Logs:I. Don't. Care.

From NorCon MUSH
I. Don't. Care.
You want to go and beat the living daylights out of each other? Go for it. I'll even watch.
RL Date: 7 March, 2015
Who: Hattie, Lilah, E'dre
Involves: Fort Weyr
Type: Log
What: Lilah's and Edre's fighting pisses off the Weyrwoman.
Where: Records Room, Fort Weyr
When: Day 11, Month 3, Turn 37 (Interval 10)
Mentions: Nala/Mentions, N'muir/Mentions


Dual entrances provide access to the Weyr's Records Room: the great
  doors that open out onto a short tunnel to the Bowl and a twisting set of 
  stairs that descends from the Weyrleaders' Complex. Within the room itself
  rows of stone shelving are carved out of the walls and supplemented by    
  free-standing shelving of dark, polished wood arranged in neat, well-lit  
  aisles. Bright tapestries depicting scenes from around the Fort region    
  decorate the walls, each with a glow basket in a sconce immediately above 
  to provide light by which to see the details and to leaven the gloom that 
  would otherwise permeate the chamber. Underfoot, a richly woven carpet in 
  shades of pale cream to rich klah brown evoke in abstract, the colors of  
  the Weyr, while a subtle patterning at its center replicates the          
  fortification that is Fort's hallmark symbol. Even without seeing the     
  contents of those shelves, one would know the purpose of the room, given  
  the perpetual aroma of hides, scrolls, paper, books and ink.              
  
  A few small alcoves have been carved out of the stone and filled with
  desks and chairs, providing relatively quiet places for those using the   
  records room to work without being disturbed. Immediately before the doors
  that lead out to the Bowl, several long tables are arranged to provide    
  larger, communal workspaces. Scribes can find writing implements, ink,    
  paper, and other tools of the trade in a couple of discreetly located     
  cabinets behind the duty desk. This cabinet and the outer doors are       
  typically kept locked when no recordskeeper is on duty.


With spring in bloom outside, the inner confines of the Weyr have been abandoned by all but those with duties that keep them bound indoors. The doors have been left open into the bowl, to allow the mellow spring breeze to infuse fresh air into the records, though it is clear that the Head Recordskeeper is displeased, to put it mildly, with this decision. Perhaps displeased enough to fetch another weyrwoman, besides the red-headed one sitting with her records near those open doors, her fingers wrapped around a cup of klah as she writes carefully with the other hand.

Weather like this usually inspires wing activities that keep even Hematite outside for longer amounts of time than simple drills and sweeps. Hematite must be on an outing without the Weyrsecond, for he strides into the records room and right past Lilah with barely a nod of hello. He heads straight back to a section of his choice and begins to rummage around the bound volumes there. "Studying," he mutters to himself, plucking one to finger through, "Who would've thought."

Tabitha is the trainee with the unfortunate duty of not only being sent to tell tales, but to tell tales to her /mother/, though she tries to maintain a professionalism not yet entirely natural for a girl of her turns, and murmurs, "Yes, Ma'am," as she peels away from the Weyrwoman's side when the two appear in the doorway to the records. Rather than get into any argument or seek to hunt anyone down, Hattie first watches her daughter vanish down one of the aisles to report back, then simply moves to close the heavy doors currently letting in light and air from the outside world. She does this without comment, idly straightening the light skirts of her dress as she turns to regard the room.

Lilah's dark eyes lift from the pages of her records as soon as the doors first move, expectation clear and exasperated already with- not the Weyrwoman who stands there closing the doors. The junior's lips press closed on whatever she might have been about to say, before a small smile spreads across them instead. "Weyrwoman," she greets, simply. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

E'dre is not bothered by the coming and goings of others as he sets aside one volume and reaches to glance through another. He glances sideways at the form of Tabitha as she happens by his aisle as she walks past. He shifts then, hefting two more volumes into his arms and turns to head down the aisle and towards the doors. He pauses, finding himself blocked in by not one but /two/ weyrwomen. "Weyrwoman," he greets, fighting a smile as he adds, "Or Weyrwomen. Might I pass?" So polite? That and the old stacks of records that look nothing of the sort used by the wings for formations or drills in his arms adds to his out of place feeling.

At first, Hattie only answers Lilah with a level stare that betrays little until she drags it over what she can see of her, becoming thoughtful only when her dark eyes narrow the tiniest bit. "Lilah." But then there's E'dre for her to stare at too, her focus lingering on the records he's selected. "Weyrsecond," she evenly replies, taking his lead by way of mode of address, before she turns to slip past him and down the row that he's emerged from, as if to just follow after her daughter.

There is a stubborn tip to Lilah's chin where she meets that gaze, but there is a hint of relief at Hattie's focus directed elsewhere and no forthcoming lecture. Not that she is /happy/ to see E'dre, who gets a moment's glare and a murmur of a not-very-political, "You can go Between. I don't care," before she turns back to her hides pointedly.

"What'd I do this time?" E'dre asks, tone resigned and looking very put upon. He shifts the records weight in his arms as he glances back the way Hattie goes. If she's nosey - and from E'dre's tightening of lips, he assumes she is - she'll find that he'd been in the section that hosts information on etiquette and references of that nature. He glances back at Lilah, lifting his shoulders to resettle the records weight. "Can you get the door? My hands are full."

There's the faintest pause in the click of heels against stone when Lilah delivers her answer to E'dre, yet the rhythm soon resumes its steady pace until it's so quiet as to be at the other end of the cavern. A minute or so passes, then more footsteps sound, the noise getting closer and closer to junior and weyrsecond, and, soon enough, a neat little line of records personnel and others, including the Head Recordskeeper and Tabitha, make their way from the room and out into the bowl. Sadly, none of them pause to assist E'dre. The doors thud shut, then the click of heels resumes.

"Seriously? Seriously?" is Lilah's incredulous question to E'dre's, punctuated with a curve of her brows. The junior weyrwoman does, however, shift to her feet to help the Weyrsecond, if only to get him from the room faster, but that line of personnel is there before her. And, well, it is clear that she, at least, suspects something given the stiffness that holds the line of her shoulders as she casts a look back to sweep the rest of the cavern.

"Yes, seriously," E'dre answer is cross and any pretence of maintaining a civil tone is momentarily lost. "Why that's so hard-," he cuts himself off as he is forced to step back by those leaving the room. He seems prepared to follow after the last, though finds himself once more with the door closed in his face. "Shardit," he growls, shifting his records into one hand as he reaches for the door. The sound of heels and whatever any of the fleeing people might mean is lost on the brownrider. In his haste to open the door he drops the records and that along with the string of curses that fly from his lips fill the silence.

When Hattie reappears at the end of that aisle, she doesn't bother doing anything to try and conceal the glower that she shares between Lilah and E'dre. "Sit down," she insists of both of them, her voice so low that she near growls the words. "Both of you." If her focus lingers longer on E'dre, it must be for the matter of the records now all over the floor, and though the Weyrwoman leans against the nearest bookshelf, her pose deceptively casual, she tells him, "You don't take records from here as you please, brownrider." Though, even with them on the ground, she doesn't rush to help him.

Lilah settles back into her chair without a word from the junior weyrwoman. At least, for the moment. Her gaze slides briefly towards E'dre and his records as Hattie speaks, but she doesn't interject.

E'dre's got most of the records settled in a pile again and looks up at Hattie with a frown. "I wasn't going to go /far/," E'dre's on the defensive as he rises again. He turns and heads towards the nearest table to set them down on. "I suppose I won't bother with them then." He looks ready to avoid the command to sit from the look he casts at the door again. He shakes his head, deciding against fleeing, and settles into the chair beside him.

"I. Don't. Care." Hattie completely drops any pretence of being anything but furious when she pushes away from the bookcase, her glare directed solely at E'dre until it sweeps out to include Lilah as well, as she moves to stand somewhere about midway between gold and brownrider. "Do you two know how you sound?" she demands, voice just that little bit too low to hit incredulous just right. "Do you know the shit that the two of you are causing for other people? Do you have any idea what a spectacle you are making of yourselves?"

Lilah's lips press into a tighter line at Hattie's words, her own gaze narrowing back onto her Senior as she holds her tongue. At least for the moment, she does, as Hattie speaks.

E'dre's eyes narrow on Hattie as he listens to her. He must be taking Lilah's lead because he gives Hattie no answer. He doesn't shift his gaze away from the Weyrwoman, though his lips twitch as if he were going to say something.

Hattie gives it a moment and lets that silence process, then carries right on. "Believe me, Lilah, when I was your age, I was /very/ well acquainted with the belief that people could do what I wanted them to do, or go fuck themselves." She gestures with one hand towards the door. "But I should /not/ have to come here to placate the people that you should be /working/ with. Nor should I hear you providing childish responses to the weyrsecond you would have to /lead/ with if something happened to N'muir and myself tomorrow." Air must be required, for takes a deep breath before starting in on anything else. "And you," this to E'dre, "need to stop stalking around this Weyr like an arrogant, petulant, /selfish/ child, pretending that everyone that you piss off is in the wrong. You don't like Lilah? You don't like me? I don't care. You work with us, not against us." Is she done yet? She certainly hesitates, but then temper, or something like it, flares again, and she snaps, "Do you even realise that you are both /hurting/ people?"

"You and I reached an understanding, I thought," E'dre's answer breaks his silence. He clasps his hands in front of his face and takes a deep breath. "I was in here, trying to research.., oh. Shardit." He shakes his head and crosses his arms over his chest. "I'm working on it," seems to be the only answer he's going to give her now.

"That I had the doors open, that I dislike /certain people/ for /obvious reasons/. This doesn't affect the Weyr," Lilah begins slowly, her brows curving upwards even as she shifts in that chair to affect a more casual pose, one booted heel curved against the seat as her leg folds. "If I had to lead with E'dre tomorrow, I would do what was needed for my Weyr, but this. You can't dictate how I feel about someone, especially when they've driven away the only people I do care about." Her gaze slides to E'dre at his answer, but when it's clear he's not referring to her, her attention returns to Hattie.

"Your pissing off our Head Recordskeeper? That /does/ affect the Weyr. You behaving like an entitled little-" Hattie manages to stop herself before she goes any further with /that/ particular statement, but it's only for long enough to catch her breath. "Your behaviour /does/ affect the Weyr, because it affects /me/ and it affects the /Weyrleader/ and we," she gestures to include both E'dre and Lilah, "are the Weyr. And right now? The two of you would bring this Weyr down around our ears if you were left in charge. You want to go and beat the living daylights out of each other? Go for it. I'll even watch. I'm not trying to dictate how you feel about each other, but you need to learn a better way of dealing with it, instead of behaving like assholes in public." Solely for E'dre, she declares, "I can only believe that we /don't/ have an understanding when you're still going around thinking you're above the rules and complaining when you're reminded of them. When you think it's okay to launch into an argument with a junior whenever you feel like it."

E'dre's jaw tightens as he fights the urge to defend himself and his sullen gaze is directed at the floor rather than on Hattie or Lilah. "Understood, Weyrwoman," he answers. He moves to stand, ignoring the records on the table. "I told you I was working on it. If you're do-," he cuts himself off, shakes his head and folds his arms in front of him. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me, ma'am?" Whether or not he feels so heatedly about Lilah seems to be something he refuses to touch. He has yet to even look at Lilah since Hattie has begun this tirade and as he gazes steadily ahead he doesn't intend to look at her now.

It takes Lilah a moment before she insists, "I disagree. Whether the Weyr is run the way /you/ may want it to be run or not, both E'dre and I are competent enough to put aside the rest to ensure the future of our Weyr." See, she can even put aside her feelings to offer that label of competency towards the Weyrsecond. "And our Head Recordskeeper could /use/ a breath of fresh air. It isn't his records just as much as they are not yours." A pause as the junior's dark gaze levels before continuing, "Or mine, or anyone else. I know this. But I'm not sure /he/ does. If we were to take a vote-."

"I believe that I have every right to call into question the competency of two people who can't manage to hold rank and be civil to each other in public, let alone behind closed doors," Hattie replies, sliding a look from one to the other. "Especially as you both seem content to employ the same tactic of placing blame on anyone but yourselves. I couldn't care less about your personal disputes, but together or apart, your actions are impacting and hurting other people in this Weyr - or who are not longer at this Weyr, in some cases." She only stares at E'dre as he stands, the sharpness of her gaze alone enough to state that she's not done yet. "The matter of the records isn't the point. And that neither of you seems to be able to grasp that this isn't solely about your /feelings/ is a prime example of /why/ and how you're being destructive."

"You've made your point," E'dre chances, "and I've listened to it. I've listened to N'muir's and Ebeny's," that he's mentioning his weyrmate must mean something for he rarely mixes her in his affairs. He glances to Lilah and then back to Hattie. "Both of us will work on the issues you have brought up. But we can't do that now, nor can we take back what we've done in the past." He takes a breath, glances again at Lilah and then to Hattie. "You have stated your displeasure with us. Do you have a suggestion on how we might improve?"

"I do not need you speaking for me," is Lilah's answer to that, addressing E'dre with her own touch of sharpness as she levels a look on him for a moment, regardless of whether she is proving Hattie right or not. "Some people will be affected by a strong breeze. I do my best by this Weyr, and I do my duties. If you want to blame me for- destroying our Weyr, hurting everyone- whatever you want to blame me for, fine. But maybe it /isn't/ me, Hattie," continues the junior weyrwoman, well aware that she is confirming what the Weyrwoman just accused.

Hattie's smile truly isn't one at all, but a shadow of a grimace, as she directs her gaze across the cavern. "It's never you, is it, Lilah?" she murmurs, plainly rhetorical. Taking a deep breath, she focuses again and redirects her gaze towards junior and weyrsecond. "I don't necessarily agree with all those sayings about walking a mile in someone else's shoes, but maybe that's what the two of you need to get some perspective," Hattie states, shaking her head as she lets a low sigh escape her. "If the Weyrleader agrees, you'll switch places for a month. Junior duties will go to E'dre, and Lilah, you'll report to Hematite and the Weyrleader. You'll write a report on your experiences for each other at the end of the month. You can write to your hearts' content about your feelings and frustrations then." She can't quite keep the hint of sarcasm from her last words.

There are /plenty/ of responses that would /not/ help in this moment that come to E'dre's mind. His face flushes with his temper and his hands fall to his side to be formed into fists. "I will do as I am asked," he responds evenly, even if his gaze may betray the anger and hurt that's lurking behind the civil words. "If that is all, I have work to prepare and things to be organized for Lilah so her transition is as smooth as possible." Maybe he's going to go and throw every inch of hidework on the floor, stomp on it, spit on it, and scream curses. It's possible, given his past tantrums. He looks to the door and back to Hattie. "If I may go?"

"I wouldn't say never, but I am not going to accept the weight of the entire Weyr's hurts on my shoulders-," begins the junior weyrwoman, before Hattie continues. At least she falls respectfully silent, her gaze going immediately to E'dre on the orders. A hint of frustration sparks like steel in dark eyes at his acceptance, before she glances back to Hattie to be the one to state flatly, "I will not work with Hematite. With everything that that wing has done-."

"That you believe that I'm throwing /all/ of the Weyr's troubles at your feet says a lot for what you think of yourself, Lilah," Hattie utters very quietly and very dryly, lifting a hand to press her fingers to pinch the bridge of her nose. "You will do as I say while I am your Weyrwoman and I believe that your behaviour is unacceptable. You've come a long way, but you still have far to go." The flick of her gaze takes in E'dre. "Both of you. Even..." Her? But she doesn't get that far. "/If/ the Weyrleader agrees," Hattie reiterates, levelling another stare at E'dre. "Now, will the two of you just take the day and get out of the Weyr," she says lowly. "I don't care about your duties. Just go. I don't want either of you back before sunset. And, if it's not clear, that's an order."

"Very well," E'dre replies, giving Hattie a bow and a two-fingered salute when he straightens. He discards the records behind him and heads out of the door without another answer. Not that much later, Wroth will be seen winging up into the air and blinking Between. When and if E'dre returns after sunset or into the next day, he'll come back quietly and await the Weyrleader's decision.



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