Logs:A New Approach
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| RL Date: 7 August, 2015 |
| Who: Ebeny, X'vin |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Ebeny has a new plan for weyrling shadowing, and asks X'vin to facilitate. |
| Where: Nighthearth, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 22, Month 6, Turn 38 (Interval 10) |
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| On the whole, the day is far too nice to be indoors, let alone with the fire blazing, but there are tell-tale signs of regular traffic into the nighthearth despite the odd barrenness stone hearth. X'vin's in passing, it seems, though his duties don't appear to be his own. He's got a breadroll between his teeth and two baskets of fresh ones in his hands, making his way to the table with them, where two baskets sit empty save crumbs. Down he sets them and finally bites a hunk off his own roll before he begins to rearrange the table's contents. Between one group of weyrlings and another, the day can involve very little time for sensible things like rest and eating by the time midnight creeps up the Weyrlingmaster, and today seems to be one of those days. Ebeny is at a near run when she reaches the entryway to the nighthearth, but manages to slow her pace by deliberately half-colliding with the left side of the archway and propelling herself into the room. It takes her a moment to catch her breath and her balance, still walking though she is, and though her focus first lands on the contents of the baskets, it soon shifts entirely to X'vin. She points at him like it explains everything, yet, after a second of so of silence, she greets, "Wingleader." With a reputation for being so easygoing, it might strike as odd that X'vin is fastidious in rearranging the table, wiping crumbs away and squaring off the napkins. The roll is hanging back in his mouth again when Ebeny strikes the doorframe, and his eyes widen as he spins to face her. His gaze is notably aimed down, like he expects to find a child sprawled there on the brink of tears, and it's some work to drag his gaze up to Ebeny's, at the top of her height. "Ah," he says, like suddenly things make sense. "Hello, Weyrlingmaster." And he holds out one of the baskets, since it's in his hand anyways. "Biscuit?" "Biscuit," Ben agrees or confirms or just supplies as a statement of her need, and though she reaches to claim one from the basket, breathing still takes priority, which means she doesn't go shoving said biscuit immediately into her mouth. This at least gives her some more time to form words without being hampered by food. "I've been looking for you," she tells him. "Not right now, but I've found you anyway, and-- Do you have a minute? I'm afraid asking Laurienth to ask after your location would've been somewhat... counterproductive." Now the biscuit vanishes. X'vin waits for her to take her choice before the basket goes down again, slightly back and to the right of where he'd initially set it so it lines up nicely with the napkins and cozied kettle filled with klah. "Have you," he says, lacking the inflection of surprise, but perhaps there's a lingering hint of curiosity. "Ah," again, for Laurienth, and, "she's...left an impression." Apparently not a good one, either, because he sees fit to take a third bite of his own roll, and now it's mostly gone but his mouth is also full, so he just nods and rolls his wrist in a carry-on gesture. He's listening. "She is who she is." She's unapologetic about that, for all that she's already acknowledged the supposed fault in her green's people skills. Ben doesn't linger long so near, and turns to go and sit on the arm of one of the nearer comfortable chairs, saved from awkwardly balancing by the length of her legs. "I was thinking... it's one thing me and my assistants accompanying the weyrlings all over Pern and informing them about them about everywhere... but some of us won't ever have spent more than an hour or so at all these places." She shrugs. "Wouldn't it be better if we had riders preferably from each place or with more than glancing knowledge with them for their lesson-prescribed travels?" "As is he," agrees the bronzerider after he's swallowed. "We've got our lots." As she moves away, he leans against the less comfortable edge of the sturdy table, the heels of his hands on either side of his hips like he might leverage himself up to sit, though for now he does not. He seems to contemplate her logic, considering, then, "Perhaps. Is this about their visualizations or some other knowledge?" "Both," Ben replies, giving another little twitch of her shoulders. "I want it to mean something beyond just a visualisation. Not everywhere is going to mean something to everyone, but I'd at least like to start with a better understanding of Fort's territory through their visualisation and Between training." The Weyrlingmaster glances away and into the fire, gathering her thoughts, before she says, "I was born at High Reaches Weyr. I can give the weyrlings more than the standard political talk about the place. What I'm looking for is people who can do the same for, primarily, Fort's holds. As many as possible." Her explanation elicits a little 'hmmm' from X'vin, who pops the rest of his pastry in his mouth to chew contemplatively, looking past her as he does so. "I suppose none of your assistants have the knowledge you'd want imparted on your impressionable charges," he says obliquely, not quite making it a question. He doesn't let the words do more than bob there before continuing, "I hear from a reliable source that Hematite has plenty of knowledge about the holds, and are well-versed in reaching out to the holders, if you're looking for a recommendation. Unless you're asking for my help specifically." Ben has to bite down on the inside of her lip to maintain an even enough expression about Hematite, even if that effort is an obvious one. "I'm not asking Hematite," she says eventually, if a little firmly. "I'm asking you. You're from around here - you've said as much. Even if all you'd be willing to do is share a visualisation and take a group of weyrlings to your home hold, tell them something more about it than who's in charge and what they tithe, I'd appreciate it. If I can find enough holdborn riders willing to do the same with their homes..." Is that smugness? Maybe, but X'vin's face does lean towards that more often than not anyways. It could be incidental that his expression changes just as she declines his offering of Hematite. "I am. And...for you, Weyrlingmaster, and for the weyrlings, I'm sure I can find the time." He reaches back to snag a napkin, with which he grabs another pastry and begins carefully wrapping it up, for the road. "Flint has many of the holdbred riders after the wing rearrangement. Not all of them, but plenty. I can count..." he trails off to do just that, twisting the napkin complicatedly so he can tie the corners into neat little bows on the top. "Six. Seven, including me. I'm sure they'd be happy to help." Maybe Ben is still trying to remain impassive about the matter of Hematite, for very little changes about the focused, level stare that she's aiming at X'vin. "Thank you," she tells him, genuine in that, and it's in that moment that she must realise she's staring, since the oft-seen edge of distance blinks back into muddy-green eyes. "It'll be a few months yet before Eliyaveith's weyrlings are old enough - I'd like them to be the trial run. The specifics... who, when, how... the rest of it, I'm sure we can work out closer to the time." The slight curve at one corner of her mouth is a brief smile. "It'll be a different environment to wing shadowing to get to know some of them too." "I'm here to help. Of course you'd be included in that," X'vin says, dismissively. That it will be Eliyaveith's group that qualifies for Ebeny's dry run is enough to light X'vin's eyes a little, but soon enough he's nodding, "You'll be able to find me, I'm sure. The months are fast when they're growing; it'll be here before you know it." He gives her a little shrug. "Shadowing at Benden is a different beast than here, I think. But they're a good group, from the ones I've met." He pauses twisting the last set of corners up on the napkin and tying them together, too. When he's done, he presents it to Ebeny with a little flourish and the explanation, "So you don't forget to eat later." maybe her habits are not so secret. "Every class, I think it'll be easier when they're older, then they get older and I convince myself that it's easier when they're little," Ebeny answers wryly. "They're good kids..." she murmurs. "Difficult, some of them, but good." Pensive, she glances back at the fire again, yet only a moment passes until she forcibly brightens, takes a deep breath and looks towards the entryway instead, as if about to begin to excuse herself, only then she notices the napkin-wrapped pastry. For a second or so, there's no hiding that she's taken aback, but then she reaches out to claim it and pushes away from the arm of the chair. "Thank you... X'vin," she says, whether carefully or hesitantly, but no less real. And so she's left with a nod to serve as farewell, as she turns and begins to mutter, "...Where was I going?" to herself under her breath. X'vin can't help but laugh a little at her confusion, but he pushes away from the table when she stands, grabs another pastry for himself for the road - not wrapping it with the same care - and stuffs it in his jacket pocket. He grabs the empty baskets up and follows after her out of necessity, but when he makes it out of the hearth his turn takes him towards the kitchens, to deliver his spoils. |
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