LOG: He Hasn't Even *Seen* Me!
Date: Day 22, Month 1, Turn 22
Location: Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: Rinna has good news from the Starcrafters about the Star Stones. Then, she gets Searched. Correlation?
Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr
With its entrance located between the kitchen and the living cavern, this tiny bubble cavern is cozy, always kept warm and is filled with comfortable chairs and a small round table. At the far end, there's a hearth, outlined in ruddy, aging bricks, where a pot of stew simmers in the evening hours. Generally quiet, the nighthearth is the haunt of insomniacs and those seeking quiet from the bustle of daily Weyr life.
Rinna is a curled shape in one of the hearth's most battered and comfy chairs. A sheaf of hides showing sketches and various angles is balanced on the chair's arm, but her focus is on one sheet, and the precise handwriting that she's adding to it. "We are working hard, Father and Nalias especially..." she murmurs, trying out words and phrases. "They are very...pleased, yes, that sounds good...with my work, and so I won't be home for a while yet...shells." That will *not* be in the letter, that's just her exasperation when her charcoal breaks and smudges.
Footsteps echo up the passageway announcing Milani as the headwoman makes her way to the nighthearth for a little breather between things. Her clipboard is set down on the table as she heads over to pull down a mug from a shelf and pour out klah from the pot kept warming. "Sounds like you're very busy," she notes in a friendly manner with a look over at Rinna.
Already in the cavern, though off to one corner and evidently lost in his own sheaf of papers, K'del glances up in surprise, presumably having caught the sound of Milani's voice amidst the low hum of the nighthearth. He sets down the sheet he's been staring at, tipping his head to the side thoughtfully as his gaze considers the Headwoman and the unknown girl she's talking to.
Rinna heard the footsteps, so she doesn't startle and smear her letter any more at Milani's voice. "We are," she says, a note of pride in her voice. "Father thinks that the angles of the Star Stones shouldn't be difficult to replicate--it's not like we don't know where they were to begin with." Of course, only after she's started talking does she remember the whole introductions deal. "I'm sorry, I should have--we're Starsmiths, here to do that. You probably knew, beng the Headwoman and all." Hopefully, the dim nighthearth hides her embarrassment, just as it's hiding K'del. "I don't think we've officially met. I'm Rinna."
"Well that's /good/ news," Milani say happily with a smile for the girl and holds a hand out once she's finished pouring her klah out, mug held carefully to one side. "No we haven't. Though I've met with your father of course," the headwoman states. "Well met, Rinna. You're welcome to call me Milani if you like." She hasn't picked up on K'del's presence either, focusing on Rinna at the moment.
Whether or not the aforementioned good news carries, in terms of volume, as far as K'del, it's hard to tell-- it'd probably be hard to tell even if someone was actually watching him. His expression unchanging, the Weyrleader pauses a few seconds more, in the wake of the exchange between Rinna and Milani, and then hoists himself free of his chair to head towards the hearth himself. Then, lazily, fitting in with any further remarks between the pair, "Afternoon."
Rinna smiles back of takes the offered hand. "Thank you, Milani. I do hope it stays good news--there's still rubble to clear and new stone to--eeeep!" That would be for the materialization of K'del. Her papers and sketches threaten to escape, and she sweeps the lot into her chair before awkwardly bobbing her head. "Well-met, sir--ah, Weyrleader. Beg your pardon, I didn't even see you."
Milani shakes hands firmly but not hard enough to hurt Rinna's hand. The girl's eep draws a blink but she turns with a bright smile for the Weyrleader. "Oh! Kas. Shells, where were you hiding?" Millie asks the Weyrleader gaily and she shifts her mug even further out of the way to lean over to offer the bronzerider a one-armed hug. "I'll hope for ongoing good news too. It seems like things are progressing well enough from what I can tell."
Rinna's reaction to his arrival draws an intensely apologetic grimace from K'del, who raises both hands warily before letting himself be claimed by that one-armed hug of Milani's, which he returns with a squeeze. "Sorry," he says, then, one hand lingering on the Headwoman's hip for a moment before he draws it away again. "Dark corners-- wasn't /supposed/ to be visible. No need to apologise." That last bit is to Rinna specifically, and said with a warm smile. "'Good news' and 'progressing well' are two of my favourite phrases, did you know?"
Rinna's smile is more tentative now, but since the Weyrleader seems pleased, it's probably safe enough. She either does not notice or is unwilling to comment on that little hip-squeeze. *So* not her business. "They're good words to hear," she agrees. "Father says it's more a mess than anything else. Once the rubble's cleared away, the places where the stones were set should be easy enough to mark. Then it's just waiting for the miners to shape what's needed. It'll still take months and months..." Alas, practicality rears its ugly head. "...but we have time. Turns and Turns of it."
Milani tilts a little grin up at K'del, her own hand lingering down his back then drawing back to brace her mug of klah as she tilts it up for a short drink. "I'll have to tease you about lurking in dark corners later," the headwoman jokes to the Weyrleader and lends her close attention to Rinna. "Really? That's wonderful, so at least you know where to put them again when the stones are ready to go. That's so much better I think than what anyone thought. Isn't it K'del?"
K'del bites off some kind of response to Milani's joke, instead leaving her with a winning smile that probably encourages said teasing. Sticking his hands into his pockets, arms otherwise hanging loosely, his agreement with the Headwoman's assessment is determined: "Really is. Really and truly-- best news I've heard in a while. Can take turns for all I care, so long as it gets done right, but-- guess it's the knowing that it /can/ be done, mostly." He positively beams at Rinna. "Wish we could say the same about the fixing of the bowl wall. 'Just cleaning it up and making sure nothing falls', my--" Something expletive. "Going to end up with a whole cavern down there at this rate. Cavern/s/, even."
Rinna lets her work lie for a few minutes, the lure of klah becoming too strong. She adds the tiniest pinch of sweetener to her mug, then fills it to the brim. That *might* be a muffled cough at K'del's language, but it's not like her virgin ears haven't heard the same from her father and brother. "Would that be very bad?" she asks him. "Extra caverns for the Weyr could be useful. Lots of space for you to lurk in."
There's a little look tendered K'del's way that probably promises much about later teasing, but Milani's nodding along with his words, mug held carefully between two hands curved to its shape. "It'll be a relief for many to hear this, Rinna," she says sincerely. "I think a lot of people were pretty worried about the stones, not only because they'll be needed generations from now, but because they're an important navigation point." She regards K'del curiously though for his remarks about the hole-bowl. "It's true that the ceiling was kind of falling down in places last I was in there but ... do you really think we could wind up with more than one extra cavern?"
Again, K'del has an apologetic glance to send in Rinna's direction, the faintest tinge of pink visible around his ears, but neither indication lingers; nor does the look he returns to Milani. "Maybe," is his answer to the Headwoman. "Probably exaggerating a bit, but… all seems really unstable. And the miners and smiths want to be able to work indoors more, so they're adding some space for that, and--" He breaks off, then, after a moment, "And no, /Rinna/," Name! He has her name; thank you Milani, "suppose not. Mostly, it's the expense: longer we have all this going on, the more the incidental costs add up. And… pretty sure there's a bunch of people who'd wish to have the convicts out of here as soon as possible."
Rinna blinks, lost for a moment. "Navigational aid?...oh, for the dragons. Right." She's never worked a job where they were a consideration just as much as the people. "I can see that now. And of course, with the Stones and the caverns and the Bowl wall--it's never a one Thread but a Fall. I suppose we can be grateful it's not a Pass, so we can do the work and not have *that* to worry about." She nods very soberly at the mention of the convicts. "They're not all bad folk, but some of them--well, they'd be poor examples, and untrustworthy around young weyrlings and dragonets." As opposed to her vast maturity.
"Yes, the dragons usually use the star stones for a point of reference and a lot of the riders have had to learn a new point of reference for 'home'," Milani explains, with a brief hint of amusement playing about the corners of her mouth for the way the Weyrleader got a little pink just now. "And it's /definitely/ a good thing it's not a Pass, I don't even want to think of how much of a mess that would be," the headwoman looks briefly pained and has a healthy sip from her mug. "Opinions there do seem to be ... pretty mixed," Milani says carefully about the convicts.
"Took a lot of getting used to," says K'del, of the Star Stones, with a creasing of his forehead in recollection. Distant past, you know, all of a couple of months ago. "Anyway, yes: thirded on the glad it's not a Pass, that's for sure. Shells." His mouth draws in as, slowly, he says, "Dragons'll have who they'll have. Can't do anything about it. Just have to see, I guess. But," and he nods, firmly, "some of the ones I've met haven't seemed /so/ bad. Just think we'll all be glad when they've gone, all the same."
Rinna sips her klah, possibly for courage, before asking very carefully, "Will Queen Iovniath, or her Weyrwoman, allow men like that onto the Sands? I would never presume to question either of them, it's hardly my field, but convicts on dragons would hardly inspire confidence in the Holders, would they?" She sits back down, regathering her work. "My father says that it reflects poorly...though my father's rather set in his opinions regarding riders. No offense meant of course, Weyrleader," she adds hastily. "We're happy to do this for you, but we've so little eperience in a Weyr."
Milani's face adopts a carefully neutral expression. "I'm really not sure, Rinna," the headwoman answers and shoots K'del another sidelong look. "And for what it's worth, there's women in the group as well." She takes a breath and lets it out. "Commonly though the saying in a Weyr is ... that a dragon always knows," she says gently.
It's entirely possible that K'del's confidence is misplaced, but it's confidence, nonetheless, audible and determined, as he says, "They will. Every person found appropriate for the sands has the right to accept the opportunity." It's a rather more formal statement than most of his have been, thus far. Milani's glance in his direction gets returned, but only to give him a moment to puff out his cheeks, and then, finally, "No offense taken, Rinna. Understand-- it's all very different." Beat. "What does your father think of hold- or craft-bred people standing?"
Rinna can accept that, even if she doesn't have the slightest inkling of its meaning aside from a nice-sounding phrase to use in a Ballad. "You're weyrfolk, Milani, so I imagine you'd know," she says courteously. "I have yet to see a Hatching, or meet a dragon up close. It's never been necessary." K'del's question elicits a giggle, then a few more. She has to set her mug down. "Oh, goodness. Better than you ask me than him, Weyrleader, or you'd be trapped into a rant. Father is...quite conservative. The weyrfolk have their dragons, but Holders and Crafters have their own work, and it's better the two don't mix. He lost an apprentice of his to Telgar Weyr, and has yet to forgive them for it." Grinning, she adds "He also thinks that Weyrs are full of depraved and crude folk, but I haven't met any yet. Do you hide them when visitors come?"
"Iovniath will decide what Iovniath will decide I suppose," Milani says still careful and smiles at the crafter-girl. "Even with so many dragons around? But I guess you've been pretty busy," the headwoman hazards and quiets to listen to the exchange about Rinna's father's opinion on things. That Rinna says what she says there at the end, makes Milani's eyes start to sparkle with the mirth she's barely containing, lips pressed together for a moment before she turns to K'del, all innocence and wide eyes. "I don't know K'del, what /do/ we do with all the depraved folk in this Weyr when visitors are about?"
"Lock 'em up," is K'del's rapid-fire response, though his attention is focused primarily on Rinna, and his brows have knitted themselves together in the wake of her giggling and response. "Only let 'em out once there's no visitors around, which isn't terribly often, really. Pretty hard on them, but--" Trailing off, he takes a deep breath, and then lets his mouth snap shut again. A moment later, and he leans in to murmur something to Milani, after a very apologetic glance in Rinna's direction: yes, he knows how rude it is.
K'del mutters to Milani, "Shells.... but... entirely... Reckon... to... it?... what..."
You whisper "Shells. Cadejoth thinks-- but he's not entirely sure, and he's never really /done/ this before. Reckon it's too dangerous to risk it? Given... what she's just said." to Milani .
Rinna shrugs. "Dragons aren't much use to us at this point. When there are large slabs of stone to be hauled up, then I suppose even Father will be glad of their help." She accepts K'del's explanation with a nod and another giggle. "Oh, so *that's* what's going on with the locked storage caverns. Probably some of those high-up empty weyrs, too. I'll slip food under the doors when I pass." She lets K'del whisper to Milani--the Weyrleader's whispering is his own business--and adds a few more sentences to her letter. "My love to Alria...look forward to meeting the baby..."
"They can be very good at digging and hauling if they have a mind for it," Milani remarks conversationally, but stops in the wake of K'del's words. That answer from him means Milani has to duck her head and really work to keep the laughter from bubbling forth. A deep breath and she drinks again, tilts her head towards the weyrleader as he speaks to her in that undertone. Blink, blink and she looks up at him, mouth slightly open, back at Rinna and blinks again, then gives a little shake of her head, murmurs something back to him. "... deserves ..."
Milani whispers "Like you just said, everyone deserves a chance Kas ... though the weather out there is really /foul/ if he needs to get a closer look."
A slow, solemn nod marks K'del's response to Milani's murmur, accompanied by a low exhale of breath. "Dunno that that'd help anyway," he tells her, not even bothering to try and conceal his words this time. With another deep breath, he turns his attention back to Rinna, responding to her earlier words, now, perhaps a little belatedly to say, "Dragons can be of use to anyone. Er-- Rinna? Guess I know now how your /father/ would react to people being Searched. Want to know what you think, though. Um. If /you/ would say yes."
Rinna is scribbling an addendum about the locked rooms full of depravity, to make her sister laugh and her mother swoon. Milani and K'del's murmuring is politely ignored. Until she's directly addressed, that is. "Me? Searched?" She laughs again, with an uncertain note. "I...well, I'd be quite shocked. We're not riders, my family. Crafters since the Crossing, to hear my father talk." She almost visibly forces herself not to bring her father into this. "I'd probably make sure the dragon's got the right person, and that the rider's not teasing me. And make sure that I could go home after, when I don't Impress. After all that--if their patience isn't tried to the limit--I'd say yes." The Weyrleader gets a very curious look. "Why are you asking me?"
It's all enough to make K'del look awkward again, and very much his nineteen turns, but not enough that he doesn't have a rapid-fire response to explain himself. "Because I want you to Stand for Cadejoth and Iovniath's eggs." He pauses a beat, then adds, hastily, "Should warn you that Cadejoth's not much good at this Searching thing, and isn't-- well, anyway. But. If you didn't Impress, we wouldn't stop you from going home, or anything. And-- maybe better you than one of the convicts, as far as your father thinks?" He looks… hopeful.
It takes Rinna a moment to pick her jaw up off the floor. "He hasn't even *seen* me!" she protests. "And I don't know the first thing about dragons, and girls aren't really supposed--" She stops midsentence, and takes a deep breath. "I am very, *very* surprised," she finally says, candidly. "I don't think I'll Impress, all due respect to your Cadejoth. I also have seventeen Turns, and can choose what I want. So...even though my father may actually explode when he hears, I accept." There. And the ceiling's not caving in or anything! "All right. So. Um, what now?"
That protestation doesn't do much to ease K'del's expression, though he says, hastily, "He has. Through me, anyway. Something-- not sure. How it works, exactly. But: good!" That's because she said yes. He /does/ seem to think it's good. "Good. And-- if your father does decide to yell, can you not tell him it was me? Unless he'll respect it because it's me. Just don't want him yelling /at/ me." There's an awkward pause for a moment, then, after a glance in Milani's direction, he says, "Well. We take you to the barracks." Step one. Step two? "And--" Unknown, then. Really good at this; lots of practice. Clearly.
Patiently attentive for the duration of this exchange, Milani nods where necessary, shakes her head likewise and sets her mug down, empty off to the side as K'del runs out of steam. "And then we make sure you have linens, and a cot and get you all signed up for the chore sections," she says briskly and gestures to Rinna's stuff. "Let's get you sorted out, okay? And if you have any problems with your father, you can send him to me. You have the rest of /today/ off to deal with family things, but chores start tomorrow!" Bright smile. "Congratulations, Rinna and good luck."
"Oh, he'll yell at *me*," Rinna says resignedly. "My brother will, too. But they'll--I can do this if I want! And I do want to." So there. She stands, looking gratefully at Milani. "I won't subject you to either of them. But thank you anyway." She swigs down the last of her klah--more liquid courage--and grabs her things. "I'll claim a cot, I suppose, then go fetch my things. And tell Father and Nalias." She pauses, then bobs her head again to K'del. "Thank you for this opportunity, sir. I--I'm terrified now, but I do appreciate it. Lead the way, Milani."
Is that relief on K'del's face? Yes. It's definitely relief, albeit matched with a crooked little smile. "Don't be terrified?" he requests, awkwardly, and then, "Best of luck." He'll let Headwoman and Candidate go together, so that he can head back to his papers-- looking pleased.
Milani collects her clipboard to accompany Rinna out, but waits back a half-step to wink K'del's way and mouth a 'see you later' before she trots off to get everything properly seen to.
Location: Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: Rinna has good news from the Starcrafters about the Star Stones. Then, she gets Searched. Correlation?
Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr
With its entrance located between the kitchen and the living cavern, this tiny bubble cavern is cozy, always kept warm and is filled with comfortable chairs and a small round table. At the far end, there's a hearth, outlined in ruddy, aging bricks, where a pot of stew simmers in the evening hours. Generally quiet, the nighthearth is the haunt of insomniacs and those seeking quiet from the bustle of daily Weyr life.
Rinna is a curled shape in one of the hearth's most battered and comfy chairs. A sheaf of hides showing sketches and various angles is balanced on the chair's arm, but her focus is on one sheet, and the precise handwriting that she's adding to it. "We are working hard, Father and Nalias especially..." she murmurs, trying out words and phrases. "They are very...pleased, yes, that sounds good...with my work, and so I won't be home for a while yet...shells." That will *not* be in the letter, that's just her exasperation when her charcoal breaks and smudges.
Footsteps echo up the passageway announcing Milani as the headwoman makes her way to the nighthearth for a little breather between things. Her clipboard is set down on the table as she heads over to pull down a mug from a shelf and pour out klah from the pot kept warming. "Sounds like you're very busy," she notes in a friendly manner with a look over at Rinna.
Already in the cavern, though off to one corner and evidently lost in his own sheaf of papers, K'del glances up in surprise, presumably having caught the sound of Milani's voice amidst the low hum of the nighthearth. He sets down the sheet he's been staring at, tipping his head to the side thoughtfully as his gaze considers the Headwoman and the unknown girl she's talking to.
Rinna heard the footsteps, so she doesn't startle and smear her letter any more at Milani's voice. "We are," she says, a note of pride in her voice. "Father thinks that the angles of the Star Stones shouldn't be difficult to replicate--it's not like we don't know where they were to begin with." Of course, only after she's started talking does she remember the whole introductions deal. "I'm sorry, I should have--we're Starsmiths, here to do that. You probably knew, beng the Headwoman and all." Hopefully, the dim nighthearth hides her embarrassment, just as it's hiding K'del. "I don't think we've officially met. I'm Rinna."
"Well that's /good/ news," Milani say happily with a smile for the girl and holds a hand out once she's finished pouring her klah out, mug held carefully to one side. "No we haven't. Though I've met with your father of course," the headwoman states. "Well met, Rinna. You're welcome to call me Milani if you like." She hasn't picked up on K'del's presence either, focusing on Rinna at the moment.
Whether or not the aforementioned good news carries, in terms of volume, as far as K'del, it's hard to tell-- it'd probably be hard to tell even if someone was actually watching him. His expression unchanging, the Weyrleader pauses a few seconds more, in the wake of the exchange between Rinna and Milani, and then hoists himself free of his chair to head towards the hearth himself. Then, lazily, fitting in with any further remarks between the pair, "Afternoon."
Rinna smiles back of takes the offered hand. "Thank you, Milani. I do hope it stays good news--there's still rubble to clear and new stone to--eeeep!" That would be for the materialization of K'del. Her papers and sketches threaten to escape, and she sweeps the lot into her chair before awkwardly bobbing her head. "Well-met, sir--ah, Weyrleader. Beg your pardon, I didn't even see you."
Milani shakes hands firmly but not hard enough to hurt Rinna's hand. The girl's eep draws a blink but she turns with a bright smile for the Weyrleader. "Oh! Kas. Shells, where were you hiding?" Millie asks the Weyrleader gaily and she shifts her mug even further out of the way to lean over to offer the bronzerider a one-armed hug. "I'll hope for ongoing good news too. It seems like things are progressing well enough from what I can tell."
Rinna's reaction to his arrival draws an intensely apologetic grimace from K'del, who raises both hands warily before letting himself be claimed by that one-armed hug of Milani's, which he returns with a squeeze. "Sorry," he says, then, one hand lingering on the Headwoman's hip for a moment before he draws it away again. "Dark corners-- wasn't /supposed/ to be visible. No need to apologise." That last bit is to Rinna specifically, and said with a warm smile. "'Good news' and 'progressing well' are two of my favourite phrases, did you know?"
Rinna's smile is more tentative now, but since the Weyrleader seems pleased, it's probably safe enough. She either does not notice or is unwilling to comment on that little hip-squeeze. *So* not her business. "They're good words to hear," she agrees. "Father says it's more a mess than anything else. Once the rubble's cleared away, the places where the stones were set should be easy enough to mark. Then it's just waiting for the miners to shape what's needed. It'll still take months and months..." Alas, practicality rears its ugly head. "...but we have time. Turns and Turns of it."
Milani tilts a little grin up at K'del, her own hand lingering down his back then drawing back to brace her mug of klah as she tilts it up for a short drink. "I'll have to tease you about lurking in dark corners later," the headwoman jokes to the Weyrleader and lends her close attention to Rinna. "Really? That's wonderful, so at least you know where to put them again when the stones are ready to go. That's so much better I think than what anyone thought. Isn't it K'del?"
K'del bites off some kind of response to Milani's joke, instead leaving her with a winning smile that probably encourages said teasing. Sticking his hands into his pockets, arms otherwise hanging loosely, his agreement with the Headwoman's assessment is determined: "Really is. Really and truly-- best news I've heard in a while. Can take turns for all I care, so long as it gets done right, but-- guess it's the knowing that it /can/ be done, mostly." He positively beams at Rinna. "Wish we could say the same about the fixing of the bowl wall. 'Just cleaning it up and making sure nothing falls', my--" Something expletive. "Going to end up with a whole cavern down there at this rate. Cavern/s/, even."
Rinna lets her work lie for a few minutes, the lure of klah becoming too strong. She adds the tiniest pinch of sweetener to her mug, then fills it to the brim. That *might* be a muffled cough at K'del's language, but it's not like her virgin ears haven't heard the same from her father and brother. "Would that be very bad?" she asks him. "Extra caverns for the Weyr could be useful. Lots of space for you to lurk in."
There's a little look tendered K'del's way that probably promises much about later teasing, but Milani's nodding along with his words, mug held carefully between two hands curved to its shape. "It'll be a relief for many to hear this, Rinna," she says sincerely. "I think a lot of people were pretty worried about the stones, not only because they'll be needed generations from now, but because they're an important navigation point." She regards K'del curiously though for his remarks about the hole-bowl. "It's true that the ceiling was kind of falling down in places last I was in there but ... do you really think we could wind up with more than one extra cavern?"
Again, K'del has an apologetic glance to send in Rinna's direction, the faintest tinge of pink visible around his ears, but neither indication lingers; nor does the look he returns to Milani. "Maybe," is his answer to the Headwoman. "Probably exaggerating a bit, but… all seems really unstable. And the miners and smiths want to be able to work indoors more, so they're adding some space for that, and--" He breaks off, then, after a moment, "And no, /Rinna/," Name! He has her name; thank you Milani, "suppose not. Mostly, it's the expense: longer we have all this going on, the more the incidental costs add up. And… pretty sure there's a bunch of people who'd wish to have the convicts out of here as soon as possible."
Rinna blinks, lost for a moment. "Navigational aid?...oh, for the dragons. Right." She's never worked a job where they were a consideration just as much as the people. "I can see that now. And of course, with the Stones and the caverns and the Bowl wall--it's never a one Thread but a Fall. I suppose we can be grateful it's not a Pass, so we can do the work and not have *that* to worry about." She nods very soberly at the mention of the convicts. "They're not all bad folk, but some of them--well, they'd be poor examples, and untrustworthy around young weyrlings and dragonets." As opposed to her vast maturity.
"Yes, the dragons usually use the star stones for a point of reference and a lot of the riders have had to learn a new point of reference for 'home'," Milani explains, with a brief hint of amusement playing about the corners of her mouth for the way the Weyrleader got a little pink just now. "And it's /definitely/ a good thing it's not a Pass, I don't even want to think of how much of a mess that would be," the headwoman looks briefly pained and has a healthy sip from her mug. "Opinions there do seem to be ... pretty mixed," Milani says carefully about the convicts.
"Took a lot of getting used to," says K'del, of the Star Stones, with a creasing of his forehead in recollection. Distant past, you know, all of a couple of months ago. "Anyway, yes: thirded on the glad it's not a Pass, that's for sure. Shells." His mouth draws in as, slowly, he says, "Dragons'll have who they'll have. Can't do anything about it. Just have to see, I guess. But," and he nods, firmly, "some of the ones I've met haven't seemed /so/ bad. Just think we'll all be glad when they've gone, all the same."
Rinna sips her klah, possibly for courage, before asking very carefully, "Will Queen Iovniath, or her Weyrwoman, allow men like that onto the Sands? I would never presume to question either of them, it's hardly my field, but convicts on dragons would hardly inspire confidence in the Holders, would they?" She sits back down, regathering her work. "My father says that it reflects poorly...though my father's rather set in his opinions regarding riders. No offense meant of course, Weyrleader," she adds hastily. "We're happy to do this for you, but we've so little eperience in a Weyr."
Milani's face adopts a carefully neutral expression. "I'm really not sure, Rinna," the headwoman answers and shoots K'del another sidelong look. "And for what it's worth, there's women in the group as well." She takes a breath and lets it out. "Commonly though the saying in a Weyr is ... that a dragon always knows," she says gently.
It's entirely possible that K'del's confidence is misplaced, but it's confidence, nonetheless, audible and determined, as he says, "They will. Every person found appropriate for the sands has the right to accept the opportunity." It's a rather more formal statement than most of his have been, thus far. Milani's glance in his direction gets returned, but only to give him a moment to puff out his cheeks, and then, finally, "No offense taken, Rinna. Understand-- it's all very different." Beat. "What does your father think of hold- or craft-bred people standing?"
Rinna can accept that, even if she doesn't have the slightest inkling of its meaning aside from a nice-sounding phrase to use in a Ballad. "You're weyrfolk, Milani, so I imagine you'd know," she says courteously. "I have yet to see a Hatching, or meet a dragon up close. It's never been necessary." K'del's question elicits a giggle, then a few more. She has to set her mug down. "Oh, goodness. Better than you ask me than him, Weyrleader, or you'd be trapped into a rant. Father is...quite conservative. The weyrfolk have their dragons, but Holders and Crafters have their own work, and it's better the two don't mix. He lost an apprentice of his to Telgar Weyr, and has yet to forgive them for it." Grinning, she adds "He also thinks that Weyrs are full of depraved and crude folk, but I haven't met any yet. Do you hide them when visitors come?"
"Iovniath will decide what Iovniath will decide I suppose," Milani says still careful and smiles at the crafter-girl. "Even with so many dragons around? But I guess you've been pretty busy," the headwoman hazards and quiets to listen to the exchange about Rinna's father's opinion on things. That Rinna says what she says there at the end, makes Milani's eyes start to sparkle with the mirth she's barely containing, lips pressed together for a moment before she turns to K'del, all innocence and wide eyes. "I don't know K'del, what /do/ we do with all the depraved folk in this Weyr when visitors are about?"
"Lock 'em up," is K'del's rapid-fire response, though his attention is focused primarily on Rinna, and his brows have knitted themselves together in the wake of her giggling and response. "Only let 'em out once there's no visitors around, which isn't terribly often, really. Pretty hard on them, but--" Trailing off, he takes a deep breath, and then lets his mouth snap shut again. A moment later, and he leans in to murmur something to Milani, after a very apologetic glance in Rinna's direction: yes, he knows how rude it is.
K'del mutters to Milani, "Shells.... but... entirely... Reckon... to... it?... what..."
You whisper "Shells. Cadejoth thinks-- but he's not entirely sure, and he's never really /done/ this before. Reckon it's too dangerous to risk it? Given... what she's just said." to Milani .
Rinna shrugs. "Dragons aren't much use to us at this point. When there are large slabs of stone to be hauled up, then I suppose even Father will be glad of their help." She accepts K'del's explanation with a nod and another giggle. "Oh, so *that's* what's going on with the locked storage caverns. Probably some of those high-up empty weyrs, too. I'll slip food under the doors when I pass." She lets K'del whisper to Milani--the Weyrleader's whispering is his own business--and adds a few more sentences to her letter. "My love to Alria...look forward to meeting the baby..."
"They can be very good at digging and hauling if they have a mind for it," Milani remarks conversationally, but stops in the wake of K'del's words. That answer from him means Milani has to duck her head and really work to keep the laughter from bubbling forth. A deep breath and she drinks again, tilts her head towards the weyrleader as he speaks to her in that undertone. Blink, blink and she looks up at him, mouth slightly open, back at Rinna and blinks again, then gives a little shake of her head, murmurs something back to him. "... deserves ..."
Milani whispers "Like you just said, everyone deserves a chance Kas ... though the weather out there is really /foul/ if he needs to get a closer look."
A slow, solemn nod marks K'del's response to Milani's murmur, accompanied by a low exhale of breath. "Dunno that that'd help anyway," he tells her, not even bothering to try and conceal his words this time. With another deep breath, he turns his attention back to Rinna, responding to her earlier words, now, perhaps a little belatedly to say, "Dragons can be of use to anyone. Er-- Rinna? Guess I know now how your /father/ would react to people being Searched. Want to know what you think, though. Um. If /you/ would say yes."
Rinna is scribbling an addendum about the locked rooms full of depravity, to make her sister laugh and her mother swoon. Milani and K'del's murmuring is politely ignored. Until she's directly addressed, that is. "Me? Searched?" She laughs again, with an uncertain note. "I...well, I'd be quite shocked. We're not riders, my family. Crafters since the Crossing, to hear my father talk." She almost visibly forces herself not to bring her father into this. "I'd probably make sure the dragon's got the right person, and that the rider's not teasing me. And make sure that I could go home after, when I don't Impress. After all that--if their patience isn't tried to the limit--I'd say yes." The Weyrleader gets a very curious look. "Why are you asking me?"
It's all enough to make K'del look awkward again, and very much his nineteen turns, but not enough that he doesn't have a rapid-fire response to explain himself. "Because I want you to Stand for Cadejoth and Iovniath's eggs." He pauses a beat, then adds, hastily, "Should warn you that Cadejoth's not much good at this Searching thing, and isn't-- well, anyway. But. If you didn't Impress, we wouldn't stop you from going home, or anything. And-- maybe better you than one of the convicts, as far as your father thinks?" He looks… hopeful.
It takes Rinna a moment to pick her jaw up off the floor. "He hasn't even *seen* me!" she protests. "And I don't know the first thing about dragons, and girls aren't really supposed--" She stops midsentence, and takes a deep breath. "I am very, *very* surprised," she finally says, candidly. "I don't think I'll Impress, all due respect to your Cadejoth. I also have seventeen Turns, and can choose what I want. So...even though my father may actually explode when he hears, I accept." There. And the ceiling's not caving in or anything! "All right. So. Um, what now?"
That protestation doesn't do much to ease K'del's expression, though he says, hastily, "He has. Through me, anyway. Something-- not sure. How it works, exactly. But: good!" That's because she said yes. He /does/ seem to think it's good. "Good. And-- if your father does decide to yell, can you not tell him it was me? Unless he'll respect it because it's me. Just don't want him yelling /at/ me." There's an awkward pause for a moment, then, after a glance in Milani's direction, he says, "Well. We take you to the barracks." Step one. Step two? "And--" Unknown, then. Really good at this; lots of practice. Clearly.
Patiently attentive for the duration of this exchange, Milani nods where necessary, shakes her head likewise and sets her mug down, empty off to the side as K'del runs out of steam. "And then we make sure you have linens, and a cot and get you all signed up for the chore sections," she says briskly and gestures to Rinna's stuff. "Let's get you sorted out, okay? And if you have any problems with your father, you can send him to me. You have the rest of /today/ off to deal with family things, but chores start tomorrow!" Bright smile. "Congratulations, Rinna and good luck."
"Oh, he'll yell at *me*," Rinna says resignedly. "My brother will, too. But they'll--I can do this if I want! And I do want to." So there. She stands, looking gratefully at Milani. "I won't subject you to either of them. But thank you anyway." She swigs down the last of her klah--more liquid courage--and grabs her things. "I'll claim a cot, I suppose, then go fetch my things. And tell Father and Nalias." She pauses, then bobs her head again to K'del. "Thank you for this opportunity, sir. I--I'm terrified now, but I do appreciate it. Lead the way, Milani."
Is that relief on K'del's face? Yes. It's definitely relief, albeit matched with a crooked little smile. "Don't be terrified?" he requests, awkwardly, and then, "Best of luck." He'll let Headwoman and Candidate go together, so that he can head back to his papers-- looking pleased.
Milani collects her clipboard to accompany Rinna out, but waits back a half-step to wink K'del's way and mouth a 'see you later' before she trots off to get everything properly seen to.