Seeds of Doubt

Writers: AL, Sengra
Date Posted: 5th February 2010

Characters: A'ton, Meledei
Description: Meledei approaches A'ton about why he looks so exhausted.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 15 of Turn 5

"You look like you haven't slept in a sevenday." Meledei commented as
she came up along side A'ton. Their wings had finished their drills,
but the Weyrleader's wing was still talking. Meledei was going to wait
for F'gol, but then she had caught sight of the young man who had stood
with her for a couple of turns. He looked tired, his expression sagged
as did his shoulders and there were the beginnings of dark circles
under his eyes. "Are you all right?"

"Wha..what?" A'ton said, surprised somebody noticed him. "Yes, I'm fine. I just don't have the spirit for these boring drills. I mean, my wingleader's a good man, a fine leader, but I feel there is nothing more to learn from these drills," he said, facing the beautiful rider beside him.

That surprised Meledei. What was he talking about? Even if he didn't learn anything new, the drills were important. They kept one fresh, reminded their body of how to move, of how to fight. Occasionally things
changed, and then something new was learned. Obviously A'ton was bored
and Meledei couldn't help but feel a little bit stupid to say there was
nothing more to learn. The girl regarded him, then shook her head.
"No, it's not just that." There was more than boredom in that manner.
"You literally look like you've lost sleep. Are you staying up late?"

"Well, I've been reading this good book lately. Weyr records also has some
interesting things, so I've been going there during my free time,"
A'ton replied, seeing doubt in Meledei's eyes. "I get absorbed by my
studies too much that most of the times I forget the time." A'ton was
getting uncomfortable with Meledei's questions. True, he spent a lot of
his time pouring over the weyr records, but It wasn't all that he did.
"I'm the Weyr's resident hidebound person you know," A'ton said
smiling, trying to divert Meledei's attention. "Were you waiting for
somebody by the way?"

"F'gol, but his wing hasn't been dismissed yet." Meledei cast a glance back toward said wing, but N'vanik was still talking. "And yeah, I know that you're into books, but you need to sleep. You're not going to be at your best if you aren't." And more. Meledei's expression turned down into a frown. "And that's not good, especially in a Fall."

"Don't worry about me in a Fall, Meledei. I promise you, thread won't touch me, nor Vardamith," A'ton said with a teasing smile. "You know, all this talk of Thread and Fall suddenly gave me the urge to take a swim," A'ton said, removing his upper clothing. "Want to join me?"

"A'ton." Meledei gently placed a hand upon his arm. She was worried, truly worried. A'ton could get hurt if he wasn't sleeping well. It was then that she noticed the muscle beneath her touch. She looked down at his arm and was surprised at how muscular he seemed. "For someone who's reading most of the time, you sure do keep in great shape."

"You'd be surprised how heavy those old records are," A'ton said looking at Meledei. "Thank you for your concern, but I'm fine. I know exactly when the next Fall is so I'll be sure to have a good night's sleep by then." A'ton turned to look at the wide open sea. "You know when I was a child growing up in a seahold, every time I look at the sea and feel the sea breeze brush gently on my face, I always think of the dragonriders and how they feel astride their great dragons. Now that I am here, with Vardamith, you can say I'm living my lifelong dream. I won't do anything that would endanger Vardamith. In fact, I'm taking steps to prevent just that," A'ton said smiling. And with a wink to Meledei, he quickly ran towards the sea.

Meledei watched him go then shook her head. One good night's sleep didn't making up for sleep missed over a long period of time. A'ton was putting himself in danger. While she didn't want to get him into trouble, she didn't want him to be in even more trouble during a Fall. Meledei sighed. She was going to have to speak to his wingleader, even if she didn't want to.

Last updated on the February 15th 2010

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Seeds of Doubt