A Fond Memory

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 13th January 2017

Characters: C'rin, Riveenata
Description: Riveenata remembers a date she went on.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 9, day 1 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Ciara, A'kades, K'sedel

C'rin

Riveenata had been assigned to watch duties on the Weyr's rim today. She
found she preferred this to sweepriding - it was nice to see the activity
going on in and around the Weyr. Of course, Savith preferred Searching to
either duty. She liked the chance to meet people.

Today she kept looking at the weyrling class, busy drilling in the air.
They were very close to graduation, she thought. That meant they'd be
assigned to wings. Who would join Queen's, and who would be lucky enough
for the Weyrleader's? She was wondering about one particular weyrling, one
she'd been on a date with a little over a month ago...

*****

C'rin was nervous, mostly because of the situation that had caused
this "date." He'd been on plenty of dates before, but never one set up
by his mother. He hoped that Riveenata didn't think he was some sort
of shy-backwards type because Ciara had started this whole thing.

}:You'll be fine, you're with me, I'm handsome, Savith will think
so.:{ Dasveth assured him.

The brownrider rolled his eyes a little at his dragon's confidence as
he carried a blanket over one arm and a picnic basket in the other. He
wasn't sure where they were going, it was Riveenata's choice, but he
had said he would bring the meal.

The greenrider waved tentatively at the weyrling as she saw him. She'd
thought of the small mountain lake by Garnet Valley Hold and wondered
if that was somewhere he'd like. It was cool enough there to be a nice
change from the Weyr's heat and not cold enough to be covered in snow.

"Hi there," she said when he was close enough.

C'rin smiled, "Hey." Riveenata was certainly pretty, or he never would
have agreed to this in the first place, if he were honest. "I've got
the important things, I think." He said, holding up the basket and
blanket.

"Those are indeed important. The ground should be okay to sit on," she
said. "And if there's snow, at least it's his first time seeing it. Is
it yours?"

"I've seen it once before when I was a kid." C'rin admitted as he
secured the basket and blanket to Dasveth's riding straps. "I hadn't
thought about Dasveth getting to see it for the first time."

}:Seeing what?:{ Dasveth asked.

**Snow, it's white stuff that falls from the sky.**

}:Like THREAD?:{ the brown asked in alarm.

C'rin chuckled, **No, not like Thread.** He sent his dragon a mental
picture of what snow looked like, as best he could remember.

"Where did you see it?" she asked as she checked Savith's straps. "I
only saw it once when my dad went to buy mom jewelry from the Smith
Hall and took me."

"My dad took me, he was always taking me somewhere on his dragon. I
guess he wanted to make sure I would want to be one someday."

"Riding a dragon is a pretty effective way to want to be a
dragonrider. I feel sorry for the holder kids whose first ride came
after they were Searched," she said.

Savith shifted back and forth. }:We go?:{

"Oh," she said, embarrassed by her green having to nudge her. "I have
the visual if we want to head off and keep talking there."

"Of course, we'll follow you there." C'rin climbed up to Dasveth's
neckridge and settled in as the brown gathered the image from Savith.

**So far so good.** C'rin told himself as they followed the grin pair
up into the sky.

Once they were high enough up, she gave the visual and Savith winked
/between/. They re-emerged above the mountains of the Western Barrier
Range, not too far from Garnet Valley Hold. The mountains were bare
rock in dark browns and grays, with snow topping the peaks and the
bare sides at this time of the Turn. Forests of evergreen trees
carpeted down the sides. There was a double crater visible immediately
below them; one higher up and dusted with snow, and leading down from
it, a narrow path that ended in a strip of green meadow and a lake of
bright blue.

Savith bugled in delight and immediately folded her wings and dove
downwards, straight towards the lake. Riveenata whooped in startled -
but pleased - surprise as her green raced along. She pulled out very
close to the water and brought herself to a landing in the grass.

}:Did you like that?:{ she asked Dasveth.

**Someone's a showoff,** she thought.

Dasveth, of course, ate up the attention from the green, }:You were
beautiful, Savith.:{

"Wow," C'rin said as he hopped down from his dragon's neckridge. "This
place is amazing. How did you discover it?"

"Flying sweeps. This is a little bit farther out than the usual route.
But I've _really_ wanted to travel since Impressing and Savith wants
to see everything, so sometimes we go a little above and beyond."

She finished unstrapping the green and patted her on the neck so
Savith could go swim, or sun, or whatever else she wanted.

After unpacking the basket and blanket, C'rin did likewise with
Dasveth so the brown could comfortably join the green. "Yeah, I look
forward to being able to explore more." He spread the blanket and sat,
placing the basket between them as he took in the placid, beautiful
mountain lake.

"It's one of the best parts, having the freedom of wings. I had given
up my hope of Impressing, but she found me anyway."

"How many times did you Stand?" C'rin asked, opening the basket and
pulling out the food and drinks.

"Forever, it felt like. I was never Searched, I just did it. Until I
was 19 or so? Then I gave up and focused on my Craft and stopped."

C'rin took a drink of the fruit juice that had been packed. "What craft?"

"Healer. Reached Journeyrank," she said with pride in her
accomplishment. "It's why the Weyrwoman wanted me for her wing, since
we deal with so many injured riders."

"That's helpful," C'rin agreed. "I crafted as well, took up the
harpercraft, but I'll confess," he looked around as if one of the
harper Masters might be lurking nearby, "I just did it in the event
that I didn't Impress, I'd have something to fall back on."

"What would you have specialized in, if you'd kept going with it?
Performing music, or something else?" Maybe he was a good singer.

"I probably wouldn't have specialized, just continued with general
studies. Teaching wouldn't have been bad, I think, I'm use to working
with younger kids. Side effect of being a weyrbrat." He smiled a
little.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I've seen some people go into Crafts and not
really care about it, it's just something they feel like they have to
do."

C'rin watched Dasveth, who rather than glide gracefully through the
beautiful mountain lake, was splashing and wallowing about. "I
apologize, by the way, for my mother's part in this," he chuckled.

She'd been wondering about the context of the invitation. "Did she
just set you up out of nowhere, or did you ask her for any advice?"

He felt his cheeks heat a little, a rare thing for him, "We were
actually talking about upcoming first flights and I was expressing
that there were no greens in my class that I'd want Dasveth to chase.
That was when she brought you up."

"Your classmates are boring?" she asked, smiling a little bit at the imagery.

"I don't know if I'd say boring, necessarily, but immature
definitely." C'rin grinned a little. "Being one of the oldest in my
class makes a difference."

"Oh, I know that feeling. We thought I'd aged out. Made me feel like
I'd forgotten all of my lessons. And there was a 13 Turn old in the
class too, it was awful," she remembered. "Who's the smallest in
yours?"

"I think fourteen is as young as it goes, depending on birthingdays
between the Hatching and now. My sister is fourteen, and more mature
than some of the greenriders in my group. I don't think they'll mature
until they've seen Threadfall up close."

"Some people never do. I imagine you were well prepared, with your
family." Like she'd been. Holdbred children seemed to adapt
differently.

"As prepared as you can be, I guess." C'rin said. "Now it's only kinda
weird because my mom's weyrmate is my Weyrlingmaster." It had been odd
enough when K'sedel had been Weyrleader, but C'rin hadn't had to be
very close to him.

"I can _definitely_ see that being weird. I would want to get close to
one of the other ones faster."

C'rin nodded, at least he didn't have much longer to go, "I pretty
much just take everything to A'kades."

"Seems reasonable. At least you don't have M'galec," she said with a shudder.

"That bad, huh?" C'rin asked.

"I have never met a more hidebound, strident, and unpleasant man," she
said seriously.

"Then I'll count myself lucky to have avoided that," C'rin raised his
cup in a mock toast.

She decided she didn't want to think about rude old men, and instead
shifted a little closer to him. "So do you have crazy plans for when
all the restrictions are lifted? My class did a beach bonfire to
celebrate. After that I snuck off to a secret place - not one as nice
as this."

"Well, the only restrictions we really have left are chewing
firestone, fighting Thread and Dasveth flying in green flights. I know
some in my class went on as if they were going to die before the
relationships ban was lifted."

She laughed at that. "I have to admit it was hard on me as well
because I wasn't expecting it. But it's not a fatal thing at all."

"Dasveth was worth it." C'rin reasoned, which was what had kept him
from complaining too much about the Weyrling restrictions.

"They're worth everything," she said, feeling lucky to have Impressed
at all. "So tell me, any more drinks in the basket?"

C'rin smiled at the greenrider as he reached in, "A dragonrider is always
prepared with drinks."

*****

Yes, C'rin had been really nice to spend time with. She made a note to
have Savith reach out to Dasveth later. The green would love to spend time
with him.

Last updated on the January 30th 2017

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A Fond Memory