Not A Harper Anymore

Writers: AL, Cali
Date Posted: 25th July 2009

Characters: F'gol, Meledei
Description: Meledei helps F'gol, finds something she isn't meant to see, and the two strike a bargain of sorts.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 8 of Turn 5

"I can't believe you were complaining about my stuff." Meledei huffed as she helped F'gol carry the trunk. Perhaps it wasn't wise to talk while trying to lug such a heavy thing around, but Meledei couldn't resist the playful tease. "This weighs at least three times what mine did!"

F'gol grunted. He was up above her, and therefore had the awkward angle as he backed slowly up the stairs. Some of the upper level weyrlings had opted to just leave their trunks and stuff their belongings into bags and have theirs dragons lift them. He'd opted against the idea, thinking it wouldn't be that big a deal. He was regretting it now.

When they finally made it to his room, he breathed a sigh of relief as they set the trunk down next to his bed. His weyr was _much_ smaller than Meledei's, but on the bright side, he didn't have to share it with anyone else. The thought both excited him and scared him a bit, he'd never been on his own before.

Meledei fairly collapsed upon the trunk and wiped her brow. She grinned at her friend and leaned toward him as she spoke in a conspiratory manner, "Halfway to the end."

"Halfway?" F'gol asked, confused. The only thing he'd left in the barracks was his gitar, and he'd just get that next time they were in class since he didn't play it any more.

"To the end of training." Meledei clarified as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. "Next thing we know, we'll be in regular wings and fighting Thread as full dragonriders."

"Oh." F'gol said as Tealth landed on his new ledge and depleted some of the light in the room. "Yeah, it'll be interesting." He was neither afraid of fighting nor looking forward to it. He was resigned to his fate as a dragonrider.

"Come on, enough rest." Meledei hopped up and tugged at F'gol's sleeve. "Let's get you unpacked."

F'gol nodded but walked towards where Tealth was waiting for him. "Let me get Tealth's straps off first." The blue had worn his gear up rather than having F'gol carry it.

"Okay." Meledei watched him go then bent over to open the trunk. She rummaged through it, taking out a few shirts. She was about to straighten and put them in one of the drawers when she noticed some sheets parchment that had been tucked in alongside them. She tugged out the sheets and put the shirts back as she gazed at the notation. It was music. She hummed a first, third, and fifth to set herself in a key, then began to sight read.

"Hey!" F'gol snatched the draft out of her hand, furious at her presumption. He hadn't gone digging through _her_ personal private things! "Leave my stuff alone!"

"I was just trying to help." Meledei pleasant expression faded into hurt at the reaction from her friend.

F'gol grunted as he stuffed the partially finished song back into his trunk and threw his shirts on top of it as if he could hide it. He knew she hadn't meant anything by the invasion, but she'd seen something he hadn't wanted to share. Worse, she'd sung it; and she'd made it sound wonderful. He hadn't heard anyone sing anything of his is so long...

"It's really pretty." Meledei offered as she backed away from the trunk. She hadn't expected such a violent response from him and she wasn't sure if she should try to help any longer.

It pained him to hear her say such a thing, but he felt the anger flow out of him, leaving him hollow. He stared at the open trunk, unfocused, then finally sighed as he closed the lid. "It's nothing, okay? Just forget about it."

"I'd like to hear you play it." Meledei tentatively put out the suggestion, not sure how he would react. She moved back to the trunk, letting her fingers dance over the wood. F'gol was sensitive when it came to his craft, but Meledei wished he wouldn't be.

"I'm not harpering any more." He reminded her. He didn't even play his gitar any more, it just sat there in it's case. He couldn't keep the music out of his head though. It had just come out and he'd had no choice but to write it down.

"That doesn't mean you can't play." Meledei pressed gently. "And I still would like to hear you play it. Does it have words? We could sing together."

F'gol hesitated. She made it sound so easy... just play, just sing. It wasn't easy though, just thinking about it made his stomach churn and the pain of being abandoned by the Harper Hall had yet to even start to heal. "Maybe some other time. I don't have time for it right now. We've got to get unpacked and into bed, we've got an early start tomorrow."

"Next rest day." Meledei suggested, her tone insistent. "I want to make music with you."

"Maybe" he shrugged it off and headed back to Tealth to finish putting up the straps. Meledei wasn't the type to drop things but he didn't want to argue with her, not tonight.

Maybe - it was better than a no. Meledei would back off for the moment but she would bring it up again. An idea began forming in her mind and she smiled to herself - she just hoped it would work.

Last updated on the July 26th 2009

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Not A Harper Anymore