A Project For Dolphins

Western Weyr - Lagoon Shore

A sandy beach running along the edge of the lagoon, between the sparkling waters and the bowl. Sometimes riders and dragons are seen playing in the water nearby or a dolphin can be seen cavorting. At other times seacraft can be seen coming in under the arch to dock. The lagoon is large enough to fill a quarter of the length of the bowl. A path winds out along a ledge out to the docks to the southwest, the lagoon to the west and the bowl to the east.

Electric lights light the entrances as those on night duty come out to take over, moving quietly in the night so as not to disturb those sleeping about the Weyr.Summer is upon the Western Isles, longer days and shorter nights making for a restless feeling that seems to invade every resident and urge them towards the beaches.


A little ways off from where Kiley sits is a rather rudimentary tent. Two tall poles are stuck in the ground with a greyish colored blanket draped over them. There seem to be no flaps or doors of any kind, simply open space. The remains of a cooking fire can be seen just in front of the tent and inside…well, there seems to be a person. Though usually an early riser, today seems to be a rare exception for Jeyinshi. The dolphineer stretches and yawns, rubbing her eyes for a few seconds before crawling out of her little camping site. She combs her hair haphazardly with her fingers and blinks in the strong sunlight as she looks around. When Jey spies another woman she raises an eyebrow in surprise…mostly because the woman was talking to herself. The dolphineer straightens her clothes a bit before walking over with a small smile on her face, "You seem to be one of few that voluntarily brave the sun's heat."

Kiley remains with her head tilted back and taking in the heat, entirely content and possibly glowing from the sun's rays. Or is that the beginning of a sunburn? Either way, the woman doesn't seem to mind much at least until there's the sound of movement and she's tilting her head in that direction to peek curiously over. It is only brief as her attention quickly flickers away to the water so not to intrude upon the other woman. Her position shifts and she sits up straighter as the woman walks over. Cheeks flush a shade and she glances over, smiling pleasantly. "I missed the heat." The computer crafter admits with a soft laugh following, "in Xanadu it was winter and I still remember the cold." She pauses for a moment to consider the other before a smile plays upon her lips. "I'm Kiley, journeyman computer crafter. I'm here doing some research."

Kiley remains with her head tilted back and taking in the heat, entirely content and possibly glowing from the sun's rays. Or is that the beginning of a sunburn? Either way, the woman doesn't seem to mind much at least until there's the sound of movement and she's tilting her head in that direction to peek curiously over. It is only brief as her attention quickly flickers away to the water so not to intrude upon the other woman. Her position shifts and she sits up straighter as the woman walks over. Cheeks flush a shade and she glances over, smiling pleasantly. "I missed the heat." The computer crafter admits with a soft laugh following, "in Xanadu it was winter and I still remember the cold." She pauses for a moment to consider the other before a smile plays upon her lips. "I'm Kiley, journeyman computer crafter. I'm here doing some research."

Jeyin might be slightly presumptuous at times, and perhaps this is one. She takes the other woman's smile as a sort of invitation and settles down on the sand beside her, the dolphineer's gaze also heading out across the water. "Winter?" Jeyinshi shudders a bit and digs her toes into the sand, "I'm with you there. I'd rather deal with summer than winter. The water feels downright miserable when it's cold out." She turns her head a bit, and offers a hand to shake, "I'm Jeyinshi, journeyman dolphineer and pretty much helpless at anything related to computers. Only thing I can code or decode is dolphin speak." The corners of Jey's mouth lift up in a small smirk (at her own ineptitude) before relaxing again. "So what kind of research are you doing?"

Kiley doesn't seem to mind when the other settles down beside her, inclining her head just so and smiling a little wider before shifting her position so her legs fold in the other direction while she resettles her journal on top of her legs. "With snow and everything." The woman grins and glances out towards the water. "I imagine the winters here are mild compared to places where it snows. I forgot how much I enjoyed the heat until I came here." There's a slight tilt of her head to consider the other woman before shifting to take her hand and giving a gentle shake. "Well met, Jeyishi. I didn't think that dolphins could speak.. But, I've never had much interaction." Her hand settles back upon her journal and fingers curl around it once settling. "Research on accents and other sort of speech problems. For a computer that recognizes vocal commands and responds verbally. It is supposed to make it so that people who have never touched a computer before don't have to and have an easier time of the commands."

Jeyinshi drops her hand and leans back on it for support as she closes her eyes and tilts it up towards the sun. "I grew up at Rubicon River Hold and near the Dolphincraft Hall so I understand that weather. Haven't had to deal with it for a while after moving up here, but I still remember it. Completely unpleasant." The dolphineer's gaze drops back to the waters and she smiles a bit, "Oh yes, they can talk. Some talk far too much for their own good, others hardly talk at all." She shrugs a bit and shakes her head, "Their personalities are as diverse as ours, so its really no telling how they'll act." The dolphineer pauses, listening to Kiley's explanation of her research and pausing for a few seconds once the computercrafter is done, processing the words. "That's pretty amazing. Shards, even I might be able to work a computer if it works like that. Say 'ON' and it works. Something like that right?"

Kiley tilts her head thoughtfully, considering the woman's words with a slight frown before she nods. "I see, were you raised in the Hall or just near? I don't blame you for not wanting to go back. I'll have to, eventually, as that is where I am posted at the moment." She chuckles softly, "so I may as well enjoy myself until then." There's a curious tilt of her head again, this time to better consider the water as she speaks of the dolphin's talk. "I've never actually met one before, either. I suppose I may one day. But I never imagined they could talk. Hmm." The computer crafter grins a little wider, "just like dragons, firelizard, and people. They all have personalities. That is amazing." She then looks to the woman beside her and chuckles softly. "Well, you'd still have to press the power button for it to turn on. But using the commands would be similar to that. 'Scroll down' to move the page down. Or, to open a different file 'open file name'. Things like that. Then you'd be able to type using 'start typing' and then go on with what you want to type."

"Half and half. We had our own place a bit away from the hall for a while. But once my brothers grew up and got apprenticed we just went to the hall. It kept them close to classes. Mom and Dad were also close to work." Jeyinshi chuckles softly and shakes her head, "We're all dolphincrafters. You should see when we get together and everyone's partner is there. The dolphins go pretty crazy." Amazing. That is the word for it. Jey smiles broadly and nods before stopping to listen to the explanation again. "Mmm, I guess that does make sense. We'd have to do the typing ourselves though? No dictation. But that's really not bad, it'd definitely be more convenient. Perhaps I could use it to take notes on the dolphins and such. Keep track of Haesungie's training regime. Ah. Sungie's my partner. I'm training him for search and rescue. He'll probably be the first dolphin you meet." As if on cue, a small white fin pops out of the water, skimming towards the shore and stopping in the shallows. "And that would be him rigth there." A rounded head erupts from the water and the dolphin's mouth opens in a toothy smile, "HIIIIII!"

"Ah! I see, that's incredible.. Having your whole family in one craft. I'm sure my parents would have loved that." Kiley chuckles softly, "that is a lot of dolphins in one place, it also sounds like it must be a lot of fun." The woman chuckles before she shakes her head at the question. "No, you just say what you want to type. For example, if you were to start a letter. It'd be something like 'start typing Dear Name comma. Next line. Next line. How are you?' A basic example, but that is essentially what I will aim for. Then when you 'finish typing' it would repeat what you've said and show the words on the monitor as well. That is my goal, and to make the programming and software for it will take awhile, I imagine." There's a curious tilt of her head, thoughtful as she considers the other woman. "What exactly would you track? I think I could come up with something for you. You'd have to use a computer like normal, but.. I can teach you how." She leaves it at that, curious as she tilts her head just so, considering the woman and then looking to the water as a fin pops out. Eyes widen and there's a soft squeak at the sight of the dolphin. "He talks!" Obviously..

Jeyinshi smiles wistfully as she watches the little white dolphin appear, "It's always fun. You should come to one of the gatherings Kiley. They're around the Xanadu area, so I'll send you a note or something next time we all meet up." The dolphineer lets out a low whistle as Kiley gives her example and her eyes widen slightly. "Now that's a good idea. It'd especially help with those that have arthritis and such. With a project like that you might even end up as a Master." At least, Jey thinks so. But she has no knowledge of how the other woman's craft works. "Well really I could just use the computer to track his progress. But track….you know. Could…well, could you possibly program a GPS kind of program? If we could track a dolphin's location it would /really/ help out during search and rescue. It'd be easier to coordinate between dolphins and their partners. And we could even use it as a position marker if there's need of an air rescue…." Jeyinshi trails off for a few seconds. One could almost /see/ the wheels turning in her head. Sungie isn't at /all/ affected by these ideas. Kiley's amazement only serves to spur him on and the dolphin begins a series of flips in the water. "I talk! YOU talk! WE ALL TALK!"

Kiley blinks once and cheeks color a light shade, "that would be fun. I appreciate that, thank you. I look forward to it. If I am in Xanadu when it happens, that would be wonderful." Her gaze flickers briefly away from the other woman as cheeks color darker. "Maybe. But, I'm still freshly into my Journeyman rank. I am certainly still too young to be considered as Master.. But it may even take seven Turns to even complete. Who knows?" A wistful smile crosses her lips, "I'm doing it because it seems fun, however. And it seems like it would help so many people." Fingers curl around her journal before she's opening it up and taking notes of the woman's idea. "We can track progress easily.. But doing something that tracks the location.. That'll be something harder. But, it certainly is a big project." The woman lets out a thoughtful hum, flipping a few more pages into the journal and writing a few more things down with a smile tugging at her lips. "I've got an idea, but.. To do anything further, I'd need to talk with a few others. I can't do all of it by myself, but.. We can try and see what happens. If anything, we'll just have something to track progress of training." Attention doesn't stay on her journal for too long, however, as Sungie's talking draws her attention again and the woman is staring at the dolphin with amazement. "He seems.. Very hyper. Is he still young?"

Kiley blinks once and cheeks color a light shade, "that would be fun. I appreciate that, thank you. I look forward to it. If I am in Xanadu when it happens, that would be wonderful." Her gaze flickers briefly away from the other woman as cheeks color darker. "Maybe. But, I'm still freshly into my Journeyman rank. I am certainly still too young to be considered as Master.. But it may even take seven Turns to even complete. Who knows?" A wistful smile crosses her lips, "I'm doing it because it seems fun, however. And it seems like it would help so many people." Fingers curl around her journal before she's opening it up and taking notes of the woman's idea. "We can track progress easily.. But doing something that tracks the location.. That'll be something harder. But, it certainly is a big project." The woman lets out a thoughtful hum, flipping a few more pages into the journal and writing a few more things down with a smile tugging at her lips. "I've got an idea, but.. To do anything further, I'd need to talk with a few others. I can't do all of it by myself, but.. We can try and see what happens. If anything, we'll just have something to track progress of training." Attention doesn't stay on her journal for too long, however, as Sungie's talking draws her attention again and the woman is staring at the dolphin with amazement. "He seems.. Very hyper. Is he still young?"

Jeyinshi claps her hands together, "Great! I'll let you know. I'm sure it'll work out." The dolphineer smiles at the coloring computercrafter and leans over to give her a small shoulder bump. "Mmmm, well I'm sure you'll get there in no time. And if the project really /does/ take that long, then you're sure to be a Master by the time that's done. Either way, it's definitely an interesting idea." The dolphineer peers over at the notebook as Kiley begins scribbling in it, but the girl can't really make heads or tails out of the notes…at least, not from the angle she's trying to read from. "Even if it's just tracking progress, it'd be a huge help. Most of our stuff is done on paper. And if something gets lost…" Jey shakes her head and frowns for a few seconds. "Well, let's just say that kind of situation has happened far too often for the Hall's comfort. It sets back everything. If you do ever get a chance to look into the location tracker, let me know. I'm sure all of us from the Hall would be more than happy to help out." A small chuckle escapes her lips at Kiley's observation and she nods in Haesungie's direction. "Just a bit over a turn old. And you've caught him when he's in one of his more frivolous attitudes. Give him a day off and the child goes crazy." Suddenly, a spray of water erupts into the air, drenching the area a few feet in front of the girls, but not actually hitting them. "Who's crazy? NOT ME!"

"Possibly. Once I make some serious headway on my project I may return to Xanadu for awhile and do my duties there as needed. It all depends." Kiley's cheeks color more for the shoulder bump the other woman gives her, smiling thankfully. "I'm not too eager to go faster than I need to.. I'm happy with exploring like I do and learning as I am now. And if it does take that long, then it all worked out. Thank you. Someone gave me the idea while I was a candidate at Xanadu and it grew from there." A few more notes are added to the journal before she closes it with a wide grin settling upon her lips. "I understand, having two records. One on paper and one in the computer is very helpful, in my opinion. I was speaking to weyrwoman Enka about that as well. Losing records is never a good thing." A brighter smile is given and she nods, "I'll try and work on it while I work on everything else. I like having more than one project for the fact I can put one on pause when it isn't going anywhere or while I'm waiting on someone else I can work on the other one. I'll have to ask around the Crafthall, but, I'll let you know what we come up with." Her attention is quick to return once more to the dolphin as the other explains and there's a soft laugh. "I see. That would explain the behavior.. He seems like a child, still." There's a loud squeak at the spray of water coming in their direction and she holds her journal a little closer to protect the notes inside. "He's.. Very energetic."

Jeyinshi nods, "Of course. It's never a good idea to rush anything, it hardly gets you anywhere. And it usually ends in a mess." There's a sort of sad smile on the dolphineer's face as she says these words and a far off look in her eyes. She's seen something like that, the weight of experience in that gaze is hard to miss. But the expression is soon to disappear as talk moves on to records and paperworks. "Ah, Enka would certainly have more use of it than I. I deal with paperwork, but she's got much more than I. Honestly though, it's utterly painful to do so much work and have it all disappear." Jeyinshi shakes her head and looks out at the little dolphin, a bit of a frown forming on her face as she watches his behavior. "Haesungie certainly is a child. And one that may need to be disciplined." The dolphineer stands, balling her hands into fists and planting them on her hips. "HAESUNG!" Her voice carries across the water, a hard monotone. "Watch your manners…" The way Jey trails off, it seems almost like a threat, one that Sungie is quick to heed. With a high pitched sqeuak, he disappears under the water, appearing several feet away and eyeing his trainer cautiously. Once the dolphin is too far off to tell, Jeyinshi breaks into a fond smile and sits back down with a quiet chuckle. "He's cute when he's all playful and energetic. But I have to at least pretend like I seriously disapprove of such behavior or he'll get out of hand.

Kiley hms softly, giving the other a curious look with brows soon furrowing in concern. She doesn't question, only giving a smile of understanding. "Yeah, and it is more fun when you can enjoy yourself and what you're doing." The woman breathes out softly, shifting and then giving a slight shake of her head. A smile returns to her lips, more cheerful than that last. "Yes. Have you seen all the paperwork she has? And to lose everything you worked on is frustrating." Her journal is hugged a little closer for that thought, "I can come up with a quick program for tracking progress, certainly. If you can bring me a sample of your paperwork? I'll match the format. That's one of the easier tasks that I can do right away and before I leave for Ista." Her gaze flickers back to Sungie as Jeyinshi begins to scold the dolphin, wincing just a bit. She knows that tone, and that manner in which the woman speaks. "Shells. You remind me of my mother, no offense.." A soft laugh slips forth, slowly becoming more relaxed as it goes on. "I understand, completely. Is it hard to get him to focus on working?"

Perhaps in the future Jeyinshi would explain that look, but today she's in a good mood, and she certainly isn't about to ruin it with depressing talk. She returns the computercrafter's smile with one of her own and chuckles, "I'm glad she's not literally buried under it at least. But yeah, course. I'll bring some of the documents with me next time. It's nothing too complicated. But…you're leaving for Ista? Guess you have travel around to get audio examples of the accents…or something like that?" Maybe Jeyinshi really /does/ understand. Or maybe not. Kiley's comments earn another cool smile and the dolphineer lifts her face to the sun again. The amusement in her expression is certainly hard to miss. "Don't worry, no offense taken at all. Luckily though, I only have to deal with training and such and not the full duties of a mother. Sungie can mostly take care of himself. But he's really not that bad when we're working. He does enjoy playing more than anything else, but he treats work as a game of sorts. Sungie will compete against himself, and keep practicing until he succeeds. In that aspect, there really isn't a harder worker around. He's still young though, so every now and then there may be an issue, but he's a good boy."

"That'd be terrible.. And that'd be wonderful, thanks. Documents will allow me to program it to match what is already there. Just to make it all uniform and no one is scratching their head in wonder." Kiley chuckles softly before nodding. "Exactly. I'm speaking to everyone I can. Weyrs have the most variety in people who are there, so if I can talk with people from almost every Weyr then I'll be able to get more knowledge quickly and start on it faster." Lips press together briefly, forming a thin line while brows draw into a frown. "I haven't found what to put in the computer, yet, so I decided to go for the easy part first." And maybe part of her wanted to get away from the winter. "Oh! That's good. Dolphins are raised by their own mothers at first, right?" Curiosity is sparked as the woman considers the other with bright, questioning eyes. "That is always a good way to get kids to work, though. Treating work as a game.. He seems to have the right idea, then." Her lips curl into a more thoughtful smile to consider the dolphin in the water. "They really are like people. That is amazing. What sort of things are you training him right now?"

"Great. You have /no/ idea how much you're helping me right now. And if all goes well, I can introduce it to my family and they can spread it to the rest of the hall. You'll be a hero among the dolphincrafters!" Jeyinshi chuckles at her own choice of words before continuing. "I think it's good though. To get the basic accents down. You have to build from the base up right? And if you don't know how many different dialects you're programming in, you won't be able to get the right number…or something like that." A look of blatant relief crosses Jeyin's face as they beging talking about dolphins again. She knows this subject. "Yes, they are! See? You know more than you think. But dolphins are named and raised by their mother's. If the child is so inclined, he'll partner up with a dolphineer. If not, he'll work more freelance." Jeyinshi leaves the explanations at that and turns back to talk of her own partner. "Sungie does have the right idea, thank goodness. My brother's partner….my goodness, he was VERY difficult to train. Thought he was king of all dolphins or something." The dolphineer smirks a bit. "Anyways, right now I'm training him on night time search and rescue. Just getting him used to carrying passengers and signaling to air rescuers when it's dark out. They can't flame so they usually have to signal via motion or sou—" Jey's little speech is promptly interrupted by a rather loud growl from her stomach. But the dolphineer doesn't blush or seem embarassed by it, instead, she laughs. "Shards, I forgot I hadn't eaten yet. I should probably head up to the weyr and grab something." Missing a meal was a happening of great importance. At a normal meal, Jey could eat three whole plates. Today, whe would probably eat five. "Want to come with? If not, I'll see you around, yeah?" The dolphineer stands, brushing off her clothes and beginning in the weyr's direction, though not before throwing a smile over her

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