Familiar Green

Writers: Halyonix
Date Posted: 14th May 2024

Characters: V'dryn, Y'rim
Description: A conversation about disappointing one's family
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 12, day 2 of Turn 11

Notes:

Videryn didn't mind doing the chores assigned to him. Some of the Candidates complained about drudgery, thinking themselves so better, but in reality, they weren't. He knew better than to point that out though. Most days. The menial tasks gave Videryn plenty of time to think about his current situation, though today's task also gave him the opportunity to interact with some of the dragonriders, if they were home during his laundry deliveries.

Pairing up with one of the weyrlings to reach the higher weyrs, Videryn loaded the young brown with sacks of cleaned laundry, all tagged with names, and then rattled off the list easily to the rider. A polite bow to the dragon who was ferrying him, a smooth mount astride, and they were off on their errand -- five quick stops. A process that would take no more than twenty minutes, Videryn calculated.

And he would have been correct, except for their last stop.

"Delivery!" he called brightly, carrying in the bulky bag. The weyr inside was an utter mess. While there was (thankfully) no spoiled food sitting in places where food should not be, it was obvious that the owner of the weyr did not know the word "organized". And for a young man who had grown up with a strength for organizing things, stepping into this disordered habitation was a...challenge.

"Delivery?" a male voice queried back. Presently, a wiry man about a head shorter than Videryn came into view. "Oh, laundry. That delivery. Thank you, I..." He looked around as if only just now realizing that he was living in such squalor and the dilemma of where to put a new addition to it. “Oh, put it on the bed, I’ll…get to it,” he eventually decided.

Highly doubtful, Videryn decided.

He straightened after depositing his load, looked around, and said, “Bold of me to offer, I know, but if you need help with…” He made an encompassing wave of his hand. “This. I’m certain the Headwoman could spare me for a bit from other Candidate chores.”

The man’s face lit up. “Would you? Oh, it’s so much easier when someone helps! I’d ask Quir but she’s a dragon and she just…oh, you know how helpful a dragon can be with cleaning. She put holes in a blanket once when I asked her to move it. Oh, that would be wonderful if you could just spare a minute. I’ll take him back down.” The last part was directed at the weyrling who had ferried Videryn up. “Manners! I’m Y’rim. Quiroanth is my dragon. She’s up sunning somewhere.”

“I’m Videryn,” the Candidate replied. He looked around, trying to gauge the enormity of the project he had just signed up. It would definitely take more than a proverbial minute to tackle but that was fine. “Is there…somewhere in particular you would like for me to start?”

Y’rim also looked around and then let out a despairing sigh. “I promise you I’m not usually this bad. Oh, who am I kidding, I am. I’m a mess. Let’s see. Let’s…here. The table and this area.” Once pointed in a direction, Videryn began, combining the small stack of books with two other stacks and moving them to a shelf after clearing that space, then herding all of the mugs to the next shelf, and so on, until his work moved him to other spots within the weyr.

Y’rim, for the most part, stood there and directed, but Videryn didn’t mind because it gave him a reason to pick the greenrider’s brain. He asked some of the usual questions, what was considered small talk with a dragonrider -- how long had they been together, had they Impressed here or somewhere else, how many Hatchings -- but as the time stretched and the task neared (mostly) completion, Videryn found the opening he had been looking for in the conversation.

“You mentioned your family. From the Hold,” he remarked. “How they…reacted to your Impression.”

Y’rim’s face fell a little. “Oh yes, having a son that liked boys. A disappointment for every Hold father,” he said, a little sad, a little sarcastic. “But don’t you dare think for a second that I would trade them for Quiroanth!” he added sharply. “You can’t understand…the love of a dragon. It’s…” Y’rim fell speechless.

“Worth it,” Videryn finished for him after a pause. There was a tiny flutter of wings as Mora popped into existence next to Videryn, landing on his outstretched arm.

“Ohhhh, isn’t she a little beauty,” Y’rim cooed.

“I am quite familiar with being a disappointment,” Videryn went on to say as he showed off Mora, who perched statuesquely. “When Mora cracked her shell, my father made all sorts of comments about her being ‘just a green’ even though a firelizard is a rare thing to have. And while a firelizard is no comparison to a dragon in love…”

There was a longer pause this time as Y’rim finished, “She’s still worth it to you.” He smiled at Videryn.

The Candidate smiled back, shyly. “There is also the bit I haven’t told them yet about liking boys _and_ girls.”

Y’rim let out a delighted laugh. “Oh, the surprise they’ll be in for! Oh, I don’t mean to make light of something that can be so scary to reveal to your family, I’m sorry. It’s just…you already know. And you…you don’t have to go back, you know that, right? Once you’ve been Searched, you can remain at the Weyr. This can be your home, dragon or not.”

“I have…deeply considered that,” Videryn said. “There are skills here that I can put to use. Skills transferable anywhere.”

“And not just organizing some messy greenrider’s weyr,” Y’rim joked. There was a twinkle in his dark eyes. “I think, Videryn, that you’re going to do just fine here. I do. I have a feeling. You may not see it yet but it’s there. There’s a reason the dragons picked you and I bet we see why soon.”

Videryn exhaled softly. “I certainly hope so, sir.”

“Y’rim,” the greenrider corrected him. “Call me Y’rim. Oh, come meet Quir. She’s going to love you and Mora. And then I’ll stop wasting your time with drudgery.”

Videryn didn’t think it had been a waste of time at all.

Last updated on the May 16th 2024

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Familiar Green