Standing Curiosity

Writers: Avery, Devin
Date Posted: 4th August 2024

Characters: Zelah, R'lor
Description: Zelah wants to ask about Candidacy.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 10 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: J'lor, Saedyna, N'vanik, Cyradis (indirectly)

Zelah

R'lor

R'lor offered a polite smile as the young woman stepped into his
office. "I'm R'lor, Weyrlingmaster Third to Kularth. It's a pleasure
to meet you." He was busy with the Junior Weyrlings these days, but he
also still needed to help manage the Candidates.

"I'm Zelah. A pleasure to meet you as well, Weyrlingmaster, my duties
to Kularth." She curtsied to him.

"Please, have a seat." His office was small but comfortable,
well-suited to one-on-one conversations. "Are you a recent arrival to
the Weyr? Or a transfer, maybe?"

She took a seat and settled in with her legs crossed at the ankle. "A
new arrival, sir. I was informed I could Stand if I wanted. I'm not
sure about it so I wanted to have a conversation."

"Well, I should warn you, I might be a little biased. I'm weyrbred
myself, and raised to believe Standing is an honor and a duty. In a
Pass, everyone who's capable and willing should Stand, to give the
hatchlings the widest possible choice." It was rare these days, but he
remembered when the clutches suddenly increased and dragonets were
dying alone on the Sands.

"I wouldn't have to be approved by a Searchrider first?" She had
always wanted one to appear and whisk her away from her father's
plans, when she was younger, and one never had.

R'lor shook his head. "Weyrfolk only need to petition the Weyrwoman to
Stand. I can certainly help with that if the idea intimidates you."

If he did that, he might find out about her. "I can handle speaking to
her. Good practice for facing down her queen on the sands, yes?"

He chuckled. "That it is. What's your hesitation about Standing?"

"There are many ways to contribute to the Weyr, and I need to find
where I fit best. Right now I'm working with the Headwoman about where
to fit into the Lower Caverns staff. I also know I could take up a
Craft if I asked. And that this is an option. So I'm trying to find
out about all of my choices."

He was surprised that she didn't mention the danger of Fall. That was
the major reason people hesitated to accept Search or ask to Stand.
"Fair enough. But being a Candidate doesn't close you off to any of
those other possibilities. It opens you to one more -- that a dragon
might choose you."

"They know everything about you. What's that feel like?"

R'lor smiled fondly, instinctively reaching out to Kularth. "It's the
most wonderful thing, to have such magnificent creature sharing your
life. A dragon knows your mind and heart in a way no human ever could,
the best and the worst of you. And they'll love you forever."

}:Of course I love you. You are perfect.:{

Zelah looked down at her hands. "The worst of you, too? What if you
might be too bad to be a dragonrider?"

R'lor sighed, though not at her. "Considering I just had an attempted
murderer Impress, it seems you'd have to be pretty bad."

"An _attempted_ murderer? Like someone who actually tried to kill
someone, or someone who was just accused?" After all, Zelah knew all
about being accused of something that wasn't real. She'd never tried
to kill her girl, just faked it to get her free.

"He admitted to the crime. It seems he dragged his personal problems
to the Weyr, and instead of seeking help he dug himself in deeper."
R'lor shook his head. "But the point is, I've seen all sorts Impress.
Is there anything in particular you're worried about?"

Oh shards. She didn't want to tell him who she was, really - the four
people she'd been told to tell knew, but while he was a
Weyrlingmaster, he was also just a bluerider. This was Dolphin Cove
Weyr, half a continent away from Sunstone Seahold and River Bluff Weyr
- what were the odds he'd recognize her? With her hair cropped short,
plain clothes from the Weyr's stores, she didn't look anything like a
former Lady Holder.

"I was under a mindhealer's care for being insane, when what was wrong
with me was that I didn't want to have babies like a good holdbred
girl," she said, framing it delicately. "I was assigned to mindhealer
J'lor, who doesn't think I'm crazy."

R'lor arched an eyebrow but quickly smoothed his expression. "Ah, so
perhaps you might be 'bad' by holder standards. Things are different
here at the Weyr, and besides that, a dragon's judgment is different
than a human's."

"That's good to know," she said fervently. She trusted in dragons in
their riders, remembering Rhosyn and K'dee and how noble their dragons
had seemed.

"Were you hold or weyrbred?" she asked.

"Weyrbred. I'm from a long line of riders. I was born at Far Island
and transferred to Rising Moons before moving to Dolphin Cove to take
the Weyrlingmaster Third position." He'd been nervous about making
such a big change, but despite the unexpected challenges he'd faced,
R'lor was glad he'd come here.

"So you've only seen the experience of women from the outside. People
coming in dealing with it. Do you think it's barbarous?"

R'lor considered how to respond. "I think it can be. I think in
general the treatment of women in the holds is . . . unfortunate. And
in some cases, yes, the way women have been treated is barbaric." He'd
heard some terrible stories, seen the traumatized women and girls. And
they weren't the only ones. "Some of the men, too."

"In all honesty, I never thought used to think about how it would be
for the men, especially of certain...feelings. I was always busy
thinking of myself. Being under a mindhealer's care made me realize
the system is a mess and I want - "

She caught herself before she could say 'to burn it down', and decided
on the more diplomatic, "I would like it to be changed, but I will
settle for never being subject to it again."

"Well, you're here now and you can stay at the Weyr as long as you
like." He was glad she was under the care of a mindhealer because she
clearly had some trauma. And she wasn't the only one. "Maybe you could
speak with some of the Candidates on an informal basis? Some of them
also had a difficult time before coming here and it might help them to
talk to someone who's lived through similar circumstances."

“Is there anyone in specific you’d suggest?” She asked.

"The victim of the attempted murder I mentioned earlier. Candidate
Saedyna seems to be coping well after learning the truth about her
attack, and her family has been writing her regularly since then." And
sending her money, but R'lor didn't need to mention that. "But she
seemed troubled even before she was attacked and I have the feeling
she has an unfortunate history. Which is not surprising for a Southern
holder woman. She hasn't been very forthcoming with me, but maybe
she'd be more open with a young woman from a similar background."

"I'd be happy to talk to her," she said. "Anything else I should know
or do? Can I...spend time with some dragons?"

"Of course! Many dragons are friendly, or at least tolerant." R'lor
smiled. "And many riders would be happy to discuss their experience
with a prospective Candidate. You can meet Kularth to start, if you'd
like. He'll be bossing you around if you Impress."

}:It is called _teaching_.:{

"How big is he for a blue? I know they're the smallest male dragon, so
they're not scary large. Not like bronzes. I'm happy to follow all of
your advice, since I don't really know what I'm doing."

"He's a little small, though that isn't saying much if you aren't used
to dragons. Even the smallest green is massive compared to a runner,"
R'lor said. "But he's calm, and happy to meet prospective Candidates."

"I'll be brave," she said. Because she would be. Spending time with a
dragon couldn't be scarier than what she'd lived through. Couldn't be
scarier than the Weyrleadership meeting. "Any other suggestions for
now?"

"Not at the moment, but I do wish you well. I hope life at the Weyr is
far kinder to you."

She nodded as she stood up to leave. "Thank you, sir. I hope so as well."

Last updated on the August 11th 2024

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Standing Curiosity