Got Him
Location: Caucus Office
Time: Lunchtime on Day 14, Month 7, Turn 2, immediately after this log.
Players: Aida and Roa
Scene: Roa delivers the news.
Caucus Office
As offices go, this one is fairly standard. Larger than most due to being shared, there are a pair of desks set facing each other in the center of the room. Each desk has a set of shelves running the length of the wall behind it and those shelves are filled with neatly organized scroll-tubes. The floor has been covered in a thick blue-and-black braided rug, and the wall not hidden behind shelves bears a tapestry that shows a Harper instructing a class of young students.
Lunch time in the office is quiet, today -- Aida is settled at her desk reading what is apparently a letter, chewing on her lower lip a bit as she does so. There's a cup of tea sitting within her reach, though it's currently being entirely ignored. No students pestering her, no teachers needing anything, just her, a letter, and some tea. Quiet and calm.
The knock is for custom only. It certainly doesn't mean the person doing said knock has any plans to wait for an invitation before barging in. The door is shoved open hard enough that it slams the wall, the little weyrwoman hurrying through and spinning to grab the door and push it shut again. Blue eyes flit about the room. Empty. Empty. Aida. Roa stalks over to the other woman's desk and leans forward, palms flat on the wood, weight settled onto her arms. "We got him," is her greeting.
Jump. Aida is on her feet in a flash at the sudden movement, letter dropped to the floor, chair shoved back a bit. Blink. Blink. It takes her a moment to register that it's Roa and so there is no need for her to go fleeing towards the opposite door, and she calms quickly, catching her breath about the moment that Roa is leaning on her arms on her desk. The words spoken cause her eyebrows to shoot up. "What? What happened?"
"I went to find Tavaly. She was speaking with K'rom who has, after all this time, decided to come clean." Roa's eyes are glinting blue fire. Her lips are curled ever so slightly upwards. "Apparently E'sere asked K'rom to help in blackmailing Leyron, and in the course of doing so introduced K'rom to..." a pause and a look. An 'are you ready for this' brow-arched anticipatory look. "...his friend Donavon."
Stare. Aida...well, she stares. Wide eyed. And then there is blinking. Lots and lots of blinking. "Well," she says, voice dry. "I...Leyron. The one who..." No, she doesn't complete that statement. "Katric named him as one of their targets, as well." A nod. "We have him." Thunk. That would be her behind falling heavily back into her chair, her eyes wide. "Have..." Words? Where are you, words?
The weyrwoman seems to have words enough for both of them. "I'm going to J'cor tonight. Tavaly's coming with me. We need to place K'rom under guard and N'ka as well. Apparently he knows even more and has been reluctant to speak. K'rom will speak to him, and it that doesn't work, *I* will." Roa pushes back from the desk and begins pacing, back and forth, along the length of it. "Do you want to come as well?" Pace. "I'm so afraid we're going to lose the girl." Pace. "Perhaps if Vasyath questions Morelenth..." Pace. "Shells! Why couldn't this have happened two sevens ago!" Turn. Kick desk.
Silence, on Aida's part, through all of it. She leans back in her chair, bringing a hand up to pinch at the bridge of her nose. Even through Roa's excitement and frustration and pacing, calm settles in, shock giving way to quiet calculation. She's quiet for several long moments after the other woman has kicked the desk, lowering her hand to the arm of the chair. "I would like to come, yes; as will D'ven," she states quietly. "If you could have Tialith query after where he is, I'll go collect him. Mmm. E'sere will finger her. He has to. Doesn't he?"
The pacing slows and stops and Roa lifts up her head. She draws in a series of slow breaths, inhaling through her nose, and out her mouth. In. Out. Each one seems to edge her closer to equilibrium. The act itself, the breathing, is possibly something Aida has seen Jensen do when training. Or Ashwin, when calming from his elaborate 'battle dances'. After a moment, she turns to quietly regard Aida. "I don't know. I don't know any of the rules to this game, and I think...I think she was playing at it before he was. There's two trails. The one pointed towards Jensen and his friends. The other pointed to removing Igen from the weyr. Luren...I think he was part of the first. There's no certainty E'sere even knows she's responsible."
"If he doesn't know who she is or that she's responsible," Aida begins gently, her lips curving up into a soft smile, "Then she has nothing to fear from him being caught, and we do not risk losing her." That's allowed to sit on its own for several moments, and then she's shaking her head and shifting forward again to rest her forearms on the top of the desk. "If he does, and she does have something to fear, then...he will know who she is, and we will have her caught. Either way, Roa, it will all work out. We will do this thing, and we will be able to breathe again."
Roa's head cants to the side at this analysis. "He must know her," she reasons back, "or I can't imagine how he got the tunic. And he likely knows what she did in relation to Igen. But the other things..." the weyrwoman's brows drawn down and she shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. We know too much to keep quiet any longer. We'll go to J'cor tonight. We'll end it."
"He'll be able to finger her, and we can get the rest of the information from her once she's caught," Aida replies easily, rolling her shoulders and sliding to her feet. "We'll end it, and things will begin to heal," she adds, voice settling into something certain, very sure. "It will all be over very soon. Now, do you want a cup of tea to help soothe your nerves a bit?"
Roa shakes her head. "No. Thank you. My nerves are fine. I think I need to just sit down with all of this in my head and line it up. Get ready for tonight. I'll have Tialith bespeak Teraneth when it's time, and D'ven can fetch you. Oh..." The weyrwoman's eyes go misty a moment and then, when they clear, she offers that bronzerider's current location.
"I'm going to go pester him now, I think," Aida admits, offering a smile. "So just have Tialith let him know when it's time and we can all meet up quietly. "I won't be able to concentrate any more today. Is there anything further you need me to do before that time comes?"
"I don't...think so. Just keep quiet about it until tonight. Keep safe. Stay in public places or with D'ven or Br'ce. Don't make yourself a target. I'll do the same." Roa takes a small step back. A tiny smile. "See you tonight."
"I'm going to be safe," Aida promises, flashing a warm smile of her own, no reservations in it. "No wandering around for me." Beat. "See you tonight, Roa. Thank you."
"Thank you," the little weyrwoman returns. "For hearing my words. For waiting." And then she turns. And she's gone.
Time: Lunchtime on Day 14, Month 7, Turn 2, immediately after this log.
Players: Aida and Roa
Scene: Roa delivers the news.
Caucus Office
As offices go, this one is fairly standard. Larger than most due to being shared, there are a pair of desks set facing each other in the center of the room. Each desk has a set of shelves running the length of the wall behind it and those shelves are filled with neatly organized scroll-tubes. The floor has been covered in a thick blue-and-black braided rug, and the wall not hidden behind shelves bears a tapestry that shows a Harper instructing a class of young students.
Lunch time in the office is quiet, today -- Aida is settled at her desk reading what is apparently a letter, chewing on her lower lip a bit as she does so. There's a cup of tea sitting within her reach, though it's currently being entirely ignored. No students pestering her, no teachers needing anything, just her, a letter, and some tea. Quiet and calm.
The knock is for custom only. It certainly doesn't mean the person doing said knock has any plans to wait for an invitation before barging in. The door is shoved open hard enough that it slams the wall, the little weyrwoman hurrying through and spinning to grab the door and push it shut again. Blue eyes flit about the room. Empty. Empty. Aida. Roa stalks over to the other woman's desk and leans forward, palms flat on the wood, weight settled onto her arms. "We got him," is her greeting.
Jump. Aida is on her feet in a flash at the sudden movement, letter dropped to the floor, chair shoved back a bit. Blink. Blink. It takes her a moment to register that it's Roa and so there is no need for her to go fleeing towards the opposite door, and she calms quickly, catching her breath about the moment that Roa is leaning on her arms on her desk. The words spoken cause her eyebrows to shoot up. "What? What happened?"
"I went to find Tavaly. She was speaking with K'rom who has, after all this time, decided to come clean." Roa's eyes are glinting blue fire. Her lips are curled ever so slightly upwards. "Apparently E'sere asked K'rom to help in blackmailing Leyron, and in the course of doing so introduced K'rom to..." a pause and a look. An 'are you ready for this' brow-arched anticipatory look. "...his friend Donavon."
Stare. Aida...well, she stares. Wide eyed. And then there is blinking. Lots and lots of blinking. "Well," she says, voice dry. "I...Leyron. The one who..." No, she doesn't complete that statement. "Katric named him as one of their targets, as well." A nod. "We have him." Thunk. That would be her behind falling heavily back into her chair, her eyes wide. "Have..." Words? Where are you, words?
The weyrwoman seems to have words enough for both of them. "I'm going to J'cor tonight. Tavaly's coming with me. We need to place K'rom under guard and N'ka as well. Apparently he knows even more and has been reluctant to speak. K'rom will speak to him, and it that doesn't work, *I* will." Roa pushes back from the desk and begins pacing, back and forth, along the length of it. "Do you want to come as well?" Pace. "I'm so afraid we're going to lose the girl." Pace. "Perhaps if Vasyath questions Morelenth..." Pace. "Shells! Why couldn't this have happened two sevens ago!" Turn. Kick desk.
Silence, on Aida's part, through all of it. She leans back in her chair, bringing a hand up to pinch at the bridge of her nose. Even through Roa's excitement and frustration and pacing, calm settles in, shock giving way to quiet calculation. She's quiet for several long moments after the other woman has kicked the desk, lowering her hand to the arm of the chair. "I would like to come, yes; as will D'ven," she states quietly. "If you could have Tialith query after where he is, I'll go collect him. Mmm. E'sere will finger her. He has to. Doesn't he?"
The pacing slows and stops and Roa lifts up her head. She draws in a series of slow breaths, inhaling through her nose, and out her mouth. In. Out. Each one seems to edge her closer to equilibrium. The act itself, the breathing, is possibly something Aida has seen Jensen do when training. Or Ashwin, when calming from his elaborate 'battle dances'. After a moment, she turns to quietly regard Aida. "I don't know. I don't know any of the rules to this game, and I think...I think she was playing at it before he was. There's two trails. The one pointed towards Jensen and his friends. The other pointed to removing Igen from the weyr. Luren...I think he was part of the first. There's no certainty E'sere even knows she's responsible."
"If he doesn't know who she is or that she's responsible," Aida begins gently, her lips curving up into a soft smile, "Then she has nothing to fear from him being caught, and we do not risk losing her." That's allowed to sit on its own for several moments, and then she's shaking her head and shifting forward again to rest her forearms on the top of the desk. "If he does, and she does have something to fear, then...he will know who she is, and we will have her caught. Either way, Roa, it will all work out. We will do this thing, and we will be able to breathe again."
Roa's head cants to the side at this analysis. "He must know her," she reasons back, "or I can't imagine how he got the tunic. And he likely knows what she did in relation to Igen. But the other things..." the weyrwoman's brows drawn down and she shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. We know too much to keep quiet any longer. We'll go to J'cor tonight. We'll end it."
"He'll be able to finger her, and we can get the rest of the information from her once she's caught," Aida replies easily, rolling her shoulders and sliding to her feet. "We'll end it, and things will begin to heal," she adds, voice settling into something certain, very sure. "It will all be over very soon. Now, do you want a cup of tea to help soothe your nerves a bit?"
Roa shakes her head. "No. Thank you. My nerves are fine. I think I need to just sit down with all of this in my head and line it up. Get ready for tonight. I'll have Tialith bespeak Teraneth when it's time, and D'ven can fetch you. Oh..." The weyrwoman's eyes go misty a moment and then, when they clear, she offers that bronzerider's current location.
"I'm going to go pester him now, I think," Aida admits, offering a smile. "So just have Tialith let him know when it's time and we can all meet up quietly. "I won't be able to concentrate any more today. Is there anything further you need me to do before that time comes?"
"I don't...think so. Just keep quiet about it until tonight. Keep safe. Stay in public places or with D'ven or Br'ce. Don't make yourself a target. I'll do the same." Roa takes a small step back. A tiny smile. "See you tonight."
"I'm going to be safe," Aida promises, flashing a warm smile of her own, no reservations in it. "No wandering around for me." Beat. "See you tonight, Roa. Thank you."
"Thank you," the little weyrwoman returns. "For hearing my words. For waiting." And then she turns. And she's gone.