It ain't easy being green (Eideen)

[Invisible]

What a mess the last day had been. H’gar had not expected such a class when he’d agreed to take the knot from J’fel. Oh, he wasn’t regretting it, but he did wish things were a little more…settled. And he had not expected to have two girls in his class. A weyrwoman, yes, but girls? Unfortunately he felt he should be doing more for them than he was but he didn’t want to take a day and go talk to Fort’s weyrlingmaster or anyone else’s for that matter.

At first he had tried to talk it over with Ramla, but she had Ideas on that sort of thing and he’d abandoned those attempts. The rest of his staff he didn’t want to involve right now as he felt he had to appear to know what he was doing. At his age starting over was ridiculous, but so it went. Finally he’d hit upon an idea. Well, Baristath had hit upon it, but it was the same thing. Sure, easy for you to say. Claiming my ideas as your own. The brown snorted at his rider, but couldn’t do much more as he was busy supervising one of a weyrling brown’s attempts to hunt for the first time.

Old dragon, you mind yourself H’gar said with a grin in his tone. He fingered a piece of hide on his desk untouched by pen. Unlike the one he’d sent a couple of days ago. It had taken him a couple days to act on the suggestion still not completely convinced it was a good idea. Still the letter was written and he was in his office at the appointed time with wine and cakes for his visitor.

He mentally reviewed the letter hoping it had sounded right. It had been simple at least. Hopefully plain speaking would be the way to get it to work. He had it memorized by now and repeated it to himself as he waited. “Eideen, As you know I have two weyrlings in my class who are going to be in the same position as you when they graduate. I would like to speak with you about helping out with them as they must be prepared for something I cannot know anything about not having been in that situation. If you are interested in discussing this please visit my office in two days just after lunch.” And here he sat, waiting.

[Eideen]

Baristhath's mind had been knocked on moments before the frosted green's thoughts intruded to inform him,

Mine approaches.

She spun lazy loops on the air above the bowl. Such was the day. Overcast, but comfortable.

Approach she did, fist balled and thumping on the office door twice a moment before she invited herself in without prompting. Wild hair was left down to stretch long to the backs of her legs, and her riding leathers looked slightly dusty. Whatever she was doing at 'lunch', it did not look like it was actually lunch.

She hardly filled the door frame before she entered and dragged out a chair across from the man and his desk. Unceremoniously, she plunked and slouched enough to look comfortable. The grin that flagged across her lips could easily have been juxtaposed on a feline that had cornered a mouse, it carried such vivid satisfaction.

"Well, hello there." She greeted, fingers twined as elbows slung themselves over the chair's thin wooden arms. "So. You have a dilemma. I'd be flattered that you came to me with it, but then I remembered you probably didn't have many riders to choose from, now didja?" Eideen smiled across at the man again. The exact quality of her mood was not apparent. "How can I help?"

[Invisible]

The old brown passed the warning on so H’gar was ready when Eideen knocked and let herself in. He was unflappable with the type of entrance she did with just a slight amused looking smile to greet her. When he was able to speak to the greenrider he said, “Wine? Or cakes? Please, help yourself, Eideen.” He reached across the desk to push the plate and carafe closer. A cake was snatched on his hand’s way back to his side of the desk.

“I think you’re not quite correct there though,” he tells her with a wink. “I could have sent outweyr. I imagine plenty of them would like to arrange that kind of trade.” His tone implied he wasn’t so bothered by the whole girls on green thing. A rider was a rider. And then he was down to business because he saw no reason to keep her here with small talk first.

“The truth is I am not sure I can prepare those girls for what’s waiting for them. Got greenriders on my staff, but it’s not the same thing at all.” H’gar was feeling pretty helpless about it and let some of that leak into his voice. “I wonder if maybe just having someone in the same boat as them might make it easier? Or if they’d feel more comfortable coming to you with questions. Let me be straight I don’t expect you to be free for ‘em day and night but a little get together every couple of sevens might help.” He stopped there to see what she might say or if she would voice her payment demands this soon.

[Eideen]

The cakes were passed over, the carafe nabbed in one hand and soon she produced her own cup from a small satchel at her side and poured. Not a lot, just enough to whet the whistle. Taking a quick drink, she drummed fingers on the arm of the chair while listening, green eyes left pinned on the man's face.

"Then I had you pegged wrong." She said first to his comment about out-weyr, before she quieted for the rest.

His words gave her pause and for several moments after he finished speaking, the greenrider merely stared at him. Not vacantly; in fact, the opposite was true. She was thinking. Calculating, possibly. After a few moments, the woman leaned forward and once again fixed him with an intense green stare.

"Smart of you to admit that." She said at first, then clarified, "You're not exactly equipped to help them completely. What you can do for them as riders, however, is under no question. J'fel put you here because he surely thinks you completely capable of training the next installment of riders. Women on greens.." Her shoulder lifted in a small shrug. "We aren't much different from men on greens in terms of how we serve the Weyr.. save for.. you know. The difference in /parts/." Amused, she sat back again and tapped at her cheek with an index finger, a twitchy habit.

"I want them once daily." Decisive, her voice sounded. "Don't care when or for how long, but I want them once a day, either so they can ask me the questions they don't want to ask you, or so I can impart what slim wisdom I may have unto them. I'll make myself available to them. Also, I'd like to sit in on drills, when they get to that stage." After speaking, she flicked eyes back up to his face and, tight-lipped, asked, "Does any of this disagree with you?"

[Invisible]

“Girl, I am too old to be set in my ways,” H’gar says with a wink. “Besides what man can be upset at the possibility of waking up in bed with a lady like yourself as opposed to some grumpy old man?” And since Baristath was one of the biggest macks in the whole of Telgar it would be something for old H’gar to consider. As for his qualifications he laughed a room filling laugh.

“Darlin’, lemme tell you, J’fel probably just figured to toss us old timers a bone. At my age I’m going to be thinking of retirement soon and a position like this will just get a few more turns out of me is all.” Not that his chest doesn’t puff out at her comment. It does, he just pushes it away. When Eideen lists her demands they are given careful consideration.

“Can’t make time for ‘em every day officially,” he begins with a shake of his head. Before she can get a word in he continues on. “Can officially hand them over once a seven. Once politics and such start up for the bronzes and Salina you can have that time with the girls. Until then I’ll work it into their chore time. I can make it known you’re available and encourage them to seek you out in free time, but won’t be playing favorites with any of them.” Except Salina, but she was weyrwoman and all. Exceptions were sometimes to be made for them.

“Drills are fine. So long as you’re not interfering there’s no reason you can’t be in the bowl every morning watching them. I don't want you during drills talking to them though. You either go through me or let me know you want a word with one or both of 'em at the end and I'll give you minutes.” H’gar considered something else and added, “Feel free to get right in the way of that Caminar boy always out there making eyes at Genet.”

[Eideen]

"I hope you're not going to make comments like that around the Weyrling greens." Eideen said after his first remark about waking up and who next to. It put an almost predatory feel in the stare that stretched out over top a smirk. Feral.

She listened for the remainder of his speaking, however, eyes still trained on his and fingers trading between being steepled and twining. Knuckles popped a few times, and her neck rolled from side to side. When he finished, she gave him a sweet smile and said, "That's fine, honey-buns." Two could play at that game. "Doesn't have to be official for them to come see me, so long as it's okay with you when they do. I'll make time when they need it. -- And I'm not about to butt in on your instruction. Weyrling drills are your thing, not mine."

After a moment, tongue sneaking over her teeth behind closed lips, the greenrider sat back and let her eyes slide sideways. "As for them in the class." She began, tongue clicked on the roof of her mouth. "Treat them like you would the boys. Don't go easy on them just 'cause they started out in skirts. They're dragonriders now, as you're well aware." A single nod, as though she were saying to herself 'Yea, that sounded right'.

"Was there anything else you wanted to discuss?"

[Invisible]

“Well, now, you ain’t no weyrling are you?” H’gar said with a teasing smile. “And the time to speak to any of ‘em about flights ain’t here yet. I assure you I will the model of decorum that I am known to be.” Well, he wasn’t, but he was known to be a nice guy and that would just have to do in this case. “You got a problem with how I speak all I can say is you have to deal with it as I am too old to change that now.” Too old to change when mere moments ago he had been too old to not change.

“You can call me whatever you want,” he told her with a wink that was more kindly old uncle than lecherous old man. “I’ll speak to 'em and pass it along.” He took a bite of the little cake he’d been staring at in front of him. Once he’d brushed crumbs off his chest he looked back across at the greenrider. “I do appreciate your help, Eideen. I just want to be sure I do right by ‘em same as all the others. I was prepared to help a weyrwoman, but they’re just not the same.”

Which was not a bad thing. It was just a thing he had not truly considered although perhaps he should have. “Dragonriders, yep. Just like the rest of us poor sods. Suppose by the time there’s thread falling everyone’ll be so used to it things won’t matter.” Standing up he offered his hand across the desk, “No offense intended, but I’m rather relieved I won’t be sending those girls up to fight thread. Old-fashioned I know and I ain’t apologizing for it. But I got nothing else to add so you have yourself a pleasant day now, greenrider Eideen.”

[Eideen]

"I may not be a weyrling, no, but as you said when you wrote me, they'll be in the same position as me when they graduate. I'd like that to not be the case, exactly. I'd like them to have better." Again, that same wild look entered her eyes and her smile curled deeper on red lips. "I think you can provide that." The tone suggested a minor challenge, but it could easily have been missed.

The cup was drained and with a sleeve she dried the inside while staring across at him. The crumb-brushing was ignored in favor of a look straight at his face. "Understandable. I don't mind doing it, a'course. Girls ridin' green're just as good as the boys, so."

The last few comments earned him a strange look, and the dark haired woman stood, took the hand, and gave it a shake more firm than her physique had hinted possible. "When the time comes, they'll be ready to fight anything the skies can throw at them. Don't underestimate them. Dragons don't make bad choices." She released the hand and brightened briefly. "I will. You do the same, H'gar." And with that, she made for the door.