Logs:Moving Forward
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| RL Date: 6 May, 2008 |
| Who: Lujayn, P'draig |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Lujayn visits Fort for the first time since leaving for High Reaches. Rielsath and Jekzith play in the lake while Lu talks with P'draig. |
| Where: Center of the Bowl; Weyrlingmaster's Office, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 11, Month 4, Turn 16 (Interval 10) |
| Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath imitates those friendly bubbles the brown likes to send, more of a soapy, champagne-colored cluster. Her greeting is casual: « It's warmer here. » The bubbles fizz with surprise at finding this mild springtime. Rielsath senses that Jekzith sits up and pays attention lazily. « Rielzath! You're at /Fort/! » There's a sense of buzzing excitement as he shares this news with his rider. Bright bubbles float on a stream of rainbow colors, warm and welcoming. « Warmer than the Reaches? Oh yes. But not as warm as /Boll/. And he makes a picture of the jungle-bound hold. » Coming out of the Barracks wiping his hands, P'draig has a slightly distracted look on his face at first then he focuses, face forward and there's a bright smile on his face. "Lu!" he hollers out, waving across the Bowl with his rag. Lujayn is loosening Rielsath's straps, the gold fidgeting with impatience at each buckle; she'd much rather be commandeering this new lake or having a taste of the Fortian herdbeasts. At last Lu turns away, only to find her lifemate patiently in place, gazing across the bowl. The flap of a rag catches her eye and she beams, moving to close the distance as she waves. "Are you cleaning again? You haven't got weyrlings on the way, have you?" As she draws nearer, the rush of happy chatter begins. "Good to see you." P'draig is indeed in work clothes, shirt much patched and mended. He sticks his oily rag into his belt behind him and holds both arms out, apparently meaning to sweep the Reachian goldrider up into a bear hug. "You too Lu. And nope, no weyrlings yet, but the clutches're so far apart, I take the cots apart in between, air the mattresses out and so on." A gesture to a set of mattresses stacked out in the spring sunshine. "How've you been? How's your Rielsath? Shells she looks /good/." Beat. "And so do you." A flicker of sunlight, made that much easier by Fort's temperance. Rielsath is delighted to have caused such surprise. « Sure I am. » Her mind is busy searching through the new things before her, the familiar-but-different sense of a new Weyr, but still has room for Jekzith's conversation. « If the spring is warmer, is the lake, too? Does it freeze in winter? Do you have snow at all? » (Rielsath to Jekzith) Rielsath senses that Jekzith bubbles more happy thoughts her way and stretches his wings wide. « The lake does freeze in winter. Enough for them to do *this* » He imagines skates on feet. « But it's not right now. Want to come swim it with me? There's lots of interesting stuff way down deep. » He flashes dark depths, green water, purplish rocks and silvery fish. Rielsath can't miss the fact that she's being talked about, pausing from where she was ready to upend a stack of mattresses in favor of giving P'draig a good once-over. "As good as ever," Lujayn agrees and returns the bear hug, noticing she's that much taller when measured up against the weyrlingmaster. "Thanks," Starting to shrug off her jacket meant for a colder climate, "Persie gave me the haircut. I decided to keep it after everyone told me it was stylish." Beam. "Keeping in work, that's good. Everyone's been a little busier since the traders came to 'Reaches, it seems. Always something to do." P'draig reaches out to tousle that haircut. "Better'n the one I gave you that one time, definitely. Persie's good with the shears," the Weyrlingmaster says fondly. "Miss her too, actually." He's thoughtful briefly then focuses back on Lu. "Traders? Yeah? How's that going?" The glimpses given of myriad colors, unexplored places, and buoyant bubbles are more than enough incentive for Rielsath to abandon smelly old mattresses. « Yeah! » Bright anticipation, already trying to get the exact location from scattered images, already making her way there. « ..purple rocks? » A flash of the Weyr's mountain, though an intense violet instead of its normal grayish tone. « Where do those come from? » (Rielsath to Jekzith) Rielsath senses that Jekzith shakes himself up off the ground and trots over, leading the way to the lake. « Just over here. P'draig says it has something to do with them being underwater. I don't know really, but they do look interesting! » And boosh, he's gliding out over the water and diving in. « Follow me! » Exuberantly. "Thought it was strange, the way they decided to just set up in the middle of winter. Right in the mountains." Lujayn turns slightly to watch Rielsath wander towards the lake, but is soon assured there won't be any trouble. "Maybe they'll be leaving soon after the snow melts, maybe not. I haven't gotten a chance to pin them down yet." That unsatisfied curiosity is evident in her thoughtful shrug, then a smile. "Need a break from chores, or rather another pair of hands? Rielsath's going to terrorize your lake, I think." "Guess they needed to camp somewhere? We've had the Sebring here for a long while now," P'draig gestures in the appropriate direction. "It's tough on the caravans, the weird Fall, though thank Faranth we're almost done with those," the Weyrlingmaster continues with a smile. "And huh. Jekzith's likely going to give her the tour. He likes doing that. Better the lake than my Barracks." With a wink. "Break sounds good, want to come in for a drink? Or just pull up a rock and we can sit out here, whichever floats your boat." Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath senses the splash and follows quickly, icy wings folding close to let her skim just over the waves. Then it's a huge splash of her own as she lands, twisting after Jekzith. She's there, following, not to be left behind. « How deep does it go? » Now stretching out beams of light to pierce darker waters, searching for the bottom. Rielsath senses that Jekzith flashes an idea of the depth. Deep enough to make it dark at the bottom, those rays of light fading out almost all the way down, shimmering in the greeny gloom before then, though. He adds a little daredevil burst of speed as he streams onward. Can she keep up? Can she? « The rocks are over that way, » a mental nudge given. Lujayn cracks a grin as her gaze turns to the barracks. "If she'd fit, she might. Jekzith gives tours?" She raises an eyebrow, intrigued. "That's funny. I wouldn't mind a drink, though," Knotting her jacket about her waist, gloves in one hand. Everything getting squared away. "Pretty soon, I think the starsmiths said. Don't think I'll believe it until it happens." A suspicious glance upwards, as if the merest discussion might bring silvery Thread down upon them. Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath searches out the green and the purple amongst other promised colors, going so far as to chase after a school of silvery fish that crosses her path. Scattering them in every direction, little underwater stars, she turns at Jekzith's prompting to explore the rocks, making a tight loop before she realizes he's leaving her behind. « Can't lose me, » She challenges back, just as happy to race as she is to have a whirlwind underwater tour of strange rocks. "Yeah, you know Jek, always has to be in the middle of everything," P'draig says with a fond laugh for his brown. "And uh ... especially to lovely ladies of the golden and green persuasion," he says with a little sheepish grin and a scratch of fingers to the back of his neck. "All right, a drink it is. How strong you want that?" The Weyrlingmaster towards towards the door to his office. "And yeah, hope to Faranth it actually /stops/ and they're /right/." A breath huffed out and Paddy's moving onward. Building a 'map' for Rielsath to follow out of sub-surface landmarks. Still he's keeping up that thread of challenge, a string of bubbles held out tantalizingly with the view they're trying to reach reflected in iridescent surfaces. « Can't catch me? » And there's bright, cheery teasing in that. Lujayn shares the grin, though hers is hardly sheepish. "Don't worry about it. She's not going to tease him or anything - Rielsath likes to roughhouse, still. Just one of the guys, y'know?" Following after. "Not too strong. I still have to fly back sometime today," The request is joking, merely nodding in agreement with the more longing idea of an end to Thread. Rielsath> I bespoke Jekzith with « Can so, » Rielsath sends silvery strands after Jekzith, fishing line to catch on his tail and tangle him up. No sharp hooks, at least. She arcs over each little mark on the map like checkpoints in a race, sometimes distracted by this or that but always reminded of her almost-antagonist. Pop! There goes one bubble. « See? » "Heh, that's good. Jek's not like, a wooer really, I mean he tries a little, but mostly, he likes to have fun and he's really earnest about it." P'draig nods about the drink thought. "Got it - so just a little wine maybe," he proposes and reaches the door, holds it open for the goldrider. "After you weyrwoman," he says with a light tease in his voice. "It's easier than having a dragon chasing tail all the time," Lujayn confides with earnest relief to her tone, "Like some flirty greens or the ladies' men that hang around. I can't decide whether she actually knows she has that kind of swaying power over some of 'em." The goldrider rolls her eyes, but precedes P'draig into his office with at least a nod of thanks. "That's right, I was tapped a month or so back." If the knot was any indication. "More exciting than flying resupply, at least." Tangly strings are eyed with some fascination. Jekzith doesn't avoid them, lets them streak after him though he colors them all the colors of the rainbow. « Niiiiice » he compliments her racing and he swims on a dark promontory of rock starting to come into view. "I'll bet. Especially if it's not something you're interested in," P'draig answers with a lopsided grin and turns to step inside after her. "And glad the work's working out. It can be a big switch. Regular person to weyrling, Weyrling to full rider. A lot to have happen in only a turn and a half to two turns." Inside he moves to get a wineskin and some glasses. The strings don't pull at Jekzith, merely making it more difficult for him to elude his sightseer. Rielsath watches the rainbows, constantly comparing their bright colors to the darker, mysterious tones about her. « What's that? » Though not forgotten, she allows her competitive thoughts to subside when something larger comes into view. « That's different from the other rocks, looks like, » Curiosity propels her, less following Jekzith and more setting out on her own course to the promontory. (Rielsath to Jekzith) That shape grows larger as she approaches, Jekzith's swinging around it and a beam of light slants down from above. Gleaming deep plum highlights shine forth briefly then are clouded again, more like purple-black. « This is it, » Jekzith proclaims simply. "Not especially. But some people are fun to be around." Lujayn concludes while her eyes adjust to the dimness of indoors. On the subject of changes, "Lots of people go through that every clutch, so there must be a trick to it. Not that it's not hard," Thinking back to studying, the extra duties, late nights, she chuckles. "As long as you can adapt." She decides finally, inviting herself to have a seat. "So what's the news at Fort? Anything big happen lately? Or small?" Leaning forwards, watching the gathering of glasses. Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath can indeed see this is what the tour has led up to, streaking in close to examine the rock's slick, purple surface. She noses at the illuminated patches and searches out the crevices in shadow, finally following it down, down, down. « It grows out of the ground! » She exclaims, half asking and half deciding for herself. « No one can see it from above. » Special, secret knowledge. Rielsath beams brightly, a wash of sunlight to bring out those colorful highlights. "Not so much a trick, but that's what the Weyrlingmaster and his or her helpers are for," P'draig says, tilting the skin over both glasses and bringing them over to the table. He sets hers down in front of her, then pulls a seat out for himself, dropping down into it. "Mostly a lot of waiting going on here. Waiting for a queen to go up. Waiting for a bronze to catch. Figure out what's going to happen next." Proudly agrees. « Yep. It's one of the niftiest things about this lake! » Bright bubbles again, mentally winding around the image of the rock. « There's some secret hidey holes in it too. Too small for us, but the fish like them. » Lujayn turns her glass about a few times, taking a small sip as P'draig speaks. "I'd bet on Siarith, if all the talk's about a queen rising. She hasn't gone up yet, right? Might be soon, but it depends on the dragon and I don't really know much about her..." Speech broken for another taste of wine, she picks up smoothly where she left off. "What do people expect to happen next? Sounds like they're waiting for something else." Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath seeks out those hidey holes, prying with bright talons and brighter eyes. « We could make them bigger, » She suggests, purple fragments floating through her mind, bits of the rock chipped away to make room for a lurking gold dragon. The perfect hiding spot. "Nope, she hasn't and generally, I'd agree though that'd be a bit of a heavy load for her to carry. Not that her training hasn't been good, but, think about becoming Senior from your first flight ..." P'draig trails off and shrugs. "She's a very warm person," the Weyrlingmaster describes Fort's Junior. "Kind of mischievous though, like you." With a fond grin across the table, he tilts his glass her way. "Just for things to move on, to have things settled you know? Because everything could change." The hidey holes are fairly small, but one or two allow a talon and on crumbles weakly under prying paws. « Won't be much rock left if we do. » Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath agrees reluctantly, spiraling away from the rock to spook some fish out of tangly seaweed. « Where do you hide, then? » Lujayn laughs for a moment. "That's modest, seeing as you were her weyrlingmaster. Sure she had good training." That's right - she remembers with a blink, "I forgot, you don't have an official Senior yet. That makes it a little different." A little raise of her own glass in P'draig's direction, nodding. "Sounds like changes any way you look at it. Thread, weyrwomen, everything else." Letting his voice taken on a winning bit of mystery, Jekzith replies: « Down a lot deeper. Where it's /dark/. » And lo, he's disappeared. « Come find me! » Little bubbles left behind as hints but not as clear as the earlier map. Letting his voice taken on a winning bit of mystery, Jekzith replies: « Down a lot deeper. Where it's /dark/. » And lo, he's disappeared. « Come find me! » Little bubbles left behind as hints but not as clear as the earlier map. "Oh no, I meant from Jenna," P'draig says laughingly. "I only handle the basic training. No way I can train a /weyrwoman/ that's beyond my scope." His head bobs though for her statement. "Yeah, Za's Acting. If Siarith goes up, it'd be Suvain." A soft sigh and a shake of his head. "Poor Jenna. Niyath'll never rise again." Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath doesn't waste time picking up the chase. After all, the rock isn't going anywhere. She follows along its rough edges for a time before branching off, though there's not much that could mislead her when the only direction to go is down. The young gold doesn't try to bring sunlight down here, instead trying to create a phosphorescent glow to light her mind's eye to Jekzith's scattered bubbles. Some people talk about fish with lights. "That too," Lujayn agrees, "But you do some of it." She thinks more carefully, catching the somber tone from P'draig's statement. "She's all healed up, though? Out of the infirmary, moving around. I think I would be more worried about that than whether Rielsath was going to lay more eggs." Not that either of the pair have ever been very maternal. Still mostly childlike themselves. Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath moves fearlessly in the dark, confident of her senses even without sight. She drifts more slowly when Jekzith calls to her, making smaller and smaller circles around where she thinks he must be hiding. Some lakeweed tickles her belly during this back-and-forth search; she snorts bubbles out. Bubbles! Jekzith blows some to meet hers, swirling them around each other in a little vortex that spirals up towards the surface. This might give away his position but being found can be fun too. The lake weeds stir a bit and that could be a brown hunkered down there. "I understand," Kind of almost. Lujayn can only fix her serious expression on the table before her, not accustomed to such worries. "I hope it all turns out well. Not much more can be done to help, then. I really don't know what it's like." "No, it can't," Paddy says softly and tilts his glass up again, drinking deeply. "I usually have some whisky if I think about it too hard," he notes with a little lopsided grin. "Anyway. Just need a queen to rise to let things change so we can all move forward." Rielsath> Jekzith senses that Rielsath pauses, drifting only slightly as the slow currents of the lake flow around her. Quiet. A flick of her tail is enough to turn herself around, moving with care over the tops of the weeds. At last her wings open, pushing her down into the slithery plants, darkness in darkness, and suddenly there's Jekzith. « Gotcha. » Less of a triumphant pounce than might be expected, a sense of predatory satisfaction at pursuit's end. « That was pretty clever. Does anyone ever find you down here? » Lujayn is at the end of her own glass, letting the last few drops collect before finishing them off. "Sounds like a plan," She smiles, lighthearted again after P'draig's summary. "Almost too bad you have to do so much waiting. Better than rushing things, I guess." "Waiting can be tough, yeah. In the meantime, I have to admit it's been nice to have some downtime. Just regular not too hard duties and so on. Plenty of time with Palia." P'draig smiles over at Lujayn and tilts his head. "Ah - Weyrleader's calling, Jekzith tells me. Better go change my shirt. I'll see you up Reaches way soon though, or you know, don't stay away long Lu." Rising, Paddy offers another hug, before walking her out, then retreating to his weyr to wash up. « Got me! » Delighted as he slips out of the weeds and taps his nose playfully at her side. « Got you back! Some do, some don't. It's fun either way. » |
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