Worth the Effort

Writers: Anika, Suzee
Date Posted: 25th November 2014

Characters: R'enh, R'taran
Description: R'taran seeks out more advice from R'enh
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 22 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Aishara

R'enh

R'taran gave a sharp knock on R'enh's office door, rethinking the
advisability of this for the umpteenth time. Generally, he did not
give overly much thought to one woman in particular over another, but
since his conversation with Aishara he'd found his mind drifting to
the greenrider more and more. Possibly because he had known her, or at
least known _of_ her prior to Impressing. Possibly because she really
was a strikingly attractive woman. Possibly because there was just
something about her positive personality. He could not explain it,
but for the first time in his life he really cared what a woman
thought of him and he did not know how to proceed.

"Come on in," R'enh called and looked up at the door to see who it
was. He pushed away the map he'd been studying and smiled when he saw
R'taran.

Entering the Weyrsecond's office without a hint of his normal
confidence, R'taran was careful to shut the door behind him. "I, ah,
thought I'd let you know that I apologized to Hinaya like you
suggested." The brownrider shifted his weight self consciously
rubbing the back of his neck.

"Oh that''s good R'taran," R'enh smiled. "Did she seem to accept it?"

"Well, she didn't throw anything at me," he quipped dryly. There was
a long pause and R'taran studied his hand, making it into a fist and
then relaxing it. He finally looked up to meet R'enh's eyes.

"I was kind of wondering, after our last talk," R'taran's voice
trailed off, not really sure how to ask what he wanted to. He inhaled
deeply and released the breath heavily before continuing. "I've never
spent too much time thinking about women, and quite frankly I haven't
really cared too much what others think of me. I'm here to care for
my dragon and fight Thread, everything else is, well, a nice extra I
guess you might say."

"That's one way to look at it," R'enh nodded. "But your life is here
now R'taran, and I'd think you'd want to put down roots and build
relationships with the people here."

"I suppose I thought, given the danger presented by Thread, it was
better not to get too close. It's easier to be detached and focus on
the job," the younger man replied. "But there might be someone, that
is, well, I might be rethinking that position. Change doesn't come
easily to me, though."

"Why do you suppose we don't marry?" R'enh tilted his head. "Or that
our children are fostered?"

"Marriage generally implies a certain level of fidelity, monogamy, to
which dragonriders cannot commit because of the needs of their
lifemates. Children are fostered in order to provide a stable
environment in which for them to grow up, given the danger their
biological parents face on a daily basis. Additionally the stringent
demands of caring for one's dragon, drills, and Thread fighting often
does not provide them enough time to attend to the needs of a child,
or children," R'taran recited almost as if it were a Harper's lesson.

"Word for word from the Harpers," R'enh smiled. He really did like
R'taren and could tell he was actually trying to understand something
that seemed very foreign to him. "So have you actually thought about
what it means?"

"It's tradition," R'taran stated, his brow furrowed. Tradition he
could understand. Tradition had always been important to him, but he
knew R'enh was asking for more than that. "It's practical," he
continued, still going with his own strengths. "It allows for riders
to do what they need to do, taking away some of the potential worries
of what Holders might consider traditional relationships."

"And it leaves you free to love while you have the time. Your life is
given in service to Pern, to protect Pern and it's people. For that
service you deserved the chance to form relationships without
depriving women and children of the support and care they would need
should you die. So, we in the Weyr live in a community that
understands these choices." He smiled gently. "Most holders don't
realize that we really do love our weyrmates and children but we do
what's best for them."

With a nod, the brownrider tried to mask his discomfiture that the
topic had turned to love, and offered his agreement to R'enh's
statement. "Holders have a way of thinking the Weyr is a den of chaos
and hedonism, with no inherent values, but I have come to see that
that's not true. Different needs have driven the adoption of very
different moral codes in Weyr and Hold. To say one is bad and one is
good is not productive. I've another problem altogether, though,
beyond that of my perspective," he added reticently. "Do you remember
telling me before that I didn't know how to talk to women?"

R'enh nodded along to the brownrider's narrative. It was good to to
see the man begin to understand their situation was far more deep than
the Holders often gave them credit for. It had taken him some time to
separate that mentality himself having been raised by a mother and
father who loved him at the Smith Hall. "I do remember," he smiled.

The Wingleader would never know how difficult it was for the typically
arrogant younger man to find the humility to ask his question. "If
one wanted to impress a particular woman, how might he go about that?"

"Find out what she likes, at least that is one way." Then he leaned
forward and looked the guy squarely in the eye. "Talk to her, but more
than that, listen to her. She's a person just like you with feelings
and needs. It would do you well to remember that."

R'taran met R'ehn's gaze and listened intently to his advice. He
considered Aishara and truly believed she would be worth the effort,
though he rather wished the bronzerider would have suggested something
easy like bringing her flowers. "Okay, I will," R'taran stated
resolutely, straightening to stand to his full height.

"Good man," R'enh winked. "Who's the lucky Lady?"

Unwilling to offer up that piece of information just yet, the
brownrider gave a shrug. "A greenrider, someone I knew prior to
coming to the Weyr," he replied as nonchalantly as he could. Granted
that was a bit of a stretch as he'd _seen_ her prior to coming to the
Weyr, not _known_ her. "Nothing may come of it, but I'd like to avoid
her launching things at me at least."

R'enh grinned and nodded. "Well I wish you luck and that she receives
your efforts well." A finger tapped lightly on the desk. "I know it's
hard to adjust your way of thinking but there _are_ women out there
who are very worth the effort."

Last updated on the November 30th 2014

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