Permission for Presents

Monaco Bay Weyr - Weyrlingmasters' Office
Where once was a large storage cavern there now appears the makings of an office. The majority of the room is taken up with shelves, rows and rows of them squashed in wherever there is wallspace, filled with varying sizes of tomes about formations, history, health and safety, and many other things that the weyrlingmaster staff needs to know. Taking up a large portion of the floor is an oaken desk and squeezed in behind it is a well used chair — the chair back covered by a flying jacket, and the cushion that adds a modicum of comfort fraying and burst along one seam. Two much smaller desks pushed up against the shelves, the chairs that pair with them equally battered and worn. Sheaves of papers are spread over every flat surface, themselves covered in copious notes about everyday happenings.


It seems that at every hour of the day there's always a light on in the weyrlingmasters' office, and this is no exception. For once the room is fairly tidy - if you ignore the large pile of books on the biggest of the desks. And there's an odd pile of cloth in one corner that definitely isn't clothing, but seems to be serving no other purpose than just lying in a heap. In amongst the piles of paperwork at one of the desks sits Kaylis, her back currently towards the door - one pen in her hand and another tucked (and likely forgotten about) behind her ear.

There's a soft knock upon the door, a gentle rasping of knuckles before K'lar opens the door and slowly steps inside the office. "Miss Kaylis?" Kell asks of the Weyrlingmaster, fingers lifting to his brow and offering a crisp salute. "I wanted to speak with you."

There's no other description for the noise Kaylis makes when K'lar speaks - it's a squeak and nothing else. Somehow she managed to miss the knock and it's a look of surprise that she has as she initially turns, though it fades quickly to a smile. "Of course! Come in, come in. Pull up a… there's another chair here somewhere." A few quickly glances and one is spied under another pile of reports, and quickly cleaned off. "What can I do for you? Is Zeleth okay?"

There's a quick apologetic glance as Kaylis startles, "Sorry, Miss Kaylis. I did not mean to startle you. Are you okay? You are not terribly bothered, are you?" The man slowly moves over to help himself to a seat across from her, a hand lifting to flick some hair out of his face. "Well, besides the usual. Zeleth is quite fine. I worry sometimes about us, but I try to make up for what she is lacking." He chews on his lower lip, "We are not too far behind the others are we?" Concern flickers across his face, but he quickly shakes his head. "But that is not what I came to speak to you about. I was a leatherworker before I became a weyrling, Miss Kaylis. I specialized in straps. I wanted to know if it…would be okay if I worked on some straps for the other weyrlings in my downtime."

"Oh no, I'm fine. Was just reading a really fascinating thing about wing breaks and… you probably don't need to hear about that right now." There's a little wince, as if the topic was one perhaps deemed to be tempting fate to mention, but Kaylis quickly recovers and shakes her head, "You're doing fine. She seems a little more forgetful than the others, but every dragon's different and they all grow at their own pace. And I don't just mean size. She'll get there, don't you worry." As the topic changes she blinks for a moment, surprised. "You want to… for the others…?" There's a sentence there somewhere if someone were to fill in the missing words, "Oh K'lar, that's wonderful!"

K'lar turns his gaze to his fingers, rubbing them together as he considers his lap. Very interesting his lap is, really. "I am glad to hear that. I worry about her sometimes. I have to be with her all the time, I am not sure how she would manage without me there to assist her." K'lar lets out a soft sigh. "I was worried we might not graduate." His eyes flicker up to meet that of the weyrlingmaster's, face brightening. "Well, of course I do. I mean, they are my friends. And, I want them to have something special to remember me by. I mean, I know D'lei and Quinn get along well, and I am often on my own, but I really care about them. It would mean a lot to me to do something nice for them."

The comment about not graduating is waved away, quite literally, with a flick of Kaylis' hand. "It's like having a baby, I'm told. Eventually they find their own way. But… the straps!" There's a hint of pride in her expression, clearly happy that one of 'her' weyrlings would offer such a thing. "It is a lot of work, but… you have no idea how pleased I am. I don't think anyone in my class would have thought of such a thing. How can I help you achieve it?"

A soft smile tugs at K'lar's lips, sitting perhaps just a bit higher in his seat as the nerves slip away. "You really think so?" He asks, excitement in his voice as he leans forward eagerly and fixing Kaylis a wide smile. "Oh, I don't mind the work. I very much enjoy my craft. And if I can give something back, even if it is such a small thing as some individual straps, then I am happy to do it." A hand taps thoughtfully at his chin. "I need leather, at least a good couple bolts of it. And, buckles, and some metal bolts. I'm not so good at the smithing part of things. But the leather bits I can deal with."

Kaylis nods quiet enthusiastically. "I really do! It's such a generous thing, and if it's something you enjoy…." She lets the sentence trail off, not really finding it necessary to finish the thought. "You need to make sure you don't exhaust yourself though, you do still have to keep up with all your classes. So no staying up all night and doing it while they're asleep or something like that. I… could maybe clean you a bit of desk in here that you could use?" She sounds dubious about that though. "If that would help. And I can definitely see about helping with the supplies."

There’s a purse of his lips, "I can keep up with everything." K'lar says softly, "It wouldn't be that big of a deal. I'm used to working late into the night. I can do it ma'am. It wouldn't be that hard." He glances up at the weyrlingmaster. "I've some marks to pay for the materials if needed. I wouldn't want the weyr to have to pay out of their pocket for a silly thing I want to do for the others."

Kaylis's head tilts to one side, expression clearly one of assessing. "Are you sure? Because I don't want you falling asleep in any of the more interesting classes. The boring ones I can accept." She grins, joking, but continues, "And you won't have to pay for it all. We usually provide some sort of straps so that you're not all graduating strapless, so I can at least dip into the budget and help out."

"I am absolutely sure, Miss. You will hear no complaining from me, and I will be very diligent in my work. I will continue as I always do, and I will not suffer for it." K'lar glances upwards, pursing his lips tightly. "But I need not just the leather, or the metals, but dyes, too. I usually make my own but it is hard to get the materials, and the chemicals needed."

Kaylis searches about her desk for a moment, trying to find the pen she put down earlier. "I should make a list. You're in luck with the dyes though, my mother is weavercraft so I know a little about dyes, and I can always ask her for help. I'm sure she'd be surprised that I was finally taking an interest."

K'lar laughs cheerfully, shaking his head in mild amusement. "Ah, that is good. I'll have to make sure the dyes are of a good consistency. Leather is a bit different than normal fabrics to dye." He glances over his shoulder thoughtfully. "I am happy that you are excited about this, I almost thought I would have to convince you."

"Honestly?" Kaylis replies, with a laugh, "This is the first good news I've had today. You likely could have told me you'd decided to paint the barracks green and I would have said yes. But please don't because I think I've used up my entire supply of excited. I am pleased though, truly. It's a lovely gesture."

K'lar stands to his feet, "Then I will get started as soon as I get the materials. I am hoping to have it finished before graduation, and it's a lot of work between now and then as well as keeping up with my own duties. But now that Zeleth can…mostly…take care of herself, I can spare a bit of time for this."

Kaylis emit "That you can." There's a slight movement as if Kaylis thinks about standing up, then changes her mind. "If it gets too much or you want any help or… anything. Just come and talk to me, okay? Even if you just want to bounce ideas around. It's not like it'd be unusual for a weyrling to come in here now and then, I doubt anyone will notice. And I promise not to say anything." She crosses her heart and everything.

"That you can." There's a slight movement as if Kaylis thinks about standing up, then changes her mind. "If it gets too much or you want any help or… anything. Just come and talk to me, okay? Even if you just want to bounce ideas around. It's not like it'd be unusual for a weyrling to come in here now and then, I doubt anyone will notice. And I promise not to say anything." She crosses her heart and everything.


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