Maybe You Find...

Writers: Avery, Emma
Date Posted: 29th November 2017

Characters: A'vel, V'con
Description: A'vel goes to V'con for clothes and discovers a mystery
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 4 of Turn 9

Ever since he had gotten to the Weyr, A'vel had been wearing clothing
that he had scrounged out of the stores. Owing to his short statue and
his slim build, a decent amount of what he wore was out of the womens'
stores. Most men's tunics were just too large and baggy enough they
got in the way. As a weyrling, he had traded some tutoring to a
brownrider in exchange for his aid tailoring outfits to fit, and even
though they were graduated J'veli still helped when he had time.

But now A'vel was graduated, he was able to run packages and
passengers, and that meant that he was finally earning some marks for
himself. That meant that he could spend marks. He'd been hoarding them
for a bit, not coming up with anything he wanted to buy, except maybe
presents for some of his friends and mentors. But finally he'd settled
on something he could buy for himself.

Properly-fitting clothes.

Maybe he couldn't afford a lot. Certainly he didn't have enough for a
whole set of tunics that would all fit well. But if he could get a
nice tunic that actually fit for formal events, that would be
sufficient for now. He could work on getting more items as he earned
more.

So it was that A'vel wound up knocking on the door of the workshop
V'con used when making clothing.

"Come in," called out V'con. For once the bluerider was wearing
something that wouldn't offend, it was a simple blue tunic, cut to
show off his body, and dyed the exact shade to match his dragon's
hide.

"V'con, hi," A'vel said after he let himself into the room. "I was
here to ask about some clothing?"

"Then I'm your man," V'con studied the greenrider. "What sort of thing
were you after."

"I'd like to commission a tunic that fits me and doesn't just drape
around me like I'm hiding in my father's clothes," A'vel said,
gesturing at the way even the one he was currently wearing was baggy
in the shoulders and had the sleeves rolled up.

"I see," V'con nodded as he mentally began to assess the young man.
"Do you have a colour, or a style in mind?"

"I was thinking a nice tunic for gathers or hatchings or other fancy
moments, so something in a style that works for those. As for
color...well, I'm used to Harper blue. But maybe you could think of a
different color that would flatter me? Green like my dragon, or even
more different?"

Maybe some stereotyped green as a color with bad luck, but green was
the color of Tsogath so he could never picture it as bad.

"Hmm..." V'con thought for a moment. "I have some turquoise cloth that
isn't quite either green or blue that might suit you."

"That sounds really nice," A'vel said. He probably looked better in
light colors, given his pale skin and hair.

"And you won't need too much of it to cover me up," he added as a joke.

"I have seen boys of fifteen turns with more meat on their bones,"
joked V'con. "But I really think this will suit you."

"That's good. I'd really like to have nice clothes that are really
_me_, you know? Not just what I'm supposed to wear because my parents
or my wingleader told me so."

"What you wear, or don't, is your own choice in your own time."

"That's true," A'vel said, nervously pushing his hair out of his eyes.
It needed to get cut again.

"I'd like to wear nice things that really fit. That part will be new.
I just wish I knew what looked good yet"

"I see," V'con picked up a sketch book that held some of his designs.
"Have a look through these, the men's ones are at the front of the
book."

A'vel carefully paged through it. "Did you do all this yourself?" he
asked, studying the hand of the drawings just as much as he looked at
the designs.

"Sure did, although my Ma says I draw like my Da did, she said he sang
well enough to be a Harper"

"Singing is fun," A'vel said absently. "Are you close with your family?"

"Ma's a rider, but I never knew my Da, she said he was travelling with a
caravan, and got me my cradle. But he never came back Dragonsfall way
again."

"Is it disappointing to not know?"

"A lot of people here don't have both parents, that's what I've always
known." V'con shrugged, "But sometimes I think it'd be nice to meet
him, if he's still alive, just to show him that I'm a rider, and a
crafter."

"That sounds like something satisfying. Do you know anything about him
besides that he travelled A name?"

"Faveron," replied V'con.

A'vel went suddenly cold. He expelled a quick, sharp breath. His whole
body went numb. His ears seemed to ring. It couldn't be. There was no
way it could be. He must have misheard the name. Or V'con had said
something else.

He didn't feel letting go of the book that he was holding, but he
heard it impact the floor after it slipped free.

The impact jarred him out of it. "Oh! Your drawings. I'm sorry." he
dropped to his knees to pick it up, looking down at the floor and at
it to make sure no damage had happened. He needed to not look at V'con
before he could control himself and his reactions.

"You okay?" asked V'con, a note of concern creeping into his voice.

}:Mine? Are you okay?:{ Tsogath asked worriedly, concerned about what
she was feeling from her rider.

"I think so..." A'vel's voice trailed off. He was trying to reassure
both V'con and his dragon, but he wasn't reassured at all.

He couldn't figure out how to say it gently so he just blurted out,
"My father's name is Faveron. He's a Harper."

"Maybe it's just coincidence," suggested V'con even as he took the
information in. "Ma never said that Da had a craft."

"Maybe," A'vel agreed. He composed himself and stood back up, setting
the drawings aside so he wouldn't drop them again. "My father never
talked much about his time before marrying my mother, but he must have
journyed like Harpers do."

"Well he'd have had to have been in the Dragonsfall area around 24 turns
back."

"It could have been true. I would ask him but...I haven't spoken to
him since the Hatching." A'vel made a face. "Though, I'll have to tell
you, he wasn't a fan of the color I Impressed."

"My Ma rides green, but some holders and crafters see that differently."

"Boys on green versus girls? Yeah." A'vel was quiet for a moment,
thinking. "Would you want to try to find out? If my dad is yours?"

"I suppose so," V'con said after along moment. "But I don't think I'd
tell Ma just yet, not sure she'd want to know."

"Why wouldn't she?" A'vel asked.

"she said he was the love of her life besides her dragon, to find out he
married someone else..."

"My father loved his ambition and liked my mother as his trophy for his
reward. If only he'd felt about my mom like your mom felt about your
dad. That sounds like a nice kind of relationship," A'vel said after a
moment.

"I think my Ma always thought he'd come back for her."

That sounded really tragic, A'vel thought. "I don't know how we should
go about finding out, but I want to know. I mean, maybe it's not the
same man. Maybe it is. I always wanted a sibling..." he said a little
wistfully.

"My Ma has a sketch, I could borrow it to show you?" suggested V'con. Maybe
that would prove it one way or another.

"If you don't mind, I would like to see," A'vel agreed.

"I'll get it. Tomorrow, or the day after."

"Thank you," A'vel said. He then hung his head, looking a little
sheepish. "I know this wasn't at all where we were expecting this to
go," he added with a laugh. "I showed up for clothes and then..."

"Maybe you find family."

"Maybe I do," A'vel said, smiling at V'con.

Last updated on the December 10th 2017

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Maybe You Find...