Heron’s Mistake

If you have read Heron’s Bonds you will probably have a strong opinion on Heron and his worst mistake when he almost kills his mate and himself. But for those who have not yet read the story some background might be helpful. Heron is not a regular guy. As a young man he was engaged to a lovely young woman. He was a strong woodsman, bonded with the trees, the forest, he could communicate with animals using the power the planet granted him. He stood out, did more, worked harder, and people talked. His tribe, they had an illness among them that brought them to a temporary camp outside one of the colonies.

Heron had gone off to commune with nature, to hunt, to seek some solitude. On his way back he smelled the smoke. At a fast run he flew through the trees, dragged his people from shelters engulfed by fire. His parents were dead. It took three long days for his fiancé to die. Heron’s heart broke as he held her hand as she faded from life.

Unable to bear the company of others he wandered away from the human settlement seeking isolation, quiet, some place where thoughts and feelings of others did not intrude in his own mind. He wandered alone to places no human had ever seen, his hair turned white with his grief. That is the young man who met Grabon. That is the man who wandered with a slowly maturing dragon for 30 cycles.

When he finally settled and found Trissy, he nurtured the bond, but he tried to control it. That mistake almost killed them both. His need to protect himself and block his emotions damaged the bond and left Trissy emotionally fragile at a time when she needed to be strong.

Unexpectedly Heron is injured, to save him she completed the bond, knocking down his barriers. When he comes back to himself he is furious, upset and blocks her out. That nearly killed her. The question is should Heron have accepted that change more graciously? What should he have done?