Logs:Meeting P'draig
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| RL Date: 16 July, 2008 |
| Who: Paige, P'draig |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Paige, while contemplating how best to write home to her folks explaining that she's thinking about staying a bit longer, meets the Fort weyrlingmaster and asks questions. Lots of questions. |
| Where: Weyrbowl, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 6, Month 12, Turn 16 (Interval 10) |
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| Paige might be forgiven for looking a little weary or lackluster near the middle of the morning, but sitting in relative isolation along the shore of a lake muttering under her breath makes for an odd sight, considering that she seems, on the whole, pretty sane. But insanity seems to have little to do with it; based on the occasional, more audible words of 'ma' and 'stayin' and 'm'aunt asked, ' it's possible that she's trying to compose a letter without physically writing one. "Dunno if they'll go fer /that/, " she says aloud after a bit, hugging her knees cautiously to herself. Ah, well. A quick glance toward one of the weyrs pocketed in the bowl wall, and she sighs, turning her pale gaze to the lake. Perhaps watching the chilled surface, frozen or no, will help her to find a better way to write home for an extended visit. Along the edge of the lake, P'draig comes walking, parallel to a dark shape moving in the chilly water: Jekzith, submerged, swimming and the Weyrlingmaster turns his head now and then to smile as the brown's eyeridges pop up above the surface, eyes peer through a set of lids then drop below again. Playful today, the brown. Paige's muttering catches his ear though and he eyes the young woman curiously, then clears his throat and asks lightly: "Who won't go for what, if you don't mind my asking?" Pulled from her musings by P'draig's query, Paige is unable to stop herself from scrambling to her feet, expression sheepish. "Folks, sir, " she answers, tucking her arms about herself. "Nerine said she hoped I might stick 'round a bit longer, and I was thinkin' 'bout it a good deal the other night. M'aunt, " and she names one of the blueriders, "offered ter help me write a letter home 'bout it if'n I really wanted to, and I've been a'tryin' t'figure out what ter say. I figure in the end, might as well be plain honest and tell 'em I made a few friends, might try to find a livelihood 'round here. Beats shearin' llamas and spinnin' day in and out, even if'n the roads don't shine after all." "Ohh, so you're trying to figure out how to let your folks know that you want to stay at the Weyr. Huh. Well yeah, I'd have to agree that straight up honest usually works best." A pause for P'draig's grin there before he goes on. "Unless, you know, there's something about your folks that'd make you think honesty /wouldn't/ work," the Weyrlingmaster posits thoughtfully but still with a glint of humor in his eyes. "Not into llamas and spinning huh? What're you thinking of looking for here? And oh, P'draig, Weyrlingmaster," a hand held out and his head tipped towards the water. "And you can't really see him right now because he's playing at being sneaky, but that's Jekzith." "Not stay, " Paige is quick to correct, shiftily. "They'd have m'hide fer sure fer stayin' on full-time! No, no, jus' fer a lil while longer. Another sevenday or two, maybe. I dun think they'll agree t'it, though; Ma sure needs me back at the hold t'help watch out fer m'lil sister. Had an extra set of hands until m'brother had to go off and move ter High Reaches. The Weyr, not the Hold." Something about Impressing a large, brown dragon kept him from returning home permanently. Tentatively, she reaches out to shake his offered hand, accompanying it with an equally unsure smile. "Paige, from Balen Hold." Glancing toward the water, she gives a small, quick nod. "Jekzith, " repeats the girl carefully. "Nice ter meetcha both. Not too sure what I'd wanna do, but I could prolly help out in the stables. Had lots of practice helpin' with the animals at home." "They would? Ohh, right, little kids are hard work" P'draig states with conviction, tilting a glance back Paige's way. "I'm from the Reaches myself actually. The Weyr, not the Hold. Originally anyway. Been at Fort for over fourteen turns now," explains the Weyrlingmaster as he shakes hands. "Mm. He's brown if you can't tell," Paddy notes further and nods about the stables. "Sure - Keevin'd probably not mind extra help, even if just for a little bit." "'Specially when it's a lil sister who thinks she can use her age to her advantage, " Paige points out with a tiny grimace, "which's rather unfair, if'n you ask me. Bein' in the middle, I never got ter use anythin' like that t'get more sweets after supper or somethin'." Her expression brightens as he indicates that an extra set of hands in the stables would probably be helpful; another glance darts toward the lake. "Yeah? I sometimes have trouble a'tellin' the darker ones apart. Some of 'em look the same in the right sort of light, 'specially if'n they're almost the same size." "I'm the eldest, myself," P'draig replies with an easy shrug, "wouldn't know, but I could ask my brother what that's like." The Weyrlingmaster nods towards Jekzith's shadow in the water. "He's got long lines to him, but he's actually on the small side for a brown," Paddy notes with a little pull of a grin to one side of his mouth. "Maybe you can see when he climbs on out." Which Jekzith doesn't seem to be of a mind to do just yet. Paige grins a little. "It's gotta be better'n bein' in the middle, " she says, shaking her head slightly. Blue-grey eyes study the submerged dragon's shadow - as much of it as she can see, anyway - and the girl gives a thoughtful, "Hmm." Then: "If'n he's got long lines, he looks even longer in there, the way the water moves and all." Her grin does widen a little, even so. "That'd be real interestin'. Haven't seen any of 'em up close yet, save for m'aunt's blue. He's a tiny thing, she says. Not much bigger'n one of the larger greens." There's a chuckle only for that first bit, then P'draig nods, hands stuck in pockets as he eyes Jekzith gliding along, slipping out deeper. "Oh yeah? And yeah, greens, blues, smallest ones, but fierce in the air. Quick and agile," Paddy explains then nods as Jekzith's head pops up and curious blue-green eyes turn towards Paige. "He says he'll come out and let you have a look." "Guess it makes it easier for 'em to do tricks if they wanted to, " Paige hedges after a moment, eyebrows lifting in some surprise. "Really? Aw, tha's mighty nice of him. Er, tell him I said thanks. He dun hafta, if'n he doesn't wanna." But she's already peeking back over at him, peering back with a good deal of her own curiosity. "Definitely bigger'n m'aunt's blue; I can tell that much from here." Jekzith has arrived. It might be a little disconcerting the way Jekzith rises up out of the lake and drips over to the pair of people. "Here he is," P'draig declares with a grin and reaches up,r egardless of wet hide to rub under the brown's chin. He's an odd-colored dragon, variegated in shade, motley in appearance. But he seems ... chipper. Very disconcerting, indeed. Paige backpedals rapidly as Jekzith heads on over, but studies him a bit nonetheless, taking in his odd coloration. "So many different shades, " is the first thing she can come up with, followed soon after by a, "Definitely large. Larger." Since he seems cheerful about the whole affair, she somehow plucks up the courage to offer the brown a little wave and a, "Hullo there, Jekzith." Ducking his head down helpfully, Jekzith lets out a chipper little warble for Paige's benefit. P'draig chuckles. "Bronzes are bigger. A lot bigger. And if you go into the Hatching Grounds and sit in the galleries, Ciath's enormous," the rider points out. "Jek's actually pretty nimble in the air, but has more stamina than blues and greens. He's got a lot of energy, so he can make it a whole Fall." Paige takes the mini-lesson well in stride, absorbing this new information readily. "Kinda like runners, " she ventures after a moment. "The bigger ones are better at doin' the brute force thing; the smaller ones are better fer speed and travelin' faster. So the - blues and greens, right? - get 'round easier'n the bigger ones, but get tired faster'n they do. And the bigger ones're slower, but last longer due t'their size and strength?" Which is basically repeating what the weyrlingmaster is telling her, but it's a novel concept of understanding for a holder lass. Encouraged by the warble, she even grins a little, even if it's a trifle wobbly. "Yep, that's pretty much how it goes," P'draig agrees and gives Jekzith another fond thump. "Jek here's good at trading off in the middle, though he can give most greens a run for their marks in the air too." He smiles warmly up at the brown then looks back over at Paige. "Found the Grounds yet to have a looksee at the eggs?" "Peeped in once or twice, " admits Paige, "but it was all - really overwhelmin'. So big. Ran into a guy not long after I got here - Okalin, Okilin - somethin' like that. He said y'could see the eggs, but all I saw was an awful lotta sand. Was right 'bout one thing, though; sure was toasty in there. Lot warmer'n it's been out here." "Yeah? Just big, or lots of stuff to pay attention to?" P'draig asks. Jekzith hunkers down some more and peers up at Paige instead of down. "Ciath does like to bury her eggs," Paddy explains about the clutch. "A - lil bit of both, I think?" Paige says uncertainly. "The cavern was so big and the sandy mounds were so - big. Some were piled up all lumpy like." Here, she laughs a little. "Kinda reminded me of m'first attempt to mash up tubers. Lots of lumps in those, too. Just not that big." Distracted by this new perspective of Jekzith, she babbles a bit, but takes a cautious step closer nonetheless, gaze fixated on the dragon's face. "D'they - all do that?" she asks after a moment, turning back to P'draig. "Bury 'em, that is. Eggs. Is it 'cause they dun want anyone t'see 'em?" "Gotcha and huh. Tubers. Never really thought of it that way." P'draig runs a hand thoughtfully over his chin. "Hmm? Depends on the queen. I mean they have to stay in the sand to stay warm, but not all of them cover them up so completely," the WEyrlingmaster explains. Jekzith puts on his puppy dog eyed look. "You can touch him if you like. Jekzith. He likes it if you scratch under his chin right here." Demonstration. Paige blinks over at both rider and dragon for a moment before taking another step forward. And then another. "Really? Right - right here?" Carefully, she reaches over to scratch at the spot mentioned, exhaling with a small grin. "Yer chin's a lot stronger'n mine, " she chuckles, adding as an afterthought for P'draig, "So Ci - Ciath jus' likes to hide hers like that? Maybe it's more'n maternal instinct, then?" "Mmhm, right there." P'draig watches while Jekzith just affirms by thrumming a deep croon of satisfaction and half-lidding his eyes. "I guess, yeah. Personality y'know?" He chuckles about Jekzith's chin. "A lot bigger too," he jokes. "Bigger, " she agrees, grin widening. "And he looks a lot tougher'n I am. And he can fly, which I can't." Perhaps aware that she's starting to babble again, Paige lapses into a bit of a silence, stepping up after a few minutes to add a second hand to the scratching. Suddenly, she giggles a little. "Aw, my lil sister'd be jealous if she saw me scratchin' his chin. She keeps hopin' our brother'll come back home with his dragon so's she can meet him, but he hasn't, yet, and m'folks won't let her go and visit. Said she's still too young." Jekzith leaaaans into double hands. Good stuff from the deepness of the croon. Happy brown. "How old is your little sister," P'draig asks curiously, adopting a comfortable lean against Jekzith's side as the brown continues to pretend like he's a puppy instead of a full-grown dragon. "'Bout ten, gettin' close to eleven, " Paige answers, beaming as her double-handed scratching seems well-received. "She was 'bout five, near six when he Impressed at High Reaches. I think that's all she blabbered 'bout for /days/ afterwards." And yet, the girl's beam widens just a tad more; despite everything, she probably likes her sibling pretty well. "You got any younger brothers or sisters?" she can't help wondering then, continuing her ministrations to Jekzith. "Ahhh, well I dunno, seems big enough to me for a visit, but then I live here, so," P'draig laughs then and scuffs a foot along chilled ground. "It's exciting when something changes in the family." Her question earns another chuckle. "Yeah, a few, my family tree is a little complicated. I've got one full blooded brother, Giremi, he's a harper, three half-brothers and one half-sister by my father, two half-sisters by my mother. Both of my parents are riders." Jekzith just thrums and enjoys he does. Paige's eyes round just a tad. "S'lot of siblings, " she remarks, unable to keep a bit of surprise out of her words. "So riders really do end up with a lotta children? Always heard that was the case, but never really got a chance to ask one. Er, I mean, y'know. Never got a chance to find out whether it's the truth." She's got a lot of rumors to debunk in that head of hers - probably another reason she's considering extending her visit. Scritch, scritch. "Y'ever see 'em often?" "Some do," P'draig concedes. "It's hard for some of the female riders to keep a baby, from going Between a lot," he explains further. "But flights happen and most lower caverns women don't object to carrying a rider child - there's no shame in it anyway," Paddy continues with a loose shrug. "I've got two myself, both flight-born. A little girl, Palia, she'll be three soon, and Jaivery, he's three months, but he lives at Telgar with his mother." P'draig smiles about his family though. "Mmhm. At least once a seven. Go visiting on rest days and evenings." "Oh." And Paige shudders just at the mention of between. "I'll be real glad ter delay my next trip into it. Between, I mean. Didn't like it very much." There's a small furrow to her brow, a thoughtful pursing of her lips. "I can see how there'd be a sorta honor in it, " she says at last, frowning a little. "'Twouldn't be accepted at home, o'course, but - lotta things here wouldn't be." Veering away from that topic, she gives him an answering, delighted smile. "Aw, I bet they're real cute, too. S'good that ya get t'see 'em so often. Sounds like it'd be hard t'keep a family together like that, though." "You get used to it," P'draig notes lightly about that soundless, sightless, non-place. "Mm, nope, I've gathered it wouldn't be. It's just kind of part of life here at the Weyr. Riders don't marry. Some of the staff do, sometimes, but mostly things are just ... less structured," Paddy says carefully. "Well where relationships are concerned." Paddy tilts his head briefly to lean against Jekzith and smiles. "Yeah. Nice thing about being a rider is that travel's a snap of the fingers when you have some hours off-duty." His expression grows a little more serious though. "I guess that's kind of the thing though - you don't. Most weyrkids are fostered when they're babies, raised all together, so the whole Weyr is kind of like family. Unless the parents do things a little differently." "Can't imagine, " Paige mutters, shaking her head. "It's such a - terrifyin' place." Tilting her head a little, she tries to imagine what it might be like to grow up with one, large family - an entire Weyr. "Might be an advantage to growin' up like that. No worryin' 'bout eldest or youngest or who gets t'do the dishes or sit where at the table durin' supper. If'n yer in a mob of kids and y'all got equal status - t'would seem easier. And more people t'play with, grow up with." Muse. "So not all parents foster their kids, then?" "Mm. Mostly I think about where I'm going. Have to, to avoid getting lost Between," P'draig notes from his slouched position against the brown dragon. "Don't know that everyone's equal all the time, age still plays into it, but yeah, everyone gets chores, everyone has to help, everyone tends to get the same amount of attention unless they've got doting parents." He lifts a hand and scratches at his nose a little sheepishly. "I dote on Palia." And he shakes his head next. "Some ... choose not to. Though it's very very hard to manage with a dragon and a kid. I didn't exactly /foster/ Palia, for example. I mean, she has a milk-mother, a nurse. Though she's weaned now. But since I have a ground weyr," he gestures across the Bowl, "and clutches are farther apart in an Interval, I've been lucky enough to spend a lot more time with her than most riders get to." Beat. "I probably won't be able to do that with Jaivery." Paige smiles as he admits to being a doting parent, pausing in the scratching to reach up and push an errant section of hair back. "Aw, well, if the kid's cute, it'd be hard not to, wouldn't it? Lil ones are adorable." Resuming her movements, though a bit more slowly, she can't help giving him a sad look at that last bit. "That's too bad, " she murmurs at last. "I hope m'brother gets some time ter spend with his if'n he ever has any. He likes kids. Lots. Wrote home a lot ter our lil sister 'bout how he was doin' and what his dragon was like. Little thin's and stories t'keep her less disappointed 'bout him bein' gone." "Palia is absolutely adorable," P'draig says without hesitation, his adoration of his daughter plain to see in the look on his face and the tone of his voice. His eyes lift to the sky next though, watching a drift of cloud go by. "Yeah. It is. I'll spend as much time as I can, but even with instant travel ... Telgar's two hours ahead of us, it's usually late there already by the time my day is done here." His gaze drops back down to Paige. "Yeah? That was nice of him." Paige's brow creases a little, despite not quite watching the rider, gaze unfocused somewhere off to the side and scratching, turning a little more absent. "I bet she is, " she settles for saying, mouth lifting a little. "Yeah, he did. I think he was a'tryin' ter get her t'attach t'me a bit more since he couldn't be there; he requested that I read his letters t'her, rather'n our folks. She sure looked forward t'what we started callin' 'letter time' for a while, there." "Nice that," P'draig agrees about the letters and pushes away from Jekzith's side. "Well speaking of duty, I need to get off to sweeps in a little bit and I need to grab a bite before then. It was nice meeting you Paige and I hope to catch up with you again while you're staying here." Paddy gives Jekzith a little poke. "Time to go get your straps, you," notes the rider to the dragon who just whuffs a little and streeeetches up, wings spreading wide and maple against the sun briefly. Taking a few steps back as Jekzith stretches, Paige gives P'draig a cheery grin. "Nice t'meetcha, too. And Jekzith. I'm sure I'll see ya both 'round again; Weyr's big but it in't /that/ big." And she watches the brown's wings as they spread, blinking up at them. "Fer havin' so many shades, it sure looks purty when he holds 'em up like that." P'draig beams for the compliment to Jekzith. "Yeah, he's not typically handsome, but he's got something," the Weyrlingmaster can't help but agree with a wink for the holder girl. "Clear skies, Paige," Paddy says with a friendly smile and turns to head off to take care of duty. |
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