Mandatory Fun (Jessan)

[twisting]

The Warden had come down with a new requirement for all the prisoner weyrlings. A mandatory visit to the mindhealer. Seems he thought she could help weed out any bad fruit. The whole idea had Kuriel positively glowing. She was as close to excited as her chemical deprived little brain could come. She'd dealt with a mind healer before. Poor sap of a man. She's run him around in circles till he was convinced her whole dust addiction was society's fault for letting her down. She couldn't wait to see what this mindhealer had to offer in the way of entertainment. She just hoped this one was a bit brighter than the last.

Djith wasn't so happy about the whole situation. Perhaps she had spoken with some of the other weyrlings, who's riders had already undergone an evaluation, or maybe her instincts were simply more honed than Kuriel's. Whatever the reason she was nervous about the encounter. She sat heavily in Kuriel's mind, her constant presence even more pronounced that usual. She cautioned without speaking, letting the weight of her worry counter Kuriel's anticipation. They both had a lot to lose if Kuriel couldn't convince this woman she was sane.

Despite Djith's warnings, Kuriel couldn't keep the twinkle out of her eye as she politely rapped at the wall next to Jessan's makeshift office.

[nozomi]

No one could ever make a truthful claim that Jessan was unmoved by the numbers of her patients; the woman thought of them often, even the ones who came to her only because they needed to talk, and she took her Craft seriously. As entertaining as those serial killers were, and endearing the young ones with problems, Jessan assisted in helping the less than insane, the not-quite-so-endearing. It wasn't their fault they couldn't stutter so charmingly, after all.

A part of that job came in quizzing the little weyrlings and their darlings. Queer things, those weyrlings, but even scheming Jessan knew what a toll living in this place could take, even if one were not a prisoner. So she waited in her little office, flicking through scrolls at the rough-cut table. Outside, she heard her single guard shift away from the door, possibly when another person approached.

Jessan glanced up, and smiled. She always smiled, it's what she did. Kuriel did not have long to wait. The Mindhealer pulled open the door for Kuriel, her free hand gesturing the young woman in.

"Hello there, dear," Jessan closed the door behind them, leaving it only open a crack. Kuriel had a dragon and, by all accounts, was not allowed to harm another person while at Warden's. Just because she was no longer a prisoner didn't mean Jessan wanted her pretty little hands wrapped around the healer's throat, or something. "Please, have a seat. My name is Jessan. May I have your name?"

Kuriel.

But small talk was a requirement.

[twisting]

Kuriel sat carefully on the offered seat, still smiling radiantly. Curled in the back of her mind Djith watched through Kuriel's eyes. Wordlessly she made Kuriel all too aware of her disapproval. She didn't trust this woman, not yet, and she didn't trust Kuriel not to be over confident. Djith soaked in the woman's every word, weighing and measuring. They wouldn't assign a fool to the prison, this is not some half trained counselor trying to keep kids off dust. Djith warned, her mindvoice as sweet as ever.

I'll be fine love, she can't hear my thoughts, she'll see only what I want her too. Kuriel attempted, unsuccessfully, to sooth her dragon's needless worry. The girl then returned her attention to the mindhealer, her eyes losing that far off, vacant look. "I am Prisoner-Weyrling Kuriel of Yellow Djith. I'm very sorry to be wasting your time, Mindhealer Jessan. I'm sure you have people who need your help more than me." Her tone was polite and respectful, but her eyes still danced with mischief.

[nozomi]

Either a dragon was better for a former Dust addict than previously thought, or Kuriel was somehow related to little Kaydian. One of her eyebrows quirked up a fraction, and Jessan nevertheless smiled at the weyrling. Pretty girl - pity she became entrapped in such a drug. Maybe. If she were on them at the time of the meeting, it'd be painfully obvious. Jessan learned how they looked, after a while. Shai, in fact, had been a learning experience.

"I can assure you that you aren't anywhere near a waste of time, Kuriel." Jessan settled in her designated seat, ankles crossed, and folded her hands together on her lap. Dainty, demure movements, all of them, her long sleeves even covering fingers from view. The Mindhealer smiled, head head to the side, and she looked at Kuriel with an appraising gaze. "It's been my pleasure to meet all of you here, especially the Weyrlings of Semith's clutch. I've heard it was a very eventful hatching, with the new colors and all."

"You Impressed the only yellow dragon, didn't you, Kuriel? Can you tell me a bit about her? I'm afraid Warden does not make much notes on the dragons, save for name and color."

[twisting]

Kuriel's bright smile flickered just a hair, she had planned on talking about herself, not her dragon. She adjusted her position in the chair to give herself time to think, all while mentally shoving the hovering yellow away. "Djith? She's a puppy, if you're not a herdbeast." She chuckled softly before settling down to ponder the real question. "She's a dragon. I'm afraid she's the only one I've ever impressed so I don't really know how she compares to other dragons. I never really spent a lot of time studying dragons, not too many of them found in the dust slums." She gave the mindhealer a wry grin. " She seems pretty normal, not that much different than her clutchmates." She chewed on her lip for a moment. "She's big, I know that much."

Kuriel rolled around in her mind the way the other weyrlings talked about their dragons, how dreamy eyed they got. How they spoke about their dragons changing their lives. Kuriel liked Djith, she liked what the dragon could do for her, the opportunity she represented. Kuriel didn't truly love the dragon though, at least she didn't think so. Having nothing to compare the feeling to, she wasn't entirely certain how she felt. "She changed my life. She filled that hole, the one the dust left. I don't feel like I need it anymore." Okay, maybe that lie was pushing it too far. Djith rumbled in her head, an unspoken warning that she should stick closer to the truth. Kuriel could just hope the mindhealer had missed the tiny tremble in her voice when she spoke of dust, or perhaps that she would attribute it to Kuriel's overwhelming love for her dragon.

[nozomi]

Jessan lived for the trembling in a persons voice, or how someones eyes would move to the side, a hand could possible shiver at just the right time. She watched Kuriel as close as one could while trying to appear somewhat neutral and kind. Her smile remained in place, unwavering, and her face continued to keep that same calm mask in place.

"Indeed. Impressing your girl and going through Weyrlinghood successfully means an early probation for prisoners, doesn't it?" Of course it did, and wasn't Jessan's voice just sweet as a bubbly pie. She tucked her chin in, eyes up at Kuriel. "I must say, it's reassuring to hear you say you no longer need Dust. Even a bit of it can kill an adolescent dragon, and withdrawl can make a rider dragonless. It's quite sad. The first case was when your Djith was just a hatchling... since then, there have been several known times."

She tsk'd gently, and shook her head as if she really thought such thing a pity. "How well do the two of you get along with her clutchmates and your fellow weyrlings? How are they treating you?" She paused, lips pursing. "Everything in this room is confidential, so you know. My apologies, Kuriel, I should have brought that up sooner."

[twisting]

Kuriel sighed, she'd heard those rumors, they all had. There was no way Djith was going to let her get her hands on Dust ever again. She'd really just traded one warden for another, and this one sat inside her head rumbling disapprovingly every time her mind started craving another high. Djith had no desire to die, and Kuriel didn't want to lose her. She was too valuable an asset. Kuriel had grown fond of both the constant ally and the way Djith's presence made other people treat her. People didn't know what to make of Djith, and they seemed almost afraid of her at times. Not that she would hurt a anyone, she was a dragon after all. It made Kuriel feel powerful, she liked that feeling.

The other weyrlings meant nothing to Kuriel. Djith kept telling her she needed to make friends, that they could be useful in the future, but she could really care less if they all fell off the face of Pern tomorrow. It was the promise of secrecy that Kuriel found far more interesting. The young woman leaned forward and grinned. "Confidentiality? Really?" She let the mask slip away, taking the smile with it. Her eyes empty and soulless she whispered. "And if I told you that sometimes, late at night, I think about slipping into the other weyrling's quarters and slitting their throats, just to hear what their last breath sounds like as it slips from their dying lips, you wouldn't tell the warden to lock me up and cripple my dragon?" By the time she finished the sentence the mask was back in place, and she was smiling like it had all been a bad joke.

Djith wasn't amused, she snarled in Kuriel's mind. What are you doing! You risk too much with your little game. Kuriel winced at the volume of her dragon's mindvoice. She had a feeling the yellow would have much more to say when she got back to her quarters. Still, the game was worth upsetting Djith, she hadn't had this much fun in turns.

[nozomi]

Oh, and with that, Jessan's smile widened. What a darling, charming little girl she had right there. Then, she shook her head, and words remained gentle and honeyed. "I wouldn't tell him the words you said, Kuriel, but I could most certainly inform the Warden you were a violent girl, and a danger to yourself, others, and your dragon."

The Mindhealer leaned in, her fingers laced together, elbows on the table, and her pointed chin went right into her hands. Jessan's smile did not fade, though it sharpened a bit with it's intent. Even her eyes glittered, dark brown under a few stray bangs.

"I am here to diagnose and help, Kuriel. If I feel you are a danger to those around you, I am well within my rights as your Mindhealer to tell the authority of this Weyr that. If he asks for a reason, well, that I cannot give. I can't tell him that when you say those things, you look just like that pale serial killer in solitary that requires shackles to even walk around the Mess Hall, or how you can switch on your charm quicker then light. But I can tell him what it is I think of you, Kuriel."

"Now... What was that you were saying, dear?" The edges of her smile softened once again, shifting to that of a gently concerned Mindhealer. "Something about the other Weyrlings?"

[twisting]

You were right dear, this woman isn't some pathetic counselor trying to keep kids off dust. Kuriel wasn't sure just what side of this game Jessan was on anymore. Uncertain she was happy to back off and just finish out the interview, but the mindhealer's words had Djith's spinning. The worry was gone, replaced by curiosity. You should listen more often, Kurielove was her only comment.

"I don't spend much time with the others, at least not outside of training. Training is pretty much all we do, there's not a whole lot left over for socializing. They treat me well enough. The non-prisoner weyrlings can be a bit stuck-up at times, but the prisoner's are fine. " She cocked her head, as though she just realized something. "It's better now that we all live together." She flashed a teasing grin. "And I don't want to kill them. I really just want to keep my head down until I can get a transfer. Going on a midnight murder spree in the barracks would put a damper on my already slim chances of ever getting out of here."

The sweet smile faded slightly as she dropped her head focusing on the clenched hands in her lap. She fluttered her lashes just a touch as she stole glances at Jessan. "Can I ask you a question?" she murmured, suddenly