Difference between revisions of "Logs:Ruined Chances"

Craft Area, High Reaches Weyr

The far southeast corner of the bowl is devoted to crafter use, with a couple of stone buildings built in the open, designed to make use of the fresh air. One is the tannery, always reeking of chemicals and with hides everywhere, stretched out on racks to prepare and dry. The other is the forge, which rings of metal-on-metal and leaks black smoke and heat -- suffocating in summer, but at least somewhat more bearable in the cold, cold winters.

A number of windows with heavy wooden shutters line the wall behind these structures, aimed in such a way so as to avoid the worst of the noise and smells. In between them, a boulder-shaped entranceway leads within. To the west, roughly in the direction of the weyrling area, is a loading dock, while above it all, the glass-walled Greenhouse sits atop a low-positioned ledge.

Day's end isn't for several hours yet and there's no rest for apprentices newly arrived at the Weyr. Leda was given time to tumble her possessions into a 'press before being ushered back into the bowl. There, by the tannery, racks are being erected. Eventually these will serve to peg out hides in need of scraping or drying. Currently they're little more than a jumble of raw wooden planks, pale against the dark earth. The Woodcraft apprentice is on her knee beside one of these piles. Others are wielding their mallets already, wood striking wood as pegs are driven home, but Leda is sighting down one of the planks and testing its edge with the pad of her thumb. /Her/ mallet is on the ground beside her ankle.

Half an hour ago, perhaps, Madilla might well have been seen leaving the Craft Area for the bowl and the main caverns beyond, walking with the hurried pace of a woman with a mission. She's a little more laid-back on her return, apparently taking the time to enjoy the afternoon sunshine, her head tipped up to catch the sun's rays. It means she's not especially looking where she's going, and though Leda and her companions are quite safe from her ambling, the stone edge of the tannery is not: her foot connects, she stumbles, grabbing hold of the wall to right herself, and says, sounding surprised, "/Ouch/."

It's probably not a great surprise that Leda's head lifts and turns when that exclamation reaches her ears; she didn't seem terribly invested in fitting together the racks and any distraction is welcome. The eyes that come to focus on Madilla hold an even mix of surprise, curiosity and yes, amusement. The plank is set carefully upon the ground before she rises to approach the young women. The half-chaps she wears are peppered with sawdust and her hands idly brush at that dusting while she comes close enough to exchange words. "Mam always said, better to talk your anger out than get right to kicking, like as not you'll break your toe and leave them laughing," she remarks, giving the stone wall a good slap. "You all right?"

Madilla braces herself against the wall, lifting her foot to examine her toes - sandals are wonderful for that, apparently. It doesn't look like it's any worse than a graze, though, and so the healer turns her attention to Leda, saying, "I think so. Your mother's probably right on that front, though in this case... I think I just need to start paying more attention. Or possibly getting more sleep. Maybe both? Probably both. Thank you, though." She has dark circles under her eyes which seem to suggest the sleep thing might be a good start.

"It's usually hard to miss there being a building right in front of you," Leda says in a tone that suggests both agreement and laughter, without actually giving voice to the latter. One look at her narrowed eyes would confirm that suspicion. She's quiet a moment then, looking from Madilla's face to her shoulder and back again. Amusement quickly shades into a more assessing study. "Sit?" she suggests, hooking a thumb back over her shoulder towards the bench resting against the stone face of the building. Without awaiting a reply, the apprentice turns to go take a seat there herself; a small canteen is unclipped from the back of her belt, the stopper pulled free to let her take a swig of water.

"Especially one you walk past at least-- two, three, four, five, six times a day," agrees Madilla, with enough amusement in her voice that it would be hard to miss that she's cheerfully making fun of herself with it. Leda's assessment of her draws a somewhat thoughtful expression in return, but the healer has no qualms about nodding confirmation of the suggestion, and joining the apprentice on the bench, toes stretched out in front of her, wiggling gently. "It's too nice a day to be indoors, anyway. Particularly in the greenhouse. I know it'll be wonderful in there, come winter, but for now..." She breaks off, then adds, "I'm Madilla."

The canteen's rim is given a wipe with the sleeve of her shirt. Not the most sanitary gesture, however companionable Leda's offering of the thing is afterwards. "It does ruin any chance you had of claiming it leapt out at you. Leda. It's nice to meet you, Journeyman." Her lips frame a smile that is every bit as light and friendly as the greeting is formal. "I didn't have a chance to poke around in there but I could feel it when I went by the door. Water in the air, thick as smoke. It didn't seem right to feel that all the way up here but one of the journeyman said they'd be experimenting with potted trees in there, so I won't complain. If there's room left."

That Madilla declines the canteen with a shake of the head and a smile is /probably/ not based on a judgment of hygiene, but it's presumably hard to tell. "It does," she agrees. "So that's something I'll just have to accept, I suppose. A pleasure to meet you, too, Leda. Are you one of the newcomers? I don't think I've seen you around before." Her gaze shifts from her companion to the greenhouse above, surveying it thoughtfully for a few moments before, glancing back, "I hope there will be room for all kinds of things. We'll see. I'm just glad to have some /greenery/-- it's one of the things I miss about my Crafthall, and my home Hold."

"Came in from Lemos today, yes ma'am." Unfashed by the rejection of the canteen, Leda draws it back and unstoppers it again. A high sun overhead and hard work leaves an apprentice parched. Her own gaze drifts towards the jumble of planks still requiring her attention but for now they, and she, remain untroubled by petty concerns like gettin' 'er done. "This morning. Didn't think there'd be much green but I've learned a taste for it...the world was made for browns and greys and blues, but green's sweet to the eyes after you've seen it the once." She slants a curious look at the Healer. "Where's home if you don't mind me asking?"

Madilla rests her hands sedately on her knees, letting her attention linger on Leda. "You can call me Madilla," she offers, as the other girl finishes speaking. "I'm probably only a handful of turns older than you, anyway." Her smile, as she says that, seems genuine to the point of earnestness. "This morning! So you really are that new. Welcome to the Weyr, then! I hope you'll grow to like it... I know I have. I've been here six turns now, and I suppose I'd have to say that /here/ is home, now. But originally..." There's something distant in her expression as she says this, edging on sad, but not quite there. "A little place near Peyton, in the Fort region. Tiny, really."

"What, and have someone overhear me being familiar on my first day?" Leda gestures with the canteen towards the others, that industrious lot still bent over their slowly forming drying racks. None appear to be listening and it would be difficult to hear a quiet conversation over the sound of mallets; between those facts and the off-set grin the apprentice is suddenly wearing, it's clear she's leading to a joke. "I'll call you Madilla tomorrow, ma'am, if that's all right with you. Give me one day of seeming the good apprentice...oh, ayuh? Homesick, were you?" Teasing slides easily into sympathy, coastal accent strengthening. "Can't imagine six turns here just yet but home's just a hop and a glide for me, a-dragonback. It helps to be near enough to shout a hello to my brothers and think the wind'll carry it to them. I can't say I've heard of Peyton but I'm sure it's lovely. Green, aye?"

Between the wattage of Madilla's smile, and the laugh that, after a moment or two, results, it's clear the healer enjoys that joke. "Tomorrow, then," she agrees, firmly. "I was homesick, yes. The Hall was an enormous adjustment, and I was only thirteen-- and then to be sent /here/." But she's smiling, as though the recollection has only softened over time. "I imagine that would help, yes. For me-- well. I've made my own home, in the end." Of Peyton, the fondness more audible now, "Oh, yes. It's north of Boll, so it's not quite that kind of heat, but somewhat-- in between. Warm, and green, and just lovely. It's taken me a long time to get used to High Reaches winters."

Leda tips the canteen to her lips but don't think that she's not listening; her eyes cut to the side, keeping the other woman framed in the corner of her vision as she drinks. Thirsty work, this afternoon's business. She's nodding as she lowers the thing, giving it a shake to hear the slosh inside. "Thirteen's young," she says with the sure conviction of someone who's only seen a handful of summers past that, "Da kept me home 'til sixteen before sending me off and it helped. I felt I had my feet under me and knew what I wanted." The grin she adopts then makes crescents of her eyes. "Best not spend too much time in that greenhouse of yours, else you'll lose that tolerance and make a gaol of it. We'll be sliding your meals in under the door."

"Wise man," is Madilla's conclusion regarding Leda's father. "Things were... different. For me. And my family." She doesn't explain exactly how they were (or are) different, and the way she hastily moves on to other topics suggests she might not want to. "That would be a terrible plan, wouldn't it? Hiding in the greenhouse forever to avoid the snows. I think there'd be an intervention staged on my behalf before that happened, thankfully. Besides which," and she smiles brightly as she continues, "I /am/ gaining an appreciation for the cold. There definitely is something fresh and clean about snow, don't you think?"

The markers are clear that here is a topic to steer away from. Leda is content to oblige. She sets back to wall and stretches her legs out before her, the weight of her boots causing her toes to sag inward until they touch in the middle. It's a re-adjustment of position to leave herself comfortable, perfectly positioned to discuss...ahh, the weather. Her grin goes crooked again, as poorly set as her front teeth but still deeply amused. "It's pretty enough to look at the first time it comes down," she says agreeably, "Sweet as an unmarked page waiting for a pen. 'Til it's your job to push it out of the way to get to the 'yards. Then it goes grey and hard. But coming down...I took my lumps when I was smaller for standing out in the doorway to watch it fall. You can't beat poetry out of us girls, I figure."

The weather, oh yes. Madilla is, clearly, the /most/ interesting person to talk to either. She and Leda are sitting on a bench that's placed against the wall of the tannery, for the most part studiously ignoring the other woodcrafters at work in the area. The healer laughs, admitting, "Quite so. Not that I've ever done the cleaning up bit of it, but I do know how nasty it gets eventually. I think we're all glad to see the end of it, by the time it melts. That sloshy, wet stage is quite unpleasant." She glances upwards again, clearly still enjoying the sunshine, as she adds, "Are you pleased to be posted here? I don't know what the woodcraft facilities are like, but most of the rest of the complex seems quite impressive." So. Weather. Or work. /Fascinating/.

Such is the fate of those newly met. There are forms to be followed! And Leda, relaxed and sleepy-toned that she is, intends to see them through. It beats whacking on drying racks with a mallet. "I'll take new snow and frozen ground to the muck, any day. It's good to be back, aye, I asked for it outright." Her grin eases into a more muted smile and she gives the canteen she holds a shake just to hear the water sing inside of it. Well might she look pleased, to be granted a request in spite of her pleb rank. "Might've gone back to the shipyards, I suppose. But this'll be a nice change and I think they did right by us, with what they've built up here. Was it poor quarters, before?"

It's actually a decent day by Sho's standards, and thus it finds the youth out for his normal run barefoot in shorts and a tank top. He's just finishing his run, which actually got extended some because he was trying to find Madilla to see how her and the young'n was. Well, he finds her finally as he slows down from his run to a walk. Sweating and breathing heavily, he walks towards the bench where the two are and leans forward, hands on his knees while he catches his breath. "Hi Madilla." He says breathily. offering her a smile. Amber eyes flick to the other person as well and Sho offers her a nod, "Hello."

Madilla's opinion is a genuine-enough, "It's nice when that happens. When people get what they want. I find that some people - people who aren't crafters, generally - have trouble with the idea of being expected to follow orders and move anywhere. I admit, the idea of, perhaps, having to tear my daughter away from her home, should I be posted elsewhere-- that /does/ bother me a little." For herself? Not so much, it seems. "They weren't so bad, there just wasn't the same kind of space, I suppose. My quarters are definitely bigger, and our workroom, definitely. The equipment, too: they really seem to have given us the--" It's at this point that she breaks off to watch Sho on his approach, smile brightening; after his greeting, she returns it: "Afternoon, Sho. This is Leda - she's new. Leda, this is Sho."

Leda might have had more questions for Madilla, and certainly she'd have had some observations to make, but for Sho's arrival. She actually has her mouth open to say something and there it remains as she cants her head to study the young man. It's the eyes, they merit a second glance. Then the canteen comes up, the water offered without hesitation once he's found his breath. "Hello, Sho, best sip it slow," she quips in her coastal drawl. "Nice to meet...you. I'm sorry, you can hit me for that after you've got your feet under you again." The offer /sounds/ genuine, in spite of the laughter that lurks in her own eyes. "Madilla was just telling me about the new complex."

Sho takes a few deep breaths and wipes his forehead with his arm, grinning at the two ladies. At the offer of the water Sho nods his thanks and takes the canteen, taking a few sips before offering it back. "Thank you." He says, already recovering enough that his words aren't breathy any longer. "Nice ta meet you Leda. Welcome to the Weyr. It's nice a few months. The other times it's freezing and ya won't want ta be outside." His grin widens and eyes shine as he says that, then turns his attention back to Madilla. "How're you doing Madilla? Where's the little one?" He asks curiously.

Madilla bites back the laugh that threatens to escape in the wake of Leda's quip; her amusement is clearly obvious. To Sho, she says, "Leda's from the area, I'm afraid, so I don't think she quite shares your distaste for the weather. I think we can /all/ agree that it's beautiful at the moment, though. I'm well," she continues, with a bob of the head to indicate her appreciation at being asked. "And Lily is with Delinda-- she looks after Lily, and Delifa's little one, and a couple of others, while we all work. I've just come back from feeding her." A sideways glance to Leda has her adding, "Lily's my daughter. Lilabet. She's just gone four months old, now." And such pride, too, from her mother.

"Aye, but I've been away some turns in Lemos, so I'm grateful for the warning. I suppose it'll take a case of frostbite before the old tricks come back to me." Leda lifts her brows to punctuate that thanks, flashing Sho an off-centre grin as she takes the canteen from him. The sidelong glance is met with one of her own and the apprentice is left nodding at being offered that information. Being young, and female, there's a hint of the sappy about her smile. "Ayuh? A pretty name, that. Four months...does she still have the sweetness in her hair? My oldest brother's boy, I couldn't get enough for holding him when he was wee, just to feel his hair against my cheek and the smell of him in my nose."

That may be just a little too girly for Sho, all that baby talk. It causes him to just shake his head a bit and stretches his legs one at a time, pulling them up behind him. "Well, I guess it's good she watches her while yer working. Although I made her a little something." He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a little wooden figurine, certainly not the best work in the world, but just something he made by slowly whittling away at it. It's a little man, very blocky, but with no pointy edges and at least smoothed enough to not cause any splinters. "I was bored and it just kinda happened, so thought she might want it." He shrugs a bit and offers it to Madilla.

Poor Sho is likely to be subjected to more of the sappy baby-talk, because Madilla's expression positively melts at Leda's question. "She /does/," she confirms, all gooey. "Sometimes, I can barely let myself put her down, or give her up, no matter how temporary. It's like I want to just eat her up." Which turns her cheeks faintly pink, admittedly. "Of course, there are /other/ times--" But. She's distracted from this by the little object offered by Sho, and if anything, looks even more delighted. "Oh... Sho-- thank you. It's beautiful. I'm sure she'll love it." The little man gets turned over in her hand, examined. "Thank you so much."

She may be only an apprentice, but there's no missing the gleam in Leda's eyes when she tips a look at the figurine being offered. It isn't a critical look, or a judgmental one; she's simply sizing up another craftsman's piece with the habit borne of being in that trade herself. What she thinks of the toy isn't noted. Instead the canteen is tipped up to leave the young woman finishing off the rest of the water in a series of deep swallows. When it's emptied, the stopper is replaced and its slipped back into the loop on her belt. "I think they come that way on purpose when they're little. Even when they're screaming, you can't help but want to squeeze them," she remarks, "It's a good age and a kind gift."

Sho nods at Madilla, cheeks actually reddening a bit at how she reacts. It was just something small, really. "Well, I thought she might like it. Or at least give her something ta chew on." He says, reaching up to scratch his head uncertainly. He looks between the two as they continue the baby talk and he hrms softly, "I wasn't...interupting anything was I?" He asks. Darn woman folk and their baby talk. All they do is poop and eat. Okay, admittedly Sho's smitten with Lily, but he would never admit it.

"It's quite true," agrees Madilla, firmly. "If they weren't so perfect, one would never want to put up with them-- or regret the fact that they are growing up, and thus end up wanting another one. Not," she adds hastily, "that I'm anywhere near /that/ point just yet. All I really want at this point is eight hours of uninterrupted sleep." To Sho, smiling warmly, she shakes her head rapidly. "Not interrupting at all. We were just chatting-- you can join us, if you like. She /will/ like it. It's perfect, thank you. I didn't know that you'd taken up carving. Leda here is a woodcrafter."

"Oh aye, I don't miss the lack of sleep that came of leaving home. It was sweet seeing how my brother took after his wife but I can't say I always liked the side effect. Four of them by the time I went to apprentice, and two more since." Leda mimes a yawn, pressing the back of her hand to her mouth and turning her face, complete with squinty eyes, up into the mountain sunshine. The gesture is followed with a genuinely sleepy smile for the pair. It goes back and forth between them. At this rate, that drying rack will never be finished. "No interruption," she echoes, "There's room enough if you want to sit and the sun is sweet here." Mention of her craft has her dipping her head in acknowledgement, the same hand she'd used to cover the "yawn" now pressing to her heart. "Apprentice only but there are fancier knots in my future, I like to think. You've a neat hand with a knife, Sho."

Sho takes the ladies up on the offer to sits and picks the edge nearer Madilla, sitting a little farther away because, face it, sweaty boys stink and he knows it. "Thanks. I need a little break. Been running fer an hour already." At the mention of woodcrafting Sho raises an eyebrow and looks at Leda, "Oh really? Well that's good. We're getting a lotta Crafters here now it seems." At the compliment on his knife work Sho subconsciously reaches around and grabs the end of his runner-tailed hair and picks at it, not meeting Leda's eyes, "Uh...thanks. Never really tried. Just...kinda was always something ta do when I wasn't running or working."

Madilla's expression shows definite sympathy for Leda's words, matched with a firm nod. "I remember it from home, too. There were always little ones around. I think I'd forgotten the worst of it, though." Her shrug is easy enough, though: it's only sleep. She'll live. The glance she aims at Sho is fond, and somehow quietly amused. "It's a good hobby to have," she says, firmly. "/I/ think, anyway. Something to do with one's hands. I think that's why I took up quilting." There's a pause, and then, "Have you ever considered actually looking at Apprenticing, Sho? Since you've obviously /some/ skill with wood."

Leda tilts her head, her view of the lad somewhat blocked by Madilla; what she can see of him shows the self-consciousness though and she gentles her smile as a result. "Hobby or craft, it's good to have," she chimes in in agreement. Though she's been resting for some time now, the apprentice stretches her legs again as if they were stiff or tired, re-crossing heavy boots at the ankles. "If you've busy hands and an eye or ear for what hides in the wood, you're part of the way to a knot of your own. Wood talks, it tells you what it wants to be, aye?"

The youth tilts his head slightly as he listens to more baby talk, and then Madilla's question catches him a bit off guard. "Well...uh, no. Not really. I mean, I can't do anything till I Turn 16. My uncle won't let me do anythin' else, so I'm stuck in the stables until then." A shrug at that before his eyes shift across Madilla to Leda and he smirks a little, "Wood can't talk." Apparently he's not getting what she means. "You just gotta kinda cut at it until it looks right. It's all different." He continues to pick at the end of his hair as he sits with the ladies, his breathing having completely evened out now and no longer sweating. "When I Turn 16 I might think about it I guess."

Madilla looks more troubled, now, and glances briefly in Leda's direction, and then back towards Sho. "I imagine if you asked him, he might consider it," she offers. "Not that sixteen is too old, of course, but-- well. Of course, it's entirely up to you. No pressure, right?" She pushes a smile back onto her face, and attempts, with variable amounts of success, to look encouraging. "At any rate, I was /supposed/ to go straight back to the stillroom after feeding Lily, which means I'm horribly late. If you'll both excuse me? It was a pleasure, Leta, and again, thank you for the toy, Sho." She's still got it in her hand, cradled.

The Woodcrafter is untroubled at being contradicted. "Wood talks to you if you've the mind to hear it, to feel what it's saying under your fingers. And sixteen is getting on, it slowed me down some. Not that I minded the wait but what's one turn, aye? Guess that goes both ways though." Leda straightens up to properly see Madilla off. At least, she musters the facade of proper. The edges remain softened under a deep layer of relaxation. "Of course, ma'am. It was nice meeting you, like I said. Luck with your little one, I'll hope she's sleeping the night through for you soon," she says with a smile too at ease to count as good manners.

Sho's nervousness dissipates as Madilla stands to leave, and he stands to, about to give her a hug goodbye before he pauses. Sweaty, stinky...right. "Uh, good bye Madilla. It was good ta see you again." He says, "And yer welcome. I hope she likes it." He offers before looking back to Leda and sitting again, pulling his legs up under himself on the bench, cross legged. "Well yeah, it does kind of tell ya what it is when ya start cutting at it, I guess." He admits awkwardly, trying to think of wood 'talking'.

Instead of a hug, Madilla drops her hand to Sho's shoulder to give it a squeeze. "Thank you, Leda," she tells the other girl, genuinely. "And you, too, Sho. Maybe we'll have dinner together some night soon?" But now is not the time for making specific plans. Having said this, she bobs her head towards them both once more, then continues on towards the boulder-shaped entrance to the complex.