Seven Times Seven (Caden)

[Requiem]

Fun, fun, fun. Apart from the usual range of teenage drama that liked to clog up what little time he wasn't spending teaching said teenagers (or cleaning up their messes in the infirmary), he also had to deal with captive queens of drama. Granted, the brownrider wanted to deal with her and get her out. He didn't have the time to play permanent guard to her. Neither did Ba'sun. Not really. Besides...she didn't do well in captivity. Fortunately, T'san had a good suggestion, and M'ta wasn't sure why he hadn't thought of it earlier. After spending the last candlemark or so of his short evening convincing Elysia that the world wasn't coming to an end and she didn't actually want her poisoned needles back, he found himself outside Caden's door.

So to our long line of sins let us add rebelling against authority. Again. This took its place beside betrayal, theft and murder, among others. Though technically M'ta had been told merely to 'handle' this problem. It was a test, of course. Of that he had little doubt. A test he didn't care to fail because he wasn't sure what consequences that might entail. But he was handling it, and handling it in a way that benefitted everyone, at least insofar as he could see. Not that Burimyu was altogether likely to agree with him. Anyway, he wasn't really sure what was going on with the Selenitas leadership. (Plus he was thoroughly convinced that H'nes was trying to work him to death. Literally.)

Which was the reason he was actually coming to Caden's door after curfew, if only by a few minutes. He had no time to take care of these things during the course of normal daylight hours. Unless you counted the one day a sevenday he wasn't spending his afternoon with weyrlings or wingmembers. A brisk knock announced his presence. Then of course he waited with something that only mildly resembled patience for the goldweyrling to come and answer it so that he could put this whole business behind him.

[Ruby]

Tanning. Now there was something Caden hadn't had time for in... well, since she'd impressed Nitrath, specifically. She still didn't have time for it, and she really didn't want to bring any of the smelly things that tanning required back to her room, so instead she'd brought back a big stack of tanned leather that she was trimming down. Mostly she was taking off raw edges and such, making squares and strips that could be turned into other things, but sometimes there were special notes - make this one a circle, here a triangle, this one was to be used for straps so she could cut it into 2-inch lengths. Queen's weyrs were larger than standard weyrs, usually, and Caden didn't plan to use her dining table any time soon, so she'd turned it into a temporary workstation.

Which is why Selenitas' Weyrling Goldrider answered the door in her flightleathers (sans jacket), with a wicked curved trim knife in hand. It wouldn't be especially useful for killing someone with, but those not in the know would be worried if they were smart. Blossom and Sel had left off chattering at each other and one landed on each shoulder, perfectly formed and smooth colored Sel in stark contrast to crooked and splattered Blossom. Both flits tilted their heads in unison, one Green to the left and the other to the right, regarding M'ta with identically curious looks, Blossom purring an invitation while Sel tried to hide behind Caden's neck after she'd gotten a good look at the Brownrider.

Caden hadn't been working long, but she had plenty more to do tonight before she left off and went to bed - the Tanners were expecting certain things to be done tomorrow morning. So her question was crisp as she stuck the knife in a pocket and stripped off her gloves, looking down at her Weyrling master. "M'ta. What is it?" Because something must be wrong if he was out after curfew, not to mention coming to her weyr long after class. Her and Nitrath's performance had never given him cause for complaint before, and nothing had changed recently. So something must be wrong.

[Requiem]

A raised brow greeted Caden's appearance at the door as his eyes quickly swept over her and took in the details of her attire and the blade. (Of course the blade. Always the blade.) His dark brown eyes narrowed slightly before a wry half-smile twitched into evidence and he waved her question aside, slipping past the tall woman and into her weyr uninvited. He glanced at the cluttered dining table, too, then set to leaning against the wall by the door instead.

Only once said door had been closed did the man speak. Why everyone always wanted to have conversations at their doors, he didn't know. And they wondered why he habitually just let himself in - lock or no lock. "Not really anything particularly wrong. I just needed to talk to you real quick and the evening got away from me." Read: Elysia was trying her best to stay pissed at him and suicidal all at the same time. M'ta had a gift, though. It might have taken him some time, but he'd calmed her enough to set everything into motion.

Hands found their way into pockets. "I'm just going to be direct. The exiles have lost their gold. They've already approached me about bringing you and the rest of the weyrlings to them. Some time ago, actually. Since I didn't give them the answer they wanted it seems likely that they may try to approach you alone. If they haven't already. I don't really believe in telling a person how they should live their life on that large a scale, but it's kind of my job to make sure you're aware of consequences."

His head cocked slightly to one side as he regarded the woman who had helped him get so many of the riders out of the Weyr. Now a goldweyrling. Soon she'd be graduated, and under Kaegan's wing exclusively. For the moment, though, she was still his (and if he was honest with himself, he'd probably always consider these his students).

"So...if someone were to come to you and plead that you bring Nitrath and go to wherever they're holing up these days, what would your response be?" Hardly seemed a point in laying everything out if she already would consider those things.

[Ruby]

Caden pivoted when M'ta moved past her, shutting - and latching - the door without being asked. Paranoid Bendeners were paranoid. She left M'ta hovering by the door and moved over to the table, stacking the hides to one side to clear off a chair and a sliver of wood. Gesturing at one of the now-empty chairs, she took one herself, tilting it back to balance it on the back legs and crossing her arms in front of her chest. The tools of the Leathercrafter's trade had all been shoved to one side, and as M'ta went on, she grabbed an awl and started picking at her fingernails so she didn't have to look at her Weyrlingmaster.

Listening, Caden's expression of confusion only deepened, one corner of her mouth pulling down into a frown. "They lost..." she echoed rhetorically, considering the implications of that. Of course she knew that people had escaped, she'd helped after all, but if they had lost ther Queen, and were risking communicating with Selenitas, they were desperate. Totally desperate. "So you said..." Caden was often insightful, but she wasn't the brightest glow in the basket when people hinted at things. They went over her head.

"So you said no?" she asked, trying to sound neutral although it was clear she didn't feel 100% good about that. "You told them we wouldn't go? Why?" But she shook her head, negating the question - he could answer if he wanted, but she didn't need to hear his reasons if he didn't feel like giving them. She wasn't nosy, and she was even less curious about things like that. She just didn't understand why he'd say no outright. Maybe it hadn't been outright?

"But... I mean, there's danger. Leaving like that, it'd have to be really careful, that we weren't followed. I'd trust Er'ani - although wouldn't tell him ahead of time - and Mo'rya, you. Kaegan if I had to. Sure she wouldn't be happy, though, and there's the worry that Millieth might try to contact Nitrath, but... On the other hand, we're away that way.What've I got here? Flight, and being a pawn in some Bronzer's game? I'm Benden -" She couldn't remember if she'd told him or not, but it hardly mattered now - "They threw Smath's life away, and mine, just cause we were different. Wasteland are Benden, traitor's traitors. We'd have to be careful, but why stay here if we had the option to go, and keep the Exiles from dying, fading away? If it could be done without alerting the Wastelanders?"

[Requiem]

The brownrider had moved over to claim a chair of his own, spinning it about and straddling it with his arms folded over the back. If he noticed that Caden was trying to avoid his gaze, he was being something of a dick about it because his eyes focused unwaveringly on her face the entire time. Body language and tone came together to say one thing: she was a rather unhappy and confused Caden.

"There's no really good answer? I'm sure if you chose to go you'd be provided coordinates. The escape would be clean enough. That's not a concern when dragons can speak mind to mind." Fingers tapped lightly on his elbow. No, she wasn't seeing the entire picture, was she? All of M'ta's weyrlings had this intense hatred for the Wastelanders, and he had to admit that they had good reason to as well.

Fingers stopped drumming. "Your reasons make sense enough to me. With the exiles there is freedom, right? It might even be worth having to live your life in hiding and stealing from tithe caravans just to survive. Might be worth facing whatever creature killed Meira terribly enough Elysia won't tell me details of her death. I wouldn't mind going under those conditions, to be sure. But taking Terilyn out of here where she's safe and Ruth and I are relatively safe to a place that dangerous...that's why I said no."

His eyes were still steady on the goldweyrling's face. "That and they wanted me to use my influence with the rest of you. I don't think a decision like that is something I have a right to make for you." A wry smile touched his lips. "They didn't like that answer and tried to leverage Riaren against me so...yes, I've made it a bit personal. Probably more personal than I should have since it's likely that's just Elysia being stupid."

Shifting slightly in his seat, he rested chin on forearms. "That's everything but the most important reason, though. They're not hunting for the exiles right now. If you go...if Nitrath is 'stolen,' the exiles will be hunted, Caden. I sincerely doubt it will take very long to find them. And they will be killed. This is precisely how the northern war was started in the first place. Their position isn't great right now, no, but if they're found they don't stand a chance. That's my take on it, anyway."

[Ruby]

"So why..." Caden asked half under her breath, then shut up to listen to the rest of what M'ta was saying. Why wasn't really a question she spent a lot of time asking; honestly, it had just slipped out, and she was already getting her answer. In a way, anyway. Her eyes had met M'ta's when she'd asked, though, and she set the awl aside, figuring this was too important of a conversation to only half pay attention to. When, she wondered, had she become a stupid inattentive teen? Not so long ago she would have remained standing at attention, listening avidly to every word M'ta said. Maybe having a gold did change you, after all.

And, of course, it was the gold that was the problem. Girl? Can I help? Nitrath asked, mindvoice full of concern. Listen, Caden asked, and Nitrath did, uncurling and re-adjusting on her ledge so she could stick her head through the hide-covered doorway and into the main room. Blossom was far less interested in words like 'listen', and made her displeasure known by treating the room to an enormous, jaw-cracking yawn. Until M'ta stopped talking, anyway; then she sashayed over to the Brownrider to leap the gap from table to chair, before waltzing right on up his arm with an exaggerated stretch to curl around his shoulders and cheep a question at him. Caden looked vaguely embarrassed, offering, "I can, uh, get her off if you want," but really she was thinking far more about what M'ta had said than whatever Blossom was doing.

It was a good thing that the Green had chosen that moment to be distracting, too, because this situation was taking Caden a while to untangle. Most of the reasons M'ta had given for staying didn't seem to have much to do with Caden herself, and sometimes it even sounded like M'ta was trying to talk her in to going, which took a moment or two to sort out. "Creatures don't worry me," she started, eyebrows drawn into a deep-thought type scowl. It was true, too, and from what she'd seen of Meira the other Goldrider hadn't been much of a fighter. Caden was different. The personal things Caden let go - she had no idea who Elysia was, after all, or Riaren - no, it was the last part that worried her. "Wasteland hunting Nitrath does, though. If I go, even if I don't go to them... yeah, I get it." And I will not have a war started on my account, the Gold murmured, tone uncharacteristically stern. "Nitrath says no, you say no, I say no. For now anyway. If things change, can't see why I'd stay here, but if things change can't see why I'd need to go, either."