[Evaly] Raveki. The Lucky Seven.
RL Date: 4/13/10
IC Date: 6/20/22
Main Beach, Ista Weyr(#444RJ)
The coastline of black sand stretches out in either direction, tropical waters lapping ceaselessly against the subtle decline of the main beach that rests at the base of the plateau cliff. To the northeast, water from the upper pool cascades over the plateau's edge, its destination shrouded in the lush fronts of the jungle's edge and a hint of blue-tinged mist. The Sandbar, Ista's seaside tavern, stands to the south beside the long branching structure of the docks.
In theory the sun is at its zenith right about now, and it should be baking the island to a crisp. Instead it's blocked by a heavy layer of clouds which for the moment have ceased to drown the beach in torrents of rain. Here and there little puddles mar the sand, and where the jungle encroaches the sound of water dripping from the leaves creates a pleasant counterpoint to the roar of the choppy waves. The rain has cleared out the humidity, making the warm break in the rain a perfect time to be outside. Or at least that seems to be the opinion of one tall brunette perched on a boulder with book in hand.
With all the air of a person who did /not/ expect a downpour today, Evaly comes tramping out of the jungles a ways down the beach, pretty well soaked, muddy here and there, generally looking scraggly and unpretty. At the treeline, she stops, rings out her shirt, rings out her hair, glowers at the clouds for a few moments, then continues on her way up the beach toward the Weyr proper, pausing just about in earshot of Raveki, irritated with a relentless, squelching squeak from her sandals. "I confess," she calls, lifting her voice to carry to the dark woman, "that I'm extremely jealous of your placidity at the moment." The added mumble sounds a lot like 'stupid effing weather.'
Upon closer inspection Raveki isn't exactly bone dry herself - a bit of dampness adds to the wave of her raven hair, and mud has left splattery little freckles across her ankles. There's a light cloak of oiled hide in a pile near the rock as well as mud-covered sandals, which make it seem less like she just appeared all pristine in the middle of the sodden beach. She looks up before the other girl even speaks, watching the tromping and glowering with the faintest twinge of amusement at the corner of her mouth. It grows into a smirk when Evaly speaks and she tips her head toward the bare half of the rock. "You can't control it, just roll with it. Letting those shoes dry out might help."
"Help the shoes or help me?" Evaly asks, coming a little closer at the risk of more squishy squeaking, settling down in the damp sand next to the big rock. At this point, a little extra moist sand isn't going to hurt her, already mud-stained and well-soaked as she is. "Because I really feel the both of us are beyond redemption. If there was any pity in the weather, it would just have drowned us like unwanted kittens and been done with it." She looks up once more, giving the skies another dark frown before she starts getting rid of those irritating shoes. "I really thought it was just going to be a little drizzle in the morning and then clear skies, you know?" Sigh.
Raveki marks her place with a ragged little bit of ribbon and sets the book aside, shifting her weight forward as Evaly drops to the sand. A glance at the shoes makes her nose wrinkle. "I think the shoes actually might be beyond redemption. But at least if they were dry they'd be quiet?" She shrugs, it's not much but it's something. They sky gets her gaze next as she shakes her head. "I always figure it's going to do whatever would be least convenient around here. If I'm hot, it's sweltering. If I want to go for a walk, it pours. I thought it was hating on me for being new to the island, so I have decided to do what I want just to spite the weather."
Evaly slides her feet out of the sandals one at a time, running her fingers over the tops of her feet where the straps have started to rub the skin there raw, sand and water making a red welt stand out sharply. "Best not let the weather hear you say that," she chides, eyes still on her feet, squinting and hissing a breath at the ouch-factor. "Or it really will exact a revenge on you. Those are rain clouds still." She nods toward the ocean, where the darkness of rain is even deeper, where the wind will blow in the clouds in an hour or two. "Then you'll have to go inside and read with half the Weyr, hiding out from the storm."
Ouch factor indeed. Raveki winces visibly and her fingertips absently graze her own bare feet. "I think you might have done better barefoot. That's gonna need some numbweed for sure." Leaning back, she props herself up on her elbows and looks out at the threatening clouds. "I think it's going to rain some more regardless of what I say, to be honest. The best I can hope for is to get under cover before those open up. It's like a race." Her tone continues to be drily amused as she tips her head toward the Weyr. "I don't make a habit of being trapped in there, generally. I'd rather take my chances on the hike back to the Lucky Seven."
Nodding painfully, Evaly answers, "Possibly, though I took a pretty good hike into the jungle, so I'm not sure I'd be any better off if I hadn't worn shoes at all." She puts her legs out in front of her, sinking her feet somewhat into the sand, letting it cool the raw skin-- for all it will hurt later when she has to wash the sand away. "The Lucky-- I heard that place-- I mean, someone told me--" Being flustered doesn't come naturally to the blond, and she stops for a second with a frown deepening creases at the corners of her mouth. "Do you go there often?"
"In that case, maybe boots. Or just, you know, not during a rainstorm." A grin and a little eyeroll shows commiseration for the weather's unpredicatbility, taking the sting out of the words. Then she's just quiet as the other girl hems and haws, smirk inching across her mouth. "You heard, that did ya?" Casual, she tucks a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, then adds, "Pretty often, yeah, I work there." One brow arches, curious about the response to /that/, and to give the girl somewhere to go she asks idly, "What do you do?"
Okay, well. In that case, Evaly will just pay strict attention to her sandals, to shaking some sand out of them and getting them plopped next to her, where they'll hopefully dry out without getting all stiff and useless. "Huh," she says, a brilliant observation as to the nature of Raveki's work, or at least what 'rumor has it' that work must entail. Also? That'd be an awesome shade of pink she's turning. "I'm a trader, myself. Perfume and jewelry and the like. If you ever find yourself in need of sparkly things or smell-good things, just ask for Evaly."
The effort not to chuckle in the face of Evaly's obvious discomfort is almost successful. Almost. It ends up a single muted note, a little breathy and Raveki is quick to gloss over it. "We serve drinks and man gambling tables too, you should come out sometime," she says lightly. And then she's sitting up straight again, leaning forward with bright eyes. "Jewelry and perfume? Some of my favorite things. You know Hal says he hardly ever gets jewelry in so I'll have to come check out what you have. I like bracelets." As if that wasn't at least a little obvious by the handful of bangles around one wrist.
Evaly, searching for a delicate way to decline that doesn't amount to "NO THANKS YOU HOOKER," rubs her knuckles across her hairline for a second, squints from beneath her fingers at the outline of the Beach House... the Sandbar... "There's no real shortage of places to get drinks, I've noticed, and I'm not much of a gambler. But thanks for the invitation." She finds a good, clean, wholesome smile that turns a little wry when she adds, "Hal. I'll give you a better deal than he would anyway, even if he did have anything worth buying. Is there anything in particular you'd like to peruse along the lines of bracelets? I have some nice ones, glass beads, in stock at the moment."
A slow nod with that smirk still in place, and Raveki flicks dismissive fingers at the Beach House and Sandbar. "Ours are better, and plenty of people come to just hang out. During the day it's actually a lot quieter than the Sandbar but... just the same, not everyone's cup of tea." And with that she lets Evaly off the proverbial hook, turning her attention to twisting the simple silver circles at her wrist. "Yeah, I got a good deal from Hal once but you're probably right about future transactions." It's mumbled more to herself than to the trader, but she infuses some brightness into the next words. "I like glass beads. Do you have anything that isn't bright turquoise? I'm so bored of all the tropical colors."
Evaly doesn't argue about the quality of the drinks, just leaves that whole topic safely alone with an 'isn't that nice' smile flickering in place. "Some part of me," she begins with tentative humor, "is almost afraid to ask what kind of 'deal' you get from someone like Hal. He strikes me as..." She trails off, shaking her head, none too impressed by the expression. Then, with a sudden laugh, she points out, "You may be living in the wrong place if you're bored of the tropical colors /and/ mad at the fickle weather, sweeting. Have you considered relocating to some place tame, like Ruatha?" Leaning back on her hands, she cocks a merry look back and up at Raveki.
Content to let that topic go, Raveki just arches a brow. "Someone like Hal? He strikes you as... what?" She coaxes lightly, her humor less tentative than that of her companion as amusement touches both mouth and eyes. It only deepens at the suggestion, and she laughs softly. "Tame is dull, sugar and we can't have that. I don't mind the colors of the actual tropics, but how many teal and peach bracelets does a girl really need? And it was you complaining about the fickle weather, I was reading my book all placid, remember?"
"As..." Evaly takes a breath, smiles through the end of it, seamlessly unfettered. "...a fellow businessman. With all that entails." Lifting off one hand, she waggles her finger in the air in front of her, shaking her head seriously. "No no no, you very clearly said-- 'the weather's going to do whatever's least convenient.' Or something pretty close to that. No back-pedaling now," with a tsk tsk tsk. "And I'm not sure. How many teal-and-peach bracelets /does/ a girl need? Because I could get you a good deal on a half-dozen if you haven't met your quota yet."
"A fellow businessman," Raveki repeats thoughtfully. She mulls it over, then dips a firm nod. "Yeah I think that's about right." The tsking and the waggling make her blink, then she waves an acquiescing hand. "I'll give you that. But I also said I was just doing what I want anyhow. I'm not /mad/ at it. It just takes some getting used to, all this fickleness so prevalent at Ista." The words hold more meaning than just the weather, but talk of bracelets restores her humor before it can wane. "I'm set, thanks. If you have gold and green, or rust, or black and red though I would come see."
Evaly draws one wounded foot out of the cooling sand and looks at it closely, flexing it with barely a hiss of pain while she addresses Raveki's (lack of) anger at the weather; "Give it time, new friend. After seventeen years on this island, the one thing I have learned to be an absolute truth is that 'a bolt out of the blue' isn't as rare as the saying would lead a person to believe." Not that she's feeling particularly grumpy at mother nature today, of course. "Red. I have a matching set, actually, of red glass beads for necklace, bracelet, and ring, though the clasp on the bracelet is frustratingly stubborn. I was touting it as 'extra security,' but the truth is that it was broken and I repaired it. So it works, but you have to really, really want it."
"Yeah," Raveki drawls agreement with eyes on the grumbly clouds. "I think that's an Ista thing too. Everything here is a bit hard to predict. Makes things interesting." A beat, brows lifting. "So you were born here? Or- sorry, I guess you could be older-" she just shakes her head then rather than try to extricate her foot from her mouth. Evaly's honesty earns the girl eyes that widen with a flash of surprise, and then an appreciative little grin. "Well now that you've told me you'll have to give me a deal on it right? I'm pretty good at getting things I really want so it might work out."
Evaly pats the sand next to her butt, saying with an impish grin, "Right on this very spot? No, but I was born on the island. Seventeen years ago, so don't apologize, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption on your part." An eyebrow climbs, an expression that would probably look more direct and readable were it not still canted half-upside-down at Raveki, but the intent is there: oh really now? "Of course I'll give you a good deal on it. An even /better/ deal since you know about its defect. Just come by some time when the weather's more conducive to commerce, I'll even set it aside with your name on it." Beat. "If you care to provide a name, that is." /Hint freaking hint./
The little nose wrinkle makes yet another appearance. "Thank goodness for small favors. I don't really want to think about birthing goo every time I sit here. I like this rock." She tips her head a bit in an effort to make that backwards-canted-weird angle more normal but it only makes it worse. "Um, Vek. I'm Vek. And apparently I'm not good at remembering to introduce myself." She leeeeans to reach a hand out, but again, that angle is weird and so she just turns it into a little finger-wiggle of a wave.
Oh, the merriment. "Birthing... goo...? Goo? Really?" Evaly finds the term positively delightful, sits spelling out the word G-O-O a few times under her breath with her injured feet flexing amusedly back and forth. "Vek? It's a nickname, right? Short for something? Vekelissa or something so tremendously bad that you'd rather just pretend the rest of it doesn't exist?" With sand on the heel of her hand, with the impossibility of the angles still in play, she smiles her gratitude that the handshake is foregone, continues musing, "I always thought 'Evaly' was sentimentally feminine, but there's no nickname you can get from it that's really any better."
"Well, yeah. What else do you call it?" Ravki's amusement is not quite at the level of Evaly's, but it's close. "You know, there's all the... fluids and junk. Have you ever seen a baby being born? Ick. No thanks." The suggestion of Vekelissa makes her laugh and she quickly shakes her head. "Nothing that bad thank goodness. It's short for Raveki, but I think that sounds sorta cutesy so I usually just go by Vek." She mouths Evaly, rolling it around before repeating it out loud. "Evaly. I like it. What about like... Ev? Or even Evie - nah, that's not close enough and it's cute." Ick again.
Evaly maintains humorously, "I saw one of my cousins being born. 'Fluids and junk' seems pretty apt. Though I do like 'goo' as a back-up term." With her finger tip in the sand, she spells out the earlier pronounced G-O-O, then washes it away with a pass of her palm. "See, if my name was Raveki, I would be perfectly okay with that. Vek, Veki, even Rav isn't all that bad. I had Ev, Eva, Evy, Val, they're all just so girlish and tired." She touches the end of her nose with one hand and points the other at Raveki-- that, exactly, "Cute. Bingo."
"If it had not already been way too late, seeing childbirth might have been enough to convince me to remain a virgin forever." Raveki tosses this out casual as can be, with no thought that it might be TMI, and shudders delicately. "Veki is cute again, if you ask me. Plus, I was told once that Vek sounded vulgar which I enjoyed more than I should." Her lips move through all these suggested nicknames for Evaly without sound, as if somehow making the motions is better than just thinking them through. "Hmm, yeah I don't really like any of those either." As though her opinion really matters. "Evaly works though. Maybe you'll end up all elegant and feminine to match it?"
Gamely, Evaly points out, "Just because you've done it once doesn't mean you have to do it again. If having babies isn't on your agenda, there's a tried-and-true method for avoiding it." So saying, she clamps her knees together tightly, brackets them with her arms as if they're never to part again. The latter question, the suggestion that she's on her way to elegant femininity meets with a roll of her eyes up at the woman on the rock, a really-now tilt of her head. "Mmmmhmn. --Vulgar? I suppose it does have a sort of abrupt, almost crude ring to it. Vek. It's got that nice, sharp finish."
With each gesture increasingly adamant, Vek's brows lift a bit. In the end she just laughs. "Aww, but where's the fun in that? There are ways to avoid getting pregnant that are far less - well, virginal." A little tsk then, for the eye roll. "Come on, it could happen, you've got time." The awkward angles are finally too much, so she slides off the rock and plops down in the still-damp sand across from Evaly. "There, that's better. Sharp, huh? That works too."
Into the pause between 'less' and 'well,' Evaly offers, "Effective?" But Raveki supplies a different term and she makes a face, conceding that as an alternative word for it, sure, but not the one she would have chosen, obviously. "Even if it /could/ happen, I like to think I have enough control over my own destiny to be able to avoid it. Elegant and feminine is to me what virginal is to you, if I don't miss my guess." When the woman relocates, she breathes a dramatic sigh of relief, saying, "Oh, thank you. The crick in my neck was about to rival the blisters on my feet."
Bah, effective! Raveki flicks her fingers in that dismissive little gesture. "Highly overrated," she declares, and that is that. "Feminine and elegant aren't that bad really, but if you are so determined I wish you luck on tomboyishness." Beat. "Though selling smelly and sparkly things might not be the least girly thing you could do you know." She plucks at her skirt, spreading it over her legs for some scant modicum of modesty and then just grins over, almost impish. "Well why didn't you just say so, silly?"
"It's not so much that I want to be tomboyish as... I'm not sure what. I don't have a problem with being a girl, I just wish that being a girl didn't sound like a limitation, I suppose." Evaly pauses, grin gone quirky for a second when she adds, "I'm not saying that I'd like to be able to write my name in the snow, but I would like to transcend gender roles, if that makes any sense." She pantomimes little boxes, cubes indicated with bracketing hands, like those boxes have something to do with her point. "I know, selling sparkly stuff and perfume isn't the best way to go about that, but it's symptomatic of my issue. And this subject is getting very far afield of light-and-airy 'nice to meet you' conversations, so. I didn't say so because you looked comfortable up there, and far be it for me to disturb such coziness."
Dark brows climb upward through this explanation, and the nod is slow at the end. "Right." Raveki tucks stray hair behind her ear and doodles aimlessly in the sand with a fingertip. "At least there is a little less of that at a Weyr, right? And sometimes the low expectations of others can be a benefit if you use them correctly." Eventually her eyes slide up to meet Evaly's and she cants her head, quizzical. "Take what you're given and try to use it to your advantage, I always say. But fighting the system is admirable of course." Her smile slips lopsided and she gives the sand a pat. "I don't mind heavier subjects, in spite of what you might think about girls like me. And I don't mind the sand either. Though it could be drier."
Less of that at the Weyr-- "Is there? If anything, I think it's just better cloaked here than it is at a Hold. I've never been so... confronted by gender-expectations than I have been in the six months that I've been here." Evaly shakes her head, and-- despite claiming to have developed a crick-- looks back over her shoulder toward the Weyr behind them. "'Girls like you,' you say, and yet-- and yet, I have been propositioned more in the last six months than in the entire span of my life leading up to them. It's incredibly frustrating, frankly, the implication that women exist for no more purpose than men's pleasure." Pausing, looking from Raveki's hand patting the sand to Raveki's face instead, she adds, "Though I suppose you would be out of work if the world suddenly came around to my way of thinking, huh?" Without blushing, good for her.
Raveki eyes the rock wall that dominates the view behind Evaly, then she shurgs - a slow and hesitant lift and fall of her shoulders. "I... guess I don't really know, though that's how it's supposed to be. I use those implications as an opportunity, not a hindrance. And I assume that men treat me that way because that's how it works, and that they are at least sometimes different with women of other... persuasions." A smirk tugs at her lips for that last, and her second shrug is less uncertain. "I think there is probably space for both. I don't imagine propositioning you and putting you in that box got the men anywhere, so maybe they'll learn. And as for me, well, I know there is more to me than my ability to spread my legs and I don't usually care if others don't see it."
With a wry laugh, Evaly answers opportunity vs. hindrance with a mild, "Now assume that you make your living selling perfume and not..." Something else that starts with a P. "I don't know. I think I'm just disappointed. You spend your whole life hearing how the Weyr is a hotbed of perversion and impropriety and then find out that it's actually true?" She essays a look to Raveki then, hoping for some sympathy on that front, at least? "Why not /want/ other people to see it, though? Don't you want people to... know your value beyond how much they have to pay?"
Shock is feigned, with brows up and eyes wide, but only for a beat before she grins. "You might be able to visit the Seven without dying of mortification yet, darlin. I'll have you corrupted before too long." She winks, joking at least a little about the last part. When sympathy is looked for it's offered in the form of a slow thoughtful nod. "I can see that. I think Ista might be a bit grimier than most, and any area has its hotbeds if you know where to look. Maybe you should go somewhere like Ruatha." One fingertip taps on Raveki's knee, taking a moment for thought, but when she answers her tone is flippant. "Sometimes. But the ones who I want to know me usually see my value anyway, you know? Usually." A tiny preturbed sort of frown wrinkles her brow.
Confident; "I am incorruptable." And if Evaly could get that on a badge that she could wear around, the antithesis of the scarlet letter, she totally would, proud as hell of that title. "I guess I deserved that," she adds about Ruatha, scrunching up her face into a blargh expression. "It's the 'usually' that would bother me. I don't, humn, blame you or think you're a bad person or anything for what you do, but I couldn't live with that. Don't you want your value to be intrinsic?"
Raveki lets out a sharp little bark of laughter. "Are you now? I doubt I am the best person to try and prove you wrong. But even without being truly corrupted you could come have a drink sometime right?" Her grin fades then at the question, replaced by a firm line. "My value is intrinsic, by definition. What other people think of me doesn't define who I am, and it should be the same for you. If they're worth anything they'll see how much *you* are worth." But she says it, perhaps, a bit too adamantly.
Evaly's nod is pretty serious, though there is mirth behind her eyes to answer Raveki's laughter; she is now! As for having a drink... "Again, I don't blame you or think you're a bad person, but I don't think I could go in there without blushing so brightly that you could use my cheeks to light the joint all night." She puts the backs of her fingers to those cheeks presently, feeling for the warmth that's pinkening them up even now. "This is going to sound bad, but I don't think people are going to see your /value/ if they're preoccupied with your /price/." Clearing her throat; "And that's another reason I can't go have drinks in your place of business, Vek. I'm really opinionated. Obviously."
Evaly's nod is pretty serious, though there is mirth behind her eyes to answer Raveki's laughter; she is now! As for having a drink... "Again, I don't blame you or think you're a bad person, but I don't think I could go in there without blushing so brightly that you could use my cheeks to light the joint all night." She puts the backs of her fingers to those cheeks presently, feeling for the warmth that's pinkening them up even now. "This is going to sound bad, but I don't think people are going to see your /value/ if they're preoccupied with your /price/." Clearing her throat; "And that's another reason I can't go have drinks in your place of business, Vek. I'm really opinionated. Obviously."
Raveki stretches sideways, dropping an elbow into the sand and lounging her weight onto it. It matches the languid drawl, drily amused, and the faint arch of one eyebrow. "Well thank you for your generosity in not considering me a dirty, evil whore." Though it's dry, there *is* amusement there, and Raveki ends by shaking her head - she knows Evaly's honest intent. "The blushing might be a problem, and with a girl as pretty as you, you might get a few more propositions to add to your tally so maybe you're right to skip it." The last *does* sound kind of bad, but Raveki just rolls a shoulder. "You might be right about that, but that's why I have people who don't pay a price. Like you. Opinionated or not." There's a brash wink but the tone is almost forced in its lightness.
Evaly, put-upon, "At least it would almost make sense if I was actually in the Seven. The propositioning, I mean." Tired of it, clearly, she has to chalk it up as one more reason she's not about to set foot in that particular den any time soon, regardless of how not dirty and evil the whores really are. With a deep, loud sigh, she offers, "I'm not sure why I'm arguing with you aside from that you haven't told me to shut up yet. I don't actually expect you to suddenly renounce your profession and 'see the light.' Though you have no idea how smug I would be for the rest of my life if you did." The wink has her sticking out her tongue, so mature; "Doesn't it take the... 'special' out of it, though?" Pause-- "I swear, I've had this conversation before."
Sniff. "It's not the worst thing in the world, is it? Men being attracted to you?" Her eyes are keen, observant. "And if it really is, just tell them to come see me more often, right?" Idly, she winds dark hair around her finger, playing with it in stubborn laxity in the face of what would generally be a pretty intense conversation. "Are we arguing?" That slightly arched brow, an amost smug quirk to her lips. "I thought we were just talking. And I agree that what you say works well for you. It's all about choices though, and I like what I do, and I like what it gets me. If I ever decide to give it up, I'll pretend to let you talk me into it so you can gloat, how's that." Blink. "You have? With who?"
Keen, observant-- meet perplexed, shrugging. "It's not the best thing either, is it?" While Evaly's not exactly bitter, it's clear that she'd kinda rather, well, "I will happily send them off to you, Vek. Though I'm not sure I can really slip that in smoothly. 'I know this very nice, uhmn, woman who--' Do you have business cards or something I can give to people?" Given that they're on the beach in between bouts of a rainstorm, she probably shouldn't look like she expects Raveki to have them with her /right now/, but she does. As to the latter, "Our mutual friend Hal? The part about taking the 'special' out, that is."
It takes more thought than one might guess, and Vek thinks it over. "Maybe not the best thing, no. But it's nice to be appreciated, to be wanted that way, I think." Beat. "Clearly we have differing views on that though." The mention of business cards have her blinking again, then shaking her head. "No I don't, but maybe I should! I wonder how one would go about getting some." Ridiculous as anyone having business cards on hand on the beach, in between bouts of a rainstorm is a whore having them at all (and on Pern no less), but she seems to be actually considering the idea. "At any rate, just saying, 'I am not going to fuck you but maybe someone at the Seven will, now shove off' might work." Then it's Hal again, making Raveki frown and mumble something under her breath. "He confuses me more than I confuse you, but regardless, it doesn't always have to be... special. Though special is nice, so is fun. Right?"
Ah, see-- "To be appreciated. Period. So, yes, our views obviously differ on the matter, though I'm guessing that's no big surprise by now. Considering." Evaly waves one hand between herself and Raveki, as if the gesture could somehow encapsulate all the differences between them. "You could commission them," business cards, "from Harper Hall? Though that does leave a person wondering what precisely you would have printed on them..." And that does lead to a little rise of color in her cheeks, /yet again/. "Ahem. I could say that, I could, but now I actually know you, so I would feel a little guilty implying that you'd be happy with my cast-offs. Which, again, sounds bad." She doesn't actually have an answer for 'so is fun,' aside from a bewildered 'is it?' look.
Candlario arrives from the docks.
Candlario has arrived.
Evaly and Raveki sit together on sand that is still damp from a downpour not long past. Puddles mar the beach here and there and the waves continue to be choppy, the sky dark and threatening further rain to come though for now it is dry. "Yeah, considering." Raveki agrees, amused, and mimics the little all-encompassing wave. "Harper Hall... hmm. I'm not sure they'd be too pleased, but it might work if I just put my name on them, and Lucky Seven. The rest generally seems to be assumed." A little tip of her head indicates Evaly, who did the assuming in spite of their... differences. "Eh," shrug then, "If you cast off *everyone* then your cast-offs aren't so bad, right? And yeah," for the unspoken question. "It is. You should try it sometime."
"Do that. 'Raveki. Lucky Seven.' I'll get one of those business card holders for my booth. Anyone who turns up looking for you with a card, and you give me, say, five-percent?" If it was a real business deal, Evaly would have to deal with the hypocrisy of taking a cut off of someone else's prostitution. Since it's not, she can just smile brightly at her own genius and make a face at the latter suggestion. "I don't think that's happening any time soon, but thank you for the suggestion." (Hasn't she said that before during this conversation?) "Excepting all else, I'd be affecting your profit margin, if you think about it."
Candlario wanders along the beach from the direction of the docks. Out for a walk before the rain hits, or so one might imagine. The only difference is that he's also hauling a pack over one shoulder. He passes by Evaly and Raveki and his steps slow, lifting a hand, "Hello ladies." The greeting nudged in somewhere between their conversation but in one of those natural breaks.
This isn't a real business deal? Raveki looks like she's considering the cut until she catches that bright grin and the lack of blush on Evaly's cheeks. Oh. Right. She manages some amusement, and flicks her hair out of her eyes. "Five percent is way too high, I'd be doing you a favor remember?" She pauses to greet Candlario as he walks up, lifting a casual hand. "Hello yourself, Candlario right?" Beat, blink, and her eyes dart back to Evaly. "Oh honey, I wasn't *offering* I'd never think to add myself to your list of castoffs. I just meant... in general."
"You'd be doing me a favor? I thought it was more a... symbiotic relationship we were forming?" Evaly squints narrowly at the idea that five percent is too high, then squints even more at the qualification about castoffs. "Oh honey," she echoes as theatrically, "I didn't think you were offering. I just meant... in general. Too." Obviously, this is not the conversation she wants to be having with a third party, as she looks up at Candlario afterward with a certain 'so done talking about this' in the side-glance that goes to Raveki. "Hey, big guy."
Candlario can sense that he's walked in on a conversation that he's likely not going to be welcome in. "Hey." Awkward now he rubs at the back of his neck, starting to turn away. The movement stops halfway though and then shifts back to look at them, "Castoffs?" No one said he had to mind his own business. Yet.
Raveki opens her mouth to further reply but she's cut off by that pointed side-glance. She looks from Evaly up to Candlario then just takes on a little grin. "Something like that," is her vague and possibly relevant only in her own head response. She stretches over to grab her muddy sandals and starts to wiggle her feet into them, flashing Candlario a little grin. "Business dealings, darlin, business dealings." Sandals on, she snags her cloak and pushes to her feet. "Speaking of that, I need to go do real work, not teasing work. It was real nice to meet you, Evaly. Sorry to say hi and dash, Candlario." She straightens her cloak with a shift of her shoulders, then gives the big, dark man a little pat to the arm on her way past.
Evaly, to Candlario's one-word question, "You don't want to know." Sage, certain, she's not going to budge on the matter, if that firmness is any indicator, so she expects him not to try to coax it out of her. Watching Raveki go, specifically the putting-on of sandals, reminds her that her own are sitting next to her, that she's still got to swat sand off of them, that her feet have been rubbed raw by the straps at some point during the day. Subject-change; "So what's in the bag?"
Candlario frowns as his gaze trails after Raveki. Distract too while he watches the legs, eer, the girl, leave. Turning back to Evaly he shrugs at her, "I am pretty sure I'd like to know. But whatever. Girl-talk." A skyward glance and mutter before he regards the woman again. Patting the pack he answers her, "product lady. Product. Just heading weyr-ward to see about some better sales."
There's nothing to read in to Evaly's smile at his first comments. No confirmation, no denial, nothing but a vapid-seeming beam up at him until he leaves the subject of his own accord. Good boy. "Ahhh, the end-all-be-all," she says to the matter of his bag's contents, gingerly drawing on her shoes with only one or two little hisses of pain. "It's a rough day to try to set up shop if that's your plan, or are you going straight to the top with your goods and selling in bulk?"
Candlario wrinkles his nose at the sound of pain, "You alright?" Eyes moving over her and those shoes and then her feet for signs of wear. "Going to need a haul up to the weyr yourself?" Serious in regard to her discomfort. To her question about the spices he cracks a smile, "Just a tease of the best stuff. Going to see if the Headwoman has a moment to talk shop. I need to pay for my dock-fees anyway."
"I'm committed to getting there under my own power," Evaly answers firmly-- or as firmly as a person with blushing blisters on her feet can. She does stick her hand up into the air in Rio's general direction, though, silently asking for help getting to her feet, at least? Thanks? "Ahhh, well, I'll hope for the sake of your dock fees that she's amenable to bargaining." Not that one thing has anything to do with the other but, "How did it go? With the flower?"
Candlario gives Evaly a long look and then shrugs, "they are your feet." He tells her, offering her a big hand up. "Eh, dock fees are dock fees." Easy lift and fall of his shoulders before, or maybe after, he's hauled her up off the sand. "The flow.....oh." The smile that had been there skips away and leaves a tight, flat line of his lips. "It didn't go as expected. Although she didn't exactly run away, or throw it back at me. I think I need more than flowers, and I don't know..." Awkwardly his words trail off and he falls silent. The fact that he doesn't enjoy being off balanced like this burns in his gaze that flitters off towards the jungles.
Evaly actually does say, "Thanks," once she's on her feet, dusting off her palms and meaning to fall in step next to Candlario for the trip up to the Weyr proper. "Considering that you seemed to expect her to tear your eyes out or something similar would seem to indicate that 'not going as expected' is a positive thing, correct? As for something more-- do you write poetry? Or cook? Or have any particular skill that you might be able to extend as gift of sorts? Something personal rather than purchased."
Candlario looks as though he might offer his arm to Evaly but decides against it so that there's just a slight 'flex' of the arm towards her and then away. "It is true. No eye-tearing. Although the men I have working for me are a little ruffled over her. Strange it's not in the 'look up her skirts' sort of ruffled but...." There's a moment of real concern in his eyes as he looks at Evaly, "I don't think she understands danger. I think she finds the whole world some sort of sport for her and her alone. I....am not sure I should encourage her further." His tone low and filled with an odd note echoed in his troubled gaze. "Besides, I am not a 'domestic' sort of man to cook or fiddle with poetry like some poof."
Likely, Evaly's oblivious to the arm he's not offering. She sure doesn't seem to give it so much as a glance, anyway, her attention on the path before them more than anything. "Right, because every Baker and Harper in history has obviously been a poof," she adds with reflexive derision. Though she backtracks quickly after that to the subject at hand. "Unless you plan on putting her in some sort of danger," and she eyes him sideways for a second, then leans her head back to eye his bag of spices with a doubtful expression. Clearly, to her, the spice trade is not fraught with peril. "What's not to encourage?"
Candlario chuckles at her, "I'm not a Baker or a Harper though. Stop trying to ruin my well defined stereotypes blasted woman." Another lapse of silence as she talks and they walk along the path. After a moment he gives another of those shrugs of his and grumbles under his breath before actually forming words, "I don't plan to put her in danger. But she came aboard the ship when I wasn't there and made up some story for being there like some hussy. Or that's what I'm hearing second hand. I don't know what she's about, but she's got herself some serious trouble with one of my men." He shakes his head, jaw working as he tries to find the right words for things when it's obvious he appears a harmless lamb of the sea.
"I believe it's my responsibility to question people's preconceived notions, that's all," Evaly posits with an apologetic shrug, her smile rather self-satisfied at needling Candlario in even a small way. Yay for her~! "So dismiss your man, or tell him that you'll do some big-burly-man thing to him if he hears that any harm has come to your mystery woman. What in the world are you cultivating all those muscles for if not to put the fear of them into your crew? My word, do I have to do all the thinking for you?"
Candlario shakes his head, "It's not funnly Evaly. I hired those men after a....very bad part of my life. I trust them to look after me when I might be otherwise distracted. I have to believe that he feels she's up to no good." And the fact that he has a big ship of goodies just waiting to be five-fingered too. "Something is just no right about it and her lack of good sense to protect her skin if nothing else." He rubs at one of his scars as though it itches, irritated. "And you're her friend. Of course you don't have my best interest at heart." Duh.
Somewhere, the mental connect-the-dots game that Evaly's playing with all this has doubled back on itself, and she looks up at Candlario with a confused frown. "Wait, this girl that you like-- I assume you like her, correct? Is also someone you're worried might be a thief? Do you often pursue someone so totally and completely wrong for you, handsome?"
"I might like her better if I knew she wasn't going to knife me when my back is turned." Candlario states mater-of-factly and corrects her statement, "I began liking her before she ended up in my cabin. I gave her the flower before my man came to me with his concerns. Now? I have no idea." He moistens his lips and waves off her compliment, even adding bark of laughter. "We both know we've run that horse to death."
Knife in back? "I could see how that would be a stumbling block in a burgeoning relationship. Certainly, it would make it difficult to establish any true intimacy," Evaly answers back as if in all seriousness, never mind the comprehension of the ridiculousness of his situation keeps twitching the beginnings of a grin into place. "Perhaps you would do well to get at least some idea before you pursue it any further? Maybe-- and I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. Maybe you could talk to her about your concerns?"
Candlario doesn't appear to aprove, or really appreciate dear Evaly's lighthearted take on what is a weight upon him. First there's the stink-eye and then the scowl and at last the low grumble from the big man as he looks away. They walk in silence, unless the grumbling is really 'talk'. His companion isn't getting much out of it, unless you count her certain delight in pissing him off. "Listen, I know you find this all outrageous. Forget I said anything. I should know better than get more serious than a simple, no-games-fling. Or two. Maybe three. Safer." But from his expression, perhaps not nearly as fruitful.
Evaly, to the grumbling, "Don't get mad at me. I'm only offering good, solid advice. It's not my fault if you somehow decided to take a liking to someone who may or may not be contemplating putting a knife in your back." It's so easy to judge from up on her high horse, yes. Hands clasped behind her back, resolutely refusing to cringe at the pain in her feet, she nods along with his latter commentary. "Well, why don't you go back to doing that, then? I can see by the look on your face how happy it makes you, and certainly you wouldn't have to worry about the fulfillment of finding a partner you actually care about as opposed to one that just said 'yes.'"
"I like the sound of 'Yes'. In various speeds and volumes." Candlario notes in perfect seriousness and there, finally, is the smile again. "I'm not grumbling at your advice. I'm grumbling at that smirk of yours. But, maybe it's just the pain in your feet. You sure you don't want to lean in me? C'mon, throw away your pride girl." A sigh and he shrugs off his moodiness, it's not doing him any good anyway.
Lean /on/
"I'm teaching myself a valuable lesson about tramping through the jungle in the rain without good shoes. If I lean on you, then how will I ever learn from my mistakes?" Which may or may not be the truth, but Evaly sure sounds like she means it. Anyway-- "I'm only smirking because your ineptitude and confusion are humorous. You'd admit the same thing from my perspective."
"I don't think you'll learn anyway, but suit yourself." Candlario notes with the same smile and then shrugs. "Just because I might see it that way later, doesn't mean I don't want to push you in the mud right now." A firm nod, "Lucky for you, I gave up pushing pretty girls in the mud when I was sixteen turns." He nods to the path up ahead. "Anyway, if you're going to be headstrong and not accept the help, I need to get going."
Evaly, to being pushed in the mud, "That's sweet. You're such a charmer." She bats her hand ahead of her, toward the Weyr, intending to keep a much lighter pace once he's gone. "Run along now, my darling, and leave us rational people to our thoughts, okay? Good luck with the headwoman."
Candlario blows Evaly a kiss, "My refinement in courting the fairer sex is unmatched." Winking he touches her arm and gives her a nod. "Thanks, brat. See you later." And with that he moves along at a quick pace, eager to beat the rain.
IC Date: 6/20/22
Main Beach, Ista Weyr(#444RJ)
The coastline of black sand stretches out in either direction, tropical waters lapping ceaselessly against the subtle decline of the main beach that rests at the base of the plateau cliff. To the northeast, water from the upper pool cascades over the plateau's edge, its destination shrouded in the lush fronts of the jungle's edge and a hint of blue-tinged mist. The Sandbar, Ista's seaside tavern, stands to the south beside the long branching structure of the docks.
In theory the sun is at its zenith right about now, and it should be baking the island to a crisp. Instead it's blocked by a heavy layer of clouds which for the moment have ceased to drown the beach in torrents of rain. Here and there little puddles mar the sand, and where the jungle encroaches the sound of water dripping from the leaves creates a pleasant counterpoint to the roar of the choppy waves. The rain has cleared out the humidity, making the warm break in the rain a perfect time to be outside. Or at least that seems to be the opinion of one tall brunette perched on a boulder with book in hand.
With all the air of a person who did /not/ expect a downpour today, Evaly comes tramping out of the jungles a ways down the beach, pretty well soaked, muddy here and there, generally looking scraggly and unpretty. At the treeline, she stops, rings out her shirt, rings out her hair, glowers at the clouds for a few moments, then continues on her way up the beach toward the Weyr proper, pausing just about in earshot of Raveki, irritated with a relentless, squelching squeak from her sandals. "I confess," she calls, lifting her voice to carry to the dark woman, "that I'm extremely jealous of your placidity at the moment." The added mumble sounds a lot like 'stupid effing weather.'
Upon closer inspection Raveki isn't exactly bone dry herself - a bit of dampness adds to the wave of her raven hair, and mud has left splattery little freckles across her ankles. There's a light cloak of oiled hide in a pile near the rock as well as mud-covered sandals, which make it seem less like she just appeared all pristine in the middle of the sodden beach. She looks up before the other girl even speaks, watching the tromping and glowering with the faintest twinge of amusement at the corner of her mouth. It grows into a smirk when Evaly speaks and she tips her head toward the bare half of the rock. "You can't control it, just roll with it. Letting those shoes dry out might help."
"Help the shoes or help me?" Evaly asks, coming a little closer at the risk of more squishy squeaking, settling down in the damp sand next to the big rock. At this point, a little extra moist sand isn't going to hurt her, already mud-stained and well-soaked as she is. "Because I really feel the both of us are beyond redemption. If there was any pity in the weather, it would just have drowned us like unwanted kittens and been done with it." She looks up once more, giving the skies another dark frown before she starts getting rid of those irritating shoes. "I really thought it was just going to be a little drizzle in the morning and then clear skies, you know?" Sigh.
Raveki marks her place with a ragged little bit of ribbon and sets the book aside, shifting her weight forward as Evaly drops to the sand. A glance at the shoes makes her nose wrinkle. "I think the shoes actually might be beyond redemption. But at least if they were dry they'd be quiet?" She shrugs, it's not much but it's something. They sky gets her gaze next as she shakes her head. "I always figure it's going to do whatever would be least convenient around here. If I'm hot, it's sweltering. If I want to go for a walk, it pours. I thought it was hating on me for being new to the island, so I have decided to do what I want just to spite the weather."
Evaly slides her feet out of the sandals one at a time, running her fingers over the tops of her feet where the straps have started to rub the skin there raw, sand and water making a red welt stand out sharply. "Best not let the weather hear you say that," she chides, eyes still on her feet, squinting and hissing a breath at the ouch-factor. "Or it really will exact a revenge on you. Those are rain clouds still." She nods toward the ocean, where the darkness of rain is even deeper, where the wind will blow in the clouds in an hour or two. "Then you'll have to go inside and read with half the Weyr, hiding out from the storm."
Ouch factor indeed. Raveki winces visibly and her fingertips absently graze her own bare feet. "I think you might have done better barefoot. That's gonna need some numbweed for sure." Leaning back, she props herself up on her elbows and looks out at the threatening clouds. "I think it's going to rain some more regardless of what I say, to be honest. The best I can hope for is to get under cover before those open up. It's like a race." Her tone continues to be drily amused as she tips her head toward the Weyr. "I don't make a habit of being trapped in there, generally. I'd rather take my chances on the hike back to the Lucky Seven."
Nodding painfully, Evaly answers, "Possibly, though I took a pretty good hike into the jungle, so I'm not sure I'd be any better off if I hadn't worn shoes at all." She puts her legs out in front of her, sinking her feet somewhat into the sand, letting it cool the raw skin-- for all it will hurt later when she has to wash the sand away. "The Lucky-- I heard that place-- I mean, someone told me--" Being flustered doesn't come naturally to the blond, and she stops for a second with a frown deepening creases at the corners of her mouth. "Do you go there often?"
"In that case, maybe boots. Or just, you know, not during a rainstorm." A grin and a little eyeroll shows commiseration for the weather's unpredicatbility, taking the sting out of the words. Then she's just quiet as the other girl hems and haws, smirk inching across her mouth. "You heard, that did ya?" Casual, she tucks a wayward strand of hair behind her ear, then adds, "Pretty often, yeah, I work there." One brow arches, curious about the response to /that/, and to give the girl somewhere to go she asks idly, "What do you do?"
Okay, well. In that case, Evaly will just pay strict attention to her sandals, to shaking some sand out of them and getting them plopped next to her, where they'll hopefully dry out without getting all stiff and useless. "Huh," she says, a brilliant observation as to the nature of Raveki's work, or at least what 'rumor has it' that work must entail. Also? That'd be an awesome shade of pink she's turning. "I'm a trader, myself. Perfume and jewelry and the like. If you ever find yourself in need of sparkly things or smell-good things, just ask for Evaly."
The effort not to chuckle in the face of Evaly's obvious discomfort is almost successful. Almost. It ends up a single muted note, a little breathy and Raveki is quick to gloss over it. "We serve drinks and man gambling tables too, you should come out sometime," she says lightly. And then she's sitting up straight again, leaning forward with bright eyes. "Jewelry and perfume? Some of my favorite things. You know Hal says he hardly ever gets jewelry in so I'll have to come check out what you have. I like bracelets." As if that wasn't at least a little obvious by the handful of bangles around one wrist.
Evaly, searching for a delicate way to decline that doesn't amount to "NO THANKS YOU HOOKER," rubs her knuckles across her hairline for a second, squints from beneath her fingers at the outline of the Beach House... the Sandbar... "There's no real shortage of places to get drinks, I've noticed, and I'm not much of a gambler. But thanks for the invitation." She finds a good, clean, wholesome smile that turns a little wry when she adds, "Hal. I'll give you a better deal than he would anyway, even if he did have anything worth buying. Is there anything in particular you'd like to peruse along the lines of bracelets? I have some nice ones, glass beads, in stock at the moment."
A slow nod with that smirk still in place, and Raveki flicks dismissive fingers at the Beach House and Sandbar. "Ours are better, and plenty of people come to just hang out. During the day it's actually a lot quieter than the Sandbar but... just the same, not everyone's cup of tea." And with that she lets Evaly off the proverbial hook, turning her attention to twisting the simple silver circles at her wrist. "Yeah, I got a good deal from Hal once but you're probably right about future transactions." It's mumbled more to herself than to the trader, but she infuses some brightness into the next words. "I like glass beads. Do you have anything that isn't bright turquoise? I'm so bored of all the tropical colors."
Evaly doesn't argue about the quality of the drinks, just leaves that whole topic safely alone with an 'isn't that nice' smile flickering in place. "Some part of me," she begins with tentative humor, "is almost afraid to ask what kind of 'deal' you get from someone like Hal. He strikes me as..." She trails off, shaking her head, none too impressed by the expression. Then, with a sudden laugh, she points out, "You may be living in the wrong place if you're bored of the tropical colors /and/ mad at the fickle weather, sweeting. Have you considered relocating to some place tame, like Ruatha?" Leaning back on her hands, she cocks a merry look back and up at Raveki.
Content to let that topic go, Raveki just arches a brow. "Someone like Hal? He strikes you as... what?" She coaxes lightly, her humor less tentative than that of her companion as amusement touches both mouth and eyes. It only deepens at the suggestion, and she laughs softly. "Tame is dull, sugar and we can't have that. I don't mind the colors of the actual tropics, but how many teal and peach bracelets does a girl really need? And it was you complaining about the fickle weather, I was reading my book all placid, remember?"
"As..." Evaly takes a breath, smiles through the end of it, seamlessly unfettered. "...a fellow businessman. With all that entails." Lifting off one hand, she waggles her finger in the air in front of her, shaking her head seriously. "No no no, you very clearly said-- 'the weather's going to do whatever's least convenient.' Or something pretty close to that. No back-pedaling now," with a tsk tsk tsk. "And I'm not sure. How many teal-and-peach bracelets /does/ a girl need? Because I could get you a good deal on a half-dozen if you haven't met your quota yet."
"A fellow businessman," Raveki repeats thoughtfully. She mulls it over, then dips a firm nod. "Yeah I think that's about right." The tsking and the waggling make her blink, then she waves an acquiescing hand. "I'll give you that. But I also said I was just doing what I want anyhow. I'm not /mad/ at it. It just takes some getting used to, all this fickleness so prevalent at Ista." The words hold more meaning than just the weather, but talk of bracelets restores her humor before it can wane. "I'm set, thanks. If you have gold and green, or rust, or black and red though I would come see."
Evaly draws one wounded foot out of the cooling sand and looks at it closely, flexing it with barely a hiss of pain while she addresses Raveki's (lack of) anger at the weather; "Give it time, new friend. After seventeen years on this island, the one thing I have learned to be an absolute truth is that 'a bolt out of the blue' isn't as rare as the saying would lead a person to believe." Not that she's feeling particularly grumpy at mother nature today, of course. "Red. I have a matching set, actually, of red glass beads for necklace, bracelet, and ring, though the clasp on the bracelet is frustratingly stubborn. I was touting it as 'extra security,' but the truth is that it was broken and I repaired it. So it works, but you have to really, really want it."
"Yeah," Raveki drawls agreement with eyes on the grumbly clouds. "I think that's an Ista thing too. Everything here is a bit hard to predict. Makes things interesting." A beat, brows lifting. "So you were born here? Or- sorry, I guess you could be older-" she just shakes her head then rather than try to extricate her foot from her mouth. Evaly's honesty earns the girl eyes that widen with a flash of surprise, and then an appreciative little grin. "Well now that you've told me you'll have to give me a deal on it right? I'm pretty good at getting things I really want so it might work out."
Evaly pats the sand next to her butt, saying with an impish grin, "Right on this very spot? No, but I was born on the island. Seventeen years ago, so don't apologize, it was a perfectly reasonable assumption on your part." An eyebrow climbs, an expression that would probably look more direct and readable were it not still canted half-upside-down at Raveki, but the intent is there: oh really now? "Of course I'll give you a good deal on it. An even /better/ deal since you know about its defect. Just come by some time when the weather's more conducive to commerce, I'll even set it aside with your name on it." Beat. "If you care to provide a name, that is." /Hint freaking hint./
The little nose wrinkle makes yet another appearance. "Thank goodness for small favors. I don't really want to think about birthing goo every time I sit here. I like this rock." She tips her head a bit in an effort to make that backwards-canted-weird angle more normal but it only makes it worse. "Um, Vek. I'm Vek. And apparently I'm not good at remembering to introduce myself." She leeeeans to reach a hand out, but again, that angle is weird and so she just turns it into a little finger-wiggle of a wave.
Oh, the merriment. "Birthing... goo...? Goo? Really?" Evaly finds the term positively delightful, sits spelling out the word G-O-O a few times under her breath with her injured feet flexing amusedly back and forth. "Vek? It's a nickname, right? Short for something? Vekelissa or something so tremendously bad that you'd rather just pretend the rest of it doesn't exist?" With sand on the heel of her hand, with the impossibility of the angles still in play, she smiles her gratitude that the handshake is foregone, continues musing, "I always thought 'Evaly' was sentimentally feminine, but there's no nickname you can get from it that's really any better."
"Well, yeah. What else do you call it?" Ravki's amusement is not quite at the level of Evaly's, but it's close. "You know, there's all the... fluids and junk. Have you ever seen a baby being born? Ick. No thanks." The suggestion of Vekelissa makes her laugh and she quickly shakes her head. "Nothing that bad thank goodness. It's short for Raveki, but I think that sounds sorta cutesy so I usually just go by Vek." She mouths Evaly, rolling it around before repeating it out loud. "Evaly. I like it. What about like... Ev? Or even Evie - nah, that's not close enough and it's cute." Ick again.
Evaly maintains humorously, "I saw one of my cousins being born. 'Fluids and junk' seems pretty apt. Though I do like 'goo' as a back-up term." With her finger tip in the sand, she spells out the earlier pronounced G-O-O, then washes it away with a pass of her palm. "See, if my name was Raveki, I would be perfectly okay with that. Vek, Veki, even Rav isn't all that bad. I had Ev, Eva, Evy, Val, they're all just so girlish and tired." She touches the end of her nose with one hand and points the other at Raveki-- that, exactly, "Cute. Bingo."
"If it had not already been way too late, seeing childbirth might have been enough to convince me to remain a virgin forever." Raveki tosses this out casual as can be, with no thought that it might be TMI, and shudders delicately. "Veki is cute again, if you ask me. Plus, I was told once that Vek sounded vulgar which I enjoyed more than I should." Her lips move through all these suggested nicknames for Evaly without sound, as if somehow making the motions is better than just thinking them through. "Hmm, yeah I don't really like any of those either." As though her opinion really matters. "Evaly works though. Maybe you'll end up all elegant and feminine to match it?"
Gamely, Evaly points out, "Just because you've done it once doesn't mean you have to do it again. If having babies isn't on your agenda, there's a tried-and-true method for avoiding it." So saying, she clamps her knees together tightly, brackets them with her arms as if they're never to part again. The latter question, the suggestion that she's on her way to elegant femininity meets with a roll of her eyes up at the woman on the rock, a really-now tilt of her head. "Mmmmhmn. --Vulgar? I suppose it does have a sort of abrupt, almost crude ring to it. Vek. It's got that nice, sharp finish."
With each gesture increasingly adamant, Vek's brows lift a bit. In the end she just laughs. "Aww, but where's the fun in that? There are ways to avoid getting pregnant that are far less - well, virginal." A little tsk then, for the eye roll. "Come on, it could happen, you've got time." The awkward angles are finally too much, so she slides off the rock and plops down in the still-damp sand across from Evaly. "There, that's better. Sharp, huh? That works too."
Into the pause between 'less' and 'well,' Evaly offers, "Effective?" But Raveki supplies a different term and she makes a face, conceding that as an alternative word for it, sure, but not the one she would have chosen, obviously. "Even if it /could/ happen, I like to think I have enough control over my own destiny to be able to avoid it. Elegant and feminine is to me what virginal is to you, if I don't miss my guess." When the woman relocates, she breathes a dramatic sigh of relief, saying, "Oh, thank you. The crick in my neck was about to rival the blisters on my feet."
Bah, effective! Raveki flicks her fingers in that dismissive little gesture. "Highly overrated," she declares, and that is that. "Feminine and elegant aren't that bad really, but if you are so determined I wish you luck on tomboyishness." Beat. "Though selling smelly and sparkly things might not be the least girly thing you could do you know." She plucks at her skirt, spreading it over her legs for some scant modicum of modesty and then just grins over, almost impish. "Well why didn't you just say so, silly?"
"It's not so much that I want to be tomboyish as... I'm not sure what. I don't have a problem with being a girl, I just wish that being a girl didn't sound like a limitation, I suppose." Evaly pauses, grin gone quirky for a second when she adds, "I'm not saying that I'd like to be able to write my name in the snow, but I would like to transcend gender roles, if that makes any sense." She pantomimes little boxes, cubes indicated with bracketing hands, like those boxes have something to do with her point. "I know, selling sparkly stuff and perfume isn't the best way to go about that, but it's symptomatic of my issue. And this subject is getting very far afield of light-and-airy 'nice to meet you' conversations, so. I didn't say so because you looked comfortable up there, and far be it for me to disturb such coziness."
Dark brows climb upward through this explanation, and the nod is slow at the end. "Right." Raveki tucks stray hair behind her ear and doodles aimlessly in the sand with a fingertip. "At least there is a little less of that at a Weyr, right? And sometimes the low expectations of others can be a benefit if you use them correctly." Eventually her eyes slide up to meet Evaly's and she cants her head, quizzical. "Take what you're given and try to use it to your advantage, I always say. But fighting the system is admirable of course." Her smile slips lopsided and she gives the sand a pat. "I don't mind heavier subjects, in spite of what you might think about girls like me. And I don't mind the sand either. Though it could be drier."
Less of that at the Weyr-- "Is there? If anything, I think it's just better cloaked here than it is at a Hold. I've never been so... confronted by gender-expectations than I have been in the six months that I've been here." Evaly shakes her head, and-- despite claiming to have developed a crick-- looks back over her shoulder toward the Weyr behind them. "'Girls like you,' you say, and yet-- and yet, I have been propositioned more in the last six months than in the entire span of my life leading up to them. It's incredibly frustrating, frankly, the implication that women exist for no more purpose than men's pleasure." Pausing, looking from Raveki's hand patting the sand to Raveki's face instead, she adds, "Though I suppose you would be out of work if the world suddenly came around to my way of thinking, huh?" Without blushing, good for her.
Raveki eyes the rock wall that dominates the view behind Evaly, then she shurgs - a slow and hesitant lift and fall of her shoulders. "I... guess I don't really know, though that's how it's supposed to be. I use those implications as an opportunity, not a hindrance. And I assume that men treat me that way because that's how it works, and that they are at least sometimes different with women of other... persuasions." A smirk tugs at her lips for that last, and her second shrug is less uncertain. "I think there is probably space for both. I don't imagine propositioning you and putting you in that box got the men anywhere, so maybe they'll learn. And as for me, well, I know there is more to me than my ability to spread my legs and I don't usually care if others don't see it."
With a wry laugh, Evaly answers opportunity vs. hindrance with a mild, "Now assume that you make your living selling perfume and not..." Something else that starts with a P. "I don't know. I think I'm just disappointed. You spend your whole life hearing how the Weyr is a hotbed of perversion and impropriety and then find out that it's actually true?" She essays a look to Raveki then, hoping for some sympathy on that front, at least? "Why not /want/ other people to see it, though? Don't you want people to... know your value beyond how much they have to pay?"
Shock is feigned, with brows up and eyes wide, but only for a beat before she grins. "You might be able to visit the Seven without dying of mortification yet, darlin. I'll have you corrupted before too long." She winks, joking at least a little about the last part. When sympathy is looked for it's offered in the form of a slow thoughtful nod. "I can see that. I think Ista might be a bit grimier than most, and any area has its hotbeds if you know where to look. Maybe you should go somewhere like Ruatha." One fingertip taps on Raveki's knee, taking a moment for thought, but when she answers her tone is flippant. "Sometimes. But the ones who I want to know me usually see my value anyway, you know? Usually." A tiny preturbed sort of frown wrinkles her brow.
Confident; "I am incorruptable." And if Evaly could get that on a badge that she could wear around, the antithesis of the scarlet letter, she totally would, proud as hell of that title. "I guess I deserved that," she adds about Ruatha, scrunching up her face into a blargh expression. "It's the 'usually' that would bother me. I don't, humn, blame you or think you're a bad person or anything for what you do, but I couldn't live with that. Don't you want your value to be intrinsic?"
Raveki lets out a sharp little bark of laughter. "Are you now? I doubt I am the best person to try and prove you wrong. But even without being truly corrupted you could come have a drink sometime right?" Her grin fades then at the question, replaced by a firm line. "My value is intrinsic, by definition. What other people think of me doesn't define who I am, and it should be the same for you. If they're worth anything they'll see how much *you* are worth." But she says it, perhaps, a bit too adamantly.
Evaly's nod is pretty serious, though there is mirth behind her eyes to answer Raveki's laughter; she is now! As for having a drink... "Again, I don't blame you or think you're a bad person, but I don't think I could go in there without blushing so brightly that you could use my cheeks to light the joint all night." She puts the backs of her fingers to those cheeks presently, feeling for the warmth that's pinkening them up even now. "This is going to sound bad, but I don't think people are going to see your /value/ if they're preoccupied with your /price/." Clearing her throat; "And that's another reason I can't go have drinks in your place of business, Vek. I'm really opinionated. Obviously."
Evaly's nod is pretty serious, though there is mirth behind her eyes to answer Raveki's laughter; she is now! As for having a drink... "Again, I don't blame you or think you're a bad person, but I don't think I could go in there without blushing so brightly that you could use my cheeks to light the joint all night." She puts the backs of her fingers to those cheeks presently, feeling for the warmth that's pinkening them up even now. "This is going to sound bad, but I don't think people are going to see your /value/ if they're preoccupied with your /price/." Clearing her throat; "And that's another reason I can't go have drinks in your place of business, Vek. I'm really opinionated. Obviously."
Raveki stretches sideways, dropping an elbow into the sand and lounging her weight onto it. It matches the languid drawl, drily amused, and the faint arch of one eyebrow. "Well thank you for your generosity in not considering me a dirty, evil whore." Though it's dry, there *is* amusement there, and Raveki ends by shaking her head - she knows Evaly's honest intent. "The blushing might be a problem, and with a girl as pretty as you, you might get a few more propositions to add to your tally so maybe you're right to skip it." The last *does* sound kind of bad, but Raveki just rolls a shoulder. "You might be right about that, but that's why I have people who don't pay a price. Like you. Opinionated or not." There's a brash wink but the tone is almost forced in its lightness.
Evaly, put-upon, "At least it would almost make sense if I was actually in the Seven. The propositioning, I mean." Tired of it, clearly, she has to chalk it up as one more reason she's not about to set foot in that particular den any time soon, regardless of how not dirty and evil the whores really are. With a deep, loud sigh, she offers, "I'm not sure why I'm arguing with you aside from that you haven't told me to shut up yet. I don't actually expect you to suddenly renounce your profession and 'see the light.' Though you have no idea how smug I would be for the rest of my life if you did." The wink has her sticking out her tongue, so mature; "Doesn't it take the... 'special' out of it, though?" Pause-- "I swear, I've had this conversation before."
Sniff. "It's not the worst thing in the world, is it? Men being attracted to you?" Her eyes are keen, observant. "And if it really is, just tell them to come see me more often, right?" Idly, she winds dark hair around her finger, playing with it in stubborn laxity in the face of what would generally be a pretty intense conversation. "Are we arguing?" That slightly arched brow, an amost smug quirk to her lips. "I thought we were just talking. And I agree that what you say works well for you. It's all about choices though, and I like what I do, and I like what it gets me. If I ever decide to give it up, I'll pretend to let you talk me into it so you can gloat, how's that." Blink. "You have? With who?"
Keen, observant-- meet perplexed, shrugging. "It's not the best thing either, is it?" While Evaly's not exactly bitter, it's clear that she'd kinda rather, well, "I will happily send them off to you, Vek. Though I'm not sure I can really slip that in smoothly. 'I know this very nice, uhmn, woman who--' Do you have business cards or something I can give to people?" Given that they're on the beach in between bouts of a rainstorm, she probably shouldn't look like she expects Raveki to have them with her /right now/, but she does. As to the latter, "Our mutual friend Hal? The part about taking the 'special' out, that is."
It takes more thought than one might guess, and Vek thinks it over. "Maybe not the best thing, no. But it's nice to be appreciated, to be wanted that way, I think." Beat. "Clearly we have differing views on that though." The mention of business cards have her blinking again, then shaking her head. "No I don't, but maybe I should! I wonder how one would go about getting some." Ridiculous as anyone having business cards on hand on the beach, in between bouts of a rainstorm is a whore having them at all (and on Pern no less), but she seems to be actually considering the idea. "At any rate, just saying, 'I am not going to fuck you but maybe someone at the Seven will, now shove off' might work." Then it's Hal again, making Raveki frown and mumble something under her breath. "He confuses me more than I confuse you, but regardless, it doesn't always have to be... special. Though special is nice, so is fun. Right?"
Ah, see-- "To be appreciated. Period. So, yes, our views obviously differ on the matter, though I'm guessing that's no big surprise by now. Considering." Evaly waves one hand between herself and Raveki, as if the gesture could somehow encapsulate all the differences between them. "You could commission them," business cards, "from Harper Hall? Though that does leave a person wondering what precisely you would have printed on them..." And that does lead to a little rise of color in her cheeks, /yet again/. "Ahem. I could say that, I could, but now I actually know you, so I would feel a little guilty implying that you'd be happy with my cast-offs. Which, again, sounds bad." She doesn't actually have an answer for 'so is fun,' aside from a bewildered 'is it?' look.
Candlario arrives from the docks.
Candlario has arrived.
Evaly and Raveki sit together on sand that is still damp from a downpour not long past. Puddles mar the beach here and there and the waves continue to be choppy, the sky dark and threatening further rain to come though for now it is dry. "Yeah, considering." Raveki agrees, amused, and mimics the little all-encompassing wave. "Harper Hall... hmm. I'm not sure they'd be too pleased, but it might work if I just put my name on them, and Lucky Seven. The rest generally seems to be assumed." A little tip of her head indicates Evaly, who did the assuming in spite of their... differences. "Eh," shrug then, "If you cast off *everyone* then your cast-offs aren't so bad, right? And yeah," for the unspoken question. "It is. You should try it sometime."
"Do that. 'Raveki. Lucky Seven.' I'll get one of those business card holders for my booth. Anyone who turns up looking for you with a card, and you give me, say, five-percent?" If it was a real business deal, Evaly would have to deal with the hypocrisy of taking a cut off of someone else's prostitution. Since it's not, she can just smile brightly at her own genius and make a face at the latter suggestion. "I don't think that's happening any time soon, but thank you for the suggestion." (Hasn't she said that before during this conversation?) "Excepting all else, I'd be affecting your profit margin, if you think about it."
Candlario wanders along the beach from the direction of the docks. Out for a walk before the rain hits, or so one might imagine. The only difference is that he's also hauling a pack over one shoulder. He passes by Evaly and Raveki and his steps slow, lifting a hand, "Hello ladies." The greeting nudged in somewhere between their conversation but in one of those natural breaks.
This isn't a real business deal? Raveki looks like she's considering the cut until she catches that bright grin and the lack of blush on Evaly's cheeks. Oh. Right. She manages some amusement, and flicks her hair out of her eyes. "Five percent is way too high, I'd be doing you a favor remember?" She pauses to greet Candlario as he walks up, lifting a casual hand. "Hello yourself, Candlario right?" Beat, blink, and her eyes dart back to Evaly. "Oh honey, I wasn't *offering* I'd never think to add myself to your list of castoffs. I just meant... in general."
"You'd be doing me a favor? I thought it was more a... symbiotic relationship we were forming?" Evaly squints narrowly at the idea that five percent is too high, then squints even more at the qualification about castoffs. "Oh honey," she echoes as theatrically, "I didn't think you were offering. I just meant... in general. Too." Obviously, this is not the conversation she wants to be having with a third party, as she looks up at Candlario afterward with a certain 'so done talking about this' in the side-glance that goes to Raveki. "Hey, big guy."
Candlario can sense that he's walked in on a conversation that he's likely not going to be welcome in. "Hey." Awkward now he rubs at the back of his neck, starting to turn away. The movement stops halfway though and then shifts back to look at them, "Castoffs?" No one said he had to mind his own business. Yet.
Raveki opens her mouth to further reply but she's cut off by that pointed side-glance. She looks from Evaly up to Candlario then just takes on a little grin. "Something like that," is her vague and possibly relevant only in her own head response. She stretches over to grab her muddy sandals and starts to wiggle her feet into them, flashing Candlario a little grin. "Business dealings, darlin, business dealings." Sandals on, she snags her cloak and pushes to her feet. "Speaking of that, I need to go do real work, not teasing work. It was real nice to meet you, Evaly. Sorry to say hi and dash, Candlario." She straightens her cloak with a shift of her shoulders, then gives the big, dark man a little pat to the arm on her way past.
Evaly, to Candlario's one-word question, "You don't want to know." Sage, certain, she's not going to budge on the matter, if that firmness is any indicator, so she expects him not to try to coax it out of her. Watching Raveki go, specifically the putting-on of sandals, reminds her that her own are sitting next to her, that she's still got to swat sand off of them, that her feet have been rubbed raw by the straps at some point during the day. Subject-change; "So what's in the bag?"
Candlario frowns as his gaze trails after Raveki. Distract too while he watches the legs, eer, the girl, leave. Turning back to Evaly he shrugs at her, "I am pretty sure I'd like to know. But whatever. Girl-talk." A skyward glance and mutter before he regards the woman again. Patting the pack he answers her, "product lady. Product. Just heading weyr-ward to see about some better sales."
There's nothing to read in to Evaly's smile at his first comments. No confirmation, no denial, nothing but a vapid-seeming beam up at him until he leaves the subject of his own accord. Good boy. "Ahhh, the end-all-be-all," she says to the matter of his bag's contents, gingerly drawing on her shoes with only one or two little hisses of pain. "It's a rough day to try to set up shop if that's your plan, or are you going straight to the top with your goods and selling in bulk?"
Candlario wrinkles his nose at the sound of pain, "You alright?" Eyes moving over her and those shoes and then her feet for signs of wear. "Going to need a haul up to the weyr yourself?" Serious in regard to her discomfort. To her question about the spices he cracks a smile, "Just a tease of the best stuff. Going to see if the Headwoman has a moment to talk shop. I need to pay for my dock-fees anyway."
"I'm committed to getting there under my own power," Evaly answers firmly-- or as firmly as a person with blushing blisters on her feet can. She does stick her hand up into the air in Rio's general direction, though, silently asking for help getting to her feet, at least? Thanks? "Ahhh, well, I'll hope for the sake of your dock fees that she's amenable to bargaining." Not that one thing has anything to do with the other but, "How did it go? With the flower?"
Candlario gives Evaly a long look and then shrugs, "they are your feet." He tells her, offering her a big hand up. "Eh, dock fees are dock fees." Easy lift and fall of his shoulders before, or maybe after, he's hauled her up off the sand. "The flow.....oh." The smile that had been there skips away and leaves a tight, flat line of his lips. "It didn't go as expected. Although she didn't exactly run away, or throw it back at me. I think I need more than flowers, and I don't know..." Awkwardly his words trail off and he falls silent. The fact that he doesn't enjoy being off balanced like this burns in his gaze that flitters off towards the jungles.
Evaly actually does say, "Thanks," once she's on her feet, dusting off her palms and meaning to fall in step next to Candlario for the trip up to the Weyr proper. "Considering that you seemed to expect her to tear your eyes out or something similar would seem to indicate that 'not going as expected' is a positive thing, correct? As for something more-- do you write poetry? Or cook? Or have any particular skill that you might be able to extend as gift of sorts? Something personal rather than purchased."
Candlario looks as though he might offer his arm to Evaly but decides against it so that there's just a slight 'flex' of the arm towards her and then away. "It is true. No eye-tearing. Although the men I have working for me are a little ruffled over her. Strange it's not in the 'look up her skirts' sort of ruffled but...." There's a moment of real concern in his eyes as he looks at Evaly, "I don't think she understands danger. I think she finds the whole world some sort of sport for her and her alone. I....am not sure I should encourage her further." His tone low and filled with an odd note echoed in his troubled gaze. "Besides, I am not a 'domestic' sort of man to cook or fiddle with poetry like some poof."
Likely, Evaly's oblivious to the arm he's not offering. She sure doesn't seem to give it so much as a glance, anyway, her attention on the path before them more than anything. "Right, because every Baker and Harper in history has obviously been a poof," she adds with reflexive derision. Though she backtracks quickly after that to the subject at hand. "Unless you plan on putting her in some sort of danger," and she eyes him sideways for a second, then leans her head back to eye his bag of spices with a doubtful expression. Clearly, to her, the spice trade is not fraught with peril. "What's not to encourage?"
Candlario chuckles at her, "I'm not a Baker or a Harper though. Stop trying to ruin my well defined stereotypes blasted woman." Another lapse of silence as she talks and they walk along the path. After a moment he gives another of those shrugs of his and grumbles under his breath before actually forming words, "I don't plan to put her in danger. But she came aboard the ship when I wasn't there and made up some story for being there like some hussy. Or that's what I'm hearing second hand. I don't know what she's about, but she's got herself some serious trouble with one of my men." He shakes his head, jaw working as he tries to find the right words for things when it's obvious he appears a harmless lamb of the sea.
"I believe it's my responsibility to question people's preconceived notions, that's all," Evaly posits with an apologetic shrug, her smile rather self-satisfied at needling Candlario in even a small way. Yay for her~! "So dismiss your man, or tell him that you'll do some big-burly-man thing to him if he hears that any harm has come to your mystery woman. What in the world are you cultivating all those muscles for if not to put the fear of them into your crew? My word, do I have to do all the thinking for you?"
Candlario shakes his head, "It's not funnly Evaly. I hired those men after a....very bad part of my life. I trust them to look after me when I might be otherwise distracted. I have to believe that he feels she's up to no good." And the fact that he has a big ship of goodies just waiting to be five-fingered too. "Something is just no right about it and her lack of good sense to protect her skin if nothing else." He rubs at one of his scars as though it itches, irritated. "And you're her friend. Of course you don't have my best interest at heart." Duh.
Somewhere, the mental connect-the-dots game that Evaly's playing with all this has doubled back on itself, and she looks up at Candlario with a confused frown. "Wait, this girl that you like-- I assume you like her, correct? Is also someone you're worried might be a thief? Do you often pursue someone so totally and completely wrong for you, handsome?"
"I might like her better if I knew she wasn't going to knife me when my back is turned." Candlario states mater-of-factly and corrects her statement, "I began liking her before she ended up in my cabin. I gave her the flower before my man came to me with his concerns. Now? I have no idea." He moistens his lips and waves off her compliment, even adding bark of laughter. "We both know we've run that horse to death."
Knife in back? "I could see how that would be a stumbling block in a burgeoning relationship. Certainly, it would make it difficult to establish any true intimacy," Evaly answers back as if in all seriousness, never mind the comprehension of the ridiculousness of his situation keeps twitching the beginnings of a grin into place. "Perhaps you would do well to get at least some idea before you pursue it any further? Maybe-- and I know this sounds crazy, but bear with me. Maybe you could talk to her about your concerns?"
Candlario doesn't appear to aprove, or really appreciate dear Evaly's lighthearted take on what is a weight upon him. First there's the stink-eye and then the scowl and at last the low grumble from the big man as he looks away. They walk in silence, unless the grumbling is really 'talk'. His companion isn't getting much out of it, unless you count her certain delight in pissing him off. "Listen, I know you find this all outrageous. Forget I said anything. I should know better than get more serious than a simple, no-games-fling. Or two. Maybe three. Safer." But from his expression, perhaps not nearly as fruitful.
Evaly, to the grumbling, "Don't get mad at me. I'm only offering good, solid advice. It's not my fault if you somehow decided to take a liking to someone who may or may not be contemplating putting a knife in your back." It's so easy to judge from up on her high horse, yes. Hands clasped behind her back, resolutely refusing to cringe at the pain in her feet, she nods along with his latter commentary. "Well, why don't you go back to doing that, then? I can see by the look on your face how happy it makes you, and certainly you wouldn't have to worry about the fulfillment of finding a partner you actually care about as opposed to one that just said 'yes.'"
"I like the sound of 'Yes'. In various speeds and volumes." Candlario notes in perfect seriousness and there, finally, is the smile again. "I'm not grumbling at your advice. I'm grumbling at that smirk of yours. But, maybe it's just the pain in your feet. You sure you don't want to lean in me? C'mon, throw away your pride girl." A sigh and he shrugs off his moodiness, it's not doing him any good anyway.
Lean /on/
"I'm teaching myself a valuable lesson about tramping through the jungle in the rain without good shoes. If I lean on you, then how will I ever learn from my mistakes?" Which may or may not be the truth, but Evaly sure sounds like she means it. Anyway-- "I'm only smirking because your ineptitude and confusion are humorous. You'd admit the same thing from my perspective."
"I don't think you'll learn anyway, but suit yourself." Candlario notes with the same smile and then shrugs. "Just because I might see it that way later, doesn't mean I don't want to push you in the mud right now." A firm nod, "Lucky for you, I gave up pushing pretty girls in the mud when I was sixteen turns." He nods to the path up ahead. "Anyway, if you're going to be headstrong and not accept the help, I need to get going."
Evaly, to being pushed in the mud, "That's sweet. You're such a charmer." She bats her hand ahead of her, toward the Weyr, intending to keep a much lighter pace once he's gone. "Run along now, my darling, and leave us rational people to our thoughts, okay? Good luck with the headwoman."
Candlario blows Evaly a kiss, "My refinement in courting the fairer sex is unmatched." Winking he touches her arm and gives her a nod. "Thanks, brat. See you later." And with that he moves along at a quick pace, eager to beat the rain.