Warring Ambitions

Writers: Aaron, Curious
Date Posted: 13th September 2021

Characters: Naradis, Tirraze
Description: Naradis confronts Tirraze about her life goals.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 10 of Turn 10

Tirraze sat down at a mostly empty table in the dining hall. She liked to eat a bit on the early side, as it tended to ensure that the dining hall was relatively free, and she would not have to wait long to get her food and then get back to work.

She was also not especially avoiding other people. Sitting alone often meant she would not be distracted by conversation, but it also meant that anyone coming into the dining hall around the same time was more likely to see her and join her. She was content either way.

Naradis moved without doubt or hesitation. She made her way into the dining hall and sat down directly across from Tirraze, where she smiled in greeting. It wasn't a _mean_ smile, but it wasn't especially warm either.

"Hope you aren't busy, Tirraze," she said.

"It's... just lunch?" Tirraze answered as she glanced from side to side as though to point out the nothing she was working on. "Got something on your mind?" She smiled tentatively.

Naradis hummed non-commentally. "Still, I wanted to talk to you about something," she said. "Tirraze, you want to be the next headwoman, right?"

Tirraze was not sure that was _entirely_ accurate, but she supposed she understood the sentiment. Still, she could not imagine what could have sparked the question.

"I want to be Headwoman someday," she said. "Why do you ask?"

So there it was. Naradis narrowed her eyes at Tirraze, considering. That silent consideration only lasted for a few seconds before she blurted out, "Why are you standing, then?"

Tirraze lifted an eyebrow. Why the sudden interrogation? She had known Naradis practically her entire life. Well, at the very least, she had known who she was. And Tirraze had been standing since she was old enough. More than five Turns. Why this, all of the sudden?

"Are you OK?" she asked. There had to be something else behind this.

"I'm fine," Naradis said, her voice carrying the unwavering force of someone who was not going to give another answer regardless of how true it was or wasn't. "I just think that with the hatching coming up, we should all reexamine our motivations. And frankly, I doubt that you'd make a good rider if your true goal is something else entirely."

Tirraze snorted, leaned back, and crossed her arms. What brought this on? Or was it something that had been bothering her for a long time?

"Have you been working up the courage to tell me that for the last five Turns?" she asked.

Naradis bristled. "I wasn't _working up the courage_. I thought that you might realize it yourself or decide that you don't want to be headwoman. But you haven't, so I decided to intervene."

"Alright," Tirraze nodded, doing her best not to smirk. Intervene? "What do you mean to do about it?" She was well aware that Naradis might be Weyrwoman herself someday, and making an enemy of her was unwise. But for now, they were peers.

"Talk to you, of course." Naradis crossed her own arms before she continued. "A rider can't be headwoman, and dragonet deserve better than someone who will regret impressing."

Talk was less threatening than the worst case scenario Tirraze imagined. She relaxed her arms and took another bite of her food.

"I'm not going to regret Impressing," she said. There had to be something else to this. "Did something happen?" she asked. She had said she was OK, but lying about being OK was easy.

Naradis uncrowded her arms and dropped them down to her sides, just tackle the urge to move. "No," she said, "nothing at all. I just want the hatching to go as smoothly as possible."

When had this become about her, anyway? _She_ wasn't the important thing here.

"Are you sure?" Naradis pressed. "You won't resent the dragonet because it keeps you from being headwoman, even a little? And you'll put your all into being a rider?"

"A hundred things could come between me and being Headwoman," said Tirraze. Nevermind the fact that she had only ever started standing in the first place so that she would look her age. So that people would stop assuming she was a little brat. She did not strictly need that anymore, but if she quit now, she would be admitting to herself and everyone that her "duty" schtick was nothing but an excuse.

No, Tirraze preferred to embrace that sense of duty as genuine than to give up on it. After all, if she gave up on that conviction, what would stop her from giving up on her ambition to become Headwoman?

"But I'll put my all into whatever I do. That's what I've always done."

Naradis faltered. She had honestly expected more of a reaction, an explosion of some sort. That wasn't to say that Tirraze struck her as the sort to explode, or that she had _wanted_ a more dramatic confrontation. She just hadn't been able to picture anything else happening.

Logically, she knew it was a good thing that the other girl was so calm, rational, and accepting about it. She just didn't know how to react.

"Alright," Naradis said after a long moment. "That's all, I guess."

"Are you busy?" Tirraze asked as she smiled. She was very pleased to have evoked a surprised reaction from Naradis. She could only imagine what kind of reaction she wanted. "Want to grab a bite and have lunch with me?"

Making real friends out of acquaintances was much preferable to making enemies, especially when they were the Weyrwoman's daughter.

For a moment, Naradis looked tempted. Surprise flickered across her face and a faint glimmer lit up her eyes. That glimmer only lingered for a second before fading into something empty and dull.

"No thank you," she said. "I just wanted to make sure you really thought standing through. Like I said, the Weyr doesn't need half-assed riders."

With that, Naradis stood up and walked away.

Last updated on the October 1st 2021

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Warring Ambitions