One Problem at a Time
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Suzee, Eimi
Date Posted: 26th August 2019
Characters: U'kaiah, Tavia, Kaiavin,
Description: U'kaiah comes looking for one son and finds another...
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 2 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentions: Kaiafel
Squeals and giggles could be heard coming from inside Tavia's weyr as
she chased her three turns old son around the rooms. "I'm going to get
your buns," she crowed.
"Noooooo," Kaiafel screeched as he ran with his hands covering his
hind parts. But he was laughing as he ran and ducked under the table.
Kalamath bugled a greeting as he and U'kaiah popped into the sky over
Dragonsfall. Seeing Sawauth on her ledge he directed the bronze to
land alongside her. It was Kaiafel that he was coming to see, but he
knew his eldest son could often be found in the weyrs of his brother's
mothers, and Tavia's was a much safer place to start than Aileyan's.
"Tavia?" he called to the greenrider as he slipped off of his bronze's
neck. Pulling his helmet and gloves off, he peeked into the curtain
of her weyr as he shrugged out of his weyrhide jacket. "Hello love.
Have you seen Kaiafel?"
Tavia was on all fours going after Kaiavin and she bumped her head
when she tried to get up too fast. "Owww," she clasped a hand to the
back of her head. "Ahhh that's gonna leave a bump," she probed the
back of her head gingerly while giggles emerged from under the table.
"Little rascal," she chuckled. She smiled at U'kaiah "He's probably
doing his candidate chores."
"Ah. Ok. Well then..." It seemed she was busy, and he certainly had
things on his mind. "I think I'll just leave Kalamath here. He might
decide to go sun up on the ledge, though." Dragons seemed impervious
to the cold of winter anyway. "Chores huh. He still hasn't picked a
craft?"
"I'm guessing Dragonman is his craft, she said using her fingers to
mark quotes around the word Dragonman. "I don't think he sees how hard
you work as an Archivist."
His eyebrows lifted with a roll of his eyes. "It's a little hard when
'dragonman' is all you have the time to be. You're a far better
example for him to follow than I am, I'm afraid. But if he survives
the Pass, he will need _something_." Maybe he could add that to the
list of topics to discuss with the boy.
"We had an advantage of thinking there'd never _be_ thread," she
sighed. "I don't think anyone has ever pointed out to him he might
outlive it. He's so young," She bent and lifted their son to her hip
as he'd emerged from under the table. "I wish we could open his brain
and pour in information he'd actually believe."
U'kaiah had been so single minded that he hadn't noticed his youngest
son hiding under the table. "Oh," he said surprised, and suddenly a
little caught off guard. "Hi there, Kaiavin! Were you hiding from
me?" It was an easy assumption seeing as the boy usually seemed
nervous around him. He was, after all, mostly a stranger to the
child.
"No," Tavia, chuckled. "I threatened to cook his buns for my dinner
and was chasing him like a dragon after a wild wherry."
Kaiavin's eyes widened at the big bronzerider and he looked at his
mother and said clearly. "No, cook me."
The way he looked at him, U'kaiah wondered if Kaiavin thought the
bronzerider might actually do him harm. "We won't cook you. I
promise," he said, trying to be reassuring but just feeling awkward.
Tavia grinned as Kaiavin opened his arms and reached out like he
wanted to go to U'kaiah and then just as quickly realized what he was
doing and changed his mind. Folding his arms near his body he turned
his head and buried it in her neck. Tavia tilted her head in a little
shrug "Come back when you're done," she said. "We can all play a bit
and that will help."
U'kaiah's brow furrowed. "After I talk to Kaiafel I will need to talk
to Aileyan. I'm not sure I will be very playful after that." Their
meeting was probably going to dissolve into yet another fight.
"Alright," she said accepting his excuse. "But do it soon. The more
time you spend here the more accustom he'll become. He's really a lot
of fun," she smiled.
"I know," he said, then shook his head. That wasn't exactly true.
All he knew was that his youngest son was afraid of him most of the
time. It was hard to enjoy their time together when he spent most of
it begging for the boy to accept his very presence. "I'm sure he is,"
he amended. "I want him to like me, but... I can only focus on one
problem at a time. Is that alright for now?"
"So smile at him and say goodbye," her eyes twinkled. U'kaiah was
being a coward where a two-turn old was concerned but she couldn't
point that out to him without making it worse. "You'll have to make a
little time to just be in the room with him for him to get used to
you," she said instead. "I'm not the one you're trying to get to like
you. I already do," she chuckled.
Sometimes it was hard to believe that she would always like him when
he knew just how much he had let her down, and continued to not live
up to what he believed had been her expectations for him. U'kaiah
shook his head slightly to banish that thought. It was a dark road he
just didn't have time to go down during his waking hours. It haunted
his dreams enough.
"Right, well." He walked over to give her a soft kiss on the cheek
before plastering as best of a smile as he could muster in the moment.
Giving the boy a little wave, he tried to sound as friendly and gentle
as possible. "Bye bye, Kaiavin. I'll see you soon."
Kaiavin sat up and brightened, waving back at the big bronzerider he
even half smiled. "Bye bye da," he said. "See soon."
Glory chirped in her own farewell from the table where she'd taken up residence.
Tavia's eyes widened and she looked back and forth between U'kaiah and
their son in pleased surprise. He'd never called U'kaiah 'da' on
purpose before.
The bronzerider's smile deepened. "Bye bye, son."
Last updated on the September 3rd 2019