Heart's Adrift

Writers: Eimi, Paula
Date Posted: 10th November 2009

Characters: Uetia, Sabonus
Description: Uetia meets a candidate down on the docks.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 2 of Turn 5

"Excuse me," Sabonus called down to the woman he saw walking down the dock along side the ship he was working on. "Do you happen to see a toolbox down there? In amongst those coils of rope?"

"Nope, sorry," Uetia replied after checking out the mentioned coils. "Lost your tools, sailor?" she asked with a laughter in her voice.

"Some sharding bottom trawler decided to borrow them while I was in candidate classes and now I can't find them." He shook his head as he walked down the gang plank towards the dock. "Thank you for checking any way."

"No problems. Are you a candidate?" She replied and asked.

"Yes, for a few candlemarks a day at least." Coming down to the level surface he couldn't help but notice that the young woman was not even an inch or so shorter than himself. It was a bit unusual to be able to look a woman straight in the eye. "Being a candidate just seems to be a lot of waiting around, and I honestly can't stand that. So I would rather say a sometime-candidate."

Uetia smiled and nodded knowingly. "Faranth knows I know that feeling. I was candidate not too long ago. Did you get officially Searched or are you victim of our new Weyrwoman's verdict?" Uetia asked. She had already met several unwilling candidates, some of them who worked at the port, under the Harbour Master.

"Properly Searched. In fact..." He squinted his eyes, looking at her carefully. "I remember you. You came in just before that last Hatching, didn't you."

"Yes, I did and Impressed at first try," Uetia nodded.

"Ah, well, congratulations then. You're one of the lucky ones, it seems. I'd have rather gotten it over with if it was going to happen." But the one thing he hated more than waiting was giving up after the first try.

"There are always more Hatchings," Uetia said.

"Should be one coming up soon. I'll try my luck, but I won't hold my breath. Impress or not, I'll always have work to do."

"That's always a good fall-back. Although I admit missing my craft after Impressing," Uetia said.

"Is that why you're hanging around the docks then?" It was an odd place for a dragonrider who had no ties to the sea.

"Yes. I was dolphineer, you see. Well, s'pose I still am, but I don't have the time for it," Uetia explained and sighed.

"Ah," he nodded understandingly. "I suppose you haven't much need for ship fish when you have your own dragon to guide you."

"You're right," Uetia said and glanced longingly to the open sea. She, and most of her family, had seawater in their veins, as her father put it.

He could read the look in her eye. "Even when your feet are on dry land, you're heart's still adrift, eh?"

"Exactly," Uetia flashed him a smile. It was nice to found someone who could understad her.

"I think I would go a little mad myself if I ended up in a land-locked Weyr somehow. Solid ground is... well, just a might too stable for me. And stone is so cold and hard. Give me planks any day."

Shards, he sounded just like her father and brothers, it actually made her little homesick.

"Isn't this where you're supposed to assure me that as soon as I look into some dragonette's swirling eyes that it won't matter where I live so long as he and I can be together?" he asked with a doubtful smile.

"Yeahh, but I can't. 'Cause it does matter. I wouldn't want to live in some inland Weyr."

He liked her honestly. "Do you ever get the sensation in the middle of the night like your cot is still rolling?"

"Sometimes and sometimes riding with dragon is like riding a small boat in a storm," Uetia said.

"That doesn't sound so bad," he admitted. It was comforting in a way.

"It's not bad at all," Uetia assured.

"And yet, here you are, back on the docks. Where are you going, anyway?" he asked curiously.

"Just hanging around. Sometimes I give a hand, if I don't have any duties and the Harbour master is lacking in staff," Uetia replied.

"You can come aboard and give me a hand if you like," he offered. "I'm just caulking some seams with oakum, but I wouldn't mind the company."

"I'll be happy to help," Uetia replied and jumped into the boat with easiness of someone who was very familiar with them.

He smiled, fully appreciating just how naturally she moved. Sabonus held out his hand to point the way. "After you."

Last updated on the November 15th 2009

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Heart's Adrift