My Life
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: AL, Vix
Date Posted: 1st June 2008
Characters: Briata, Nikanna
Description: Briata meets yet another resident of GVH, this time in the form of Nikanna.
Location: Garnet Valley Hold
Date: month 9, day 17 of Turn 4
They would be leaving the next day. Her father had extended the stay for her benefit. Briata did enjoy visiting, and, of course, there was the fact that she was seeking suitors. She wasn't necessarily going to jump on the first man who showed any sort of interest, but she could meet more people that way.
She had already met a couple of nice men as it was, though where that would go, Briata could not say. She took her last day back to the halls, exploring once more. There were so many places to go, that she felt she would never run out of newfound places to visit.
It was while she was exploring that the sound of a child caught her attention. She turned down another corridor, peering down it and spying a figure which seemed to hold a baby. Briata smiled. She adored children.
Nikanna was tired, her body aching from lack of sleep and from the continual jiggling of the child in her arms, but she forced her voice to calm. "It's alright sweet. You're just tired. If you sleep for a bit you'll feel much better." "Hello." Briata moved forward to draw a little closer to the woman and her child. "What's her name?"
The young woman readjusted the position of the child in her arms as the little girl twisted to see who had spoken. "Ryannae. She's a little over a Turn of age." "She's lovely." Briata turned her smile to the babe. "Hello Ryannae, I'm Briata." Her gaze flicked back to Nikanna, eyes asking the silent question of her name in return.
"Nikanna," was the other woman's response. "My husband is a harper here at the Hold." "Well met, Nikanna. I'm here with my father, just visiting. He's holder of Onyx Peak." Briata turned her attention back to the child and gave her a small wave. "Hello Ryannae, it's nice to meet you too."
"Visiting?" Nikanna smiled, remembering to her life before Carlan, when she was the holder's daughter on tour. "Is he looking for a husband for you?" "My father?" Briata shook her head, her lips tugging upward in amusement. Of course, with the way most of society viewed women, most would think that. Her father, however, was quite different. "No, my father wouldn't do that. He's happy to let me find my own."
"You're lucky then." Nikanna sighed. "My father still isn't happy that I made my own choice." "I'm sorry to hear that." Briata was well aware that many fathers arranged the marriages for their daughters and sons. The young woman counted herself lucky. "I must say, it's good that you did make your own choice though...isn't it?"
"It is," Nikanna agreed, "though it would be nicer if my daughter knew her grandparents." "I'm sorry." That had to be hard. Briata was glad her father was not like so many she had heard of, arranging marriage with little thought to their daughters' feelings on the matter. "So is she your only?"
"So far." The other woman smiled. "My husband would like another but I'd prefer to wait a while. This one already takes most of my energy." "Yes, children do take a lot of energy out of you." Briata reached out to gently stroke the child's hand. "But I adore them all the same. I look forward to having some of my own."
"Oh, I'd not give her up for anything," Nikanna told her. She paused and set the child down on the floor, where the little girl wavered slightly before starting to toddle down the hallway. "I just need more energy to keep up with her." "You're not the first mother I've heard say that." Briata stated with a smile, watching the little girl make her way carefully down the hall. "I suppose I'll probably say the same thing eventually."
"I suppose it is common," the other young woman agreed. Of course, when she was young, there had been a child-minder to watch after her, so her own mother would not have known how tiring it could be.
"Well, I suppose I'm not the first person to suggest that you enjoy this age, because they grow so fast." Briata's smile turned back to the mother. "I've no children, but I've cared for enough to get a glimmer, I suppose."
"I do enjoy spending time with her – she's my life." Nikanna truly meant those words, though she did feel that she could enjoy the time more if Carlan would stop suggesting that it was time for Ryannae to have a sibling.
"I hope someday this will be my life." Briata said softly.
Last updated on the June 1st 2008