Logs:Another Awkward Interlude
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| RL Date: 9 July, 2008 |
| Who: Paige, K'len |
| Type: Log |
| What: In which Paige returns from Boll and runs into K'len and Kalorith again in the hot springs. She worries about Impression; he gets a little more personal. Not being the most experienced girl at dishing out advice, her attempt goes sadly awry - or does it? |
| Where: Hot Springs, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 11, Month 1, Turn 17 (Interval 10) |
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| Kalorith's reddish bronze hide is being lovingly - well, perhaps not so much loving - tended to this evening by his partially upset rider. K'len grumbles as he only has about a quarter of the dragon finished, and he's muttering things under his breath that might be better off unheard. But, the bronze knows he's looking fine, and it doesn't stop him from attempting to sidle closer to one of the greens that's playing coy nearby - however it earns the dragon a jab and a more clear sounding, "Just stop, already." Paige, hair bound up messily, enters the cavern in a group of chattering candidates, who probably recently returned from the boar hunt at Southern Boll. Intent on getting clean, most of the young people troop into the water; the slim girl from Balen takes a few minutes longer to make it in, sinking contentedly into the heat with a glance back toward the shore - and lo, there's K'len, Kalorith, and some greens nearby. Offering the bronzerider a wave from the shallows, she busies herself with lathering and scrubbing, apparently intending to have a quick bath. For the duty of cleaning a dragon, K'len's wearing nothing more than a pair of shorts while the rest of his clothing and the dragon's straps are tossed in a pile on a safe spot of shore to keep dry. Of course, that just allows others to see the few scars he does have from the rogue falls that span across his back. Lifting up a brush, he waves back to Paige and glances over the bunch of people entering the cavern. But, while his attention is diverted, Kalorith takes the opportunity to shift unexpectedly and causing K'len to lose his footing and tumble into the water. Luckily it's not the shallow part, so there's no injury - just a bit of sputtering and him moving away from the dragon. "Fine! Tomorrow then!" He quips and makes his way back towards the shore while inquiring, "Good hunt, you guys?" As K'len tumbles into the water, the candidates momentarily cease chattering to peer over in his direction. "Yeah, not bad, " one of the guys answers. "The food was swell, too. We all stuffed ourselves pretty thoroughly." The guy next to him proceeds to tell a few jokes, probably in an attempt to make the nearby girls laugh (or blush), but Paige, despite occasionally interjecting with a noncommittal, "Yeah, " focuses on finishing up her bath, dunking her head briefly under to scrub at her hair before making strides toward the shore to dry off and get dressed. "Was nice at Boll, " she adds more quietly in the bronzerider's direction. "Real purty from the sky, too. Not used to seein' so much greenery 'round." K'len grabs a towel to wrap himself up in it, far more drenched than he thought he'd get - but prepared for it this time at any rate. Squatting to nudge aside straps and such, he goes about looking for a shirt and his slacks to pull on and then uses the towel to solely dry his hair. "I think our candidate class did a Boll trip too... though, I can't rightly remember it's been a long time." He says with a shrug, then offers a quick smile, "Yeah, it's pretty green there. I came from Keroon which is pretty green too, considering how many runners are around there." "Sounds like it's been a long-standin' tradition, " Paige remarks, finishing dressing and rubbing at her hair briefly with her towel before beginning to plait it. "V'delin said his class did a hunt, too." Several of the candidates still in the water give a snigger as the other bronzerider is mentioned, quipping something about 'manners' and 'that weaver girl.' "Yer from Keroon?" she repeats, giving him a small smile. "I didn' know y'were holdbred, too." K'len just leaves his hair a mess after he ruffles it up with the towel, then tosses it into one of the bags that presumably belongs attached to the straps. He arches his brow at the sniggering, then shrugs, "V'delin was in the same class as me." He says, and then Kalorith is making his way over to get his straps tossed around his neckridges with the practice that only years can give. "I punched him in the face once, at least, I'm pretty sure it was him. But, yeah, I'm holdbred - my folks are still in Keroon." "Berit would probably say he deserved it after that lesson in manners, " one of the guys smirks aloud, earning him a look from the nearest girl. "Oh, " says Paige, flushing a little as she studies him for a long moment. "Y'must have Impressed young, " she hedges after a bit. "Y'dun look much older'n me. Maybe a lil bit older. V'delin looks a fair bit older'n me." And as the bronze heads over for his straps, she adds a cheerful, "Hullo again, Kalorith." Kalorith gives a cheerful warble to Paige, and even shifts close so she can give him some scritches if she chose to. But, K'len's decently busying himself with securing the straps on the bronze's neckridges while the dragon's distracted. "He deserved it, I'm sure of that much." He admits to whoever piped up, though if asked details it'd probably be a little fuzzy by now. "When I was thirteen, Kalorith's nine now. It was before all the thread and stuff, so... I thought it was going to be a lot 'easier' than it turned out to be." Paige finishes braiding her hair and shuffles the few steps closer to Kalorith, glad to oblige with some scritches and rubs against the dragon's hide. "Weyrlin'master P'draig said yesterday tha' thin's'll prolly be easier fer our class if'n we Impress, " she says softly. "Maybe we won' hafta face Thread at all." Gaze carefully focused on her scritching movements, she adds, "It - musta been hard on ya. He was also a'tellin' me how much more stressful it's been fer y'all with the falls bein' all unpredictable. Tha' it gets harder t'sleep and - stuff." Kalorith sighs at the touching, clearly pleased by the contact while K'len still goes about securing what looks like a tangled string of straps to the dragon. He flips one around towards the side Paige is on, and reaches underneath to grab it back over to his side. "That's what he said to us too - that it'd be easy. But, nobody can really accurately predict what's going to happen, it seems. Falls started happening not too long after we graduated." He says, peeking over the ridges with his pale blue grey eyes towards Paige. "It wasn't easy, and just because it's said it's over - doesn't make it any less of a nightmare." Paige eventually lifts her eyes in an attempt to follow the complex tangle of straps, giving up in favor of turning her attention more fully onto the rider as he pulls a strap back around to the other side. "When ya put it tha' way - I dunno if'n I wanna walk offa the sands with a dragon, " she admits. "S'scary thought. I mean, I wouldn' want us t'get hurt if'n I rode one. I dunno if'n I'm cut out t'face - fightin' like tha'. Maybe dyin'." Scritch, scritch. Kalorith shifts and moves, which only makes things more difficult for his rider - it seems that the bronze truly likes to keep K'len on his toes. "Oh, stop moving Kal." He says, slapping at the bronze's hide and then fastening the strap that nearly got away from him. "It was hard walking off the sands with him. It was like... having a child, and me being one still myself. We grew up together." He says, and then sighs a little, "But, even after all we've been through, I'm still glad he's with me. I wouldn't worry about it too much, yes?" Pausing in her movements as Kalorith shifts about, Paige cautiously resumes scritching once the bronze stills, listening to K'len's description of his Impression with at least some visible fascination. "Yeah, guess there's no need t'worry 'bout it 'til we actually hafta face 'em, " she agrees at last, giving him a small smile. "I try not t'think 'bout it /too/ often, y'know? S'almost too heavy t'ponder jus' yet. I'm still jus' gettin' used t'livin' here." "It's not worth worrying about. I was just happy for the ride of candidacy, and to get out of Keroon. I hate runners." K'len says, and even the turns of being away from them hasn't curbed his distaste for the beasts. "I was hoping to find something to do around here, even if I didn't Impress. Maybe see if the weyr girls were all that were rumored, but in truth, I miss hold girls." "Aw, they're not so bad, if a lil smelly, " Paige protests lightly, brow creasing a little. "Muckin' in't so good, but least here, they tell us s'good practice in case we Impress." Adding a second hand to rubbing Kalorith's hide, she glances up at K'len, expression thoughtful. "What wouldja have done, d'ya think? I'm guessin' not workin' in the stables?" And as for that last bit about hold girls - well, she just pinks a little, but works at not dropping her gaze awkwardly, no matter how difficult it may prove to be. "Yeah, they said that to us too - but I had plenty of experience with runners already. I traded off that chore whenever I could." K'len says, and then rubs a little at the bronze's hide as well, just from the other side. Most of the straps seem like they're on, thouch a couple still dangle. "Probably been a scribe or something like that, I like to keep to myself and that'd be perfect." Paige grins, head tilting slightly as she leans around to peer over at him. "And ya prolly weren't the only one t'feel that way 'bout it, either, " she offers, flicking a glance briefly toward the other candidates as they finish dressing and exiting the cavern. "There's a few in tha' group who trade off ev'ry now and then, 'specially if someone's willin' t'trade somethin' like klah grindin'. I done tha' a few times; didn' mind what chore I got, really." After a few moments: "Tha' dun sound like a bad way t'pass the time. I was a'thinkin' - if'n I stay here afterwards, might wanna work in the stables. But Nerine likes scribin' and it seems t'be a fine job. I'd jus' - need t'brush up on m'writin' a bit if'n I did somethin' like tha'." "No, of course not. Though I usually traded for tunnelsnake hunting, it was easy to get girls to muck stalls over killing tunnelsnakes. You just gotta know what you can get easiest." K'len suggests with a smirk, reaching for the last couple straps to get them secure and just leave the bronze to soak up attention from Paige as long as he seems interested in it. "I'm happier being a rider, much more exciting and I get my own weyr to stow away in." "Ah, yeah, " and Paige shudders. "Not so sure I'd hunt a tunnelsnake, either." Perhaps she's already traded away one of those chores? Her scritching slows a bit, one hand dropping away to push errant tendrils of hair away from her face. "S'it ever get - lonely fer ya?" Hastily, perhaps rather horrified at asking such a personal question, she adds, "I mean - jus' in general. I know you got Kalorith and he's got ya, but - if'n ya keep t'yerself a lot, s'it any better? As a rider? Even with -- " And she waves her free hand around in a flapping sort of all-inclusive motion, indicating the Weyr and its populace. Still, she flushes and mutters something apologetic, clearly embarrassed to some extent. K'len chuckles lightly and shrugs his shoulders, "Gotta know what people are willing to trade to get your own dispicable chores out of the way." He admits, and rubs his hands over Kalorith's hide, and then moves around to the other side so he can more properly talk to her - and even Kalorith's obliging enough to just move his head so he doesn't have to walk around. The next question seems to be one he wasn't expecting, as he just gets sheepish and shrugs his shoulders. "Sometimes. I had a girl at one point, but she lived over at Igen and me here, and that didn't work out so great even with dragons to get us back and forth. I want something more than just someone who'll probably end up in a few other people's beds as well as mine. And, I don't mean flights or anything - those.. well, those can't be helped." It's a useful skill, people-working, but Paige has yet to fully grasp that outside of the concept of chores. Still, she nods, listening to him while staring at an interesting spot on the hide that one hand is still absently rubbing at. "Seems like it'd be difficult t'find more'n tha', " she says after a bit, "when it seems like so many folks embrace a more open lifestyle, here. And I've heard the - inter-Weyr relationships are harder t'keep up. 'Specially if'n there are children involved." K'len takes in a deep breath and then lets it out slowly, and then shrugs his shoulders a little. "Yeah, it is difficult to find - so I'm still alone. Not that I don't have friends though, I have plenty of those in the wings and all." He says with a bit of a smile, like it doesn't truly bother him much at all. "No kids for me, not yet anyways. The relationship I had with the girl from Igen wasn't very long, really." "Oh." And Paige really does look awkward for a long moment, managing something that's probably intended to be optimistic. "Maybe it - won' always be so, " she suggests. "Ya'll find someone; s'always someone." The bright view of someone who clearly hasn't been through much in the way of relationships. "She'll hafta be at a Weyr, not necessarily from one though, " she muses, "so's she understands 'bout flights. And can't be 'fraid of Kalorith. And - prolly not as caught up in the Weyr's lifestyle. But then there's the matter of makin' sure y'can live together well. And gettin' 'long, knowin' each other. Ma always said those thin's're helpful when ya settle down." K'len listens, and for a moment he looks interested - that is, until he just rolls his eyes. "It's alright, you don't have to be all optimistic for me. I'm just as fine alone as I am with some girl." He says blandly, and then nudges at the bronze to rouse and get ready to take him back to his weyr. "Almost sounds like my sister, honestly. Except she thinks I'm too sour to actually find someone daft enough, yet she's polite enough to pretend like she cares." He says, shrugs his shoulders and then double checks the straps on the bronze before securing the satchel with the towel and cleaning supplies he'd brought for the dragon. "Anyways, I got sweeps in the morning.." Paige's gaze falters, brow furrowing as she regards him quietly, expression vaguely injured. "I'm - sorry, " she gets out after a moment, somewhere between genuinely confused and rather taken aback at the rebuff. "Jus' - jus' sayin', is all. Can't help it if tha's jus' how I've always looked at thin's, can I? Same as I'd say ter anyone else. Jus' wanted t'try t'help." And as he checks over his straps, she sighs, hands clasped demurely behind her back. "Right, mornin' sweeps." Suddenly, she's a little less meek. "Daft 'nough? Ya want someone daft, there's a whole mess of folks t'choose from. Daft'd be unappreciative. Ya dun seem sour, but keep shovin' words meant t'be helpful right back at folks and they'll sure think y'are." It takes a moment for her to realize that those clasped hands are actually more like clenched in frustration, but at least she hasn't strewn apologies yet. K'len remains silent, and for a while it might seem as though he's not going to say anything at all, and just leave her hanging there right where she stands. Kalorith shifts to get a last touch from the girl before attempting to be more accomodating for his rider. "How is that helpful? It's vaguely like telling someone that really wants nothing more to be a dragonrider, that one day, they'll Impress a dragon when they've already stood a couple times and walked off dragonless. Are you inspiring them to want to try again, or causing them to reflect on their failures and shortcomings? Some people just aren't meant to Impress." He says by the end, and then shrugs his shoulders and grabs at Kalorith's straps to heft himself up towards the neckridges. "Just like some people are meant to just be alone." "I - I'm no good at inspirin', " Paige responds, "but reflectin' i'nt bad if'n it helps, right?" Dear, naive girl. "Look, all I'm sayin' is - maybe ya should try again. If'n bein' more sociable helps, do it. Find a girl y'like, get t'know her. If'n she don't fit what yer a'lookin' fer, try again. At the very least, yer bound t'find a friend who has a friend who it all might work out with, y'never know." Such a brave little speech for the holder lass, whose posture drops a little at that last bit. "I mean, tha' - seems like a good way t'go 'bout it? I wouldn' really know, t'be honest. I dunno 'bout these sorta things so well, but seems t'me - we're too young yet t'jus' - give up. I've yet t'even - try." "I'm talking to you right now, aren't I?" K'len asks, looking at her with his grey blue eyes and then just shaking his head a couple times. Kalorith gives a warble to the girl, nudging her with his nose and then moving so he's not causing K'len any trouble with where he's sitting. "That's got to count for something, and I like you." He says and then sighs a little, quipping afterwards, "I'm sure you'll get your chance soon enough, there's plenty of loose people around once you're not a candidate or after a while once you're a weyrling if you get that far." Paige stares back at K'len, her own blue-grey eyes rounding. "Ya - like me?" she repeats, surprised. Kalorith gets a little smile for both warble and nudge, and the candidate's cheeks pink again with a more pleasant embarrassment. "Not - plannin' on pursuin' loose people, " she mutters after a moment. "I'm too - too shy. And dun /want/ a loose person. I'm not like that." Shift, fidget. Mindful of the hour, she gives him an apologetic, if hopeful look. "I gotta get back 'fore curfew, but - I'll see ya again soon?" Maybe with a little less misunderstanding on her end. "Of course, you're pretty and holdbred, and Kalorith keeps saying I should try harder to impress you, but I don't seem to do a good job of portraying myself in a good light." K'len says and shrugs his shoulders, looking up at the sky after a moment to see how long he might have been dinking around in the hot springs. "Like I said, I have sweeps in the morning... I'm sure I'll see you around. Night, Paige." He says, giving the girl a bit of a wave and then nudging Kalorith to get them back to their weyr to crawl into bed. |
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