Had to Count for Something

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 31st January 2010

Characters: Traelyn, U'kaiah
Description: An angry and upset Traelyn ends up comparing the two men again....
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 2 of Turn 5

Traelyn stared off into the direction of Girifith's weyr, trying to rein in her temper. Shards, she hadn't meant it the way he took it! He'd heard what he had wanted to hear and had stormed off. He had overreacted and had decided to take it out on her. Well, she wasn't going to sharding stand for that! He should know that by now. Shifting, she swung her legs over the side of the bed, intending to get up and leave. She didn't have to take his surly attitude, no matter how conflicted she knew he was. U'kaiah would never have treated her so poorly. She could actually talk to him about how she felt--and she had. The memory of their talking about children suddenly came back to her....

~ ~ ~

U'kaiah carefully moved the wooden model of a dragon in flight and piled it along with the other toys next to a stack of books on the table before settling himself next to the goldrider on the sofa. "He's out."

"He played hard today," Traelyn grinned, gesturing to the small mountain of toys.

"Didn't we all," U'kaiah sighed and then turned to lean against the arm of the sofa and wrapped his arms around her, pulling back against himself. "So, little girl, do you need a bedtime story too?"

"Yes please," she murmured, trying to ignore the sudden fluttery feeling as she lay back against him. Clearing her throat, she craned her head around to catch his eye. "I think I deserve one. I've been a good girl today, haven't I?" Her tone was playful...but she couldn't help the slight purr.

"Oh, you _deserve_ a story, do you? Well, I better make it a good story for a good little girl." He reached over for the book on top of the stack. U'kaiah laid the book down on her lap and opened it up to it's first brightly illustrated page. Wrapping both arms around her to hold the book in place and in his best fatherly voice began to read:

"Once upon a time in a Weyr far away, there stood on the Sands a fine Clutch of Eggs. Everyone was excited and waited impatiently for the new Hatchlings to appear. Finally the day came. The people gathered in the Stands and cheered as each shell cracked.

A little green nose would poke through, and they would all cry as one, 'A green!'

A blue would tumble out from it's shell, and they all cheered, 'A blue!'

This went on as egg after egg opened and Hatchlings of all colors broke their shells and stumbled across the Sands to their waiting lifemates. That is until the very last egg burst open. The crowd cheered and cried out, but this time, they could not seem to agree. One would scream out, 'It's a bronze!' while their neighbor cried, 'It's a brown!'. The crowd instead of cheering suddenly became so intent on debating the little dragonet's color that they had had not even noticed when he boldly walked up to a waiting candidate and introduced himself.

'I'm Vagath!'

Later that evening in the barracks, the Weyrleader, Weyrwoman and Weyrlingmaster all gathered around the little Hatchling, sleepy now that his belly was full.

The Weyrleader scratched his head. 'He could be a big brown, or a small bronze...'

The Weyrwoman bit her lip, 'He's dark like a brown, but shimmers like a bronze...'

The Weyrlingmaster pulled at his beard. 'I just can't tell. Which one are you, little dragon?'

'I'm Vagath,' the little Hatchling yawned as he rested his chin on his paws and fell asleep."

"And now I'm going to skip ahead because I've already read this story twice today," U'kaiah said as he flipped through the pages. "Vagath grows up, they still can't tell which he is, he saves the Weyr, and everyone cheers, and... Ah." He stopped on the last page. "'The Weyrfolk learned a valuable lesson that day: It doesn't matter what shape, size or color you come in, you just have to be who you are.' A good lesson for children of any age, don't you think?"

"Definitely," she agreed with a chuckle, reaching out to turn the page to the back, where the artist had drawn the dragon and his rider flying off in to the sunset. "I remember getting into debates with my friends over whether he was a bronze or a brown." Her finger traced the dragon's long tail. "We never did agree on one answer."

"I always thought he was a bronze," U'kaiah smiled, resting his chin on her shoulder as he watched her finger move across the page. "And I'll admit I had a bit of an unsettling dream once that I had Impressed a dragon and I couldn't tell what color he was. I was so relieved when Kalamath was _definitely_ a bronze."

"Mmmmm." Her finger moved to trace the dragon's head. "How old were you when you had that dream?"

"I might have just finished Harper school I guess. But it was still my favorite book." Probably the favorite of many a Weyrbred boy. "And now it's Kaiafel's."

"Like father, like son," she smiled, turning her head so she could look at him out of the corner of her eye. "It's sweet, U'kaiah."

He snorted. "I don't know about that. He's got a lot of his mother in him too."

"Yes, but he's definitely a miniature you. I can see it in his eyes and his smile. You know it quirks up a bit here," she lightly touched the corner of his mouth, "like yours does."

His lips obediently curled under her touch. "Well, he certainly has my hair, that's for sure."

"A thick mop of dark curls that's a challenge for any respectable comb," she teased.

"That's why I prefer fingers," he said with a grin, knowing full well that she was aware of how much he liked having his hair played with. "Course, it would probably be more annoying if I were a woman and wanted longer hair than I have now."

"I can't even imagine trying to control long curls like yours." She wrinkled her nose. "Managing long straight hair is enough work!"

"Then I guess I should try really hard to make sure all the children I have in the future are sons. Or have their mother's hair."

She studied him for a moment, her expression soft. "You want more children?"

"Hmmmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "I hadn't thought about it much, I guess. I think it wouldn't be bad."

"No, probably not," she agreed a little dryly, but the tone was teasing.

"You want kids, though, don't you?" He seemed to remember she had talked about it before.

"One day." She looked down at the children's book in her lap. "I really don't see myself becoming a mother until later in my life."

"Just not ready?" It was big change to your life, he knew.

She nodded. "I'd want to enjoy my child. And even though I wouldn't raise her, or him...I'd want to be more involved than I could be right now." She glanced up at him. "Does that make sense?"

"That makes sense," he nodded. "Though, I think if it's something you really want, you'll make time for them, like I make time for Kaiafel. I know my duties aren't anything like yours, but I think when the time comes, whenever it is, you'll be able to find the time to be the kind of mother you want to be."

A small smile tugged at her lips. "It's hard for me even to imagine myself as a mother. When I picture it in my mind, I'm always a lot older."

He wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder once more. "You'll be a good mother, whatever age you are."

She turned her head, brushing the tip of her nose against his cheek. "I want to be as good of a mother as you are father," she murmured.

U'kaiah wondered if after she became a mother he and Kaiafel would part of their lives. He could almost picture the two of them sitting under a tree and watching a boy with lack curly hair playing in the sand with a little girl with dark grey eyes... It made him smile as he squeezed her tighter. "You will be, love. You will be."

~ ~ ~

Of course, this had happened before she and U'kaiah became lovers. And Traelyn couldn't help but wonder if U'kaiah's reaction would have been different--more like B'ram's--if she had told him that she'd been thinking about children before he broke it off with her. No. Not U'kaiah. Not with her.

Shards, she needed to stop comparing the two men. What had happened, happened...between herself and the bronzerider, and between herself and B'ram.

Sighing, she glanced towards Girifith's weyr. She wasn't as angry as she had been anymore, but it still irked her that he'd reacted the way he had. But B'ram was who he was. Maybe instead of leaving, she should stay to show that even though she didn't appreciate his lack of sensitivity, she still loved him. Slowly she curled her knees back up onto the bed and eased back down to the furs. He could stay out there with his brown all night if he wanted to, but she would still be here when he decided to come back inside. For better or worse, she'd be here. And that had to count for something.

Last updated on the February 1st 2010

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Had to Count for Something