Today Is a Winding Road (Ka'rys)

[kysseh]

Why the hallways seemed so quiet that afternoon was beyond Savitri’s comprehension. It was eerie to hear the quiet sounds of her own footfalls, the rustle of her skirt hem around her ankles as she padded along the corridors in the cliff. Usually, the stone walls felt comforting and safe. Today… today, they were a prison. She was unsure where she was even going for the moment. The infirmary was far, far behind her, her shift and overtime long since done. She really should have headed straight back to her weyr to check on her gravid mindmate and then collected her girls from the crèche, but her feet were taking her elsewhere, it seemed, while her mind went to strange, sad places.

I am fine. You need not check on me. Hepaticath gently inserted into her mind, the gold obviously picking at the threads of thought that floated through Savitri’s head. The loss of the annoying green firelizard had thrown Hers’ mind into chaos, and the result was that the gold found it easier to pick up whatever happened to be on the woman’s mind at the moment. Her guards were down, but Hepaticath did not find it unpleasant. Now she could speak to Hers at will and provide comfort that few others could. Go get your hatchlings, perhaps. You are wandering, SavitriMine. The gold was suddenly concerned, peeking through Savitri’s eyes to see where the woman was headed. That was nowhere near the hatchling-place.

The voice in her head did not disturb Savitri very much, the goldrider almost idly rubbing at her arm as she sent a grateful thought to the way of her dragon. Yes, she knew she was wondering. Funnily enough, it did not bother her much that she was off course as it did that she felt locked in by the walls around her. Perhaps it was stress, she thought. Stress over the wounded, over watching a girl die in front of her… yes, stress. That was it.

Her feet had a destination, it seemed, for the fingertips that she dragged childishly along the wall suddenly hit a doorframe. The goldrider started in surprise, jerked from her musings by the reality that she was not meandering down an endless stone corridor. Her green eyes were wide, surprised as she turned and regarded the door. Oh. She knew this door. But he wasn’t here, was he? He was probably out building things again, being productive in a way that she distinctly was not. Only one way to tell.

Her knuckles rapped softly on the door just before she opened it, peeking inside with a caution that was distinctly unnatural for those who knew her well enough to understand her forward nature. Maybe he didn’t want to see her. He was busy. “Rys…? Can… I come in?” She didn’t want to look at the stone walls anymore.

[glamourie]

“Well, you could, except I’m not in there.”

The answer came from the hallway behind Savitri. Daytime hours were usually reserved for building things up on the clifftops, but building had its limitations: once he ran out of supplies, he usually went back to his office to make notes of what he was taking, gathered more from the storage area, and went right back to work. He was in the middle of that process, and more than a little surprised to find his… weyrmate? Technically? … standing outside of his office. He wasn’t really sure what she was doing there (if she needed him, surely Hepaticath had no problems nudging Ciceroth to let him know), and from the way that she looked, Ka’rys wasn’t sure that Savitri knew, either. His statement was sincere, though. He didn’t keep his office locked, as there was nothing in that particular room worth hiding, and he was of the opinion that if the woman was his weyrmate before, he probably didn’t have very much worth hiding from her in general. He’d obviously trusted her and if he could trust nothing else, he had to have faith in his own judgment. And he liked her on a personal level, in the sense that she was one of the few people he’d found he could talk to and not feel awkward. Fond of her, he was. She was welcome to wander in his office any time.

Though, her talking suggested she thought he was inside. The bronzerider looked Savitri over questioningly for a moment before walking over to the door and pushing it open. She looked… lost. More than a little out of it. He was actually worried, though voicing that was something he found difficult. She’d lost her firelizard – he remembered that distinctly and still felt quite bad for it, even though there was nothing he could do. He didn’t know what it felt like to lose a pet – but the idea of losing either of his was unnerving. Not that they really affected him that much, especially in comparison to Ciceroth, but… it was weird nonetheless. Being who he was, Ka’rys’s concern didn’t reach his face, but as he stepped into the office (carrying a handsaw – which had to look odd), he gestured for Savitri to follow (there was a chair she could occupy if she wanted to sit) without looking. He didn’t think she’d wander off.

“I thought your shift ended awhile ago. I’m surprised you’re not with the girls,” he said without looking at her. He’d probably have gone to visit them himself, if not for the fact that he was determined to finish rebuilding the main hall tables before the week was out. That meant visiting in the morning before drills, after lunch, and then eating with them – he was very insistent on the last point. Kale usually came up to help him with building, when she wasn’t busily trying to tune that handharp she’d filched from R’wign. He was rarely bored. During the daytime, he figured that Savitri spent her nonworking hours with the children. She seemed very insistent on being around them a lot – which made him glad he’d suggested bringing them back in the first place. It seemed to help, some… he just wasn’t sure how else to go about helping. “You should sit down. You look pretty pale, Savitri. Were you looking for me for something?”

Tossing the handsaw aimlessly to the corner of the room, Ka’rys leapt over the top of his desk (in a surprising show of agility) and dropped to his knees behind it. He immediately yanked open the bottom drawer and started shuffling through it. Despite his behavior, he was not ignoring her in any way. He just trusted Savitri to understand that he was good enough at talking and acting that he could do both at once. Multitasking was not a skill beyond his capabilities.

“I’m usually up on the clifftops around now – need three more tables, then we should be good. I’m surprised you’re not helping that Kaegan woman with rebuilding the Main Hall though – were you just trusting her judgment? I don’t.” He didn’t trust anyone from Benden. That was irrelevant. “Trust yours more, personally and – I have lost my blueprints. How did I lose my blueprints?”

[kysseh]

A strangled shriek was muffled by the hand that Savitri slapped over her own mouth, spinning around in a whirl of skirt to face her… weyrmate?... where he stood behind her. Her eyes were wide with shock, her brain working quickly to process the fact that Ka’rys was not in there but out here. He… but… office… how…

“S-s-sorry…thought you were in there.” Her voice sounded a bit small, even to her own ears. Her hand slipped from her mouth to rub idly at her chest, feeling her racing heartbeat there and in her ears. That had been an unpleasant surprise, and the goldrider flushed in embarrassment, flicking her gaze downwards to avoid displaying that shame to the bronzerider. Caught off-guard, she was. So much for being observant. With her gaze directed downward, she saw the handsaw before the bronzerider even got close to push open the door, her brow furrowing in mild confusion. Why was he bringing a saw to his office?

At his gesture, she padded quietly inside, her arms wrapped around her torso. It seemed like the safest place to put them for the moment, especially considering her current state of strung-out nerves. It was ever so comforting to see him, even if he had nearly scared ten Turns off her life. “It… it did. I meant to go get them from the crèche, but I just… sort of…” she muttered in explanation, shrugging both shoulders and shaking her head in a way that suggested she certainly had no idea what was going on. “I just started walking, and this… is where I ended up.” A stray lock of hair was tucked neatly behind her ear, too short to join the rest of its kin in the knot at the base of the goldrider’s skull. The very picture of workplace efficiency, she was, if her expression was disregarded.

Her gaze tracked his motions over the desk, her mind aimlessly wondering about the movements of muscles to perform such a feat. His concern for her health seemed genuine, and she managed a flicker of a smile for him. “I’m not sick, Rys. I wasn’t looking for you, but… my feet sort of brought me here, so I guess I wanted to see you.” Why she did was unclear. Things were different now. Technically her weyrmate or not… no, not. He liked her, but he didn’t-

“I don’t like Kaegan much. I have my work to do in the infirmary, and she’s the senior weyrwoman. I offer advice when it’s needed, but that’s all,” the young woman said quietly, watching his search efforts. She approached his desk and leaned over it, one hand extending to tap the front of a different drawer. “Try this one. And… I figured the weyrleader would ask if he wanted our input. He is the expert, not Kaegan or I. Glad to know you trust my judgment, though.” Glad, indeed, even if it seemed somewhat unimportant for the moment.

[glamourie]

Wow. She sounded… stunned. He hadn’t meant to scare her. That startled noise was rather cute, in a sad, almost pathetic sort of way; part of him felt guilty, but most of him was amused at Savitri’s expense, which he knew wasn’t very nice (but then, Ka’rys rarely was). She sounded so… yes, startled. Had she really expected him to be in his office in the middle of the day? He’d been rebuilding obsessively for some time, it wasn’t a change in behavior anymore… part of him was actually concerned. That she was that disconnected from reality was a matter of great worry to him and he mentally brushed Ciceroth, silently prodding the dragon to inquire as to Savitri’s state from Hepaticath. Perhaps the gold could offer a clue as to how to proceed. It was awkward to not know how to communicate with his own… weyrmate. She was the strangest one, in terms of lack of memory, to deal with. Weird fluttery feelings were hard to get used to. He wasn’t sure that he ever would.

“I see.” He wanted to tell her not to apologize to him – that he didn’t need an apology for something as silly as her talking to the door of his office (why would anyone apologize for that?). The topic seemed to have moved on, though, and the last thing he wanted was to keep making her feel awkward by discussing it at length. The bronzerider therefore decided to let it lie; if it came up again he’d point out that apologies for ridiculous things were unnecessary. His memory (heh) was pretty good when he wasn’t being bashed in the head. “You’re obviously not well if you’re wandering and don’t know where you’re going, you know. And continually telling yourself that you are isn’t doing anyone any good, especially not you. You just lost something attached to your mind – it’s not easy, I’m sure. I can’t imagine it and don’t particularly want to try. Why do you feel you have to pretend to be totally fine? Maybe with others you do, but you don’t with me. It’s not like I don’t see right through you anyway, and pretending gets exhausting after awhile.”

Expert… what…

Ka’rys moved to check the drawer that Savitri indicated and offered her a grateful flicker of a smile that lasted all of about two seconds before he delved into the contents. Moving around the neatly organized papers and records, scrolls and objects, he located a wound up parchment that he recognized and pulled it out quickly to find that it was, indeed, the blueprints that he’d been looking for. But as he was unfolding it, Savitri was talking, and his face was very quickly becoming disbelieving. She had it so backwards, did she even realize – Selenitas was so weird when it came to things –

“S’rei is not an expert on the Weyr layout, and he isn’t supposed to be. The Weyrwomen are the ones who should be in charge of that, and to my knowledge Kaegan was leading the rebuilding project. S’rei’s only necessary contribution is to offer input on whether or not the location and layout is easily protected, and I’m sure he’s done that. Overseeing the construction, making sure it’s functional and that all the workers are fed, given proper treatment and hospitality, and are happy working with the Weyr… that is the job of the Weyrwomen. And that’s something you should be involved in, if the infirmary isn’t taking up all your time anyway. I don’t envy you having all those responsibilities. I have enough issues with trying to organize my one wing and avoid the Weyrleader like the plague.” Not that S’rei ever sought him out. They were hardly friends. Just the same, he was still very angry about being forced into an awkward and uncomfortable situation, and he was holding a silent grudge in protest. “And thank you. I’d have never thought to look in that drawer.”

How long has Yours been aimlessly wandering? Though there was no greeting attached, Ciceroth’s affection for Hepaticath was obvious in his question. The bronze was perched on top of the hatching grounds as if he owned the place, ‘overseeing’ the construction stubbornly. Rysmine is worried. He says that she is pale. Is there anything that we can do to help?

[kysseh]

Not very long, I do not think. She stayed longer than she was supposed to at the infirmary, getting work done. was Hepaticath’s thoughtful reply to her mate, replying to his obviously affectionate tone with one of her own. The queen did not need fancy words to let her bronze know that he was hers and that she cared. The queen shifted restlessly on her ledge, wishing she could go fetch Hers back for a swift cuddle. I am glad RysYours found her; I worry too. She is eating and doing all of her work like she should, though she sleeps on my couch with me, but it is not like her to… wander. She is happy to be near Yours, though, so that is helping. The gold noted that fact with no small amount of relief. SavitriHers was notoriously sensitive about the issue of Ciceroth’s.

It would have been a lecture coming from anyone but Ka’rys. Even coming from her (former?) weyrmate, it should probably have come across that way, but Savitri could only hear his concern. It was startling how much more open Ka’rys was now, and though she wished he had not been hurt and had so much time erased from his mind, she would have been hardpressed to express displeasure over his newfound talkative tendencies. Her own smile flickered in response to his own, gaze following his motions to search the drawer for his quarry. “No… I’m not fine. I don’t like showing people that,” she confessed quietly, her eyes downcast for a moment before refocusing on his face.

Wait… what?

“Oh…” she said lamely, feeling her neck flush slightly with guilt that she had been largely removed from the construction project. True, she had helped enough with the organization when it had been asked of her, but Kaegan seemed to have the project well in hand. “I suppose… I should be focused more on that, then.” Obviously, she would have to be. Knowing what was going on was apparently not enough. Shardblast it. She didn’t want to spend any time with her senior counterpart, and Ka’rys seemed to be of a similar opinion with his. Criticizing or questioning him would have made her a hypocrite, so she kept her mouth shut, instead idly toying with one of her earrings to distract herself from the sad direction of her own thoughts.

His gratitude was met with a single-shouldered shrug. “Instinct, but… you’re welcome.” Her hands now clasped in front of her, each nervously attempting to strangle the life out of the other. Fidgety hands. Anxious hands. He had his blueprints now, so was he leaving? He was probably leaving, though she didn’t want him to. She was tired of being alone and hating Fort for taking her Ras away. She wanted to be near him, despite the fact that things seemed to be at a point where they would not resume between them. It left a bitter taste on her tongue. “I should… let you get back to work. You’re busy,” was what eventually came from her mouth. “I have to…” What did she have to do again? She had forgotten. “… oh, the girls. They’re… I need to get them.”

Somehow, though, she couldn’t make her feet move towards the door, and her head hung in obvious defeat. “I miss her. Stupid… annoying… loud green… brat.” It couldn’t have possibly been a more embarrassing situation, she thought glumly, except if she was crying. The sting of tears in her eyes negated that thought. Too late. She already was.

[glamourie]

“Does anyone?” The question was more a voice of thought/half an observation than an actual inquiry. He didn’t think there was a single person on Pern who liked showing weakness for others to see, but sometimes it was necessary: bottling emotions rarely ended well. That was why finding one or two people to show emotions was a healthy response. He didn’t think Savitri needed to be told that, though. She was an intelligent young woman and probably better with people than he was; Ka’rys tended to be very socially awkward at the best of times (and downright bitchy at the worst, a fact he was well-aware of). Part of him felt like she should’ve been comfortable with him, though. They were weyrmates before, weren’t they? Just because he didn’t remember her did not mean that Ka’rys was going to mistreat her or hold any weakness against her. Likely he wouldn’t have even held it against someone he didn’t dislike: Ka’rys was, despite all appearances, quite sympathetic to the prospect of losing someone’s mindmate. He’d known enough dragonless slaves at Fort – been there for the creation of the slave trade, in fact – that he didn’t think it fair to be biased. And Savitri obviously cared for the little flitter, even if he’d thought her quite annoying.

The fact that she acted so firmly slapped any time he spoke was enough to bother him, though. Ka’rys wasn’t someone who typically censored what he said when he actually bothered to speak, but he also wasn’t used to people seeming to take it quite so personally. Savitri sounded genuinely upset that he was explaining something (he wasn’t mad – did she think he was?) and for a split second he felt guilty before his mind – an ever pleasantly arrogant thing – justified himself: he did nothing wrong. It wasn’t his fault if she was hyper-sensitive; he wasn’t trying to make her feel bad and if, after Turns of knowing him, she didn’t know that yet, that wasn’t his problem at all. Or so he kept telling himself with the hopes of the awkward tension fading soon.

“I’m just building tables, Savitri, it’s not like I’m inventing some kind of new science. You’re welcome to tag along. Actually, I could use your help with something if you’re free?”

He didn’t comment on the subject of Ras – it was very obviously upsetting for her. He also didn’t comment on what he knew to be an idle remark, more bent out of discomfort than actual desire. The twins weren’t going anywhere and they could handle another ten to fifteen minutes in the crèche if Savitri was that worked up – and Savitri surely knew that. He’d gotten to know some of the crèche workers, and they were good at their job. He didn’t usually trust people with his kids but he was having to learn to do so – and so was Savitri. The girls would be fine. And Savitri very clearly needed something to occupy her mind. He had just the thing, even if it was kind of awkward.

“I asked R’wign but he’s not very good at explaining things relating to fishing and sailors – sensitive subject, I’m guessing. But you’re from Southern and I think you could show me more efficiently. I’ve got, um…” Digging in the bottom drawer of his desk, Ka’rys removed a long string of robe, thick and well-made. It was coiled neatly and he set it on the top of his desk before indicating it. “I need to know how to tie a sailor’s knot. You know, the difficult to untie ones. Can you show me slowly how it’s done? I’d appreciate it very much.” He wasn’t sure if that was too forward, but maybe distracting herself tying knots would help calm Savitri down. He found mundane, mind-numbing tasks useful when he was stressed, anyway. “And then I need to know the fastest way to untie one. I’m just a bundling of questions today it seems.”

Well, Rysmine will distract her for a time. He needed her help with something anyway. The bronze crooned, though it was unlikely that Hepaticath could hear it, and relaxed. At least things were working out okay.

[kysseh]

It sounded like a rhetorical question, so Savitri willingly left it that way, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards in a tremulous sort of smile. He was right. No one liked to display weakness. She simply hated it even more, given that people were supposed to be able to look to her for strength and leadership. Most of the time, she did not mind it so much. It would have been nice, however, she acknowledged with some reluctance, to be able to be that way around Ka’rys without feeling guilty. He wasn’t her weyrmate anymore, though. Anymore? Or… yet. She wasn’t sure.

“I’d like to help you with the tables sometime. I don’t know anything about woodworking, but… it looks… interesting,” she admitted, shrugging her unoccupied shoulder. “If nothing else, I could dig splinters out of your hands.” It sounded a great deal better than aimless wandering or studying unnecessarily in the lonely silence of her weyr when the infirmary and the weyr and her children did not need her. She sniffed once, scrubbing the back of her hand over her eyes for a brief moment before the tears were done. The sadness was shoved away somewhere else to be dealt with on another occasion. This would keep her busy for now. “The girls… they’ll be fine for a bit in the crèche. This is about their naptime anyway. I’m free now.” Free and desperate to be occupied, which she assumed was obvious. No need to hide it, then.

The strap of her bag was removed from her shoulder, the heavy carrying case lowered to the chair that he had set out for her. That made it impossible for her to sit in that chair, but she cared little for that, moving closer to his desk to investigate just what it was that he wanted her help with. Fishing? Sailing? Southern? “I spent a lot of time on boats, if that’s what you’re asking. Not much… just enough to be useful on the rare occasion they needed someone with healing skills for a long trip,” she admitted, resting both hands on her desk and leaning over to see what he was rustling around for. She hoped it was nothing technical or detailed. Her memories of holdlife were good but far from detailed.

It surprised her to see the coil of rope deposited on his desk just in front of her fingertips, and she stared at it for a brief moment before his question sunk in. Knots? Just… knots? Oh. Those were easy. Her fingers immediately went for the ends of the long rope, uncoiling the mass just enough to get a good two armlengths of rope from dangling from the end held in each hand. The rest could remain coiled. She wouldn’t need it. They would, however, need to be side-by-side for her to show him properly. Her gaze travelled from the rope to his desk and then down to her skirt, an amused sort of smile that just barely touched her eyes gracing her face as she looked back up at the bronzerider. “I’m not doing what you did… hopping over the desk in a skirt. You’ll want to come around next to me, or you’ll be trying to learn in reverse.”

Her smile turned shy as she focused again on the rope, quickly looping the ends in a knot that she pulled tightly to her satisfaction before untying it again. Ahhh, so she did remember, even if it was a bit rusty. She tried again, her gaze momentarily flicking to Ka’rys again. “I don’t mind your questions. I like them. It’s nice… talking to you.” Satisfied with her own memory, she untied the knot and held the two ends of the rope. “All right… I’ll try to do it slow. First… loop the end in the left hand around itself so that the loose end is crossed over on top. Hold it at that crossing point and… take the other end and loop it behind and under the top strand coming off the loop. Bring it over the bottom, the loose strand, and then pull it up through the loop. Crosses over the strand that you just passed on top of the loop to go around… and then goes back down through and to the outside of the loop. It’s hard to… explain,” she said somewhat lamely, slowly tying the knot as she talked him through the process. “Want me to explain again?”

[glamourie]

“You’re welcome to come. It’s quite boring though; I don’t think you’ll enjoy it too much.” Woodworking wasn’t really the most exciting of crafts. Certainly not as ‘exciting’ as healing, though he supposed it depended on what one was looking for in a craft. A lot less disappointment in woodworking. He found it relaxing just because it required so little brainpower to pull off successfully. After planning drills, training with Ciceroth and being paranoid all day, woodworking was an excellently therapeutic pastime. It had very satisfying final results. Creation rather than destruction. Ka’rys liked to keep himself occupied, feeling like he was making a difference in some way. Maybe that was strange? Or maybe it was the most normal thing that Ka’rys ever did. Either way, he didn’t comment. If Savitri wanted to stand around and watch him sand and cut wood, that was her prerogative but unless she liked getting covered in sawdust, she’d probably find it boring: he very rarely spoke much when he was in the middle of working. While he could do both at once, he found multitasking troublesome.

Her suggestion for him to come look at her progress over her shoulder was followed without question, and he pushed his chair in neatly behind him out of habit. Not quite touching, he leaned forward to watch her movements with a silent, critical eye. Not judging her, no – Ka’rys was busy trying to memorize it perfectly. It was going to be important for drills since he planned, quite literally, to tie his entire wing up and time them on how fast they could get themselves untied. The goal would be for them to beat their record every week. Ka’rys nodded at her explanation before taking the rope and reversing it to untie it quickly and efficiently; the entire process took him about a minute. Granted, it would be harder with his hands behind his back, but he was getting ridiculously fast at untying knots – something he took great pride in.

“No, I think I’ve got it now. Is this the fastest way to untie it? Or is there a more efficient way?” He mimicked her movements quickly enough, retying her knot – it wasn’t quite as elegant but it worked just the same. Holding the rope out to her, Ka’rys cocked his head to the side. Hopefully his questions were distracting her from her brooding, as was his goal. He didn’t want to admit it but seeing Savitri so obviously distressed bothered him a lot, especially when there was little to nothing that he could do to fix it for her. He’d told her she could talk to him if she wanted – that was about the most that Ka’rys could fairly offer without lying. He wasn’t the best shoulder to cry on, being a mostly unemotional sort himself, but he could listen if she needed to vent to someone who wouldn’t judge her on it. He didn’t have anything to judge against. “I’m trying to figure out the best way to untie them if, say, your hands were tied behind your back. It’s for drills.”

She officially knew more about what he was going to do for his first set of drills than anyone else – although that stemmed from Savitri not knowing anyone currently on his wing, save perhaps E’rro. He didn’t trust a certain healer to not go blabbing to his weyrmate, and Ka’rys wanted drills to be mostly surprising. He needed to be able to judge people’s skill fairly, and the only way he could do that was by putting them all on even footing. That meant no squealing. Though, R’wign probably had guessed after he asked for a few vials of poison, what it was all for… Kind of funny how the healer didn’t ask questions most of the time. Well-trained, that one.

[kysseh]

“I teach you knots; you teach me woodworking. It seems fair enough. I need a more active hobby than sewing.” Boring for some, maybe, but Savitri liked to learn new things. In any case, it would keep her from dwelling on unpleasant things, so she was happy to learn anything that kept her occupied. Ka’rys was a most pleasant distraction as it was, and she flicked him a sideways glance, letting the corner of her mouth nearest him curl upwards into a wry sort of half-smile. Clever man.

His proximity did funny things to her. The pain that used to come with seeing him and the knowledge that things were not and could never be the same… that had largely vanished, replaced mostly by curiosity and no small amount of enthusiasm for his presence. Even his silence was welcome, so long as it was not accompanied by a scathing sort of look. She let him take the rope, watching him reverse her motions to untie the knot. He was quite good already, it seemed, and she wasn’t sure whether to feel smug at his quick learning or throw her hands up in frustration at the fact that he didn’t seem to need the instruction. The former seemed more appealing.

“You’ve got it,” she agreed, ignoring his question for the moment as she watched him re-tie the knot. It was passable and would serve its purposes. “You’ll get better with practice. And… the fastest way that I know to untie it is to loosen the loops with both hands and then thread one loose end out in the reverse of it going in. This rope isn’t very stiff, so that should be fairly easy. The stiff stuff is harder to work with.” Plucking the rope from his hands and untying his amateur knot was done in short order, ignoring the fact that one of her fingers was reddening where it rubbed hard against the rope. No blood, no bruise, no problem. It would simply be sore later.

The reason for his need to learn did not penetrate her brain for the moment, given that she was busy re-tying and the untying the knot again for her own amusement and the purpose of demonstration. Only once she had untied it and offered it back out to the bronzerider did it dawn on her what he was after. One eyebrow raised, a broader smile playing about her lips. “Probably the best way that I can think to untie it with your hands tied behind your back. I’m guessing you don’t want to warn them.” Rhetorical statement, of course. Ka’rys seemed to thrive on having the intellectual upper hand, a though which made her smirk. “Let me know how they do. Though…”

The goldrider eyed the ropes, trying to imagine them knotted around her wrists behind her. Well, that would be quite the challenge, wouldn’t it? Green eyes narrowed in consideration and then brightened, an idea decided upon. “Here… try it on me. I can probably figure out something better.” The ends of the rope were pressed into his hand, the young woman spinning around in a whirl of skirts to present her hands behind her back to him. It was Ka’rys, after all; she trusted him. And if this happened to give her another excuse to stay in good company for awhile longer, that was only secondary. He needed it for drills, after all.

[glamourie]

It surprised Ka’rys to hear that Savitri liked to sew. He wasn’t entirely sure why. Perhaps it was because she was a Weyrwoman – perhaps it was because she was southern – but whatever the reason, he found his head cocking to the side ever-so-slightly. He didn’t comment. Somehow, Ka’rys suspected that his surprise would be ill-received. It’d probably just be taken as a cruel reminder of how little that he could remember and despite all appearances, hurting the goldrider by his lack of memory wasn’t on his list of things to do. It had to be hard enough on her to know that he didn’t have all the memories she shared. (Despite that, Ka’rys felt relatively little guilt. Being a rational creature, he knew intuitively that it wasn’t his fault. While guilty feelings sometimes manifested, they were usually a result of the desire to remember more than the feeling that he ought to for her sake; Ka’rys was not nearly compassionate enough to feel bad for someone else simply because they were unhappy about something. Sad, but true.)

“I’ll start with the ones that aren’t stiff,” he said, more to himself than Savitri. Moving to stiffer rope would take place once he was sure that his wing could escape from the binds easily enough. Move upward in difficulty, scale it based on what they accomplished. Ka’rys leaned on his desk and watching the goldrider work in relative silence, memorizing her movements as if they were the most interesting thing in the world. To him, at that moment, they were. “I’ll let you know how they do, but they won’t be leaving the Drills until they accomplish it, so I expect every one of them will do fine.” He shrugged absently; it wasn’t a matter up for debate as far as he was concerned. They’d be doing it or they’d be out of a wing.

Her request made him blink twice. She wanted him to tie her up? Strange woman. He’d really planned on just practicing on himself, but since she’d brought the idea up, he wasn’t going to argue with her. Doing so seemed pointless.

So Ka’rys took the rope and eyed it for a moment before looping it around both of her wrists. Perhaps he should have been more considerate as he tightened the bindings, but he had no intentions of being considerate to his wing – he was going to make it difficult on them and since Savitri was acting as surrogate for them, he didn’t see it as fair to suddenly go easy on her. Carefully, Ka’rys tied the rope into a tight knot, considerably more efficient than his first attempt at one, and then dropped his hands to his sides. The bronzerider stepped back and cocked his head to the side, staying behind her to watch as she tried to untie the knot; how was he supposed to learn if not from that position? He wondered, for a moment, if she knew how useful such a skill would be as well… but decided not to ask. It really wasn’t any of his business.

“That should work. If it’s too tight – well, too bad. I tied it the way I plan to on my wing.” He crinkled his nose for a moment before smiling. “When you get it untied, I’d like to practice too – unless you’re on a tight schedule and need to get the girls soon…”

[kysseh]

That headtilt meant the wheels in his head were turning, but Savitri opted to not ask on this occasion. If he wasn’t telling her, he had his reasons. She let his comments pass in silence, letting herself smirk faintly in amusement at the predicament of his wingmembers. Oh, they were in for a treat, and if Ka’rys was half as good a learner in this as he was in other things, it would be a challenging and long set of Drills until they got their act together.

Her amusement was short-lived by his agreement to her request, and she craned her neck about to peer back over her shoulder at his work. The bindings were rather tight, though, and she scrunched up her face in an obvious expression of discomfort. Brain-face filter in the off-position. She blew at a stray strand of hair that dangled across her face, amused by his comments. Of course he would efficiently tie her up like this. “Too bad… I guess I’m not surprised. Glad I’m not on your wing,” she commented somewhat breathlessly, her fingers and arms wriggling and twisting relentlessly as she attempted to get her hands in the proper position to pick at the knot. In the end, she bent her elbows and contorted her fingers around to paw at the bindings. She could find that loop. Yes… yes, she could.

This would take awhile.

His mention of a ‘schedule’ sent a momentary look of upset across her face. He didn’t want her around? No, he was trying to be… considerate. “The girls are fine in the creche. They need the time away from us. The crecheworkers don’t spoil them the way we do, and Faranth, Ka’rys, you tie a good knot!” Her exclamation was followed by a huff of amusement mixed with exasperation. She had managed to flick one of the loops a bit looser, but the knot continued to be problematic. Hmph. Good learner, indeed. Her entire body wriggled and fidgeted in frustration, green eyes narrowed a bit as she glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’ll do the same for you, as soon as I get myself… freed.”

It took her what seemed like forever to manage it, squirming and grumbling and swearing all the while beneath her breath. Her profanity was a mish-mash of nasty words inherited from several sources, and Hepaticath, listening in from a distance, was wholeheartedly amused by the litany. It kept the goldrider good and busy for at least a full quarter-candlemark before, with an exultant outburst, the young woman let the rope fall to the floor from her chafed, raw wrists. “You’re lucky. I won’t let any other bronzerider tie me up,” she scolded him without the least bit of ire and a great deal of teasing. Her wrists were sore, though volunteering herself was fully her own fault. She turned to face him and grumbled down at her wrists. Painful. “So… you want a turn now? You’re sure?” Ahh, revenge.

[glamourie]

“Are you? You’d probably enjoy the type of training my wing is going to be receiving,” Ka’rys commented absently, but he wouldn’t tell her the details; he was keeping the itinerary to himself. The reason was simple: he didn’t want his wing to be able to practice in advance. Not acceptable. They needed to learn together. Eventually some would outpace others – no way to avoid that – but at least if he taught them together they only had themselves to blame. Those who were more dedicated would be able to keep up. He’d hold no hands. Savitri wasn’t on his wing for numerous reasons – first and foremost, she was a goldrider and could not afford to be in such a dangerous position, but secondary, he didn’t think her personality aptly suited. She wasn’t a fighter, no matter how much she fancied herself one. Her reaction to her firelizard’s passing was proof of that. She took it so hard… he liked her, he did, but she wasn’t capable of being on his wing. Not at all.

But he suspected she’d enjoy the lessons that Legatus was going to be undergoing. She seemed to like learning, period, though, so maybe that wasn’t an accurate comparison.

His gaze followed her movements as she wiggled and squirmed in the rope. He leaned back on his desk, half-sprawling against it in a decidedly lazy posture. His eyes narrowed slightly, a bemused look on his face as he studied her escape tactic silently. If he memorized how she escaped, he could teach it to those of his wing who displayed utter incompetence. He was expecting at least one of them to, though which he couldn’t say. (His bets were, unfortunately, on R’wign’s weyrmate… the kid seemed to have mouth issues, no doubt a result of prolonged exposure to the stubborn, annoying healer.) He listened to her explanation about the girls with a slight headbob – the only indication that he’d heard her, though he had. Her compliment made him smile.

“Had two very good teachers.” He shrugged slightly before tilting his head to the side. “I bet I’ll escape faster. I’ve been practicing for the past few days. It’s hard to tie myself up though, I’ll admit. It’s not like I bend that way properly.” He shrugged. He wasn’t particularly afraid of her tying him up, which he wouldn’t say; he needed the practice if he was going to be setting a good example, and she seemed better than asking strangers, or worse, other people he knew. He didn’t like a loss of control and being tied up was a prime example of it, though. He’d never liked that kind of thing, as far as he knew… but then, he couldn’t remember accurately. He didn’t ask, as it would be too awkward. His expression grew rapidly more amused as she squirmed and fidgeted, so uncomfortable…

… and then finally freed herself. Took her awhile though, which pleased him; his riders would probably take longer, being unfamiliar with knots. He eyed her wrists for a moment, then drew his gaze back to hers before he quirked an eyebrow playfully, “But you’d let brownriders tie you up, is that it?” It was an obvious tease, though he wondered at the meaning since she specified ‘bronzeriders.’ He wasn’t terribly put out though – he couldn’t remember her enough to feel jealous or possessive by that remark, and all his response was to be amused. He cocked his head to the side and then turned around, folding his wrists behind his back to answer her question with actions rather than words. Hopefully she was observant enough to take the hint. He didn’t like wasting time talking if it could be helped.