Logs:A Weyrleader's Advice
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| RL Date: 25 July, 2015 |
| Who: Dee, K'del, Cadejoth, Taeliyth |
| Involves: Fort Weyr, High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: High Reaches Weyrleader offers advice to Fort's newest goldrider. |
| Where: Lake Shore, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 11, Month 5, Turn 38 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Ali/Mentions, E'dre/Mentions, Farideh/Mentions, Irianke/Mentions, Lilah/Mentions |
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>---< Lake Shore, Fort Weyr >------------------------------------------------<
The lake's shore is a broad crescent of golden-hued sand, stretching from
the southwest wall near the feeding grounds and around to the southeast
where the sand gives way to soil and leaf detritus from a cluster of hardy
mountain trees. Where the lake deepens, clear blue water darkens to murky
teal, hiding stony depths. Dragons often sun here and riders use the lake
for dragonwashing in the warmer seasons, while all of the Weyr's denizens
may enjoy walks and picnics among the large, smooth boulders that
interrupt the smooth flow of sand. Many of the Weyr's children also play
at skipping stones with the wide variety of rocks available along the
water's edge.
Some people call it refreshing. Other people call it cold and miserable.
Whatever the case, a periodic, misty rain falls on and off throughout the
day, mostly just enough to make everything damp rather than soaked. It was in the midst of a misty rain that Cadejoth and his rider arrived in Fortian skies, their Official Business occupying the human half of the pair for some time while his dragon stayed airborne; flying, even in the rain, is such fun. Whether it was Cadejoth whose thoughts stumbled upon Taeliyth or the other way around makes no difference, in the end; as his rider's business concluded, the bronze encouraged the little gold to come and meet them, as he finally came to a landing upon the lake shore. At least the rain has stopped, although K'del doesn't look wholly pleased as he crosses from the bowl and onto the sand in quest of his dragon. Dee's duties, whatever they were, must have seen her in the rain despite Cadejoth's timely invitation. Her clothes are mostly dry save for the bottom third of her pants and must have been preserved by an oilskin coat now shucked, but the mud and wet is still in evidence from just below the knee to her ankle-high boots, the fabric sticking to her calves. Taeliyth, too, has acquired some measure of mud to her belly and extremities. She doesn't seem overly bothered by it, but she does make for the lake after warbling her more physical greeting to Cadejoth, having taken some pleasure in watching him from a distance as she exercised her own wings on the ground. Their arrival happens to be timed such that Dee only has to turn around to see K'del coming and snap her salute. "Weyrleader," is offered him when he comes close enough, "Fort's duties to High Reaches." At least the etiquette lessons seem to be sinking in. K'del's displeasure does not, at least, extend beyond his dragon. The sight of Dee and Taeliyth causes only a momentary hitch in his step after which he's quick to draw to a halt, and return that salute with equal snap. "Weyrling," he greets, with only the faintest hint of a pause to suggest that he might have appended her name... but evidently chose not to. "High Reaches' to Fort and her queens." For Taeliyth, then, there's a sharp nod of acknowledgement, and only the faintest lift of his eyebrows that is surely as much-- if not more-- for his own dragon. Cadejoth, shuffling his wings closer around him, lets out a warm rumble for all. The mud must not have had the chance to dry for it only takes a little wallowing and wriggling in the water to cure what ails Taeliyth. « You enjoyed yourself? » The dragon observes to the foreign bronze from the water. Dee has an almost awkward look as she glances between the dragons and back to K'del. "I'm sorry, Taeliyth said Cadejoth had invited us to come meet you--" Awkward. She reaches a hand to shove through her short locks. "I just assumed that I should--" come too. She takes a hesitating step as though she might go 'round him and depart, "I can--?" Go. Her dark brows are lifted making the gesture of her hand toward the barracks a question. "No, no, no," begins K'del, hastily. "He just didn't tell me." Because why would he do that? It's possible that Dee will be able to catch the abortive eye-roll that the High Reachian bronzerider seems to think better of halfway through. He presses his lips together, instead, and aims for a smile. "Actually, it's nice to meet you again. You prefer... Dee? I'll warn, if anyone sees us talking they'll probably start spreading rumours that I'm chasing another goldrider, never mind that you're probably half my age." « I did, » is Cadejoth's immediate answer, accompanied with amusement for his rider, but also a sense of flight: the wind beneath his wings, the rain misting over them. Such perfection! « It is always a fine day to fly. » Dee's mouth opens to speak but instead hangs agape a moment, glancing toward her dragon as her cheeks pinken. She does manage to look back to the blond man only a moment later. "Perhaps," she clears her throat, "if they're not bound to say that I'm luring in another bronzerider instead." She'd like to look rueful but the humor isn't quite there. "I'm seventeen," she offers, as if asked, or perhaps to just fill in some of the picture. She looks away to the lake, "Just in case you were wondering, I'm not trying to lure anyone in." It seems important to say. "Just like I'm sure you're not chasing another goldrider." She reaches to tuck her hair around her ear. "I never really met Weyrwoman Ali, but she seemed like a good, intelligent person, and I saw Cadejoth sometimes, when you visited." So logically, how could anyone suspect of K'del playing fast and loose? There's a longing in how Taeliyth responds. « I get to glide soon. » But not soon enough. And gliding is just gliding. It's better than walking everywhere, surely, but won't flying be better? She seems to weigh his take on the day as evidence that it will. K'del's reply is a little quicker than perhaps it needs to be: "Sorry," he says, his cheeks taking on a pink hue of their own. "Just wanted to... it sucks, doesn't it? Your every move being judged. Spent my teens and early twenties sleeping with everyone I wanted to, and some people judged me for that. Now, I'm a happily weyrmated man, and people judge me for that, too. It gets easier to deal with though, I promise. You learn to just... be yourself, whatever they say." Mostly. Cadejoth understands, innately, that longing to fly; he may not remember being unable to do it, on any of the occasions when that happened, but that doesn't mean it isn't deeply ingrained all the same. « Soon, » he agrees. « And once you glide, it won't be so long until you fly, and once you fly... eventually, it will be with her, too. » "I'm going to." Dee says this almost too easily. "I don't really have any choice," she adds a moment later. "They'll have something more exciting to talk about than which bronzerider is getting into which goldrider's bed soon enough." That's sad, resigned and there might be just a touch of bitterness for the word 'goldrider.' "You've managed?" She wonders, "with all the judgments and-- everything? I-- read somewhere that you became Weyrleader very young?" « Time passes too slowly, » Taeliyth confides her annoyance with a slap of her long tail to the water as she makes her drippy exit from it. There's only a glance for her rider at Cadejoth's comment. « Do you find it better with him than without? » Brows raise for that bitter comment, but perhaps K'del is too polite to press for clarification of what she's talking about. He focuses, instead, on answering her questions. "Cadejoth caught Iovniath on my seventeenth turnday," he confirms. "Your age. I was... unprepared." The way he says it, it's a deliberate and obvious understatement. "And 'managed' may be putting too fine a point on it. Do my best, but it... can be difficult, sometimes. You need a thick skin." On the shoreline, Cadejoth mantles his wings, shaking out cool, misty drops from them, if managing (mostly) not to shower their riders. « Different, » he decides, after a moment's thought. « There is nothing like the closeness of flying together. But there is freedom in flying alone, too. » Dee takes a slow deep breath as she listens. "Maybe you can give me pointers? Not... not that Taeliyth should rise until much later," possibly much, much later if Dee could will it so says her tone, "but even being a junior eventually. Any-- advice? Other than the thick skin," which is said in a way that suggests committing that much to memory. She sounds earnest in her request for it and intent to take it seriously. Taeliyth considers Cadejoth's assessment. « Are you close with him at other times, or only when you fly? » K'del opens his mouth, hesitates, and then lets out a wry laugh. "You're doing a better job than a lot of people already," he says. "Because you're asking for advice, and, I hope, actually listening to the answers you get. That's important. You can't please everyone, so don't even try bend yourself backwards to do so, but do make sure you listen. Acknowledge people's point of view." Cadejoth hesitates, turning those big, slowly whirling eyes on his rider. « Sometimes, » he says. « Not always. I don't actually remember, but I think it is better now than we I was little. » Dee has a bubble of a laugh to meet K'del's first words, the girl's eyes briefly closing against the idea. "If only it were as simple as asking and listening." She might have it made. It's only a breath later that she adds with a touch of a smile, "But I can see how it would be helpful to do those things." Perhaps this is already practice of what he preaches, her acknowledgement of his words. "Did you ever try? To bend over backwards to please everybody?" « I don't remember either, » Taeliyth is dissatisfied with her limitation. « It might be better now than it was. Sometimes, I'm not sure. Are you close with him when he needs you? Can you imagine holding yourself apart if he did? » K'del opens his mouth, hesitates, and then lets out a wry laugh. "You're doing a better job than a lot of people already," he says. "Because you're asking for advice, and, I hope, actually listening to the answers you get. That's important. You can't please everyone, so don't even try bend yourself backwards to do so, but do make sure you listen. Acknowledge people's point of view." Cadejoth hesitates, turning those big, slowly whirling eyes on his rider. « Sometimes, » he says. « Not always. I don't actually remember, but I think it is better now than we I was little. » Dee has a bubble of a laugh to meet K'del's first words, the girl's eyes briefly closing against the idea. "If only it were as simple as asking and listening." She might have it made. It's only a breath later that she adds with a touch of a smile, "But I can see how it would be helpful to do those things." Perhaps this is already practice of what he preaches, her acknowledgement of his words. "Did you ever try? To bend over backwards to please everybody?" « I don't remember either, » Taeliyth is dissatisfied with her limitation. « It might be better now than it was. Sometimes, I'm not sure. Are you close with him when he needs you? Can you imagine holding yourself apart if he did? » "Mm," says K'del. "Nothing's ever that simple, is it? But it helps. I-- tried to please everyone, in the beginning. Failed. Even now. Hate knowing that people don't approve of my actions. It's a weakness, I guess. Something I've never been able to banish completely. The idea of being misunderstood, or--" His head half turns, gaze sliding back towards the weyrbowl, perhaps thinking of specific people. Perhaps not. "But it's a waste of time. As long as you're sure you've done the best thing you knew to, with the information you had at the time. Acknowledge your mistakes. And just... keep trying. Doing better." « Never. » But there's a hesitation in that, despite Cadejoth's vehemence. Is he sure? Can he be sure? There's something off about it, and he's clearly conscious of it. « But I would always be there, even if he didn't think he needed me. Always. » "I don't like it much either," is empathy for that weakness. Dee's brows dip, her expression troubled. "I'm a good person," she says the words carefully. "One day, we might have to be--" she looks skyward, looking for the right words, "--well, acquainted on terms that aren't weyrling to foreign Weyrleader." Some variety of weyrwoman, surely. "So whatever else you might hear about me in the meantime," she adds a quick attempt to cover, "bronzeriders, or whatever," she glances toward the dragons, "would you try to remember that I'm a good person that makes mistakes but keeps trying?" When she looks back to him, there's nervousness in her expression. « You're very good to him, it seems. » Taeliyth remarks thoughtfully, though it carries no approval or disapproval in it, just observation. Again, K'del's brows knit. This time, however, he actually asks: "Is there something I'm likely to hear? I'm confused." Beat. "Not that you have to tell me anything, since I'm still practically a stranger. Are you... is everything all right? Far as I can see, there's nothing to suggest you're not a good person." « How could I not be? » is Cadejoth's reply. « I love him. He's K'del. » Isn't that enough? "I suspect so," Dee answers without hesitation, "but on the off chance I'm wrong, let's-- not go into it just yet? Sorry. I'm-- this whole thing has me... off." She finishes it lamely. "I imagine you have your hands full with good people who make stupid mistakes back at your own Weyr." This is to say that Dee might be Lilah and E'dre's charge to deal with (lucky them~). « Is love enough? » Taeliyth wonders, though the wondering seems to go beyond Cadejoth to the world at large. The gold moves now to come behind Dee and take a better look at this K'del person from a closer vantage. The twist of K'del's mouth acknowledges that he certainly does have his own people to worry about, and the lines of his brow suggest it could be more than that; or perhaps just longer term. "All right," he agrees. "Don't worry about it. Weyrlinghood is... well, it's difficult enough without any of the rest, isn't it? Promise, it'll get easier. Most things do, over time. And there's not many mistakes that can't be fixed, one way or another." His smile is clearly intended to be encouraging. « Love is everything. » is Cadejoth's opinion, with the loyalty and affection of a devoted puppy. "Hello, Taeliyth," says K'del, abruptly. "I hope so," Dee's voice is telling of just how fervent a hope that is. "I'm beginning to accept my fate," she confides, looking to Taeliyth, "and that's--" She breaks off because she has to laugh. It's a surprise to her, one that fully breaks the the mood of the other half of the conversation. She grins at the Weyrleader. "Does your dragon go around telling every dragon he meets that you're impossible not to love? That might be part of your goldrider chasing rumor problem." If he does. Confused, at first, K'del gives Dee a genuinely bewildered glance-- and then he, too, begins to laugh. "See, now it all makes sense," he exclaims, grinning. "My damn dragon is encouraging women to throw themselves at me." That certainly, is affectionate. "In which case, I appreciate your restraint. Good to know you've not fallen under his influence." "Oh, yes," Dee says dryly, "I'm the soul of self-restraint." She closes her eyes in a moment of self-deprecating humor. "If only your dragon could say the same." It might be this laughter that prompts her to ask, "Once you're Somebody, do you get to go have fun? Or do you have to steal the time? I feel like I have less than none now." She looks to Taeliyth, though the look is without rancor and that's probably an improvement over days gone by. K'del opens his mouth, as if to reply to Dee with something, but falls short. Finally, "You still get to go out and have fun. Irianke, my Acting Weyrwoman, she stops working at dinner every night; she's off duty from then until the next morning, unless there's an emergency. You don't have to steal the time, just... make sure it is built in to your day. Because otherwise it will eat you alive." He hesitates, then adds, fingers curled in upon themselves and then tucked into the pockets of his jacket, "Weyrlinghood sucks for most people. It'll take some time to get your equilibrium back, but you'll get there." "I keep wanting to crack open my farmcraft text books instead of all this about etiquette and structure." Dee answers the last, ruefully. "I suppose the etiquette and all that will be more relevant to my life going forward than the farmcrafting. That's still hard." Her shoulders droop a touch. "If I have any favors left with the Weyrwoman, maybe I'll ask her to schedule my day with some time for myself. It-- there's just so much in every day now." She looks sad. "I should get back to the rest of it," her day." She rocks onto the tips of her toes for a moment as something spurs to ask, almost breathlessly, "Will you do something for me?" Without waiting, "The next time you're in Southern, will you tell the ocean I'm missing it?" There's so much K'del could/should/would/might say; in the end, though his mouth opens, the words don't flow. Instead, he gives Dee a rueful little smile and acknowledges what she says with a nod. "I will," he agrees. "I promise. Look after yourself." Beat. "Our newest junior isn't someone I especially get along with, and I know she's had troubles with your weyrwoman, too. But perhaps you could write to her; she'll understand better than most what you're going through. Good luck, Dee. You'll be fine." For now, however, he has his own dragon to get back to-- his own duties, his own pressures, his own life. |
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