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Writers: Emma, Yvonne
Date Posted: 18th February 2006

Characters: K'sedel, Tsaera
Description: K'sedel tells Tsaera about his impending fatherhood
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 2 of Turn 3

K'sedel

K'sedel sat in his office. It had taken the whole day to sink in, he was to be a father again. And by now he was sure that news was working it's way around the Weyr. At least it was good news for once, no more deaths in a Fall. No more threat of plague.... Yes, good news for once.

But he wasn't left alone for long. A brisk knock at the door heralded Tsaera's arrival, her arms full of hides and her fingers stained with ink. "I thought I heard you come in. I wanted to discuss your Wing's flight plan - I heard you made a few changes and I want to go over them with you to see if I need to change mine as well. And I wanted to go over the report from the Beastcrafters before I talk to Garnet Valley about tithes. Do you have a moment?"

"Of course," he said. "Come in and sit down." He smiled at his Weyrwoman. She was always the practical one, those changes had been made barely a day ago and his wingriders were still studying them to make sure that they could correctly interpret them in the air when Thread fell.

"Thank you." She deposited the stack of hides on his desk before taking him up on his invitation and claiming the most comfortable of the two chairs for guests in his office. "First off - your flight plan."

"The flight plan," he echoed, reaching for a hide. "I'm going to try using the blues here," he said pointing to the diagram. "I noticed that we sometimes let through too many clumps through towards the end of the fall, so putting some more cover there seemed logical."

"Sounds fine to me." Tsaera glanced at him from the corner of her eye. K'sedel didn't look as though he was really paying attention.
"If it works it'll mean less work for my Wing. But what about mid-Fall, over here, where you had two of those blues before?" She pointed to the space on the hide indicating the previous positon of the wingriders.
"There'll be a little less coverage."

"We've got those extra greens, the class that just graduated."

"Hmmm." Personally, she thought that he was putting too much faith in untried riders, but K'sedel knew his business. She decided to make a little change in her own Wing's flight plan just in case. "If you're sure."

"I worked things out with J'an first, to make sure that it was incorporated into the drills for the weyrlings. I think they'll do just fine."

Drills weren't the same as Threadfall - the first Fall of the Pass had quickly taught them that. But it was his Wing... "I hope that you're right. I'll increase coverage below you anyway, just in case. If the new formation works out then I'll go back to how we fly now, but it won't hurt to have a little added insurance. Is everything all right, K'sedel?"

"I'm sorry, I have been a little pre-occupied haven't I," he said with a smile.

Tsaera shrugged. "It happens." And with K'sedel, preoccupation was barely noticeable unless you knew him really, really well. "Nothing serious, I hope."

"No, for once. Good news as a matter of a fact."

"Oh?"

"Ciara's pregnant."

"What?" Tsaera looked up, startled. She'd heard that her Weyrleader was seeing the greenrider, but she'd had no idea... "And you're the father?"

He nodded. A day or so to get used to the idea and it really was growing on him. The timing might not be perfect, but now... "We're happy."

"You're keeping it?"

"She wants to," he replied. "I think I could get used to the idea of fatherhood again."

Tsaera bit back the urge to lecture him on responsibility to the Weyr
- he knew better than most how a Wing was affected when a greenrider went missing. Instead she leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
"Congratulations to you both, then! A father... have you told your kids yet?"

"Not yet, we're just getting used to the idea ourselves first."

"And you're sure that this is what you want?"

"I think so," replied K'sedel. "It's taken a while to get used to the idea, but yes, I can quite see another baby."

Tsaera was quiet for a moment. "If you're sure. They _are_ a lot of work... the diapers, the crying in the night, the spitting up food and the getting sick all over the place..." Although she loved her children dearly, it had been a struggle when they were that small. She smiled.

"I'm sorry - I'm delighted for you, I really am! But I can't say that I'm envious!"

"It does seem a bit unreal still, and I'm sure I'll come back to Pern with a rather large bump soon enough," he joked.

"I'm sure," the Weyrwoman said dryly. Then she smiled. "Enjoy the 'golden' period while you can. And in that vein- what are you doing locked up alone in your office, K'sedel? I can talk to you about flight plans and beasties tomorrow. Go spend the evening with your mother-to-be."

"Yes ma'am!" he said with a smile.

Last updated on the February 19th 2006

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