The job must go on (OPEN)

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

3076.08.05 | Evening (continued from The Price of Victory)

T’vax slid from Slinesteth’s shoulder. They had emerged from between not a dozen hand-spans from their weyr. Not the one they shared with Dav and Nieko, but the one they used for returning from things like this. They had not been in sight long enough for anyone to notice them.

You should go to the Healers now. My injuries are not so severe they cannot wait, and yours can be explained by having trained with live weapons, if you get to the Healers soon.

But…

Now! Or it won’t be feasible. The weapons hall will be full for some hours soon! People will wonder why they didn’t see you.

T’vax sighed. I’ll make them hurry, he assured the Chrome.

Not but a handful of minutes later he was outside the infirmary. He waved to a few of his fellow patients, including L’kine, who’d been fortunate enough to get there a little earlier.

“So, decided you’re not so tough as all that, did ya?” L’kine taunted.

T’vax hid a smile. “Least I wasn’t crying like a little kid,” he retorted.

“Little kid! Why I-” the tension level soared, as T’vax and L’kine both stood up, clearly intending to go for each other’s throats.

[Shoki]

Temperanth’s eyes opened. She was aware of dragons returning. Only because she was waiting for them. She waited, patiently for a time. Long enough that it wasn’t suspicious. Then she nudged her rider mentally. Hedara looked up. Endless paperwork awaited her, but she couldn’t always be doing it. She really needed a Jr Weyrwoman one of these days. She might be from a small weyr, but when she had to deal with everything that had been going on, she really couldn’t just expect to handle it between her and her Weyrleader. For now, she finished the page and got up, heading out with her usual gear in tow. Ivy remained on her desk, sleeping. The Green wasn’t a good watch dog, but Hedara didn’t have a problem letting the firelizard sleep.

She got down to the infirmary soon enough and asked after her riders. Training accident was the explanation given, which suited Hedara just fine. After all, she had given lessons to at least one of the riders there, which meant she could just about find just cause to be watching for him. Though she might have to chew him out a bit while he was there. Appearances and all. However, when she entered, she had an entirely different reason to chew them out. T’vax and L’kaine were standing and looking entirely like they were going to start a fight in front of healers. Not if she had anything to say about it.

“I should think that you both were quite done sparring for the day, apparently I was gravely mistaken. Must I dissuade you both strenuously?” Hedara’s cold gaze suggested that if they fought here she was going to have to do something about that. Of course she would. She didn’t care what it was about she didn’t need to be breaking up fight after fight. Honestly though, she felt sometimes that was one of her roles. Tension at ISW was bad enough that she had come across her fair share of fights that had been debates a moment earlier, she really didn’t need people she was supposed to be able to trust doing the same.

“Sit down.”

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Neither T’vax nor L’kine lost a beat in turning to face Hedara. Both of them slumped slightly, as well they should. It was shameful for two grown men, and full riders too, to start a fight in an infirmary. However, a careful examination might have revealed traces of… relief? There was certainly some flickers of light in T’vax’s eyes that didn’t quite match the look of a shame-faced young man.

L’kine sat down carefully and swallowed a couple times, the corners of his lips tried to turn up, but his lips thinned to a line after that, and he gathered himself upright.

Remember Mine, righteous indignation.[/i]

T’vax flopped down. He nearly missed the chair, and stared at the ground and his legs for a couple seconds, as if re-assuring himself they were still there. When he looked up again, his face was neutral. He carefully avoided looking at L’kine though, because if he did he was going to end up ruining everything.

[Shoki]

Hedara’s eye was critical of the two, but she detected the flickers of relief. She judged their nerves may have been frayed but they were glad enough to see her. However, this was not the time to welcome them back and ask that they debrief. No she had to play the game, same as them. Stupid, stupid games. At least she could do her duty in reminding them that they were supposed to be grown men and should act like it.

“I do expect better from my riders. I shall not press so strongly on the injured but I expect both of you in my office to discuss proper behavior both in sparring and outside of it.” Good enough reason to call them on it, considering the story given, it fit well enough that the injuries would be the result of things getting out of hand. And it neatly got them a way to get to her office without being suspicious. “Do I have your understanding?” Her arms were folded, and her gaze didn’t sway, though she wished to look both of them over once more. She knew that they were reasonably okay, but she did not see everyone and she wanted to know what had occurred. However, as with all things she truly felt it was buried quickly. It often seemed these days that she had to keep herself buried under ice. Just icy steel.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

T’vax stared into Hedara’s gaze for a moment, as if he thought he could somehow convince her to let him off. He looked down again rather quickly though, nodding to the floor to indicate his understanding of Hedara’s words. Carefully out of T’vax’s line of sight, L’kine did pretty much the same thing. There was a limit, after all, to the amount of acting that could be performed by the riders without making it obvious that they were selling everyone a line of wherry shaffit.

The Healers started moving around, patching the two riders up. Clearly, they were of the opinion that facing an angry Sr. Weyrwoman was best done with as intact a hide as possible.

T’vax let them do it, focusing on everything they did. The alternative was to dwell on J’lyp. That was not something he cared to think about, at the moment, save to use it t fan his own anger hotter. Slinesteth didn’t like it when he did that. Slinesteth said anger was distracting. Slinesteth also pointed out that all the dragons around knew when T’vax was angry. Slinesteth had a point, so T’vax focused on Healers.

[Shoki]

Hedara watched them and got what was wanted. The nod was enough. “Good. I shall see both of you there.” Her eyes rolled over them once, taking in how they looked before turning to leave. The healers buzzed about seeing to both riders’ wounds. Good. She would feel better when they were patched up a little. She tried to keep her stride even, as normal as possible. Her inclination was to move quicker, so that she could retreat to her office and wait. As if getting there faster would make her wait less. However, she knew in her head that would not be the case. So she let things cool. Her head, her steps, her gaze. But not her curiosity, that was just burning all the hotter.

Stupid façade. It delayed the important things.