Important

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 12th February 2007

Characters: Ylisahn
Description: Ravere checks that Ylisahn will be at the planned family dinner.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 3 of Turn 4

He was tall and absolutely beautiful. For a moment Ylisahn paused, admiring the seventeen Turn old, then she told herself not to be silly.
A smile lighting her face she crossed the dining cavern and touched his forearm to get his attention. He turned and grinned down at her with a smile as wide as her own.

"This is who I was waiting for," he told his companions. "I'll see you later."

"I'm flattered," she said teasingly as they walked away side by side.
"Not every seventeen Turn old can just walk away from his friends like that."

He reached behind her to tug on the long, blonde braid that hung down her back. "And even the few that would probably wouldn't when it was _only_ their mother they were waiting for."

"_Only_ indeed!" She chuckled at his reply and flicked her head to pull the braid out of his hand. "You know very well if you sit with me for a meal the kitchen staff make fuss of you and you end up eating as well as the Weyrleader."

"I hate to be the one to scorch your hide, but the kitchen staff _always_ make a fuss of me."

Ylisahn suspected it was more than just the kitchen staff. Ravere had a lovely self-confidence in addition to his tall, lean good looks that attracted people to him. As a boy the staff had doted on him; as a young man there was less doting and more of other things that she was a good enough mother not to enquire too closely about.

"Sit, anyway," she said, patting the back of one chair and then rounding the table to sit opposite her son. "What are you planning?"

"If you can get make sure your evening is free …" Ravere waited until his mother's expression betrayed her guilt.

"It's been a very busy time for the assistants," she protested. "With Mayla ill everybody's having to do more." She knew he understood how much extra work had fallen to her since the Headwoman had become ill but she couldn't help but remember the number of family dinners she had failed to get to lately. "I won't miss this one."

"Good, because it's important to Rilisa and I."

He had said that before and Ylisahn couldn't help but worry a little.
If Ravere had found somebody special to make his life with – even that would be something to make her anxious for her lovely boy. Would he choose the right sort of person? Somebody who appreciated him enough to satisfy his two concerned mothers? Somebody the whole family could like? They were a small family and it would make a huge difference to them if Ravere or Rilisa found somebody who didn't fit in.

But Ravere had said more than once that he and his sister _both_ wanted her to make this particular family dinner. She tried to think what could make it important to them both – some announcement? They both already Stood as candidates and that was the last decision she could remember them making together.

There was only one thing – one tiny worry that sometimes refused to be dismissed. Ravere and Rilisa had the closest brother-and-sister relationship Ylisahn had ever seen. Instead of the closeness of being born only months apart and being raised like twins fading as they met children of their own sex, they had remained each other's closest friend. If they were twins in truth she could have put it down to some special bond that came from the womb, but they weren't. They weren't even blood-related for all they dismissed any suggestion that they were anything less than truly brother and sister. And so, occasionally, Ylisahn worried that one day her son and Wirril's daughter's seemingly perfect sibling friendship would become something more.

If it did, how would they tell their mothers? Would there be an announcement at one of the once-a-sevenday family dinners? The ones she was missing more and more while the Headwoman was ill? Would Ravere insist that she make time for one dinner that was 'important' to both him and Rilisa?

"Did someone steal your smile?" Ravere asked, looking down at his mother and missing the usually sunny smile. "It's just a dinner. I'm sure you can be spared from whatever duty the Weyr requires for just one dinner with your family."

Ylisahn pulled her thoughts away from the one worry she wasn't ready to face and nodded. She made a smile reappear and patted his hand.
"You're right, of course. I promise I'll be there. If it's important to you, either of you, I always will be." No matter what. They were her children and she would just deal with whatever it was.

"I know you will," Ravere said gently, patting her hand in turn and wondering what had his mother sounding so unusually worried. The Headwoman thing, he supposed. Working hard to do Mayla's job while she was ill.

Last updated on the February 17th 2007

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