A Silver Lining

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 26th February 2019

Characters: Tarley, Erivana
Description: Erivana catches up with her clutchmate.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 9, day 28 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Saibra, K'reyel, Ma'din, K'yne, Kaibren

}:Monicath! Monicath, play in the lake with me,:{ Seryth said when she
spotted her green clutch mate coming down to the water.

Erivana waved at Tarley, her brush dropping water as she did so.

"How are you?" Tarley asked as Monicath plowed into the water at full speed.

Erivana winced visibly at the question and decided not to plunge right
into the true answer. "It's been pretty busy adjusting to the wings."

"Agreed," Tarley sighed as she put a hand to her neck and rolled her
head to try and release some of the tensed up muscles. "What's it like
having the Weyrwoman as your Wingleader?"

"It's so intimidating. I thought having the Weyrleader would be the
worst, but this is just as bad. I was kind of hoping to be, well,
overlooked a little..." her voice trailed off. "It's not that Saibra's
unfair or hard. She's not like Rhosyn was, I mean. But she's polished
and confident and it makes me nervous, is all."

Tarley made a sympathetic sound. "I have to admit having K'reyel as a
Wingleader isn't bad, he's very fair and even though he has high
expectations he's not rude or mean about it." Then she cut her eyes at
her clutchmate, "Although, having my first flight won by Ma'din was
another story."

"Ma'din? Really? How'd that go?" Erivana's eyes widened.

"Let's just say I had several bruises and a couple of bitemarks in
_real_ interesting places," Tarley shuddered a little, although she
wasn't sure if it was good or bad. "What about you? Who won your first
flight again?"

"Did it hurt you at all? I mean, you've had relationships with people
beforehand, right? So had any marks been left before?" She probably
revealed her inexperience with those questions.

Erivana looked down and scuffed at the ground with her toes, a clear
sign something was bothering her. "I wasn't hoping for anyone so
Arinoth just outflew the rest. K'yne was pretty polite, after."

"I am by no means a virgin, but I've never had so many marks left
before. He was..." she tried to search for the right word, "_very_
enthusiastic." And even that was putting it mildly. "Polite is good,"
Tarley agreed, "that's really all you can ask for from a flight, isn't
it?"

"Yeah." She shuffled again. "I might have to see him more, though."

"Why is that?" Tarley asked.

"The Healer's say I'm pregnant..." her voice trailed off. "I wasn't
thinking about the teas during weyrlinghood, we were so busy and I
wasn't having my cycle anyway..."

Tarley's eyebrows shot up into her hairline, "Oh, Erivana! I can't
even imagine.... I mean, I know it's not that uncommon. I just can't
imagine having a baby. I still feel like a kid myself sometimes."

"That's how I feel," she blurted out. "I mean, weyrlinghood was so
busy. Taking care of Seryth was like taking care of a baby, right? And
I had to learn to be a rider and all this stuff. Now I'm settling into
the wings, we _just_ graduated, and..."

"What are you going to do?" Tarley asked, not sure what decision she
would make.... Actually, if she found out she was pregnant from her
flight with Ma'din she thought she _knew_ exactly what she would do.

Another moment of fidgeting, this time with the brush. "I don't know.
It's not like we were weyrmates and I was _trying_ for a baby. The
easiest thing would be to go /between/ and let my life go on. But..."
Her hand drifted down to cover her belly.

"But?" Tarley prompted softly.

"I just remember everything my mother said about how special being
pregnant with me was and how she didn't mind balancing her craft and
her dragon with raising me. I know she did it Before Thread," which
seemed like a wildly different time. "When you could easily do that,
have your child with you more often versus having to foster so soon
after."

"Did you see yourself wanting a kid someday? I mean, before you knew
you were pregnant?" Tarley had the urge to leave the conversation as
soon as it was over and go to her weyr and recheck her tea supply,
even though she had always been very meticulous about taking it.

"I thought about it a lot when I thought I was going to time out of
Impressing. Whether I'd stick out being a dragonhealer knowing I
couldn't ever advance past apprentice and just be the best apprentice
I could be, or whether I'd switch tracks. Maybe go into the fostering
creches."

"I guess that is the good part about living at the Weyr. If you have
the baby all of the responsibility of caring for it doesn't fall to
you. If you have it and decide you don't have time a foster mother in
the creche will take him or her in. Or if you have the baby and decide
you do want to make time around duties, they'll be there to support
you for that too." It was a lot better than being at the Hold, that
was for sure, she thought. "What does K'yne have to say about it?"

"Right, it's not my whole life forever. And I thought I'd enjoy
fostering if I had to do that."

She cleared her throat. "He said he'd support whatever I choose to do,
and be there for me. That he never had a chance to be a father but he
wasn't opposed."

Tarley watched as Monicath playfully lifted a wing, sending a
splashing wave against Seryth, "You going to tell your mom?"

"I know what she'll say. She'll tell me to keep it. She's still
so...so holdbred and conservative."

"Is it weird that it's K'yne? Cause you know, how he is with the
Weyrwoman and she's your Wingleader and everything?"

"What do you mean?" Erivana asked.

"There's rumors about him, like he's in love with Saibra or something.
When he has free time he's with her son, Kaibren, a lot." Tarley
explained.

"Huh. Well. He said that he didn't have anyone else to consult about
the decision..."

Tarley shrugged, "I don't know, it's just gossip, you know."

"Maybe he really wants a son of his own and that's why he mentors Kaibren,"
she mused aloud.

"I've heard Kaibren call him "uncle"? And they do favor, sort of. So
maybe they really are related? I'm not sure, but I guess it doesn't
matter. It's just good to know that he _does_ seem to like kids, so he
probably would be a good a father?"

"That would make it easier. If I'm going to do this, I want the father
to be involved, too. A child should be brought into the world because
everyone wants it. Not just because it's good to pass on rider
bloodlines."

"You're right," Tarley agreed. "Well, good luck, whatever you decide."

"Thank you. I'll let you know." She paused, then said, with a laugh,
"Hey, at least I don't have to move wings."

"A silver lining!" Tarley laughed.

Last updated on the March 3rd 2019

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A Silver Lining