Logs:Burdens
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| RL Date: 22 July, 2015 |
| Who: Z'kiel, Ahtzudaeth |
| Involves: Igen Weyr |
| Type: Vignette |
| What: A bittersweet visit; more bitter than sweet. |
| Where: Igen Weyr |
| When: Day 2, Month 5, Turn 38 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Sunny with a chance of sandstorms |
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| Time sped on. Fast. Faster. Too fast. Z'kiel took it all in stride, as he always did. Head down, shoulders squared, body tensed. Take the blows as they come; don't think too long about what didn't happen. What should have. Not getting a silver threaded knot was more of a disappointment to him than he thought it would be. Ahtzudaeth had long ago forgotten - or forgiven - his own disappointment. The bronze had mused at some point, « It was not meant for you. Something greater yet awaits. » His thoughts were suffused with effervescence and incandescent smoke. Z'kiel didn't know what to think of that. Time sped on. Gliding to flying to jaunting Between. To Igen. He thought about asking others to go with him. He thought about it for some time. But, the truth was, he didn't want them to see it - to see them. To see her. When Ahtzudaeth manifested in the skies above the desert Weyr, Z'kiel decided this was for the best. The bronze descended with effortless grace and landed lightly on the hard-packed dirt in the heart of the bowl. Kasdeja was there. So, too, was Tephrasth. She was not. The rest of his family gathered under one of the brown's outstretched wings and for good reason; the winds were just barely starting to build and sand was swirling around in the air. Z'kiel didn't bother removing his helmet or goggles. He dismounted and snapped off a salute to Kasdeja; she returned it with a grim expression. I am not certain this was a good idea. « Z'kiel. Calm yourself and steady your nerves. If you feel you're going to falter, lean on me. » His thoughts glittered as they always did, shimmering brilliant at the fringes with hope and encouragement. Z'kiel set his jaw. "I sent word through Kasdeja for my things." "Your trophies? Gave 'em away." Zierad was just a hair taller than Z'kiel, with features that were far more severe and a build that was thicker overall. His heavy braid swung just a little when he shook his head, the end of it tapping just shy of the backs of his thighs. "Figured you'd have no need of 'em; figured you'd get new ones. We needed the space." Z'kiel's jaw tightened; at the back of his mind, Ahtzudaeth urged restraint in a murmur. "And the rest?" "Might find some of it in the stores if you're lucky." Zierad spat to one side. "Kadeila's expecting her first and none of it's good for that." Z'kiel turned his attention to his mother, Iekila - tall and dark-haired and dusky-skinned and green-eyed. She looked at him with sad eyes until she saw him looking back; she averted her gaze. His sisters, his brother, they were all the same. Kadeila was already starting to show; Zakaid couldn't look less happy about the idea of being an uncle. The twins - Ieliare and Erailei - looked at each other and their feet and didn't bother to speak up. "So that's it, then?" Z'kiel finally said, while Ahtzudaeth took a step closer and pressed a foreleg to his back. "It's done?" "Done enough," Zierad replied. "And Sitri?" "She chose not to be here," Kasdeja finally said. The brownrider's expression was, for just a moment, deeply sympathetic before she forced it back into something stiff and distant. It was also a blessedly well-timed interjection; Zierad opened his mouth and shut it with an audible click. « Ah, Tephrasth. Does yours know more? His heart aches to know everything. » The brown's thoughts were a roiling wash of dry heat and sand. « Mine knows all. » He shifted his stance slightly. « Mine does not need to say all. » « I suppose that's true, » Ahtzudaeth replied with amusement. « But yours wouldn't be saying it; you would. And, surely, you would want to ease some of his suffering? » The idea was an alien one to the brown. He turned it around. Shook it. Clawed at it. Finally: « Is his suffering more than hers? Less? The same? » « How can anyone know until they see each other? » Ahtzudaeth let that linger a beat before adding in a softer voice, « And if one is greater than the other, then surely the other can shoulder some of the burden for a time. » Tephrasth's tail slithered in the sand and he was silent. Pondering. "You're leaving now." Zierad didn't bother shaping it into a question. He took half a step forward and was faced with the wall that was Z'kiel. "Not until my business here is done." "It's as done as it can be," Kasdeja said, with a sidelong look to the dragons. "Go back to the 'Reaches. Go home." Z'kiel clenched his teeth and fists, but it was Ahtzudaeth who nudged him and stepped between them. Without a word, he pulled himself up to the bronze's neck. Without a word, they took to the skies. « Home, » the bronze said, « is where we belong. Perhaps she will share her burden when she is ready. » And if she doesn't? « Then it was not your burden to carry. Come. There is plenty to be done with the weyr, still. » |
Comments
Squishy (19:12, 22 July 2015 (PDT)) said...
Poor Z'kiel.
Alida (00:53, 23 July 2015 (PDT)) said...
I think I'm liking Zeke more and more as I slowly see him in more depth.
- )
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