Logs:Maybe in Fifty Turns
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| RL Date: 17 May, 2013 |
| Who: Telavi, Sabella |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: The girls are painting Sabella's weyr, then they do a lot of talking and not painting. |
| Where: Sabella's Weyr |
| When: Day 16, Month 10, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: I'zech/Mentions, K'zin/Mentions, E'sren/Mentions, N'gan/Mentions, Quielle/Mentions, C'wlin/Mentions, N'hax/Mentions, Alida/Mentions, N'ky/Mentions |
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| Fantastically Blue (And Orange) Weyr, High Reaches Weyr(#1958R) Blue (and orange, peach, gold and crimson, though less of them here, out of the weather) continue on through the archway between ledge and weyr, finally giving way to the natural grey stone of the weyr's interior. Ah, quiet: no wind, no noise, no eye-blinding colors. Inside, the weyr is all soft shades and creamy furniture, its pale wood furniture clothed in natural hues, with driftwood and thin linen accents covering the many storage alcoves, and the lovely rounded sleeping room. The hearth is likewise sleek and smooth, its short mantle holding a simple stone vase, presently empty of flowers. Only along the edges of the dragon wallow near the door does orange explode again, matched by citrus-hued sacks full of sand for resting a dragon's tired chin.
"I think you should too," agrees Tela from her ladder, a kerchief protecting her precious hair and riding goggles protecting her arguably more precious eyes as she pokes the brush into an indentation that likes to swallow the paint. "She'll like it, and I don't think any of them would think it's funny. What do you think, will they get even crankier when the weather gets worse? Can they get more cranky? I know I can." Those riding goggles on while they're inside. Sabella can't even. Any time she glances up and over at the other greenrider she hands up covering her mouth to stifle some degree of laughter. "Oh well. None of them have to see it, right? Unless you think that I should slip it in the notes we leave for Taikrin? Do you think she enjoys fine art?" As if caricatures really count as fine art, not really. "I don't know. They're all pretty angry most of the time. Did you see the way that B'ren was staring down F'manis this morning? I can't imagine it getting any better with the winter." Unlike the portion of those other times where Tela's caught Sabs at it before, this time Telavi puts her arms up in classic Rrrrrrgh! position like the Tela-monster is going to attack. Without falling off the ladder, hopefully? At least the dropcloth should catch any drips! "I saw that. No, not for the Weyrleader... unless you make one with boobs," only that comes out uncomfortably, sort of questioning, less for the subject matter and more because Taikrin is Taikrin and impressive to Tela at the very least. "Never mind. Yes, I saw, it was hot," kidding? maybe? "And you didn't have to elbow me so hard," but Telavi's now laughing just shy of a giggle anyway as she dips the brush back into the smaller-portion pot and gets back to work. Only she's writing this time, not working on covering space: 'This is Sabella's private dominion,' spelled correctly even, thank you harpers! 'KEEP OUT' and beneath, the classic 'THIS MEANS YOU!' That sudden movement shocks Sabella and she steps back, laughing and holding her paintbrush out in front of her protectively. "Taikrin has... breasts? I guess that she must. I don't think that I've ever really noticed to be honest." That comes a little thoughtfully, like she hasn't given it much attention. "You think B'ren looking at F'manis is hot? F'manis is old. And not in the good hot kind of way." Telavi must be kidding. Has to be. She runs her brush up a long empty stretch of stone wall. When suddenly something seems to occur to her. She dips one paint speckled hand into her back and wanders over to the ladder, holding something out. It's a small, polished button that clearly comes from a man's shirt. "Guess who I got that from?" Very proud. "No, no, it's more that she likes... anyway, that's how the rumors go," and Tela can only shrug, followed up by a secretive hint of a smirk at the wingleaders that's bent toward leading Sabella on. It doesn't slow her down in adding exclamation points, but the other girl's approach does, and she bends to look at the little button with gratifying interest. "Let me guess, that is not from Stores. Is that really..." Bluish-green eyes lift to Sabs', delighted. "Did he notice?" "Oh..." That Sabella can understand. "Well then I'll just draw Sisha with you know, really big ones." She even makes the appropriate hand motions to match what she's talking about. Such is how classy they are. "The shirt it's from could be from stores. But I think that he came to the weyr with this one." Her smile is absolutely mischievous as she holds the button up for another moment before palming it back into her pocket. "It is. I think that he had more important things to concentrate on then what happened to it. He won't notice it's missing until he goes to mend the shirt." Not that she's worried. "Definitely do that. Unless she'd show Sisha. Unless Sisha would like it?" Tela's at a bit of a loss for answers there, but for the button, not so much. "Let me guess," the onetime seamstress speculates. "It's from a low button, because otherwise he'd notice sooner." Sabs gets a teasing glance, right before Tela turns away to add a big swashy underline beneath all those exclamation points and sets her brush in the can. Not that it's good for the bristles, but... priorities. Teasingly, "What do you want for your next trophy?" "I... don't know. I don't think that Sisha likes much of anything." Sabella decides with a quirk to her mouth, finding a dry spot of the wall to lean onto. "I actually don't know what part of the shirt it's from. He did one of these," And here the greenrider makes like she's dramatically ripping her own shirt off. But she's not and he might not have, not exactly. But whatever he did was close to that and caused him to lose some buttons. "and it came flying loose." Her question prompts laughter. "I haven't decided. Maybe I'll take the whole thing next time. It's not like he was using it later." Tela's smiling to the point that her dimples show, and that's just Sisha. Then her jaw drops. "Sabs! He did not. ... Did he?" It's the less-paint-y hand that goes over her mouth, and then she's clutching onto the ladder for purchase. "Did you... Did you?" Maybe Sabella can decipher that. "Finally? I just can't believe them sometimes." "He did! Just like that." She pauses. "And sort of like this." And she makes a motion like she's desperately trying to get a shirt off but the cuff has gotten tangled on the end of her arm. When Telavi's hand goes over her mouth, Sabella takes a moment to look at least fractionally bashful over it. Fractionally, not completely. Not even close. "We did." Apparently she was able to decipher that. "Finally." Given the ensuing giggles, that version is even 'funnier. "Finally," Tela repeats all over again, admitting, "I was beginning to worry the equipment wasn't functioning. You know. But you say 'next time,' so it can't have been that bad," right? Especially with that bashfulness! It's probably one of those things that was less funny at the time, but in the recap turns out to be hilarious. "I know. Me too. I went up to his weyr to argue with him over his arguing with K'zin, but that happened instead. So maybe I should go thank him for trying to force his friendship on me." She sighs, rolling her eyes with a distinct hint of amusement. "Oh, there's going to be a next time." Her smile is quirky and suddenly she 'ohs' and moves away from the ladder, pushing off the wall. "I drew something the other day. It's of I'zech. You know, you mentioned seeing him in the baths and..." Well. She can't help herself really. Her canvas bag is on one of the little couches, tossed aside. That cuts Telavi's hilarity a notch or five. "That again," and she sighs hugely before tromping down the steps, not her usual jump what with the can in paint in hand, even if it is little. Still, there gets to be a bounce in her step by the time she's made it to the floor, and she sets the paint down by the other gear before sticking her goggles owlishly up onto her forehead and following Sabs. "See. See. See!" It's almost like one of their calisthenics chants, only not! "Yeah, I think maybe he's going to cool his heels. But he's damn persistent." Sabella exhales, brushing it aside for now as she digs into the bag and gets her sketchbook out. She flips through the pages and finds the one she wants pretty quickly. The I'zech drawing is simple, just the baths and sketchy looking girl from the lower caverns with long hair. And him, giving the girl googly eyes and flaunting his muscles and tattoos. All kind of exaggerated. She pulls the page out hands it over, smiling crookedly. "I thought you might want it." "Occasionally in a good way," though the empathy in Tela's tone implies not here, edged as it is with Sabs's own frustration. She waves her fingers in the air just in case there's in any paint that needs drying while she waits through all that flipping, and then, then she can reach out and snick that page from Sabella's fingers to admire it properly. Her smile is more wicked. "I like that," she says. "Especially if I want to sleep in without an actual reason next time, I can hang it up where it's super noticeable. That might distract our wingleader of the month, don't you think? And I won't tell him which parts are real," and which really, really exaggerated. "Occasionally in a good way." Sabella agrees. She doesn't hate K'zin or anything, but there is a certain level of frustration with him. Maybe it's closer to exasperation these days. "I thought that you would. Maybe you can put it by your bed and say that he's your boyfriend or something. That would throw them of. Though I doubt it'd work with Alida." She wrinkles her nose and close the book, slipping it back inside the bag. "Oh, no. You should claim that all the parts are real. Why tell him or her the truth?" "Sabs." Tela sticks out her tongue at her friend, blushing. "I can't imagine how that could possibly go wrong. Though, you know, if you make me a picture of Quinlys too..." Sorry, Meara, no love! "What do you think Alida likes anyway? Anything? Maybe I don't want to know. And you've convinced me about 'real.' Although I don't know if anyone would believe that that really is twice as big as his neck..." She glances at Sabs, her voice altering. "'Him or her,' by now I'm wondering if there'll be a 'her.'" "What? You don't think our Weyrlingmaster would appreciate you going around telling people that?" Sabs asks with that teasing lilt twisting her tone. "Maybe I'll draw a picture of them together. Though that feels kind of wrong. Even to me." She admits, scrunching up her nose. "Ugh. Who knows? I think she likes men though, honestly. You know. One of those women that acts like she hates other women and pretends to be a tomboy in order to make men think she's more relatable." She snickers at the comparison Telavi makes to that one part, well. She catches that alteration in tone and her smile fades a touch. "Yeah, I know. But you haven't gone yet. Maybe you're going to pave the way." "It's this crazy notion I have, don't know how I could have gotten it, but no. Unless!" Tela abruptly changes tone, reasoning, "Maybe if I tried, 'Oh! He's my boooooyfriend, he's so cuuuuuuuute,'" in a voice pitched to sound uncannily like April's except nearly high enough for only canines to hear, "that might entertain even Quin... well, maybe just Meara for about half a second. I think Meara would laugh, especially if I batted my eyelashes at her. Relatable, though?" Sabs can scrunch up her nose, Tela can turn up hers. "I don't think she does that. I mean, I know someone who does? Or did? But I think she's just generally grumpy, remember, I told you there was that one time, maybe even two when she wasn't? Maybe she got brought up like a boy or something where all she knew about being a girl was that girls have long hair. She wouldn't bother if it didn't mean something, because it is a bother." Telavi, expert on sociological markers of femininity? Tela's quick to laugh at that, though she can't put off the rest, the part that she's heard but just hasn't responded to, not until she can't make herself laugh anymore. Finally, quietly, "I don't... know if I can. Why me?" It's not even rhetorical, nor quite the classic whine. Sabs dissolves into laughter, giving up on the painting for now and dropping down onto the couch. She makes certain that she's not covered with paint first though. "Maybe you could skip out on your morning drills again, but this time say it was because you two needed to catch brunch. Since true love trumps all and that's much more important." That last is said with a bit of a sing-song voice and she giggles again, shaking her head. "But also, she doesn't have any friends that are women. They're all boys, the only ones she talks to all that much are K'zin and N'ky. So?" Speaking of long hair, she pulls on her own which is finally back down to a reasonably length. Her touch is almost possessive. "Such work. But so worth it." She sighs wistfully for thoughts of hair gone past. "Why not you? There's no reason that you can't be the Wingleader for the month, Tela." Tela can roll her eyes for that, and sits at Sabella's feet with her sketch after her own paint-check. "Let's not even, never mind that brunch sounds good. You sound like Quie. Well no, she's not that bad," although by the girl's suddenly pained expression that might be a white lie too. "Why, Sabs, why did she..." and then Telavi clamps her own mouth shut, mutinously. Alida. Back to Alida. "I should look in on her. Who knows, right? And for wingleader... I don't know. I mean, I'm not excited about telling people what to do. No, really. Any ideas? What would you have done?" "We should go to brunch more often. If you were the Wingleader you could get us a brunch worked in there. Instead of lunch." Sabella is helpful as always. For that possibly mutinous remark, she lifts an eyebrow swiftly and questioningly. But the actual thing isn't spoken. Instead, "It's not like you have tell them to do much. We all pretty much know what our drills are and when to get up. Maybe you could make it entertaining. But you know, without putting so much work into it like you-know-who. Or run a tight ship but without sending N'hax around to throw water on people. I'm not sure what I would have done, but probably along those lines?" For the lift of that brow, Tela shakes her head slightly, less in negation than later. Because, "You have such good idea. Brunch. As long as we don't wind up skipping a meal, because then people would kill us. Maybe brunch, dinner and a separate dessert? I don't know. Or did you mean brunch for just us?" because apparently Tela doesn't exactly have a problem with that either. "Less work, no N'hax, unless we turned N'hax to the power of good somehow. Sleeping-in-type good." And then when Telavi gets a brighter smile, because, "Speaking of which? A certain fabulous assistant weyrlingmaster said something about," and here she holds I'zech's caricature up to her face, facing Sabella so it's like he's sort of kind of talking, "you two 'shacking up.'" Later, well alright. Sabella can roll with that and does, kicking her slippers off and folding her feet up underneath her. "I was thinking for the wing. But you know, maybe we should just start getting brunch too. Even if it's just a tiny one. I love food." It's true. She's a skinny girl but she does enjoy eating. "Maybe you could have N'hax wake them up with song instead of brutal violence. I think he'd have a good voice. Deep. He looks like the type. Or, oh. Have him wake the girls up shirtless. Plenty of them would like it if he was their boyfriend." When Telavi holds that picture up, she blinks and then laughs. "What? He said something to me about my 'boyfriend' the other day. But how could he know? It's not as if E'sren has been... you know?" Particularly big on the public-displays-of-affection? Not really. "A tiny one, with sparkling wine," Tela inserts, because evidently she's decided that can't happen too early in the day. But then she's laughing and then laughing some more because N'hax and deep voice and shirtless and if it weren't for all that running they have been doing, she'd be actually running out of breath instead of just risking it. "We should, we absolutely should. But just the girls? Because I think it would be more fair if he had to wake up everybody." Her dimples come out of hiding for a moment, right as she glances towards the ledge before looking back at Sabs. "Seriously, he said that. He also said something about wanting to make sure you two don't wind up like Quie and N'gan," and Tela gives Sabs a look because they aren't, are they? "I think whenever someone starts, I don't know, rubbing elbows or whatever, they start assuming, or maybe it's fishing. It doesn't take a tongue down anyone's throat." "I suppose that if we have to be fair about it he can wake up everyone shirtless. But I think he'd embarass some of the guys. You know, the skinny ones." Sabella is still laughing right up until the next point. She exhales and blows a bit of hair out of her face. "We're not going to end up like them. I'm careful, I'm always careful." She wrinkles her nose and just sighs for the explanation. "Maybe that's true. I didn't deny it when he called him that but I didn't you know... not deny it either? I guess I just don't see where it's anyone's business but mine and E'sren's." Pause and then a quick smile. "And yours." Clearly. "You say that almost like it's a problem," Telavi notes of the skinny ones, but she's quick to discard that in favor of the quicker-noted careful, overtly relieved in how she looks up at Sabella. The picture hangs neatly from her fingers but stays otherwise unregarded, now. She doesn't press Sabs on details. She does agree, her smile big and bright, "And mine." But, "What did he call him, though? I'zech called E'sren something?" "It depends." Is Sabella's easy response on the concept of skinny guys, spoken with a flash of smile and a quick dimpling in her cheeks. She shrugs her shoulders for that request for clarifcation. "I'zech and I were talking about the Wingleader meetings and-" There's a moment where she cuts out, eyebrows furrowing before she roughly exhales. "And he wanted to know if my 'boyfriend' shared the same opinions as me." Tela might try to let that go, but evidently she can't. "Is he skinny? I'd apologize for not paying attention, except I think it's better this way. And... you don't want him to be embarrassed? Or... you don't want N'hax to walk in when you might be there?" Not that that stops her from the rest of the nitty-gritty, pulling up one foot to sit half-lotus so it's more comfortable. "I'zech. I swear, he just wants to get reactions. But," more importantly, "what did you say? Not boyfriend or not-boyfriend but whether they're the same. And who says 'boyfriend' anymore, anyway." That's so preteen. Sabella pretty much smirks, but it's the close-lipped pulled to the side kind of affair. "He's less skinny than he used to be. I think he'll also be on he lean side though, not that I mind." Her laughter returns and she tilts her head back for it. "It would probably be awkward if I was staring at him while E'sren was right there, wouldn't it? And I don't think he would get embarassed by that." Still amused but more somber, "I think so too. He probably gets a kick out of it." She stretches her arms out over her head. "I said that he did. At least he seems to. And your boyfriend calls people boyfriends." "'Lean' is a good word," Telavi determines, and now she's lazily waving the picture in the air, back and forth, like a fan. Who knew I'zech, or rather 'I'zech,' could shimmy? "So awkward. He might mind then. Actually," but it's too early, easier and better to stop, Tela glancing down at her boot to pick at its sole while Sabella's continuing. Is that a bit of dried paint there? She'll just have to get it off. "Probably," she agrees, nodding for the seeming too, and everything's going along just great until the end there when Tela looks up just so that Sabs can see her roll her eyes dramatically enough to make one of those preteens envious. "Don't even. Sabs. I don't have one of those." Maybe I'zech has some dancing capabilities after all. Sabella watches the paper with a simple kind amusement. The conversation on half naked boys is allowed to slide by the wayside for now. She's laughing again, flicking a bit of lint off the couch and towards Telavi. "I know. But I can't help but tease you about a couple of them, can I? Or maybe just one. He's the most interesting right now even if you're not doing anything. Maybe next week there'll be someone more exciting." The paper shimmies towards Sabella, now, just in time to get hit by the lint and go whimpering off into the distance behind Tela's back. "You shouldn't beat up on your assistant weyrlingmaster," Tela tells her severely. "And besides, he told me he wasn't any good. After this one girl, you know, he hurt his back, and that's why he's so cranky all of the time. His ink used to say her name over and over again, but he had to cover it over because he was so embarrassed. And did I mention they spelled her name wrong half the time? So anyway, that's why he hangs out around weyrlings, it's as close as he can get." Her dimples show, and while someone else might fall for all of it... "But I'm all for more exciting next week. This week." Sabs' hand creeps up her face until it's covering her up, her eyes peeking out between her fingers. "Really. He's so cranky all the time because of that?" There's a short round of laughter. "I can't imagine him caring enough about any girl to get her named inked all over his body, nevermind get all sad for life over one." She drops her hand chews briefly on one of her nails. "I just figured he was bitter against the world in general." She smirks and then rolls her eyes, still endlessly amused. "I know that you are. Just as long as you're careful." Tela improvises, "It was a long time ago, you see. When he was young and..." her eyes light up. "Impressionable," because that's the newest pun ever, "and the rest was just fallout." She shrugs, then leans in enough to poke Sabella's knee with that same shoulder, only to wind up just leaning against it while looking off in the direction of those earlier-painted words. "Then you know I'm not Quie. And I drink my tea," and that rhymes, but it doesn't make her smile the way she normally would. "And that was what a whole... five minutes ago? He's not that much older than us." Perhaps another reason why he's become popular amongst the more doe eyed girls in this weyrling class. "I know that you're not Quie." Sabella is quiet for awhile, looking over the top of her head towards the slowly drying wall. "It's been bothering you what happened with them. Her and N'gan." Tela does transfer the drawing to her lap, if only so she can hold up six fingers to Sabella. Six minutes! But she stays silent as long as Sabella does, and longer. She doesn't deny it. Slowly, "She's our age. I know. And it's not like she didn't live here for awhile beforehand, she said. I'd have thought she'd have known. But... she was just like us and now all of a sudden, she's behind everyone, and it's going to be horrible for her, it already is." With what some of them say. Sabella takes a breath and abandons further talk of I'zech to slide off of the couch. She extends her legs out and folds her hands into her lap, leaning her shoulder into Telavi's. "That's just not true." She starts quietly. "She'll finish weyrlinghood late, yes. Her child can be raised in the lower caverns or partly by her, partly by fosters. She will finish. She'll graduate to the wings late, but so what?" That question is asked with emphasis. "It's going to be uncomfortable for her. But she's going to survive and maybe she'll even be a stronger person for it. This whole thing is whatever experience she decides to make. She can suffer or she can find some new strength." Tela unfolds her legs so she can stretch hers out too, correspondingly, and she gives Sabella a half-smile for it. "She won't starve," the girl agrees. She's slow to start, even when Sabella's done, and then all those words fight their way loose. "She won't be, I don't know, whipped into the streets or disowned by her family or whatever. You're right, she'll finish, just late... she still has Nhidanth, she hasn't lost Turns of apprenticeship. It's just, we've been working so hard for whatever advantage this is going to give us, and everything looks like it's going to be okay, sunny skies ahead, and then it all blows up. You know? And people will still see, for awhile, someone who didn't have the self-control or the knowhow not to, or that she's stupid, and some of the others already think she'll take just anyone then, she's that easy. And N'gan, I believe her when she says it was just him, only him. It's not like... me. And still he tried to say it was someone else, and what if he had gotten away with it? He didn't get kicked down nearly as soon as she did, even if I understand why, I guess. So it's not awful like it could be elsewhere. And I don't want to keep her from finding strength... but can't she still find strength with our help? Shouldn't we, I, help her if I can?" "Or is it all just perception? Have we even be working for anything this entire time? Have you ever thought of that? Maybe she's not losing out on as much as we all think. None of us are getting promoted for turns. In the time that takes, eventually people will forget about this too. They'll find someone else to shake their finger at, she can come out of the other side virtually unscathed. It all ends up coming out the same in the wash." Sabella's been gradually sliding down the slope of discouragemen these last few sevens, so perhaps her stand that the girl won't miss out on much doesn't come as a surprise. "No one is saying that you shouldn't be her friend. But that's about as much help as you can give her, friendship help. You can't be her hero in this. Sometimes a person has to work it out on their own, she's not alone." Telavi's eyes widen because, "That's my line. Lines. You stole my lines." She starts to laugh, only it comes out something like a gasp as she stifles it, reaching to try and put her arm about her friend's shoulders and even now careful of that growing-out hair. "Maybe. Maybe so. Maybe it's not just us, maybe in fifty Turns, everyone will envy High Reaches' reputation." She hesitates. "I don't want to be her hero, Sabs. I'd be no good, and she'd just get pissed off later. But if there's something she wants that I can give her... that's all right? And maybe stick it to N'gan a little, on the side." "Or maybe we're just learning each other's lines and forming one single personality out of our indiviudal ones? Oooooh." Sabella makes wiggly hands and leans into the arm around her, comfortably fitting into it. "We can stick it to N'gan later. He's a stuck up Hold-heir brat anyway, I wouldn't mind helping with that." Her smile is sly for that and she laughs, reaching over and flicking her picture. "I think that we're done painting for the night. You know, I think that they're putting out the after dinner food now." Just a hint. No, a huge hint. She's going to insist that they leave, go down and eat the late night snacks that the living cavern has put on. And likely talk each other's faces off some more. Or ears. Whichever. |
Comments
Comments on "Logs:Maybe in Fifty Turns"Eliv (Eliv (talk)) left a comment on Sun, 19 May 2013 16:36:44 GMT.
Well that was delightful. I
Azaylia (Dragonshy (talk)) left a comment on Mon, 20 May 2013 00:42:41 GMT.
I'm beginning to think the girls have a fixation with I'zech. xD Then again, who could blame them?
I like Telavi and Sabella's galpal relationship. They're close, but not overly serious... I equally enjoy their goofing off, and their talking about stuff that matters. c:
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