Oil and Water

Writers: Ames, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th August 2013

Characters: Kenza, Harki
Description: Kenza and Harki share a table at dinner
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: G'nir, U'kaiah, Teseada, K'ale; Mentor Approved

It had been another long day of drills and practice. Kenza had even
stayed with some of the younger riders to review the areas they were
having trouble with. They _needed_ to be right before
the next Threadfall or more injuries were bound to happen.

Pleased that they were making progress in the more complicated
maneuvers the Wing was trying, she left them to finish up and grab a
bite to eat. The dining hall was rather busy as many of the riders had
finished tasks for the day. Grabbing a tray she filled it with a
variety of foods and turned to find an open spot to sit.

When she sat down next to Harki, The greenrider was a little
surprised. She and Kenza had never been particularly friendly, but
that didn't mean that Kenza hadn't changed while she was gone.
"Kenza," Harki said politely. "You look hungry."

She hadn't really cared much where she'd sat, she'd just taken the
available seat. Looking up, her eyes scanned the woman and recognition
dawned. "Harki?" She hadn't heard that the greenrider had returned to
the Weyr. "Are you back at Dragonsfall then?" She really didn't know
much about what Harki had been doing in recent Turns, just that she
had left Dragonsfall.

"Yup. You can't get rid of me." Harki grinned and leaned back in her
chair. "I'm like the trundlebug that won't stay out of your bedfurs."

"So, what's been happening for you lately?" Kenza asked. She'd never
been all that close to Harki before, but she was curious what had
transpired for the other greenrider in recent Turns.

The younger greenrider shrugged. "Not much. Just trying to fit myself
back into Azure Wing, mostly. They changed things on me when I wasn't
looking."

"Things have definitely changed," Kenza replied. "New weyrlings, loss
of riders. Thread continues to take its toll on each and every one of
us."

"Which doesn't help when browns catch golds," Harki replied, just to
see what Kenza would say.

Kenza frowned a bit, still feeling a sting of the hurt that the words
were directed towards her son, but she knew the truth of the matter as
well.

"Aye, that Flight did not go the way it should have. The Weyr needed a
larger Clutch of dragons to fill the gaps in the wings," Kenza
replied. It wasn't her son's fault, though he had taken quite a toll
from the rest of the Weyr because of it.

"It's why I came back. Although it's not really fair that the other
Weyrs have to compensate because Teseada couldn't control her dragon."
Harki popped a bite of cheese into her mouth. "At least, that's what I
from my wingmates at Rising Moons."

That was news to Kenza. She knew their numbers were small and they
were expecting to have to fill in the gaps, but she didn't realize
that the other Weyrs were now sending in reinforcements because of the
outcome of the Flight.

"It's to be expected I guess, that we need the extra hands." She
wasn't going to get into things over the outcome of the Flight, but
she _did_ agree that it wasn't K'ale's fault but rather Onnyth's.
Putting the blame on the goldrider and her dragon were justified. The
males chased. It was the female's job to ensure the chase went well
and resulted in the best possible outcome.

"It will be good to have the extra help with all the losses we've
suffered from Fall." It irked her a bit though that Harki made it seem
like Dragonsfall had _asked_ for handouts. They were far too proud to
do something of the sort. She kept her cool around her though.

"G'nir and U'kaiah not doing their jobs, then? Everyone's talking
about losses to 'Scoring like it's gotten worse."

"They do their jobs just fine. It's more that the constant Fall over
the Turns has been wearing on the older riders, causing them fatigue
and more trouble and the young ones don't have enough
time to learn before they get struck down." She paused. "It's going to
be a long Pass, that's for sure."

Harki narrowed her eyes a little as she studied the older greenrider.
She didn't remember Kenza being quite so pessimistic. "Yeah, but
that's what we're here for."

"I never said it wasn't," Kenza replied. "But it's lead to more losses
than we'd expected. The training is better now that we've fought the
sharding stuff for so many Turns. We've learned more about the best
approaches, but it still wears on even the best riders."

"It's been like this for seven turns now, Kenza," Harki said. "Either
you adjust, or you die. No use bellyaching over something you can't
change."

Kenza wanted to growl at the other woman. She held her tongue for now,
but this encounter reminded her why she hadn't interacted with the
other greenrider much in the past.

"Well, let's just hope then that we both don't end up dead, eh,
Harki?" She was glad for a change that a certain rider wasn't in _her_
Wing.

Harki grinned as she set down her utensils. "Dying isn't the worst
thing that could happen. And besides-- _I'm_ good at what I do. As for
the rest, well, worrying is for people wearing shoulder knots. And if
you'll excuse me, I think I'm done. Enjoy your dinner."

"I _do_ wear shoulder knots, Harki. I think you forget that," Kenza
glowered at the greenrider. "I've worked my way up the Wing _by_ being
aware of consequences, _and_ being one of the best
flyers around. So don't think to lecture _me_, greenrider. If you were
in my wing, I'd see that you knew your place!" Kenza was not happy
with the other woman. "Go run away. That's how to solve problems,
isn't it? Isn't that what your good at?" She called as Harki prepared
to leave.

"Don't worry, Kenza. No matter how far I run, I'll _never_ forget your
knots," Harki said. **You wouldn't let me!**

Last updated on the September 3rd 2013

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Oil and Water