Logs:Retirement Plans
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| RL Date: 9 August, 2013 |
| Who: Meara, N'ky |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| What: Meara and N'ky have a brief conversation the day after Meara's retirement. |
| Where: Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day {{{day}}}, Month {{{month}}}, Turn {{{turn}}} ({{{IP}}} {{{IP2}}}) |
| Mentions: April/Mentions, Quinlys/Mentions |
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| Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr
A large freshwater lake fed by a low waterfall, it not only provides warm-weather bathing space for humans and dragons, but has one end fenced off as a watering hole for the livestock in the feeding grounds. The water there is often muddier than the rest of the clear lake, whose shallows drop off abruptly several yards out into deep water, and whose edge undulates against the coarse-hewn bowl wall: here close enough to just be bramble-covered rocks, there far enough away that a narrow land bridge divides the main lake from a smallish pond. Between are several rocky outcroppings that form excellent makeshift diving points, though only one -- across the bridge -- has a set of narrow, slippery, quite possibly tempting stairs. Warm sunshine and cloudless skies make for a beautiful day and pleasantly warm evening. A breeze tempers the heat with no humidity lingering in the air.
Yesterday was Meara's sixty-fourth turnday-- today, this evening, is the first of her retirement, though it's yet to be formally announced and is known only through whispers and gossip. Isath has spent the day enjoying the sunshine on her ledge, and is now probably dozing away the evening, but her rider is out and about, the summer warmth ensuring she needs her walking stick only occasionally, and mostly because her chosen destination is the uneven ground of the sandy lakeshore. She's alone, for the moment, and apparently lost in her own thoughts. Cailluneth's blue-whirled eye spots the other greenrider, and N'ky raises his head from where it's resting against her smoky hide to blink over at Meara. His smile grows, and with a parting kiss to his green's nose he straightens up, tweaks at his wet swimming shorts to unglue them from his thighs, and barefoot-trots on over to meet his old Weyrlingmaster. A soft call, "Meara?", is intended to hopefully alert her of his approach, as he comes up from behind her. At the sound of her name, Meara stops and then turns, leaning her weight upon the walking stick as she does so. She smiles-- it's a genuine smile, one she matches with a cheerful greeting. "Hello, N'ky," she says, warmly. "Enjoying your evening? And life in the Wings?" "Hi." N'ky's smile is just as genuine, big, bright, and lopsided as it is. "It was too nice of an evening to want to go anywhere else," he replies with a gentle shrug, biting shyly on his lip. "Avalanche is ok - everyone's nice, duties are alright, I like Sisha and Kieri." There's an unspoken 'but', which he holds back on for a beat. "I miss Flurry, though. And Cirrus. A-and..." His voice drops a notch, and he leans in a little more towards Meara as he asks, "I heard... someone in the lower caverns said that you've...?" "Retired," says Meara, with emphasis - and it's not even remotely negative. Honestly, she sounds delighted. "It's always an adjustment; you'll get used to it all in no time, I'm sure. You wouldn't have graduated if you weren't ready - just remember that." She shrugs her thin shoulders and adds, "But still, an adjustment, I'm sure." "Retired," N'ky echoes, a slight frown briefly creasing his forehead as confirmation of the rumour sinks in. That Meara's happy about it turns his frown quickly around, so he's smiling. "It wouldn't be the same in Flurry without you, anyway." A little blush colours his cheeks. "What're you going to do now? Is Quinlys taking over completely? W-would you like to come, um, sit over by Cailluneth with me? I've got..." He looks over his shoulder to where his lifemate's happily curled up, the blanket still where he left it. "... a bit of dinner, if you'd like to share it?" "I'm sixty-four, N'ky," says Meara, with a laugh. "Don't you think it's time I stepped back and enjoyed myself? Left the hard work to someone else? It was my choice, and I'm glad for it." All those questions seem to amuse her, somehow, as does his offer. "Oh no, I won't interrupt your dinner. Besides, I'm out here to walk, not sit. I'm meeting friends, in a little while. Unless our new Weyrleaders decide otherwise, yes, Quinlys is taking over completely. I am going to - well, enjoy myself. Chase the sun, probably. Isath and I have earned it." N'ky nods, Meara's laugh making his smile grow. "So long as you're happy, Meara," he says warmly, "that's all that matters. Chasing the sun sounds... fun. There are so many things you could do... but will you join a wing? After? Maybe? A-and may I walk with you?" He offers his arm for her to take if she will. "Meara? Can I ask you something, um, m-more... more like wh-what I might've asked you before you retired?" Meara adds, after a thoughtful moment. "And then there are my grandchildren, of course. They're about your age, I think. Close enough. I've joined Sleet," the Veterans wing, "nominally, at least. Not that Sleet tends to have much by way of duties - we're retirees, and we're proud of it." She shakes off the offer of the arm, but seems content enough to walk with N'ky, saying, "Of course you may. I'm not sure how relevant my answer will be, now, but I'll answer what I can." "I think you give the best advice, whether you're, um, my Weyrlingmaster or j-just a friend," he seems a little shy in proposing as much, looking hopefully to Meara to see if he's right in thinking that they are as much. N'ky then draws a deep breath, preparing himself for what he's about to say; it's delivered slowly as he tries not to let his nerves bring up his stutter. "If someone, um... tells you they're... something, and that they're that way because of you, but you don't know if it's true, a-and you maybe... maybe upset them by saying you think they're wrong, wh-what would you do?" Meara neither confirms nor denies the 'friend' tag, though she smiles at N'ky. That smile fades into something more quizzical as she attempts to work through what he's asking. "I think," she says, finally, "that you would need to talk it out with them, and explain your reasoning, and try to... clear the air. As it were. But every situation is different. You need to do what you think is best." N'ky nods, though he doesn't seem entirely satisfied with the answer. "That's what everyone's said. Do what I think is best, which is what upset her." His nose wrinkles as he thinks, and he rubs at the back of his neck, ruffling fingers through his curls. Then he shrugs his shoulders, brushing it off. "It'll come right, I guess. So... what're your first plans, now that you're free of weyrlings forever? You could go to Ista. I've found this awesome bar there on the beach, where you can sleep on the sand if you have to and they have bonfires and bakes every night - and music, too." "Sometimes... it's not possible to avoid upsetting people, if you really believe something. But listen to what she has to say, and try and work things out between you. If you both listen, at least then you'll understand each other." Meara's silent for some seconds after that, finding it more difficult, it seems, to switch between topics. "Ista? Oh, I've been to Ista many times, N'ky, I assure you. And Boll, and Monaco, and... just about everywhere you can imagine. I think I'll see what I feel like." "I-if you wanted somewhere, um, quiet, and warm, you could, i-if you wanted, I mean, there's an island down South that, um, Cailluneth and I - and Norrick, too, now, I guess, we've sorta... turned it into an... ovine thing." N'ky's not sure how to describe it properly. "There's a beach that's just about big enough for Cailluneth to land in with her tail in the water, but there's plenty of open land. And it's sunny, mostly, and quiet, e-except for the ovines, but they won't bother you." Meara gives N'ky a relatively fond smile. "That's nice of you, N'ky, but I think I'll manage. I know plenty of places out there - plenty of places without ovines. Honestly, between the grandchildren and Isath and some friends I have, I'm sure I'll be keeping myself quite busy." She pauses, stretching, and admits, "I feel like I should have done this a long time ago - but it just wasn't time. No matter. I still have a few good turns left in me." "More than a few!" N'ky laughs as he pauses alongside Meara, smiling down at her. "My... thing, that I just asked you about? That... might make me a dad." His smile's still there as he says it, though it's a little forced due to his conflicted feelings. To avoid them, he skips right onto another topic altogether. "Do you remember that I thought, um, I might like to be an assistant weyrlingmaster, someday? Do you think Quinlys would want me for it? H-how long will I have to be a rider before I, um, c-could think about asking for it?" Presumably, Meara has already read between the lines to work out what N'ky has been talking about, because she nods. "If you are, I hope you'll do your best with it," she says, gently... though by rumour she's never been close to her own children. "I can't tell you whether Quinlys will or not, or when she'll consider it a possibility. Honestly, it varies from Weyrlingmaster to Weyrlingmaster. I think you'll have to talk to her, N'ky, and see what she thinks. Weyrlings and Weyrlingmasters are no longer my problem." "Right. Um... I-I'll see if I can maybe speak to her." As he runs his fingers through his curls again, pushing them back from his forehead, N'ky nods - as if trying to buck his own confidence to go and speak to the bluerider. "I... I think I'll have to be good as a f-father, um... b-because I c-can't be like mine is. It's just... I d-don't want to be one. Not now. And I know April's... s-she's been... y'know. We're not an exclusive thing. But I'll do my best, a-and what I think is right, because... she's still a friend. If she even is knocked up." He sounds like he doubts it. "Are your grandkids here in the Weyr?" Meara bites her lip, as if she's holding something back, and then she shakes her head. "Take a piece of advice, N'ky: don't give her any suggestion that you think she's lying. That way only leads to tears. My grandchildren? Oh no, they're spread out across Pern. Frankly, I'm not even entirely sure what it is they're doing... but I suppose I'll have to find that out, sooner or later." She glances back towards the bowl, and then smiles: "And there are my friends. I'm off, N'ky. Good luck with Avalanche." She has a group of riders around her own age to meet up with. Shaking his head, N'ky stammers a quiet, "O-oh, no, I wouldn't... no, I wouldn't..." His fingers knot in his hair again, and he looks concerned for a moment - until Meara says she's leaving. He looks up to where she's looking, then turns his gaze back to her and smiles. "Oh - yeah. Thanks, Meara... thank you. Um..." Pausing for a beat, he cants his head before continuing; "I-if you'd like to catch up over klah, sometime, I'd... I'd be available. I-if you want to. It's always nice speaking to you." Meara's fine brows raise, just slightly, but she ultimately smiles. "Perhaps," she says, noncommittally. "But surely you'll be busy with all your friends your own age. Have a good one, N'ky." She doesn't wait for a reply, though it's not as though she moves all that past, crossing back from the beach and towards the bowl. "You too," N'ky calls out after Meara. "Have a good evening." He stands to watch her leave for a moment before trotting back to Cailluneth, folding his long limbs to settle down on the blanket and finally get to eating that late dinner.
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