Keeping a Promise

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 4th March 2019

Characters: T'ner, Ayressa
Description: Tener and Ayressa talk about what their life at the Weyr might be like.
Location: Green Valley Hold
Date: month 10, day 1 of Turn 9

"How did it go?" Ayressa asked Tener as he came through the door. Her head was tilted to the side as she tried to pry one of Resser's chubby hands out of her long golden brown tresses. Being Searched was an honor, and a surprise, Ayressa thought, but one that might very well work to their advantage. Growing up she had never entertained ideas of moving to the Weyr, she was a Hold girl, through and through, but now.... Now the Weyr seemed filled with endless possibilities for their little family that Green Valley didn't offer.

"Very well, actually," said Tener. He was not exactly surprised, but speaking with Reven could not have gone better. Even in his head when he had practiced what he would say, it had not gone so well as it actually had.

"That just leaves mothers and fathers," he said, and his tone made it clear just how much he was not looking forward to that conversation. Tener held his hands out to take Resser, smiling and blowing a raspberry on his chubby cheek.

"Are you ready to go live with the dragons, buddy?" he asked in a sing-song voice. To Ayressa, he said, "It looks like we're really doing this," and wrapped his free arm around her.

Ayressa leaned into the one-armed hug, feeling nervous, but hopeful. "Yes, it does. I wonder what I will do there while you are a Candidate? I mean, I'll be able to look after Resser, of course," she added as she watched their son climb for his papa's lap.

"You can do whatever you want there," said Tener. "They don't keep women from crafting," he reminded her, though everyone knew it, of course. He sounded hopeful about it. He knew that it was important for women to have children after the plague, but they had. They had Resser. There was no reason to shut Ayressa out forever.

"What do you want to do?" He sat down and stood Resser up in his lap, making silly faces at the boy.

"I don't know," she said honestly, "I always thought I would just be someone's wife, and someone's mother. Now... Now there are possibilities. I don't even know what I am good at."

"We'll find out," said Tener, smiling. Much as their beginning had been rocky, Tener had made the decision to love and care for his wife and son, and he had no intention of giving up on that promise. He leaned in to kiss her temple. "Together. Or I'll support you while you find out on your own, if that's what you need."

"And I'll support _you_, too." She emphasized, knowing that things were bound to be different for them when they got to the Weyr. He would be busy doing whatever it was that Candidates did all day, and then if he Impressed, she knew he would have to go through training and have duties for that too.

"I know you will," said Tener. And he was almost a little worried that Ayressa might still feel it necessary that she support him at her own expense. Part of the reason he wanted to do this... maybe, more accurately, part of the reason he felt justified in asking this of Ayressa was that this genuinely *could* be an opportunity for her. He had to make sure she felt free to take it. "I couldn't do this without you."

"You know, if you're going to be taking care of Resser anyway, maybe you could help take care of the riders' kids, too," he suggested.

Ayressa had considered that, but it seemed too similar to living at the Hold. "Maybe, we'll see." She leaned more comfortably against Tener. "They say when we get to the Weyr that we won't be married anymore but... It will be hard not to call you 'husband,' I've been doing so for almost two Turns now."

"As far as I'm concerned, you're my wife for as long as you'll have me. I'm not just going to call this promise I made to you over because of where we live," said Tener. He had responsibilities to Ayressa and to their son, responsibilities that were the underlying reason he was making this decision. They were! And so he could hardly let the decision itself be an excuse to shirk those responsibilities.

"Or even because I have a dragon. I might have duties I'll need to see to, but I'm never going to abandon you. Not ever."

The words put her at ease. The biggest fear gnawing inside of Ayressa's heart was that they would get to the Weyr and Tener would forget all about her while he was becoming a dragonrider. She knew that women rode dragons there and perhaps they were far more interesting than she was, since she was just a girl from a Hold after all.

She trusted Tener, though. After they'd first found out that she was pregnant she had doubted if he would go through with marrying her, it had been a surprise, after all. But through her pregnancy and Resser's first Turn, Tener had really shown her how committed he was to making their little family work.

"I love you, Tener."

Tener felt that Ayressa was reassured. But he had another feeling that this was going to be a trial that required constant reassurance. He hugged her close again and laid his head against hers.

"I love you, too, Ayressa."

Last updated on the March 11th 2019

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Keeping a Promise