Logs:Meeting Minara
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| RL Date: 10 September, 2014 |
| Who: Edyis, Minara |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Edyis meets Minara for the first time. |
| Where: Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 9, Month 10, Turn 35 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Heavy, driving rain makes everything a wet and muddy mess today. |
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| Stalactites hang high above this enormous cavern like a jagged chandelier or an inversion of the Spires themselves, but shadows cling to them instead of light. Below lie great tables arranged in rows, each large enough to serve a fighting wing, while in the nooks and alcoves around the cavern's edge sit more sensibly-sized tables, from six- and eight-seaters down to intimate spots for just a couple of diners. The only really open space is around the kitchen entrance, smelling of food and rarely quiet, and by the nearby serving tables with their long buffet of the day's offerings.
Tapestries on the smooth walls -- some faded and others newly woven -- only slightly mute the sea of sound when a meal is in full swing, but they add cheerfulness augmented by the glowlight from wall sconces and the centerpieces of each table. Still, shadows always creep along the ceiling and into the mouths of the exits -- the myriad small hallways at one end of the cavern and, at the other, the twisting tunnel to the bowl near an array of coathooks and and hatracks -- and late at night, when the glows are allowed to dim, the chamber can seem very dark indeed. Minara enters from the bowl, shedding a water-soaked jacket as she goes. She shakes it a few times to dislodge the worst of the rain, then hangs it from the hood before continuing toward the food tables, in search of an early lunch. Soon, she has her meal gathered on a plate and takes a seat at one of the tables. Still early in the day and yet the young scribe who makes her way into the caverns seems ready to crash. She bee lines for the klah pots selecting the one that is made at triple strength usually reserved for caverns workers. Food too is collected, plate piled haphazardly with precarious balance as the young woman scans the tables with dark eyes, before spotting an empty seat. "Mind if join you?" The words come softly in that sweet soprano voice. Minara looks up quickly and stares at Edyis for a moment, registering the other girl's words from whatever place Minara had withdrawn to. "Of course," she's quick to reply a second later, gesturing toward that empty spot as she smiles. A moment after, she holds out a hand in greeting. "Minara. Newcomer," the last added with a wider grin. "Edyis, Records Room Assistant." She chirps in reply, regaining some of her usual cheeriness despite the lack of sleep. "Welcome to High Reaches then." The younger woman comments settling into the seat with a satisfied grin, "The food is good, even if the weather is terrible. Kitchen's staff knows their stuff. So what brings you to reaches Minara?" Lifting her mug and draining its contents. Minara arches a brow at the mug-draining, her smile widening into a small grin. Once Edyis has finished her triple-strong klah, Min laughs softly and shrugs. "The usual, I suppose," she answers, her own voice hovering in the alto to mezzo soprano range. "Lived all my life in the Benden area and felt it was more than time for a change. So I changed it." She cuts away a small bite of meat and chews it thoughtfully while studying the immediate vicinity, then washes down her food with a sip of water. "And this is most certainly a change. For the better," she quickly clarifies. "Have you lived here long?" At the arched brow the scribe laughs. "Just wait until they have you sequestered away and working somewhere within the weyr. You may well need the boost too!" With mention of Benden though her expression positively glows, "You come from Benden, home of the greatest wine known to Pern, looking for a change of scenery? I've been at High Reaches for - almost three turns now, though I lived in Monaco for several months during that time. I'm from Nabol originally." Not that her adaptation to the Reaches accent would indicate such. "Hopefully soon," Minara agrees after Edyis' comment on working within the Weyr. She grins again and nods at the mentino of Benden's wines, raises her brows at the mention of Monaco, then nods slightly in regards to Nabol. "Sounds like you have traveled much more than I have," she replies smoothly while cutting a few more bites of meat. "What does it mean to be a records room assistant?" The scribe laughs, "You wouldn't have thought it possible if you'd met me before I came here, little mousy thing afraid of my own shadow. If you decide to stay here, and are interested in travel, most of the riders are really quite pleasant and many can be convinced to take you to see wherever you want to go." She points out before grinning. "Means a lot of putting up with Master Jeroman's lectures, making sure items are returned to the records room, running messages and recopying piles of old and deteriorating texts for preservation. If you have a neat hand and a willingness to learn it isn't a bad place to start. " She studies the woman thoughtfully, "There's plenty of work around though, one of my friends Farideh works in the laundry. I'll have to introduce you sometime." Minara nods a few times as she considers the other's words. Having finished her lunch, she sets her empty plate aside and refills her glass with water before resting her forearms against the table's edge, long fingers wrapped around the glass. "I need to find out what all is available," she replies after a short pause. "Perhaps the clerks need help?" She shrugs, then, and laughs. "In any case, it has been a full time job so far learning how not to get lost. The Weyr is so much larger than what I'm used to." "What are you used to?" She asks softly, before with a nod Edyis chuckles. "Headwoman Giorda would be the woman to see about what all is available. It's a big place but once you learn how to tell the different tunnels apart it gets easier. " "So it would seem," Minara replies with a short laugh. She sips her water and watches as riders and non-riders alike enter the cavern for lunch. "I meant the people more than anything, though. Tunnels are easy. People are complicated." She lets the water swirl in her glass a few times before grinning at Edyis. "Then again, I am used to complicated. Perhaps something simpler would be just the thing. Daylight hours filled with..." She trails off, a hand waving wide in a gesture of envisioned work. "With runner grooming. Yes, I could do that." Then again, her crooked grin might indicate otherwise.
The scribes grin only widens. "The people are what make this place worth living in. Granted it's a good deal -" She searches for the appropriate word before settling on "different, than life in the holds." She snickers, "You don't look the part of a beast crafter to me, and you speak very well so you at least have a modest education. Surely you are not going to resign yourself to combing beasts and cleaning stalls!" "Not resigning. Simplifying," Minara replies with a soft chuckle. Then she shrugs. "So literal. Perhaps I could become a bard. String together an instrument of sorts and come up with clever rhymes with which to enthral the masses during meal times. Is that simple or complicated?" She taps the bottom of her glass against the table a couple times then snaps her fingers. "I've got it. Chimney sweep. Bit chilly in winter, but..." She trails off and shrugs again. Amusement sparkles in the dark eyes of the scribe, "At least I would know who to talk to about collecting lamp black. So a life of complication isn't for you is it?" Edyis studies the woman with a thoughtful expression. "Is that why you left Benden? To avoid complication?" Minara chuckles quietly and arches a brow in answer before she finishes her water and leans back. After a moment, however, she answers in earnest, "I think more to avoid being a complication. I have simplified down to one, and I will just live that life for a while and discover where it leads. Now, what about you, Edyis, assistant of the records room. What brought you to High Reaches Weyr?" She listens thoughtfully, nodding as Minara explains. In answer to the question she replies, "Victim of fate I suppose, Nabol's issues found our little cothold in Esvay Valley, I was searched and it helped alleviate some of the problems for my stepmother so I came here. After I didn't impress I stayed on, couldn't bring myself to go back." She peels one of the rind fruits from her plate. "I've never regretted that decision."
This time, Minara arches her brow high and gives Edyis a widely crooked grin. "You are including yourself in that classification?" she asks in a friendly teasing tone. "But... yes. The idea of being nothing more than the lady to some Holder, intended as breeding stock while he is free to dandle any little thing on his other knee..." She trails off and waves with her free hand as if dissipating some foul smell. "There is a big world out there. I want to be free to see it." Edyis sighs, "Not so much a classification as a simple truth of existence." She smirks, "But if pressed I suppose I could include myself in that category." With false playful vibrato, popping a piece of fruit into her mouth and chewing. "You've come to the right place to do so, though nothing here is ever quite simple." Minara laughs softly as she turns to study the others in the large cavern. "Maybe," she quietly replies before finishing her water and setting the glass on her empty plate. "Then again, even complicated things can often boil down to simple. It just requires an open mind." She taps her fingertips on the edge of the table, then turns toward Edyis, smiling again. "In any case, I should see if I can track down the headwoman. Or at least find a work duty for the day. I refuse to be a freeloader," she declares, grinning as she gets to her feet. "Pleasure meeting you, Edyis." Edyis nods, smiling. "Pleasure meeting you as well. I feel we will see a great deal of each other." Smiling as she returns to the task of eating her food. |
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