21/07/01

Logfile from Sissi

[Sissi and Kr'lin get together and talk nonsense. As per usual. Except this time they're on neutral territory.]

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You hang, senseless, in the dark nothingness of ::between::... absolute darkness surrounds you, and the profound cold stings you... you wait, and count...

Black...

Blacker...

Blackest...

Monaco Bay stretches out far below, a clear patch within an expanse of endless sapphire, gold and green. The salt air is warm and heavy, pungent to the nostrils; the air currents eddy in slow swirls, ruffling the tops of the trees below. An occasional flash of color can be seen as a firelizard appears and disappears into the jungle or water.

It is a winter before dawn.

Klimth blinks in from ::between::!

Klimth spirals down to the courtyard.

The tang of salt air is noticeable in the air, along with the frequent clang of fishermen's bells out on the water; there's constantly a sense of activity, though muffled by the trees that block the ocean. The flat, flagstone area that serves as a courtyard is surrounded by a low half-wall, broken frequently by latticed gates. Trees shade the whole area, mingling with the heady scent of the flowers that bloom for good portions of the year; well tended, they line the entrance into the hold proper. Rising high above the small 'yard, the Hold itself is obviously manmade: neat stone makes up its face, set in with simple yet vibrant stained glass windows whose shutters are closed only for storms in this time of Interval.

It is a winter before dawn.

You see Saironth here.

Kr'lin's arms are folded and he looks like he is almost asleep.. A crack of an eyelid and he snorts, "Well, it is about time you got here. I mean, really.. How long does it take to go between from one place to another? Hmmm?" An accusing look is aimed her direction, practically disdainful even.

"Long enough; I've further to come," Sissi points out, not sure if, in fact it is, but she'll use it as an excuse all the same. She shrugs off her jacket and points out, "Plus, this /was/ your idea. You had a head start."

Kr'lin snorts, again, he's getting good at that, you see, likes to show it off, "Well, I had to sneak out of the weyrling barracks and get on my dragon before some weyrling noticed and asked for assistance. I bet you didn't have that problem, did you?" There you go, bring the weyrlings in as an excuse.

Sissi wanders over towards Kr'lin, half-minded to kick him. "I had the sense not to be in the weyrling barracks in the first place, let alone to get myself in a position where a Weyrling'd be asking me for anything unless they were /really/ desperate... I was having a nice sunbathe." She grins, then, disarmingly.

Kr'lin hmms and does have to admit.. What weyrling in their right mind would go to Sissi for assistance, she's scary, and not in a frightening kind of way. "You were? You look as pale as always. And have you put on some weight?" He's giving her a good look over now, just to make sure things haven't changed too much, "Let me guess, you are one of those people that don't tan.. They burn, then go right back to being pale white again."

The wall's low enough that it's not much of a push up for Sissi to sit on it. "You missed out the peeling stage," she informs Kr'lin, "That's the fun part, moulting everywhere. Worse than a tunnelsnake." She shrugs. "Get used to it." The weight question is pointedly ignored.

Sissi

Her chestnut-brown hair is untidily cut in a variety of lengths which average out around her jawline, undecided between frizzy and straight, but decidedly a mess; framing a thin face in which bright blue eyes tend to sparkle mischievously from under asymmetrical eyebrows and an old broken nose makes all her features look a tad awry. Only just edging on the tall side of average, her figure nevertheless reminds one of a beanpole - seemingly thin to the point of unhealthiness.

The assistant weyrlingmaster's tassels of black and brown are disguised, just about, by the twist of blue wrapped around them, the whole concoction clinging helplessly to her shoulder.

A cross between a sweater and a dress; ever so warm wool dyed a deep crimson fits her snugly, for all it extends almost to her knees. Consistently dirty, and practically growing pulled threads, it nevertheless appears comfortable. Navy trous with a black patch on each knee tuck into well-worn, scuffed boots.

Sissi is 27 Turns, 11 months, and 23 days old.

Kr'lin ewws as she mentions peeling, moulting, and tunnelsnake.. all within the same series of breaths, "Well, in that case, you should move to Ista," He's back on this tip again, apparently, "That way you can burn and shed constantly. You know, we do have much better weather than Fort.. Much, much better." All hte time he spends, relaxing on the beaches.. Ahh, yes.. Beaches.. more beaches than you can shake a stick at.. and if you get tired of the beaches on the main island.. Well, there are dozens of smaller islands scattered around with their own beautiful beaches..

"Klimth lives at Fort," Sissi points out. "We can fly straight from there, home, and, well, I get to fly sweeps at Boll, and there's the choice off all kinds of weather, and I visit Ista, don't I? So why should I move. It works, kind of." As much as it's ever going to.

Kr'lin lifts a finger and points outs, "Well, if you moved to Ista, than Klimth would move to Ista too. see, it works out that way. You being his rider and all." And then, to toss in a carrot for her to gnaw on, "And we wouldn't force you to be a weyrlingmaster." Kr'lin is considering going into the business of real estate, you see. Selling beach front property on Ista Isle.

"Jules," counters Sissi, "Is going away." She doesn't sound gleeful about that fact, even though it's likely to be the end of her job. "Riders are the same all over. There's always going to be someone telling me what to do." It's like the light goes on, then, and she can get suspicious with the best of them. "How come you want me to move to Ista?"

Kr'lin ohs? "And where is she going?" Not that he knows who this Jules character is and what her going away has to do with anything. "And we are a lot more laid back at Ista, heck, the only time I really got chewed out was when I shaved one of the candidates bald." And that's how he got into this mess.. Made himself noticeable and they tossed a knot at him.. Idiot!

Kr'lin did seem to skip over the 'Why did you want me to move to Ista' question.

Kr'lin

A short, squat man, Kr'lin tops off with a head full of stubble and doesn't improve much from there. Amber eyes that gaze blankly over a pronounced hawk nose is perhaps explained by a rider conversing with his lifemate, perhaps, or perhaps not. Rounded cheek and jawlines hint at his weight control issues, issues kept somewhat in check by the work regimen forced upon him during Weyrlinghood. His body has definitely been a beneficiary of this regimen. While not anywhere near chiseled, his musculature is apparent, but masked by a stubborn layer of fat that refuses to release its grip. This meld of muscle and fat forcing a barrel chest outline, firmly enforcing his squatiness.

Firmly fasted to his shoulder is the black and orange knot of a Ista Weyr Assistant Weyrlingmaster. Apparently lacking is the strand denoting his lifemate's color, but upon closer inspection, one of the strands of black, glistens with the soft touch of blue.

On homage to his lifemate bests describes this set of leathers. Either that, or Kr'lin is into blending in, either way, the leathers are a mottled adaption of his lifemate's hue. Black at first glance, but flashes of blue glint off the hide as different angles are offered to light. The only true color present on the trous is a consolation to his weyr, a burnt orange piping up the sides. The jacket itself is lined in fleece to counteract the bite of between, yet light enough to allow for the sweltering heat of Istan summers. Emblazened upon the jacket's back is the symbol of his wing, a phoenix rising over the outline of the Weyr.

Kr'lin is 26 Turns, 10 months, and 23 days old.

Sissi shrugs, "I don't know and I don't care, but she won't be Weyrlingmaster any more if she's gone away. So I'll go back to Zephre alternating between yelling at me and packing me off to the healers, just how it was before. I was fine until she /noticed/," she adds, slightly peeved. "But at least I know where I am at Fort, and well - it's taken a long time to get there." Summary: she's not convinced.

Kr'lin ahas as he finds a way.. Or, at least a path that he can use, "Well, you can move to Ista and you won't have to worry about this Zephre person. See, like I said, we at Ista are very laid back. We don't bother with a person's lifestyle. Say, if you don't want to eat, hey! We are down with that." There might be a few pointed jibes, but other than that, eh, who knows. Might go months without someone carting her off to the Healers, even then, it might only be because Zephre comes for a visit.

Sissi thinks she has a better idea, "Why don't I get Zephre to move to Ista?" She abandons that line of thought, though. "I do all right where I am, and you - well - you must /want/ something, or you wouldn't be wanting me to move." She's not very good at accusing looks today, but she tries one anyway.

Kr'lin bahs as she seems resigned to her fate, "Why be all melodramatic about it? Hmm? Your life doesn't have to be a miserable wreck. No sense in giving up and just accepting the persecution of others. Rise up! Let them know that you are too good for them! Move to Ista!*" *Some restrictions apply. See dealer for restrictions (Oops, did Kr'lin forget about the 'What do you want?' question again?)

"My life isn't a miserable wreck," Sissi points out. "What'd change if I moved to Ista - except they'd say 'Oh, you were an AWLM, you can be again, and then -" Oh, the workings of a twisted mind. "/You'd/ get off."

Kr'lin guffaws at the accusations! "You think we'd be asking you to come to Ista so they could make you an assistant weyrlingmaster, there by replacing us and allowing us to lay on the beach all day without a care in the world." Hey, he's convinced. He hadn't thought of it in that way, but now that she's gone and brought it up, well.. He's going to run with it. Well, for a couple of steps atleast. "Besides, who better to say that you shouldn't be a weyrlingmaster than us?"

"Nobody," Sissi states simply, "Ever wants me to do something because it's a good idea. If it was a good idea I'd already have done it... wouldn't I? So if it's not to do anything, then /why/ is it. I still can't think of a good enough reason."

Kr'lin looks practically hurt, almost wounded to the core, "Why does there need to be an ulterior motive? Maybe I'm just interested in your well being? You know.. Relieve a little stress from your life. Get you away from those horrid people at Fort Weyr." Their evil, you know.. Little devils.. Just with hair combed over their horns, "Why should they force you to do anything? hmm?"

"Because - there's always an ulterior motive." Sissi may not have learnt much, but some things she has come to realise. "Why jump from the place I know to a place I don't. You never know, I might find it worse there... and why, /why/ would you be interested in my well-being? There's nothing wrong with my well-being at all." No, no there isn't.

Kr'lin returns to his guffaws! "I'll have you know.. I have no ulterior motives at all. My only interest is your well being as a person." See, he's a nice guy, "Why should you have to live in fear of this..." Pull name out of his short term memory, "...Zephre? Hmm? What gives her the right to intrude on your lifestyle? Hmm?" See, he's nice about these things, "So you are a little on the skinny side, what's wrong with that? Doesn't seem to affect anything else about you.."

"Apart from you asking about it every time you see me - and what, you'd want to do that every day?" Sissi raises an eyebrow, failing to disguise the fact that she's getting even more confused. "What'd change?"

Kr'lin moves over to Sissi and pokes her, mostly because he can, "That's only in jest, Sissi. That's just my nature. Find something that a person is sensitive about and poke fun at it." See, he's a comedian, yeah, that's it. "I might joke with you about it, but I wouldn't do anything drastic like chew you out and force you to go a Healer." See, there is a difference.

But maybe, just maybe, it's that constant trouble, the constant annoyances, that constancy of everything that Sissi actually needs. Still perched on the wall, she kicks, softly, at Kr'in's side. "So you'd be poking fun at me every day instead? That's the trade-off?"

Kr'lin swats at the foot, he can't be letting himself be kicked, you see, "Not every day, no. It just seems that way becuase I only see you once every couple of months.. If then." Oh, there you go, another reason, "For all you know, I could just pick on a person once every couple of months. Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

Sissi tranfers the direction of her idle kicking to Kr'lin's hand, instead; it's there. "But - I /don't/ know, do I? Maybe you jjust haven't got enough people to pick on at Ista. Maybe you're going to stick me in the middle of the Living Cavern and /everyone/'ll pick on me." Such a trusting soul, is Sissi.

Kr'lin swats at the foot again, this time continuing the motion to grab the wall and pull up a seat next to Sissi, see, he's quick like that, "Hey, where is the fun in watching other people pick on you? I'm more of a doer than a spectator. You know.. The ever popular, 'No one gets to pick on Sissi but me'." A few eyebrow wiggles and a nudge, "Besides.. You'd get to work on your tan at Ista. Did I mention the miles and miles of beaches that we have? We are an island.. All within walking distance from the Weyr. Many of them secluded and out of the way." He likes to repeat himself, you see.

"I - don't - tan," Sissi points out, "And if I'm coming from Fort, I don't even have to /walk/ there, Klimth can between me there in seconds flat. /Very/ secluded and out of the way ones, too. Ones you can't even walk to, we know a few." One sidelong look at Kr'lin, then she just leans over to rest her head on his shoulder; as it's there. "You do pick on me more than anyone else I know, too." Definite minus point there.

Kr'lin hmphs, "You don't tan because you aren't exposed to the sun enough. If you got more exposure, you would probably be able to tan." See, there you go, perfectly logical, "And what about those days when Klimth just doesn't want to fly? Hmm?" And since her head is on his shoulder, he might as well do a bit of repositioning and put an arm around hers, see, works out that way, "Or the days where you just wantt o get away from your dragon? You can do that quite easily at Ista. Oh, and have I mentioned the water? It's a very nice temperature. Not the littlest bit uncomfortable. Especially good on those hot Ista nights."

"There's such a thing as too hot, you know," Sissi points out, wriggling in a little closer and making herself a little more comfortable. "Besides, I'd miss the ice-skating," and the bumps, the cuts, the bruises, all the rest of it. "And I'll never tan. I went to Ista for a while once, when I was little," - and she even remembers, goodness - "And I burnt then. And I go to Boll, well, not every day, but... maybe I should just move to High Reaches and have done with it!"

Kr'lin goes as far as putting his other hand on Sissi's leg, hmm..Kinda boney, "You've had a number of turns since you were at Ista for an extended period of time. I'm sure your skin has gotten a bit used to a sun.. You just need one more concerted effort to make the final push and viola. You'll tan like nobody's business." Who this nobody is and why they have a business, no one will know. "Besides, when it gets hot at Ista, it just provides us with an excuse to have a huge beach party." Parties are good. "And ice skating? Who needs ice skating when you have surfing?"

"But I /like/ ice-skating," Sissi mutters, a little miffed, swinging her legs over Kr'lin's lap and continuing the conversation without a pause, "And you could always invite me to beach parties, but beaches are much more fun when there's no-one else on them. And I don't know how to surf. I'd probably drown, knowing me."

Kr'lin hmms as Sissi is practically sitting on his lap, oh well. Arm that was around her shoulders is shifted down to around her back, backsupport, so to speak, "Well, on those days when you feel like a good ice skating, you could pop on up to Fort then. Then, when you are done with the ice skating, pop on back down to Ista and be warm again." Well, mostly warm. It does get somewhat nippy at Ista, but nowhere near as bad as Fort, "And like I said, we have plenty of secluded beaches. Places that are only accessible by dragon. Definitely cuts down on exposure to people." And, because he can, "Can even get some nude sunbathing in at times."

"So if I can pop back to Fort," Sissi siezes on that, "to ice-skate, why can't I just stay there and pop down to Ista for nude sunbathing." She brightens at a sudden thought, "Maybe I could peel all over and leave a whole extra skin, just like the 'snakes do." Correction, then, "Not could. Probably /would/."

Kr'lin ewwies at the thought of a whole layer of Sissi skin littering the ground somewhere. That would be somewhat disgusting, yes. "Well, the integral part of living in Ista is how much warmer it is than Fort. See, you could go up to Fort to iceskate, then get all warm and cozy down at Ista. You can even go outside in the middle of winter at Ista. No more being cooped up inside the Weyr during the winter. Doesn't that sound exciting?"

"No," Sissi states simply, "You can get up to all /sorts/ of interesting things whilst cooped up in your Weyr, you know. And then there's snowball fights. And then there's..." She just gives up at that point and kisses Kr'lin, mostly in the forlorn hope that it might actually shut him up.

Kr'lin was so totally not expecting Sissi to kiss him, that she will have to forgive him if he isn't very reactive at first. Well, okay, at all, he's doing a bit of bug eye, "Hey, this mean you are going to move to Ista?" Never know.. That might be her way of saying yes.

"No." Sissi can't help but giggle, though. "You really do have that on the brain, don't you? 'Sides, you haven't given me a good enough reason yet. Nor to Klimth," she points out, not that she has to look away to include him.

Kr'lin hmms and considers for a moment, and then, a thought comes to mind, "You'll have a lot more opportunites to kiss me?" Yeah, that's the ticket. Plenty of opportunites to kiss Kr'lin.. Now /that/ will get anyone in the mood to move, "And as for Klimth.. Have I mentioned that Ista dragons are easy? They'll let just about anyone catch them."

Sissi wrinkles her nose, "I'm not sure I'm convinced all this would require me to move, though. And we've ended up at flights all over, so I don't believe you on /that/ score." It's much easier for her to give him a gentle poke in the ribs now. "I /like/ Fort." Not love, just like.

Kr'lin does have to point out, "Well, we usually only see each other every couple of months, so, you would only be able to kiss me once every couple of times." See, he's big on the kiss Kr'lin part. "And, why would you want to stay at a place that you only like? I mean, you might as well say you tolerate being the punch line to everyone's jokes. Where is the fun in that?"

"But you..." Sissi starts, and then gives up and kisses Kr'lin again - two sets of hints, plus the obvious fact that she's not going to get to do it more than once every couple of months, and well, she might as well get in what she can while she can. Besides, it saves having to come up with some convoluted answer.

Kr'lin is a little more prepared for this kiss, so he is more involved in making it an enjoyable experience for Sissi. Although, it still doesn't stop him from asking, once the kissing is done, mind you, "So, how come you are kissing me anyways?" He likes to find out reasons for these kinds of things. It does a body good, so to speak.

Sissi points out, "Well, you sat there, so I figured you wanted me to." The getting him to shut up part she decides, uncharacteristically diplomatically, not to reveal. "Else we could have been sitting here till winter came round and that wouldn't have been any good at all." Never mind it is Winter, this being the Southern continent. Sissi can't manage minor details like that.

Kr'lin would point out that Monaco is close the the equator, and is therefore, immune to seasonal changes, but, he's not in the mood to do such. After all, he's been kissed, why would he try and mess up a good thing? "Well, that doesn't seem like a very good reason to kiss a person... Do you kiss every guy that sits next to you?" If he did that with every female that sat next to him, he'd be liplocked all day. Although... Now that he thinks about it, he doesn't really see a problem with this. "Or just the ones that sit next to you in far away locales."

"Just ones in far away locales," Sissi explains, tongue not entirely out of cheek. "It's the new and exciting landscape, you see, I just can't help myself. So I shouldn't be moving to Ista, because then it wouldn't be far away, and then I wouldn't be bothering to kiss you, so what would be the point?"

Kr'lin ahas and finds a flaw in her logic, not that there is much in the way of logic in either one of their arguments, "Ahh, but Ista is where people go to get away from it all. Ista is a vacation spot! How can you say that it isn't a far away locale when so many people on the planet say it is?"

"But if I /lived/ there, how could it be far away?" Sissi's argument is perfectly logical. To her, that is. "How could I get away from it all if I was already there?"

Kr'lin does point out, "Why would you need to get away from it all when you are already there? Hmm? Can you really take a vacation from a vacation?" Speaking of vacation.. Kr'lin hasn't had a vacation since those evil little dragons popped out of their shell, "You'll never have to fear having a position of power again, or having people in power harassing you. Heck..It's been weeks since I've seen any of our Weyr leadership."

Sissi makes a point of avoiding hers, and thus hasn't seen any of them either. "I think Vinnie went away, and R'sin's quite lovely, really," Read: malleable; Sissi's doing fine there. "And vacations are all about going somewhere different. You can't already /be/ somewhere different."

Kr'lin hates to point out, but he has to, "Well, Ista is always different. We like to say that you have to be insane to be a rider at Ista. We have lots of people with.. Shall we say.. Interesting quirks."

"Really?" Sissi says, adopting an attidute of disbelief, but marring the effect with a laugh. "Whatever can yours be?"

Kr'lin sighs, heavily and averts the eyes, "Alas.. I am the exception at Ista. For I am perfect in every way. There isn't a single quirk in my entire body." Mostly because all the quirks he has are so quirky that they are quirks of quirks with quirks that are even more quirky than the quirky quirks that quirked with out quirks.

"You ought to move to Benden, that's where all the boring riders live," Sissi slanders cheerfully, on the grounds that none of them are around to defend themselves. "Or maybe /you/ ought to move to Fort. That'd settle the problem of me having to move to Ista, wouldn't it?" Well, on the kissing front, maybe.

Kr'lin snorts at that thought, "And have Zephre ride me because I like to eat? Hmm?" Not that he's getting larger mind you, or that he is quite as large as he used to be, darn excercise regimen, "Besides, I'm trying to get you to move to Ista. We can't have you trying to get me to move to Fort. It just wouldn't be right."

"We could swap," Sissi decides, "Like, on a trial. And then decide."

[And so it went on and on and on, but RL called…]