Children Will be Children

Writers: Noli, Suzee
Date Posted: 30th June 2013

Characters: Sefanya, Ciara, Radela, Rianna
Description: Ciara picks Radela up from her foster mother's apartments.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 1, day 6 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentor Approved

Ciara

Ciara stripped off her riding gloves and jacket as she followed the
well known corridors toward Sefanya's quarters. Before she even got
there she could hear the shouts and giggles of happy children floating
down the corridor.

"Sefanya," she called as she opened the door and peeked in. "My
goodness," she said when she surveyed the toys scattered everywhere.
She shook her head at the other woman. "How do you do it?"

Sefanya grinned from her spot on the floor. Tucking a stray lock that
had escaped her braid behind her ear, she winked at Ciara.

"I could say the same thing about your dragon."

Sefanya had not known Ciara when Ellianith was a hatchling, but many
of her 'children' had become weyrlings throughout the Turns, and the
foster mother had witnessed all of the pure unadulterated? _work_ that
goes into caring for one of the baby dragons. In her opinion, a
roomful of toddlers was easier any day.

Brushing her breeches off as she stood, Sefanya turned to the corner
where she had last left Raedela. As she suspected, the toddler was
there, along with Alaynne. The little green flit had taken a special
interest in Radela as of late.

"Time to go," she chirped cheerfully.

Ciara chuckled at the sight of the little girl with the little green
flit. "Dragonrider in training do you think?"

Radela spotted her mother and pushed herself off the floor to run as
fast as her legs could carry her. She sucked herself to Ciara's leg
and squeezed. Ciara's hand dropped to the dark curls, and she smiled
at the foster mother.

"How was she today? She was a little warm when I dropped her off."

?Oh, she was a doll, as always.? Sefanya returned the grin. She liked
Ciara, surprisingly. Sefanya didn?t care for most of her fosters?
parents; she had a certain view on child-rearing, and tended to be
judgmental of any one else's parenting techniques. She respected
Ciara, though. After all, it wasn?t many dragonriders who chose to
only partially foster their children, keeping some of the burden of
raising them on themselves.

?She was fussy at breakfast, so I sent Torr after the Healer. He declared
her healthy as a runner.? She chuckled at the memory of the Master's
mirth.?The?Weyrhealer?always came when the foster mother?s bronze flit
summoned him, and he never found anything wrong with the children. He
often told Sefanya she worried too much.

She reached down and picked up Rianna, who had attached herself to her
mother?s leg, a mirror of Radela. Bouncing the 3-Turn-old lightly, she
inquired politely, ?How were the skies, and the lovely Ellianith??

Ciara smiled. "Actually, today was better than yesterday. The newer
riders are fitting in a bit better." She didn't know how much the
foster mother knew about the Queen's wing and all the injured riders
that came in and went out again when they were healed up. But then
she'd been around the Weyr for so long she was probably quite familiar
with the problems that came along with that.

"Mamma," Radela said and used both hands to turn Ciara's face to look
at her. "I have to pee."

"Oh!" Ciara put her down and watched her scamper off into the other
room. She chuckled and called out. "Let me know when you're done." Her
brows lifted as she listened but no little voice called out for her.

"Always a good thing to hear," Sefanya laughed.? She noted Torr, who
had previously been sleeping high upon a shelf but had woken and
dropped lazily to the floor. He yawned, stretched is long bronze
wings, and padded after the youngster. He occasionally played watchdog
to the little ones. This amused Sefanya; normally, Torr was a vain
little thing who normally cared only for himself and any golds he
happened to be after at the time.

She noted Ciara's apparent concern. "She'll be fine," Sefanya teased
the dragonrider. "Torr will watch her."

She reached up onto a shelf and pulled down a stone pot. "Would you
like some klah?" Sefanya kept her own supply handy-- it would have
been impossible for her to do her job without it. She pulled down two
mugs and waited expectantly.

Ciara smiled at the foster mother. "That sounds wonderful," she said
and moved over to the table where she could see the door where Radela
had gone.

Placing Rianna on the rug in the middle of the room, Sefanya joined
Ciara at the table with two steaming mugs. They chatted amiably for a
bit, until Sefanya realized that she hadn't heard anything from the
latrine since Radela had gone back. Frowning, she was just about to
ask Ciara if she wanted her to go check on the toddler, when they
heard a crash, followed by a wail. Whose it was, she couldn't be sure.

"Ooops," Ciara's mug thunked back down on the table and she was off
like a shot to check on Radela. But when she whipped around the corner
she found her daughter in the middle of the floor liberally dusted
with white powder.

"Raedela!"

"I smell nice mommy. Like Sefanya," but her bottom lip quivered and
she crumpled into tears at the look on her mothers face.

Sefanya followed Ciara into the toilet and burst into laughter at the
sight. There was Radela, all right, all covered in powder, and beside
her Torr with his own white costume. He was indignant, his tail
lashing as he tried to clean his bronze hide. When his efforts failed,
he flapped his wings with as much dignity as he could muster and
disappeared /between/.

Sefanya crooned as Radela began to sob. "There, there. It's alright,
sweetheart. You do smell very pretty." She dampened a linen and handed
it to Ciara to clean her with, then hurried to the kitchen. She sliced
a redfruit and patiently waited for mother and daughter to emerge.

After a few minutes of cleaning, encouragement and scrubbing Ciara
emerged with a decidedly fragrant Radela on her hip and a chuckle.
"I'm sorry Sefanya, I couldn't get it all up."

Sefanya waived a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. It's not the first time
this house has seen a dusting, and it won't be the last. Children will
be children." She winked at Radela and offered her a slice of redfruit. Rianna toddled over to
where she stood and held out chubby little hands for her own fruit,
which Sefanya laughingly gave to her. "One piece, little miss, and
then it's bedtime."

Ciara chuckled as Radela stuffed her face with the fruit. "I'll give
her a good bath when we get home," she smiled. "Oh, no drills tomorrow
so I'll just bring her by while I wash and oil Ellianith, if thats
alright."

"How about we go see dada," she said to her daughter who didn't pay
any attention at all and just stuffed fruit in her mouth.

"That would be fine, dear." Sefanya smiled at her foster daughter and
her mother. Addressing the toddler, her voice had a singsong quality.
"See you tomorrow, sweetling."

Last updated on the July 2nd 2013

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Children Will be Children