Difference between revisions of "Logs:Who's Got Guts (First)"

Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr (#880RIJs)
Standing on the western side of the bowl, the high crownlike spires of the Seven Spindles on the north wall tower majestically above the roughly ovoid bowl floor. Near you, a large boulder stands, placed almost exactly in the center of the bowl. This side of the bowl is busy with the constant flow of residents and visitors around the entrance to the living cavern to the southwest and the lower caverns to the west. To the north, the large opening on the upper wall leading into the hatching grounds catches your eye. Directly below it, the ground entrance to the same area seems almost tiny. To the northwest, the weyrs belonging to the junior queens of High Reaches are accessible from a short set of stairs and a path of carefully laid black marble leads from them to the entrance to the living cavern. To the south, a few ground weyrs remain unoccupied, in case any visiting or injured dragons need them.
The morning is clear and the sun shines brightly. A light wind blows and the summer air feels stiflingly hot.

Leova strides out into the clear hot morning, muttering mostly to herself. "Infirmary, errands, infirmary, errands." For once she doesn't have her jacket with her, and her sleeves are even pushed up.

They really need to stop meeting like this. Dagany is present, again, in the bowl. Doing what looks to be a lot of nothing. Or, well, he's doing a lot of curious inspecting. Of. Things. But hey, there's Leova! He must catch her out of the corner of his eye or something and it doesn't take him long to jog to catch up to her. "Hi!" Yes. It's him again.

Maybe they will. Tomorrow. But not today. And maybe Leova will even stop, but not right now, because she keeps walking with those long strides of hers. "Dagany," she says flatly. "What do you do around here? For work."

Dagany can do long strides, now that he's at pace with the candidate. "Oh, I-- I'm a trader. But I'm not." Because that makes sense. He stuffs his hands into his pockets and huffs a sheepish laugh. "You really wanna know? I could tell you if you-- if you wanna talk." Or stop walking. "Where are you going?" he asks then, in an amused, high-pitched voice.

"Not what?" Leova doesn't stop walking. She doesn't even slow down. Nor is she in the least out of breath, by now. "Dragon infirmary. Lesson." She tips her head across the bowl, more or less towards it. It could be misconstrued as an invitation.

Travel...

Leova slows as Dagany goes in first. What's a girl to do? Answer: not be late.

You walk past the enormous folding doors, into the dragon infirmary.
Dragon Infirmary, High Reaches Weyr
As you enter this huge stone building, your footsteps echo off the vast walls as your nose registers the scent of numbweed. Against the north wall of the infirmary, flanking a single door that leads to the Senior Dragonhealer's office, several large cabinets hold the majority of the supplies that any Dragonhealer would need. Large stone couches line the walls, recessed into the floor so that the human healers can easily reach their draconic patients. Huge vats of oil and several large barrels of fresh water stored around a huge pool of water are within easy access. Large folding doors to the southwest admit a refreshing breeze, clearing the medicinal smell from your senses for a moment.

Niena strides into the infirmary from the bowl.

Rilsa is in the far end of the infirmary, surrounded by a small group of novices as she shows them, by example, how to put together a syringe. At the sounds of the door opening and a series of loud footsteps, she turns to look and has an expression of surprise on her features at seeing the Candidate Invasion.

Fraya meanders into the infirmary from the bowl.

Aleudre comes into the infirmary admist the candidate hoarde that all singularly seem to have the same idea as him. He looks to his left and right at those gathered around and then shoots his brows down in a scowl. "M'idea first, I tell you..." And then Rilsa is spotted. He starts to slink towards her, all but stalking her without hailing his presence. He'll be first!

"Not as though it's a creative idea," Leova says, hard on his heels, and then not slowing when he does. She grins at him sidelong. "Since we're all here."

Heads turn toward the door as the Senior Dragonhealer's expression register surprise. There are whispers moving through the novice ranks.

And Dagany, completely not a candidate, trails in after Leova. And immediately wanders over to look at something. It looks important. And like he shouldn't be touching it. His hand slowly starts to creep towards it.

Niena senses "Leova whispers back over her shoulder, "Trick is, just getting our hands on it. That's all we have to do.""

Rilsa's eyes drift over the group and she notices Dagany and his creeping hand. "I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Her tone is deceptively innocent.

Fraya seems to be following the crowd, no particular reason. She's just following, her arms cross and she perks up once she notices where she is and glances around with an idle shrug of her shoulders. A glance towards Leova and Aleudre then towards Dagany and her brow quirks slightly.

Who knew Leova had a bright smile? She gives one to the novices even before saying, "Senior Dragonhealer! What a good morning." For the moment, she has her hands behind her back. See? Wouldn't touch a thing.

Niena comes in behind Leova, recently bathed, perhaps hastily, given that her clothes are somewhat disheveled.

What? Me? His eyebrows lift, his head turns slowly. Yeah, Rilsa definitely caught him. Frozen, arm outstretched, fingers reaching, posture bent forward, he looks to the brownrider first, then to the others near him. A sheepish grin forms and he straightens with a one-shouldered shrug. Aheh? He promptly pockets his hands and starts the awkward backstepping away from The Item.

Rilsais a suspicious sort - cynical to boot - so the influx is setting off her wary spider sense. "Yes, good morning. Lovely, isn't it?" The woman, with a flick of her hand and a slight smile, dismisses the novices to practice in the lab room and turns her full attention on the gaggle (or is it a murder or school or ...) of candidates and friend. "What can I do for you ... all?"

Aleudre gives up his stalking as Leova hails Rilsa. He heaves a sigh and then rolls his shoulder back. Hmph. He straightens and then looks around the infirmary. "Hm. I've never been here before. Felt like a tour." He looks suspiciously at Niena. "What're you doing here?"

"Lovely," Leova agrees, not letting whatever Dagany's up to distract her, and turning her smile up a notch as Aleudre starts interrogating her teammate. "You had mentioned a dragonhealing lesson? Maybe..." And as long as Aleudre is looking at Niena, she exaggerates a sewing motion, eyes wide on the brownrider. See what she means?

See Dagany over there being out of the way and not touching anything. And watching the candidates and the dragonhealer with very curious eyes indeed. His face is a blank mask of interest.

Niena says "Stable-mucking put me off my food, so when I heard about the lesson, I decided to skip lunch and sit in on it. As people keep reminding me, there is some possibility I'll impress, and I'll need to know how to care for a dragon if I do."

Aleudre blinks. "Yeah, but that's to be learned once the impression happens, right?" He turns back and catches Leova's gesture with a lifted brow. "Huhn. I say we try not to lie about why we're here." So stated, he turns to Rilsa and grins. "I can offer a trade, whereas these others," he jerks a thumb over his shoulder at the gathered crowd. "Just want you to be nice."

Niena blinks at Aleudre's words. "I don't know about you, but if my dragon is hurt I don't want to be just learning what to do."

Leova's Tillek accent thickens. "Don't you go accusing me of lyin', Aleudre." Not stepping so far forward that she can't keep an eye on him, she puts it plain to Rilsa. "That's two good reasons coming right together. But Niena and me, we've got everything else. You give us the catgut, Senior Dragonhealer, nobody else will be bothering you. Just put the roll in my hands, don't even have to cut anything off. And I still want to learn."

Rilsa crosses her arms, listening to the bickering with a raised brow. "My goodness. Interesting." is her only comment. Her expression is rather amused at the whole exchange. "If it is a lesson you want, the first lessons have nothing to do with catgut. Secondly, catgut is expensive so I can't just give you the roll ..." Her lips twitch to see just what they will do next. This is better than a harper play about the love life of Weyrwoman Deedrai.

The candidate relations certainly are fascinating. But Dagany's expression doesn't really suggest he's happy to see them behaving the way they are. Can't we all just get along? Disappointed, maybe a little, and trying not to show it, he pushes his mouth out and carries on.

Leova doesn't lose heart. Yet. She says promptly, "Give me the roll, we give it right back to you along with the rest of the things. Easy as that, don't even have to let it out of your sight. Right, Niena?"

Aleudre lifts both hands in defense against Leova's railing. "Tut, tut. I'm only saying." He drops his hands and crosses them in front of him. He nods his head at Rilsa and considers his answer for a moment. Then with a grin, he looks to her. "Well, I can under the expense of a thing. That's why I figure I'd just offer my services as a tailor in exchange for a snippet. Really. Or I'm sure Carisa can find a mark or two to pay for it..." Bribery works, right?

Niena once again lets her partner down, first with being so nice, now with being too honest. "I'd just as soon get to the lesson, even if no catgut is involved."

Addressing Leova, Rilsa asks. "If you got the roll right now, what would you do with it?" Aleudre's offer gets her attention and a slight smirk appears on her lips but she doesn't address him yet. Niena gets an approving look but nothing further.

Carisandra walks into the infirmary from the bowl.

Betrayed! Leova's about to argue with her teammate when Rilsa steps in. "Ma'am. I would take it, then give it back to you with all the rest of the things." As opposed to tying Aleudre up with it? "Rather have a lesson with it. But if it's too advanced for us, nothing we can do about that. Niena's a nanny. I'm a stablehand." And maybe she's arguing with her teammate anyway, in a way. Intensely, "She was telling me how tired she was, how much she wanted time off. No way we can compete on marks, if it comes to that. Just like we couldn't buy a firelizard egg. People who do jobs that earn more, nothing wrong with that. But, but we've tried hard. And... I wish it weren't just marks." She lets out the rest of her breath finally, a rush all at once.

Fraya watches the exchange quietly, crossing her arms. Her brows rising but she's not saying a thing for once, just silence. She scoots off towards the side, letting everyone work it out rather than stick her nose in the problem, for now.

Aleudre shakes his head. "Leova," he turns to her, attempting to rationalize with her. "All life is about marks. Have to have marks for the things you want, yeah? So you shoulda been saving, regardless of your positions, to have a secret stash for such instances." He grins, rocking back on his heels. "Or have a trade that's work hagglin' with, hm?"

"I don't think life's about marks," Dagany pipes up, maybe a little loud. And then he shifts, uncomfortable. Ahem.

Rilsa's eyes shift toward Niena to see her reaction to Leova's comments. After all, she seems to be the one that is speaking up without a hidden agenda ... so far. Aleudre's comment earns him a raised brow and another interested look. "Life is all about marks, is it? Interesting theory. So if you have marks, you have value? What happens if you don't have the right amount of marks, what happens to your value?"

"Now, now," Aleudre counters first Dagany with a curious look and then Rilsa's comments bring him up short. He snorts. "Don't twist my words around and slap them back in my face. If you want things in life, you often have to pay for them. You're not just going to get a nice gown, or a nice new riding outfit, just because you ask nicely, right? No. You have to pay for it. It's just how it works." He shrugs, looking at Niena and Leova before looking at the cabinet. "It's not that the person has value because of the marks, but they get what they want." Shrug.

Fraya smirks, tilting her head slightly. "You work for it.. If you don't have enough marks, you work for what you want." She points out, clearly from experience. Her shoulders shrug idly. "I don't know 'bout value or anything... But, you gotta work for your keep." She peers at Aleudre, smirking slightly. "Not everyone wants new clothes... Aleudre."

Popping into the infirmary to see if she can talk to Rilsa, Carisandra slides to a stop when she sees everyone else in there. "Um." She looks around, tries to decide whether she's in line or not. She knows why they're all here and she throws a quick grin at Aleudre before sidling over and whispering something to him. She doesn't hear Aleudre's remarks about life being about marks but she does catch Rilsa's reply and does a double take to stare at him when he answers back. Finally she turns to Rilsa. "Rilsa Ma'am, do you have any old cat gut not worthy of healing that you might be throwing it? If it's still recognizable as cat gut?"

Niena shrugs at Leova's outburst. Apparently her imaginary potential dragon got hurt very badly. "I'll wait around for the lesson, then. Here, take this." She hands Leova the cloth napkin bundle. Those who've gotten perfume from her will recognize this as one of the dining hall napkins she's been dabbing the stuff on for others.

But. "But. There's lots of stuff in life worth having you don't need to pay for." Dagany shifts his glance around the room, one candidate at a time, and furrows his brow. Hm.

Leova narrows amber eyes at Aleudre, taking a sudden step towards him. But maybe it's Dagany's distraction for that one critical moment, less the words than just the fact of that high voice, that maintains her self-restraint. "Old catgut, that would work too," she says tersely, taking the bundle without really looking at Niena. "Please."

Aleudre whispers in return to Carisa, looking sidelong at Niena.

Rilsa's other brow lifts at Aleudre's abrupt response. "I'm not twisting anything." She calmly responds. "I was asking a question is all since you said all life is about marks. I'm fascinated in human nature -- so learning what is making you tick is quite intriguing. Indeed." Now Carisandra's request gets her attention right off the bat, a slight smile appearing on her lips. "Interesting. As a matter of fact, I do have unused catgut rejects that I can offer. Some of value but absolutely worthless. Who is your partner in this hunt, Esha ... I mean, Carisa."

Still slightly unsettled, but silent again, Dagany gives Leova a very brief look. Very brief. Really.

Fraya uncrosses her arms, making her way from her little spot on the wall with a hum. She smiles pleasantly, moving past the other candidates towards Caris and she smiles at Rilsa. "Ma'am, if I may get some as well? I'll be out of here rather quickly." She smiles, tilting her head. "I don't have anything to offer." She peers at Aleudre quietly, giggling to herself.

Carisandra glances sidelong at Aleudre. "Well Ma'am. The partner I was assigned is Aleudre. I have to admit, I don't agree with his philosophy of life." She shrugs. "But then I grew up in a family who had other philosophies. I think they're philosophies?" she frowns a little, then shrugs again in a 'to each his own' manner. She grins at Fraya as she asks for the old useless gut.

Aleudre shrugs his shoulders. "What can I say? I am who I am." He doesn't comment any further, since his partner seems to be working quite well without his input.

Rilsa, in turn, eyes each Candidate and Dagany slowly, her expression is unreadable. "I see." is her response for the moment. She turns her head momentarily toward the locked cabinet before returning to gaze at the group in general. "So, I have one Candidate who is sincerely interested in 'healing and is willing not to get gut to get it. I have one Candidate who feels everyone and thing has a price. I have one Candidate who came up with a solution that would work for all parties. I have 2 Candidates who have come around to the new solution." This is said conversationally. "Out of curiousity, have you considered working WITH your partner -- I mean, really working?" The latter is said with something akin to amusement.

Niena says "Sort of like we have to work with our dragons if we impress?"

Leova's eyes spark. She looks over her shoulder at Niena: hadn't they been working together? and then back again with arms crossed. But at least she has the sense to not say anything. So far.

Fraya giggles softly, shrugging her shoulders. "My partner isn't here. We've split the tasks accordingly." She smiles pleasantly, shrugging her shoulders. "I could always come back, ma'am." She beams a happy smile then glances back at the other candidates.

Aleudre nods his head. "Well sure, you should work with your partner. But Carisa and I just happened to come in at different points. I didn't want to stall, so I started without her." He shrugs, "But we're working together now, yeah? By each having two ideas to better each other."

Carisandra blinks and her face goes blank for a few seconds before she turns to look at Aleudre as he answers. She can't help grinning. "What he said. And we're splitting some of our list as well because it'd be silly for both of us to go grab something that's available."

"Like that, yes." Rilsa says to Niena, before sighing dramatically and rising to her feet. Wandering over to her locked healing cabinet, she reaches into her pocket for the key to the lock and proceeds to rummage through the box of catgut remnants to get the required 4 inches for each pair. "Sometimes all it takes is an honest request to get something. Sometimes it requires marks for payment. Sometimes it requires a favour. It all depends on the situation." With that, she turns back with the catgut, extending her hand to the Candidates, waiting for one partner to grab it. "However, this does have a cost. I expect each of you to attend the advanced dragon care class whether or not you Impress. Deal?"

Niena replies "Deal." She doesn't reach for the catgut, though.

Leova's nod is slow, short, eyes still simmering but she puts her arms down to her sides. "What are the... the classes you have to take first, ma'am?"

Aleudre looks likely to argue the point but he stops himself short as he looks to Carisa. It would seem that despite rumors, he -might- care about other people's feelings. "All right, ma'am. I'll attend it." He lets Carisa reach for the catgut though.

Rilsa says "Basic and advanced both require attending a class to learn about the herbs, what the dragon's anatomy is like and how to help someone during a brief emergency. Two classes, each take 2 candlemarks."

Carisandra's face lights up into a wide grin. "Deal Ma'am." She steps forward and reaches for the gut. "I've been wanting to ask about dragon healing but Mom said you were kind of picky about who you trained." She throws a glance over her shoulder. "Want yours Fraya?"

Fraya nods her head, smiling. "Should be interesting, ma'am. I'll attend." She smiles and nods at Carisandra, giggling. "Yea, that'd be great, Caris."

And, in the end, it looks as though Leova can agree after all. "That I can do." She reaches for the catgut when it's offered.

Rilsa chuckles at Carisa. "I'm picky about advanced ranked training, yes. Basic and common sense training, I think everyone should have some." She looks fully at Niena before adding. "You should consider, definitely, going through the ranking one in the future."

Niena nods solemnly. "Even if I don't impress, it would certainly be something different than just being a nanny."

Carisandra takes the second piece and hands it to Fraya. "There you go. Niena, you need yours?" Nodding in Rilsa's direction, she adds "I look forward to it. Thank you Ma'am." She offers the gut to Aleudre. "Since you have the other things, you should probably hold on to all of it."

Leova swings her head to look at Niena, her mouth compressed.

Aleudre takes the gut and stashes it into a nondescript looking pouch on his belt. He looks to Carisa and then to Niena. "Don't have everything yet. Didn't we need perfume or some-such-thing?"

Niena nods. "Weyrwoman Satiet gave me a bit to parcel out so you needn't bug her. I'll give it to you after the lesson."

Leova says tersely, "Here. Niena. Take this." She hands the other candidate the entire package, catgut and all, careful to do it quickly: don't want it intercepted. "You do it."

Carisandra blinks. "Oh! Sorry Leova. I lost track of who is teamed up with who. Whom? Whatever." and she shrugs a 'whatever' shrug. "Sorry." and she looks back at Niena. "Lesson right now? Sure!" she looks back over at Rilsa. "Really?"

Aleudre does not look thrilled. "We have chores to do, don't we?" He looks between the girls and then to Rilsa. "I do at least. I sort of left them undone to come here in the first place."

Niena squares her shoulders and walks up to Rilsa. "Since this is getting in the way of getting anything done -- here is Leova's and my hunt items, ma'am."

Fraya glances at Niena with a smile, nodding her head. "If I could get some, Niea? Whenever you can?" She smiles pleasantly, then frowns. "Shells, I forgot what I have to do as chores today..."

Leova gives Carisandra a blank look that focuses only after a moment. "Don't worry about it." Whatever it is.

Rilsa hears her name from the doorway with a frantic novice waving at her. "If you all will excuse me. Duty calls." With that, she nods to the group, offering them a genuinely warm smile and heads out quickly.

Niena sighs and says "Ah well, back to mucking again. I hope she gives a lesson after chores today."

Rilsa goes home.

Leova steps back, her gaze distant. Her hands stretch, squeeze, stretch again.

Carisandra calls "Thank you Rilsa Ma'am" quickly then looks at Aleudre. "What is left on our list?" as she heads back out into the bowl.

Aleudre hhmms, peering around at the still gathered group of candidates. He grins as Rilsa leaves and looks to Carisa. "Well, we've got one thing. We just need that perfume from Niena, then I say we go take a break, hm?" He grins crookedly. "Uh, other than these two.. we have that one I got... so.. a few more, I think."

There is a max exodus.