Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr(#634RJ)
Partly sheltered by the curving stone overhang, partly exposed to the weather, the wide stone patio serves as a balcony for socializing or just plain drinking on a sizable scale. The repurposed ledge might once have let two large dragons land, but now there's too much furniture for that: two rustic tables with attendant chairs, plus a couple more in particularly good weather, and a wrought iron bench situated to make the most of the view of the western bowl and the lake beyond.
Other changes include rough little niches carved out of the stone walls to hold glows in colored bottles at night, the climbing plant that's being trained to grow up along the overhang, and the blue ceramic pots of flowers that dot the edge of the ledge as a colorful reminder not to fall off.
An archway leads to the Snowasis itself, housed in the ledge's former weyr, while a few wide steps descend along the wall to the bowl.
What with the thunder sporadically echoing off the Bowl walls and the steady snowfall, this would seem an odd place to be spending one's evening, especially given the proximity of an enticingly warm and lively den like Snowasis mere steps way. Yet here sits Helgret, huddled atop the metal bench, her knees drawn up close, arms wrapped around them as she rocks back and forth slightly, gaze locked as if transfixed onto the snow as it falls. Gauging by the amount of it gathered in her hair, she's been here some time.
Huddled in a borrowed flight jacket the assistant records keeper picks her way through the worst of the snow, presumably heading toward the warmth and comfort promised just inside the ledge. Dark eyes peer above the furred cuff of the jacket that covers her chin and mouth, bracing against the worst of the cold. She shivers a little, but it's the blonde huddled in the snow that draws a curve of her brow in surprise. "You know It really isn't good to stay out in this too long. You will make yourself sick if you aren't careful." Tapping the toes of her boots to knock loose the worst of the snow, "Can't blame you for staring though, lightning and snow - it's a pretty enough combination."
The blonde's gaze darts up at the stranger's voice and then dismissively away, settling her chin more firmly onto her knees. It's a classic teen--or maybe just Helgret's--response to admonishment, just roll your eyes and ignore it. She does finally lift her head in the end, looking the intruder up and down and then replying with a flat, "Yeah. It's nice. Weird for here but not so much if you're /from/ here." For a moment it seems as if she plans to continue rudely staring into the distance, but then she suddenly adds, "You get used to the cold, too. It's nothing really." Never mind the deep rosy tint that her cheeks and the tips of her ears have taken on, the occasional wave of shivers she can't quite suppress. It's nothing really.
Edyis eyes show the smile that the jacket hides. "True enough, not a place in pern quite like Reaches." Moving past the girl to enter the bar, and it's only a minute or two before she returns with two steaming mugs of klah, her own probably doctored with something a little stronger. "Here, this will help." She offers the mug to the girl, though seems ready to set it on one of the nearby tables if it isn't accepted, dusting a seat clear before sitting down herself. "Lived here long?" her own mug lifted to her lips, as she blows gently dispersing the rising steam.
Such a completely unmerited act of kindess does seem to be enough to draw Helgret out of her act of long-suffering apathy. "Wha--really?" she blurts, lifting her head to stare quizically at Edyis. "But...why would you do that? I'm nobody to you, and I wasn't even nice or anything." She takes the proffered klah nonetheless, cradling it appreciatively with both hands. "Yeah, never really been anywhere else. You?"
Edyis laughs, "It's just a mug of klah, but if you need a reason, I suppose it's because there are those who did the same for me when I first came here, " She states, adjusting the collar of the jacket so she can sip from hers. "I lived in Nabol originally, and since then I've been all sorts of paces I guess. Lived in Monaco for a while, but Reaches it seems will always have a claim on my heart." Watching the dance of the snow between the flashes of light, though Edyis occasionally studies the girl from the corner of her eye.
"It's /never/ just a mug of klah," Helgret replies with conviction, raising her eyebrows at the older woman between tentative sips from the mug. The concept of living in all different sorts of places does have her eyes lighting up with interest. "Like where?" she cuts in, leaning forward slightly.
The scribe tilts her head a moment as though recalling. " Tillek was the only other place I spent more than a seven in, but I visit all over the place, Fort, Benden, Keroon, Ista's particularly nice this time of year." She laughs, "One of the bonuses of living in a weyr I suppose. You get a whole different picture of the world as a much bigger place. It helps to put things in perspective sometimes."
Helgret's attention is momentarily claimed by her mug, as she takes a greedy slurp, but she's listenting intently nonetheless, gaze lifting again to study the scribe's face appraisingly. "How do you get to do that?" she insists, again brushing off the deeper contemplation of perspective and the perceived size of the world in pursuit of the practicalities. "You'd think I could go wherever I wanted, being surrounded by all these dragonriders, but I guess I'm doing something wrong. What important stuff do you do, that they're happy to just fly you around wherever you want?" The girl's gaze grows nearly suspicious for a moment, drawing her mug in closer to herself. Is this woman a spy? Someone really important in disguise, waiting to catch her out being rude?
"I think, the secret is not letting on that you want something from them." She states with a wink, downing the last of her klah in one go. "Although, trying to make friends doesn't hurt either, but I'd bet you get the hang of it. If not you could always stand when the next clutch goes round." She states standing. "Either way, I would personally feel a little better of you went and thawed for a bit. Don't want to get stuck in the infirmary with frostbite." Dusting the snow off herself as she stands.
"Oh, I have plenty of friends," Helgret retorts, growing instantly defensive at the implication. "Just not /fancy/ ones with the time to fly me everywhere." The emphasized word could practically be an insult, the way she spits it out. "Yeah, soon's I get my dragon, I won't have to worry about it anyway." The scribe's parting suggestion provokes a shrug from the blonde, and a bland, "I'm fine. Thanks for the klah." Placing the cup onto the table, she huddles into herself again, as if she plans to spend the whole night out here.
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