Never presume

Writers: Jane, Paula
Date Posted: 17th January 2008

Characters: Uetia, Tey
Description: Uetia and Tey talk about their weyrlinghood.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 23 of Turn 4

"Free time," Tey grumbled under her breath as she sunk down against the outside wall of the barracks. The sun was nearly set making the warmth of the wall pleasant on her back and the weak sunshine on her face not worth objecting to. "What a joke. All I can do in my 'free time' is hope that my body will stop aching and try to imagine what review questions I'll be asked in lessons tomorrow."

Uetia came from a swim. She had a towel wrapped around her hair and swimming gear hanging from back. She was feeling good. She has always been physically strong. "Hi Tey," she greeted cheerfully.

Tey grinned and looked up at the other woman. "You've caught me talking to myself," she said, not at all phased by that. "_Complaining_ to myself, what's more, and how pointless is that?"

"We all do that time to time," Uetia said. "Who could better understand you than you?" she grinned.

"Yes, well, this complaint was probably one others _could_ understand.
Other weyrlings." She eyed the other weyrling greenrider. "Though you seem to have plenty of energy so perhaps not? Don't you find your 'free time' is just as busy as your caring-for-your-dragon and class and training time?"

"It's seems to be only time I can find the time to go to swim these days," Uetia sighed. "It's feels like being apprentice again. Except then swimming was part of the classes."

"Oh?" Tey hadn't taken much notice of what her fellow weyrlings had done before they had Impressed, but now it seemed more important that she know more about them. She wasn't sure whether that was about the Turn-long weyrlinghood ahead of them or their future in the fighting wings. "Were you a ... dolphineer?" she guessed.

"Yep, that's right," Uetia nodded.

"Wow." Tey hadn't ever considered a craft - her performance in harper lessons hadn't for a moment suggested she would repay any more study -
but she admired those who had one. "What was that like?"

"I like it. But then, I grew up in a seahold surrounded by seacrafters and my brother's teased me being half dolphin anyway."

"More than one brother?" Tey asked, not sure that that would be a good thing. She had enough trouble with her only male sibling's teasing to know that more might not be a good thing.

"Faranth, yes! Six of them and all older than me," Uetia replied with a roll of her eyes.

"That can't have been easy," Tey commented thoughtfully. She might have had many sisters but she was fairly sure brothers would have been more tiresome. "Are they all dolphineers too? Or seacrafters?" she added, remembering what the other woman had said about her home.

"Seacrafters or fishcrafters, except G'el, who is rider too," Uetia replied. "But even he was a fishcrafer-apprentice before impression."

"I didn't know you had riders in your family," the weyrbred woman said.
"A brother? Is he here?"

"No, he's at the Far Island Weyr. But I do have uncle here who's also rider," Uetia said. "It's bit complicated. You see, my mother-side grandmother is a weyrbred. She didn't impress but most of her family were riders, and she left the weyrhold for love. So, there's strong strain of dragonrider's blood in the family tree," she tried to explain it.

Tey grinned, laughing at her own prejudices. "And here was I thinking you were a typical hold-bred girl."

"Never presume," Uetia scolded teasingly.

"No. Well, if you're presuming anything about me, it's probably true.
I'm just an ordinary weyrbred child, grown up until I was nearly too old to Stand." She couldn't help but smile in memory. "But not quite."

"Well, I'm almost too old too, but not quite. Still had a turn left before I would have been over age," Uetia said.

"Not that that matters now. We're riders - weyrling riders - but still
-" Her smile was wry as she added: "Our future is settled."

"Yes," Uetia agreed and turned to look fondly the sleeping form of her green.

Tey extended her hand. "Here, give me a hand up. I should be studying."

Uetia reached out her hand. "So should I too, to be frank. But before that I must clean my swimming gear and hang them to dry."

"I won't hold you up then. Nice chatting, Uetia. Nice having the _time_ to."

Last updated on the January 19th 2008

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Never presume