Logs:Never Mind That
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| RL Date: 23 August, 2009 |
| Who: Audria, K'del |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: After replacing a broken bootlace, K'del escorts woefully lost new arrival Audria to the Nighthearth. |
| Where: Inner Caverns, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 21, Month 7, Turn 20 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Milani/Mentions |
| Inner Caverns, High Reaches Weyr Within the labyrinth of interconnected chambers that make up the inner caverns, this large, long cavern serves both as a crossroads and a comfortable place for weyrfolk to sit, talk, and keep a nosy eye out for who's going where. Colorful, seasonal tapestries add warmth to the smooth walls and reduce echoes, while large niches house clusters of chairs, and a waist-high stone shelf along one wall provides a perch for drinks or work for residents on the go. Worn brass hooks often hold jackets or other outerwear with workboots stationed beneath, the transitory nature of the cavern lending itself to being treated as a sort of communal foyer where snowy or muddy gear can be kept outside of living quarters. Smaller, higher niches at regular intervals hold glowbaskets kept fresh during the daytime and allowed to dim somewhat at night. The largest tunnels lead to the main living cavern, to the bowl and to the Weyr entrance, but it's still easy for the uninitiated to get lost within this maze. Audria steps out of the bathing pools, clutching a small cloth bag to her chest. Her hair is pulled back in a loose ponytail and currently soaking wet. The young woman bites her lower lip for a moment as she looks from one side to another. She finally starts off, heading down a hallway. It's only a few steps before she stops though, and looks back the way she came, confusion showing on her face. K'del sits nearby, perched upon one of the benches that lines the walls. He's got one foot up on the wooden slats, and a bootlace that's halfway laced through, presumably replacing the broken one that sits beside him. "Unless you're after the laundry drying room, that's probably not the corridor you're after. Lost? New?" Audria startles and flushes a fairly bright shade of red at K'del's voice. "I, um, yes." She turns to look over to him, clutching her things closer. "The last. I mean. New. Lost. Yes. But I wasn't really looking for the laundry drying room." With a soft sigh, Audria moves over to sink down on a bench leaving a bit of space between K'del and herself. The flush makes K'del look apologetic, head ducking just slightly, though he's quick enough to shift his foot out of the way to leave more room for the newcomer. Sounding sympathetic, "Tell me where you were headed, and I can probably point you the right direction, if you like. Can be pretty confusing down here; shouldn't feel bad or anything." Audria tucks her skirt in around her legs, setting her bag beside her as she thinks. "The night something. Nighthearth? Does that sound familiar? My uncle said to meet him there. But I'm still pretty early for it." She shakes her head. "Finding my way around new places is not a strength of mine." She admits quietly. "The nighthearth!" K'del sounds pleased, and bobs his head several times quickly as if to punctuate this. "Can show you the way there, no problem. If you just let me finish my bootlace, I'll walk you there." Continuing to do that, he adds, "Not sure many people are much good at it; know I got lost for ages. Here visiting your uncle, then?" Audria flashes a truly grateful looking smile over to K'del. "Thank you. That would be so helpful. And I have plenty of time. I am. Yes. Visiting my uncle, I mean. My mom thought it would be good for me to see life outside of High Reaches. Um, outside of the hold, because this is High Reaches, too." And there's another bit of a flush to her cheeks as she stammers that last correction. K'del returns the smile, his warm and friendly. "Be my pleasure," he assures her. "Heading back in that kind of direction anyway, once I'm finished here." Still threading that lace through, though he's keeping his attention on Audria instead, now, he adds, "Good for your mom. Figure it's good for all of us, to get an idea of life outside of what you know." He doesn't seem to notice the flush, nor the awkwardness. "Going to be staying long?" Audria nods her head. "I'd really not been outside the hold much, so it's interesting seeing something else." Audria pauses to shrug her shoulders before she answers. "I just came to visit for a few days. Unless maybe the weyr needs someone who can do work I can do. Then it might be long. My mom usually knows what she's talking about. I'm not sure I'd admit that to her face though." Audria says with a light laugh. Amused, K'del tells her, "Might give her a big head, her knowing all of that." His lace gets threaded the last little bit through, and then he pulls it tight; apparently satisfied, it gets tied in a bow, and he drops his foot back to the ground again. "Weyr usually needs new people, though. Ought to speak to Milani - she's the Headwoman - if you're really keen on staying. Different kind of life to a hold, though. Like it here, so far?" Audria nods her head. "I do. When I'm not getting lost. But eventually I'd, uh, learn that was the way to the laundry drying room, right?" She picks up her cloth bag again, seeing that K'del's bootlace is tied, but makes no other move to stand. Not in a hurry currently, it seems. "Milani. Right. I want to make sure that I won't hate it here at least before I do that. You know? I don't want to be miserable wishing I was back at the hold. I think I won't be though. I think I'd like it." "Promise you would. Someone suggested, once, we paint the corridors or the doors or something, so's people could follow the code, but..." K'del shrugs easily, resting one hand on either knee, though he, too, stays where he is for the moment, too. "Makes good sense to me," he agrees. "Though bet you could always change your mind, once you'd asked to stay. Hold life not for you, you think, then? Know it wasn't right for me." /Now/ he stands, stretching himself out to his full height. Audria shakes her head. "I don't think it is. This might, uh, suit me better." And a moment after he's standing, she is as well, looking up at him. "I didn't realize you were so tall." She notes before she looks around. "I bet people who have been here awhile don't need a color code. It's just people like me that get all lost." K'del's smile is-- knowing? Maybe just amused. It's hard to tell. "Good," he says. And then, "Guess I compress pretty well. Helpful for finding your way around, though, being tall. See right over people's heads." He offers his arm, all very polite, as he says, finally, "Sure. But it's a weyr: plenty of new people, all the time, coming and going. Doesn't hurt to help them out. But perhaps not with paint." Audria shakes her head. "Maybe friendly locals to point the way when someone gets really lost is enough." She reaches out a bit tentatively to take his arm with a short laugh. "True. I think I'd have to go to the little children if I wanted a chance to do that." She's more relaxed, really, the longer they talk. "I'm Audria, by the way. Did I tell you that?" "Hope so. Hope people, in general, have been good at helping you out thus far," remarks K'del, indicating the path ahead with a wave of his head. "This way, anyway. Through the main cavern." Warmly, as he begins to lead the way, careful to keep his steps short enough to be comfortable to keep up with, he adds, "Audria - a pleasure. And I'm K'del." Audria gives him a quick smile over as she follows along, trusting K'del to get her where she's going. "It's nice to meet you for real, K'del." She says before she nods. "People have been nice enough to turn my around the right direction a few times." As they pass, K'del points things out - "The dorms are down there, and the resident common room." - "The bowl is straight down there." - "See that passage? To the Snowasis, and outside the weyr." In between, he adds, as warm as ever, and with a cheerful grin, "And likewise, Audria. Glad to hear that, too. Generally, we're a pretty friendly bunch." The tour is met with curiousity from Audria. She turns her head to look each way, trying to remember for the next time she finds herself down here. "So far, that's seemed to be true." She admits before adding. "Snowasis? What's that?" K'del's "Good, good," hovers in the air for only a second before he explains, looking briefly rueful, "Somewhere your mom would probably rather I didn't show you, buuut. Never mind that. It's the weyr's bar. Drinks, cards, company. Nice place, particularly this time of turn, with the patio ledge outside." "You're probably right. But, well, she's not here." Audria points out with a quiet laugh before she adds, "And I am sixteen now. Sometime I might find that patio ledge without ending up in the infirmary by accident along the way." "Just as long as she doesn't come all the way up here to beat me up, if she finds out," laughs K'del, though he doesn't seem to be taking this possibility too seriously. "Sixteen seems plenty old enough to me, though, granted, guess I was spending time there younger than that. If you /do/ find it, have a drink on me; tell the barkeep I said so, if I'm not around." He leads them around a corner, adding, "And this is the Nighthearth, just up here." Audria lets out a giggle of a laugh. "Right. I can just picture my mom beating you up. She's, uh, build like me. Not big. But she can tell people off alright when she gets mad." Audria states before she adds. "And thank you. That's very nice. You've been really helpful." She looks towards the door. "I think I can find it from here without too much trouble." K'del sounds as though he has experience as he says, "You'd be surprised! Find mothers can be... terribly effective, when they want to be." He's grinning, though, really very amused by the whole thing. "My pleasure, Audria. Enjoy your time with your uncle, and perhaps I'll see you around." And then, off he goes. |
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