of Warden's head. "He's so soft-- I always
thought dragons and flits would be kind of tough!"

"You thought they'd be scaly, right? I did too for the longest time. I
learned different when my brother Impressed."

Warden cheeped and rubbed against the hand happily.

Barran nodded. "That would be something, to touch a dragon." He sighed and
reluctantly stepped away from the flit. "You should go in, say hello to Ma
and Da. I can take care of your runner and bring your bags in. You are
staying, right?"

"I'll have to bring my brother out here sometime. My family's cot
isn't too far from here, and we go home to visit," Corran said
contemplatively. "And yes, I'm
staying for at least two days."

"Good! My folks will be happy to hear it." And he had two whole days with
Corran's flit.

"I hope so," Corran said.

He walked towards the cot, keeping an eye on the area. So far everything
looked quiet and peaceful, the same as always. For everyone's sake, he
hoped so. Then he knocked politely.

There was a long pause before the door was opened-- not by Barielle or
Randul, but by Barielle's cousin Lariel. Her face lit up when she saw
him. "Corran!
What a surprise. We were just talking about you over dinner last
night. Come in!"

She opened the door wide so that he could enter the kitchen. "Randul and
Barielle will be so happy to see you. Randul was thinking about going
out riding around the
territory; he'll be glad that he didn't miss you. How about you take a
seat here and put your feet up; I'll fetch you a glass of water and go
find them."

Corran felt a surge of warmth at the idea that the family was talking
about him. It wasn't his family - despite his overly possessive feelings -
but it was nice to feel like he was anticipated and welcomed. That hadn't
felt as common lately.

"Hi Lariel. How's it been here?" he asked as he came in the door.

"Oh, well enough. Life here doesn't change much." She poured water from a
thick earthenware jug into a mug, which she handed to the guard. "I can't wait
to hear all the news from the Hold, but if I don't let Randul and
Barielle know you're here, they won't be pleased!"

Corran settled into a chair and took the drink. "I shall wait patiently,
then," he said.

"I'll just be a moment." Lariel smiled and left him alone.

It wasn't long, though, until there were footsteps in the hall and the
door was flung open by Randul, Barielle's husband. He was grinning broadly as he
strode across the room to enfold Corran in a back-slapping hug. "Corran! What a
surprise. Welcome!"

Corran grinned and patted Randul's more lightly. "I wanted to stop by and
see you before Turnover. How's the place doing?"

"Oh, well enough. Spring lambing went well, and we've got a good few
bales of wool
for the Hold. The hay's been planted and has come up all right, and the berry
patches look promising. The apple orchards..." Randul shrugged. "We'll
see. Fewer blossoms this year. And I'm thinking about redoing the
runner stable roof this
summer. How about you?"

"The lambs sound good. I hope they stay in good health," Corran said. It
sounded like all was going well here. But still, he had to ask.

"Has anything unusual been happening around these parts? The Hold itself
has had some trouble."

"Trouble? What sort?" Randul sat on the bench and gestured for Corran to
join him.

Corran looked around for any of the women before speaking again. "Some
thefts. Food and supplies for the wilderness. Some of it looks like a
child's work, like those boys punished a few Turns back. Some of
it...seems like more."

Randul frowned. "Holdless?"

"I worry it might be. So I wanted to see how it was going here. One of
the reasons I got approval for a longer trip…I want to go out to the
borders and see what folks have heard."

The cotholder sighed. "There's been no real trouble here. There are
mutterings from down the way... nothing real, mind. Just cotholders
shooting the breeze about the Hold, and what's left of Amethyst Cliff.
But there have been since the Hold fell."

"It's been three turns and people still don't want to accept it's
gone. Sometimes I don't, either," Corran admitted.

"The Hold is still there. The Steward stayed to rebuild, and it's not
as if there aren't any of the Blood left." Randul shrugged. "It's not
what it used to be, but it's not gone."

"The way some people are talking nowadays, they don't seem to believe
it. I just wanted to let you know so you could keep an eye and an ear
out, just in case it's anything more severe."

To shift the topic, he said, "The family looks well. You've all been healthy?"

"Aye. Barran's growing like a weed, and Barielle is-- well, you can
ask her yourself. And you, old friend? How is life at the Hold
treating you these days?"

"Outside of the mysteries, it's doing well. Really starting to feel
like home. And the nice thing about being in the center of things is
we get gossip from the Vintners and the weyrfolk when they stop by the
dragon. I'd be happy to tell the appropriate tales while I'm here."

Randul grinned. "Please do. News and stories are all too precious out
here. We'll have a good night around the fire with you here with us."

Last updated on the July 30th 2015

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Reconnecting