Tipping Point

Writers: Clancey, Miriah
Date Posted: 2nd June 2014

Characters: J'darin, Ninaine
Description: J'darin tries to talk to Ninaine about Luneth's behavior and the worst happens.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 2 of Turn 7
Notes: Part 1 of 2

J'darin

Ninaine

Ninaine watched as several of her peers wandered outside in the
evening air, but stayed behind. She didn't make an effort to join them
and there were no offers, not that she expected any. Luneth didn't
play well with others and after the first time she nipped a blue for
getting too close, Ninaine had kept her back. Luneth didn't complain,
however. She preferred her solitary time with Ninaine. It seems as
though that was all she wanted. Ninaine stroked the little green's
freshly oiled hide, but the sound of footsteps made her pause. She
stopped and looked over her shoulder.

It was late, well after dinner, and the weyrlings all had free time.
Something had been bothering him, though, and despite not wanting to
leave her _again_, he had left Devyn in their weyr and gone down to
the bowl. Hasaarth said he thought the "something bothering him"
culprit was in the barracks, not outside with the rest of the
hatchlings.

J'darin stepped into the barracks, finding it empty as he expected,
except for one green pair. When Ninaine turned around to look at
him, he took a couple of steps toward them, and said softly, "Ninaine,
good evening. Good evening, Luneth. " He added, addressing her
dragon. She could act up all she wanted, but he would continue to
strive to show _both_ of them they had people who cared for them here
in the Weyr. "Why aren't you two out enjoying this beautiful night?
Or is it the beautiful peace and quiet you like?" He smiled. Start
slow, see if she will tell him.

If she wouldn't confess, he would force her to talk it through. But
he wanted her to get a chance to talk to him. Thats why he was here,
after all.

Ninaine rose immediately and dipped a quick curtsy to J'darin in
greeting. Luneth watched and pressed a little closer to Ninaine, her
eyes whirling slowly. He wasn't close enough to disturb Luneth, but
there was little doubt, Ninaine thought, that Luneth was watching him
closely. The tip of her tail twitched, just enough to show her
annoyance that their quiet time had been interrupted. "Good evening,
sir." She glanced down at Luneth and then back up. "We'd rather be
inside where its quiet."

J'darin smiled at the young woman, and crossed his arms, leaning
casually against the door frame. He didn't come any closer.. yet.
"I understand that completely! I like the peace and quiet myself,
sometimes." He paused, considering. She clearly wasn't going to
volunteer anything, or she would have sought out one of his staff, if
not him, before now. He decided to give her one more chance.
"Ninaine... I also did want to speak to you about how you think your
training is coming. Did you have questions, or needs? Is there
something I can do to help you?" If she did not speak up after
this,, he would have to make her. They needed to stop the
protectiveness that was becoming more and more pronounced while Luneth
was young... the older she got, he harder it would be change her
behavior. It was going to become dangerous not just to Ninaine and
Luneth, but their future wingmates.

Ninaine sat back down and Luneth immediately laid her head in
Ninaine's lap. Automatically, Ninaine's fingers stroked the brow
ridges and along the headknobs, the motion having become instinctual
in the short time they had been together. "It's going well. The
classes are...different than I expected, and sometimes they're
uncomfortable, but I suppose it's what I must do now. " Her fingers
stroked steadily over the hide, and she shook her head at the next
question. "I was told the Weyr would provide for my needs, but so far
I've only needed a pair of boots and trousers." Her nose wrinkled at
the last. She'd not worn them yet and didn't like the thought of
wearing pants. They showed too much, to her mind. "My
slippers...well...they weren't made for this sort of work. "

J'darin smiled at her nose wrinkling, very much reminded of his
upbringing and all the "eligible ladies' his father had traipsed in
front of him, even before he was 18. At 18, he'd gone to the Weyr and
that had been the end of the "ladies". His father would never have
suggested a dragonrider marry a proper woman.

"You will find boots most welcome here, lass. Its gets very cold in
the winter. We have blizzards and all sorts of wonderful snow
storms. Your slippers would not be good for that either! Never
mind the dust and char from firestone and ashed Thread once you do
start to fly in a Wing." He continued on, commenting on her other
statements. "I'm sorry you're uncomfortable. The classes are meant
to help you adjust at your own pace, but please ask me or one of my
staff for help if you need it. We want you to be happy here,
NInaine. All of us do." He added, though he knew she'd heard it,
"That is all part of what training is about, helping those who are
unfamiliar with Weyr life adjust. Never mind suddenly having
another person in your head all the time!" He peered at the pair for
another long moment. She was not talking about her other issues, it
appeared. Well, no help for it. It was past time he had this
conversation with her, though he had not been looking forward to it.
He was so afraid it would close her up worse.

"Lass, Ninaine... there is something else I need to talk with you
about, and its pretty important." He paused and stood up from his
lean. "I'd like to come sit down near you, so you're going to need
to make Luneth obey. If she bites me, Hasaarth will be very angry
and he's very much bigger than her. He wouldn't hurt her, but he
might .. ahh.. shake her. I'm not going to hurt you, and she needs
to understand that, alright?"

:} I will try not to hurt her but I will be very angry. She will not
like it. She will not bite you. :{

He waited, though, and didn't move right away. He would wait for
the inevitable tension and avoidance that he knew was coming. And he
would wait for her to speak to her green. She was nothing if not
excellent at following orders.

He finally stopped talking for a moment, then added. "I know you are
trying. And I know you want the best for her. I want the best for
you. I'm here to help you. I have some ideas that may help you go
faster with Luneth, but before I suggest anything, I wanted to talk to
you. Its very serious, and will soon become dangerous, and we do
not want that for either of you. For Luneth to learn to not be so
protective, _you_ are going to have to stop being so protective and
let a few of us close enough to help. " He thought of Yanley's
example, and offered it as a good one. "If a friend wants to hug
you, you should let them, so Luneth can learn from that experience
that sometimes, people do just want the best for you. Not all
people, but that is where learning comes into play. And time. I am
not saying change who you are, but for the sake of your dragon, and
yourself, you must learn to ... adapt... to a few things."

When he began speaking, Ninaine immediately stiffened. Was it that
obvious? It was true. She was miserable. She hated the Weyr.
Sometimes, when Luneth was sleeping, she let herself regret ever
agreeing to leave her home. But those were fleeting thoughts; now that
she had Luneth, she couldn't imagine life without her, even as
temperamental as the little green was. It was a constant challenge to
control the green's mercurial emotions during classes and throughout
the rest of the day. But it, she had to admit, allow her to keep her
mind away from the more dismal thoughts of what the future for them
both would be. But she hadn't realized that her outer façade of calm
had been so easily pierced. It was something she had to work on,
apparently.

As J'darin began speaking of mating flights and bed hopping her face
flamed in embarrassment. This was not something that a man should be
speaking to her about! It was improper, it was out of place and…she
looked away from him. And she didn't want to think about it. It was
bad enough to know that she would be expected, if not forced, to do
those things out of a proper arrangement like marriage without it
being thrust further in her face.

She looked down at Luneth and her hand stroked the soft hide. Part of
her didn't want to scold Luneth for being so protective. It made sure
she was left alone. She'd never had many friends and wasn't seeking
them now. She was perfectly fine being left alone. She didn't look up
at J'darin. "I've kept her from biting anyone. And I don't mind being
alone so much. What if I don't want hugs?" She finally looked up at
him. "What if I want to be left alone?"

Luneth's tail began to flick side to side in displeasure. }: He is
upsetting you. Can I bite him now? Let me bite him. I don't like it. I
do not like him. I don't like the way you are thinking. I _do not
_like it! :{ Ninaine was able to shush her before much a hiss
emerged.

J'darin eyed the little green again, watching her tail flick. He was
going to let Hasaarth at her if she kept it up; the bronze was
already aggravated when she didn't listen.

He watched Ninaine and when she finally looked at him, he shook his
head. "I am not saying you have to have hugs. I'm not even saying
you have to have friends. If you don't want to make friends with
anyone, its your loss. You can insist on being alone all you want
and because this is the Weyr, we will honor that wish. What I am
saying to you is this: You cannot continue to "keep " Luneth from
biting people. She needs to stop the protective behavior or she, or
you, are going to get hurt. When you start flying drills, your
wingmates will be counting on you. You will have to learn to work
as a team. Not just with each other, but with the other riders.
Neither her behavior, or yours, will allow that to happen in its
current state. But she is still young, and there is still time to
help her, and help you."

He went on, slightly more serious. "If you get hurt, or if she gets
hurt, Healers are going to have to be able to work on you without
being in fear of their lives. And if you are hurt and can't control
her, it will not be good. You don't have to have friends, Ninaine.
Shards, I have only a handful of people I would consider friends
myself. But you do have to be part of a team and your dragon and you
need to stop acting like we are all going to hurt you. We are not.
" He was not sure why she wouldn't even give anyone a _chance_ to
treat her differently than she expected.

"We have two jobs at the Weyr that we must perform flawlessly - one is
caring for our dragons. You have no problem with that, and you care
for Luneth beyond what anyone could ask. But our second job is to
fly in Wings with other riders and fight Thread. Not alone -
together. " He would leave the topic of mating flights for now, but he
didn't know how he would ever convince her that it was alright.

"I want you to work with her. I want her to learn to be on her own.
I want her to stop the protective behavior. She will soon have to
learn to eat on her own. Will she want to part with you long enough
to eat? No one is going to hunt for her once she is big enough.
Eventually, you will be tasked with elevator duty and transport duty.
Will she let anyone that close to you? never mind on her back? " He
paused.

"We all want you to be happy here. All of us. We will do our part
to help you by leaving you alone _when we can_. " He emphasized the
last words to show that they could not always leave her alone. Not
always. "I am speaking to you now because the sooner you start with
her, the easier it will be. The older she gets, the harder it will
be for both of you. Its already hard enough, that much is clear.
I do not want it to be harder still for you."

He finished by offering her the only help he thought would work. "If
you would like, I can assign you an older greenrider to work with, to
help you adjust, and to help her. If you like."

She didn't like anything he was saying and she turned away. Though
Ninaine didn't like it, she knew full well it was the truth. Her
shoulders slumped for a moment and her eyes closed. It was best for
Luneth, to make sure she didn't get hurt and to make sure she could be
normal. And he outranked her. Despite the calm words, she knew that
several of them were not so much requests, but orders, though spoken
gently and well meaning. She would have to do what she was told. It
wasn't a choice, it was a necessity.

}: I like the way I am. :{ Luneth chimed in as her thoughts paused and
the little green's tail flicked more rapidly back and forth, becoming
a whiplash of irritation and upset. }: Why is he trying to make you
let me be on my own? I don't _want_ to be on my own! I want you with
me! He's trying to take you away! :{ The little green suddenly
shrieked and dove at J'darin, snapping her teeth and lashing out with
delicate talons.

Last updated on the June 18th 2014

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Tipping Point