Truth and Consequences

Writers: Curious, Devin
Date Posted: 28th April 2024

Characters: L'saz, R'lor, Laesa
Description: R'lor makes L'saz go home and admit he Impressed a green.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Green Valley Hold
Date: month 13, day 7 of Turn 10

R'lor

L'saz walked into R'lor's office with the face of a dead man. Or at
least, a man about to lose everything he knew and loved for the dragon
who had caused him to lose it all.

The candidate lessons he has paid no attention to and the weyrling
lessons he'd been forced to make up for it in hadn't talked about
this. Nothing in the _world_ could have prepared him for this.

"Weyrlingmaster," he dully greeted R'lor. "Let's get this over with."

R'lor stood. "I know this isn't pleasant for you, lad, but it's not
the end of the world."

"Maybe not for you," L'saz muttered. "This is the only world I've ever known."

"You belong to the Weyr now. _This_ is your world." R'lor led the way
out of his office and toward the Weyr Bowl.

"You'd think that should me _my_ decision," L'saz bitterly muttered,
following R'lor.

Kularth was ready and knelt for his rider. R'lor watched to make sure
L'saz got himself secured to Faelath's riding straps correctly. "Just
like in training, you'll give the image to Faelath, she'll pass it to
Kularth, and we'll both check to make sure it's clear."

"Right," L'saz muttered. He didn't say a word to R'lor as he mounted
his dragon and prepared for takeoff - indeed, it was unlikely that he
would be saying anything to the weyrlingmaster at all. It was without
so much as a noise or signal that Faelath passed a pristine image of
Green Valley Hold on to Kularth.

After checking it, R'lor gave the signal to go /between/. They came
out over green fields surrounding the hold itself, such a lovely view
for such an unpleasant task. The dragons spiraled down to land and
R'lor slid from Kularth's neck, giving the blue an absent pat.

L'saz was stiff as a walking corpse as he dismounted Faelath. He did
not say a word to R'lor as he started toward the hold, hands stuffed
in his pockets. However, Faelath reached out to Kularth with a gentle
warning of, }: He is not going to be pleasant. :{

Kularth passed on the message and R'lor nearly laughed. He didn't
expect that this would be fun or easy. "Think about Faelath and how
much you love her," R'lor said.

"Of course I love her," L'saz hissed. "But she's not the only one I
love, and she..." He swallowed, one hand curling into a fist. "_She_
isn't going to disown me."

"No, she'll never leave you, never stop loving you. And you should be
_proud_ that she chose you. So speak with pride when you tell your
family."

L'saz didn't say anything to R'lor, just shot him a _look_ that said
that he didn't understand what he was talking about. And maybe he was
right; maybe a man as wholly devoted to dragons as R'lor couldn't
fully understand what he was demanding L'saz to sacrifice and how much
it would hurt. Or maybe the greenrider was just a selfish,
overdramatic, spoiled brat. It didn't matter, really. The result would
be the same either way. And as he lead them through the guts of Green
Valley Hold, towards his family's living quarters, that knowledge hung
over him like a divine sword of damnation.

R'lor let him stew for a few minutes before asking, "How much further?"

"Just a-" L'saz's words cut off when they arrived in front of a
specific door. "-Bit." Every muscle in his body tensed as he raised
his hand to knock, only to pull it back at the last second. "Can I at
least take the knot off?" he asked R'lor. "Give me a chance to
_explain_ the lie before they can _see_ it."

R'lor's mouth pressed into a line and he stared at L'saz for a long
moment. "Only until you tell them, and you have to do that as soon as
the pleasantries are out of the way." He wasn't going to let L'saz
drag his feet on this anymore.

"Thank you," L'zas whispered, pulling his knots off and stuffing them
in his pocket. It was, without a doubt, the only time that he would
thank R'lor throughout this affair. A moment later, he was knocking on
the door.

It was pulled open by an elegant looking woman. Her eyes went wide at
the sight of the greenrider. "Larsaz!" she exclaimed. "You didn't tell
me you were going to visit! You should have, we could have prepared!
Wait here, I'll tell your father that-- oh." The woman's smile faded
as she spotted R'lor, flinty eyes lingering on the knots on his
shoulder. "Who's this?"

"Mom, this is R'lor," L'saz awkwardly said, clearing his throat. "He's
a Weyrlingmaster at Dolphin Cove."

"I see." It was with vaguely irritated befuddlement that Laesa turned
back to L'saz. "And why is he here? A bronze escort would have been
far more suitable, dear."

"_All_ dragons and riders deserve respect," R'lor said, voice a little
tight. "R'lor, of blue Kularth. Weyrlingmaster Third. I've brought
Weyrling L'saz here to tell you something important, ma'am."

Laesa smiled thinly. "You riders are welcome to think that-"

"Mom," L'saz began.

"-But we know better about you blue and greenriders, and the likes of
filthy men like you should know better than to show your faces on our
Holds."

L'saz's' mouth snapped shut with an audible click. He stared wide-eyed
at the ground as his mother turned to him to ask, "What did you need,
dear? And can't it be said away from this one? You really shouldn't be
associating with him on the first place. I know he has been given some
rank, but _surely_ you could have found a more suitable rider to bring
with you."

Kularth's roar echoed across the Hold. }:I would eat her, but she
would taste bad.:{

The humor and the warm love flowing across their bond calmed R'lor a
little. But _only_ a little. "What's filthy is holders like you who
treat others with such a lack of respect -- dragonriders or your
fellow holders alike. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"A moralless man such as yourself has no room to speak of shame,"
Laesa said, turning back to R'lor for just long enough to offer her
simple, straightforward condemnation.

With that, she turned back to L'saz. "What was it?"

And L'saz floundered. He tried to force the words past his lips, only
to feel his throat threatening to close up on him. What cane out was a
strangled noise that only developed into words with a tremendous
effort. "Mom, I... I lied."

Laesa's expression became a mask of confusion. "About what, sweetie?"

"I- I didn't-" L'saz felt like he was dying as he spoke. In many ways,
he was. "I didn't impress bronze. Faelath is. Green."

Quick as a flash, Laesa's face went cold as ice.

L'saz reached a hand out. "Mom-"

Laesa flinched back. "Don't call me that," she spat. "I have no son."

R'lor put a hand on L'saz's shoulder and told Laesa, "You aren't
worthy of having a son like L'saz. He's a dragonrider, a defender of
Pern, and you've shown yourself to be lower than a tunnelsnake." It
wasn't the first time he'd seen such a poor reaction where there
should be pride instead. Outsiders sometimes spoke about the
degeneracy of the weyr, but the real degeneracy was here among the
holdfolk.

L'saz didn't respond to R'lor's touch, too busy staring down at the
ground like it was falling away.

"A degenerate man like yourself _would_ say that," Laesa sniffed.
"Better dead than on a green. We told him that before he went. We had
hoped... But now I understand why he ran off to your den of
debauchery." She waved her hand in a gesture of damning dismissal.
"Leave my home and never show your faces here again."

With that, Laesa slammed the door.

"You're well rid of that, L'saz." R'lor was nearly shaking with anger.
"That woman may have birthed you and raised you, but she's not your
family."

"Maybe," L'saz said, quiet, distant, and disconnected. Dead inside.
"But shouldn't I have been the one to decide that?"

"She decided that. She's the one who decided to treat you
differently." R'lor said. "I know you didn't think you'd Impress, but
when Faelath chose you, your life changed forever. Lying about her
makes you seem ashamed of her, and you should _never_ be ashamed of
your dragon. And if I can, I'll do my best to make sure you aren't
ashamed of yourself either."

L'saz wanted to be angry. He really, _really_ wanted to be angry. But
as he looked at R'lor, as he sensed the sincerity in his words, he
couldn't do it.

"Thanks," he murmured, looking back down at his feet. "Can we just go
back to the Weyr for now? I'm ready for today to be over."

"Yes." R'lor patted his shoulder. "If you come to my office, we can
have a drink."

Last updated on the April 30th 2024

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