I Have Enough

Writers: Yvonne
Date Posted: 3rd January 2014

Characters: Tsaera, F'lin
Description: Tsaera returns to River Bluff Weyr.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 5, day 1 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Rhosyn, Lenala, K'sedel, Ciara, U'das, Solieira

For good or ill, here she was.

Tsaera sent the weyrling off with her thanks for moving her trunks and turned to examine her new weyr with a critical eye. New, temporary weyr. It wasn't as large nor as luxurious as her weyr in the north, or as nice as the one she'd given up at River Bluff, but it was perfectly serviceable. There was a small reading nook with a comfortable chair and a desk, an airy bedroom with white plastered walls and a long tunnel of a window to the outside, a small inner sitting room with a table to dine at and a larger sitting room that opened onto Tabanirth's ledge. The goldrider would have preferred to be higher up the cliff to better enjoy the ocean breeze, but this would do.

Briefly she wondered if Rhosyn would come to greet her, but then decided she probably wouldn't-they would meet the next day to discuss the Wing, and Rhosyn would likely want to give her time to get settled. K'sedel and Ciara might come visit, though, or Sol or U'das. In the meantime, she would unpack.

The goldrider hadn't brought much-a trunk full of clothing and a few books, her flamethrower, a favorite blanket and wall hanging to make the weyr more like home. She took the time to hang her clothes in the wardrobe and fold whatever didn't get hung into a dresser. The blanket she shook out over the bed, although it would likely be too warm and end up covering a couch. She'd just stopped to help herself to the jug of water Sol had left for her when there was a knock at the door. "Come in," she called.

The bronzerider who entered was tall, lanky, and grinning from ear to ear. He crossed the floor in three long strides, picked her up and swung her around twice before setting her back on her feet and planting a kiss on her cheek. "Welcome back, Grandma!"

"F'lin." Tsaera smiled and cupped his face in her hands. "You've certainly grown up since the last time I saw you."

He smiled, not sure what to say about that. "How was the journey? Did someone come help you?"

"Rhosyn sent a weyrling to move my things," Tsaera said. "And I didn't bring much."

F'lin took at step back to survey the weyr. Sturdy, functional furniture, bare walls, and no books. Tsaera wasn't much for ornament, but even for her this was unusually bare. "Solieira couldn't get you higher?"

"I'm sure she would have if she could. Water?" When F'lin nodded, she poured a glass from the copper jug and handed it to him. "I'll only be here for a little while, just until Rhosyn and Lenala are back in the air."

"I know. I just hoped you'd stick around for a little longer," F'lin said. He followed her through her weyr and out into the sitting room on Tabanirth's ledge. The gold dragon had already stretched out across the ledge but Seneth was precariously balanced on one edge. The two dragons turned their heads to watch them settle themselves, and Tabanirth rumbled a greeting to F'lin, who bowed his head in return. "I missed having you around," he told Tsaera once he'd settled into the couch.

The goldrider snorted. "That is the first and only time a young man on Pern has missed having his grandmother living nearby."

"It's true though. It's been weird without having you as Weyrwoman."

"I'm not Weyrwoman any longer," she said as she sat. It sounded funny to her ears, just as funny as the knots she put on each morning. "Rhosyn is."

"I know. But I'd rather have you," F'lin said.

Tsaera snorted again, although she was oddly touched. "Flatterer."

"You bet!" the bronzerider said brightly. "So do you think you'll like being back at River Bluff?"

The goldrider paused. The correct answer was the easiest, but F'lin was family. "I'm not sure," she said after a moment. "It's odd being here without it being _my_ Weyr. I don't intend to stay after my usefulness to the Wing is over. I suspect that it will be good for the Weyr in the long run. And I'm retired. I'm not sure that I could retire here without feeling as if I should be working."

"Maybe that's not a bad thing, if you started working again. You're _bored_." F'lin grinned when she shot him a sharp look. "You are. Both Mum and Aunt Neasale say it. Even Crafting again isn't keeping you interested."

"The Minecraft is better suited to someone younger or able to take on apprentices. And you shouldn't gossip about your elders," she told him.

F'lin shrugged. "You are bored though. What do you do all day?"

Tsaera pursed her lips. F'lin was right, although she'd never admit it. She _was_ bored. Retiring in the middle of a Pass wasn't a luxury most dragonriders had, not unless they were physically injured or otherwise unable to fly. That she was fit and sharp and banished from a fighting Wing rankled. The only thing wrong with them was age and Tabanirth's inability to rise but Pern was an indifferent world. No matter how hard she'd worked or what good she'd done, a goldrider's value rested in her dragon's ability to reproduce. Once that ended, Tsaera was consigned to the dustbin until she was needed to clean up another goldrider's mistakes. Pern belonged to the young.

Briefly she felt a pang of loss for G'lanet, her weyrmate. They were supposed to have grown old together. This wasn't the way her story should end.

"Apparently I get harangued by a bronzerider a third my age," she said, hiding her melancholy. "A bronzerider who should be helping me decorate. I have a hanging I want to go up and you're tall enough to help me."

F'lin rolled his eyes. "I take back what I said about missing you." Tsaera raised an eyebrow, and he sighed. "I'll go find a hammer."

"Good lad," she told him. Useless or not, at least she still had her children and grandchildren. She had her dragon, her Craft, and her health.

And since that is what she had, it would be enough.

Last updated on the January 15th 2014

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I Have Enough