Too Many Questions

Participants:

Ahnika.jpg Merendezen.jpg

Date: 8/17/10
Location: EW: Lower Caverns
Synopsis: Ahnika and Zen are helping to fix some of the children toys and talking about the investigation regarding the two eggs being destroyed and an argument develops over Ahnika's role in it.
Rating: PG-13 for language
Logger: Ahnika

Eastern Weyr: Lower Caverns

Set up for use as both a massive storage area and an everyday workspace, the Lower Caverns is a single, high-ceiling room that has been blocked off into several smaller 'rooms' for different work that needs to be done. Over on the northernmost end is a larger section almost completely blocked off from the rest of the cavern where cots are set up for the non-rider folk to sleep until proper dormitories can be carved out of the rock.


Settled in the lower caverns, on a rest day but not entirely so, is Zen. He's working on fixing some easily fixed toys for the children, often kept with the nannies for the younger children. Most of them have faced some unfortunate accident. Green eyes are focused entirely on his work, hands moving gingerly and with precision to do so. And surprise, surprise, he's actually sewing a little doll back together and is doing well with the needle and thread.

Whether it is a rest day or not, it rarely seems to make much difference to Ahnika as the young woman insists on keeping busy in a productive way. Usually. And so she is striding through the lower caverns with some hides in her arms, making a stop to talk with certain individuals in the caverns over others. One such stop brings her to the nannies on duty, and with a friendly smile, she greets them ruffles the heads of some of the children, and says, “The Headwoman mentioned that you were too busy to tell her that you were getting low on blankets last time and so the order got put in late.” She probably could have put that a little more delicately, but this is Ahni we’re talking about here. As they talk about what sort of supplies they are in need of, Ahnika’s grey eyes find Zen working on toys in the area and she smiles at him, giving a little wave in greeting before refocusing her attention on the nannies. Just behind her, in another little blocked off area, two men lean against a makeshift table of crates and talk, occasionally, the attention of one of them strays to Ahnika, but for the most part they are talking about trader business, the open road, and minding their own affairs.

Merendezen glances up at Ahnika, giving her a curious look even as his fingers continue to work. A brow lifts as he watches her for a moment before his eyes are scanning the area. Silence lingers before he makes a gesture for the girl to join him after freeing his hand of the doll. "Ahnika." Is his greeting, brows furrowing for a moment before he gestures to a place beside him. The traders have, indeed, been spotted and he watches them for a good moment before green eyes flicker back to the teen.

Ahnika continues talking to one of the nannies about their supplies, makes a few notes, and upon catching Zen’s gesture, she moves over to sit beside him, setting the hides down in her lap. She looks deeply intrigued in what he is doing, and says, “I imagine that’s not far off from darning clothes. Want some help?” She nods to the doll. With a glance for the location of all the children in the area, Ahni drops her voice a bit, “It will keep me busy while I give you a message from Max, unless you’ve already heard it?” She doesn’t seem to have seen the traders talking in that adjacent section. Or if she has, she doesn’t seem to be concerned for any attention she may or may not be getting.

Merendezen watches the teen, grinning. "Not too far, keeps you busy and would rather spend my rest day doing something productive." While also spying on people. Two birds with one stone, it seems. His free hand reaches for another doll in the pile along with a spare spool and needle, all three offered out to Ahni easily. "A message from Max? Probably not, haven't heard anything." He considers for a moment, looking to the doll and sewing quietly. "At the bar… You had something you wanted to say. What was it?"

Flashing a grin in kind to Zen, Ahnika slides back a bit more so the hides in her lap won’t fall out while she is working on the doll and takes the offered items. “Certainly so. Well said,” she agrees to the first. Doll is stowed in her lap first while she works on threading the needle. Being an old hat to this part of the process at least, she speaks softly while doing it, “Aye,” she starts, then stops, furrowing her brow either in concentration for the needle or in concentration of remembering. She is great at organizing and multi-tasking as any would-be headwoman would need to be, but anyone forced to essentially switch gears mid-thought like that needs a moment to gather it all up again. Then she nods, apparently having everything all filed back into place once more, “Right, the bar. I didn’t want to talk about it in front of Neni.” Ahni frowns with open concern, as she holds the threaded needed a moment while assessing the injured doll critically, “Well, I mean this is a tragedy, is it not? Of course people are going to be upset … but Neni’s reaction when I was talking about finding the person who did it seemed pretty emotional, passionate, and I didn’t want to make her upset again.” There’s a little pause and she says even more softly, “I think she may have been thinking the green one who died was sort of … meant for her? If that makes sense …” She sighs then and shakes her head, “I can’t wait to find this this this …” she seems to be at a loss for an adequate description, so in an infrequent display of obscene language she says creatively, “Dimfuck.”

Merendezen chuckles and returns the grin, "glad I'm not the only one who feels that way." He considers her for a moment but says nothing for a moment as green eyes flicker back to the doll as he works, considering it and the damage done to it for a moment. "Oh?" He considers her again, frowning. "It's a tragedy, yes. Neni's reaction isn't… Unusual, there's quite a few of us who… React such a way when we're not around many of the others. It's hard. We saw the shells of the eggs… It makes it more real for us." He presses his lips together tightly, frowning for a moment before he shakes his head. "There's no way for us to know. Maybe it was… Maybe it wasn't. The Hatching will tell, and… Some other man lost his lifemate as well." He snorts softly, "one of them's already gone… I think there were two…"

Ahnika is solemn for a long moment as Zen speaks on the tragedy and the reactions of the candidates, and shifts a little uncomfortably, perhaps revealing some of her own dislike over the event itself, or perhaps sharing details on it. She much prefers the distraction of actually working on the problem of finding the people behind it. So, she is appropriately quiet for a long moment after he is finished speaking. “The body that was found in the tunnels?” She asks softly. “I was wondering about that. Who was it? Maybe that will be a clue as to who the others who are responsible for this are.” Of course, Ahni is a master of the obvious at times like these, and completely missing the two traders in discussion some distance away with one of them ogling her in personal growth. “I wonder if it’s someone Isilna knows. Which brings me to what Max wanted me to make sure you knew. There seems to be a couple of people watching the candidates, Isilna in particular, it seems. One of them is a herdsman and the other is in the kitchens. Max wanted me to make sure you knew.” There’s a pause and she adds, “He seemed particularly alarmed at the fact that the herdsman was being odd out while Isilna and I were digging in the lakebed for duties that day, though I’m not sure why where he watches us should make any difference?” The last is more in question and not in disbelief. She trusts Max’s judgment, after all. If he is alarmed by it, there must be a reason.

Merendezen remains silent for a long moment, "the body…" He shakes his head, "I was there." Green eyes search her face, "you don't want to know why we don't know. And whoever it was… Was likely new and not well known if they were not reported missing already…" His attention flickers away to the traders again and lips are pressed tightly together in a sort of disgust, but it is unknown why this reaction has been caused. "Ah-ha… Them. I can't say I actually ran into them more than once…" Though the mention of the lakebed draws a frown and he shakes his head. "It makes a difference, Ahni. If you continue to notice them again just let Max or myself know?" Nope, no elaboration there.

The redhead frowns and stops her work a moment to look at Zen, confusion and a little bit of exasperation evident in her expression, “We don’t know who he was?” Jumping, perhaps unfairly, to the assumption the person was a man. She sighs, looking back at her work, resuming the stitching up of one of the doll’s arms carefully, despite the obvious frustration at the dead end. She’d ask why, but apparently isn’t going to bother trying Zen’s patience when he’s already made it pretty plain he isn’t going to tell her. When the conversation drifts to the two watchers, her expression smoothes out a little, “Fine, I’ll tell you or Max.” Sounding a little testy about it actually, but more for irritation at Max’s little show in his stables the other day, “Just like Max wants all the candidates to know to send for him when we see the herdsman next, and not,” she makes a face, “try to confront him ourselves. We’re not babies you know.” Her thoughts go to a few of the candidates, “Well, not all of us.” She pauses in her stitching and looks seriously at Zen, “I’m not going to stand around and be pushed around or intimidated, or let another candidate be, not if I can do something about it.” She grumbles, going back to her work, “So convince me. Why is the ‘where’ of it so important?”

"Or she." Zen mutters, in hint but saying nothing more about the body. He sighs, considering the doll before tying off the thread and neatly pulling the two apart before taking another doll to sew. "Thank you." He considers her for a moment before looking to the two watchers once more. "It's not a matter of you being babies or not, Ahni. You ask too many damn questions and many of them you'll be sorry to know the answer for. I can promise you that." Green eyes focus and then he turns fully to her. "You can't do anything about it, Ahnika, and you'd be best staying out of it. I know you want to help, but this isn't something you can help with. The where is important because Max and I have decided something, and like I said… You'll regret hearing it after. You're safer not knowing rather than being uneasy about wherever you stand."

The ‘or she’ comment draws her attention a moment as things on that front click into place. Ahnika finishes the stitching of the doll’s arm and ties it off just as Zen says, ‘thank you’. And so she nearly drops the loose needle when he continues. For a moment, a flicker of hurt surfaces in her grey eyes as he tells her she asks too many damn questions, and then her expression chills. Her jaw sets, and her lips purse into a thin line. Rather coolly, Ahni stabs the needle in the doll, in its back, and sets it aside. She gathers up her hides from her lap and stands up, “Just you wait and see, Zen,” she says darkly, vowing, “You’ll see, I’m not nearly as useless as you and Max think.” And with this, she turns and stalks off.

Merendezen pauses in his work as she stands, lifting a brow and starting to say something before she starts away. There's a hiss and the doll is tossed aside with little care of where the needle falls. He's standing instantly, moving to attempt to catch her arm. Even if he doesn't he still speaks, "Ahni. I doubt you could kill anyone. I doubt whoever this is, if associated with those two will hesitate to kill you. Don't be an idiot. We're not trying to stifle you because we don't think you can handle it, we just don't want you to die. That's a priority to us right now. And if you can't understand…" He shakes his head, trailing off and then moving to return to his work.

As Zen captures her arm, Ahnika frowns, tensing and starting to try and wrench herself free of his grasp, but his words still her. She opens her mouth, about to protest something, and then stops, listening to him speak. When he shakes his head and moves back to his work, she scowls, not seeming to care if she is making a scene, “And yet, it’s perfectly fine for you or Max to put yourselves in danger?” She shakes her head, “This is bigger than any of us, and all of us put together, and we’d be better off working as a team, but no, my help isn’t good enough for you. Well, that’s just fine. Just fine, Zen. Don’t you worry your pretty little head about me. I won’t bother you and Max with my sharding too many questions again.” And she turns and continues on, unless stopped by him again.

"We can handle it, Ahni." Zen gives, simply. He considers her with a brief look and shakes his head and watches her leave. "Girls… What the shards is wrong with them…?"

If Ahnika hears Zen at all, she doesn’t acknowledge it. Instead she passes by the pair of talking traders, only to be stopped by the one who had been watching her as he offers up a greeting. She turns, looks at him, and seeming to recognize him finally she offers him a polite smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes. She’s just still too riled up for merely a few words in greeting to calm her. He gestures in the direction she had been going, speaking low to her, and she smiles briefly again, rubbing the back of her neck as if something was bothering her (probably the argument) before looking off in that direction, and then back at the trader. With a nod, she speaks low to him in return, and starts walking, with the trader who had been watching her making his farewell to his previous companion and falling into step beside Ahni as they make their way toward the stairs, conversing quietly between each other.

Merendezen watches the pair with a frown, saying nothing again and remaining in silence. After the pair depart, he finishes his work and then quietly retreats. Off to the Beast Caverns with him, once more.


Closing Credits Theme Music: Adam Lambert - "No Boundaries"


Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License