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Post by Admin on Apr 28, 2011 19:28:06 GMT -5
How many special people change,
How many lives are living strange,
Where were you while we were getting high,
Slowly walking down the hall?
The afternoon following the wherlings' first full night as handlers found the Weyrwoman in her usual place amongst the records, far from the hopeful sunlight of late winter. Her pen progressed neatly across pages, making checks and writing out the history of their little corner of Pern in numbers, lists, and clipped sentences. The snow had finally fully thawed, melting for the last time to allow spring to quickly set in over the Weyr in the coming months. That made her job a little easier, another item checked off her endless mental and often physically copied list of things to do. With nature and the very rocks of their island home, she had let out a long-held breath, glad that winter was over and none of them had starved. Despite her gladness at the changing of the seasons, her work was never done and she continued to throw herself into it with her usual focus. Her pen never paused. Even when she read a note or a paper, it wrote the next thing it needed to write, her knuckles touched with white from her grip upon it.
The Weyrwoman's desk was crowned with a set of forms and lists. It was the results of a hatching, the wher one just passed, the neat recording of lives changed in brief lines. The reports weren't quite finished, but she was happy to have them there. Hatchings were happy things, even when full of blood; she had a strong stomach for blood, so the joy, no matter how slight, won out. New wherlings were good for the Weyr. Perhaps in the future, they would be able to be more perfectly protected. She could use more eyes to keep on G'kar; she'd put the brownrider in her wing, same as D'lios, but she couldn't constantly keep track of him when they barely had drills twice a sevenday. With the many threats that existed or came to the west, wherhandlers were of great use to her.
The candle in front of her marked the time, though she checked it infrequently. When she completed the latest of many requests and reports on seeds and the processing of them, she looked up at it and found that it was burning down to fourth mark of the afternoon. Audren had scheduled to meet with her then, so she set aside her work with a small smile on her lips. She enjoyed meeting with the redhandler, though she didn't know why this one was occurring and that unnerved her. The pair of them got along well. If not exactly friendly, they were agreeable colleagues, at least on Fajra's part. She was glad to have Audren assisting Ridan, glad for the redhandler as a person more than she was glad for a red that could make her more guardians. Organizing her things, making her desk neat and tidy, she waited for the wherhandler to arrive for their meeting.
Outside in the afternoon light, Kalith slept, dozing fitfully as she sunned.
Wake up the dawn and ask her why,
A dreamer dreams she never dies,
Wipe that tear away now from your eye,
Slowly walking down the hall. |
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Reky
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Post by Reky on Apr 29, 2011 8:34:13 GMT -5
Audren took the back tunnels, of course. Even the weak, frosty light of winter was enough to bother her eyes. She was as nocturnal as whers themselves. By some miracle, Ausk had stayed sleeping while the handler rose and left for her meeting. Though she tried to keep her legs going at a decent pace, she felt heavy. The news she had weighed heavy in her chest, like a second heart made of lead. It made her feel sick. She wouldn't like this meeting - no one would - but it was something that had to be done. With this grave thought in her head, she continued through the straightforward, dark tunnels to the records room.
She knocked lightly on the door as she leaned through it. She saw Fajra at a clean desk, the flickering candle proclaiming Audren on time. The redhandler offered a tense smile, which she knew would have immediately given away the grave nature of her presence here. She wished that she could at least pretend it wasn't such a big deal. At least she was meeting with Fajra. She never hid anything from Fajra because she never felt the need to. She liked the Weyrwoman, even - with a life consumed by a job and a red wher that left little time for human contact - fancying her a friend. Still, most of their meetings were entirely business, but there was some casualness born of their bond. Audren walked into the room of her own accord after knocking and pulled up a chair for herself.
"Hey," she said, settling down. In the warm candlelight, the tired shadows on her face were exaggerated. The bags under her eyes were always there, marks of nigh-perpetual exhaustion, so she looked nothing out of the ordinary for Audren. Her frizzy hair was hastily pulled back behind her head; a few strands threatened to come free. "Sorry for having this meeting so close to the hatching - you're probably swamped with getting everything written down. I had to have it soon, though, but I couldn't stir it up before the hatching. That would be too stressful."
She fidgeted a little, tucking flyaway hair behind her ear. Then she took a breath and composed herself. It was obvious that the topic distressed her. "I've been keeping an eye on what's been going on with the wher program. I talked to Paget the other day - the non-candidate Impressor - and to Damali, and I'll be helping her with red Damask, but... those are the least of my problems. I've noticed more worrisome things."
Audren sighed. Then, she lifted her gaze and caught Fajra's eyes. "It's about Ridan. Hate to say it, but... it is." [/blockquote] |
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Admin
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Post by Admin on Apr 29, 2011 20:50:33 GMT -5
A billion people died on the news tonight,
But not so many cried at the terrible sight,
Well, momma said, it's just make believe,
You can't believe everything you see.
Fajra studied Audren's face when she arrived, eying the other woman's tight smile. They were quite alike, the two of them. Same as the redhandler, Fajra's face was lined with premature age, though her youth held firm in the easy flush of her pale cheeks and the freckles that dotted her nose. Exhaustion and frustration hid itself in the edges of her expression, constantly threatening the dams of her willpower. Thankfully, those dams very rarely failed. "Hello Audren; she greeted, keeping her small smile only as long as it took to say that. Then it disappeared, rather than become as tense and awkward as the one Audren wore. She kept her emptied hands neatly folded in front of her, nodding her head to the seat across from her to suggest that the redhandler might take it without a word. She had nothing more to say; it was Audren's turn to speak and explain.
Silent, Fajra listened to what the redhandler said, processing every word and every pause. Her face revealed nothing, but the lack of emotion it expressed revealed something in and of itself. The friendliness and camaraderie she felt towards Audren had disappeared into the cool presence of an analytical mind inches away from temper. She avoided jumping to any conclusions, but she prepared for every eventuality. The time of the meeting was no problem. Paget and Damali were of no issue if Audren said they weren't; she hadn't expected either of them would be a problem, though both had the potential to be surprises. She hated surprises. However, Ridan, it seemed, was going to be a problem. She didn't know why. She could hazard a guess, but she wasn't one to guess. Jaw clenched with worries, she would hear Audren out before she reacted to anything.
Meeting Audren's gaze without fear or pause, Fajra responded, voice tight and cool. It was always like that; it had almost become her natural way of speaking. "What about Ridan?" A simple inquiry, lightly put, as if there was some hope yet still that nothing was wrong. She knew better than to think that; something was wrong and she was going to clean it up. However, she had some hope. Perhaps Ridan had merely injured himself, though why Kalith hadn't gotten word of that earlier escaped her. Perhaps one of the new wherlings had gotten severely injured; that seemed more likely. Kalith didn't talk to whers other than Risk on select occasions much. Possibilities upon possibilities, all gathered together, weighed heavy on her mind. Still meeting Audren's gaze, she drew a blank paper in front of her and picked up her pen once more, holding it above the page.
Who's the one to decide that it would be all right,
To put the music behind the news tonight,
Well, momma said, you can't believe everything ya' hear,
The diagetic world is so unclear. |
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Reky
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Post by Reky on May 12, 2011 7:59:17 GMT -5
Fajra's cold demeanor was to be expected. Immediately the weyrwoman had shifted into a distant, analytical mindset. She was here to gather information, and Audren was here to give it. As unsettling at it was, Audren knew it was exactly what she wanted. Having Fajra just as worked up and emotional as she was wasn't going to help anyone. The best way to get this over with was to do it with straight facts. Even still, when that one simple question from Fajra prompted her to start, her stomach felt sick. She never had liked the idea of ratting out a fellow wherhandler.
"I've been noticing some irresponsible behavior from him," she said. "They may be simple mistakes, but it's too big for me to swallow and they are mistakes that shouldn't have been made in the first place. Oh, and by the way, this is all from me. I'm keeping Ausk's predisposition to hate Risk and Ridan's guts out of this." As was to be expected. Fajra probably didn't need to know that; Audren always kept Ausk's anger out of important things.
She began to count out points on her finger, hands just above the table. "First, a lack of important information in the lesson where he introduced Ausk and Risk to the candidates. This one is probably the most minor, but I'll state it anyway. He said specifically to respect gold whers, and nothing beyond that. I covered the necessary gaps when he was done." The statement was short and sweet. As she fiddled with her second finger, she was still speaking. "Whether that was just because it didn't occur to him, or that he is bonded to a gold, I'm not sure, but there it is."
She marked down the second fingers. "Second. At the end of the hatching, he congratulated Khemres of bronze Khesk specifically, rather than addressing the new wherlings as a whole." She let that sink in. It was common sense to congratulate every single Impressed pair and to show them what to do next. To miss that was a sign of irresponsibility, and in this case, favouritism. "The hat he was wearing the entire night also belonged to Khemres. I may not be best friends with any of the candidates, but I can recognize which ones are for the wher program and I pick up things about them. That kid always has his hat. His eyes are bad and he needs it to shade them. Then why did Ridan have it?
"I've also heard rumours of Ridan being awfully close to some of the candidates," Audren said. She put down another finger. "As it would seem, especially close to Khemres which, seeing as he was a candidate, is a big, big problem. I have not witnessed such flirting or explicit activities. I can't say for myself. But I have heard rumours, and the worry me."
The redhandler now folded her hands together, one thumb rubbing at the other in a nervous tick. Her strong eyes fixed on Fajra's, but today they were in a moment of weakness. "I don't know what you're going to do about Ridan, but there you have it. It's been bothering me for weeks..." She leaned back into her chair and sighed. She vaguely felt Ausk's mind stirring, probably a result of her being so torn between guilt and valour, and willed the red to stay sleeping. [/blockquote] |
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Admin
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Post by Admin on May 13, 2011 2:37:33 GMT -5
What you still, you still, you still, you still,
Won't you say, you say, you say, you say,
What you feel, you feel, you feel, you feel,
Which is nothing but hollow feelings, yeah.
Fajra was not one for rumors. When she could, she generally kept her head and her ears well above them. However, she also wasn't stupid enough not to know that rumors often sprang from fact. Her mother was a gossip. Her sister was an even smarter one. Rumors were warnings; they measured the wavelengths of morale and upcoming information. Beyond that, she had evidence in front of her. She had no reason to doubt Audren and she was sure she could get collaborative evidence if necessary. The situation was laid out in front of her. Ridan had worn a candidate's hat to a hatching. Ridan had only addressed said candidate, no other. Ridan was not fulfilling his duties. The pieces clicked coldly into place within her mind. They did not make a puzzle. Instead, they slowly built a wall. She considered that wall, looking over its size and breadth. Its weight. Its cost.
Sympathy should have flared at some point during her quiet considerations and it did. It simply never reached the surface. She could barely extend empathy towards Audren, hardly looking at the other woman. Her mind was elsewhere. She felt no sympathy for Ridan. She would have liked to say that she felt no anger either, but she did. It was cold as ice, growing thick but slow in her chest, but it was still anger. Any misconduct on his part could kill the Weyr! It was hard enough for her to handle G'kar without her alphahandler ruining their credibility. Stress kept the moral dilemma a minor issue, though it was there. In truth, it wasn't much of a dilemma. The morals of the situation had already been decided, coldly and clinically, and Ridan was in the wrong. You don't mess with candidates. You don't mess with the future of the Weyr, not even with the future of its guards.
Fajra was sitting more tensely than ever before, jaw clenched. Her teeth must have been aching, but she could not feel them. She did not have to time to worry about them as she ever so carefully relaxed her mouth to speak. There was a hard edge to her voice. Certainly no sympathy lay in it. "Kalith, summon Ridan." The copper was awake, rising due to her rider's anger rather than her summons. She relayed the order, baring her teeth as she spoke. Risk, my rider wants your handler. She sounded almost innocent, something that was obviously not a good sign. Kalith was never innocent. Knowing that her dragon had her back, Fajra focused her gaze, at long last, back on Audren. "He'll arrive momentarily. You will be replacing him." Curt. Concise. Clear. She didn't state any of it as a question; there was no space for questions between her tight words.
And we're not guts, we're just hacks,
All that life amongst the cracks,
The scars, the siege that breaks,
The ugliest scene, the worst mistakes. |
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