Western Weyr - Recreation Cavern
A large cavern with gaming tables, dart boards and other sorts of things to keep people amused. There is a bar on one side of the room that will provide liquid amusment as well.
Despite the fact that it's only late afternoon at Western Weyr, there's a fairly considerable crowd of people in the rec caverns. After all, not everyone works on the same shift, and people clearly need their downtime to relax and play — and it /is/ five o'clock /somewhere/. Escaping from the hectic paperwork of her office, Enka's slipping into the cavern with not much fuss, waving off some offer for a turn at darts, and heading instead for the bar to order mundanely enough, an iced klah which she sips absently as she watches the activity about her.
It had only been a day or so since Jeyinshi had moved into the weyr. After a long while spent unpacking and going through some formalities with the Master Dolphineer, the woman was certainly ready to relax a bit. She steps into the rec cavern, glancing around silently and taking in the unfamiliar faces before heading over to the bar. The dolphineer quickly slides into a seat, ordering a glass of redfruit juice. A figure in the corner of her field of vision catches her eye, and while she may not recognize the Weyrwoman, or anyone else for that matter, she does recognize the knot. There's a slight nod of the head and a smile sent in Enka's direction, but Jeyin doesn't open her mouth to speak, not yet.
Zi'on works odd hours, just like he's always done really. Work a few off a few, then go back and work some more. The bronzer is looking pretty scruffy today, he's got a hefty five o'clock shadow even if it's not five o'clock yet, probably because he's forgotten to shave this morning. Or decided to grow a beard-fro. He's drinking what's either water or a really big glass of liquor and taking a break from taking the weyrbrats' money on darts. He peers over when he spots someone familiar. "Enka!" Nothing like blowing the weyrwoman's cover!
Enka wasn't /really/ trying to hide, was she? Maybe stay under the radar a little, but not disappear. Otherwise, she would have come in disguise or something, ditched the knot, that sort of thing. She does catch the nod and smile coming from Jeyinshi, the goldrider incliding her head in return. Granted, anything she might have been going to say is lost in the smothered chuckle that comes from her instead, half-turning at the sound of her name and spotting her former assistant. "Zi'on," she remarks, dryly. "How y'doin?"
Jeyinshi turns slightly at the enthusiastic greeting towards the Weyrwoman, an eyebrow raising. But the curiosity is quickly dropped and she turns her attention back to her drink, taking a sip through the straw before using it to twirl the ice around. She crosses her legs, still watching the scene out of the corner of her eye. It's not like Jeyin had anything better to do at the moment.
Zi'on hasn't seen Enka in quite a while. Well, maybe he's seen her, but he hasn't talked to her. Last time they spoke he was much shorter, and less hairy. He abandons his drink to go over to give the weyrwoman a hug, lifting her right off the ground in the process. "Hey! I'm good! How are you?" Then he looks between her and Jeyinshi. He grins a bit to both of them. "Ooh, sorry. Am I interrupting official weyr business or something?"
"Hey!" Enka lets out a sound that's suspiciously like a squeal as the bronzerider hoists her up, but there's certainly a fair amount of friendly banter in her demeanor. "You've changed a lot," she remarks, once she's back down on the ground and has to look up … way up … at him. "Grew up nicely, I see." There's a cheeky bit of a grin for Zi'on. "I'm doin' just fine, thank you." There's a glance at Jeyinshi, the goldrider trying to catch the other woman's eyes. "Mmm, no, not official business, just two gals sayin' hello. Don't think we've met before," Enka tilts her chin in one of those brief nods. "You are…?"
The corners of Jeyin's lips turn up into a smile and she shakes her head. "No official business here. If it were up to me I'd avoid official business for a few sevendays." For now, the dolphineer abandons the drink, turning to fully face the other two and looking back up at Enka. She extends a hand in greeting, nodding her head. "We haven't. I'm Jeyinshi from the dolphineers. They just posted me here, I moved in yesterday." Though her attention is mostly trained on Enka, Jeyin's voice is a bit louder. That and a tilt of the head in Zi'on's direction serve as an introduction to both.
Zi'on snickers at Enka's squeal. "I haven't seen you in forever. Are you doing your own paperwork these days?" Zi'on may look different, but he's basically the same weyrbrat he ever was. He rubs the back of his neck sheepishly at her comment about him growing up. "Er. Maybe I guess, sure." The bronzer smiles to Jeyin. "Hey. I'm Zi'on. Suldith's rider. This is Enka." He leans over to whisper to the dolphineer. "She's the weyrwoman." Duh. "Dolphineer. Neat. Do they let you swim with them?"
Enka's mouth twitches, something of a smirk glimpsed briefly and then hidden before she nods fervently at Jeyin's words. "Sometimes I get like that, wantin' to avoid any sort of politics and official weyr-related business for a while. And yes," she remarks in response to Zui'on's query, "that does mean I'm doin' my own paperwork. I'm out an assistant y'know." Which is her own fault, all things considered, since she was the one to ask Zi'on to be a candidate in the first place. "What do y'mean you guess, you have grown up. all nice and handsome, bet the gals just chase you all over." there's a pause, Enka regarding him for a moment before she turns back towards the dolphineer. "I saw the dolphins once. They seem very playful and smart. Do you like workin' with them?"
Once Zi'on's done whispering, the dolphineer looks up, a slight smile playing at her lips as she winks. "Is she? I never would have guessed. But well met to both of you." There's a sympathetic nod in Enka's direction before Jeyin takes another sip from her juice, "Well if you ever need to disappear for a bit, come out and visit the dolphins. Unless you have an aversion to water…then it wouldn't really work out." The slightly tight smiles from earlier widen into a grin at the mention of her craft. "I do get to swim with them. We kind of have to actually, part of the training. But they're definitely lots of fun, make you forget there's serious stuff out in the world."
Zi'on grins to Enka. "Shame. I would've thought you'd roped some other poor 'brat into doing all your work for you." He laughs then. "You probably need more juniors. Well, I think you definitely need more juniors. Suldith agrees." He shrugs a bit at her comments about him growing up and looks off to the side. "Heh… I wish. I ain't had a girlfriend in a while." He grins to the dolphineer then. "Yep, she is. I saw the dolphins here a couple of times while I was doing sweeps over the water. Never swam with them or anything though."
"I've been busy," Enka doesn't /sound/ defensive, and it probably isn't much of an excuse either. "Ainbt got the time to go chase down a weyrbrat to be my office assistant. As far as juniors go," she pauses, shrugging. "I got Rea, don't I? That's one. Maybe someday, we'll have more, but I'm not goin' to hold my breath till then, and put off the paperwork. Like as not, it'd probably just pile up and then topple over the poor gal and kill 'er. then where would I be?" There's a fairly calculating look from the weyrwoman just then. "Well, that's a shame, Zi'on. Oughta do somethin' about that, not havin' a girl. Then again, I'm a fair one to talk." Not that Enka has any girlfriends either, really. She doesn't go that way. Jeyin gets a smile then. "I'll try and take the time then. 'Aint scared of water at all, all things considered. I think between me goin' to visit the dolphins and takin' off for a day at Ierne with Liandyn, I'd probably feel a lot better about everythin' bein' pushed across my desk."
A quiet laugh escapes the dolphineers lips as she imagines a poor junior being squished by paperwork. "You're right of course. It's better to do the paperwork in stride rather than having a mountain of things to do later." There's a small shrug at the mention of girlfriends, Jeyin didn't have any of those either, and she never would. "It really would do you some good. The dolphins usually don't take anyone out into the sea, but when they're up in the shallows? Well, even if you didn't want to get in the water they'd find a way to make you. Either of you can come down anytime. Just let me know a bit before hand, I can save the fun stuff for the visit then."
Zi'on blinks at Enka. "Couldn't you tell someone to go find one for you? You got a whole weyr. What about any of them?" He waves to some of the younger kids playing games. "Tell them you'll get one of them out of chores forever if they do a good job." Then he peers at her. "Why's that? You know any girls? Single ones, I mean. Are you single, Jeyinshi?" Nothing like being direct! He seems to consider her offer about the dolphins. "Hm… maybe I will come visit them. Sounds kind of fun. I like the water."
Enka nibbles her lower lip a moment, expression thoughtful. "I suppose I could," the goldrider muses, glancing first at Jeyinshi and then Zi'on. "Gotta find the /right/ kid though, not someone who'd just goof off cause they got off chores." What, doing paperwork isn't like doing chores? "You said it," she remarks to the dolphineer. "Can't put off too much for later, better just to chip away at the work, bit by bit." And run like fury at the end of the day. She eyes the bronzerider again. "Ummm…" there's a sudden brief silence, Enka sipping at her forgotten klah — which luckily hadn't spilled too much when Zi'on had hoisted her up in that hug — and shrugs. "Can't help you there," she says at last. "Don't know any single girls." Liar liar, pants on fire. "Sure," the goldrider's quick to change the subject though, latching back on to Jeyin's offer with enthusiasm. "I think I'd like that. Swimmin' with 'em. I'll let you know what day is best."
Jeyinshi nods, "That's probably the hardest part, finding a weyrbrat with a work ethic." Jeyinshi's own gaze flicks to the various youngsters crowded around the cavern before turning back to her juice and taking another sip. Zi'on's question earns a wry smile and shake of her head. "All of the single ones I know are at the hall, and too busy to play, sorry." It seems like Jeyinshi isn't being entirely truthful herself either. A cool glance is sent in the bronzer's direction, "I have all the relationships I need and my hands full with the dolphins." The woman crosses her legs again, leaning back against the bar with a grin on her face. "Great. I'll let the Master and the dolphins know, they'll be excited."
"Oh I see. It must have just been me you let goof off because I didn't have any chores. Or A'ven could put me in his wing or something. We could pretend Suldith is a gold. Just don't tell him." Zi'on looks hopeful that Enka might know some single gals. He looks disappointed when she says she doesn't. Of course later when he finds out that she's single and lied to him… well then he'll just feel terrible. He shrugs a bit then. "See? No girls. At least none I'm not related to. Sometimes I wish I was -gay-." There's a peer at Jeyin as he at first mistakes her comment about the dolphins as something deviant.
Enka splutters a moment. "I did not let you goof off." Did she? "At least I don't think I did." Enka gives the young bronzerider a calculating glance, before Jeyinshi's remark about work ethics makes her chuckle. "And it's hard," she admits, "findin' someone who wasn't like me as a 'brat. I had no work ethics." Unless work meant making mischief, and then she was all business. "I should say we wouldn't tell Suldith he was supposed to pretend to be a gold. Might take it as an affront or somethin'." Enka is a mean mean girl. Really. Then again, maybe she's just not ready to admit to being avaliable just yet. "You are related to a lot of girls," she puts in, and then relents. "Might know someone, but you'd have to wait till later." His remark does give her pause, but she glances at Jeyin again, and makes a moue of petulance. "I'm lookin' forward to it." she comments, meaning meeting the dolphins.
"I was pretty ethic less myself when I was young. The spoiled princess of the family. I guess it happens when you're the only girl. But I turned out alright eventually." The looks that she's earning definitely make Jeyinshi furrow her eyebrows and glance between the two. "Did I say something? He asked if I was single and I just meant to say I was too buried in my work to not be. Sorry." Shoulders move up in a small shrug before she takes another sip of the juice, grinning a bit at the thought of disguising the bronze, and Zi'on's remarks about being gay.
Zi'on laughs. "Sure you did. Sometimes." Usually when there wasn't much to do. "I always did my chores… even if they were kind of done poorly. Just had to do enough that the headwoman wouldn't chase me around with a broom. It was harder work ducking her than just doing the chores I think." He laughs. "There was one time when we reverse-mucked the stables. Man… did it reek in there. We let the animals out first, thankfully. They would have all died from the smell otherwise." He raises a brow at Enka. "Later?" Then he chuckles at Jeyin. "Just sounded like… nevermind. So uh.. how's that work, with the dolphins. Do they like.. assign you specific ones or something? Or do you just kinda work with them all?"
"I really shouldn't get started on my exploits as a 'brat," Enka puts in, having long since placed her glass down on the nearest table, drink well forgotten in the tide of conversation. "I suppose I did let you goof off," she puts in to Zi'on, "if there wasn't much to do as you say. Guess that means givin' any other weyrbrat I saddle with the job even more work." No idle hands, indeed." Her expression is quite solemn, the goldrider regarding the younger 'rider evenly. "Mmm, later, I'd say. Give y'a time and a place you could meet her. If she's willin." That's when Jeyin gets a look, Enka quite interested in hearing the answer about the dolphins.
As much as Jeyinshi prided herself in being mature, whatever the riders were referring to had certainly flown over her head. There's an almost indifferent shrug before she turns to finish her drink. "Well, there are different pods of dolphins and they're all like their own family. Depending on the size, two or three, maybe more, get assigned to a pod. And then we divide the dolphins up among ourselves. Sometimes we get our own dolphin and sometimes we're put in charge of more than one, depending on the situation. But of course, all of the dolphins get the attention they need."
Zi'on laughs. "I did my work though. You never even had to beat me." It's probably best that it goes over the dolphineer's head. It's rather crude, really. He laughs at Enka. "Trying to work your way up to 'scary' or something?" He peers at her. "How much later? Like next week?" The bronzer nods to Jeyinshi. "So like… what kinds of stuff do you do with them?" Zi'on is clearly not very up to date on his dolphincrafting. But she said it was fun, so now he's interested.
Enka chuckles, rather with amusement. "So you did," she agrees willingly enough. "Best office assistant I ever had." Only office assistant, she's ever had, really. "Didn't even have to get a broom out and swat you with it." There's a plus to that. "I'm thinkin' I might bypass scary and go right to tyrannical, except, I'd probably fail." And badly to boot. There's a pause, the goldrider widening her eyes and looking discreet. "Not so long as that," she tsks. "I'll have Mir tell Suldith about it. But it probably wouldn't take a sevenday for you to wait." Jeyinshi gets a curious glance. "So dolphins 'aint much like runners then, right?" Well, duh!
Jeyinshi raises an eyebrow at a potentially tyrannical Enka and grins, though she doesn't comment. "Dolphins are really good on search and rescue. Or if something important gets lost at sea we can send the dolphins out to find it. They also help us do mapping and charting. The ocean is a lot more complicated than one would think." A hint of a smile appears on Jeyinshi's face at the mention of runners and she shakes her head. "Oh no, not at all. They're certainly smarter. If anything, I'd say they were like humans. They make their own decisions. Even when partnering. None of the crafters can be assigned to a dolphin unless they both agree. It's all kind of complicated and strange really."
Zi'on laughs. "You had one before me?" Even if the bronzer had slacked off, he doubted Enka would have been motivated enough to get the broom. He grins at the notion of Enka being tyrannical. "I think you'd be bad at that probably, yeah." He scratches his head at this mystery girl that Enka is looking to set him up with. "Well, alright then. Whenever. Not like I'm in a big hurry or anything I guess." He nods to the dolphineer then. "That's I heard, they're basically as smart as a person more or less. Guess they're kinda like dragons, but they don't need a lifemate really. They got names and things right? Do you get to name the ones you work with or do they tell you their names?"
"No," Enka replies, deadpan, leaning slantwise against the back of one of the barstools, although she's yet to actually park her backside on it. "But would it have sounded any better if I had said my only office assistant ever?" And she's certainly isn't motivated enough to get brooms, having been threatened by such as a 'brat herself. Might be some kind of trauma, that. "I'd be a horrible tyrant," she admits to Zi'on and Jeyinshi. "Just awful. And Mir wouldn't be much help, she 'aint that kind of queen." There's a brief silence then, Enka smirking a bit at the bronzerider. "Good, it'll be a surprise, I'm sure." The dolphineer gets a grin then. "I think I knew that, them not bein' like runners, but it's fascinatin' learnin about them from you. Not somethin' I'm used to, although I think some of our search and rescue riders might be more familiar with dolphins."
Jeyinshi smiles, "You do seem a bit to nice to become a tyrannical broom wielder." Though that may be an entertaining sight. With her glass now drained though, Jeyinshi turns her full attention on the riders and nods. "They really are like humans. Their parents give them a name in human speech when they're born, but they also get their own sound that identifies them with dolphin speech. So they really are like humans in that aspect." The dolphineer shakes her head a bit and leans back on the bar, "Sorry for going on like this." Jeyin finally stands and smiles at the two, "Maybe I can bore you guys again another time."
Zi'on laughs. "No. Wouldn't do me any good to impress the ladies none either." He winks to Jeyin. "Right? Girls like responsible men." Though Zi sort of floats in between boy and man really. He grins and nods about Enka being a tyrant. He could see Enka screaming and screaming and Mir all lounging around carefree in the background and no one taking Enka seriously. "Da hasn't let me do anything with them. Though we usually just interface with the crafters when we need them. Heh, I don't mind. Probably good for me to know anyways. Oh shoot. Man I'm gonna be late for sweeps. Da always makes a big deal about yellin' at me when I'm late, too." The bronzer starts heading towards the exit. "I'll see you two later. Enka you set something up with that girl. Byee!"
Enka straightens, the lazy slouch gone as she glances suddenly towards the doorway to the cavern and frowns, her attention filtering between the two she's talking with, and whatever might have drawn her notice beyond. "Shells," she remarks, "I'd be the worst tyrannical broom wielder on Pern, and everyone'd just laugh at me." Point and laugh even, which makes it more hopeless. "I hate t'run out on you," she begins, but then, there goes Zi'on, so it's more like he was running out of them, right? "I've got to deal with somethin' Mir says. Urgent, you know the drill. We'll talk later." An apologetic glance is sent at Jeyinshi. "I'm sure it won't be boring, but …" Hey, she's already headed for the door, almost right on Zi'on's heels. Well, a few minutes after him, maybe, tossing a wave of farewell as she goes.