Another Day (Kysseh)

[Requiem]

Kalierre shook her head, frowning mildly. "Lust!" A startled shriek drew her toward a room at the end of the hall. Again? He slipped out when I opened the door. I have half a mind to beat the thing against the nearest basin. Phremath's distress flared briefly in her mind. But that would hurt him! Hopefully, Kali responded, a distinctly sardonic edge to her tone. The woman fared distinctly better at removing herself from the emotions of these things than most, but to say that she was immune was clearly laughable. Kalierre always developed something of a bite when Lust was in one of his moods.

Mine! My 'firmry! he screeched, broadcasting quite strongly. Kalierre caught the child hobbling swiftly from the room with a surprising strength, snatching up the brassy salamandyr, not yet full-grown, as he continued to wail at full-volume. No like! Meatyface not here! "He was moved in last night. Now stop your screeching." My 'firmry, the bronze repeated stolidly, wriggling in her grip as he fixed her with a clearly reproving glare.

Ignoring her little menace, the journeyman aided the boy back to his cot. "You shouldn't be up." Noting the wary glance directed to the salamandyr, still writhing in her grip, Kali smiled knowingly. "Oh, he won't bother you anymore. Will you, Lust?" 'Ard meatyface, the bronze muttered rebelliously. "You'll do as I tell you. This is my infirmary, not yours." Kalierre should have known better. Lust, heretofore having submitted to her with ill-grace, suddenly latched on to the meaty part of her hand with a growl, his frill flaring. My 'firmry! My man-pet! She released him with a hiss, but he clung to her hand tenaciously.

Kalierre waved one of the young apprentices inside, stalking back to her office with the salamandyr dangling from her hand, growling all the while. The result of an accidental impression - the original choice of Lust's had thrown the bronze from him, as he already had a gold and didn't want to 'lust' after himself - Lust had begun his association with his bonded in just as demanding terms. She must admit she was somewhat fond of him, even if he was like to drive her to insanity. "Off!" the woman ordered harshly, as she gained the threshold of her small, cluttered office. Lust obeyed, though he constricted his jaws for good measure, dropping to the floor with a hiss.

"Rules?" My 'firmry. "Must I remind you of our aggreement?" Huffing, the bronze's frill folded, and he scuttled toward a corner to sulk. After a moment, he queried, See golden? "You've been naughty today." Kalierre didn't look up from her desk, where she'd repaired to look over the final order for supplies for the infirmary, before passing it off to the Headwoman. Lust be good, see golden? Pausing, Kali regarded him sternly. "Are you even capable of such a thing?"

The bronze clearly knew a glimmer of hope when he heard it. His head raised. Am! Am! You see! Kalierre hmphed, ignoring the trickle of blood that Lust had drawn from her hand as she bent her head over her work.

[kysseh]

Booted feet falling softly on the floor, Savitri stepped down the hall of the infirmary, one eyebrow arched in an expression of mild confusion and a bit of disdain. She was not deaf by any means, and hearing what sounded like a one-sided conversation made her a bit leery about coming to this place. She had enjoyed learning from the healer back home, but if she was to deal with a healer of higher rank that regularly held an involved conversation with him--no, her--self, there would be problems. Savitri was under no illusions that she was an easy person to get along with. On the contrary, she was well-acquainted with the fact that she was frequently considered difficult. Unlike most people, this information did not bother her.

She made her way toward the office, occasionally casting a glance to the side into the rooms whose doors were open. After a moment, she raised a hand and knocked on the door. Best to get this over with, she supposed. There was no point in delaying the inevitable. "May I come in?" she inquired. She had considered asking if the 'private' conversation need be finished before she entered, but it was best to at least attempt a good first impression. She was to work with this woman for awhile, perhaps longer than awhile, and if she wasn't as bad as this odd first impression implied, Savitri would prefer to get along with her. Friends were few and far between for her, and kindred spirits were rarer.

[Requiem]

The healer's head came up, her eyes narrowing at the knock. There were few enough who knocked. Rawign did, but he was about the only one she could think of at the moment, and he wouldn't be on duty for another few hours. Someone new, then? Before Kalierre could respond, Lust was rushing the door, stopping at a distance where its swing wouldn't clip him in the head - a distance established through hard-worn experience. He acquired a stately stance, his frill expanding, as he announced, In, meaty! at full volume to the one outside the door. Kalierre rolled her eyes. "Step back, Lust."

Before her visitor could open the door, the journeyman pulled it ajar herself, a mild, questioning smile touching her full lips as she looked down at the young woman. Kalierre was not so very old herself, though four turns was an interval wide enough, between people so young, to make the difference in experience seem like a chasm. But a second journeyman in the healing profession, she was the ranking dragonhealer at Selenitas, and a greenweyrling besides, all of which could be clearly read by her shoulderknots as she stepped aside to allow the apprentice passage. "You're an apprentice," Kali began somewhat needlessly. "But one I haven't seen. A transfer, then? Strange that Phremath wouldn't have told me..."

Well, no one mentioned it to me, that I can remember, remarked the green. That you can remember. Ignoring the implication, the green added, Maybe you should close the door...

Sure enough, Lust was inching toward that opening. "Weren't you going to show me how good you could be?" the woman queried sternly. The salamandyr froze. Kalierre swiftly closed the door before he could change his mind, and the bronze soon decided that the newcomer was interesting enough. He scurried up her leg and wrapped his long tail about her neck, before angling his head to peer up at her. Meaty come see man-pet?

An apologetic smile touching her dark eyes, the woman gestured to the only chair that wasn't behind her desk, taken up by a small stack of files. "Feel free to put those on the floor. Now, I presume you have transfer papers?"

[kysseh]

The eyebrow that had been raised continued to climb at the imperious and unfamiliar tone that echoed through her mind, and Savitri had to wonder why she had been so eager to come to the weyr. Rare was the occasion when she doubted her own judgment, but this was swiftly becoming one of them. Her confusion was quickly alleviated by the tone of the human on the other side of the door, and she managed a polite expression and a nod as the door was opened a fraction. As usual, she had to look up to look the other woman in the face, but this was something the vertically-challenged teen was well-accustomed to. Glancing up also allowed her to sneak a look at the other's shoulderknots. Healer... journeyman... something she wasn't quite sure of but she was sure had to do with dragons... and authority could all be read. This would be an interesting conversation.

"I'm a transfer, yes." Savitri did not bother responding to the statement about her apprentice status. There was no question implied there. The mention of a name--Phremath, she made a mental note of--ending in 'th' confirmed her dragon theory. A dragon-riding healer? That was an interesting turn. "From Southern, sent to alleviate some of your workload, from what I understand." She made a mental note to put the warning letter from her former teacher atop the pile of transfer papers. The woman at least deserved a fair warning so she could send Savitri home before the younger woman got fully settled if it seemed there would be a problem.

She quirked a bit of a smile at the woman's tone as she stepped into the office before the door could be closed, understanding the bossy mental tone and one-sided conversation at the sight of what looked like a mini-dragon scurrying up the other healer for refuge. She was a bit bemused as to what, exactly, the creature was, but she was sure he was going to be a handful. Hopefully, he didn't bite, or he'd learn she bit back, usually harder too.

"Transfer papers and a warning. My former teacher thought it prudent he add a personal note ," she responded dryly, opening the bag slung over her shoulder to withdraw the required papers and the letter, extending both to the other healer. She flicked her gaze toward the chair, debating whether or not she actually wanted to sit.

[Requiem]

Stepping neatly around the stacks of paperwork that seemed to grow to knee-height all around the floor, Kalierre did the newcomer the simple courtesy of averting her gaze for a few moments. Some of the more skittish had trouble with a look as frank as the healer's tended to be. The greenweyrling merely listened to the girl as she finally navigated the mini-labyrinth to come back behind her desk. Lust, who didn't need to be the center of attention so long as everyone knew that he ruled, decided to take his place on the desk and curl up where he could keep an eye on the new 'meaty.' Kalierre eyed him for a moment to be sure that was all he intended, before accepting the papers from the girl. "You don't have to if you don't want to," she commented quietly, amusement in her tone as she settled into her own chair and briefly scanned the papers.

"Savitri. Ah, and whatever have you done to warrant a warning, in an infirmary unofficially led by a former Benden dragonhealer? You must be an assassin or a spy," she uttered teasingly, her eyes warm enough to show she did not mean a single word. "Headstrong. Such a horrible trait in a healer." Kalierre wrinkled her nose, then chuckled softly. The greenweyrling had an odd mixture of authority due to the strange range of roles she filled, not the least of which being the substitute - unrecognized outside of the infirmary walls, of course - for the sickly Master who was supposed to direct such things at the Weyr.

Her expression waxed serious, the healer subconsciously itching at her scarred wrist, the result of the weyrling massacre some months before. "I prefer my healers to be confident. We need people who can take the initiative when that's required, but who will also listen and obey the chain of command in a crisis. We are quite shorthanded. None of the journeymen here, after I'ir's death, should really be left on a shift without a senior member, but I can't be here always. Everyone is taking on more than they should. Just another pair of hands would be welcome, but - " Again, her eyes returned to the papers. She smiled. "It would seem that you have progressed well. Prove yourself to me, and you will find yourself walking the tables before the turn is out - so long as this report is accurate."

Setting the papers down, Kalierre steepled her hands before her and regarded Savitri for a few long moments. "Ah," she breathed, a small laugh arising. "I forget. I am Kalierre. There is no need to use titles or ranks with me. Rawign - you should meet him soon - can handle any questions about healing, I should imagine. All matters on dragonhealing should be brought to me. I'm still forming a decent team for that...And as for scheduling. I take it you are free of other obligations at the moment?"

[kysseh]

Deciding that sitting was a luxury reserved for later, Savitri opted to stand and just watch the healer navigate back to her desk. Her fingers twitched, and she felt the incredible urge to take an organizing fit to the office. She wasn't going to be in this crowded and disorganized space a great deal... was she? "I'll stand, thank you. There will be time to sit later," she said, flashing a brief polite smile. "My former master thought it wise to warn you that I don't take orders well from the incompetent." Really, she couldn't think of a more appropriate way to put it.

As the healer gave her the expected talk of initiation, Savitri nodded in understanding, though the idea of taking orders from someone with an attitude problem rankled at her. This woman, she could listen to. Hopefully, the others in charge would be similarly sensible, or there would be blood. "Kalierre... it's good to meet you. I'm willing to help wherever I can. I'm good at organizing and can handle most simple things, and I can take orders... when I need to. I know nothing about dragonhealing, but I'm willing to learn if any help is needed."

Free of other obligations? Did the woman actually think she'd be socially adjusted and have a full schedule after being here less than a day? Deciding it had been a rhetorical question, Savitri nodded again in affirmation. "I have no other activities. This is my first and only priority." Studying the texts her former teacher had sent along with her could be arranged around work schedules. There was one small detail that was bothering her, though... "I'm sorry for my ignorance, but what... is he? At least, I think it's a he...?" Savitri inquired, directing her gaze towards the impudent little creature that was eyeing her from atop the desk.