Logs:Of Home Truths
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| RL Date: 10 June, 2006 |
| Who: Harley, R'hin |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| When: Day {{{day}}}, Month {{{month}}}, Turn {{{turn}}} ({{{IP}}} {{{IP2}}}) |
| Your location's current time: 19:35 on day 26, month 12, Turn 57, of the Tenth Pass. It is a winter evening. You stroll towards the lake shore. Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr This shoreline marks the edge of the freshwater lake that fills the southeastern portion of the bowl. The gritty dirt of the bowl gives way to smooth sand. Dragons often dive from high above the lake into its chilly waters, rinsing away the pungent smell of firestone. Their riders are frequently seen standing along the shoreline, watching on, the waters too brisk for casual swimming. Across the lake, the bowl wall rises high into the sky, its face dotted with weyr entrances. A few dragonlengths above the water, glimpses of a level cliff can be seen amidst boulders lining the edge. Just south of here, a smaller pond of water is divided from the main lake by a natural bridge of land. The water of the pond is frozen solid, an expanse of crystal glass that spreads from shore to shore. A path leads across the bridge and up to the diving cliffs, winding through a dotting of small boulders on its way. The evening is clear, not a cloud to be seen, giving you a perfect view of the stars. The smaller Belior is a nearly full waning gibbous while Timor is a nearly full waxing gibbous. The wind drives against the lake's frozen surface, stirring the sand that blankets the ground. Contents: Harley Obvious exits: LAke Pond Diving Cliff Bowl Harley is sitting on 'R'hin's rock, a cloak over her shoulders but not drawn about her just yet. She's staring out over the waters of the lake with a thoughtful expression on her face. Despite the coolness of the winter evening at the 'Reaches - or perhaps because of it - R'hin is in the midst of a run, his path taking him around the lake and all the way across the bowl and back again. He does a few laps past Harley, aware of her presence on his rock, but neither slows nor acknowledges her. The night gets darker and the evening cooler before he finally slows, the end of his run seeing him ambling towards his rock in order to stretch, breath coming in heavy plumes of warm breath against the frigid air. "Should you be out here?" he says, by way of not-particularly-amiable greeting to Harley. Harley blinks, bringing her thoughts back to now. She looks in the direction of the voice and nods. "R'hin. Hi." Her voice sounds vague at first. Or maybe as thoughtful as her face had appeared a moment ago. Her hands rest on the edges of the rock where she'd been leaning back just a little. "Why shouldn't I be out here?" she asks. R'hin leans his foot up against the rock, using it as a brace to stretch against. Hands pressed against his thigh, weight put forward, he turns his head enough to give Harley a level, disbelieving look. "It's winter," he says in a droll tone, as if it should be flatly obvious. Lips twist briefly, as he offers dryly, "You can muse just as well to your heart's content by staring into a fire inside." He switches legs, attention swinging away from the assistant steward again. Harley snorts, a light sound on the windy air. "And have hundreds of people bustling by, yelling, chatting, children running through screaming for whatever." She looks back out at the quiet waters of the lake. "I am getting the feeling my 'moments of peace' are going to become very rare soon." she adds. "Besides, it's not that bad yet." "If you want peace," R'hin's tone turns oddly sour, "Don't live in a Weyr. Or if you want any privacy, for that matter." The bronzerider straightens, swinging his arms back and forth before pulling them in turn across his chest, exhaling in another long plume of steam. Harley snorts again. "Once you graduate, you'll have a weyr all your own. I'll still be sleeping in the chamber with the rest of the residents once the baby is on a predictable schedule. I'll be sleeping in the nurseries until then. I will never have the privacy L'sen has, or you in the near future." Her eyes are warm, not showing any hint of feeling out of place by it. "Taking walks," she pauses and looks down at her growing tummy. "Or sitting down for a bit." she adds with a hint of irony in her voice "is something I have taken for granted. I'm just now realizing how special it is." The slight set of R'hin's jaw may be indication she misunderstood his words, but he doesn't bother correcting her. Instead, deliberately it would seem, he turns his back to her, ostensibly to continue stretching with one hand hovering over his rock for balance. "Given your position, I'm sure if you asked you could be given a room of your own. There are plenty of nooks and crannies down in the tunnels." His voice is nothing if not politely even. Harley shakes her head. "Why? To show I'm special? I don't think so. I hate the thought of using rank for anything. I scrub floors with the rest of the drudges when it's needed. I was in a smaller dorm at one point." she stops speaking and shrugs. "The main dorm is closer and I can sleep just as well there." she finishes. She has taken his words literally. Why would she take it any other way? A sudden thought has her asking "Have you seen Bayan lately?" The stretching continues without further comment, a deliberate silence left to stew for a few moments, before R'hin finally turns his full attention to Harley. "You complain about the lack of privacy, but given the opportunity, you come up with just as many reasons to refuse." With a flick of his wrist, he declares: "You strive too hard to be mediocre, Harley, and it is not becoming." The words are said matter-of-factly, though they could indeed be taken as harsh criticism. A sharp shake of head negates the topic of the itinerant ruffian, as if he has no wish to speak of the man. Harley shrugs. "I haven't seen him at all. Just wondered." She thinks about what R'hin said for a couple of minutes before she answers. "let's put it this way, I prefer to be mediocre right now. I have to accept a few things before I can..." a frown appears between her eyes. "Move on." is the best phrase she can think of. "Just as you insist you are yourself R'hin, yet you have denied what you have become to the rest of the weyr since the hatching." Her frown deepens. "At least at first. Have you accepted that yet?" The stray thought that R'hin and she herself were a pair when it came to the really important stuff. Or what people said was the important stuff. "Not too long ago," R'hin declares, "You had plans for the Weyr. Now you wish only for obscurity." The sharp flicker of fingers may well be an indicator of growing anger, though he keeps pale eyes averted from hers. He continues to stretch, but it is half-hearted, as much to give him something to do than any further need. A sharp, long look is accompanied by the words, "And just what, 'have I have become'?" There is a hint of veiled anger in the demand, the tail end of his words echoing her tone, pointedly. Harley blinks and brings the full focus of her attention to R'hin. She looks at him, puzzled. "My plans for the weyr? You mean my wish to make sure everything is running smoothly? That hasn't changed. Who said I want obscurity? I want to live my life the best I can. I'm not the headwoman. I'm not the steward, though why a weyr has to have a steward is beyond me. I'm an assistant. Nothing more, nothing less. All because I have neat handwriting and can keep halfway organized. I don't" her hand waggles as she searches for the right word. "qualify? No, that's not right. But Thiana and Sirana are the ones with the rank. I'm not a drudge but I have no rank either. And I refuse to put myself up there like some other people do simply because I'm assisting." Her eyes have never left R'hin. Still a little puzzled but quite willing to repeat herself. At least, this time. Glittering anger, held in check for now, is visible in R'hin's eyes as the bronzerider studies Harley throughout her words. His brow draws down in frustration, and he responds, "That may be, but you still didn't answer my question." Any pretense of movement has long since ceased, feet planted firmly and arms folded across his chest in a visibly defensive posture. Harley's lips quirk as she rises to her feet and shakes her head. "You R'hin, are your own unique self. You are a Bronzerider of High Reaches Weyr. And you are becoming as moody as Shalyn." There, she's finally said it. "You find some reason to get angry with me every time I speak to you these last few 7days and once your angry, you start picking. Whatever it is your afraid of, you need to face it so you can get on with your life and *enjoy* it." she turns and takes a few steps towards the living cavern before pausing and turning back. "I miss the R'hin I knew as a candidate. I know things have changed, but I still miss him." and she turns and leaves. "You perceive very little," comes R'hin's sharp retort, anger held in check for now. "And what you do perceive is grossly misunderstood. Your intent, I'm sure, comes from an honourable place." The bronzerider sketches a bow, mocking at best, but on the surface at least polite. He does not pursue her, nor does he watch her depart, instead turning to resume a slow walk around the lake. Harley strolls away from the lake shore, back to the main bowl. Harley has left. |
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