A Perfectly Fine Idea

Monaco Bay Weyr - Common Caverns
A grand stairway leads downward into the cool rock of the commons cavern, a place for socializing and relaxing, as well as an area that provides solid shelter from the seasonal storms of this area. One of the few caverns at Monaco Bay Weyr, the rock here has been worn away by centuries worth of water movement, leaving a nearly glass smooth polish over much of the room. Rocky shelves line the walls on which electric lights covered with paper lanterns rest, providing adequate illumination for the area. High above are further light fixtures, enabling a wide range of lighting options here. A natural pool occupies half of the far end of the cavern and is supplied with heated water piped in by an ingenious techcrafter. All about the room are balconies of rock with stairs leading to them and small dumbwaiters for the purpose of delivering food and drink to their heights.


In the last two sevendays are so since Isanath rose and Tzettenvonth had the (mis)fortune of catching, some of the whispered complaints have actually resulted in action being taken - Not many, certainly, but some. Enough. Combine dealing with -that- with the fact that his ascension to Weyrleader left the ever-helpful role of Weyrsecond vacant, and well, you can imagine how well things are going. -So- well, in fact, that it is quiet early, dawn's light just creeping up over the ocean, and S'u is settled in the caverns, a giant mug of klah within easy reach, the middle-aged man looking rather like he hasn't slept in days. A pile of papers sits to either side of him, and with a long-suffering sigh, he is leaning to rest his head on the table top - perhaps something stronger than Klah is necessary.

S'van is… not typically a morning person. But Healers are fickle, /busy/ creatures, and Sev was desperate for that 'all clear' that he's been waiting on. Did he get it? Well, he doesn't look as disappointed leaving the infirmary as he might if he'd been told 'no', but there's still a rueful sort of look and a rolling of his injured shoulder in sympathy for the previous and lingering hurt. Grey eyes drift over the becoming-familiar caverns and settle on the not-as-but-somewhat familiar figure of the now-Weyrleader, slumped over a table. Not being a native means that, while he may have heard some of the gossip, he hasn't really partaken Haggard appearance, paper-piles encroaching, head-on-table. Perhaps approaching is against his better judgement, and certainly not in the interest of self-preservation, but nonetheless the Half Moon bronzerider's steps alter their path and take him to S'u instead of the door. "Hey," offered in a low, hushed sort of greeting. "You uh… want me to grab you a pillow?" and his thumb is tossed over his shoulder toward the infirmary, as if to infer that /that/ is where he'd steal one from.

There is a voice.. a voice that seems to be close by.. a voice that seems to be.. directed at him? There is a sound somewhere between a sigh and a grumble and a groan, and S'u is lifting his head from the table to peer blearily in the direction of the sound, eyes focusing on S'van and looking - well, looking rather confused for a minute. But then, eyes widen ever so slightly as he places the younger man, and he just shakes his head, waving a hand. "I was hoping that being out here would be more… stimulating." Small offices just -beg- for you to make a bed under the desk and go back to sleep. Inclining his head in a lazy motion towards the empty bench, should S'van which to settled in, he props his chin on his hand and peers at him for another moment, before yawning. "Surely the Healers aren't still holding you hostage.."

"Here?" and a glance is spared for the… basically empty caverns. "I'd think the beach… Fresh air. Sunshine. But then again there's all that paper," S'van muses aloud. Not to mention the sound of waves crashing might just lull one to sleep just the same, and the lack of sunlight, what with it being just about dawn. He drops himself into the offered bench, sprawling out as comfortably as if he were at home, shaking his head for the inquiry. "No, no. Not really. It's the weyrmate and the dragon that are being fussy about letting me fly or go Between. I think it's become a sort of vacation, disguised as recovery," he notes, grinning without a hint of guilt for it.

"If I didn't have this…" An arm sweeps over the stacks of papers. "Shards, I can't even imagine how much -more- complaining would happen if I lost everything in a sudden gust of wind." S'u sighs, reaching for his klah mug, frowning as it turns up empty. Standing, a bit wobbly, he moves to head towards the serving table, holding the mug up questioningly to S'van as he goes. "Weyrmates are the best for that. And we -are- an amazing place for a vacation." Pause, and then softer. "Shards, I already could use a vacation." If the caverns weren't empty, perhaps it would go unheard, but the sound unfortunately carries rather well.

S'van's gaze follows the sweep of that hand, taking in the mess of paperwork. It pulls the corner of his mouth upward in a dry expression of sympathy. "Jae's also my Wingleader," he notes with some amusement. "So he's got actual authority to ground me." He shifts, muscles tightening in preparation to stand as S'u wobbles; a Search and Rescue rider at his core, despite forced time off and vacations. But no. No falling, and so he settles back and decides, "Sure," because if he's taking over the bench, and the caverns, he might as well partake of the Klah as well. "And I'm definitely not complaining. The beach is fantastic." Half Moon has a beach, too. But it's not exactly black-sands and it definitely doesn't have a waterslide. If he heard that lamentation (and how could he not, given the nature of sound in stone walls and the vacantness of the caverns) he at least does not respond to it. At least not immediately. It's upon his return that he notes, "How can there be this much paperwork? I mean, I help Jae all the time with his, but he never has…" a wave toward the stacks, "/this/ much of it."

Klah mug refilled, S'u takes a moment to take a long drink before it is topped off again, and another mug is found and filled. Returning to the table, S'u manages a soft chuckle as he passes the mug off, at the mention of Jae's authority to ground S'van. "Shards, you are telling me. This Weyrleader thing has -totally- changed arguments with Ali." And probably not in a super positive way. Sliding back onto the bench, S'u just shakes his head. "Because there is my old paperwork, which I haven't managed to pass off yet.. " One stack is motioned at, "And now there is all my -new- paperwork." Sipping at his klah again, eyes rest on the first stack of papers mentioned, not risking a look at S'van though. "So, did you say.. Did you say the Healers -did- clear you?"

A wince, followed by a sympathetic and all-too-knowing expression for the mention of arguments. "Been flying under him since Weyrlinghood so… it's always been like that for us," says S'van, perhaps in explanation. "Was hard, in the beginning, keeping work separate from personal stuff but… we make it work." Klah mug accepted, for a moment there Sev just holds it; long fingers wrapped around as if to leech warmth despite the lack of necessity for such things. Summer in Monaco. Definitley not cold. As for those healers? "Yeah, more or less. I mean, I'm supposed to take it easy and not over do things, but they've give me the all-clear to return to life as usual. I'm supposed to check in with the healers at Half Moon once we go back, but otherwise…" shrug, and then a wider sort of smile, "Good as new."

"Ali Impressed after me, you'd think we'd have figured it out in the last twenty-odd turns but.." A shrug, and S'u's fingers idly flip through the stack of papers. "The only good thing is, she wasn't upset about Saelli's arm. The bad thing is, she is now guaranteed to teach her how to do it correctly." Poor, suffering S'u. Flipping through the stacks of papers again, S'u quiets for a moment, sipping at his klah, before he is glancing sideways at S'van, not turning towards him, just.. watching. "And.. your weyrmate? Is he.. In a rush to get back to Half Moon?" Maybe the Weyrleader is just making pleasant conversation, but his look is rather serious, despite the dark circles under his eyes.

"Well, that's good!" for not being mad, and teaching her properly. "Better she get proper instruction, than attempt to learn it on her own?" Maybe? It may be evident from those words that Sev is NOT a father. Or at the very least, not in the process of raising a child. The concept of watching his baby learn trick-riding (or climbing onto a potentially dangerous mammal in the first place) does not strike him as worrisome. Even if it ought too. "She's out of her sling though, right?" he inquires curiously. Mug, finally lifted if just so that he can blow gently across the surface to stimulate cooling. He leans back to lounge once more, as if he's in absolutely no rush to do… anything. A somewhat amused snort comes just before he confirms, "No way. The sooner we're back in Half Moon, the sooner he has to let me fly again. He's definitely not in any rush for /that/," offered in a wry tone of voice. Maybe it's beginning to occur to him that this line of questioning has potentially ulterior motives. Certainly the words themselves do not seem unusual, but the aversion? That serious look that is caught with a casual glance… yeah. It has him shifting just a little, looking perhaps a BIT less loungy and a little more serious in response. "Why? Is there a problem with us being here?" He'll go that route /first/, because what else could it be? "Aede hasn't been causing trouble, I've made sure of it."

"Out of her sling, and back on that sharding Runner, since Ali won't let me ship it back to the blasted cousin where it came from." S'u adds at the question about Saelli's injury update, shaking his head again. "And I -definitely- don't have the time now, to be chasing after her to stop it." As S'van gives no indication that J'en is ready to return to Half Moon, there is is the slightest flicker of a smile on S'u's lips as his klah mug is set carefully on the table top. "Oh, no, not a problem at all. In fact…" One of the two piles of paperwork - the one S'u had indicated was the one tied to his old job - is gathered up, given a tap to straighten up.. and then it is plopped down on the table in front of S'van. "I think you should consider staying here long term."

"My offer still stands…" referring to having his bronze eat the problem animal. It's murmured behind the rim of his Klah, and almost completely in jest as evidenced by the mischievous gleam in those grey eyes of his. Whatever concern might have been etched across S'van's face, it melts away at the declaration that there is no problem at all. He's just about to take an actual sip of that Klah when S'u is straightening stacks and moving papers and making statements that have him altogether confused and perhaps mildly concerned. There's a somewhat lengthy pause after those words are spoken, gaze dropped as he stares at the stack of papers, briefly uncomprehendingly but with increased skepticism and apprehension. "Long term," is the first thing he says, when he finally does speak, repeating the words as if to confirm them. "And do… what?" And /now/ that gaze lifts, to fix on the newly-minted Weyrleader with his dark circles and weariness.

As tempting as it is to take S'van up on that offer, that would probably cause an -even bigger- argument with Aliona, and well, with the whole 'trapped on the sands soon' thing, that probably is best avoided. The stack of papers in front of S'van is given a tap as the younger man asks what exactly he would be doing, as S'u is looking rather proud of himself at this particular moment, as he reaches for his klah mug. "Those, of course. It's be perfect - you can't hurt yourself doing paperwork, so J'en won't be upset, and I have half as much paperwork so -I- won't be upset, and well, you aren't from here, so no one can claim it was a setup, so -they-" whoever 'they' is, "Can't be upset, and everyone can just go back to being happy." Pausing to sip at his klah, the Weyrleader shrugs. "And that way, if the runner situation -does- get out of hand, well, you'll be here to, uh, help." Sleep deprived ideas are the -best- ideas.

There is much contemplation of that stack of paperwork, and then much contemplation of S'u, as S'van's gaze ping-pongs back and forth between the two. A frown. A deep furrowing of eyebrows as he weeds his way through this puzzle. "And… be your secretary?" because that's the first place he jumps to. Paperwork. Endless paperwork. But that whole 'setup' and 'they can't be upset' thing has him re-thinking exactly what it is that might be offered here. "Wait… no. You're not… what?" Yes. Coherency. Definitely needs to work on that. A pause, and that mug of Klah is very carefully set down, well away from papers of either stacks, to avoid accidental spillage. "Okay, um. I'm going to need a little bit more clarity about what it is you're… asking." Because assumptions are bad things!

Thankfully, early mornings are a great excuse for the lack of coherency, and S'u doesn't seem at all put off by the questions and confusion coming from the other man. "Weyrsecond, of course." He states plainly, even as he is absently straightening up the pile of papers that remain in front of him. This time, though, when S'u looks to S'van, he is turning more fully towards him, watching him expectantly. "It is hardly as exciting as riding Search and Rescue, but.." He shrugs. "Would give you a bit of your own space, and hopefully no more shoulder injuries. And I haven't heard -you- questioning my legitimacy so.." S'u's criteria for filling his old job are apparently quite few.

"That's… that's what I thought…" only S'van can't quite say the whole sentence, perhaps because it sounded so preposterous to him in his own head, despite the fact that he was/right/. There's a new sort of tension in his form, nothing alarming by any means, but a sort of rigid, sitting-up-straightness rather than the lounging relaxation previously demonstrated. That he doesn't immediately say 'no' is probably of note. That he even hesitantly reaches out to put fingers to stack of papers is perhaps positive. "Question your… your dragon flew Isanath. How can anyone question that?" It's not really a defense of /S'u/ so much as the establishment of fact and long-standing traditions. Senior queen flies; bronze catches. Done. What's to dispute? "… I'll have to ask my weyrmate…" even if he's totally taking that stack of papers. Perhaps becomes the other influential presence in his life (that being his dragon) is chanting a string of increasingly demanding /DO IT/'s in his head. Early morning sleep deprivation is, apparently to blame for questionable decisions on both ends, because apparently S'van is saying /yes/ to this notion when he decides, "But provided he doesn't protest… sure. Why not?" Why not, indeed. What could go wrong?!

"Yeah.. I.. Its to early to explain." S'u mutters about the question of how anyone is questioning the fact that Tzett flew Isanath. As the papers are taken, though, S'u looks visibly relieved, even slouching a bit as S'van is sitting up straighter. "Perfect. I'll make sure they clean off the desk for you, too." It seems that S'u, at least, considers the matter completely settled, because he is already looking back at his papers, and his klah, stifling another yawn.

Gone is the debate about Weyrleader legitimacy; right now Sev seems more concerned about the legitimacy of his own (new) knot! But those papers are taken, settled in his lap and then immediately put at risk when he reclaims his Klah mug with one hand. Seems it's cooled enough for gulping, because S'van does exactly that. "Right. Desk. Okay." It's like a dream. A nightmare? Who knows. But as the mug is finished, and S'u gets back to his own work, Sev pushes himself up (papers in hand) and eyes the door. "I should… probably have that conversation sooner rather than later." Or, you know. BOLT before S'u can either change his mind or assign him further responsibilities. "I'll let you know how it goes," is offered somewhat distractedly, already moving towards the freedom that awaits just outside the door. "Have a good day," he manages to offer before those long legs of his are making fast work of the distance, a low and firmly spoken, "Don't you /dare/ tell Leketh…" demanded as he goes, clearly meant for his dragon and not the Weyrleader.


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