I'll Miss My Whole Life

Writers: Jane, Kaysea
Date Posted: 14th April 2007

Characters: Rahona
Description: Rahona tells Keirlee about the decision she has to make.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 3, day 9 of Turn 4

"All right," Rahona said suddenly. She straightened in her chair having come to a decision. It was time to tell her friend what was on her mind. "Have you got enough to drink? This is a bit of a story."

Keirlee glanced down at her mug of klah, then back at Rahona, "There's enough to be going on with." She shrugged, "Come on, tell!" She leaned forward in her chair, her arms resting on the table.

"It's Lineal." Rahona held up her hand, forestalling any comment that might be made about it _always_ being about Lineal. "Well, his people are riverboat - Traders? People. Who live on riverboats, way, way over by Emerald Falls. His father's not well ..."

There, that was the easy bit. Everybody had a family, after all, and the Weyr had people from lots of different backgrounds all living together.

"You're going to have Lineal's father brought here?" Keirlee asked.
Rahona was being very mysterious, it wasn't like her to be so cagey.

"Oh, yeah. That would work. Him _and_ the riverboat." Rahona laughed at her friend. "No, Lineal wants to go there. Back home. _His_ home.
Be Captain of the riverboat."

"What?" Keirlee sat upright, shock and sadness filling her expression, "You're.... leaving?" her cup of klah rocked on the table between them.

"I'm _thinking_ about leaving," Rahona said firmly. Lineal wasn't rushing her and she had time to think things through properly. "What do you think?"

"Being selfish, I don't want you to go." Keirlee spoke bluntly. "But,"
she smiled, they had been friends for too long for her to not want what would be best for Rahona, "if it's what _you_ want, and you think you'll be happy. And you won't have to wait forever, and a day, for Lineal to return from each trip he makes..." she laughed, "Heck! I think I might be talking you into it."

"Well, thinking about having him in bed with me _every_ night does go a long way to convincing me," Rahona agreed with a wide smile. "Though who knows if we'd _like_ that? We just _don't_ get to spend that much time together, normally."

"Oh dear.." Keirlee laughed, "Do I _really_ want to know this?" She reached out and took Rahona's hand in hers, "If you are meant to be together no amount of time, or lack of time, will make a difference.
You need to decide whether you can live away from the Weyr; not whether you _want_ or _need_ to spend more time with Lineal," she squeezed Rahona's hand tightly, "honey, _that_ is a given."

Rahona squeezed her friend's hand back. This was better than the argument she had had with her brother. "And the children. They see him a few days every couple of months. This way they'd be with him all the time, too."

"See! I think you've already made up your mind, already. You didn't need me." Keirlee smiled, "But... you do realise this will mean you'll get to see all those petty prejudices that abound outside the Weyrbowl, don't you?"

"It's the not-so-petty things that worry me," Rahona admitted. "Though Lineal assures me the riverboat - _his_ riverboat, the Sungazer - is fairly even-handed in it's treatment of men and women."

"I should hope so!" Keirlee's voice rose a little. "After all he will be the Captain, he'll make things easier for you onboard, I would hope?"

"I don't know that there's _room_ to make anything easier. He says everything's shared equally - even the accommodation. The Captain is just another crewmember. And they're all family!" Rahona added with a laugh. "I know I love my family but could I live with them every day forever? My brothers, their weyrmates ... Oh. And we'd have to get married."

"Is that a problem?" Keirlee asked, a smile forming on her lips. "It's not as if you're dragonriders. People in the Weyr do marry, you know."
Admittedly not often, but the crafters and general Weyrfolk made commitments to each other. "As to living with the crew as if they were family, I'm sorry Rahona, I couldn't do that; but - these people would be your family - they're Lineal's so they'd be yours..."

"Nobody in my family's been married! I'd feel like I wasn't proper weyrfolk any more." She thought about that for a moment and then laughed. "Which I wouldn't be, I suppose." She sighed. "I'm not going to decided finally one way or the other until I've had more time to think ..." She eyed her friend. "Get a few opinions to see if there's anything I've overlooked."

"So now I'm going to go away and start thinking of reasons that you shouldn't go." Keirlee smiled, her eyes misted slightly, "When you go, I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you, too. And everything!" Rahona looked around the dining cavern and sighed. "I'll miss my whole life."

Last updated on the April 17th 2007

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I'll Miss My Whole Life