In Search of a Father's... [D'ren]

Lymsleia had managed to obtain them. Records. Her fingers scrolled down names. Had her mother gone south?  A-r-s-h-t-a-t. She spelled her mother's name silently. Repeatedly as she scanned the list. She was only four when the plague had driven the riders south. Only four when her mother- with hair and skin color similar to her own- had stolen into her room and whispered that she was leaving.

The scene had been replayed many many times in her head. It hurt. Her mother's name should have been in the list. But with out her's father's she realized. It might be nigh impossible. She didn't know the man's name or the color of dragon he rode. She didn't know if he was still alive.

Settling herself outside her hut, the young woman leaned against the wall. Did she even have a father?  She thought of Volfetti for a moment- the woman was raising little Benden,  but at least she knew the father's name-assumably-. Her mother had six children, all of them male except for herself. She ran her finger down the list of names she'd made. She didn't know his age,or anything.  Tapping her finger against the  ground she watched the colors of the sky change.

Was he here watching the sunrise? She knew he was aware of her existance. Arshtat had mentioned it many times. But never a name, nevera face. Why? She found herself staring at D'ren's door. His home and took a few steps backwards. She'd not expected herself to wander so far from the Candidate Barracks, right to the door of the Weyr's male leader.

She looked around, was sweet dragon, about? Then she looked again at the sky, the Weyrwoman's dragon wouldn't be able but she was almost sure the Weyrleadership /had/ to be a couple right? She inhaled slowly and knocked on the door. Mayb he was around, but what if he was busy? What if she was disturbing him? The scene over the announcement made months ago played in her her head.. Her first interaction with him had been sharp tongued and angry. And then she'd just been a good Healer and he'd rewarded her with a ride on that amazing bronze creature.

Lymselia paced in circles ,back and forth ,forth and back. D'ren didn't know her father, could he? He certainly couldn't /be/ her father. That much she knew. 

Ronarth was indeed there, watching with curiosity at Lymsleia approached. He thought he remembered the girl. The dragon let out a warm croon as he snaked his neck around the edge of the hut, eyes fixing on the girl with inviting warmth. Hello he said, snout stretching into  wide yawn. Are you here for D'ren? I'll wake him! he offered, slowly rising into a sitting position and stretching his wings as he did so. He'd obviously just woken from a nap.

D'ren! this girl is here to see you! the dragon announced, flashing an image of Lymsleia to his rider. D'ren was already awake, seated at his desk with eyes fixed to a mass of paperwork in front of him.

He frowned, unsure if this was good news. He'd met Lymsleia twice, once on good terms and once...less. Perhaps she was there to protest his policies again, which was really just a waste of both their time. He gave her the benefit of the doubt, though, rising to his feet and making his way to the door.

He opened it and smiled. "Hello, Lymsleia," he said. This early and he was already dressed and groomed, this time wearing something a bit nicer and more regal than his leathers; the response to his nicer dress at the announcement was surprisingly good. With a bit of encouragement from  Tsuen, he'd decided to do it more often. "What brings you out here this early?"

"Oh no please don't w---" Lymsleia began as  Ronarth stirred and spoke to her. She approached the bronze looking at him with a mixture of  'how dare you wake him if he's sleeping', and ' thank you for caring'. It was strange look to be sure.

Lymselia started to walk away her dark hair pressed nervously behind her ear. As D'ren opened the door, she winced. "I was just out walking, and my feet lead me here." she was honest with herself and with him. D'ren was an interesting man, what she realised her father could be like. But then again in her mind, D'ren had two sides of himself, the man- the human and then, The Weyrleader.

She inhaled a breath as she prepared herself. "I am sorry to have disturbed you, I can go. But I --" she fed him a small distortion of the truth, which she hadn't thought of until  the words left her mouth. "was wondering how you were doing, any more headaches?" She breathed easier now with the question out of mouth. Yes, that gave her a reason to be here, and speaking with him. "You look quite handsome." she murmured.

It certainly was a strange look! Strange enough that Ronarth's eyes widened and whirled with just a bit of perplexed yellow, his head tilting comically to one side like that of a canine. Confused but unsure how to articulate his concerns, the bronze just looked back at her, subtly craning his neck forward to sniff at her, as if her scent held all the answers.

D'ren showed up at the door before Ronarth could figure out what to say. It wasn't that Lym had done anything wrong, it was just Ronarth's innate simplicity confusing him. D'ren could sense that something was off, but it wasn't unusual. Many things confused Ronarth. Most things confused Ronarth.

"That's not a problem," he said as he stepped outside. Tsuen was still asleep and he didn't want to wake her. He winked playfully. "Thanks for checking in. I've been feeling much better." He still felt the weight of occupational stress, but his headaches were at least a bit better. He also felt great relief at the appearance of the clutch. Now if only Nirinath would clutch gold...

"Ah, thank you," he said as her next compliment. Well, there's a sign. I guess I really should dress up he mused. Ronarth rumbled in agreement and began the process of creeping around the corner of the hut, not unlike a feline stalking prey. I like it when you wear those colors. It makes you look kind of like me! the dragon said, eyeing D'ren's tan and brown outfit with approval.

"And how are you doing, Lymsleia?"

Lymsleia's face broke into a smile when D'ren showed up, and she only reached out to touch the dragon if he'd let her. "Its ok." she whispered.

"Its my job, how's your life going? I am mostly keeping up with my myriad of patients as your little edict has kept me busy. Please don't do anything like- ever again." she said it was half joking,and half serious. "Though as for how I am doing, well enough. Late nights. TRying to get books on dragons biology and the like. I feel like I want to.. umm... wait that's bad. But if some of the eggs do not hatch-not saying that they won't they're all lovely and strong I think." she inhaled deeply and exhaled . "If one or two don't hatch, would it be appropriete to take the hatchlings and study them?" she glanced at Ronarth and then at D'ren... she'd have felt better asking Tsuen- she at least was a woman.

"If  one doesn't hatch, I mean. I'd like to have a chance to study them, but it will ultimately be up to their Mother."

D'ren looked skeptically at Lymsleia as she made what he interpreted as a passive aggressive comment about the childbearing edict. He expected it and wasn't terribly ruffled by it, though he did find it awfully inappropriate. He shook his head, but said nothing.

"Well," he said, turning her next proposal over in his head for a moment. It was amusing and endearing, how shy she was., Lymsleia seemed very unsteady, eager and outspoken one minute but shy and nervous the next. Perhaps she was locked firmly into her element, eager to speak out on what she knew best, but shy in other regards. Who knew!

"I do believe that's more of a question for Tsuen," he said. He could see the benefit of getting some of the healers trained to work with dragons. That was a good idea no matter what. Dissecting unhatched embryos wasn't a bad idea either, but he wondered if Nirinath would allow it. "That'll ultimately have to be up to Nirinath, though," he said. Nirinath, like any good broodmother, was highly protective of her little ones.

He crossed his arms comfortably and smiled. "So how are things over at the healing hall?  Any new supplies or repairs needed?" he inquired. He had a hard time getting his mind off of business, and he hadn't gone to survey the hall in a while now...

Lymselia drew a breath in and held it. She'd almost expected him to repremand her for bringing up that edict-again. But when he said nothing she let it drop. The decree had been made and she could probably stop fuming over it now.

"It is, would you mind asking her to stop by the Healer Hall, when she gets a chance, please?" she asked as politely as she dared. "Mostly because- I dare not ask her gold. I think she'd drop me between personally if I asked." She tried to make light of the situation. She was afterall asking to do a discnetion of an unviable baby dragon-one of Pern's Last. That was one less dragon... that would grow up. But it might just perhaps give her an edge.

"We do need more supplies, actually." She removed from her shoulder bag-she never went anywhere without it anymore, since the distance between place to place at times seemed huge- "I have a list actually. We will mostly likely need to trade with the north to get some of the harder to aquire things." she paced a moment.

"D'ren, do you think you could find my dad for me?" she asked rather bluntly. Normally she wouldn't have been so blunt but it kept nagging at her. "At least his name. I want to know." she began in such an insistant tone. "I know its a long shot, but perhaps you could give me a direction to work with. I don't know his name."

D'ren wasn't sure what to make of Lym. In practically the same breath, the girl requested a favor of the (pregnant) Weyrwoman, told him how to procure supplies, and asked a favor of him - a favor he was in no position to actually do. He felt bad for the girl, but how was he supposed to find a man who he knew nothing at all about? He knew from their previous encounter that Lym knew neither the man's name or his dragon's name, just that he rode blue. Finding him would be a daunting task. Then again...there weren't as any blueriders as there had once been.

"First of all," he said, delicatly plucking the note from her and folding it. He stashed it in his pocket for now. "I'll determine how we get the supplies." His tone was gentle but firm. "And as for Tsuen, well...she's hardly in any condition to make a trip out to the Healing Hall. As you may recall, Nirinath is broody...and Tsuen is in no condition to walk so far on her own." The pregnancy wasn't widespread news yet, but it would be soon. He just smiled. "But I'll speak to her about making the trip." He knew he would easily take Tsuen there, but he wanted to make a point to Lym; she couldn't just ask such things of the Weyrwoman and expect immediate concessions to be made to get it done. "She may need to make a trip to the hall soon anyhow, or perhaps she'll prefer an appointment here. If that's the decision we come to, I'll have Ronarth call you and perhaps we'll come and get you. How does that sound?" He wasn't going to promise her a ride, but he did want to help her if he could.

He crossed his arms and thought a moment about the next question. "Lymsleia," he said, using her full name for emphasis, "You ask much of me. You don't know the man's name or anything else about him....How am  I to find him?" he asked. He sighed. "I do want to help you.  I'm just not sure how. Is there anything you can tell me?"

Lymsleia nodded  bit her lip as D'ren put his foot down. It felt good to hear him speak, though when he spoke about Tusen and condition her eyes lit up like a bonfire. "I see." she said with a wide smile. "Tsuen's stronger than she looks, most women are." she said cryptically. She was a a healer and knew well that he was probably just being an over protective man, though Tsuen was older- she remembered. Early fiffties?

She held up her hands. "I'll visit her, make it easier on both of us." she spoke firmly, trying to focus her healer's tone, tried to take some of the awkwardness out of the situation. "Its not a problem making a visit to her, D'ren." She pondered a little bit. Had she crossed a line somewhere during the conversation? She was sure she had. "That will suffice." she said formally.

The moment he said her full name she stood up straight and focused her attention on her- like a soldier at attention. "Male..." she begins to think as she found her mother's name in the records. "He may ride a blue, there was a notation next to my mother's name. I couldn't make it out." she frowned. "It's Ista Weyr born. We lived near Ista in Falen's and  my brothers went back and forth a few times... to Ista."

He smiled at her. He wasn't sure what he'd done to frazzle her so. She really was a curious one, so perky and assertive one moment then embarrassed the next. "It's not a problem, Lym," he reminded her warmly, casting a playful wink before addressing her first comment. "And you're right...Tsuen is strong," he said, not bothering to comment on the rest. He didn't agree. Women were delicate - physically at least - and needed to be shielded from physical hardships when possible. That was a generalization, of course, but a generalization that he stood by. He didn't think they were without merit or didn't deserve respect, but the fact remained that they were delicate. Beautiful, valuable, and delicate.

"However," he said, smiling again, "Tsuen is special to me. I may be a little bit..protective," he said with some humor. Oh, Tsuen would give him a hard time if she'd heard that! He respected her more than most women and was well aware of her resilience, but he still desired to protect her, shield her from hardship. Just like he'd done in taking full credit for the edict.

"A bluerider from Ista, huh?" he asked. "Well, Ista was my home Weyr," he reasoned. He hadn't known everyone at Ista, but he'd reconnected with a few of them after the plague. He knew a couple of the blueriders. Maybe he'd get lucky. "Do you know anything else? Do you know if your name is derived from his or anything?"

The playful side of D'ren emerged and she smiled. "Thank you." she whispered. She smiled when he commented about Tsuen. "She is strong, most women have to be." she says quietly. She touches the back of her hands. Women were strong, they wanted to be protected and wanted to protect. She drew  a line in the ground with a toe.

"Tsuen, had better be special." she wiggled her eyebrows with a wide grin. "Protective is fine, if you weren't I would be worried." The humor in his voicce made her smile, it was good to see the Weyrleader with some nice spirits about him. "I like the fact that you're.. not so... work-related D'ren."

She began to braid her hair and unbraid it repeatedly. "Ista was you're home... wait you lived not to far from Falen's Hold.." she seemed stunned and took a step backwards, and then stepped foreward. "His name started with an F.. Fer.. something. It was short. The writing was a bit worn so I was having trouble reading it.."

D'ren paused. An F?

"Hmmm," he said, shifting his stance just a bit and placing his hand under his chin as he considered her words. "You know, Lym..." he said, cautious optimism building as he considered the possibly flickering about in his mind. He didn't smile yet, since he wanted to make absolute sure before dashing the girl's hopes to bits.

Ronarth...that bluerider from T'gren's old wing. Back at Ista. What was his name? D'ren inquired.

Ronarth was quiet for an uncomfortably long time. I don't remember he confessed eventually. D'ren could feel the beast's shame creeping into him. He frowned, but quickly banished the expression to hide it from Lymsleia.

Are you sure, Ronarth? Try hard.... D'ren urged patiently.

Ronarth paused again. D'ren could feel the simple beast's mind working hard alongside his own. D'ren didn't know every rider from Ista, especially since he was a bronzerider and tended to associate more with other bronzeriders and brownriders, in spite of having an affectionate spot for greens and blues.

However, he did know almost all of the riders at Katila, at least by name. And he did remember the other Istans he'd mingled with at Katila's founding.

"F'rid," he said after a moment as the name finally returned to him. He couldn't help but smile. "I think...Hang on."

He disappeared into his hut, leaving Lym alone with Ronarth. The bronze's head crept around the side of his hut and he issued a soft exhalation. He has copies of some records...he's looking now the dragon explained. He creeled in embarrassment. F'rid....he should have known D'ren was asking about F'rid! How could be be so stupid?

Ronarth hated feeling stupid.

D'ren emerged a few minutes later with a piece of paper clutched in one hand. It was a file on the bluerider in question, F'rid...it was a slightly outdated backup from a set D'ren had ordered made a turn or so before, just in case the records were all destroyed again.

"I don't know for sure if this is the one, but this is the first one that came to mind," he said as he offered the paper to Lym. It might just be a coincidence. But maybe not.

Lymsleia felt herself lighten at the mention of the man's name. Father or not, by blood it was something to go off of. More than she had moments ago.

The young woman glanced at Ronarth, she was more aware of the bronze now. "F'rid.." she spoke the name aloud and turned it over in her mind. F'rid, who was this man who may actually have been the other contributing half of her?

She took the paper with shaking hands. "Its a start, I didn't have, D'ren. Thank you. I only had  an "F" to work with before, not a lot to work with. Thank you." she said it again, and moved foreward a moment. "Can I... hug you?" she asked almost sheepishly. Admitedly, she normally would have done it, but-- the rumor mill was rediculous at times. She wanted to squash any more rumors about her seeing any more unlikely people before they started.

Suddenly, the whole thing was worth it. D'ren had stressful job and had to deal with a lot of negativity. Every move he made was closely judged by others. They almost always found a way to be negative. It was nice to finally see a smile on someone's face.

"Of course you can," he said with a good-natured smiled. Behind him, Ronarth let out a soft croon of approval. You made her so happy he observed. D'ren didn't bother to tell the dragon that he was stating the obvious; he just projected warmth towards the bronze and accepted the support with gratitude.

He preempted Lymsleia, reaching out and wrapping both arms around her and pulling her into a tight embrace. "I hope it works out for you," he said. "I'm not sure if that's him, but if he's here at all, it must be," he offered. He hoped she would be lucky; his optimistic side believed she would be.

Lymsleia clung to D'ren it was a fierce cling. She allowed herself no room to let go. Her felt tightened and  she shook a moment ,as tears fell. The first and last peice of this puzzle. "It's a start D'ren. Even if its not him=- finding my mother's name in the records mean that all the horrible rumors... that I was told were a lie. Finding his name... is a good thing." She stepped back. Wobbly and weak.

Lymsleia found herself on the ground. "So.." she asked softly. "What do I doo now? I mean asking him to his face seems... rude."

He laughed warmly as he wrapped his arms around the girl and squeezed. "You're welcome. I'm glad I could help," he replied. He wanted to laugh in joy. It had been a long time since he felt like he'd actually helped someone. In the midst of all the chaos and controversy, it was nice to have a reminder, something to make his job feel rewarding.

"That's exactly what I would do," he said with a smile. He peeled back and crossed his arms, nodding to Lymsleia with approval. "Just go visit him. You've come to far to stop now," he replied. Behind him, Ronarth gave a little croon of approval. D'ren laughed lightly as he felt a blast of warm air surge past, a product of Ronarth's amusement. The dragon snorted a second time and lifted his head, putting his gleaming gaze on Lym and projecting warmth towards her.

"Well," D'en said, "I need to get back to work. Best of luck to you, Lymsleia," he replied. As nice as it felt to help the girl, reality still beckoned.