Logs:Some Sort of Expectation
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| RL Date: 12 May, 2015 |
| Who: Hattie, Elaruth, Kaelige |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Kaelige joins Hattie amidst egg-watching and they discuss what to expect on the Sands, and after. |
| Where: Galleries, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 13, Month 10, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Overcast, humid |
| Mentions: Lilah/Mentions |
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>---< Galleries, Fort Weyr(#745RIJMas$) >------------------------------------<
The entrance to the Sands and Galleries alike is little more than an
archway and a section of flat stone that curves into a broad pathway in
front of the Galleries that are carved into the right-hand side of the
Hatching Cavern. This pathway is set with three flights of stairs that
lead all the way up to the upper tiers of the Galleries; one set near the
entrance of the cavern, one set at the northernmost end, and one set
between both. Beyond the pathway, that flat stone dissolves into the Sands
proper, a golden expanse that sits before the large, odd engraving that
lines the far wall -- an etching that details the rotation of the Red
Star.
The Galleries themselves are rows of flat seats carved from the stone wall
and stacked backward to allow observers the best view possible of the
golden sands. Those at the bottom are protected from wayward dragonets by
a railing, while dignitaries from outside the Weyr -- Lord Holders, other
Weyrleaders, Craftmasters and their ilk -- have a specially designated
spectator's box at the topmost row. The weather has brought flocks of people to the galleries earlier in the day than journeys might have been made otherwise, and the tiers of seating are currently occupied by various social groups, some of which have brought work with them to complete in the warmth of the cavern, while others have set to gossiping. Some gesture now and again to the eggs that Elaruth is currently in the process of rearranging and settling to her satisfaction, something that her rider is observing from a distance, the Weyrwoman stood at the edge of the Sands and galleries both, leaning against the railing. He'd never seen dragon eggs, and perhaps that's why the boy so suited to observe and judge from a distance is in the midst of the flocks of people. Or maybe it's because social gatherings of this sort rearranged groups and made for excellent 'accidental overhearing'. Kaelige had been in the galleries for some time, lingering high up in the tiers of ancient seats. Hood down, messy hair evident, and blue-green eyes glimmering darkly with his trap shut for once, he busied himself with watching people and, of course Elaruth and her clutch. So distracted was he with others' conversations that it took him awhile to hone in on the senior weyrwoman herself. Eventually, he'd make his way down from his perch to pause a few feet from the railing near Hattie. "Impressive." He pauses, head turned to the sands themselves, but bluegreens on the goldrider, "Are you happy with them?" He leaves it of course open to that meaning the numbers or the eggs themselves. The egg that Elaruth is busying herself with moving doesn't actually look to be moving at all, being edged along to the right by mere inches that aren't all that visible from so far away, making the pale queen's focus seem rather intense. Even Hattie stares, eyes narrowed, until Kaelige's voice draws her attention to him. "Of course," she replies, as if she's stating the obvious, though she's not aggressively assuring with it. "She adores them. How could anyone be anything other than happy with them?" There's a hint of the same infatuation as she claims her lifemate feels when her dark gaze swings back to the eggs. "I saw your name on the list. To Stand." Kaelige watches Elaruth's detailed work, the edges of his lips turned in a controlled curious amusement. "Do you enjoy this?" He asks, just a touch lower in volume, with one of his hands raising slightly to indicate the volumes of admirers and accompanying excitement. Another step or two of his still-growing long legs takes him casually to the railing to lay his mostly-gloved hands upon it. "Ah, yes. Eliyaveith doesn't think me too bad a guy." Leaving out Lilah's name for that same opinion is fairly obvious, but he seems to take that in humor. "Is it tradition to ask the clutching queen's permission to stand as well?" He adds in a hard to read tone, gaze sweeping in a sideways look to the senior weyrwoman. "No." The answer is immediate, provided with no attempt to modulate her voice. "She'll," Elaruth, "accept praise as their due, because they're beautiful, but a lot of it, frankly, feels like an intrusion at times." Hattie doesn't clarify just which - or if it's both - of them who feel that way. "Still, she's happy. Perhaps it's the price." It's difficult to tell if she's displeased or whether that coolness is a facet of her humour when she address the latter matter. "If she's anything like her dam, then she may not be as judgemental as she should be," she says dryly, diverting her attention to drag her gaze over Kaelige. "Interesting phrasing, that. 'Too bad'. Modesty, or more good than bad?" It's only half a question, really, more a thought process spoken aloud. "Do you want to ask? Do you want me to take your knot and give it back?" The reaction to her honesty is a subdued but widening grin. Eerie, as it always is, with his face still somehow dramatized by shadows even without his cover, and his eyes expressive but unreadable besides something of dark amusement. Kaelige leans forwards on the rail, shifting his weight between his feet in an awkward teenage manner, but at the same time seemingly keenly grounded. "It's quite a long course of time to be stared at." He adds as if in agreement, a lopsided shrug of agreement coming with the rustling of his layers, "Seems like there's a lot of price to being a weyrwoman." It's not really said as if it's a bad thing, his tone relatively level. Her first question, though, only gets a glance back at her to catch that gaze with a smirk before he moves on to the last, "I'd like to keep it, if that's alright with you, ma'am." And the knot that was looped onto his pants rather than his shoulder is clutched with some sort of overdramatized, teasing protectiveness. For now, the rearranging of eggs appears to be over, for Elaruth sprawls down beside her clutch, stretched out in a manner that lets her keep the whole lot of them within easy reach, but also affords a better view of the various shells than she's been granting over the past few days. "What is sacrifice and what is necessity?" Hattie asks the distance between herself and her queen. "And who benefits from either? You should be mindful that any rider may have a price to pay." His teasing only marks further retreat into the same chill, dry sternness that seems also passable as amusement. "Provided that you don't do anything to warrant my wanting that knot back, or that makes me wonder if it's safe to let you onto the Sands with her eggs, I think you can keep it," she agrees, punctuated by a single nod. Kaelige listens quietly, his side glance preoccupied with considering Hattie's expression. He's thoughtful, though never loses his light grin. Something about the sacrifice and necessity is what keeps him quiet for the moment, and in his own unwavering expression, he appears familiar with the concept as if he's been asked something similar before. "Someone always benefits." Kael offers cryptically but despite seeming to have more words on his tongue, opts out of spilling them. "May? I figured they all of them have some sort of role to play." As if everything's a game. "I'd be more worried letting the overly excited ones on your sands than me. I'm sure someone's tried to catch a hatcling out of excitement before." He knows that's not what she meant, but he enjoys deflecting. "Role, yes," Hattie confirms. "But you'd have to ask them if they feel that they've had to surrender more than they've ever gained from being a rider. Some breeze through Impression and never look back. Others..." She shrugs one shoulder. "You should speak to some riders before you step onto the Sands." Tilting her head a little, she momentarily returns to her silent study of Kaelige, unwilling or unable to play along with his deflection this time. "You know what they say. It's always the quiet ones." However, she allows, with a more indulgent sort of smirk, "You're young enough to be one of the excitable ones. One look at a newly-hatched dragon and you might not know where to put yourself." "That I will." Kaelige notes with some given certainty on the light of talking with riders. "Not that young," The boy shrugs as if it's a non-issue but there is a hint of his grin trying to evaporate from his face, "I think I can hold myself back from grabbing something with teeth, claws, and hunger." He raises both his gloved hands from the railing, flexing his fingers as if to mimic vicious claws. "The quiet ones just distract you from the loud ones that make all the real trouble." He doesn't seem to care that it makes no sense, and one of those 'clawed' hands waves dismissively. "How did you feel when you were on the sands?" "That /is/ what we aim for." The not-grabbing. "Be careful and watch yourself. Even if you think one is looking for you, you could reach out and find they want the person next to you." Hattie finds her gaze pulled back to Elaruth as she considers the question asked of her, her focus the tiniest bit off as her dark eyes roam the long lines that make up her small (for her colour) gold. "...Some people go onto the Sands holding hands and clinging to each other," she murmurs fairly derisively. "I didn't want anyone near me. It was going to happen or it wasn't, and I didn't know if my decision to Stand was right. I worried a dragon I couldn't live with would choose me." Kaelige relinquishes one of his covered hands back to the railing, the other hanging relaxed at his side. He leans just a little bit to the railing, making his already tall self somewhat crooked. "So how do you know then?" A little less full of himself in that, "If you just move out of the way of all of them, what if they think you don't want them?" He pauses as she describes previous and certainly some future candidates, letting his gaze turn from her finally back to the eggs. There's one of those moments where he's suddenly intense, as if memorizing each egg in its place, before that intensity fades back to the utter lack-of as he was before. "That seems dangerous." There's a dark chuckle to that, "Taking a friend down with you if you get mauled." That really shouldn't be a point of amusement but... "I've never heard of a dragonrider unable to live with their dragon. Does that really happen?" "I never said back away or ignore them," Hattie states, blinking back to reality. "Just be careful you don't deliberately obstruct them. And," her voice shades dry again, "a big clue that they want you is when they speak to you. They might be some way away, or they might be at your feet, but you'll know then." Across the way, Elaruth shifts slightly and sets her head down on her forepaws as she closes her eyes, evidently happy that nothing is going to happy to her eggs if she sleeps. "...The harpers might tell you that Impression is sunshine and flowers and all pretty, good things. And it is. It can be." The Weyrwoman takes a breath, hesitating. "And yet... it can be difficult. You can love someone without liking them. Not everyone Impresses someone so like themselves that all the pieces immediately fall into place." "I guess you've seen more than a few types of reactions out there." Kaelige notes offhandedly, indicating he's not entirely letting everything she says go in one ear and out the other. "So was it? Do you think now, with all this, your decision to Stand was right?" Despite his question, he doesn't seem to be questioning his own. He sounds more interested in her answer than what it might mean for him. Her statement about loving but not liking seems to wash his expression clean of that amusement he'd maintained for the majority of their conversation, as if taken personally to some degree. "I would hope it would be better than that." Is a tone that seems aged for his youth, "It's not as though you can be away from them like you can.. others." "Yes. Because I wouldn't be without her." The rest - any other reasons or doubts - are pushed aside or just deemed not as important or relevant. "Ever." There's something sharper or more desperate there, as if even the notion needs defending against with all due vehemence. "And it is better than that for many. For most. But it would be negligent of me to tell you that everything is easy and all your hurts and ills will be fixed by a baby dragon. It's a lot of expectation to heap on a hatchling - and on the one they choose." Hattie pushes away from the railing and takes a slow, easy half-step onto the Sands proper. "It's wonderful and it's difficult. ...And it's always worth it. You'll need to decide if you can face the tough times for the good." Kaelige looks down at the railing, his fingers curling around it a little tighter once, then unraveling and releasing it completely. "It's unfortunate to have expectations of a newborn." He doesn't particularly say those sorts of expectations, but leaves it open to anything. Kael snags his hood and pulls it over his spikey black hair, flattening it and dropping his gaze to the floor. A security net. As she takes her step onto the Sands towards her golden lifepartner, Kael begins to turn his shoulder as if with intention to step away. "It's not a question." The joker is nothing but serious with that, his expression now hidden, "Unfortunate, maybe. But there's nothing to decide." He's unmovable in this, "I appreciate your time, Weyrwoman. I shouldn't keep distracting you from more important things." His tone curved by the return of some sort of smirk. Hattie lingers for long enough to try and meet Kaelige's gaze with a level, accepting look, the dip of her chin a tiny nod. What she's acknowledging, or what she's convinced that she understands, she doesn't share, but she seems to take the entirety of his response in stride. "You're meant for her babies. You're important." Quiet, then, with a touch more formality, she invites, "If you ever have any further questions..." It's the last she shares for today, for then she turns to cross the Sands and get the measure of the new arrangement the eggs now sit in, and to watch over them while Elaruth takes her rest. |
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