It Seems To Be ~ [ tag ] Lerina / LdyPayne

[Ember]

It had been a good, rigorous practice, and T'rav was feeling it deep in his body. He'd taken the time to relax after, bathing and changing into clean clothes, and while he could have napped or taken the time to enjoy a meal on his own, he'd decided he wanted to have something in the dining hall, perhaps catch up with some of his Wingmates. It wasn't his turn in the barracks, and he didn't have lessons with the weyrlings later on, so he could have some time to himself, and unless an emergency came up he knew he wouldn't be needed in that area of things.

He walked to the dining hall, and once there, looked around to see who from the Wing was available. He spotted a few, scattered among the tables, but there was one in particular that captured his attention - the new Wingsecond Lerina. He hadn't had the chance to properly welcome her or give her his congratulations up close, so why not grab a tray and approach, see if she'd be willing for a chat for a little while? It wouldn't hurt, and if she really wanted to be by herself while she ate, he could always bugger off.

Grabbing his things, a bowl of stew, some cheese and bread, a couple pieces of fruit and some klah, he made his way back to the tables and in particular, the one the femme brownrider had been seated at. When he reached it, he didn't settle down at it just yet, but instead bowed his head and made sure she knew he was stood there. While he was her senior by a number of Turns, so he guessed, he was still polite and used her rank when he addressed her. "Pardon me, Wingsecond, ma'am. Mind if I join you?"

@LdyPayne

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[LdyPayne]

Her new duties as a Wingsecond kept Lerina busy but she loved every minute of it. For the first time in her life she was in a leadership position and she relished it. Lerina wasn't the type to be arrogant and flaunt her newly gained Rank, instead she focused on making White Dawn as cohesive and efficient as possible. As Miral made most of the command decisions it was part of Lerina's job to ensure she was kept informed of the welbeing of each member of the Wing. This included who was injured, how badly, when a return to the Wing was expected, whether it was the rider or the dragon who was injured or both. Threadscore wasn't the only impairments she had to keep track of. Physical exhaustion, stress or anything else that might affect the performance of the Wingrider were also included. Then there was all the paperwork, performance reviews, keeping track of who wished what day off, suggesting the Sweep Patrol compliment and schedule, ensuring all riders were aware of new formation changes and whatever other tasks Miral wished of her.

Another task was taking the time to get to know each rider, especially those she had ever met before so they could learn to trust her just as much as she needed to trust them. It was an ongoing project and one she rather enjoyed. Lerina never had a problem with meeting new people and making friends, especially with those who were accepting of her being a brownrider. Being a Wingsecond over those who had Turns more experience did present potential issues but so far she hadn't had any difficulties.

When one of her Wingriders approached her at lunch and asked if he could join her Lerina didn't mind the company at all. In fact she had meant to get a chance to talk with the older bluerider and get to know him. There was something vaguely familiar about the man but she couldn't put her finger on it. In the end she just assumed she had seen him around before and that was why he seemed familiar.

"Please do, I could use the company," Lerina responded, gesturing to the empty seat before her. "I've been meaning to have a chat with you. It's T'rav correct?"

@Ember

[Ember]

He smiled and tipped his head in confirmation, though as he slid into his seat across from her, he made sure to do so verbally as well. "That it is, ma'am. Of blue Marileth. He's of Atrician origin, though I'm a Bendenite." He didn't know where she hailed from, but figured sharing a little about himself and his dragon wouldn't hurt. "I wanted to come and take the time to congratulate you on your promotion. I never got the chance to when it was first announced and you were brought on board. Thought "better late than never" and I hope that applies in this case."

She was young, he noted, but he'd known young leaders around her age before and so long as she did the work, was efficient and considerate of her riders, he had complaints. The fact that the Wing's new second was a woman was no issue for him, nor that she was a female brownrider. He'd been raised better than that for one, and for two, it would be unbecoming of him considering his father's position on such riders. (Unbeknownst to him at the time, they were more connected than either realized.) "How are you finding things in the Wing so far, ma'am, if you don't mind me asking?"

@LdyPayne

[LdyPayne]

"Thank you T'rav," Lerina replied. It felt good to be complimented on her promotion but more hearing the sincerity behind T'rav's words. Unless he was very good at hiding it Lerina didn't get the impression he resented her for being his superior for any reason. This was good as it certainly made things far easier. She wouldn't put up with it for one thing, not here especially. "I come from the North as well, several Turns ago now. We are from Igen originally but I left not long after graduating, I'm sure you can guess why."

Lerina definitely didn't want to talk about why she left but if T'rav was from Benden she was certain he would know how conservative Igen was and understand why. Igen didn't tolerate anything different from what they considered the 'norm'. Women on golds, rarely on greens and anything else was just an abomination. At least her family supported her when most senior riders did not. Not that she regretted leaving, especially since her family was here now.

"I'm very impressed with White Dawn's compliment of riders so far," Lerina responded. "You are all hard working and very skilled. I've been slowly getting to know each and everyone of White Dawn's riders and look forward to learning more about you. One thing I want to establish is a comfortable and trusting relationship with my Wingmates, I want you to feel comfortable coming to me about any questions or concerns and being honest with me."

"One important thing, you can dispense with the 'ma'am' and just call me Lerina. Respect is something earned and not just because of one's title and in all honesty I haven't been Wingsecond all that long, I still have plenty to learn to lead properly. Besides, titles do tend to put a barrior between people and what I want is to establish a comfortable relationship. Besides, the only real difference between a Wingrider and their Wingsecond is a Wingsecond has far more paperwork to do."

[Ember]

He grimaced at what she said about where she was from. He knew what Igen had been like, though most of that had been second hand and from his Dad. He nodded, not wanting her to think he was ignoring what she said, or not sympathetic to her original ordeal - that couldn't have been further from the truth. "Well, its good you got out while you could. They never deserved you anyway. You're better off at Atricis, where you can properly be appreciated as the skilled rider you obviously are."

He wasn't trying to kiss up, or gain favor. He meant it, was sincere. If he wanted to try and do any of that, he would find a way to do so. "Thank you for that, ma'am. We're glad to have you on board, so you know. I'm pretty new to the Wing," and maybe he shouldn't be trying to talk for everyone, but... "I've heard nothing but good things about you so far." And that was the truth - if anyone had something bad to say about her, he hadn't heard it. If the feelings were false, which was possible, he hadn't gotten that impression.

A chuckle left him at her words and he nodded, deciding she was right. "Aye, Lerina. I'll keep that in mind. I remember the days when I had paperwork to do. I used to be Benden's Weyrlingmaster, so I can remember those days rather clearly. There are days when I miss it, truth be told." It was the truth, he liked being busy, keeping busy, having work to do; he figured it had something to do with being his father's son. "But I'll keep that in mind - no calling you ma'am from me."

@LdyPayne