Libertas Weyr

[Nako]

A dark, lumbering figure made its way down the wherhandler's rooms. It was no beast.. but then again sometimes people questioned if it was a man either. No, it was just Garit... whatever Garit was. A brute of a creature with a heart only tender for wher and his canine.. in that order. Tonight though, Garitsk would not be joining him; the youngling was sleeping through dusk, but Garit wanted to catch this particular person early. He had a score to settle.

Finally to the door, the man's bearish hand came up to rap firmly against the door. They'd better answer; He'd come all the way over here to do this, and if he'd missed them, he'd have to haul his cargo all the way back to his room.

"Ey. Y'in there?" He called out hesitantly through the thick wooden door, shifting the great striped pelt on his shoulder to a more comfortable position. Obviously the woman wouldn't have wanted a pelt while it was still bloody and raw. He was familiar with the tanning process and had no issue taking it down to the leatherworking station to do it for her. It had taken a few weeks to cure, obviously, but using most of his free time to work on this blasted thing for her had actually paid off. There was little to no hairloss in the final product; a good, fine pelt that would fetch the Master's stamp of approval if he could say so himself. The damned girl better appreciate it.

[Chaos]

In fact, she was in there. And she had been sleeping still. She’d stayed up late; well… early? By the time she’d finally gone to bed the day before breakfast had just begun for the non-nocturnal Weyrfolk. Why she had stayed up she honestly couldn’t even bother to think of it, because she had been exhausted. The moment she had hit her furs she was out, and she had planned on taking full advantage of all of her work being done by sleeping through the first half of the night. But obviously that wasn’t going to happen. First Waikask had waken her up, but when Waika had shooed the great beast away the gold had lumbered out into the darkening Weyr to do who-knows-what. And then about a candle mark later, after she had just drifted into a rather lovely dream, a heavy rapping came upon her door.

“Eh… Nnrg.. wha..?” she groaned awake, eyes opening as she shuffled amongst her furs in an attempt to ignore whoever it was at her door. Maybe if she pretended she wasn’t there, they would go away. But then a very gruff voice reached her ears, and she sighed heavily. Who was that, and what did they want? It had been a while since she’d seen Garit, and she had been pretty preoccupied and had all but forgotten about the furs they had gone out into the forest to get. So when she got out of bed and made her way to the door with her hair a mess and her sleeping clothe still on, it was pretty obvious she hadn’t been expecting company.

She opened the door and opened her mouth to berate the individual, although nothing more than a squeak came from her as she gawked at the large gruff man standing at her door with a very handsome fur. She closed her mouth swiftly, dark eyes wide as she eyed him for a few moments. She then bit her lip, brow furrowing. “Um, hello?” she said to him, brow then raising. “Yes, I’m in here.” she then added, tilting her head to the side innocently as she waited for him to speak.

[Nako]

Garit hadn't expected her to be asleep. He's expected the fiery woman he had seen that day, awake and ready to be as enigmatic and confusing as she usually was. Being greeted by a groggy, bed-headed... and barely dressed female was something he hadn't been expecting.

She was surprised to see him. Frankly, he was a bit surprised too, eyes going wide before quickly cutting to the side, averting his gaze. It didn't seem proper to see a woman in her underdresses and such things. Not unless the situation called for it. And this situation didn't; not at all. He gave a halfhearted growl, unfolding the pelt and holding it out to her, shielding her body with it as well. "Y'seem surprised. Didn't ferget did ya? Finished tanning a couple days ago an' I was letting it air out ta get the chemical stink outta it."

Oh dear. For the quiet man, he was actually prattling a bit. Swallowning thickly, he was careful not to look at her too intently, though he gave a few furtive glances toward her face. He shuffled his feet a bit. "Ah... I came at a bad time, dinn' I?"

[Chaos]

Waika squeaked with glee at his obvious surprise and slight discomfort at seeing her in her sleeping clothes, Eyes twinkling brightly as he attempted to avert his gaze and then tried to block her body with the fur. Oh, come now. He wanted to look, and he knew it! She then grinned, Inching forward a bit and resting a hand on the fur and sliding her hand along the smooth front of it. “Oh! No, I didn’t forget! Not at all!” she replied quickly, proceeding to run both her hands amongst the soft fur. “It’s just been so long… that’s all. It looks wonderful!” she added, a thoroughly pleased expression on her face. She then shifted a hand to smooth her hair out a bit, bitting her lip.

She smiled warmly as he asked if he’d come at a bad time. “Oh, no! Not at all. I was just about to wake up, you see.” she explained, motioning toward her room. “Honest.” she then grabbed the other end of the fur, rubbing it gently against her cheek. “Mmm… lovely. Actually, this is very good timing. I was just about to trash my old fur; I’ve had it for far too long.” she then looked up at him, a devious yet very sweet smile upon her face.

“… How can I ever thank you?”

[Nako]

"Glad ye like it... Nice, thick coated guy, huh?" He remarked gruffly, a grin pulling his downturned mouth up into some semblance of a good mood. If there was anything that would make the man pleased, it was when someone approved of his hard work, especially an irritating woman that would prove to be the end of him, he was convinced.

There were only so many things that would flick through a red blooded man's mind.. at least with that tone she was using. The woman was obviously teasing them. Those women folk had the worst habit of saying things that sounded most... perplexing and meaning nothing by it. Then again, he didn't know if he'd even accept if it -had- been some sly advance. Frankly, it had been a long, long time since the last time he'd held a lady tender. Shardit! Why was that even on his mind?? What a horrible, sad excuse of a man he was. He didn't show any more discomfort outwardly though than the slight reddening of his ears.

"Ah.. uh.. Well, you could get dressed." Oh, hold on. That might sound bad, right? He didn't know. Quickly, he saved face."Uh.. and then we could get this put up in ye room all nice and proper.. then go get some food I guess. Ah haven't eaten yet." Did he just ask a lady out to eat with him? He hadn't.. really meant to. "I'd like to discuss wherhandling matters anyhow. Don't trust Sworn's teachings, t'be honest with you."

Yes, that's right. It was just business.

[Chaos]

She nodded approvingly as she fondled the fur a bit more. “Mm, thick indeed. And an excellent color combination to go in my quarters.” she replied in agreement, surprised to see some strange crook of a smile on the gruff man’s face. AH! It seemed she had found something that brought a little personality to his otherwise stoic face. She would store that little tidbit for later. As for herself she glanced down at her own ensemble, face reddening ever so slightly. She hadn’t intended to be quite that exposed; she was covered, yes, but it certainly didn’t leave much to the imagination. Although if she had known just how distraught her mannerisms and dress were making Garit in the way of man to woman relationships, she probably would have cheered with glee and danced around. She did love taunting men; it was a favorite past time.

And for the sake of mentioning it, Garit drove Waika to the end of herself in his own way. He was so oblivious to just about everything. Just like Sworn. Except Garit’s excuse wasn’t an erradic and out of control Wher, it was simply that he hadn’t been with a woman for a long time. But she didn’t know that, and she simply thought him impartial which irritated her to no end. So really, his blunder was just as much hers. She’d probably become more blunt with time toward him, although her fear of how he might react was what made it difficult.

“Yes, that would probably be a good idea.” she said in agreement, stepping back into her room. “Just a second.” and in fact it was a very short span of time, and barely a few breath’s later the door swung back open and she stood there in her usual black-pants and dark purple top that accented her in all the right places. It paid to be a gold handler. “Okay, bring that in.” she said, beckoning him into the room as she sauntered off toward her bed. She slid the old fur off, folding it carefully and storing it away into the thick wooden chest at the end of her bed. After the fur was in palce she smiled a thoroughly pleased kind of smile, that devious hint still somewhere mixed into it.

“Excellent! Now, about that food...” she said, whilst moving toward him and linking an arm with his the way an escort might link arms with a lady at a Gather. “I’m starved. I can’t talk about Wher handling until I’ve got a full stomach.”

[Nako]

Garit rocked back slightly on his heels as the heavy door swung shut again, not quite in his face, but an awkward enough effect. He scratched the scar on his chest through the fabric of his tunic. It didn't take her long, which very much blew him out of the water; he'd always heard that women took very much forever to get ready, but she had done so with the utmost efficiency.

His brows raised when the door flung open again, and he found himself plucking at his own worn tunic self consciously. He didn't have fine clothes of any sort; he'd never bothered buying them, and never really saw any importance in them. Now though, he felt as if he were coming up short by some strange definition. He probably looked like an absolute troll.

Relieved when she beckoned him in, he wasted no time, striding into the room and taking a quick, instinctive glance at his surroundings. He didn't hear the heavy, deep breathing of a sleeping wher, or the shuffle of its feet. A mental note was made about any belongings strewn about. It wasn't for any reason but habit, though it was.. almost fascinating to be in the chamber of a female. It certainly smelled different. Ah, but he needed to lay down the fur. He deftly spread the fresh fur where the old one had once lay, running a hand over it to smooth any rustled hairs. The devious smile though, was never noticed, for he too was looking at the fur to evaluate his handiwork once again. He'd looked over it for a good hour before bringing it; Garitsk had told him he was being fussy, much to his chagrin.

Those thoughts were quickly halted when an arm linked around his, guiding him out the door despite a quiet, surprised noise that escaped him. Quickly he gained his composure, adjusting his usual lumbering stride to a lighter one to better accommodate the quick movements of the woman who was effectively acting like his escort. It would be now that his face truly would flush red.

"Ah... I hav't agree with you on that." He remarked absently as he tugged his arm away a bit, enough to loosen her masculine hold of him. Quickly though, his hand would keep hers from slipping away were she to be offended, positioning it to his elbow and giving it a soft pat. "Ya got me runnin' about tannin' hides like yer errand boy; I don' need much pride to keep me going, but if ye let me escort ya proper I'd be thankful." And oddly enough, it was all said with a small, amused smile, accompanied by a good-natured wink.

[Chaos]

Waika beamed her approval at the lovely new fur that Garit laid deftly onto her bed, smoothing it out with his large hands and patting it with obvious pride in his work. Of course she didn’t give him long at all to bask pride fully as she snatched at his arm and tugged him out of the room. Once they exited and were on their way down the hall she was delighted to find that he wasn’t too shy, voicing his opinion of who was to be leading who. And she could see how flushed red his face had become, but she avoided mentioning it. Of course her mild giggle didn’t help at all as she laced her fingers around his elbow and nodded.

“Right, of course. You are the man, after all. It might look a bit funny if I went about escorting you all over the Weyr wouldn’t it?” she agreed, falling into step beside him for a more comfortable movement as they made their way through the handlers quarters. “and as for being my errand boy, I’m certainly not complaining!” she added with a laugh, although she squeaked a bit at the wink that he gave to her which instilled a tiny flutter of butterflies. How odd. She shook the feeling off and blinked quickly as they exited the lower caverns and emerged into the cool night air. She breathed it in deeply, eyes closing only for a moment. “Mm, I would certainly never give up being a Wherhandler for anything. I get to enjoy the lovely night and I don’t have to slave all day cleaning and feeding a creature eight times my size in the hot sun!” she mused to him, evidently referring to dragons as they made their way across the bowl toward the Kitchens.

“How does it feel to be a full-fledged Wherhandler, Garit? Now that you and Garitsk have graduated.”

[Nako]

A simple question, but it was one that brought up complicated emotions, more complicated than he was used to. Then again, it seemed everything at the Weyr was complicated. He frowned, though his brows furrowed upward in something of indecision, or even concern. "I'd say relieved... yet wary. Not looking forward to working under Sworn and his beast, t'tell the truth. I reckon that's the way things'll be though. I'm just hopin' everything will go the way it should."

Turning them into the dining area, it was relatively empty. There were a few 'early birds' of the wher group and a few straggling dragonriders, but it was relatively quiet as the kitchen worked vigorously to feed the waking handlers. Garit saw it fit to pick a table within eyeshot of the kitchen, so that perhaps they'd be seen and get served quickly. He pulled out the chair in an odd gesture of chivalry for Waika, but his gallantry went only that far; pulling out her chair before taking a seat in the one opposite of her

[Chaos]

Waika watched with interest as Garit’s face reacted to her question, seeming to scrunch up a bit but then softened and simply frown as he explained his particular view on the subject. Certainly it was a complicated question, being the state that the Wher residents of the Weyr in the state that they were. There certainly a lot of headstrong Whers that were bred in Libertas, and they didn’t do much of a job communicating with each other. She knew that for a fact; she was bonded to one of them. So it was no surprise to her when he explained that he wasn’t fond of working under Sworn and Swornsk, who were the lead Handler and Wher of the non-Queen wing. They entered the dining hall and made their way to a table of Garit’s choosing to which she had no argument, and she was pleased that he’d taken the time to pull out her chair. Even if he hadn’t waited till she sat, it was still a nice gesture.

“Yeah, I’m sure it’s quite hard for Garitsk and you being under Swornsk. Although Sworn is certainly a respectable and good man.” she replied, shifting in her seat to get more comfortable. “And as far as things being that way, the only thing that really keeps Sworn and Swornsk at the helm is the undeniable fact that technically, Swornsk is Waikask’s mate.” there was a mild hiss of distaste in the back of Waika’s mind that she ignored and continued- “ And she’s the senior gold now that Asistesk is deceased.” she explained, gesturing slightly with her hands. “In Weyr society pretty much everything is based on Flights and Runs. Winner is the leader.” she finished, averting her gaze toward a drudge that was ambling past. She waved her hand at him to get his attention, and without a word from her he turned and disappeared and then came back a few moments later with two glasses and a wineskin which produced a rich red wine.

Her mind began to move as she thought back on what he had said. Well yeah, working under Swornsk probably wasn’t so nice but Sworn was certainly not a monster. He was a nice, kind man that worked hard and… Eh. A light tinge of crimson tickled across her cheeks and nose as an image of the man in question entered her mind, and she tried her best to shake the thought from her mind. And what of Garitsk? He was a handsome creature, strong and no doubt powerful. Swornsk would certainly have his work cut out for him when Garitsk found it fit to chase the next few Whers to run. “And Danjask is fully grown now. She’ll be ready to run and clutch, making her the second in command.” she sipped the wine, eyes flickering with… was that jealousy? Yes, indeed it was. Waika was certainly fond of Garit as much as she’d been around him, and she wasn’t fond of the idea of having to share him. Not with anyone. She didn’t have to worry about sharing Sworn, simply for the fact that Swornsk would kill whomever the man got involved with. But Garit… he was a bit more tricky. And he didn’t have the technicality tacked onto his name like Sworn and Swornsk did.

[Nako]

Garit made a low growl at her mention of Sworn's supposed traits. He could find no way to fault them, but at the same time in his mind the bad outweighed the good. In an attempt to make it seem as if something else had annoyed him, he frowned and thumbed at something that was stuck on the table.. some stain or dried food. At the other things she said... the look in his eyes went from brooding to calculating. Yes... the man would certainly be out of the line of power if another wher was able to best him in the chase.

Hm. He wondered if one of those other lads could be goaded into going for that position. Or even Garitsk. Of course, that mentality stopped abruptly when he remembered the very awkward position that runs and flights put the humans through. Eh... no. He didn't want to deal with that. Seeing his wher as a breeding animal was strange as well; it had seemed not long ago he was just a little thing that he could carry in his arms.

"Well." Garit almost barked, taking a large sip from his wine before settling back in his seat with a certain grudging resolve. Perhaps he'd have to get over the fact that Sworn was his superior.. or rather Swornsk was Garitsk's superior; if he thought good and long about why the pair pissed him off it would only be anger at the bronze's stupidity and the man's inability to actually do anything with the ornery animal. "I guess there's no fighting it. Just shut my mouth and work." Even though he was trying to submit to that thought, his teeth seemed to bite down every syllable with a certain level of contempt.

After all, he was his own boss for years, and the few men who had been above him had actually been able to earn his devotion and respect.

His brows immediately raised in surprise when Waika mentioned Danjask, truly unsure of what to make of that. "Ah... Aye. I reckon it'll be good to have the help? I'd imagine there's a lot of work to go around."