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Alphabet Soup

Writers: DL
Date Posted: 14th August 2011

Characters: S'ryad
Description: Learning to share a mind
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 1 of Turn 6


Eldoranth loved watching the world through S'ryad's eyes. His rider was
always thinking, observing, remembering something. Always _doing_ something.
Eldoranth couldn't wait to keep up with him. Being small and newly hatched,
the dragon couldn't run and he tired easily, so he liked watching what his
rider was doing because it felt like he was getting to explore the world as
well.

}: What are you doing? :{ Eldoranth asked, noting that S'ryad had been
hunched over some pale items for some time now and was doing...something
with one of his hands.

S'ryad jumped. "I forgot you were there," he said with a slight laugh.

}: I'm always here, :{ Eldoranth reminded him.

"I know," S'ryad replied, grinning at his lifemate over the parchments. "I'm
just not used to it yet." Eldoranth blinked ultramarine eyes at him. S'ryad
reached over to scratch his nose. "I thought you were sleeping."

}: I was. But now I'm awake. I'm getting hungry again. Can I eat that? :{

"Eat what?"

}: Those white things. :{

"The parchments? Oh, no. Those'll taste terrible, trust me."

}: Then what are you doing with them if you can't eat them? :{

S'ryad shifted to show his dragon the vellums scrawled with his notes.
Eldoranth angled his head to peer at them with whirling facets. }: What _is_
it? :{ he asked.

"It's my notes. From weyrlings classes," S'ryad explained. "It's called
writing. Humans do it to record things we don't always remember."

Eldoranth looked up at his rider and blinked. S'ryad got the distinct
impression that the dragon didn't understand the concept of memory, almost
as if S'ryad momentarily had his scope of the future and the past limited to
just the recent candlemarks.

"Wow, that's weird," he whispered, shaking his head. He _knew_ he had more
memories but for a moment, he couldn't even recall what a memory was! "Okay,
wait. Let me explain," he said to Eldoranth.

}: Okay. :{

S'ryad dug into his recent memory and pulled up the memory of when he had
been Searched: the dragon trying to approach him in the fields, nearly
trampling the tiny green plants, his father yelling at him.

}: What is that?! :{ Eldoranth asked, his eyes whirling in slight panic.

"That's a memory. That was the day I was Searched."

}: That was not today? :{ the dragon asked.

"No, that was sevendays ago. Back at the Hold."

}: So if you remember that, why do you need to write it down? :{

"Because I don't remember _everything_. I forget some things. So I write it
down to remind myself of concepts, words, rules, ideas, information -
whatever I think I may need to know. Especially as a weyrling."

Eldoranth's wings drooped. }: This is confusing. And now I'm hungry. Can we
go eat? Or do you need to write more so you won't forget more? :{

"I'm good. I was almost done anyway," S'ryad said, shuffling the hides into
a stack. "We can get you fed and I'll write the rest later."

}: Can you teach me how to write? :{ Eldoranth asked.

"Um...we can try," S'ryad said with a laugh. "But you won't remember the
alphabet the next day."

}: What's an alphabet? Can I eat that? :{

Last updated on the September 2nd 2011


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