Difference between revisions of "Logs:Sharing the Sands"

By late afternoon, those who started out the day egg-watching have either been summoned elsewhere or have realised just how dull it can be, and though the galleries aren't exactly empty, there are only pockets of people scattered about, with plenty of space on each and every row. In-fact, the whole of the row of seating closest to the Sands is free of people who have wandered along to idly stare or seek a few minutes away from the cold. Maybe it's that Hattie is there in that front row, right at the edge of the Sands, toes of her boots touching pale sand. The reason why is likely obvious: Elaruth is almost exactly opposite her, between the two clutches, like she doesn't know which to tend to.

Above, Isyath circles low over the Weyr. During winter the thermals are barely present in the weak afternoon sunlight, but she's making the most of what's there. Ali, looking like she just woke up, is hurrying in from the bowl, her shawl clutched tightly around her to block out the wind until she reaches the warmth of the galleries, letting it hang loosely around her while she gets her bearings. Her eyes immediately fall on Elaruth, a mixture of uncertainty and strain surfacing, before she hurries down to the lowest row to Hattie's side. "I'm sorry- I must have fallen asleep. I can- call her down to tend her clutch, if it'll make it- easier-" clearly, she's not sure what will make things easier, judging by the chewing of lower lip.

Elaruth's blue-green gaze roams from Hattie to Ali, not that it's all that clear that her attention wanders at all, given that she doesn't need to move her head the least bit to keep both of them comfortably in her line of sight. "She thinks that Isyath's eggs need moving; that they've been as they are for too long," Hattie sighs, without looking away from her queen. It's impossible to tell whether she's keeping her from the eggs that aren't hers or Elaruth has hesitated and sat there, concerned, all on her own. "If you want Isyath to do it, I'll go out there with Elaruth to keep her... distracted. Otherwise..." She gives a tight, helpless shrug. "She can do it."

"I-" Ali looks uncertain, mostly watching Elaruth as if she can determine the queen's preference, before exhaling and looking at Hattie. Isyath whirls, briefly, overhead, her shadow visible, before she disappears again, her path unwavering. "If she can- do it," the junior's twisting fingers against the edge of her shawl, looking ill-at-ease even as she says it. "That might be- easiest."

Looks like Hattie's the one responsible for stopping Elaruth, for the moment that Ali's answer is either heard through borrowed senses, or processed in her rider's mind, the little queen falls into motion again and begins to slowly pad her way over to Isyath's eggs, though not without aiming a long look back at her own. With that decision made by one of them, the Weyrwoman gives another sigh, lips pursing like she might say something, but the words don't find their way free and she simply retreats back to a seat a few feet away, next to which sits her satchel and an abandoned jacket. She sits, back rigid and shoulders squared, then blurts out, "You need to tell me whether to just let her get on with it or not."

"I don't- Issy should be tending them," Ali says, with certainty, glancing over her shoulder a moment to follow Hattie's movement. "But- having her on the sands seems to distress Elaruth, and I-" her fingers twist around her shawl again; she stands rigid at the edge of the sands watching Elaruth for a beat. "Once her clutch hatches, it'll be- easier." In the skies above, Isyath makes another pass, though the queen doesn't divert at all despite the senior's path towards her own clutch.

"She doesn't want her near her eggs," Hattie answers bluntly and unapologetically, folding her hands in her lap. "But I can make her leave them. I did before and I can do it again." And that is flat, without any emotional inflection at all. "If Elaruth is the sole reason that Isyath isn't here, then I can make her leave, but don't-" She frowns and darts her gaze back across to her lifemate, who nears one of the smaller eggs and uses her front paws to carefully pull down the low walls of its sandy cradle. "Don't say it's all on her if it isn't."

Eventually, Ali averts her eyes from watching Elaruth, pulling her shawl down and folding it up neatly. "You know Issy never wants to stay on the sands, if she can help it. This way seems to- suit both our queens." Elaruth looking after the eggs; Isyath not. "Even if it- isn't ideal for us." Certainly, the junior doesn't exactly look comfortable even despite the logical conclusion. Eventually she sinks into a seat next to the Weyrwoman, exhaling a low breath.

Hattie hasn't relaxed in the slightest, and while she might not watch Elaruth's every move, she keeps the pale queen in the periphery of her vision at the very least. "And I'm saying don't blame Elaruth for that if it isn't her fault," she reiterates, voice ever so controlled and even, though the tension evident in her isn't reflected in her gold. "If you'd rather she didn't interfere with them, I can try and keep her focus on her own eggs. It's not as if it would be very difficult." With the way she obsesses over them anyway. "With any luck, this won't ever happen again," she tells the Sands.

"I'm not-" Ali's answer comes out sharper than she means, and she takes a breath. "I'm not blaming Elaruth. She is what she is, just like- Issy is." With a brief press of lips, she murmurs, "As long as the eggs are being looked after- that's all that matters." She grows silent, and she's looking at Elaruth's clutch, not Isyath's. "It- may. One of Elaruth's egg is a queen." She's certainly not making assumptions about the gold-bronze egg in Isyath's clutch, even if others have.

"And if this queen has the same taste as the last one, maybe we'll end up sending her somewhere else too." Hattie surely can't mean that, to brand an unhatched gold and her unknown rider, but her less than charitable mood doesn't let her soften or take back the words once she's said them. "There are records of weyrwomen rumoured to have figured out ways to stop their queens and keep their cycles under their control. There's probably nothing to any of the stories, but if we're to have three or four queens..." She shrugs, though it's really more just a twitch.

"We can always send away the undesirables." It does sound like Ali's going for a joke, but then- it's not like she didn't do it, with the missing, during Isyath's last clutch. But it's clear she's more interested in the concept of controlling Isyath's cycle, straightening noticeably. "That would be- maybe I'll ask one of the harpers to look in the Hall's records. It'll give me something to- focus on."

"If you choose to do that once Elaruth's clutch has hatched, that's up to you." Yep, Hattie's missed the joke there, given that that statement was once based in fact. "As far as I'm concerned, if they've been Searched or sought permission, they can Stand. Even if one of her babies chooses someone I wouldn't, it's better than the possible alternative." Over on the Sands, Elaruth is nudging one of the eggs into the indentation she's made for it. "Elaruth's risen less frequently since she formed an attachment with Bijedth. Maybe that has something to do with it," Hattie supposes.

There's a slightly awkward wince, like Ali's aware the joke was missed and isn't about to draw attention to it. She's silent for a moment, before pushing to her feet. After a moment watching Elaruth, "Issy doesn't seem to- do that." Form an attachment, presumably. "I hope that doesn't-" she doesn't finish the thought, however, and there's a certain, perhaps unintended abruptness in the way she says, "I'll see what Shevena's preparing for dinner, and arrange something for you." She's already shaking out her shawl in preparation for the cold outside the galleries.

Perhaps it's the abruptness, or maybe it's the prospect of having something done for her, but whatever it is, Hattie shakes her head and starts to say, "Don't. I don't-" She takes deep breath and closes her eyes for a moment, trying to do something like force the tension in her frame to just /let go/, but she still doesn't relax. "I'm not incapable," she attempts, quietly and the tiniest bit more gentle. "I can manage. Look after yourself, not me." While Elaruth continues on, ignoring the both of them.

"I'm not saying you are. But I- I'm like Elaruth. I can't help but to mother," Ali glances towards the queen with fondness in the smile that follows. "And Iska's not here, so- you might just need to grin and bear it. For me." She settles the shawl around her shoulders, then adds, as if in response to her last comment, "I'll bring enough for both of us." And then she's making her way slowly up the stairs towards the bowl.

That must be an acceptable compromise, as Hattie doesn't argue any further and instead lets Ali have the last word on that subject. Whenever she returns, she'll find her back at the edge of the Sands, trying not to peel Elaruth away from Isyath's eggs.