Books and whatsnot [Open]

[Tarra]

The Records Rooms were silent. It was that quiet period just after dawn, when much was still and most of the Weyr had yet to waken or was just beginning to wake. Soon the passageways would stir with life: riders bustling to the mess halls, drudges and candidates seeing to chores, crafters heading out for the day's work. The Weyr, though newly established and raw, had already taken on a character and life of its own, one that would only grow as the days passed and weeks lengthened out to months.

But for now the rooms where the records sat were still and empty, awaiting the day's archivists and their attentions. Which suited R'thar fine. Dust motes floated in and around his legs as he moved slowly up a line of shelves, thin restless fingers dancing over the spines of the bound and rolled volumes stack on them. He had woken earlier than usual for the sole purpose of coming here before anyone else did. Mostly for the sake of having some peace and quiet alone, but especially for the privacy it offered.

Because he had come today to seek out some very specific records, on the off-chance that they might actually be in these open archives rather than stashed away in certain riders' weyrs, away from prying eyes. The said riders being, of course, Z'eith and C'cao, the Weyrling- and Candidatemaster respectively. All that he knew of Pern's Weyrs had been picked up from bits of information dropped by other 'riders, with occasional help from riders seeking to win the bronzerider's favours; however he had learnt enough to know that the Weyrs usually kept records of their clutches and Impressions, no matter how marginal. Though the coalition was hardly what anyone might consider a normal Weyr in any sense, he was fairly certain that records on each candidate and weyrling might exist as well, particularly in view of the Candidatemaster's fastidiousness.

And if so, he would much like to see what might have been written about him.

Of course, there was always the chance that no records existed in the first place, or that they had been lost when the coalition fled from the Archipelago to South Run Weyr. But the very thought that there might have been such records at all was enough to tempt R'thar to the archives for a look-see, just to convince himself there weren't any. It helped, too, that he could familiar with each part of the three calderas, so that if need ever arose he would know where to go for what was required at once. The young bronzerider was based in the central caldera, where his private weyr was, but he hardly saw that as any reason to stay closeted in the central areas. Though differing ideologies had began to split the Weyr into three, South Run was still the open domain of all its riders; and if R'thar had his way it would remain that way for good. The problem was, as ever, how to do so; especially when his own influence was still so minimal.

The concern remained on the edge of his mind even as he continued browsing, steady and thorough, through the shelves.

[Zeneka]

Syrus had hitched a ride the previous day with a rider who was going to East for whatever reason. The rider may have told him, or maybe not; he hadn’t particularly cared either way. All that mattered was getting to East in a timely manner. He really didn’t like to waste time, and besides, if he was going by day he didn’t want to have to deal with the sun one moment longer than he had to. Then again, riding another’s dragon was also a terrible experience… but it was faster…. He’d clung to his egg shard pendant the whole time and tried to ignore the fact that the dragon beneath him was a Blue. It hadn’t worked very well and as soon as the Blue had touched down he was half leaping and half falling from its back and quickly making his way into the cave systems of East without another word to the rider.

He had no idea where that rider had gone now, maybe back to Queen’s Rest. It didn’t really matter. He honestly hadn’t given the dragon or rider a second thought after he’d entered the caves. Convenient how the unpleasant thought of them and the unwanted memories they brought to the surface were erased so easily. He didn’t have time to be thinking about them anyway, he’d come to consult with some of the healers and harpers who made their home at East and also to replenish some of his own stocks from the healers’ larger stores of herbs and tools of the trade. Not only that, he was also visiting East for his weekly browse through the records to see if anything new and interesting had turned up. Sometimes nothing had changed at all, but even then there were records he had only previously given cursory glances that could be read more indepth so it was never a wasted trip.

He’d already spoken with healers and harpers both yesterday and gotten a few things together from the healers’ stores. They were packed away nicely in his guest quarters, awaiting the return trip back to Queen’s Rest. So now it was time to review the records and see if he could uncover anything new. He also hoped to find something about firelizards, now that he had one of his own…. He knew basic things about them, but they had been mostly myth for quite some time and he’d never had much of a reason to give the little creatures much thought before now. He didn’t want to waste his chance with this firelizard; who knew when or if he would ever be able to acquire another.

He entered the records rooms, tapping a fingernail against the egg shard hanging against his chest and muttering softly to himself, mostly unintelligible but for a random word here and there. Where had he left off previously, but then maybe he should start over, maybe he’d miss something new if he started where he’d ended last time. He shuffled past R’thar, still muttering to himself about the dilemma and stopped a few feet away, turning to stare back at the rider as if he had suddenly sprouted a second head. Then he blinked and some semblance of sanity returned to his features, “Have you seen any records about Firelizards lately? I can’t recall if I’ve ever come across any here… if I have the memory must have been replaced with something more important at the time. Memories are funny like that, aren’t they? Disappearing on you without any sort of warning. Strange things, strange… I wonder why….”

He trailed off, suddenly lost in thought about the potential new question to pursue, but then some thought about firelizards flashed in his mind and he remembered he already had a question. “Yes, firelizards, have you seen any records about them?” he repeated, unaware he’d already asked (and may have even received an answer). He tapped a fingernail against the egg shard once more, staring at the rider with his head tilted ever so slightly, his gaze a bit unfocused and perhaps a little disconcerting.

[Tarra]

The sound of another arrival to the archives inspired a slight flare of annoyance in R'thar. He had been hoping for at least a candlemark more of peaceful browsing, within which he could hopefully wrap up his search and leave without having to use the carefully thought-out reasons he had come up with for being in the Records Room at this unusual hour. That was clearly not going to be the case however, and so with practised ease he casually slipped around a line of shelves, still apparently browsing, to get a clearer view of the stranger who had just shuffled in muttering to himself.

Recognition did not bring anything more than a mingled sense of disgust and pity to the bronzerider. He knew Syrus on sight and by reputation, having had him pointed out once by a sympathetic bluerider; and though the man himself did not rankle him, the notion of what he represented and the uncertainty of his mental health tended to make one...uneasy. Not that the man did any actual harm, of course (well, except to tunnelsnakes), but the idea he was unpredictable was a tad disconcerting at the best of times and downright frightening at the worst. R'thar felt himself tense just a little, though he did all he could to continue being nonchalant as Syrus went by. All attempt to keep browsing till he was out of the way came an abrupt stop however as the oddly clear voice drifted at his back.

“Have you seen any records about Firelizards lately? I can’t recall if I’ve ever come across any here… if I have the memory must have been replaced with something more important at the time. Memories are funny like that, aren’t they? Disappearing on you without any sort of warning. Strange things, strange… I wonder why….”

Resigned, R'thar turned slowly to meet the man's gaze even as he trailed off - he anticipated this was going to be a painful conversation, if those opening lines were anything to go by. Did he have to comment on what it was like to lose your memory? He certainly hoped not; best to just stick to what was objective. Firelizard records, yes: coincidentally that would have been his excuse too if anyone else had walked in and asked what he was doing here. He didn't really want to use it now though - it might open a conversation he'd much rather avoid. He pretended to consider hthe question, but it was just as well he had taken his time to reply too, as Syrus seemed to have gone into his own world again, only to suddenly jump back out with a repeat of his question.

“Yes, firelizards, have you seen any records about them?”

"No I'm afraid not," R'thar replied, "But I haven't been down half these shelves yet. You could try searching from that other end - there might be some there."

Which he certainly hope Syrus would do - that dead stare was getting disturbing. The bronzerider wasn't a man easily riled by such things, but neither was he accustomed to being around the mentally disturbed. Which, as the Weyr largely knew, was a description that would fit Syrus and most other riders that had lost their other halves. In a deeply emphatic way he truly pitied the man, from one rider to another; but that did not mean he was ready to put up with all the antics of a dragonless person either.

[Zeneka]

After R’thar’s initial response of ‘no’ Syrus’s mind began to wander a bit once more, “No…,” he repeated softly, almost sadly. No, no… the word seemed echo in his mind and the shortest glimpse of the past flashed before his eyes as clear as if it was happening at that moment and was gone again just as soon. He stared rather blankly at the bronzerider, recovering from his vision of Rmalkth’s last breath and taking a few seconds to comprehend his words had not ended with ‘no’. He seemed to brighten a bit, forgetting his little flashback, and a small smile came to his lips at the younger man’s suggestion, though as usual the smile did not reach his eyes, “Oh, the other end, yes… yes.” He perused the shelf before him briefly, without really paying any attention to what he was looking at, “Yes then… then we could… more ground to cover….”

He tilted his head back to R’thar, “You’ll tell me if you find anything concerning them, firelizards, won’t you?” His gaze wandered about the room as he half waited for an answer and half forgot he was waiting for an answer until it came to rest on the other end, where R’thar had suggested he look, and he wandered off in that general direction. He would pause every couple steps to give the shelves a cursory glance, sometimes taking a scroll or a book and giving it a quick search through. He stopped at one detailing dragon anatomy to some extent and became rather engrossed in it, muttering to himself and tracing a finger over anatomical drawings, “So similar… but the toes… why the size… and intelligence? And Whers… whers…,” his voice seemed to soften with some affection as he spoke of the ungainly creatures, then, “No!” He shoved the book back onto the shelf and glared after it for a moment, then blinked and came out of his momentary rage at himself and continued on, fingers trailing along the shelf as he walked.

What had he been thinking about? His question, what was it!? His mind raced backward, whers, dragons, anatomy, similar to… firelizards…. That’s right, firelizards. He needed to know more about them. He could find out on his own soon enough but he had to wait for it to grow first…. In the mean time he meant to find out all he could, after all, he only had the one, one chance, who knew if he’d ever get another. He had to make the most of it, use it only to find out what wasn’t yet known, wasn’t yet recorded. Firelizards. He kept the thought firmly in the fore of his mind so he would not get distracted and forget again.

[Tarra]

Syrus, quite unfortunately, didn't seem too inclined to leave him be - though he was clearly having as much difficulty just focusing on the conversation in the first place. Just to be reasonable however (and because he would not be seen as unsympathetic to a former fellow rider) he muttered a quick assent to the healer's request he inform him of any records on firelizards he found, and proceeded to wander down the row in the opposite direction as if he were very engrossed in his own search.

The abject silence of the Records Room made it absurdly easy to track his unwanted companion's progress though. Syrus muttered and murmured as he browsed, not very loudly but in the enclosed space R'thar could nonetheless pick out words. "Toes...size...whers..." Then an abrupt "No!" that brought his head up a moment and nearly caused the scroll he was fingering to flick right off its shelf. This was distracting and altogether annoying - how was he supposed to do any substantive searching at all with his attention constantly diverted by the presence of an unstable person? He tapped the top of the shelf with two fingers to get Syrus's attention.

"I think I might have seen something about firelizards there, if that helps," he indicated the furthest part of the room with a tilt of his head, "Mostly about whers, that side, but some scrolls were ambiguous."

Which was not exactly untrue, of course - there had been some records there with were vague enough they seemed to meld wher and draconic anatomy - likely they were just poorly written, but R'thar wasn't about to say more than he needed to. He really just wanted some eace of mind for his own endeavors - something which Syrus's proximity was not going to provide.