Logs:Sharing Secrets
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| RL Date: 23 April, 2011 |
| Who: Devaki, Emmeline |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Devaki takes Emmeline to see his secret cave, and entrusts her with a big secret. And no, that's not a euphemism! |
| Where: Caves, Western Island |
| When: Day 22, Month 7, Turn 25 (Interval 10) |
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| A stick wrapped in dried out reeds makes for an excellent torch, though it takes a bit of practice to carry it around without burning yourself. It's a trick that needs to be mastered in exploring the caves to any depth, however. Devaki's one of the few in the settlement who still regularly traverses the caves -- most of the others prefer to live outdoors, and forget about the memory of the Turns spent indoors, waiting for the erratic falls to cease. Devaki, for his part, is scraped up and dusty, whether through exploration or some other reason -- he's venturing back to the main cavern, the flicker of his makeshift torch marking his progress. Emmeline is one of those who has preferred to live outside for the most part. But some of the children don't fare well during harsh weather and so... she's stumbling around to get to the main cavern, having no reed torch and only the glows to light her way. "Shells, this place might just be even worse then a simple cover-shelter." she can be heard mumbling, oblivious to anyone else's presence until the flickering of fire suddenly catches her attention and she lets out a squeak of surprise. Her step backward winds up tripping her up, of course, and to make maters even more embarassing for the young woman she winds up falling flat on her fanny. For now, the only sign she gives of her internal humiliation is to pinch the bridge of her nose and sigh . The faintest of sounds draws Devaki's attention. The faint sounds of another voice, the brush of material against stone. It draws his attention, curiously -- not that there's anything to be alarmed about, here. The ambiance grows brighter as he nears, holding the torch aloft, blue eyes widening with surprise as he sees Emmeline, sprawled out on the ground. "Emme?" there's bemusement in his tone, indeed. "What are you doing down there?" And a moment later, a helpful hand is offered, should she wish to take it. "I, uhm...inspecting the ground to be sure it's safe for the littles." That's the ticket. She's far too polite to refuse an offer of assistance, so even if her pride is bruised she still takes the proferred hand to help her stand up and then she brushes herself off. "I just thought... well, the cave is here. So why not use it? It gets pretty cold out sometimes." she explains in a bit of a babble. "So, what are you doing in the caves? You seem well prepared." Devaki holds the torch higher, and tilts his head. "By wandering around in the dark?" Pale eyes betray a hint of amusement, though he's, perhaps, polite enough not to laugh. He reaches out as if to brush a bit more dust off her back. "We'd have to do some more prep if you wanted to move people back into here. Tunnelsnakes everywhere. And you can't safely build a fire -- the smoke doesn't roll out very well." He sounds like he knows what he's talking about, that or he's good at /sounding/ like he does. "Exploring," is all he says, with a little smile that's, well -- Emme's known him long enough to read it as a lie. "I just wanted to figure out if there was enough space. And there's the glows...." Emme's voice trails off, sounding sheepish enough that she obviously realizes she was ill-prepared and impulsive. He gets a nod of thanks for brushing more of the dust off her back, because it frees her to redo the knot she's always got that hair of hers tied up into to keep it out of the way. "There's... tunnelsnakes? Her eyes dart around as if looking for them. But, hello. It's dark. She's not going to see them. "Oh -please-. Exploring? Just exploring? With that little smile that jst quirks up the left side of your mouth like that? Uh-huh." Liar, liar, pants on fire! And it takes the spotlight off of her ill-fated adventure. "More around this time of Turn, when it's warm," Devaki agrees, though whether that's just a myth he perpetuates to keep others out of the cave or actual truth is anyone's guess. He switches the torch to his other hand, eyes rolling upwards, though it's clear he's been 'busted'. "If I told you I'd have to kill you," he says, all obviously joking, but a pretty blatant attempt to change the subject. Not that he expects he'll get away that easy -- but he still tries. "If you really want to do it seriously, we could find a cave that's small enough that we can keep clean, mark a clear path out with the glows and such." Emme's eyes narrow a little, and she studies Devaki's face as if looking for another sign of fibbing. "Oh, come on. If you can't tell me, who can you tell?" she jokes, her smile lifting upwards despite the obvious brush off. "I'm not entirely dull-witted you know. Though I could swear that every time I'm in Raum's vicinity I do lose what control I have over my temper. Hmm. Maybe I /am/ a little lacking in sensibility." she admits, her tangent not quite reaching Rilka levels, but still not entirely 'with it' for somene like her. "Small, and maybe close to the entrance? Falling on my rump again is going to severely bruise my pride. As well as my tailbone. The less chance of that, the happier I am." "I was never under the illusion that you were," Devaki's quick to reassure her, as to her intelligence. His lips twist a little at her joke, not finding it quite funny, though he does rock back on his heels, looking at her carefully as if she's done something interesting all of a sudden. "There might be something that will suit," he adds, on the subject of the caves, but his attention is no longer on that subject. "I'll show you," he says, abruptly, reaching out as if to put a guiding hand on her arm, "If you promise to keep it secret. Just you and me, Emme. Okay?" "Good! I'd hate to think..." Yes, Emme is about to start babbling in entirely new direction when Devaki manages to surprise her. "You... you will? Really?" she chirps, her expression brightening considerably. Hard to see, yes, but it's there. "I... well, yes. Sure. Of course. I won't tell anyone." she promises, crossing an X over her heart right there on the spot as if that seals the deal. Devaki nods at her, seriousness in his expression as he says, "I'll hold you to that," no doubt talking of the promise. "Come with me, then -- if you dare." It's that familiar, taunting voice he always uses to egg her, or others, into doing things that aren't necessarily always the most sensible. He hefts the torch and begins to head out of the main cave, walking with a familiarity that betrays extensive knowledge of the cave system. He will pause, however, to make sure Emmeline's still with him, and keeping up. "If I dare. Hnph." Every time he uses that tone, Emme just can't help herself. If she'd harbored any inclination to turn back, it's lost with the taunt, and follows closely on Devaki's heels through the caves. "You're here a lot, aren't you." is wondered, only half a question. "I wonder how much of this place we've forgotten about. There may be useful items back here somewhere." She can't abide silence, obviously. Devaki grins, knowingly, and turns to lead the way left, then right, then left again, then down a long twisting passageway. It'd take a keen memory to recall the way back, disorentating as it may be in the dark. "A fair bit," he admits, after a pause to orient himself. Her question earns a glance over his shoulder, and he says, "None that I've found -- yet." The passageway narrows considerably, such that Dev's forced to turn sideways to squeeze through the space -- though Emme might find that particular passage a bit easier than him. Finally, it opens out into a small cave, big enough to stand comfortably in. He sets the torch down by fitting the stick into a little hole near the entrance, looking almost like it was made for that purpose. There's nothing remarkable at all about the cave itself, though Devaki is looking at Emmeline like he expects some sort of commentary, all the same. After a pause, he moves to a niche on one side of the cave, carefully pulling aside several stones, setting them on the floor one by one in a reverent manner that almost has the feel of a ritual long undertaken. Gingerly, he reaches into the niche and pulls out some tightly wrapped hides. What a good thing that there's no claustrophobia to deal with, for even someone with no problem in tight spaces it still makes her breath abit shallow to have to squeeze through that narrow passageway. Emme narrows in on the fact that there's a place already there for the torch, and then she allows her gaze to wander around the small but servicable space. "Sort of like it's only meant for one person. Or as a smaller storage area." Of course there's commentary, and she tries not to disappoint. "Have these always been here?" She sits down on the floor then, but doesn't reach for the hides at all. She's patient now that she's being let in on the big secret. "My great grandfather found this cave, after they were first exiled," Devaki explains, watching Emmeline examine his cave -- he considers it 'his', anyway, in asmuch one can own a cave -- and seats himself after she does. "So I guess from our perspective, they've been here forever." A hint of a grin in his voice, and he bends his head, slowly beginning to unwrap the first hide. On it, in neatly scrawled, tiny writing, is a list of names. Or more accurately, a lineage. Names, dates, births and deaths. "Songs aren't as good for keeping history as writing it down is. And our history -- our /lineage/ -- is more important than anything else." "Songs are changed over time. Altered. Forgotten. They're mostly used to impart a lesson or evoke an emotion." Emme agrees, running a hand along the wall beside them as if trying to absorb some of that memory of finding this little cave. "This is where you keep all of the bloodline information." she breathes, her voice dropping to whisper to convey a eureka moment of understanding. "Oh, yes, there are some who would love to destroy this. I'm surprised you would... trust me with this. You would know that my grandmother wasn't part of the family. She handfasted into it." the girl murmers. "Though my grandfather was... I. I'm babbling again, sorry. This is incredible. Are they ok to handle? I mean, can I see them?" She would soak up a history lesson like a sponge. "And this is what you use to see who should mate with whom, isn't it. The elders, they come to you before trying to make a match?" Devaki's gaze is on Emmeline rather than the hides, his expression mostly shadowed by the flicker of the torch, though his voice is serious enough. "I've known you for a long time, Emme. You believe in truth, as I do. That's why I know I can trust you with this. That you would never seek to hide our history." There's a smile that creeps across his features, "And you are, as you say, of the Blood, even if it's not as strong a claim as others." He nods his assent to her question, passing the nearest hide to her, though if there's a reluctance in the gesture it's well-heeled. "They think I keep it all up here," he taps his head. "Wish it were true, it would make things easier. Not sure what I'll do once I run out of room on the hides; write on the walls, I suppose," he muses, gesturing to the rest of the cave. "No, I would never do that. It's not in me to hide the truth. It serves no good purpose." Emmeline replies firmly, hinting that it's something she's thought about often. "There are times when I wonder how much having the Blood really matters. We're all stuck on this patch of land. But then..." her voice trails off when she looks over the information neatly written on the hides. "Would tree bark work? If the bark were light enough?" she wonders, trying to find a way to help. "I wonder if they thought we would be stuck here this long." She pauses in her chatter long enough to reach a hand out towards his arm. "Thank you, Devaki. I appreciate this trust. I won't betray it. I haven't any secrets to share or I'd offer one as assurance." she jokes, lightly. "Tree bark?" Devaki considers. "Maybe, but it would rot quicker, so would have to be recopied." After all, he doesn't even imagine the possibility they will leave the island in his lifetime. "I may test it out, though. Thanks for the suggestion." He smiles, though it's brief as she muses on the matter of Blood. "Maybe it doesn't right now," he concedes, "But it will, one day. And I'd like our descendants to know." He offers her a warm smile at that touch to his arm, nodding his head, "I know you won't. And, no secrets? Not even one?" A teasing note enters his voice. "I thought a harper would know everyone's secrets." "Oh, well that's true. I didn't think of how fast it would rot." Emme's brow furrows thoughtfully, and she nods slowly in agreement about how important their lineage may one day be. "You mean if we ever make it off the Island?" The question is carefully devoid of hope, and more like a simple curiousity. "Me? Secrets? I didn't say I had no secrets from other people." is pointed out, laughter escaping. "But me? I'm an open book aren't I? How about you get one free question that I have to answer. Fair is fair, I suppose." Devaki begins to roll up each of the hides and carefully begins replacing them in the niche. "Well, Raum's right about one thing. Him being here means that maybe -- maybe -- someone will be looking for him. And might find us." He's careful not to get his hopes up though, so he keeps his voice largely neutral. "And if we do, I'm not leaving here without these." He reaches for the one he handed to Emme, with an easy smile. "And now, if something happens to me, at least I'll know someone else knows where they are." That is, if she can remember the way. "Hm." He considers her proposal, and agrees, "Done. But I'd like to think about the question for a bit, if I can?" Emmeline gingerly hands the hide back to Devaki, though where he has an easy smile she suddenly frowns. "If something happens to you? Nothing is going to happen to you. And Raum has a point there, but he's... there is something just wrong about him. I don't like him." She pauses. "So be careful around him." As if it's perfectly normal for her to go spouting advice to her peers in such a way. "Take your time. But for shells' sake, if it's going to be embarassing do me the favor of not asking it at the dinner gathering." And at that, she waits patiently for everything to be put back in its place. Devaki accepts the hide and places it with the others, carefully stacking the stones one by one back in place, neatly covering up the niche and its contents. That done, he rises, letting out a little laugh at Emme's protectiveness. "I meant -- just in case. I feel better knowing that someone else knows, that's all I meant." He certainly seems to be big on the whole thinking out the consequences, or the future. "I don't either," he says, of the Other. "And -- I'll be careful if you will be. Just don't let yourself be alone with him, is all." He scoops to collect the makeshift torch, reaching to offer a hand to Emme once again to help her back to her feet. "I promise," he says, laughingly, "I won't embarrass you. I'll ask it when we're alone sometime." "Alright then. I can live with that." Emme decides, smiling a bit to soften what must have sounded like a nagging housemarm. "Now, let's get out of here before a tunnelsnake finds my feet and I /really/ humiliate myself by passing out from fright." she jokes, only half kidding. Shuffling hides can sound a lot like the salither of tunnelsnakes you know. "Whew, thank you. The children would tease me mercilessly elsewise." Accepting the offered hand again she pulls herself up and gives a dubious eye out to the dark and narrow space ahead. "I'd protect you. Laugh, maybe, then protect you," Devaki amends after a moment's consideration, grinning at her, only releasing her hand when she's got her feet under her. "The children have enough embarrassing knowing of all of us, I think. So needn't feed them more fuel." Holding the torch aloft again, he begins leading the way out. |
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