I Like the Way You Think

Writers: Devin, Sia, Suzee
Date Posted: 15th April 2024

Characters: Cyradis, N'vanik, Aydhan
Description: Aydhan interviews for the Weyrwoman's Second Position
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 15 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: B'nell, Naradis (not by name)

Cyradis

N'vanik

Aydhan

}:Welcome to my Weyr, Tymborikath!:{

Cyradis came trotting into the council chamber from the Sands when
Panitath loudly greeted the visiting gold. She knew N'vanik would
appear any second. She pulled the hide onto the table near their seats
and smoothed the front of her dress. She'd heard good things about
this particular rider and hoped they would find some common ground
right away.

N'vanik nodded to his Weyrwoman as he entered and smiled as he slid
into the seat next to her. Cyradis had been waiting to get a 'Second
for a long time and they had finally gotten several goldriders
interested in the position.

The heat hit Aydhan like a ton of bricks when they appeared from
/between/ above Dolphin Cove Weyr, so much so that she was already
peeling off what she could as Tymborikath made a lazy circular descent
down to the Weyrbowl. Faranth, how long had it been since she'd seen
the sun? Felt the warmth in her bones?

}: Hello! :{ Tymborikath rumbled in answer. }: Are you in the hatching
grounds already, darling? Do you feel up for a visit? :{

**Don't crowd her.** Aydhan gently reminded her. **Remember what
happened when you got too close to Sebroth when she was getting ready
to lay?**

Tymborikath didn't, really, but she knew the larger gold wasn't afraid
to take a swipe at her (which is what she did). }: I'll just take a
peek.:{ She said instead as she landed. She knelt a little to give
Aydhan an easier time climbing down, then sat back on her haunches and
stared up at the heights and dragons flitting overhead. }: I would
like it here. :{ She said.

**Wish me luck then, sweetheart.**

}: Good luck! :{ And with a rustle of wings and a whoosh of air the
gold was aloft again, heading for the hatching grounds.

Aydhan continued divesting herself of her outer winter gear as she
walked the rest of the way to the council chamber, stuffing her gloves
and hat and scarf into her helmet and unzipping her jacket as she did.
"Hey, just a moment." Aydhan said as she entered. She set the helmet
down and peeled off the rest of the gear, folding them neatly and
depositing them neatly with her fur-lined boots. She fidgeted with her
hair briefly, checking that it hadn't come too loose from the bun when
she'd removed her hat and helmet. She considered another moment before
removing her sweater, too, and left that with the rest.

"Okay!" She turned to the pair and smiled brightly. "It's the dead of
winter in High Reaches, and there's no way I could handle the entire
interview in all that. I don't think we've officially met- it's nice
to meet you, Weyrwoman Cyradis. Weyrleader N'vanik."

"Nice to meet you, Aydhan. My duty to Tymborikath," N'vanik said. "I
was stuck at Dragonsfall for a while, so I know how different this
place is from a frozen Weyr."

"Mine as well, Aydhan. Dolphin Cove is lovely once you get used to it.
We're happy you came here today." She waved toward the chairs. "Would
you like anything to drink?"

"It is lovely! I'm jealous of all you southern folks and how close you
are to the ocean. The view at sunrise must be something else." She
said as she took the offered seat. "Water would be nice, thank you."

N'vanik filled a glass and set it down in front of the goldrider.
"Sooo . . . how much do you love hidework?" He glanced over at Cyradis
and then smiled at Aydhan.

Cyradis almost snorted at the twinkle in his eye before she turned
attentively to Aydhan.

Aydhan looked between the two, understanding that a joke was passing
between them but unsure of the context. "Well, we have to have
something to keep us goldriders occupied, don't we?" She said with a
laugh. "I'm from a Healing family and still work in the Healercraft,
so I know the importance of good and easily accessible records. I work
closely with the Weyrharper and the Healers to draft things like wills
and end-of-life documents for weyrfolk. It's not as complicated as,
say, a Lord Holder's contracts, since there's usually nothing like
inheritance to worry about, but that means there's a lot of
sentimentality placed on other items. Especially since most of us
don't get graves that folks can easily visit.

"So, one of the things I do is combine reports of deceased
dragonriders from the Wings and dragonrider injuries from the Healers,
then either pass it on to the right folks to alert the non-dragonrider
family members and check in with dragonrider loved ones. I have a
separate report for any critically injured or dragonless folks that
need extra attention."

"The unpleasant side of Thread fighting," N'vanik said. "So you give
special care to the injured, the dead, and those left behind. I like
that."

"You'd get along well with my Wingsecond B'nell," she nodded. "He's an
archivist at heart. Every little bit of research can help us and
records are a large part of that. "

"Do you have family to bring along with you?"

"It's important that we take care of our most vulnerable." Aydhan
said. "We see so much death during a Pass. Most of us try not to think
about it too hard, but I hope it helps folks knowing that they and
their loved ones will be cared for when the time comes. It _does_
sounds like B'nell and I would work well together. Our recordkeeping
keeps our memories alive and will, hopefully, save a lot of heartache
for the riders in the next Pass."

"For family, I have my ex-husband, bronzerider N'kevyn." Aydhan
answered a little too quickly with a grin. "He's holder-born, poor
thing, and it was important to him that we get married. Someone told
him that weddings are usually dissolved when one or both spouses
Impress, so it's been a little joke between us. We've been weyrmated
for close to twenty turns now. We have two children, too, that are
candidate age. We've talked about it with them a little. My son is
keen to come with us, but my daughter's not sure yet. It's a lot to
leave all your friends and peers at that age. I think my daughter is
the same age as one of your little ones, Cyradis? She just turned
seventeen."

"Ah yes," Cyradis smiled. "I was Hall born and it was a bit of a
transition, I can tell you. Seventeen can be a very trying age when
the world is all about them and everyone else are simply bit players
on the stage of their lives. I think I got through that age because
Panitath chose me and helped me deal with the volcanic emotions. Does
your daughter wish to Stand?"

N'vanik made a soft, amused sound. He'd Impressed just shy of
seventeen and had certainly thought everything revolved around him.

"Hah! Yes. I remember being seventeen, though the memory gets fainter
and fainter each turn." Aydhan said, "My daughter does wish to Stand;
my son too. I think a change of scenery might improve their chances,
honestly. New Sands, new classmates, all that."

"If you need help convincing them, my daughter followed me to Dolphin
Cove when I won the Leadership and she Impressed at my first
Hatching," N'vanik said. "What kind of leader are you?"

"Mine were pretty well split, some came and some stayed. Since then
one has Impressed and another is... still trying," said Cyradis

"I'm more of a hands-off leader." Aydhan answered, "At High Reaches I
work with a pretty large team, and there's so many moving parts. We
have to do so much that I realized pretty early on that I have to
trust the people I work with. We're all working towards the same
goals, and of course everyone is doing their best to get the job done.
I need to focus my attention on what I can do, and supporting folks
that need the support. I don't need to get into everyone's business."

"Delegation can be a difficult thing to learn," the Weyrleader said.
"I'm glad you have that skill already. What do you do if someone isn't
pulling their weight?"

"Well, what's the underlying reason for it?" Aydhan mused.
"Ultimately, most folks don't get to the Weyr because they don't want
to work. A decline in work usually means there's something else going
on in the background. Problems at home, illness. Burnout is a big
issue in our line of work, too. Or maybe the workload has gotten too
big for just one person. I like having enough people comfortable in
doing the same tasks so they can lean on each other when things like
that happen. Bringing in another person can always be an option, even
temporarily. I've been known to take on extra work as needed, when I
can. We can't expect people to be at their best all the time."

N'vanik nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good way to think about it. And
you're right that we all need people to lean on." She seemed to be a
very compassionate person.

Cyradis was impressed and smiled. "I like the way you think," she
said. "Thank you so much for coming to talk with us Aydhan," she added
as she stood and reached out a hand. "It's been a pleasure getting to
know you."

"It's been wonderful to visit." Aydhan said with a smile as she took
the offered hand. "Weyrwoman. Weyrleader. I might wander a bit before
I head back. Enjoy the summer sun for a little while longer. Tym would
love to burrow on the beach."

}: Can we?! :{ Tymborikath asked. }: Thank you for the visit,
Panitath. I get to roll in the sand before we go. :{

Last updated on the April 18th 2024

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I Like the Way You Think