Stress Lines

Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 14th May 2015

Characters: L'pin
Description: L'pin has a nightmare.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 20 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Alina, P'ton, Sh'del

}:Tahgirath has been hit!:{ Chaneth relayed, leaping into the air. He
climbed for the heights of the sky. A screaming dragon burst from
/between/. It plummeted downwards. Through Chaneth's eyes, L'pin could
recognize it as Tahgirath. The pale blue hide was covered in green
ichor. His dragon was positioning himself for the catch. Tahgirath was
small and Chaneth was large. He could take the weight.

But suddenly the weight was far too much for Chaneth to carry. That
wasn't right. But Chaneth was falling, helpless under the burden of a
heavy bronze hide. P'ton's body dangled from the straps, unconscious.
L'pin could only watch as his blue hit the weyrbowl's ground and...

A badly-wounded green slid off. The rider was female, with long black
hair. He raced towards the pair. His knife struggled to get through
the straps to free the rider, He brushed away the long black hair to
check for a head wound. The face was Alina's.

No, no, that wasn't right. It was another young man's. And the wounded
dragon screaming their last was a pale blue again. Tahgirath. R'min's
blue. His son's...

L'pin sat upright in bed. He had sweated through his night clothes.
The bedding was tangled and sweat-soaked. He panted, trying to make
sense of it all. Where was he? When was it it?

Last night, L'pin had turned the calendar to face the wall so he
didn't have to look at the visible reminder of the date. But he still
knew when it was. Month 12, day 20.

His whole sevenday had been finding creative ways to lead up to avoid
this date. But all his plans to find someone to spend time with so he
wasn't walled up in his own grief, they all had fallen apart the
moment he woke up. He didn't want to see his friends, or his students,
or anyone. Not today.

R'min would have been 21 today.

His son. That beautiful boy who might have been his biologically,
might not have. It didn't matter, because he'd raised him and loved
him as his own. He'd been there for the boy the longest, after his
mother died, after his father died. Their family kept shrinking. First
it had been four, then three, then two.

And now it was one.

He was 49, and what did he have to show for his life? He'd been an
adequate Harper, an acceptable wingrider. He thought he'd been a good
Weyrlingmaster. But really, the best thing he'd done was raise a child
- and then he'd lost him.

At night, the haunting little whispers told him that R'min was dead
because of his own inadequate teaching skills. So much for being a
good weyrlingmaster, it whispered. Who would trust their children to
you? You couldn't keep your own safe.

He just wanted to go back to sleep. Sleep would keep him from
remembering. Except it hadn't...

}:You cannot sleep. There is Threadfall today.:{ Chaneth reminded him.
Chaneth didn't understand why L'pin hurt so badly. He felt the
recollections of Tahgirath and of his rider from his rider's mind. But
he was more interested in the people and dragons he did know.

**And?** He wasn't flying an active Fall. And he had asked to have the
whole sevenday off from his duties. Didn't that mean he could be off
of his Threadfall ones, as well?

But Chaneth disagreed. }:We will be needed to keep the young ones calm.:{

The young ones. The weyrlings who trusted him. The ones like P'ton and
Alina. His favorite students. The ones who believed in him the most.
Look at how P'ton had asked if he would be there to watch him lead
drills. Who seemed to be looking at him as a mentor. That showed a
faith in him that L'pin didn't deserve.

Or Alina, who had asked him for music lessons. Who'd done so well
since Impressing her green, even if she resented some of the changes
that were happening to her with weyrlinghood. It would be her job to
go up there next month, to fly against Thread as all dragonriders were
called to do. Would he see her fall out of the sky, scarred by Thread?
(Just like in the dream.) Would he -

}:Enough!:{ Chaneth bugled from the ledge. }:You are not thinking
well. We are good teachers. Our weyrlings do well with us.:{

**I can't go back out there today,** L'pin thought at his dragon. Not
today of all days. He couldn't stand to think about Threadfall. He
needed to be somewhere else. Anywhere else. **I can't _do_ this.**

}:Your mind is sick. Your thoughts are bad,:{ Chaneth said in a
worried tone. }:You need help.:{

The Healers. They could give him something to make him sleep. If he
went to the Infirmary, told them he was feeling too sick to work
today... It wasn't a lie. He wasn't in a mental state to work today.

}:Yes. They will make you better.:{ Chaneth crooned reassuringly.

**Alright. Just let me get dressed.** L'pin stripped off his
sweat-soaked clothes. Hopefully they'd have something for him. A way
to sleep. A way to forget. Dull the pain, if just for one day.

Last updated on the May 21st 2015

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Stress Lines