R'arian and Xinleoath

We are all shaped and fashioned by what we love. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
* * *

"What?" Ronarian was not amused. Normally the Holder’s son liked to be up with the first breakfast bell and out in the fields with Shadow of a Doubt before most of the Hold was done eating. But it was not breakfast...the sun wasn’t even up, and yet Ren nipped pointedly at his ear, demanding food.

Ronarian swatted the creature and sat up in bed. "You are not hungry. You do not get breakfast until the Weyr starts serving breakfast. I am not getting up until the sun rises."

The blue flit sent him a picture of Eden, already in the kitchens sipping klah.

Ronarian sighed. "Damn her. Why does she do this to me?" He dragged himself out of bed, noticing how cold the floor was and cursing the foul weather. He pulled on some clothes and headed down towards the kitchens.

As Ren stuffed himself he saw the light go on in the weaver’s rooms across the Weyrbowl. So that’s what she’d up to. He smiled thinking about her. The way she always had to be busy, the way she liked taking command, the way she complained about those two things. He was so busy staring across the snow-covered Weyrbowl at a window he didn’t notice that Ren had stopped eating and was staring at him. "What?" He asked the tiny creature.

Ronarian like Eden pretty. The flit chirped happily and nipped playfully at his fingers.

"We already knew that, remember Ren?" Ronarian wiggled his fingers, making them harder for the flit to nab.

Ronarian think much Eden pretty. The blue caught one of the fingers and began licking it.

"Yeah?" Ronarian couldn’t help wondering where this was going.

Eden pretty love Ronarian. The flit quickly abandoned the game and went back to his breakfast.

Love? Ronarian knew he liked Eden a lot. He knew she liked him, but did she really love him? Did he really love her? The two words ‘like’ and ‘love’ they were very similar. Maybe Ren had just confused them. No. He thought. The flit had purposefully used like the first two times and love the third. He sighed, putting this whole discussion out of his head and deciding to think on it later. Right now he was going to see ‘Eden pretty’, before she was so engorged in her work that she didn’t even notice him.

* * *

"The sun is not up yet." He was torn between trying to startle her and just saying ‘good morning’. Finally he settled on a comment somewhere between the two extremes.

"So? There are more hours in the day than hours with sun." Her fingers continued to quickly moved across the loom. Eden did everything quickly. "Besides, we probably won’t see the sun today anyways."

Ronarian yawned. "I don’t think it’s natural to be up before the sun."

"Than why are you?" Eden smiled at him for a moment, actually taking her eyes away from her precious work.

Ronarian smiled and rubbed Ren’s head, glad to have an excuse to see her privately. "Ren figured that if you’re up, I should be feeding him. He got his breakfast and I decided to see who was crazy enough to be working in the weaver’s room at this time of the morning." He walked over, stood behind her and put his arms around her, slightly nervous that he was pushing his boundaries as her friend. "I should have known it was you."

Eden didn’t seem to mind, she melted in his arms. Ronarain smiled to himself. He loved to watch Eden around other people. He loved how she took control, was always busy, always moving. He loved to watch Eden around him. She seemed for the first time in her life to be truly still "How do you do this?"

"What?" He murmured, trying to ignore the fact that he was almost falling asleep in the warmth of the weaver’s room. The brisk walk across the freezing Weyrbowl had woke him up momentarily, but the warmth here with Eden was putting him back to sleep.

"Make me sleepy." She yawned.

"What?" He was confused as he pulled her off the bench and onto the floor beside him. He found a half finished rug and it became their blanket.

"Whenever I’m with you, I remember how tired I am, and I end up leaning on you." Eden rested her head on his chest. She looked exhausted.

Ronarian smiled. "Maybe it’s the only way your heart can get the rest of your body to stay with me." Another risky comment, but she was already half-asleep.

Eden smiled. "Think highly of yourself, don’t you?"

"Only because it’s true." Ronarian smiled as he saw Eden was already asleep.

* * *

"Candidates!!!" The drudge was obviously excited and relieved to have found them. "I’ve been looking everywhere for you! The eggs are rocking!"

Ronarian opened one eye, and was tempted to just grab Eden and go back to sleep. Unfortunately she was already up and moving. He could tell she wished that she hadn't fallen asleep. "What time is it?"

"About two hours after breakfast. Why?" The man obviously didn’t see what that had to do with anything.

Eden glared at Ronarian. "I’ve wasted three hours. Nice move." With that she quickly left the room, trying to look furious.

Ronarian laughed, knowing that she wasn't really that upset. Sure she was a little upset that she'd lost those three hours, but he didn't think she thought they were wasted. Besides, He playfully rubbed Ren's head. Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.

The blue flit chirped and, sensing the hatching, disappeared. The Weyrling Master had warned them that some of their flits might between to join their comrades once the eggs started rocking. It was too be expected and they were not to worry. The flits would always return.

Ronarian pulled on the white candidate robe and glared at his reflection. If there was one thing in the world that could make a man feel less like a man it was being force to wear a 'dress'. But it was tradition, and if there was one thing Ronarian knew it was tradition. He also knew that he was running a little late and pick up his pace. As it was, he was the last person to enter the Lower Feeding Caverns.

Ronarian quickly searched for Eden as the Weyrwoman began her speech. "Now, tell me if you aren’t here." Sneaking up behind her, Ronarian put his hands around Eden's waist, purposely trying to get her to loose her train of thought. She smiled and covered his hands with her own. They listened to the story of the eggs and what had happened to them. Falora told them that they need not wear the candidate robes if they didn’t want to. Eden looked at Ronarian, and he looked back at her. They were Holder’s children. They’d been raised on tradition. It was in their blood, it was one thing they had that they could always fall back on . It was like a security blanket...and then they’d run away from it all. Seeing in her eyes that she followed his train of thought, they both shed the robes and walked onto the sands. Not touching, but right beside each other.

* * *

Alasyth… Ronarian turned the word over and over in his mind. Alasyth…Eden's lifemate is Alasyth. He couldn't believe how nervous he was. He hadn't been nervous before, when he'd been watching Eden, but now she'd impressed had left the Sands and he was amazingly alone in a crowd of people. Pull yourself together man! He snapped to attention and tried to ignore the fact that he was freezing to death. He'd noticed that Eden had been smart enough to throw a sweater on underneath the robes, but he'd had no such burst of intelligence. He shivered, even on the warm sands as he watched the eggs continue to hatch.

He managed to focus on the eggs for all of about thirty seconds before his thoughts returned to Eden. She looked so beautiful standing there with Alasyth. He recalled the picture and smiled. She'll make an amazing goldrider. She'll never run out of things to do. He sighed and quickly brought his attention back to the eggs again. To his surprise there was a large bronze dragonet standing at his feet glaring up at him.

About time you noticed me. The hatchling snorted. Here I am, Xinleoath, ready to be your partner forever and you're day dreaming about some human goldrider. You must think she's prettier than I am.

Ronarian smiled, recognizing the playful sarcasm in his lifemates voice that he so often found in Eden's. "You are a marvellous specimen of dragon-kind Xinleoath. The most beautiful enchanting bronze I've ever met. I was not ignoring you, I was simply startled silent by your beauty."

The dragon was startled silent for a moment, before finally heading off to the Lower Feeding Caverns. Damn straight.

Ronarian couldn't stop smiling.

* * *
Read R'arian's candidate story.
R'arian impressed Xinleoath at Talor Cliff Weyr.
R'arian’s pictures from The Woman Says.
R'arian impressed Ren from Rohlen Hold.
R'arian received Shadow of a Doubt from Dark Moon Weyr.
Background from Myrror Images.