Home Ground

Writers: Eimi, Yvonne
Date Posted: 31st October 2008

Characters: U'kaiah, Harki
Description: Harki checks on U'kaiah after the results of Traelyn's flight are known
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 22 of Turn 4
Notes: Late due to unavoidable LOAs

The outcome of an open flight was known half-ways across Pern only
moments after it was completed - dragons did like to gossip, after all,
especially when the dragon who won was from their own Weyr. }:Loseth
flew Nyith,:{ Cerillith informed her gleefully. }:Loseth will now lead
Dolphin Cove Weyr!:{

**So he will,** Harki thought back, smiling slightly. N'vanik,
Weyrleader at Dolphin Cove Weyr. Who'd have guessed? He was surly,
moody, arrogant, and hot headed, but the greenrider felt proud of him
anyway - it was a credit to _her_ Weyr that a Dragonsfall bronzerider
had filled the gap left by J'darin. She lifted the straps that were
spread across her lap up to the light to examine the stitches with a
critical eye, then smiled again. **Next time, love, we're going to spend
the marks and get you leather dyed indigo, or black. It'll look so good
against your hide!**

}:As long as it doesn't leave dye marks. Remember that one time when you
got dyed leather? My hide was blotchy. I did not like that.:{

**My riding leathers were too, remember? No, this time I'll buy off a
Crafter instead of a trader. Hey - ask Kalamath if his rider wants
company. I doubt that U'kaiah will be over the moons with joy hearing
that N'vanik won Traelyn's flight.** There were still afternoon drills,
but if he was amiable maybe they could meet for lunch. Or later that
evening.

U'kaiah hesitated a moment as he peered across his darkened room. He
didn't really want to be with anyone, and yet he hated being alone.
Alone all he could think about was that rotting feeling in the pit of
his stomach. He'd not be good company for people. But then again,
Harki wasn't people. She was more like family. If anyone could handle
him now it was her.

**Tell her... I'm on my way.** Now he just had to make himself stand
up.

~*~

Harki knocked but marched into U'kaiah's weyr before he could answer.
"Cerillith said you were going to show up but you really didn't...
U'kaiah?" His weyr was dark - none of the lights were on and the shadows
lay heavilly across the floor. The greenrider snorted in annoyance.
"Shells, man! It's almost noon and it's as dark as a pit in here! I--"
The rest of the sentence was lost in a string of expletives as she
cracked her shin on an end table.

"I would have thought you'd know your way around my weyr better than
that by now," the bronzerider snorted. He moved over on the sofa to
make room for her. "Sorry, I got a little lost."

"Yeah, I bet." She flopped down beside him and rubbed her leg. "You all
right?"

He shrugged a shoulder sluggishly. "If anything, I suppose the outcome
just proved my suspicions right. It seems Nyith chose her rider's
familiarity to the rider." There was really no other way to explain
N'vanik's winning.

"Okay, let me rephrase that: are you _going_ to be all right?"

U'kaiah was silent a moment, staring off into the dimly lit room. "I
think it's over, Harki."

"I'm sorry." She didn't know what else to say, so she gave him a
one-armed hug instead. He was probably right - there was very little
hope for him and Traelyn now that N'vanik was Dolphin Cove's Weyrleader,
but their relationship had been on rocky ground for a while since
neither were willing to compromise their situation for the other.

The bronzerider leaned into her a little, accepting the comfort she
offered. "I thought we could be happy. I thought it was enough.
Nothing's going to change. It's only going to get harder for her, I
think. Maybe its better it happens now than after months or even turns
of investing time to trying to make it work, only to fail in the end."

Harki smiled. "I wish I could tell you one way or the other. I've never
been in love before, remember?"

"Trust me, it doesn't help," U'kaiah sighed, letting his head roll back
against the cushion. "If anything it makes it all worse. It used to be
so easy. No commitments, no heartache."

"That's what you get for Impressing bronze, you know," Harki said
lightly. "Responsibility and all the junk that goes with it. But you
_did_ Impress Kalamath. You were _born_ to be here. And Kalamath
wouldn't have chosen somebody who couldn't handle a little heartache
when he made the right choice. Doesn't mean it won't hurt like Thread
now, though."

The bronzerider smiled slightly with knowing amusement. Harki had an
amazing way of being a caring and comforting friend, yet callously
indifferent in the way she showed it. It was just her way. He
understood that. He understood because he knew her, like the cracks in
his ceiling and drafts through the halls. She was part of his home.
Whether or not he and Trae were together tomorrow, these walls and these
people were his constant. The love he felt for Dragonsfall might not be
able to shoot him to the Red Star with ecstasy, or make him feel like he
could fly on wings of his own making, but it made him feel safe,
appreciated and needed. Really, what more could a dragonrider trying to
survive a Pass ask for than that? "You know I'm going to be
insufferable for a while, right?"

The greenrider snorted. "And how is that's is that different from
usual?"

"Hey, that's enough abuse out of you," he muttered in mock irritation,
butting her knee lightly with his own.

"Oh, poor little baby." She rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "And
while I hate to incur the wrath of your entire Wing, shouldn't you be
thinking about getting ready for afternoon drills?"

"Oh, I've been thinking about it," U'kaiah snorted. But thinking and
feeling motivated to do something were quite different things. Still,
he had a Wing to lead. He couldn't just wallow in self-pity. Thread
didn't care if it's timing was inconvenient or not. "Yeah, I should
probably get ready."

"_Or_ you could call off afternoon drills, tell D'wrayt that I'm needed
elsewhere, and we could go surfing near Topaz Sea Hold?"

He couldn't say it wasn't tempting, but... "Or, we can both go to drills
and go surfing afterwards."

"Spoil sport." Harki stuck her lower lip out in a pout. "All right.
You'll be okay until then? You won't start being all weepy mid-air or
anything?"

He rolled his eyes. "See, there you go, being all mean to me again."

"Whatever." Harki leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek
before heading for the door. "Get Kalamath to tell Cerillith when you're
ready to go, and we'll be waiting for you on the Heights. Sound good?"

"Yes ma'am, I'll be there." And with that the Wingleader decided it was
time to lift himself off his couch and go back to work. He still had a
Wing to lead.

Last updated on the November 1st 2008

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Home Ground