Getting settled in (or trying to) [open]

[Maykat]

As soon as the green hit the ground near the candidate barracks, Batavia was fumbling with the buckles on the riding straps holding her tight. The transport rider batted her hands away and quickly undid the clasps. Grinning, Batavia thumped him in the leg before sliding down the green’s side. She turned quickly to catch the bag that was coming down after her. Ducking her head, the woman ran a few yards away while the green took off.

Batavia sat on a convenient boulder, ignoring the hustle and bustle around her. She knew she needed to get to the infirmary and check in, but she had far more pressing issues at the moment. While her heavy coat and tall boots had kept her warm in the air and between, she was already starting to sweat in the heat. Cursing softly, she slid off her coat then unlaced and kicked off her heavy boots. Only then did she stop to look around.

A Weyr was a Weyr was a Weyr, she thought, despite only having been to one other, and she had no problems with stopping to ask for directions. After a moment to catch her breath and settle her thoughts, Batavia tied the laced of her boots together and slung them around the handle of her bag. She dug a pair of sandals out from the bottom and slipped them on. Batavia slung her bag over her shoulder, getting a kick in the back by her boots as she did. She grabbed her coat and waited for the next person to come close to her seat.

“Good morning!” She didn’t have to wait long. “Can you tell me which one of these,” she pointed to the entrances into the cliff, “will take me to the infirmary the quickest?” While she didn’t mind wandering around the Weyr, she didn’t want to get lost while she was supposed to be getting to work.

[Kira]

Tess looked up from the report she'd been engrossed in with a blink, arching an eyebrow in the direction she'd heard the inquiry. She had a tendency to walk while reading, and over the years it had been honed so that she would sway to avoid people and objects seen in her peripheral vision (and sometimes helped along by Jase). ...Though she did still run into a wall on occasion. Or a person going too quickly for her to react to.

Quickly scanning the questioner, she managed to decipher that she was A)uninjured and B)probably new. Tess knew most of the faces in the Weyr from overseeing everything from injuries to routine checkups - though new people were arriving every day and it was sometimes hard to keep up.

After no more than a momentary pause, she smiled in a welcoming manner. "I can do you one better and show you, if you'll follow me? I'm on my way there anyway, and I'd say I'd know the way better than most." With a grin she motioned at her Healer's knots, then inclined her head as if to say she was awaiting a reply before continuing on.

[Maykat]

"Well isn't this a stroke of luck?" She reached her hand up to jiggle her own rank knots, only to remember that they'd been left behind at Southern. Instead Batavia held out her hand to the healer. "Journeyman dragonhealer Batavia," she said. "And candidate, too.” She grinned at her omission and motioned for Tess to lead the way.

"I just got in from Southern and I’d like to meet S’lain and see the infirmary first." Batavia wasn't sure how many dragonhealers were in Cerulean, but doubted it was very many. While she was willing to take a shift right away and give the others a break, she hoped all S'lain would do was look at her papers and send her away to get settled in. The bright blue water of the ocean was calling her.

"Did the clutch make it over alright?" she asked, despite knowing that if anything had gone wrong she'd have heard gossip about it.

[Kira]

Tess chuckled at the aborted motion toward the knots, even if she wondered why on Pern a person wouldn't be wearing their knots. Unless they were one of those undercover Harpers from the stories she'd read. Ah well, she'd find a way to ask later; they'd only just met.

"Well met, Batavia. S'lain will be very happy to see you," she said, giving the other woman's hand a firm shake. Tucking the folder of reports under her arm, she started in the direction of the correct stairs and motioned for Batavia to follow. "We've plenty of assistants and a few apprentices running about, but the only other journeyman are those that are only stopping in to help out for a little while. Or bringing us supplies or samples to test." A little frown crossed her features for a moment, but she banished it with a wave of her hand.

"Not that either of us minds a bit of work, and we try to help each other when possible. He healed humans before moving on to dragons, and I've probably read at least half his books by now so I've got a fair amount of the theory - just not so much the practice. And since we were a major priority of the Hall after the...tragedy," she paused to gulp, the smile on her face faltering for a moment, "we managed to get a really nice set-up."

It was true, and while she loved her new infirmary...she really wished there hadn't been such a need for it. Ridding herself of the haunting thoughts with a firm shake of her head, she turned an apologetic smile toward the newcomer. "We would certainly be grateful for the help as soon as you get settled in, though. I can sketch you out a makeshift map once we get there so you can find the Candidates' barracks and who to check in with, as well as the kitchens." She gave a small grin to the other woman. A place to sleep and a place to get food were the two most important areas, right?

[Maykat]

Batavia followed close behind the woman, gawking at the Weyr the whole time. She paid special notice to small landmarks that would let her find her way back on her own. "I thought there might be a problem getting good healers to come to the new place," she said. Weyrs were always willing to off load a bad healer but it was harder to get a good one, especially one with the bad-luck reputation of Cerulean. Batavia decided not to mention the rumors she had heard. It wouldn't help anything and she knew the people here wanted to look forward, to see Cerulean as a new place.

"I don't have any experience with humans, so I doubt I'll be able to help you much. I was a beastcrafter before getting Searched," she explained. "After that I realized how much better dragons were than herdbeasts and I switched over. I can just drop my bag in a corner and get started right off," she offered. As much fun as exploring the new Weyr sounded, Batavia knew she wasn't just here for fun. Like everyone else, she had a job to do.

[Kira]

((Aaaaaand this is why it took forever to get done. I hope you like walls of text. <3))

"Healers like to think Weyr positions are prestigious because they require a vast amount of skill to get one. Then they realize it requires that skill because even vast amounts are not enough, and the work here is generally more demanding than anywhere else." She shrugged and sighed. "Which you, thankfully, already know before coming to us." She smiled at the other woman, hoping to convey how very happy she was to have another Healer on board who wouldn't run off as soon as she found out how hard it would be.

Nodding for Batavia to turn with her around another corner as they spoke, they soon came to the infirmary doors. Opening one, she gestured for Batavia to precede her in. "Ah, alright then. I might have need of someone to help me with medications and holding down recalcitrant patients, though, so I might still call on you. I always seem to only have the willowy apprentices around when one of the guys that makes me feel like a fire-lizard next to a dragon gets injured." Eyes crinkling in amusement, she chuckled at the memories associated with that. "And dragons are definitely better than herdbeasts. Unless you're hungry." A wicked smirk stretched across her features, and then she turned and walked toward her office-quarters hoping the other would follow.

"Nah, it's alright. We'll have you on shifts soon enough. S'lain and I can re-work the schedules tonight after I see what your schedule will be from the Candidate Master." Taking a piece of paper she began a rough sketch of the Weyr. After a moment, satisfied with her rendition, she waved Batavia over to look at it. "Right, so, here are the central stairs that'll get you to pretty much any level. Candidate Barracks are up top, right there, and you can see the arena for the Sands from there. The Hall is here, and for non-mealtimes to grab a bite the kitchens are here." She went on to point out the important areas, scribbling little labels as she did. Her quarters, S'lain's quarters, the other Healer barracks, Weyrleaders' weyrs, and the weyrs of the current Candidate and Weyrling Masters. "A lot of Weyrs don't have access by foot to the Rider weyrs, but we've got a small tunnel that runs along the back of them. It helps to get to a dragon or rider if they're ill and can't be moved so that we don't have to ask assistance from another Rider to get us and our equipment there. I'll get you a set of keys to the tunnel doors once you settle in." Looking over the map once more, she nodded. That should be the important stuff.

"For now, just get settled in. The Candidate Master will want to know you're here, too. I'd go to him so he can assign you a space in the barracks. Have some fun exploring before you have to snap back to a schedule." She grinned in sympathy. ...Oh, some people enjoyed the blasted sun, didn't they. "Er, and the beach is quite nice too. If you trek a little away from the Weyr-proper there's a bit less bustle and a bit more quiet, and plenty of shady plants and cave alcoves along the edge of the beach. Just be careful, though, as there are wild animals about. You might want to leave that for another day when you can go with a friend."

Rolling up the little map, she handed it to Batavia. "Most of the stuff in the infirmary is arranged like every other infirmary. You'll get a mini-tour when first you work." Out of the corner of her eye, she spied her mischievous flitter trying to drop a couple tiny flowers on Batavia's hair and grinned. "My flit Jaser - who apparently thinks you need decoration - will bring you your schedule tonight." She glared pointedly at the little miscreant, and he chirped in his utter and complete innocence back at her as he lit upon her shoulder for a snuggle.

[Maykat]

Batavia followed Tess, mentally cataloging the turns they made. Cerulean was certainly different from Southern. She knew northern Weyrs were carved into stone like Cerulean, but so far she wasn’t liking it very much. Her mood improved once she stepped into the infirmary. Being in her familiar world eased away her previous traces of claustrophobia. She relaxed and took a deep breath. All infirmaries smelled the same; redwort on top, numbweed in the middle and little bit of urine underneath everything, no matter how clean it was. She loved it.

Batavia followed Tess and dropped her bag in a corner of the office, out of the way. She surveyed the infirmary while Tess drew up a map. Pretty straightforward; like Tess had said they were all the same. It didn’t look like they had many patients, always a good thing. At the woman’s wave, Batavia joined her and leaned over, looking at the map. She paid special attention to the important stuff: kitchens mainly, also S’lain and Tess’s living areas and the quickest route from the candidate barracks to the infirmary.

“V’mio’s usually good about letting me put dragonhealing before the candidate stuff, at least until the eggs are clutched. I’ve been standing for five Turns so there’s not a whole lot of new information for me to learn on that side of things,” she said with a flick of her fingers. Not like in the infirmary. Batavia was glad that the bronzerider had preceded her to Cerulean. V’mio might have funny ideas about some things, but at least she knew his methods and moods. “So after the Hatching I should be able to work whenever.”

She felt her hair prickle and move and shook her head slightly before she saw the firelizard around her. Batavia laughed as some of the flowers fell out, catching on her clothing. "Well thank you, Jaser. I did need some decoration."