Have a Little Talk

Writers: Chelle, Paula
Date Posted: 31st January 2013

Characters: Rhosyn, Lenala
Description: The two goldriders have another talk and Rhosyn makes a suggestion.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 12, day 4 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, M'galec

Lenala

Sitting around the table after the wing meeting was over,
Rhosyn waited till everyone else had made their way out before sitting back
and speaking to Lenala. She shoved some of her notes over to her Second
since she'd let her run the meeting, letting her know what she thought. "So,
I think the hatching went rather well. No crazy mishaps and now we have
plenty of weyrlings."

"Yes, it did, although that last little egg made me a little sad," Lenala
replied. She handed a hide scroll to the Weyrwoman. "Here's the final list
of Impressions."

"Mmm good." She put that away, intending to add it to the Records later with
the other information. Watching Lenala, she considered things as they stood.
"So how do you feel about your wing duties now?" She had been working with the
other rider for some time now and she hoped improvements were being made.

Lenala's shoulders made a little upward shrug. "It's getting easier," she said
carefully, not wanting appear as hopeless-cause.

"Good. So then which things would you like to focus on now?" From past experience,
she knew Lenala probably just wanted her to leave her alone, but Rhosyn would not-not
for the sake of the Weyr.

**Getting you off from my back,** Lenala thought but knew better than voice it. "Oh,
dealing with injured riders?" she suggested. Sick people made her usually queasy.

"Hmm is it the injury type that's the problem or something else?" She knew that as a
rider Lenala would have to deal with that sort of thing sooner or later and she would
have had rudimentary healing classes in weyrlinghood.

"I just don't like infirmaries. All those sick and injured people make me sick," **Not
to mention running into M'galec there.** She still hadn't gotten over the bronzerider.
"It's funny though, I have no trouble catching those same injured people
during the Fall or helping Vilarth to control panicking dragons while their
riders are treated," Lenala continued, realizing how irrational that dislike
for infirmary was.? But during those times, she didn't really have time to think
or feel disgusted. She just acted, following her training and some deep
running instinct to help. There was reasons why she was goldrider, although
it wasn't always so apparent.

"Well maybe you should try to build up to it some. Do the visits for the riders
that are already in their weyr. Get used to those then maybe you could go into the infirmary
more? I think it's about seeing those hurt as people instead of just someone that's hurt.
And remembering it could just as easily be you lying there." Her mind flitted
to seeing N'vanik in the infirmary.

"Maybe that's why it's so scary, it could be..." Lenala murmured uneasily.

"I think part of being a rider is accepting that as a fact of life. You could die
young in a Pass. However..most goldriders do live long, full lives compared to the rest."
Knowing that still didn't make her any less cognizant of the risks she took up in the air.

"I don't want to think about dying," *....or getting old.** Lenala said.

**That was such an immature thing she just said**
}:She has a simple mind. Patience:{
**How on Pern did she impress gold? How?**
}:Vilarth decided. I cannot say how or why but it is. Now it is our job to find out:{

"Tell me this-is the fact you don't want to think about it going to make it go away?
Everyone dies. I'm not saying think about it all the time. I'm just saying you have to
accept what is and move on." Sharing a very personal insight, Rhosyn tried it another way.
"Just like I had to accept that I would never be a polished Weyrwoman that everyone reveres."

Lenala managed not to roll her eyes. What was she, her mother?

She knew making Lenala do all the visiting duties wasn't going to help anything since
the woman had been doing them for turns and still hadn't changed her mind. And she couldn't
ask her to play nurse to one specific rider, either. Lenala was not a nurse. "I'd like you to
speak to one of the mindhealers about it. See what they say." And she'd expect a report after.

Lenala could only stare her, dumbstruck. Mindhealer? She wasn't sick and certainly not crazy!

"Don't look at me like that. They can maybe tell you a better way to deal with how you
think about things if that's what's holding you back. I don't have the experience to help you with
your confidence issues since I've never had a lack of confidence myself so it's hard for me to
understand. Dracia is very nice and harmless. Might be good for you to have someone to talk to
that you can tell everything to and not worry about it. I know you aren't going to tell
me everything." She gave her a look that said she knew reality.

"Well, if you want to, I can talk with her," Lenala promised. What else could she say, Rhosyn was
her boss. She still felt she was being patronized. But then, she was pretty much always being patronized,
so she should be used to it by now. It also tempted her to become a helpless...if they thought she
couldn't do it, why bother even try?

"Talk with her and see if it helps. If it doesn't, we'll try something else, but I think it might be a
good thing. I've maybe had a chat with her once or twice about a thing or two and she had good advice."
Standing up to get back to her office, she slung her carisak over her shoulder. "You will have all the
tools you need so there's nothing holding you back." Now she needed to think up something to test
Lenala's leadership abilities.

"Yes, m'am," Lenala managed to resist the impulse to give her a rude hand signal. Now,
that would have been very childish.

Last updated on the February 2nd 2013

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Have a Little Talk