Restday

Writers: Emma, Jane
Date Posted: 29th December 2007

Characters: K'deren, K'hetah
Description: K'deren discovers his new Wingleader in their office on the restday.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 14 of Turn 4

K'deren

First restday at his new Weyr and the Cyclone Wingleader was at his desk. The desk looked no different from the day he arrived - it was still a large flat surface unblemished by any hidework or papers. Not even pens or ink, or even chalks for making the artistically inept sketches he liked to scatter around on any surface to explain a formation point to wingriders.

The Wingleader was leaning back on his chair, with his booted feet braced against the edge of the desk and his head resting on the neatly faced rock behind him. His eyes were closed.

K'hetah was thinking.

"Sir," began K'deren politely as he entered the office. "Ah... Forgive me for disturbing you."

"You're not disturbing me, Wingsecond." The bronzerider eased his feet off the desk edge and allowed the chair to flop onto all four legs, wincing at the ominous cracking sound. The chair had been doing that almost since the first moment he had put his backside down in it and hadn't broken yet, but there was always the possibility that he was going to end up in a pile of kindling on the floor. "But it's a restday. You can call me K'hetah, instead of sir, and I'll call you K'deren if I may."

"Thank you K'hetah." Somehow that made it a little easier using names over titles. Some wingleaders expected formality at all times, it was becoming clear that this one did not. "I've brought these from the Healers, reports on the physicals that some of the riders have just had." A pile of hides was dropped on the almost empty desk. "You should understand more of this than I do." The knots of a Healer hadn't gone unnoticed amongst those of Wingleader.

"I suppose I will, though that seems like a long time ago. I'm going to take them off, one day," he said, more to himself than the brownrider as he pulled the pile of hides toward him. "I don't suppose the healers just flag the ones we need to know about?" he asked hopefully. If they didn't he would train them to do so. It was madness to burden people with mountains of hidework.

"They put those to the top," explained the brownrider. "So they'll be the half dozen or so with the margins on the left. The normal ones are turned over so that the margins on the right."

"Excellent. Have you read them? Is that what you normally do?" He grinned. "We could split this job because we probably both don't need to go over them. One reads and - er, summarises for the other - other two, with Eleada."

"I haven't read them yet," admitted K'deren. "But I do have another stack that need my attention unfortunately so I can't help there."

"I'll do these then and report to you and Eleada tomorrow after drills."
K'hetah closed the folder and pushed the reports to one side.
"Probably a suitable division of labour in this case, but-," he looked across the room at the brownrider, "the more important question is -
What are you doing in here on your restday?"

"Dropping these off for tomorrow before I go pick up the children from their fostermother."

"Lots of children? Or just a couple?"

"Four, two girls, two boys." K'deren wasn't going to mention that Treivan wasn't his, most people knew, and for those who didn't, well the child regarded K'deren as his father anyway, and he thought of him as a son. "My elder daughter is twelve, the boys are eight and five and the youngest is two."

K'hetah smiled. "Sounds like you have a busy afternoon ahead of you.
Do you have a weyrmate to help you with them?"

"She, she died in fall." That was all he needed to say. Most riders understood.

The Wingleader nodded. "I'm sorry to hear that. Well, then, if you're doing duty as both parents I won't hold you up. Enjoy your restday, K'deren."

"And you K'hetah."

K'hetah watched the brownrider go and wondered how he was going to fill in the remainder of his restday - after he had read the healer's reports and found the right place to store them so that his desktop stayed uncluttered. He had the feeling he wasn't going to spend the day idling by the beach as his peers at his former Weyr had suggested he would when his intetion to move to the tropical Weyr became known. The sun was hot, the sand was gritty, and the seawater was sticky. He would no doubt get used to it in time but in the meantime he would have to find something more useful to do with his leisure.

Which put him back to the exact thing he had been pondering when K'deren had appeared in the office.

What to do with a restday in a place that wasn't yet home.

Last updated on the January 1st 2008

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Restday