An important question

Writers: Emma
Date Posted: 4th October 2007

Characters: K'deren, Trievan
Description: Trievan asks K'deren a question about his mother
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 5 of Turn 4

K'deren

The brownrider sat back, watching the two young children play on the rug in his weyr. The little girl was almost an eerie replica of her mother with the auburm hair and those eyes. But there were hints of his features in there, the shape of her nose, the chunky set of her limbs that hinted at her one day having a heavier build than her mother had been. Vonalie had been almost delicate, seemingly too slight to be a dragonrider, but that had merely masked a hidden strength, one that was an inner strength as well.

The boy with her was her brother, and not his child at all. But that didn't matter, Trievan had come as part of the package. He showed signs of resembling his mother as well, being slight and having her eyes as well.
But his hair belonged to his father, whoever he had been. He rolled the ball in his hands to the toddler, and she giggled as she caught it.

"Back to me, c'mon!" said Trievan, demonstrating with his hands.

Deralie tried to copy his manouver, but she didn't quite understand, and the ball spiralled out of control, across the floor. She let out a wail, realising that it wasn't right.

At that point K'deren got to his feet, rescuing the child as Trievan picked up the ball. He took his daughter back to the small couch, and settled her on his lap, where she leant against him comfortably, reassured by his presence.

The boy brought the ball over, and clambered up beside them, dropping the ball as he did so. It rolled across the floor again, this time ending up underneath a cupboard. But it was forgotten in the next words out of his mouth.

"K'deren, why did Mama have to go like that?"

That was something he'd often asked himself, and never expected to hear from such a young child, although Trievan was getting older now. There weren't many children in the weyr who didn't know about fall, and what could happen to their mothers, fathers or other family members. Most accepted that it could happen, but with the resilience of children pushed it aside.

"She was very brave, you know that don't you?" said the brownrider gently as he put an arm around the boy. "It takes a lot of courage to go out and try your luck on the sands, to see if your match is waiting to break out if his or her shell."

Trievan nodded in reply. "Some day I'm gonna do that too."

"And you have to be brave to fly in fall. Especially when thread just doesn't know what it is doing. It just falls, and keeps falling if any of it gets to the ground it destroys anything living."

Trievan nodded again, this was something he knew and understood already, and it wasn't yet answering his question. But sometimes adults had to explain things first before they could really answer the important questions.

"Your Mama was really brave, she knew all that and she still went out there, her and Pylth. They knew what they had to do, and why they had to do it.
They did it for you, and for Deralie here." The toddler was settling back against her father, beginning to doze, and wriggling slightly as she settled. "All she wanted was for Pern to be safe for you to grow up, that's all any of us want."

"When she went out there that day, she was doing what she wanted to. She knew what she was meant to do, and so did Pylth. But thread didn't know that, and sometimes in a fall, it changes direction, or the wind catches it.
We won't ever know what happened that day, but she tried her hardest to come back to us. She wanted to come back, and she told me that."

"I don't know if that answers your question, but know this much. She loved you, and she loved Deralie too. She loved all of us, and because you know that, it means that love won't go away."

Trievan looked thoughtful, it was a lot to take in. "I'll always love her,"
he said after a while.

"Just as you should."

Last updated on the October 6th 2007

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

An important question