You Did Well

Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 5th June 2014

Characters: Riveenata, Thereenata, Thereven, Veneena, Selyna
Description: Riven gets congratulations from family and friends.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 22 of Turn 7

Savith had finished eating as much as she wanted, and was curled up on the couch looking tired. Riven wasn't quite sure what to do now. Some of the other newly-Impressed weyrlings were unpacking their trunks. Others were chatting with each other, or talking to their dragonets, or getting changed for the feast. That sight reminded her that she didn't have her clothes or her things - it wasn't like she had a convenient trunk to be rescued from the candidate barracks and carried over, like most of them.

She could go get them later. Right now, she was holding Savith in her lap and indulging in their bond, thinking how lucky she was to have her precious green.

}:What was it like before me?:{ Savith asked her.

"I had been waiting for a long time, and then I didn't think it was going to happen, so I stopped waiting."

Savith seemed to consider that, and Riven felt an odd sensation and some memories bubble up. Finally, her dragon spoke again. }:You had to wait a very long time and it made you sad?:{

"Very sad," Riven said, hugging the little green head against her chest. "I thought I would be alone forever."

}:Dragons are lucky to find ours when we Hatch, and not have to wait like you did.:{ the little green decided.

"Yes," Riven said, and sat there holding her.

"What's your little surprise called?" a voice asked from behind her.

Riven turned her head and smiled at her friend, but she found that she couldn't stand with her dragonet in her lap. "Savith, could I get up?"

Savith grumbled but pushed herself up. Riven helped settle her onto the sleeping area first, then turned around.

Her friend Selyna stood there. Short and dark-skinned, they'd grown up together and become pretty close friends. Sel had kept Standing even after Riven dropped out, and this had been one of her last chances. Riven liked the idea they'd be clutchmates together.

"You two were some of the first, right?"

"Jalath was the second green to hatch," Selyna said proudly, her face lit up as she pointed at the soundly-napping green a few beds down. "How does it feel to be the oldest one in the class? We're all going to be calling you old lady," she added.

Riven laughed. "I guess that's true."

}:What is that supposed to mean?:{ Savith asked, puzzlement in her tone.

"It would be a nickname," Riven answered aloud, then shook her head. "Sorry."

"I get it. I haven't figured out how much of my thinking she can hear," Selyna said. "I'm going to go get food. You'll be there?"

"Once Savith settles and I find some new clothes." There was a reason not to wear nice clothing onto the Sands. The rush down there and the claws of her dragonet meant that her lovely green skirt was now shredded and not suitable to go out in.

Selyna wrinkled her nose. "Good luck with that. I'll save you a bubbly," she promised before heading off with a couple other members of their brand new weyrling class.

Riven waved them off and then went back to rubbing Savith's headknobs. She hadn't really gotten to experience the joy of bonding with her lifemate yet - not with struggling down to the Sands, then having to work with Y'gel to feed her and make sure she was alright. This was the first moment for the two of them to savor learning about each other.

What was her lifemate like? She knew from the relentless search for her that she was determined, relentless, and insistent. A strong mind, even if her body was small and fragile. Riven could tell she would have her hands full.

}:I will be good for you,:{ Savith told her. }:You could do so much better, and together we will.:{

Riven laughed at the mental image Savith sent her - the pair of them as giants, towering above others around them, who looked up with great respect.

She was broken out of that reverie by her parents arriving.

"Can we say hello?" her father asked.

"Of course you can! Savith, can they touch you?"

The green raised her head to eye the newcomers and let out a small whuff.

}:I guess.:{ But her tone was unconvinced.

"She doesn't sound enthusiastic," Riven apologized.

"Then we'll just admire her. You're very pretty, dear," her father said, leaning over to see her coloration.

"You go, sis," her brother said as he pounded on her back.

"I am so proud of you," her mother said as she hugged her. "When Veyth said that the little one was looking in the stands I thought of you immediately."

"You certainly gave the Holder crowd a show," her dad said. "How does that feel?"

"Oh...they're all going to talk about us now." Riven hadn't really thought through the fact that the dramatics would have caught the attention of others.

"They are, and then we can say how proud we are of you."

}:They should, we are the best.:{

She blushed. "Savith says we're the best," she told her folks.

"Well, she's right," her father said, patting her shoulder.

"I have something for you," her sister said, once all of the commentary died down. She extended a bag. "Because I saw her tear your dress."

Riven ran it through her fingers. It was definitely one of her sister's dresses - it had thin halter straps and a deep v neck, and it was in a soft brown fabric that flowed after the waist. It wasn't anything she would have chosen for herself, but she had to admit it would be eye-catching on her. "Thank you," she said.

"We'll go pack up your old quarters while you get Savith to sleep," Thereenata suggested.

"That would be good," she said as they left. Now, if only Savith would go to sleep so she could eat...

Last updated on the June 15th 2014

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You Did Well