Logs:Physician, Heal Thyself
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| RL Date: 5 March, 2013 |
| Who: Vienne, Barnabas |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Bones tries to play mindhealer with Vienne. She's uncomfortable being the focus of conversation. |
| Where: Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 7, Month 2, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: H'kon/Mentions |
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| Nighthearth, High Reaches Weyr With its entrance located between the kitchen and the living cavern, this tiny bubble cavern is cozy, always kept warm and is filled with comfortable chairs and a small round table. At the far end, there's a hearth, outlined in ruddy, aging bricks, where a pot of stew simmers in the evening hours. Generally quiet, the nighthearth is the haunt of insomniacs and those seeking quiet from the bustle of daily Weyr life. It's nearly dinner time, which has the lower caverns caught in their daily flurry as people hurry to finish things up before dinner or start making their way toward the living cavern. It's a time of transition, rush hour, and though the nighthearth is rather in the midst of all that activity it is also largely abandoned. Except for Vienne, who looks like she might have dozed off in her warm seat by the fire, fitting comfortably sideways in the chair with her knees drawn up, ankles crossed and her arms wrapped around herself. Her boots are on the floor, rather than her feet, so maybe some part of this nap was moderately expected. It's with a heavy sigh and rub of his face that he enters the nighthearth, just looking for a place to retreat from the crowds outside and wait for them to die down. Moving one's way through groups comes with added difficulty for a man of his stature, and the constant vigilance required not to step on toes or turn too quick and accidentally elbow a passerby? Well, it got exhausting quite quick. It's only as he approaches the fire itself that he realizes he's not alone, and gives a quiet grumble at the added inconvenience of needing to stay quiet for the stranger's benefit. "Figures." Vienne, such a stranger. But whether she was really asleep or just resting her eyes, whether it is Bones' quiet grumble or just his presence that alerts her, the small bluerider opens her eyes. They're hazy as she looks at him, distant and quiet, and there's no friendly little smile to greet him. Just the silent, sleepy blink of her gaze and a hint of confusion. Hadn't recognized the girl as he sat down, eyes focusing on the flames and mind busy with recent drama. It's only as a bit of stirring happens in his periphreal that he recognizes the mousey girl, and her own smile is returned in the same fashion. "Back to th'land of the livin', Vee?" His voice is quiet without losing it's gravel, almost the sound of distant thunder. "Bones," she murmurs back as her stare becomes a little clearer, though no more lively. Still, the clarity allows her to see him, the thoughtfulness that lingers around the wild-looking man from whom she has come to expect a certain booming joviality. "What's wrong?" And though it makes no particular sense, Vienne offers her hand out him, even if he isn't actually close enough to take it without getting up. Giving a blink at the outstretched hand, it's clear it takes the gardener a moment to discern it's purpose. After a shrug, he reaches for her hand and gives it a shake, as if this was their first meeting. "Nice to see you again." That's why she was holding it out, right? "Don't you ever get tired of askin' people that?" A playful smirk follows. The shake of her hand starts her smiling and his greeting turns that smile into a small breathless laugh. Her hand is light in his, though it grips a little when as he teases her with that question. "Don't you ever get tired of pretending you aren't bothered by things?" It would have worked better if Vienne had started with, "That's why I was napping," but that just isn't the way it goes. Forgive her; she's still waking up. "Come sit by me." Not that he's sitting so far away to begin with. Bones scoots closer to her at her request, his palms pushing down at the bench just enough to lift his backside, and his hips doing the rest of the work to slide along. "Hey, I ain't pretending. But there's just times you don't feel much like spillin'. Be thankful I'll even admit I got greivances. Have you met that brownrider H'kon yet? Pfft." There's something just a little angry in that last scoffing sound. A hint as to what's bothering him. Vienne smiles a bit for all his shifting around, her head never lifting off the back of the chair. At least her hands are back in her own space, tucked between her knees. "You don't have to admit anything. I can just see it." It takes her a full beat before she adds, "Yes, I've met him," even if it does not appear to be something she really had to think about. "He's upset you?" "I don't wanna talk about it." Despite the transparency in his mannerisms, it's not some sort of subconcious fishing for more questions. His words are genuine. "How about we talk about you for a change eh? You always jump right into my problems, how about we switch it 'round for once?" He gives a soft shove at her shoulder that's not even really enough to budge her an inch. "What's wrong with you?" "You brought it up," Vienne points out with a sigh that sounds a little weary. She lets her eyes glance off, watching the flow of foot-traffic beyond the quiet of the hearth for a moment, until the shove at her should brings her attention back to Bones. "There's nothing wrong with me. I just sat here and it was cozy and comfortable and the noise was just right. Not too quiet but not needing any attention either, if that makes sense? And I just... closed my eyes." Her smile is a little more wry, since the eye-closing led to the usual outcome. But with all that done, she draws in a deep breath. "When people ask about me, I never really know what to say." "... I didn't bring nothin' up." The pause there is for him to double check the authenticity of his words before he speaks them, though he still looks confused at her sigh. "Just said there's worse examples out there for folk that bottle up." Eyes back to the fire, letting out a sigh through his nose. "Maybe that's something that is wrong with you? Y'know, the not knowin' what to say. Maybe..." there's another pause, as he tries to excercise his own mindhealer skills. "Maybe you fall into asking 'bout other people on account of not feelin' your own self is worth discussin'? Maybe it's a self esteem thing?" Vienne lets out a quick, short laugh, admission that she may have misunderstood. But she's on the right track now. "Oh, I don't know that bottling is so bad. I'm sure it's not good, either. Some people are just more comfortable sharing than others. Or maybe they just don't have any control over it. I feel that way sometimes. Like I want to say things and I don't know why." She shakes her head, rocking her temple against the back of the chair. "I think people just want to be understood." But her musing drifts off and she smiles at his mindhealering attempt. "I'm a little old for self esteem issues, aren't I? Isn't that for girls of fourteen? I hope I have a bit more perspective than that." Moving to rub the back of his neck, Bones gives a soft chuckle towards the fire as she elaborates her views. There's another few seconds of silence as he mulls them over in his mind, but his brain is too tired to truly sort it all out. "Alright then, what do you think it is that makes it hard to talk 'bout yerself?" Hand lingers at his neck, but the head it's attatched to turns to look at her. "Why're other people a comfy topic, but you clam up otherwise?" "I don't want to get in the way," Vienne says, sounding rather like this is the not the first time she's given it thought. "I want to understand people. I'm interested. I feel like if I'm talking about me, it's just a distraction. And people don't usually like what they hear, if I do." With that thought, she does finally move, slipping a hand from between her knees to help push herself from nestling into the chair. Her socked feet drop toward the floor. "It just makes things awkward." The soft smile that Bones had for the girl turns a bit south, becoming a blank face and then something close to a downright frown. "So... to sum up." He counts down on his fingers the points she had just made, going slow. "You'll get in the way. You're just a distraction. You just make things awkward. People don't like what they hear about you." All direct quotes. "... but you ain't got no self esteem problem." Her legs clamp together and both hands back to being wedged between, Vienne just stares at him for a moment, letting his words sink in, letting them slowly furrow her brow. "That makes me sound pitiful," she tells him. "I'm not pifitul. I just don't need to be the center of attention. Certainly not like that." There's a little something stern in her expression. "Do you enjoy the moment when you tell someone about your past and it changes they way they look at you? So that you aren't just you, the man sitting in front of them, but some collection of things that define you in ways you have no control over? In ways that aren't even true, just assumptions and stereotypes?" "But those are your own words..." is his confused answer at her defensive insistence she wasn't pitiful. Her stern expression sees his eyes open a bit wider and his lips part. What'd he do, dig too deep? "Whoa whoa, slow down there. Sorry, didn' mean to poke in places you didn' want me to." He slowly pushes himself up to his feet, a bit of a groan for his slightly stiff knees and back. Plenty of time put in at the greenhouse that day. "But... assumin' them last few questions weren't the hypothetical kind?" He's clearly wary of delving further into conversation of the sort, so he sums up as quick as he can. "I don't give that much energy on what people think'a me. I just work on likin' myself, and fixin flaws where I find 'em." Vienne stares at him for his sudden retreat, expression slowly, carefully, softening. Her mouth purses before shifting into a shy, embarrassed smile that takes another moment still to reach her eyes. "I think that's a good thing," she says for his own tactics. "I can't imagine you would need to work very hard. It was nice to talk, Bones." She can see he's taking his leave and she makes no move to delay him. A deep breath fills his lungs and leaves in a sigh, hopeful that the crowds outside have thinned and he get somewhere else. "Sorry for wakin' you from your nap. Wasn't fixin' to disturb." He puts a gentle hand to her shoulder and offers a smile. "Next time, I'll just do you the favor of complainin' bout my day like usual eh? Hehe." A few pats to her before slipping out of the nighthearth. "Night Vee." |
Comments
Comments on "Logs:Physician, Heal Thyself"Azaylia (Dragonshy (talk)) left a comment on Wed, 06 Mar 2013 05:13:04 GMT.
Huh. What an interesting discussion. At least one thing is certain-- Bones doesn't have it in him to be a mindhealer.
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