Logs:With Friends Like Those
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| RL Date: 17 May, 2008 |
| Who: Madilla, Tiriana |
| Involves: Healer Hall, Telgar Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: While still at Telgar, Madilla finishes a busy afternoon in the infirmary, and pauses to meet Tiriana, who has strong opinions about the two other people at Telgar that Madilla knows. |
| Where: Infirmary, Telgar Weyr |
| When: Day 28, Month 5, Turn 16 (Interval 10) |
| An afternoon of chores in the infirmary is drawing to a close, but Tiriana is still hanging about. A busier-than-usual day has left her and a couple of other candidates pressed into extra chores to get the place back in order now that it's settling down. They're just finishing up washing and rerolling bandages, bringing in fresh supplies, and reorganizing the instruments now, and Tiriana, plucking at her shirt to cool herself down, leans on her mop as she finishes up that task for the evening. Junior Apprentice Healers visiting on study placement aren't much higher up the pecking order in the infirmary than candidates pressed in to service, but those few steps mean that although Madilla has also been in the infirmary for the whole of the afternoon as well, she's been engaged in different activities. Now, with the steady flow of patients slowing to a trickle, as dinner approaches, Madilla tarries on her way back from the washrooms, pausing to smooth a blanket on an empty bed, and then sidestepping Tiriana and her map. "Busy afternoon," comments the girl, friendly, but tired-sounding. "I just cleaned that," Tiriana tells Madilla, eyeing the younger girl's feet. But she just sounds more tired than waspish herself, and looks it, too, with her hair half-escaping its tie and sticking to her face. She straightens up off the mop, rubbing a hand over her face. "Faranth, how do that many people manage to land themselves in here in one day?" Beat. "Who are you?" She squints slightly at the other girl, mouth pursing to catch the unfamiliar face. Madilla looks embarrassed, immediately guilt-struck and frozen in her pose as Tiriana speaks, though the space of a few seconds - long enough for the older girl to straighten, and for Madilla to take a half step backwards - she relaxes again, nodding. "I swear it felt like the entire weyr came through at least once. It's not normal, is it? I'm Madilla." Then, after a moment's pause, "Visiting from the Hall. Study placement. Just for a few days. And you are?" Tiriana frowns slightly, but steps over to lean the mop against the wall; that taken care of, she slides up on the edge of one of the empty cots, mussing its covers but not seeming very concerned as she gets off her feet for a minute. "Tiriana," she answers Madilla then, stretching her legs out in front of her, flexing her feet. "Don't /think/ it is, anyway. Don't hang around here that much myself, but it wasn't like this the other days I drew this chore. What'd they send you /here/ for?" Madilla frowns, as Tiriana sits upon the edge of the cot, remaining where she is, although her hands reach out to grasp onto the footer of another of the nearby cots, using that to support her continued stance. "Good," says the girl, relief audible in her voice. "Oh, they send us here there and everywhere. Good practice, since many of us will end up posted somewhere, eventually. But I asked to come here. I wanted to see Daegan." Tiriana looks to be nodding absently, paying less attention to Madilla's answer until she mentions that name. Her head snaps around sharply at that, her mouth locking into a frown as she studies the healer. She takes a moment to think before replying with a snurl of her lip, disgusted with the thought apparently, "Are you the one that's been sleeping with him, then?" Madilla's surprise at that reaction is clearly visible in her expression, and even the way her stance changes, hands dropping from the cot's end. "I'm sorry? I-- no, definitely not. He /likes/ me, he keeps /kissing/ me, but that's all there is between us, whatever he's been saying." Her lips tighten, shoulders pressing back. "He's just very confused, I think." "Not what I heard," says Tiriana, rather smugly. She leans forward, resting her forearms on her knees; the wiggling around just wrinkles the bedspread more. She doesn't notice. "Confused, right," snorts the candidate. "What /do/ you see in him? Because he's lucky at this point one of us hasn't killed him, and I'm calling dibs. On him and Berit, actually." Madilla's cheeks turn pink, though her expression remains hard, and her tone determined. "Well, you've heard wrong, clearly. I never said /I/ saw anything in him, anyway, besides. He's the one doing the kissing, not me. I'm just putting up with him, because--" This is where she falters slightly, her hands curling into uncomfortable fists at her side. "What's wrong with Berit? I've met her, too. I think she's nice." For that, Tiriana just eyes Madilla. "You're just a kid, can't expect you to know these things, but: it takes two people to do the kissing. Otherwise it's one person trying to kiss and the other person punching them for it," she says sagely, nodding once to emphasize that fact. On Berit, she just rolls her eyes, though. "Spoiled, stuck-up brat. Needs to learn to keep her mouth shut, which is exactly what I told her. Doesn't say a lot about you, if you like /those/ two." "Well I didn't kiss back, but I didn't punch him, so I'm not your two little categories work in this case," retorts Madilla, managing this time to keep her voice as a relatively even tone. "Not that I particularly care what you think, but I'd rather not be-- misrepresented. Daegan's just a kid," she continues, shrugging her shoulders. "He does mean things, but only because people react. His grandmother's a bit of a tyrant. And Berit... Well, I don't /disagree/ with you, but she /is/ nice. She's kind." She glances around, as if trying to find someone in charge to rescue her from this conversation, but everyone is otherwise occupied. "Aren't all grandmothers?" Tiriana asks skeptically. She shakes her head, dismissing that. "Anyway, I think they work. You let him kiss you, which is just... Ugh." She shudders the more she thinks about it. Moving on, at least, she notes, "Spoiled, stuck-up brats are not nice or kind. It's kind of the opposite of being nice or kind, you understand?" "Some, maybe," says Madilla, dubiously, "But Daegan's raised him. I don't think he even wanted to be a healer, so he rebelled in other ways. When he grows up a bit, he's going to be a much nicer person." Her faith in humanity appears to be genuine - she nods fervently as she says this, hands clasping together. "I didn't /invite/ him to. He's the one chasing me. I just keep... getting in the way, I suppose. I'm not going to marry him. Berit /was/ nice to me. Maybe you're just too judgmental to see the nice parts of her. Or him. Or anyone, maybe." Tiriana does not look nearly so optimistic about it all. "Nice sob story," she scoffs instead. "That makes it all okay, then. Does Berit have one too?" She raises her brows, tilts her head, her expression turning expectant as she regards Madilla. Then, as dryly as she can manages now, she queries, "The nice bits, right. Was that the part where she called me a brazen hussy who plies my wares in the baths, by any chance?" Madilla considers for a moment, either unaware of the amount of scoffing and thus taking the comment seriously, or just ignoring it. "I don't know, exactly. I know she's been spoilt, and... that's not a good thing. But I think she'll get used to life, eventually. I know I have, a bit, at least." Her cheeks go pink again, at mention of what the weaver apprentice said, and she says, finally, "Oh. Well. She is a little... she's been very sheltered... She /is/ nice, though. Just not used to different ways of life." "Look," says Tiriana, her tone a little pitying of the apprentice. "Everybody's got a sob story if you try hard enough. And at least I'm not the only judgmental one." She leans back then, bracing a hand behind her, the other resting in her lap. "Don't think she's making any efforts to get used to it, anyway. Why'd she accept search if she's going to be this way about being in a Weyr?" At least her tone grows more conversational then, and she shoots a rather genuinely curious look over at Madilla. "You aren't that ridiculous, are you? About baths and sex and--you're blushing. Well." Guess that answers that. Madilla's hands reach up for the end of the cot again, fingers wrapping around it as she leans back. "Holders feel like they should accept search," she explains. "Riders protect us, and when asked, we provide people to maybe be riders. It's a respect thing." She's not looking at Tiriana as she explains this - her gaze grazes the ceiling, wandering this way and back, but it returns to the other girl as her final question is asked. Her cheeks go pinker still. "I know /what/ sex is, so I'm ahead of her there. It's something best saved for marriage, but it's not-- wrong. Beasts do it all the time. I don't know about baths. Other girls - well, that's fine. That's how we did it at home. But." She shrugs. "Beasts do it all the time." And Tiriana actually laughs at that, shaking her head. "You holders--" She's too amused to get anything else out for the moment, but eventually she settles back, smirking still. "Seriously, that's what you think. Holders. You're just like my uncle R'dur, and he's--well. The only people that really say you oughta wait until you get married are the ones who haven't actually tried it yet," is her sage advice on that subject. "Maybe you /should/ go give Daegan a roll. I won't tell T'rev--the candidate coordinator." Madilla shrugs, apparently not taking Tiriana's criticisms too seriously. "I don't want to get pregnant without a husband to help support me," she says, calmly. "It's logical, to keep something that could produce a child to situations where having children is acceptable. Anyway, I'm not even fourteen, yet." Flushed, she looks uncomfortable at the concept of sex with Daegan, and says, "Daegan can't admit that he likes me - girls are 'icky', apparently. There's just no way we'd do that." Tiriana considers that a moment. "You're a healer. That can be fixed," she notes after a moment, shrugging. "Don't think Berit liked that idea much, either," is confessed a beat later, her mouth curving to one side. Shifting her weight, she frowns a moment later, though, absorbing Madilla's latter words. "Boys are so immature," remarks the elder girl, even as she concedes, "Okay, maybe thirteen's kind of young. Even for a Weyr." Madilla wrinkles her nose at the idea, though she nods. "It could be, but I'd rather not. Those kinds of solutions aren't good for the body. Besides," and she smiles, as she says this, "I /do/ want children. So I think I'd find that really hard." She lifts a hand, running it through her dark curls, which have escaped to spread over her shoulders, and nods. "They are, aren't they? Daegan is like a little brother - but he's older than I am! I'd rather marry an older man than a boy." She looks relieved, at her reprieve, nodding. "Even my Uncle wouldn't marry me off until I'm sixteen." "Doesn't mean you couldn't still, someday," says Tiriana, but her own mouth is pursing then, and she's quieter until she just shrugs once more and scoots further up on the bed, pulling one leg up with her and half-turning to face Madilla. "Never had any brothers, but I have enough cousins to know. Met enough guys, too. Trust me, the older ones are lots better. For pretty much everything." "Still what? Have a baby, or have sex with Daegan?" asks Madilla, tilting her head to the side curiously. "Because of course I could, with regards to the former. But I rather hope not, with the latter. Maybe if he grew up an /awful/ lot." After a pause, she straightens, scooting her arse over the edge of the footboard of the bed, toes still touching the ground. She nods: "I saw the same with my older brothers, and cousins, too. And at the hall. Which is why I don't understand some of the apprentices going giggly over the boys. I don't have time for that." "The former, but Faranth," and Tiriana shudders again. "Having sex with him is one thing, but just don't let him reproduce. Some people just shouldn't have kids. You healers could do something about that, right?" She shoots a sly look at Berit, cocking her head as the other girl scoots up on the bed too. As for giggliness? "/I/ never did that, not even when I was, like, your age. Acting stupid's not going to make them notice you the way you want, anyway." "Ah," says Madilla, nodding, lips quirking - a grin forming - at Tiriana's shudder. "We probably could, but then - so could you. One sharp knife would do it, I guess." The words are joking, but she looks uncomfortable in the saying, and turns her head away. "No, at that age the younger ones aren't interested, and the older ones consider you too young. I suppose most of them have to learn man-catching skills somehow, but..." While Madilla looks uncomfortable, Tiriana looks like she's seriously considering it. "Good point," she says slowly. "If he messes with me again, might have to give it a shot. Like I told Berit, forget candidacy, some things are just worth it." And she smirks, looking rather pleased now. To the latter, though, she notes smugly, "If you play it right... Well, you'll probably have to give it a couple of turns, anyway, but. It's not /really/ that hard." "If you call me his girlfriend first, you could justify it as saving your own life, because he'd try to kill you," offers Madilla, again with the discomfort, but with a broad, unsure smile, as if she were saying things for the sole purpose of sounding popular. "So then you could probably still be a candidate. If you wanted to be." Her brows raise slightly, at the last of the candidate's words, and she nods slowly. "No? Well. Then there's no excuse at all for the giggles. I wish they'd realise that." "Yeah?" says Tiriana. She looks more pleased by the moment. "That's not a bad idea, actually. And he's at least as prone to starting stuff as me, so they wouldn't automatically assume I picked the fight. Thanks." And she grins outright at the healer. She even throws in a little more advice. "Yeah. Well, I didn't think it was hard, anyway. I mean, all it really takes is being really pretty and having a nice dress and I've got a few of them falling over themselves for /me/, anyway." Her tone's companionable, even if the words are rather arrogant in and of themselves. Madilla hesitates, then gives Tiriana a hesitant, tight-lipped smile. "You're welcome, I guess." She sounds - and looks - more confident as she responds to the rest of the girl's words, saying, blandly, "Well, I guess being really pretty is something we should all aspire to, then. I'll work on that, great." Tiriana frowns at that, leaning back slightly to look at Madilla, look her up and down. Her lips purse, and finally she notes critically, "Well, you could dress better, if nothing else." Her shoulders lift slightly. "Your friend's a weaver, after all--didn't she tell you that brown does nobody justice, and neither does that dress thing?" "But it's practical," Madilla points out, though she gives her dress a doleful glance. "Hard to see the dirt and blood and vomit on it, see, and when you get that dirty... Berit did comment on my clothes, though, too. Point is, though," and she shrugs as she says this, "I'm not actually trying to deliberately attract anyone, so why should I care? I'm at the Hall to learn how to be a Healer, nothing else." Tiriana looks dubious of that, but shrugs once more eventually. "Kids. Can't tell them nothing," she remarks longsufferingly. "Didn't you say something about getting married someday? Anyway, I'm just saying. Clothes help a lot, if you ever /do/ want to. I mean, I work in the stables--well, usually, anyway, and I still manage it." Pay no mind to her rather disheveled just-off-work look today. Madilla rebalances herself by placing one hand on the railing atop which she sits, and grins. "Not until I'm a Journeyman. And then-- well, I won't have classes when I'm not on duty, so I'll have a reason to wear something other than work clothes. So I might bother, then. So I'm not /completely/ ignoring what you're saying. Not much." "Not much," says Tiriana, snorting once, but more or less agreeably. She's silent a moment then, thoughtful, before she pulls her other foot up to join her, crossing her legs as she settles back onto the bed again. "So you just have classes all the time?" she asks then, frowning slightly. "Isn't that, like, ridiculously unbearable? Harper lessons were bad enough, can't see just signing myself up voluntarily for more of that. The healing, that wouldn't be /too/ bad, I don't guess, but the learning? Boring." Madilla gives another shrug of her shoulders, grinning at Tiriana. During the silence, she shifts her position again, gaze sweeping the room - and checking, it looks like, to make sure she's not needed anywhere else. But the infirmary is quiet. "Well," she says, turning her head around again, "Not all the time. We spend some time in lessons, some in the garden, and a lot of time in the infirmaries and pharmacy, actually /doing/ things. I like the doing things. I'm," she hesitates, flushing, "not very good at the written stuff. It's the actual healing I like, too." Tiriana smirks slightly, nodding to that. "I /guess/ it's important, that stuff," she'll concede, but no more. "Never done any real healing, just... Well, this sort of stuff." She nods her head toward the mop, half-forgotten against the wall, then adds, "And some helping out after 'Fall. This one time, when R'uen got hit--" She doesn't finish the thought, breaking off and taking up a new turn instead. "Anyway, wouldn't ever apprentice to something like healing. 'D strangle the patients for whining too much or something. Madilla glances about the infirmary, admitting, "I don't get to do much /actual/ healing, either - lots of the kind of thing you were doing, today. Apprentice chores. I've only been at the hall since Turnover, so I'm still pretty... green." Her brows raise slightly at the mention of a specific name, but she doesn't press, tackling the next thought, instead. "You'd probably be too old, anyway," she remarks. "So you're going to be a rider, instead - maybe?" And there it is, the bristling that's been latent the last little while. Tiriana scowls, arms folding defensively over her chest. "I'm not that old. I'm eighteen," she retorts. "I could still. If I wanted to. Maybe." She subsides into a bit of sulkiness, though the latter question pulls her back out of it some. "Maybe," Tiriana admits, reluctant. "Up to the dragons. Be a couple more months until the hatching, probably." Surprise registers on Madilla's face at the finally visible bristling; she tilts her head to the side, opens her mouth, and then shuts it again. "Well, I guess so," she says, finally. "But you'd be older than everyone else, and there'd be all these rules - it'd be hard, I think. If you were older. But maybe candidacy is like that, too?" She nods, at the rest of the girl's words. "Daegan's going to miss exams. And maybe he won't come back at all. Do you want to be a rider? Or is it just something you say yes to?" Tiriana sniffs. "I guess," she agrees, trying to sound cool about it all. She nearly manages, too, before the latter question has her back off-balance. "Of course I want it," she answers, giving Madilla an are-you-stupid look that quickly morphs into something somehow less certain. "Half my family's riders--my daddy's a Weyrleader, you know. At Ierne, down south. Who /wouldn't/ want to impress?" Beat. "Except for your maladjusted little friend Berit." It's a low blow, though it seems to make her feel a little better. She relaxes just a little bit, though not without effort. "I don't," says Madilla, simply. "I'm a Healer. And-- Berit's really well suited to being a weaver. She's good at it. So she's better off doing that." Her brows furrow a bit at this, as if trying to work out logistics, but then she shrugs. "Well, anyway. I hope you do, if that's what you want. But with a Weyrleader for a father, I suppose it's in your blood. So you probably will." Tiriana tightens her mouth, lips pulling to one side as she thinks over this. "You think so?" she finally asks. "I mean, yeah. My daddy--" She shakes her head and then sweeps a hand through her hair, grimacing at its stickiness. But it finally prompts her to straighten her legs out and scoot close enough to the edge of the bed to get them on the floor. "I need to go get a bath before dinner," she notes then. "Feel disgusting." Madilla points out, after a moment, "I don't know anything about these things, but... well, it would make sense, wouldn't it?" She gives the other girl a smile, then slides to her own feet, nodding. "I'm heading back to the hall tonight. I should finish things up, before I get picked up, too. Uh-- nice to meet you." Her eyes are back on the cot, and the wrinkles in the blanket, as if she's just itching to fix them up. Perhaps fortunately, Tiriana steps away from the bed as she slides off, tugging at her clothes but not worrying about the wrinkles on the bed. The mop is completely forgotten up against the wall. "Yeah, you too," she agrees with a nod. "I guess you'll... Well. You oughta make it up again for the hatching. To see Daegan, or whatever." "I hadn't thought about coming," says Madilla, after a pause, sounding surprised. "Maybe I will, if I'm allowed." Pause. "Well, regardless. Good luck, and everything." She steps forward, shuffling around the side of the bed as Tiriana steps away, to straighten it - even if the other girl is there to see her do it. "Thanks. See you," says Tiriana, with a hand lifted in parting as she turns. Slipping her hands into her pockets then, she wanders on out, though she does glance back once and smirk to see the apprentice straightening up after her. |
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