Relieved

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 24th September 2005

Characters: Zanie, D'cal
Description: Zanie finally decides to visit the Weyr to see if D'cal has returned from his first trip /between/ unscathed.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 26 of Turn 3

Zanie found reasons not to visit the Weyr in the days leading up to D'cal's first jump /between/. She pretended it was because she wanted to concentrate on work instead of grieving for H'jim, but Zanie had always been a thinker. She thought too much about everything, all the time. Sometimes it made her understand things--but sometimes it made her crazy.

She knew that the real reason she'd started avoiding D'cal was because she wasn't ready to lose another friend in the void of /between/. Two days after his first jump, she finally ventured up to the Weyr, half afraid she'd find that he was no longer there.

}: Look D'cal, the dolphin girl. :{ Aosorath said as they gently floated towards the ground with their passenger.

D'cal noticed the girl walking up towards the Weyr. **She must be coming to see Dysali. Let's hurry and we might be able to catch her still.**

The blue settled gently to the ground and D'cal hurried off to help the woman with the riding straps. "Oh, don't worry son," she said as she notced his rush, "I'm in no hurry. Though I can understand you must be getting tired of elevator duty by now." She smiled kindly.

"Uh, no ma'am. I just don't want to make you late for your next scheduled appointment." He gave her a polite smile as he willed his fingers to slow down. Finally she was free of the straps and he helped her down. "I was happy to help." He was almost ready to run after Zanie when Aosorath reminded him }: She has cleaning equipment you have to unload. :{
**Shards! I'm going to miss her!**

D'cal hurriedly untied the load and gave the woman a polite smile. As he watched her toddle away with her load. He felt a bit guilty for not offering to help her, but he _had_ to see Zanie. She had been avoiding him, he was sure of that. But he was surprised to admit that he had _missed_
her. He broke into a run as he called, "Zanie! Zanie! Please wait a moment!"

Zanie spun around and had to catch D'cal before he could run directly into her. "D'cal! I was looking for you!"

"For me?" He asked, slightly out of breath but smiling. "I'm on elevator duty now for another half candle mark or so. But come with me." D'cal took her hand and began walking in the direction of his waiting blue.

She squeezed his hand a little more tightly than perhaps she should have, but she couldn't help it. She had never been so relieved in her life.
"Where are we going?"

"Well, I'm on elevator duty, so I have to take you up." He grinned at her as they reached Aosorath. "We'll just take you to a place where you can wait for me a bit more comfortably."

"I can wait for a half candlemark," Zanie replied, glad she'd finished her work early that morning. She let D'cal help her up onto Aosorath's back and fumbled trying to help him secure the straps.

"Good," he said as he swung up in front of her, rather pleased with himself that he was able to do it in one fluid motion. "Hold on. It won't even take a minute."

She got two decent fistfulls of his tunic and grinned as the blue lifted off. "He's wonderful!" she said into D'cal's ear, glancing down at the Weyr as they went slowly up.

"Thank you, I think so too." They gently came to rest on a ledge on the other side of the Weyr. D'cal slid off Aosorath's neck and undid her straps. "This is our new weyr. There very little in the way of decoration yet, but it's clean and there is a nice couch to relax on until I can come back. It won't be long."

"Your own weyr?" Zanie slid down and gave Aosorath a fond scratch on the eyeridge before wandering off the ledge to the explore. It certainly was lacking in decoration... she'd have to find something to bring him to make it look a little more like a real living area. She curled up on his couch and smiled. "I'll be waiting for you when you get back!"

D'cal gave her a quick salute before he and his blue flew off the ledge.
He couldn't wait to get his duties over so he could come back and talk to her. And she had come to see _him_! That fact made his heart beat a little harder in his chest, though he wasn't quite sure why.

It only took a few moments on the couch before Zanie was too bored to continue just sitting. She bounced back to her feet and started to explore D'cal's weyr a little, figuring that he wouldn't mind since he _had_
left her there alone.

On one shelf she found a box of sand, which she stirred with one finger and smiled. Probably from the beach at Topaz Seahold, if she knew D'cal.
The same shelf had a few wittling projects, one that was finished. She picked up the ship and turned it over in her hands, impressed with the detail.
Next to it was another piece in progress, one that looked like it would be a dragon.

She was still wandering the room and peeking curiously at things when she heard Aosorath land on the ledge. She put down the piece she'd been working on and closed the box of sand hastily before flopping back down on the couch in vaguely the same position he'd left her.

"Steal anything yet?" He called as he unharnessed Aosorath, scratching at the places that itched underneath.

"You came back too quickly," Zanie replied, smiling as he came into the weyr. "But it's a nice weyr, D'cal."

"Thank you. It's not much yet, but it's mine. Actually," he said as he plopped down on the couch next to her, "it's the most space I've ever had to myself in my life. I can't imagine needing anything more than this."

"I'll have to find something for you to make it a little more like home..." Zanie mused, looking around. "Maybe a blanket or something? Not that I'm much of a seamstress... I knit a pillow once though." She made a face.
"I think my father only kept it so I wouldn't feel bad. It was... ugly." "I very much doubt that." D'cal smiled at the face she made. "I learned to never to trust my own judgement when it comes to things of my own making. I'm too much of a perfectionist sometimes."

Zanie grinned. "I saw your carvings. They were beautiful, so I can see why you might be a perfectionist." "Really?" He asked, pleased that she had noticed. "I made three before it. The other ones turned out all wrong. But the one over there turned out better I think."

"The ship? It is nice. I promise you... my knitting is not that nice.
There were all sorts of patterns that I don't think were supposed to be there... they didn't look very nice." "Zanie, are you..." He cocked his head to the side and looked at the young woman. "Are you nervous?"

Zanie raised an eyebrow at him, amused. "Nervous about what? My father's not hiding in your closet, is he?" She tactfully didn't mention that he couldn't be because in her boredom she'd actually peeked in his closet.
Just a little. Looking for more carvings, she'd told herself.

"No, I doubt it." He shrugged. "I just have never heard anyone use the word 'nice' three times in one breath before." "Oh." She wrinkled her nose at him and shrugged. "I'm not nervous, D'cal I'm just... relieved, I guess. I was so worried about your first trip /between/... they always talk about how sometimes people don't make it..." "Well, as you can see I'm here, safe and sound," D'cal quickly reassured her as he took her hand gently. "Thank you for caring about me, Zanie, but... is _that_ why you have been avoiding me lately?"

"I haven't been avoiding you," Zanie replied quickly. Then she smiled sheepishly. "I've just been coming up with really good excuses for why I don't have time to come to the Weyr. I just... I couldn't deal with it again, D'cal. Not so soon. Do you understand? Maybe I only knew H'jim for a month... but it still hurt to lose him like that." "Of course, Zanie. Of course I understand." He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. "It's just... I just missed you, I guess." After Dyaera was hurt, D'cal had found comfort in the friendship they had formed. When she was noticably busy elsewhere he felt... alone almost.

Wanting to lighten his mood, she gave him a mischevious grin. "I bet you don't miss the constant reminders about the closet." D'cal rolled his eyes dramatically. "I am never going inside another closet again!"

Zanie couldn't help but laugh. "Well, I can't say that's a _bad_ idea, necessarily. I mean, you did traumatize me for... what was it? Three turns, almost." "I know it wasn't the most _successful_ making out I've ever had, but did it really traumatize you?" He asked doubtfully. "I assure you, I have had no complaints since."

"You almost broke my nose!" Zanie protested, her supposedly offended tone ruined by the fact that she couldn't seem to stop laughing. "And I think you hit my head into something too... not to mention I'm not sure if you ever even _found_ my lips... it was the first time I'd ever done it! I was worried that it was always like that." "I couldn't see anything in all that sharding darkness!" D'cal laughed.
"We just happened to pick the smallest darkest closet on Pern. I swear, I'm not that bad!"

"Oh really?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look. "Maybe I should go track down that dragonrider of yours... ask _her_ what she thinks of your supposed skills!"

D'cal suddenly didn't find it so funny. "She's not _my_ dragonrider, Zanie."

Zanie realized her mistake immediately. "I'm sorry, D'cal... sometimes I just say stupid things. I shouldn't tease... I was just a little self-conscious."

"Forget about it." The boy tried to smile, but it was half-hearted at best.

Feeling horrible, Zanie slipped an arm around his shoulders and hugged him. "I am sorry, though. Don't be angry with me, D'cal! Please?" "I'm not angry, Zanie." D'cal said as he settled back into her embrace.
It was the kind of physical contact that he had been missing the last couple weeks since the girl had started hiding from him. "I just...
there was a time I would have wished she was. But she's not, and it was my choice, and it was the right choice."

"Are you sure?" she asked, a little doubtfully. "You don't sound very happy about it, D'cal... Do you want to talk about it?" She reached out with her free hand and squeezed one of his. "I'm a really good listener...
and I'm a girl, too. We have secret powers when it comes to romance. It's in our blood." D'cal let out a little snort. "Well, then, you couldn't help me with _that_ girl. I'm pretty sure romance would confuse her." He chuckled at the thought. "But really, Zanie, she and I are just friends. I just still worry about her. She's pretty upset about how her body looks right now, but nothing I say can help her. I'm hoping one of her _lovers_ can help her understand that she's still beautiful. I'm just a friend."

"Oh." Zanie hoped her voice didn't sound _too_ doubtful... it wouldn't be nice to doubt D'cal, after all. At least, not outloud. "Well, I suppose I can't stay _too_ much longer... I have young minds to corrupt at the Hall." She grinned. "They're letting me teach some of the youngest apprentices!"

"Well, I can think of worse people to corrupt young minds." D'cal gave her a smile before standing up off the couch. "Aosorath and I could fly you back, if you like."

She bounced to her feet and grinned. "I'd like that."

Last updated on the September 24th 2005

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