Giving Others The News (2/2)

Writers: Avery, Heather, Suzee
Date Posted: 31st October 2017

Characters: Cyradis, L'pin, K'yne
Description: Cyradis and L'pin tell K'yne about J'ackt and Ocktima.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 8 of Turn 9
Notes: Part 2 of 2
Mentioned: J'ackt, Chioneth

Cyradis

K'yne

}:Chioneth says you are needed in the council room. Panitath's rider
and another are here to speak to you.:{ Arinoth informed K'yne, whose
eyebrows immediately bunched together at the news.

What could the Dolphin Cove Weyrwoman want with him? He'd been oiling
straps, so he wiped off his hands on a spare rag.

**Chioneth didn't say what about?** K'yne asked as he left his weyr,
rolling his sleeves down to cover his oil streaked forearms as he
walked.

}:No, but she did say her rider would be waiting to talk with you when
you are ready.:{ There was a sense of confusion in Arinoth's voice as
well.

K'yne's mind raced, trying to drum up ideas of what this impromptu
meeting could be about. He could think of no reason why Dolphin's Cove
would need him, they were filled to the brim with quality dragonriders
already.

"Weyrwoman," he inclined his head to Cyradis as he entered the council
room. K'yne's eyes did a sweep over the bluerider's rank knots.
**Weyrlingmaster's Third.** "L'pin, isn't it?" He stuck his hand out.

"Good morning," L'pin said, shaking K'yne's hand and nodding politely.
"I hope you and Arinoth are well."

"Yes, we are, thank you." K'yne took a seat opposite of the Dolphin
Cove riders, running his fingers through his hair as he did so.

Cyradis was struck by how much J'ackt resembled his father. But it was
the rake of fingers through his hair that made her smile. It answered
the nature versus nurture question so many debated. But there was more
to it than just that. His rangy build, the shape of his lips.

She smiled and waved toward one of the chairs. "Please take a seat."
She leaned forward. "I'm sure you're wondering why we wished to see
you. Well, it starts with a story and if you'll forgive me I think you
should hear this story."

**Story?** K'yne really could not fathom what was going on.

"You have my full attention," he said with a gesture for them to continue.

"A few turns back we found a young holdless man injured and brought
him to the Weyr for healing. Turns out he was identified as searched
and he then Impressed. His story is rather sad actually. His parents
were holdless and his mother died when he was quite young. His father
was a hard man and well..." She didn't want to go into all the details
but get to the point. "L'pin here was one of his Weyrlingmasters and
they grew just about as close as the boy would allow." She nodded to
L'pin to continue.

L'pin picked up the narrative thread as Cyradis intended. "One day, he
asked me to look into his family in more detail. While researching, I
found out that his mother wasn't just an Emerald Falls holder who'd
fallen in with a rough man. She was weyrbred originally. Ocktima had
gone to Emerald Falls after losing her green, where she married
Jenasom and later birthed J'ackt."

And now, the hard part. "I went to Far Island to find out more, and it
seems that her sister Timassa thinks that - well, that the guard may
not be the father of Ocktima's son."

The name "Ocktima" hit K'yne like a ton of bricks. The vision of her
sweet face and the last time he had seen her swam into view. That
night under the moon at the Gather...

"Wait, you said Octkima is dead?" K'yne hadn't seen Octkima in Turns,
not because he hadn't thought of her, but when he had offered to take
her away from that bastard she was married to.... She had turned him
down. News of her death spiralled straight through to the pit of his
stomach.

"I believe it was at least 10 Turns before J'ackt came to the Weyr,
and he's around 20 Turns now," L'pin said, trying to be as gentle as
possible.

**So he did care for her.** It was obvious from his reaction. She kept
her face neutral but obviously concerned. "I'm sorry K'yne," she said
softly.

So this was the news then? K'yne pinched the bridge of his nose. No,
they had said something else too, about Ocktima's son.

"So Jenasome's son is at Dolphin Cove?"

"J'ackt is in Cyradis' wing, yes," L'pin said. "And... there's a
possibility that he might not be Jenasom's son."

"The fact is," she said trying to catch his eye. "From the description
of Jenasome we've been able to gather that J'ackt doesn't look like
him. However, he does look a great deal like you."

K'yne's eyebrows nearly disappeared into his hairline. **This was what
they really came to tell me.**

"You think he's mine?"

"Timassa said you and Ocktima had been close, and she thought there
was a possibility. We thought we should tell you so that if you'd like
to meet him, to see if you think it's true, you would have that
chance."

A son? Was there a chance that he had fathered a child with Ocktima?
That night under the moon came back to mind for a second time. Yes,
there was definitely a possibility but... Would Ocktima have really
hidden his child from him? Just the thought of her keeping something
so important from him brought a tiny flame of anger, which was then
almost immediately doused.

**There's no point in being angry with a ghost, is there?**

"I'll meet him, but only if J'ackt wants to. He's lived a long time
with another man as his father, he may not be interested in another
one, if it's even true." K'yne said, pragmatic as usual.

**I wonder how he's doing?** she thought after seeing the emotions
flit across his face. Knowing the volatility of J'ackt's nature she'd
half expected an explosion of some sort. **Good solid brownrider, just
like K'deren.**

L'pin asked Chaneth to check in with the other man's dragon. This was
quite a shock, to find a woman you cared for dead, and that you had an
unexpected son.

}:Is your rider well? Mine is concerned we are placing too much on him.:{

}:He's not sharing his emotions with me right now.:{ Arinoth replied.

"What's he like?" K'yne asked.

It was hard to answer that question, given how prickly J'ackt was. The
wrong words would make him sound terrible, but L'pin didn't want to
provide an artificially rosy picture, either.

"J'ackt's had a hard life, so he has a hard shell around him. He can
be very moody, rude, closed off. I know he's pissed off a fair share
of his clutchmates in his time," the bluerider started off.

"But he's also cunning, he's good at fighting Thread, and he cares
more than we ever could have expected. I saw him be dismissive of his
clutchmates verbally, and then turn around and protect them
unquestioningly in drills. I was proud to teach him and I think he'll
be a great man one day," L'pin finished.

Cyradis chuckled. How to describe a person in a word or two. "I'd have
to agree, he's feisty," she said. "He was alone for quite some time
and there were the expected troubles with holders. Because of that,
he doesn't have people skills and isn't really interested in acquiring
them. But beneath all that he's honorable and very protective of
women."

K'yne was surprised about the last part, about J'ackt's protectiveness
of women, because he'd known Jenasome to be heavy handed with Ocktima,
if the boy had been raised by that man.... well, it was no wonder the
boy had rough edges.

"I suppose then we'll have to see if curiosity is enough to make him
want to meet me."

"We'll offer him that choice, and let you know," L'pin said.

Last updated on the November 2nd 2017

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Giving Others The News (2/2)