Checking Up On Him

Writers: Avery, Devin
Date Posted: 15th July 2017

Characters: A'vel, N'vanik
Description: A'vel remembers N'vanik checking up on him after his first flight.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 20 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: D'hol, Kapera, J'ackt, Talryne, Jeyme (indirectly)

N'vanik

Tsogath's hide was shining in the morning sunlight. A'vel noticed it
as soon as he stepped outside to see her. She looked different then
she had the last few days. It had been three months since her last
flight. He could tell from the sheen in her hide and the way she'd
been sitting awfully close to some of the new River Bluff male dragons
the last day.

She was going to rise soon, and he'd have to be prepared to deal with
it this time.

Who would it be this time? A bluerider like K'zel? Another
bronzerider, like J'ackt or D'hol? Or his worst nightmare, the
Weyrleader himself?

Thinking about the possibility of Loseth catching Tsogath made him
remember when N'vanik had checked in on him after the last flight...

- - - - -

((Flashback takes place in m10d24))

N'vanik had wanted to check up on A'vel yesterday, but he'd seen
Kapera hanging around the cots and figured the 'Second would watch out
for him. Besides, A'vel might not want to see him right after being
involved in the flight himself.

Tsogath had communicated that they wouldn't be at drills and she was
going to the dragonhealers to have her wing checked. So when morning
drills were over, N'vanik headed up with a good excuse to check on the
young greenrider.

}:Mine would like to talk to yours. Is he in his weyr?:{

}:I think so, or just at the kitchens,:{ Tsogath said. But when she
checked, she found A'vel still sitting on his bed. }:His weyr,:{ she
confirmed.

N'vanik was glad A'vel wasn't somewhere public. The Weyrleader knocked
and waited for a response.

A'vel had been sitting on his bed reviewing some sheet music. The
knock made him jump up and spread sheets around.

"Hello? Er, come in," the young greenrider called. He wasn't expecting
any company today.

"Hi there," N'vanik said as he stepped in. "Wanted to check in to see
if everything is okay with Tsogath?"

The Weyrleader wasn't who he expected to see, and A'vel was suddenly
afraid he was in trouble for missing drills.

"Dragonhealer E'zani says that her wing joint where it meets the body
is strained from pulling too far and that she needs three days rest
before using it," he reported.

"Oh, please sit," he added belatedly.

N'vanik took a seat. "I'm glad it's not too bad. Was it just her being
overenthusiastic or... did something happen?" With A'vel being
hallbred and how he'd been surprised to Impress green, N'vanik
wondered if he'd panicked.

**Oh, _shards_,** A'vel thought, flushing slightly. He knew exactly
why she'd thrown herself off, but he didn't want to be impolite enough
to say it.

"There was a particular dragon she was trying to get away from, and
she jerked away from him and fell into Zith," he relayed, talking
about it like it was an accident in drills or something. "She didn't
seem like she wanted to be caught and she didn't know her own limits."

N'vanik decided to accept that and nodded. "How about you? You okay?"

"The Weyrwoman's Second made me go to the Healers," A'vel confessed.

"J'ackt didn't hurt you, did he? Not deliberately?" N'vanik would
never, ever hit J'ackt but if the boy had been abusive he'd be sorely
tempted.

"No, he didn't. He was more of a gentleman than I expected," A'vel
confessed. "Asked if I needed the Healers and was polite enough as he
could be I guess."

"Good, good." N'vanik let out a relieved sigh. "Sorry you ended up
with a bronzerider for your first flight."

"I guess Tsogath has taste. That's what she thinks, anyway," A'vel
said, trying to make it into a joke.

"I guess it could have been more awkward, it could have been
weyrlingstaff. Teachers are awkward."

"Yeah, but they would've known how to handle things better," N'vanik
said. "_Did_ you need the healers? Wait, you don't have to answer
that. I'm asking out of concern, not as your Weyrleader."

"They said they've seen worse. Though...they did ask me if I wanted a
mindhealer. But I don't know..."

"You should go." N'vanik used to avoid mindhealers at all costs, but
he'd seen the good they'd done to help Talryne. "Even if you don't
think you need it, it might help just to talk to someone."

He'd thought it was a silly idea, but if the Weyrleader thought it was
a good one, maybe it was. "I hadn't ever heard of one before I came
here," he admitted.

"Really?"

"The Healers at the Harper Hall just seemed to treat regular stuff
like bones." They hadn't had nearly as big of a medical staff as a
Weyr needed.

"Ah, well. They do good work. Might feel weird talking to a stranger
about personal stuff, but give it a try."

"I will see what they can say." Maybe it would even boost his
confidence. "I guess it's just...like a regular checkup but for the
head?"

"Pretty much. Really just another part to keep in working order."
N'vanik thought it was a good sign that A'vel was seriously
considering it. And A'vel didn't seem _too_ shaken up by the flight,
unless he was just putting on a brave face.

"I see. My dad would have - " And he stopped and looked off for a moment.

}:Said something bad,:{ Tsogath interrupted quietly. She had been
dozing off. But every time A'vel pictured his father, every. time. he
did, the green felt a surge of bad feelings.

"Nevermind," A'vel said after a moment.

"He doesn't deserve you," N'vanik said quietly.

Curiosity overwhelmed A'vel and he had to ask. "Your father, were you close?"

N'vanik couldn't help a snort. "My da was a pile of shit and I
couldn't get away from him fast enough."

"So when you say my dad doesn't deserve me, you come from having one
like that?" A thought struck him. "Is that why you're nice to J'ackt
too?"

"Yeah. You're a sharp one." N'vanik smiled. "J'ackt and I have a few
things in common, including fathers who liked to hit us."

"Mine never hit me with his fists, he needed them too much to damage
them. I guess that makes me lucky." All of Master Faveron's cruelties
were in word and not deed.

"I heard you might be the dad of a greenrider's baby. You're a great
dad, better than any of our parents," A'vel predicted.

His smile widened at the compliment and he tried to ignore the
kneejerk reaction to deny it. "I've got three sharding kids now.
They're springing up all over."

"Three? I think I missed some gossip. Pretty soon you'll have more
than Loseth!" A'vel joked.

"Now there's a terrifying thought."

"You'd be great to all of them. You care," the grenrider said. The
proof of it was here right now.

"Thanks. I do try." N'vanik had heard similar things from others over
the last few turns and it warmed him every time. "I want to make sure
they know they're loved. I don't ever want them to feel like I did."

"You're here checking in on me, you've mentored many people. There's
no way you could be like your father," A'vel said sincerely. "You're a
sharding sight better than mine."

N'vanik kept being amazed at how much faith people put in him. "Thank
Faranth we're not trapped by our parents' expectations... or lack
thereof."

"Would you have been a crafter or anything like that, without Loseth?"
He couldn't imagine N'vanik as anything but a rider, but maybe he'd
had other ambitions.

That was a loaded question, though the greenrider wouldn't know that.
"I don't really like to think about it. I'm just lucky I ended up at
the Weyr when I did." Because with the path he'd been on, N'vanik
could have ended up dead or sent to the mines.

A'vel was polite enough to not pry, even though he wanted to know.
"Well, I'm glad you're here. And I'm proud to be in your wing."

"And I'm proud to have you." N'vanik chuckled. "All these warm fuzzy
feelings and we're not even drunk."

A'vel laughed as well. To think he'd been so afraid the Weyrleader was
going to yell at him when he showed up. "I didn't know riders sat
around and talked about sappy things. Chalk one up to salacious tales
being wrong."

"Oh, all the salacious tales are true, it's just that we _also_ talk
about sappy things. I think maybe stories of dragonriders sitting
around and complementing each other are slightly less popular."

"I guess you're right. Maybe someone should tell more true tales."
Maybe someone like himself, who could spin them right.

"The Thrilling Adventures of Dragonriders Being Nice to Each Other?"
N'vanik tried to picture that on the cover of one of his adventure
stories.

"Maybe call it "Dragonriders at the Beach" and talk about a picnic
event with bonding and helping out little ones, just like Hold
families do." he could make it interesting, right?

N'vanik arched an eyebrow. "Are you thinking of writing sympathetic
dragonrider stories?"

Now A'vel looked embarrassed. "I mean...maybe. If I could make them
interesting. Because all Hold kids hear about are things like fighting
Thread and being heroic. Or they hear whispered tales of
licentiousness and stuff. Something should tell them about what we're
really like."

It sounded silly as he said it.

"I think that's a great idea." The Weyrleader smiled. "If you do write
something, let me know. I'll see if we can get it printed at the
Harper Hall."

"I will let you know," A'vel said with a shy little smile. He couldn't
believe they'd started talking about this, or that N'vanik was paying
attention to his little ideas at all.

"Thank you for dropping by, sir," he added.

N'vanik nodded. "I'm glad you're doing okay."

Last updated on the September 1st 2017

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Checking Up On Him