+- World of Pern (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum)
+-- Forum: Telgar Weyr Boundaries (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=109)
+--- Forum: Telgar Weyr (https://pern.second-pass.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=118)
+--- Thread: [G] [C] [EVENT] 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions (/showthread.php?tid=3729)
738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - R'nd - 27.Dec.17
It had been a rough two weeks on R’nd thanks to one little mistake that led to a lot of thinking and even a bit of panicking. He had gone to Ista to visit with T’ryn and when they decided to go flying, his son went to change. Rell had come with him and in that short amount of time, his firelizard had managed to tilt his world yet again, this time by poking through a pile of papers that had been left on a table. Feeling bad for the mess Rell was making, R’nd went over to tidy up and shoo the flitter away.
In that moment, he saw something that caught his eye—‘Bluerider R’nd (Orwind)’. He tried to look away but curiosity got the best of him, especially when he saw lines connecting his name to others like his siblings and parents. Then he saw the lines coming from his name and R’nd froze. There should only be two, right? Why did he see four boxes filled in with a few more empty ones? Were the empty ones like that in hopes of having more siblings or did T’ryn know who they were? But he knew the better question that he was avoiding was, were Ayontay and Wynera truly his kids as well? Not wanting to ruin the day with T’ryn and ask him about the project, R’nd quickly pushed the papers back together and grinned sheepishly when his son came back in the room, explaining Rell was making a mess and apologizing.
Since accidentally finding out about Ayontay and his sister, R’nd had battled with himself over the truth of it. He knew he had held a couple of relationships with their mother, Tyeravi, and it was very possible they had kids together. Why didn’t anyone ever tell him outside of Volfetti? Ayyonth had been quick to point out how skittish he was and that Volfetti was the first one to tell him because she had a backbone and wouldn’t back down if he denied her and Benden. He was much calmer than he was back when a fat baby was plopped into his arms but could he handle having two more children looking to him? He figured he could but what would his family think when he showed up with two new children that he hadn’t known about? Eridella wouldn’t mind though her husband might. Pendalier definitely would look down on him but that wasn’t anything new and R’nd really didn’t care for his brother’s opinion anyway. Ayyonth had fun pointing out how dense he was since the boy had clearly been named after the blue dragon and R’nd had the decency to actually agree in quiet embarrassment. R’nd had no excuse for not making that connection, especially since the boy bared a strong resemblance to him. But as Ayyonth always told him, he had a way of ignoring what he didn’t want to see that might stir up feelings.
He went to Tyeravi after days of thinking on it to get her story on her silence and her opinion on being in the kids’ lives. She confirmed he had been flighty and twelve years ago he wouldn’t have handled being a father so she followed in Telerii’s footsteps and kept quiet. He was also told Wynera wouldn’t care either way and would look to Ayontay for his reaction and potential acceptance. As to whether he should talk to the boy, he received a shrug. Ayontay idolized him but was too afraid to be known lest it changed things for the worse. R’nd felt horrible and guilty by the time he left his former fling’s home. By the time he got home he wondered if he should just put signs up around the Weyrs stating that if they were one of his kids to please contact him for a proper meeting. He didn’t like what he had inadvertently put at least three kids through.
On a morning that he had unsurprisingly slept in thanks to a late night in with B’jin, R’nd went to the kitchen to get a leftover muffin and a cup of klah. He saw Ayontay there helping out by washing dishes and decided it was now or never. He couldn’t continue on as he had in the past now that he knew the young man was his son. It might blow up in his face but they needed to have a talk and R’nd propelled himself into action, apologizing to the workers as he asked to borrow Ayontay for a moment.
After awkwardly asking the boy if he could see him for a moment, R’nd led them out to the eating area where he settled in with his light breakfast. He nervously took a bit of his muffin and took a moment to truly look at the boy, his son. He really had been blind to notice the physical clues they were related and his guilt deepened. Why would anyone want him as a dad?
“So, uh, how’s it going?”
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - A'tay - 27.Dec.17
Ayontay frowned at the way R’nd was behaving. The bluerider was every definition of confident and friendly but now he seemed unsure and looked to be choosing his words wisely. Either he was about to be in trouble or… R’nd knew. How did he know? Why did he know? There was a small chance he didn’t know and it seemed like such a large jump of a conclusion to make but why else would R’nd seek him out and then not be his usual bubbly self that was full of smiles and kind words for everyone he came across? Maybe he didn’t know for sure and was only looking for confirmation on gossip. He could easily lie and say they weren’t related and everything would be fine again, right?
Then again, maybe he really was in trouble and R’nd had been asked to deliver the news and the man didn’t know how to point out something bad. He was probably full of regret for having to tell him something he didn’t want to hear and it was causing the bluerider to act odd. That seemed more likely and Ayontay forced himself to smile as he got over his paranoia. He’d rather be sent to the Weyrleader’s office than be told R’nd didn’t want to be his dad.
“It goes well,” he replied with more enthusiasm now that he was convinced everything really was fine and dandy. He had overreacted for nothing but wondered what he did or forgot to do that warranted a bluerider escort. “What’s new with you?”
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - R'nd - 27.Dec.17
R’nd returned the frown, also thinking something seemed off. Ayontay was usually far more cheerful but maybe he just wasn’t a morning person either and hadn’t fully woken up yet. When the boy finally answered and seemed to perk up a bit, R’nd smiled, glad to see that perhaps it was just a passing bit of sleepiness that refused to let go. “Good, that’s good.”
He had to do this, he was committed to a conversation now. It’d be weird if he suddenly stood up with a lame excuse to leave. He was briefly reminded of the way T’ryn acted when he blurted out their blood ties and R’nd almost laughed at how he was close to doing the same thing. Getting right to the point was the best idea but he didn’t want to be quite so blunt. “So it has recently come to my attention via something I probably wasn’t supposed to see that… well… that I’m your father.” Okay, so maybe he was in the mood to be blunt after all. He flinched slightly at his wording but wondered if there was an easier way to say that. Maybe he should have asked B’jin for his advice. The poor man had put up with him pondering over this for two weeks that involved the barest amount of information along the lines of ‘I may have another son.’ Given B’jin had recently learned he had a son the same age as his lover, R’nd didn’t want to burden him with too much information.
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - A'tay - 27.Dec.17
Ayontay’s mouth fell open at the unexpected yet somehow still expected sentence. R’nd knew. He knew! He wasn’t running away screaming, yet. In fact, he wasn’t doing much of anything, not even eating his muffin or drinking his gross klah. Was he actually waiting for a reaction before he did? He was about to get one when Ayontay realized what R’nd meant about accidentally seeing something he shouldn’t and with a sigh his head slowly met with the table. “T’ryn.” It was all he said for several moments. He knew his half-brother’s stupid desire to log their family tree would come back to haunt one of them. T’ryn had insisted it wouldn’t be hung up and R’nd wouldn’t even know it existed; unless it was left lying around apparently.
Finally, his head lifted and he stared at R’nd, the poor man looking confused and worried. Maybe he would bolt soon after all. “I know. I’ve known forever but was encouraged not to tell you because you would freak out. Are you going to freak out?” Maybe he already had and this was the calm of acceptance before telling him to leave him alone. Two sons was probably more than enough for a flirty bluerider to handle.
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - R'nd - 27.Dec.17
R’nd was starting to worry that despite what Tyeravi said, the boy didn’t want him to know. He stayed silent, letting Ayontay come to terms with whatever was going through his head beyond likely berating T’ryn for being so careless. R’nd was glad for it though. It left him with a lot of guilt but he needed to know that he had a couple more kids out there, especially if they wanted to know him.
“Am I going to freak out?” R’nd found the question a bit amusing and grinned at his son, “no. I did that already, for about two weeks actually. I worried about how you and your sister might actually feel and have a lot of guilt for not knowing sooner and leaving you without a father.” R’nd had been Searched when he was Ayontay’s age and though he had a dad, the man never really seemed like a dad to him. He gave his praise and respect to Pendalier, especially after he showed a desire to learn the Seacraft and R’nd had no real love for it. He had learned first with Benden and then with T’ryn what a father should be and Ayontay probably never had that either.
“I’d like… I’d like to have a chance at being your father if you’d let me though,” there, he had said it and now was the moment of truth. He had given Ayontay a chance to deny him and R’nd would take it was grace and walk away, though the rejection would hurt.
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - A'tay - 27.Dec.17
Ayontay couldn’t help the bit of laughter that came out with R’nd’s confession. The man was charming even when he told truths that weren’t always wanted. It was good to know he had panicked a little but it was even more heart-warming to hear the reasons why. “Sometimes I’d be angry that your feelings were more important than mine when I couldn’t tell you who I was and sometimes I was envious of T’ryn for having you but I couldn’t.” Now seemed like the right time to bare his soul and confess what was on his mind. He’d never hated the man that was his dad and even when he did have bursts of anger, they never lasted long and he never had thought about not wanting R’nd in his life. How could he? R’nd was simply the coolest.
“Now, though?” Ayontay paused, thinking he might have a moment’s fun with R’nd and make it seem like he was going to say no. It was mean but he felt he deserved the small dig, “I would like that very much. Especially if I get to meet Eridella and my cousins. T’ryn says they’re amazing.”
RE: 738.12.26 | Morning Confessions - R'nd - 27.Dec.17
R’nd released the breath he had been holding and smiled. He was a dad again! It was kind of exciting now that he knew a bit better what he was doing but he was still nervous about screwing something up since everyone was different. They’d have to take it slow, like he had with T’ryn, and learn more about Ayontay and his interests but they had plenty of time for that.
He laughed as he finally reached for his klah, taking a sip and savouring the cinnamon flavour. “We can certainly do that. Not today, though. I’ll need to arrange a time for a family visit but your aunt loves having us over and I think she’ll adore you as well.” While he did need time to arrange for a proper dinner or visit with the family, R’nd also wanted to gauge the reaction to having another son. He’d go in person to take with his sister beforehand so there wouldn’t be any surprises. Her husband was a decent enough man but he wasn’t one for surprises.
“When you’re done your chores for the day, how would you like to go for a ride on your namesake?” At Ayontay’s beaming smile and enthusiastic nod, R’nd smiled in return. Dragons were always the easy go-to for bonding and he couldn’t blame anyone for it. They were beautiful beasts and he could only imagine what it’d be like to go for a ride on your parent’s dragon for the first time. He remembered the first time he rode Gamalieth when R’jit Searched him and figured it was like that but more personal.
“Maybe an evening flight after dinner and I’ll show you one of my favourite spots in the area and we can hang out and talk.” R’nd wanted to be available as much as he could for his son and he wanted to show that. A flight and a talk seemed like a good way to start that.