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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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 Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 3:00 pm
 Lin's gold dragon Serith kept a light mental touch on her rider's mind as the tall young woman made her way through the glow-lit tunnels of the Weyr to Weyrwoman Alaia's office. Her rider was stressed enough that there were several knots forming around her shoulders and upper back that came from holding herself so tense all the time. Lin had been expecting this summons to come several sevendays ago, and the fact that it hadn't had been driving the dutiful goldrider up the wall with nerves.
You really can't do anything about it at this point, Serith pointed out, even though she knew it wouldn't help to remind Lin of her helplessness. The eggs have been laid and we can't leave them here.
Lin didn't reply to her dragon because, frankly, it would do no good. Serith worried about things, of course, but this sort of worrying was a sort the gold really did not understand and pointing out to her dragon that they had more things to worry about than she had already considered would only stress the poor creature out. Lin would prefer not to do that at this juncture.
Serith was worried anyway, but she was doing her best not to worry her human by expressing her concerns since she knew she could do even less about them than Lin could. Instead she kept a watch on the spotted green firelizard that had been a gift from N'ial to Lin two turns ago after the last time Serith returned to Igen to be flown by a dragon there. She didn't remember that far back, but she knew that Filcher needed to be watched because Lin didn't like her to be present at official meetings.
The walk seemed interminable, but Lin knew it wasn't truly, and soon enough she was standing before the heavy skin that hung across the door frame of Alaia's office. She did not hesitate outside. Any reluctance she felt, she stifled. Later she might make her way down to the kitchen and discommode the workers by helping them chop things or kneading bread dough, but for the moment she was on duty and that was that.
"Weyrwoman," she said loudly enough to be heard. She had never felt comfortable calling Alaia by her name, even though the Weyrwoman had asked her to do so at least once every time they spoke. Lin considered it too informal for official conversations at least, and between two goldriders it was impossible to have any conversation that wasn't formal as far as Lin was concerned.
In the back of her mind she heard Serith asking Alaia's Opreth, Are we in trouble?
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 4:42 am
Not really, Alaia heard Opreth saying.
Who are you talking to? Alaia asked as she settled herself more comfortably in her chair. She had been the senior weyrwoman for a while now, and the cushions she'd had put onto most of the furniture in this office were finally beginning to take on a shape that accommodated her more plush frame.
Opreth answered her rider, Serith. She wants to know if she and Lin are in trouble. Also, I believe they're here.
Just as Opreth finished explaining herself Alaia heard Lin call out to her, confirming the dark gold dragon's suspicion that the junior weyrwoman had arrived. Alaia really wished that the girl could just relax. She'd been staying at Fort on and off for several turns, and surely by now would have felt comfortable enough not to use everyone's formal title all the time. Well, except for that bluerider. Apparently Lin had learned to relax around him.
"Come in, Lin," Alaia called. Unlike the younger goldrider, the Fort Weyrwoman didn't have a problem addressing people by their names. On the other hand, she was the rider of the senior queen for the Weyr, the only official queen, truth be told, and so pretty much everyone was her subordinate and could be addressed with as much informality as she liked.
Once Lin had obeyed - Alaia always felt like she was getting obedience from Lin, or compliance, rather than something simpler like she'd get from anybody less annoyingly dutiful - Alaia invited her to take a seat. The office was arranged comfortably with expensive wooden furniture covered with plush pillows. Some might call the colors garish - L'ki among them - but Alaia liked the pretty, bright things that filled her office. She didn't understand why everyone thought that just because she did work here, she couldn't also enjoy her surroundings.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:11 am
Opreth says we're not really in trouble, Serith reported as Lin moved the heavy fur aside and stepped into the cavern, per Alaia's instructions. Aren't you glad?
Very, Lin replied, although her mental tone was tinged with enough worry that Serith couldn't detect a great deal of gladness in it. Lin's facial expression didn't change as she spoke to her dragon, but like most riders it was still apparent to anyone who spent much time with them what she was doing. There was just this thing where the rider's eyes seemed to look inward. It didn't change the rest of their facial expression, but it was there to be seen by those who knew how to look. Lin's eyes were doing that.
You could have fooled me.
I am relieved, Lin answered her dragon truthfully. But there are still a great many things to worry about, and it is my duty to consider them and worry about them as much as necessary.
Since Serith couldn't find anything to disagree with in that statement she settled more comfortably on the sands, nudged a dull-looking egg back into an upright position after it had fallen onto its neighbor, a vibrantly colored egg, and then curled up with her tail over her nose. She didn't think that she would be required to actively participate in this conversation and so she was going to try to sleep and not to think about how hungry she was. Clutching queens never got enough to eat. That was why they were testy.
You're not underfed, Lin chastised before turning her attention back to Alaia.
At the older goldrider's suggestion she seated herself in the least squishy chair she could find, offering polite pleasantries automatically. "Thank you. I hope your day has been pleasant so far."
Then, because she had not been the one to call for this meeting, she waited in silence for Alaia to bring up what was on her mind. She knew for certain that it made Alaia uncomfortable when she did this waiting-in-silence thing, but she really couldn't help it. It seemed rude for her to preempt her superior by saying anything else or guessing what Alaia would say. Either she would tell her or she wouldn't, but asking would be like rushing her, and therefore rude.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 9:39 am
Alaia didn't have to be a mindreader to guess what passed between Lin and her dragon. This was a talk she knew she should have had with Lin much earlier, like when Lin failed to return to Igen before Serith rose. She had been putting it off and putting it off, but the eggs were hardening on the sands and that meant that she couldn't put it off any longer.
"It hasn't been too bad. I'm hoping it stays that way."
In truth, Alaia didn't expect Lin to do anything to make her morning more difficult. It was likely that the junior weyrwoman would probably go along with whatever Alaia suggested. She was very compliant, if not exactly easy to get along with. Not that she was difficult to get along with. She just wasn't very social. Alaia wondered what it would be like when she was in charge of a Weyr.
"We're going to have to decide what to do about Serith's clutch. I don't know if Ninny and F'real know about it. Have you heard from them?"
Alaia didn't know whether she ought to hope that Ninny and F'real hadn't heard or that they had. In the case of the latter, their silence could mean nothing good. It didn't seem very likely though, because while Ninny was definitely the sort of woman to nurse a grudge, F'real would have confronted L'ki about it. The last time they spoke, L'ki hadn't mentioned F'real saying anything about it, so she assumed the Fort Weyrleaders were in ignorance.
Things will be okay, Opreth reassured her rider. Lin is reasonable and she will know her duty.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:13 am
She means she wants us to do something unpleasant instead of making her do it, doesn't she? Serith asked after listening to Alaia through Lin.
Lin sighed mentally and agreed, That's what it sounds like.
What unpleasant thing do you suppose she doesn't want to do? Serith mused. Tell Ninny and F'real? Ooh, I bet that's it.
Probably. Won't that be fun. Lin's sarcasm was thick, but even so her dragon replied as if she had been asking in earnest: No.
"I haven't," Lin answered Alaia. "We will have to tell them, of course. It isn't as though a Hatching can take place unnoticed, if nothing else, and if the first they hear of it is when they receive an invitation to that I expect they will wonder if we were trying to hide it from them as part of a grander scheme."
It was only because she was raised to be polite that Lin used the plural "they" when speaking about Fort Weyr, because everyone in this conversation knew that she really meant "Weyrwoman Ninuta." F'real would be mad, of course, but he wouldn't think they were plotting against him and the Weyr. He'd probably even believe it if Lin told him she just hadn't noticed Serith's hide glowing until it was too late. Ninuta, on the other hand, would not believe that.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 10:50 am
"I agree," Alaia replied, smiling with relief. The smile was very white against her dark skin and it looked natural there. Alaia couldn't help thinking that whenever Lin smiled, she always seemed like she was wearing a mask, except when she was startled into reacting to something her dragon said.
With her smile comfortably in place Alaia went on, "This isn't something we can tell them with a firelizard-carried message. It would be an insult, and we both know how well insults are borne by some people."
Of course she was talking about Ninny. F'real would be insulted, too, but he'd get over it. Ninny, on the other hand, probably would imagine schemes, just as Lin predicted.
"Ideally we can let them know soon. It's already been too long. Whoever tells them will have to be someone sufficiently important that their contrition will salve over hurt feelings."
Do you think they'll offer to go themselves? Opreth asked hopefully.
Alaia hoped the same thing, but there was a problem, and she was surprised Opreth hadn't considered it. Who will fly her there? Serith can't leave her clutch.
Shardit, Opreth swore. Maybe L'ki and Horvath can take them.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:29 am
Alarms went off in Lin's head. Alaia was getting to the point where she was trying to make known to Lin what she wanted of her. And...shells this would be unpleasant.
She wants you to tell them, Serith said unnecessarily. That's not going to go well at all. And, for that matter...Opreth, I can't fly. I can't leave the eggs. How do you expect me to take her to that place?
Lin didn't shake her head, but her dragon understood how she felt. Her weariness and exasperation.
Do you regret what we did? Serith asked, looking at her small clutch. There were no queens. She had never laid a queen egg. This close to Fall, she was supposed to be. What was wrong with her?
I don't regret it, Lin said. She had concerns and doubts, but she didn't have regrets. And there's nothing wrong with you. It's probably all my fault. The thing with N'ial.
It's done. Serith said. She sounded a little unsure.
Lin reassured her dragon, agreeing, It is. And that's why I have to go, even if you can't fly me there.
"I'll tell them. I'll apologize, tell them, apologize, invite them to the Hatching, possibly grovel a bit and hope that F'real takes pity on me." She knew better than to hope Ninuta would. "Do you think L'ki would be willing to take me?"
For whatever reason she felt more comfortable with L'ki than she did with Alaia. He was one of those people who was awkward in his dealings with others, a bit like herself, and his sharp and inappropriately timed smirks put her at ease. There was someone who was even less adept at handling people than she was.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 11:50 am
Yes, we thought of that, Opreth reassured Serith. I've already asked Horvath and he says L'ki will take the two of you.
It was unnecessary for Alaia to repeat the news her dragon shared with Lin's but it was good manners, and although in most instances Alaia would have been content to allow the dragons' communication to stand in place of human speech, but Lin's stiff formality made her more conscious of such things and less inclined to do them.
"L'ki can certainly take you. And as we have agreed that they ought to be told as soon as possible, perhaps it should be tomorrow." She would have suggested doing it that very day, but there was a way of doing things when dealing with Igen, and a part of that was not simply showing up unannounced.
"The eggs' shells are hardening quickly. We will have to have the Touching soon," she continued. "I was thinking we should hold it soon, and with as little fuss as possible."
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:14 pm
Just Lin, thanks, Serith said to Opreth, good humor suffusing her tone. Horvath is big and generous, but surely he isn't big enough to carry me and Lin and L'ki.
Lin didn't know what Serith and Opreth were saying, as Alaia had shared the news almost at the same time Opreth had, which meant that Serith hadn't bothered to share the news. If Lin had known her dragon was teasing Alaia's for misspeaking, she would have said something in that certain tone Serith hated because it meant she had done or said something she oughtn't to have. Serith hated disappointing Lin, or distressing her.
"Tomorrow will be fine. A rider sent now should give them enough time to...to make whatever preparations they deem necessary." In the back of her mind Lin finished that thought differently, and it went something like to come up with vicious things to say to make me miserable.
I hate that I won't be there to defend you from them, Serith grumbled, knowing what Lin thought but did not say.
"While L'ki and I are at Fort, you should hold the Touching. There may not be a way to stop them from bringing candidates to the Hatching, but it will prevent them from trying to force you to allow some of their candidates to attend the Touching." It was not a small rebellion, what Lin proposed, but the way she said it made it sound perfectly reasonable.
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2013 12:26 pm
I meant Lin and L'ki! Opreth told Serith, but she was in good humor, too.
Everything was going the way Opreth and Alaia had hoped. It was a relief to both dragon and rider that Serith and Lin were willing to step up and do the difficult thing. Of course, the fact that they had also been the ones to do the stupid thing made that a more reasonable thing to expect of them, but had the pairs' positions been reversed Alaia would not have been so willing to return to that hateful Weyr.
"Would they really...? Hm. Ninny might," Alaia allowed, trying not to be shocked by what Lin implied and suggested. She recognized the rebellion it represented for the junior weyrwoman. "Very well. If you're certain that you won't mind not being present for the Touching, it will be done that way."
She didn't really like the idea of Igen candidates being shipped in to stand at a Fort Hatching, but Serith was an Igen queen and it was not an unreasonable thing. Well, it was and it wasn't. The issue was sticky. She was relieved that it would be Lin and L'ki who were forced to deal with it.
"You know, if there's anything you'd like to talk to me about, I'm here," she said. As she expected, Lin thanked her, but refused her offer. She always did. Whatever difficulties Lin was having, whatever she was going through, she had never complained of them to anyone as far as Alaia knew. All that repression couldn't be good for a person.
"All right then. I've a Touching to arrange and you...you had better start coming up with a lot of synonyms for 'sorry,' 'stupid,' and 'mistake.'" She smiled to soften her words, but both goldriders knew she was right. Tomorrow would be hugely unpleasant for one of them, and thankfully it wouldn't be Alaia.
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