Who

Kyara, Cha'el

What

Whirlwind loses a rider, Cha'el goes to the source. (Occurs the evening before: A New Royo)

When

It is noon on the last day of the fifth month of the first Turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Igen Weyr, Oasis Inn

OOC Date

 

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Oasis Inn

Tucked into a small fold of foothills along the road leading from the Weyr to the Central Pass, this inn truly is just what its name implies - an oasis for travelers coming from either direction. Stabling and board are available - though the boarding comes at a price, since there isn't much of it. The most well known part of the Inn is the tavern - a rustic bar built of solid skybroom and furnished in dark, oiled wood, leather, metal, and glass. Though well used and sometimes abused, the furniture is also well cared for and maintained, and the food and drink draw many a rider in alongside the travelers. The decor is eclectic, consisting in hangings, rugs, carvings, and other things from every region of Pern, bestowed upon the owner in barter for lodging. The atmosphere isn't one of a dive; it's cozier than that, though there is just a touch of harmless shady to be found - particularly in the evenings.


There's still blue in the sky from sunlight not quite faded, even with the dinner hour quite a bit passed - a sure sign that summer encroaches. Of all the seasons, that's the one Igen needs to brace for, not winter, and cool drinks become the preference as the days lengthen. Currently sitting along the north wall of the Oasis Inn with one such drink in front of her, silhouette framed by a window flung open to the mild air, is Kyara. Hair pulled back and wearing a short-sleeved shirt in deference to the warmer air, the greenrider sits jotting down and reviewing a few things in a much used notebook, idly sipping something half frozen and fruity and likely spiked with rum.

A beautiful evening to be sure and one that a person might assume Igen’s Weyrsecond to be spending elsewhere and otherwise engaged. But assumption is a poor science and instead, the tall brownrider looking a touch more tanned than usual and casually clothed in deep blue trousers with a white open-necked shirt, is the next patron to step through the doors of the Oasis Inn. Scanning those enjoying the end of another day, keen eyes come to rest on a familiar form and so it’s in her direction that Cha’el moves, expression held carefully neutral. Coming to a halt at the table she occupies, he’s quiet a few moments, merely studying Kyara in the short silence. “All work and no play, Kyara.” The old cliché given with a dry hint of amusement. “Though it would seem you’ve got the play part of that nailed down.” Expression giving nothing away as to whether he teases or chides.

It actually takes a good moment for Kyara to register someone standing by her table, though her smile is quick when she finally glances up from her notebook and recognizes it as Cha'el. Setting the thing down and letting it fall shut, she's about to comment on that cliche…but the next thing actually confuses her enough to stop the words before they leave. As wrapped up as her mind has been in the seriousness of certain life choices lately, she's not as quick to grasp what's implied this time and so blinks up at the Weyrsecond. "All work…" she drawls, tapping the notebook once, "but I'm playing… Sorry, what?" Brain, fried. Apparently.

Not waiting for an invitation to sit, Cha’el takes a hold of the chair opposite the greenrider and folds himself down into it, gloves and helmet set off to one side of the table. “Perhaps playing was the wrong word,” he admits fitting Kyara with a long look. “You tried to tell me. A few times,” he goes on to say, “and I apologize for not having picked up the clues.” A pause before adding, “I don’t think it would have made any difference though would it?” Having not yet explained himself, he could well be seen to be talking in riddles.

And that is precisely how Kyara interprets Cha'el's words for the next few extended moments, her brow furrowing in puzzlement as she watches the brownrider sit down and set his things aside. Maybe she needs another drink…and take one she does, bemused amber gaze latched to the blue one across from her as she tries to decipher what he's talking about. Her inner Harper is thoroughly put out that she's not currently able to make sense of such a thing…but then, it slowly dawns on her, eyebrows slowly lifting. "Oooooh," she gets out finally. "Oh, you talked to W'rin. I mean, it's not that I didn't expect you to; it was going to be obvious at some point." With a shake of her head, she leans forward onto folded arms on the tabletop. "There weren't really clues, Cha'el; N'thu and I…we sort of came about unexpectedly. What we've become…we didn't know how deep it went, until we were faced with this." His question draws a somewhat pained look. "Probably not. Maybe earlier on, but…I don't know." She sighs, her eyes coming to rest on her drink, which she turns idly in its ring of condensation on the dark wood. Her voice considerably quieter, she asks, "What would you have told me?"

Merely settling Kyara with an unreadable look while she tries to parse what he’s said, Cha’el leaves her to think on it for a bit and calling a waitress over orders his usual – Rum over ice. And then it dawns on the greenrider and the Weyrsecond finally turns out a short smile for her. “Aye, I spoke to W’rin.” He confirms and leaning back in his chair, long legs stretched out before him, falls to silence as she speaks. Understanding lights blue eyes. Understanding and a touch of something else. At the end, when his opinion is asked for, legs are drawn in and cross at the ankle under his chair, his upper torso tilting forward and forearms resting on the table. “What would I have told you?” A short chuff of dry amusement. “As your wingsecond, that your and Liareth’s skills are wasted on Arroyo,” tone somewhat possessive there, “but as your friend,” bearded features finally soften, “Life is short, potentially even shorter for us as riders. If you make each other happy, then grab him with both hands and don’t let go.”

Kyara glances up to meet Cha'el's eyes for the briefest of moments when he confirms that he's talked with W'rin, a small smile of her own twitching her lips before she's back to looking at her drink. She nods somewhat ruefully over the matter of Arroyo - she's proud of Whirlwind and being able to fly with them since graduating - and then gives a bit of a sigh at the brownrider's last, pressing her lips together as she stops turning the glass but not looking up at him again for a good moment. There's a lump in her throat, so rather than speaking right away when she does look up at him again with slightly brighter eyes, she just smiles wider and reaches over to give his arm a grateful squeeze. "Thank you," comes quietly after that. "Feels like…leaving home. But. I'll adjust, eventually." Blinking to clear her eyes, she murmurs, "I remember you saying once that you were with someone. Is that still true? Someone you you can hold on to that way?"

Even in the dim light of the Inn its not hard to miss the gathered moisture in amber eyes and so, without a word, Cha’el reaches forward and if allowed, will close a large hand over one of Kyara’s and give it a slight squeeze. A few moments of silence follow and just when lips part to provide speech, she hits him with a question concerning his personal life. Brows drop toward a light frown and bearded features take on an uncertain line because so much has changed since they’d had that conversation. “I don’t know. I’d like to think so but…” broad shoulders shift awkwardly and he hands over a cliché. “It’s…complicated.”

It's another cliche, but danged if it doesn't still hold as a simple and yet all-encompassing statement for a lot of things. It has Kyara nodding again. "You don't know if they feel the same way?" she ventures softly, and she returns the squeeze to her hand. "I guess most relationships probably go through a 'complicated' stage," she surmises. "I hope it doesn't stay complicated for you. So that you'll just be able to say 'yes' to that question at some point." With another bit of a sigh, she sips at her drink again. "Well. We'll just have to find some time to fly, you and I. Lia and I will miss it too much. And she's actually come to like Sikorth a good deal. Some similarities in pragmatism," she observes with a fond hint of a scoff.

Without thinking, Cha’el will probably reveal a little more than he intended to when he answers his former wingmate’s first. “He uh…he’s complicated. I think he feels the same way but…” Broad shoulders shift in that same roll of muscle beneath shirt that fills in the blanks of what he doesn’t say. “But maybe,” a warm smile edged with hope is given to Kyara, “we can figure things out.” The barmaid arrives then, bearing the drink he’d ordered and retracting his hand, the brownrider chuckles. “Your Liareth has strange taste if she’s grown fond of that block of rock,” he retorts, well aware of how completely sociably inept his dragon can be at times. Of course, the irony is lost on Cha’el at this moment in time that perhaps he and the green dragon seem to share a like for those not easily accessible.

Kyara's eyebrows tick upward a bit in surprise at the fact that Cha'el's potential someone is another man, but she smiles warmly afterward. Of course it could be! "I hope you can," she says sincerely, and then she laughs a bit over the matter of Lia liking Sikorth. "I'm not sure 'fond' is the right word. She just finds that some of their ideals match. Maybe…'amicable respect' would be a better fit." Or something along those lines. Though a like for those not easily accessible is doubtless at least a slight factor as well. A few fingers idly trace the cover of her nearby notebook before she leans back in her seat a bit and takes another drink. "Care to walk back to the Weyr with me?" she asks. "I feel like walking things off might be a good idea tonight. After we're done with these, of course," she adds, tapping her glass.

A crooked grin forms for ‘amicable respect’. “I’ll drink to that,” his glass lifted in salute thereof before a sampling drink is taken. Surprise etches across Cha’el’s expression but he’s quick to nod and send Kyara a warm smile. “A walk sounds like a good idea.” A pause and then with sincerity, “Whirlwind’s loss is Arroyo’s gain,” he states and then adds, “but I’ll always consider you a wingmate and proud to having you fighting up there with us whether its with us or not.”

"I feel the same," Kyara returns with a crooked smile, having to blink moisture away again, "and Lia and I will do our best for Arroyo, too. All we've got, all the time. Just like on Whirlwind." Eventually those drinks get finished, and companionable conversation continues as a dusk walk ensues, the distance back to the Weyr covered at a leisurely pace as the light continues to give way to stars.

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