Logs:Optimistic Pessimism
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| RL Date: 27 October, 2012 |
| Who: Brieli, K'del |
| Type: Log |
| What: The dumbwaiter in K'del's weyr is still broken. Woe, etc. |
| Where: Kitchen, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 4, Month 2, Turn 30 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Azaylia/Mentions, Iolene/Mentions |
| Kitchen, High Reaches Weyr Polished marble and granite surfaces, gleaming metalwork and pale woods characterize the vaulted fastness of the kitchen. Several large hearths gape red-mouthed against the outer wall of the cavern, their fires almost always stoked for the constant cooking the Weyr requires to feed its denizens. Sinks line the wall to one side of the hearths, providing ample space to wash large quantities of dishes, while to the other, cabinetry and a deep pantry provide storage space for items commonly needed on a day-to-day basis. The remaining wall space is taken up by passageways and extra seating: swinging doors that lead variously to the main living cavern, the inner caverns and the storage rooms, a counter-height pass-through for food service to the Snowasis, and a series of nooks equipped with tables and benches for quick, out-of-the-way meals any time of day. It's a chilly, snowy night, which might make the kitchens so inviting this evening - the warm, cheery hearths, the smells of dinner that's still being served out, the murmur of conversation over cleanup and prep for the next day. Brieli could make her way into the chaos for any number of reasons - checking in on the work, making sure that food is coming out often enough - but her visit doesn't seem to be of any import by the way she takes her time in entering. She'll even pause to filch a warm roll from the trays, before chatting with some of the prep workers idly. The dumbwaiter that allows the kitchens to have meals delivered directly to the Weyrleader's Weyr has been broken for a couple of sevens now-- if it's not one bit of the mechanics, it's another, rather as though it's determined to stay broken. No doubt that's why K'del enters the kitchen not so many steps after Brieli, lugging with him the case that - before a quiet, familial and early dinner with Iolene and K'del's children - contained all kinds of tasty things. "Didn't think it was fair to make anyone come back," he begins, apparently without having noticed the goldrider. Then: "Oh. Brieli. Ladies." All of them get a warm, friendly smile, no preferential treatment. The aforementioned ladies are quite pleased with the return of the case without trekking through the snowy bowl; one of them whisks it away with a smile and thank you for the Weyrleader beforehand. The others offer smiles in return as well, though they don't really pause in their work - thankfully, Brieli does pause in her roll-eating before noting, "Kind of you to not send someone out in the dark and cold. Is that still not fixed?" Apparently, she's aware of the issue and it bothers her - enough to draw fine brows together. "Perhaps I'll have a word with the Smiths." "It didn't seem fair," is K'del's apparently genuine reply. "Really, we could have just walked through the bowl for dinner ourselves," and, after all, this is something they've been doing most nights, "but with the kids..." He lingers, digging his now-empty hands into the loose pockets of his jacket. "Still not, no. They keep saying they think they've got it, and then... no. No, they haven't. Guess it's pretty old, probably, but still." "Given the choice between unfair and cold, I might decide on 'unfair', myself. I'm sure it's appreciated." Brieli seems certain of that; even as she glances around, the place seems busier. Tearing off a piece of her roll, she wonders, "Does the cold have anything to do with it, do you think? I suppose they'd mention it if it did... either way, I'll see what the issue is. Or ask Azaylia to, perhaps. They might feel more... kinship there." With a shrug - either way - "I hope things are well otherwise." "Kins-- ah, because she used to be a crafter. One of them," K'del hazards, making the connection almost as soon as he's finished the first syllable of his question. "That's a good idea. Know we'd all appreciate it, definitely. Thank you." He doesn't seem to have an answer as to whether the cold is part of the cause, nor does he pick up that thread about fairness - or lack thereof. Instead, "Yes, things are well. Well enough. Trying to get out of my family using Cadejoth as a beast of burden, but that's nothing new. How about you?" Offering a bit of a nod and a smile for that, "Anything that helps." Brieli takes a moment to eat her bit of roll before, "I'm not sure that it'll work, but worth a go, yes? If it does, perhaps she'll have to speak to them all the time." Not that she's making decisions, but if it makes sense... She has an arch of fine brows for the bronze being used for such a beast, but she only admits to K'del, "Sometimes, I wonder if it's easier to not have family, when people mention things like that. At least my free time is my own. And we're well enough ourselves, though this winter seems colder. It might just be that I didn't notice before." K'del withdraws one hand from his pocket to run through hair that is damp with melted snow. "It may help them, knowing they have an... ally, I suppose. We haven't had a crafter weyrwoman in... I don't know who the last one was." His upper lip is sucked into his mouth as he considers the rest of what Brieli has to say; he takes several seconds to think it over before replying, "In some ways, yes. But-- in a little less than a month, nearly the whole tribe will be together for a few days. Eighteen grandchildren, ni-- eight children, plus spouses. It's worth it. I imagine, last winter, you were a little distracted. Weyrlinghood does that to you." "Or if not an ally, perhaps just someone who understands their problems a bit more easily? To be honest, I haven't the faintest idea what it's like to be a Crafter in a Weyr, beyond what I've been told." At least Brieli's been seeking out that information? Perhaps unexpected. After another bite of roll, she chews meditatively, something about K'del's description darkening her features. "It sounds interesting at the very least. It must be difficult to keep up with them all. And yes." There's a quirk of her lips, amused. "It's distracting to say the least. I don't envy the next lot for the timing." "Mm," agrees K'del. "Right, yes. Someone who has lived in their quarters, and used their facilities, and... it could help." He does seem surprised at the implication that she's been seeking out that information, but it's visible only in a brief change of expression, one that doesn't linger as his smile returns. "It's hectic," he agrees, failing to notice the darkening. "To be honest, sometimes I have trouble remembering the names of all my nieces and nephews. But it's... fun." It's his turn, now, for a shadow to cross his face. "Iolene will come with me, this turn. Last turn... it was bad timing." It's nearly exactly a turn since Iolene's miscarriage. Weyrlings, then, are easier to talk about. "It's a strange thought, being one of only seven. I hope they all get along." Her smile an odd one, "Someone who knows what it's like to be at a distance with their superiors, how it is to be in a place, yet somewhat separate from it." Brieli finishes her roll, brushing her hands off over a nearby dustbin. If she notices the Weyrleader's surprise, she doesn't seem to indicate it. With a little laugh, "I wondered. About names. And that should be nice for Io. I imagine she'll enjoy the time away." Especially at this time, the purse of her lips is the only suggestion of the reminder. Wryly, "They'll have to, or they'll be awfully bored, I'd guess." This time, K'del's expression takes an even more peculiar term as Brieli adds those remarks about the crafters, rather as though it's not a perspective he has ever considered. It seems to discomfort him - enough so that he abandons the topic altogether. "Even keeping track of all my siblings and their spouses can be hard enough. We're a big clan. I-- hope she will. I don't want her to feel too overwhelmed. At least there aren't any babies." His expression has clouded over again, and it doesn't really clear even as he says, "Bored, or at each other's throats constantly. Could get nasty." That discomfort might be noted, might cause Brieli's lips to tighten again before quirking oddly again; she's not all that surprised though. She won't poke at the issue of Crafters even so, merely noting, "I remember... only a little of gatherings like that, a long time ago. I suppose it could be overwhelming. I'm not sure how I'd feel if--" There's a pause before she elects to change her finish to all of that, "If I were Iolene. I imagine if you don't leave her to her own devices too much before she gets her bearings, she should be fine." Regarding K'del for a moment, she notes, "Well, if you're not searching out of Weyr, they'll at least likely know of one another." It's something? "I'll keep an eye on her," promises K'del, faithfully. "Won't leave her side, unless she asks me to. Frankly," he admits, running his fingers through his hair again, "half the time I find it all slightly awkward, too. Less so than it used to be, when I was the teenage wonderboy Weyrleader, but still. Don't want her to feel uncomfortable." Answering that at least keeps him from, presumably, lingering his thoughts too much on Brieli's lack of family, though his breath is sucked in cautiously as he finishes. Finally, "Suppose so. Nice and safe. No surprises, right?" Or maybe Brieli just didn't want to suggest any details of her personal life to K'del, given his interest in it - if only for political reasons. (Like she believes that.) She might have thoughts about the Weyrleader's faithfulness as well, but they're not apparent - the goldrider just seems pleased that her Weyrwoman won't be left floundering. It's a serious concern! "I suppose family isn't meant to be completely comfortable anyway. But I hope it's a good time even so." Another arch of brows, and she seems amused before, "One can hope. As long as there's no surprises in your Weyr." K'del's mouth opens, but he evidently thinks better of whatever it was he was going to say, and smiles blandly instead. "No," he agrees. "Probably not. That's part of why we make our own families, I sometimes think. In the hopes that they will be more comfortable, though of course that's never really going to be the case." He studies her, apparently even more uncertain by the last of what she says, as though he's not entirely certain how to take it. "No surprises in my Weyr," he agrees. "That's always the hope. Still, things seem to be going fine for now, don't you think? Nothing wrong with Turn 30 thus far." There's the trace of a warm smile, certainly warmer that K'del's bland one - but Brieli's not really looking at him as she muses, "Perhaps there's a little peace in that, though. Now and then." It doesn't really take much to snap her out of it, more unreadable for that study, but seeming a touch uncomfortable under it for once. "I tend to expect the worst, so a surprise might be part of that; I don't really expect anything to go perfectly, or well at all. Even so, the Turn seems a good one so far, yes. Despite the snow." K'del's chuckle is a wry one, for all that he's glancing up towards the ceiling as he releases it. "The eternal optimist versus the eternal pessimist," he says, apparently more genuine in this amusement. "Really, after the last decade or so, pessimism is probably a safer bet. And yet... can't seem to help myself. Things have to go right eventually, don't they? One way or another." Dryly, "I have my reasons. And I wonder how long bad luck can last." Brieli's turn to consider adding something, but pausing instead, glancing back to the prep team briefly. "Some things have gone right. It's just in the balance, it seems like less. The bad times seem easier to remember than the good, for most." As she looks back to K'del, she'll concede, "Something does have to give eventually, yes. The hatching should be uneventful, but for the weather." K'del exhales, lengthily, and admits. "True, true. It's not as though the past few turns have been uniformly awful. We've you and Azaylia, and Iolene, and that's a definite improvement. No one's starving, or freezing in winter because of a lack of coal." It has him straightening, and looking more purposeful, though what, exactly, that purpose is he keeps to himself. "Hah, yes. Conceived in a snowstorm, and shells, quite possibly hatched in one, too." "No one here, at least." Brieli says that, still dry, but quiet enough to miss, or to pretend to, if K'del really wanted to. Even so, "I'm glad I wasn't around during the more difficult times. Not that things are exactly simple at the moment, but... I suppose it keeps things interesting." Which is good - neither she nor her dragon are the types anyone wants to get bored. As for the hatching, "I'd hope for a break in the weather, lest the Monacoans want to come and not freeze, but. We take what we can get." Looking back to the kitchen workers, she sighs, "I should likely check on things and get myself some dinner. And let you get back to your children, if they're waiting?" Again, K'del seems on the edge of saying something, but shuts his mouth and shakes it off. "You're right," he agrees, abruptly, at the end of what she's saying. "I promised I'd tell bedtime stories when I came back. Thank you for the reminder." Which, at least, seems genuine - matched as it is by a quiet smile. "Have a good night, Brieli." Brieli might be curious about what K'del doesn't say, by her quick, sharp glance - but maybe she doesn't want to know, not enough to ask. "I suppose we should both get to work, then. You as well, Weyrleader." She flashes a brief smile before turning to make rounds of the kitchens, her step certainly brisker than when she'd entered. Another conversation escaped without him getting up into her business, score! |
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