Xanadu Weyr - Steward's Office
The office of the Steward is a place for things to pass through. On the side of the wooden desk nearest the door are a pair of boxes labeled In and Out. The center of the desk provides a place to process those papers, with a set of draftsman's tools - pens, pencils, rulers and compasses - tucked in a small wooden box. The computer, as it receives fewer messages, is set off to the side of the desk.
One thing that stays in the office is the Steward himself - at least, so long as he holds that office - and so there's a comfortable chair behind that desk, as well as a pair of plain wooden ones in front of it for those passing through.
Bookshelves line the walls, crammed with tomes ranging in topic from weather patterns of the southern continent to crop output for the last one hundred turns. They are some the many things of which a Steward must have a passing knowledge - one sufficient to let him delegate the rest. To record the events so delegated, there are a pair of file cabinets full of paperwork not yet so historical as to merit relocation to the archives.
Afternoon. Lunchtime, to be exact. Ka'el is on break! An hour's lunch? Suuure, they give the weyrlings an hour, but they expect them to be on class fifteen minutes early. You're on time if you're early, you know. You're late if you're on time! And with it being one of V'dim's, Ka'el is making it a point to be early! But that's forty-five minutes from now, and he has time to snag some lunch. So why is it that the weyrling is bypassing the delicious smelling food to walk down the administrative hallway? Has he … ever been down this hallway? No one knows! But here he is, looking at door to door, eyeing signs, and finally .. knocking on one. Knock knock. This must be the Steward's office, yes? Because if not .. someone needs to change that name plate…
Lunchtime, yes. Jethaniel is reliably informed that it exists, and is a part of the day when he should stop working and eat. So far as that is concerned, today is a partial success. In addition to the stack of paperwork on his desk, there's also a plate upon which two slices of bread and the same of cheese have been transformed via a culinary process into a sandwich. Not only that, he's taken several bites out of it… or maybe the bites are from the green firelizard perched on his desk. It's difficult to be certain. "…but if this is accurate, then -" There's a knocking at the door. No, that's not the logical conclusion of his thought process; it is, instead, an interrupt from the exterior world. An interruption, as it were. He blinks, lifting his head from the papers. The firelizard chirps, and a moment later, Jethaniel also speaks. "Enter." He's already lost his carefully constructed tower of thought, so he might as well deal with whoever's out there before rebuilding it.
Too bad Ka'el hadn't thought that lunchtime possibly means that administration is also partaking in a meal. On break. Things like that. Oh well! Opportunities to do what one wishes to do are few and far inbetween when one is a weyrling. Gotta take opportunites when they arrive! And thus, upon hearing the confirmation to come in, Ka'el does just that. He enters. The door swings open, revealing himself to the familiar Steward. "Good afternoon, Steward Jethaniel," he offers before closing the door behind him. Eyes dance to the paperwork on the desk, then the gnawed sandwich. His stomach rumbles, but he largely ignores it. Be still, belly! He moves forward, closer to the man's desk. "..Eh, sorry to bother you durin' lunch," he apologizes, "but I wished to speak with you. Make a .. request. I don't know if there was a form." Because paperwork … it is important when dealing with Things With Jethaniel.
Astonishingly enough, those in administration are also permitted to have lives outside of such tasks. They are, in point of fact, encouraged (and occasionally enforced) to do so. "Good afternoon," Jethaniel says as he takes in the sight of the weyrling. Ka'el is vaguely familiar, but it nevertheless takes several moments of consideration to actually place him. One of the students… no. One of the weyrlings. The one who did the project involving. "…quail." It's muttered under his breath, but perhaps just loud enough to be heard. In any case, this is not the first time Jethaniel has been bothered during lunch, and it will likely not be the last. He nods to the apology, and makes a gesture to indicate the chairs across his desk. Sitting down is permissible. "There may be. If so, I shall advise you where to locate it." His lips curve slightly, a faint sort of smile, and he reaches out to brush his fingers along the back of that green firelizard.
Quail? Yes, he heard, just barely, and it's enough to have him ever so slightly furrow his brows in question. "..Ka'el, actually, sir," he offers in clarification. Easy mistake to make! He nods his head once, having had a feeling that he proooobably wasn't going to get out of filling out a form or two. Good thing they had practice! He stops before his desk, hands clasping behind his back now. "I'd like to make a request," already sounds like the beginning of a form, "for lights." .. becaasue…apparently he hadn't enough? There's only a brief pause heard before he continues. "I've been to gathers before in other weyrs, and even in our own, where there are…strings of lights," he lifts a hand to demonstrate, drawing arcs in the air, one after the other, "to lig- .. illuminate an area when it's dark. Is there a way that I could have those? Borrow them? Is there a fee?"
Jethaniel blinks. Ka'el? "Ah." He smiles. "Yes, of course." Ka'el, maker of birdhouses for quail. Amusing… apparently. Jethaniel does not, however, explain the cause of his entertainment to its source. What he does do is nod his acknowledgment to the existence of a request, then wait for it to be made. Lights? His brow arches, preparing to ask questions about the flaw in the current lighting… but as Ka'el continues, it relaxes again. This does not appear to be a repair request, per se. "I believe such are present in Xanadu's inventory. However, the disbursement of items from the stores is a responsibility of the junior weyrwomen, not the steward. If you wish to borrow a light string, you will need to make your case to them. I can advise you if you wish to arrange for a purchase, but such things are relatively expensive." Jethaniel leans back in his chair, and smiles slightly. "Should your use case be reasonable and unlikely to damage the materials, the juniors will likely assent to the loan." It is, however, not his responsibility, and his inclination to assist those interrupting his lunch with requests only extends so far. "You may obtain a request form in their office."
Oh hooray! Xanadu has the lights he wants! Ka'el's expression perks at the confirmation of them, glad that he wasn't stared at like a crazy person due to a lack of a formal term. But … 'string of lights' is descriptive enough, yes? And they're in the inventory! And … Jethaniel isn't the one he needs to speak to about it? His expression wilts towards curiosity now as the man continues, pointing him in the direction of a junior weyrwoman. Hmm.. would Soriana count as one of those? He shakes his head at the mentioning of purchasing, especially as the word 'expensive' is tacked on. "A loan would be enough. .. I'll fill the request form." He knew it. Paperwork! And .. that's that, right? Unfortunately, Ka'el still lingers. A blockade from lunch. "..Another thing, and last one. Once before, you mentioned music. A song you liked. The tavern has music playing sometimes from .. somewhere." A techcrafter he is not. "I wondered, is there a way to bring music to a smaller venue? Like .. say, a weyr?"
Strictly speaking, the Weyr does not run on paperwork. The paperwork simply documents the decisions upon which it does run. The two are strongly correlated, but not exactly causal. Then again, without the paperwork, Ka'el is unlikely to obtain the items he seeks, so perhaps a causal simplification will be sufficient. Jethaniel nods, unsurprised. Very few weyrlings possess the marks to make large purchases, and a string of lights is of limited utility most of the turn. The work having been redirected to its proper location, Jethaniel… ah. The work may have been redirected, but Ka'el has not. He, allegedly, has one more thing. "Yes?" Jethaniel awaits the further details of this secondary request. When they arrive - albeit in somewhat scattered form - he nods slightly. "Of course. You might bring a harper, for instance." Jethaniel's lips quirk wryly, but this steward is a techcrafter, so he continues from there. "For a more technological solution, you would want to requisition a set of speakers and either a computer with audio capability or a record-player and disks." He frowns slightly. "Such exist in the stores, but they are sufficiently expensive you might find it difficult to have your request approved."
A harper. Ka'el's face twists a little in dislike of the idea. Harpers do things like … stop playing to eat. Drink. Pee, probably. And they'll probably expect to get paid for their services at the end! What a drag. Technology on the other hand .. it does what you tell it to do, no questions asked! No payment needed. Convenience! And so Ka'el listens up once he realizes that the Steward was joking, and info is given upon the requested items! Expensive items. He nods, having figured that. This was a long shot, but one that he apparently didn't feel couldn't be asked. Speakers. Computers. Record-players. Disks. He's quiet for a time after, the wheels of his head turning. "..Might you have any of that that I could borrow, sir?" he asks in a most hopeful tone. "I'll have help!" he adds quickly. "Reina, the weyrling? She's.." A lot like Jethaniel, actually! So technologically sound. "She knows a lot about technology She was an apprentice before, I think."
Technology can be convenient, yes. There is, however, the matter of the initial investment to obtain the technology, the repairs necessary to keep it operational, the technicians to conduct aforesaid repairs… and so forth. Jethaniel's eyebrow lifts slightly as Ka'el lingers in his office after receiving an answer. It lifts further as the weyrling makes a request. "I possess such items, yes." The expenses are significantly reduced when some of the items were made as apprentice-work, particularly when one was the very apprentice in question. That part of the question is simple. The other part… is more complicated. The mention of Reina gets a slight nod. "Computercraft," he says, somewhat absently. The fact is relevant, but not actually the primary point here. More significant is a question also relevant for Ka'el's upcoming request from the stores. "For what, precisely, do you intend to use them?"
This is the difficult part. The why. Asking for this stuff was relatively easy. Heck, even filling out the paperwork is a no-brainer. Answer questions. Turn it in. No human involvement at all! But explaining just why Jethaniel should loan out his expensive music player stuff to Ka'el, who he probably knows as much about as he does any other random Xanadu citizen that he hardly ever talks to? Yup. That's the challenge. Here goes! "I'm having a gathering at my weyr. The lights are so that people can find their way and … reduce accidents. I've cleared the path, mostly, but there're still things anyone could trip or fall over. I don't want any more infirmary visits for anyone. The music … is because you've mentioned it to me once, and you were excited about it. Also, I've heard things played in the tavern a few times. I think it'd be interesting to hear what other people have to say of it. Opinions. Thoughts of live harper music compared to recorded music. I think it sounds just as good, and if people agree… who knows. Maybe it'll make harper craft rethink some things. How much they use technology, for one, to record an' share music with other weyrs." Might be profitable to Xandu and all that economic jazz.
Jethaniel leans forward, paying careful attention to Ka'el's explanations. A gathering at his weyr, the steward could have inferred. It is an expected thing for those recently having come into their own spaces to do. The lights are both reasonable for the stated purpose and not Jethaniel's concern, so he simply nods to that part. His real interest lies in the part of the answer involving the technological music production, and he steeples his hands in front of himself as he listens… and considers. After some measure of that consideration, his lips quirk. "A Turing musician." Jethaniel leans back in his chair. "Very well. You shall have your technological music, and I… shall hear your report on how it is received." A trace of that smile lingers. This idea, it would seem, intrigues the steward sufficiently for him to put his own materials on the line - or perhaps to use his influence to obtain a loan that would not be possible for a weyrling. The cases are isomorphic, so far as Ka'el is concerned.
Ka'el waits patiently as Jethaniel thinks it over. It's a big decision! Does he trust Ka'el not to ruin his stuff? His super expensive equipment that he doesn't (yet) even know how to use. He waits, not doing or sayting anything to interrupt the silence for however long it stretches. And then … the Steward speaks. Ka'el straightens quickly. He could certainly do without the music .. but it'd so much cooler with! Plus, who else would think to ask for such entertainment? No one, that's who! At least, not before he pioneered it. But Ka'el's hopes aren't high, so imagine his surprise when Jeth actually .. agrees! He blinks, looking at him, half expecting a "HA! Just kidding!" from the man. But .. nope! A report? Heck, he can do a report. Easy! The grin that stretches now is sudden and unintentional, and he bobs his head in a quick nod. "Yessir, I'll come to you with the report once all've the..uh, data's collected. Thank you for allowing me to use your equipment. I won't break anything." Promise!
Jethaniel does not, in fact, reverse his decision - mockingly or otherwise. Perhaps he will come to regret it, but that is a matter for the future. For now, he simply has a few details to clarify. "I will explain their function to you and Reina at such a time as you collect the equipment. Your gathering is… when?" He arches an eyebrow, making it a question. "You may have it that day, and return it upon the following. Should there be any damages, we will discuss the matter then." Jethaniel knows where to find you, Ka'el. He knows where you sleep. He assigned you where you sleep. Nevertheless, he continues smoothly. "I appreciate your intended caution." He's simply aware that good intentions do not always correlate to good results. He was aware of it in his role as a techcrafter. As steward he is, if anything, even more aware of it.
Reina. Got it. Oh won't she be so happy to know that she's been lassoed into being the DJ for this shindig? Was she even planning on coming? If not … she is now! Perhaps sticking her in charge of tech stuff isn't such a bad idea. Ka'el himself will be too busy … being him to keep a proper eye on it. And he did just promise that nothing will be broken. Upon being asked the day, he gives it, and he nods here and nods there, agreeing with all that's said. The important thing is he'll have music without bothering with harpers! Granted .. he also has a report to give, but that's unimportant. He'll have music! "It'll be returned just as you gave it to me. No one but us will touch it." Or so's the plan. He definitely won't be able to afford to fix any damages! His eyes flit to a clock (oh look how nicely that was crafted!). Yikes! He'll have to eat and run. "Thanks again, Steward Jethaniel. You won't regret it!" Famous last words. With a broad grin, he salutes him and leaves him to his lunch, heading out to find those pesky forms for his lighting request.
Insofar as Jethaniel is concerned, Ka'el already volunteered Reina. If she objects to taking such a role… well, that is for her and Ka'el to work out, as Jethaniel will not actually be there to supervise his equipment personally. All he'll be able to do is consider the evidence afterward! That, and assess the plan beforehand, but he nods to it now. It is satisfactory, at least in theory. Ka'el will have techie music for his party. Will Jethaniel regret it? "I certainly hope not," he says with a faint smile, and nods to the salute, though he doesn't return it as such. The steward watches Ka'el depart, then returns his attention to a partially eaten lunch and a stack of such paperwork as is a part of his job - as opposed to tasks for other parts of the administration and what must be nothing more nor less than a personal favor. Given that, perhaps it's appropriate that Ka'el's visit happened over Jethaniel's lunch.