Logs:Decision Making
| |
|---|
| |
| RL Date: 18 July, 2016 |
| Who: Alysce, Quint |
| Type: Log |
| What: Quint considers his next posting, and Alysce makes a decision. |
| Where: Craft Complex, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 24, Month 4, Turn 41 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Odrick/Mentions |
  |
A passageway hewn into the rock and heavily patched with cement leads a
short distance in to the bowl wall, with a door on either side. Lit by
regularly spaced glows, the white-washed walls have been covered over by
colorful tapestries, wall hangings and pieces of art made from metal and
wood. To the left of the entranceway, just a single step inside, a spiral
staircase opens out of the wall, leading upwards through the stone.
Further down, a doorway opens to either side of the corridor, while at the
far end, there is a hewn-stone staircase leading up to the residential
quarters, wreathed by two final doors to private quarters and the bathing
room.
The door leading to the east opens into an expansive room that seems to
provide both general working space - with long, bare benches and chairs -
and a cozy lounge complete with over-stuffed sofas and a few fuzzy
armchairs. Three tall windows are carved into the stone, and offer air and
light when the heavy wooden shutters are left open, though the lounge area
has to make do mostly with glows. A hearth at the back of the room
provides both heat and basic cooking facilities. The white-washed walls
are bedecked with decoration - from quilts, to tapestries, to wooden
carvings and metal sculptures.
The western door leads into another passage, off of which the main
workrooms have been built. The loading dock is at the northern end,
leading back out into the bowl, with the rest of the rooms leading deeper
and deeper into the wall. The afternoon's classes are done with; the excited children practically bubbling out of the classroom and into the increasingly warm spring afternoon weather. That doesn't mean a harper's work is done, however: there's lesson plans and homework to prepare and all sorts of other things -- perhaps those number amongst the hides on the desk in front of Quint, but the Journeyman is forgoing all those in favor of strumming a somewhat familiar tune -- one of those heard in childhood but so rarely as to be forgotten, head tipped like he's remembering something. The notes are soft enough that they don't much disturb others working in the lounge. Alysce waits, as she ever does, for the children to file out and disperse before she pokes her head in for her own duties that conclude the day. And instead of immediately interrupting her Journeyman with his music, she first moves to drag over a fuzzy armchair, which may be an interruption in itself as its legs drag across the stone floor. Once it has been dragged within range of Quint's desk, the harper flops down into it, in an artfully careless movement that is anything but to anyone who truly knows her. Her booted feet get swung onto the edge of the desk, landing there, before she finally greets with a light, "What do you have me scheduled for tomorrow?" The slight twitch of Quint's lips might indicate the harper is well aware of his apprentice's presence, even before she begins dragging the chair in his direction, yet the chords never waver, marching on until the end of the song, when his fingers still the strings' movement. Normally, the Journeyman is quick to respond to such a question, with everything planned out well in advance. Today, however, he simply regards her -- and her oh-so-casual posture -- silently for a lengthy moment. "What do you wish to do?" "Morning classes with the rest of the day off for my own training?" Alysce proposes, way too innocently and professionally, for all that she's watching Quint over the tips of her boots. "Mmhmm," without missing a beat, "And what, precisely, would your training consist of?" her Journeyman asks, sharp-eyed gaze fixed on her. A smile flickers on Alysce's lips for the follow-up question, and it's a prepared answer that he receives: "Study and observation of Weyr life and riders' habits." Quint doesn't quite sigh, but there's a shift of expression that Alysce might well recognize after so long with him. "Alysce, if you haven't studied and observed weyrlife enough in the last two and a half Turns, then I'm afraid we've wasted our time here." He strums the gitar for a moment, an ominous note. Almost half to himself: "Perhaps it's time to put in for a posting elsewhere -- another Hold, perhaps." "Will we ever truly know enough about dragonriders, though? I hear some of them are downright dangerous," Alysce answers back, amusement teasing along her words that is perhaps driven more by the thought of her own cleverness. It's the latter bit, though, that wipes away any hint of humor, with the apprentice's dark eyes narrowing slightly in a study of Quint. "Why now?" "People are dangerous. Having a dragon doesn't necessarily make them more or less, though -- I have read studies that suggest a dragon can exacerbate or inhibit one's personality," Quint's musing aloud, strumming continuing, gaze shifting past Alysce, thoughtful. The latter question earns a wry twitch of lips, "Why now? Because I get restless every few Turns, and it'll take six months for the hall to decide who is going if not before Turnover." If he's saying this merely to tease her, there's certainly nothing in his posture to indicate it; he seems utterly serious. Alysce makes a small noise of disagreement, catching in her throat. But when she speaks, it's to challenge, "What if I am not ready to go, Quint? Especially to a Hold, where we'd lose all of the good parts of being in a Weyr." A pause, before she continues, "The Holds are worse than the Hall. All of their rules and proper behaviors and-- They are boring." "The goal of a Journeyman is to journey, and the goal of an apprentice is to learn new things." Quint says it in a well-practiced fashion; clearly not the first time he's said something similar. "As I recall you weren't all that thrilled about leaving the warmth of Boll to come here -- who knows, we could end up at Ista Hold, maybe even Southern. You need to learn to be comfortable in every setting, regardless of your personal feelings." His fingers still the strings, as if to emphasize the point. Alysce quirks a brow up at that little lesson, likely not the first time that she's heard it. This time, though-- This time, she responds neutrally, flatly, "If you put in for another placement, Quint, I'm going to put my name forward for candidacy." Her boots fall from the desk and she straightens, waiting expectantly for his reaction. "If you feel that you no longer wish to be a harper, I won't stand in your way." Quint's voice is steady, as is his gaze as he regards his apprentice. "But if you're making the choice out of some sense that you can force me into a different action, you should understand it will be to little effect, Alysce." "You always get to control all my decisions, Quint. You always stand in my way. Even when you don't think so, even when you don't even know," Alysce answers to that, annoyance in her words as they tumble out unchecked. "Shells, even Odrick won't fuck me because you might disapprove." She doesn't press her threat further, though, but she does rise in one swift motion, as if she has every intent to retreat. There's a growing tightness in Quint's expression at Alysce's words, falling into deliberately netural, practiced harper expression. While his gaze doesn't waver from Alysce, neither does he seek to stop her retreat. The lack of response only earns an angered huff of noise, but Alysce answers the silence with a tight, "I'll see you in the morning for classes," before she turns on a heel and strides away. |
Leave A Comment