Logs:Seeming Civil
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| RL Date: 12 March, 2015 |
| Who: Hattie, E'dre |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: E'dre seems to be doing somewhat better. |
| Where: Stores, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 24, Month 3, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Lilah/Mentions, N'muir/Mentions |
| It may come as some surprise to those who know E'dre (or think they know him) that he has taken on the duties of a junior weyrwoman with little to no issue. Those that had been complaining about the Weyrsecond's temperament have now been talking highly of E'dre's. "He listens," they all seem to be saying, "He's charming." Charming? The man who has been known to belittle candidates, think ill of residents, and have no tolerance for those who aren't dragonriders seems to have turned all of that around and presented a positive, smiling, attitude to the tasks he is assigned. E'dre may be playing well with others, but the same cannot be said for the brown whose temperament may never change. Wroth has been sulking and more cantankerous than is even normal for him. Even now down at the lake, the dragon's who are out enjoying the weather have left a wide gap between them and the snarly brown. E'dre's down in Stores, taking inventory and conversing quietly with an assistant Headwoman on the state of their goods. Thus far, Hattie has been doing little but keeping E'dre at arms' length, supplying work and orders and guidance from that distance, though whether this is how she usually treats her juniors is debatable. Likewise, Elaruth has been leaving Wroth well enough alone unless she has to address him to locate his rider, yet her kind of distance doesn't involve not actively keeping an eye on him and his temper, just in-case. Eventually, as the day wears on, the Weyrwoman's duties bring her down to stores, a stack of hide clutched close to her chest, sandwiched to her with a clipboard that prevents them slipping over her arms and down to the ground. For the moment, she only observes E'dre and that assistant headwoman, perhaps wanting the latter's attention, or maybe that of the brownrider himself. "I don't think we can accommodate his request," E'dre says to the assistant, turning to look and see Hattie behind them. "Hello, Weyrwoman. We were just wrapping up here." He looks to the girl at his elbow with a smile, "Thank you for bringing the matter to my attention. Can you pass on the answer?" The girl nods her head, bobs a curtsey to Hattie, and takes her leave with hurried steps. No one seems to know how this conversation will go - and best to be out of the way! E'dre strides towards Hattie to collect the stack of hide if she permits to free her hands. He doesn't quite know how to continue on and so he stands in front of her and smiles at her placidly. "Did you need any help from me down here?" That she doesn't trust that smile is plain enough in the drag of Hattie's gaze over E'dre, though she doesn't fight to keep the hides - only the clipboard, which she lets drop to her side in the grip of her right hand. "They need to be delivered to the correct storeskeepers," she tells him. "What the kitchen is going to need for the next fortnight needs to be made more easily accessible and available in good time." Looking him up and down again, she takes a step or two back to lean against the nearest unit of shelving. "Why don't you do this for N'muir?" she questions, her expression smoothed to an evenness betrayed by the sharpness of her gaze. "I do," E'dre's answer is quick and he shrugs, noting her sharpness and taking a step back from it unconsciously. "I just don't always do it well." He shifts the hides in his arms and tucks them under one elbow. "Everyone has asked me to change," he notes, unable to hide the wryness to his tone nor does he keep his placid expression. One brow drifts upwards as he levels a look on her. "I'm changing. Do you want me to stop?" "I'm not saying that," Hattie returns, leaning all the more heavily against the shelving. "I don't know whether you could keep this up for a sustained period of time or not, besides. A month is easy. A lifetime?" She's clinically analytical about it, no heat to her words to make them a jab at him. "Do you see? In theory, you can turn in your knot whenever you want and go and be however you want, in any wing, provided you turn up to duties. Lilah doesn't have that opportunity, nor does any goldrider. Sometimes, we're pretending all the time. And yes, sometimes we fuck up, but we don't get to give in." "It is easier to be a man," E'dre agrees, trying to follow her line of thought as he moves to settle those hides on a nearby box. He perches on a series of rolled rugs and prepares himself to keep the conversation civil by removing the chance to storm out easily. He rests his elbows on his knees and laces his fingers together. "And I suppose your reasoning is sound on the difference between goldriders and other colors. Any leader in the Weyr that is made not by their own choice - a Weyrleader, weyrwomen - do not have the opportunity to fuck up and walk away." He keeps his eyes focused on his laced fingers as he rubs one thumb against the other. "I do not know exactly how you want me to take that statement. I'm a brownrider, I'm a Weyrsecond because N'muir promoted me. I transferred to Fort, I wasn't made a 'rider by Fortian dragons." He looks up at her, "I've always acted the ass, true." Pause. "So, what now?" "Lilah is not particularly adept at pretending. She's about as subtle as an icepick to the head," Hattie remarks, knotting her arms beneath her chest, clipboard sticking out at an angle. "She may never be good at subtle or navigating the quieter nuances of things without driving her way straight through. I'm not making excuses for her, but you're older and you do your job of your own volition, and I think you're going to have to decide whether you're going to deal with her in an intelligent way, or meet her at that level of spite you both so seem to like." Inclining her head a little, she adds, "She needs to see what you do every day by choice, as much as you should try to understand the role Impression gave her." "You do realize," E'dre's patience is still there, his tone level as he flicks his gaze up to meet Hattie's, "That I never started any of the issues with Lilah. As far as I knew, we got along fine. She now begrudges me for Nala's going," he pauses to lift a shoulder, "as does N'muir. I had a part in her leaving," he can't deny that, "but I'm not entirely sure it was all me." He glances down at his hands, falling to silence while he considers his next words. "I'm not saying all of that to place the blame at her feet, or to avoid my own. I want you to know where my understanding lies." He twitches a shoulder again in a shrug. "I'll keep civil with her in the future if I remain the Weyrsecond. If that is what N'muir wishes for me to do. And even if I'm not, I'll do my part in maintaining civility between us." "Did I suggest that you started any of it?" Hattie sighs and gives a twitch of her shoulders. "It doesn't matter who started anything. The two of you are highly visible in the Weyr and subject to scrutiny that others aren't. Do you think I've never had an argument with her? I still have to work with her every day. If I carried on disputes or bore grudges against her, nothing would ever get done." Another twitch, this time of her lips, and not quite a grimace. "I'm suggesting that you be the bigger person, in as productive a way as you can that would benefit you and the Weyr. Even her." And then, after giving a slow, too casual glance around to check for any nearby eavesdroppers, she gets around to the other, underlying matter: "And N'muir. There's only so much he'll let me do by way of taking care of him. The wing means so much to him; he's looked after all of you. You need to look after him too." E'dre flicks his forefinger and thumb together a few times as he nods to her words. Saying less seems to be easier than hashing anything out these days, so he keeps with that new habit. "I will make concessions for Lilah's temperament and the limitations she may face due to her rank." He drops his hands to rest on his knees as he looks up to meet Hattie's gaze. "We have been doing our best. N'muir has faced a few setbacks. All we can do is keep moving forward. I will speak to C'stian and see how we may better support the Weyrleader." "No-one said anything about concessions, E'dre," Hattie answers bluntly. "I hope that trying for understanding and conceding aren't the same thing. And don't expect you to be the only one actually making an effort." Still, she flinches when he mentions Hematite's other wingsecond, and pushes away from the shelves to hug the clipboard to her chest again. "...Maybe C'stian isn't the best person to talk to about that, given... recent developments," she murmurs, glancing down at her feet. "For either of their sakes." She shrugs, however, unsure of that, and begins to turn back the way she came. "And don't you dare make it look obvious. Or like support." Drier about that, there's a touch of low humour there, softened by fondness and concern. "Right, of course," E'dre's reply is bland to her bluntness. "There's still some sevens left in all of this. I'll do what I can," he may be speaking of Lilah or N'muir - he doesn't clarify. He rises then, giving her a brief nod. "In the mean time, I have the rest of my day to finish." The only sign that things may not have been as well as he was playing off is the discarded hides on the box. He may have just forgotten them, or he may not have. Either way, they remain on the box as he heads out of stores in the direction the assistant took earlier. |
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