No Point In Putting It Off
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Emma, Jane
Date Posted: 10th July 2008
Characters: K'hetah, K'deren
Description: K'hetah and K'deren amend the rosters after the death of a wingrider.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 5 of Turn 4
The Wingleader spread the papers out across his desk. The watch rosters, the drill teams, the sweep maps, the support roster. Then he got four sheets of paper from his drawer; pre-prepared sheets for each type of list that just needed the names inserted.
In silence he began work.
The silence was broken by the entry of the Wingsecond backing into the office, door kicked shut behind him as his hands carried a tray with a pot of klah and a couple of mugs. "I thought you might appreciate a drink."
"Always ready for klah," K'hetah said to the brownrider although he only glanced up from his papers.
K'deren found a home for the tray, and swiftly poured the drinks.
"Careful," he said after passing the mug to K'hetah, "It seems to be rather hot."
"Thanks." The bronzerider finally looked up and took the mug from his Wingsecond. "Ahh. Yes." He juggled the mug and then put it down on one of the original rosters. "Pull up a seat and let's get this done."
K'deren poured a drink for himself before joining the bronzerider. "Duty rosters?" he questioned.
"Mmm. No point in putting it off." In K'hetah's opinion nothing ever got easier for the delay and the knowledge of things undone just hung over people and made everything worse.
"No, there isn't," and there was that empty spot in the wing as well, that had to be filled somehow, even if it was just by reshuffling names.
"Do you want to start with the sweep rota?"
"Watch duty, I think." He found the two pages. "Here - you read out the list without I'ster's name and we'll see where that puts everybody.
They'll need shuffling, no doubt."
"It will," said K'deren after a moment which gave him time to scan the list. "Might have to have some of the bronzes and larger browns cover slightly more territory."
K'hetah nodded silently, fiddling with his pen for a moment before speaking: "Do you think his age had anything to do with it?"
"I don't think so, neither of us would have let him fly if we had had any doubts."
"No, of course not." Riders of all ages died it Threadfall; certainly there were reasons for the loss of some, but for the majority it came down to chance. The sort of chance that could change the smallest of errors into death or maiming in a moment.
"If it was to do with age, then Vonalie would never have been hit by thread, my daughter wouldn't have lost her mother." There was perhaps a trace of bitterness in the words, but more a tome of acceptance now with the turns making the loss easier.
"Loeth told him he was out of formation," K'hetah said, his eyes down on the names he was writing.
"I'm sure he made every effort to get back in place, you know how confusing fall can be."
"He was getting back into place when the clump hit him."
"It wasn't your fault," K'deren looked over at K'hetah. "It could have been any of us."
"Just one of those things, then?" K'hetah said, repeating the most often voiced platitude.
"Sadly, yes."
The Wingleader took a sip of his klah. "Right. Then let's get these rosters changed. You read, I'll write."
The bronwnrider picked up the list and began to list out names. Somehow this was going to be harder than normal...
Last updated on the July 14th 2008