Worry and Reassurance

Writers: Devin, Estelle
Date Posted: 18th April 2021

Characters: R'ayl, R'lor
Description: R'lor checks up on Furayl after he has a dizzy spell
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 24 of Turn 10
Notes: Follows "Sparring Fright"

R'lor

Furayl sat on a chair in the infirmary, his hands clasped around a glass
of cool water. The surface of the liquid trembled, though he tried to
keep himself from shaking in fear. He'd done the very worst thing he
could have; drawn the attention of the Weyrleader and that bronzerider.
What if they were suspicious? Would they find out who he was? His
thoughts went round and around in a spiral of panic. Could he escape,
before it was too late? But he didn't dare move.

"Furayl?" R'lor said as he entered the infirmary. "Are you all right?
I heard you were unwell." One of the Candidates had come to get him.

The boy flinched, a few drops of water spilling from his glass. It took
him a moment to realize that it wasn't the Weyrleader who had come for
him, but one of the Weyrlingmasters. The panic subsided, but the hunted
look remained in his eyes. He got to his feet. "Yes, sir. I'm sorry, I
didn't mean to cause any trouble."

R'lor hurried over to put a gently restraining hand on the boy's
shoulder. "No, no. Don't get up. I understand you might feel
embarrassed, but we're only concerned for your health." Furayl did
look pale and frightened.

Furayl sat down again, relieved since his legs still felt shaky and he
wasn't sure how long he could stand. Perhaps he'd been lucky, and they
didn't know, after all. "I'm all right." He remembered what one of the
other Candidates had said, about the heat. "The sun was so hot, and I
felt dizzy."

"Ah, yes." R'lor tugged at his collar. "It is _very_ hot here. I'm not
used to it myself." He might have to reconsider his wardrobe.

"Yes, sir." The boy looked down at his fingers, curled around the glass.
"The journeyman told me to sit quietly and drink this, slowly..."
Something occurred to him and he looked up, suddenly concerned. "Am I
late for class? I could ask if I can leave yet."

"Don't worry about that. You stay here until the healers say
otherwise." The poor boy was so nervous. "And if you're worried about
the Hatching, we would only keep you from Standing if it was something
serious. I'm sure you'll be perfectly fine."

"Thank you, sir." Furayl had hardly thought about the Hatching. If the
truth came out, not being allowed to attend would surely be the least of
his punishments. But it did make a good reason that he couldn't hide
his nerves. "I really do want to Stand."

R'lor patted his shoulder and then took a set next to him. "I'm sure
you will, Furayl. A little sun stroke never disqualified anyone. How
are you doing otherwise?"

"I'm doing my best," Furayl said shyly. "The Weyrhealer said I have to
eat plenty of meat and green vegetables so I'll get stronger, and I
think I'm getting better at exercises, even though the others are much
better than me."

"How are you getting along with the other Candidates?"

"They're really nice to me." The boy sounded almost surprised by that,
but it was an honest response. Even though he was too shy to speak to
them or join in when they played games or went to the beach together,
no-one had teased him for being the smallest, or for not being able to
work or exercise as hard as they did.

"That's good. You let me know if you have any trouble with them,"
R'lor said. A small boy like him--quiet, shy, and newly arrived--would
be a likely target for bullies.

"Yes, sir." Furayl tried not to sound worried. He hoped no-one would
bother him, since he would never have dared speak up about it. That
wasn't done, at least not at the Weaver Hall, and the last thing he
wanted was to be noticed by the Weyrlingmasters. "I've been trying to
listen to the others, so I'll do better in classes. It's so different
here from home."

"If you need help with that, let me know, too. There's no shame in
being a bit lost at first. Some of the others have been Candidates for
a while, or they're weyrbred. While I do expect you to learn, I don't
expect you to know everything right away."

"Thank you, sir." Furayl had found he knew some things from his Teaching
Ballads, but ever since what had happened to his father he'd not been to
a harper class, nor felt as though he could sing the ones about
dragonriders. And then, when they got on to the many different ranks at
the Weyr, and the Wings, and their duties and who reported to who - he'd
tried to note it all down after class, but it was a lot to take in. "I
just...I really hope I'll know what to do at the Hatching."

"We'll go over it in your classes, more than once. Is there anything
specific about it that worries you?" R'lor asked.

Furayl thought for a moment. "Sometimes, when I get nervous, it's hard
to remember what to do." He thought of the classes back at the Weaver
Hall, when the journeyman had asked him a question and suddenly,
everything he'd learned the previous day had gone out of his head. "I'm
worried I'll forget, with all the Weyr watching, and the queen..."

"It's not a harper performance," R'lor said with a gentle smile. "Try
to put yourself in the middle or toward the end of the line, and you
can follow the Candidates in front of you. Do what they do, as simple
as that. Once the dragons start hatching, there are two important
things to remember: one, stay aware of the hatchlings around you and
be ready to move out of the way. They're desperate to find their
riders, so they could accidently hurt you if you get in the way. Two,
project a feeling of love, of how much you want to bond with a
dragon."

The boy nodded, wide-eyed. Loving thoughts were easy - he just had to
imagine his mother, his sister...and his brother, back when they'd all
been together. But there was pain in those thoughts, too. "Do you mean
they can tell what we're thinking?"

"They can sense your emotions, and to some degree they "feel" your
mind, in the same way a Search dragon can feel your potential to
Impress. Which is why it's important to feel things like love and
openness, and not fear." R'lor often wondered about dragon minds and
what made them choose their lifemates.

Furayl wondered if he'd be able to feel love like that, in the Weyr. But
after all, he wasn't here to Impress. He had another purpose. "I'll try.
Thank you, sir." He looked down at the glass in his hands. "I feel a bit
better now."

R'lor patted him gently on the shoulder. "Good. I'll wait with you
here until the healers check you out, and then I'll walk you back to
the barracks, okay?"

"Yes, Weyrlingmaster." He took a sip of water, willing himself to
breathe, to calm himself. The dragonrider was kinder than anyone at the
Hall apart from Master Shuvan. He wouldn't act that way if he knew about
Grevan. Perhaps he was still safe, after all, but if it happened
again... He'd have to be more careful, and stay far, far away from the
Weyrleader and that bronzerider.

Last updated on the July 21st 2021

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Worry and Reassurance