Pregnancy Plans

Writers: Francesca, Yvonne
Date Posted: 9th December 2025

Characters: Riali, Thiseta
Description: The Weyrwoman checks on the pregnant weyrling.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 8, day 21 of Turn 12

"Come in!" Thiseta looked up from her desk and smiled at the short
young woman who entered. Riali was barely out of girlhood herself, and
now she was pregnant, and a new greenrider. "Please, come sit," she
said, gesturing at the chair across from herself. "Would you like klah
or tea?"

Riali walked into the office tentatively, giving the Weyrwoman a small
curtsy before taking a seat. Her clothes were loose but, at almost
halfway through her pregnancy, her stomach was becoming more prominent
every day. "Tea please," she said, voice soft.

"Tea it is." Thiseta pulled the cozy off the teapot at the edge of her
desk and poured them both a cup. She stirred a spoonful of sugar into
both cups after Riali indicated she'd also like sugar, then set the
hot mug down in front of the new weyrling.
"Congratulations on Impressing Dymith. She's got such a lovely hide.
The colour reminds me of the evergreen trees near where I grew up."

"She is beautiful," Riali said with a small smile. "She already seems
so big." She took a sip of tea, glad it wasn't too hot.

The Weyrwoman smiled. "Just you wait. She'll be the size of a
runnerbeast before you knew it."

"That's hard to imagine," Riali admitted. She drank more tea.

"Just you wait." Now came the harder part. "Riali, I was informed by
the Healers and the Weyrlingmasters that you're pregnant. I think that
they have already talked a little bit with you about what that means,
now that you've Impressed Dymith?"

Riali felt like everyone had talked to her about it, including fellow
weyrlings with lots of opinions. She wasn't sure why the Weyrwoman
felt the need to meet with her, but at least now she understood why
she was there. "Yes, they have. Well, they talked to me when I was a
Candidate and explained that, if I Impressed, I wouldn't be able to
graduate with my class." She didn't really care about that though. She
was just happy to have Dymith.

"That's correct. You'll be with the Weyrling Wing until you're cleared
to fly, and then likely with me in the Queen's Wing for a while. Have
you thought about your child's future?" Thiseta asked.

The new weyrling shifted uncomfortably at the question. Her pregnancy
had been pretty easy so far, only recently becoming impossible to
ignore. It felt more like an unpleasant reminder of her past than
something connected to her future. Not wanting to share her
conflicting thoughts with the Weyrwoman, she settled on, "I heard
there are foster parents?"

Thiseta nodded. "Many, although some women prefer to leave their
children with family too. If you prefer to have your child raised by
your family or the father's family, we can arrange that too."

"No!" Riali blurted out. "I mean- I don't think- No." She shook her
head. Then, worried the Weyrwoman would contact her parents, she
added, "They don't know. And I don't want them to know."

"All right." The Weyrwoman paused. "Does the father know?"

Riali paused, wondering if she should lie. But, the Weyrwoman seemed
kind. She shook her head.

"You should tell him," Thiseta said gently. "He deserves to know that
he is a father, and I will need his name for the Records. Your child
will want to know who they are sooner or later."

"Oh. Ok." Riali couldn't imagine sharing his name with anyone; or,
worse, letting him know. No good could come from that, even if she was
a weyrling now and couldn't be forced back to the Hold. She wasn't
sure her unborn child would have the same protections. "What if his
family wants to raise the baby in the Hold, not the Weyr?"

"I will support your decision for where to raise your child."
Thiseta's tone was firm, but she smiled at Riali. "A Holder will not
force my hand, even if they are a Lord Holder. The father isn't a Lord
Holder, is it?" she asked, suddenly worried. "Not that it would
matter. It just would be more complicated."

That was reassuring to hear. At the Weyrwoman's question, an
involuntary nervous laugh escaped Riali's mouth. "Definitely not a
Lord Holder," she said.

"Well, that's a relief!" Thiseta kept her tone light and hoped that
Riali couldn't sense how relieved she actually was. "There's no rush
to inform the father right away but I'd encourage you to do so before
the baby is born. Or, if you'd prefer, I can write to the father in
your stead."

"I can send him a letter," Riali said quickly. "Soon." She would never
want the Weyrwoman to spend any time on this. It was awkward enough
that they were meeting now. Didn't she have more important things to
do?

"All right. But please do, and please be ready to reveal the father's
name at the birth," Thiseta told her. "Have you had a healer discuss
the birth with you, yet? You'll have some additional support to help
with Dymith when the time comes."

Riali was still half-planning to "forget" the father's name, or make
one up. She was glad when they moved to a new subject. "No, but I have
my next appointment in a few days. Will Dymith be ok?" She didn't want
the small green to be scared.

"Imbeth will be with her when you give birth. One of the gold dragons
stay with every green dragon when their rider is in labour." It was a
common practice - childbirth was terrifying, painful and sometimes ran
into awful complications made worse by a panicking dragon. "If not
Imbeth, then Tymborikath or Piketh. She will be well taken care of, as
will you."

"Ok." It was still hard to imagine, but Riali was glad there was a plan.

"Truly. You have the Weyr behind you, both as a dragonrider and as a
mother-to-be. Both are big transitions but I truly mean it when I say
that if you have questions or need support, there are people here who
are ready to help. I'll be checking in on you over the next few months
and I hope that you'll let me know if you need anything."

"I will. Thank you, Weyrwoman." She just hoped everything went smoothly.

Last updated on the December 21st 2025

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Pregnancy Plans