Logs:A Night at the Stables
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| RL Date: 26 April, 2012 |
| Who: Iolene, Damaris, Evali |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Iolene and Damaris have a talk about freedom after settling a stubborn runner -- while encouraging Evali to be a bit more social, you could say. |
| Where: Stables, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 12, Month 8, Turn 28 (Interval 10) |
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| Stables, High Reaches Weyr Taking advantage of a natural overhang in the side of the mountain for its roof, this building boasts sturdy stone construction braced by beams of tough-as-nails skybroom. Just inside a pair of broad doors, the ceiling rises a full two stories high for the full length and half the width of the building. Beneath the overhang, wide windows admit light and more fresh air, while opposite is the second-story hayloft. The stables' main focus, however, is the double rows of stalls that line the walls below: one large stall serving as tack room, the rest housing a remarkable variety of beasts.
Because she is Damaris, she has found something to do that is not working, could pass as such for the naive, and involves talking. The young woman is perched on a stall door with her back up against the post, one leg dangling down over the side. She's currently running a comb through the mane of one of the runnerbeasts, picking burrs of some sort out with careful fingers. See? Productive. Meanwhile, there is a constant stream of chatter happening with one of those residents that _actually_ works in the stables most of the time; said stream is currently a bit of storytelling involving pokey bushes and someone getting stuck in them. Whatever the content, the young man is laughing and Damaris seems entertained enough by her telling. Who knows why she was chased out of the kitchen today. The stables are an odd place to find Evali, who has no real affinity for animals besides her own dragon -- but nonetheless, here she is. It would be very easy for anyone who knows Yanijath to put the blame of Evali's presence firmly on her dragon, and the human of the pair certainly wouldn't deny it. She is apparently enjoying the warmth, wearing a skirt for once; something she hasn't done much since Impression. The grounds are unfamiliar to her, so as she steps in she treads softly, looking around with wide eyes and taking a moment to watch Damaris and her friends' conversation -- and then there's Iolene, a familiar face. Evali smiles brightly in the goldrider's direction, raising a hand in a mostly-motionless wave. A kitchen girl here, a kitchen girl there -- sooner or later, they all become one blended face and Damaris not being in the kitchen wouldn't faze the approaching Io, that is if she were paying attention. The approaching, coaxing, beast-wheedling Iolene, who, so absorbed in her task misses Evali's initial approach in a succession of flattering words and coos to the runner. She might even sound like she's mimicking a mother, with a firmness not quite at home in her low voice, "We had our fun, now it's time to get brushed down, pampered and sleep. Night night time." Her point made, two stomps and a firm chin nod to punctuate, the blonde girl finally turns to lead the mare into the stables and catches sight of Evali. A beat skips, before a smile shapes. "Going to work up the courage to walk in to the stables today? Hey, hey- you? Person? Blondey? Pretty girl? Do you think you can help?" The runner, maybe sensing Iolene's lack of conviction in bringing her home, has now stopped cold in her tracks. Oh. Damaris's attention swings over towards Iolene and the stubborn horse, story trailing off. There's a moment of staring before she's putting on a reasonably friendly smile, setting the big fat comb down and shifting on her seat to drop off of her perch and to the ground. Stretch. "Sure," she replies, tone as friendly as her smile. And then she's turning to her companion and lifting an eyebrow, nodding her head in that direction. He? Goes to fetch the runner, offering a shy smile up Iolene-wards. Still, Dam pads along after to 'help'. But he? Gets to deal with the stubborn parts. Thankfully, he's here because he may be good with such things. On the bright side, it looks like Dam's learned enough that she can gather up those tools which will be needed for the cleaning and the comfortable-making of the animal. Because she does this thing. "As the lady insists," is Evali's answer, and she gestures with her head in the general direction of where Yanijath is probably sitting. "She is curious about runnerbeasts. Something Rhazekth said, I am sure; you ride well now!" Not that Evali ever particularly saw Iolene ride poorly, but regardless of how stubborn the creature is, it looks pretty impressive to Evali. "I am sure you can aid in my courage by forcibly dragging me inside -- I know I can count on you for making me endure things that turn out enjoyable. What -- do you need help with?" Evali is lost; she's missed where the difficulty is besides that the runner doesn't want to be moving. Io's blonde head tips to one side when, instead of Damaris, the even prettier one next to her approaches first. Her smile deepens, stretching up to squint her eyes as she makes a less than subtle appraisal of this boy Damaris has been entertaining, after which, her gaze flits to find the kitchen girl approaching as well. "I can understand why they might want to stay outdoors. It's so beautiful. It's so nice. Do you ride?" Though the question itself is posed at the boy, Io's quizzical features turn to Damaris first, and then Evali, where they rest and erupt into a quiet laughter. "Some day, maybe between Yanijath and me, we'll get you atop a runner. There's such freedom in it, Evali. Sort of like riding a dragon, but... different." The boy? He smiles only a little shyly and nods his head in response to the question, reaching to take the bridle in hand and making a few comforting slash clucking noises to the runner to attempt to urge her further into the stable. "C'mon, pretty lady," he says, tone soothing. "Time to come in and get settled for the night." He is blushing some - given the appraisal - but he seems to compose himself reasonably well. Damaris rolls her shoulders again and leans up against a nearby spot, still holding one of the brushes. She's looking curiously at Io and Evali, giving her own nod when the question is extended to her. "A little bit," she says. "Mostly I just fall off. Which I think that those moments between landings in the dirt still count as ridings." Beat. "So yeah." And another pause before she adds to Io's words to Evali, "Yes, it's far less distance to the ground." Evali is definitely mirroring the shy smile, which in her case is directed primarily at the ground; at least at first. She is unable to not giggle, just the slightest, when Damaris makes her judgment on the difference between riding a runner and riding a dragon, and she actually pipes up to speak: "That is true, at least. I have never fallen off my dragon. Who, at this moment, says she is deputizing you," and as she says that, she's looking more at Iolene, "to boss me around, and she will scratch me and tattle to Ysavaeth if I refuse. She does not mind you riding runners, Ysavaeth?" "And a runner can't catch you if you fall," interjects Iolene, tone impishly light. "Not that I've ever seen a dragon catch anything with those limbs of theirs. I'm Io. I don't believe we've met, though you do look kind of familiar." The appraising squint returns, even as she relinquishes those reins to the stablehand. "Were you the one that caught me in the stores eating the apples? No, I don't think. Maybe- no... No." With her blonde hair shaking about her head, she decides, "It doesn't matter. I'm Io. This is Evali. And I don't want to talk much about her today." Some of the teenager's good humor dissipates at the mention of her dragon, dropping the corners of her smile and sketching shadows in those dark blue eyes of hers. Casual lean, cross ankles, look between the two. Damaris's smile is easy, and...she does not seem at all bothered to stay and chat instead of trailing on after the stablehand. He does send a bit of a reproachful look back her way -- hey, you're supposed to be helping me -- but nothing gets said, and he sets about the work all on his own. "Damaris," she offers as introduction, straightening only enough from her slouch that she can offer out her free hand for a shake. First Iolene, then Evali. "I don't think we've met, either. I work in the kitchens, though, usually...so that's probably why I'm a familiar face." A toss of her head, and once the handshaking is completed, she's reclaiming her very important job of holding up the post right there. She seems oblivious to any shadows, save a very slight tilt of her head. It's an awkward handshake, from thin-handed, long-fingered Evali, but it is a handshake at all. The greenrider isn't quite limp-wristed so much as just naturally hesitant, and the 'touching of strangers when you meet them' modern tradition of the mainland Pernese is one that still hasn't quite stuck for her. "Nice to meet you," she says in a soft voice; when she turns back to look at Iolene, she simply smiles affectionately -- a wordless acknowledgement, more than anything, that she won't mention Ysavaeth. "If you need anything," she adds in her sister's direction, but if something's wrong -- talking about it in front of a stranger won't do unless it's Io who introduces it. Iolene's touch lingers in that shake, as if still trying to place Damaris, in spite of her words. But then the hand moves on to Evali and then holding up the post, because if Damaris doesn't do it, who will? And Io's left standing there still studying the non-riding blonde girl. "Are you... are you an item with him?" Cutting straight to the chase, the goldrider at least leans in inquiry and tries to keep her voice hushed. Again, awkwardness is seemingly ignored. Dam just offers Evali a reassuring smile (whether she sees it or not), and does the lean. Confusion briefly surfaces at the question of being an item, and then she's blinking and looking down the stableboy's way before returning her attention to Io. "No," she replies, shaking her head and offering up a wry grin. "No, no. Just, I'm working down here today. And we've been hanging out." A hand comes up, to brush her hair back from her face. "But thanks for asking." Beat, and she's noting Evali's way, "Nice to meet you, too." Evali covers her mouth with her hand at Io's question, hiding the unbidden giggle that threatened to come forth at the straightforwardness of it. She shakes her head, but it's only just the once, brief and punctuated. "Do you -- often change where you work?" she asks, still curious -- or maybe it's Yanijath. "So you don't mind...?" The implications of that voice trailing off could be anything, but with a second speculative appraisal shot towards that quiet boy and the drop of teeth atop Io's lower lip probably only has one real conclusion. That is, until a hip check attempts to unsettle Evali and push her out of the little trio of blonde girls and towards the boy. "So!" Regardless of the outcome of that hipcheck, Iolene turns a beatific smile upon Damaris. "Day off, kicked out, or looking for a new job?" "Not exactly," Damaris tells Evali with a smile - and then she's laughing at the hip-check, eyes sparking with amusement. A glance down towards the guy (who is still dutifully taking care of the horse, blushing, and occasionally looking down towards the trio), and then she's looking back. Oh, that smile. Her lips curve up into an impish grin. "It was more a lightly nudged out, with kindness," she explains. "Or a strongly worded suggestion that _perhaps_ it would be best if I found somewhere else to make myself useful today because I wasn't being very useful in the kitchen." Beat. "It was so nice out today." The question isn't whether Evali takes the hint, as she shoots Iolene a quick smile and then meanders idly in that direction, just waiting to see if maybe he'll actually speak to her and thus save her a bit of awkwardness -- but if she takes the hint correctly. Is Io trying to get Evali to test the waters and see if he's interested, or set Evali up with him, creating some sort of silent shy empire? She doesn't seem to be able to tell, but that's not impeding her standing in between man and girls even as she continues her small part of the conversation. "It was," she agrees. "I cannot imagine changing jobs so frequently like that. Even though I've just started training and it is sort of like that sometimes." Iolene punctuates a wistful sigh with the words, "I wish I could look for a new job." The grass, it's always greener on the other side. Feigning ignorance of Evali's indecision, and in fact, seeming to outright ignore the other girl in her idle meander over to that boy, Io turns her attention fully on Damaris, and it's only as her head turns, the shift of her eyes to try and spy out what's happening indicates any curiosity as to the state of Evali+boy. "Why don't you just work in the stables? Maybe only in the summers. You could be outdoors and hang out with all the cute boys and brush all the runners. It seems like it'd be a fun sort of job. And in the winter, you could work in the kitchen where it's all warm and cozy." Well, the first indication that he's noticed Evali coming over is that he blushes a little more. Which means he may have seen the hip-check. He continues brushing the runner down, but after a moment does turn enough to send a smile in her direction, lifting his chin in greeting. "Hello," he not-quite-mumbles, before he's turning back to what he's doing. "You want to help?" Since the person who is SUPPOSED to be...isn't. And clearly if she came over, she wants to pet the runner. Right? That's gotta be it. Meanwhile, Damaris continues to do the hardest job in the whole stable - hold the place up. With her shoulder. "I wouldn't want to work here all the time," she says. "Sometimes it's pretty gross. But it's nice to get out here once in a while. I like...the variety?" A look to Evali and then back to Iole, to ensure she's including them both in her response. "I'm good in the kitchen, I like the work, I really do. It's just sometimes I want to do something else, and...the world cooperates with me in granting my desire." Well, actually -- Yanijath does want to pet the runner. But Yanijath hasn't got hands and can't fit in the stables, which means that Evali's going to have to do it for her. While she doesn't blush outright, it's because she's not much of a blusher; instead, she looks at her feet again before forcing herself to look up and just barely speak above a whisper to say, "If you do not mind an assistant with no clue at all of what she is doing. My dragon is curious." "How..." The question lapses for a moment when Iolene turns her head to actually stare a moment at Evali and the boy and then with a giddy shimmy to her shoulders, turns back to Damaris. "How do you manage to do that? I'd love to figure out how to get the world to cooperate with- what was it you said? Granting your desires? Granting my desires. I feel trapped and helpless and it's a horrible place to be sometimes. I mean, clearly, not all the time, but sometimes it's nice to have freedom." Then there's that pause, and that odd, unsettled look that's followed by, "I don't know why I'm telling you this. I- hmm... I should go. Good luck with figuring out what you want to do. /GOOD LUCK, EVALI/." "I'm Carver," he introduces himself, though there's no attempt made for handshaking or things. Because he's dirty and stinky and knows it. Instead, he just picks up a brush and offers it out Evali's way. "Here, like this," he says, and he demonstrates, up on the runner's rump. "You can do right here. You will not hurt her, I promise." A good solid thud, to demonstrate how much the mare does not care about such things. Reassuring smile. Because this at least he knows. Oh, serious conversation moment. Damaris tilts her head and studies Io for a long moment, then just nods agreeably, "Of course," she says, hand coming up to shove her hair back from her face. "You ever want to talk about it, though? I can give you some pointers." A light shrug, an easy smile. "It was good to meet you." It's actually a good thing, considering Evali's rather awkward take on handshaking anyway. She takes the brush, moving slowly, ever-cautious -- those wide eyes only unwiden by a fraction. As she manages to actually properly groom a runner without harming her or scaring off her present companion, Evali does relax a little. "Thank you," she says, starting to smile. "We appreciate --" That would be when she hears Iolene, and she whirls around -- without stopping the combing, of course -- to call back, "Good night, Iolene!" with a grin. It's been an evening of bucket list check offs for Iolene, and she returns Evali's smile with an eye-squinted little smile of her own before turning one last time to Damaris. "Maybe. If you've got the secret to making the world spin on your finger, I'd like to learn. It seems like it'd be useful. Good night, Damaris." And off Io goes on that short walk back up to the Weyr's ginormous entrance and what lies beyond. Cookies? Alcohol? A comfy bed? Whatever. Rather than interfere, Damaris saunters on over to her perch from earlier, hauling herself back up onto the rail and reclaiming her comb. She pats her lap, the horse comes over, and it's back to pulling burrs out. This time, quietly. Carver continues with the reassuring smile, using a tone pretty similar to the one he uses on the horses. Reassuring, soothing, everything's-just-fine-here. "That's right," he says. He does chuckle at the spin and goodnight, and even nods after the goldrider, but soon enough he's looking back to what he's doing. "Sometimes you have to push a little harder to actually get the dirt to come out. You don't have to be so careful, but I'm sure she appreciates it. She's used to me and my heavy hands. You haven't spent any time around runners, then? Why not?" "There weren't any," says Evali in a light-ish tone, as if perhaps this was a given; she expects everyone recognizes her as one of the islanders, after all, which likely isn't the case. "Where I was. And then I impressed fairly quickly, once we came here?" She's going a little bit firmer with the combing now -- reassured that she's actually doing it right and that more pressure will do it better. Damaris gets a smile from her, one that's a cross between welcoming and 'help me.' He totally starts to ask before understanding dawns and he avoids making a complete fool out of himself. "Ah," Carver says a beat later, all casual like. "Yeah, that would do it. You should definitely learn how to ride. It's entirely relaxing once you get the hang of it." And he's sliding around to the runner's other side, so that he can both brush and grin across the mare's back at Evali. Because he's relaxing more and blushing less, reassured that /he/ is doing it right. She's still talking to him! "It's good exercise, too." Oblivious as she is, Damaris seems to sort of miss the nature of that smile. It's returned? But she totally stays where she is, combing the mare's mane out. She even starts humming a little tune. It's on key! At least Evali's moving through life as a failure in socializing with non-exiles has a soundtrack! The greenrider almost seems amused, and somewhere off in the not-so-far distance, Yanijath is delighted. Iolene clearly makes the best possible deputy! "Io said that. Well, not that it was relaxing, I do not think; that I should try it, that it's different than dragons." She is at least getting the hang of this brushing thing. And maybe she's also getting the hang of that 'nerve' thing that Emme and Io have both been trying to teach her: "Maybe you could show me how, sometime." "I have ridden a dragon all of once and I will agree with emphasis," Carver states with absolute certainty. "It is _nothing_ like riding a horse." He gives over a mock look of terror, and then it's back to brushing after another easy grin is sent Evali's way. At the suggestion that he show her how to ride, his eyebrows leap up towards his forehead before that grin of his is turned up like two whole notches. "I'd love to," he says. "Seriously, whenever you'd like, just come find me. My name's Carver." Pause. "But I said that already." At her new friend's sudden almost stumbling over himself, Damaris turns her head and peers towards the two with a lifted eyebrow. She clears her throat, hums some more, and goes back to picking burrs out. No laughing. "Well." Is Evali actually managing to make a new friend? Well -- she's trying. At least Io managed to pick out someone as shy and awkward as she is! "I can only reciprocate by giving you another chance to ride a dragon, but if you ever want one. Yanijath already thinks you are delightful." She's quite poor at hiding that Yanijath is really the boss; of course, she's just as much not ashamed of it. "I should probably -- get back to her soon, though. Night time oiling and all? But I will. Come by sometime." Only reciprocate by giving a ride on a dragon. Carver gives Evali a skeptical look, but it's followed by an amused grin. "Yeah," he says. "Well, I'm easy to find. Usually right here. I'll see you...sometime." Beat. "Give my regards to Yanijath. And thanks for the help." He sends a look down towards Damaris that's more playfully-mad than actually annoyed. She completely ignores it in favor of sending a sunny smile Evali-wards. "It was lovely to meet you," she notes. From her perch. Because she's not getting down again. Evali doesn't really have a winning smile, but she has a sweet one; gentle and unassuming. "It may yet be only tomorrow or the next day," she -- warns, if her tone is any indication, but it's subtly teasing. She is not actually the worst ever at talking to people! "Yanijath much appreciates your attention and insists she will get me back soon to help you again. And that maybe you could come bathe her sometime, though that is of course unnecessary from my perspective." She finger-waggle waves her way away, and gives Damaris a similar smile on her exit. "You too. Good luck with -- your work!" And then she's off, back to a dragon in demand of an oiling ... and to talk about runnerbeasts all night. |
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