Logs:History Repeats Itself
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| RL Date: 9 July, 2013 |
| Who: Ilicaeth, Alida, K'zin, Rasavyth |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Allies at the Hot Springs repeat history: shared secrets, miscommunication, painful dragon roars, and mental give-and-take. |
| Where: Hot Springs, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 10, Month 3, Turn 32 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Akazi/Mentions, K'del/Mentions, N'thei/Mentions, Satiet/Mentions, Aishani/Mentions, Iolene/Mentions, Devaki/Mentions, Seani/Mentions, C'wlin/Mentions, N'hax/Mentions, N'ky/Mentions |
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| Hot Springs, High Reaches Area Even further north than the Weyr itself, a short flight between crags and over crevasses that even a wing-scarred veteran of Fall might undertake, a cluster of clearings lies low in the shelter of hardy trees and ancient stone. The outer two clearings might have been lost to more stubbly trees Turns ago, if it weren't for the centre-most: a natural pool of warm, softly bubbling water several dragonlengths across, with enough space for perhaps a half-dozen people and their lifemates. Though the air is cold all Turn round, and snowdrifts frequently whiten the ground, the geothermal activity heats the mineral-scented water to such a consistently comfortable heat that it becomes a refuge for those who don't wish to travel further afield to wash their dragons. Of the clearings that abut the spring, the nearest is only a few steps away, though it's small enough that only a few dragons can lounge at once. A steep trail descends to its substantially larger neighbor, a gravel-strewn crescent with enough space to spread out and enjoy the crisp air and the mountain range's admittedly spectacular views.
"Nah," K'zin calls as he works the buckles of Rasavyth's straps to free the bronze from the leathery cage around his neck. Their landing was nothing of note, not too long after the blue pair's arrival. Rasavyth's response to Ilicaeth's invitation had been noncommittal, but obviously... well, here they are. "It-" The bronze rumbles, objecting, "He tends to not show up except when he's not wanted." Clingy is not the right word for the mischievous blue that has decided to make a mess in K'zin's life when it suits him. The bronzerider isn't long in coming over to the pools himself, after shucking out of riding gear and pulling on a spare set of silky exercise shorts from one of the packs on the straps. The bronze beats him to it, in any case. For all K'zin's words about the firelizard, once Rasavyth is submerged, flickers of blue might just be seen hither and yon along his form as time goes on. "So who're you shadowing, again? What wing?" The weyrling asks his fellow as he slides into the waters, sinking into a crouch so he's submerged to his neck. There's a smirk-and-snerk for how Waki refers to his little blue pest, as well as Rasavyth's reaction to such, Alida noting how the bronze seems to draw the irksome firelizard. "Well; ya' keep up not wantin' 'im around, maybe he'll do ya' a favor, 'n go wild." A sudden, urgent twitter from the dot of sunflower-gold still clinging steadfastly to Ilicaeth's grape makes the woman look up and out at them again, the blue dragon thoughtfully keeping his head above water while he paddles, meanders around. A shake of head from the lounging blonde presages her low, but water-magnified, "Pyrite's got it inner' dense little skull that since the lake has big fish in it, this place has ta', too." Snort, grin. "Little twit popped in above us durin' shadowin' t'day, hollerin' like a barfull'a sailors." A sudden, strange little smile steals over the female weyrling's features for a moment before she once again takes up her narrative. "Ilicaeth finally got her sorted out. Near as we could tell, one uv the fish nipped at 'er...now she's thinkin' large open bodies uv' water 'r death traps." And so says the tiny gold still chittering on her huge cousin's head, her eyes whirling a fast lavender. "Mmf... Taiga." Snert. "They're kinda stand-offish ta the likes uv me, once we're on the ground." Shrug, eyeroll. A lean over towards Waki for a quick eyeing of his visage soon finds Alida murmuring casually, "Heard off the grapevine that K'del got 'imself a new token uv someone's affection." "Iunno," K'zin answers, his expression feigning thoughtfulness. "There was a while there where I didn't want you around, and you never went wild. Much to my intense disappointment." Wild meaning the usual kind of wild, not the firelizard sort, obviously, from the leering grin he then gives her, but only for a moment. "It's not that I don't want him around," The bronzer then says more seriously, "It's just that he bites me. And not in the good way." Which might just be too much information. He ducks briefly under the water, then pushes his wet hair back upon resurfacing, moving toward the bluerider. "Yeah? Sounds obnoxious. The hollering. I don't know I'd mind if it actually were sailors, but a firelizard? Far less colorful. And the objecting to water bit." But he offers no solutions. That problem is all Alida's. "Ugh. Taiga. I hope I don't get assigned to that one." For the exact reason that gets an eye-roll. K'del. "I don't want to talk about K'del." The emotions on his face are mixed, to the point that it's hard to tell what any of them are. To his first words, Alida awards K'zin one suitably melodramatic clutch over her heart and a pained look, his next earning him a low snork and snicker. Word of the little 'biter' trying to earn himself a nickname is reason for the bluie to sober up and soon puzzle out, "I know ya' can't treat 'em just like canines...but why not employ some uv the techniques I used on ones I helped train? I mean, ya gotta start somewhere, uv course. When does 'e bite ya? Is it under certain situations?" A wave-off of the bronzer's words of Pyrite's former fit is given by one casual hand, the woman correcting him with an easy, "She put up a racket loud enough fer 10 uv 'em." Sailors. "I figure we'll train 'er outta' it once she gets older, more sensible." Hopefully. As for Taiga and K'del...the guard can't help but take in her pal's reactions from out of the corner of her eyes, then murmur over to him, "Y've been out'a sorts lately, Waki." She's not looking at him in any fashion, now, greens heavily-lidded as-a-matter-of-fact. "Ilicaeth says Ras has, too." Wait. K'zin's shoulders roll into a shrug, "Maybe. He's not around regularly enough to say there's any kind of pattern. I'm sure I'll work it out, Alida. But thanks for offering the help." Some people just don't share the same passion as the guardswoman for the training and care of pets. It works for some pets, not for others. Who knows where the little blue will fall? He'll probably stick around just to be a pain in the ass. "Yeah, well, you remember when I said I'd tell you when I had something to tell?" He pushes back some wet locks, moving even nearer the bluerider until they're side by side. "I've got something to tell. In confidence." The last is stated pointedly, Alida getting a serious look. "Yer funeral..." the woman notes with dark wryness. "Or should I more properly say yer fingers' funerals." Smirk. No, she won't pester K'zin about his little blue...at least until the little twerp starts trying to bite her or her own. "Speakin' uv...what's 'is name?" And then all of that 'lesser' stuff falls to the wayside when the other weyrling moves in closer, speaks quietly to her...Alida nodding a few times, then murmuring, "On my honor," while she clenches a first over her chest for a moment. It looks like an oath of some sort... something even more primal than swearing upon one's dragon's shell, if the odd flare behind green eyes can be measured. She's sober, intent, yet not tense...the very embodiment of a casually-readied guard in that moment. "He doesn't just bite fingers," K'zin's answer holds thin humor mixed with muted irritation. "If it was just fingers..." He rolls his eyes then toward the sky, just for a moment. "Kazi." He answers the question of the blue's name simply, without explanation. Do the names of obnoxious pets need explanation? There's serious stuff to be attended to then. "How much do you know about the history of the Weyr? Like, all the stuff that's happened, everything that's built up to get us to the point where we're without a solid set of leadership, and getting short-changed on tithes and tense with almost all our Hold relations?" Well, maybe not 'almost all', but... almost all. The slightly wincing look Alida gives the bronzer might make him think she's cogitating about his more manly, delicate bits being food for the gods...er, Kazi. A small purse of lips and slow shake of her pale head show she's not willing to touch that one with a ten foot pole, the bluie then taking a few moments to actually think about Waki's inquiry. Finally, "Lessee... In a nutshell...N'thei 'n Satiet have Vijays at the Weyr. Vijays steal, get booted...return ta steal more. K'del executes their leader, who turns out ta be Aishani's father." Lip-twist. "Uhmm...Exiles get booted out fer whatever reason from this area...land on that western island." By this point, Ilicaeth's tired of trying to coax his little cousin down into the water, as seen by Alida's sudden glare at Pyrite, and the little beastie's cheep and zip over the the edge of the pool, just behind her human's fair head. At least she follows orders, apparently. "Anyway...the exiles had some more notable folk in 'em, once they were rediscovered, 'n some took up life on the continent, again." A peer at Waki silently inquires 'am I on the ball?' before she continues. "Three uv those uv the most note were and are Iolene, S...Seani?, 'n Devaki." At this point, the woman moves to scoop up two handfuls of heated water, peer at her silent 'lizard, then dribble the stuff on her itchy hide. "That's about it." The gold gets only the briefest of glances as she moves. K'zin's attention is clearly more on what Alida says, his expression not offering an answer to her unspoken question. "What do you know about Seani?" The question is direct, focusing from the broad into the specific. As the blonde continues to hand-wash her now trilling little pest, she notes in clipped, intent fashion to K'zin's next question, "Precious little. She might've come t'the Weyr with Devaki before he moved on ta seek 'is fortunes at the Hold." Smirk. "Not certain. But whether alone 'r with 'im, she did wind up at the Weyr." Think... "Maybe she 'n him had somethin' goin'. Dunno." Shrug. "Heard from the occasional, wagging tongue that she was basically liked...'n that when she turned up murdered - and Devaki suddenly left - he was the easy person ta point a finger at." "And that was six turns ago," K'zin tacks on quietly, "And no one's bothered to find out the truth. It just got left that Devaki was the most likely suspect. And then he becomes the Lord of High Reaches." There's a pause, as though that needs to sink in. "It'd be fine for the people of the Weyr to think of him as a murderer if he was one. But he isn't. And no one's ever bothered to find the real killer or clear his name, so the generations of riders that learn local history learn him as a possible murderer and exile. Is it any wonder C'wlin and N'hax thought it fine to go into his Hold and interrogate his prisoners? There's no respect for someone as he's suspected to be, rank or no rank, for too many people here. I want to see the matter sorted, quietly. Investigations are up your alley, right? As a former guard?" He glances toward Ilicaeth, meaningfully, though he doesn't mention the blue's bloodhound tendencies aloud. "Yep..." Alida notes quietly, the woman already seeing where this is heading, though she remains quiet, neutral, thoughtful. "All the autonomy stuff b'tween Weyrs, Holds, Crafts..." the blonde comments further as she picks up some coarse sand bits at poolside, and starts carefully massaging them against Pyrite's soaked, itchy hide...the action producing a hum from the flit. A quirk of head and flick of eyes onto Waki's form at his assertion that Devaki's guiltless soon finds her uttering, "Against my own teaching...innocent until proven guilty." Still, she has to nod at the attitudes pervading Hold and Weyr over all of this bad blood. But when the former Smith questions her about her background...Alida has to shake her head a couple of times. "Remember; I said I'm more inta' the literal interpretation uv' my job: guard. I took up guardin' people, places, things...and if I wasn't needed in that capacity, I helped other guards investigate purported crimes." Not her specialty. "I gathered physical evidence, watched over crime scenes, offered my take on things, mostly. Once in awhile, I teamed up with an investigator ta' pick up some uv' the basic ins 'n outs...learn how ta watch, listen, deduce." That look towards Ilicaeth garners only a shrug from the woman, and a peer at K'zin from the blue himself. What he chooses to be and do are rather up to him, in the end. "Oh?" is the only response all her words get. It's a very innocent syllable, followed by a lengthening of the jaw accompanied by a dismissive frown. It's not the mark of being upset in the least, simply an 'as you like it' look. "Alright, if you'd rather not get involved..." K'zin's shoulders lift and fall in a little shrug. There's a small roll of eyes heavenward at the bronzer's take on her words, and Alida's giving a small sigh before leveling a small stare-frown combination upon him. "I didn' say that; you did. All I tol'ja was that I'm not a good investigator. You want someone who's likely not gonna make a wrong move at some point from inexperience...then don't look at me." Up into one arm the woman cradles her firelizard as she turns to look more directly at Waki, Pyrite chittering her displeasure about being 'dangled' aloft over that evil-fish body of water. "Shut up, you." Ahem. "I work my limited form uv investigations kinda scattershot... Another reason they weren't my forte." Lip-twist. "You can make a wrong move, if you like," K'zin's answer comes with an unconcerned shrug. "Just don't tell them I put you up to it." He winks, "And really all I'm expecting to do is tell you something and what you do with it or not do with it is up to you. I'm just looking for more information and there are some, like K'del, that don't want questions being asked." He takes a breath, "And I don't know about you, but when someone tells me not to ask questions, that pretty much seems to be a sign I'm onto something." Whether it's something worth being onto or not is another question entirely. "Yeah, sure. An' when I make the wrong move, my gizzard's on the line..." Alida snarkingly 'reminds' K'zin while continuing to 'sand down' her 'lizard. Kinkaaay. With his wink and explanation comes her second eye roll of the moment, and a low, "Oh yeah, now I see what I'm bein' used for..." Snert. But seriously...word of K'del's running interference on the younger bronzer have Alida ruminating again, and finally noting to her companion, "Ever stop ta' think that maybe there's some shit ya' really don't wanna know about? Shit that's so toxic, dark, spinner-web that openin' it up'll tear apart not only the lies, but the truths...and innocents, too?" But yes, she has to agree with his rhetorical question. "Yeah...gets my sniffer goin'." "We've agreed this place is infected with some kind of messed up shit, right?" K'zin questions then, expression suddenly unreadable as he shifts a little away from the guard to rise out of the water a little ways. "And that we're going to try to heal it up proper, not just put a bandage on the problem and call it fixed?" She takes K'zin and his words in from a guarded place, her father's voice whispering in her head, even after all these Turns without his fucked-up, but often realistic guidance. When Alida finally answers, it's with a low, "Yes. We also gotta know that there's gonna be enough uv a Weyr left behind ta build up again. Truth is... truth, Waki. It's not a shinin' paragon, like so many wanna' believe. It c'n..." For a moment, her breath's stolen from her at a memory so candid, it feels as if it just happened yesterday. Finally, in grating tones, "It c'n destroy, as well as free." Swallow. "Just understand that." "That's why I said quietly." K'zin points out evenly, his expression lacking humor of any kind. If anything, the best word to describe his expression in this moment is 'cold'. "You can't fight a disease before knowing what it is and what's made it worse." Equally serious are his next words, "There's nothing left for truth to destroy in me." Or so he seems to earnestly think. "I'm going to find out with or without your help. With or without the blessing of the people I can't stop myself from caring about." The baritone is hollow. The bronze's splash breaks the silence as he starts shifting toward the shore. "If you want to distance yourself, from me, from all of it, I understand. You don't have to have a part in this." As ever, it's strictly opt in. She's seen that look before, heard that voice before...in the mirror, in her own ears...on her father. "Wanna bet?" is ground out darkly, something full of ire within Alida rising to K'zin's words of nothing left in himself to ruin. It's fleeting, though, and she can't help but nodding slightly, muttering back, "I said I was in." Damned hardhead. At this point, Pyrite creels when her mistress rubs that harsh sand against her hide to forcefully, Alida blinking owlishly down at the squirming flit, then wincing as tiny claws prick at her tender skin. "Sorry, toots..." A splashing of water helps to disperse both kinds of irritation. Spreading himself a little thin at this moment, Ilicaeth still rasps his desert-dry, sandy baritone to his brother, « K'zin's movin' too obviously, too fast, if K'del's already on ta him. » (To Rasavyth from Ilicaeth) "For someone who's in, you're spending an awful lot of time trying to talk me out of things." K'zin notes, expression and tone both bland. He moves toward the wall of the pool, easily pressing hands to stone and pushing himself up and out with a flex of his muscles. To Ilicaeth, Rasavyth's response comes in a swirl of oozy sand, his tenor a reflection of his rider's blandness, « He is not. » It's certain. « Cadejoth's K'del is aware of his interest because my K'zin went to him to ask his questions. It is how it began. » "Fer someone who doesn't give 'er hand out easy 'r fast, I'm tryin' ta be a good partner that points out the downsides as well as the up... 'r di'ja think that this plan was gonna' wind up turnin' out okay without at least figurative blood bein' spilled?" Alida's torqued, and with that sudden flare of her human's ire, Pyrite abandons the blonde, chattering and taking up a perch on one of those nearby tree limbs. "I'm tryin' ta be a decent friend and a thoughtful partner." Stare. The feeling of a mental facepalming - except with sand - occurs. After a few moments, « Normally, I'd go that route, too. But this time... » Headshake. « Too fucked up. » Whatever. Done's done. (To Rasavyth from Ilicaeth) "I'd suggest," K'zin begins coolly, turning back toward the bluerider in the pool once he's standing on its edge, the cool air coaxing goose bumps on his exposed skin, "That next time you want to bring up the down side, you do it in a way that's less like you're talking down to me and more like we're equals." It's not the first time they've had this conversation, and likely not the last. He meets her stare unblinking. Rasavyth might be trying to break the tension as he gives a shake, sending droplets of water flying in every direction. Or maybe he's just preparing for their departure. His motives, as ever, are difficult to discern. Ilicaeth intervention is once again necessary to keep the temperamental women from flaring up too high into outrage, but this time, the blue is also rather ticked-off, his eyes streaked with orange within their blue as K'zin speaks. Once she's contained her anger enough to keep from blowing up, Alida levels her own hard, dead gaze upon her fellow weyrling, and manages to grind out, "I do not know what the fuck else is goin' on in yer life, K'zin, but the very fact that'cha think I'm talkin' down ta' ya shows yer not seein' an' hearin' me very well at all." Her jaw's squared, but this point, and Ilicaeth's head is turned towards his rider as they try to keep some inner balance. "I was NOT talkin' down ta' ya." The mirrored grit becomes distinctly sandpapery harsh for a moment. « Caution, Ilicaeth. » Rasavyth purrs. « You are beginning to sound like you're making the same sweeping assumptions as your Alida. The relationship between my K'zin and Cadejoth's K'del was special. » There is a sense of a strong bond there, kinship, understanding, mentorship. « And he had no way to know before asking the question that Cadejoth's K'del would not be willing to give an answer. It is all supposed to be public record, wouldn't you think? The Weyr's history and all. » (To Ilicaeth from Rasavyth) Anger and the effort to contain it lurk near the surface of the communication, but still, somehow, Ilicaeth manages to sound mostly normal. « So...his inquiry was a feint? » (To Rasavyth from Ilicaeth) K'zin arches a brow at Alida in the face of her anger, not engaging. "I'll take you at your word," simply, shrugging. "Maybe we just don't communicate very well, Alida. It wouldn't be the first time we didn't. You may remember an incident in the galleries that got us banned?" The second brow joins the first and his lips pull up into a small smile, trying to relieve some of the tension that's built. « No. » Rasavyth's tone is as simple as K'zin's, another reflection of his rider: two in one conversation! « My K'zin had questions about the history of the place. He went to the source. He knew he asked hard questions because it is not a small thing for Cadejoth's K'del to have had a murder in his weyr, but my K'zin did not think he asked anything that was private. An unsolved murder is Weyr business. It reflects poorly on us, especially when we accuse Lord Devaki. » Unlike most dragons, Rasavyth accords a sense of rank and consequence to the title and the man. (To Ilicaeth from Rasavyth) She almost, ALMOST fires off back to him something that likely couldn't be taken back...but there's her savior in blue hide to stem it, Ilicaeth clamping off Alida's near-blurt, though it renders himself mute for some moments as he ingests his rider's dark fire, and attempts to rid himself of it via sudden motion. In a twinkling, the smaller dragon's diving into the deepest depths of the pool, and swimming around furiously, transfering anger into primal motion...burning it off. Rasavyth's soundless words are heard, but not processed well, the blue having to shunt them directly into Alida's mind while he channels her rage. And Alida? She's suddenly silent, directing her focus inward for some moments, though some piece of her experiences K'zin's words, expression. A few more seconds to process are required through her definite irritation, and finally the blonde's able to nod woodenly at her fellow weyrling, then turn away. She's still not in the mood for smiles or lightness...especially when Ilicaeth's still down there, swimming brutally fast...and then roaring until he's nearly out of breath, and forced to surface for a major gasp at air. He's still angry enough that one more roar - something that sounds like it should come from a dragon twice his size - must be let loose, the sound of it scaring Pyrite Between and back to their weyr. It hurts the ears of humans, too, that's for sure, and the blonde slaps her hands to her ears, the woman cringing in reaction. But at least Ilicaeth's mostly finished by now, his red eyes slowing their whirl, moving quickly from orange into lavender, then blue-speckled with purple. "Faranth's finicky feelers, Ilicaeth!" K'zin swears, clapping his hands to his ears. That's it. He's done. Rasavyth is swift in moving back to the straps, K'zin even swifter in buckling things down. He's already been almost deafened once by a weyrling not keeping control over his dragon. He's not about to stick around so he can chance it twice. Here's a first for K'zin: the feel of Ilicaeth's rasping, dry desert swirling a sudden, vicious sandstorm into his mind...one that could strip and flay flesh from bone if it were allowed. It's a minute taste of the withheld force the blue can flick on, if necessary: the rage of a hundred Alidas and Ilicaeths combined. But again, it's only for a nanosecond, followed by the blue's casual baritone, « Imagine livin' with this all the time. » There's so much in his simple statement that it might boggle the mind: tiredness, jubilation, darkest, wry humor, an uncomplicated and visceral devotion, bone-deep love, the bright warmth of a sun within the dankest depths of brutality, violence, and death. Another nano-second is allowed for that to sink in, and then the almost-genial blue rumbles, « She's mine. » And K'zin will never truly know what honor he's missed out on. It's a strange thing. When Ilicaeth reaches for K'zin's mind, he finds Rasavyth. It's as though the bronzerider's mind is tethered to that which dragons can access by connection to his dragon, walled off from direct contact by others. Rasavyth obliges in passing the message directly, and allows Ilicaeth to see that his intention, words, feelings and so on have been transmitted to the leather and smoke mind of K'zin with its funny, out-of-place twist of orange peel. « N'ky's Cailluneth contacted him directly, too, the night she nearly deafened him with a roar like that. » Rasavyth provides explanation, « It causes him substantial discomfort. As does the roaring. I would think you would be more careful, if only for the delicacy of your rider's eardrums. If you wish to speak directly to him, you may ask to do so through me, but he asks that you do not attempt that again except in the most dire of circumstances. » The sensation is that further attempts will be met with that impassable wall. The transmission of the blue's thoughts cause K'zin a moment's pause, glancing back toward the rider. But his brown eyes linger only a moment before he's buckling straps into place once more. It's not long after that K'zin's dressed, buckled into straps and winging away. And then Ilicaeth's back to his own home...in his rider's mind, leaving his brother and the bronze's rider be, while his own clueless rider is left to peer at the looking K'zin then shrug, returning to her own devices...like calming down again. And if the two of them are perhaps seen as a little nutty...well, that's of no matter to the twin warriors with three hearts. They have each other. |
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