Difference between revisions of "Logs:Newcomers"

Midwinter evenings come quickly up in the 'Reaches; it's barely dinnertime, but the sun has long since vanished, and the temperature has dropped considerably. Most of the weyr's crafters are housed out in the craft complex, across the bowl, and that means a cold and miserable walk across for meals, one that Madilla - a dumpy, maternal-looking woman in her mid-twenties - has just completed. She shakes out her outer clothing as she removes it, hanging it by the door, before heading to join the queue at the serving tables.

Toren is all ready in line as he's still getting used to being here at High Reaches Weyr. Although it doesn't have as much snow as they have at Harper Hall it's still plenty cold. He looks as an older woman that gets behind him and he gives her his very best smile as he's trying to make friends and you never know who you could be next too in line for chow. "Good evening."

Madilla's cheeks are flushed from the cold, and her hands are tucked beneath her shawl, presumably to recover some heat, but her smile, as she's addressed, is genuinely warm. "Good evening," she agrees. "It's frightful out there, isn't it? All that wind." Her shuddering shiver is probably as much intended for emphasis as it is for real; she takes a step forward, as the line moves.

Toren nods as he continues to move up as the line does, "Yah I've never felt wind like it, we might get a lot of snow, but not a lot of wind at Harper Hall. I'm Toren, my parents are harpers and I'm an apprentice harper. We just moved here." He picks up a plate and he offers it to Madilla before he gets another one.

Understanding floods Madilla's expression as Toren talks, but she keeps quiet until after the apprentice has offered her the plate, something she seems quite pleased about. "Thank you," she says, warmly. "I know all too well about Harper's winters. I spent a few turns as an Apprentice at the Healer Hall. And, in that case - welcome to High Reaches, Apprentice Toren. I promise it isn't always so miserable here. I'm Madilla, Journeyman Healer."

Toren nods moves to start to get food, "You are welcome." He remembers to pick up utensils as well. He mmms, "Looks like some great food tonight." He ahs and nods, "I'm sure it's not, all places have their good and bad seasons. It's nice to meet you too Madilla. So did you get assigned up here?"

Madilla fills her plate as she talks, taking a carefully proportioned amount of stew, vegetables and bread. "Our cooks are excellent," she tells him, grinning. "Or perhaps I'm biased. I've been here--" She has to pause, thinking about it, and seems almost surprised by the number she comes up with, "Ten turns now. I was posted as an Apprentice. You said you're here with your parents?"

Toren makes sure that he takes equal portions of all that is offered as he knows that either you eat what's offered or you go hungry. "Yes they were just recently assigned here, they are both journeyman harpers. Wow you've been here quiet a while."

"I must introduce myself to them," says Madilla, more to herself, her tone quiet, than to Toren himself. More loudly, "It must be nice for them, to be able to be posted together. And with you, too. As a family. I suppose I have been here a while-- probably since I was about your age. By now, it just feels like home. Would you like company, while you eat?"

Toren nods, "I'm sure they'll be down soon enough. Yes they asked to be posted together all the time and since they are married the Harper Hall doesn't want to make it look like they are trying to split up married couples. I don't mind if you don't mind having an apprentice as company." He gets some juice and he starts to look around, "Where would you like to sit?"

Madilla nods, inclining her head to one of the closest tables, which is probably intended as invitation, since she immediately heads off in that direction, still talking. "Of course; it only makes sense, I think. Splitting people up is recipe for unhappiness." There's something definite in her tone as she says that, as though she speaks from experience, even if she doesn't elaborate. Her food gets set down, and then she sits, asking, "And you don't mind? Most teenagers I know seem to want to get away from their parents."

Toren moves to sit down at the table and he puts his plate down first before he pulls out the chair for Madilla so she can sit down. He'll push it back in too before he gets his seat. He starts to eat as he thinks about his answer. "Well I'm happy to see new places I don't mind that I have to come with my parents. I mean it's nice at Harper Hall, but I've lived there all my life other apprentices come from other places, I'd like to go out and see new places."

Again, Madilla seems utterly charmed by Toren's manners: she beams at him, once she's safely settled in her seat. "Ah," she says, then. "Yes, I can see that. Well, a weyr is about as different as you can get from the Hall, at least in my experience. Unless we're talking my home hold." She picks up her fork, eating in a restrained, almost dainty kind of way.

Toren is curious as he sits down and starts to eat. He remembers his manners, "Oh what was your home hold like? I've heard other boys talk about their home holds and they said it was boring and just work. I've heard other boys talk about the Weyrs and how it is a lot of work, but alot of fun too."

"My home hold is a tiny little place between Peyton and Boll. I suppose it was, definitely, a lot of work." Again, it seems as though there's more to it, something Madilla isn't sharing, but her smile is unwavering. "The weyr is-- well, it's /different/. I imagine it would be more different still if Thread were still falling, but, thank Faranth, at least we don't have to deal with that. I like it; I suppose not everyone does, but it's definitely an experience."

Toren isn't going to push as he just met Madilla and he doesn't want a reputation as a gossip. He does listen to Madilla and he is curious about what her hold was like. "How is it different?" He asks as so far he hasn't seen much difference except there are lots of dragons about. "Yes thankfully, but we still have to be ready for it...Thread will come back at least that what I've been taught."

Madilla puts down her fork, laughing, though in a rueful, sad kind of way. "But not in our lifetimes, thankfully," is her response. "Not again. You may be too young to remember when it came back, but I'm not. You're right, of course: we have to be ready. We can't forget." She gives him a thoughtful glance before answering his earlier question, saying, finally, "It's hard to quantify, I suppose. Dragonriders are different. They have to be. It changes the way people view life."

Toren nods a little bit, "I just know the stories of it, but I don't remember too much, just a lot of singing songs." He gives a shrug and smiles, "And it's up the Harpers to help everyone remember through all our songs. Speaking of songs do you have any favorites? I'm really good with the guitar, maybe I could play you a few after dinner." He nods and leans forward, "I heard you'd be more likely to impress if you lived at a Weyr, that's another reason I don't mind come here with my parents."

Madilla opens her mouth, as though she's about to say something; then, she shuts it again, shaking her head, as if she's decided better of saying whatever it was on her mind. "The dragons choose-- there aren't so many, now, without Thread, but those they are interested in, they tend to find." And as for the songs? "That sounds lovely. But perhaps another night? I need to pick up my children before it gets too late. As soon as I've finished eating."

Toren smiles, "I know it's kinda silly and I'm happy to be a harper, but I'd be lying if I said otherwise and it's not good to lie unless the need is great enough." He nods as he eats, "Sure another night would be no problem. I'm sure I'll be helping my parents teach the children. How many children do you have?"

"You're quite right," says Madilla, approvingly. "And we're all allowed to have dreams." Even if hers, somehow, seem to make her look momentarily sad, before she goes back to smiling. Around her fork, she adds, "Two. Lily is nearly five, and Dilan is nearly one, so you may run into my daughter, if you're helping them teach. You don't have any brothers or sisters?"

Toren gives a wink, "Nope my parents got it right the first time so why try for perfection again." He grins brightly as he continues to eat, "I might, I'm always happy to help teach the children."

That /does/ make Madilla laugh - enough that she has to wipe her eyes afterwards. "I'm sorry," she says. "I shouldn't laugh." Her cheeks have gone pink. "It's a good thing, to be good with children. An important thing. My LIly-- she's the quietest girl you'll ever meet, but she does love her Harper lessons. But I'm sure you're not really interested in other people's children. I'm afraid that, like most mothers, I tend to forget that sometimes."

Toren chuckles a little too, "It's okay I'm not sure why my parents stopped with just me you'd have to ask them. I just hope it wasn't that I was such a terror that one of me was enough." He grins, "Good I hope she'll continue to like her harper lessons. I don't mind. My mother loves to teach the children while my father while he doesn't mind it he is more interested in nurturing future apprentices and working on his own music."

"I'm sure they had their reasons," is Madilla's opinion, though she sounds almost as though she can't imagine what they could be. "Ah, so they have different interests. Of course. It must be lovely." What, exactly, she finds so lovely she doesn't elaborate on - and a moment later, she's rising up from her seat and adding, "I should go. It's definitely bedtime for my youngest, and we've the bowl to walk across, first. But-- it was nice to meet you, Toren. Do tell your parents that I welcomed them?"

Toren smiles, "I'm sure they did too, it's none of my business really." He nods, "It's the best when we all play. Hopefully we'll get to do it here." He stands up and he nods his head politely, "Have a good night them Madilla. I will let my parents know."

Madilla's smile is beatific, and genuinely warm. "Have a lovely evening," she says, finally, before she's scooping up her empty plate to deposit with the dirty dishes, and then heading for the caverns.