Logs:Almost Adult
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| RL Date: 13 January, 2014 |
| Who: Cadejoth, K'del, K'zin, Rasavyth |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: K'del summons K'zin to receive his punishment for crashing Elaruth's flight. |
| Where: Council Chambers, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 18, Month 10, Turn 33 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: A'rist/Mentions, Azaylia/Mentions, Hattie/Mentions, Iolene/Mentions, N'muir/Mentions, Nazius/Mentions, Quinlys/Mentions, R'hin/Mentions, Suireh/Mentions, Wakina/Mentions, Z'ian/Mentions, Zianarius/Mentions |
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| Council Chambers, High Reaches Weyr At the heart of this oblong cavern is its meeting table: a long hardwood oval with a mirror's dark shine, High Reaches' sigil picked out in lapis and onyx at its center. Twenty chairs surround it, each softened by an embroidered cushion that's just a little too stiff for complete comfort -- meetings need to be kept short, after all -- with the chair at the table's head, facing the ledge, being somewhat larger than the rest. Interspersed between glowsconces upon the smooth walls, ancient tapestries depict the territories High Reaches protects in a particularly pastoral fashion, all fluffy clouds and fluffier llamas, or else fishing crafts sailing merrily out to sea. Among them is also a natural alcove, its several wooden shelves primarily stocking fine wines and liquors as well as the glasses to serve them, though the lower shelves also hold whatever hidework requires particularly frequent attention. A narrow wooden door leads to the Records room, while the tunnel that extends to the weyrleaders' ledge is wide enough for three men to walk abreast, with just enough kink in it to block the wind.
Waiting is really the worst. It's always worse dealing with the what ifs and maybes of the unknown than knowing one's fate. K'zin has been especially dutiful at drills. He has to know it's coming, and maybe that's why he's resumed his once-over-eager efforts to Be a Good Little Rider, volunteering for the odd jobs in off duty hours that no one else wants to do. At least for the past few days. Rasavyth, too, has been expecting such a request, and his ooze has sense enough to be muted in answer, a mirrored rattle of chains indicating K'zin is on his way. And he must have hustled because he comes in hair leaking trails of water down his temples, shirt sticking to his chest and pants-- well, we won't go there. Suffice to say, he didn't spend much time toweling off when he dashed from the bathing pools. There's no casual attitude when the younger bronzerider enters and despite not being in 'uniform,' he's saluting crisply and standing to attention when he arrives. "You wanted to see me, Weyrleader." So at least he knows this is business. Maybe he's not just sucking up. If K'del really wanted to drive home a point, he'd probably keep his head lowered towards his work and make K'zin wait even longer. But... he doesn't: there's probably been enough waiting. His expression, as he glances up to regard the younger bronzerider, is even; if he's angry on a personal level, it's well contained. "Imagine you're well aware of why, too," he says, with a gesture of one hand, encouraging K'zin to sit in one of the opposite chairs. K'zin's stiff as he walks to the chair, as he seats himself, and he sits too straight, with exaggeratedly good manners, his hand folded in his lap. He draws in a deep breath. And where once, he might have used that breath to launch into a flurry of explanations, now, he simply exhales and states, "Rasavyth chased Elaruth in a closed flight." "Right," agrees K'del, not skipping a beat. "And while it would be hypocritical of me to yell at you right now, the point still stands that it should not have happened. Crashing closed flights, even accidentally," does his stare intensity as he says 'accidentally?' It may. "is rude. And worse. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of what might have happened, had he actually won." To K'zin's credit, he doesn't flinch away from K'del's gaze. Maybe he is growing up after all. "Yes." It would be hypocritical? K'zin probably doesn't really know that even if he might have heard the stories. Yes, it's rude. That part is probably what he's answering, along with that K'del doesn't need to tell him what might have happened if Rasavyth had caught Elaruth. It may be mature and responsible of him, but it doesn't give K'del much to go on. The Acting Weyrleader's blue eyes consider K'zin long and hard, letting silence extend between them for some seconds. "Azaylia and I are not happy about this. Our relations with Fort may not be as bad as they have been in the past, but things like this just don't help. Are you going to be the second member of your weyrling class I have to send back to the Weyrlingmasters for a refresher in flight etiquette?" Mostly, K'del just sounds tired. "You can't think I did it on purpose." It's a blurt. That's, of course, why it doesn't get censored by the Great Bronze Pen. Concern creases K'zin's brow as he looks at the older bronzerider. This would be simpler if it were just a wingrider speaking to the weyrleader, but no one would be stupid enough to think it's only that. K'zin's jaw tightens, words surely there but not given birth by breath. The line of K'del's mouth is thin. "No," he allows, after the space of a second or two. "No, I don't think you're that stupid. It's still pretty stupid, though: going to Fort for any reason, when you know they've a senior flight impending. You're a bronzerider. You know what the pull of a flight can be like." "It's--" K'zin starts and then stops, his jaw tight enough that it makes the residual bruise from Hattie's fist more visible in its yellowed and vanishing state. "I had to." Then, "The reason isn't relevant to the weyrleader. And too private for the weyrwoman." The implication being that it might be relevant and not too private for K'del. The brown eyes locked on K'del are intense and there's pain there. Not faked 'trying to get out of this' pain, but 'Shit is Real' pain. The intensity of that gaze seems to leave K'del at something of a loss; he hesitates, one hand idly lifting from the table so that he can rub at his clean-shaven chin. "Do you want to tell me?" he prompts. "Will you keep it in confidence if I do?" That the question must be asked likely indicates the gravity of whatever it is K'zin hasn't said yet. K'del's brows knit. "Of course," he says. "Not in the business of spreading people's... stuff around." "I know. I just--" What K'zin could say here about who he doesn't want knowing and why doesn't end up being said. "It's just important. No one can know." The formality is slipping away now. At least, for now. A hand reaches up to rub across K'zin's face and he looks exhausted. "It's my mother." For all that this conversation has taken a turn from what must have been intended, K'del's expression remains much as it was: tightly controlled. "What about your mother?" he prompts, patient, but only so far. "Since my father passed," K'zin starts, but has to clear his throat; for all that it's been some months now, it's still hard to articulate, "She's not been herself." He takes a slow and deep breath. "Drinking too much, ending up in strange places with no recollection of how she got there," Sound familiar? "It's impacting her work. Starting to threaten her position." As K'zin goes on, the underlying distress becomes obvious on his face. "Mostly, my brothers handle it. Finding her. Only this time she was seen leaving the bar with a Fort 'rider. A rider with a reputation." Beat. "I'm the only one with a dragon." And thus the only brother who could handle things, this time. K'del lets out a long, exhaled breath. "As in... she'd left with the rider the night before? I mean, it was morning, wasn't it?" Exactly why he focuses in on this factor and not the rest of it is more difficult to tell; perhaps it's just that it's something concrete, something he needs less time to work through. What is clear is that he's not as emotionally distant as he was. "I'm sorry." "Yes. They got word to me as soon as they could, but... No dragons, no firelizards. Too sensitive to just say because it--" K'zin frowns, shaking his head, "It ruin her chances at Mastery if the wrong people hear it." There are politics in Crafts, too, alas. "If it'd been that she was with any other rider, there-- well, there wouldn't've been the urgency. But, she might've been--" The young bronzerider can't seem to articulate it, but the nature of his concerns might be obvious from the way his eyes have that glisteny pre-tears look. "We had to make sure she was safe. I'd found her. She was getting cleaned up and then-- Elaruth." K'zin's head is shaking again. "I didn't stand a chance." K'del's nod is very slow and very careful. "I get it," he says, quietly. "Extenuating circumstances. You absolutely did what you had to. But since you, obviously, don't want that getting out, I've not much choice in this... you get that, right?" Some of the softness is still present when he says that, but there's also a note of professionalism. "Despite your reasons, you did end up in a closed flight, and that is a breach of etiquette." K'zin's nod is not as slow or as careful, but resolved. "I know." Beat. "I'm sorry." Then, matter-of-factly, "What do I need to do?" He is, at least, accepting of the necessity of punishment. "I know," answers K'del, quietly. "Though if it ever happens again..." He might even be teasing when he says that - one corner of his mouth might have twitched, just faintly. "Need you to write a letter of apology to Fort's Weyrleaders, acknowledging that you're aware that it was a closed flight, and that it was not your intention to get involved in it. Offer... suggest that if there's anything you can do to make it up to them, to let you know. You're also going to mentor our two weyrling bronzeriders, and explain to them all about the etiquette involved." "I don't want to think about it ever happening again." K'zin answers with a shudder. "I might lose teeth next time." A hand rises to rub across the bruise demonstratively. His brows furrow a bit, even as he's nodded to the letter and its contents. "Do you want to see it before -- should I deliver it myself?" It sounds like that might be awkward. The mentorship, that sounds... "Touch base with Weyrlingmaster Quinlys about what of my stupid exploits I shouldn't tell them about?" This time, K'del actually does smile. "Hattie's predecesor had less violent flights," he tells the younger bronzerider. "Though R'hin and I, at Bend-- well. Flights get like that, sometimes. Especially when you're not local." He's sympathetic. "I'll have the letter sent officially. I don't need to know the contents, but obviously, you're representing High Reaches." So make it good. "Liaise with Quinlys; yes, that sounds like the best way to handle it." K'zin frowns a little at the mention of the Monocoan bronzerider, but he says nothing, simply nodding to the official nature of the letter. "I'll have it for you by morning. And I'll speak to Quinlys." All that said, though, he's not making any kind of move to get out of his seat, and from the way he's staring now at the wood of the table, it's not because he hasn't been dismissed yet. Something else is up. K'del opens his mouth, quite plainly with the intention of dismissing the other bronzerider, but evidently he catches on to there being something else, because he stops. "K'zin?" he prompts. "What is it?" "Suireh's dad said you were born to be Weyrleader." There's a whole lot about that sentence that's awkward. Calling R'hin "Suireh's dad," the fact that K'zin is reporting this sentence at all. A deep breath later he's looking up at K'del with furrowed brow. "Don't you want to not? Not be Weyrleader? Do something less stressful?" Something that doesn't lead to an early grave? He doesn't say that, of course. It'd be to helpful to be so specific and illuminating. The fact that K'del clearly doesn't think of R'hin as 'Suireh's dad' means it takes him a couple of seconds to actually put together what K'zin is saying, and who he's even talking about. "When I wasn't Weyrleader," he says, finally, having spent a couple of seconds drumming his fingers against his chin. "I missed it. Not... at first, after Iolene died, but after that. After the double flights. Thought I could learn to let go, later, and I really tried to, under Z'ian. But... it's part of my identity. Wish I had more time for the people I care about, but... it's important to me, to serve the place I love." "But," K'zin's leaning forward now, and a little toward K'del, his brow tensed and his tone starting to have an edge of a sort of desperation, "Can't you serve the place you love and not be Weyrleader?" Maybe K'zin wants the job! K'del's brow furrows all over again; he looks utterly bewildered. "Why?" And, "What's wrong with my being Weyrleader?" So much for maturity. K'zin abruptly sits back, glaring down at the table like a chastened child. "Nothing. Nevermind. Forget I said anything." That table is a jerk. Clearly it stole K'zin's girlfriend or otherwise offended him from the way he's looking at it. "I'll get you the letter and speak to Quinlys. Am I dismissed?" So much for hoping that turning twenty was a magic end for teenage drama. Teenage drama is clearly not something K'del is in the mood for. Abruptly, he sighs, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling for a few long seconds before he confirms, "You're dismissed. Don't let it happen again." At least K'zin doesn't reply 'Yes, Dad' in some mocking tone. At least he just gets up from the chair and answers, "Yes, sir," and at least he salutes as he ought before striding from the room. |
Comments
H'kon (H'kon (talk)) left a comment on Tue, 14 Jan 2014 04:59:01 GMT.
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Ahah. The K'del icon is so perfect in this.
Edyis (Edyis (talk)) left a comment on Tue, 14 Jan 2014 06:28:31 GMT.
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Indeed.
Edyis (Edyis (talk)) left a comment on Tue, 14 Jan 2014 06:28:36 GMT.
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Indeed.
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