Post by Zen on Sept 16, 2022 7:04:54 GMT -5
Turn 2762, Early 3rd Month
A boy from the harbor caverns had come to the candidate barracks and found S’bol, leaving a letter for him. Podrell was curious as he unrolled the hide to read it, but the handwriting was unmistakably his sister Pollifa’s. He read it three times before it sank in that his sister was here at Mavros. And not just to visit. After candidate lessons, he headed for the holdside of Mavros and the living quarters that his sister’s family had been given. When he knocked, it wasn’t Pollifa who answered, however.
“Rellirra?”
“Is that any way to greet a lady?” she scolded, opening the door further for him and assessing him with a judgmental stare.
He laughed and stepped inside, “Pollifa made no mention of you. It was unexpected.” He took his sister’s hand and kissed it gently, “My apologies, my lady.”
That seemed to mollify her on that front, at least, as the girl couldn’t help but giggle softly, but did her best to force a more serious face as quickly as she could, “You have so much explaining to do, Podrell! How on Pern could you just give up being a Lord? I was nearly a Lord’s sister! A Lord’s sister would have a much better chance of marrying a Lord or his heir, you know! I’m only a granddaughter and a niece, and I know that isn’t as appealing!”
Podrell was careful not to laugh and incense her further, “You’re too young for marriage, Lira. You’ve plenty of turns to figure that out.”
“With no help from you,” she muttered, and from the way she clenched her jaw he knew she was doing her best not to stick her tongue out at him. That wouldn’t be very lady-like, after all.
“Indeed,” he agreed, mildly confused about her presence at Mavros, “So why have you come to Mavros? Only to scold me?”
The girl tossed her dark hair, “Hardly. Our Lord Uncle Asirikai has no children yet. I thought perhaps I could act in a daughter’s stead for him.”
Podrell made a displeased noise at the sound of Asirikai’s name, “When did you become such a scheming little lady?”
Rellirra glared at him, hands on her hips, “I would not have to scheme, as you put it, if you had become Lord of Mavros instead!”
He rolled his eyes, already sick of her scolding on the matter, and in doing so spotted Pollifa making her way toward them with her daughter on her hip. The smile that sprang to his lips at the sight of her was genuine and tender, and he moved to embrace her, careful of the child in her arms. She kissed his cheek before he stepped back, “It is good to see you, Pod. I have missed you while you’ve been away.”
As he had with Rellirra, he took her free hand to kiss it gently and she laughed lightly, “And I you, Polli. I had hardly expected to see you here anytime soon. You’ve moved yourself here, truly?”
“I could hardly leave you here at Mavros alone, you and uncle Asirikai,” she explained, and he grimaced again at the name.
“Lord Asirikai,” their younger sister corrected, and Podrell threw an annoyed look her way.
Pollifa laughed and shook her head, “Lord indeed. And our dear brother is none too pleased about it either, I see.”
“Maybe he shouldn’t have dropped out then,” Rellirra muttered.
Podrell drew in a breath for patience as Pollifa tossed a reproachful look at the girl, “All this sulking and pettiness is hardly becoming of a lady, Lira. Here, take Tasi and entertain her if you’re unable to find better manners. And try to keep it down, Tollasken is asleep, for now.” She handed her daughter off and Rellirra looked momentarily embarrassed at the scolding, and then carried her niece off to do as she was told. When the two girls had left the room, Pollifa sighed, “She’s been moody about you dropping out of contention ever since your letter came. She’d been so excited at the prospect of her brother becoming a Lord.” Podrell glanced away from her questioning gaze. “I never knew you had dreams of dragonriding, Pod. I thought we kept no secrets.”
The mild hurt in his sister’s voice drew his gaze back to hers and he took her hands in his, “I never did, until I came here, that I promise you. Even now, I don’t know… but something….” He made an annoyed sort of sound, feeling foolish, “Something… feels right about it…. It’s ash-brained, I know. I know….” He sighed and she squeezed his hands gently.
“You never talk of anything feeling right, Pod. You’re always up in that head of yours, not down in your heart, when you make decisions. I’m sure that means something,” Pollifa’s words were encouragement, and he took them to heart, “It was not difficult for me to see that you were not well satisfied in the glasscraft. For all that you’ve done, there’s always been a sort of restlessness in you, brother, an inability to settle. I do hope you find what you’ve been wanting for in the Weyr.” She drew him toward table and chairs and settled herself in one, “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t wait until after the election. I find it difficult to believe a sudden and inexplicable passion to be a rider sprang up in you upon your Search.” She had a bemused sort of expression on her face, for she knew her brother better than that.
“I did quite a lot of deep thinking after I was Searched,” he offered easily. It wasn’t entirely a lie. He had done a lot of deep thinking and it had been after Maz’ru’s blue had offered him the chance to stand as a candidate, but his Search had not been the true reason for all his thinking.
She frowned and raised a brow at him, “And now you are keeping secrets. Did you fear the shame of losing?” Though she asked, she didn’t sound like she would believe that. She reached across the table to lay her hand over his, “Come, Pod… we have shared so much, you and I. Tell me the truth. If it’s your wish, it will stay between us. I would never betray your trust. You know that, don’t you?”
He shifted his hand to grasp hers lightly, “Of course I know. I….” His gaze fell to where their hands joined on the table and he contemplated for a long quiet moment. His voice dropped to a softer tone, “There is… there is someone…. If I became Lord of Mavros… I would lose her.”
Pollifa’s eyes widened at that admission, for it had been nothing that she had been expecting. Her own voice was soft when she spoke, “You love her?”
His sigh was all frustration and exasperation, “For some reason, it seems. It must be love, or why would I be acting such a fool?” He took his hand from hers and leaned back in his chair, “Much as I tried to deny it, and fight against it, no woman has ever made me feel… they’ve never made me feel, Polli. If not love then I’ve no idea what madness has come over me. And love is madness enough.”
She covered her mouth with the hand he had released, so as to hide the amused smile pulling at her lips. When she had her amusement suitably under control, she tilted her head slightly, “Do I get to meet her? I would love to know what sort of woman could steal my brother’s heart.”
He made a displeased noise, “A quarrelsome, irritating woman that loves nothing more than to vex me and draw me into nonsensical games.”
She couldn’t help but laugh then, in disbelief, “Surely not. How could you speak of your lady love so derisively?”
A short laugh escaped him as well at that, “My lady love… she will be the first to tell you she is no lady. And it seems to me she prefers my derision to my kindness. You should have seen the fight she put up while she took ill and I was trying to take care of her. She made it seem as though my care was torturous. She is stubborn, and ridiculous. I swear she was trying to put her own health at risk only to defy me.”
More laughter bubbled from his sister’s lips, “Well, you have always enjoyed a challenge, haven’t you?” She was teasing him and Podrell rolled his eyes, but she pressed for more, “She can’t be all negative. Tell me why, through all this, you still care for her.”
“Would that I could,” he muttered.
“Podrell,” her voice took on a mother’s scolding tone, and it was so rare for her to use his full name, “Now you’re just being stubborn.”
He couldn’t deny it, for he was. Speaking praise of Siorreya did not come naturally. Speaking of her and how he felt for her at all made him feel half a fool. He knew how he felt, he knew it made little sense, and he still couldn’t comprehend how she had come to mean more to him than a possible lordship, which made him feel all the more confused and foolish. “I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough. And now I’ll stubbornly insist we change the subject. We’ve talked rather overmuch of me and nothing of you. How did you talk Taskent into moving your family here of all places?”
Pollifa made a sort of tsk noise but didn’t fight the subject change, “It wasn’t too difficult. He can as easily be a fisher here as in Cove. He has his ship and even convinced a few young men that work with him to come along for the adventure. Once he arrives it shouldn’t be too hard to hire on a few more hands if he needs them. He knows how close you and I have been. I wanted to be near you, and if you are making your life here, then I shall make mine here as well.”
He knew his sister cared deeply for him but he hadn’t imagined she would uproot her entire family on his behalf. A soft smile came to his lips, “How is a brother meant to repay such devotion?”
She raised a brow mischievously, “Perhaps by telling his sister more of the woman he loves.”
His own hazel gaze narrowed, “Has Lira learned her scheming from you then?”
Pollifa laughed, “That girl has a mind all her own, and it is bound and determined to be some Lord’s Lady.” She sighed then, “Mother didn’t much approve of her coming along, but father convinced her. Lira seems to think that our uncle may have better luck finding her a handsome young lordling to marry, though I couldn’t say where she got the idea. In any case, our Lord grandfather hasn’t at all taken her pleas seriously, so perhaps she thinks that Asirikai will. Either way, I didn’t think it a terrible idea for her to see a bit more of the world while she’s still young.”
Podrell glanced toward the door his sister and niece had disappeared through, his tone flat, “I wish her good luck with that.”
Pollifa chuckled, “Will mention of Asirikai forever turn you sour, Pod?”
“It would be a safe bet,” he admitted, “And I’ve no desire to speak more of him.”
“Shells, whatever will we speak of, dear brother? We can’t speak of your lady or our uncle. Is there any other off limits topic that I should know of?” She was teasing him again, “You are family. You really ought to try to get along.”
Podrell stiffened in his seat, “I have tried. It is Asirikai that has the issue, not I. Don’t blame me for his antagonistic nature.”
Pollifa frowned, “He has never been antagonistic toward me.”
“I don’t know what his problem is, Polli, but I never did anything to provoke him when we were young. He has had it out for me as long as I can remember,” he waved his hand, “Can we be done with him?”
She sighed, but moved on, “Might I ask how your candidacy is going? Or will that make you cross as well?”
He sighed, “Forgive me, Polli. He has just been… particularly antagonistic here, with us both competing for the same prize. I can only hope now he’s gotten what he wanted he’ll be too busy to concern himself with me or Siorreya any further.”
Pollifa’s brow rose, “Siorreya, is it? What a pretty name.”
Podrell made a displeased sound in the back of his throat. He hadn’t meant to say that, but Pollifa was one of very few people he ever let his guard down around. He had never needed to guard his tongue around her. They had always shared everything. It was probably why he enjoyed her company so much. He could relax around her and know she would never use anything he said or did against him, or let such things slip to anyone who might use them against him. He didn’t dwell on it, moving on to answer her previous question, “My candidacy is going just fine, as far as I can tell. The lessons are quite interesting. I’ve never studied dragons before. It’s all quite fascinating. Did you know that riders can feel their dragons’ emotions, and dragons their riders’?” Though it hadn’t been candidate lessons that had taught him that.
“Oh? How strange… to feel emotions that aren’t your own,” she chuckled softly, “Are you sure you’re up for that, Pod? It seems to me that your logical side would dislike that.”
“Mm,” he made a sound that was more acknowledgement than agreement, unsure himself how he felt about it. He was having enough trouble with his own emotions without adding in someone else’s, “I suppose I’ll see, if a dragon chooses me.” He studied his sister for a moment, “And what are your plans? I know you had been assisting mother and grandmother back at Cove. What will you do here?” An amused smile pulled at his lips, “Be some simple fishwife?”
Her eyes narrowed playfully at that, “Well if I must, but I did think that my abilities could be put to better use. Rellirra had taken to helping us as well recently, and I thought the two of us might offer our assistance to Asirikai’s Headwoman, since he has no Lady as yet.” She glanced toward a door at the other end of the room, “Though I’m unsure just how much I’ll be able to help with Tollasken to look after. I’ve never much liked the idea of a wetnurse but perhaps….”
“Well, I’m sure your assistance would be appreciated, however much you’re able to offer. There is certainly plenty that needs doing here.” He couldn’t help but think again of his last interaction with his uncle and the offer to be his steward, even though not that long before Asirikai had angrily informed him there would be no place for him in his Hold. Was it any wonder that Podrell had no idea what the man was thinking where he was concerned? He was incredibly inconsistent. But he had meant what he said in return, that they could have made a good team, setting Mavros to rights together, if only his uncle could put this unnecessary antagonism aside. He did want a decent relationship with the man, he had never wanted this ongoing battle with his uncle, but he wasn’t going to just lay down and take his insults either. It was entirely unjustified, he had never done anything to deserve his uncle’s wrath and he would defend himself against it.
Pollifa sighed as well, “So I’ve seen. I had heard things but… coming here and seeing it is a different matter. I would have come to help you as well, had you won out in the end. Rellirra was rather counting on it.”
Podrell shook his head, and then mused, “And if Dirinsin had won?”
Pollifa’s eyes narrowed again, “Dirisinsin has a wife.”
Podrell laughed, “Yes, one that no one gets along with.”
Pollifa huffed, “Well she is quite entitled, isn’t she? And their children… it seems to me there is a lack of discipline there. I’d rather they not influence my own with their… questionable behavior.”
Pod laughed again, “You’re being too kind, Polli. Our cousins really are little brats.”
She laughed even as she scolded him, “Podrell!”
Grinning, he sat back in his chair, “What? Just because they’re family doesn’t mean we shouldn’t speak the truth of them.” His gaze flicked to the door as well, feigning hurt when he spoke, “Tollasken then? You never even wrote me of my nephew’s birth.”
She laughed softly, “I wanted to surprise you. I had hoped you might be able to meet him when you came to visit, but he just fell asleep right before you arrived. It’s why I didn’t answer the door, I was just putting him down. Rellirra has been a real help since the move, now that I have less assistance.”
Podrell frowned slightly, “I am glad to see you, and… touched you moved yourself here, but… I wish you hadn’t. You and your family would be far more comfortable in Cove.”
“So would you, and yet here you are,” she pointed out with a soft smile, “And here I am.”
Pod shook his head lightly, “Here we are.” He glanced back toward where Rellirra had gone, “Well, you’ve been given fairly generous rooms, as far as Mavros goes. When I first got here I was given a single stark room to make use of and the bed left much to be desired.”
Pollifa laughed, “Perhaps they were trying to scare their possible Lords off.”
“Not an unlikely possibility,” he agreed with some amusement, “But you’re settling in alright? How long have you even been here?”
“About a sevenday now. I wanted to get properly settled before I sent you a message to let you know we were here. I suppose we’re as settled as we’re like to get for now,” she explained, “Oh! I heard there are eggs on the sands? Do you know when the Hatching will take place? I would certainly like to be there. I would hate to miss it if you Impressed. Besides that I’ve never been to a Hatching before. To think the very first I’m going to witness my brother will be standing.”
“Five heated weeks…,” he quoted thoughtfully, a line from a teaching song about dragon matings. He’d honestly never heard it before, but apparently it was common in the Weyr. He’d heard weyrbrats singing it lately, with the eggs being much on the minds of everyone since they’d been laid. Realizing he’d gotten a bit lost in thought over it, he continued as he noticed his sister’s puzzled expression, “Ah… perhaps three more weeks? There is a teaching song about it that they sing in the Weyr…. Rise in glory, bronze and gold. Dive entwined, enhance the Hold. Count three months and more, and five heated weeks, a day of glory and in a month who seeks? A strand of silver in the sky. With heat, all quickens and all times fly.” He didn’t sing it, as he’d never been very good at singing. He shrugged, “It’s been about two weeks so far, so something like three more, according to the song. S’bol, the candidate master, has said it’s not always exact, of course. Give or take a few days.”
“So soon! Are you excited? You’ve never been a Hatching before either, have you?” she tilted her head slightly, curious if he had managed to see one somehow without her knowledge.
“This will be my first… I don’t know if excited is the right word,” his fingers tapped on the table thoughtfully for a moment, “Intrigued is more accurate. It should be an interesting experience if nothing else. They try to prepare you but S’bol is fond of saying that nothing can quite prepare you until you’ve actually been there and done it. Apparently it is quite chaotic, which is how people get hurt.” His sister’s eyes widened slightly in concern but he smiled, “Don’t worry, that’s only if you’re not paying attention.” Or so they’d been told, but his sister didn’t need to hear that. He really wouldn’t know until he was on the sands and dragons were breaking shell. “But now we’re talking about me again….”
Pollifa laughed lightly, “Well your life is a deal more interesting than mine, Pod. Shall I go into the details of my labor with Tollasken?” The uncertain look that passed over Pod’s face made her laugh again, “I thought not.”
“How has Tasi taken to her brother?” he asked instead.
“Oh, it’s a mix. There are times she does her best to be helpful and other times she clearly resents him for having to share my attention…. Do you remember how it was for you, Pod? I imagine not, you were so young… but mother said it was much the same with you and I.”
He raised a brow slightly, “Was it? I can’t imagine ever resenting you.”
She smiled at that, “Well, by the time Dirrexa came along you’d adjusted, but she said it takes some time for the first child to adjust from being the only child. All the children that come after adjust faster, because they’re used to sharing their parents’ attention from birth. Mother was the first as well, and grandmother says it was the same with her and uncle Ikarsen too. Especially since he was a boy and likely to be grandfather’s heir. Anyway, hopefully she’ll take to the next one a bit easier.”
“The next one? You’re already planning for that?” Podrell chuckled.
“I’d like a big family, like ours. Though I do hope we have a couple more boys than mother did, for Taskent’s sake.”
“Mm, and for the boy’s sake as well,” he teased.
“You know it wasn’t that terrible to have five sisters,” she insisted, “You’ve never acted like it was, at least.”
He laughed again, “No… not terrible, but a brother might have been nice.”
“As long as he wasn’t too antagonistic?” Pollifa teased him back.
Podrell grimaced, “On second thought, sisters are preferable.” Pollifa laughed and he shook his head. “Will you really be alright here? I don’t want you to be miserable on my account, and Mavros offers little by way of even basic comforts….”
Pollifa tsk’d again, “You don’t get to keep the adventure all to yourself, Pod.” She smiled softly and reached over again to rest her hand over his, “I’ve lived in Cove my whole life and have traveled little. A change of pace might very well do me good. We’ll manage. The Mavrosi have, after all. We shall just have to adapt. And-” She cut herself off, studied him for a moment, and huffed softly, continuing, “With a proper Lord in charge, I’m sure things will begin to improve.”
“Hmf… I’m glad you have so much faith in our uncle.” Podrell really hated being reminded that Asirikai had won. He had no real fondness for Dirinsin but he would have even preferred him to Asirikai, if only because it likely would have made the loss even worse for him. Their mother liked to say that Dirinsin often reached too high and needed to learn his proper place in the world as a second son. He imagined it was a similar lesson that she had tried to impart on him when he was young and expressed a desire to be Lord of Cove one day. She thought Dirinsin ought to have made a place for himself at Ikarsen’s side, but instead he kept striking out for more, and coming home empty handed with nothing to show for his endeavors. But if Dirinsin was reaching too high, then what must she have thought of Asirikai coming to Mavros, or himself for that matter? She had been supportive of him, she hadn’t tried to dissuade him, but… he wondered if that was his father’s influence more than how his mother truly felt. It was hard to say, and he supposed it didn’t matter anymore.
“Podrell,” she took on that scolding tone again, “He’s family, and we should support him. Besides he must be doing something right to have the Mavrosi choose him themselves.”
He made another displeased noise in the back of his throat and leaned back in his chair, “I thought we weren’t going to talk about him anymore.”
“Honestly, Pod… you chose to drop out of contention, you’ve no right to be such a sore loser. Someone had to win, why not Asirikai? I think he’ll make a fine Lord, and clearly so do many others or he wouldn’t have won. You’re acting childish. If it meant so much to you to see Asirikai lose the election, you ought to have remained in the race, as Rellirra said,” her tone and her logic left little room for argument, and Pod crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance. She sighed lightly, taking on a lighter tone, “However, since I know how it displeases you to speak of him… I would be willing to change the subject to Siorreya instead.” It took only a moment for a grin to pull at his sister’s lips.
“Great Faranth,” he shook his head, eyeing her for a moment, but Siorreya was a much better topic than Asirikai. He sighed and held up three fingers, “I’ll give you three questions. And then I really ought to head back to the Weyr.”
“Only three!?” Pollifa huffed, “That’s hardly enough.”
Podrell chuckled, “You can blame Siorreya and her silly games. Three and no more. Until our next visit, at least… perhaps I’ll let you ask more then.” He grinned, amused, and his sister turned thoughtful, clearly wanting to make the most out of her three allowed questions.
“I suppose there will be time again another day to interrogate you…. Very well. Three questions. Hm…,” she tapped at her chin, “Well, a most obvious first question would be, how did you meet her?”
Podrell considered that, recalling how she had run into him by the beast pens and the resulting inappropriate behavior. He didn’t particularly want to tell his sister about that… but that really hadn’t been when he’d met her, not for the first time, so he could get away with skirting that story for now, “At the crafthall. She was a junior apprentice while I worked toward walking the tables.”
Pollifa was not fooled, “You know that isn’t the story I was looking for, Podrell. Clearly something happened here, at Mavros.”
He spread his hands with a smirk, “That isn’t what you asked. Two questions left.”
Pollifa drew in a deep breath and narrowed her eyes at him, “And now you’re playing your little political games with me. I don’t appreciate it one bit, Pod.”
He laughed, holding up two fingers and wiggling them at her, “Don’t waste them.”
She stared him down for a long moment as she considered her second question more carefully, “What is it you like best about her?”
Well, that wasn’t a bad question, and Podrell didn’t feel the need to dance around the answer either, though it did take him a moment to settle on just what he liked best. He could have said a number of things, but what topped the list? “Her…,” he frowned slightly, trying to figure out how best to describe it, “Realness?” She wasn’t always truthful with him, wasn’t always open and honest and straightforward. He knew she hid certain things, like her feelings, which he was still incredibly uncertain about, or how she’d never ask him for help directly, but make some sort of game or challenge out of it. But that wasn’t really what he meant. “It’s… hard to describe. Most of the women I meet… they seem more preoccupied with who I’m related to and what getting close to me could do for them. Siorreya has never cared about my status. I know she isn’t trying to use me to try to gain some sort of status of her own. She doesn’t care about those things. It doesn’t matter to her that my grandfather is some Lord somewhere. I feel like… I can just be around her. It’s… freeing. She brings out this impulsive side of me that I didn’t realize I even had… she pushes me out of my comfort zone, challenges me…. I never quite know just what might happen when I’m with her and that’s not something I ever imagined wanting out of life, but….” He shrugged, more to try to shrug off how awkward he felt explaining it than anything, “I feel like I’ve been stuck for a while… but with her… it’s new, different, and I think… well… it’s something I want to explore further.”
Pollifa mulled that over for a long, quiet moment, “So in short… you like her spontaneity and the fact that she’s casual and natural with you?”
Pod blinked in surprise at how succinctly she had put it. And here he had thought he was rather good with words, but apparently not where describing Siorreya was concerned. He laughed lightly, “I suppose. In short.”
“I never thought spontaneity would be high on your list for a possible love,” Pollifa mused curiously.
“Neither did I,” he admitted, still not quite sure how that had worked out. He was a planner. Before Siorreya he’d never done anything just on a whim. There would always be thought and consideration put into any action before it was taken. It was rarely so when he was with Siorreya. Everything happened so fast with her, there wasn’t time to stop and think, only time to act and react, or get left behind somehow. “If I’d ever had a list, spontaneity certainly wouldn’t have even made it onto it. As I said, love is madness. Nothing about this makes the least bit of sense.”
Pollifa laughed, “Taskent wasn’t the sort of man I ever imagined falling for either… love does have a mind of its own, and rarely follows our plans, it seems.” Pod made a sound of displeased agreement. “The most important question, I suppose… is does she reciprocate?”
Podrell looked at her for a moment, and because she was his sister, he decided to be generous, “Are you sure that’s the third question you want to ask?”
Her eyes narrowed slightly at him, “I did say it was the most important question, didn’t I? I realized that for all that’s been said of her, you haven’t really given any indication if it’s one-sided or not.”
He sighed, “I don’t know… I’m sure she feels something but… she’s so guarded, where her feelings are concerned. She’s never once been open and honest with me about them, and since our fight I haven’t wanted to push her-”
“Fight? What fight was this? What happened?” Podrell raised a brow at her and after a quiet moment she huffed in annoyance, “Fine, I shall save those questions for next time, but you can be sure I will ask, Podrell.”
He didn’t hide his amusement, “If you remember. I’m sure you’ll have plenty more important things to worry about.” He stood then, and so did she.
“More important than learning about my brother’s blossoming relationship? I think not,” she teased in return.
He choked on a laugh, “Blossoming? Not sure that’s the word I’d use.”
“Well how am I to know what word to use when you hardly tell me anything of it?”
He laughed again as he took her hand and once more pressed her fingers to his lips, “It was nice to see you, Polli. I look forward to seeing more of you, and your children.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck in an embrace which he returned, “I missed you, Pod. I’m so glad to be near again. And I will get more out of you next time we visit.”
“Perhaps I’ll be more inclined to share next time,” he suggested as a peace offering. Things between him and Siorreya were rather confusing at the moment. They were getting along well enough for the time being, but what about the next time he tried to broach deeper conversation with her? Would she snub him again, run away, push him away? He couldn’t know, but it would have to be risked at some point.
“I can hope,” she leaned up to place a kiss on his cheek before releasing him, “Be well, brother. What is it they say, riders? Fair skies?”
He chuckled softly, “I’m not a rider yet, but I appreciate the sentiment. Give Rellirra my regrets that I didn’t get the chance to spend much time with her today.”
She giggled softly, “Are they sincere regrets?”
“I sincerely believe she’ll appreciate the thought?” he replied with a grin.
Pollifa laughed again, “I’m sure she will, I’ll pass it on.... Until next time.”
“Until next time, Polli,” he smiled as he headed out, pleased to have his sister so close, despite his reservations about her moving to Mavros of all places. It would be nice to have someone he could trust so near, someone he could talk to. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her about Siorreya at all, he just didn’t know what to tell her right now. He hardly wanted to go into details about their silly games that always led to… inappropriate behavior. He sighed as he made his way back to the Weyr, already preparing for the interrogation that she was sure to give him next time he visited her.
kevna Asirikai and Siorreya mentions~
