The Weyrcome Wagon

Writers: Duskdog, Sia
Date Posted: 28th June 2024

Characters: E'tariax, Nidre
Description: E'tariax brings Nidre a weyrwarming present
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 25 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, J'ackt, B'nell, Y'gel

Nidre

A storm was brewing. The starsmiths confirmed it, but E'tariax always knew as the denseness in the air made his leg ache from knee to hip. The fact that Threadfall had been the day before and he and Aphirith hadn't taken it easy just so happened to slip his mind. Still, he wasn't the kind of man to sit idle in his aches, and with the last of his appointments done for the day, he decided that he might as well try to catch a look at the latest Weyrwoman Second. It wouldn't do for the rest of the Weyr to meet her before he did, after all, and so out came the brace and the cane (just in case), and a bottle of wine he'd been saving as a weyrwarming present.

}: Jossenth, would you mind some company? :{ Aphirith asked, though only to be polite. }: We bring wine.:{

}: I would love some company, :{ Jossenth replied. }: You are welcome on my ledge. It is very new to me, but I am sure there is room for you. :{

**Who did you just invite home without telling me?** Nidre asked. It wasn’t as if she were particularly busy at the moment -- just unpacking a few things that could easily wait, as all the most essential things were already taken care of.

}: Aphirith and her rider come. With wine, :{ the gold added helpfully, knowing very well that that would make her rider more amenable if she wasn’t actually feeling welcoming right now.

Nidre didn’t actually know which rider Aphirith belonged to, but now was as good a time as any to meet new people she supposed.

The sound of wing beats at Nidre's ledge heralded Aphirith's immediate arrival. E'tariax slid down the green's side with perfectly practiced ease, landing mostly on his good leg and setting the cane down as he took his first step forward. "Good evening!" He called jovially as he entered, "I wanted to be the first to welcome you to Dolphin Cove, aside from our Weyrleadership, of course. E'tariax of green Aphirith, at your service. We'll be in the Queen's Wing together."

Oh, what a gentleman. Nidre hadn’t expected _that_. “Pleased to meet you, E’tariax. I appreciate the welcome. Please, come on in. I don’t have everything unpacked and sorted yet so you’ll have to excuse the mess, but I _do_ have a table and chairs, at least.”

"And that is all we need, really. This place will be a home soon enough. You look like you've made quite good progress on it, already." He looked about the weyr, nodding agreeably. "How has your first day been so far? Those two aren't overworking you yet, are they?"

“Well, we have a lot to tackle, so I didn’t mind getting started. Keeps me busy, you know? I get itchy if I don’t have my hands in something.” She grinned. “But no, not overworking me -- they’ve both been great. Have you been in the Queen’s Wing long?”

"I get it. I'm just the same." E'tariax said. "I've been in the Queen's Wing about a turn now! Wasn't even this old thing." He tapped his leg to the leg brace for emphasis. "Aphirith is a big girl and agile to boot, and we're more useful supporting our injured riders than we are zipping around a fighting wing."

“Good to have solid support in the Wing,” Nidre said. “I know a lot of riders view it as babysitting, or a demotion; glad to see you aren’t one of them.” She took the wine bottle and gestured towards the more comfortable seating area. “Since you were nice enough to bring this, would you join me? Seems only fair.”

"We are at the mercy of our good manners." E'tariax said with a laugh. "Of course I'll join you. It's good wine." He did move further into the weyr and sat with a flourish, careful of the ache in his hip. "I'm a healer by trade, so the importance of our work isn't lost on me.Although, I am a mindhealer. My speciality is not stitching up wounds or chopping off limbs. And besides, you need at least a handful of riders that aren't too pregnant to /between/."

He lowered his voice a little as Nidre returned with the glasses of wine. "We do have to babysit our Wingsecond from time to time. B'nell, poor thing. You'll see."

“I’m afraid to ask what for.” She handed him one of the glasses and then sat down, herself, crossing one leg over the other. “Do they keep you busy here, as a mindhealer? I know things have been stressful here over the past turn…”

"There is no shortage of work for a mindhealer during a Pass." E'tariax said as he graciously took the wine glass. "The past turn has been rougher than most, certainly, but we've had our rough periods before. Weyrleader O'dan and his entire Wing was lost early on and we've had…seven? Weyrwomen since the beginning of the Pass." He counted using the pads of his fingers. "Though nowadays I mostly work with my fellow wingriders and the effects of Threadfall."

“Sounds like Weyrwoman is not a job I want to inherit here,” Nidre said drily. “Threadfall must seem like a mundane change of pace, as awful as that sounds. I don’t think I could do what you do. Hats off to you for doing it. And taking the time out to welcome me -- time you probably don’t have much of. All dressed up, too,” she added, inclining her head towards… well, all of him. “I hope that’s not forward of me. You’re just very… kempt.”

"More kempt than N'vanik and those awful sandals he wears*." E'tariax said with an exaggerated shudder. "You aren't being too forward! I dress up to make a statement, after all. It says 'I am a gentleman and a scholar'." He did adjust the sleeves on his jacket just-so, preening just a little. "And I certainly must take the time out of my day to greet you, weyrwoman. Threadfall was yesterday and a hurricane's coming tomorrow, and by the time I'd be able to see you again I would be dreadfully overdue. You've have half the weyr's attention by then, and the rest the sevenday after."

“Nothing like staying weyrbound for a hurricane to kick off a great new start,” Nidre said with a snort. The day had been beautiful, but the clouds had certainly begun to gather as the day had worn on; they were lucky to have dolphineers who studied these weather things and could warn them when something worse than a regular southern storm was blowing in. “I would say that it might be nice to have a legitimate excuse to expend the day decompressing after moving, but I know better -- I’ll get bored.”

"Aphirith isn't looking forward to being cooped up either. She gets agitated when she needs to stay in her weyr." He smiled a little at the grumbling in the corners of his mind. "You can always wander the Lower Caverns. Plenty of work there for the bored and antsy. Everyone there will be thrilled to meet the new Weyrwoman Second. Stop by the crafters cavern when you do; it'd be my pleasure to tour you around the Infirmary."

Nidre nodded. “Oh, I’m sure there’s plenty of work I could get done down there. But I will definitely stop by the crafters and take you up on that.”

"Good! It's a date." E'tariax said. He raised his glass in a little toast. "So what made you decide that you wanted to move all the way here to Dolphin Cove? Was it the promotion and the proximity to the beach?"

“Oh, the beach I’m used to, though this one is very nice.” She took a sip of wine. “The promotion, certainly. I felt like I was ready to take on more responsibility. And hopefully learn a thing or two, in case I ever end up in charge somewhere. I guess maybe also a change of scenery? Aesthetically it’s not so different from Vista Point, but, well, it’s not the same stone I’ve known for so many turns now. I’ve never actually transferred before. I think it’ll be nice to change things up a little. Where are you from originally?”

"I haven't transferred before, either." E'tariax said with a chuckle. "Originally from Thayan Peak Weyrhold, though I did most of my Healer training at the Healer Hall. I Impressed my lady when I came back for my first Journeyman placement. I wasn't interested in leaving Thayan Peak so it worked out just fine."

“Then even better that I’ve made your acquaintance -- you probably know everybody here, huh? Is there anyone in particular I should make it a point to get to know? Anyone I should be wary of?”

"You look like you can take care of yourself. Watch out for J'ackt, though. He's a ruffian." E'tariax said with a roll of his eyes. "The Infirmary staff are the best on Pern though, if I do say so myself. Urlene is renowned as a surgeon, though I'd rather not learn that from experience. Y'gel is doing amazing things with dragoncare. There's a bit of a feud going on between a couple of the Journeymen, though; I won't tell you who, but I expect you'll walk right into the dramatics if you walk into the Infirmary around mid-afternoon."

“_If_ I walk into the Infirmary around mid-afternoon. Well now clearly I _have_ to.” Nidre shifted in her chair to lean against one arm of it, tucking her legs up under herself. “Good to know the staff is stellar. We’ll all need them eventually, Threadfall or no. How about the Dining Hall? Any particular meals I should be excited for? The cooks’ specialty?

"It's all good, though anything besides fish is a delicacy around here. Probably about the same as back at Vista Point. Though I expect we'll get a bit more variation as all the bronzes and ambitious browns try to impress your dear Jossenth. Take your time reigning that in, we don't get herdbeast on the grill often enough." E'tariax said wistfully.

“We don’t mind the attention, so I don’t plan on discouraging anybody anytime soon,” she promised. “Neither of us play favorites. It’s a lot more fun to stay free but keep them guessing.”

"You and I are going to get along very well." E'tariax said and raised his glass to that.

Last updated on the July 1st 2024

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