Differing Views

Writers: AL, Devin
Date Posted: 25th May 2014

Characters: Cosani, Meledei
Description: Cosani talks with Meledei about the goldrider's relationship troubles.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 9 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: T'nom, Pierka, Qorri

Cosani

Cosani nudged her friend with a shoulder. "Hey, how are things going?"

"Do you really want to know?" Meledei knew that Cosani had a far
different outlook than she did, but at the same time, it would be nice
to talk to someone.

She took a moment to consider, but a short one. "Yeah."

"If you're sure." At least Meledei still had Cosani. She really
hoped the greenrider didn't have any plans to transfer. "Qorri's
gone. She just left and there had to be a reason, something must have
happened but she won't tell me what. And then there's T'nom."

"What about T'nom?" Cosani asked.

"He slept with someone. Outside of a flight." That probably didn't
mean much to most dragonriders in the Weyr, but it meant a lot to her.
Enough to sever the relationship - any relationship, really. Meledei
would have been willing to salvage the friendship if had been honest
and forthright, but he hadn't.

"Oh." Cosani knew it was a big deal to Meledei. She tried to see
things from her friend's perspective. "Was it the girl he got
pregnant?"

"Yes. His dragon caught hers. But then he decided to stay longer and
have a bit more fun after the flight was over." It still angered her,
still made the fight flare up in her eyes and tinge her voice.

Cosani tilted her head. "So it was still part of the flight? People do
that all the time, even weyrmates. He was still under the influence of
dragonlust. It's not like he went to seek her out for some fun."

Meledei leveled her gaze at her friend. She just couldn't understand
how people said it was part of the flight. It wasn't, never would be.
It was just an excuse. "It's_not_ part of the flight. The flight
ends when the dragons stop doing their business. I've never done that
and certainly would never do so if I'm with someone. The flight was
over, he was in control of himself and he made the choice to be with
her."

Cosani arched an eyebrow. "Your flights must not be very good." Waking
up next to someone you were attracted to, knowing what just happened,
and with dragonlust still flowing through your body. There was choice
involved, but not much.

It was Melede's turn to arch an eyebrow. "Oh no, they're wonderful.
It's just...sex means so much more to me than just playing around. A
flight is one thing, but if I'm going to be that intimate with someone
by choice, then I want it to be someone I love, who I'm committed to
and who's committed to me."

Cosani fought really hard not to make a face. "And T'nom's been
committed to you this whole time, even though it's hard on him and you
know he had a relationship with Pierka before. I mean, she's having
his baby. And you expect him to jump out of bed the second the flight
is over?"

"Yes, I do." Meledei stated firmly. "If I were in the same position,
I wouldn't have slept with her. I would have stayed, talk to her,
certainly, be genial, but I wouldn't have had sex with her. As far as
him being committed, no, he hasn't been, not really. He's been
flopping between me and Pierka from the very beginning. Obviously,
he's made his choice. And by the way, I didn't know about the
relationship with Pierka until_after_ he admitted his feelings and we
decided to try things out. In fact, it was almost a month after that
before I even found out and it was when he told me about the
pregnancy. I told him from the beginning my feelings on sex outside
of a relationship, I suggested if he didn't feel like he could be
exclusive, then we shouldn't try it."

"We don't live in a Hold and you aren't weyrmated." Cosani shook her
head. "I think you're too hard on him. But I guess if you laid down
all your grand rules and he disobeyed, then whatever." This whole
thing with T'nom was the first time Cosani had seen her act like a
demanding goldrider.

"We don't live in a hold and no, but we were in a relationship to see
if we would eventually weyrmate - that's what a committed relationship
is for. As for laying down all the ground rules and him disobeying,
he had a choice in this. I didn't force him into anything, he made
the choice and it's obvious that the choice wasn't me. He made a
promise and he broke it." She sighed and turned to stare off into the
distance. Cosani didn't understand. It seemed nobody did, which
frustrated Meledei as much as anything. Well, her father did, but he
was the only one who seemed to hold any sort of sympathy for her
plight.

Cosani had wanted to talk to her about something, but now she didn't
think it was a good idea. Meledei would probably tell her to try to
make things "serious". Just because she might feel something more than
attraction didn't mean she wanted to tie him -- or herself -- into an
exclusive relationship or make promises or any of that nonsense.
Cosani wanted to find someone that had a more typical view of
weyrlife.

"I think you need to find yourself a good Hold boy," Cosani said. "And
if you consider other riders, maybe try brownriders instead of
bronze." Cosani's own preference was for fun-loving blueriders... with
one big exception.

"I don't want to just pick and choose. I want someone who I can be
friends with, who I like and who likes me. And someone who thinks I'm
worth staying loyal to." Thus far, she had two failures as far as
that goes. "I can't just will myself to be interested in someone."

Cosani wanted to roll her eyes. "Well you have to meet people before
you can be friends with them and find out if you like them. I meant
maybe you should look for a different type. You're right that you
can't pick who you're interested in." It was the only thing she'd said
that Cosani agreed with.

"I_do_ meet people. It's not as if I stay in the Weyr all of the
time." The way Cosani said it made her sound like some sort of
recluse, which Meledei was quite the opposite of. "But as for a
different type, I've been with two and neither worked. I think I'm
just going to stop looking." Not that Meledei had really actively
looked with either of the relationships.

"Nothing wrong with that. You don't need a man in your life to be
happy." After a moment of thought, she added, "You can probably be
happier without one."

"You're right about that." No, she didn't need a man and Meledei had
never thought she needed a man. Still, it didn't hurt to have a
reminder now and again.

Last updated on the June 2nd 2014

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Differing Views