Logs:Lining
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| RL Date: 22 February, 2013 |
| Who: R'hin, Telavi, Lene |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: R'hin and Telavi find out what's in a jacket. |
| Where: Storerooms, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 25, Month 1, Turn 34 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Shiana/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: With apologies to Robert Frost. |
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| The storerooms are lovely, dark and deep... at least, for a certain greenrider. While it's late enough into winter that most not-still-growing people might have all their cold-weather gear by now, and nowhere near the springtime that would warrant a change of clothes and pace, that doesn't stop Telavi; she's been here for some time now, in the furniture section, pulling up the protective dust-sheets to peek beneath by the light of her glows. It may be afternoon, but this far within the stone warren, one wouldn't know. From near the entrance, there's some low voices, and a bit of girlish giggling. It seems someones come to the store, perhaps not for the resources therein; the man's deep voice is nagglingly familiar, but Telavi might be too far in to hear clearly what he's saying. They're over near where the clothing is stacked. It happens; it's not like Telavi hasn't done what might be much the same thing. Still, the siren's lure of couches and tables and dressers must have waned, for after a while, she dims her glows until there's just enough to see by, and off she goes in search... quietly, peeking around the corners when need be. She'll dim those glows even further if she has to, and hang plausible deniability. "We have to see if it fits you," one of the caverns girls can be heard giggling, and there's a brief rustling of clothes. Eventually Telavi will see them: R'hin in his shirt and minus coat, standing in front of the girl, who is reaching up to unbutton his shirt. "You know, in my time," R'hin's murmuring, his hand tracing the line of her jaw, "One could get a jacket without being... accosted." The girl gives him a look -- that makes him laugh, and her glower in turn. Telavi could leave them be, but there wouldn't be much story in that; plus, it's not as though they appear to be about to do something more interesting in her supposed absence, such as hacking secret passageways into the walls. Blue-today eyes consider them for a few thoughtful moments, and then one or two beyond that... and then she's retreating back into the dimness: far enough back that her not-exactly-loud footsteps might become gradually audible to the perceptive, and her brightened light visible, before she rounds that corner into a moment of 'realization' and a wide-eyed, "Oh! Hello!" The girl tugs at another of his buttons, but then gasps in surprise at the arrival, taking a step behind R'hin, only relaxing when she sees it's not one of her superiors. R'hin's expression is closer to a knowing smirk when he takes in -- and recognizes -- who it is. "Lene was just helping me pick out a coat," he says, without a trace of embarrasement. "I seem to have misplaced mine. Want to... help?" "Lene's terribly kind that way," Telavi says admiringly, and with such warmth as to seem genuine; perhaps it even is, for she shares that sparkling smile with the girl as much as the man. "I'd be glad to do what I can; how far have you gotten? I do believe I saw Shiana about a bit earlier; perhaps she'd have some ideas...?" If namedropping the assistant headwoman is a gentle warning for Lene, it's surely for the girl's own good. "Isn't she?" R'hin's less so, given his not-so-subtle sideways step brings said girl into full view. "Well, we--" he turns and looks at Lene, who is blushing somewhat furiously, whether at the look or the implication from Telavi. "I'd... best go and check with her," she quickly blurts, with another look at R'hin. Whatever is in it makes the bronzerider chuckle softly, and he's unashamedly watching her retreat down the aisle. "Now, as for you," he turns pale gaze on Telavi, expectantly. "Sailor...ess." Telavi's acquired a prim set to her mouth when he reveals the girl like that, even if her dimples do make it into existence for a moment; it's only after her own, "Good luck!" that she can let that repressed smile slip free. It's made that much more bright when he turns, when he greets; in turn she demurs so very demurely, "Oh, I only knew one... or two; that might not count for such a title. Don't you have to know the difference between jib and jibe?" "If you knew them intimately, then that counts." At least as far as R'hin's concerned; he casually buttons up his shirt, his gaze shifting from her to the racks around them. "Perhaps you can help me pick out a jacket. Assuming the cost isn't too high; I lost terribly at poker the other night." "Is that how that works," Telavi marvels. "Well, sailor, I suppose I could take your word for it..." and with that she comes closer with light steps, surveying him-- but with a professional eye. "If you lost that badly, I'm surprised you're still wearing a shirt," as the proverb goes. "What are you looking for? Something fancy, something that can stand hard use, or just something that will keep you from freezing your-- elbows off, between?" Just the faintest trace of a low laugh from the bronzerider. "Just something to keep me warm -- for the time being." It could be taken as suggestive, and the way he returns her regard might well say so, too, except he immediately moves for one of the racks, pulling out a ratty old jacket to hold it up. "What do you think?" "Too shallow in the shoulders," is Tela's prompt reply. "Also, not warm." Her tone speaks of reproof, though her eyes laugh, "Give me more of a challenge than that." "Then please," R'hin returns the jacket to the rack, then gestures for her to look. Of course he doesn't move out of the way as such, so she'll probably have to squeeze past him to inspect the contents of said rack. Of course he doesn't. Telavi doesn't hesitate to hand him her glows-- he might as well be useful-- and then put her own hands on the man, if only to suggest a sidestep before she turns back to the racks. "Hmm," turns out to have a variety of musing moods as she looks; it's not like it's dramatic, no jackets leaping out into her hands, and most of the time it takes just a touch to reject them. A few more get tugged out partway, but it'll take a little longer to size up the rest; her head is bent, scarf falling loose over her own shoulders beneath her coronet of braids. This might take a few minutes; just how patient is he? Surprisingly dutifully, R'hin accepts both the glows and the repositioning, even if the latter makes him grin at her as he does so. Peering over her head, he stands close -- if just to take stock of her rejection of each item of clothing. He doesn't seem that much in a hurry, at any rate. Telavi apparently takes the jackets, if nothing else, seriously; as she starts on the second pass, she wonders, "Just what kind of 'misplacing' are we talking about? Forgotten, stolen, requisitioned? If I find you another, only for you to misplace it too..." One has an inner seam to the lining that's come partially undone; rather than reject it out of hand, the rest of it must be creditable enough, for she sticks her fingers inside and feels testingly around with now and again another hmmm'. "Appropriated," R'hin decides is the best word for it, amusement in his voice as he says it. "Eventually to be returned. And I think you missed a calling as a Headwoman -- you have that Disappointed In You tone down pat." The Savannah rider apparently takes her fondling of the jacket with some curiosity, given he's crowding in closer to look, too. Appropriated brings out a laugh, even if it's a half-distracted one, echoed for the emphasis on 'the word that comes after; for the rest, Telavi says blithely, "I like to think it has lots of uses. Though our weyrlings are getting old enough that I expect not to have to use it there for a while..." She does glance back over her shoulder. Whatever she sees, or senses, she lets R'hin look without a murmur other than, "Lining's easy to sew, and won't show-- and while it's still loose, you can look in. They didn't cut the seams too small on this one. And actually..." eventually her fingers emerge with a few daintily-held oddments that she drops onto the lining: lint, of course; a small scrap of hide with tally-marks on the side that shows; a silvery glass bead; a broken die, made out of bone maybe, with one corner chipped off. "Hm. A secret compartment?" R'hin declares, reaching around her to snag that broken die from the collection of odds and ends. He looks amused, tossing it up in his hand for a moment. "A bit of sewing, I can manage -- unless you're offering?" He's nothing if not guileless, putting the full weight of his easy, knowing smile on her. "Is the hide some undelivered love letter, or a tally of bed notches?" "'Offering,'" Telavi remarks with openly laughing eyes, "is a strong word." That smile might have even more effect were she looking back, but as it is, quick fingers snag hide and bead before they retreat, brushing the lint off onto the floor for some other lucky person to sweep up... someday. "It's also probably a hole in the pocket, which you should also fix. If you go that route-- and let's not look on the other side too soon, lest we find out." Telavi's pockets might not dare to have holes; that's where she stashes her own tiny prizes. "Too strong? How about kindly, or indulgent, or friendly. Would one of them suffice?" R'hin, of course, notices those other items that are stashed away, and there's something of an air of disappointment. "We're not going to investigate the secret of the gambling, glittery secret keeper? No? Not even a little bit curious?" Fixing jacket conversations will wait until later, apparently. "Mmm. Those might very well apply, but suffice?" Telavi even clucks her tongue against her palate, and slips the jacket to the side in favor of another one, which is cut well enough... for a woman, complete with curvy seams. She doesn't look at Rh'in for this one; no, she's stashing it beneath the first one with a secretive smile. "We might investigate. I might be curious. But," it apparently being her turn to sound altogether too guileless, "shouldn't we wait until we'd taken care of the initial quest?" "But I thought we'd succeeded," R'hin gestures towards the first jacket, with all those little secret prizes. "And while I admire your... tenacity, my curiosity far outweighs it, I think." He shifts closer, and leans in with the intention of snaking a hand into her pocket after that bit of hide, unless she moves quickly enough to avoid it. "But there could be another one. There could be a better--" It's a sharp little inhalation to go with her sharp reach-and-turn, if not one that's wholly surprised, Tela seeking to pin his wrist against her hipbone and get a better grasp from there. "Pssh. You could've gotten it. You took the other thing." The die. R'hin clearly isn't trying too hard, since she manages to grab his wrist, his fingers lightly pressing against the curve of her hip bone once she's pinned it there. There's a low, wordless chuckle from the bronzerider. His other hand is, admittedly, taken up by the glow basket, so he can't do much more than stand there. "It would help," Telavi notes severely, "if you would argue. In words." Help her, anyway, and never mind that laugh that's beginning to bubble up. It's just a hide; surely she needn't be so possessive except for, well. He is. She deepens her voice, says in an imitation of a guard-- or at least a harper imitation thereof-- "Take your hand out slowly, sir. No sudden moves." "Why argue," R'hin counters, "When it's just as fun not to?" There might be a little wiggling of fingers, and a throaty sort of laugh that's all-too-familiar, before he sloooowly inches his hand away, trailing along her hip as he does so. "Yes, ma'am," he adds, dutifully. That curls her fingers, which really didn't need to be tighter, and now loosen somewhat in half-apology. "Do you have the bead too?" Tela questions. Would he tell her if he did? That's before she twists further, craning for a better look, "Palm up. Open up slowly." It should be stern, only there's that hint of laughter again, right at the verb. "No, ma'am," he answers, immediately, and then with her latter order, makes a face that is part amusement, part acceptance. Slowly, R'hin turns over his palm; he's got the hide pressed there, and the bead between the fold of his thumb and index finger. "Guilty," he admits, unashamedly. Telavi's laugh isn't managed; it's too light, too loud, too delighted. She moves to tease out the bead, head bent, but the hide? "Last chance," she says to R'hin, to the tally marks. "You really want to know? It might be a laundry list." R'hin relents, to a degree; he'll give up the bead after some work on Telavi's part. As for the hide, though: "I always want to know. It might not be a laundry list; it might be the key to domination of all Pern, and I can't very well leave it in a greenrider's hands, now can I?" Judging by the knowing grin, that last barb is designed to provoke. Tela's eyes narrow right on cue as she curls the bead into safekeeping, tucked in her finger-- but then they round with mock-realization; "You're right! You need to be able to stand a chance." Only the voice doesn't match; the voice is too transparently amused by the baiting, and it's right then that she flips the hide over with her thumbnail. Revealing... "Hm. Disappointing," R'hin concludes casually, and yet despite that he expertly snatches the hide away. Then he reaches for the jacket Telavi's picked out -- the first, not the second -- looking to snag it with a couple of fingers. "Appreciate the help, sailor," and it's said with that same easy tone, and yet he seems distracted all of a sudden, turning to stalk from the room without a backward glance. "Welcome! --sailor," follows after him and then, as Telavi pivots, a long look. Thinking. She doesn't stash the bead in any pocket now, instead deftly refashioning the end of one braid to include it; neither does she-- for all that she examines it, for all that she takes it with her-- try that second jacket on. And then she moves on. The stores are lovely, dim and deep... but she has promises to keep, and things to do before she'll sleep. |
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