I'm going to miss you.

[reyce]

I steal Miniyal's log wholesale. She picked the best title anyway. Also, yes, this scene is a farewell to J'cor. It was great playing him and I had a wonderful time, but his path leads him gracefully off-camera. Thanks to everyone who made him such a blast to RP, and to Miniyal for this long and lovely final log.

Miniyal comes by J'cor's weyr, bearing gifts and receiving news of his imminent departure for Igen. They discuss her plans, his plans, and promises for the future.

2-16/17/18-2007 (J'cor, Miniyal):

Outside, the fresh breezes bring the scents of blooming flowers and the promises of rain, but inside J'cor's weyr all these delicate temporal fragrances are completely muffled by the smoke - from hearth and pipe - that dominates his life. At the moment, Karth is out - quite obviously so, for the big bronze is taking his evening constitutional around the bowl - but J'cor holds court with his inanimate subjects of dinner tray, pipe, and book. The former holds the place of pride upon his lap while the other two, apparently interrupted by the delivery of the first, rest on the floor by his feet. Now that, jobless, he has had more time to accustom himself to it, sitting on pillows on the floor no longer seems to trouble him.

Normally she does try to arrive after dinner. Or in the middle of the afternoon. Rarely does Miniyal time things so poorly she interrupts a meal, but it has been known to happen. It is rare for her to bring much these days, past feeling the need to bribe her way in, but this evening she has a carefully wrapped package in her hands. Perhaps she's not so unaware of the time as all that since there is no pastry or anything carefully protected in a basket like there might be at another time. "Hello?" Called from outside, naturally. "No sense pretending to not be here as I can smell the pipe. A less scented sort of habit would make it easier to avoid unexpected guests." It's not entirely unknown for her to send out a jest of a greeting. It's not entirely expected, but tonight she seems in a good mood.

Within his little court, J'cor makes more noise that gives evidence that he is present here - the faint clink of his tray being set on the ground, and brisk one-two brush to knock food off his hands, and finally speech: "On the contrary, the pipe's scent is ever-present, and in no manner should be taken as a reliable indication that I am to be found within. However, you are welcome to come in." Losing his job has made him a more cheerful person at times, subject of course to occasional fits of mood; fortunately, despite the interruption to his dinner, he's clearly in a better mood this evening and, when she steps inside, will greet her with a welcome smile.

"There's a subtle sort of difference." Pointed out as she steps inside, returning the welcome smile with one of her own. "Fresh smoke, if one makes note of it, gives a different scent then what lingers. Not that I claim to be able to tell all the time, but sometimes." Shrugging her shoulders as she steps further in Miniyal gestures with one hand when she spies the dinner tray. "Don't stop eating on my account. I'll see to my own meal soon enough and would hate for it to be cold. How has your day gone?"

J'cor gives a gracious nod when she speaks of his dinner, reaching forward to take a meatroll off his plate and break it into a bite-sized chunk between his fingers. "Well enough," he answers, tilting those same fingers out she can see. There are dried up bits of paint on them, and for this his smile turns rueful. "My paints are continuing apace, which is to say that they are progressing not at all. Yet I remain committed," he notes, with a waggle of his finger lest she think motivational speeches are necessary. "And your day, Miniyal? You seem in a good mood." The bit of meatroll gets popped into his mouth.

Miniyal's hands tighten around her package for a moment as she inclines her head in response to the painting. "You are a better person than I for trying anyway. Maps I can do better then anyone, but pictures?" Shaking her head she steps over and holds out that package wrapped in plain hide. It is quite book shaped and sized. "I am in an excellent mood for I have finished this finally. I feared never getting it done with my other works, but here you go!" After holding it out she pauses and then grins sheepishly. "Oh. Finish your dinner first. I'm sorry. Here I told you to eat it and then I tried to shove something into your hands."

J'cor, however, frees his hands quickly so he can take the package, the little bits of food that cling to his fingertips pressed off against his lips. Like a child, really, he cannot resist the mystery of a present, and once he's taken it from her he does the standard test, hefting it to ascertain the weight and tilting it a bit to see whether anything slides around inside. Just in case it isn't, as it appears, a book. A smile turns up to her as he sets it down, gently, on his knee. "Well, I could just as easily open it now, and continue my dinner after I have seen it. Or ought I preserve the mystery?"

Being the sort who hates to wait for her own gifts, Miniyal shakes her head. "No, no. You can open it now!" One would think it was hers considering how excited she seems to be at the prospect of it appearing from out of the wrap. "Besides, gifts are better then dinner. Or so I've always thought. Dinner, after all, happens daily and one rarely gets a present that often. Do you think it loses its appeal? Knowing that everyday someone would be giving you something? Or would it still be exciting? I've never considered it before. Go on! Open it!" She does not hop or jump or clap her hands, but she contains her enjoyment just barely. Yay present! Clearly she expects him to like it.

J'cor's eyebrows go up at her excitement, but with it his smile curves up as well. "Well, if it were the same present, I imagine it would become tiresome rather quickly, and the same if it were done too long; yet for a span of time, a different present every day? I should think that I would become impatient to find out what new thing awaited from one gift to the next. I am greedy, I suppose." All this has been casual chat to keep him busy while he undoes the package; in timing with the last statement, he looks up to impart a short smile and then look back to his lap just at the moment he pulls back the last fold of wrapping.

The book is professionally bound, but bears no title or author on it. It is not until the pages are opened that the title presents itself. 'Affirmative Argument on the Destructive Movement of Societal Habits' it is called with the name under it a Master Barnon of Harper and the date placing its writing at the end of the fifth pass. The handwriting is Miniyal's and there is even a note on the back of the title page that marks it copied by Miniyal of High Reaches between the first and fourth month of the current turn. A blank page and then an inscription.

"J'cor,

He did not mean to make it so, I think, but I did find this highly amusing to read. I do hope you do as well."

The book itself with a brief glance appears to be someone's opinions on how the waltz must be banned as the popularity of it will likely lead to the downfall of hold society during the coming interval. With lots of quotes and references and convoluted, nonsensical arguments.

As for Miniyal, she waits silently, a hint of worry now that he's looking at it entering her expression. Still, it is her best work so at least he will not fault the workmanship of it.

J'cor's eyebrows can always find more space on his forehead for ascent, and so ascend they do yet further, his mouth crooked into a wriggly line that suggests he does not yet get the joke yet, but senses something funny in the works. A sense which is confirmed when he finds that inscription from her, and explained when his brief scan of the pages that follow introduces him to the subject within. As soon as he gets it, then, he laughs (a bit rare in itself, but even more so in its feeling) for a good half-minute before he's composed enough to turn to Miniyal, that wriggly smile now allowed free reign on his face. "Where in the world did you find such a thing?" he demands, the laughter still lurking in his voice.

Miniyal lets go the worry then since he seems quite taken with his gift. Smiling back at him she slides her hands into the pockets of her dress and looks quite pleased with herself. "Luck. Entirely. I was going through some of the things at Harper and I stumbled upon it. I read only the first chapter when I knew I had to copy it for you. So, I read it while there so I might inscribe it later for you. The things you can find there are amazing. I love it. Clearly since I stumbled upon it I had to share it. I'm sure Master Barnon would be pleased to know he was saved from obscurity by my wayward wanderings when I was between actual research jaunts." If she has, then, in the telling of her tale given away some talent for remembering entire books to copy later she has not noticed or simply is not concerned with sharing that bit with him.

Unable to keep away from this temptingly hilarious thing for very long, J'cor has returned to the book he holds, flipping each page with particular care. If she has given away some talent for remembering entire books, it clearly puzzles J'cor, who tilts his head when he hears this statement as though trying to puzzle the sense out of it. He must reconcile it in some way of his own, for soon enough he nods and smiles again, stirring up another low chuckle as he turns another page. "Oh, most certainly," he agrees, lifting his eyes from the book when it's his turn to speak. They still sparkle with amusement. "Two centuries is long enough to wait for discovery, to be sure, and I think it high time his crusade were revived and disseminated among the waltz-loving masses."

"Oh, I agree entirely." The idea of sharing the work amongst the masses amuses Miniyal and she nearly laughs. "I do believe eventually the time comes to share a lot of what has been lost to musty old shelves." Her expression shifts to something more serious then and she glances down at the floor. "I've a mind to share some things actually. To those I think might be interested. Who should, perhaps, know what has gone on when they were unknowing." When she looks up again she's entirely serious, searching his face curiously and perhaps a bit cautiously. "But I am not sure now is the time. I am worried I might have allowed the dam's construction to move too quickly. Although I am not its only foreman so I cannot take all of either the blame or the credit."

It takes J'cor but a moment to figure out that the conversation has shifted to more serious subjects, so by the time she looks at him again he has composed himself in something closer to his Weyrleader Mode, listening and somber. His eyebrows twitch upwards at one point, but this time he does not allow them to explore their range across his forehead. "If you are inclined to share," he answers slowly, and as cautiously as fits her searching glance, "then now might be the only time." Gentle with it, he moves the book safely off his lap and reaches for the warmed drink that awaits him. He sips from it calmly, allowing her privacy to finalize her decision by idly looking at the fire instead of her.

Miniyal's teeth appear so she might worry at her lower lip while she considers what she might want or not want to say. Another glance towards the once weyrleader and she grins faintly. "I'll not ruin our evening by discussing things too serious. I'm still rolling things about in my head to be honest. And I would not burden you of all people with any more than I might have to. I should rather think of you untroubled since you've had so little time to be so since you arrived here." Head tilting to one side she processes everything else and then comes up with a question. "Am I running out of time?"

J'cor takes a moment of silence for himself, but then, he's drinking, and has that to excuse him. When the drink lowers, he follows it partyway, dipping a slow nod. "I would underscore that I am always available to help a friend who is encountering difficulties, however, I will press no further than your discretion suggests to you." As indeed he doesn't, his Weyrleader mannerisms dropping off him as he leans forward, his drink exchanged for another meatroll which he turns for a while between his fingers before switching the subject back to the question she left it on. "I have spoken to the Weyrleader," he informs his food. "As of today. He has finalized arrangements for the transfer of myself and Ch'dais to Igen Weyr." Twisting off a hunk of the roll, he looks up at her. "Within the next sevenday, I expect, the golds will be ready to transport Karth and myself."

Oh. Well, this news was not unexpected really, but hearing it still leaves Miniyal silent a moment. Finally she gives her head a little shake and finds a smile that does a poor job. "Well, I knew eventually you would leave us. I admit to some selfish desire for the time to draw on longer than probably you did. But, well. That soon?" Her head tipping downward she lets silence have the run of the place for a moment. "I'll write. And if there's ever anything I can do for you then you only need to write back. I'm glad I got the book done in time."

J'cor maintains eye contact for as long as she does, but he drops his eyes back to his food when that silence reigns. He lifts the drink again, washing down the meatroll he just swallowed, but this time he finishes his mouthful on time, so when she speaks again he doesn't leave her with another silence. "I have stayed for a good long while, and my time here has been enjoyable. Truly," he says, pausing to emphasize that with a leveled glance and a tilt of his cup towards her. "I should not have liked to leave the Reaches having only difficult memories here, and my - months of leisure, have afforded me a much fresher perspective from which to look back." His free hand falls to the book next to him, giving its cover a light tap. "I am glad to have this, for example." 'This' may be interpreted as broadly as she likes: the book itself, or the friendship it symbolizes. "And I shall write back, quite regularly I am sure, regardless of whether or not there is something you can do for me." He seals this promise with a nod.

Miniyal finds some assurances in what she is told and the hints of worry that had begun to consider creeping into her eyes vanishes again. Smiling again she glances at the book. "I shall endeavor to keep my eyes open for any more overly interesting books when I return to Harper. Or maybe I'll branch out some. I saw something on food. Some healer going on and on about how you could train people to act a certain way by feeding them certain foods. And that if you wished for your children to be a particular hair color and the like you should feed the mother only specific foods. I only glanced at it. It was amusing what I saw. No basis in actual theory that I am aware of, but I'm no trained healer." Stopping here she shakes her head again and grins. "I think I babbled. Sorry. Good. I mean, that you'll write back. I enjoy writing to people. I don't expect them to write back, but I do like when they do. And I am glad you have stayed as long as you have and understand the desire to go home. Maybe I'll come visit sometime. The one time I was there I hardly got to spend any time at all in the records."

Set free from formal constraints, J'cor's eyebrows bounce up again when she describes the other book she encountered in harper, and as she rounds off her description he gives his head a rueful sort of shake. "The things that people think," he murmurs, amusement finding its way back to his voice, as well. Yet he stops his comments there, lips pressed together to allow her time to finish her thoughts and move on to his transfer again. "If you do visit, I shall be pleased to see you. There are things worth looking at, in Igen, aside from the records room." He spreads a quick smile for that peculiarity of hers, passing over it lightly.

"I am shocked, sir! There is nothing at all worth seeing anywhere but records." Miniyal grins as she says it, almost laughing. "Besides, it's very hot there. I would likely whine about the heat until you gladly threw me into records and hid away." Nodding at this she pulls her hands from her pockets and folds them in front of her. "Probably best if you send word when the temperature is not so hideous and I will make the time to come see you. My new line of work is very flexible. That's one of the benefits of it, I think. That and I have an excuse now to do what I am really good at."

J'cor has snuck another bit of meatroll into his mouth, leaving him unable to respond to her protests about the records room, but he does lift his eyebrows and roll his eyes to the side, the expression of one who has been caught in an obvious lie. That he has his brows raised already only makes it easier to convert his look to one of surprise when she mentions her new work, a pleasant smile crossing his features when the information registers. "I shall of course inform you. There a few opportunities for good weather in the early spring, although I personally enjoy the autumns more. But tell me, what is this new work you've found?" One of the eyebrows is allowed rest from its raising, leaving only the other one to emphasize his question.

Miniyal taps a finger against her thigh with her head tilted towards one side. Considering. "Oh, well, you mustn't tell. It will make it hard. I mean, my work is sort of secret. Other than my clients I've only told one other person." There's no reason to mention who else might know as they're both aware of who it would be. "I love spring here. I'll plan on autumn. Now you've done it, you know. I'll be showing up and before then I will be honing my chess skills so you'd best be practicing as well!" The warning is delivered with a laugh and after that she turns slightly more serious. "Oh, but my work. I'm. . .a private researcher. I gather information."

J'cor snorts out a pair of soundless chuckles when she warns him, though he doesn't seem much afraid. "Autumn and chess; there can be no finer combination," is all he remarks. All he has time for, really, when there's also the question of new work to mention. "Information, is it. Curious work, but interesting, I have no doubt." A little smile, another chuckle, and then he brushes on. "Though I should think it would be difficult to find a range of steady customers without telling anyone what it is you do." Unwilling to press the matter, maybe, he stops his comments there (after a brief, predictable pop of his eyebrows) and distracts himself with food again.

Miniyal shrugs her shoulders and grins with a wink. "The people I want to know will know. I admit I'm growing the enterprise slowly, but I do best doing things slowly. I've managed to get a couple of clients so far. And if either of them were to mention another name I would consider carefully their recommendation. But, to be honest, I don't think there's going to ever be a lot of people who will need my services. And I would not work for someone I could not. . .could not trust to use what I can learn for some bad purpose. It's a very sort of confusing thing. I'm not sure it will work out, but I am trying to make it work and I am not going to give up on it if it is hard at first." One hand pushes hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear carefully so it doesn't obscure her view. "I've done this sort of thing before for my own purposes. But I've never really tried to make it work this way. I think I've found something I'm really good at. That I like doing. It's a useful thing."

J'cor is reaching the end of his dinner, slowing down over an array of sweet pastries set up in neat circles around a tiny plate. They're more than he can hope to eat, really, so he lifts the corner of the plate in an implied offering to Miniyal while she speaks. "Difficult criteria indeed," he notes, but amiably, as he pops a tiny pastry into his mouth. He reaches out to have his drink on hand so he can wash it down as soon as he finishes chewing. Or rather, as soon as he finishes chewing and then says, "Not assisting, then, but something new. A calling?" Up go the eyebrows again as he tilts his drink for a quick swallow.

Miniyal looks at the pastries offered to her and decides it would be rude to not take one. So she moves closer to do just that, nodding a thanks before she nibbles at it for a taste. "Oh, that's good." Because food deserves some sort of comment and it gives her a moment to marshal her other thoughts. "I'm a terrible assistant. One person, you know? And having to do what they want and worry about them getting upset because you do something they decide is wrong even if it's none of their business. Really." Shaking her head she has another little taste of her pastry to settle herself down. "I don't know if it's a calling. I'm very good at information gathering. And this way I pick and choose whom I will help and they know up front I do things my way."

For her compliment to the food, J'cor waves a generous hand. "Have as many as you like," he murmurs quickly. "The kitchens seems to think me in excess need of coddling, for they send me far more sweets than I could ever eat." Yet, his wry twist of a smile admits, it's not really an unwelcome favor. "There are advantages to being a free agent. I ask, though, primarily as a means of ascertaining whether you have switched your energies to this format entirely, or whether I ought still to expect a treatise on the treatment of criminals in my mail." He smiles at her as he brushes powdered sugar that got on his fingers off over an empty plate.

"Well, I actually am close to a first draft of the proposal." Miniyal smiles brightly at this, straightening up a bit in accomplishment. Then she finishes off the pastry, reaching out a hand for another. She'll not deny a chance for something sweet. "My current employment offers me numerous advantages. I have an excuse to travel to different places. An excuse to talk to almost anyone I might need to." She stops here, nose wrinkling up as she lets out a sigh. "And a way to make the right contacts. To meet people I will need later. I really hate it, you know. Being all. . .I don't know. Doing work for someone now in hopes of favors later. It seems dishonest. But I do like the work and I have plenty of time for my own research still."

"A convenience, then," J'cor says, "not a calling." He overturns a hand in a gesture of yielding. "If it allows you the leisure to complete your own researches, so much the better. There is a certain - disingenuousness, I suppose, to any task not wholly of our own choosing. Making contacts," he explains, a small side, as his hand flips back over. There's a number of pastries left, but he's not going for any more at present. "But there is always hope of an oasis here or there. Unpleasant business may lead you to a pleasant person, you never really. There's interest in it."

Rubbing her forehead, Miniyal finishes off her second pastry and licks her fingers clean. There is no reach for a third. Likely two seems proper and three gluttonous. "I do enjoy what I do. Mostly it fills time. I have a lot of time to fill these days. It seems like an awful lot of time. But, I imagine you know that feeling. And, enough about me already. We should talk about you more often I think. It's much less work on my part." Tapping a finger against her chin she regards him thoughtfully. "What will you do at Igen? Did you decide?" She adds after just a moment's pause, as if it's not really important and she just thought to add it at the end, "I'm going to miss you. No one else talks straight to me."

"Do I?" For a moment, J'cor seems genuinely surprised to find himself described as a straight talker, but he breaks into it with another smile. So generous with these, of late. "I shall fill that niche, as best as may be, in my letters, but - no, I don't imagine it would be quite the same. Hmm, no. I will miss these, our talks." Lacking the innocent sweetness that allows her to simply say 'you,' he works his way around it as closely as he can. The meaning, however, is the same; a strangely sincere silence falls (for just a moment) to prove that before he breaks into it, upbeat. "But you asked what I would do at Igen, and I have not answered that yet. I suppose my first task will be to help acclimatize Ch'dais - assuming he permits me, which is never certain." If there's a wry note there, it's quickly dismissed. "And on my own time I should like to speak again with the members of my former wing, as well as other associates. In the long term, I do not know precisely, but I suppose I might help out with the weyrlings if I can."

Miniyal's head bobs up and down at his question. "You do, yes. I always know that you'll tell me what you think about ideas I have or things I am considering. It's rare. Especially around here." She has so much trouble sometimes with these conversations. It's hard to veer around the person she'd be talking about and she doesn't wish to sound as if she doesn't trust that person or is speaking ill of him. "Well, if I desperately need your counsel I shall simply have to commandeer a ride to you. Hopefully letters will suffice and nothing will be that terrible." As to what he will do at Igen she listens intently, openly curious. "Oh. I bet you'll enjoy that. It's always good to get reacquainted with people you've not been around for a bit. I'll forgive you any letter writing duties for at least the first month you are there. Time to get settled and everything. I don't know- I mean, I'll try to come by and say goodbye before you go. But I don't know- I mean. If I can make it." Her head ducks just a fraction at this because there's no need to get all emotional. Likely why she will not come by again before he goes.

Fortunately for Miniyal, J'cor seems equally willing to steer around the subject of that person, so after he accepts her confirmation of his straight-talking nature, he moves on with a smile. "Nonsense, I will be ever more inclined to write letters my first month back, if only for an excuse to talk at tedious length about exploits with companions whose identities will seem obscure to you." After a moment's thought, he adds drily, "Which is no doubt an excellent reason not to give me the excuse." Of a final visit (and the possibility of this one being it), J'cor has no word, only an understanding nod when she spoke of it and now this dry tease to divert them from the subject.

"Oh, well, if you need someone to speak to of those things by all means write to me. I enjoy hearing about other people. Even the ones I don't know." Miniyal brightens up at this and even smiles once more. "Really. It's. . .like an addiction. Hearing about people. Now I shall be eagerly awaiting just such a letter or three." A hand is lifted so she might point to him with a quiet laugh. "Now I am only giving you half a month before I shall be writing demanding to know where my letter is if I do not have one already. I shall keep them all and then when I come visit I can tell who is who by what you tell me. Eventually perhaps I will have them all bound into a book for you and threaten to share it with people if you do not do some favor or other for me. Of course now you will not say anything interesting in them. Drat. I've ruined my own plan." With a heavy sigh she shakes her head, not trying to hide the grin. "I will never learn."

J'cor, as her plan makes and just as quickly unmakes itself, watches with a growing smile - no grin, for even in his new state of easy smiles he seems reluctant to do something so bold as to show teeth. "Now, that is an area in which you may wish to improve if your new job trading in influences is to continue." Eyes sparkling, he lowers her a brief wink. "Although to be honest, self-involved as I am, I had already become half-lost in the daunting prospect of describing personalities such that you could recognize them. I might not have weaseled out your intentions had not you made them so clear."

Miniyal wrinkles her nose before she laughs briefly. "I'm not as sneaky as people seem to think. It's hard to, umm, gather information and all when you won't lie. You know, if you ever need my services I will provide them free of charge." A tip of her head to one side and she pauses. "Well, a nice bottle of whiskey could make its way into my collection, but it's not necessary. Oh! I know. You don't have to do a great job describing them. I've gotten quite good at sorting out people. You can just drop little clues and I'll sort them out when I come visit. It'll be like a game!" The thought of a new sort of puzzle game clearly pleases her as her eyes light up and she claps her hands together once. "It'll be fun! Finally something I am good at since I cannot win at chess."

J'cor tilts his head, considering the prospect of this new game that so easily delights her. His internal musings cut off abruptly when she comments on her luckless-ness in chess, a blink drawing him out before he smiles again. "You have had some near victories, but I persist in my efforts to distract your concentration with my chatter. Very well, then: in recompense for the games that I have cheated on, I'll provide clues - nameless, I presume - about my acquaintances back home. I shall be obscure as I can be, which Karth has sometimes had occasion to inform me is very obscure indeed, to make it more of a challenge for you." His eyebrow quirks up, waiting for confirmation of this offered challenge.

"Oh, yes! That will work out excellent." She is definitely thrilled at this idea. Miniyal nods her head to confirm her assent to the idea he has had. "And, I guess it's true. I have come close. But you do distract with chatter. Unfortunately I have not yet mastered that art. I think I am getting better however. I've been practicing. You know, suffering through people in public and all. I am not sure I am cut out to be very social. But I think I am going to master this one on one conversation stuff in only another decade or so." Rolling her eyes she grins wryly. "Maybe in half the time." Then she thinks of something else and asks, "Obscure? Really? Yes. I think I can see it."

"With zealous self-application," J'cor agrees of her half-the-time plan, his eyes sparkling and mouth hidden behind another sip of his drink. It has gone cold and bad, apparently, for he twists his mouth into a grimace after tasting it and sets it down with a quick splay of his palms: enough of that. Turning to her comments in the meantime, his amusement returns. "Can you? I'm afraid I just don't see it. Then again, I lack the outsider's perspective; I am preeminently clear to myself." He is joking, of course; that he tends towards the obscure is no great surprise, surely, even to him. He plays it up. "Besides, the convolutions of my own mind better enable to understand permutations in the minds of others, or so I like to think."

Miniyal laughs quietly at his words, amused quite clearly. "Well, everyone is a puzzle to me. I do not get people. I can figure them out, you know? But they don't make sense. It's like trying to figure out some other sort of animal." Her eyes narrow thoughtfully at this description and eventually she nods slightly. "Yes. That is it. Me, however? I am an open book. Entirely too easy to know what is going on in my head. I've tried to work on that, but I suffer from too much honesty. Well, I don't think I always give everything away, but I think I come close. It was never my intent, but it just sort of. . .I don't know. Alright then, I've rambled to the point where I have totally lost the topic of the conversation. We're not playing chess, you must stop doing that to me. Because clearly it is your fault."

"Clearly," J'cor agrees with an easy smile. He tamps down on it quickly, however, to have a semblance of dignity when he continues, "My apologies; perhaps it has become a habit. I must, however, disagree with your assessment of yourself as an open book. On the contrary, I find myself frequently surprised by the turn of your thoughts, so I for one would be hesitant to state that I 'know what is going in your head.'" He quotes her lightly, with a nod to acknowledge that yes, these are her words echoed back at her. "Which is not a bad thing, mind you. After all, I say in all humility," - meaning, as his teasing smile suggests, with no humility at all - "if my convoluted mind cannot predict your thoughts, then surely there are few who can."

"Oh, well, if you haven't figured me out then I suppose I really am not nearly as easy to sort out as all that." Miniyal manages an overly serious tone as she says it, belied by the smile that won't quite behave by staying away. "Although some might say being able to predict my thoughts is not possible ever since they come and go so quickly. Mostly go quickly. However, I tend to just think of it as having a brilliant mind that cannot help but think of a hundred things at once and therefore lose most of them and wind up not saying a thing that makes sense." Forehead wrinkling she laughs softly. "That made more sense in my head. I think I'll drop my comments on my own brilliance now."

J'cor chuckles. "Perhaps for the best. We two are disturbingly liable to make ourselves unable to fit through that door, if our heads get any larger." He begins with a simple head tilt towards the dragon-sized entry, but pauses with his head leaned sideways, and flicks his eyes to follow. "Ah," he says. "Speaking of which, Karth has had done with his exercise, and wishes to return. There is plenty of room for him to walk behind us," a fact J'cor confirms only after he has said it, "but I thought it best I warn you before he comes crashing in."

Miniyal's head turns to look behind her and then she nods. "Oh. Thanks for the warning. I'm not used to having to worry about such things." Living with the psycho dragonless man as she does. "Can I ask. . .I mean. How will he be taken home? You don't have to answer if you don't want, but I was curious. I was looking in records and I didn't see any real references that would explain it to me." She allows their egos to be dropped from the conversation. Clearly going on about it would not help their size.

No sooner has Miniyal acknowledged the warning than a bronze nose appears at the corner of the curtain, snuffing the floor quietly while its own considers his course. J'cor does not give him any mind. "He will be taken home in much the same way he was transported here after his injury. With alterations, of course, and other difficulties; he will have to climb to the Weyrleader's ledge and from there to the backs of several queens. It is not really a graceful way to travel, but it serves, and there's something to be said for an escort of queens to herald one's return." No such heralds for Karth's return at this particular moment, however, as his nose yanks up and tosses the curtain into the air while he takes the first step through. A dignified rumble greets both rider and guest before he passes, moving with practiced ease between the wall and their little sitting area.

Finding her pockets with her hands, Miniyal casts only one more glance over her shoulder when the bronze appears. He gets a little inclination of her hand in greeting, but since she's not here to visit him she turns back to his rider. "Oh. That makes sense. If, yes, difficult. But definitely a return that will be noted. Of course, not everyone wants something like that. The notice, I mean. Well, I guess you've gotten somewhat used to it and all. Or at least learned to suffer it gracefully. Hey, at least back at Igen you won't be stumbling over guards everywhere. I swear, it seems like everytime you turn around here there's a new one or his family. I hope the weyrleaders realise eventually we will run out of room for them all. And now candidates coming and it feels like you can't take a step without running into something. It's annoying."

J'cor's lips quirk into an unsuccessfully hidden smile, and Karth as he rearranges himself on the couch pauses to look up, snort, and go back to his scratching. "I must apologize, then, for the permanent transfer of the guards was begun on my initiative. With the Caucus, of course, the weyr already has an usually large share of inhabitants, but I had hoped the additions of regular guardsmen would not make so large an impact, even so. I'm sorry to hear that's not the case; though glad, perhaps, that I escape from suffering it myself by my return to Igen."

Miniyal laughs softly and pulls her hands back from her pockets so she can tuck her hair behind her ears once more. "Yes, well, I shall forgive you for all of that. I mean, we all make mistakes." To be sure that he interprets her correctly she makes sure to not only sound teasing, but to smile as she says it. After all, she doesn't want to start a fight on her last visit. Although considering she had one her first it would be a neat bit of symmetry. "There are too many people here, yes. And I was trying to not mention the Caucus if only because my opinions on it are not so hard to figure out. Oh, well. The students do come and go and some of the candidates always return home and the guards will eventually settled in. I shall just have to be more careful until then."

"So as not to stumble over them all?" J'cor supposes, allowing the smile he was hiding to quirk out the rest of the way. "I think - or, perhaps more honestly, I hope - that the guards will turn out a positive addition to the weyr, for all that the concept of having them here is new. I made my decision in response to - events which had occurred, but as a lasting measure they may prove useful keeping things calm, with respect to the Caucus and other generalities. I don't know. We'll see, or you will, and perhaps tell me your opinion in your letters."

"I will be sure to let you know how it works out." Miniyal promises this with a bright smile and a nod of her head. "Try stopping me when I have an opinion, right? At least with some people. I suppose I should offer condolences that you're one of the few people that are lucky enough to get to hear what I really think. Not that I object to telling people what I think on certain subjects, but there are others that I do keep to myself." Chewing on her lower lip she tips her head to one side. "I do not think it is such a bad thing. Besides, having the guard here has doubled my list of clients. So it works out for me. We'll see if it continues to do so. I fear my work may suffer from a stupid decision I have made."

This brings J'cor's eyebrow up, his head tilted slightly to underscore the question held therein. First, however, other parts of her answer must be addressed. "Well, I shall appreciate that honesty all the more when I am not present to judge matters for myself; I know I can rely on your reflections to be as frank as you can render them." He lifts a hand, turning it over with fingers slightly stretched apart. "But, now, what is this decision you have made?" How cleanly and tactfully he leaves out the stupid part. "That is, if it is not my business to interfere." His fingers give a little wobble before he flips them back over and sets them on his knee.

Looking down at the floor a moment her head shakes. "I am not sure it is so much honesty as an inability to sometimes keep my mouth shut. Hmm. Or to write my opinion. Well, I'll share things with you either way." Miniyal lifts her head then to smile. "So, we'll just see what happens. And, will you still be interested in what happens here? I never know how people feel after they have left. I rarely talk to people who have left and all. But, right. Decision. I don't know. I've asked to stand, but I am having second thoughts. I am not sure doing it just because I never have and will not have another chance really seems to make sense. Sometimes when I am curious nothing comes from it that is good so. . .and, there's the concern my clients might think that I am not serious about my work and I am."

There's a question hanging out there, but this time - in the face of Miniyal's decision to stand - J'cor opts not to go back and find it again. "Well," he begins, an admittedly slow start while he organizes his thoughts. "It makes sense from a perspective of - one always wonders what one might have done, faced with a choice, when one is looking back turns later. Not having attempted something, at some point, seems to me inevitable, yet it is one of the hardest choices to live with, I have found. At the same time, should we have attempted what we dream of, we should have found our lives vastly different from that which we expected. I suppose, though I am being convoluted again, that I'm trying to ask you which you feel you would regret more, not trying that which tempts you, or not only trying but succeeding? For should you Impress, there would be no going back to another option."

"Oh, no. I don't think so. I mean, it's much less convoluted then my brain was when I was thinking about it." Miniyal sighs at this and pulls one hand from her a pocket so she can twist at the fabric of her dress absently. "Right. That's why I am not sure. Although I figure the odds of it changing anything are pretty slim. But. . .you're right, of course. It's a decision that could likely change a lot of things and I thought I had considered them all, but now that I've actually sort of, kind of, asked and all, you know? Now I'm wondering if I am having second thoughts because I don't really care or because I'm concerned. Or, you know, scared. But I don't feel scared and I always second guess all my decisions so it could just be that and it's just I haven't really. . .Umm. I thought about that. If I did. I think I could still do what I am doing now. It would just take a little extra work to get around other things I had to do, but I really like what I am doing now. But maybe not enough if I'm thinking of it." Coming to a full stop she nearly laughs. "And you worried about being convoluted."

J'cor's eyes narrow with amusement, a small smile finding its way onto his face. "On the contrary, I don't worry; I allow my convolutions free rein. As now, for example, for all that it's cliche I feel obliged to tell you that truly, what happens after Impression - and we shall not speak of likelihoods, for resting on probabilities is a dangerous way to go about a choice like this one - what happens after Impression can change everything. I will not try your patience with the restatement of details that surely you know already from others who have Impressed, only state that I experienced this cliche when I Impressed, and it is not to be disregarded. However," and while his gaze turns briefly down, his pointer finger lifts, "I do not say this to scare you, or to make you second guess yourself. I only wish - and I do not expect you will arrive at an answer today, in one short sitting - to confront you with the many aspects of the question, so that when you do decide you may do so in the full knowledge of what you face and what you want from it."

Miniyal is quietly attentive as she listens to everything that is said. While there is a spot or two where it looks as if she might break in she does not, instead she just nods and seems to be filing things away for later. "It's true there are no guarantees. Which is why I am not entirely relying on probabilities. And I do not want to. . .to not try if I am going to. I mean, not try, but you know? I feel I should go into it with an open mind but at the same time. . .I don't know. And, I haven't really talked to anyone about it. I mean, not so much. I wasn't going to bother you with it, but then I did and I'm thankful because you've definitely helped me. I never do know what I will say when I show up here. I've tried in the past to come up with ideas of what to talk about beforehand, you know?" Pausing here she scratches her head and then places her hand back into her pocket. "I've found that planning out topics of conversation only makes me feel as if I must cover them and it makes it worse. So I have stopped trying that and I think it might be working out a little better. I don't feel pressured to talk about things, but I still am not sure I am getting the hang of casual conversation."

J'cor listens to her response as attentively as she listened to his lecture, nodding affirmation when she speaks of trying and not trying - he knows, yes. A smile creeps onto his lips, though, when she shifts the topic of the conversation /to/ conversation. "The essential part of it is, I believe, being casual, so not planning a regimen of topics might be the first and best step. The next step would be actually becoming comfortable in conversation, but that is a habit that takes time, rather than a skill which takes practice, I would say."

Miniyal lets out a heavy sigh at his words to accompany the nod of her head. "I reached that conclusion. I thought it might be a practice thing. I have made an effort to practice, but it always does seem as if it is not working. On the other hand I sometimes feel that if I do not make it seem like practice I will not do it. After all, it is how I learned to do everything else. Practice." When she nods her head this time it is to back up her words. "Like map making, right? I practiced that until I became an expert. Some things I am just good at. When I remember it. What are you good at? I mean, what do you think you are good at? To shift the conversation back to you since once more it wound up on me. And this is my last chance to pry for awhile and I don't want to keep you too much longer from your painting."

"Oh, my painting will not miss me much," J'cor answers with a rueful shake of his head. "I can only hold out the hope that practice will eventually make me passable at it, if not good, but it is an undertaking that will take time, I suppose. As to what I am already good at, that is a curious question, now. I might have answered leading Fall, or flying it, but of course that does not apply now." Karth is watching this conversation, his eyes glowing bright as he peers unsubtly over the edge of his couch, but although the facets of his gaze whirl faster at this comment, he does not seem unduly perturbed. "I am a good reader, I might say, although perhaps that does not count; I do at least mean it in the sense of seeking a thorough understanding of the text, not just the ability to read in itself. A good reader, who aspires to be a good painter. I suppose that is what I am."

The reaction that the dragon has to his words goes unnoticed. He is, after all, not in her line of sight. And Miniyal finds watching people far more interesting then their dragons. "That's not bad things to be good at. Those are not bad things to be. It's very simple." Frowning thoughtfully she studies him in silence a moment before nodding her head and then smiling. "Yes. That is perfect. Because it is simple, but at the same time either of those things are very complicated and there is so much to being good at either. Or trying to be good at them. I think that's you. You appear to be simple. . .not in a bad way. But it's only on the surface, right? And when someone gets to know you a little they start to see other things. Wait. I'm not sure that makes sense. That didn't turn out to be insulting, did it? I meant it as a compliment."

J'cor does not seem to take it as an insult, certainly, although there's a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. "I take it as a compliment," he assures her. "One I would not have expected, but all the more flattering for it. My ego, I admit, has swelled a size yet larger, despite my best intentions to keep it in hand."

Miniyal's eyes twinkle a moment when his ego is mentioned, but she lets it go for a moment. "Good. Because I hate to insult people when I don't mean to. Not that I enjoy doing it, but at least if I am going to should be when I mean to and not when I am trying to say something nice. So, good. That's settled." Conversation without a net does turn up all sorts of interesting things to have to explain. "Oh. And as for your ego, umm. Hrm. No. I was going to think of something to say to try to decrease it, but I right now I cannot. Which does not mean there is nothing I could say because saying that would only make it worse and with Karth back now we might not all fit in here with your ego. I shall just try to not compliment you again in this conversation."

"My ego is a dangerous thing," J'cor responds, quirking a smile. "At times I endanger the furniture. At the moment, however, I suspect that we are safe, since nothing has been knocked over as yet." Eyebrows quirking here, he sends a little glance around the room, which doesn't really have anything that could be knocked over anyway: just the pillows, and Karth's heavily weighted couch.

"Well, maybe I should send a note ahead to Igen? Reminding people of the danger that is returning to them?" Miniyal offers this with a smile and a firm nod of her head. "That's an excellent idea. I should make multiple copies. Oh! I'll write it in the form of a poem. That's a brilliant idea." Tilting her head to the side she chews on her lower lip. "Hrm. Although I'm not so good at writing it as I am at reading it. It will likely be a poor poem."

J'cor lifts a finger, holding it still while he summons his most dignified and teacherly expression. "There's a small flaw in your plan, I fear. For having a poem, even a poor poem, written about my ego would doubtless encourage it to grow larger." Dropping his finger, he lets a smile back onto his face. "And I suspect there is no need. Egotistically, I imagine that Igen still remembers my ego well."

Miniyal laughs at the flaw in her plan. "I think you are right. Well, I suppose I shall not write a poem." A thoughtful frown is followed by a nod of her head. "Probably for the best. I cannot imagine how long it might take me. I have enough trouble with the copying of things. I fear I am not cut out for creativity. I am only made for presenting the works of others in a good light. Well, we cannot all be good at everything."

J'cor's smile becomes wryly knowing, and he rolls a look over at that private corner at the 'toe' of his boot, which contains the oft-referenced painting supplies. "A lesson my efforts to learn painting has been teaching me quite well of late. Well, one does not have to be the best at everything, much though it galls me to say it. I have ever been somewhat of a - perfectionist." He chooses the word with a small twitch of a smile, somewhat distasteful for the admission, yet moves on easily enough. "Even so, and with my many failures, I do enjoy my painting when I attempt it. Perhaps more so at the beginning of a hopeful new piece than at the end of a doomed one."

Miniyal's head tips from one side to the other while she considers his words. "Do you think there is something wrong with being a perfectionist? I have always been told that you must do the very best you can in everything you do. I have tried to always do that. The problem with that I suppose is that it takes a long time to get things done. And, well, I guess maybe it tends to leave one with a desire to not attempt quite everything one might think of for fear of not being able to do it well. Well, still. If you enjoy the painting, even only the beginning, that makes it a good thing. Have you considered just doing uncompleted works? I read once about this artist who did that."

"Now, what kind of perfectionist would I be if I left my works unfinished?" J'cor wonders. After a moment, he shrugs. "There is nothing wrong with seeking to do your best in everything you attempt, but there is a certain liability in attempting to be /the/ best -" he emphasizes the differents - "in everything you attempt. I tend towards the latter, which I'll admit I do consider something of a personal flaw; I strive, with my painting, to grow more accustomed to - not failure, but not the greatest of success."

"I think I would just like to be the best at one thing. I don't have to be the best at everything, but just one thing would be good." Miniyal's words come thoughtfully slow. "I mean, I don't think that is a bad thing. But, I understand. It can really hinder everything you try to do if you always try to be the best. Or don't try because you might not be. Still. It would be nice I think to know there was something, well, I have my own ego problems. As for the paintings I suppose you're right. Besides, someone else has already done the half finished thing." Head tilting to one side she glances behind her. "What about painting on a dragon? They probably wouldn't like that. It would be interesting though. Well, maybe."

J'cor shoots a sidelong glance at his own dragon, who answers with a disagreeable rumble as he repositions his chin on the edge of the couch. "Karth suggests that it would interfere with his hide, and that at any rate, he has no interest in sitting still for as long as it would take me to paint a decent picture. So I suppose not," he concedes, reverting from the faintly distanced air he took on as he repeated his dragon's words. "But I will settle for what I can do on a piece of paper, and hope to see improvement if not perfection over time."

Miniyal gives another glances to Karth and bobs her head. "Sorry. Was just a passing idea." Attention back towards the painter and not potential paintee she smiles. "Paper will do. Is that what you paint on? What sorts of paints do you use? My mother paints. She has for as long as I've known her. I'm not sure if she is good or not as I rarely have seen anything she finishes. She gives them away or stores them or burns them or something. I have no idea to be honest. When I was younger I did a lot of research on painting because I thought I might do it as well, but I didn't have the talent. The whole perfection thing I suppose. But, you must paint me something sometime! When you think you are good enough. I will give you until I am about forty, but then I must insist on something given to me."

"Well, a canvas, rather," J'cor corrects himself with a rueful smile. "Even the terminology yet escapes me; perhaps that should be my first step. Oil on canvas, however, is my medium, and landscapes my subject; nothing extraordinary. The weather being as nice as it is I have thought of taking my painting somewhere outside the weyr, but then, the nice weather seems so often subject to sudden storm clouds that perhaps I had best not." Chuckling softly, J'cor shakes his head. "At any rate I can certainly oblige you by painting something, though I would hope you don't have to wait until you are about forty. If ego allows me, I will send you something decent long before that."

At the mention of the weather there is an agreeing nod of Miniyal's head. "It's true. Sometimes I go for walks outside and I have just grown accustomed to sometimes getting rained on. It's not so terribly bad, but it would mess with your paints. But that's not going to be as much of a problem where you are going, right?" Wrinkling her nose she lets out a sigh and then frowns. "I'll have to figure out where to put it. Well, no matter. I look forward to getting it. And I was just giving you until then, I did not expect to have to wait that long. But it was nice, I thought, to give you a decent amount of time. I couldn't wait that long anyway. I'd go crazy knowing I'd be getting something sometime and not knowing when. Oh. Forget I said that! No holding off now just because it will make me crazy."

J'cor blinks, then chuckles again. "Surely I'm not so cruel as that. As it happens, I enjoy the giving of gifts, so much so that I doubt I could withhold one even if I were so cruel. I am impatient, you understand, for the reception." Tilting up a small smile, he lets his eyes slide to the book she gave him; a trait, one might guess, that she shares.

Miniyal shakes her head rapidly which requires her to take a moment to tuck her hair back behind her ears. "I would not say cruel. Teasing, perhaps. Most people have something like that they might tease about. But, I am glad. About the giving. I love to get things." Yes, it's hardly obvious at all. Grinning her eyes drift to the book as well and she nods. "I like to give things for that reason. It's nice to see people appreciating what you've given them and knowing they will enjoy it." Here she pauses and then lets out a light sigh. "I should offer now to take my leave and let you get back to your painting or start reading your new book or what have you."

J'cor absorbs this offer (or theoretical proposal of an offer) with a mild blink, his hands folding together over his lap. It's an odd fold, only one thumb and the opposite hand's pinky intertwines, that looks rather more as though two people had joined hands than as if one were simply sitting there, cross-legged on a pillow with his hands in his lap. "I should not like to keep you overlong," he says, his voice keeping the pleasant tones he always wears. His lips do press together, but only briefly before they pop back open with more words. "And I know I will certainly enjoy your book, as I hope that some day soon you will enjoy my painting. Indeed," his hands uncross, and one of them comes down to lie on the books cover, "our conversations will be missed."

"Oh, I wasn't. . .you know. Trying to run off or anything. I just hate to linger. Sometimes I do and I am not sure when and sure you are perfectly capable of telling me when you wish me to go, but sometimes I feel it is polite to offer." Miniyal frowns as she says this, thoughtful. "Well, I do hope you enjoy the book. I will keep my eyes open for more interesting things that I can send. Oh! I'll find something on painting. I bet there's all kinds of weird things written about that. Although it is fun looking for dancing books." Here she comes to a stop as she finds her pockets once more and puts her hands in them. "They will. I'll miss coming to talk to you. I'll have to find someone else to haunt and I don't imagine the conversations will be nearly as good. Thank you. I'm glad we're friends."

J'cor's hands move to his knees, now, bracing them down while he listens to her. A chuckle begins when she promises a weird book on painting, but it cuts off when she stops, allowing her to decree the silence. "As you know," he answers, his words again beginning slowly, "I am not especially good at - seeming sincere, even when I am, so it may be the best I can do to say, simply, that I am indeed sincere when I say that I am glad as well, and grateful." Steadily meeting her eye, he extends his hand straight towards her, a proferred shake.

Miniyal blinks a couple of times before smiling warmly. "It's amazing we've managed to make it this far considering how well we both do at interpersonal communication in a personal medium." This description brings a laugh and a shake of her head. "Or, more simply, I usually always manage to say the wrong thing and interpret everything wrongly. I'm glad this wasn't the case this time. I shall have to work on writing the right thing now and not just saying it." She says all of this before reaching out to take the hand offered to her. "I hope you prosper at Igen. I wish you nothing but the best."

"And you in your ventures here - whatever they may be." J'cor appends the last with a quick wink, his smile stretching wide enough across his features to show teeth. A grin. "And perhaps writing will turn out an easier transition than you think. So long as I assume that your compliments are always complimentary, and you assume that my sincerities are always sincere, then we will understand each other perfectly and with the added benefit of being able to plan our words out carefully."

"True enough. In conversation it is hard to redo what one wants to say. With a letter it is definitely easier. And I promise that all my compliments will be sincere and complimentary." Miniyal winks and then takes a step backwards. "I'll let you know what happens here as it does." A loose enough promise to encompass anything that he might have an interest in still without saying anything regarding anything unpleasant. "I'll see myself out. I think I can squeeze between your dragon and your ego if I step carefully. Take care." With her back turned to leave any brush of her hand across her eyes looks enough like she is trying to fix her hair that it can be dismissed as just that as she leaves.