Logs:Dark, Dangerous, and Challenging
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| RL Date: 7 March, 2015 |
| Who: Farideh, Lilah |
| Involves: Fort Weyr, High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: While Farideh's visiting Fort, she happens upon Lilah, and they have a bit of girl talk. |
| Where: The Glass Fountain, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 10, Month 3, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Clear, cold. |
| Mentions: Drex/Mentions, Lycinea/Mentions, Cendon/Mentions, Itsy/Mentions |
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>---< The Glass Fountain, Fort Weyr(#533RJs$) >------------------------------<
Despite its subterranean locale, the creamy wall paint, pale woods,
and frosted glass give the cavern a light, airy feel. Oil lamps reflect
softly in the polished wood of high-backed booths, glimmering through the
opaque glass dividers that help lend intimacy to the seating arrangements;
round-backed seats with deep, terra-cotta colored padding and the addition
of strategic, lyric shapes painted in a subtle red shade at regular
intervals around the walls add a little depth to the color palette. The
sweeping, half-circle shaped bar with its top of smooth stone, backed by
cut-glass-fronted cabinetry flows gracefully into the soft lines and
mellow colors that dominate the Glass Fountain.
All the atmosphere aside, the main attractions of the room are clearly
the massive, multi-pronged chandelier that hangs from multiple chains from
the ceiling and the re-worked leak - which no longer resembles a leak at
all, having been channeled through glass to become a beautiful piece of
art. A curving wave and a series of glass bubbles guide the water past a
bank of glows, allowing the light to shine through the water and turn it
into a sparkling fountain. From its dark, dim, shabby history, the Glass
Fountain has become - frankly - a swanky place with lattice-stands to hold
the menus with their selection ranging from typical 'bar food' to high-end
dishes and fancy desserts.
-----------------------------< Active Players >-----------------------------
Farideh F 19 5'5 Skinny, Brown hair, Hazel eyes 0s
Lilah F 26 5'5 Curves, Red hair, Brown eyes 46s
----------------------------------< Exits >--------------------------------- The bright blue day has given way to the reddish hues of sundown, and it is on this cool, breezy eve that a Reachian laundress finds herself at Fort's subterranean locale. It's not as crowded as it could be, though a fair few patrons hover around the bar; there is precisely where Farideh finds herself. She waits patiently for a drink and once it is in hand, occupies herself by looking around with curious eyes at all the unfamiliar, foreign faces. Her frumpy overcoat has been exchanged for a light, if worn, sweater over her olive blouse, and her hair is let loose and messy around her face, conveniently framing her face so her covert glances aren't nearly as strange or obvious. There is likely one familiar brownrider snuggled into a corner with a piece of-- something, if Farideh catches sight of him, since he practically has a permanent plaque carved at many bars with his name on it. Another familiar face, however, is just stepping into the Fountain, drawing no few glances but markedly no easy or friendly greetings from those riders gathered here. The junior weyrwoman comes prepared, at least, with a stack of hides despite this being a bar, her own clothes more geared to comfort than fashion, in a pale blue sweater that has been washed and worn buttery soft and plain grey trousers. She recognizes Farideh only after she has claimed a table for herself, staring in an attempt to catch the younger woman's gaze before gesturing her over. Lilah - perhaps for her more notable figure in a room full of nondescript riders - gets the brunette's attention first. A brief glance around finds no one else to be the object of the goldrider's gesture, so Farideh diffidently slips out of her chair at the bar and weaves her way to the woman's table; in her short walk there she spies the brownrider and tries hiding a laugh behind her drink. "Hi," is her greeting to the redhead, all humor vanished by the time she arrives, her slight frame slipping into the nearest available chair. One might think Farideh would be shy or embarrassed after their last encounter, but it's with curious eyes that she regards Lilah. "Are you working? Here? Or are you-- meeting, someone?" with another sweeping look around, behind. When she finds no one, yet again, those verdigris eyes of hers comes back to rest, comfortably, on the weyrwoman. "It is quieter here than the living cavern, and even I need to eat sometime," Lilah answers with a simple smile, though for all that when a waitress does come over to get her order, she only gets a glass of wine and a bowl of redfruit rather than anything substantially like a meal. She waves a dismissive gesture over the hides before pushing them aside even to focus on the young woman settled across from her. "Farideh, Lya's friend and laundress, right?" she checks as if she is unsure, but there's no hesitation in the words. "It seems your friend took your advice about not coming to work for Dice, at least." Farideh lifts one shoulder in an indifferent shrug, but once the waitress arrives, is polite enough to remain silent until she departs with the other woman's order. "Farideh," she confirms, "Lya's friend and a laundress, yes." Her expression is slightly surprised after that, lips parting just before reaching the rim of her drink. "Lya? No, she works for Igen's Irianke now, as an assistant. She folds clothes and does her hair or whatever it is assistants to goldriders do," she says dismissively. "I don't know that she'd have made a good dealer anyway. Don't you have to have a-- good poker face?" It sounds like she's repeating something she's heard, with how stiltedly she says the phrase. Lilah's lips quirk into a smile, her fingers lifting in a 'don't ask me' type of gesture regarding what goldrider assistants do. "Depends on the game, really. If you're dealing dragon poker, the house doesn't play. We make our money off of drinks while players lose their marks to each other. And any of the actual dice games are a matter of luck not skill," the goldrider explains, her gaze sweeping casually over Farideh in a study while she does. "Now, her dislike of people and bronzeriders," who aren't quite people, see, "would be another matter. It's almost like working at a bar." She punctuates that with a wave around herself. "Need to be able to deal with people. Or at least fake it." Now that they're talking games, it seems the laundress' interest is truly piqued. Farideh leans forward, elbow on the table, fist against her cheek, listening and watching with rapt expression. "I still don't see how that's good for morale. They can just as easy get bored of the low stakes games here and find their way to Bitra. Aren't you starting them on a bad road?" aka addiction. "I would be more concerned about pricking Lord Cendon's ire. Taking away from his profits." There's a quick furrow between her brow that disappears as she sits back and sighs, her smile fond when she next speaks of their mutual blonde friend. "Lya doesn't deal well with people. She's annoying, really," except she doesn't sound very annoyed. "They could, and certainly nothing is stopping them. But," starts Lilah with a tip of her chin towards Farideh's drink even as her own arrives. "Are you on you way down a bad road with that first drink, then? Not going to be able to stop yourself from a second then a third, and you're going to wind up wasted, vomiting in the bushes?" Of course, the way she asks it, the goldrider clearly does not think that this is the case. "Lord Bitra's ire-- That is certainly something I've been more concerned about," she will add in murmured, thoughtful agreement. "Lya will learn if she needs to. If she wants to. How do you feel about people?" "Not today. I have to wait for someone and then go back home, but if not today, who knows what could happen tomorrow," is Farideh's cheeky reply. "It's a little different? They play for marks, right? You don't win anything by drinking, except for a buzz, but nothing monetary." Of Lord Bitra, there's a lessening of her smile, and an uncomfortable sound. "He's not a nice man," seems to be a warning, though her gaze is steadfastly on the goldrider, if guilelessly so. "I like people fine. Certain people I could live without. Rude people, whiny people, pushy people-- but I do better than Lya does at any rate. Why do you ask?" A smile catches at the corners of Lilah's lips as she tips a nod towards Farideh in point for the cheeky reply, before she answers, "It isn't different. Anything can lead you down a path if you let it; it's your own responsibility to not allow it. It isn't the bartender's fault, or the dealer's." Her brows curve upwards at the young woman's opinion of Cendon, a hint of surprise there before she admits on her end, "That isn't the impression that I got of him. Though, I imagine any leader has to sometimes make hard decisions." She adds dismissive to the last, "Call it curiosity. There's something about you that I cannot quite put my finger on." "That's very philosophical of you." It's a mild compliment, attached to a bit of mirth. "I don't think that shoving a drink in your friend's hand every day would help, either," is Farideh's last thought on gambling, which she obviously still has a thing against. Her smile wanes exasperated, her shoulders lifting again in an offhand shrug. "Whatever you say," she responds levelly, of the other woman's opinion of Cendon; she doesn't deny her claim nor does she refute the goldrider's. "Curiosity? I'll tell you something about me, if you tell me something about you," the younger girl offers, her smile broadening again. "That's not really a game that a woman in my position can play," replies Lilah simply, a firmness to her words despite an attempt at levity as she meets smile with smile, for all that hers is reserved. "Though I hear they have been doing something like that at Healer Hall." "I won't tell anyone," Farideh cajoles pleasantly, back to her elbow-on-table pose. "I'm good at keeping secrets. It doesn't have to be anything crazy. You can just tell me your favorite story, or your greatest achievement before you turned five." Lilah considers that, her lips twisting into a thoughtful line before it is obscured by her lifting her wine for a slow sip. Eventually, she offers quietly, "When I was a weyrling, I caught two fellow weyrlings in a closet-- let's say, breaking some rules." She pauses, silent for a moment as she considers the wine glass in her fingers. "And I just walked away. Never told anyone, never did what I probably should have, given the color of my dragon and my responsibilities and all of that," she dismisses in a murmur. When Lilah starts her tale, Farideh leans forward until her whole upper body is leaning on the table, but when the story gets farther along, she simply looks disappointed. "Does it even matter? If they were kissing while they were weyrlings? It's not like they were sleeping with the Weyrlingmaster or anything," she grouses, sullenly. "They were doing more than kissing, and it does matter. Or at least, that's what they assure us. When your dragons are young, they can't help but feel everything that you feel and they are-- babies. They're not prepared for everything that comes with sex. At least, not for a while," Lilah explains, though she shrugs a shoulder upwards even after her own words. "I never tried it personally, myself. I've no idea how it would have affected Eliyaveith." But, she adds with a look leveled on the younger woman, "But, it was something. Now it's your turn." "Were their dragons fine? Or did they go crazy and were tragically lost?" Farideh looks like she thinks she knows the answer and is dubious about this rule. "Maybe it's one of those things that's supposed to keep everyone the same and keeps you from being-- you." She sighs and wobbles her head to the side, letting her gaze travel. "I'm sleeping with a sailor," and then, her eyes come back to the other woman, perhaps to relish the reaction. "Is that weird? I doubt he bathes on that ship. And he doesn't have any marks to speak of. And he's kind of grumpy. And he's leaving soon. That's strange, right?" "They were stressed and upset. And one of their dragons now--." Lilah doesn't finish that sentence, trailing off with a look of honest upset for a moment as her dark gaze falls to her wine. She only dismisses the whole topic with a flick of fingers before focusing on Farideh at her admittance. "Why would sleeping with a sailor be any weirder than sleeping with anybody?" she questions, humor returning slowly with a wry quirk of her lips. "Better that he's leaving soon. You do not need to get attached." Dragons aren't her expertise, so she drops that thread of conversation, for now, to focus on boys which is much more up her alley. "I don't know. They're sailors. They live on ships for months and have bad manners and swear and drink and--" Farideh frowns. "It's not what I usually like. Maybe living at High Reaches has changed me that much, that fast. Are you from Fort Weyr, originally?" "What do you usually like?" questions Lilah lightly, idle curiosity there and a hint of amusement for the young woman's answer. She shakes her head to that question. "No. I'm from beastholder stock, originally. It was so tiny that we may as well not have had a name." Which is clearly why she does not offer it. "The Weyr-- changes you, only if who you were was never who you actually were. I was never meant to be a beastholder. The freedom of the Weyr let me be who I am, to some extent." "Big, blonde, and dumb? With good lineage?" Farideh says, lips curling into an impish smile. "Certainly not sailors and not grumpy ones with lesbian best friends that play strip poker." She pouts, momentarily, and then sighs exaggeratedly. "Isn't it sad, then? That you can't be who you are unless you go someplace like this. I don't know if that's true, but I did--" She settles her chin on her upraised fist, and gives Lilah a considering look. "Go to the Reaches to get away from those preconceived notions. I wasn't allowed to be who I wanted to be." There is a soft tease to Lilah's counter of, "Are you talking about a runner or a man? Because that doesn't sound very appealing in either category." That judginess is delivered breezily, however, and only half-heartedly. "I wouldn't worry about the incidental things. As long as your sailor satisfies your needs for now--." She tips her glass towards the young woman before raising it to her lips as if she made a point there. "Are you who you want to be now, Farideh, laundress, friend of Lya?" "Why not? If they're big, they can reach things you can't and they can carry the heavy things you don't want to. There's nothing wrong with dark hair, this sailor is, but blondes are cuter, and if they're dumb--" Farideh's smile stretches a bit more. "They won't get any ideas or ask any questions. It's simple. It's easy." That says a lot right there, in those two sentences; more than anything else she's said thus far, if Lilah can read between the lines. "Not yet. I don't think I want to be a laundress forever, washing the Weyrleader's socks and the aunties' old skirts, but-- it's better than before." Lilah's breath escapes in a laugh, for all that dark eyes remain focused on Farideh for that answer. Yet, she only says lightly, "Perhaps you have a point there. That may be what I want in a Weyrleader, when the time comes. Though, I admit that dark, dangerous, and challenging has tended to be what I've found myself attracted to in my personal life." She doesn't press further, kind recognizing kind, perhaps, when it comes to past secrets and not wanting questions. Instead, she says, "There will be eggs soon. I'm sure you must have at least had the thought cross your mind to Stand? Or are you aiming somewhere else, beyond rider and laundress?" "Dark, dangerous, and challenging?" Farideh's eyebrows lift in question, and finally, after all this time, lifts her drink and takes a long sip. "Nothing good can come of that. It's easier to deal with them when they're dumber and less assuming. Otherwise, they have expectations and--" She rolls her eyes towards the sky, setting her glass back down. "I don't know. I've given it a little thought, but you know, they're sending some of the weyrlings back to Igen after it's all done. I don't know if they'll give them a choice and usher them out like a trade deal. There's that to think about. It's not as simple as standing and Impressing." "No, no it can't," agrees Lilah lightly, that smile lingering on her lips before she lifts her wine for a slow sip. "Though, now I am curious to meet your sailor." Not right at this moment, obviously, since she continues with a curious, "And you wouldn't want to leave High Reaches? I have to admit, I never felt that much attachment to Fort until after Impression. Before, I was willing to leave to any Weyr, if it meant a chance at a dragon." "You can always come to High Reaches," Farideh suggests. "It's not that far away, and you can just go between anytime you want." Her lips compress lightly, her face taking on a contemplative mien. "I'm from Igen. I can't say I don't love it, but High Reaches has become home. It is the place that's let me be-- me. I'd worry if I Impressed and went to Igen, I'd face the same problems before. Even if I'm going back as a rider and not simply a useless girl." "And ask around about a laundress' sailor?" finishes Lilah to that suggestion with an arch of an eyebrow, though she doesn't pursue it. Instead, she tips a nod for Farideh's answer and only offers, "I am sure you can find another place for yourself then at High Reaches, then. Something beyond laundress, perhaps, even if it isn't rider. You are young; you will find something." "No," Farideh says with a look at the goldrider, "let me know when you're coming and I'll bring him along. We can go to Snowasis or--" She frowns, again. "I'll think of something. Do you have a weyrmate? A boyfriend? You can bring him? It can be one of those double dates." And to the later, there's less enthusiasm and more thoughtfulness. "Maybe. I could be Headwoman one day, or maybe I'll move to a Hold and be a woman Steward." Lilah shakes her head to the question, her words too quick in dismissal as she answers, "No. No weyrmate or boyfriend. Nothing like that. Though if you are concerned about my status as a third wheel, I am sure we can find someone to join us." To the latter, there is certainly more enthusiasm to the goldrider's response as she considers the opportunities, as if perhaps she has considered them herself as she suggests easily, "Or open your own business and be a businesswoman. Carve out your own Hold in Southern. Become a trader. Discover a new craft." "Are there no cute guys at Fort?" It's got that girl talk vibe to it, the way she watches and waits for Lilah to answer, with that vaguely knowing glint in her eyes; Farideh's all about assumptions. "I'm not worried about that, but it might be terribly boring for you to be with just us." She stifles a yawn behind her hand and slumps back in her chair, seemingly unconcerned, now, with her future, or lack thereof. "I don't want to be a Holder, or a trader, though Irianke once was. I'm a little old to be breaking into a craft, too." Lilah only smiles to that question, her lips a simple curve before she allows, "There are, but no one in-- that area. I am happy with what I do have, for now." She pauses, considering Farideh until she adds casually, "We will find someone so that I am not terribly bored." But, she finishes her wine and places it aside. "And perhaps they and your sailor will have more ideas for your future." "As long as you're happy," the younger girl agrees. "It must be hard." Farideh doesn't elaborate on what she means, but in her expression that's a certain level of pitying for the goldrider. "He said I should go on his ship, with him. I think that's a horrible idea. Besides," she rubs her fingers along the arms of the chair, idly watching, "it's not like we're going to spend forever together. It's just-- for now." Pity only drives Lilah further from the topic, willing enough to focus on the younger woman's love life instead of her own. She murmurs, lightly, "It doesn't sound as if he knows that, then. If he is inviting you to leave with him. Have you defined your relationship?" "No. Should I? Am I supposed to? Isn't that awkward?" Farideh glances up at Lilah from underneath her eyelashes, studying the other woman. "I don't know. I've never-- " She frowns, looks down, and hunches her shoulders up. "Been in a relationship? More than-- just having sex with someone, and that's fun, but I don't know if I-- I do, like him, I think. I like him. Yes, I like him. I think I like him a lot, but that's-- it's just--" More frowning. "Someone has to. Even if it is only a casual remark or an off-handed thing--," Lilah starts, her lips pressing into a thoughtful line as her dark gaze meets the younger woman's. "No two people have ever had the same thoughts, even when they've experienced the same thing. Whatever you think this is," she pauses, waiting for her to supply that, to finish that sentence. But she continues on without it, "He isn't thinking the same. How is he going to know what you're thinking?" "I guess you're right, but why doesn't he bring it up, then? Why do I have to? I don't want to seem desperate or needy," Farideh says sullenly. "I don't want him to-- not like me." It's as though she's just come to that sudden realization herself, and sits in stunned silence for a brief span. When she looks up again, it's with a deeper frown and troubled eyes. "I'm distracting you from your work." "Are you going to wait around for a man to do anything for you? Because that seems worse, to me, than seeming desperate or needy," advises Lilah at that point, her words firm as she addresses Farideh. At her latter statement, the weyrwoman tips a nod of agreement, amusement flashing in dark eyes. "You are. And I am sure you didn't come to Fort to see me--?" That's another worrying thought, and it draws the teenager further into her doldrums. "No. I didn't. I should-- go see, what he's doing." Farideh sighs and stands, grabbing her drink to take with her. "Thanks for talking to me, but you should definitely come by and see us. Perhaps we'll convince Lya to come, too." She wiggles her fingers at the goldrider, smiles, and then turns to leave, obviously aiming to exit the Glass Fountain altogether in search of her ride. |
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