I Don't Want Him to Leave

Writers: Devin, Ames
Date Posted: 10th April 2013

Characters: J'kri, Cardella
Description: Cardella does her best to answer a difficult question from Jykri
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 19 of Turn 6

Cardella

Seeing the candidates at work earlier in the day brought back a flood
of memories. It felt like forever and yesterday at the same time that
she had been in their shoes, wondering what lay in her future. She'd
come at J'darin's request to talk to a few of the holdbred candidates
and try and help them feel more at east.

"Good evening," she said as she approached a small group.

"Good evening, greenrider," Jykri said.

Cardella nodded her greeting to those gathered there. A few seemed to
want to escape away. She didn't stop them.

"I just wanted to stop by and see how you were all doing? I remember
what it was like to be a candidate, and new here to the Weyr as well.
If you need to talk or anything, I'd be happy to help out."

"Where were you searched from?" Jykri asked.

"The Bakercraft Hall actually," Cardella replied. "What about you?"

"Amber Hills. Oh, I'm Jykri, by the way." If his father was here, he'd
scold him for forgetting to introduce himself

"Nice to meet you Jykri. I'm Cardella." She smiled politely at him,
having noticed that all the others had vanished while they talked, she
shook her head slightly. "Looks like all the others that were around
weren't too interested in conversation at the moment."

"Intimidated, maybe." Her name sounded familiar and it took him a
moment to figure it out. "You're G'wen's friend, aren't you?"

She smiled broadly at that. "Yes, we were weyrlings together. In fact,
he was one of my first friends when I got here. So, you know G'wen
then?" She hadn't talked to her friend about any of the new
candidates. She was curious how they had met, though she didn't ask
that specifically.

Jykri nodded. "I guess we're sort of friends, too. We talk, and I help
him wash Neath sometimes. I know S'vin, too."

"Oh, that's great. They are both great guys. Trust me. We learned
about being weyrlings together." Cardella was curious if Jykri was
_interested_ in them or not, but she wasn't going to press about those
things right now. "So, how have the other candidates been treating
you? Have you settled in okay?"

"Very well." The Candidate smiled. "I miss my sisters, but I made some
good friends."

"Oh, you have sisters? I do too, brothers also. _That_ was hard for me
as we were close, but I had also had a chance to adjust to that when I
moved tot he Bakercraft Hall. It's good that you've made some friends
already. They will definitely be the ones that get you through the
tough times, because truth be told, there _will_ be tough times." She
recalled how bad it had been when Rama had been lost. That had been
her darkest time so far, but she knew that there would be other times
as well that would strike her and her friends hard.

"Can I help you with anything? I mean, do you have any questions or
need anything?" There were lots of people the candidates could go to
for help, but she wanted to feel useful, make a connection with them
if she could.

Jykri frowned in thought. He'd pestered so many people since he got to
the Weyr: fellow Candidates, riders, crafters, drudges ... many of his
questions about weyrlife had been answered. There was one question
that came to mind, but he didn't know if Cardella -- or anyone --
could answer it. "Well, there is something bothering me, but it's
personal, and I'm not sure ..."

She shrugged slightly as she answered, "I'll be happy to try and help,
but I can't promise you I will know the answer."

He took a deep breath. "How do you get someone to stay with you, when
they want to leave?"

She looked at him quizzically for a moment then asked a question in
return, "You mean like in a relationship? You care about someone but
they want to leave the relationship?"

He realized how that sounded. "No, he wants to leave the Weyr. But
that means leaving me, too. He says if he doesn't Impress this time,
he's leaving." Thinking about it made him want to cry.

"Oh," Cardella breathed a sigh of relief, for she hadn't known _how_
to answer the question about lovers, seeing as her own experiences
hadn't turned out so great. She took a moment and thought about whom
he might be referring to.

"Well, that _is_ a hard one. All you can really do is be there for the
person. I mean, tell them how you feel, but also let them know you
_do_ understand their reasons. It's not easy on them either, which may
be hard for you to think about when it hurts you so much as well, but
that other person has to choose their own path in life. We all make
choices. Some are for the better and some we regret later, but when it
comes to someone you care about, all you can do is love them and help
them find _their_ way, even if it hurts you." Cardella was surprised
by her own words. She hadn't expected to say any of that, nor did she
even know where the words had come from, yet she spoke true from her
own heart and what she, herself, had learned in her short Turns of
life. "I'm not sure I really helped any," she finally added.

Jykri's lip quivered a little. "If I thought it would make him happy,
I'd do my best to support him. But I'm worried that he'd be miserable
anywhere else. I hope he Impresses. I really, really hope." He let out
a shaky sigh. "But the clutch is so small."

**Aye, that it was,** she thought, but it was worth it to know K'ale
and Ima had been part of that. "The good news is the candidate class
isn't as large as some that have through. I know it may not seem like
a bit deal, but it could benefit all of you and depending on you and
your friend's interests, well things could go better this time around
or not." She knew most of the eggs would have to be blues and greens
considering the size. If there were any others in the Clutch they
would most likely turn out to be smaller sized browns. "Keep talking
to your friend. Help him to see that he's valued here even if he
_doesn't_ Impress." She knew it wasn't the best consolation, but she
hoped she'd helped in some small way.

"I told him I don't want him to go. I hope he understands how much he
means to me." Daret was his best friend. "And we have a better chance
than the boys who only like girls. There will be blues and greens for
sure, just ... fewer of them."

"Yes, you are right. Your chances will be better seeing as how they
expect most of the eggs to be blues and greens." At least that was the
talk. "I wish I could help you better with your friend. It's not easy,
but all you can hope is that things turn out they way they were meant
to, whatever that might be."

Jykri nodded. "Okay." He kept picturing Daret hugging a little green,
as if it would come true if he wished hard enough.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "I hope it works out for
you both. Know though that I'm more than happy to listen if you ever
need someone to talk to." She knew it wasn't much, but what she'd
learned since coming to the Weyr was that friends were what got them
through the days and especially the hard times.

"Thank you, Cardella."

Last updated on the May 30th 2013

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

I Don't Want Him to Leave