Logs:The Shy Harper
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| RL Date: 27 April, 2014 |
| Who: Madilla, Yuzuyu |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Madilla meets High Reaches' newest Harper. |
| Where: Living Caverns, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 21, Month 8, Turn 34 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Lilabet/Mentions |
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| Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr Stalactites hang high above this enormous cavern like a jagged chandelier or an inversion of the Spires themselves, but shadows cling to them instead of light. Below lie great tables arranged in rows, each large enough to serve a fighting wing, while in the nooks and alcoves around the cavern's edge sit more sensibly-sized tables, from six- and eight-seaters down to intimate spots for just a couple of diners. The only really open space is around the kitchen entrance, smelling of food and rarely quiet, and by the nearby serving tables with their long buffet of the day's offerings. Tapestries on the smooth walls -- some faded and others newly woven -- only slightly mute the sea of sound when a meal is in full swing, but they add cheerfulness augmented by the glowlight from wall sconces and the centerpieces of each table. Still, shadows always creep along the ceiling and into the mouths of the exits -- the myriad small hallways at one end of the cavern and, at the other, the twisting tunnel to the bowl near an array of coathooks and and hatracks -- and late at night, when the glows are allowed to dim, the chamber can seem very dark indeed. It's a little late for lunch, really, and certainly too early for dinner, but duties occasionally make regular mealtimes difficult; for Madilla, presently settled at one of the smaller tables around the edge of the cavern, today is clearly just one of those days. The healer has already eaten most of her stew, and now seems to have abandoned it in lieu of focusing on the stack of papers she's brought with her, skim-reading with one finger marking out the words as she goes. For now, she's alone at the table, and though there are other diners about, they're mostly in small clusters, dotted here and there about the great cavern. Yuzuyu only arrived at the Weyr last night, and after setting things up she's finally plucked up the courage to wander into public. The young woman shuffles into the cavern, her face half hidden by long strands of brown hair. She moves first to the stew, taking a portion for herself. This is the easy part, the next is the hardest. Her gaze shifts from table to table, face paling with each successive group that comes into view. Ah, but then! Then there's a lone crafter, much like herself (at the moment of course). Yuzuyu makes her way towards Madilla with quiet footsteps, quite nearly spilling her food several times on the way. "Would...would you mind if I joined you?" The harper's voice is filled with hesitance, almost inaudible really. Although she doesn't seem to notice approaching footsteps, Madilla's response to Yuzuyu's words is immediate and without apparent surprise; she lifts her head, a smile blossoming immediately upon her face as those green eyes regard the young woman. "Not at all," she promises, gesturing towards the vacant seats about her, the empty stretch of table. "You must be our new harper. I'd heard we were getting one. I'm Madilla-- High Reaches' Weyrhealer." Relief immediately washes over her features when Madilla smiles and offers the harper a seat. "Thank you," her words are again soft but the change to her demeanor is rather remarkable. Her cheeks are slightly flushed as she slips into a seat before nodding, "I am....Yuzuyu, it's very nice to meet you." It's easy to tell that she isn't quite used to meeting new people, but the embarrassed young woman really is trying her best. "Word seems to travel quite quickly here?" An attempt at small talk! Madilla's smile, though, is utterly sympathetic. "Very quickly," she says, with a quiet laugh. "Especially amidst the crafters. We've our own little community, I suppose, and I do like to keep up with new people. I've been here more than fifteen turns, myself, but I remember what it was like to be new. In any case, it's lovely to meet you, Yuzuyu. I may need to apologise in advance for my daughter's enthusiasm, when she meets you." "Fifteen turns?" Yuzuyu repeats the words as if in awe, "Did you also come from a Hall? I...I'm afraid it will be hard to get used to life here." There's worry on the Harper's features when Madilla says that word travels fast, but that turns to sheer panic when she mentions a daughter. Brown strands of hair whip back and forth as Yuzuyu suddenly begins glancing around, "Daughter? I'm terrible with children, I wouldn't want to make her cry or anything like that!" So much guilt in that voice. In fact, the young woman looks almost as if she might bolt! If Madilla is surprised at Yuzuyu's reticence, given her vocation, it shows only in how startled she is when the other woman reacts so strongly. "Oh-- please, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-- she wants to be a harper, that's all. I'll make sure she doesn't bother you." one of her hands reaches out, as though she'd like to take the harper's hand and squeeze it, but it falls short. Instead, "I was fifteen when I arrived. Originally from a tiny little hold in the middle of nowhere, but I spent a couple of turns at the Hall before being sent here. It can be a difficult transition, but I promise, High Reaches is a good place to be." "Oh...oh...." Yuzuyu takes a deep breathe, calming down just the slightest at Madilla's words before shaking her head. "No, it isn't that. I just...I'm terrible with kids and tend to make them cry and I didn't want your daughter to..." She shifts awkwardly in her seat while fingers fidget nervously with the spoon in her stew. How /does/ a woman like that manage to be a harper? It's quite a riddle. "It's the first time I've been away from the Hall to live." Yuzuyu admits quietly before glancing up to Madilla, finally managing to meet the woman's eyes. "I've only met a few people here, but...it does seem like a nice place." "Lilabet's eleven," says Madilla, "and not prone to tears. I'll still remind her not to bother you too much, though, especially while you're still settling in." The healer's smile is encouraging; she meets Yuzuyu's gaze squarely, as her hand draws back to her own stew, though she stirs the remains rather than actually eating them. "It's hard, leaving home," she says, sympathetically. "I remember. I was... utterly overwhelmed. But people are nice, and if you have any questions, I'm sure we'll all do our best to help out. I assume you're not the teaching kind of harper." "A few more turns until she'll be able to apprentice then..." Yuzuyu seems to slightest bit relieved upon hearing that Lilabet's a bit older as far as children go. She finally ventures a tentative smile to meet the healer's own before nodding in agreement, "It is...difficult, but I was told that I needed more practice with people." Which isn't difficult to imagine considering her behavior so far. The harper's next words might be a little more shocking, "Not teaching but...performance. Singing, dancing, and a few instruments. Is there somewhere here that harpers usually play?" She hasn't worked up enough courage to talk much to even her fellow crafters. Madilla's lips press together as she admits, "She'd like to go now, but she really is too young, however old she sometimes acts. I apprenticed at thirteen, myself, though I was a very... young thirteen. In some ways." Her brows have knitted in thought as she admits that, though her expression softens again as she considers Yuzuyu. "Performance. Well." Her tone, at least, stays even. "They often perform in here, of an evening. You'll have to talk to the other harpers to know more. It-- can be difficult, working with people. I found it so, for a long time. I was dreadfully shy." "I wasn't officially apprenticed until fifteen myself, but both of my parents are harpers...I've been learning from them since the day I was born really." Yuzuyu smiles again, this time brighter as she recalls the time with her parents. "Maybe in a few days I'll also be performing here...once I've settled in a bit more." She begins glancing around, almost as if examining a stage. It's only then that her gaze shows a hint of sharpness, a bit of certainty that wasn't there before. And then something Madilla says brings a spark of hope, "You were shy?" There is LIGHT at the end of the tunnel! Maybe the harper won't be forever awkward! REJOICE! "Did it...did it take long? For you to be able to work with others?" "That's a helpful advantage," comments Madilla, still smiling. She sets her spoon down again, apparently abandoning the food still in her own in lieu of reclaiming her mug of tea, though it no longer seems all that hot at a glance. "I look forward to your performance. I-- yes, I was very shy. Staggeringly so. It took some time." She hesitates, then adds, more firmly, "but being here helped so much. I couldn't just blend in with my fellow apprentices, or even my fellow healers. I had to get involved, and that made all the difference. I'll help. Introduce you to some people." "It is! They're wonderful really, my brother and sister too...though they apprenticed up with other crafts. The Harpers didn't suit them," Yuzuyu shakes her head but still wears that fond smile on her face. It's only when she talks about her family that she feels truly comfortable. A spoonful of her own stew is raised to her mouth and is apparently delicious because she has some more while listening to Madilla. "I'm hoping it works for me too...I know me being how I am isn't really usual of a Harper, it's why I was assigned here really." Embarrassment comes with the admission, "I...would like that though...if you could help me introduce me to some others, it would be very kind of you." Madilla, who is paying close attention to Yuzuyu's expression, seems somehow pleased at the younger woman's obvious affection for her family. "It's not terribly useful for a healer, either," she says, picking up that second thread of the conversation, and giving an encouraging smile as she does so. "I wanted, desperately, to work with children, but that doesn't work if you can't also talk to their parents without freezing up. I would have ended up in pharmacy, forever, and I didn't want that. The incentive helped. You'll do fine, I promise. Honestly, it would be my pleasure to introduce you around, and if there's anything you need helping finding... I'm sure I can help with that, too." "You work with children then?" Yuzuyu's question is tentative, but she finally seems to be relaxing enough to hold a rather normal conversation. "The pharmacy...it's almost a Harper's version of law." Apparently the subject is something that the young woman finds distasteful because there's a not so subtly wrinkling of her nose. "I would like to be a performer, though I'm not sure how long I will be able to keep it up. For a while I hope..." A threat of anxiety re-enters her voice before quickly being pushed away. "Thank you, that really is very kind of you." "Less than I used to. I'm afraid I spend most of my time, now, on administration. When I have the opportunity, though... oh yes." Madilla's voice holds definite pleasure as she speaks of working with children, though there's a sigh there, too. "Pharmacy and law: important, but also..." The forward tilt of her nod acknowledges the matter. "Why wouldn't you be able to keep it up? Because of the shyness, or?" "You seem like you would be very good with children!" Oh wait, she's a mother too! It's a well intended sentiment nonetheless. "Are you the head healer here then?" Yuzuyu asks, suddenly worried she hasn't been showing quite enough respect. "For shyness...or I may somehow lose my voice, or break my hands so that I'm unable to play, or perhaps break my legs so that I can't dance." Socially awkward, shy, morbid yet amazingly affectionate at times...she certainly is a very odd young woman. "I've seen it happen before though...at the Hall...it's almost as if they've died even though they haven't." Madilla's smile is warm. "I like to think that I am. Perhaps not always as good as I'd like to be, but I do well, I think. Mm. Yes. I'm the one that's been saddled with all of that. It's--" her cheeks are pink, abruptly, "I enjoy it, for the most part. Though it brings plenty of headaches, too." She's more solemn, and more thoughtful, as she allows, "That would certainly make matters more difficult. I can't imagine being no longer able to do my job. But," her voice is firmer as she continues, and her smile encouraging, "there's no reason to think that any such thing will happen to you. You're young, and you certainly look healthy enough." Yuzuyu blinks curiously at Madilla when the woman's cheeks turn pink, and her her head tilts to the side. "It does seem to be a bit of work, but...I think you must do a very good job. Even with all the paper work, you seem like you would be able to put everyone at ease." The harper pulls at the ends of her hair then, a nervous habit of hers it seems. "It would be hard...I'm not sure what I would do if that happened, but...I am healthy, I think. I was the last time I had to see the healers for an injury!" This last bit is declared with some bit of pride for who knows what reason. Whatever it is that embarrasses Madilla, she doesn't explain it, though her expression remains quietly self-conscious. "I hope so," she says, quickly. "I certainly try. In any case, I'm very glad that you're healthy. I hope you avoid further injury, too; I prefer to see people socially and not because they've ended up in my infirmary." At least, as she says that, she manages a brighter smile. "An infirmary that I ought to be getting back to, unfortunately. It was lovely to meet you, though, Yuzuyu. I'm sure we'll speak again soon." Yuzuyu still looks a bit curious at Madilla's expression, but the harper isn't one to directly ask about that sort of thing. Instead she nods, finally offering a smile for the woman rather than for any subject that they've been taking about. "It was nice to meet you as well, um...thanks, for letting me join you and all!" The smile remains in place and there's a sheepish sort of wave for the woman. Social interaction for the day...SUCCESSFUL! |
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