Logs:Shared Sentiments
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| RL Date: 2 January, 2016 |
| Who: Dahlia, Mirinda |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Mirinda comes to check on Dahlia the day after the flight. |
| Where: Dahlia and Taeliyth's Weyr, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 18, Month 9, Turn 39 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Thunderstorms have rocked the area off and on all day, retreating at times to let lighter skies dominate, but soon enough the clouds thicken and darken again with rain pouring down, thunder growling and lightning bolts flashing. |
| Mentions: A'sran/Mentions, Blume/Mentions, D'vro/Mentions, G'vri/Mentions, Lilah/Mentions, N'rov/Mentions |
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| The day following Taeliyth's flight is as dreary as the day of the flight was beautiful. It might be no surprise that Dahlia hasn't left her weyr to the next meal or the work of the day yet, though she looks now to be preparing to do just that as she stands by the table meant for meals, now covered in neat stacks of papers. She brushes her damp hair as she reads but otherwise perfectly presentable, leaning at an odd angle over the table to skim a farther hide. Taeliyth is sleeping in there in the wallow, though the glow from her hide has been thoroughly extinguished by the very long flight of the previous afternoon. Any other dragonrider might use their dragon to advertise their impending arrival; not Mirinda, not when the dragons in question are Zaisavyth and Taeliyth, and especially not when the latter is asleep. Since her return to Fort, Zaisavyth has taken to the star stones, though she's no more possessive than she usually is, so comfortable with her hold upon the Weyr. "Dee?" Mirinda's voice is uncertain as she steps around past Taeliyth, her gaze lingering only briefly upon the sleeping queen. "Are you--?" Here? Well? Busy? All of the above? "Come in," Dee calls, but softly. Unnecessarily, it seems, since Taeliyth is out for the count. Flights are exhausting! Particularly when one is trying to spite a particular other pair with just how awesome one's flight turns out to be. "I'm--" Dee looks as though she might wait for the completion of the question, but then settles on, "Actually better than I was. I feel better. Less-- heart heavy." If that makes sense. "Sorry I wasn't able to give you more warning. I've been going over it in my mind; I don't think I missed signs, but--" It was her first time, would she have known what to look for if it were subtle? Mirinda's shaking her head as she makes the rest of her way into the weyr. "If there had been signs, Zaisavyth would have known, I'm sure of that. It may be that Taeliyth is simply not a queen who goes through the proddy-- but that's fine. We managed. But you are all right." There's something a little uncertain in Mirinda's expression as she crosses towards Dee, as if she's not fully comfortable with the mantle of 'older sister or maternal figure checking in' in this situation. Or any situation. "A'sran seems a nice man." "Well, we'll know to watch closer next time," Dahlia decides is the lesson to take from all of this. She has a more reassuring smile for the older goldrider. "I'm more than alright. Really. A'sran is a very nice man. I think he will be willing to help me manage things when the time comes. I'm not--" She takes a breath, thinking over the words. "I'm not overly sentimental about sex, Rin. Lost my virginity during a gold flight back home with some boy I only sort of knew." She rolls her shoulders. "I hadn't been with anyone since R'oan died. Going into the flight, I wouldn't have chosen this way to do that, but now I'm glad that's how it happened. Flights are-- liberating, moreso when they're yours, it seems like?" For Dahlia anyway. Mirinda opens her mouth to comment, then closes it again; she shakes her head, expression rueful. "I've always found there to be a difference between 'sex I chose to have with someone' and 'sex I wanted in the moment but didn't actually choose thanks to my dragon' but I acknowledge the distinction's not the same for everyone. I'm glad, in any case." Her exhale, then, is just short of a laugh. "But liberating? I suppose so." "Oh," Dahlia thinks about that a moment. "I think I can see what you mean. I didn't mind though. I chose him after anyw--" a blush suddenly touches her cheeks and her face squinches together as if that were some secret she hadn't intended to tell her Weyrwoman, though it might be acceptable for her friend. She opens her eyes looking chagrinned, but smilingly so. "I think if I'd tried to open myself up that way to someone without the flight, I'd have been thinking so much about R'oan and the feelings I have about his death," she says those two words so delicately, "that I wouldn't have enjoyed it and I wouldn't have wanted to do it again, possibly ever. So... better things went this way. No time to think of all those things until after." There's a blush in Mirinda's cheeks abruptly, too, but she seems more pleased than anything. "Good," is genuine; sure. And, "I can understand that, too. I don't know that I can say I've ever felt like that about a person, but... I can still understand it. So: I'm glad." That's certainly genuine, as is the smile that accompanies it. "There's certainly something to be said for giving in control, occasionally... though I admit I have some envy over your lack of proddiness; I think that's the part I hate most. Still. Taeliyth, I hope, is happy?" There's a moment when it seems like Dahlia might not say something-- there's a particular look she gets and Mirinda's probably familiar enough with it from meetings to know it by now, but then she adds, quieter, "He let me talk, Rin, about R'oan. Listened. Made me feel like it was alright. A'sran is a very good man. I feel lucky for that, for him, for my first time." Once that admission is made, Dee's curiosity gets the better of her and she can't help but ask, "What's it like for you, with Zaisavyth? I expected to be proddy sometime, even not knowing what that would be. I hope it's not-- I mean, Eliyaveith didn't have eggs her first time. I hope no proddiness doesn't mean there's something wrong with Taeliyth." She can say this now since the gold in question is asleep. "She's happy. For now. I can't imagine she's going to be thrilled to be egg heavy, but--" that's later. Live for the now. "Good," is Mirinda's opinion on that first, that admission. It comes after a stark inhale, then exhale; but the weyrwoman is nodding, approving. Her next exhale is more awkward, her gaze flicking around the weyr rather than focusing upon Dahlia. "She's all-encompassing. I'm... not myself. I lose time. Afterwards, I don't even remember, sometimes. But-- she's always been caught well. Even the first time, when he was old enough to be my father." She carefully rests her hands upon the back of a chair, glancing back, more focusedly, at Dahlia. "She'll have eggs. She's not too young, the way Eliyaveith was. We just have to hope it's not too many eggs. But," a nod, firm and sure, "I'm glad she's happy. Zaisavyth doesn't like being egg-heavy, either. But she likes the eggs. Trophies." Dahlia's nose wrinkles a little. "Losing time," is a quiet, disapproving murmur. "I'm glad for being caught well. I can hope the same will be able to be said of Taeliyth when she's as old as Zaisavyth," that sounds perfectly sincere. The rest... she looks to Taeliyth, embarrassed, rubbing the back of her neck briefly, awkwardly. "We can hope." That's agreement. "But-" there's always one, "Even Blume told me last night that it was a long flight. She-- was mad. At Vhaeryth. For not chasing." It's so childish, Dee can't help but be ashamed for her shameless dragon. "So she wanted to fly long and far and I -- I couldn't rein that in as I should have. I just followed my training to stay with her. I didn't think to train myself to try to keep it a short flight and-- well. I didn't know." And she's sorry say her eyes and brief moue. Mirinda winces, acknowledging Taeliyth's pique over Vhaeryth with the look on her face, though her comment is simple: "She flew as she flew. We'll manage. We're not like Igen, where they train their juniors to try and encourage browns to catch; but we're also only two queens, and that's fine, too. By the time she clutches, the harvest will be complete, and we'll be in a position to invite candidates from the holds. I've no doubt there will be holds willing to lose a few hungry mouths over the winter. We'll be fine, you'll see." Dahlia has a smile for Mirinda. It's a little weak. "I wish I had your confidence. I know we'll manage though. We have so far and we'll keep on." She looks over to Taeliyth again, expression softening. "I'm secretly a little terrified, Rin. I know it's not the same for dragons, but Taeliyth... babies. It's so big, you know?" That softening charms Mirinda; her own smile is warm. "Babies," she repeats, with delight. "They're the only kind I've ever wanted. I care about all of them, even now. It... hurts to lose them. But you'll continue Fort's line, and that's something; it's an important something. It's the one thing we know we'll leave behind, whatever the rest of our legacy might be." Dahlia's head tilts a little as she looks at Mirinda. Her look is a sort of revelation, like the older woman's words might have revealed some previously hidden layer of herself that the younger woman is pleased to discover. "I never thought about it like that; you're right." So right. "Did you have a nice unexpected holiday yesterday?" That look surprises Mirinda, but she only smiles. "I like knowing that in a turn or two, Zaisavyth will have great-grandchildren." Her hands flatten upon the chair she's been leaning against. "It was near midnight at Monaco when we arrived, but it was... still nice. It's been some time since I was there, last. It's always nice to get away, however briefly." "Nice but a little strange?" Dee guesses, admitting, "That's how Southern always is for me." Then she's turning, "Actually, I wish I'd given this to you yesterday now, but I didn't think and I didn't know you'd need to go, so. Anyway, next time you're in Monaco." All this before she even goes to a set of shelves off to one side and plucks from the bottom a wide-mouthed glass jar about the size of a man's boot round with a hinged lid. "My friend, G'vri, from Southern brought me a present when I got my Weyr. He filled a glass jar with sand from the beach at Southern Weyr and thought it was silly, but it turned out to be one of the things that helped me keep from getting homesick. When you're feeling it, you can put it near the hearth and turn it to let it get warm everywhere then close your eyes and stick your hand in. I thought maybe--" she would want one of her own. "I was getting one for Dav anyway," is probably added to downplay the importance of a thoughtful gift between friends. Mirinda's nod confirms Dee's summary-- but that understanding is short-lived. One of her hands presses to her mouth as the other goldrider explains her gift, her eyes so very wide, so very obviously nearly filled with tears. When she can push herself to do so, hand withdrawing, her voice is just a little strained. "Thank you," she says, so very quietly. "That... means a lot." She'll accept it, too, fingers running across the glass. "I should let you get back to work." If reflexive laughter is a thing for babies, perhaps reflexive tears are too, for Dahlia's brim but don't overflow in empathic response. Her lips press together a moment. "It meant a lot to me, too, when G'vri did it for me. Feels like a good tradition to continue. I'd have gone to get the sand myself, but I wasn't sure where it should come from, that it would mean the most to you." That being said, the younger woman looks down to her papers. "I need to run these," she taps a stack, "down to Blume before the next meeting, but I'll see you there?" Mirinda, plainly, is holding back her own tears; controlling her reaction rather than expressing it, despite the friendship she and Dee now have. "Yes, of course," she agree, brisk rather than emotive. "I'll be there directly. Congratulations, Dee." But now... now she'll see herself out. |
Comments
Alida (02:37, 3 January 2016 (PST)) said...
I really enjoy seeing these two interact. :)
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