September 4, 2004
Kaiel comes to the galleries to ask some questions of R'hyn.

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From the galleries, Kaiel comes up the stairs and out the tunnel from the living cavern.

It's actually not that common to find R'hyn down on the sands, but the hour is late enough that the day's business has probably been put to bed. The rider himself seems far from it, pacing back and forth, and apparently driving Arisvath to distraction, the bronze peering at him through half-lidded eyes, his tail protectively about one of the eggs.

From the galleries, Kaiel moves slowly up the stairs into the galleries, his eyes glazed and distant though responsive enough so that he doesn't end up on his face. Reaching the top, he moves without hesitation toward the first row, finding a seat and taking it with a faint grunt of motion. Rubbing his hands together, he twines them, elbows on his knees and eyes still distant. It's the motion on the sands that finally draws him out and he stares, watching the Weyrleader pace. Clearing his throat, the candidate speaks up: "Something the matter?" loud enough so that it would reach across the sands toward the other man, though a wince is given at the echo that's produced for the volume.

R'hyn clearly has been paying little attention to the galleries, so deep in thought is he, though Arisvath casts a particularly wary glance upwards -- he, apparently, noticed Kaiel long before the young man opened his mouth to speak. Kaiel's words draw a rapid turn about by the Weyrleader, hurriedly shifting to face the words from nowhere; he flushes. "Only the usual," he murmurs, shrugging lightly.

From the galleries, Kaiel offers just the faintest of head-dips toward the bronze, though he seems more attuned to what R'hyn has to say. "The usual? I haven't seen you this distracted before." He pauses, brows furrowing slightly as he shifts his backend to find a more comfortable position. "Though I don't mean to pry. You just seem strung up about something." His tone keeps changing, as if he's trying to find a pitch that won't cause the echoes. "Bit late to be letting stressful things get to you, isn't it? I'd think a Weyrleader such as yourself would take any opportunity given him to relax."

Arisvath considers Kaiel slowly, to which R'hyn mutters a distracted, "Stop that, Arisvath. Why the broodiness?" The bronze has no response from him, and the rider, ignoring this, approaches Kaiel's portion of the galleries, tilting his head upwards. "Try and hide it, usually. Just... had an awkward meeting. Can't do anything about it, but... Well. I can't stop thinking about it, either. Some jobs are hard to leave behind at the end of the day, I guess."

From the galleries, Kaiel appraises the bronze with a bit more thought, mouth pulled into a thoughtful frown before his gaze drops to his hands. He remains like that for a moment before adjusting his line of sight to consider R'hyn. "I see. I suppose I don't blame you, what with nosy people like me around." He manages a faint smile toward the other, adjusting his position again. "I don't know how you do it, then. Me, I prefer leaving things as they are. What's done is done... usually there's nothing you can do to change it. Worrying over it only makes /you/ more tense." Shrugging, he disentangles his hands to rub along his side, straightening and folding his arms across his chest. A rather awkward looking position, but apparently it works for Kaie doesn't move to change it yet. Narrowed eyes are directed at R'hyn and the candidate seems to be trying to figure something out, before: "Can I ask what the meeting was about or is it private?" Curiousity tinges his tone.

"I was dwelling long before you arrived - you nosy people only give me some kind of distraction," says R'hyn, in his usual, quiet voice. From his pocket, he draws one of his hands, carefully smoothing back strands of his curly hair, grown too long to sit tidily, as he explains, "The problem is that I need a solution. Need to come up with some kind of... middle ground. Compromise. I guess. So." With a wry smile, his head shaking, R'hyn admits, "It's long, complicated, and not that interesting. Something that... Um. You know. Should stay quiet." He flushes again.

From the galleries, Kaiel laughs, genuine in that, before slowly shaking his head with a grin. "Well, I'm glad I can be of some kind of help. Distraction or otherwise." He closes his mouth to listen to the other's explanation, eyes cast down toward his feet as he does so. Looking up, he sees the flush though doesn't comment on it. "I understand. Sort of." He offers a wry smile. "Sometimes talking about it brings out a solution." His smile slowly curls into a faint twist of a teasing grin. "But nevermind about that. I do have a question for you, though." He's offering a change of subject, it seems.

R'hyn presses his lips into a tight smile, bobbing his head quickly. "Don't worry - nothing you need to worry about. I'll be fine, the weyr'll be fine... It's all okay. Really." It seems, almost, as though he's convincing himself of this as much as trying to convince Kaiel; with some relief, he raises his brows at Kaiel's change of subject. "Oh? What, er, can I do for you?"

From the galleries, Kaiel raises one eyebrow at the other's not so convincing words. "Well, that's a relief," he comments wanely before shaking that away and pondering. He doesn't respond right off, rather he seems as if he's struggling with a way to ask his question. A swift glance toward Arisvath and the egg he was protecting seems to give the man resolve. "What makes a dragon choose a person to stand?" Now he's intently studying R'hyn. "Is there anything specific? The way they talk, the way they act? Why would a dragon choose someone from outside the Weyr rather than someone that's been raised in the dragon's ways?"

R'hyn opens his mouth to answer immediately, but shuts it again, his own gaze drifting towards Arisvath thoughtfully. Finally, his hands dug back into his pockets, and his head tilted thoughtfully to the side, he allows, "I'm not entirely sure, to be honest. Arisvath says... he says it's just something they feel. Something right. Like they can sense part of you that we can't. It's something you're born with, I think, so it... doesn't, I guess, matter /where/ you're born. It's all about you." He seems dissatisfied with this response, scuffing his foot against the sand. "I guess."

From the galleries, Kaiel follows R'hyn's look toward Arisvath again, eyes moving along the lines of the dragon, lips slowly pursing in thought and contemplation. "Something right?" repeats the man, tone puzzled and a faintly disappointed air about him. "Born with it..." he echoes this as well, muttering more under his breath as he relaxes his stiff posture and opts to lean back against the bench behind him. "I've heard people talk about dragon choice. Heard them wonder why some people were chosen and why some weren't both as candidates and weyrlings. It's all just a matter of chance?" He voice rises slightly to signify a question at the last, blinking as he gazes back down at R'hyn. "I, myself, have wondered the same things. About myself and about my fellows. Though it's not really my place, I suppose. But some of them... I don't know. I hear there's one," and his lip curls slightly at even the distant reference to Qwentin, "that even wonders why someone would want to ride. Though, of course, that's just rumour. I could be wrong." But his expression speaks that he doubts he is.

"We all wonder that, sometimes," says R'hyn, slowly. "It's not something we can define. It's not like... being good at music, or with numbers, or being a healer, or whatever. The dragons choose. They know. Somehow. I think... yeah, just chance." Head tilted to the side again, he nods awkwardly. "It's natural. Completely. Er-- which candidate is that? Mind you," he adds, in a meaningful tone, "It's, um, not unreasonable. I mean, that he or she accepted search is odd, but... Riding's a scary thing. Dangerous. Do you really want to possibly give up your life to save someone else? Not something I ever thought about. Most don't. There's a... glory, to the idea of riding."

From the galleries, "And they tend to choose correctly. It's not like... well..." Kaiel corrects himself midsentence, eye's darkening as he seems to recall something. "Just like in anything, there are the bad ones. The ones that can pull down the reputation of the whole." Fingering his lower lip, he tugs at it a few moments. "What? Oh..." and now Kaie seems somewhat uncomfortable. "It was just a rumour. Nothing to base solid fact on." Nodding at the other's description, he leaves off pestering his lip to slump further against the bench, arching his back slightly before resettling. "No, I hadn't really thought about it that way. I suppose I'm still hung up on the fact that someone else will know almost every detail of my thoughts. Though that seems to be a common theme among the candidates." A pause as he eyes R'hyn a moment. "Glory? I suppose there is, now that you mention it. So many people rely on the fact that you do your job without fail." A rather unpleasant smile spreads across his features before he coughs lightly. "I better be getting to bed. It's getting late." He's also got a lot to think about. Rising, he rubs along his lower back where the bench had been pressing. "Thank you, Weyrleader, for listening. And I hope you find a solution to your problem." He pauses a moment to hear the other's response.

R'hyn nods, rapidly. "Riders aren't... automatically good, reasonable people. They're just people. Who happened to Impress. No higher standard-- or, at least, there shouldn't be." He doesn't quite - by his expression - believe Kaiel, but he nods, all the same. "Oh. Right. Sure. Oh." Another pause. "Well... It's not really like that. It's normal. They're part of you. They... sometimes it feels like they /are/ you. Not a foreign thing, at all." Still nodding, as if it's all he can do, he pauses to smile. "Er. Sure. Thanks. Sleep well, then."

From the galleries, Kaiel makes no response verbally though he does offer the faintest of nods. Pausing again, as if he wants to say something more before he shakes his head, ducks it toward dragon and rider before moving swiftly toward the stairs and down.

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