Difference between revisions of "Logs:Galleries Gab"

Hatching Galleries, High Reaches Weyr

Ringing the southwestern side of the hatching sands are ample tiers of carved stone benches, the lowest of which is some six feet off the ground -- just high enough to separate wayward hatchlings from unwary viewers, and vice versa. A metal railing on the outside helps prevent anyone from falling off; it also extends up the stairs that lead the way higher into the galleries. While most of the area is open seating, ropes section off some of the closer tiers when dignitaries are expected; those areas even feature cushions in the Weyr's blue and black.

The higher one climbs, the more apparent the immense scale of the entire cavern becomes. The dragon-sized entrance on the ground is dwarfed by the expansive golden sands that glitter in the light. Everything on them is easily visible from the galleries, whether that's a clutch of eggs and a broody queen, or simply its emptiness and the handful of darker tunnels that lead to more private areas than the bowl. Wherever one sits or looks, however, one thing is constant: the overwhelming, suffocating heat.

Outside the toasty cavern, it's a miserable day. The not-quite-freezing rain that comes down in soaking torrents makes the world of High Reaches' outdoors a glum place. Places with warmth and the excitement of eggs fare better in mood and it would be easy to forget the troubles of the outside world while the heat from the sand bakes dry wetted clothes and hair. Perhaps that's what K'zin is trying to do, leaning against the railing, listening to a gaggle of teen girls a distance off to one side giggle and talk about the eggs. The intent stare he's giving Iesaryth, however, might clue the attentive in that he's not here just to egg gawk and get dry.

Down on the sands, Iesaryth is sleeping. It's sort of her thing anyway, and the warmth and the fact that eggs are super-boring don't likely help. Vhaeryth might be more alert, but he's not the object of K'zin's regard. It's a short distance from the gold's ledge to the sands entrance, so when Aishani does turn up, that's where she comes from, ducking in with an umbrella even so to keep glossy curls dry. As she comes up the steps, the girls get a bit of an eyeroll; the bronzerider a nod.

The nod is all the invitation K'zin needs. Really, he probably would have approached her without one. He manages to keep his stride casual, even if his stare at the sleeping gold wasn't nearly so subtle. "Aishani," He greets, "A-- well, several words, if you've a few moments?" He reaches up to push through damp hair, untangling the dark locks (or maybe just tangling them more), "I've been to Healer recently." He adds by way of appealing for some of her -- sleeping queen, boring eggs -- very busy time.

Pausing to shake what's left of the wet and ice off her umbrella, now that she's away from the eggs, Aishani quirks something of a smile. "I'd heard you wanted to talk, I'm sorry I haven't been able to find you sooner." Though the addition does, in fact, have her looking somewhat more interested, amusement fading. Glancing over to the girls to assure herself they're actually paying more attention to themselves and the eggs than the conversation, she arches fine brows K'zin's way. "To visit a friend?" she asks, lightly.

K'zin's voice drops to a murmur as he arrives at Aishani's side, waiting, of course, until she's done with the umbrella shaking. "Not me you should be sorry to, if anyone. Your friend is looking for action. For the Weyr's support. I imagine the sooner, the better." There's more, of course, but he gestures to the nearest bench, "She wanted me to bring her ideas to you. And others."

Hooking the umbrella over the railing, Aishani's dark gaze flickers toward the sleeping gold on the sands before she takes a seat on the bench, thoughtful as she crosses long legs. With a purse of her lips, "There are certain things I can do... but the things I can manage given the position I'm in are not necessarily the speediest methods. I'd agree that it's time to arrange things, though." Tilting her head as she looks K'zin's way, "Others. The leaders?" Since they haven't been involved as of yet.

K'zin chivalrously waits, too, for Aishani to seat herself before sliding onto the bench beside her, close enough to have a quiet conversation, but not so close as to invite Aishani's knife to make a more prominent appearance. "She's asked me to bring her proposal to you, for your thoughts, but she's ready to have it go to them. If it can be done." The bronzerider's brows knit, "I've agreed to bring it to you. Possibly to them. I can get Azaylia's ear, easy enough, though..." He trails off. Then, shifting his focus, "There's more between you and your friend than I know, and I don't know you to know to trust you or not." It's a complicated issue. "But with other options inaccessible, it seems like the current choices are him or her, because they're the only ones bold enough to make any kind of move." He stops there, letting his eyes drift to the sands, expression thoughtful, even bordering on 'deep'. "She talks a good game." He adds. But can it, she, or Aishani be trusted?

Aishani's still without her belt knife -- maybe she hasn't had the time or the inclination to get it back from the Weyrlingmaster yet. Or maybe she's just avoiding the barracks. Who wouldn't? With a quick sidelong glance to the younger man, she asks, curious, "Do you think that you can et her agreement? Or would it be simpler just to... Hm." Looking out over the sands as well, over the clutch still hardening there with minute annoyance, she allows quietly, "Here is the truth and you can believe it or not: I never stopped visiting the Holds. I have stronger alliances in some than others. She called me for help, and in my experience, she helped her husband rule well and would continue to serve the Weyr well. I am... less certain of any who would rule by force. But now that those militias have been gathered, we are putting more than our name behind this. But still. Can men stand against dragons? Would they?"

The bronzerider is more attentive than his look suggests. Now he's playing Ienavi's game of making the conversation look very casual, his eyes still roving across the eggs as the goldrider speaks. "Maybe. Your friend wants it to go to them. The leaders. She's said she doesn't need official support. Unofficial would suit her purposes well enough. She wants transport that keeps her safe while she's out and about. She wants dragonmen to guard her. Rogue or otherwise." K'zin's fingers start to pick at the seam of the reinforced knee of his riding leathers. "I think Zay would listen, but I'm sure you know how she seems to like to do things above board. You know, she wouldn't even kiss me when I was a weyrling. This is a much bigger set of rules with more complicated consequences. It's possible she could be convinced." He doesn't sound convinced. "I'm supposed to take her for cider before the season's all the way through." Which it is mostly, now. "It'd be a chance to bend her ear about it. She's made promises if the Weyr gives its support, openly or quietly. All the usual things. Support and a strong relationship with the Weyr. Trying to help with the refugees and so on." Nothing Aishani couldn't guess would be offered. And how much do words mean anyway? Especially those only said in whisper.

"That can all be arranged easily enough without speaking to either of them. It would be simpler, certainly, to schedule it all with the knowledge of the Weyrleader, but to be frank, it's really not the Weyrwoman's area to assign riders and so forth. Certainly to advise on relations with the Holds, but..." Aishani has an easy little shrug, diffident to that matter. "And it's not as if Z'ian hasn't praised initiative, taken it himself, and rewarded it in the past." That's said dryly, as if she knows that the Weyrleader might take issue anyway. One boot beginning to swing idly as she falls silent to think, she asks eventually, "Do you have a few friends in your wing you might be able to convince to help in the effort? I can provide a few others. I think you should still certainly speak to the Weyrwoman, but... why leave the Lady unguarded at such a dangerous time?" And well. If Azaylia disagrees, everything is in place, and no one's the wiser.

"It can. However, your friend was specific. She wants it brought to the leaders. Zay, I can talk to. Z'ian..." K'zin shakes his head. "Don't know the man by more than face, really." The young man forces his fingers to stop tugging at the wisp of thread just barely sticking out from the knee's seam and looks to the goldrider. "I'm in Taiga. And I'm the newest. Very little happens in my wing that K'del doesn't know about. So unless he's on board, and he might be brought on board," He allows before stating firmly, "I'm not the right man for the job. Glacier has a reputation for that kind of thing, doesn't it?" Or at least a reputation for being a little less tame. That's the same thing, right? "It's right up Alida's alley, and she's in Glacier, even if she's politically dense. It might keep her out of trouble to be doing that instead of having time to send stupid anonymous notes to people or make dramatic gestures. Speaking of, I've reacquired a nice set of throwing knives if you're in want of new ones." He's frowning when he says it, but the offer seems genuine enough. "You know, in case you need to stab more bronzeriders." There's a thin hint of humor in the dry delivery of these words. Someone needs to give her a hard time about H'vier while she's unarmed.

"Azaylia will certainly speak to Z'ian." Aishani's not concerned about that. She's not going to talk to him though. There's a visible disgust on her features at the very idea of K'del being involved, but she seems begrudgingly thoughtful. As for Glacier, "I can 'provide'..." She actually uses little air quotes with her fingers. "Jo and her people. Alida is a thought, but the issue is rest days, sweeps schedules. You need multiple wings to cover all the bases, so to speak." Her authority on this seems to come from some thought on it, clearly not just in these moments considering how to guard Ienavi. "It's a start." She gives K'zin a bemused blink at the offer -- and it must be said the goldrider is not visibly armed. With a shake of her head, "I may need to stab the same bronzeriders and more, but thank you. Keep yourself safe." As if he might have issues.

A nod meets Aishani's assessment of the communication between Weyrleaders, a quirk of his lips shows he has some sort of amusement for the goldrider's disgust, but his face has smoothed out by the time she's making her quotes. "Mmm." The sound is neither approving nor disapproving, just thoughtful. "Well, if your friend can't get the Weyr's officially unofficial support, she might have to limit her travel time to when the few are available for such tasks. I'm sure that wouldn't be as effective a means of being seen as she'd like, but if it's all there is, perhaps she could make do. Will you pay her a visit to discuss specifics, or shall I act the go-between? She was interested in if you had any thoughts about her plan that she could take under advisement." Then his smile stretches a little wider, and he lets his voice be a little louder for this bit, as though to give the giggling girls something to gossip about beyond the 'hushed conversation they had in the galleries'. "If you're taking recommendations for your knife-work, that Fortian of yours has an awfully pretty face that could probably use some more rugged scarring to make him properly fit in with us winter-hardened 'Reachians." A beat. "Do you really like them so-" Nauseatingly! "-pretty?" His smile blooms now, obviously teasing. The worst the girls can gossip about now is how K'zin got stabbed, or that he and Aishani might be - gasp - friends!

With a wrinkle of her nose, Aishani notes, "I'll see about some recruiting. There's other wings." Without K'del in them. Gross. "But in the meantime, I'm sure that will work well enough for her purposes. And I imagine I can convince Iesaryth to take a trip, if a minor one." If she's amused, it's because the gold is suddenly opening her eyes, tilting her gaze up to the stands, interested. Hm, something else? "But I'll let you know if I should need help." K'zin's teasing doesn't seem to entertain her all that much, but she's not looking as if she'll stab him for it either. "I like him, and I like his face the way it is. A good part of my appreciation is purely aesthetic, so I'd thank you not to give anyone ideas." Even if it is just teenage egg-gawkers. Sniff.

"Let me know if there's anything you think of that I should include in my presentation to Azaylia." K'zin requests as an addition to her spoken run down of the actions she'll be taking. Despite the fact that Aishani's response doesn't seem likely to help the friendship rumor, the bronzerider's smile stays put. "So you go for pretty and annoying. I knew I was missing something." Perhaps he feels he ought to get while the getting's good, and he rises, "I'll do my best not to mess up his face, but if he asks for it, it would be downright inhospitable of me not to oblige." He doesn't sound terribly serious about any of it, so maybe N'rov's face is safe from at least this bronzerider.

"I'd suggest you leave my name out of it," Aishani notes dryly, "But other than that, perhaps... emphasize our friend's maternal nature and how it may extend to her lands. That should sell well with rider and dragon both, yes?" And though the goldrider is often sober in the best of circumstances, something about both that, and what K'zin says next has her smile suddenly, actually laugh. "I've told him not to annoy anyone too much, and I have two more names to be fully exempt from any annoying at all, so. Continue to be so helpful, and I'll see about considering your addition." Which could annoy N'rov in turn, but oh well. That's her job. "Good luck." With the Weyrwoman or not punching the clutch sire, she does not specify.

A wry smile meets Aishani's recommendation, a slight nod for the latter notion that seems to agree with the goldrider's assessment. A single brow quirks at the laugh; it was unexpected. The brow stays quirked as she speaks of N'rov's tendency to annoy and finally, K'zin answers her with a simple, "With motivation like that, how I could I let myself fail?" His fingers rise to his temple and a lazy salute is given to the woman before he's taking his just dried self back out into the storm.

Comments

K'del (K'del (talk)) left a comment on Mon, 30 Sep 2013 23:00:19 GMT.

I really enjoyed this scene - all the politics! All the plans! Two people who don't necessarily trust each other, but who are working together anyway! Fun.