Leaving the Nest

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 4th March 2019

Characters: T'ner, Reven
Description: Tener seeks counsel from his brother Reven one last time.
Location: Green Valley Hold
Date: month 10, day 1 of Turn 9

Reven

Tener reached up to open the door, but his hand froze. How many times had he opened that door? But now it seemed somehow different. Heavier. There were so many people he needed to discuss this with before it could become real. After having spoken to his wife, his brother was next most important. He was a grown man now and did not absolutely need his parents' approval. Not to say he would not ask for it.

This was something out of the ordinary. Something he had never even considered could happen. But now that it was happening – *might* be happening – it seemed like it was just the stroke of luck he needed. He was never going to be promoted at the hold now, not after Aymon had taken over the smithy. The man had it out for him in a way that reminded him daily that everyone knew the truth when it came to why he and Ayressa had been married. He was simply the only one at Green Valley to hold it so firmly against him.

Well, now he had a chance for both he and his wife to further their careers. And Ayressa had been in tentative agreement, agreement in principle, that it was the best thing for them. That it was an opportunity that may never come again.

And now, Tener reviewed again what he meant to say to Reven. What he thought might convince him to give his blessing.

He opened the door and walked inside.

"Reven? Do you have a minute?"

Reven looked up at the younger version of himself with a smile he reserved only for his siblings, "Of course I do. Make yourself comfortable." The Green Valley holder slouched back in his chair a bit, getting comfortable as he studied the slightly pinched expression on his youngest brother's face. "I can't decide if this is good news or bad... Or both."

"Both, maybe," Tener agreed, nodding. The smile set him at ease, and he appreciated it. He sat down and took a deep breath.

"Alright, I'll get right to it. I'm sure you talked to the Searcher from the Weyr." There was no way a dragonrider had come to the hold without speaking to Reven, was there? "The dragon said I... That I'd be good for a dragon. I could ride."

He held up a hand, certain that he could answer at least a few objections before they were made.

"I already talked to Ayressa about it, and... Well, she's already had to move away from her family. And I'm not getting anywhere in the smithy here, not any more. We... We thought that we could use this as an opportunity. I could be promoted at the Weyr. I'd have a chance at making master someday." From the sound of it, Tener thought it rather unlikely that he actually would Impress.

"We'll be able to make a fresh start. In a place where nobody knows how we ended up together. And probably wouldn't care if they did."

For a moment Reven blinked and he could see Coran sitting in that same chair, telling him the same thing, that he was taking Relea and their daughter Corlea to Jade Harbor, and then he blinked again, and it was Renette telling him that she wanted to practice her craft at River Bluff. Now it was Tener's turn. Would all of his siblings leave Green Valley? There was still Rayell, his youngest sister, but at thirteen how much longer would it be before someone was considering her for marriage?

Reven exhaled loudly, much the same way he had when Coran and Renette had told him the same thing. "If I were in your situation, I would be taking the same risk. A new place, new opportunities. I think it's a bold decision to make for your family, Ten," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. It was good to see his brother was growing up.

Tener was relieved to hear Reven's answer, but there was still some measure of guilt gnawing at the pit of his stomach. That breath. Tener knew the others had gone away. Reven had been gone before, and then he came back. They all had stayed before, and now they were all leaving. Tener would still be staying if it had not been for...

But no. He refused to regret his son. Not now. He loved the boy more than anyone else. And he deserved to grow up somewhere without that weight of where he came from on his shoulders as much as Tener and Ayressa deserved to be free of it. No, he deserved it more.

"And just think. If I do have a dragon all my own, we can just close our eyes and when we open them, we'll be back here, j..." Tener had been about to say just like they never left. But it would be different. Everything would go on without them here, and they would go on without the hold. "Just a moment away," he amended.

"And... well, I'll be fighting for you up there." Dread at that thought sank into the pit of his stomach again. That was something he had avoided thinking about on his own, but Ayressa had been quick to point it out as a possibility. But now, Tener was glad to have that thought, terrifying as it was, to keep him somehow linked back to Green Valley. He would be protecting his old home from Thread. And that was a duty worth fulfilling.

Assuming he Impressed, of course. He probably would not.

"Don't remind me of that," Reven groaned, although there was a hint of a smile about his mouth. "Definitely don't say that to mother, she'll worry to death every day." The holder leaned forward in his chair, "Listen, when you go to the Weyr, don't look back. You've got to make a life for yourself. I've made mine here, it is where I belong, and now you and Ayressa need to create a place where you belong. If it's at Dolphin Cove, then I will be proud to say I have a dragonrider for a brother."

Tener sat quietly for a moment, absorbing that advice. 'Don't look back.' It almost felt as though he could feel those words cut something inside him. It felt both like a wound and like the loosing of a fetter. This was his permission to go. Was that not what he wanted?

"I'll be sure not to bring that part up," he agreed, forcing a chuckle. Should he stand up? Hug? Would that make it seem that he was trying to leave already? To the contrary, he would prefer to stay as long as he could manage. Leaving meant it *was* time to tell their parents what he and Ayressa had decided.

"I will come back," he insisted. "If only so I can see my niece, and mother and father can see their grandson." He smiled. "But I hear you. I'll make Dolphin Cove our new home."

"Good," Reven stood and came around his desk to wrap his arms around his brother and clap him on the back. "I'm proud of you, Tener."

Tener embraced his brother tightly. He let out a shuddering breath, moved by that pride.

"Thanks, Rev," he said. He had come a long way in a Turn from the boy who had been so reckless. Well, he hoped he had. This felt like it could be just as risky if not just as stupid. But Reven certainly had not said he was proud of Tener then.

If Reven could be proud of him now, then Tener knew he must be making the right decision.

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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Leaving the Nest