Not a Vacation [Nicole/Artemis]

[Shoki]

77.03.26
Around the offices of the weyrleaders

Hailreth appeared over RMW, slowly circling back down. His rider looked down, looking perhaps more tired than usual. A rather impressive feat considering what his normal sleep schedule was like. He’d been busy. He certainly hadn’t transferred for a holiday. He was the type that pretended not to know the meaning of the word. So it wasn’t that surprising that his trip back to his birthplace was not a simple visit.

The bright purple landed, and his rider slipped off, looking about the bowl. Nice to be back! Hailreth stretched as his rider looked around. B’ow was okay to be back, wanting to get into the lower caverns and sneak into the darkness like he used to. That didn’t mean he hadn’t learned his way around the caverns as Waterfall Valley Weyr though. Oh look, Aldzith! He bounced away, before B’ow could even say anything. He gave a resigned smile before looking around the bowl. Let’s see. He had a delivery for K’tar, something to help the man get into trouble he supposed. Maybe in the light of recent events he might use it for good. While he was here he would visit Kaya, not that he had much to report right now. Besides the fact that trying to look things up was a rough time, because they were organized by date, not by relevance to his desired subject. That was fine though. Of course there were lessons to tend to as well, and if he was here he would have to check up with his parents. They didn’t show it, but they certainly wanted to be kept in the loop. He’d find them later.

First thing was first. He had come partly because he volunteered to deliver a message to Rainbow Mists. He pulled the letter out of his bag and headed toward the offices of the weyrleaders. They hadn’t been specific, just get it to a weyrleader or weyrwoman. Probably something generic. He didn’t know if it was war related. Wasn’t sure if it mattered. So he just kept along as Hailreth chatted with the dragons in the bowl.

[Nicole]

She hadn't intended to leave her Weyr that day, though there were plenty of people she needed to see - potential new allies, old friends, the new Weyrlings, Rilora - but her head was pounding, and the warmth of Zabrielth's hide was soothing. But even Weyrwomen need to eat.

And while Zabrielth had been kind enough to offer to fetch her some fresh meat, Artemis' inclination lent less towards raw blood and more towards bread, so she kindly declined the offer and set out towards the kitchens.

But it was nice out. The sun was warm on her face. So the hasty walk turned into a leisurely stroll, and if she relaxed - funny, how things worked better for her when she relaxed - the headache would lessen, and she could enjoy it.

So she hadn't gotten far when purple Hailreath appeared in the skies, dropping off his Rider and vanishing to chase after a friend. A tiny smile flickered over Artemis' face. At least his dragon was happy. It was rare, these days.

But why was B'ow here?

[Shoki]

B’ow stopped when he noticed Artemis. Mostly because for a second he had to organize his thoughts and not act on instinct. He had two, contrary instincts regarding Artemis, and they did not help him at all. One was to keep away, the other was to watch. He couldn’t let them tug him around. He tried to think of things more rationally. What he felt and what he should do were two entirely different things. He had enough self-control to do what he should, not what he felt he should do. He should get this letter to someone’s hands, Artemis was handy, but possibly busy. Be polite, be brief.

The short rider walked toward her, rolling his feet as he did so. Old habits died hard. He doubted he had walked any other way if he hadn’t been tiptoeing around guards at night. Thank Faranth he was a rider and didn’t have to stay stuck doing a whole lot of nothing at night now. As he got to Artemis he debated formality. Well…

“Good day. I hope you have been well.” Good enough. Something about the tension in himself caught Hailreth’s attention.

Tell Artemis hi! Or whatever it is you said. Hailreth cherrily declared before going back to a conversation about how Waterfall Valley Weyr was. The Neon Purple dragon was singing its praises. B’ow merely cleared his throat.

“Hailreth likewise wishes you a good day.” Right, greeting over, was he supposed to cut to the chase now? Well maybe he shouldn’t, he wasn’t exactly just talking to her after weyrling lessons. Well he was busy. She might be to. Just like that he had a polite tangent. “Are you busy today?”

[Nicole]

She could see the nerves in his eyes. Brave man. He didn't like her, even if Hailreth seemed to have no qualms with her and Zabrielth.

She liked the dragon far more than the Rider. She almost always did.

"A please, B'ow. Send Hailreth my warmest greetings." Too formal, perhaps, but Artemis almost always leaned towards the formal nowadays. Nobody could blame a Weyrwoman for perfect use of language, and the control helped her from snapping at people when their dragons revealed too much. "I am no busier than normal."

She paused. Hailreth was talking about Waterfall Valley; it had been no secret where B'ow was, so it could not hurt to ask if he bore a message or news from the place. She wanted to visit there, one day, when she had her abilities under control. She wanted to visit a lot of places.

"How was Waterfall Valley? Pleasant, I hope. You and Hailreth both look healthy and rested."

With that, it marked the longest conversation she'd had with another Rider since Rilora at the Hatching. Yet she still knew what everybody in every nook and cranny of the Weyr was discussing.

What a strange life she led.

[Shoki]

B’ow nodded once. “I shall.” He took a moment to do so. Hailreth got more pleased, but again, dragon conversation. No busier than normal? He would take that as not bad. He was about to speak again, but Artemis beat him to it. Right, he had been away, politeness dictated. He wasn’t entirely sure how Artemis viewed him, and quite frankly he wasn’t about to pretend he understood her. He suspected that only aggravated his opposing instincts. Lovely.

At the second statement he raised an eyebrow before smoothing over his expression. Well rested? That would be hilarious if he was talking with K’tar. Like usual he was the rider who barely slept with a dragon that barely slept. He didn’t know that Artemis would have been privy to the very, very late night conversations he and Hailreth had, since the pair rarely stopped batting things to each other when it was only them. Considering that he was an insomniac and Hailreth was the most energetic dragon alive, that meant that getting both of them to sleep was a challenge. Even more so at Waterfall Valley Weyr. B’ow was almost always going over records late at night, and had become the little shadow in the corner of the archives late at night. He was not about to admit he should be getting more sleep though.

“It is quite agreeable. The weather is pleasant and the fresh air very nice. I admit to not spending enough time outside to enjoy them.” He hadn’t transferred to have a vacation. Being a full time apprentice dragonhealer again was certainly something too. He had kinda missed it. However, he did lunge for the tangentially related mission he was on.

“They sent me with a message for the weyrleaders, I do not know if you wish to take it or if I should deliver it elsewhere.” He held it up, so she could see it but not really give it to her. Though she could take it if she wanted he supposed.

[Nicole]

His hesitation, the way his eyes almost darted towards Hailreth, let her know that perhaps 'rested' hadn't been the best choice of words. But that suited Artemis just fine. The less she seemed to know about everybody, the better.

"They meaning the weyrleaders at Waterfall Valley, or they meaning the dragonhealers? You are an apprentice dragonhealer, if I remember correctly." Artemis offered him a small smile, warmth creeping ever-so-slightly into her features, before she held out her hand. "I can take it to them."

Perhaps she should offer a reason why - so he could see his friends here, or because it was on her way - but in debating it, she had paused too long to continue, so she just kept her hand held out, steady, and waited.

[Shoki]

And with a simple statement about his interests he was on his guard. He didn’t show it, but he did not trust Artemis, more so when she was keeping things focused on him. One could assume it was his desire to be unnoticed acting up. That was not the case. No, independent of anything else, it was Artemis herself that caused the problem. Even though she couldn’t possibly understand the precise thing that was making him act the way he did.

“The Weyrleaders, I presume. But you remember well. I intend to remedy that soon enough.” It was a long road, but it would be short compared to what it would lead to. He didn’t want to stay where he was, as he was. He would be better than that. As she extended her hand, he almost didn’t want to give it to her. Which was stupid. It was the entire reason he came over. So with only a minor pause he put the letter into her hands.

“Most generous of you.” He thought briefly of all the other things he had to do today, and checked in with Hailreth. The Neon Purple had the item he was giving K’tar, so while he socialized he couldn’t do that. That left the rest. Still plenty he could be up to.

“Well I should not take up anymore of your time. I did not come to distract you from whatever it was you were doing.” She was walking somewhere, but it didn’t matter to where.