Letter of resignation

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 25th May 2011

Characters: Telemon, Hygalia
Description: Telemon writes a letter of resignation which leads to visit from the Weyrwoman.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 3 of Turn 6

Telemon didn't make the decision lightly. He actually spent months
thinking it over and every passing month the feeling that he did not
belong _here_ grew stronger. How could he respect people who didn't
respect him because he hold on to morals and values different than
theirs? He didn't judge or critize the dragonriders for their way of
life, so why didn't they give him the same courtesy? The argument with
U'kaiah gave him the final push, although the feeling of uneasiness had
been growing long before that. And he had thought U'kaiah was his friend.
That hurt the most.

He wrote two letters, one to healer Hallmaster asking for transferr,
second was his letter of resignation from the Weyrhealer's position,
which he sent to the Weyrwoman. Then he just waited for the reaction.

Hygalia had been rather surprised when she read the letter. What
possibly could have happened, she wondered. And could she change his
mind? She liked Telemon, and thought he had done very well as a healer
at the Weyr, for all that he had not been trained to it. Determined to
get to the root of the problem, she paid his office a visit.

"Master Telemon?" she asked cautiously at his office door. "May I take
a moment of your time?"

"Of course you can, please get in and take a seat," Telemon replied,
getting up and in process, pushing Taiga discreetly under the table.

"Thank you," she smiled daintily before closing the door behind her and
taking the seat he had offered. "I received your letter today. It
was... rather surprising."

Telemon waited until she was seated before he sat down again. "Yes, I
suspected it might be," he said.

"Of course, I first of all want to say that we would be _very_ sad to
see you go, and I hope there is some way I can change your mind." It
seemed to have come from the blue sky, so she wondered just how
thoroughly he had thought through the decision or if it had been spur of
the moment.

"No, ma'am," Telemon shook his head sadly. "I've felt that I'm a wrong
man to this position for a long. I suppose you can say that I never
really adjusted to Weyrlife."

"Oh, Telemon, I wish you had told me sooner," Hyglia reproached gently.
If she had known, she was sure she could have helped him more. "These
things take time, I know. But you have done a _wonderful_ job here."

"And what could you have done, Hygalia?" Telemon asked. "Honestly,
Weyrwoman. I'm tired. I'm tired of dealing with young girls and boys who
weren't fully prepaired for their greens first mating flight, despite
all the good work the Weyrlings staff do. I'm sick and tired of aborting
unwanted babies or comforting women after miscarriage, when they would
have liked to keep the baby, if only they had know earlier that they
were pregnant. Of course, same things happen in holds too. I'm tired of
hearing how flight excuses everything and that I don't understand
because I'm not Rider. I'm tired of being judged because I hold onto to
the values I grew up with. And I grew up in North, so working with female
healers was never the problem for me."

"No one ever said it was," she quickly assured him. "And I am sure _no_
one is judging you, Telemon, except on your skill as a healer, which is
beyond reproach. You have served us well. No one would think less of
you for not being Weyrbred."

"Really?" Telemon rised a sceptical eyebrow. "Tell that to the people
who I thought were my friends."

So there was a personal element to this... "Look, I don't want to get
in between you and your friends, I just mean to say that from _my_ point
of view, from the _leadership_ point of view, we could do no better.
And we don't _want_ to do better. I would really like it if you would
just reconsider, Telemon. Friendships... heal over time. Or you form
new ones. Weyrhealers are harder to find."

"I won't be leaving immediately. I'll wait until you find my
replacement and the Hallmaster sends a new assignment for me.
Hygalia, I appreciate your concern and that you value my skills but _I_
am not happy here." He had orginally pulled out from hold-tour and
promoted to master since Weyrs had no healer available and had turned to
Hall for help.

"All right," she said, knowing that there was nothing more she could say
to make him stay. "If you have any recommendations for your
replacement, please let me know. And I will let G'nir know of your
feelings. I can't say he won't also try to come down here to convince
you to change your mind."

"He's welcome to try," Telemon replied with a small smile. He really
missed his days as travelling healer. Yes, the life had been tough and
rough and he witnessed tragedies that made him weep, but he also had a
freedom he didn't find in Weyr. The freedom to ride to see what lay behind
the next hill.
Dragonriders probably had that kind of freedom, but he was not a rider.

It was unfortunate that things worked out this way, though Hygalia could
certainly not fault him for wanting to be happy. "Well, if there is
anything I can do to make your life easier between now and when you
leave for your next assignment, please let me know."

"I shall," Telemon replied.

Last updated on the May 26th 2011

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Letter of resignation