[PRP] Words to be Heeded (Miela & Mailse)

[Hattaki]

There was only so long that someone could hold their emotions intact, especially when that someone was a girl so young that she hadn't quite grown into her nose just yet. Or any of her baby chub for that mater. This was the second door that she stood in front of this day, but this was a far less threatening one, but one she was the most afraid of for reasons entirely different. While deep inside she might have had somewhat different ambitions and goals, bubbling all around every thought she ever had or desire she wanted was the deep love she had for her mother alone. No other person in all the Weyr or all of Pern did she care about as much as the woman who may, or may not, be behind this door.

Swallowing the lump in her throat and wiping the streaks off her face, Miela knocked on the door quietly, ashamed and afraid that her mother would already know what a failure of a daughter she had. Deep down she knew that failure was the first step towards success so she kept reminding herself that her glorious life story would still be able to turn around.

It just didn't currently... feel as if it would.

In fact it felt as if it was all weighing her down so that all she wanted to do was lay down on her cot in the barracks with her face buried in her pillow and not listen to the talking. The gossip. Stories that others would spin and tell when they didn't know what had transpired yet, unless of course the clutch parents had spread the grave insult around already. How was she to know that dragons picked up that much!? Oh she was a heel and the worst.

"M... momma?" Miela's voice cracked as she knocked lightly again and trained her little face on the floor. She had done a good job of holding it all together. She had done a good job of holding it all together. The mantra played in her head so she could remind herself she was good at something, when suddenly despite all she knew she felt good at nothing at all.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

She'd heard. In various tones and not all of them aimed towards her - an upset candidate here, a disapproving adult there - the events of the Touching had reached Mailse. However, she'd given it some time, not taking it upon herself to hunt down her only child. There had been other smalls to tend to, after all. Only when another crecheworker had relieved her did Mailse retire to her quarter, settling in to make a pot of klah and wait. Miela was a child, but she was not a baby for her to hunt down and hover over.

It wasn't as though her dearest beloved would or could stay away either. A mother's intuition, perhaps, that it was better to settle in and make everything comfortable for when she was ready - and not suffering under the gaze of the Candidatemasters.

The small rap on the door had been enough to turn Mailse from the pot, setting it gently aside and stepping to open it. Oh, how that tiny, upset crack in her voice twisted at her mother's heart. Her little baby girl, still trying to figure out how she was to find her niche inside of such a large echochamber.

"Miela," Mailse greeted as she opened the door, spreading her arms in an offering of a hug. There would be no judgement from mother should she take the chance to bury her face there.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Despite her best efforts to hide it, a shuddering little gasp came from her when the door swung wide open and then a pair of arms met her along with her name. Of all the places in the Weyr or on Pern this was the safest and least judgmental of all and she both loved and admired her mother for the ability she had to ignore everything she'd heard. A fat, wet tear slid down one of her cheeks and Miela all but leapt into her mother's arms, burrowing her face against her warm body to hide all the ones that followed it. She would never admit to having begun to cry, no one could make her say it ever happened.

Yet as she wept out all the anxiety and regret she'd been swallowing for the hours following the touching, it felt as if the release was exactly what she'd needed.

Although it came out muffled at first, Miela began speaking in soft words of apology, repeated over and over for her mother's benefit as she knew that word must surely have made it back to her by now. If anyone looked poorly at her mother thanks to her mistakes she would find a personal way to end them. However this was not the time for that.

"It's all my fault, I didn't know. A glorious mistake that affected all the others and ended the touching so soon..." Miela commented in a more understandable manner, though it took her a moment to even manage that as she rubbed at her cheeks with her hands. "I shall have to learn from it, but, everyone's so angry I don't know..."

Some part of her wanted to say she wasn't certain she would be allowed to remain, but Miela hadn't heard those words come from her master. In her heart of hearts she was simply concerned at being forbidden to do so for simply speaking her mind in her mind. If what had happened was indeed a constant, dragons could always hear her and what made her the most afraid was that they had been telling the eggs not to choose her for it. Or something like that. She looked at the ground dejectedly.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Oh, how such tears should have threatened to break Mailse's heart - but if there was one being in this world who she knew would always love her and never dare do such a thing, it was Miela. In turn, there would be no judgenent for those tears,. She would gently stroke her dearest's hair, embracing all of her sobbing into her. "Shhh, shhh," she soothed. There was no need for apologies - at least not for her. Perhaps there would be a baby dragon that would have a few words with the young woman in the coming future, but Mailse would not have her daughter shouldering any burden of worry on her behalf. If others judged her a poor mother for her daughter's transgressions...


"I know there are those who will be upset - and for some time. You know what it is you'll need to do for them, right?" she asked softly, gently brushing over any details of what had happened. Mailse had no need to dig into those. They existed, but this was not about the nitty gritty. This was about making sure that her daughter would feel better and be better for it all.

Tucking perhaps even a phantom wisp of hair from Miela's face, Mailse moved to sit, gesturing for the girl to join her.

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

Slowly Miela tilted her large eyes up to look at her mother, tears trailing down her face unbidden but with the little sobs finally gone despite their presence. Mailse had always known exactly what to tell her, exactly what to say and do to make her feel better. She sniffed every so delicately and tried to wipe the tears away. Great people, strong people shouldn't cry or make their lesser emotions known. She knew that but she was still young enough that she couldn't always control them when they came for her.

"Some would say apologies were in order. How does one apologize to an egg mother?" Miela asked curiously, still having only let go of her mother's body with one hand that she'd used to wipe her tears, the fingers brushing over her ears felt nice. Nostalgic. It really hadn't been that long since she'd moved to the Candidate barracks and if she was honest, she hadn't been entirely ready to go. Even if she'd been ready to face her future and achieve her goals, she missed her mother and her home and everything that smelled familiar and felt warm.

Slowly she followed Mailse inside where she'd grown. Grown? Maybe, she wasn't very tall. That got a soft smile from her for her own unfortunate height, but she knew how to use it for what she needed. Maybe not so unfortunate. Not waiting for her mother to pour her any, Miela got her own cup of klah and settled in a chair she'd always loved, big eyes trained on her mother lovingly. "I messed up." She stated bluntly, her voice almost dull.

demon_pachabel

If you still are okay with the pre-hatching one. XD This one's cute and I would love to finish it.