Quiet Observations [Open]

Things had been going well. So well, in fact, that S'kef could hardly believe his fortune. Some days, he relished it. Others, he found himself waiting for the other shoe to drop. Was he really to lucky to sit where he was, at the top of their little world and poised to be at the top of so much more?

In many ways, the job was good for him. His paranoia had settled into a healthier, more reserved state of constant vigilance and his temper had become less explosive, though his viciousness was well intact. He no longer stalked the halls and huts in search of trouble. Instead, he just waited for the trouble to come to him. He didn't need to go marauding through the weyr on headhunting missions anymore; that was for Weyrseconds. That was for his old self. His new self had bigger fish to fry.

Today was a fine day indeed. He sat in the dining hall, mirroring an old habit of his much-maligned predecessor. He had a small plate of meatrolls and a glass of wine and had seated himself in the very back of the dining hall, enjoying his snack from a common man's point of view while his hawkish eyes scanned the crowd, quietly watching and occasionally scratching notes on the parchment at his side.

Flit was with him, watching with barely-contained excitement as various residents passed by. Some would stop to chat, offering services or underhanded insults in equal amounts, while others would skirt away and try to avoid eye contact. S'kef particularly loved it when they did that. Fear remained intoxicating, perhaps even more now than it had been before. It gave him a bigger sense of power than ass-kissing ever did. 

Sensing the glee it gave her bonded, Flit would occasionally flutter after those who feared him the most, eyeing them and projecting her findings back to S'kef, though their bond and her training needed work before it would be truly efficient. It was a nice notion, though.

"Good girl," S'kef said, patting her as she returned from one suc expedition. She earned only a couple moments of his affection before he went back to his notes, smiling softly as he jotted a few things down. It really was a relaxing day. Now all he needed was some entertainment!

Arddra had a hard morning doing chores and other expected tasks. With no eggs on the sands she pretty much only had chores to do. She missed the lessons but understood there was no point holding classes if it will be months yet before eggs are lain, much less hatch. After three years being at Katila Arddra was used to the changing routines depending on the queens laying schedule.

Heading to the Dining Hall, Arddra selected a light lunch and looked for a place to sit. Normally she would sit in the back rolls when she wasn't meeting somebody specifically to share lunch with so that is the direction she headed. Interestingly most places were taken except around one particular dragonrider. He was wearing his riding leathers which did have him stand out. The void around him certainly helped spotlight him too.

The moment she spotted him he was looking away from her, then his head turned and she realized who it was. Arddra realized his broad form and soft fair skin should have revealed who he was but with a glance at his eyes, she had no doubts. S'kef, one of the notorous dragonriders. Not only that but his brown flew a couple golds too which was very unusual.

Biting her lip she debated finding a place further up towards the middle of the row of tables but suddenly a green firelizard fluttered about her. The sudden appearance of the firelizards nearly startled her into dropping her tray of food. Then it flew off and landed next to S'kef who gave her attention for a few minutes before shooing the green lizard off.

Taking a deep breath, Arddra decided she wasn't going to avoid sitting at his table. He was quietly working on notes and she just wanted to sit and eat. Exhaling carefully she walked over and took a seat at the table S'kef was at, keeping a comfortable distance between him and her on the bench, nearly enough room for somebody else to squeeze in if they so choose. Only when she placed her tray down and settled did it occur to her it was odd for a dragonrider of some rank to sit way back here. Perhaps he just wanted a quiet place to do his work without being distracted by Wingleaders and wingseconds.

Glancing his way she didn't know if he noticed her arrival or not. She just hoped he wouldn't take offense at her sitting at the same table as him even if she kept a respectful distance. This close however, she could see he was rather handsome and wondered if the rumors she heard were true he had a male weyrmate. Not that she had any interest in him in that way.

Flit landed awkwardly on the table, wings fanned out and eyes racing in excitement. She'd done such a good job! Now the person she'd picked out was even walking closer! Would S'kef maybe accept it as a gift? What a good girl she was!

S'kef was a little bit less impressed. He frowned and reached out to collect the fire lizard in one hand, holding it out for her to hop on. He lifted her to his shoulder and allowed her to move into it and press against his neck before sighing. "Bothering people," he said idly, not exactly frustrated, but more wishing this sort of thing could be done more effectively. Spying was no good if you scared people and then gave them a reason to come over and ask questions!

He went back to his notes, expecting some sort of annoying question or accusation from the girl at any moment. When it never came, he went right back to his work, at least until a mental nudge from Tyrrisath informed him that not only had she seated herself close by, but she was looking at him awfully hard.

Someone likes you

S'kef rubbed his eyes. Shut up. What, did the dragon think he was being funny? Since when did Tyr have a sense of humor? Or maybe S'kef just wasn't used to being on the end of it.

The brownrider turned towards the girl, annoyed at her failure to not only acknowledge his status, but even offer a basic greeting. "Can I help you?" he asked, masking his frustration, though he still wore a distinctly serious expression.

Arddra had turned away from her quiet observation of the brownrider to eat a few bites of food. He seemed quite busy working so she saw no reason to interrupt by muttering a greeting. In truth, she just wanted to eat and the Dinning Hall was quite full. Most of the dragonriders on other tables were talking quite openly and she knew they would want to draw her into conversation when she still rather not have anything to do with them.

S'kef just seemed the least likely to give a wit if she ate at the table he was sitting on providing she didn't disturb him. Arddra apparently was wrong for after a few minutes he spoke to her quite clearly and she was sure there was a command there too.

"I am sorry...I was just eating dinner...I usually sit here." Arddra managed to get out. "I didn't meant to disturb you."

S'kef looked back at her, pulling his notes a bit closer and watching her almost defensive response. Maybe she did know what she'd gotten into after all, though he highly doubted she 'usually sat there'. "You're not disturbing me. But I couldn't help but notice that you were looking," he said, straightening his notes into a neat little pile before folding them and tucking them away into the bag at his side. "And those who don't want something don't look at them out of the corner of their eye...So i figured I'd save us both time and ask what it was you needed."

His tone was not necessarily impatient, but it was rather firm. He smirked slowly, perhaps a bit too pleased with himself, and lifted one finger to hold close to Flit. She chittered and pressed her snout into it, nuzzling it lovingly. He didn't even have to pet the damn thing, she pretty much petted herself. It was nice to have command over such a loving, doting little beast! She was delightfully devoted, second only to his fabulous J'ver.

Speaking of which, where was he? He would probably find this whole thing pretty funny.

S'kef eyed the girl cautiously, waiting to see if she'd speak up. He thought about saying something else himself, but he wasn't sure what would really be appropriate..or meaningful. He folded his hands in front of him and simply waited, eyes alert and focused on this odd girl who seemed to be trying her best to avoid him in spite of their close proximity.

When he started folding the pile of notes to put away Arddra realized he must have thought she was trying to peek at his work. It never even occurred to her he would misinterpret her glances as an effort to nose into his work.

"I didn't mean to seem like I was trying to pry into what you were working on," Arddra responded, biting her lip in concern. "That..that is dragonrider business and not for me to know."

She fell silent under his cautious observation. Why did she sit by this dragonrider, one who had one of the worse reputations around? Because he was handsome and apparently bond to another man so that meant he wouldn't want her. Arddra heard echoing in her mind. If the rumors were correct then she wouldn't have to worry about him grabbing her and dragging her off to his bed.

"As for what I need..." Arddra fell silent. What she would like very much was to go back home, see if any of her family lived. She had little hope her husband was alive, he was so sick when she ran away from their small cothold and raced towards the Healerhall hoping to get the Masterhealer to come help. Then the shadow had fell over her, darkening the light of the moon and stars. The memory caused her to shiver slightly and she quickly pushed it down. She shook her head, deciding she didn't dare ask this particular dragonrider such a favor. "I don't need anything right now."

"I never implied that you were prying," S'kef replied, though he was having a hard time not suspecting as much now that she'd brought it up! That didn't make the evasiveness any more annoying, either. He eyed the girl, suddenly suspicious of her motives, and adjusted himself in his seat to make himself more comfortable. Should he call her out on what he felt was an obvious lie, or let it go and leave her to drown in the damn awkwardness?

He was probably over-thinking it. It wasn't like he was dealing with B'run or some other would-be rebel leader...it was just some girl. He thought she looked distantly familiar, but after so many monotonous turns in this jungle, he was sure to have bumped into her at least once, if only in passing. If she was a spy, she was the worst spy in the world...But he couldn't get over how strange it was for someone to approach him like this, with such tentative evasiveness and...he couldn't even put a word to it.

"Nothing, huh?" he said at length, his suspicion audible in his tone, though not exactly heavy-handed. No need to waste his time. He shrugged at her. "Suit yourself, then."

He had every intention of getting up to move on, but Flit had other plans. Her bonded was frustrated with this girl and that just wouldn't do! Without any warning, the little green hissed and threw herself towards Arddra, hopping wildly across the table and snapping at her. It was more a display of dominance than an actual attack, but she made an awful lot of noise for such a small little lady. She screeched, plowing right over the girl's plate and heading right for her face. S'kef's eyes widened and he turned around to strike the table. Flit squeaked in embarrassment and froze in place.

"Flit, you bitch!" he screamed, though most of the surrounding tables only heard the last part.

Arddra felt a little more relaxed when S'kef indicated he had not thought she was trying to pry into his business. Yet he way he looked at her made her nervous all the more.

She picked at her food, finding herself suddenly too nervous to eat. Why did she sit this close to one of the most intimidating dragonriders she was aware of?

Then he questioned about her not wanting anything. Well there was one thing she wanted, she wanted to go home, even for a little while. She didn't want to give up on the chance to Impress a gold dragon but she would like to see her family and confirm whether her husband had survived his illness. He shrugged before she could work up the nerve to say anything else and turned away. In fact she was certain he was going to get up and leave.

Next thing she knew his firelizard launched herself at her, screeching and flapping her wings in a rather startling display. Arddra had never seen any firelizard act this aggressively and was at a loss why. Instinct kept her from panicking, only focusing on protecting her eyes and face should it attack with talons and fangs. At least for the second before S'kef slammed his fist onto the table with such force the firelizard froze in place.

The man's scream was the final straw...Arddra jumped out of her chair so fast and quickly it was sent flying and she was backing away as quick as she could till her back hit the wall behind her. It wasn't far enough from the angry dragonrider but she was too terrified of S'kef striking her to turn her back on him to run.

Hm. Awkward.

S'kef stood, frozen in place with his curled fist still on the table, eyes locked furiously on Flit. Of course, to any onlookers it would appear as if he were glaring at the girl, not at the tiny green...just as it sounded like he'd shouted at her, too. Flit stood in transfixed shame, her tiny body hunkered miserably right on top what had once been Arddra's plate of food, peeping soft little apologies as she buried her face behind both wingtips.

S'kef groaned. "Get over here!" he snapped, pointing at his shoulder and grunting as she hurriedly returned to him. She curled on his shoulder, pawing and pining for his forgiveness, nut he ignored her. What a bad girl! So his little green was growing prone to outbursts at people S'kef himself was suspicious of? Was that what had just happened, or would it require more examination? He surely didn't want it to happen again. How unprofessional! He ignored her for now, blind and deaf to her whimpering, and ran his hand through his hair and let out a huffing sigh.

"Shit," he grumbled as he seated himself again. He leered at the spilled plate and shook his head. He figured an apology was in order, but at the same time, was overturning one's chair and rushing away in such a manner really necessary? Maybe he was just in a foul mood and apt to blame it on anyone and everyone! He bit back his venom and turned his dour expression on Arddra.

"...Not sure what got into her," he said. It was as close to an apology as she was going to get. The onlookers had already lost interest, but he could hear the gossip starting to flutter about, wondering what had happened to set him off. They seemed to be locking in on Arddra as the source. He supposed it might have looked that way...heh. Funny.

He called out for another glass of wine, not caring who brought it to him. Flit had given up on earning forgiveness and was now simply sitting dejectedly. S'kef rubbed his face for a second and looked to the girl again, wondering if she would even still be there when he glanced her way. "Nothing to see, people..." he grumbled as he motioned the lingering gawkers away.

Once her initial fright over S'kef's unexpected outburst faded,  Arddra realized he had been angry at the firelizard. The poor thing was crouched in her plate of food looking like it had been hit. Seeing how frightened it was completely flipped her own fear and hatred of violence right over to annoyance and shock.

When he snapped at his flit to come to him, Arddra narrowed her eyes. She had always found the firelizards adorable and knew they could be fierce defenders of their friends. What did she do to make the little green think she was of any threat to the dragonrider?

She took a couple deep breaths to calm herself, then watched as S'kef sat down again, his firelizard clinging to his shoulder, whimpering in distress. As far as she could tell he made no effort to soothe the poor thing. In fact he seemed to be completely ignoring it now that it was on his shoulder. Arddra looked to S'kef to the green on is shoulder and back again.

"I...I don't know why she was feeling aggressive towards me, I never had any firelizard do that to me." Arddra said cautiously, stepping over to pick up her chair and set it down. Only then did she realize they had attracted a fair amount of attention. Blushing she sat down again but her mind was more on trying to figure out why the firelizard attacked her. His comment about her response on not wanting anything was loaded with suspicion, did he suspect she wasn't being 100% truthful? Is that why the firelizard attacked her because he suspected she was lying?

"Did she attack because you are suspicious of me?" Arddra asked cautiously, eyes observing both rider and fire lizard. She totally ignored her mangled food, doubting she would touch it now, even if the firelizard had not been sprawled in it moments before.

S'kef snorted. "I've never seen her do that before," he said wth igust. Were he not so focused on the bad image it presented, he might have been amused. Perhaps he would be amused when he thought about it later. He had to work so hard to keep his temper in check and be pleasant for people he'd rather not be pleasant for. It was good business, not to mention part of his responsibility. A Weyrsecond could growl at people and an unemployed drifting brownrider certainly could, but the Weyrleader needed to at least try to be in control of his emotions. The idea of his little Flit spitting and hissing in response to what he couldn't was, in it's own way, touching.

Fire lizards really could be such charming things. He let out a slow, dry laugh and reached up to press one finger to the creature's side, earning a squeak of delight as she started to cuddle against him. The small touch was all it took to cheer her up. She could feel his pleasure and forgiveness, and he could feel her joy.

"I'm not suspicious of you," S'kef grunted as he seated himself again, dusting away some of the scattered food. "I'm frustrated by your evasiveness. Not quite the same thing." Ah, his wine was here. He took it from the person who'd brought it without even bothering to look and see who they were, then took a drink. Flit sniffed at the rim of the glass, but stopped abruptly when he cut his eyes at her.

Arddra watched as S'kef gave some attention to his firelizard. She relaxed a little, if the man could give some affection and get that joyous response from his firelizard he couldn't be all that terrible.

When he revealed it was her evasiveness that frustrated him, not that he was suspicious of her, Arddra was confused. Had she been evasive? She ran over their conversation up to the point the firelizard attacked her.  Maybe she was a bit when it came to answering his questions.

"I had not meant to be offensive or evasive. I just don't trust dragonriders in general. I am starting to trust certain dragonriders however." Arddra admitted. "I sat here mostly because I didn't think you would be a danger to me in any way. I should have not stared at you, it's just...you are rather pleasing to look at. Not that it's an excuse to look at you to the point it made you uncomfortable. I am sorry for that."

"When you asked me what I wanted, from you I didn't want anything but I still wish I could visit my home, even for a short period of time. I don't think I have a home there anymore."

S'kef listened absently, only half-focused on the girl's words. He couldn't get a feel for whether she actually wanted to be there speaking with him or not, but he wasn't  He didn't pay much attention to what he considered a half-assed, stuttering pseduo-apology until she mentioned his looks, and even then he just smirked. That explained a lot, now didn't it? Women were so weak when it came to such matters. S'kef figured he could get half the girls in the Weyr to do whatever he wanted, were he willing to play to his looks and suck up to them a bit, chivalry and all that.

He could still remember pandering to Tsuen and trying to make the wretch feel important. How amusing she was, thinking she could keep them imprisoned indefinitely using only her dragon's shiny hide! It worked well, however. He was able to get what he wanted from her just by pretending to respect her miserable status. Nirinath could ground the dragons, Tsuen's peace was a fragile and ill-organized one. She was a poor leader and a weakling to boot. Good thing she had others to pick up the slack for her.

Of course, this was no weyrwoman beside him. Arddra wouldn't have been worth the time or effort to manipulate, but more importantly, she said something else during his musings that proved it wouldn't have been necessary even if he had a mind to. She wanted to go home, did she? This time, his smile was very much genuine, though no more gentle.

"Is that so?" he asked, sounding interested for the first time. His eyes widened and his lips continued to curl in a satisfied grin. "That's good to know. A lot of us want to go home," he replied. He took another sip of his wine. Visit, she'd said...the girl must have lost hope that anything more was possible, and she seemed to believe that the world up north had continued to turn without her. S'kef could see the realism and wisdom in that, but he had very different plans for when they finally went home. If he got his way, the world would stop turning when they made their appearance.

How pleasant, to know that he and his close followers were not alone in that desire.

He finished off the rest of the glass in one long gulp, not caring much for manners at that moment. He was delighted. "I'm very pleased to hear that, in fact. Do you know for sure if your friends and associates feel the same as you do?" he inquired casually.

Hearing the Weyrleader state how there were many who wanted to go home, Arddra wasn't sure how to react. He was the Weyrleader, if he felt they should be allowed to go home why didn't he do it? The answer came rather quickly, Tsuen didn't want them to. But why didn't she want to go back?

Arddra smiled when S'kef expressed he was pleased to hear what she said. Maybe he wasn't as horrible a person as she heard. Then she remembered his violent outburst when his firelizard attacked her but she just assumed he was concerned she would be hurt. He wasn't at all like V'riy but maybe there was more to the intimidating Weyrleader than she initially thought.

"Are...is there any risk to the dragons?" Arddra asked softly, thinking that must be the main reason the Weyrwoman didn't want them to return. Even though Arddra had yet to Impress she would hate to see any of the other dragons get sick and die. Even the firelizards who all seem so healthy and prolific in the south. "That's why you all came here, to save the species. It would be tragic to have more dragons die of the Plague."

Only after she said all this did she realized she had evaded his question. Arddra did know somebody who wasn't happy with all the decisions the Weyrleadership had done in the past. Arddra assumed it was just the decision to kidnap people from the north to be candidates but maybe there was more. Even if V'riy did want to go home too, Arddra had sworn to keep it a secret. She also didn't trust S'kef anywhere near as much as she trusted the bronzerider.

"I don't know of anybody who wants to go home too," Arddra replied knowing that was truth as far as she currently was aware. "Most of the Candidates who were...brought here from the North seem to have accepted being here. Most have dragons now and are content because of that, but I can't speak for them."

The girl's concern for the health of the dragons was surprising, but also encouraging. He couldn't help but smile in reply. It was a somewhat impatient smile, but it lacked the wickedness and outrage for which he was known. "The dragons' health is always at the forefront of our minds," he assured her. He couldn't say much else; they didn't really know. Without evidence of what exactly caused the plague, it was anyone's guess. Everyone initially blamed the fire lizards, but their return showed that the rumor was either false or the disease had run it's course. S'kef hoped for the second. If that was the case, it wouldn't be coming back.

Still, that was the best answer he could offer. The dragons seemed well enough, but it was a good reminder to keep that on his list of considerations for his plans. Disease...check.

The next part was somewhat disappointing. He'd hoped the girl would be eager enough to please that she would come forth with whatever she knew. It could also be that she didn't know anything, but again her hesitations cast some doubt. S'kef's smile faded and was replaced with a look of stark consideration.

"I see. Well, I appreciate your help," he said. He pulled out his notes and scribbled a few words. They were nonsense, but he liked to keep up the image that he was keeping tabs on everyone. You never knew what someone might say or do the moment they felt a bit of pressure. The trick worked often enough that he frequently employed it, even though some targets remained unfazed. It was an interesting process.

"And if you change your mind or discover anything new, I'd love to hear from you. It's very important for our future, you see...and I like to reward those who prove helpful rather than divisive. This place has a bad history, and I aim to change that." With that, he gave her a nod and his most charming smile, then folded his notes, tucked them under one arm, and rose to his feet. "Good day, ma'am."

Heh...'ma'am'

Shut up. Everything I said was true

Tyrrisath replied with nothing more than a mental shrug.

Arddra nodded, no rider would want to risk their dragon going north if there wasn't some indication the disease wasn't gone. But maybe it was still in the Weyrs? She figured somebody like S'kef would consider all such risks, he wouldn't want a woman telling him what to check, when she didn't even know herself. All she knew was a clean stall for runnerbeasts and herdbeasts kept many diseases at bay. But everything she knew about dragons never spoke of them being dirty. Well some may like to wallow in the sand but they always rinsed and she never saw dragon poop anywhere but heard it was used to mark the boundaries to ward away felines and wild whers.

After her answer regarding others who may want to go North she could see S'kef smile fade. Arddra could only assume he was either disappointed or sensed she was holding back again. He was the Weyrleader but in truth she had no reason to trust anymore than any other random dragonrider she didn't know. She may consider V'riy a friend but that didn't mean she trusted all dragonriders. There were still so many negative things about dragonriders for her to work past before she could trust at face value.

His next words confirmed he knew she was holding back, as far as Arddra was concerned. He probably be suspicious of her or think she was a troublemaker but what could she do? She was very loyal to those she considered friends and V'riy was a friend, even if a new one.

"I will most certainly do so, Weyrleader, should I have something to share with you." Arddra said politely. "I am glad we had a chance to meet and good day to you, Sir."