Difference between revisions of "Logs:Involved"

The rain's stopped, finally, though everything up here is still slick with moisture. Szadath must have dismissed the watchriding pair; he and Taikrin are alone this evening. They're angled to watch the sun set from beneath the clouds, ostensibly unaware save for Szadath's blunt sending to Tacuseth. « We want an update. Here. » He sends an image of the stones, then cuts off abruptly in his usual terse manner.

Tacuseth's landing is swift under the cover of darkness, quite fast from the abrupt message relayed by her wingleader's dragon. « Mine says ya could always just come by, » he sends with its ooze of undercurrents and shadows, right after he lands on the stones and Jo has dismounted. In her usual black leather, she slaps her blue's leg as she leaves to approach the sole brown pair present with, "In the mood to be on somethin' damp, I see," in her usual crass-likely demeanor once she's before Taikrin. "Hey."

"You know me," Taikrin shoots back with a perfunctory smile for Jo's joke. "I just can't keep away from the wet." Szadath doesn't shift to make room for Tacuseth, not when there's plenty over there, but he does rumble at his wingmate. "Hope we didn't interrupt anything major?" she asks instead of continuing down the path of humor. "We wanted to catch the last light, but then-- well. Getting late. Reckoned we ought to hear if you've got an update for me while we've got the place to ourselves."

"Ha," Jo sends back, leaning on the rock and facing her. "Nah, we just got in not too long ago. Updates, though." She pauses to regard Taikrin with anticipated interest before she adds in, "What sort of updates are yer lookin' for? I can assume yer talkin' about the mess over in Nabol with all that succession'n murder shit?" How eloquent. "Seems to be on a lot of folks' minds these days. Mine seems to land moreso on Greenfields' involvement in it, personally."

"That'd be the one," Taikrin affirms, sighing. "Reckon that sounds about right, too. You'd know better than me, though." When Taikrin does finally look over at Jo, there's no attempt to hide her interest. "It's such a flaming disaster--!" A flash of emotion in the way she rakes back her cropped hair, and then she's wearing that hard-won composure once more. "What do you know, before you tell me what you think?"

Arms come to a fold across her leathered chest as Jo gives the topic a good, non-chalant shrug. "I'd think ya'd know better than me, wise wingleader," she teases in her deadpan demeanor and pointed look. "Are ya of the opinion that this Weyr sittin' back is wrong? That seems to be the sentiment of certain folks around here - that, the Weyr should be gettin' involved in Hold affairs." Taking a deep breath now, the ex-con launches into, "I'll tell ya what I've told Aishani not too long ago. I was told that one of the heirs wanted this Lady Ienavi killed more than found. That she was engaged to the oldest son of some oldest son before Ustelan's wife-at-the-time died. Somethin' or other. Ya might wanna talk to Aishani, too, on the matter," she notes evenly. "She'll know more than I do. I insist on it, even. Unfortunate about that harper bein' killed, too, over all of this. Not sure if his murderer has been found yet. Also, our lord Holder Euan's involved," from Greenfields, she doesn't need to say. "I've been sending Lanvec notes on the matter since the man's name has been comin' up, but I haven' heard back from him. Greenfields been quiet as of late since the Lady went missin'."

"I know what I know. I need to know what you know," Taikrin clarifies, droll. "I don't reckon as the Weyr needs to be involved so much as I need to know if our friends are involved. If this is something we got to take care of under the rug. I got enough to deal with without having to clean up Lanvec's meddling in our Holds, too." She's quiet then, though, thinking; she looked especially pensive every time Jo mentioned Aishani's name. "I don't like it. Do you reckon someone paid for a hit through Lanvec? Or do you get the feeling they're doing it for themselves?"

"I doubt our friends are involved," Jo answers that with too much certainty. "Not unless one of them was ordered to off the harper, and I seriously doubt somethin' like that would've gotten past me. Wait...Lanvec's meddlin'?" She gets to that part now to eye her wingleader for a moment in the pause before tacking on, "Ya think this's got our prints all over it?" Yes, that sounds skeptical from her, even as she considers it as she says it before she finally shakes her head and says, "Nah, I don' think so. Ya know how we operate, darlin'. If it were ours, that harper's body wouldn't've been found." It's blunt and cold, but it's spoken like a hard fact. "There's others around these parts that can pay for a hit. I even know of a few of them. Greenfields ain' the only one, so, it could've been anybody with a hankerin' to get paid. What's the deal with ya and Aishani?" She's picked up on that look whenever she brought up the goldrider's name and is now calling it out.

Taikrin sags very slightly against Szadath's bulk, prompting the brown to angle a spring-green look at Jo. "No, Not seriously. I just had to be sure I wasn't missing something here about the whole thing. Between Nabol and High Reaches and whatever the shells happened down at Fort--" Taikrin spreads her hands wide, then shakes her head. "It's all a disaster. Don't you worry about me and Aishani. It's fine. I don't like her being-- well. It ain't a thing for you to worry over. It's fine," she repeats for emphasis. "It would be real nice if we could figure out which one of these almost-heirs ordered the hit, though. Might make for a nice present, if you follow me."

Studying her from where she leans, there's a mixture of bemusement and keen interest in Jo's gaze. "I'll admit," she says after a while, her words slow and carefully chosen, it seems, "that I've been keepin' myself out of such affairs. The things I've told ya were brought to me by folks that don' even want their names attached to it. Since the pirate incident over at the Reaches hold, I thought it best to keep a low profile, especially with Greenfields' name bein' tossed in all over the place. I've been makin' sure the rest of them here have been keepin' their heads down, too. Ain' our business'n all of that. Unfortunate what went down at Fort, but that shit ain' happenin' here," she adds now with a touch of possession. "I got Shani's back, and I'm sure Z's got Azaylia's. Ya don' like her bein' involved?" she probes on the goldrider anyway, like she's wont to do. The last she turns to now, though, giving it a nod and a, "Yeah, it could. Yer proposin' somethin', Taikrin?"

"Holders getting uppity is happening everywhere," Taikrin corrects, her seriousness at odds with Jo's dismissal of the Fort situation. "Fort or here. Most important thing we have to do is to keep the Holds in line. Last thing we need is some holder here deciding he can hold one of our goldriders for a whim. I'd hate to have to burn down a hold as old as some of ours." She doesn't even pretend that she's joking; her demeanor is still stone-serious. "I want you to keep keeping your ear out. I want to know if we've got trouble before it comes to our door. It's still Glacier's job to be taking care of the goldriders, whatever we tell them. I need to know if you get even a whiff of Lanvec trying to pull something, or if you hear something else we can use. Okay? I can put you on 'long sweeps' to give you time."

"It's been brewin' for a long time now," Jo notes, her ease with any situation beyond the Weyr a common occurrence from her. "Ya think the Weyr should get involved then," she surmises from something said, giving Taikrin a look of interest, "like certain others about here? How do ya keep'em in line, these holds, eh? I was told from Aishani that one of our wingmates, Alida, might have some ideas on keepin' our weyrwomen safe so that what happened in Fort doesn' happen here," she adds when Fort is brought up, straightening a bit. "Might be somethin' we can look into with her." There's an incline of her head to the instructions given though, the bluerider falling silent as she takes it in. There's a bit of an uncomfortable silence when Lanvec's name is heard, but it might be hard to detect with Jo's poker face expression in present. Instead, "Long sweeps would be ideal," she seems to muse over that, nodding once. "I'd appreciate it, darlin'. I'll keep my ear open, as always. Send what's good yer way. Who knows what I'll hear in the bars in the area."

"No, I don't want us getting involved in anything if we can help it. But I want to be prepared if we get involved. Fine line. Don't you do nothing or say nothing to nobody, yet. Just keep your ears open-- do what you do." She looks up to Szadath, and the pair are silent for a long moment. "Possibly. Alida's got the right sort of background for it, but..." Whatever doubts she might have, she doesn't elaborate on them to Jo. "I'll talk to her." The 'her', in this case, is deliberately ambiguous and followed by a quick subject shift. "Got anything else for me, while you've got me?"

When Taikrin looks to Szadath, Jo looks to him, too. "Fine, fine," she gives on the first. "Ya know me. What need do I have to get involved in hold affairs for free?" She could be joking, though, it's hard to tell since it's deadpan. On Alida, "I'd be interested in hearin' what she has to say on the matter," she says with open easiness and a half-shrug. "Can' hurt. Ya'll talk to her." She puts that out there, pointing at the deliberate ambiguity with a look that has her pushing away from the rock. "Got nothin' else for ya. Ya know who ya need to go to. Are ya dismissin' me now?" Her chin drops as she fits a look on the brownrider for her abruptness, her tone droll. "Wingleader?"

For a moment, Taikrin manages to remain stern and serious and leaderly. But then she snorts and swats at the air in Jo's general direction. "Dismissed. Go on, get out of here. Szad says there's a green about to go up, but he won't tell me who. Go get a piece, yeah?" Since apparently neither of them will be going, despite the eagle-eye Szadath has fixed on a certain ledge halfway up the far wall. "I'll see you for drills in the morning."

"And miss out on bashin' in a mug of dirty ale to someone's head? Think I'll pass," Jo murmurs as she uncrosses her arms and starts heading back towards her dragon. "Headin' back out soon, anyway. Ya know my night's too early to be done. See ya, boss." With a backhanded wave, she makes it to Tacuseth and it doesn't take long before the pair of them drop from the stones and Between in a blink.