Difference between revisions of "Logs:Not Much Longer"

Though people keep claiming spring is on its way, the season seems to take its time in reaching the mountaintops of High Reaches - another day, another snowfall. There's definitely a sense of weariness for it in the bar this evening, despite people's attempts at merriment; it's all just a lot of waiting. Waiting for the snow to melt, the eggs to hatch, life to continue on. Ever-polite and careful not to surprise, Iesaryth had sent the lightest touch of sea-winds to Oswinth; a message on the breeze to have his come by the Snowasis later, if she's free. Now Brieli sits not at the bar, but a small table near it, lingering over a mug of something warm.

Oswinth has the dreamy, distant feel of a mind that is hard at work on something else and so, while not startled by her touch, is still caught dumbly trying to shift gears so he may sort out the implication of the queen's message and pass it on properly. He must have had success because Vienne does turn up at the Snowasis, looking well dusted by the sticky snowfall and no more spritely of manner than anyone else in the place. Waiting, waiting, and all the while just more winter. Her eyes scan and find Brieli as the bluerider shucks off her outwear, but as she slips into the opposite seat and arranges her jacket over the back of the chair, she does have a genuinely pleased smile for the goldrider, a little shy around the edges. "I like our dates," she says with a laugh.

While Iesaryth is curious, she also wouldn't pry, so leaves Oswinth to it. With something of a smile in return, "It's nice to chat. To make the time for it specifically, at least, rather than just... running into one another. Speaking of that, literally..." Brieli peers over at Vienne's legs as she sits and arranges her things, asking, "Were you injured for long? From... whatever that mess was?" Her expression is disdainful as she sits back; she's not about to call it a brawl. "Did you manage all right?"

Vienne settles in with a shimmy to get herself comfortable and in the end, sticks the previously injured leg out to the side, as if there's anything to see through her trousers and fur-lined boots. "It's mostly better. I got..." And here the bluerider's mouth becomes small and the hint of shyness blossoms into full-on bashfulness. "Stepped on a little." There's a faint laugh breaking through, remembering such topics coming up once upon a time. "I'll be fine. It's just..." Her eyes widen and her posture falls slightly. With some defeat she can only say, "I tried to stop him."

It might be a little funny that the bluerider got stepped on, but Brieli's not seeming all too pleased about it - just one more thing to blame the offending riders for. With a purse of her lips and a sip of her drink, dark eyes briefly flinty, "I don't know what either of them were thinking, to be honest. If it was to cause a scene, well. Mission accomplished there." She shakes her head at Vienne, rolls her eyes over her drink. Men.

"He wasn't, Brieli. You know that." Vienne doesn't chide the Weyrwoman, voice too soft and too sorry. "He's too caught up in feeling things to think straight. It was shameful but..." She lets out a heavy breath, what's done is done. "You don't think there are many people who believe what he was saying, do you? About H'kon? Is there any real reason to believe it?" Her eyes skip off toward a server, lifting a hand to catch their attention so she can place an order for something warm of her own to drink.

Likewise quick to lift her mug for a refill, Brieli waits till the server's come and gone to look across the table at Vienne with a somewhat disgruntled expression - she knows the bluerider's got a point, but... "Why wait so long, I wonder, though?" She drains her mug and sets it aside for the server to trade out when she returns, admitting, "I'm not sure. He was under investigation for a time. We didn't find anything... though..." A pause. "The boy seemed to think we should. I told H'kon I remembered as much, but he appears as active in his own defense as he is in the leadership of the Weyr." Another shake of her head; she doesn't get these people.

"I can't say I know H'kon," Vienne admits. "But I don't see him holding onto a necklace without some meaningful purpose. And if that was the case, I certainly don't see him leaving it on his ledge. It would be in a box somewhere and he'd either never touch it or check it methodically. He doesn't strike me as a careless person." Her hands come together on the table, idly rubbing her at her nails as she glances after the server to gauge what kind of a wait she'll have. "Though that still doesn't give us any explanation about where it came from or why now." Her mouth presses firm over some thought or another, but with a tip of her head, she wonders, "What boy?"

When the drinks come - quick this evening, there's enough people on staff - Brieli warms her hands around her mug, still chilled from the drafts coming in from the bowl. "If K'del had any sense, he might have considered this in the days between. Or thought to ask. Or accuse elsewhere." Looking down into the steaming mug rather than across the table, she clarifies her earlier statements carefully, if a bit reluctantly. "I'kris." Even the name has her tone turn darker before, "I think he likely put it there."

If K'del had any sense... Soberly, Vienne shakes her head. "I spoke to him about it, before... that morning," she admits with some regret. "He told me what he thought then but I didn't think that he was ready to hear alternatives. And I didn't think he'd, well." Do what he did in the living cavern. The bluerider brings her mug to her lips, taking a ginger sip of the hot beverage. "I'kris," she repeats, looking down into her steaming drink. "He would have had to put it there some time ago. You think it just went unnoticed? I haven't seen it. I don't know what it looks like, what state it was in when it was found."

Wryly, regretful, "Who did. It's not really his... style, is it? I mean... He's not been exactly predictable of late, but..." Brieli considers her mug, then tilts her head to the side, thoughtful. "Do you think that's the sort of thing... the Healers ought to check into?" No reason she'd ask Vienne that, just wondering. She watches the bluerider before chancing her own sip, seeming a touch uncomfortable with the subject... but it's hardly an easy one. "I only saw it... before. Not after. He seemed to think there was something to find when we searched H'kon's weyr. Not that it matters."

"He was in the infirmary after that morning. But I can't be sure what for." Perhaps it is more fact than the opinion Brieli may have been looking for, but it's information either way. None of this conversation appears to be easy for either party and Vienne sits quietly for a moment before reminding, "I didn't know him... before." Perhaps it should just be Before, with the weight they give that word. "I understand what you're saying. If he was certain something would be found, it would make sense that he'd plant it there, shift the blame, the focus. But does that mean it was there all this time and no one saw it? Not the people who searched? Not H'kon?"

"I don't imagine it was to say 'I'm losing my mind'," Brieli says dryly. "Though you never know." She doesn't seem disappointed in Vienne's lack of opinion, nor does she seem all that surprised by it, something quirking her lips into something close to a grin... even before she sobers a little for the conversation, tries to be business-like, like it'll help. "Possibly. Perhaps it was too well hidden, or slipped down an unexpected crack... it's hard to say. Just... Azaylia came to be at the right place at the right time. Well. 'Right' place." She even makes airquotes with her free hand.

Vienne hardly misses that quirk of something and the bluerider, soft-spoken as she may tend to be, lifts a brow, a knowing quirk of her own held in place long enough to have it ask the question she does not: just what does the goldrider think she's discovered? Maybe it's enough to earn a reply, maybe not. Especially since the conversation does continue on. "Azaylia hasn't explained how she came upon the necklace?" But Vienne might change her mind about whether or not she wants that question answered, her head shaking faintly. "I guess she thought she was doing K'del a kindness by giving it to him."

There's an enigmatic glance over her mug before Brieli takes a sip from it. She takes her time in answering that unspoken question, but she does answer eventually. "You don't make it easy to see where you stand," she notes, not at all disapprovingly. But she does move on, shaking her head. "I didn't ask much about it. She seems... well. I don't want to upset her, not now. But I suppose she thought he was the best person to tell. I can't think he reacted well." Wrinkling her nose, she tells Vienne, "There must be better things to talk about, but I feel like, until those eggs hatch..." Old gossip, back from the dead.

"I'm not sure there's anywhere in particular that I do stand," Vienne says with a self-effacing laugh and a drop her eyes that might suggest the impartiality of her replies was not entirely intentional. She drinks again as Brieli muses on her fellow goldrider, another sorry twist of Vienne's mouth for what trouble Azaylia has. But it's with some relief that she receives the suggestion of a new topic. "Actually," she begins, straightening a little. "I've been trying to decide something. Z'ian asked me to transfer to Boreal."

"Mm. Well, better not to lean one way or the other in particular especially then, I suppose." Brieli's dark eyes are bright, as if she doesn't quite buy that are the whole of the story all the time, but doesn't press Vienne. Nor does she push on the other weyrwoman's issues, though the expression on the bluerider's face is considered briefly, as is her news. "Really. I imagine to have some help, along with a friendly face? I didn't know you were friends. Or friendly?" She tries to gauge the relationship without assuming too much.

"Friendly, I suppose?" Vienne considers, her head tipped to the side as she weighs it now. "I wouldn't say I know him well." But then she hardly claims that about anyone at all. "He's been very kind, though, and he's easy to talk to. He strikes me as someone who is... whole. If that makes sense? Complete. Not striving for something or wanting for something. I think, perhaps, he appreciated that I..." Well, she smiles there, tugged wryly to one side. "Tried to do something. In the living cavern." Tried and failed. "I won't say that I've been unhappy in Snowdrift." There's a 'but' she doesn't bother voicing.

Nodding slowly, Brieli seems to accept the explanation as Vienne provides it, agreeing, "He does seem easy to talk to. Jo speaks well enough of him, and I can't say I mind initiative, for all that I'd rather know what's going on." With Boreal and Telgar, likely - but does the goldrider seem like the sort to like not know what's going on? "I suppose that makes sense. There's no reason behind it all, yes? And I appreciated that too, if I didn't mention that yet, by the way? You really shouldn't have gotten in there like that." A pause. "But you're not happy either."

"No real reason?" Vienne wonders, not following the thought there, and then distracted by the goldrider's appreciation. It has her tucking her chin down. "I don't really know what I thought I could do," she admits of her ill-planned efforts. But for Snowdrift, she'll take a drink, a moment to sort her thoughts. "They've been very supportive, helping me settle in, checking on me. And I like the structure of the wing, what we spend our time on." Aside she adds, "Z'ian mentioned hoping to adopt some of those things, in time." And then to continue on, "But I find the wing to be very quick to choose sides. It's not something I'm entirely comfortable with."

"No real... ulterior motive. Something to prove, perhaps?" Brieli isn't sure, but she does try to clarify her thoughts, before finishing her drink, setting down the empty mug with a clunk on wood. "And it wasn't much of a fight when you first got there, I suppose. But... it was nice of you to make the effort." She flashes Vienne a brief smile before listening, nodding slowly. "Hopefully, it won't be much of an issue in the future. But I understand how that could be... a concern. Especially when you barely know what the sides are."

Vienne's small nods as Brieli speaks turn into a bigger one at the end, eyes widening for emphasis. "Yes, that." See, how can a person pick sides when they barely know anything about the choices? She's relieved that the goldrider appears to understand. "And no, it wouldn't be much of an issue in the future, I'd hope. I'm not sure it is one now, really. But it is something that doesn't feel quite right to me. They talk sometimes and I find it hard to listen," Which is not something she likes to admit and it requires a settling breath before she can continue. "And meanwhile, if Z'ian wants me, if he wants my help..." She might have to let herself be pleased with the idea of being wanted, even if it is by the traitor wing.

"Do they actually expect that you make a decision along with the lot of them? Or is it just that... they did so easily?" Brieli seems to be asking only out of curiosity, trying to figure out how the wing works, how Vienne herself works. "Hard to listen," she echoes quietly. "Because of what they say or how they say it? And yes." A smile. "There is something to being in a position where you feel like you're helping, doing something, rather than just... keeping on, I suppose."

"How they say it," Vienne elects as an answer, or rather as the question to answer. "It's not that I have trouble with their opinion, nor is it necessarily the opinion of everyone in the wing. But, you know how it is, among friends, they say things that are meant to be funny..." And perhaps aren't so much, at least not to one bluerider with a habit of leaving herself undeclared. "And then there's also... that people assume I feel the same." Vienne can just shrug, and then frown as she adds, "I spoke with Kiva about it this morning, Boreal, and she was not pleased." Her head tips to the side, "And I would like to help Z'ian, though I worry about Oswinth adjusting. It can take him a while."

With a slow nod, "There are those that judge us by the company we keep, yes?" Something about that strikes Brieli as funny, and this time she shares, "Yet we spend time with Jo." Her dark eyes are bright, amused at the very least. "And I, Taikrin... Hm." Still entertained, she tries to sober a bit, fine brows coming together for 'not pleased'. "Surely there shouldn't be that much of an issue if you want to transfer." Giving her own shrug, "Tell him to promote you, then you can't turn it down." Problem solved? "And does it take his rider awhile, likewise?" She watches Vienne closely at the last, curious again. Always.

"Individuals," Vienne says for Brieli's arugment. "Choices. A wing is different. A blanket label." She shakes her head again, smiling, perhaps just because the goldrider seems to be enjoying herself so much. "Like I said, I'm not unhappy. It's just given me something to think about." As for a promotion, she laughs into the rim of her mug. "He just promoted his wingseconds. I don't think it's up for negotiation. It wouldn't be if I were him." She takes her drink, though a brow arches with her own curiosity for the Weyrwoman's last question. She dabs her lips with a knuckle and, again, shakes her head. "Not in any notable way, I don't think. I don't require much."

"I suppose you have a point at that. And too bad, really. It would have been a quick little solution, but yes..." Brieli quirks a wry smile. "A bit impolitic to go firing people right after a round of firings and promotions, and instability besides." Toying with her empty mug before pushing it away, she tells Vienne, "The wings aren't within my purview, but if I can help, let me know." She shifts in her seat to start pulling on her jacket, vaguely apologetic in her glance back to the bluerider. "I should go. But that's good to hear - I think it's better to be flexible. Adaptable."

"I'd hope that's not his way," Vienne adds for the topic of Z'ian's managerial skills, an impish bit of humor lighting her smile. But as far as the rest of it goes, "I'm not sure there's anything to help with. It's just... an opportunity I've been thinking about." Her eyes skim over the goldrider's features, seeing something there that keeps her grin in place. And then, yes, the drinks are done and there's always something calling a Weyrwoman away from her leisure time. Vienne nods quickly, the momentary close of her eyes dismissing any need for the apology in Brieli's glance. "You'll be free of the sands soon," she says instead of parting words that might be less encouraging. "Not much longer now." She gathers up her own jacket as well.

"Well, if you need to talk over the opportunity some more. There'll be time once the eggs are done with, if you're still interested." In talking? In the transfer? Brieli doesn't clarify, but seems... somewhere between pleased and excited as she pushes from her sear, a light in dark eyes - but that could just be attributed to the goldrider's first clutch and the anticipation of being off the sands. "Thank you for your time, Vienne. I'm glad you're feeling better." And though she has she jacket on, she heads off into the caverns after settling up at the bar, a little wave to the bluerider in her wake.