Conversation With a Weyrwoman

Writers: Chelle, AL
Date Posted: 4th March 2011

Characters: Briata, Rhosyn
Description: Rhosyn and Briata speak about Traelyn's leaving and Angshel's healing.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 13, day 11 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentioned: Angshel, Y'gel, K'sedel, N'vanik, Traelyn, Hygalia, Lenala

Briata

Rhosyn made her way to the young woman's quarters. She had made it a point
to check up on Briata from time to time and it helped that the girl could
hem her pants. The goldrider had heard what she'd done for the boy. In her
mind, she wished Briata would impress, even from the Stands if need be.
"Knock knock."

There was little time between 'knock' and the opening of the door. Her face
brightened immediately upon seeing who the visitor was. Briata stepped
back, the hand that wasn't holding the door motioning for Rhosyn to enter.
"Weyrwoman, it's a pleasure to see you." Once inside, Briata closed the door
behind them and turned to face her visitor. "I hope you have been well. To
what do I owe this visit?"

"You know Angshel, don't you?" she asked, though she already knew the
answer. Walking inside, Rhosyn gave a quick glance around the room,
comparing it to her own weyr without thinking.

That was certainly not what Briata had expected and the surprise showed, if
briefly, upon her delicate features. "Yes, I do. We met not too long ago."
She motioned to the small chair that was settled off in the corner underneath
a chair and across from another chair. The quarters were not large. There
was enough room for the bed that was wedged against the wall and the small
table and chairs. On the opposite end was a small area for a fire. There
was no wardrobe, but a simple trunk that was stored beneath her bed. The
stone walls in most peoples' quarters would have been bare, but Briata had
hung small hangings of embroidery. Several were comprised of flowers of
various colors and shades. One had flowers and greenery of ribbon rather
than thread. Several were of various scenes, one of a tree in the fall,
brilliant oranges and underlying yellows brightening the wall considerably.
It certainly helped deal with a bleaker situation.

Rhosyn took a seat, comfortable in a small place like this or her own weyr.
"He is going to apprentice, after all. That's good. We need more
dragonhealers here." Not much escaped her attention when she was interested.

"Yes, I know. I'm very proud of him, and I hope that he will, in time,
consider standing." Briata motioned toward the door rather than sitting down.
She was a hostess and it wouldn't do to ignore protocol. "Would you like me
to send for refreshments?"

"No thanks, I already partook." Rhosyn grinned. "I think he will. The
problem is, we have to make him understand that he should. The kid doesn't
think a dragon would want him. The crafting will help, getting him near
dragons."

"The crafting will help in a lot of ways." Her hostess duty done, Briata
took advantage and settled into the chair opposite of her Weyrwoman. "He'll
be around others with similar interests. Others that will see him as more
than a mere drudge. That will help greatly. And he'll make friends who
will also encourage him."

"Indeed, friends. Have you seen him speak to anyone of his turns?" Rhosyn
had her own observations and she was curious. "What about a male besides the
Master?"

"I'm afraid I have not." Briata shook her head. She had an inkling of
where this was headed, but she'd let Rhosyn lead into it. "Besides me. I
fear that Angshel has not had the best past. I am hoping that here he can
heal and move forward, but it will take some time."

"I saw him when they brought him. He's spoken with K'sedel but I've seen him
more often. We as females...Let's just say he's more comfortable with us."
Rhosyn frowned, thinking of what she wanted to say. "I need you, as someone
his age, to help him. Introduce him to male friends that are kind. We have
to prepare him. Do you think you could do that, Briata?"

"Indeed. Such a task is not a hard one. I already consider him a friend."
And Briata had already thought to be a part of his life, introducing him to
others. She herself needed to get out more as well. It wasn't that she
didn't have friends. It was just that after B'lamick's death, she found
herself gravitating more toward being alone.

The thought of her weyrmate still brought a pang to her heart. She doubted
that would ever go away completely, but she was beginning to realize that
Angshel might be good for her. Help her get out of her wallowing. "I will
do what I can."

"Good. So how are you?" Rhosyn shifted in the chair, crossing her legs as
her interest changed.

"I'm well, thank you." Briata inclined her head graciously. "Staying
busy." As if the decorations on her walls weren't testament to that. "How
are you?"

"I'm okay." She had been meaning to speak with Briata about something else.
"So...the whole thing with Traelyn. How much did you hear?"

"I've heard enough." Word traveled quickly. Word traveled all the more
quickly by dragon and Briata could hear them well enough. Better than most
people probably realized, even those who knew of her ability. "It's a sad
event, but I do hope that she will receive the help she needs." For her
sake, and her dragon's.

"My question is...those two golds that came to get her. Do you know who and
what they are?" Rhosyn and Hygalia had both been curious about that.

Ah, there it was. The prying for information. Or was it that she already
knew and wanted to know if Briata did? "Yes." Though Briata didn't think
most did. But dragons talked and sometimes it was difficult to shut them
out, especially when that sort of excitement was buzzing about. They got so
loud.

"Could you tell me please? N'vanik didn't know." Rhosyn knew it was a bit
irrational, but she wanted to make sure that they weren't going to swoop
down somewhere after her.

"Well, I'll tell you what I've heard." Briata hadn't breathed a word to
anyone else, but this was the Weyrwoman. "Keep in mind that I'm not certain
if it's true or idle gossip. You would be surprised at how much dragons
gossip and how much a story changes, just like it does with people."
Especially when the information came from another Weyr.

She nodded, waiting to hear what Briata had to say. Rhosyn had one hand on
her leg and the other was perched on the chair. She was leaning forward
slightly.

"Well, a few have said they were just Weyrwomen from another hold who were
escorting her. That's only a couple. Mainly, the thought is they are
Weyrwomen who are retired, or suffered similar...issues and were helped
at a special Healing place just for dragonriders. Some say it's just for
goldriders, as if only goldriders suffer in such a manner." Briata was
hesitant. She wasn't a gossip and she had yet to repeat what she had heard
among the chattering of the dragons. Until now. And it had only been
because it had been the Weyrwoman who had asked. Such words would not be
repeated to anyone else. "I cannot vouch for the validity of what I have
heard." Though if she had to, Briata would put more credit on the rumor
that seemed to be repeated the most.

"If such a place exists, why did we not know about it?" She looked confused,
considering the ramifications of all of that.

"Perhaps we aren't meant to know." Briata suggested, a single eyebrow
arching upward. "Perhaps that's the point. To bring these women somewhere
quiet and secluded. Perhaps that's part of the healing process. If, that
is, what I am hearing is the truth. It may not be."

"Well I'm just saying..if it's for people like me, I'd think I should know.
And that way, we know this sort of thing _can_ happen. Maybe it would keep
it from happening." She was quiet as she tried to figure out what it all
meant. "I mean, before..I couldn't fathom that someone could even do that.
She's..my life. But more important, it's my duty to all of Pern to protect
her."

"You understand that." Briata nodded slowly, "And I understand that. But
somehow, she has lost that. She has lost the sense of duty. Or perhaps her
despair is so great that it overshadows her duty. I do not know. I have
heard of the woman but I do not know her and cannot judge her. All I know is
what I have heard. Such information is secondhand and not necessarily
reliable. Regardless, something in her has broken. We can only hope healers
can help fix it."

"A dragon is pure love. She has to be very....wrong." Shaking her head,
Rhosyn decided they had to get talking about something better. "Which brings
me to my next point. While I respect the fact that..well you didn't want to
before... I wish you would consider being put before the next clutch. I
won't ask again but..well with things..."

"I cannot read the minds of people. But yes, I agree, if she felt that she
needed to take her dragon /between/, something is very, very wrong indeed."
Briata was not a dragonrider, but even she just couldn't fathom something
like that. At the change of subject, Briata shook her head. She didn't
resent Rhosyn asking. She was at least asking and not demanding. "No. I
understand what you're trying to do, but...I don't wish to impress." All the
dragons were hers in a sense. She didn't need to Impress.

"All right then..." Frowning, she looked around as she digested all of that
information. "You know if you weren't crafting, I'd draft you. Sooner or
later, I'm going to need an errand girl to follow me around." Some of the
Weyr girls came to mind, but none of them had caught Rhosyn's eye.

An errand girl. A flicker of a smile tugged at the edges of her lips and
Briata shook her head. "I'm afraid I am crafting. However, if you have
need of someone, I can keep my eyes open. What, exactly, are you looking
for?"

"Well really, it should be a girl who hopes to impress gold, but then I
couldn't take them away from their candidate classes and if they did impress,
I'd have to look for help again." She considered that. "Things would go
faster if I had someone to help me sometimes. Everyone needs help and a
backup. Technically, Lenala is my backup, but...well..." Rhosyn didn't have
the most confidence in _that_ one.

She didn't have to expound, Briata understood. If Lenala left, the Weyr
would probably hardly notice. If it noticed at all. "Well, I will be
certain to keep my eyes open." Even if Rhosyn had an eye on her, Briata
wasn't going to accept. She enjoyed her crafting. If she couldn't have
things be exactly as she wanted them, this was her second choice. "And
if I can think of anyone or meet anyone I think would be a likely
candidate for such a position, I will let you know."

"Thanks. All right, well I'll leave you alone for now. Time to go surprise
the weyrlings." She grinned, thinking about Orlaith's latest clutch. It also
kept the weyrlingstaff on their toes if she randomly walked in on lessons.

"I have a feeling you take a certain amount of pleasure in doing that."
Briata's smile brightened a little. "And I certainly don't want to keep you
from that. Have a pleasant day, Weyrwoman. Thank you for coming to see me."

Last updated on the March 4th 2013

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