Once a Sneak, Always a Sneak

Writers: Heather
Date Posted: 17th January 2020

Characters: Ranni, R'nar
Description: Ranni nears her due date and things have not progressed as R'nar had hoped.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Kobeth/Aviday, K'sedel

Ranni

}:Are you sure you are okay? I could call Kobeth's rider to come and cheer you up.:{ Sukiith insisted, watching as her rider paced back and forth in front of the Weyrlake.

"No, it's fine," Ranni snapped, one hand on the small of her back, the other pressed against the large swell of her abdomen.

Sukiith did not take the snapping personally, she knew the root cause of her rider's unhappy mood, but there was nothing that the green could do to fix the situation. The dragon was relieved when she saw Iorath's familiar silhouette in the sky.

R'nar didn't remember Weyrlinghood being so draining when he was an actual Weyrling, but since Ranni's pregnancy had progressed and he had been called upon to help with some of her chores, he was finding himself exhausted by the end of each day.

}:Sukiith,:{ Iorath said with approval as he landed beside of the green, who was now nearly fully grown. She had certainly grown into a lovely dragon, Iorath thought.

"Sorry I'm late," R'nar said as he tossed his leg over Iorath's neckridge and slid down the bronze's flank. The bronzerider reached out and touched Ranni's belly. "How are you feeling?"

Ranni had to dig her fingernails into the fleshy parts of her palms to keep from slapping R'nar's hand away and taking a step back. **You run him off again and who is going to do your Weyrling chores? You'll never graduate,** she told herself, keeping her thoughts private from Sukiith.

"Annoyed," she said honestly. "I hate not being able to bathe Sukiith myself."

"Yes," R'nar said, "I know how much you like your independence." The subject of Ranni's need to feel as if she were completely and totally in control of her life was something that R'nar often had to step gingerly around to avoid getting his head bitten off.

R'nar tugged his shirt over his head and tossed it away from the lake's edge. "At least you're getting your own weyr today, yeah?" he pointed out as he took up the wash bucket and followed Sukiith into the water.

"I guess," Ranni said, although her voice sounded sullen as she waded in up to her knees, her arms crossed over her chest as she watched R'nar. "It's not the same, though. Everyone else received their Senior Weyrling knots."

**Ah, so that's why she's upset,** R'nar thought as he began lathering Sukiith's flanks. "K'sedel told you when you first found out that you were pregnant that you would be behind the rest of your classmates."

"I know," she huffed, "I just didn't expect it to bother me so much watching them go on to do things while I sit back and watch. They only gave me a weyr of my own because I am going to have the baby and there would be no way for me to keep it in the barracks." Ranni chewed on her lower lip as she imagined trying to nurse a crying child in the middle of the night while the other Weyrlings slept.

"Just be glad you got one," R'nar advised.

"Will they take it back, you think? After the baby is weaned for the creche, do you think I'll have to go back to the barracks?" Ranni was technically not a Senior Weyrling because she and Sukiith were unable to participate in some of the more physical drills or flying /between/.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "You'll have to ask the Weyrlingmaster. I'm not sure what the procedure for that is, since it's not exactly a common problem."

Ranni hoped that she got to keep her weyr. For the first time she had her own space, not a room shared with drudges or Candidates or other Weyrlings. A place where she could decide how it looked and what she did with her time. It would be embarrassing to be made to return to the barracks. Heat crept up the back of her neck at the mere thought.

"Have you given any more thought to baby names?" R'nar asked, trying to make normal conversation with Ranni. "Normal conversation" was a rarity with the greenrider, and as much as that annoyed him, it was also one of the things that drew him to her.

"A few," she admitted, watching as ripples lapped against her calves. "Avera for a girl, perhaps or Averin for a boy."

R'nar scrubbed against Sukiih's hide with a brush. "I notice you're only using your name." Few people knew that Ranni's full name was Averanni. It did not escape his notice that his name was not involved in her options.

"Yeah, so?"

"It's sort of traditional around the Weyr," and he supposed maybe other places too, "to combine parts of the parents name to create children's names."

Ranni considered that tidbit of information. Would she want the baby to have a part of R'nar's name in it? **No, the baby is mine. I am the one carrying it. I am the one giving up my Weyrlinghood to have it.**

"I see," she settled for saying, not wanting to say outright that she had no intention of including R'nar's name.

**No, I see.** R'nar thought, annoyed at her response. He'd been doing everything he could to help during her pregnancy- attending healer appointments, bringing her snacks, and taking care of Sukiith. R'nar had foolishly hoped that over the course of the pregnancy Ranni might soften up some, but she was still the same manipulative sneak that had used him to secure her place in the Weyr before Impressing.

**As soon as the baby is born I can be done with her,** R'nar told himself. He would visit the baby in the creche and never have to deal with Ranni again.

Last updated on the January 18th 2020

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Once a Sneak, Always a Sneak