29.May.22, 07:47 AM
N’lis smiled again as the name was decided upon. If she wasn’t the girl that R’nya and Rhaedalyn had taken in, then she was coincidentally similar to their Weyrwoman. But he supposed it was a good name for a bronze or brown firelizard, though he hoped it was of a gentler demeanour and not one of the villainous princes in Rhaedalyn’s stories. She didn’t have too many of those ones, come to think of it, but Aradissicath did. The gold dragon was amused by romantic tales but she seemed to prefer ones of great adventure, mystery, and deception so she had characters you couldn’t always trust. He missed her stories and made a mental note to see if she would still let him sit in on story times now that he was a full grown dragonrider and, in theory, an adult.
Aili’s sudden outburst startled N’lis, making him visibly jump and then flush with embarrassment over the statement. “I’m not…I am, but, I’m not…R’nya is like a dad to me,” he finally settled on, a little smile back in place. R’nya truly had been a father figure to him in his youth and he continued to be a role model since moving to the Weyr. The Weyrleader had done a lot for his family and N’lis wasn’t sure how he would ever be able to properly show his love and gratitude but he would try to be the best son he could be.
At least he now knew he had the right person from what R’nya had told him. “I used to help watch their daughters but then I Impressed and now Varlea and Alyren are old enough to take over. But I still try to visit all of them when they’re not busy, even if it’s just a quick one.” It was hard to do given they were the leaders of the Weyr and always in demand, even when they did delegate. And then they were both happy to see him with M’quel that they encouraged more of his free time be spent with her when her own schedule permitted it. Which wasn’t all that often with her healing duties and multiple lovers. He was slightly more at ease with that—how could he not be? His own mother had been R’nya’s side lover for years and she was now married to another man and still seemed to see R’nya. It was just how Weyrs and maybe life in general worked. It just hurt that he had misunderstood her this entire time. He had been a fool but at least he still got to spend time with her. And as far as he knew, he was her only dark-haired lover so that had to count for something.
He glanced at the plate he had passed over earlier and noted the meat was gone and most of the vegetables as he had started with that before Aili arrived. “If you don’t mind waiting a moment for me to tidy up, I’ll walk you back to your room.” He picked up the plate and went to the little bucket of leftover bits of food that couldn’t be reused in a stew but were kept for the animals or gardens to toss his scraps in. He turned back to his task and then blushed at how he probably sounded too bossy. “I mean, you’ll have Prince to carry and I can carry a plate of meat for later and return the jar for you,” he clarified as he set the plate back down and started carving little bits of meat off the haunch with a deft touch.
Aili’s sudden outburst startled N’lis, making him visibly jump and then flush with embarrassment over the statement. “I’m not…I am, but, I’m not…R’nya is like a dad to me,” he finally settled on, a little smile back in place. R’nya truly had been a father figure to him in his youth and he continued to be a role model since moving to the Weyr. The Weyrleader had done a lot for his family and N’lis wasn’t sure how he would ever be able to properly show his love and gratitude but he would try to be the best son he could be.
At least he now knew he had the right person from what R’nya had told him. “I used to help watch their daughters but then I Impressed and now Varlea and Alyren are old enough to take over. But I still try to visit all of them when they’re not busy, even if it’s just a quick one.” It was hard to do given they were the leaders of the Weyr and always in demand, even when they did delegate. And then they were both happy to see him with M’quel that they encouraged more of his free time be spent with her when her own schedule permitted it. Which wasn’t all that often with her healing duties and multiple lovers. He was slightly more at ease with that—how could he not be? His own mother had been R’nya’s side lover for years and she was now married to another man and still seemed to see R’nya. It was just how Weyrs and maybe life in general worked. It just hurt that he had misunderstood her this entire time. He had been a fool but at least he still got to spend time with her. And as far as he knew, he was her only dark-haired lover so that had to count for something.
He glanced at the plate he had passed over earlier and noted the meat was gone and most of the vegetables as he had started with that before Aili arrived. “If you don’t mind waiting a moment for me to tidy up, I’ll walk you back to your room.” He picked up the plate and went to the little bucket of leftover bits of food that couldn’t be reused in a stew but were kept for the animals or gardens to toss his scraps in. He turned back to his task and then blushed at how he probably sounded too bossy. “I mean, you’ll have Prince to carry and I can carry a plate of meat for later and return the jar for you,” he clarified as he set the plate back down and started carving little bits of meat off the haunch with a deft touch.