Logs:Follow Your Heart
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| RL Date: 5 August, 2015 |
| Who: K'del, Serin |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: A brief conversation at the top of the diving cliff. |
| Where: Diving Cliff, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 16, Month 8, Turn 38 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Tiriana/Mentions |
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| One thing that High Reaches does do really well is summer: it's warm, but not too warm, the skies are clear, and it may well seem that half the Weyr has managed some reason or another to be out-of-doors throughout the balmy afternoon. The lake itself is still chilly, but that hasn't stopped residents, crafters, and riders alike from enjoying themselves-- and the occasional dragon, too, some even lending themselves to young children as play equipment and diving boards. It's quieter up on the cliff, and that is where K'del has taken himself; he sits upon the edge, bare feet dangling, knotless and dressed down (though still likely recognisable; he's spent almost entire his adult life as High Reaches' Weyrleader, after all). Blue eyes studying the lake below, his expression is one of amusement... and quiet contentment, too. Certainly, High Reaches summer's the best time to be transferred in and Serin is taking advantage of it by coming out onto the diving cliff where he is fairly sure it will be populated but not nearly as busy as the lake below. There is, of course, a few that come rushing by only to jump straight off the cliff and into the water below - lingering isn't for many, the cliff has its purpose after all. Here's hoping nobody below is where they shouldn't be or they'll end up with people landing on them. Serin isn't one of those rushing by though, and invites himself to sit on the edge of the cliff near where K'del is without asking permission. Today, he's wearing just some light colored linen shorts and a tunic. "Taking a break?" He wonders, though his gaze is focused down on the activity below, rather than the Weyrleader nearby. K'del's head turns, those blue eyes lifting so that they can consider the younger man, albeit without recognition. "Mmm," he agrees. "Too nice a day to be stuck indoors; too nice a day even to take work outside, really. Person could wish it were like this all turn 'round, only I expect it'd stop seeming so important, eventually. Cadejoth," he adds, bobbing his chin towards the pale bronze in the water below, "wanted to come out and play, too, and it's always difficult to resist that." Cadejoth has a long-standing tradition of doing just that; his enthusiasm, now, carries upwards in the form of a gleeful, exuberant rumble. Serin is far too engrossed in the activities below catch K'del looking at him for the first bit, though he does finally look up from the lake below after a few moments pass. "Have to enjoy it while you can, before the weather turns." He agrees, glancing at the bronze being indicated and then returning his attention to K'del. "Seems like you've been Weyrleader forever. Doesn't it get tiring?" He assumes it /must/, or well, most jobs it does. He then smirks quickly, and adds, "You have no idea who I am, do you? I mean, not like I'm someone of importance so it's not expected. I'm Serin." "Not a clue," admits K'del, cheerfully. "Though now that you've told me, I'll do my best to remember, promise, Serin. What do you do around here?" Despite having asked the question, he continues to talk, answering the Starsmith with, "Sure, it gets tiring. It's exhausting, sometimes. But-- there was that period when I wasn't Weyrleader." A period of a couple of turns following the murder of his weyrmate, then-Weyrwoman Iolene. "And it felt wrong, somehow. 'course," he smiles. "Could well be I lose the knot again in the next turn or two, so who knows." "Oh, don't worry about it at all. I forget names all the time, hardly can expect others to remember mine if it's not useful to them." Serin says with a bit of a smirk and a shrug of his shoulders. Dangling his feet over the edge of the cliff, he kicks them against the rock and knocks off some debris. "I'm a Starsmith, Senior Apprentice - so far, anyways." He offers in return, and scrunches his nose at the mention of not being Weyrleader for a bit, as well as the possibility of not being it in the future. "I can't say I really understand all the weird workings of dragonriders, but it definitely seems weighted towards women. Men are easily replaced." He says with a bit of a snicker, and shrugs. "Glad my profession doesn't depend on something like yours does." K'del's expression says, even if he doesn't put it into words, something along the lines of 'but even so!' as far as names go. "Starsmith." He sounds approving. "Good place to be for Starsmiths, I'd guess. And better still, if you get further up into the mountains." One corner of his mouth twitches upwards, ruefully, as he turns his gaze back to those frolicking in the lake below, instead. "A little. But the goldrider doesn't always have control over who wins, either. It's-- an imperfect system, I'll grant you, though I'd argue that Craftmasters and 'seconds can be no more than a popularity contest, at times. And for holders, it's all about birth. Not sure any of them are perfect systems." "The winters can be really good for viewing, but I'm more interested in the math side. Not the most romantic aspect of Starsmithing." Serin admits, leaning forward and propping his head up on his hands, while resting his elbows on his knees. "It's more that the goldriders will always be.. well, someone. While you're only someone as long as your dragon is catches a gold. And if he doesn't, then what?" He wonders, and since he's been away for a good six turns - it's not like he keeps up with all the gossip like a Harper might. "I don't think I'd ever want to be a Craftmaster, and luckily there's really nothing that can force me into it unwillingly. At least being born into it, you know the expectations, I guess." Teasingly: "Well, that puts me in my place, doesn't it? Just a nobody, temporarily somebody." But K'del genuinely hasn't taken offense, and seems thoughtful in response, beneath all that good humour. "That's the big question, isn't it? A lot of people have suggested that if he doesn't catch, I should, or will, transfer to Southern to be with my weyrmate. Not sure I just want to be 'Ali's weyrmate', though, and there's no guarantee we'd catch her queen and be Weyrleader again down there." Beat. "Good for you, though, knowing what you want. Math for life, mm? My boys, the oldest ones, they'll be fifteen this summer. Still no idea what they want." "Truth hurts?" Serin teases right back, giving K'del a glance out of the corner of his eye. Nope, he doesn't look offended - so far, safe. "Maybe you could be a Wingleader, or something? But, I wouldn't want to be known as just someone's weyrmate, no matter who it was. You know, I have -no- idea what happens to deposed Weyrleaders other than a lot of them seem to disappear into the ether." He laughs at the last statement and rolls his eyes, "Perhaps for life, with breaks of course. When you enjoy something, it hardly seems like work." He muses, and shrugs, "I didn't know what I wanted to do until maybe a little younger than them. They'll figure it out if they have opportunities to explore. But, maybe they're holding out in hopes that they'll Impress a dragon and be just like you?" Truth does hurt, but luckily, not too much. "Pretty sure they'll want to Stand," agrees K'del, of his sons. "But I always figured... I don't know. Guess I had a lot more drive than either of them, at that age. But then, they were raised differently. Impression has always been on their minds as a possibility." Those blue eyes flick towards Serin for a moment, and then back out over the lake as he adds, "It's hard, I think, as a deposed Weyrleader. Suddenly cut out of everything. You still have experience and skills... but most new Weyrleaders will want to distance themselves from you, to be their own person." "I guess it's the difference between being raised by riders, and being raised by crafters. I'm just as weyrbred, but was grounded enough to know that my chances of being chosen to Stand are slim so I looked elsewhere for my future." Serin admits, though there's a wistful tone in his voice that makes it sound like he /wishes/ it might have happened. So far, no bones. He sighs and then grins a little, looking at K'del and offering, "I guess I can see that. Did you do the same? I think... if I were in that position I'd rather have the guidance of someone who might know more than me even if we disagree sometimes. But, everyone's different." K'del, plainly recognising that wistfulness, watches Serin silently for a moment. "You could ask to Stand," he points out. "A lot of weyrbred kids are, whether they have rider parents or not. Though, I acknowledge it seems more of a crap-shoot that way. If you haven't been Searched, it could well be for nothing, especially in an Interval. Fewer clutches, fewer dragons in each clutch." His fingers drum against the fabric of his light trousers as he adds, "I picked a mentor from one of the older wingleaders. N'thei was... largely absent, at that point. R'hin and I-- he was Weyrleader long before my time at High Reaches-- we became friends later, and that helped, too. I was just a kid when I got the knot; I needed all the help I could get." "But then, it'd take extra time away from getting promoted and that's not always a good thing either. I guess there's no /rush/ but I don't like being behind the curve either. Especially when it could be all for nothing." Serin isn't exactly ahead of it, but he's not behind either and he likes it that way. He shrugs lightly, while he might wish for it, it's not constantly on his mind perhaps just recently because hey - back at a weyr! Pulling his legs up to sit crosslegged, he grins a little, "Yeah, I could see that being helpful. At least you're pretty nice, rather than some grouchy Weyrleader. Hey, are you going to jump off the cliff?" He wonders, looking down and then back at K'del. The incline of K'del's head acknowledges that, too. "A lot of crafts tend to be... less thrilled when their apprentices take time away for something like Standing. Certainly, some crafters who Impress may continue their craft work later, but... on the whole, it likely seems like a waste of resources to see apprentices abandon ship for something else." He seems amused by the descriptor of his personality, and adds, then, "Glad you approve. Will I jump? Probably. Back when I first arrived at the Weyr, I was afraid of the height of it. Tiriana-- back when she was a junior, not Senior Weyrwoman-- basically forced me to jump. In late autumn." He shakes his head. "Never doing that again. But in summer... much more fun in summer." "It really is, and I do enjoy what I do - so why bother?" Serin says, and then chuckles lightly, "And I get a little more freedom as a Senior Apprentice than I did as an Apprentice, being a Candidate would be a step back again." He muses, pushing himself to get up onto his feet and arching to take a look below to see if there's anyone who might get in the way down there if he were to jump. "I've loved this place for a long time, it was my favorite even in the winter. Quiet, and a good view. Being able to jump makes it even better!" He says with a smirk, and shakes his head. "Forced you to jump, huh? What was in it for you if you did?" Surely there was something, right? "Important considerations," agrees K'del. "Not much freedom as a candidate, and even less if you Impress; weyrlinghood is hard. On the plus side, weyrlinghood is over in a turn instead of turns and turns of apprenticeship. But," a firm nod. "Most important is that you follow your heart." He studies the water below, admitting, "It was my pride at stake, mostly. And the fact that she was a pretty-- beautiful, really-- woman, and I was fifteen. These days, this is one of my favourite places, too. Bit treacherous to get up here in winter, but still worth it." "Hey, but I'll always have a profession to go back to. Did you do any craft before you Impressed?" Serin asks, still teetering near the edge and looking over it. He then rolls his eyes as it comes out that the jump was for the sake of pride, and a little because the woman asking was attractive. "Did she at least warm you up afterwards? I would have made that a stipulation." He says with a wide smirk, shrugging his shoulders and then admitting, "But, I've done stupid things like that when I was younger too. I think everyone does." K'del watches the younger man, still safely settled upon the cliff's edge. "Worked as a handyman," he admits. "Wasn't very good at it. I had these-- big ideals. Leave the family cothold, make something of myself... not sure what I expected to happen at the Weyr except Impress, but it wasn't even on my mind, somehow." Youth. The slight grimace in his expression is at least amused. "No, she did not. She laughed at me; basically, it was the beginning of an antagonistic relationship that lasted until I had the Weyr Council remove her from High Reaches... guess you could say it continues to today, really, except that we avoid each other. Oh, youth." "Sometimes I wish I had done something like that, you know. Left and traveled around or something like that. Instead, I basically followed my mother's apron strings and ended up being like a different version of her. Not that she's /bad/ or anything, but.." Serin shrugs, stooping down to pick up a pebble and toss it over the edge of the cliff. He chuckles at the result of the cold dip, and smirks at K'del. "That probably taught you a good life lesson. Guess with a weyrmate, you don't get as distracted by other beautiful women telling you to do stupid things?" "I was going to say that you could end up travelling as a Journeyman, except... math seems less likely to encourage you into a riding post, I imagine." K'del's tone is thoughtful as he considers that. "But, well. You live in a weyr; plenty of opportunities to see more of the world. Just... follow your heart." It's the second time he's said that, and he seems to genuinely believe it. "I certainly try to avoid being distracted by beautiful women. Sometimes..." His expression turns amused. "Well. It works better sometimes than others. Sometimes, they make it difficult to say no." "I guess you should follow your own advice, should you find yourself without a Weyrleader position." Serin quips, looking over the edge once more before nodding, "I look forward to harassing all the riders that look like they're on their way somewhere for a ride. I can do math anywhere, not like I need to be in a room with archives or anything. Math travels." He grins, and /has/ thought about it a little. Just now it's sinking in a little deeper. He nudges another pebble over the edge, "Hey, if you aren't going to get in trouble - I'd rarely say no. But, that's me." "Pretty sure my weyrmate--" But K'del breaks off from that, and just grins. "'Math travels.' That's a good motto to have, I think. Is the math going to travel down to the lake shortly?" "Wouldn't mind, right? They rarely do." Serin teases, knowing it's likely the opposite. He waggles his brows and then nods to the last question. "Yep! Luckily you don't have to worry about getting wet way up here." He doesn't even take off.. well, anything, just walks away from the edge to take a running jump into the lake. |
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