Logs:Crafters And Clover
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| RL Date: 13 June, 2013 |
| Who: Arekoth, Dilan, H'kon, Lilabet, Madilla |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Arekoth gains some minions in the form of Lily and Dilan. Madilla and H'kon talk about the crafter representation issue. |
| Where: Waterfall Pool, Ista Weyr |
| When: Day 20, Month 13, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| OOC Notes: Backdated! |
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| Waterfall Pool, Ista Weyr
A few dozen paces from the stone ring of the pool is a flat, grassy area, spotted with occasional wildflowers and little clovers and removed just enough from the splashing water that voices are more easily heard. Behind the pool, the cliff wall is rocky; ancient-carved steps meander up the wall, just far enough from the waterfall to be passable though moss and dampness make the path exciting. Another, less dangerous path seems to lead back to a tight squeeze and a certain shower if one chooses to pass behind the waterfall.
With the end of the meal, H'kon has finally given himself over to the temptation that has been there all along, in the form of clover. After the first few strands, the brownrider's fingers have remembered themselves, and he is carefully braiding the stems together. His eyes, too, are at the pool's edge, though it's Arekoth he watches. Or, more specifically, Arekoth's interactions with those children. The brown is up to no good at all - it's in the flicking of his wingtips - as he stretches his neck to peer along the same line of sight as Dilan. Egging him on, probably. Madilla has to pause in the middle of folding (not scrunching!) the cloth napkins to turn her gaze from the children (and Arekoth) to H'kon, and it's at least in part because she's heartily amused by his clover efforts. "Another talent of yours I knew nothing about," she teases, light and bright in a way that she has been less, of late, these past few days. Dilan's recent interest in brown dragons, rather than the greens preferred by his sister, is no doubt Arekoth-inspired; those flicking wingtips have the boy ignoring his sister, and taking a step into the water, towards that so-tempting waterfall beyond. "'"Dee," says Lily, but she's not really warning them, not yet. "Be careful." Oh yes, isn't it tempting? It must be explored. Whatever could be behind all that water? Don't worry, Arekoth will keep him safe. The brown's twisted foot, looking all the bigger for its proximity to the little boy, steps further into the pool. Flick-flick. H'kon manages a terrible scowl after Madilla's words, though he's certainly not paying her much attention. The, "Hm?", in fact, is quite late, and he at least makes a show of turning his head toward Madilla, if not his eyes. Fingers carry on, undisturbed by the whole business. Half reluctant, half interested, Lily takes her own step forward, glancing from her brother to Arekoth, and then towards the waterfall. Dee isn't waiting: Dee is in the water to his waist, now, and still perfectly content to paddle along. Madilla only laughs, apparently as amused by H'kon's reaction (or lack thereof) as she is by what he's doing. "Nothing," she assures him, putting the napkins away. Now she glances back at the children, gaze narrowing, but only slightly. "They know how to swim, I suppose." "And they will not swim too near the waterfall," comes between gritted teeth, a command spoken rather than thought, and one that has Arekoth taking another step out. The brownrider clenches his teeth, to little avail. "I know what to watch for," comes as reassurance, perhaps more for himself than Madilla, for all its her children his dragon is trying to drown. And, still without much conscious thought, he pinches his braid to hold his progress, and reaches to search out another long stem among the clover. It's H'kon that Madilla glances at when he says that, rather than those children, that dragon, or, indeed, the waterfall itself. But she doesn't seem concerned, and certainly not alarmed, and says as much: "It's fine. They're fine." For now, however, the waterfall is exactly where Dilan seems to want to be, even if the water is about as deep as it can get without him losing his footing, now, for all that he's sticking mostly towards the edge. Lily, more a dreamer than a thinker, says, "Ooh, is that a cave behind it?" Gee, whatever could've got him fixated on that waterfall? Arekoth steps in (almost carefully) nearer to his new biggest fan (or, smallest, maybe), wings offering some shade from the Istan sun, wanted or no, as they dance shadows across the ripples in the pool's surface. "Are you?" is to Madilla, once the ring of her words has all but had time to die off. Once that new strand of clover has been worked in among the others, all still without H'kon's looking at it. Dee turns his head up to grin at Arekoth, the purest of pure delight - and walks on. Lily reaches, as though she's going to grab his hand, and then evidently changes her mind, and hoists him onto her shoulders instead. Her, "Mama said to stay at the edge," is true... but isn't going to stop her, either. Back in the clearing, Madilla's, "Hmm?" seems to imply that she doesn't follow, her mouth opening... and then closing again. Maybe she just worked it out. "Right now? Yes. At home... I'll be better once the supposedly mature and responsible crafters of High Reaches stop acting like... like children." Hey! Upon closer inspection of that perch - and the beaked snout of the brown gets right close to Dilan's hair - you know who else has shoulders? And what sort of a thing might be great fun to try? The dragon is hunkering down in the water, doing his best to still his wings, though there's just so much going on that they cannot but trail on the water's surface here and there... H'kon can wait for Madilla to follow his words, and looks, just a glance really, to his handiwork. When he's back to watching the affair going on in the shallows, his thumb rubs over the uneven bits he'd spotted in his braid. "Hm," comes again, this time, more on the thoughtful side. Dilan might try and claim that idea for his own. It's in the way his eyes light up, and the way he clips. "Boost me," he commands his sister, waving hands towards Arekoth. Lily hesitates... but only for a moment: fine. She's tall for her age, and Dilan is short, but Arekoth is bound to be a better perch for all concerned. "Only I think children might actually be a little bit more sensible," says Madilla, sighing. She doesn't need a verbal response to be willing to talk, now, despite having said nothing on the subject these past few days. "If Mastercrafter elections are anything like that, then I'm very glad not to be a Master." Arekoth ducks even further down, water covering that hooked snout of his as he waits. Flick. He does his best to look at Lilly throughout the process, but even dragons have to obey the laws of physics and angles. Sometimes. "It is a strange way to decide things in a Weyr," H'kon decides, trying so desperately to keep his voice even, though there's something of a frown that does make its way in. He goes after another long stem, fingers exploring the patch of clover, once again without visual guidance. Lilabet gives Dilan a hoist and then a push, just enough to allow the boy to clamber up the rest of the way until he's safe (relatively) and sound atop Arekoth; this seems to thrill him, enormously. Lily shakes her head, amused, but evidently not intending to join. "You look after him," is her mock-warning to Arekoth. Madilla drops back into a resting position upon her ankles, have been previously kneeling, and gives H'kon a thoughtful glance. "How would you decide such a thing? In a Weyr? Some of them want to decide via drinking competition. I do think it's a good idea, though. Crafters, having a voice of some kind." With that boy safe(ish)ly seated, Arekoth adds a bit more height once more. Not full height, even if he moves a bit awkwardly with that one leg of his, but hopefully enough that he can get a good squeal or two out of Dilan before he finishes his turn to stare at Lilly. And, carefully, begin to drop a shoulder in invitation. There's little skill in H'kon's avoidance of Madilla's first question; he simply glances down again as he works his newfound piece of clover into what is becoming a fairly long little weave. "I know you like the idea." He stays cryptic enough a moment or two longer, before being willing to offer a dry, "Perhaps they should simply race for sex like civilised people." "'Civilised'," retorts Madilla, able to chuckle at the idea despite holding on to that general sense of frustration and irritation. "May the most virile Crafter win. No thank you." The lid of the picnic basket gets closed, and though she pauses to seek out the children, letting her gaze linger there for a moment, it returns to H'kon afterwards. "What do you think of the idea?" she prompts. "Be honest." Lilabet regards Arekoth squarely, but shakes her head, determined. "I'd rather walk, if you don't mind. You're too big." Arekoth can snort with the best of them, and it's such that he gives to Lilly. His wingtips touch water again in their flicking, this time on purpose. If some of that should get close to the girl, all the better. 'Be honest' is what has hold of H'kon. It may also be what keeps him braiding in silence for some time, grimacing as he orders his thought, until finally, "I think the strength of a Weyr comes in its simple claim to a singular leadership." Dee is delighted with that water, and triumphant with the tongue he sticks out at his sister. She is unbothered, entirely, by any splashing-- in fact, she'll return it, as much as she can directly at the brown, so there. Madilla's silent while H'kon considers, watching the children rather than him. "I don't disagree," she says. "I don't - as I see it, this whole project is not about leadership, as much as making sure that crafter issues can be raised with the people who can do something to fix it. The way Wingleaders meet with the Weyrleader." "But an ill time for it, perhaps. With a wing who would make its leader that of the Weyr, and what ought be the actual leadership seized without claim." It's not a tone that necessarily invites debate, so much as something a bit more despairing. And once he's tied off the ends, H'kon holds the little braided garland of clovers he's made out to Madilla. Even while Arekoth aims himself and splashes again. Madilla is silent a few moments more, though the incline of her head acknowledges all that H'kon has to say; she's not necessarily disagreeing. Not wholly. She takes the clovers, decking herself out in them in a pleased way, not that it removes her introspection. "Hopefully that will be resolved soon," is her eventual remark. "And then we can move on to... better things." Out in the pool, Lily squeals and begins to throw water everywhere; Dilan applauds, all but howling with laughter. The woman's response to his project, such as it was, at least manages to draw a bit of a- well, it can't rightly be called a smile, but H'kon's lips press and the corners pull toward the back of his head, and he doesn't look displeased at everything, at least. He looks toward the laughing and splashing, seems to consider, for a moment, getting up to push for calm and caution, one hand bracing against the ground as if to push off... but in the end, H'kon just winds up reaching for another three clover stems. |
Comments
K'del (K'del (talk)) left a comment on Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:18:18 GMT.
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Unrelated to the log, but: I really need to get Madilla new icons so that she doesn't look like a teenager next to H'kon's dirty old man.
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