On Mating and Mortality

Writers: Jane, Kaysea
Date Posted: 9th May 2007

Characters: Treya, Teykara
Description: Teykara and Treya have a difference of opinion
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 4, day 5 of Turn 4

She sat down at the table, for a moment not recognising R'harne's weyrmate. She smiled a greeting, then realisation hit. "R'harne! He's not here is he?" Her eyes widened in concern, as she looked around the cavern.

"No. Out doing sweeps, poor dear. How are you, Treya?"

"Oh thank Faranth!" she grinned, "You must think me a fool, but I didn't want to have him come in and me be awkward around him. But, I'm fine, thank you for asking." Her eyes flashed brightly, she couldn't keep the smile from her lips.

"Why would you be awkward around him?" Teykara asked. For all the sympathy she felt for the other greenrider she knew she didn't understand Treya at all.

"After what happened the last time we actually spoke to each other. I have been avoiding him like the plague." Treya's smile was only half hearted, "Even at drills, I've been more to the back of the wing these days, he made himself pretty plain. Though I've been getting that a lot lately." She shrugged her shoulders, and glanced towards to entrance to the cavern, before dropping her gaze to her plate again.

"I think he was a little unkind, actually," Teykara said, deciding that there was no need for assumed loyalty when she had told her weyrmate what she thought of his behaviour at the time.

"No...I know how clingy I can get, but hopefully that will all change now." Once again the smile crossed her lips.

"Why?" Why was she clingy, but that was another question. Why was Treya hoping it would change? Teykara couldn't imagine any of her personality traits changing in a matter of months.

"I was hoping you'd ask." Treya giggled, "I .. am.. sooooo.. happy!" she hugged herself tightly, "I've finally found someone who hasn't run off after their first night with me."

"Really?" Teykara desperately tried to think of anything else to say, but nothing sprang to mind.

"Really!" Treya nodded. "I've had the worst luck with men lately. It's as though they all witnessed R'harne's reaction and so thought they didn't need to be as nice to me as they used to be. But not now. Not since I met _him_."

The other greenrider felt guilty for her weyrmate's part in Treya's troubles and wanted to make excuses for him. The problem was that she agreed with R'harne a little; Treya's behaviour had been an inappropriate response to a flight win by Guieth. It wasn't as if R'harne had led Treya on in anyway. All the same, it had been a very blunt and very public dismissal. "I'm sorry to hear that people - men, I suppose - aren't being very nice to you, Treya."

"It doesn't matter now." she answered brightly, waving her hand in dismissal, "Whether it was because of R'harne or because of the way I act, I don't care." She lifted her eyes to the cavern entrance again, "This time, he didn't run away. This time he stayed to be with _me_."

"Er - that's good." Strange, but good, Teykara supposed. "Who is he?"

"One of the riders. C'pouk, rider of brown Uitgaandth. He isn't like the others, he wanted to stay ... afterwards." She couldn't keep the smile from her mouth, or her eyes.

"Ahh." What to say? What to say? "Brownriders. I like them myself,"
Teykara managed. "I hope things go well for you," she added, looking forward to telling R'harne that he was off the hook when it came to Treya. He was still in trouble with _her_ though, for his mistreatment of the other greenrider.

"Mmmm, they will." Treya smiled brightly. "I have a good feeling about this one." She had a hard time keeping the image of the mismatched, eyed rider out of her head.

Caution. Words of caution. But not too discouraging. "Well ... It's early days. No need to rush into anything at your age." Treya had to be at least five Turns her junior.

"I won't rush into anything." Treya smiled, but she knew it may already be too late.

The older greenrider worried about that smile. "That's good, Treya."

She popped some roasted root into her mouth and chewed considerately, before swallowing, and looked at Teykara. "How did you _know_? With R'harne I mean?"

"Know _what?_"

"That he was the one?"

"The one?" Teykara repeated in surprise. "The one what?"

With a sigh, Treya wondered if the woman was being obtuse on purpose.
"The one you wanted to weyrmate with, silly."

"I had no idea. I hadn't even thought of weyrmating when he and I -"
Teykara shrugged. "We formalised the weyrmating thing only because we'd been together for Turns and it seemed silly not to."

"You mean..it wasn't like a bolt of lightning?" Treya looked startled, her blue yes opening even wider in surprise.

Teykara laughed. "No, nothing like that. He got used to having me around, I think."

"Oh.." Treya could see the other woman was happy with that idea, and gave a small, smile of encouragement. "Hmmm, just having you around, that's ... novel."

"Is it? You don't think the 'knowing he was the one' thing might be a little more un-unusual?" Unlikely seemed an unkind word to use in the face of the younger woman's enthusiasm.

"No. I mean how else are you to know?"

"Know what? You don't think if R'harne was killed in 'Fall that I wouldn't find somebody else to make my life with? I don't think there is just 'one'."

Treya sat up straight, her face a blank at the harsh words. "You," she shook her head, "You've already contemplated this?"

"Losing R'harne? It's always a possibility these days."

"I can't believe.." Treya shook her head again, "..that you can be so blase about it, about _him_." She knew, in the back of her mind, was always conscious of the fact that one of these days it may be her turn to suffer from Threadscore; may be even killed by Thread, but to hear it said out aloud - she felt the shiver race along her spine, and it chilled her to the bone.

"Realistic. Or he might lose me. My sister died in one of the early 'Falls. R'harne and I were lucky."

"I'm sorry..." Treya shook her head, "..I didn't know." May be Teykara was right? May be she was heading into another foolish dream? Was she being unrealistic to think she and C'pouk could have anything more, she didn't really know, but for now, did she really care?

"It's not going to be unusual over the next - what? Forty-five Turns or so? That's why the idea that there's just 'one' seems potentially disastrous. I think there are any number of people I might end up weyrmated with - R'harne's just the one I'm with right now."

"I guess so." Though Treya was not willing to think the same way she could see Teykara's point of view. "Call me stupid, but I'd rather not look at it that way though. I'd prefer to wear blinkers, for a while at least."

Teykara nodded. "Everybody has to manage their own way." Treya's way was diametrically opposed to her own, she realised, but that still didn't make the bouncy young greenrider wrong.

With a nod of agreement, "Yes, I'm quite comfortable managing in mine."
she gave a semi bright smile, that didn't quite carry to her eyes.
Teykara's view had unsettled her just a little, had made her face up to things she preferred to avoid.

Last updated on the May 10th 2007

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