Piling on the Straws [Maru]

[Lan]

{desc=Nimara, Letorin}

D'lios was now in charge. Or... at least he was in a better position to cause problems for Avalle. Nimara frowned at her desk, troubled even still by what had taken place. She didn't like D'lios. Her first memory of him had been at the first Gather at Crescent, the one she had spent with O'sho in turns long gone. He was a weaselly sort of man, quick to impose and quicker to complain about an imposition against himself. He may have helped Dalibor in its time of need, but Nimara was certain it was more to hang it over their heads than to actually offer help. O'sho didn't trust him. She could see it in her old friend's eyes.

How did things get to be so wrong?

It seemed her whole world was spinning out of control.

High in the Bowl Waroth's inability to get comfortable on her favorite ledge mirrored her rider's emotional state. The red grumbled and turned and stood to reposition herself. She hated the reaction that the vaccine for the smokeweed gave her after eating. It made her angry; angry that she wasn't at her fighting best. And yet, a dragon had to eat... she would someday make those that caused her discomfort pay dearly for their crimes. They would pay for it, agony for agony.

Nimara sighed and leaned her elbows on the desk, her forehead cradled neatly in her interlaced hands. Short locks of red hair, freshly cut, tumbled over her fingers. At least office hours seemed to be quiet that evening. She hoped that it was because there were no problems and not because her candidates felt like they were incapable of talking to her. Already she had heard some disturbing news from her fellow Candidatemaster, Jasmine, about a rider behaving inappropriately toward the kids...

[maruset]

Letorin shifted outside of the of Candidatemaster Nimara's office. He had been encouraged to go talk to someone, and it sounded like there were some other rumors going around about the rider who had talked to him as well. He had waited so long because he wasn't sure how much of it was him being oversensitive.

Then he had run into Kay, and others, and it had become slowly clear that the rider was targeting people.

So here he was, and he tentatively knocked on the door. Hopefully she was in, as Letorin had to work up his never to report something about a rider. It had been taught almost since the beginning that they were supposed to listen to riders, unless the person was asking for something that broke their candidate rules. But she hadn't really broken them, just asked questions that seem to put everyone into the worst mindset possible. Which may have been affecting Impressions. Though at least a few of the people he knew she had talked with had still gone on to Impress.

Letorin waiting, hoping that the Candidatemaster was in, and that she would be willing to listen to what he had to say. Rumor had it at least one other person had reported the rider, and hopefully they would be able to do something about her.

[Lan]

"Come in," Nimara stood, her wood chair making a stiff creak against the stone floor. She did her best to put on a smile for the visitor as she folded and refolded her hands in front of her. As the door opened she saw... Letorin. The smile widened a bit on her face. Letorin was a fairly good kid. He did his best in lessons and was never much trouble. "Hello, Letorin... what can I do for you?" She gestured across her desk to the chair positioned there. A cushion made the wooden chair a bit more inviting, but otherwise it was no more comfortable than her own.

Having invited him, she felt free to sit down at her leisure. She smiled up at him once more before she was distracted by the faint popping of Enyo's arrival from between. She took the note from the firelizard, read it, smiled, and then nodded to the patchy green to take her usual place perched at the corner of her desk. The tiny note was shoved in her pocket and then her attention was back on the candidate once more. "What is on your mind? A question about today's lesson, perhaps?" Nimara had not been there, as Jasmine had been leading the lesson, but she felt confident in her ability to answer any questions about any of the topics she, the yellowrider, and Yuri taught their students.

[maruset]

Letorin gave her a small smile. Then he bit his lip and glanced around, moving to sit. "Thank you for having time to talk to me. I can imagine that it's a busy job trying to keep track of all of us."

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I.... The reason I'm here is that I think there might be a problem." Voice trailing off a moment, he glanced at her, and then lifted his chin. He was here because there was an issue, and he did not need to be so hesitant. Besides, he was trained better than this, and it was -hurting- other people.

"Candidatemaster Nimara, I would like to report that I believe a rider is tampering with candidates. Not physically, but emotionally. she appears to be targeting holdborn and implying that we should return to our previous studies." He kept his focus on Nimara, waiting to see how she would react, and ready to answer any questions that she might have on why he had brought this concern up to her. Letorin felt a bit of unease, because he was accusing a rider. However, she was causing issues, and from what he had been hearing around the candidate barracks, it wasn't just him and one or two other people. She seemed to be going for plenty. While there were some who had impressed since he first started hearing things, it was still upsetting to wonder if that little black they had lost not long ago could have been bonded with someone that woman had put off of Standing.

[Lan]

He was nervous. Sadly, Nimara could understand why this might be the case. Most of the kids went to Jasmine now for help, as Weslieth was such a bright ray of sunshine and was always willing to by a sympathetic ear. She had a feeling this preference was the case not only because of her station, but because of Waroth herself. The red's temperament did not lend itself to being easily liked, but she had hoped that despite the nervousness of the candidates when around her that they understood that Waroth loved them. Indeed, there were so few things Waroth liked well enough to actively stalk, other than her own rider.

She remained quiet and calm, watching Letorin with a steady gaze and an encouraging smile. When he drew a breath, she drew one sympathetically as well, but then when he spoke... she forgot to exhale. A problem, he had said. The brightness of her countenance faded and she continued to listen with solemnity, her hands folded and still on her desk. Tampering. That was a good word for it. Although, from what Jasmine had been saying the behavior was more like harrassment.

"Do you know which candidates have been... approached by this rider?" She needed to get some scope on this issue. After hearing it from Jasmine and from Letorin himself the burden of proof was no longer the major concern from her. Nimara needed to know who had been hurt before she could start doing damage control. Furthermore, she needed to know the identity of this rider so that she might make her stance on this issue known. Yet, this latter step could wait... the health of the candidates was what was important now.

[maruset]

Okay, good, that wasn't a happy reaction, but she didn't look like she was going to not believe him. That was what Letorin had been worried about.

Biting his lip a moment, he tugged a bit of hide from where it had been hidden away in some of his notes. Once he realized that it was not just him and maybe one or two others, he had began to write down what details he was hearing. If nothing else, Letorin was good at just settling into a corner and listening. Most people who knew him wouldn't have believed it, but he -was- training to be a harper, and harpers could learn how to blend into the background and not be noticed. So he had been writing it down, what rumors and soft words he had overheard. It wasn't a complete list, but the ones he knew for sure he had marked.

"These are the ones I have heard about," he said, offering Nimara the notes he had taken. "The ones with stars are the ones I know for sure, who I've actually been able to talk with face to face. The others I've heard about, but I've not been able to confirm." His name and what he noticed was on there, as was Kay's, and some of his other friends that he had spoken to.

"It took a bit to make sure it was all the same person. Benal, she rides pink Soicaith."