Difference between revisions of "Logs:Apprenticeship Advice"

Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr

Partly sheltered by the curving stone overhang, partly exposed to the weather, the wide stone patio serves as a balcony for socializing or just plain drinking on a sizable scale. The repurposed ledge might once have let two large dragons land, but now there's too much furniture for that: two rustic tables with attendant chairs, plus a couple more in particularly good weather, and a wrought iron bench situated to make the most of the view of the western bowl and the lake beyond.

Other changes include rough little niches carved out of the stone walls to hold glows in colored bottles at night, the climbing plant that's being trained to grow up along the overhang, and the blue ceramic pots of flowers that dot the edge of the ledge as a colorful reminder not to fall off.

An archway leads to the Snowasis itself, housed in the ledge's former weyr, while a few wide steps descend along the wall to the bowl.

It's lunch break for Hypatia, and she's out on the patio ledge so often these days she may as well move in. And yet, in this particular instance it appears at least her work hasn't -- the healer apprentice is often enough seen taking up an entire table with papers, but at the moment there is none of that. Just a plate that was once filled with food, a tall glass of water and a single sketchbook, none of which have her focus at present. She's knitting something that looks like a sleeve, and watching the sky as a couple of blues circle overhead.

E'gin strides up to the garden ledge, a glass of some sort of juice in hand, his riding jacket is tucked under his arm. He, too, lacks any work for once. Ready to enjoy the pleasant day, his eyes fall upon the healer apprentince her absent knitting, he follows his gaze follows hers up to the sky, "Nice day, eh?" He offers, his gaze coming back down to watch Hypatia, "What are you knitting?"

Hypatia's focus strays from the circling dragons over to the nearby brownrider as he speaks, and her autopilot-knitting hands stop their moving. "It is," she agrees, as regards the day, or at least the weather, "and it's a sweater. Well, it's a sleeve, but it's part of a sweater. I figure I'll be done with it by winter for sure if I start now, yeah?" The sleeve, now that it has been identified as such for certain, appears about half finished. It's also fuzzy and hunter green.

"Mind?" E'gin says, as he motions with his head to an empty seat nearby, but doesn't wait for an answer. Instead, he's sitting in it before he continues, "Well a sweater isn't much with sleeves, so as far as I can tell it is a sweater." He grins slightly as he studies it. "Have you been knitting long? Do they teach you how to do that in the craft?" He asks the healer, "I mean I know you probably learned some as a kid, but enough to make a sweater?" His brows furrow slightly, "Hey, what age did you start as an apprentice?"

At least "Not at all" is Hypatia's answer, as opposed to refusing the brownrider the seat. She's certainly happy to socialize, and even sets the knitting down in exchange for a sip of the water. "Oh, no. I learned from my mother; it's not something that comes up in my craft at all. Just a hobby. What I do when I'm not working, mostly." She tilts her head just ever-so-slightly at the question, as if trying to figure out the reason for asking without inquiring, and then apparently gives up: "Fourteen. Why?"

E'gin gives the woman a grin at her response, thankful at least that she doesn't say no now and make it awkward. "That's how you fill up your free time?" The brownrider looks incredulously at her, "Do they not let you have fun?" His tone is mostly teasing, though his face falls more serious as she gives her answer. "Why? Oh. My little sister, she's almost 13, you see. I don't know, you know, how apprenticeships work, really. I want to make sure she doesn't get left behind. Probably time for her to start thinking, you know?"

"Not like she has to go into a craft," Hypatia attempts to pass along wisdom while also letting out a soft laugh at his commentary on her having fun -- though she doesn't actually say anything further about it. "But if she wants to, then -- yes, it would be a reasonable age to attempt to decide where she thinks she fits in. What's she like doing? And, I mean, some crafts take apprentices pretty young, some crafts prefer them older." Her expression's a bit bewildered, as it has been since he commented on not knowing how apprenticeships worked -- but continues to slowly mellow. She may have gotten used to the exiles in general, but some of the things they don't understand still catch her off guard.

"I mean, I guess not, but she isn't going to make it in a hold as much more than a drudge, and I won't have her working in a bar somewhere." E'gin pauses, "I drink in those, I know what guys are like in there." Somewhere in there is a grin, which falls away as he continues. "I want her to be able to make something of herself, like doing? Well she enjoys her lessons on herbs and stuff, I think, and the ones about the stars." He shrugs, "But then there are tons of crafts they don't really have basic lessons about, I mean are they learning anything about smithing?" He finally notes her bewildered look and waves the whole thing off, "Sorry, I won't trouble you with this anymore. I apologize." A lopsided smile. "So besides knitting and fixing people, what do you do?"

"You're not," Hypatia says first, taking another sip of water and then giving E'gin a rather insistently serious look. "Troubling me. It's fine, I don't mind helping -- and while really the most important thing is what she wants, you sound like an exemplary older brother." Tiny smile, and then the master of chatter just keeps on keeping on. "Herbs fits in healing, or gardening, and there are Starsmiths, that's a craft. Which is a part of smithing. Maybe she'd make a good smith. Me? I -- actually that's about it. I also talk to people. Socialize. Eat, sleep, breathe, you know."

"It may be a brother thing." E'gin agrees with a nod, "But I don't think it is a bad thing." He pauses and has enough wisdom to add, "All the time anyway. It can go to far." His laugh is deep and genuine, "Yes, exactly, nothing skanky. And tops or not, I don't want to hanging out where she is dependant on a bunch of drunk men, or women, for her livelihood." Pausing he nods, "Oh good, I can't see her arms bulking up much, if it wasn't for Vysravth I'd be a beanpole too. It's just the way we are." Unconciously, one hand clasps around his other arm. "The starsmiths help us figure out intervals and stuff, right?" He nods thoughtfully, "And eating and breathing are important activities. Though I'm not sure that I would classify them as 'fun'."

"But they are what I do," Hypatia replies, and scoops the knitting back up again. Which isn't at all a way to avoid the conversation; she may be knitting with her hands, but her eyes are still focused E'gin-wards. "Being completely paranoid and not letting her out of your sight for longer than an hour is too far. That's what I had to live with until I left. Maddening. But considering I can't see a beanpole of a young girl who otherwise looks like you anywhere, apparently you're doing a fine job on not being that pushy. Starsmiths spend a lot more time looking through glass things and writing stuff down, s'far as I know. Intervals and stuff, yes. And weather. And Thread."

E'gin nods, and lets it drop, besides there are more interesting topics to now discuss, "You lived with that? Who has time to watch someone like that? How did you talk them into letting you go to apprentince?" He laughs, "No, she stays in the nursery with the rest of the kids, but I visit." This is backed up with a solemn nod, as if that proves it. "Looking through glass and writing things down seems like a perfectly acceptable living, and doesn't sound like it would need a whole lot of muscle." He chuckles deeply before adding, "Of course so healing does too, either way, I guess I'd better start talking to her about, you know, the future."

"I didn't," is the answer to how Hypatia talked her mother into letting her apprentice. "I talked my other parent into letting me apprentice, and he talked her into it. She's just a bit touched, you know, by the Comet Pass. Always will be, I'm sure." It doesn't seem to phase the healer girl at all; this is just how things are in her family. "Healing can require more muscle than you might think, though! Having to lift unconscious people off the ground, and all." She waves her hand in the air, just the once, a gesture of 'such a bother' before picking up her water glass again. "Probably a good idea, though, talking to her about it."

E'gin frowns softly but doesn't say anything for a moment. "I see." Is all that is offered with what is supposed to be a comforting nod. "Well, I could see having to lift unconscious people, but they way considerably less than hunks of metal, right?" He finishes off his juice, then settles it on the table infront of them. "How did you end up choosing the healer craft? Sounds like you've always been a little on the independent side." A brief grin is given.

Hypatia actually has to stop and think pretty hard on that one, eyes widening ever-so-slightly as she realizes, "Oh, shells, I'm not really sure I know. I was always interested in it, and was pretty good at it? And I liked one of the healers at the Hold. I knew him pretty well and he vouched for me to my parents, that I'd do well. Despite being good at knitting I just didn't want to be a weaver, I'd have utterly hated it. ... And yes, unless it's a really tiny hunk of metal unconscious people are likely lighter."

E'gin raises an eyebrow studying the girl, "You enjoy knitting, you do it for fun, but you would have hated to do it as a craft?" He pauses thoughtfully, "You are interesting." He fiddles with his riding jacket in his lap, chuckling, "Well there you go, my sister can do anything she likes as long as she doesn't have to look like a man to do it. Especially if she would have to look like a buffer dude than me."

"Yes, because I've got to have something I can do for fun that isn't work --" Hypatia was starting to explain to it, anyway, and then she processes the rest of what E'gin says, and can't continue talking or drinking, as she's far too busy laughing instead. "You are fun," she tells him, a moment later, once she's gotten her breath back.

Toren heads up a short flight of stairs from the bowl. Toren has arrived.

"I see." E'gin grins softly, as he relaxes in a seat on the patio by Hypatia, "Do you get to get out of here much? I mean travel and stuff? Or go down to the Snowasis, or, oh I dunno, swim or -" He seems to run out of ideas. "Oh well, thank you very much. You are fun too." A hand is run through scruffy hair as he leans forward in his seat to play with his empty glass. "How long have you lived here?"

Toren is on his way up to the Snowasis and he has his guitar case on his back, even though it's a sunny beautiful day out he doesn't want to take any chances with his guitar. He spots others on the Patio and he gives a friendly wave, "Hello there."

"About as long as you have, honestly," Hypatia replies with a smaller smile, pushing a bit of fallen hair-fringe out of her eyes. "I'd been here maybe a couple months before you all turned up. I don't travel much except to visit my parents, no. And the Hall, but that doesn't really count. Same with going to Southern, it's work --" She's cut off by the approach of Toren, and shuts up and gives the Harper a smile instead. "Hi!"

"Oh, well a few turns then." E'gin comments as he adds in his head, "Oh you need to travel just for fun, you never know who'll meet." The brownrider seems ready to continue but his attention is stolen by Toren, "Hey." His called and he waves the other male over to an empty seat, "Join us?" The boy is studied with some interest, "Going to practice in the Snowasis? It is awfully loud in there for that isn't it?"

Toren gives a polite nod to each of them, "Good evening. Sure I'll join you." He moves to sit down and he takes the guitar off his back. "Well I was going to see if they would like me to play tonight I've played here a couple times before, but I can play out here if it's too loud." He sets the guitar case down and opens it up to take out the guitar. He gets into the right playing position and he starts to tune it.

Hypatia nods in response to E'gin's time assessment, though it's expanding to be a nod to Toren in general. She doesn't speak at first, waiting for the majority of the tuning to be over or at least for the harper to be set on what he's tuning to, trying not to be distracting. Not something she's good at, staying silent. "Not as loud out here, no. Can't remember what I was talking about, either -- right, traveling. It's been a while, I'm basically always busy. Better than always being bored, at least."

E'gin isn't nearly so polite as Hypatia as Toren tunes, "Not so loud out here, minus us, but that shouldn't be so bad if you are use to playing bars." He lips pull up in a grin, "Oh well, if you have enough time to knit and a friend with a dragon you can travel lots of places pretty fast." The male continues his conversation with the healer, before turning to include Toren, "What about you, when you are playing what do you do?"

Toren finishes his tuning and smiles at E'gin and Hypatia, "Is there any tune that either of you would like to hear?" He asks. He hmms as he's asked a question, "Well I'm focused on the song I don't often think about anything else while I'm playing. I try to devote my whole being into playing the song so that I can give the audience my very best."

"I never," Hypatia confesses, looking just ever-so-slightly guilty about the whole thing, "actually remember the names of songs. But you might be able to help him with finding a craft for his sister. How old were you when you apprenticed?" She may not be able to talk about music, but she can make any conversation relevant to what she actually wants to know.

"What is that funny one," E'gin waves a hand trying to remember, "You know the one about the clumsy dragon rider." Leaning over toward Hypatia, "Which, by the way, is an awful combination." Toren is grinned at again, "You know what I'm talking about? Maybe that guy made it up on the spot." He settles back into his seat waiting for his answers to the healer's questions.

Toren hmms, "I was 12 when I apprenticed and as far as I know anyone can be an apprentice, but if someone doesn't want to be they don't have to be no matter how talented they might be." He says awfully quickly and he clears his throat, "Sure I can play that one, it's called Bumbling Bluerider." He starts to play and sing, but he keeps the volume low so E'gin and Hypatia can still talk easily.

Hypatia can always talk easily, never doubt. It is her signature strength, if not one of a collection. "Nice title," she muses, "for a nice-sounding song about something that sounds like a rather unfortunate situation." The knitting is reclaimed, now that her drink's more than half gone. "If he did make it up on the spot, it's famous now, anyway."

The brownrider raises an eyebrow at the guitar wielding male, "I wasn't suggesting that I was going to force her to do anything she didn't want to." E'gin's face pulls up into a smirk. "Just trying to figure the whole system out, considering I never went through it." Eyebrow is lowered again before he laughs, "It is a well named tune, and certainly one that deserves to be famous. For the sake of mixed company, Toren, you could skip over the dirty parts if you wanted." He winks, at there shared knowledge.

Toren gives a nod, "Can do. Skipping the dirty verses." He continues to play just the guitar as he's supposedly skipping over the dirty parts. "Ah just making sure. It can be hard sometimes if someone is talented at something but they don't wanna do it." He shrugs, "You become an apprentice and learn all you can to become a journeyman where you learn all you can and teach what you do know until you are a master than you just learn what you want and teach what you want."

"No need!" Hypatia chirps at Toren, who may be professing to be skipping the dirty parts, but why would she want him to? "I'd hate to miss out on the full musical experience. He said she likes stars, I thought maybe starsmithing would be a good fit for -- Aella, was it?" She doesn't always have the best memory for names, but Hypatia does try. "And gosh, not everyone gets to master level. I can't imagine doing so, really, even if work is my entire life."

"Well, fine then, ladies choice on dirty parts." E'gin chuckles, "Good explanation, Toren. I think it would be good for Aella, too. I'll talk to her about it." His arms cross over his chest as he thinks, "Well maybe not everyone would want to be a master, I would think there would be a lot more work, right? And less practicing the actual craft, more making sure everyone else is." His head lolls to one side to look at Hypatia, "Would you want to be a master? If you work hard, you'll be fine. You seem to have the drive."

Toren nods, "Not everyone has to be a master, you stop where you feel comfortable or you are stopped when your talent runs out. Not everyone gets to be a master." He hmms, "Good song title." He files it away and he blushes softly, "All right I'll sing the dirty parts." He starts to sing again as his ears heat up.

Hypatia actually has to think about it, which results in a legitimate silent sixty seconds from the normally constant chatterer. "I -- don't know," she says, and keeps knitting, channeling her uncertainty into the sleeve. At least to knitting energy is energy, and the sleeve does not in itself become uncertain. "I might do. I thought I did, at first! But I don't know how much of what masters do is really healing, and not administrating and being political, like you said. That's kind of how it is."

E'gin watches Hypatia silently as he hears out her thought process, "Well if you like healing so much maybe you'll end up staying at journeyman, I guess the good thing about crafts is that you can always change your mind later. I mean if you decide when you are older than you want to teach or do the political stuff you can always try and move up then, right?" The brownrider's feet tap unconsciously to the song, chuckling occassionally to a part here or there.

Toren can feel his face burning red as he sings some parts of the song and he's never been so glad to get to the final verse. "And that's how he ended up in the bed of the lord holder's daughter!" He strums out the last chord and lets it fade.

"Exactly. And I'm pretty sure you can also step down," Hypatia adds with a smile -- as her expressions have been likely indicating, the dirty bits of the song are actually bothering Toren quite a bit more than the lady present. Phasing Hypatia is quite hard, or at least that's what she wants everyone to think. But once he completes the song, she actually sets the knitting down to rise out of her seat and give a standing ovation.

It seems more amusing to E'gin that Toren is more bothered by the song than Hypatia and he laughs softly, "Do you play some of the rougher bars, Toren? You know, the ones with the topless ladies and the sailors?" Why not tease the boy some, a hidden grin to Hypatia, and he joins her in her ovation.

Toren smiles as he nods his head to the standing ovation, he's more used to those than the song choice. "Thank you very much. You two are both too kind." He knows how to react to praise but E'gin's question takes him totally off guard, "What they have bars like that?" He shakes his head, "No never, this is my first time out of harper hall and my parents had a long talk about me playing at the Snowasis before I was allowed to play I don't think my mother would let me play at a place like that."

Hypatia, for one, looks terribly disappointed. "Your parents sound as bad as mine! Those sorts of places are terribly good fun." E'gin gets a smile in return; Hypatia may or may not have ever actually been to such a place, as she never specified, but she's perfectly willing to pretend an expertise. "How old are you? Parents can't possibly be in control once you've got that apprentice's knot. If a master told you you can't that's an entirely different can of worms. Journeyman, even."

"She's right, your parents don't tell you what to do anymore - the craft does. And if they haven't told you not to..." E'gin lets his statement trail off so that he can look wickedly at Toren, "Hypatia and I would be happy to take you to one. Tillek has a fine one, you know with all the ships coming in and out of the port, they need some entertainment." He grabs his riding jacket and stands, "You should learn how to play infront of any crowd, you know, it could be good practice, and the both of you look like you could get out of here for while." His grin softens to a smile.

Toren sighs softly, "I'm 15 and my parents are my journeyman at least while I'm here. They made an arrangement to keep the family all together. My mom comes from a big holder family, but she's the only one that can sing so family is really important to her, even though I'm the only child they've had." He looks at the rider as the jacket is grabbed and he remembers what his father told him before coming here that life is an adventure. He screws up his courage, "All right."

"Oh." Hypatia droops a little after she sits down; that's something she apparently can't imagine quite well enough to sympathize. "That sucks. Having your parents also be your craft superiors? I would die, even if my mother weren't -- the way my mother is. I'm not sure I'd even pick the same craft as my parents. But since my parents aren't formally crafters -- my father's a painter -- I don't really know what I would do, do I? Fifteen's an adult, though. So if you didn't have that little technical complication." She punctuates her sentence by picking up her water, taking a sip, and plunking it back on the table with gusto.

"I would think they wouldn't do that. Making parents be a kids journeyman, tough break, Toren." E'gin pulls his riding jacket on, "Well it is settled then, the next day we you two have off we'll go down to Tillek and have some fun, and see if we can't get Toren and his guitar on stage." Eyebrows waggle at the harper, "But I have to get ready for sweeps, you guys don't get into too much trouble until I'm there. Okay?" With that the rider slides back out of the gardens leaving the two apprentinces to idle the day away playing inappropriate songs and talking.