Western Weyr -Candidate Dorm
Carved from a natural bubble in the volcanic stone, this small dorm room has room enough to hold around two dozen occupants comfortably. Along the walls are stationed sets of cots and clothes presses, each made up to the standards of the weyrwoman. Above, the soft white light from electric lamps cast down during waking hours.
Chores are done. Dinner is done. Bath is done. And the last of those was decidedly necessary for Naeda after a day of toiling in the gardens. She comes into the dorms wrapped in two towels, one for her hair and one for her body, looking generally tired and grumpy as she slouches towards her cot.
Sorel could really use a bath about now, but he hasn't quite mustered the energy to force himself up off his cot and trudge all the way out to the hots prings to get the multitude of vomit that was dribbled on him today.. off of his skin. Perhaps it's because he's a new dad that it doesn't bother him nearly as much as it really should. Or maybe he finds it oddly comforting. Whatever the reason, he definitely doesn't look in any hurry to go and head there himself. At least he managed to scrub all that forest grime off of himself when he got back (late!) so at least he doesn't smell as badly as he did then. Although he makes no attempt to say anything to Naeda when she enters, he hasn't quite fully 'forgiven' her for the fight they had on the isle, so lately he's just been acting as if she doesn't exist. Which is, of course, very mature.
Naeda frowns a bite when she spots Sorel back in the barracks. Apparently she's the one who feels she should be doing the 'forgiving', and she hasn't just yet. "Oh. You're back." She remarks as she sits down on the edge of the cot. "… Some of us were a little worried when you didn't come back to camp." She whips the towel off her hair and grabs her brush, starting to straighten the mess.
Sorel's eyes slip closed before he rolls them up and blinks a few times. Trying to stretch them perhaps since he's feeling rather drained. Toddlers and babies just suck the life out of you! "Oh. I'm sure everyone was very worried." The sarcasm just drips away from each word before he flops onto his back to stare up at nothing in particular. He rests his bound arm (it's actually only the hand that's broken though) across his midsection. "I just wanted to enjoy a few extra days of sun and relaxation."
"Oh yeah? You were off having a party while the rest of us were struggling to endure?" Naeda frowns a bit, brush still trying to work out the tangles in her hair. She winces a little as she catches a knot. "You know, the riders came by and threw rotten meat at us. One of the little ones got hit in the head."
Sorel is not normally a douchebag, but he's gone through too much recently to be able to feel a bunch of sympathy. Is that what Naeda is fishing for? He's not sure, but he's not going to give it to her. "When was it my job to take care of everyone? It's not my fault that some of the candidates lived more pampered lives that they didn't know how to survive on a beautiful island." As to riders torturing the candidates, he just shakes his head. That doesn't sound like any rider he knows. Even Zi'on. Strange.
"Nobody asked you to take care of everyone." Naeda replies, still quite bitter. "We just asked you to pitch in and do as much work to help out as everyone else. Less, actually, since your arm was hurt. You're not going to get far in a weyr without any friends." She winches as she tries to tackle another knot in her hair.
"What's the point of helping out when I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself? Even when I only have one good arm. I'm not a team player unless there's a damn good reason to be, Naeda." Like for example, when one is on a ship and everyone has to work together to get it moving as it's supposed to. But obviously Sorel didn't think being left upon a beautiful place something that required a bunch of group effort on his part. His eyes slip closed and he laughs softly, "I've lived my life as long as I have with no friends." He replies to that last comment of hers, cracking an eyelid to peer at her.
"The /point/ is that we can be stronger together than seperately." Naeda answers with a bit of a hiss. "Did you have a shelter? Did you have fish? Meat? Fruit?" She frowns and drops the brush, crossing her arms over her chest. "Even if you were okay… what about the rest of us? You might be stuck with us for a while. You should try to make some friends."
Sorel lets that eye slide back closed. "Yes, but why, would I want to make everyone else stronger when I wanted nothing else but to be alone? You don't get it, do you? I am not here to make friends. I'm not here to be a rider. I'm here because I have issues saying no to far too perky green dragons. I didn't come to hold anyone's hand Naeda." He lays it down very bluntly for her, since she doesn't seem to get it. Doesn't seem to understand that sometimes it's just best to leave people be and let them heal however they want to heal. "Once again, I don't need friends. I don't need anyone but my family. If this pisses you off, I'm sorry, but nothing you can say will make me magically want to help you or any of the other candidates out."
Naeda raises her eyebrow slightly. "… You're not as smart as you think, Sorel. If you really were a lone wolf like you try to act like, if you really didn't care about anyone but yourself, well… you wouldn't have been upset over what happened in the first place. It shows you care." She pulls her legs up onto her cot, folding them under herself. "You don't have to be a candidate, you know. You can leave. It'd probably make things a lot easier for you. You could be with Kit again. But something makes you stay."
"When did I ever a) say I was smart and b) say I didn't care?" Sorel is shaking his head, sighing in irritation at the route this conversation is going. "I'm here because my brother and Kit won't let me quit. They, for some reason, think being a rider would be good for me and refuse to let me step down. Ila's already threatened harm if I try. So no, I can't just leave. So I will finish this off, but it doesn't mean I will be happy about it and nor does it mean I'm here to be friends." He finally pushes up off his cot, glancing towards her. "I don't see why you are bothering. What do you expect out of me right now? To fall at your feet and say how wrong I was and beg you to be my friend?" He bites out the words and his glance turns into something very similar to a sneer. "You've said your piece. Now you can kindly go fuck yourself and stay out of my life." And with that he turns on his heel and walks out of the barracks.
Naeda doesn't have much of a response except to give Sorel the middle finger as he stomps out. That went well.