If We're Lucky

Writers: Devin, Cali
Date Posted: 26th September 2009

Characters: Zanen, Talmina, Taljin
Description: The three travelers cross the countryside.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 4, day 27 of Turn 5

Talmina was cold and wet. The night had brought a horribly brutal storm and their rudimentary tent hadn't held up under the continual winds. Zanen had been able to get a fire going as soon as the rain had stopped, how with everything soaked she didn't know, but it wasn't enough to dry her out with any sort of speed so it left her chilled. Taljin and Zanen had been able to find her runner that had run off at first light and were already preparing to hit the trail again, but Talmina wasn't in the mood.

"C'mon, Talmina. Time to go," Zanen said. "You'll feel better once you've moved around a bit."

If he'd been anyone else, she would have told him to shove it. Zanen was one of the only people to ever be nice to her though, at least, without wanting something in return for their niceness. He'd tried to find the man that had attacked her, and when he couldn't, he'd checked in on her, brought her flowers and books and other things to occupy her mind while she healed. She would always be grateful to him for his kindness; and that's why she slowly stood up. "Can we stop and let the clothes dry out at lunch?"

"Sure. If the sky is clear, things should dry out nicely." He smiled. It was tempting to be easy on her. He'd failed her by not finding her attacker and he felt like he owed her. But getting to the Weyr quickly was in her best interest.

Taljin helped his sister up onto her runner, then settled himself on his as well. Five days into this trip and he was already miserable. He'd never been on a trek like this, traveled with a caravan sure, but Zanen wasn't taking established roads most of the time, and the riding was more difficult. The hunter had sworn it would take days off their travel, but Taljin didn't know if he believed him. The man might be adding days just to get more marks from him. As they started moving, Taljin's beast drifted to the back, it always seemed to like to stray to flowers and sweet grasses he nosed and Taljin was always fighting to keep up.

"Will your canines find us something for dinner again tonight?" Talmina had to admit, she much preferred the fresh meat the mutts brought in over their traveling rations. Zanen had shown her how to skin the creatures so as to save the hide their first night traveling.

"If we're lucky." Fang and Silver had done well for the travelers so far. "You've done very well with the skinning." He might make a few extra marks trading them at the Weyr, and he planned to give them to Talmina to help with her new life.

She blushed slightly, glad that she was slightly behind the hunter. Nobody had ever complimented her when she worked in the kitchens, she was just expected to slave over a hot pot all day or spend hours hunched over a pile of skinned tubers and to never complain. While the skinning was disgusting and hard work, it wasn't anything compared to some of the tasks she'd had to do in her turns at the kitchens.

"We'll probably need it." Taljin said, finally getting his runner to catch up with them. "That rain soaked through to all my supplies, I'm sure some of it will be ruined." Not that he ever ate much. His obsessive nature in front of the looms had left him with a lean frame that was used to skipped meals.

"Most of mine should be alright. And if they don't catch something today, they'll catch something tomorrow. We'll be fine." Zanen guided his runner along the thin trail. It had been a while since he'd been this way, but he remembered the track.

Zanen had told her that the caravan road always followed the river to the Weyr, but that they were taking a more direct route through the forests and plains. It wasn't as traveled because water could be harder to find, but he knew of enough springs and creeks to support their smaller group just fine. Talmina knew that if it was just her and her brother they'd never have found them. After an hour of companionable silence, she called attention to a few bushes she didn't recognize off under some trees. "Are those edible?" She wanted to be helpful, and an empty belly in a few days time didn't sound appealing to her. A chance to get off the runner and let the underside of her pants dry sounded appealing as well.

Zanen looked where she was pointing. "Only if you're a runner, or a herdbeast."

Talmina frowned and didn't point anything else out. Instead she chose to ignore her brother's lame attempts at conversation and tried to get a few moments of rest in while they traveled. The day was quickly becoming unbearably hot and if she could sleep through it, all the better. When Zanen called for them to stop and stretch she needed it. Though her legs were wobbly, she managed to stay upright as she dismounted, Taljin wasn't so lucky.

"We're not used to riding Zanen, we really do need more frequent stops." Taljin stated once he was able to stand up on his own again.

"Your sister seems to be doing fine," Zanen teased.

Taljin glared at Talmina's back when he realized that she _was_ doing fine. The first few days of their travels she'd been as wobbly as he, but yesterday and today, not so much. "She's just trying to impress you. Don't worry, she'll whine about it soon enough I'm sure."

Zanen set a bowl down for the canines and dug in his pack for dried food. "Let's all focus on getting to the Weyr as fast as possible." He resisted pointing out that Taljin was the one whining.

Talmina knew her main job in the evening was to collect firewood, but since they wouldn't have a fire for the small amount they ate at lunch she just walked aimlessly, fanning her pants and trying to get the last parts dry while she had the chance. She didn't like pants, it made her look manly, but they were more practical on a saddle, and it wasn't like she had anyone to impress. She heard the men chatting, but she stayed away, they would probably be talking about the Weyr again and she she didn't want to think about that place if she could help it. Whenever she did, she felt nothing but dread; her future was bleak no matter where she went. She supposed the Weyr was as good a place as any to let her life whither away.

Last updated on the September 26th 2009

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

If We're Lucky