The Next Storm

Writers: Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 13th April 2016

Characters: A'kua
Description: While settling in, A'kua lets go and looks ahead.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 14 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Ninaine, Ilyssia and Gwynnyth, Z'then, Shastia

The weyr was very bare bones, but it had the important things: A chest for his clothes and riding leathers, a bed with a thick mattress and a good blanket, a bedside table with a little drawer, a pitcher of water and a mug atop it, and pegs for Zeiranth's harness. He could hang his gitar from them too, which A'kua did after unwrapping it from the quilt. Said quilt got shaken out and flipped over the bed, and he set his carrysack atop it to unpack. The clothing was mostly put away when he found the fourth-Mark, which he bundled in the handkerchief Ninaine had given him and put both in the bedside table.

Then he found the braided circle, and he paused, turning it over in his hands and staring.

}:What's that?:{ Zeiranth asked, sensing the shift in his rider's mood.

"Somethin' of Ma's," A'kua answered, stepping out onto the ledge with his dragon. "It- It's a bit of her hair. There was always some here-" he motioned to his left temple "-that escaped her braid no matter what she did; she had to clip it in place so it wouldn't flop about and annoy her while she worked." He half smiled sadly. "She told me when I was little, I'd catch it in my hands and just play with it if she let me. There was chewin' involved too, when I started teethin'." He had to pause again. "I cut that lock before my grandsire and I cremated her, kept it this long."

Zeiranth gently sniffed the hair. }:It doesn't have any odor. That's odd.:{

A'kua touched it to his nose and inhaled, and concluded his dragon was right: It no longer smelled of lavender and Shastia's own scent. He stared at it a little longer, then slowly worked at the knots holding the circle together and unraveled the braid. "So much has changed, Ma," he said, stepping closer to the tip of the ledge. "There's a lot I wish I could ask."

Confused as to what his rider was doing, Zeiranth just watched, hoping it would become clear soon.

The redhead held out his hand. "I still love you as best as I can now, and I hope you'd be proud of me if you were still here. But it's time to do what I think I never truly did." He swallowed hard. "Goodbye, Ma."

He let go, and the wind took the gray-touched strands, carrying them up and away until they could no longer be seen. A'kua stood on the ledge a while longer, watching the sky with Zeiranth silently offering his support, until the young man went back inside. He took his gitar off the pegs, found his pick, and sat on the bed. After a tuning, the redhead started aimlessly strumming before the random notes became a pattern, turning into the song an offhand statement from Z'then had inspired.

"It's been a difficult winter;
It's been rough few months.
When the storms came in off the coast,
It felt like they broke everythin' on us at once.
It's easy to talk about pioneerin' spirit
When you're not holdin' the roof up and knee-deep in it,
And the portraits and the papers got ruined by the rain,
And we wondered if they'd ever get dry again.

But I don't want spend the whole of my life indoors
Layin' low, and waitin' on the next storm;
But I don't want spend the whole of my life inside:
I wanna step out, and face the sunshine.

We lost faith in our leaders,
We lost faith in the odds,
We just ended up clutchin' at the empty traditions
Like gamblers clutchin' dice pods.

And I don't really care what those people are sayin',
They were blown to their knees by the wind's constant flayin',
And the Harpers and Technicians got soaked just the same,
And we wondered if we'd ever get dry again.

But I don't want spend the whole of my life indoors
Layin' low, waitin' on the next storm.
But I don't want spend the whole of my life inside;
I wanna step out, and face the sunshine.

So open the shutters; raise up the mast,
Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed!
Cast off the crutches, cut off the cast,
Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed!
Rejoice, rebuild, the storm has passed!

I don't want spend the whole of my life indoors
Layin' low, waiting on the next storm.
I don't wanna spend the whole of my life inside;
I wanna step out, and face the sunshine.

I'm not gonna live the whole of my life indoors:
I'm gonna step out, and face the next storm!"

}:Gwynnyth wants to know if she and Ilyssia can come visit for a little while, with restrictions in mind,:{ Zeiranth said after some quiet, in which he'd realized his rider had needed to remind himself of what the song said. }:But they want to see the weyr, and us.:{

A'kua came back to the present, and hung up the gitar another time. "Sure," he said, and stepped into the sunshine.

Last updated on the April 15th 2016

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The Next Storm