Logs:No Wonder We Get Along
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| RL Date: 11 January, 2009 |
| Who: K'del, Milani |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: K'del and Milani discuss families, amongst other things. |
| Where: Records Room, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 18, Month 9, Turn 18 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: L'vae/Mentions, Nakasha/Mentions |
| It's a warm afternoon, early autumn is a pretty time often enough at the Reaches, but there's that nip in the air that's saying that summer and warm days will soon be a thing of the past. Sadly for Milani, she's in Records away from all that nice warmth and light and so on, with a stack of ledgers in front of her. At present though, the headwoman is looking longingly towards a far different shelf. The ones with that newish-fangled element of Pernese literature, the novel. Earlier today, the weyrlings were out in the bowl, drilling, practicing *between*, but for now, they've been let free, pink-cheeked from the sharp, sudden changes in temperature. K'del is one of three to head for the records room, and heads with his classmates in the leadership program, G'gor and U'zin, for the shelf where the death records are. Selecting different tomes, K'del begins to head after the other two, but pauses, as his head turns enough to note Milani; after a few laughing words with the other two, he heads, scroll in hand, for the other end of her table. "Discovered something more interesting than work, Millie?" he asks, as he slides into a seat. Milani startles a little as K'del approaches, settles into that seat and she colors faintly. "Oh, hey Kas. Well, erm, see, I like to read stories and it's been a while, because you know, it's busy and tithes are coming in," she explains and gives that ledger in front of her a little rap with one knuckle. "But I'd really rather be reading that latest adventure story that came in from Harper," she breathes out with a gusty sigh and flips the ledger open, apparently making the effort to cleave to duty. "What about you? What've you got there?" Her chin lifts, eyes squinting after the title on the scroll. K'del's smile broadens for the colour on Milani's cheeks, though he's keeping a good half an eye on scanning through his scroll. "Not something to be embarrassed about," he teases, stretching his legs out under the table, his feet nudging at an empty chair. "Reading stories. Stores're good. Like hearing them told, makes good sense to have them written down, so you can read them whenever you like. Tithes. Guess it really is about a turn since I got here, then." He sounds thoughtful for the last, but shakes it away to lift his scroll to show her: death lists, for the first turns of the last Interval. "Came up in class," he explains. "We were curious - G'gor, U'zin and I, anyway." "Well, I'm the headwoman, I'm supposed to set an example of duty and industry," Milani points out with a little chuckle and tucks growing-back hair behind her ear, nibbles on the end of her pen. "Oh me too. It's always nice to hear or read a good yarn. I'm not big on romances, but if there's a good adventure, I'm all for it. L'vae and I trade books, read to each other sometimes and that's a lot of fun." She smiles at him warmly though as he muses on his own arrival. "Just about. And so much has happened since then, hasn't it?" Her eyes settle on the scroll and then widen, brows lifting high. "Death lists? Whatever for?" "Reckon it makes you look like a normal person, as eager for down-time as anyone else," insists K'del, as he sets out his scrap paper and pen, lazily readying himself for work while he talks. "People like to know that their superiors don't stop wanting that, too, I reckon. So L'vae's into books, too?" From the way he remarks on that, he's clearly noting it down, mentally, for future reference. "Does sound like fun. My brother, the Harper, used to tell stories to me when I was a kid. Writes some of them down, now." He exhales, long and thoughtful, nodding, "Has, too. Didn't anticipate what it'd bring, back then. Been a good turn. As for the death lists," he looks amused, now, grins. "We were discussing whether more people died accidentally - via *between*, or stupid flying, or whatever, during the first turns of the Interval, or later on. Boredom. That kind of thing." "Welllll okay, but maybe not in the middle of the working day and I don't want anyone thinking you know, it's okay to slack off, because I'm slacking off or anything," Milani says and perches her chin on one hand, tallies up a column rapidly. "Mm. L'vae likes to read and dance and go to Gathers. He's a lot of fun to hang out with." She sits up a little though as K'del talks about his harper brother. "Realllly? WHat kinds of stories does he write?" Instant interest. "And ... it's been a mixed up turn, but you coming here was good, definitely." There Millie's smile while still warm is just a touch wicked. She exahles though as he mentions the reason behind the lists. "Oh. Right." Her pencil kind of turns over and over on the page before her. "You know, I think my mother said something about that. About older riders and restlessness." "Point taken," agrees K'del, easily enough, as, scanning his scroll, he makes a notation on his scrap paper. "Haven't spoken to him that much," he continues, without looking up. "But I respect him. His wing'd be one I'd be really interested in joining." That head does rise at her interest in his brother, and he laughs. "Did you read the one about Gastoir, the southern explorer? Finds an abandoned Hold somewhere, or something? Don't remember the name." His lip twitches at her admission of a mixed up turn, and he nods, though he looks pleased for the latter part of the statement, winking at her. "Makes sense, doesn't it?" Perhaps he misses that exhalation, carrying on eagerly, "People get bored. Restless. Do stupid things. I guess I just wonder whether it happens more often earlier, to people who did fly 'fall, or later on, to people who never have and never will, and just have no focus at all." "Oh! Well, yeah, you could do a lot worse. L'vae's pretty steady, organized and I find him easy to talk to," Milani effuses about her friend. "Yes!" Milani exclaims about the book. "The hold in the palisade along that deep southern river, so exciting!" the headwoman continues, eyes alight. The wink, earns a smirk in its turn and she re-settles, considering him and what he says about intervals. "You might want to talk to my mother and some of the other older riders. I'm pretty sure Mum actually looked at some of that at one time, but I'm hazy on it." "Like that he's younger, too," adds K'del, smiling for the enthusiasm. "Maybe will take me more serious. But it's not just that, it's--" He breaks off, obviously struggling for the right words, and gives up with a grin. "Just like him, I guess. Respect him." His head nods rapidly for her continuation of the plot of his brother's story; he's grinning, as he concludes, "Yeah, that's the one. That's his best, some of the others have been pretty awful." For her smirk, he bats his eyelids, all innocence, but this peters off as she speaks again: "Oh, really? Suppose it makes sense, that it's all been done before. Definitely do that, then. It's interesting, talking to older riders. People who've seen a lot." "Are you worried about older leaders seeing you as 'just a kid'" Milani asks, waits as he breaks off. "And yeah, he's easy to like, Lou is. And oh I'm glad about that, the respect part. I think he'd be happy to hear that and know it," she muses thoughtfully then keys back into the book discussion. "He must've done the one about climbing up the mountain that went on and on about the types of rock for fifty pages then too," the headwoman guesses, eyes suddenly twinkling. "Mm. There might be some stuff on the shelves too, more than just the lists and stuff. Analysis, you know?" she gestures around the room vaguely. "I like hearing their stories. But I'd rather not think about Thread much." K'del hesitates before answering, as though he's embarrassed by it, but his expression speaks clearly enough even before he does. "Guess I am. Want... I want to be taken seriously, you know? Listened to, if and when my ideas are worth considering. Otherwise, I'll just float about, lose motivation." Of L'vae, he manages a smile, despite the fact that his eyes are still concentrating, serious, about his scroll. "Guess he would. I'd tell him, but that'd probably sound like I was sucking up." There's more amusement, the seriousness sliding away, as she mentions the mountain climbing book, and he nods, mock-wincing. "He, uh, does tend to go on a bit." His gaze follows her gesture, and he nods: "Of course. Should've looked for that, first. Thread..." He breathes. "Glad I don't have to face it. But. At least it gives purpose. Structure." The headwoman's eyes rest seriously on K'del's face as she picks up on that maybe-embarrassment and she waits him out, nods. "Yeah. I know that feeling pretty well." Her mouth twists a little sourly, briefly, but she doesn't bring up her arch-nemesis, a.k.a. the Weyrleader. "And those aren't bad things to want from your wingleader," she agrees, "or for yourself. I mean. Staying motivated. Focused." She picks up her pencil fidgets with it a little. "Mm. But if someone you know, just said to him: "Yeah, I've heard that some of the weyrlings really like and respect you ..." she trails off, winks, "then that's just passing along very happy gossip." Her teeth close around the end of her pencil and she nods about Thread. "Mm. A goal. Something that everyone has to set aside differences for or risk getting wiped out." She shudders then and looks down, scrawls a few numbers on the page. A beat, and then K'del nods. "Guess you do," he agrees, more than a little rueful for her sour expression. "Hard, being young. And-- ambitious. Or, if not even that," he puzzles over his phrasing, then returns to one already in use, "/Motivated/. No, not a bad thing at all. It's important. To keep yourself..." He breaks off again, and just smiles. "Ah, yes, well that /would/ work a little better. Useful gossip! Productive gossip, even." He takes in a deep breath at her remark on thread, but nods, making another notation onto his page. "Right, exactly. And I've never known it, so maybe I won't miss it, but... I have a lifetime to fill with /something/, still." "Or just young and in a position of responsibility, or just ... anything really where you have an opinion or idea and can't get it across because Faranth forbid anyone under twenty should have a creative thought, hm?" Her head bobs a few times as he reaches for words. "Busy. Occupied. On target." Beat. "Not bored." And she grins then. "And I'm really good at gossip," she points out with a wink and pulls her pencil from her mouth to tally up another row of numbers. "Well. I know /one/ thing you can fill up your life with," she remarks with mock innocence and shoots him an eyelash-fluttered look. "But beyond that, yeah, riders have to figure out other stuff to do. My mother spends a lot of time on her hobbies." "Right," agrees K'del, nodding with enthusiasm. "There's this idea that only experience brings ideas. But sometimes fresh perspectives do, too." He echoes her conclusion, laughing, "Not bored. Exactly. Well, I have noted this as one of your talents, Millie - and a good one, at that. Very useful, gossip." A very satisfied expression crosses his face, at her mock innocent comment, followed by an easy, "And a very nice time-filler it is, too," but his expression is more thoughtful for the rest. "Mm. Suppose I need to get some hobbies. Can't just run around playing games, now. Or read all the time - Cadejoth'd go nuts." "Exactly," Milani agrees with him, maybe predictably. After all, she's struggled with the same thing and she dimples at him about her gossip talent and more. "Mm. Very nice. Lots of fun." She makes more notations on the ledger, looks up at him. "Oof, yeah, that's true, he's more the active type. Maybe hunting? Deep sea fishing? Lots of swimming? Or heck, even volunteer for lots of transport duty or mapping things. Oh, and we can go to Gathers. Often." She winks across at him and props her chin in her hand again. "Speaking of nice time-fillers ... come over tonight?" K'del adds a few more numbers to his own list, and some scrawled comments to go with them, agreeing, while he writes, "He is. As long as he's got something to do, it's fine, but..." He considers the options she presents without too much enthusiasm, except perhaps for the mapping option - and then, most definitely, for the gathers. "Now /that/," he tells her, looking up, "is a fine idea. Northern gathers, and southern gathers, and everything in between." Amusement, stemming from that wink, which he returns with a fluttering of his eyebrows, slides neatly into a genuine smile. "Reckon I could find a few hours that need filling. Definitely." "So long as I don't have something urgent I have to take care of, you'll find me a willing partner for any of those," Milani says of the gathers. "And a little more dance practice wouldn't hurt, though you're not bad at all," she points out gaily, blows him a kiss with her fingertips. "Good," for his laugh as a smile slides across her face, expectant even as she bends her head to the work before her. "Stay if you like too," she offers, writes down a final number on her tally sheet and turns the page. With a mock sigh, K'del admits, "Suppose it wouldn't do for the Headwoman to drop everything at a moment's notice to go dancing. At least," he grins, "Not /every/ day. I'm sure you'll be able to give me a few pointers, to improve my moves. I'm always up for some more practice." He makes an exaggerated display of catching the kiss on his cheek, and fluttering his eyelashes, but then, as her head drops, so too does his - back to work. "Mmm, think I might," he says of her offer, smiling into his page. "Noo, sadly, it wouldn't. But it doesn't mean I have to be an old fuddy duddy headwoman before my time either." Her eyes lift briefly and Milani grins a K'del. "I like giving you pointers," she notes conversationally, but there's just /something/ about the way she says that, that isn't quite innocent. Back to work indeed. "Good," to that page, "I like it when you stay." And then there's just scribbling for a little bit. "Are you Betweening all by yourselves yet?" "Can't imagine you a fuddy duddy," says K'del, returning the grin with one of his own. He's clearly caught the lack of innocence in her next words, for that grin broadens just slightly, and there's definite amusement in his gaze. "And I like getting them, so we're pretty even there." Flexing his fingers, though, really, it's not as though he's done that much writing as yet, he adds, "Like staying. So we're even. Mmm, we are. So long as we check our visuals, and make sure the weyrlingmasters know where we're going." "I can't imagine you that way either, so there you go," Milani answers and pauses, eyeing that column and pulls her abacus close, fingers suddenly flying over the beads. Between the click-click-click of them, she smiles up at him radiantly. "Very even. And very good." And so what if her mouth pulls high at the corners, so very naughtily. "So you're all but free again," she points out to him as she finishes the sum, frowns and shakes her head, flips back a page, sets the beads a-clicking again. "This doesn't add up," she murmurs softly. "/Good/," says K'del, with relief that may be genuine, though equally, it could be an affectation. Though he goes silent as she reaches for her abacus, careful not to be a distraction, he can't help but return that radiant smile, and accompanying comments, with one of his own, complete with a definite note of wickedness. "Yes, I supp-- am I distracting you? Making you get the sums wrong?" "Mm. Of course, you know, ask me again in fifty turns," Milani jokes a little. "I might have changed my mind." She winks over at Kas and purses her lips at the sums. "No, not you, I was cross-checking see, so it's not that /mine/ are wrong, it's that whomever put this in the ledger in the first place either didn't do it right or there's something missing." "In fifty turns, I think we'd both be justified in seeing it in each other. Since we /would/ be old," laughs K'del, though he admits, after a moment, "Rather hope I'm still young at heart, though, if you know what I mean." Setting down his pen, he keeps his gaze on Milani as she checks her sums, and frowns. "So someone missed something? Or just wasn't paying attention. Who usually puts them in?" "Mm. Pretty old," Milani agrees and tilts a grin over at K'del. "You mean able to still laugh or ..." she trails off, leaves that alone, taps her pencil against the page. "We-ll, I used to be the one who did a lot of this, but this isn't mine." She flips back to the front, checks the index. "Hm. Looks like Giorda. I'll have to ask her and this whole one will have to be checked." Sigh By K'del's face, he considers this to be /very/ old, but it's the second thought that he concentrates on, nose wrinkling. "Not sure I want to think about old people do-- but I'll still be me, won't I?" But. Moving away from that thought, he picks up his pen again, twirling it between his fingers. "Oh. Yuck. Reckon I found yet another reason why I wouldn't've been suited to your job. Hate sums." "Mmmmhm," Milani just grins across at him again, shakes out the abacus and starts adding again from the first page. "It's one of the things I was just plain good at when I was younger. One of ... few things," Millie elaborates. "I ... wasn't always a reader," she explains further and chuckles softly. "I had to practice. That's how I wound up getting into adventure stories. But like, I couldn't sew the way my mother does, or cook or sing and play the way my brothers do. I could do the theory side of smithing like my sister, but I'm not good with tools, so I couldn't do the practical." She takes a deep breath and lets it out. "I'm good at talking, keeping track of things, sums ... so, really this was the only kind of job for me." K'del continues to twirl is pen about his fingers as he listens, nodding every so often, until she finishes. "Makes sense," he says, grinning. "It's hard being younger than everyone, isn't it? They're already good at so many things, and you keep comparing yourself to them, and realising you're not as good at them at this and that. So you have to figure out what you are good at, and it seems like they've taken everything anyway." He pauses, just for a moment. "At least, that's how it felt for me. And I guess it worked out for both of us." "I guess so," Milani says slowly, thoughtfully. "To be honest, I didn't think about it much when I was younger. You know, not fifteen yet. I was just happy enough doing what I did do. You know. Chores. Stealing cookies. Running around with the other kids having fun. But then I got to be apprenticing age and my mother was worried I'd never do anything. So she talked the Weyrwoman and the Headwoman into taking me on as an assistant. And here I am." She grins across at him and works the abacus some more. "So yeah. It worked out." She writes down a correction in a column and pauses, props her chin on her hand. "No wonder we get along." "Both the youngest, with exceptionally successful siblings? Or, at least, nearly the youngest. Kash and I are close enough in age that it felt like we both were, not just her." K'del agrees with the rest of what Milani says by way of a nod, grinning. "I did all of that, too, of course. Though there were fewer cookies to steal, since my mother did all the cooking, and didn't make them very often. But my brothers, or my older sister, were always doing /something/ important. So I was always aware, even when I wasn't actively planning anything, that I was going to have to do something really special, to keep up." "Mm. Paddy's a brownrider and a weyrlingmaster-type, Remi's a Journeyman Harper and he's going for his Mastery again next turn, Ily's a Journeyman Smith ... and well, assistant headwoman just doesn't have quite the same ring, you know?" she winks across at the weyrling, turns the page and starts adding again. "There's always some kind of sweets in the oven here, that must be different, being able to have them almost whenever you want." Her pencil taps the page again and she regards him curiously. "Is that why you were so determined about Cadejoth?" K'del knows - his nod is emphatic. "Between my older siblings? Two will inherit Holds, either by birth or marriage, my older sister's married to one of the bigger Holders in the area, there's a Journeyman Vintner, a Journeyman Harper, Perris is the Steward's Assistant at Tillek and in a good position to take that over, eventually, Marrin's still at home but that's because he keeps inventing and building new things that help production. And then there's me - and Kash. Coming to the Weyr was about the only thing I could think of that no one else had done. And," he continues, under her curious gaze, "Yeah, that's why I was so determined. I didn't come here intending to get searched - it never really crossed my mind - but once I had been? Had to do it. And in a way so that no one could beat me." As an afterthought, less intense, suddenly, more rueful: "I don't actually have all that much of taste for sweets, now that I /can/ have them all the time. Weird." Listening with her chin still in her hand, Milani takes all that in then whistles lowly at the end of it. "That's a lot of different careers. I think I'd have a complex too, to be honest." She takes a breath, makes another penciled notation, looks back up at him. "Do you stlil think that way? About not being able to be beat?" Amusement curls up the corners of her mouth though about the sweets. "That's almost a shame you know. They're making pies today." "It's a lot of siblings," he points out, laughing, but it's with a firm, sharp nod, slightly more serious. Yes, exactly. He hesitates, his pen still in hand, though it hasn't touched paper in some time, before answering the question. "Not sure, to be honest. I still... Not sure if I'll be satisfied, just as I am. But. Maybe it's for me, now, and not to prove something, you know?" The mention of pies draws a pause, and he looks entirely his age for a second. "Pies? Well. Whatever I just said, it's not as though I'm going to pass them by completely. Because... you know, /pies/." "Mm. Well, we'll see I guess, how it all goes," Milani says about future plans and she puts a marker in that ledger she's got, slips out of her chair and moves to put the items back on the shelf. "I think, that we should take a pie break." K'del nods, lazily, presently too content with his lot to be too focused upon the future, despite the conversation. He stills, as she begins to put her things away, and his expression breaks into a grin at her suggestion. "A pie break, you say? Done deal." So away, too, goes his scroll, his scrap of paper tucked into the pocket of his trousers, and off they go. For pies. |
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