Difference between revisions of "Logs:Musical Opportunities"

Craft Complex, High Reaches Weyr

A passageway hewn into the rock and heavily patched with cement leads a short distance in to the bowl wall, with a door on either side. Lit by regularly spaced glows, the white-washed walls have been covered over by colorful tapestries, wall hangings and pieces of art made from metal and wood. To the left of the entranceway, just a single step inside, a spiral staircase opens out of the wall, leading upwards through the stone. Further down, a doorway opens to either side of the corridor, while at the far end, there is a hewn-stone staircase leading up to the residential quarters, wreathed by two final doors to private quarters and the bathing room.

The door leading to the east opens into an expansive room that seems to provide both general working space - with long, bare benches and chairs - and a cozy lounge complete with over-stuffed sofas and a few fuzzy armchairs. Three tall windows are carved into the stone, and offer air and light when the heavy wooden shutters are left open, though the lounge area has to make do mostly with glows. A hearth at the back of the room provides both heat and basic cooking facilities. The white-washed walls are bedecked with decoration - from quilts, to tapestries, to wooden carvings and metal sculptures.

The western door leads into another passage, off of which the main workrooms have been built. The loading dock is at the northern end, leading back out into the bowl, with the rest of the rooms leading deeper and deeper into the wall.

It's mid-morning at Reaches and many a resident has started their day. Some of the crafters have gone out to meet suppliers, others have chosen to work in the complex. One of those still about is Yuzuyu. The young woman is currently holed up in an empty practice room. Or rather...she was. A grumbling stomach has the harper pulling open the door and stepping outside while she stretches and yawns. Today's attire is much the same as always...a floor-length skirt and a blouse with her journeyman's knot upon one shoulder.

Mid-morning means that a pre-teen student ought to be in class with the teaching harpers, but Lilabet, tall for her age and giving the impression of absolute confidence, is certainly not. Instead, she's striding down the corridor, purposeful in a way that disinvites questions, with a sheaf of papers tucked self-importantly under one arm. Yuzuyu's sudden emergence from the practice room, however, has her miss a step, and though she recovers quickly from that falter in the graceful way that pre-teens have, before they hit awkward adolescence, it's nonetheless momentarily visible. "You're the new harper!" she announces.

For a moment Yuzuyu doesn't realize that Lilabet is talking about /her/. She just stands there and continues to stretch a bit more and then fiddles with a few strands of hair. Only, then she turns and catches the girl's eyes. That brings an immediate blush to Yuzuyu's cheeks and she shrinks back against the door of her practice room like a cornered animal. Her gaze begins to flit about, almost as if the attention might bring a swarm of...people. Only, it doesn't. "I....um...yes, yes I am..." It might have taken her a moment to calm down, but Yuzuyu does manage it thank goodness!

Immediately, both of Lilabet's hands raise, palms facing forward, as if she's soothing a wild beast. "Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Lilabet. I'm going to be an apprentice, next turn, so I've wanted and wanted to meet you, ever since Mama mentioned you." The girl grins, rolling back her shoulders to stand even taller. "Though I want to write things rather than perform them. Journeyman Kharven has been teaching me all kinds of poetry and things."

For a moment Yuzuyu continues to stare at Lilabet quietly, and perhaps she's searching through her memory because something finally clicks. "Ah um...Madilla's daughter? She...mentioned you..." The sentences might be broken and slow, but they're at least fully formed. Kind of. "That's very nice, um...I may have met Kharven once." But she's still a little flustered and can't remember. Yuzuyu does make and effort to stand up straight again and hold a hand out hesitantly. "I'm Yuzuyu, it's nice to meet you...Lilabet."

Lilabet's smile broadens as she's correctly identified; she steps forward, taking Yuzuyu's hand and shaking it firmly. "That's me," she agrees. "Madilla's eldest. There's Dilan and Raija, too, but they're both quite a lot younger than I am. It's nice to meet you, Yuzuyu. Journeyman Kharven mostly teaches, so I suppose that's why you wouldn't work with him as much? He's good, though. Are you settling in? I hear it's an awful adjustment. I was born here, though, so I don't know from experience."

So many questions! It's almost the full opposite of the twenty questions she attempted on R'hin. "I um...I'm sure Dilan and Raija are just as nice." Only, it isn't hard to tell that she's quaking at the thought of any kids younger than Lilabet. "I...yes, I perform rather than teach..." She tried it once, it turned out terribly! "People have been very kind to me so far...it...has been a bit hard, b-but...I am settling in."

Lilabet, pleased, continues to smile. There's something amused in that smile, now, though she doesn't seem to be laughing at Yuzuyu per se. "Don't worry, I won't inflict them on you, and they're unlikely to seek you out. Dee wants to be a brownrider, like H'kon, and Raija's too little and too shy." Her hands get tucked behind her, now, clasped on within the other. "I'm glad to hear it, anyway. I'd be happy to help, if you needed anything. I'd..." For the first time, she seems hesitant, even uncertain.

"Ah...that's good...I mean, not /good/. I'm sure they're nice I just..I...don't want to make them cry is all." Yuzuyu stumbles over her words, afraid she might've offended Lilabet by accident by saying she didn't want to meet the girl's siblings. The girl's offer of help earns just a moment of silence before Yuzuyu continues, "Help with...the Weyr or work? Because...I mean, I know you said you like writing...and this isn't exactly the same...but...there's a song I composed...from a long long time ago and it doesn't...have lyrics yet. If you want to try your hand...maybe? Not that you have to of course! Just...first thing that came to mind."

The wrinkle of Lilabet's nose suggests she doesn't want her siblings crying any more than Yuzuyu does, though her smile remains broad enough: she's not bothered. As the harper continues, however, one of her hands releases itself from behind her back, lifting until she can cover her mouth with it-- as if that will make the difference in hiding the sudden brilliance of her renewed smile; she looks as though she's about to dance in sheer delight. "I didn't-- that is to say, yes, yes I would love to. I only meant that-- well, it doesn't matter. Please."

Yuzuyu looks crestfallen for just a moment at the first two words, but the next bring a smile to her face. It's a /real/ smile that lights up her countenance almost as much as when she's performing. "I'm so glad...I was afraid it wouldn't be the type of thing you wanted to do." The harper's even speaking like a normal human being now. "It um...it looks like you were on your way somewhere, but...whenever you have a spare moment, I tend to be in the practice rooms. I can play the piece for you.."

One smile meets the other; Lilabet has the confidence of youth, and with it, the pure pleasure of one who has been given an opportunity far beyond her wildest dreams. "Oh, no," she says, firmly and fervently. "That's exactly the kind of thing I want to do, and I haven't had the opportunity, yet. I--" She glances down the corridor, and then at the documents under her arm. "I said I'd deliver these, but it was mostly so I didn't have to go to class. Is that terrible? I mean, yes, yes, I'll come and see you. When I have time."

"I...only hope you like the song, it's been quite some time since I wrote it." Yuzuyu's smile holds. Perhaps it's the one that's returned that makes it so, or that they are talking about music, or maybe even both. When asked trying to skip class was terrible there's an immediate shake of her head that sends reddish-brown locks flying about. "Not at all...I...did the same a lot, but for different reasons probably." Too many people in one small classroom never sat well with Yuzuyu. "Perfect, just um...don't neglect your other classes." It's said more out of obligation than anything.

Lilabet's sigh has a desperately teenage quality to it, but at least she's still smiling. "I'm ready to be in real classes and not boring kid classes," she explains. "But I'm still too young, Mama thinks. I won't neglect them, though, I promise. Not wholly. If I don't do well, the harpers may not take me, right? Anyway, I'm sure I'll like the song. I can't wait to hear it." Her gaze turns, just for a moment, towards the practice room, but... no, not now. Before she goes, though: "Apprenticeship is hard work, isn't it? But worth it?"

"They're important....for um, basics and things. If you start doing poorly because of this...." Yuzuyu's words are nothing more than a soft musing. There might be a flicker of worry about the topic, but all in all she seems to trust Lilabet not to completely blow off class. "Things will be alright, I'm sure. And...yes." She nods to the question, "It was...difficult at times, but if you enjoy doing something....it is worth it."

"Journeyman Kharven would tell me off, and Mama would be sad, and H'kon disappointed, I suspect," answers Lilabet, for all that Yuzuyu is simply musing. "And I'd not be allowed another opportunity. For good reason." Her shoulders are squared. "I don't intend to let anyone down." She's serious, too, in nodding her confirmation to the rest of what the harper has said. "Worth it. That's what I thought. Thank you, Journeyman Yuzuyu. I should get these delivered, but... I will come and see you soon. As soon as I can!"

"Yes...yes they would," Yuzuyu might be just a little amazed at Lilabet and gives a swift nod at the girl's words. The teen sounds like she's got a good head on her shoulders, which is surprising considering all the other kids the harper has met. "Um...just Yuzuyu is fine...I wish you luck on your classes, and um...the paper deliveries." There's another small smile and a hand is raised to wave at the departing girl. "G-goodbye!"

Something in Lilabet's smile suggests she's used to that reaction from adults: she's certainly very self-aware for her age. "Yuzuyu, then. Thank you-- honestly, I don't know if I can express how grateful I am. Thank you." With that, and with a brilliant, beaming smile, she takes off down the corridor. So... perhaps she's not quite as grown up as she seems. Sometimes.