
Xanadu Weyr - Weyrleaders' Office
Office and retreat, this is the domain of Xanadu's Weyrleaders. The door is in the eastern wall, quite close to the southern end while the northern wall is dominated by big, expansive windows, framed by sumptuous deep blue drapes edged with a brilliant gold braid and tied back with a thick rope of braided gold and blue cord. In between, the eastern wall is covered floor to ceiling with shelves that house all sorts of records, manuals and supplies that are used on a day-to-day basis. The southern wall has the Weyrleader's desk — plain fellis wood, well polished and masculine. From behind his desk, the Weyrleader can look straight through the windows and out onto the main airspace of Xanadu. The western wall is where the Weyrwoman's desk resides: a lovely piece of furniture made of warm cherry wood. From her seat, a glance sideways gives her an equally good prospect out the window. There are a few other seats, some comfortably arranged around a low round table for small, informal meetings while there also some that can be drawn up to one of the desks.
On the south side of the door, the space is occupied by a low oblong table where refreshments can be set without someone needing to intrude. There is also an 'incoming' tray where incoming correspondence or similar items can be left.
Niva is settled in her office, and from the look of it, she's not long arrived despite the afternoon hour, with a mug of klah within easy reach. However, not one, but two gold firelizards are perched on top of the cabinet, neither looking particularly thrilled with the presence of the other, though for now peace is kept as Niva works her way through the notes and messages of the morning.
It's been some time since Niva sent her summons for N'shen - but then, he wasn't exactly in Xanadu at the time, so perhaps his less than speedy response is forgiveable. Shrugging out of his riding jacket, the young bronzerider swings up to the entrance of the office, tapping lightly on the doorjam. "Weyrwoman?" he calls, slightlly breathless. "Taozyuth said you sent for me - us?"
Certainly, it hardly seems that Niva is fussed by the delay, for even as the young bronzerider is appearing in the doorway, she's merely absently waving him into the room, finishing reading her note before she's turning to the door, offering a chair. "I had a note from V'dim, N'shen. Regarding you."
"Oh?" Skin too dark to show a proper flush, there's still a hint of awkwardness in N'shen's green gaze as he edges into the room, moving to take the offered seat in a sprawl. "If he's angry because I've been spending so much time at Fort, Taozyuth just wants to be with his eggs. First clutch, y'know…" He trails off, grinning sheepishly.
"He certainly didn't seem too angry. I hardly think he can begrudge you the fact that Taozyuth caught." Niva smirks a little bit, shaking her head at his question. "He actually had a suggestion, perhaps, for once the eggs at Fort hatch. Something to keep you busy."
"More busywork?" If N'shen had hoped that the fact that Taozyuth had sired a clutch might make /him/ look older in the Leaderships' eyes, that crushes those dreams. Slumping down in the chair, he sends a look of mute appeal to Niva, then shakes his head. "What would he like me to do?"
"Some people would argue that all work is busy work." Niva counters with an arched eyebrow, smirking a little bit. "Though, I think this would be slightly more.. rewarding." She offers, passing over a piece of paper with a list of tasks to the young bronzerider. "Weyrlingmaster's Assistant." Its a different title, if you switch the words around!
And switch around those words he does, in his head, which causes N'shen to frown thoughtfully. "I thought I had another turn before I could have any kind of real job," because, running messages is totally not a real job, "and even older to do that? Or - " He cuts off, mouthing something. "Wait - you mean something else, don't you?"
Niva grins, with a nod, tapping the piece of paper which has a careful list of 'observing, assisting with lessons and training, running errands, and otherwise providing additional support' written in V'dim's cramped handwriting. "Something else… Certainly more of a real job than now, though not a full blown assistant Weyrlingmaster."
Lifting his head, N'shen cranes his neck, trying to read the piece of paper she's tapping. "So, like, I'd work for V'dim, not like an assistant weyrlingmaster, but just… an assistant? Doing his errands and stuff?" Though the words 'assisting with lessons and training' do catch his eye - and through him, Taozyuth, to judge from the way the boy suddenly looks ceilingward, eyes going blank. "Tao's pleased," he adds absently.
"Well, that's half the pair, at least." Niva says with a little bit of a smirk, nodding her head at him. "Are you?" She questions, leaning back and folding her arms across her chest. "Because to be frank, I've had enough of a time finally finding a solution to keep O'ric out of trouble, I'm not sure there are any other ideas to keep you the same."
Blank look. "O'ric? Why would you need to keep him out of trouble? He's like… all old and stuff. Isn't he in a wing already?" N'shen can't begin to fathom the oddness that is Xanadu's particular hierarchy - so he stops trying. "It's something to do, and maybe it'll keep me from being stuck at any more Weyrs like now," he adds, eyes flickering upwards. "I like V'dim," he adds - surely a sign that the boy is addled in the head, "and if he wants me to work for him, I ain't stupid enough to say no." Better.
"You'd be amazed what they can get into, even at his age." Niva says with a little snort, and a shake of her head. "Particularly when they find someone else equally as willing to cause trouble." But then, as he considers the offer, and in turn accepts it, she grins, and nods. "Good choice, definitely. Though, I'd be sure to be on an errand when that green begins to glow." And with another nod, it seems at least to Niva, all is settled.
Her final words give him pause, and N'shen looks anxiously at her, before deciding - rightly or wrongly - that she's teasing him. "I'm sure we'll be fine," he replies staunchly. "But - Tao wants to get back to his eggs," he adds apologetically, "unless you need something else from us?"
Niva smirks and shakes her head, waving a hand at him. "Get…" She offers good naturedly, even as she's glancing up at the pair of gold firelizards with a sigh, dismissing him to deal with the next problem at hand. Oh, spawn.
Well. She is the one who had to, you know… spawn. Saluting her crisply, the bronzerider slides from the chair and hurries out, before Niva decides that N'shen can take some messages with him on his way back to Fort.