A Chance to Gossip

Writers: Avery, Heather
Date Posted: 15th July 2017

Characters: Chaysea, Ikalis
Description: A moment of downtime turns into some gossip.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 6 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Jeyme, D'hol, L'pin

"Faranth, my feet," Chaysea grumbled as she plopped down on the bench
beside of Ikalis and pulled the pitcher of klah across the table to
pour herself a cup. They'd been going like crazy all day getting new
arrivals settled.

"I think I've cleaned out 50 weyrs this week. We can't be getting this
many people." Ikalis grumbled.

"I know," the Headwoman rolled her eyes, uncharacteristically casual,
"but between the riders, familes, and lower caverns staff that we're
getting, it will actually probably take that many weyrs." Chaysea
shook her head, this was the largest scale project she had ever worked
on, there had never been anything this stressful to deal with when she
had been the Vintner Hall's Headwoman.

"I think the wing's 28 folks but with all the staff, you're right. It
sucks for them what happened. I remember Thayan Peak," she said with a
frown. "People here are going to be generous to them."

Growing up at Amber Hills, Chaysea had never had to live through a
disaster like Thayan Peak or River Bluff. "You are right about
generosity, we've been flooded with things donated by our people to
help out the River Bluff people."

"They're going to need a lot. Clothes, furniture, bedding - are we
gonna go through all our spares? Have the goldrider considered
tithes?"

"We still have some things coming in from the Holds, donated items,
and the crafters here are in high gear to make things to replenish our
stores as we give the supplies that we have. It'll be tight for a bit,
but everyone will go clothed I think.... And there are a few riders
that wear so few clothes they probably wouldn't mind going naked for a
little while." Chaysea grinned a little, before holding up a finger.
Leaving the table, she retrieved a box she had stashed in the kitchens
and brought it over. "We've worked hard enough to deserve this," she
said, opening the lid to reveal marzipan squares.

"I could go for some if our people being naked. But not some of the
old wrinkly dudes," Ikalis said.

Her eyes lit up at the confection. "When did that happen?"

The Headwoman waggled her eyebrows, "I have my ways." She took one and
popped it into her mouth with a little sigh of delight. "I try not to
indulge too often," she put her hands on her hips, "otherwise I will
be the one needing clothes."

"I never met a skinny Baker, so I know that's my fate eventually,"
Ikalis said with a laugh as she took a piece.

"Hopefully I can win over some cute Bluff girls with baking talents."

"The way to the heart is through the stomach," Chaysea chimed in a
sing-song voice, a phrase her mother had said often.

"Well, we can make the new folks love us then."

"More than just love us by the taste of this marzipan." Putting the
lid back on the container, Chaysea took it and placed it back in her
hiding place. "So tell me, Ikalis, what is the juiciest piece of news
going around right now, other than River Bluff?"

"Well, there's the drama with Jeyme leaving D'hol. There's the drama
about Malira getting pregnant by her weyrmate's brother."

Chaysea waved her hand, "I didn't find Jeyme leaving D'hol to be very
surprising. I always thought they were something of an odd couple,
completely different in many ways. Now Malira," and here her eyes
widened, "pregnant by her weyrmate's brother! Was that...
intentional-ish or result of a flight?"

"It wasn't a flight! That's the best part," Ikalis said.

"My sister says Malira was feeling neglected by T'rali since he was
spending so much time doing wing things - he's angling for a 'second
or 'third position, I bet," she said as an aside. " - so she slept
with Taebal in revenge. But T'rali figured it out since he knew _he_
hadn't been in her bed."

Chaysea mouth dropped open, "What do you think T'rali will do?"

"I don't know. He's weyrbred so maybe he won't care like a holder would - Er, sorry," Ikalis said after a moment.

"Right," Chaysea said, not even stopping on the holder comment, "but sleeping around is one thing and then sleeping with your weyrmate's _brother_ is very different."

"That's true. If my sister...yeah, okay." It would be like betraying the sibling code. "I'd leave her for it."

"Well, I guess we'll see what happens, we may be getting a request for a single weyr soon."

"If you have to split them up you should give her a terrible location somewhere high up and far from a bathing pool."

Chaysea laughed, "Assign her one of those tiny corner weyrs with no windows."

"That's what I'd do if I made assignments. People who are jerks? Bad weyr. Always eating late."

Company swooped in then, with a proud chirrup that he had remembered something important. ~~L'pin. L'pin. L'pin.~~ He sent repeated images of the Weyrlingmaster's Third, reminding her that she had dinner with the bluerider later and needed to get back to her weyr and change clothes. "Company reminds me that I have a date," she said, standing and straightening her skirts, "and I don't want to go smelling like those tenderloins the kitchens prepared earlier."

"Have tons of fun and do lots of inappropriate things," Ikalis teased.

Chaysea laughed and said, "I will," even though they both knew that "inappropriate" was not a word in the Headwoman's vocabulary.

Last updated on the September 1st 2017

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