Difficult Conversations

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 7th November 2020

Characters: R'fal, Terren
Description: R'fal tries to speak to his father about his behaviour in the Infirmary
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 9 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Urlene
Follows DCW: Spoiled Expectations

By the time he'd finished his duties with the dragonhealers, R'fal had
been due for a sweepride, deep in the south of the Weyr's territory in
the mountains. Though not as far as the part that belonged to Emerald
Falls Hold, where the mines were located. He'd noticed that he'd not
been assigned to that area since he'd confessed to his illicit visit,
and wondered if the Weyrleader had spoken to his Wingleader.

Nevertheless, there was still plenty of frozen, mountainous land to
cover outside that Hold. By the time he'd returned, seen that Marlath
was settled and warmed himself up in one of the hot bathing pools, it
was nearing dinner time. He hurried up the many flights of back stairs
to his clifftop weyr, hoping that he'd find his father there and he
hadn't already gone down to dine. He wanted to have this conversation in
private, not with half the Weyr around them.

Well, he didn't actually want to have this conversation at all, he
thought as he pushed open the door, feeling his stomach churn with
embarrassment. But it had to be done, and it was best done quickly.
Before it happened again.

"Da?" he called.

"In here." His father's voice sounded pained. On his arrival at the
Weyr, R'fal had given up the bed in the alcove where he usually slept to
Terren, choosing to sleep with Marlath in the dragon's couch instead. Up
here on the coast it was still warm enough to do so, and though it
wasn't as soft, the closeness to his lifemate was a comfort.

He hurried over and drew aside the curtain. Terren was lying face down
on the bed with a hand on his back. As R'fal's shadow fell across him,
he groaned.

"Da! Are you hurt?"

"Ohh, my back." Terren pushed himself up on his side, grimacing. "I
strained it today at work. And you wouldn't believe how they treated me
when I went to the Infirmary. That so-called healer..."

"I know, Da. I was there." R'fal frowned. His father seemed to be in
pain now, but Master Urlene surely wouldn't have made a mistake. "I saw
you leave."

"Oh." The older man sat up, though still cautiously and with his hand
still massaging his back, as he rethought his story. "She treated me
like dirt. Stuck that pretty nose in the air and told me I wasn't
injured. And then she called in some - some slobbering deviant..."

"Da!" Shocked, R'fal cut off his father's words. "Look, I have to tell
you some things about living in the Weyr. First of all, you can't use
words like that. I trained alongside men who like other men, and now I
fly with them. They fight Thread as bravely as anyone. They're my friends."

Terren's nose wrinkled. "Well, sorry, son. I didn't mean it like that.
What they do in private is their business. All the more women for us,
eh? But if they try and do it to me, and while I'm injured and suffering
in the Infirmary, no less, I'm not going to stand for it."

"I know, but that's the other thing." R'fal drew up a chair and sat
facing his father. "Even though it seems a lot more free here, you still
have to respect rank. Master Urlene's the senior Healer at the Weyr.
She's saved lives, dragonrider lives. If I get scored maybe one day
she'll save mine. You can't just treat her like a drudge. Shells, you
can't treat the drudges that way if they don't want you to. I'm sure it
was a misunderstanding but..."

"I didn't! I was polite as can be, until she called in that - " Terren
caught himself. "Person. Not my fault she can't take a compliment." The
supposed pain forgotten for a moment, his roguish grin returned. "Come
on, you spend a lot of time in the Infirmary. She might be proud but
she's shaffing tasty. You must have thought about it."

"No!" The young rider felt his cheeks grow hot. Of course he had noticed
the Weyrhealer's beauty, but he no more thought of her in that regard
than he would have a high-born Lady - which he'd heard she was, too.
"You really can't talk about the Master like that. It's not right. And
anyway, you're married! What about Ma?"

"What about her? She threw me out. I'd have been holdless if it wasn't
for you," Terren said, his lip curling in resentment.

"But I thought..." His father's words hit him like a full sack of
firestone to the gut. All this time, R'fal had thought that his parents
needed time, that eventually the quarrel would be forgotten and they'd
reconcile. If Terren couldn't stomach his uncle's farm, perhaps he'd
find another job, or even bring his mother to the Weyr. Maybe his
brother and sister, too.

Terren patted the young man's shoulder, his voice softening. "There,
now, lad. Neither of us belong to the hold any more, do we? There's no
sense in hanging on to all that. They don't want us, and we don't want
them. We should put the past behind us and enjoy what we have. And
believe me - " He grinned, the infectious good humour that he'd always
been able to turn on when he wished to returning like the sun from
behind a cloud. "There's a lot here to enjoy."

R'fal tried to return the smile, hiding his unease. Surely it wasn't
true that his mother and the rest of the family didn't want them. Though
she'd said, too, that he wasn't a holder any more. Still, they were
married, they had children together. That bond had to be strong enough
to overcome what lay between them now.

"Okay. But remember, you have to be..."

"Respectful. I know, I know. I'll be charm personified." Terren got to
his feet, apparently having forgotten the back pain altogether. "Shards,
I'm hungry. Let's go and get dinner. I could eat half a herdbeast. And
that's what I love about this place. I could, if I wanted."

"I don't know about that, Da. You'll end up back in the Infirmary, for
real this time." His smile turned more genuine as he teased his father.

"Ugh, I see your point." Terren laughed, unabashed. "All right, I'll go
easy on the food. Come on."

Reassured, R'fal followed his father out of the weyr. Da had only been
in the Weyr a few sevendays, he told himself. He needed time to get used
to life here, and he would. He'd been through a lot, but he was nothing
if not adaptable. And it wasn't as if he himself hadn't got into
scrapes, and that was with the candidates' classes to help him.

Da couldn't go to those classes, he thought, so it was up to him to
help. He'd made a mess of that so far, but now he'd explained, it would
be easier. With time, too, maybe he could convince him to see Ma again.

Feeling his heart lift, not least because this thoroughly embarrassing
conversation was now over and done with, he followed his nose to the
dining cavern. All would be well, here in the Weyr. How could it be any
other way?

Last updated on the November 11th 2020

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Difficult Conversations