An Uninvited Guest

Writers: Chelle, Rochelle
Date Posted: 30th August 2010

Characters: Rhosyn, R'syl
Description: Rhosyn approaches R'syl to say hello and to share an idea.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 10, day 2 of Turn 5

She stood there, on the edge of the Weyrbowl as the weyrlings went through ground drills. She remembered the days when she had done them herself. It was great practice. Rhosyn watched the bronzerider who was watching them. Weyrlingmasters were a special breed and should be respected for the job they did and what they meant to the Weyr. Usually they didn't last long at their post, but she understood that too.

R'syl rubbed his temples, trying to massage away the mild headache the glare off dozens of shiny wings always gave him. It was always better once the hatchlings were bigger, because their skin absorbed more of the oil. Right now, they were still small enough to soak in the stuff, and there was always one or two that believed their dragons were not properly oiled unless they dripped, no matter what they were told. Squinting past the green in front of him to make sure the brown on the far side was still in line, he caught sight of the circle of watchers that always formed on the edges of weyrling practice. To his surprise, his eyes caught the colorful loops of a Weyrwoman's knots near the edge of the bowl.

She waited until they were done, then she loped down. With the hot weather, she was actually wearing a light tunic and a pair of shorts. She didn't care if she looked proper or not, it was sharding warm. Rhosyn smiled and came to a stop. "So how are they shaping up?"

R'syl finished running the handkerchief he'd fished out over his forehead, then stuffed it back into a pocket before looking at the Weyrwoman. "Well enough, so far. But it's really too early to tell."

She nodded and put her hands on her hips. "I'm Rhosyn, but I bet you knew that." Turning against the light of the sun so she could see him easier, she shifted her feet in the sand. "I thought it was about time I came to say hello. You're R'syl. How many turns have you been doing this now?"

"Working with weyrlings, or as a Weyrlingmaster?" He asked wryly, then answered his own question. "I transferred to the Telgar Weyrlingstaff after the first few Falls, and I've been through a few clutches here."

"Well first, I want you to know if you ever need any help from me, just ask." She hoped that was a good thing to start since she didn't want him to feel attacked. "I do want to share with you something that bothers me."

Before the last hatching, that phrase would not have bothered him. But ever since the fiasco of having all Weyr residents Stand, R'syl was not inclined to be comfortable hearing anyone say that phrase. "What?" he asked cautiously.

"After fall, I had to help a bluerider through his dragon's first scoring." Rhosyn thought about how best to say things, then decided she'd just come out with it. "Frankly it seemed as if the boy was completely unaware of the fact that he and his lifemate might very well die someday."

R'syl sighed. "There's always a few." He said resignedly. "Some riders just never quite believe it can happen to them, no matter what we do or say otherwise. There have been losses in all the clutches... -It wasn't Op'thruh or T'weiy by chance, was it?"

"No..I can't remember the name. I think he just got his knots though. Dragon was Nidogath." For some reason it was much easier for Rhosyn to identify and remember dragons than it was for her to remember people. "I just wonder.. have you ever had a badly scored rider to speak to them? Maybe if they saw it with their own eyes... Or even do a little exercise, where say you tie their left arm up for a day and make them realize what it'd be like if it were gone.."

"We have a couple of the really scored riders come in for each clutch, and I make sure the ones temporarily assigned to the staff while recovering from injuries are visible and share their stories as well. But I hadn't thought about the exercise idea... I don't think it would be a good idea to do it for a whole day, especially since most of them aren't all that coordinated at first even with everything working, but a morning or afternoon might be good." He agreed thoughtfully.

She was aware that it was very possible the Weyrlingmaster could end up as the next Weyrleader. Still, it didn't bother her, since that was the way things worked. "What do you think are some of River Bluff's unique problems?" Who better to ask about things she needed to learn than the guy who taught them to the younger ones?

"Unique problems?" R'syl raised an eyebrow. Was that some new bureaucratic doublespeak? "I'm afraid I don't follow you, Weyrwoman. What do you mean by 'unique problems?' Problems with the weyrlings? The Weyr in general?"

"Both, whether they be from the climate here, the terrain, the people, anything." Each Weyr was different and did things differently, which brought up sets of problems that others might not have.

"For starters, keep an eye on the weather. The humidity here makes it very easy to get sunstroke, and most people forget to drink enough. As for the rest... The leaders here tend to be a little more traditional in their dealings, and some of them have been around for a long time. There's a lot of holdborn in the ranks right now that were left behind at the last Hatching who are grumbling a little that the Weyr stole their dragons." R'syl shrugged.

She nodded, digesting that information. The weather was a bit warmer at River Bluff, but it was similar in most respects to what she was used to. The traditional aspect of the staff was something she liked. Deep down Rhosyn respected the ideas that women like Tsaera had represented. "Lovely..I was holdbred when I was very young, you know." Even as a holder, she had been wild.

"No, I didn't." He said politely. He wasn't really surprised though. Most of the riders, male and female, were from the holds right now. Even with the way the Weyrs had been expanding, there simply hadn't been enough time for all the Weyrs to supply enough candidates to put Weyr-bred back into the majority. "Where are you from?"

"Born at a cothold of Baili Hold, but I was fostered at Vista Point Weyr when I was ten turns old." Rhosyn scratched her arms, trying not to think about her father, though it had been so long since he'd passed on. "So I guess I have a little bit of both in me, though ten turns in a Hold versus 21 in a Weyr is not much."

R'syl snorted. "Weyrwoman, it's more than enough. I've found it largely depends on the mindset of the person in question. If they decide they want to be a holder, it doesn't matter what color their dragon is, they will always think like a holder. Weyrlife can soften it, but not break it -unless the person wants it to." He shook his head in resignation. How many new riders had he argued with over their mindsets in the past few turns? It felt like hundreds. "Thankfully, most are willing to make the break for the sake of their dragons, if not themselves."

"Sometimes I think it might be good to have holder traditions. They respect rank a lot more than riders do, for instance." Rhosyn watched him, wondering if he was con-Holder all the way or even-minded.

"It depends on the holder tradition," R'syl offered, deliberately neutral. "Respect for rank is important, yes. But there is a reason the Weyrs were set apart from the Holds, and there can be a real problem when holder traditions are brought to a situation that just can't support them." Faranth, were there problems! He should know -_he_ was the one who had to help them deal with the incompatibilities after every single clutch!

"Well R'syl I hate to break this to you, but more holders are bred on this planet than Weyrfolk. So you might..want to think about how you can teach Weyr customs to a holder more easily-by relating them to something they know. Like me..it was easy to figure out the dragons when I compared them to runners.." She heard Orlaith's mental snort in her head that she would dare compare her to a runner. **I needed something to think of**

R'syl stiffened, fighting the urge to snap at the Weyrwoman. Faranth, what he wouldn't give to have Tsaera in charge again! Did all goldriders think he was stupid? "I am well aware of that, Weyrwoman." He said carefully. "I spend a great deal of time working with new riders from all sorts of backgrounds. The problem is not in explaining the differences. The problem comes when someone decides that all Weyr traditions are wrong, because they are not the ones they grew up with. I was craftbred, and I don't believe there is anything wrong with holder, craft, or Weyr traditions, but you cannot follow two different ideas at the same time. Holder practices favor the hold, craft practices favor the craft, and Weyr practices favor the dragons. And it is my opinion that when you agree to Stand with the possibility of Impression, you are agreeing to adhere to Weyr traditions as well."

"Aye I agree with you on that. However, it is one thing to understand that you have to do something and another to actually do it. I mean..they told me that my life could change in a moment, but I never really understood just how much until I heard that hello in my head." She was quiet then, thinking about that day and what it had meant for her. "Did you fully realize how things would be?"

"No, but I don't think anyone can." He said a little more calmly. "In order to understand, really understand, what a change can mean, you have to experience it or have it happen close to you. And if you've never had something like that happen to you before, it is nearly impossible to understand how that changes your view of the world. Most weyrlings, even some riders, don't _really_ believe anything bad can really happen to them, no matter what we tell them, because nothing really bad has ever happened to them before to force the realization. And if you don't have that understanding, it really does come as a shock."

Rhosyn had struggled through life since she was young so she really couldn't wrap her head around that. "You mean for some people it really does come up flowers all the time?" She had an expression of incredulity on her face. "I hate those people, whoever they are."

R'syl chuckled. "I understand the feeling, but I don't recommend holding on to it. I would estimate about a quarter to half of any clutch fall into that category -or at least think they do." He sighed.

"Well I'll leave you to your business but know that I'm around if you ever need any help. And anyway, might be good to introduce myself to the weyrlings since if anything ever happened to the dragonets, Orlaith would likely have to help." She hated those calls, but they were necessary.

"Of course." R'syl said simply, not pointing out that needing a queen during weyrling classes was highly unlikely. But he would have to look into arranging a formal introduction to the weyrlings for her -he wasn't sure he liked the idea of her just wandering in without warning. "Have a good day, Weyrwoman. My regards to Orlaith."

Last updated on the September 22nd 2010

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An Uninvited Guest