The Final Goodbye

Writers: Heather
Date Posted: 27th July 2018

Characters: K'yne, Saibra
Description: K'yne finally visits Ocktima's grave and says his goodbyes
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr, Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 4, day 15 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Ocktima, J'ackt, Timassa, Jenasome, R'enh

K'yne

Saibra

Wind whipped at K'yne's clothes, wrapping them tight around his tall, lean frame as he stood at the edge of an outcropping of trees. He didn't blink, blue eyes stoic as his whiskey blonde hair was blown across his brow. This was it, this was the place, just as Saibra had described earlier that morning....

//Flashback//

}:The Weyrwoman would like us to report to her office.:{ Arinoth informed K'yne, his pleasure at having spoken with the senior queen clear in the rich timber of his voice.

K'yne had been avoiding Saibra as much as possible since the night he'd spent in her weyr. She had R'enh and K'yne didn't want any undo stress between him and his new Wingleader. Not to mention, there was more than a little embarrassment over letting Saibra see him so emotionally distraught.

"You wanted to see me?" he asked once in her office.

"Yeah, have a seat," she switched positions in her chair, pregnant belly evident as she sought for a more comfortable position.

The new life growing inside her wasn't lost on K'yne, he quickly drew his eyes from her stomach to her eyes, trying to lessen the tight feeling in his chest.

Saibra's lips twisted a little, sympathetically, as if she knew exactly what was going on inside of the brownrider. She probably did, they knew each other that well.

"I've got some information for you. I've had it for a while actually," she confessed, "but I was waiting until you were more... stable, before giving it to you."

K'yne blinked. **_More_ news? What else could there be?**

"And how do you know I'm more 'stable' now?"

"Chioneth's been keeping tabs with Arinoth," she raised her shoulders, "one of those Weyrwoman privileges."

**You, yellow-bellied little-**

}:I can't refuse Chioneth.:{ Arinoth cut through K'yne's venomous thoughts. }:Besides, it was nothing overly personal, just asking about your sleep.:{

"It's information you want, anyway," Saibra continued, capturing his attention once more. "I went, about a month ago, and saw Timassa, she took me to the place where Ocktima is buried. Chioneth has the coordinates for Arinoth."

The tension left K'yne's shoulders. He remembered asking Saibra if she could find out for him. He'd thought, perhaps, that neither J'ackt nor Ocktima's family had been willing to divulge the information.

"Thanks," he pushed up from his chair, clearly ready to go to Ocktima's grave that very moment.

"Are you okay going alone? Should I see if Saidrene is available to go with you?"

"I'm fine," he bit out, turning his back on her to leave.

"K'yne," Saibra's voice held a warning.

He turned back around, "I'll be fine, really."

Their eyes held for a moment before Saibra nodded, releasing the brownrider.

End Flashback

The brownrider had an item clutched tightly in each of his large hands. In his right hand, a bouquet of Ocktima's favorite flowers, and in the left, the dragon pendent necklace of her lifemate. He'd tried sending the necklace to J'ackt for a keepsake, but it had been sent right back to him.

Licking his lips, K'yne strode down into the clearing of trees, noting that it was exactly as Saibra had described. The bastard Ocktima had married was a lump of ground to the left, but to the right, in a neatly groomed area, was a small mound, covered in light gravel. It was clear someone else had been there and planted flowers and made the area look nice.

**Probably Timassa,** K'yne reasoned.

Seeing the grave made the brownrider's insides tremble as he stepped over to where she lay. Kneeling by the head, K'yne lay the flowers down with a gentle pat.

"Brought your favorites," he said gruffly, his voice sounding pinched to his own ears. He watched as the breeze lifted the blue petals lightly of the flowers he'd brought.

K'yne sat there in silence for a long moment, just taking in the quiet, letting himself _feel_ her presence, even if she was gone.

"I brought you something else," he said finally, opening his fist and letting the necklace dangle from it. "You should have been taken /between/ so that you could be with Marloth but maybe now," his voice cracked as he moved aside a small portion of the gravel and made an indentation in the dirt with his finger, "you and Marloth can be together again." He dropped the necklace inside and covered it back up, vision blurred with scalding tears.

From the depths of his sorrow rage blossomed, "Feck it, Ocktima! Why didn't you ever send me a message?! You.. you fecking kept my son, MY SON, Ocktima, from ME! You let that, that worthless piece of..." his blazing eyes turned over to Jenasome's grave, "that bastard raise MY son, let him raise him into a messed up...." His voice trailed off as he shook his head, letting the anger run through every nerve ending in his body.

When the rage faded, grief was there to replace it, "You must have been so scared," he felt a tear drop from his clean shaven cheek onto his hand, "to live that way so long. Why didn't I look for you? Why didn't I check to make _sure_ that you were happy...." His words dissolved as he sobbed for the only woman, even more than Saibra, he had ever loved to the depths of his very being.

He pressed his hand to the mound of rock as the tears eventually subsided. "I still remember the way you looked that night under the moon in the grove of trees," the words tumbled shakily from his lips. "I should have killed him then, for putting those bruises on you," he shook his head. "But Faranth, you were still so beautiful."

"Imagine the life we could have had if you had come back with me that night to the Weyr. We would have been excited when we discovered you were pregnant. Your family would have loved it. We would have raised J'ackt in the Weyr... Well, his name would probably have been different, wouldn't it? Kynimat, maybe? No, you would have hated that," he chuckled. "We would have had more children, perhaps."

K'yne closed his eyes and let the vision of the life he could have had fade from view. "You would be proud now if you could see J'ackt. A bronzerider, and he's a good looking kid. We did good.... You did good."

The brownrider took in a shuddering breath, the tension gone from his chest, feeling a deep sense of calm and peace take its place instead. "I never was good at goodbyes anyway. Especially with you." He pushed to his feet.

Looking around, K'yne seared the way the place looked into his mind, knowing that he would never go there again.

This was it.

It was done.

"Goodbye, Ocktima."

Last updated on the August 21st 2018

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

The Final Goodbye