Post by Zen on Dec 19, 2017 12:27:15 GMT -5
10th Pass, 5th Turn, 11th Month
Weyrleader A'zael, Wingrider S'fin
A'zael took his meals in the dining cavern whenever he could. Even if the only social interaction he had was people waving or greeting him as they passed, young women giggling flirtatiously, it was better than being holed up alone in his weyr. Orana was bedridden. Azora knew now, her mother was dying. He hadn't seen much of his daughter since she'd found out. She spent most of her time at her mother's side. He sighed, poking at his food. The healers said it could be any day....
A light clearing of the throat alerted him to someone's presence and he looked up to see S'bol shifting nervously in front of him, “S'bol... can I help you with something?”
The candidate master gave a light laugh, “Well, I... would you mind terribly if I joined you?”
He shook his head, “Of course not, have a seat.” He pointed with his fork for S'bol to sit across from him, “I enjoy company, you know.”
S'bol laughed again, seating himself, “Right, I just....” The older man poked at his food as well, “I'm... well... I just wanted to.... Nevermind. I don't want to ruin your meal.”
A'zael blinked over at him, “S'bol, if something's bothering you, you can tell me. I want you to. I mean, if you want. You don't have to, I just....” He sighed, “I don't want anyone to feel like they can't approach me. I'll be glad to listen to whatever is on your mind.”
S'bol smiled lightly over at him, “You know you were a bit if a prankster but I always knew you were good at heart. Funny, too.” The candidate master mused on the Weyrleader's time under his watch, before he'd Impressed.
A'zael laughed and shook his head again, rubbing the back of his neck in a bit of a sheepish manner, “Sorry if I caused you any trouble....”
S'bol waved his hand, “Nothing terrible. Usual young men's foolishness, mostly.” He grinned, but it faltered after a moment, “I... I'm a bit worried....”
A'zael leaned forward slightly, “Is there something wrong with any of the candidates?”
“No, no, nothing like that.... Well, sort of... not...,” a bit flustered, S'bol waved his hand again, “It's just that we have so few.... Aerroth's clutch is a large one, and Danovelith and Sularenth will be graduating soon. And soon after rising for the first time and then we'll have two clutches on the Sands and.... I worry, that there are so few, what it will mean for the hatchlings....”
“You're worried about Betweens on hatching day,” it wasn't a question. A'zael glanced down at his food, a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was part of Karredy's duty to oversee the Weyr's attainment of enough candidates for each clutch, but it was in conjunction with him, working out when they could afford to send their Searchriders out looking, when they could miss them in the wings. He looked back at S'bol, “Do you think our Searchriders need to go out more?”
S'bol sighed and shrugged, “Our Searchriders are working hard, as they always do, but... they can't force anyone to come to Mavros....” He frowned down at his food, “They've been... getting a lot more refusals recently....”
A'zael frowned as well, fork tapping on his tray lightly. No, they couldn't exactly force anyone to Stand. Or...? No. No, they couldn't. What sort of a thing was that to think? He shook his head. Mavros was not that desperate... and even then, the other Weyrs would certainly have something to say about kidnapping candidates. No. That was not an option. He realized S'bol was looking at him, and he realized he was looking for an answer, for reassurance. What could he say? “I... thank you for sharing your concern with me, S'bol.... I'll look into it, I promise.” But now he'd completely lost what little appetite he'd had. Still, he smiled at the candidate master as he stood, “I'm sorry, hope you'll excuse me. Lots of work to do.”
S'bol seemed a bit happier, “Oh, yes, of course. No problem. Thank you, Weyrleader.”
He grimaced at that, waving his hand at S'bol, “Don't... don't call me that. It's too strange coming from you, S'bol.” To that, the blue rider laughed, and A'zael took his leave.
Back in his weyr he fell onto his bed, throwing one arm over his face. Fath was sunning himself on his ledge, dozing peacefully. At least one of them was getting decent sleep. Nothing could ever be easy for Mavros, could it? With another sigh, he rolled onto his side, looking over at Fath's sleeping form. A short while later the bronze raised his head, Rusath and Hers come, A'zaelmine. His mindvoice was slow and sleepy, content. He felt a rush of affection for his dragon and pushed off the bed, back to his feet to greet his brother when he shortly arrived on the back of his green.
S'fin slid from Rusath's back, “Hey, little brother!” He pulled A'zael into a rough hug, which the Weyrleader greatly appreciated just then. S'fin sobered when he saw his brother's face, “Is... Orana...?”
A'zael shook his head, “She's f-... she's still... she's... alive.” She wasn't fine, not in any way, shape, or form. But she wasn't dead. He sank into a chair, running his fingers through his hair, “It's just one thing after another, S'fin.... I just.... Is too much to ask for things to go right for a while?”
S'fin frowned. He'd taken to trying to visit A'zael for at least a couple minutes each day, to give his brother someone to unload on, to take off some of the stress, to socialize and know he wasn't alone. “What is it now?”
“S'bol... he's worried about our candidate pool. Too few... and with our twin golds quickly growing up, soon we'll have not one but TWO clutches on the Sands, OH if they don't kill each other if they both rise at once!” He threw himself back in the chair as the thought suddenly occurred to him. Srunae.... Oh, Faranth, what if she lost Danovelith during her maiden flight? His gut wrenched and he suddenly felt nauseated at the thought of her losing her dragon. What it would do to her? Would she... if she would follow?
“Woah... you're thinking a little far ahead and going into what-ifs there, Az... you really shouldn't do that, bad for your health,” S'fin took a seat beside A'zael, frowning over at him.
“I can't help it, S'fin, I... I think about things all the time, all sort of future what-ifs that I'm trying to plan for and prevent, and I can't stop. If I stop then I'll miss something and then something will go wrong and I'll just-”
“Hey... enough,” S'fin reached over, settling his hand on A'zael's shoulder to make his brother look at him, “It's... great... that you're finally thinking ahead. Never knew you had it in you.”
“Thanks.”
S'fin managed a wan smile, “But... everything in moderation, Az. You're gonna drive yourself mad thinking you can try to anticipate every bad thing that's ever going to happen and stop it before it does. No one can do that. And it won't be your fault if it does happen. You're only human, Az. Being Weyrleader doesn't give you special powers or abilities. You're just... you're just human.” He was really starting to worry about his brother.
“I can't help it... there's so many problems, and I just... I don't know what to do, S'fin...,” he murmured, clearly pained at admitting it, “I can't help Orana. I can't force people to Stand. I can't-”
“Ohhhhkay... let's just stop that line of thought, hm?” S'fin interrupted him once more, “Stop focusing on what you can't do and start focusing on what you can.” A'zael gave a frustrated grunt at that, but S'fin continued, “Az, you've never been one to doubt yourself... you've always had confidence to spare.”
“Yeah well that was before I was responsible for an entire Weyr,” he slumped moodily in his chair, “You're welcome to take over if you think it's so easy.”
“You know that's not what I'm saying,” S'fin chided gently, “If you're concerned about the number of candidates... why not visit the creche? Set up a little visit with the older 'brats, encourage them to Stand. You can do that. A little special attention from the Weyrleader and his very friendly bronze might be just the push some of them need to make the decision.”
A'zael looked over at his brother thoughtfully, “You really think there are any eligible weyrbrats that haven't already presented themselves for Search if they want to?”
S'fin gave a light shrug, “You never know unless you go see for yourself. There are plenty of reasons a weyrbrat might not be trying to Stand yet. Maybe they're nervous, or don't think they have a chance, or they're afraid of flying. Go visit them, maybe take a few for a ride so they can see what it's like if they have concerns. Az, you're the Weyrleader. You have the ability to influence people, especially impressionable kids.” He took a moment to let his brother think on that, “Oh... dunno if you'd want to consider this, but considering we're so desperate.... Perhaps you'd consider lowering the age of candidacy by a turn? Twelve turns wouldn't be so bad... they couldn't fly in the fighting wings for a few turns after graduation but at least we'd have some reserve fighters?”
A'zael grimaced, thinking of K'zen. He'd Impressed from the Stands at twelve, and then he'd been lost Between, and he couldn't help but wonder if his youth had anything to do with it. Maybe he hadn't been mature enough to handle it. He sighed. As S'fin had said, they were a bit desperate. “You really think I can make a difference?” he raised an eyebrow at S'fin.
His brother laughed, “It's crazy how much you underestimate yourself these days, Az. Most weyrbrats would be talking about a visit from the Weyrleader months after it happened. Inspire them, dimglow. Let me know when you have some time free for it and I'll set it up for you myself.”
With a possible helpful course of action in mind that didn't involve kidnapping anyone, A'zael breathed a sigh of relief, running his fingers through his hair. What a crazy thought that had been. He shook his head slightly, looking over at S'fin again, “Thanks, Fin.... I'll talk to Karredy about lowering the age to Stand... see what she thinks. And I'll get back to you on setting up that visit once I figure out when I can do it.”
His brother grinned and leaned over to ruffle A'zael's hair like he was still a 'brat himself. A'zael slapped his hand away and they both laughed. “You're not alone, Az... remember that. It's okay to rely on others, you know,” S'fin's tone softened slightly. His little brother had never been very good at asking for help, and though he'd been all but forced to do so after his sudden unexpected ascension to Weyrleader, he was beginning to fall back into old habits now that he'd been at the role for a little while and wasn't quite as overwhelmed.
He sighed again, “Yeah... I know.” Pushing himself to his feet, S'fin stood as well, “I need to get back to work.” He turned, pulling his brother into a quick hug, “Thanks for coming.”
S'fin smiled, “No problem. See you at afternoon drills.” He clapped A'zael on the shoulder, “Don't work too hard, eh?”
A'zael laughed, “Yeah, I'll tell the Weyr it was on my brother's orders. I'm sure they'll understand.” He shook his head, “See you at drills.”
