Personal Correspondance Intercepted [S'kef]

It was only a matter of time before Stubborn's friendship with Flit caused trouble for her.  Ravana had forgotten that as weeks passed into months and her and S'kef had struck up a cordial, if very careful and distant almost-friendship.  She didn't fear him quite as much and was even debating offering her help with the paperwork that leading a weyr this size should generate. 

She wrote such in the letter to her son she was currently working on.  Not the friends part, but about her feeling that she could convince him that she could better serve the weyr by doing paperwork than as T'rel's whipping girl.  She signed the letter and was standing to carry it to her hiding place for it when she heard a knock on the door.  Assuming it was B'run with Berani, though he was very early, she called softly, "Come in!"

Her letter was in hand, Ravana turning when she heard Stubborn's chirps of excitement.  S'kef stood in her hut.  Ravana froze.  Why was S'kef here?  Her hut seemed smaller with him in it.  Ravana back up to her desk, setting the parchment with the letter for her son on it and reaching to carefully flip over a project she'd been working on, turning the bit of art face down on his desk.  "Weyrleader.  What are you doing here?" 

She saw then the box he carried and paled.  How did he find it?  How had he pulled it from her hut without her seeing it?  Then it hit her what was in the box.  Everything.  She sat, abruptly, on the ground.  She was screwed in so very many ways.  S'kef...Wait why was he here?  Why hadn't he called her to his hut for a lashing.  Why was he here on her ground?

Ravana had been honest in those letters to her son.  She'd spoke of her hatred of the dissension in the weyr and the fact that she seemed to be expected to be rebelling too and didn't know why other than that B'run had joined the rebellion.  Her longing to go home and her recent knowledge that Shanith could buck Nirinath's commands if she wanted to badly enough.  She'd spoke of the night that she was lashed and that she'd been expecting it from the moment B'run had spoke out and that she hadn't meant to call S'kef a bully...and her regret that she'd yet to apologize for that. 

She'd spoken also of the rebellion's plans and her role in them, reluctant as it was.  She'd never instigated anything, had refused to use Flit against the weyrleader and caught hell for it, but she had done enough.  She was so utterly screwed.  So completely and utterly screwed.

Ravana looked up, way up, at S'kef.  "Am I in public lashing trouble, private lashing trouble or worse?"  She frowned then.  "And why would you care about my personal correspondance anyways?"  She was boring and useless.  Sure she had ties to the rebellion but so did most of the weyr.

[Edited as per a writer's request]

S'kef had been more interested in Flit's friendship with Stubborn than he'd originally cared to admit. Ravana held a special place on his radar where the rebellion was concerned. She wasn't a bronzerider or even a man, but she had a surprising ability to go unnoticed up to a point and then explode onto the stage with a certain sort of presence and persistence that he'd noticed at the execution and hadn't forgotten since. She would have been easy to write off as a one-time troublemaker, but he'd refused to let his guard down. The quiet ones were sometimes the most dangerous!

When he saw the first few flickerings of those letters, he'd been admittedly excited. They lost their flair once he managed to get his hands on them, though. He had several pairs of sticky fingers willing to go about securing them for him, and he thought that wiser than confronting Ravana up front...but now that was exactly what it had come to, albeit in a different way than expected.

Upon arriving, the brownrider was calm. He crossed his arms, still clutching the box, and offered the greenrider a surprisingly civil smile. "What a pleasure it is to see you.  I wanted to speak to you, but I thought you would perhaps he more comfortable in your own home than being summoned to mine." Plus J'ver would have hated that. S'kef moved forward a few paced and set the box down on the nearest table. Flit appeared and settled on one shoulder, letting out a happy squeak. Her bonded was visiting Stubborn's! Happy day!

S'kef didn't take his attention off of Ravana, though. "You're wrong," he said, finally answering her question. "...You aren't in trouble at all. In fact, I want to ask you something."

He motioned to the box.

"Why would you write letters that you never send..?"

What was the point, Ravana wanted to know, of owning a flit, babysitting dogs trained to guard and having an overly protective green dragon permanently in her head if they couldn't keep her personal belongings inside of her hut where they belonged?

She would have loved to know who had gotten into her hut, and it was sinking in that it had been broken into.  She narrowed her eyes then.  Berani.  If they had done it once, they would do it again.  They could have done more than simply take her letters.  They could have hurt her daughter.

She was making her hut more secure.  Soon. 

She watched S'kef warily, weighing the satisfaction of tossing him out on his ass versus the havoc it would cause.  She was unaware of her rage showing in her eyes, though Stubborn stayed calm, chattering away to Flit. 

The gold flit took off from Ravana's shoulder, circling around S'kef and Flit in welcome, then darted off to grab something to show her friend.

Ravana eyed S'kef warily, debating between an honest answer and fobbing him off with the silly useless green rider act.  She suspected neither would make him go away. 

She'd buy time.  She walked to her kitchen area.  "Sit down.  I'll fix us something to drink."  She was better equipped than most of the weyr here, since she preferred to do her cooking mostly at home.  She pulled her juice from the metal insulated box she kept it in.  That box could keep food hot or cold for most of the day if she was careful with it.  She put chilled juice in it each night and usually had some cold all day.

The motions of shaking it up, pouring it and gathering up a bowl of dried fruit and nuts to serve.  By the time she was done, she had tucked her rage away, and could smile politely at S'kef. 

She had also decided not to play stupid.  T'rel was too close to him for it to work.  She settled food before him, treating him like a proper guest so her dragon and firelizard wouldn't get upset.  Stubborn wasn't the problem.  Shanith was.

"We're going home, I think soon.  No choice really...We're running low on candidates and Stealing more of them isn't an option.  The weyr would revolt over it.  With so many golds now...and we can't hide here forever.  Once we do, I will hand deliver them to my son."

Ravana took a sip of her juice, tapping her finger on her glass.  It was then that Shanith found Tyrrisath.  Hi Tyrri...  Ravana covered her concentration with a sip of juice and gently nudged Shanith's thoughts from being friendly to the brown to something else.  Oh!  Gotta go!  I forgot that I was supposed to fetch Berani from C'lev!  See you later! 

Ravana breathed a sigh of relief as Shanith did leave the brown alone to go get Berani, and set her cup down.  Her dragon being early would be taken for the signal it was, that Ravana needed her kept busy for a bit.  Most of her friends knew it and had no problem keeping the green out of Ravana's hair when asked.

"That's a dangerous assumption to make," S'kef replied, taking the offered seat and carefully folding his hands in his lap. His eyes darted around the room as soon as she turned her back, taking in what he could and familiarizing himself with his surroundings. "....Drinks won't be necessary," he added afterwards. He spoke politely, but in reality he didn't trust her at all. She was a rebel, and he had no doubt in his mind that they would stoop to poisoning as surely as he had. Whether to not Ravana had it in her he didn't know, but he didn't like taking risks.

"A dangerous assumption," he said, returning to the previous topic, "But a sign of close observation and  consciousness. We do seem to be outgrowing this place," he said in a conversational and non-committal tone. He hadn't told anyone publicly about his desire to return north, but he would be soon enough. He had no intention to crush her little theory, but he hoped the warning in his tone was enough to remind her not to spread it around. He would spread it around himself when the time came, along with those he trusted. What a shame that Ravana couldn't be one of them, at least not unless something changed.

He smirked a little before casting his gaze down to his lap, for a moment appearing almost sad. "A son, you say? It seems like everyone has someone they miss," he said. "Tsuen mistakenly believes that time can heal those kinds of wounds...I find her a fool." He wasn't telling Ravana anything she wouldn't know, at least not about his own opinions. He no longer bothered to hide his dislike for the Weyrwoman. As far as he was concerned, anyone who allied themselves with the rebels was throwing their lot in with Tsuen as well. Wretches.

He straighten his posture and let out a long sigh. The frustration showed clearly on his face, guarded though he was. He wouldn't expose himself too openly to a rebel, but in this case, he thought that just a little touch of transparency might strengthen him in the long run. He allowed a hint of his ire to show through, then quickly put on a flat and deadly serious expression.

"I have two daughters up there, you know."

Not that he cared...but the greenrider didn't know that. All he could think about was how angry he was to continue to rot in the mud and jungle. If he needed to spin a sob story to whip up some quick sympathy, then he would do exactly that. He'd forgotten about those little girls years ago, but not without great personal stress. Maybe he'd forgotten about them so he would stop beating himself up over choosing Tyrrisath over them...he didn't dare try to analyze it anymore. But right now, it gave him common ground with someone he would rather like to find some common ground with. Ravana was B'run's girl, right? What better way to tear the bronzerider down than to turn his girlfriend's allegiance? It was cruel, but S'kef was determined to get home, no matter what unsavory things he had to do in order to get them there. It was for everyone's good, whether they knew it yet or not.

"You say assumption, I say wishful thinking."  She relaxed a bit at his words about drinks being unnessecary.  Hopefully it meant this would be a short visit.  She grabbed herself a tea, and settled down with it, more to have something to hold then because she wanted to drink it.

She would heed the unspoken warning, though.  Ravana didn't talk much of wanting to go home...even B'run barely knew she wanted to go home so badly.  She wasn't sure who to trust so kept her mouth shut and her head down.  Even news of her son was kept on a need to know basis...and people simply didn't need to know.

"Tsuen's an idiot."  Ravana let slip more then she intended.  "In any other damn place she'd have been forced to step down when her sanity went but oh wait, there's no gold riders left alive who know how to force her to step down!  Time will heal all?  It doesn't!  It makes it all worse!"

She forced herself under control.  Anger still smoldered in her eyes though.  She looked at S'kef then, rocked by his revelation and debating what to do with it.  She knew a bit of why he was revealing it.  To get her to come over to his side. 

Left to her own devices, she'd side with the leadership.  Left to her own devices, she'd volunteer on the spot to help S'kef with bringing them home.  She sighed softly, then offered him honesty.  "I'm sorry you had to leave them behind." 

She looked at him, weighing and debating.  Berani.  The key to helping her talk was up North.  Finally, she sipped her tea.  No.  Best keep it to herself.  If he got them home in time, she could go get the records she needed.  If not, she'd do her damndest to go alone, in secret and damn the consequences if she got caught. 

Instead she said, "Staying optimistic about returning home is hard.  Our family, our life is up North.  Being expected to take it quietly...It chafes."  Stubborn circled her, sensing that hers was hiding something, though she wasn't sure what.  When Ravana didn't show her, she settled to perch on S'kef's head a moment, then took off again, this time landing on Ravana's.  Well, at least Shanith was out of Ravana's hair. 

S'kef laughed. He actually laughed. It wasn't the cruel and spiteful laugh that the greenrider would have been familiar with, but a brighter and more sincere laugh, filled with humor. It was dark humor, but humor just the same. S'kef was both delighted and surprised at Ravana's sudden outburst, proving to him that while she appeared plain, she was still had a few surprises for him.

"Of course. I agree," he replied, smirking again at the shameless way Ravana had insulted Tsuen. S'kef couldn't have agreed more. It was the unwashed truth, bitter and pointed and utterly necessary. Tsuen was crazy, and her insanity would be the death of them all if they didn't act.  S'kef was pleased to see that he and his close followers were not alone in that attitude, but more than anything, it amused him to hear it from sweet, mild-mannered Ravana. Hah! How B'run would have snarled to see them in such close agreement over anything!

The brownrider grinned for a moment, then gradually let it fade away as he allowed the issue to creep back to the forefront of his thoughts. "It doesn't have to be that way, you know," he pointed out, looking at her with a blunt and stern expression. "Tsuen isn't as as strong as everyone imagines."

Tsuen wasn't the one hindering them. It was the rebels. He'd said it before and he would say it again, until he suffocated if he had to. The bickering, the divisions, the factions...all of that was what kept them back. The message was clear: B'run and his rebels were making the problem worse, and S'kef would rob them of every foothold he could until they either gave in or fucked off. Ravana had given away her weak point with those letters, and until he had her safely in hand, he would consider her to be B'run's weak point. It was a good opportunity, and while his motivations were callous, his viewpoint came from the heart.

"I hate it here," he growled suddenly. "And the way  I see it, everyone is responsible for either helping solve the problem, or getting out of the way for those of us who are," he said, then rose to his feet. He motioned to her letters and took a moment to calm his temper. "You'd do well to think about those children of yours." He was careful not to mention his own again, or to respond to her comments about them. He didn't want to think about it. They were part of his old life. He had a new life now, but he'd be damned if he spent it crawling in the mud.