Divided (Ja'kin)

[Tashe]

Crackle. Sizzle. Crackle.

Kaegan was laying on the floor staring into the fire that she had lit on the hearth. Kai was near her stomach playing with Azaran and his toys, from what she understood the her Flitter and the stuffed Dragons were having dinner with their neighbors Mr. Fish and Mr. Cat. Speaking of which, her own adopted Felines were curled up next to each other on the couch and Dash was off foraging somewhere, sulking because of the colored band he now had to wear. Kaegan had had Scara and Shau'ri for a while now, ever since Saraina had bought Soleil a few Turns ago. But now that her oldest friend was dead... well, she had taken in the Canine too.

She had rescued the dog from the killings, but just barely. Fortunately for her, the two felines and Soleil got along well enough, all of them having known each other for a good portion of their lives, it saved her from unneeded problems. Glancing at the corner closest to her, the Weyrwoman felt a surge of pity for Soleil, it was undeniably obvious that the canine was sulking. He had never spent this long without seeing his owner. Kai got along with all of the animals and was the only one so far that the depressed dog would react for. Shaking her head slightly, she took the toy that was being offered to her by her son.

"Maaaa. Herehere. wookit! Fishy has hole. Fix it pwease?" Turning the fish she ran a finger over the rip. "Kai its please." "Pwease... pahlease." She smiled slightly, the weariness unhidden in her face. "And how did this happen?" "I no know." The toddler made a shrugging motion with both of his shoulders, it was an action he had picked up from Kaegan herself. "Alright, I'll go get Mr. Fishy's healing supplies." She pushed off of the ground and got to her feet, leaving Kai alone for a few moments before returning to the rug. She never had to worry about him venturing too near the fire (even if he did there was a grill to keep him back), because he was simply just too afraid of it to go any nearer than he already was. Kaegan had to specifically push her couch back to add extra room between it and the fireplace. Laying down on her stomach after putting the tea kettle on the fire, the Senior Weyrwoman set out a sewing kit before her. "Mister Fishy be okay?" Kaegan ruffled her son's dark brown hair with a smile. "He'll be good as new once I'm done." "Kaaaay." She watched him until he went back to playing then got to work threading her needle.

For the last few days she had been battling herself over the decision whether or not to wait for Ja'kin to approach her or if she should go to him herself. If they were going to integrate themselves into Selenitas, she at least wanted to be there to serve as some kind of buffer for her people. But she didn't know when would be the best time to broach that subject. More recently, today actually, she had decided that sooner was better than later. Kaegan had finally decided to go and call on him tomorrow. Pushing the needle through the fabric, she began to fix Kai's toy, ignoring when Scara leapt down to curl up on her back and when Shau'ri disappeared to sleep hidden atop one of her book shelves.

[rii]

As the sun began to sink toward the horizon, coloring the sky with dark orange-reds and drawing the day toward closure. It had been a busy day, like all the previous ones had been since the take-over, and Ja'kin walked the halls with the day's numbers and results swiftly calculating through his head. He had known there would be much to do to mold Selenitas into a proper weyr, and he certainly had his work cut out for him. Things were still settling down, and in time ( a resource they didn't have in plenty ) it'd work out.

His hair was tied back, a few rogue strands of brown-red falling loose after the recent wing drills to curl lazily just short of his jawline. He tugged off his gloves and loosened the front of his riding jacket as he went. The long stride taking him on a path to Kaegan's weyr. It was the first decent amount of time he had been able to spare. Before he had been giving the woman her personal space since after Millienth's flight. The gold's former glow had been the key reason he had pushed for the take-over on such short notice upon arriving at Wasteland. Ever since..

Ja'kin dismissed the wandering thought as he came up to the closed door. A flickering of light under the door and the sound of Kai's voice from inside let him know Kaegan would be present. Might have been more proper to prod Demotaeth to pass a message through Millieth that he would be arriving - but he couldn't be so sure if she might try to leave before he got there, and have time to firmly put up her guard. Ja'kin had his reasons for stopping by un-announced.

Raising a hand, Ja'kin firmly knocked on the wood and waited for a response.

[Tashe]

"Here Kai. Mr. Fish is all better now." Kaegan used her teeth to cut the thread and then tied the stitching off. Kai gave her a broad smile and hugged his fish, it was one of his favorites because he had picked it out with his friend Riaren. Sitting up slowly so that the feline on her back slid off, she grabbed the white male before he could scamper off and held him to her chest. She scratched beneath the feline's ears for a moment but let him go when he indicated he wanted down. As Scara lept onto the back of the chair to lounge Dash grumbled something to her about there being a knock on the door. Curious she rocked to her feet. The Weyrwoman hadn't had many visitors as of late... perhaps it was her headcook come to finally tell her how the stores of food looked for the coming winter. She had promised to tell her as soon as possible, since Kaegan had inquired when they were rather busy making the day's noon-meal. She paced over to the door.

Kai looked up at his mom when she stood , watching as she went around the couch and disappeared from sight. Tucking his bronze, stuffed firelizard under his arm, the toddler climbed up onto the couch and stood so he could peer over it's back. Had somebody come to play? He wanted it to be one of his friend, but his mommy hadn't said anything about someone coming to play. Maybe he forgot? Petting his cat on the back, gently because thats what mommy always told him to do, Kai hugged his toy to him with his other hand.

"I'm coming." She flicked a piece of lint off of her pants and opened the door, only noticing who it was when the door was already past the halfway point. Startled, her eyebrows shot into her bangs. It was Ja'kin. Apparently there had to be some kind of magic when it came to thinking his name in conjunction with the Weyr. Neither she nor Millieth had known he was going to stop by, so they both shared in the surprise. The whole reason she had decided to go see Ja'kin was because they had been avoiding each other since Millieth was caught, but here he was, literally standing on her doorstep. "Well, this is... unexpected." Kaegan stepped back so that there was enough room for the Bronzerider to enter. "Come in... I was just about to make tea. Take a seat where ever you want, if you wish to sit." Oh, she still had a strong aversion to the man but since he had so far kept the promises he made her, being polite was the least she could do.

When Kai saw who was at the door he ducked his head a little lower behind the back of the couch, so that he could only just see over it. Well, it wasn't one of his friends thats for sure. But he remembered that man and he knew his mommy wasn't really fond of him. Walking to the end of the couch he sat down with his legs stuck out in front of him, making his little dragon bounce around as if it were walking. Kai was distracted when Azaran fluttered down beside him and crawled into his lap wanting to be scratched. Happily, the toddler rubbed a finger along the Bronze's eyeridge, just like he'd been shown. He loved Azzie, yes he did.

[rii]

The surprised look didn't immediately shift into a glare, she even invited him inside with a gesture before he felt the need to ask permission - and if denied ignored the respectful use of manners all together. Things were only as difficult as people made it. Easier methods were always preferred, but on pure principle people were, without a doubt, stubborn. He bowed his head toward her as he stepped in, voicing a quiet 'thank you' as he passed.

"Tea would be nice," He replied, taking in the room with a sweeping gaze. Felines, canine, flitters, and - of course - Kai peeking at him from over the top of the couch. He spied the toys on the floor beyond in front of the fire. Strange, Ja'kin thought to himself, the jungle weather was stifling already. A wry smile crossed his lips as he approached the table, removing his riding jacket in the process. The heat was the one thing he had forgotten to factor in to all his plans. "I hope you aren't too busy."

Clearly she had been in the middle of something - playing with her son if he had to make a guess. "Hungry?" He asked, taking the package from under his arm and setting on the table, moving to drap his jacket over the back of the chair. He hadn't eaten since that morning, but since he had brought food with him, might as well offer. A half-glance went to the child in faint questioning. Ja'kin knew better than to approach the child. Likely if he did, the kid would shrink back afraid, then he'd have a motherly Kaegan growling at him. He'd wait for the kid to get curious enough to approach him, if he ever did. Oh the delicate balances..

"I don't believe we've had an actual chance to sit and talk." And she should have had enough time to calm down, or so he reasoned. Running off of emotions tended to make people highly irrational creatures. "So when you're ready.. " Ja'kin let the words trail and sat at the table, half turned out to keep a curious watch on the room. His eyes lingered on the solemn canine, absently tilting his head at it.

[Tashe]

He passed through and she shut the door behind him, heading back over to the hearth where the kettle was starting to whistle. Kaegan ruffled her son's hair as she passed by him but didn't stop, instead grabbing the thick pad she used to swing the metal hook out of the fire. Once she had kettle in hand the Weyrwoman placed it on the table, using a holder so it wouldn't burn the wood from contact. "No, not really. Just playing healer on my son's stuffed fish." Crossing to the bookshelves that flanked the fireplace she reached up and rummaged around for a moment, coming away two teacups and four small tins of tea. "No thank you, we already ate." Transferring the items she had in her hands onto the table, she slid a tea cup in front of Ja'kin before pointing at each of the tins in turn. "Hazelnut, Raspberry, and Peppermint. This is sugar." She poured water into the cups but left it up to the Bronzerider to choose his tea.

Once more back to the fire but this time to douse the flames, having only lit it to heat the water for her tea. The Weyrwoman glanced over at Ja'kin when he spoke again, dusting her hands off on her sleeping pants she paused by Kai and bent down to listen. "Oh... alright. Azzie scoot." Shooing her Flitter off of her Son's lap, Kaegan picked him up and balanced the boy on her hip. Azaran immediately took to the air circling once above his Human before landing on the edge of Kai's small bed, curling up on the boy's pillow with a disgruntled cheep.

Sitting down on the opposite side of the table's corner, she positioned herself so that Kai could sit comfortably on her lap. He wanted to have some tea too even if the man was so close by. Kaegan noticed what the new Weyrleader was looking at and busied herself with dropping a packet of Hazel into her water. "That is Soleil. His owner was killed so I took him in... she wanted it that way." Saraina had asked her a long time ago to take care of the male if anything happened to her. Kaegan had always wanted another canine, her old dog was back at Lemos with her parents, but the circumstances were just depressing. Sitting back against the chair, she sighed before glancing at Ja'kin. "So then... lets talk."

Wiggling until he found the most comfortable position, Kai watched the teacup for a minute before inquiring, "Have some?" "No not yet, its hot. It has to cool down." He made a noise that tread the line between impatience and disappointment. He wanted to have some now but he also remembered what hot felt like. It didn't feel very good at all. Pouting he turned his doe brown eyes onto the Bronzerider, fixing him with a solemn stare. It wasn't long before the gaze turned from that to a wary curiosity. Eventually he trust his toy out for the man to see. "This is Pii. I Kai. Who'er you?" Past his stuffed dragon he spied the bag on the table. "What that?"

"Sorry, he's in the 'why this, whats that' phase..."

[rii]

The family he had stayed with had dogs; bred and trained them to be precise. They preferred the breeds that excelled at herding beasts, but a few of them had been trained to hunt. He had been shown the craft, with various beasts, but he had always enjoyed dogs the most. Such blindly devoted creatures that just wanted for all the world to please someone for even the smallest rewarding pat on the head. Ja'kin might have asked more about the canine, but he suspected the owner was dead because of his actions if Kaegan's weighted sigh meant anything. The take-over was meant to be quick enough, the surrender swift, that the deaths would be minimal or none at all. In the end though, it was he who have given instruction to the men that if a peaceful conclusion wasn't possible, to value their own lives. Some of his people had died too, and they had only been following orders - a hope.

Ja'kin took interest in the tins, drawing them closer to his side of the table to open them one at a time to visual inspect the contents and give them each a curious sniff. While the north had better wine, the south certain had the better materials to make better tea mixtures. While, yes, Ja'kin had said they should talk, he had assumed she had questions for him - or demands for certain arrangements. Kai's interruption, though, took the place of her withheld questions.

Sparing a smile at her - no need to apologize - Ja'kin slid the package over to be within Kai's reach. Inside would be no more than a pair of small sandwiches with slices fruit on the side. "Hello Pii, Kai. I'm Ja'kin, and that is.. well you can open it and see."

Selecting the tin of hazelnut, Ja'kin fixed himself a cup before leaning back in his seat. "I've been going through the records, and I've noticed that there is little to no mention of your in the actual duties of the weyr. I'm curious about what you use to do, and what you would like to do now."

[Tashe]

Kai, looking up at his mother, made a gesture with his hands asking her permission to look. When he got it the toddler put his stuffed dragon on the table and grabbed the bag, pulling it toward him carefully so not to mess up anything inside of it. With the most serious face he inspected the contents before nodding with a comment of, "Sammiches." He did his best to re roll the top of the bag though he ended up doing nothing more than folding the top twice, Kai pushed the bag back across the table and left it where ever his little arms would reach. Bouncing a foot against his Kaegan’s leg, the boy settled back against her chest, toy now reoccupying his arms. "You hungry? I had fisssh. Was good, it was."

As her son explored the bag of food, the Weyrwoman tasted her tea, finding it still too hot for Kai. She of course could sip it with no problem, but her mouth was not as sensitive as the boy's. Not wanting to accidentally splosh some of the liquid on him, the cup went back on the saucer when Kai leaned back against her. "I don’t suppose I've had the records pertaining to the basics of that updated since the disbanding of the Queen's Wing. I should look into that." Resting her back against her chair, Kaegan looped an arm around Kai so he didn't fall off her lap, he tended to wiggle and he'd done it before so she was used to taking the extra precaution. It was also reassuring to have him so close to her. "Well, when S'rei took over again, we sat down and basically divided the Weyr duties into two different categories. Domestic and Military. The Weyrleader, his Weyrsecond, and his Wingleaders took care of all that had to do with the safety of the Weyr, the War, and most of the intercontinental politics. While myself and my Goldriders took care of everything that pertained to Selenitas, making sure it ran smoothly." Running a hand through Kai’s curly mop, she continued. "I personally dealt with all of the requisitions for supplies that came from our various occupants in the Weyr, making sure we have what we need so we weren't short on anything. This all includes keeping track of Selenitas's supply of Marks and whether or not we can dip into those funds or encourage our residents to help pay for whatever it is. I believe all of the finance records are up to date."

Kaegan paused as she thought for a moment, she really did so much that she hardly ever took time to stop and think about it. "Jointly with S'rei I helped deal with political situations with our Holds and worked with the Tithing that we receive from them. Construction of new homes or enhancements to the Weyr fall under my jurisdiction as well, I oversee their progress until we are happy with the outcome. Ah, and I also train Weyrling Goldriders about what they will be doing after graduation." Her eyes flicked away from Ja'kin and onto Kai who was now just staring at the Bronzerider. "So basically, everything and anything that has to directly do with making this Weyr a home. Anything that had to do with Wings, Military or the War fell to S'rei and his crew to deal with. Though our Leading council put various things to vote between the four of us, usually things on joint ruling matters -such as the Weyrlings- or whatever someone brought up in the meetings." Taking a sip of her tea she offered it to Kai before drinking some more. "I almost forgot the Wherhandlers. I dealt with the final reports on the Minekeeper's progress. Everything else on the Night Sentinel fell to the Leading council or their own administrative branch to deal with."

Rubbing her chin, she sighed slightly. With Savitri… dead, and her youngest Goldrider missing she was in a rut of trouble when it came down to it. "I suppose that now, since both of my Goldriders are gone, I should see about hiring a new Headwoman. Haven't had one since Shmee's old one passed away." Taking another sip of her tea, she pushed on. "I'd prefer to keep on about my duties in all their authority, perhaps that will help bring a sense of normalcy back to the people. If the Weyrfolk see me bustling about as usual it might bring them a little piece of mind." She put her tea cup down. "Although, I propose we keep the Leading council for discussion purposes. I would like to keep my voice in matters outside of my duties, even though it would count as only advisement in those circumstances. It would be helpful for you, I believe, to have a fresh view. My knowledge of the southern continent, locally or otherwise, could be an asset." Now for her people. "Probably it would help with the swifter unification of our people." She shrugged slightly. “Selentiasians and Wastelanders have varying degrees of codes and doctrines. We seek pacifism, only deviating from that because we have been forced to. We have a conglomeration of people from all over Pern, be it ex-Northern Riders or people born and bred here in the South, but we’re all drawn together by our shared hope to be away from the War and all its details." Resting the side of her head on her palm, Kaegan looked over the top of her son and at Ja’kin fully. "It will be hardest for my Riders to come half way to meet our newest occupants. And because the health of this Weyr falls or fell under my duties, I want to help in anyway I can smooth the process over, although I hold no love of it. A divided Weyr will not work, and a non-working Weyr is a dead one. That is something I cannot allow to happen."