Logs:Unknown
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| RL Date: 4 March, 2016 |
| Who: K'del, Silva |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: A Taiga party has Silva and K'del talking about what Silva doesn't quite understand. |
| Where: HRW :Snowasis |
| When: Day 11, Month 3, Turn 40 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: t'gar/Mentions |
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| This winter evening finds the Snowasis solidly busy, most particularly with a group of Taiga riders who are feting their wingleader-- F'manis having recently become a grandfather for the second time-- with beer and pretzels. K'del stands back from the crowd, hovering about the bar with his drink rather than indulge in the more energetic celebrations centred about one of the tables. Whatever the young woman serving the bar has just said to him has clearly amused him; he grins, head shaking, as he murmurs something in return. Silva's been invited to this shindig, but she's not getting involved. Unlike her pre-impression social-butterfly self, Silva's become a more contained person and less likely to toss herself out for just anything. She's across the bar from K'del, her eyes downcast as she plays with her curled hair. More self contained, maybe, but she's totally still interested in looking as GOOD as possible. K'del's bar staff companion moves away, crossing towards another patron who actually seems to want to order something. It leaves the bronzerider to glance up, first to consider all those wingmates and then, further, towards Silva. It's the latter who catches more of his attention-- enough that, a few moments later, he lifts his glass and moves to slide in alongside her. "Silva," he says. "Enjoying yourself? You look nice." Silva didn't really expect the Weyrleader to approach her, so while she isn't startled by his movement, she does seem suprised at his speaking to her. Fussing with her hair over her shoulder Silva shifts in place so she's slightly facing him. "Thank you." That sounds sincere enough. "You're not... in Taiga... are you?" Mouth opening, K'del seems genuinely taken aback by that question, his smile fading to something more... well, bemused. "Not very observant, are you?" he says, though at least that seems more amused than concerned. "Don't lead the wing or anything, and I'm not always at drills, but sure, I fly for Taiga. Have done for quite a few turns now. How're you settling in?" "Oh well... I mean, like, I couldn't have known." It sounds a little petulant, and no, Silva hadn't noticed. She's turned out to be competent enough, but she's not //good// by any stretch of the imagination. Her eyes are downcast, "I guess it's fine and such. Different." That K'del disagrees with Silva's ability to have known is plain from his expression; still, he seems disinclined to argue the point, instead shrugging and pausing long enough to take a sip from his beer. "It's always an adjustment," he says. "Going from weyrlinghood to the wings. 'least you've got T'gar with you, too-- you're not alone as a newbie. It'll get easier over time. Always does." Silva, defensive now. It shows in how the young woman squares her shoulders and settles her arms across her chest and hugs them against herself. "It's not like we're best friends or like, anything. But like, whatever. I mean, it is what it is." K'del is silent for several long seconds. "No," he agrees. "But you don't have to be best friends to..." He exhales, more a sigh than a breath. "It'll be spring, soon. Time to start checking in with all of the holders, as the snows thaw, and see what they need from us to prepare for the planting. Be a nice change from just flying sweeps, anyway." "To work with them?" Silva hazards a way to finish K'del's sentence. "I guess I'm like, a little fuzzy still, on like, what exactly we have to do when the planting or whatever comes." "Support each other. Learn from each other." K'del doesn't refute Silva's hazarded answer, but it's not agreement, either. He turns his glass in his hand, now, hesitating over the rest of what he has to say: 'authority figure explaining from on high' is written right through his expression. And, when they come, his words too. "Generally, it's not our job to do the planting-- but that doesn't mean there won't be ways in which we can help. Roads may need to be cleared; last minute supplies may need to be ferried. Our job is to support the holders to do their jobs." "I kinda sucks at like, planting and whatnot, so that's probably good." Silva doesn't like to grub in the dirt. Fidgeting slightly Silva shifts herself so she's angled slightly towards the weyrleader. "I know like, we went through all of this in Candidacy, but like, I still don't really get why we have to do that." K'del hesitates, albeit only for a few seconds. "Do you like eating, Silva? Being warm in winter? Having straps for Zaisyreth?" His fair brows lift as he asks the question, blue-eyed gaze intense and interested. That look Silva casts over to K'del has overtones of 'duh' in it. Sadly, she doesn't realize the 'duh' in his own comments. "Uh, yes?" "Well, then." K'del gives Silva a look. "That's why we do it. We're in an Interval. If we let the holds forget why we're useful, why they need us, we've no guarantee that they'll continue to tithe. And if they don't tithe, we don't eat." "Oh. Well." Silva, realizing she sounds stupid. Chagrin writes itself upon her face as a flush of red as she ducks her head. "I guess. I mean, like, I wouldn't want Zaisy to be hungry or whatever. And I suck at hunting with him." It's probable that K'del means his smile to be encouraging rather than pitying, though that's easily misinterpreted. "Better for all of us if it's not something we have to worry about," he agrees. "Especially for our dragons. So: we'll just need to keep charming the holders, mm?" Yup, Silva reads it wrong. Her dignity comes crashing down as she straightens up and raises her chin. "I can do //that//. Like, clearing roads is stupid, but I can lie to them just fine." K'del opens his mouth. He closes it again. He takes a breath. (Teenagers!) "Reckon I believe you can," is probably intended to be conciliatory. "Though it's not lying as such, more... keeping them happy. Perception, more than anything." Still, he's awkward, now, gaze sliding away from the bluerider and towards their mutual wingmates. Silva, watching K'del, rolls her eyes slightly, though she manages to put some amount of respect in it when she starts with "Sir," a pause, "If you're trying to get someone to think you're different then you are, then it's a lie." "So you don't think we are useful to the holders? You think we're just pretending we are?" K'del glances back at Silva to ask that, his brows raised. "We're not lying to them. We're reminding them." "Do you think that we do anything they couldn't do for themselves?" Silva returns the question, still wrapped up in her own dignity. "I mean, like, maybe we do it faster and what not, but like... they could clear roads and stuff with runners." "The question is... do they have the time and the manpower to do it," replies K'del, showing no indication that he's offended by Silva's argument. "And then there are things... sometimes there are floods in spring. We can get warnings to them, warnings that they might not otherwise get. We can perform rescues from the air. We can drop in supplies to people whose roads are blocked. Yes, they can survive without us, but why should they? We are less useful to them during an Interval, but that doesn't mean we're not... doesn't mean we're not still worth feeding." "It's not like they don't have children or whatever." Silva, still defensive on her point. Not... that she's trying to say that riders are useless or such, but right now she's being stubborn. "why don't like, we farm and try to like, take care of ourselves? I mean, I know we can't do that when like, death and whatever," thank god there isn't thread and Silva has to fight it, "is falling, but at least take some of the strain off?" Surprisingly, K'del nods. "It's a thing that's been mooted before. We've even tried it-- blame Lord Crom for it failing, but never mind. But we need land to farm, and why would the holders give it to us? There're the western islands, but that's complicated all over again. It's--" He hesitates, then shrugs his shoulders. "Anyway. You don't want to get down into the dirt and farm, do you? Most dragonriders don't. Some accepted Search because it got them out of that life." He straightens, now, drawing his shoulders back as he does so. "Welcome to the complexities of weyr life in an Interval, Silva. Want to come rejoin the party with me, or are you happy hanging back here?" "I don't have any friends here, and I kinda promised I wouldn't drink unless ther was like, someone to look after me." There's hints of something deeper there in Silva's words but she is NOT about to admit her mistake to the weyrleader. K'del's silence lasts one beat, two beats, three. "Taiga's your wing, Silva," he tells the bluerider. "And wings look out for each other. I'll keep an eye out, if you like. If you let them, so will the rest of the wing. But if you hold yourself apart..." His lips press together, his expression solemn. "It's your call, but that seems a pretty lonely future." There's a hint in Silva's eyes that says that the bluerider isn't quite ready to believe K'del yet. But she does step forward with a small shrug and takes him up on his offer. Maybe not the LIFE of the party, bt at least the girl will interact a little more? It's a start-- or, at least, K'del seems to believe it. True to his word, too, he'll keep at least half an eye on her for the rest of the evening, and a handful of the Taigan wingriders will deliberately engage their newest wingmate. Call it a win. |
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