We'll See

Writers: Avery, Mirren
Date Posted: 29th December 2015

Characters: Elona, Z'then
Description: They gossip about changes to the leadership.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 10 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: K'reyel/Erdenth, Saibra/Chioneth, Onnyth, Lissath, Sh'lua, E'zar

Z'then spotted Elona walking down the halls and fell into step beside
her. It was good to see her. He was just itching to gossip about
yesterday's Flight. "So K'reyel won Chioneth. What do you think of
that?"

"Oh, I don't even know what he looks like or anything," Elona replied.
"Do you know him? Is this a good thing?" He was a rider, she trusted
her judgment in this more than her own.

"He only came here from River Bluff at the start of the Turn. I can't
believe G'nir got ousted by him. I guess his bronze must have a real
way with the ladies," Z'then said. "First we get a new Weyrwoman, then
a new Weyrleader. It's like all of Dragonsfall's leadership is
foreign."

She frowned. "It's not a good endorsement of the local dragons then is
it? The others leaders are from here though, aren't they?"

"Onnyth was hatched here and Lissath came from her so that's good. The
Wingleader and Weyrlingmasters Second are too," he added. "Maybe
Chioneth will just pick a new bronze every time."

"That'll be disruptive, won't it?" Change wasn't a bad thing, but too
much wasn't.

"I think it would be. Just when you get used to a Weyrleader's command style, bam, another one gets in place. Makes me glad I'm in her wing."

"Have you ever though that…" She started tentatively, "maybe a flight is a strange way to choose a leader?"

"I think that all the time. I asked Juvath, and he says that it's because the queen knows what bronze is best. So maybe Erdenth has something that Dragonsfall is going to need in the future. When he puts it like that, it makes sense... but to me, Z'then, it feels...wrong."

"I'm sure he's not wrong, but I didn't think the queen chose? I mean if she did then it wouldn't matter who was fast or agile, she'd choose the same one even if he was slower. Does that make sense?" Evidently she had this all wrong.

"The fast and agile ones show theyr'e cunning enough to surprise her. But a queen's like and dislikes play into it. I mean...wouldn't you run away harder from someone you didn't like than someone you did?" he reasoned. "But Juvath hasn't chased yet, so I'm not sure I know."

Elona smiled. "I suppose I would, but I wouldn't like the leadership of the whole Weyr to rest on my opinion or who could run the fastest. What if I was wrong?"

"I hear it's happened before here," he said.

She winced. "That must have been terrible. I'm sure it'll be fine this time though." She'd find out if she ever impressed.

"Well, I hear he won at River Bluff once. So he must know something."

"Yes, I suppose so." She shrugged. "I don't suppose he needs our good will though; it's done."

"That it is. I guess we'll see how it goes," he said. "So how are you and Elonus doing?"

"Good," she replied. A pink blush crept up her cheeks. "We've been spending some time with his father."

"That's got to be important for him, right? And it's good that you're both on good terms."

"Yes, it is. Sh'lua is sweet and Elonus adores him. And vice versa of course."

"That's a good thing. I like the idea family can still work in a Weyr, even if it's different."

"It _is_ different," she agreed. "Although there are some holder men who… have other partners too."

"There was a man at our cothold. I think he had another woman. My dad never liked it, thought it made him bad at being a man. I'm reminded of that when I try to get used to the weyr's ways."

"I'm trying to get used to it, but I think I still have a way to go," she replied. "I'm…taking the teas."

He wondered why that made him feel a little funny. "That's good news - they suggest it when you Impress too, right? So it's like a head start?"

"I suppose so. It's just feels peculiar to do something so Weyr-ish, but it's nice to feel in control of _something_. You know?"

"It makes sense to me. This is something you can decide about you. It's an option you wouldn't have had at the holds."

"It probably wouldn't have mattered there," she replied. "But it does here. The expectations are different. More so for you, I'm sure."

"Now they're to fly Thread, protect people, and possibly die doing it. Then, it would have been to till the ground, grow food for people, and have children to do it all again." His voice held a wistful note.

"And I would have been cooking food, cleaning and having babies. Some of that I'm still doing here." She smiled softly. "Maybe things aren't so different for me."

"Are you happier doing that here then at the hold? Since you could, y'know, pick some of it?"

"I happier here than I would be if I went back with a son," she replied. "Before he was born- I think I was too young to really know what happiness was."

"If you'd gotten married there, would your parents have assigned you someone?" he asked, then paused. "That was a really personal question. Sorry."

"It's fine," she replied. "Yes, they were looking already. There were a couple of them, but…" She grimaced. "I'm glad we didn't end up stuck with each other."

"I wouldn't have liked being paired off without a say either," he confessed.

"Would you have been?" she asked.

"I think so. My family was very practical and stable - not the kind to tolerate fancies. They were an arranged match and did just fine, so why wouldn't we?"

She nodded. "I suppose the Weyr has its own version in mating flights. They're just not usually permanent."

"Now _that_ would be terrible," he said with a shiver. "Only the goldriders have to live with the winners for a bit and even then I guess they can ignore them."

"Not if he's Weyrleader." Since she had a small chance of impressing and pretty much zero chance of impressing gold, it wouldn't be something she'd have to deal with. Thank Faranth for that.

"True, you have to at least talk. Hey, maybe that's why G'nir lost," he mused. "Heard they were civil but that was it."

"Maybe." She shrugged. "It was for the best if that was the case, as long as the new Weyrleader isn't worse." She'd met the Weyrwoman and had liked her. She couldn't believe that Saibra would be the cause of any tension.

"I hope so. I guess we'll see if anything changes. I'll sure let you know if I find anything out."

"As long as he doesn't lower the age for candidates, or at least female ones, then I probably won't even notice," she replied lightly.

"He'd be a fool to do that. But who knows what they did over there?"

"Not me," Elona replied, suddenly feeling a clutch of flits in her belly. "You really don't think he'd do that?" she asked.

"It doesn't make sense to. Take the new bronze weyrling who's like what, 14 Turns? Not old enough for the wings yet. Having people Impress who can't join the wings seems less useful than someone older," he reassured.

"Yes, but the younger ones adjust more quickly," she pointed out. "I'll be old sooner than them and have a child to be distracted by." Sometimes she wondered why they let women stand at all, u less there was a gold egg.

"I believe that you'll be able to balance between your son and your dragon," he said.

"I think I can too," she agreed, "but I'm not leading the Weyr. Of course I can't, I'm not a man."

"Maybe you'll Impress a gold egg and be a Weyrwoman one day. Unless you don't want gold?"

Elona hesitated. "Is it wrong that…" She paused to consider her words. "I'm happy to let the dragons choose. If I was meant for green then maybe one will choose me. If a gold chooses me or none, then I suppose it was meant to be and I'll accept it. Maybe that's a cop out."

"I don't think that's wrong. Better that then having your heart set on something and not getting it."

"That's true," she agreed. "I know some girls who can't even imagine impressing a green, or not impressing at all. And they have _nothing_ to fall back on but their chores. I'm sure someone has spoken to them, but they're so sure." She'd never been that single-minded.

"They're silly. When it seemed like E'zar and I would never Impress, I made sure to have some talents. Well, mostly chore-related. But a life as a caverns worker wouldn't have been so bad."

"No, I suppose it wouldn't. I can't imagine you being like that though." She smiled. "Having a dragon suits you."

"It makes me feel more me. Less like E'zar's shadow," he admitted. "I hope this happens for you too, if it's meant to."

"I'm sure no one thought of you as his shadow," she said generously.

"I did for awhile. Now I know I'm not." But he gave her a grateful smile anyway.

"No, you're not," she agreed.

Last updated on the January 1st 2016

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