Welcome to the Family (1/2)

Writers: Estelle
Date Posted: 3rd June 2022

Characters: Alyena, R'ayl, Evalya
Description: Alyena is reunited with her son
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 18 of Turn 10

Without the sunrise to wake her, Alyena slept late. They'd been shown to
a guest room, deep in the Weyr cliffs, and once the lights were out the
darkness was almost complete, but for a faint glimmer of glowlight from
the tunnel outside, creeping under the crack in the door.

For a moment, when she woke, she had no idea where she was, or whether
it was night or day. Only that they were deep in the rock.

She struggled free of the furs and sat up, her heart pounding with the
sudden rush that was part terror, part hope. **Grevan!**

There was a muffled, sleepy protest at her movement, and felt a warm
body beside her. Evalya had refused the other cot and crept into bed
with her mother.

"Mama?"

"It's all right." Alyena soothed her. Her throat felt raw and swollen,
her voice was hardly more than a croak. "I just thought... It doesn't
matter."

Evalya rubbed her eyes. "Where are we?"

Memories returned, bit by bit. Flames leaping up in the night, the scent
of smoke on the wind. Crouching, hidden in the undergrowth amid the
trees. Iron fingers digging into her neck, a man snarling in her face,
and then a roar that split the night...

The dragon.

"We're in the Weyr." Alyena shivered reflexively. **Grevan is dead.**

It was here that he had come, filled with rage and carrying a knife.
Here that his judges had passed sentence on him. The Lord Holder, the
Hallmaster and the Weyrleader.

Evalya frowned. "Mama, our promise."

The Weyr, where she'd made her children promise on their father's grave,
never to go. "I know. But they came to help us, and we can't go back to
the cothold now. And Furayl..."

She wondered if she'd dreamed it, the shadowy cavern that served as the
dragons' infirmary. The couches, some occupied by hulking shapes, the
steady huff of dragons breathing and the spicy scent of their hides. An
apprentice on night-watch duty had opened a single glowbasket for them,
and in its light she'd seen the blue hatchling, a dragon in miniature no
bigger than a young canine, curled up in a couch meant for a much larger
beast. A cot had been set up beside the dragon couch. There, fast
asleep, his head pillowed on his arm, was a dark-haired boy.

Alyena remembered crouching down beside the cot. Someone had tucked a
soft woollen blanket around her son's shoulders. It was striped in blue,
the colours she remembered from the dragonriders' shoulder knots.
Gently, she stroked his hair. It was shorter now that she remembered.
He'd been given a haircut, either at the Weaver Hall or here at the Weyr.

She had straightened. "I don't want to disturb him..." His face was pale
with exhaustion, a symptom she knew too well.

"That would be best. He's had a long day," the journeyman had replied
softly. "You can come back tomorrow, if you like."

Now, she pushed back the covers. "We should go and find R'ayl."

The room was dark but it wasn't silent, like the farmhold at night.
There was a faint buzz of distant activity: footsteps, voices, the
clattering of wheels on stone. Alyena felt for a glowbasket and opened
it. The light was dim, but enough to see the borrowed clothes they'd
worn for only a short time the night before, and a crutch leaning
against the wall by the door. They both dressed quickly. Alyena had to
grit her teeth as the previous day's bruises protested, all down her
stomach and side where the man had held her down with his knee.

** Furayl. I have to find Furayl. **

Before they left the room, she saw the coats they'd been wearing,
hanging by the door. Alyena felt the pocket of hers for the round shape
of the pouch of marks that Gil had given her, that she'd snatched up as
they fled. Still there. She wasn't certain whether to be relieved or
fearful about that.

She had no memory of the way they'd come the night before, so once
they'd left the room she turned in the direction from which the sounds
appeared to be coming and followed the tunnel down into a brightly lit
corridor. They saw the source of the sound they'd heard, a young boy
pushing a laundry cart while a girl collected sacks that had been left
in a heap. They gave her a curious look.

"Excuse me. Can I help you?"

Alyena turned around to see a woman about her age, watching her with
narrowed eyes. There'd been some kind of incident at the Weyr the night
before, she remembered, though no-one had told her what it was.

"I'm sorry - I was looking for the Infirmary. My son, he's a - a
weyrling." Was that the right word? "R'ayl."

"Oh." Her face cleared of suspicion, but the curiosity remained. "You're
his mother. He's back with the rest of his class now, thank the Egg.
Poor little lad. And you two, you've been through some rough times,
haven't you? We were told to let you sleep."

"I... What time is it?" Alyena felt her head swim, disoriented.

"It's past noon. The weyrlings have had their meal, but they'll be off
with the Weyrlingmaster now. They'll take a break in an hour or so,
though, and in the meantime there's bound to be some food left over. You
must both be famished - oh, careful now..." The woman hurried forward
and took Alyena's arm, her grim gentle but surprisingly strong. "Lean on
me. It's all right. He's going to be fine. You both are."

***

Delorth lifted one wing, the bright sunlight filtering through the
delicate blue membrane, so that R'ayl could run a damp cloth over his
hide and wipe away the traces of his feeding. His stomach bulged and his
eyes slowly whirled a deep, contented shade of turquoise. All around
them, jewel-bright hides gleamed, greens and blues, the softer, earthier
shades of browns and here and there, the glitter of bronze.

"Does that..." He stopped, brow creasing, and formed the words in his
mind. ** Feel better? **

}: That feels good. Thank you. :{ Delorth yawned and licked his jaws.
R'ayl closed his eyes and let the love in their bond flow through him,
sweeping away all his anxiety for a brief moment.

Now the dragonets' meal was over, there were a few weyrfolk around,
congratulating their children or friends and greeting the new
hatchlings. Some of the older weyrlings, the weyrbred ones who'd known
each other a long time, were chatting together in a group. R'ayl hadn't
noticed, being so focused on Delorth, but suddenly he felt attention on
him. It took him a moment to understand that it was his dragon's
perception that had alerted him to the presence of two very familiar
figures.

}: They are looking at us. :{

R'ayl leapt up, looking about wildly. They were behind him, keeping a
respectful distance from the hatchlings, the little girl leaning on a
crutch, the woman steadying her, and both their gazes fixed on him.

"MAMA!"

Last updated on the July 15th 2022

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Welcome to the Family (1/2)