June 28, 2004
R'hyn meets Kiora in the infirmary.

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You head in beneath the large, arching entrance to the outer infirmary.

Kiora is settled on a cot, rubbing her temples and looking a bit grumpy. "Isn't there anything 'sides fellis I can take? Fellis always tastes weird -- can't I have it in some juice or something, maybe? I don't really like wine ..." The young boy 'tending' to Kiora looks a bit exasperated; apparently she's not the best patient to work with.

Three riders enter at once - R'hyn and a bluerider, M'ros, are supporting a limping Keicha, all three of them dressed for drills. "We think it's sprained," R'hyn explains, flushing, as a healer approaches, and they settle the greenrider down on a cot. "Maybe broken, but she says she didn't feel it--" Keicha interrupts, insisting that it's her ankle that's hurt, not her voice. R'hyn, M'ros silently following, backs up a little, nearly tripping over the boy attending Kiora in the process.

"Hey!" Kiora's squeal is caused more by the boy nearly falling on her than anything else -- as soon as he's back on his feet, he moves to make himself useful, going to track down a journeyman. Ki just peers nervously at R'hyn et al, and eventually offers, "Someone's supposed to bring me some fellis, if maybe that would help or something."

R'hyn turns around, quite scarlet and full of apologies. He watches after the boy with a somewhat tragic expression on his face, turning to properly notice Kiora only once she actually talks. "Fellis?" He sounds quite confused, blinks, and then adds, "Er, what's wrong with you? Are you okay? I mean..."

"I got a headache," Kiora explains quickly, looking mildly embarrassed. "But ankles hurt more than headaches, so if she needs some fellis --" She waves and beams nervously at Keicha. "Then she can have mine so she doesn't have to wait for someone to get some more."

Keicha seems to be more irritated by the inconvenience than in pain - except for the fact that in every attempt of hers to stand up and prove that she's not completely incapacitated results in a rather nasty wince. R'hyn, flushing, remarks to Kiora quietly, "Only if it knocks her out. But -- ah. Headache. Not, um, any fun. You didn't hit your head or anything, did you?"

"Got knocked in the head by some hail before it stopped," Kiora notes, blushing vividly. "But I don't think that's why my head hurts. It's no big deal, it's just kinda annoying." Her sage advice to Keicha is, "It hurts less if you don't stand on it."

"I suppose," says R'hyn, a little uncertainly. "It's just a, you know, normal kind of headache, then?" He glances back at Keicha, who scowls at Kiora, dismissing her with a huff of air. "I don't think she appreciated that," he murmurs. "She's not really keen about having to miss drills. Wants to make a good impression on E'van. Wants to be Wingleader, I think."

Kiora blinks, looking nervous again. "What other kind of headache would it be?" She sticks her tongue out at Keicha in a fine show of dignity. "E'van wouldn't be impressed by someone walking around on an injured ankle on purpose. Unless he didn't like them or something, but then I don't think impressed is the word for that."

R'hyn erms, flushing. "I don't know. I just, you know, wondered." Keicha apparently ignores the tongue-poking - or perhaps she's just too busy attempting not to wince as her ankle is poked and prodded by an attending healer. "No, you're quite right. I don't get her reasoning, either-- but, then, I don't really get Keicha, either. Who'd /want/ to be a Wingleader?"

"I think A'raz would," Kiora replies, looking very thoughtful. "And I guess the current wingleaders would. I bet E'van would. I guess Ainsley likes leading the queens' wing. Some people like doing things like that, but I don't suppose it would be too fun on a sprained ankle."

R'hyn, after a moment's pause, perches on the edge of the table beside Kiora's cot. "Would he? Interesting, that. I'm not sure that all Wingleaders do, though." Wrinkling his nose, he explains, "I didn't, but I felt obligated, when handed the position. Granted," he amends, "I'm far from everyone. And no, I think doing anything on a sprained ankle is less than fun." A glance over at Keicha indicates that having such a thing bathed in icy water is, likewise, less than fun.

Kiora considers this, too, and rubs her nose a bit. "Wingleader-y things. They ride at the front of the formation and everybody does what the wingleader says." She imparts this wisdom sagely, and then winces as she watches Keicha's ankle get soaked. "Well -- you don't /have/ to be weyrleader, do you? If you don't want to? If you really really didn't want to, I bet E'van or whoever was Weyrleader would find somebody else. Better to have somebody happy in the position who might not be as good than somebody really good who might be kind of lazy 'cause they don't like what they're doing."

"Ah," says R'hyn. "So it's all about power. Having power over other people, specifically. No, I didn't have to be -- but I did feel kind of obligated. And, you know, it makes you feel good. They wanted /me/. I thought they were crazy, but I still kind of felt proud. That was at Southern."

"Maybe so," Kiora replies, though she doesn't sound entirely convinced. "But not just about being in charge for the sake of it. Sometimes you have to be in charge so that you can make things better, 'cause it's easier to get things done that way and stuff. And I can see how it'd make you feel good -- it's kinda like search, except ... less subjective or something, sort of."

R'hyn nods quickly. "Exactly. On the latter point, anyway. Someone has faith in you -- and it's not even because of something that's sensed in you, but because you've shown them something. That's kind of cool." He sidles back upon the table a few inches, and then adds, "Oh, sure. It's about making a difference. But being in charge is hard, too - some decisions aren't easy to make. And then, if you make a bad decision, or even if something happens that couldn't be avoided... that's hard."

Kiora stretches her legs out in front of her a bit, nearly tripping up some boy in the process. Ki, apparently, doesn't notice this. "Nobody ever said it wasn't hard. Most things are. But somebody's got to make the decisions, and you may as well have somebody willing to take on the responsibility, instead of ... y'know, just doing it because they'd feel guilty if they didn't."

R'hyn listens, his head tilted to the side in a gesture of thoughtfulness. "Yeah," he says, finally. "You're right. I know I'd rather not be Wingleader or anything again, so I really should keep reminding myself of that. Not," he adds, quickly, "That E'van is ever likely to promote me. Which works well for us both."

Kiora wrinkles her nose a bit. "Who knows. Ainsley may take a liking to you or something. But I promise that if I ever have to be weyrwoman or something, I won't promote you unless you ask real nice."

"Ainsley only likes me when she thinks she can use me -- to talk to Serriena, for example," laughs R'hyn, though he nods his head cheerfully. "That's kind of you. Do you see yourself as Senior - is it a life goal of yours, or anything? Or something to be avoided?"

"Maybe so," Kiora muses. "But nobody ever knows what Ainsley's thinking. If she did promote you, it'd probably be to make E'van grumpy. No offense, of course," she adds hastily. "I don't really see myself as senior, no. By the time Ainsley steps down I think we'll have some other golds, and one of them will probably go up quicker than Sira for a leadership flight, so I don't worry about it much."

R'hyn's smile turns amused, as he agrees, "You're probably right. I do rather think she likes annoying him - if only to remind him that she is not going to sit back and let him dominate everything. No offense taken, not at all." Clasping his hands in his lap, he nods. "That's a reasonable enough assumption."

Kiora snickers faintly. "Ainsley and E'van never tell me to do the same thing, and if they do, they tell me to do it in two different ways. He doesn't like to see her bossing me around, but only 'cause he'd much rather be doing it himself, I think." She rubs the back of her neck thoughtfully, nodding in agreement. "I always thought so. That it was reasonable, I guess. I was taught that it's possible to -- to influence Sira during a flight, I guess. Like if I was real scared of her going up, that she have a real good flight. So I figure that if I really don't want her to be the senior gold, I could probably put her off it just long enough to let another gold rise."

R'hyn doesn't laugh, but it's a near miss; he's smirking, rather obviously. "I can see that. I get the impression that E'van expects the whole weyr to bow and scrape to his wishes, sometimes. They both rather like having power." He drops his hands again, adding, "Probably. I find it kind of funny, to be honest - I can't influence Arisvath into losing flights I don't want him to win, or even not chasing. But I suppose it's different for you. It's not an every day kind of thing."

"He does," Kiora replies, nodding again. "I dunno what he was expecting when Ainsley was brought up here, but she definately wasn't it." She frowns thoughtfully, apparently not finding the idea of flights quite so amusing. "S'not, no. I don't know how often Siramyth will rise, but it's not as often as the boys will chase. Sometimes I get kind of grumpy with A'raz, 'cause he got so worked up about Siramyth's /first/ flight when his Inashanth's been chasing for a turn. Boys get off kinda easy, on that count. Lots of holdfolk think it's the greenriders that are -- are easy, or whatever, but boys chase more often than greens rise, y'know? But it's kind of a silly thing to fuss over. Nothing we can do about it."

"I don't think she's what any of us were expecting," R'hyn admits, not without a hint of mirth to his voice. Kaicha's ankle is finally bound up, but on getting instruction to stay in the infirmary a couple of days, her expression turns murderous. R'hyn, notably, ignores her evil glances in his direction. "Boys are supposed to be allowed to-- play around a little more, I suppose. I see that. But no, nothing can be done about it. Arisvath's terrible: chases as many greens as he can, and rarely catches them. Much better with queens. Unfortunately."

"That's stupid," Kiora says simply. "That girls would get in more trouble than boys when they don't even sleep around as much. In general, I suppose, dragons or not." She blushes faintly, then, and rubs her nose sheepishly. "But anyway. There aren't as many golds around for Arisvath to chase. He's got to keep himself occupied with something."

R'hyn shrugs his shoulders. "I know, I know. Really stupid. Unfortunately, really hard to change." Laughing, he nods his head. "Oh, true. And he points out that unlike me, he doesn't get anything out of my-- erm, activities of that kind." He turns brightly pink. "But I still think it's better to chase fewer, because it's not really pleasant for anyone when he loses."

Kiora rubs her nose a bit. "Yes well," she says, speaking quickly as if to get past the subject faster. "I suppose I could see why he would think that's unfair and if he wants to chase all the time it's his own fault if he gets disappointed and you should get a weyrmate and then you wouldn't have to fuss with it." Ki breathes, now. "When Siramyth went up I was going to lock myself up some place, but she did it stealthy-like and I didn't have time."

"I get it, but..." R'hyn shrugs. "At least some of the time, Viasseth also loses, and that makes things easier." Smiling, he adds, "I think it'd be kind of awkward, being locked up. But-- I don't blame you."

"That's good," Kiora replies vaguely, apparently of the opinion that if she doesn't acknowledge anyone's sex life it simply doesn't have to exist. "Well. A'raz said it would be awkward, but I dunno. I think if I got real drunk I'd fall asleep and nobody'd ever notice what happened. 'sides, it'd keep me out of -- err. Lots of trouble."

R'hyn opens his mouth to say something, then shuts it again. Finally: "Yeah. True. Erm. Well. At least you don't have to worry about flights for a while, now. Enjoying it? I mean, aside from the headache-- er, I'm not making that worse, am I? Talking to you. 'cause I can go?"

Kiora shakes her head. "Nah, s'not making it worse. It's not so bad now, actually. Maybe it'll be all the way gone soon. I suppose I'm enjoying it, yeah. I dunno. I've felt kinda bored the past couple of days, actually. Maybe it's just 'casue the eggs have hatched, and I don't have that to look forward to. How're things with you, now that you don't gotta fuss with the sands and stuff?"

"Oh, good." R'hyn sounds genuinely relieved, and smiles. "I get that. You can always go and visit the barracks, and squeal over the little tiny dragons, before they stop being so little and tiny. I-- yeah, the hatching was exciting. I enjoy hatchings, and I like feeling proud over Arisvath's progeny. It's good to be able to blend back in, again, though - and have a little more freedom. Arisvath likes watching his clutches a little too much, sometimes."

"Important people always made me nervous when they came in the barracks," Kiora replies, twiddling her thumbs a bit. "But that's mostly 'cause they always had to come ask lots of questions about Siramyth. Some of those weyrlings seem to think we're kind of funny, anyway," she adds, frowning. "So I'll just let them be a bit." Sniff. "If we could, I'd say you could have Sira a bit, and I'd take Arisvath. Now that they've hatched she's kinda grumpy, 'cause they don't need her fussing over them all the time. So she just kind of stays away from them and sulks."

R'hyn laughs, head nodding. "I can see that. Poor Kiora." He digs one hand under his bottom, sitting on it carelessly. "They do, rather. I don't know how that happened. At least they're, you know, not our responsibility as such. She is? Guess she'll forget soon enough, though. But, yeah - if we could swap." He laughs again. "It's a funny idea, though."

"Bet if we kept them in the dark nobody'd notice," Kiora suggests. "They kinda look the same in the dark." When no one can see. "But that's true, 'bout them not being our responsibility. 'least there's not a gold." She makes a face. "I dunno what'd happen then. It was a nice clutch, though. Three bronzes, right? S'pretty good."

R'hyn laughs merrily (drawing further wrath from Keicha, who hasn't stopped her murderous glances in his direction). "Yeah, true. Keep 'em hidden, and no one would know the difference. Which is, you know, good. Because if I rode Siramyth..." He grins. "I'm glad, too. It was a nice clutch, certainly didn't need a gold. Three bronzes - that's really good, for a clutch of twenty-five."

Kiora waves a hand. "We could dress you up as a girl. You wouldn't have to be /me/, you'd just have to be a goldrider." Though Siramyth is, unfortunately, very ... unique. "Is it? Good, I mean. I never know what's supposed to be good or not. It was almost half greens, that's all I know. And there were some cute blues. I liked that one chubby bronze, though. He was so cute." Beam.

R'hyn glances down at himself, and smirks. "I'm sure I'd make a really pretty girl," he decides, laughing. "No, it was really good. I liked that bronze, too. Actually - I think I really liked all of them. I was amused, Iniya getting that rather plain green. But she /was/ after green, I guess, so it works out."

"She was only after green 'cause there was no gold, I bet," Kiora offers, looking a bit amused. "But things are simpler when it's just a clutch like we had. They were all nice-looking dragonets -- except that one real nasty blue, but he was pretty even if he wasn't nice -- and I think the weyrlings'll turn out alright. Not much to complain about, really."

"Almost certainly," agrees R'hyn. "I bet part of her hoped that there was a gold hidden in there somewhere - but from what I can tell, she's decidedly happy with her green, regardless." Glancing around the infirmary, he adds, "Has that girl, the one who got hurt, been released from here? I hadn't heard. But -- yeah. I think they'll do well."

Kiora laughs. "I'm not surprised. I don't think anybody could be disappointed with who they Impressed, even if it wasn't quite what they expected." She pauses and frowns, then, looking around as if the girl will appear out of no where. "I'm not sure, actually. I haven't seen her, but maybe she's just not here -- right now. Maybe." Somehow.

"No way," agrees R'hyn. "I expected a blue, if anything. I bet there were a couple of guys on the sands that expected bronze, and got something else, too. But you really can't be disappointed, not really." He glances around again, and nodded. "They've probably got her with the other weyrlings as much as possible - I mean, so that she doesn't miss out on too much, even if she's a little incapacitated for the moment."

Kiora's eyes crinkle amusedly. "I didn't expect anything. People lost a lot of bets that night." Except the ones that were out to spite E'van, but such is life. "She wasn't injured too badly, was she? I mean -- well, it was a rather nasty cut, but it's nothing that would /really/ keep her out of the barracks, so long as she didn't move around too much, right?"

R'hyn grins, remarking, "There's a reason I don't bet -- impossible to tell. I know E'van had his marks on Oki -- all that hard work of his, gone to waste." He slides down from his perch, his hand finally drawn free to rest by his side. "I don't think so - she probably just has to be careful not to disturb the stitches. I admit, I didn't really ask, though. It was kind of terrifying, to see blood on the sands."

Kiora grimaces, though whether it's at the thought of E'van and Oki or the blood is unclear. "It was scary," is all she says. "But -- it does happen sometimes. On accident or just because the dragons are cranky. So long as no one was seriously hurt, I don't think we should dwell on it too much."

"It was," agrees R'hyn, simply. "It could have been worse, at any rate. Hopefully that's our quota for injuries for a while, anyway." He takes a step forward. "I should go and clean up - I rushed straight in here after drills, and I probably smell. Feel better though, mm?"

Kiora beams faintly, nodding. "I'll try. Maybe I have a headache 'cause you smell, or something. Guess we'll see." Beam.

"That's encouraging," says R'hyn, cheerfully enough. "See you later."

You head out beneath the massive entrance to the bowl.

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