Someone Who Understood

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 31st May 2008

Characters: Nialyn, K'lar
Description: Nialyn and K'lar get to know each other better
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 2 of Turn 4

"They're still warm," K'lar smiled in surprise as he picked up one of the bubblies from his plate.

"One gets a few perks when one works in the kitchens," Nialyn grinned before taking a bite of her own.

"Well, one can bestow one's favors on this one any time one pleases," he said and took a long appreciative whiff of the freshly brewed cup of klah.
"Ah, one really does know how to make a good drink."

"And it's not too hot this time." Dabbing the napkin to her lips, she discreetly studied the dragonrider. He had a pleasant face, medium-dark hair with large, warm brown eyes. He wasn't the most handsome man she'd come across, nor was he as exotic-looking as Birigundi, but there was something comforting in the...well, the normalcy of his appearance. Although, when he smiled....shards, his smile. It transformed his whole face. Blushing, she glanced down. She couldn't help but admire him. He deserved her admiration, especially considering how kind he'd been to her yesterday.

"So tell me how you came to the Weyr. Were you a candidate?" So far all he knew about her was her name, her occupation, and the fact that she had a daughter.

Nialyn shook her head. "I was brought here after my father died. Ceradlyn--that's my mother--and I used to live at Amber Hills Hold." It was hard talking about her mother. She had always been such an aloof woman... Forcing a smile, she continued, "I was told I could petition to be a Candidate, but I didn't want to. Dragons are beautiful, fascinating creatures, but I could never be a rider of one. I like to have both feet on the ground."

"It takes some getting used to," he nodded. "Amber Hills... That's so different from the Weyr, isn't it. It must have taken a lot of getting used to."

Nialyn stared down at her mug of klah. "To be honest, I'm still not used to it."

"You're homesick?" he asked, looking at her over his mug as he sipped at his klah.

"In some ways....yes."

"Actually, my sister lives in Amber Hills now. She used to live at Amethyst Cliff, but after the quake she and her family moved. Do you still have family there?" Wouldn't it be funny if his sister were friends with them! That they had been connected and not even known it...

Her expression was thoughtful. "You know, I might. I think my father had a few cousins who still live there. Or are they second cousins....shards, I can't remember." She glanced up at him. "Did you grow up at Amber Hills?"

"Oh no. I didn't grow up in the Hold. I grew up in a minor Hold. A glorified cot, really." And most of them related to some degree or another. "It was bound to Amethyst Cliff. It was pretty far away from the main Hold, though, so I had never seen it until after I Impressed."

She smiled at him. "What's your dragon's name?"

He washed down his bite of bubblie with a quick drink. "Bruith. He's just a shade darker than this table and very smart." Or at least he thought so.

Her smile turned into a grin at his remark. All riders said that about their dragons. "And that's your unbiased opinion, I'm sure."

"No no, I think everyone would agree that Bruith is darker than this table," he said with an unconcerned shrug.

Ah, dragonmen and their dragons.... Nialyn propped her elbows up on the table. "Was it hard for you to get used to the Weyr?"

"It was really hard. I came from such a small place, I had never seen so many people in life. And there were so many ways of thinking that were so different from everything I had believed. It took some time to change my thinking about certain things. And other things..." he shrugged again as he brushed a couple crumbs from the top of the table. "I can understand why Weyr people behave the way they do sometimes, but I just can't be that way, you know?"

She stared at him, almost unable to believe her ears. Finally! Someone who understood. "I know exactly what you mean." Then she scowled. "They think that we're inhibited."

"Well, we are," he said thoughtfully as he ran his finger around the rim of his mug. "But I don't think that's a _bad_ thing."

"I don't either." Birigundi's face flashed in her mind, and she bit her lip. "But they do."

K'lar felt a need to defend his adopted a home, at least a little. "Well, there's a reason why they behave that way. Dragonriders couldn't do their jobs and be married, at least in the form of marriage we had. Could you imagine if they went into the sky to fight Thread and the first thought in their mind was 'If I die who will take care of my wife and children'? You can't put yourself in that kind of danger every day with that thought weighing on you. For some of them it's just easier not to be responsible to just one person. I think that's why the Weyr came to look on marriage that way."

She took a sip of her klah, which was cooling fast, and thought about what he said. It made sense of course, but she still didn't like it, or the condemnation she received from most people she knew for retaining her "inhibiting" morals. "And are you responsible for just one person?" As soon as the question was out of her mouth, she regretted it. Shards, what was she thinking?

"Not yet. But someday I want to be." Perhaps that sounded strange, being that he had just been defending the Weyr's view of marriage. "You see, I don't think a family would make me weaker. I always thought it would make me stronger. I don't think I'd be thinking about how much I have to lose, but how much I have to fight for."

Nialyn smiled at him a little wistfully. Shards, if only Biri....no. No, she had to stop thinking about him. She couldn't do this to herself. "You'll make a woman very happy, I think." When he looked at her, she blushed.

There it was - the look that had first made him notice her. That sweet sadness in her eyes. Whatever man had put it there must have been a sharding fool to let her go. "I hope I will, Nialyn. I certainly hope so."

Last updated on the June 1st 2008

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Someone Who Understood