[Log] Sit Around and Cough
Who: Elgin, Emmeline, Rhaelyn, Tiriana
When: Day 13, Month 13, Turn 25
Where: Candidate Barracks, High Reaches Weyr
What: Tiriana finds Elgin a job.
With the exiles now free to come and go, the barracks during the day are less packed than before, though many of the newcomers are still being found appropriate jobs and things to do with their time that are more productive than just sitting around. This is Tiriana's errand today, though she steps into the barracks with a curl of her lip for the comparative squalor and disorder that comes of cramming over a hundred unhealthy people into space meant for two thirds that number.
Elginis siting on the edge of his mattress looking about sleepily, though for a guy who has just gotten over a sickness which has killed others he looks pretty good. There is a nod to someone who passes by as he scoops up some items the harpers let him borrow to practice reading. His brows furrow as is lips move silently soudning out each word.
Unlike many of her fellow exiles who have thought to escape for better looking areas around the weyr, Rhaelyn is currently at her bedside and working attentively at cleaning the area around her cot and the recently vacated spots. There's a pile of ruined clothes and bedding, soiled bedding and carefully folded new sheets. One of these sheets she's getting settled onto a mattress. Now and then she looks up and during such an action, she sees Tiriana, giving the unfamiliar person a curious look but she doesn't shout out a hello or anything.
Pregnant though she is, Tiriana still prowls more than waddles as she starts down the line of cots and mattresses that make up the exiles' home now. Several of the worst messes are eyed, along with the handful who remain too sick to do much but not enough to be confined to the infirmary. And eventually, it's by Elgin's bed that she stops, eyeing the reading youngster for several moments.
Emmeline slips inside the door of the barracks, a mug in one hand and a couple of books under her arm. Not quite for reading while sitting in their accomodations, no. Instead to tuck away amidst her things it appears, since she stops by her cot to set the items down and trade them for a few other things. "Hello." she offers politely, nodding in passing to those that are awake. And, those who are prowling.
"Pr...Pro...Prod-die." Is mumbled quietly under Elgin's breath, as he stumbles through the words, "May a-fect..." The mumbling stops as he notices a pair of knees at eye level. He stairs at them for a momement before lifting his gaze to the unfamiliar face, there is a pause of diliberation before he speaks, "Good morning, ma'am. May I help you?" For now the others in the room are ignored.
Rhaelyn continues to watch Tiriana as she goes down the line of cots, flicking the crisp linen between two hands. Curious? Wary? Who knows. When Emmeline comes in, her attention shifts taht way, laying the cloth down and rubbing out the wrinkles with her hands as she greets the other exile, "What sort of things are in those books?" Can't hide being curious about those things.
The limited reading skills make Tiriana grimace, and she wonders, "What /are/ you reading?" as she eyes him. In any case, "That's not how it's pronounced. I take it you're one of the ones that ended up with the harpers for lessons? I do hope you have a better plan for your life here now than just reading, considering." She's not one to beat around the bush, apparently.
"Just the journals. I'm still working on them. Start next on some, ah, children's books so I can write down the basics." Emme replies, a bit more her cheeerful self, yet still a bit subdued it seems. There's a bit of an open-mouthed glance that goes Tiriana's way when the woman's words reach her. But, with a blink, she turns back to Rhaelyn. "I've been trying to pin down the Weyr Harper too. What've you been up to?"
Elgin pulls his eyebrows down at the comment. "I suppose I wouldn't be practicing reading if I didn't have plans for a better life." The tone is purposefully polite, but his look makes it clear that he is mildly insulted. Still he stands, eyeing the straight forward woman. He too is a person who gets to the point, "Am I correct in guessing you have an idea of what I should do?" The tone has become on of pure business - let's make a deal.
"As near as I can tell," begins Tiriana, with a sneer that says nothing good is going to come from this, "about the only thing you lot can do is lay around, cough, and get my Weyr into hot water with the Hold. But if you have some other skill... " She shrugs, adds, "I don't make it a habit to feed and clothe and house people who can't do anything more than read, either--and that poorly, too."
"Ah." Rhaelyn does seem interested in what Emme is reading between dressing the bed. "Children's book?" As though that doesn't make much sense and the other girl can helpfully fill her in. She smiles, oh so sweetly and brushes fingers along one of the pillows freshly in its case, "I met Kimbel, Seinor Journeyman Harper this morning. I even got to deliver a table to him." Her eyes gleam with self satisfaction and then she gasps, "Oh dear. I should have mentioned you." Ooh, but she didn't. "I wonder if /I/ could be a harper here. I think they let -anyone- train to be one here." Wonder of wonders. She's about to say more when she now overhears Elgin, or maybe it's his tone but it makes her lips flatten.
"Lujayn suggested they'd have some more of the feel of what a weyr is like. Give us a better idea of how things work around here. And crafts. And Holds. But I expect some won't want to read children's books. So I'm writing out the important bits on hide to pass around." Emme's expression remains bland when Rhaelyn starts discussing Kimbel, and she even smiles. "Well that's lovely, Rhaelyn. I didn't realize you had an interest in being a Harper. Hopefully it will be a good match for your skills... What were they, again?" she wonders, brow furrowing a little bit in apparent concentration. "Well, no mind. I suppose I can always ask Lu to help me set up a meeting if I don't run into him on my own soon."
Elgin's lips curl upward, but it isn't a smile, no there is something much more brooding behind it. "Here is the problem with that logic..." He straightens his broad, though less than filled in shoulders, "Is that in order to know what jobs fit my qualifications I need to know what is avialable." He points to another reading behind him, "And unless you tell me, I have to practice reading to figure it out." His look softens slightly, "I really meant to inconvience when I was brought here without any choice in the matter, but now that I /am/ here and you /are/ feeding me. I would be more than happy to earn your hospitality."
Rhaelyn lifts up her shoulders, rather care-free these days, "Oh, I didn't before." Have any interest in Harpering. "I was more interested in getting food on the table from those awful rocky hillsides. And besides, we all know it wasn't allowed." For anyone else to learn the harper craft, passed down through bloodlines and all. She's not holding grudges though, infact she goes on, "I'm sure that you can talk to Journyman Kimbel in the--cavern-place, he says he will be playing there tonight." She crinkles her nose, "Oh, we all know I have no skills Emme. My training was very shabby." She clears her throat lightly at Elgin getting louder and, puffing up too but he already seems to be changing his tone before she can put her nose into the other conversation. "We are really not going to make any alies if we don't watch our tongues."
"You don't know what you're good at?" challenges Tiriana. She lifts her brows, not convinced as she eyes Elgin up and down. "You don't know what you like doing or what you're interested in? Do you like making things with your hands? Repairwork? Animals? Cooking?"
"I hope you find it to your liking then. We all have to start somewhere." Emme replies towards Rhaelyn, her lips curling up into a smile. What she has left of the drink in her cup is emptied then, while she listens to what it is the other girl is speaking of. And, even nods in agreement. "Oh that's ertainly true. I hope everyone follows that advice." she decides, wistfully referring to the exiles watching their tongues if they wish to make any allies. "I think they said they could always use help in the place where the children are taken care of. That's the first place I went to help out with, for work."
Elgin's anger is completely unforgiving to Rhaelyn, "You can suck up all you want. I'll be plenty happy to be polite to people don't come in here and tell me I'm lazy before they even tell me what I can do. But I understand if that's the only way /you/ can get anything." Perhaps a comment to her remark about not having any talent. His attention turns back to Tiriana, his tone is lighter but the repressed anger is apparent. "That isn't what I said. I said I don't know what jobs /you/ have that fit the qualities /I/ have. Which would indicate I have some idea of what I am good at. I'm good at hunting and fishing, repairing things I can do to since I took care of the equipment." He offers a sarcastic joke, but a tentative attempt at a conversation tone change, "No one wants to eat my cooking, the whole weyr would look like us." He indicates that he speaking about the exiles.
Rhaelyn's brows draw togther and she sweeps a cold look over Elgin, "You'll learn fast that speaking your mind is going to get a lot of doors slammed in your face here." She's seen it, yes she has. She laughs softly about it being the only way she can get something, not countering the suggestion and not rising to the bait either. For his joke she turns her head away with a soft breath let out. "I think working with our children would be good. So many without parents now and ... it would be sad for them not to remember their history along with learning new ways."
Tiriana snorts, her expression drifting a little more toward amused when Elgin rounds on Rhaelyn, too. The Weyrwoman gives the girl a quick glance, too, at that point, before sliding her attention back to him. "Was that so hard? Jobs are all the same, in the basics. Catching food, growing it, cooking it. Making clothes or furniture or whatever. It's not really that difficult. --You can be a handyman for us," she informs Elgin. "Unless you'd rather start more formal training, for smithing or woodcrafting or such?"
Elgin gives Rhaelyn a smile of fake sympathy, "Maybe a few, but you'll learn that kissing butt and letting people walk all over you will just make you a doormat for your wide open door." He turns to Tiriana, but only raises an eyebrow at her comment, perhaps in respect for the newly formed cease-fire. He pauses for a minute and weighs the two ideas. "...I think formal training." He stops, thinks about it and then agrees with a nod to his decision, "Yes, formal training."
Rhaelyn suggests with a smile for Tiriana's benifit, "There's also scrubbing floors. He might be better suited for that." Looking at her fellow exile though, skeptical of those qualities he listed out and fixing a 'really?' look at him. His 'letting people walk all over you' meets with a soft laugh.
"Yes, they should remember." Emmeline agrees, towards Rhaelyn. But suddenly it seems that an empty cup is troublesome to the island's harper and she simply offers the conversing a bit of a smile. "If you'll excuse me." prior to heading back for the door.
At that decision, Tiriana looks a little surprised, but she shrugs. "Suit yourself," she notes. "The smiths? They do metalwork, things like that. Or the glasscrafters? The woodcrafters do... trees, paper, furniture, things like that. My weyrmate's family's all woodcrafters, mostly."
"Is that a bad decision?" He asks Tiriana, "I mean, handyman doesn't seem like there is anywhere to go. Dead end?" See there is a brain in there. He pointedly ignores Rhaelyn. "Woodcrafters, I think. I've at least made stuff with it before." Rhaelyn smirk, he got results his way.
"The woodcrafters, then," Tiriana agrees with a nod. "I'll speak to the Weyr's crafters, then, about getting you into the craft. You're older than the usual apprentices, but you can stay here until you've the basics. Our people will be understanding. You'll have to stay in here, of course, for now, though; we don't have room elsewhere. What's your name, boy?"
Elgin nods a pleasure doing business with you nod, "Elgin." He offers simply, because there really doesn't seem to be anything else to say.
"Elgin," repeats Tiriana, with a nod. "I'll send the Weyr's woodcrafter for you in the morning, then, and you can get started right away." With that settled, she's already stepping back, eyeing the rest of the barracks for a moment, to find someone else to put to work.