Difference between revisions of "Logs:Of Hard Truths"

Your location's current time: 22:19 on day 28, month 12, Turn 59, of the Tenth Pass. It is a winter evening.

You stroll up the stairs to the residents' quarters. Common Room(#868RJLs) This small cavern has the crisp smells of a recent cleaning, mingled with its more usual smells of klah, woodsmoke, and people. Baskets of glows are scattered about the room, lighting up dark corners and generally providing a cozy atmosphere. Several chairs sit at a large, round table, and more chairs are against the walls, waiting for use. A large, soft fur is spread out in front of a small stone hearth which keeps the cavern warm for its occupants. Views: South Wing East Wing Balcony Contents: Dassah Obvious exits: Headwoman's Office Steward's Office Children's Wing DORmitory Lower Caverns

Evening has come to the wintry Weyr, and people continue to spend more and more time in crowded places; many bodies make for less cold, and as winter settles in cold is something everyone is seeking to mitigate. As such, the common room of the residents dorms is more crowded than would be seen on a similar night in summer. One of the people taking advantage of this shared heat is Dassah, who is sitting at one of the seats at the large table. She has a quill in her hand, a sheet of parchment in front of her, and a look of concentration on her face as she looks down at the letter she is meant to be writing.

R'hin's prowling the Weyr with apparent restlessness; a glass of wine held in one hand, the other shoved into the pocket of his pants. The few greetings he gets here and there earn brief nods, but he doesn't stop, circling around the common room as if looking for something - or someone. Not finding whatever he's searching for, he looks about to step back out when he catches sight of Dassah. With a pause, he studies her silent a moment, then alters his path towards her. No announcement of his presence; he merely steps up, shamelessly looking over her shoulder. "Helps if you put the quill to the page," he murmurs in a low, helpful voice.

Dassah is startled, and looks up at him with a sharp frown. "Sometimes, that is the hardest part." Relnting some as her surprise eases, she follows onto that with something closer to explanation. "It also usually helps, sir, if you know what to write. And in this case, I admit that I am at a complete loss. I've never been great with letters to begin with."

"I find," R'hin begins, inviting himself to interrupt, "That 'hello' is often a smashing start." Lips twist a little wryly, and he shifts his stance a little; not so much in her personal space anymore, leaning against the back of one of the empty chairs, lifting glass to his lips. Pale eyes are on Dassah as he observes a moment later: "Family is especially difficult, I'll grant you. Particularly if you don't know them."

And again she is startled, though this time it is resolved with her eyes narrowing a bit at him. "Yes, it is. And you continue to surprise me with your insight." She sets her quill down, then turns to face him a little more. "How did you know? I mean, I've not exactly made a secret of it, but I haven't been loud about it either. And, since you seem to know... What .do. you say to the family you never knew you had?"

"It's less nefarious than you might suspect." R'hin says, with a twitch of lips. "I went to see your-- sister, yesterday. She told me." There's perhaps an odd change of tone as he speaks of Kali, a deliberate evenness. Brows flicker up in surprise at her query, the answer - for him - coming swiftly enough: "You ask why."

Dassah sighs and shakes her head. "I've been thinking about that, and from what I've pieced together, I can pretty much answer the /why/. Which makes it... All the harder, as no matter what Kali says... I'm not sure my contact with them will do anything but cause more trouble and bring her more paint." She looks down, away rom him and towards the unstarted letter. "I don't think it will be the tonic she thinks it will."

R'hin's gaze, too, shifts towards the parchment, briefly, then back to Dassah. "Once you open that door, it will be impossible to close it again. Family's family. If you name them such, you'll have to accept all the wonderful and terrible things that result from it." The words seem oddly dramatic for the Weyrleader, and it's accompanied by a flourish of his glass. "Being able to call Kali sister, however, would not be a terrible thing."

"She seems nice." Dassah says, carefully. "Intense, but nice. I already wrote her once, and hope that we'll get the chance to meet more soon when things aren't so... Intense." Her cheeks go pink. "She might have mentioned that she didn't get the warmest of receptions. I... It was right after the hatching, a day or two, and... She was very intense about it all." A sigh and she looks back up. "But, from what I can gather, my... /Our/ father was already commited when I was conceived. So, it's not surprising he wanted nothing to do with me."

"She has... changed, since I first knew her," R'hin says, the words slow, carefully chosen. He seems to mull on that for a moment, before saying, "She seemed certain you would stay on, here?" There's a faint tip of head, quizzical as he regards the woman.

Dassah tilts her head. "Changed?" She asks, curiously. "I only met her the once so far, and... Yeah. Intense is the best word I can use." She picks up the quill, as much to have something to play with with her fingers as anything. "And yeah, I'm really planning on staying, though I admit it's been hard since the hatching. I don't get to see what friends I have often, and I haven't been able to find anything that's actually useful to do, beyond the same kinds of chores we did as Candidates. Sirana hasn't had time to meet with me."

R'hin gives a faint, almost forced sort of smile, shaking his head. "She's a little different, that's all," is all he seems inclined to say. His free hand rests on the back of the empty chair as he drains his glass, staring at it musingly. "It can't be easy," he agrees. "After being in the barracks. They're often down at the lake, bathing in the afternoons," he offers, casually, the latter earning a more interested regard, "Ah, that's unfortunate. Mm. Well, Dassah, what -can- you do?"

Dassah looks curious, but lets the subject of Kali drop, running the figners of one hand along the quill while the other hand holds it. "I get out when I can, and i have had reasonable success at running into some of them, especially Charis. The rest, not so much." She shrugs. "But, that's to be expected with weyrlings, and it's not like I can /blame/ them for anything. It... Does give me a lot more understanding into the leftovers, back at Southern. Still..." A shrug. "What can I do? Hmm. More, what can't I, I guess. Can't cook, you already saw my best efforts there. Can't deal with children. Other than that, never found anything I couldn't do if I put my mind to it. Good with my hands, good with letters, with numbers. Mother was an assistant to Southern's headwoman, and I helped her a lot in the last few turns, so..." She shrugs.

R'hin's low chuckle at Dassah's mention of her cooking skills is agreement, head tipped thoughtfully. "Well, I've no doubt we'll find something for you to do. Seems a shame to waste such abilities, and I'm not one to let that happen, if I know about it. You'll let me know how your talk with Sirana goes?"

"Assuming it ever does." Dassah says, nodding. "But I will certainly keep trying to corner her." A smirk. "And until then, well, got plenty of lessons on tasks to do as a candidate, so I'll continue putting them to good use. And trying to figure out if I really do want to meet my father. At least I can't say my life has been uneventful since coming here." She says, with a mirthless laugh.

"Oh, she'll find you eventually," R'hin assures, with a flick of his hand. "Things have settled down a bit more, now that the hatching's over with." A twitch of lips answers her last statement, head tipping. "Eventful is not a bad thing. In fact, some people -crave- change."

Kali wanders up the stairs from the caverns below. Kali has arrived.

Dassah makes a face. "I'm not the change-craving type, and I've had enough of it to last me... Well, probably the rest of my life, though at least a good few turns." She shakes her head, "But, it doesn't seem up to me. Yeah, I'm sure she'll track me down eventually, and we'll see from there." She taps at the blank parchment a moment. "Still. I'm happy for the weyrlings, all of them. They are good people."

Kali pokes her head into the room and smiles. "One of the riders in the bowl said I'd find out here, Dassah." she says, a look cast to R'hin is unreadable. She keeps the look on him for a moment before turning back to Dassah, "I'm so sorry I didn't come sooner. I was getting all prepared to come visit you yesterday and...someone..." she glances at R'hin, "Decided to show up at my weyr unannounced." a smile to Dassah. "I hope I'm not interupting anything?" she asks suddenly

"Dangerous words to say, Dassah. You tempt fate." R'hin says, with a curl of lips. He's leaning against the back of an empty chair beside Dassah, and empty wineglass in his hand. As to her comment of the weyrlings, he says, blandly, "We'll see." Kali's arrival earns a surprised look, brows twitching upwards at both the look and the pointed comment. "You didn't complain, at the time," he observes blandly, turning his body slightly to face the Igenite greenrider, casting a glance back towards Dassah.

Dassah is sitting in a chair next to R'hin, a blank letter in front of her that remains untainted by ink as she speaks to the Weyrleader. At Kali's voice, she looks over with a small smile. "Hello, Kali. It's ok, it's not like I was expecting you. Please, come in and join us?" She looks back to R'hin, "Don't much believe in fate, I admit. So I don't mind tempting it if need be. I just say what is true, and worry about the rest as it comes."

Kali glares at R'hin for a moment. "I did, when you felt it was ok to insult me." she says to him in a soft voice and there is a pause, "But perhaps you were only speaking the truth and I do apreciate honesty in a friend." she offers him a smile, shy perhaps, but not flirtatious. Turning to Dassah, "And I am sorry about that, but I had time to slip away and I had hoped I might be able to catch you, if not to talk at least to set a time to do so." she smiles and nods at the offered seat, taking it.

R'hin's eyes linger on Kali, a faint smile touching his lips as he queries overly politely, "Feeling better, are we?" Her words earn a tip of his head, a distinct sense of puzzlement from the Weyrleader. Bland tones bespeak cool response: "I did what was necessary." He remains standing, turning the empty wineglass around in his hands as he flashes a faint smile at Dassah. "For one who professes no great love of change, your words seem to suggest little care for bringing it about."

Dassah looks between the two, a small frown of discomfort tugging at her lips at their interplay. She looks over at her sister and simply nods. "Well, it is nice to see you, regardless. I hope you recieved my letter ok? I... Wasn't sure, really, what I should say, but I did my best." She looks at R'hin curiously. "I am not quite sure what you mean, sir? How do they suggest that?"

Kali doesn't really smile at R'hin, but she isn't being cold either, "I'm bruised, and I think I have a scratch on my shoulder, but I'm not sure." though she's pretty sure that's not what he was talking about. "You did. And though at the time I was certainly upset at you, you did give me much to think on. Now, I do believe we are being rude to my sister." she smiles at Dassah at calling her her sister. "Change? Dassah?" she smiles, "Sounds like you've had plenty of that lately." she nods. "Yes, I did, thank you for writing, and it was very nice."

Whether or not it's what R'hin is asking about, he accepts the answer Kali gives with an even nod of his head, and perhaps even a curious quirk of brow. He doesn't ask, however, instead straightening. Dassah's query earns a lift of his hand in gesture, "You say what you think without regard for the consequences - when those consequences could be what brings change on you?"

"Would seem to me." Dassah says, in reply to them both, "That that would be why I've had so much of it this last turn, isn't it? I think you would be hard pressed to say I am the same person as when I arrived here, really." A cold smile, and she looks over towards Kali. "I will try to do so more often, if you like." She motions at the blank parchment, "I was just debating what I would say, were I to write our father." The blank parchment rather implies the success she hasn't had at it.

Kali catches the look from R'hin. "I think I may have indeed been headed down that path, but it's not what I want. You pointed that out to me, so I can be more aware." she offers as explaination. Turning to Dassah she frowns, "I don't know either... maybe we could write it together? Seeing as he won't speak to me and all." a smile is flashed.

Pale gaze is even on Kali, the faintest tip of heads, but no warmth from the bronzerider. As attention is brought back to the blank parchment and the topic of family, R'hin apparently uses it as suitable reason to withdrawn. "My glass is empty," he says, as if only just noticing it, "And I'd best see to that." He flickers fingers by way of farewell, heading for the stairs without a backwards glance.

You stride down the stairs to the caverns below.