Getting Lost in the Stacks

Writers: Devin, Halyonix
Date Posted: 29th May 2024

Characters: N'vanik, M'trel
Description: N'vanik and M'trel have a quick chat over hidework
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 27 of Turn 11

N'vanik

Notes:

N'vanik knocked on his new Wingthird's office door. He'd gone through
all the outstanding hidework, first putting aside things he needed to
handle himself, then separating out things to pass off to A'kades, and
finally double checking what was left. He'd hesitated over the
remaining stack, but he had to be able to trust that M'trel could
handle the work.

"Come in!" M'trel called lightly. He was looming over his desk,
arranging hides into careful stacks. There was a cup of tea cooling
nearby. "Weyrleader!" the brownrider greeted as N'vanik walked in. His
eyes immediately went to the bundle of hides held. "Oh, I see there's
more?"

"Shit rolls downhill." The Weyrleader shrugged. "Where do you want it?"

M'trel motioned to a free area on his desk.

"I'm almost done with those new Wing charts we were talking about the
other morning," he told the Weyrleader. "Then I'll get with the
Wingleaders about it. What is all this?"

"Reports from the healers, records that need to be updated, all sorts
of things." N'vanik set the stack down. "But you should be able to
handle these. If you need help, you can talk to A'kades, or one of the
more senior Harpers in the archives."

"Reports from the Healers?" M'trel echoed in confusion but then
immediately recovered. "The injured list, got it. Update that." For
the next minute, the brownrider could be heard going over his to-do
list while integrating the newly arrived stack into that list,
shifting some in priority in favor of other items.

After sorting and adjusting, he planted both hands on the table,
surveyed it for a moment, and then asked, "Is there anything else?" He
mostly asked to make sure that he wasn't missing anything that he had
either just voiced or that N'vanik had yet to tell him.

"How's it going so far?" The Weyrleader asked as he glanced around the office.

"Hm? Oh, just fine, sir," M'trel answered quickly, still a little lost
in his thoughts. He tapped rapidly on the table for a moment, which
knocked him out of thinking and back into the present. Straightening,
he looked at N'vanik. "Despite the stacks, I assure you that it's
being handled. There just...seems to be a lot. I don't _mind_ doing
hidework at all. I just don't want to let others down with having to
wait for it to be done."

N'vanik nodded absently. "It's going to be slower going at first while
you learn. It's fine to take a little time to get up to speed, but not
_too_ long, yeah?"

The brownrider shook his head. "No, once I get that feedback on it,
I'll adjust and it'll come faster next time. Learning curves and all
that. I'd still rather this than dealing with headache Holders. I
can't imagine how you do it."

The Weyrleader sighed. "I do it because I have to keep everyone safe."
Though he'd been failing at that, with riders being murdered and who
knows how many tunnelsnakes crawling around the Weyr.

There was a tone in that statement that made M'trel pause. He had the
feeling that the conversation had just shifted into something heavier.
The brownrider looked at the Weyrleader for a thoughtful moment before
remarking, "You are doing your best, sir. It's not easy, not with
Thread out there and hundreds of dragons to lead. But you are doing a
good job, if I may say so without sounding like I'm trying to curry
favor."

The corner of N'vanik's mouth turned up. "Thanks." He wished he
actually _was_ keeping everyone safe, instead of just trying to. "I
think you're being honest. Besides, I did just give you a promotion,
and now you have all this lovely hidework."

M'trel looked around at all of the stacks and then chuckled. "I
suppose that's a fair trade-off. You deal with Holders, I deal with
hidework. Hopefully we'll have it all cleared up within the month so
we can celebrate Turn's End properly." He canted his head to side.
"It's a few sevendays out, yes, but do you have any idea what the Weyr
will be doing for it? Or is that ball in someone else's court?"

"We're getting some harpers from the Hall to perform. Most of that's
being arranged by the Weyrharper." N'vanik wondered if he'd be able to
relax enough to enjoy it.

"Hopefully we'll hear some new music then," M'trel replied. He tapped
his fingers against the nearest stack idly. "I should get started on
this, sir. So that I'll have time to enjoy Turn's End," he said with a
chuckle.

"Yeah, and I've got the rest of mine to get back to," N'vanik said.
"Thanks for lightening the load."

Last updated on the June 1st 2024

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Getting Lost in the Stacks