Through the Halls: OPEN (1st)

[saidaltam]

Siten had begun to master the art of squeezing a few more minutes into her day. It had become critical just to keep up with all the lessons and with Isiloth's needs. It was also rapidly becoming "not enough", as she discovered more and more tasks which demanded her unofficial attention, not the least of which being the need to familiarize herself with her people and give them the opportunity to familiarize themselves with her.

It was for that reason that she found herself wandering the halls of the parts of the Weyr which were actually built like a Weyr, looking quietly around. It was late evening, by then, but there were few other times in the day when Siten could actually find an opportunity to do anything for herself, and this was one of the things which most needed to be done. By placing herself where she did, in the halls of the Weyr near to places that people frequented, she could only hope that she would have the opportunity to get to know some of the residents of her Weyr.

She supposed it wasn't the most prudent way to go about it, but she also didn't particularly like the alternative: having Isiloth announce that she had a few free moments. First, she was certain it would only serve to bring the Weyrling master calling with more duties for her. Second, if she was fortunate enough to dodge that particular bullet, she had no doubt that it would lead to a myriad of hopeful new Weyrleaders knocking at her door, trying to curry favor for their own agendas, and while it was, unquestionably, important that she came to know her bronzeriders, as she was going to have to rely on them for a lot, she could stand the idea of dodging some of the more flirtatious ones, at least for a while.

Besides, she wanted to meet more than just the dragonriders. There were candidates, lower caverns staff, drudges, families, crafters, and any number of other people living in a Weyr at any given time, and they were to be her people, as well, were they not? It was the least she could do to understand their positions, as well, or how would she ever hope to govern equitably? While her mind wandered this train of thought, she paused in her contemplative wandering to lean against the cool stone wall, examining a tapestry hanging across the opposite wall without really seeing it.

[horsegal]

Roslynn was on assignment. She had a fresh basket of glows on one arm and a basket of dim and dying glows in the other. She was balancing the weight rather well and was glad for having the sense of mind to braid her hair. It at least kept most of her blonde locks at bay. She stopped at one and reached for the dimmer of the glows just above her head and set it in the basket next to the two she had picked up and from the basket of freshly, brightly glowing orbs she took one and placed it in the holder.

"There, much better." Roslynn said, feeling proud even for her small accomplishment. It might not be a grand occupation, but it was hers and she'd not slack on this. Besides, it was important to keep the paths well-lit to prevent accidents and complaints.

She picked up the baskets and as she walked settled them both in the crook of her elbows. Roslynn looked up, her blue eyes flashing over the tapestry long enough to catch the shadow that lingered over it. Her eyes darted to the other end of the hall and saw another young woman there. Roslynn paused in her walking seeing not only the knots on her shoulder, but also how she stood beneath the glows. This was the Weyrwoman of Southern, a person she aspired to work with. Was it luck? Or was it fate?

[saidaltam]

Siten dropped her gaze from the tapestry, staring down at her shoes for a moment, then looked up again, scanning the halls. It was terribly quiet tonight, wasn't it?

Or not.

Her eyes fell on Roslynn, just down the hall, and she smiled. "Hello," she said, tilting her head toward the girl. Siten had no idea who she was, but that hardly mattered, did it? Wasn't the goal, after all, to get to know her people? She would never manage to do that only talking to people she knew.

She cast a swift, cursory gaze over the other girl. Her shoulder knots marked her an apprentice healer. Useful. What was she doing changing glows, then? Well. Then again, it did have to be done, didn't it? And perhaps the girl had volunteered to take on a few duties around the Weyr, to help out. She'd done it, as a candidate. Admittedly, that hadn't been entirely volunteer, but it was the same principle, after all.

[horsegal]

"Hello." Roslynn replied, her voice strong as she spoke the single word in reply. She could feel Siten's eyes rove over her. Was she just observing her as she did, or was she judging her? Roslynn took a few steps closer, put the basket of fresh glows down and extended her hand. "You are Siten, are you not?" Roslynn said, feeling quite confident. "My name is Roslynn, I wish to ride gold with you one day." She said to her.

Okay, so maybe she was being very preseumptious, but Roslynn was not going to be meek and mild. She needed to be confident. If not, how could anyone take her seriously? Let alone a dragon! "I am helping to replace the glows right now, but goodness knows what I will be doing next. Likey back in the infirmary I should say." Roslynn added. Poor Siten looked bored, not lost, and maybe a bit lonely. She'd fix that a bit if given the chance.

[saidaltam]

"I am, indeed," Siten replied, shaking the girl's hand, and a small smile played over her face. The girl had gumption, which was hard to find in Southern-bred females. It took some nerve to be so forward, nerve which even Siten had to admit that she lacked, sometimes. On a whim, she decided she liked the girl. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Roslynn. For your sake, I hope Isiloth can be obliging." 'Hopefully, more than once,' she added mentally to herself. Southern was weak, and she knew it. They would need all the help the could get to produce a strong and healthy breeding population if they were going to hold their own against Northern, and as more time passed, she found herself worrying over that particular threat more and more often.

The comment about glow duty brought her back to the conversation at hand, and she smiled. "I did that, once or twice. Er... glows, not the infirmary. I'm useless with anything bigger than a cut as long as your finger, and even then, I'm only really good for tying it off until a real healer can do something with it." She smiled a small, self depreciating smile, and leaned against the wall. "You're a candidate, as well, then?" she asked curiously.

[horsegal]

"One can hold to hope." Roslynn replied bravely, glad to know that there was no dislike there in the voice of the young woman before her. She released the hand of Siten and listened to her. Of course, everyone had to start at some small place before reaching a higher, larger place.

"It is a job that needs doing and I volunteered to do more than a healer's part." Roslynn said. She stood there tall and looked up at the glows. Yes, just a small part. "I grew up in a Healer Hall, you could say I was born for it, there were times I was holding gashes closed from skirmishes." Roslynn explained a little about her experiences as a healer. It was a source of pride, but also for why she was here.

At the mention of being a candidate, she withdrew a little. She was not yet an official candidate. Yes, she wanted to be one and when the time came she would see herself made one. Still, how could she saw so to Siten. "Not yet," Roslynn said, "but I will be one."

[accelerando]

((ooc: hey, would you guys mind if i joined in?))

[saidaltam]

((Gal's call--once she joined, it became "her" thread.))

"Well..." Siten pursed her lips, considering. "Have any of the search dragons taken a look at you, yet? I suppose it's a bit early, what with Isiloth only being four months old, but it's certainly not going to hurt anything to have some advance preparation, come candidate-hunting time, now is it?"

And it wouldn't, anyhow. Besides, if the girl was candidate material and there was no gold egg, that would just give her one more candidate-worthy body to set close to the eggs during the hatching. The girl being a healer just made that easier, too. She very much wanted to see a few things change in Southern, and if getting candidate-worthy girls close to the sands was to be her first step, and better yet, one she could logically get in to see the eggs regardless of the presence or absence of a gold, was a good way to do it, then she would do it.

[horsegal]

(it'd be cool with me)

"No, I haven't, but it has been suggested that I wait until Isiloth rises by the Weyrleader." Roslynn replied simply, little thought in her mind as she replied. She had wanted to go straight to the barracks and become one, but it was not so simple. It left her with no other way than to wait and wait she would. She was a patient young woman. "Perhaps I should, if it secures my position and my chances." And then after a short moment of silence she added, "And if you suggest so, then perhaps I have some more good word to do so." Roslynn smiled, glad now that there were two who thought alike to herself and saw the same potenttial that she knew she had.

"It wouldn't hurt at all, though do you think that even a green-riding girl should stay and not be sent away?" Roslynn asked. It was perhaps the only fear she had. Not the rejection of gold, but the acceptance of another that would doom her to be sent away.

[saidaltam]

Siten smiled dryly. "Today, I am a Weyrling, and, gold rider or not, future Weyrwoman or not, my voice carries little meaning. Ask me that again, after Isiloth rises," she replied, shifting. "Then, my words will have meaning. As far being searched goes... frankly, R'lyn is far more knowledgeable than I. If he advises you wait, then I believe I would take his advice. An apprentice healer is worth more to a Weyr with no clutch than a candidate is." She shrugged. "But if you're curious, feel free to ask one of the search riders, and you may tell them that I asked you to find out, if they object. That won't guarantee they'll be obliging, of course, but it may help a little."

She pursed her lips, considering for a moment, and then asked suddenly, "Might I ask why you want to ride a dragon? Just out of curiosity--I know why I stood, but I always wonder why people want to stand."

[horsegal]

"But I do not think so, any one person may be a leader, whether they are born to it or rise to it. I believe that if you rise to the position, your word will have great meaning." Roslynn replied and she said so with great conviction. It was one of those driving matters that gave her courage in the face of adversity, such as her journeying to the Weyr from the Hall. "I will ask and when I do, if I mention either you or R'lyn at all, I will let it be known how much I respect the both of you." She said this with great gravity. Indeed, some people said things, but how they said it made their words powerless. Roslynn said hers with meaning and as such gave her words strength and power.

Roslynn looked surprised then. She hadn't thought that anyone might ask her that question. She lowered her gaze and clasped her hands together for a moment of thought. She needed to search within herself for the answer and the words in which to phrase it. After a short moment, she turned her gaze back to Siten and began to speak. "For much of my life everything was decided for me, I was not allowed to make my own destiny and then one day I remember when I saw the same thing happen to our riders. They came into the Hall wounded terribly and there were so many of them, and their dragons, too." She held out her hands and looked at them, "I remember the gaping wounds, the warm, flowing blood on my hands, and their pain-filled cries and death moans mingled with the harrowing echoes of death keens and pained bugles." Roslynn looked hard and steady at Siten. "That day I decided to change my destiny and to change the destiny of our Southern riders. As a healer I could not stem the blood and I could not do it forever even if I could, but as a rider, as a Gold rider, I could truly make a difference. I could do something, do more. I cannot let that go and I refuse to admit that I cannot do it." Her gaze softened a little, she had shown Siten something of herself that she usually hid from others. She allowed her emotions to be displayed. "I was ten and I will never forget, never."