The Weyrwoman's Watchful Eye

Writers: Duskdog, Heather
Date Posted: 24th May 2024

Characters: T'lonas, Saibra
Description: Saibra meets the new Weyrlingmaster, T'lonas.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 8 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Kadira, Naradis, Rorela, Jaylene, J'lor

T'lonas

Saibra

She was cynical and there was really no nice way to put it. After the
Kadira and Naradis fiasco, Saibra had felt a change in Weyrlingmaster
was necessary. T’lonas had been the next logical choice but he’d been
such a new arrival as Weyrlingmaster’s Second that she wasn’t sure if
it was really the best choice. She would have preferred someone who
had been at Dragonsfall longer.

“T’lonas,” Saibra said with a knock on his office door, an office he
was clearly still moving into.

T'lonas looked up from the files he was shuffling around. He still had
a couple of boxes that he should have already unpacked, and there were
still some things on his list to adjust in a way that vibed better
with his own personal organizational style, but it was a workable
area, at least. The weyrlings themselves were quite a distraction, in
a good way -- in fact, he'd just been making some notes in a couple of
their files, spread out on the desk before him. On the front corner of
the desk, just in front of his inkpot and some stationery, was a line
of small crocheted dragons in size order -- gold, bronze, brown, blue,
green. Their little stitched smiles and shiny wide button eyes oddly
mirrored the bronzerider's own.

"Weyrwoman," he greeted with a broad, warm, genuine smile. "Please,
come in! Have a seat! Ah..." He got up to hurriedly move a box from
one of the chairs. "Apologies, I'd intended to do a bit more unpacking
today, but, well... I'm sure you know how it goes. To what do I owe
the pleasure?"

Saibra took the cleared seat, although she remained perched on the
edge. "Unpacking offices is always my _least_ favorite thing," she
empathized. "That's when you realize that you have far too many
knickknacks but can't throw any out because they're all sentimental."

"_Exactly_," T'lonas laughed. "I'll have to make myself put some of
these things in my weyr, instead. Get another shelf, maybe. I just
find I tend to spend most of my time in the office... and I'm more
likely to want the things that make me smile in there, anyway, because
that's where the more difficult things tend to loom."

His tone was chipper, though, as he leaned back against the desk and
gave a little hop up to sit on the edge, facing her.

"I _do_ think I'm settling in well, though. The Weyr is lovely, and
the people have been lovely so far, as well. I appreciate the
opportunity I've been given to make a difference here."

"Yes, well, that's exactly what I've come to talk to you about."
Saibra rearranged her skirt as she crossed one leg over the other. "I
wanted to come and openly admit to you that I'm a bit overbearing and
protective of the Dragonsfall Weyrlings, whether they're from
Chioneth's clutch or not." **And that I'll be watching you under a
microscope,** she added silently.

"As you should be," T'lonas said kindly, with an incline of his head,
sensing the shift in the conversation's tone. "They're young
vulnerable people, with young vulnerable dragons. Our fledglings have
to grow up much more quickly than our generation did, and face Thread
younger. Even in the best of times, raising skilled and confident
weyrlings can be difficult -- and it seems these are not the best of
times, sadly."

Dragonsfall had not, thankfully, had the difficulties that Dolphin
Cove had (at least not to his knowledge), but he wasn't foolish enough
to believe that such sentiments couldn't spread.

**Good answer,** Saibra thought shrewdly.

"Let me run a hypothetical by you," the Weyrwoman tucked a strand of
hair behind her ear. "Let's say lightning strikes twice and
Dragonsfall has another female bluerider. How would you handle that
Weyrling's training as compared to the other Weyrlings?"

T'lonas expected such a question -- or at least one similar to it --
but he was surprised at how quickly the Weyrwoman got to the point.
She clearly did care, and he appreciated that. "Well, that's certainly
a problem I've been turning over in my mind ever since I first heard
of Kadira's good fortune. Or ill fortune, as it sometimes seems to be.
Ideally, what I would want is for these young ladies to be normalized.
I want them to feel as if they're a part of the class, and a part of
the Weyr, exactly the same as every other rider -- and for every other
rider to view them that way, in return. Women have served the Weyrs
admirably, and with honor, on green dragons for turns and turns, and
there's absolutely no reason why they can't do the same on the back of
a blue."

Of course, he knew it wasn't that simple.

"As far as basic curriculum, I would instruct them exactly the same as
their male counterparts," he continued. "There's no reason whatsoever
that they wouldn't be capable of the work. And in a perfect world, I
would also treat them exactly the same in every other respect, too.
But as this isn't a perfect world, that's the conundrum, isn't it?
They'll be under scrutiny that the boys aren't. They'll be under more
pressure to prove themselves worthy. They'll be faced with people
speculating openly about very personal matters, and certainly people
who are crass enough to approach them about it. And, most worryingly,
they could be a potential target for malcontents and agitators like
those that have been plaguing Dolphin Cove. In these respects, they
_can't_ be treated exactly like the other weyrlings. They'll need to
be protected, physically, though I'd like to make any heightened
security measures as subtle as possible so as not to single them out.
Emotionally, they'll need support. I would need to keep a close eye on
them, and their dragons, for signs of stress beyond the norm. I don't
want to _force_ anyone to visit a mindhealer unless they seem to be
struggling badly enough to need it, but I'd like to encourage them to
at least speak with one regularly. Let a professional help them unpack
whatever they might be feeling. I'd like to also be an ear for that.
Being seen as an authority is important, but I don't personally
believe in making my charges _afraid_ of me in pursuit of that. I
would prefer they feel safe speaking with me about their concerns. And
to that end, I plan on consulting a mindhealer, myself. If they've any
suggestions for how I could better serve a young woman who's facing
these challenges, I'd like to learn."

He paused a moment, considering.

"I should consult with Kadira herself, actually. If she feels she was
failed in any way, or would have appreciated some other approach, I'd
like to know what she wishes was done differently. I know she dislikes
being an object of scrutiny, but perhaps, for the good of any girls
that may follow in her footsteps, she might give us some insight."

That was certainly a lot of good talk, Saibra conceded, but actions
were louder than words, in her opinion.

"You could certainly ask her." Saibra wasn't sure how Kadira would
feel about that because the entire situation was complicated and a lot
of complicated emotions were tangled up with her impression of a blue
dragon. "I do think that involving the Weyr's mindhealers in Weyrling
curriculum would be beneficial for everyone."

"I'll probably not bother Kadira unless and until we actually have another girl Impress a blue. It may not happen any time soon, though I would be surprised if it _never_ happens again." T'lonas nodded. "I agree about the mindhealers. Impression is quite a lot -- especially these days, with so many Hold and Craftbred on the Sands, too. They sometimes come with their own concerns. To that end, I'd like to make sure that the greenriders, in particular, have one of their own to learn from. Not only someone who can address their particular concerns in a way that I may not be able to, but someone who would be a good strong role model, too. I sometimes worry that some otherwise well-suited youngsters put all ambition aside because they're convinced that leadership roles are out of reach for them. Even those who never become Wingthirds can be invaluable to a Wing just by being a strong, confident influence among their wingmates. Perhaps seeing an adult greenrider exhibiting those traits will help encourage those who struggle to feel more confident in what they have to offer the Weyr."

"It's fortunate then that you have plenty of exemplary greenriders and blueriders here at Dragonsfall to choose from. We've got Rorela and Jaylene, as Wingthirds, Eyvia as a mindhealer, J'lor as well, and others who don't necessarily 'hold rank' but contribute greatly to the Weyr."

T'lonas turned a little to shuffle on his desk for a notebook and jotted the names down. "Excellent. I've been doing some research of my own and I've already noted down a couple of those, but I appreciate your suggestions for people to look into. Anyone who joins this staff, or gives a guest lecture, is going to be thoroughly vetted. You have reason to be protective of your weyrlings, Weyrwoman, and you should know that Domorth and I are just as protective." His smile went a little tight, close-lipped, not quite like his open smiles up until this point, until abruptly brightening again. "This isn't merely my work, it's my _passion_. I'm confident that you'll soon see."

**Hm, yes, we will see,** Saibra thought as she stood. Anyone could make a speech, but could they follow through with the teaching? "Well, I'd better get out of your way so you can resume your work. There's nothing like losing steam right in the middle of organizing and then being surrounded by a whirlwind of things."

"Indeed," he agreed cheerfully, hopping down off the desk. He really _did_ need to get all of that out of the way. "Thank you for the visit, Weyrwoman, and have yourself a lovely evening."

Last updated on the June 1st 2024

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The Weyrwoman's Watchful Eye