Offering To Look

Writers: Avery, Miriah
Date Posted: 8th May 2017

Characters: L'pin, J'ackt
Description: J'ackt gets an offer he can't refuse.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 11, day 4 of Turn 8

J'ackt

J'ackt paced along the weyrlake's bank, staring out at the water as
his mind worried over the past few evenings. The dreams he had had in
the past sevendays had gotten more intense; though J'ackt was still
forced to see a mindhealer, he had not mentioned them except to Alun.
And Faranth, he was tired. One part of the dreams had played over and
over again one
evening, the memory of his father calling him a bastard. It wasn't so
much that it was something new; his father had called him much worse,
but it was the pure rage that he had seen on both his father's face
and in turn, his own.

The dreams had not only been causing him to lose sleep, but they had
also began to foster in him a gnawing need to know. His father had
always refused to speak about why they had been Holdless. His mother
never mentioned it. But that always had frustrated him. He knew
nothing about his own family, just what had taken place after they'd
been sent to live in the wild and that his father had been a guard.
All his father would say was that the Holds and Weyrs were never to be
trusted. But he had never given a reason.

L'pin spotted a familiar figure along the weyrlake, and headed over
that way. He'd been meaning to ask J'ackt about how he was setting
into the Queen's wing, and now seemed as good a time as ever to go for
it.

"J'ackt. How are you and Zith?" he asked.

J'ackt didn't even look at him, but the voice was recognizable. "We're
fine." His answer was curt and distracted.

"Enjoying flying with the Queen's?" L'pin wondered if he'd hoped for
something more.

He shrugged in response. "'Bout the same as drills, only less Thread.
Zith's more active though, so he's happy." J'ackt brow furrowed deeply
as he scratched at his head and blinked, finally turning to face
L'pin. "How much do you know about Holds?"

"I'm Hallbred, but they're relatively similar. I had siblings who
became holders. And of course, my Craft training taught me some."

J'ackt crossed his arms over his chest and his fingers drummed against
his biceps as he considered his next words. "What crimes would make
someone Holdless?"

A legal question. L'pin took a moment to run through it in his mind.
He suspected this had to do with J'ackt's background, so he wanted to
be accurate but also sensitive in his framing of things.

"There are several, some more extreme than others. Murder and rape are
two of the common reasons. Rebelling against a Lord Holder and
offending him enough to be thrown out - that could be inciting treason
against him. Severe theft, violent assault, usually lead to shunning
but many shunned become holdless, since part of shunning is denying
assistance."

J'ackt's frown didn't alter; instead, he looked even more frustrated.
Murder? Sure his father had been capable, in all honesty, so was he.
He _had_ killed when necessary. Rape? He wouldn't put it past his
father. His hand rubbed over his face as he considered further. Maybe
it was theft. He already knew his father knew how to steal. "That's a
lot of options. Can a Hold kick a family out just because the Lord
Holder wants to?" When he was younger, he just had assumed the Lord
Holder didn't like his family. He didn't know much about Hold law and
still didn't now more than just the necessary.

"Crimes need to be committed before that kind of sentence would be
imposed." L'pin continued with a sad expression, "But a corrupt and
sufficiently motivated Lord could hypothetically make up charges and
convict someone."

He vaguely remembered being removed from his home as a child; the
memories were fuzzy, but they were there. He chose his words
carefully. "The last Lord Holder before Corowal...was he a Lord like
that?"

"Lord Enrizial was a divisive figure," L'pin said, wondering how to
condense all of the politics down for J'ackt. "There's been much
political turmoil at that Hold. Enrizial was not always considered the
kindest Lord, and he offended many people. He was ursurped by another
man for a bit who was even worse."

Exhaling through his nose, J'ackt rubbed at the bridge and pinched it.
he then turned to face L'pin, his lips tight. "How can I find out what
happened to my family? I want to know. I _need_ to know why we were
holdless, but I can't go to the fecking Hold myself." He ran his hand
through his hair, mussing it and tugging it. The reason he wasn't
allowed to go was obvious. "I want to know why."

"There would be records of decisions made. The Hold would have them,
and it's possible the Harper Hall would, too."

Though J'ackt still couldn't go there, it was too close to the Hold...
but L'pin himself...

"Do you want me to go?" the Third asked after a moment.

J'ackt blinked at L'pin in surprise and his brows shot up, then
lowered with uncertainty. His first reaction was to ask what L'pin
wanted from him in return, but he stifled that. L'pin had never asked
much of him even as a weyrling. But he would owe him just for going.
His eyes searched L'pin's face. "You'd do that?"

L'pin nodded. "I'd need a little more information from you to know
when to search. Around what Turns it might have happened," he said.
"You deserve answers and to know the truth. Even if it turns out
unpleasant."

J'ackt shifted on his feet as he considered the offer further. "What
do you want for doing that for me? I mean, I don't have much, but I
can come up with something."

L'pin didn't really want anything in return from J'ackt, but he understood
that the young bronzerider still thought of things in terms of favors and
owing. A transactions system. He wished J'ackt understood that
dragonriders did things like this for their friends and students without
obligation, but he didn't want to sidetrack on such points right now.

"Would you mind helping me out in the weyrling self-defense classes, when
Riyanth's clutch gets that far? Demonstrating some of the throws is
getting hard on my old bones," he said.

It didn't take long to decide on that. "Deal." He thrust out his hand.
"Thank you."

L'pin shook it. "I'll head out there next rest-day and talk with you
when I find something out," he said.

Last updated on the June 8th 2017

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Offering To Look