A Dangerous Mix

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 17th April 2019

Characters: A'vel, R'nar
Description: R'nar confides in A'vel about N'lon's visits, D'hol's approval, and the risk he's taking with Ranni.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 10 of Turn 9
Notes: Takes place after "Arrogant Presumption"

*********

"You are not going to believe the day I've had," R'nar said, handing
the greenrider a mug of ale as he took a seat beside of A'vel on
Tsogath's weyrledge.

A'vel took the mug. "One filled with winning a glorious greenflight
and meeting the love of your life?"

"Ha," R'nar took a generous gulp of his ale. "I wish." He shook his
head. "My father showed up today."

A'vel winced. He'd learned some about R'nar's father during
weyrlinghood. How the man was a Weyrleader, how he had all kinds of
unreasonable expectations for R'nar, a tendency to bragging and
self-absorption. He could relate to how R'nar felt - his father had
wanted A'vel to be his own perfect mirror image son - and he couldn't
blame the other man for not wanting to have talked to his father.

"What'd he say? Is he still assuming he was responsible all of the
good things in your life?"

"Yeah," R'nar frowned, composing his thoughts for a moment. "He showed
up and watched me in wing drills. When I landed to talk to him he had
nothing good to say, only complaints about why 'his son' wasn't in the
Weyrleader's Wing."

A'vel grimaced. "Didn't think you were doing good enough where you are?"

"Oh, he thinks I'm doing fine where I'm at, but it's the embarrassment
of having a bronzerider son who isn't flying in the Weyrleader's Wing.
In my father's head he thinks I'll Weyrleader of Dolphin Cove some
day," R'nar rolled his eyes. "Then D'hol showed up, and my father and
D'hol don't like each other from things that happened Turns ago with
my mother."

A'vel winced. "They competed over her?" he asked, not sure if he
remembered right. "And why should you have to fly in the Weyrleader's
wing, anyway? You're more likely to get promoted earlier in a lower
down one, right?"

"Not really," R'nar said. "It's hard for me to remember but D'hol
started coming around right around the time my dad started spending
more time away from our weyr, and then suddenly one day mom was
transferring out and I was staying behind with N'lon." The bronzerider
shrugged. "There's no reasoning with my dad's expectations. I believe
even if I was his clone he would still find something wrong with me."

"That's how I always felt about my father. I sometimes wish that I'd
been Searched and I'd Impressed then back when the Harper Hall was
here at the Weyr, or that I'd been able to stay at the Weyr under the
Harpers here, when the Hall moved back. It would have been nice to
stop being Faveron's boy who couldn't live up to his father's example
earlier." He rolled his eyes, showing more sarcasm than he ever would
have before Impressing to Tsogath.

"Now look at me. I'm a dragonrider and not a Harper, so they'll stop
comparing me to him and expecting me to live out his life. For you,
it's harder," he said sympathetically.

A pause as he considered living up to your father's expectations, and
then he asked, "Ever wish you'd come down with your mother sooner and
not been under his thumb for longer?"

"No, I don't think so. Even though it sucks, it still shaped me to be
who I am. Seeing my father makes me not want to be him, but if I'd
grown up here instead, maybe I would have had some misguided desire to
emulate him to earn his approval." R'nar replied.

"Good that you know what not to do. You'll be a better bronzerider
than he ever will be," A'vel said, loyally. "He can't _make_ you
transfer out without the Weyrleader approving it, and N'vanik won't
send you away if you don't want it. So you're safe?"

"Ironically, my mother and father's parting words were about just
that. Father saying that if I wasn't in the Weyrleader's wing within
the sevenday to transfer back home, and then mother telling him that
'her son' could live wherever he wanted." R'nar shook his head and
gave his shoulders a little shrug. "D'hol stood up for me too, told me
he was proud of me. That was... nice."

"What would he do, bring you to his Weyr and his wing?" A'vel asked,
thinking that sounded like the worst idea.

"D'hol, proud of you? Wow," he said, surprised. "I didn't know he got
proud of _anyone_."

"Trust me, I nearly swallowed my tongue when he said it." R'nar
laughed. "I think part of it had to do with trying to put my father in
his place."

"But it's still a real sentiment even if he's scoring points with it?"

"D'hol's not the type to say something he doesn't mean, even if it's
got a double meaning."

"Is he really as much of a martinet as he seems?"

R'nar considered that, and answered with a resounding, "Yes." He
shrugged his shoulders. "But he's not unfair and the Wing works like a
well-oiled machine, you don't hear about fighting in it like you do
over in Rapids."

"Faranth, I'm glad I'm not there," A'vel said. "I wonder if they
shouldn't have just broken it up and merged the people completely into
the wings here, because the tension between the groups seems
unbearable. I hear a fair bit about it unofficially while hanging
out."

He shook his head, completely agreeing with A'vel's assessment. "Well,
enough about my problems. What have you been up to?"

A'vel shrugged. "I'm actually surprisingly busy. I've been paired with
a senior Searchrider to get practice with this now that Panitath is
going to have a clutch soon. Also, I've been trying to balance
spending time with friends and I'm trying to practice music more so
that I can perform for Turnover."

"You know what they say about all work and no play, A'vel."

"The music is playing," A'vel said, grinning at R'nar.

"Ouch, caught me on a technicality, you really are a harper." R'nar
returned the greenrider's grin.

"I just like wordplay, what can I say," he said. "Feel like we haven't
hung out enough?"

"Yeah, not that I'm sure when we would have hung out. Between drills
and family drama there's been Ranni and her drama."

"How is she?" A'vel asked.

"Oh, determined to be the death of me, but fine besides that. She's
still trying to adjust to Weyrlife." R'nar replied.

A'vel fidgeted. "Do you think I should be trying to help her?" he
asked. After the way he'd messed up with bringing her here...

"Why should you? She's the one that lied to get here," R'nar pointed out.

"I feel like I should have known better the rules about territory. It's
like. I'm a Harper, who better to know all about rights and
responsibilities?"

R'nar set aside his empty ale mug. "She lied and manipulated, don't let
her off that easy."

A'vel still looked upset. He prided himself on being knowledgable. Failing
in basic Searchrider etiquette and almost causing an incident upset him.
Even if he'd meant to be doing the right thing, even if it was his first
time Searching, he couldn't shake the feeling he'd done wrong and been
disapproved of.

"So what is she doing to settle in?"

"Oh, you know, learning to wear pants, taking Candidate classes to learn
about Weyr culture, losing her virginity," the bronzerider grinned. "The
usual.", but
"Ah, the 'before your green rises' lecture?" The one he'd toally failed to
successfully do?

"Yes, that one, but she and I are scheduled to, uh, see to that tomorrow."

A'vel's eyes widened. "You? And Ranni?"

R'nar couldn't stop the grin that was threatening the corners of his
mouth. "Yeah. She's like an absolute pain in the butt, but also I can't
stop thinking about her."

"That sounds like a dangerous mix."

"Oh, it definitely is," R'nar agreed. "But if she Impresses the
Weyrlinghood ban will create space and then we'll see what she's like
after that."

"After that...that makes it sound like you're gonna keep seeing her,
seeing her. Not just a one off problem fixing. Are you liiii-iiiking her?"
A'vel leaned forward and blinked at R'nar with big eyes, an exaggerated
pantomime of interest.

R'nar rolled his eyes and gave A'vel's shoulder a little shove. "Yeah,
yeah, I hear you."

"I'm just asking," he said innocently.

The bronzerider laughed and shook his head. "I don't know, I might 'like
her, like her,' you know? It's hard to tell, though. I've grown up in the
Weyr watching relationships be completely fluid," both of his parents came
to mind, "so I'm not sure what I'm even looking for, really."

"Just don't get your heart too in trouble."

"Me?" R'nar's eyebrows shot up. "Don't think I haven't noticed you around
the Weyr with that runner, what's his name? Brennar or something? I've
seen him with some of the blueriders, too."

"Brennault? He's very nice. I went with him to perform at his family's
runner station, actually, and you know..."

Last updated on the May 3rd 2019

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A Dangerous Mix