One Step At a Time

Writers: Jelena, Len
Date Posted: 3rd April 2012

Characters: Sh'del, Naevyn
Description: Sh'del has a talk with Naevyn, who's worried about what is to come now she impressed.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 11 of Turn 6

By the time Eslith was sound asleep in her wallow, Naevyn's knees were
trembling with shock. As she observed the small sleeping green, she
felt a rush of emotions so strange and contradictory she didn't even
know how to begin to describe them. She loved Eslith and Eslith loved
her, that much she knew at least. It was a strange, inexplicable thing
to her, but she knew it to be true, due to the deep bond formed upon
impression. That overwhelming feeling of love had occupied every
thought in her head as she had fed, bathed and oiled her baby dragon,
but now Eslith was asleep panic was starting to return to her stomach.
She looked around with searching eyes for someone to help her, someone
to tell her just what in Faranth's name was going on.

Sh'del was learning to recognize that look that said 'help!' Nodding
to one of the staff to help out an overexcited boy and his brown, he
walked over to the young girl. "You okay?" He smiled gently, not his
usual brusk self.

"Uhm.. not really, Sir," Naevyn said softly, not able to bring up her
eyes to meet him and instead letting them rest on the sleeping form of
her beautiful Eslith. For a moment, she hesitated, but then pushed
herself onwards. She had to ask this as quickly as possible, because
otherwise she might loose the courage altogether. "Do.. do dragons
make mistakes, Sir? When impressing?"

"Never." He leaned down to make her look him directly in the eye.
"They never make a mistake. What's eating you, girl?"

"It's just.." Naevyn managed to meet Sh'del's eyes, but only with
great effort. "I don't think I was ready to be a dragonrider, Sir. I
don't know what I should know. I'm not brave. I'm not strong..." The
look in her eyes was intense, showing she truly believed what she
said.

"What is the name of this lovely lady here?" Sh'del indicated the
sleeping form of her lifemate.

"Her name is Eslith," Naevyn said softly, her expression softening a
little as she realised that she was the only one to know that. At
least that was something she knew better than anyone else, right?

"A lovely name for a lovely green." He patted the forlorn looking lass
on the shoulder. "Now don't fret about the other stuff, that's what
we're here for." He indicated himself and several of his staff. "We'll
train you up for all that in time. First thing you need to learn is to
strengthen your bond with her and don't let her overeat."

**That doesn't seem too bad...** Naevyn thought to herself. She had
always been good with younger kids and had even help feed them on
occasion. That had been one of the few things that had actually worked
out. So feeding Eslith wouldn't be that bad, would it? But even if
Sh'del told her not to worry about what was to come later on, she
couldn't really help it. "What if I can't be trained, though?"

"Then you become one of the Weyrlingmater's Staff. If you look around,
all the young people that are Assistants are those who--for one reason
or another--were not ready for a fighting wing." He waved his arm
behind him at the members of his Staff, only one being an obvious
former Weyrling. And she was missing her right arm, an accident from
her Blooding a turn ago. "I hope you can see that this inability to
succeed doesn't really happen."

Naevyn looked at the girl with eyes big of shock. "What happened to
her?" She asked softly. Would something like that happen to her as
well? Or worse?

"She was injured fighting Thread." He fixed her with a serious look.
"That's a long way off for you."

"A long way, I hope," Naevyn replied timidly. "If I'd hurt Eslith with
my incompetence..." She already loved her dragon more than her own
life.

"If you hurt Eslith with your incompetence then E'ril and I haven't
done our jobs well at all. Now girl, what you need to worry about is
her stomach, not what will happen in six months time." He patted her
strongly on the shoulder.

"I'll try, Sir," Naevyn said in an attempt at bravery. **He's probably
sick of my whining already.**

"Not 'I'll try, sir,' it's 'I will, sir' understand?" He wasn't at
all tired of her whinging but wanted to get it in her head as soon as
possible that she had to trust them all. "You trust your dragon and
we'll take care of both her and you, understand?"

"I will, Sir, I understand," Naevyn said with a blush forming on her
face again. "I do trust Eslith and I are in good hands." She realised
her hesitation could have been taken as offensive, even if her doubts
were only directed at her own incompetence rather than that of the
Weyrling staff. And she wouldn't want to start off on the wrong foot!

"Good, now get some food in your stomach and then try and sleep whilst
she's asleep too. That's the only thing wrong with an early morning
hatching like this is you all have to go through all that on an empty
stomach." He rubbed his tired face, feeling the effects also of an
empty stomach. "Go on, and trust me..it'll all work out fine. Enjoy
this time! She'll only be a babe for a short while." He grinned at
the girl and gave her one last pat on the shoulder.

"I will, Sir," Naevyn said softly, before getting up from where she
was seated. The idea of leaving her sleeping dragonet's side wasn't
all that attractive, but she did indeed feel hunger gnawing at her
insides. If she went to grab a quick meal, she could be back all the
quicker. "Thank you, Sir," she said before heading off hurriedly.

Last updated on the April 11th 2012

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