Long legs crossed as she sat atop her cot pretending to study, Aishani watched her adopted clutchmates as they reached the end of the day, watched them interact; who talked to who, who avoided who, what there was to notice, if anything. The conversation with Lia had brought her usual instincts flaring back to life - which was a good thing. If she was honest with herself, she'd allowed the excuse of weyrlinghood to leave her mind idle for too long. Well, idle in the ways that mattered to her. And she'd always known her loyalties were in question, would continue to be - but she'd have to do more about it.
She still mulled over the discussion with the greenrider, perhaps more often than she should. Liaske and the other weyrbred weyrlings were obviously part of some group, but who were they? And what precisely had she meant by the exiles 'getting in line'? Likely something to do with Iolene, with so many Impressions in her clutch, with the upcoming wedding. She could understand the sense of loyalty that would lead one to want to protect their home, but as far as she could tell, the islanders weren't the people to worry about when it came to running High Reaches into the ground.
But wouldn't what Iolene wants be just that, in their opinion? Change? Massive, top-down change?
« Would that be a bad thing? Change, I mean. The rest... you know that can't be allowed. »
I know. And it would be a bad thing in their opinion. In mine... I don't know. I doubt it would destroy everything, but you can't know what repercussions one action can have. I doubt the other Weyrs would like it, for example. I... I don't know."
Were some of the things Lia said worth weighting Azaylia with? She'd tried to hint around what was to come, how they'd be undoubtedly be seen as pawns to use or prizes to win as soon as they graduated, if not sooner. How people would watch their dragons. She didn't know if telling the other goldrider of the pressures within the the barracks themselves would help her any either. Azaylia seemed to be struggling already - and though they all were, there was something fragile about the former apprentice. Still, leaving her unprepared seemed almost cruel.
Aishani wondered what the other three goldriders thought, what they planned. She wondered if they thought about these things more than she did or less, if they didn't have other lives to distract them, or if that was just everyone's life; if she just had more secrets, more obligations.
And when it came to those obligations, she wasn't really sure what to do any more. She had lines that she would not cross, her targets were limited, her ways of reaching them were even becoming limited as items stacked up on the list of 'things she would not do', or 'would not do for now, at least'. Her patience was wearing thin, and it was only her lack of time that forced her lack of action. Thankfully, maybe. Obviously, she needed to regroup.
« What about the letter-writer? » Iesaryth just had to broach to that particular subject, one she seemed to enjoy returning to as often as she could.
I shouldn't even be writing him. It's not going to make anyone question my loyalty less. He's not in the plan.
« And that means he can't be? » Since Aishani will be re-planning and all...
She considered that for a time. Tipping the odds in her favor had possibly worked at Monaco. Why shouldn't she make some sort of plan for her gold's flight, whenever it may be? It only made sense.
No. No, it doesn't.
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