A new face in the kitchen
Who: Esmene, Aida, Essdara
Where: Kitchen, HRW
When: Morning, Day 13 month 1 turn 2
Comment: Meeting a new person, who is awesome, and then a scene with Aida about the drugs.
It is the end of the breakfast rush in the kitchens. The cooks and aides have been up since before dawn getting the weyr's morning meal ready, and they all look a bit worn. A few people still work on the staples that will be available for latecomers, but the rest of the staff is focused on cleaning their stations and matierials. One of the people still working, apparently, is Essdara. She's done a quick surface clean of her station, and is bustlign about getting ingredients for her next dish; a basket of tubers, sprigs of fresh mint, and cloves of garlic feature in the collection of fresh things she gathers.
Like many others at work here, Esmene is looking more than a little worn at this point. A little worn, and maybe a little overwhelmed, as she ponders the wreckage that once was a countertop before her with a sigh. Apparently, she has yet to learn the delicate art of cleaning as she goes, and she's left with a dizzying array of juices, refuse, dirty utensils, and unused ingredients. Alright, so it may not be the worst-looking stretch of land in the room, but Esmene's having a hard time deciding where to start. She's got a washrag in one hand; she lifts it and makes a feeble attempt at mopping it up.
Essdara drops the supplies that she has at her station, and can't help but notice the plight at a nearby spot. She blinks a bit at the mess, and the girl trying to figure out a place to start. Leaving her own spot, she wanders over to look over her shoulder at the mess. "You know." She comments. "It might be easier to try fire. Cleanse it to ash, might definately be the easier way to go." Her tone is lightly teasing, with a touch of sympathy. "What were you making to do that?"
Esmene looks up at Essdara questioningly. "Fire?" A small moment of contemplation is given to the idea before she realizes - "Oh." It was a joke. She gives a laugh, to show she gets it. "Oh, I was assisting. So it was, you know, one person wants this chopped up," she points to the mangled remains of a tuber, "somebody else wants something measured," and that's the small puddle of something next to the spilled powdery substance, "you know. I just - do you think I should try and wipe up the spilled stuff first, or throw out the big things? Or should I clean the utensils?"
Essdara chuckles softly, "I think the best course would be to get the utensils out first. Toss them in a sink and the drudges will get to them, though if any are actually /yours/ you shouldn't trust them an inch. That'll get them out of the way. Probably, then, the larger pieces and leftovers, and then the spills? I... Admit I've rarely had to clean such messes. BEst not to let them happen in the first place."
Esmene nods. "Right. Well, yeah, I mean, it was an accident. I mean, I haven't been doing this long." You don't say. Suddenly, she yawns, a big yawn, which of course leads her to blush. "Um. Sorry. Breakfast is, you know, early. Anyway, I'll just take these..." She sets down her dishrag and picks up the utensils, gathering them carefully by the handles and heading for the sink. "So is it like that every day?"
Essdara smiles a little bit. "Sometimes. Sometimes quieter, someetimes busier. A pretty average day all around, but you'll get used to it. I don't think we've met though; I'm Essdara, work a few stations over most days."
Esmene nods. "Yeah, I know," she says without thinking. A quick vocal backpedal ensues. "I mean, is that so?" Hopefully she didn't hear the first thing clearly; it was kind of quiet, after all. "Um, I'm Esmene. I'm new here. Like I said. Yeah." Utensils taken care of, Esmene applies herself to mopping up the mess, forgoing any kind of bit-by-bit assault in favor of pushing everything into one pile in the middle of her space.
Essdara rolls her eyes a bit, but simply looks amused. "Of course you do, Esmene, but it's still polite to assume you don't. I'll just hope it was the /nice/ half of the kitchens who pointed me out." She moves to the side so she can watch the girl clean; if she's supposed to be working, she has an odd way of doing it. "You grow up here, or are you a recent transplant, then?"
Esmene blushes. Mightily. "Yeah, sorry. And yeah, they were nice. Nice people. I mean, and they didn't even say anything, we were just - it was this morning, really, the girl next to me needed something, and then somebody else said, 'Ask Essdara,' and pointed at you, and that's how I know." A likely story. The mess, as she talks, is becoming a big heap. A big mushy heap, aided by whatever that puddle was before she slopped it in with the rest of the mess. "Um, I just moved here from Tillek. My brother's in the Caucus. He's a Smith. His name's Jarrol?" For some reason, her brother's name comes out as a question.
Essdara shakes her head, "Don't recognise the name, but I admit I don't know many of the Caucus people. But he probably knows one of my friends, Penny. She's a smith as well, so maybe you'll meet her. Tillek, eh? A bit of a change, coming to the frozen wastes of HIgh Reaches?"
Esmene nods, eyes wide for greater emphasis. "Oh yeah. I mean, people always say it's cold up here, but - wow. It's /cold/ up here!" She laughs a little. "And plus - well, I mean, I guess I was kind of sheltered. That's what Jarrol says. 'You're so sheltered!'" She laughs a little at the memory herself. "I just - I mean, I've never been in a Weyr before, either. It's - different. Did you grow up here?" She now has everything piled up into one mushy mound, which she pauses to contemplate. Now what?
"If you get a bucket, you could push that into it." Dara offers. "And yes, I did. My parents are riders here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else." She grins. "I think once you settle in, you'll find you like it. We're a pretty easy-going place, all things considered. Did you work in the kitchens back home? If not, why'd you decide it's what you wanted while you are here?"
Good plan. Esmene searches for a bucket. She finds one, unfortunately already beholden to some slop of its own. "Your parents are riders? Both of them?" She surveys the contents, shrugs, takes it over, and commences sweeping her contribution in. "I don't even know any riders yet." That 'yet' comes almost as an afterthought. "But yeah, I think I'll like it here. I mean, it seems like a nice place. Busy, but..." She shrugs. "No, I used to work in the nursery back home, but I wasn't really good at and I - well, I didn't really like it, so I thought I'd try the kitchens. I think I'm better at cooking." There's an edge of uncertainty to her voice.
Essdara grins a bit. "I don't blame you. I will say one thing for cooking - it's far more predictable than kids. And you will definately meet riders, and they are usually good people. Could point a few out to you if you are that curious. And yeah, they both are. Mom's Esslie, wtih green Liriath, and D'rand on blue Korth's my dad." No small pride there. "Not that we are /that/ close, I admit, but I see them at least every few days."
Esmene nods, wide-eyed again. "Yeah, definitely. Kids are - yeah, cooking's a lot easier." Just talking about it gives her a certain hunted look. Which quickly evaporates into one of confusion at Essdara's parentage. "You're mother's a greenrider?"
Essdara nods, tilting her head a bit. "Yeah. It happens, now and then, though there still aren't that many kids who can claim both sides." She shrugs. "More every year though!"
Esmene blinks, taking this in. "Wow. I mean, I'd heard that it happens sometimes." She doesn't want to look /too/ naive, after all. "I just didn't know it happened...much?" That makes sense. Sort of. The bulk of the mess slops into the bucket with a kind of an icky 'squelch,' to which Esmene wrinkles her nose. "I mean, are there lots of them? Around here?"
Essdara shrugs, grinning. "It's not /uncommon/, I would say, but it's still new enough to draw attention. 'Specially people who want to see if it leads to better riders, kind of like people think with Blood marrying Blood in the holds."
Esmene considers. "I never thought of that." It's a point to ponder. She sweeps the rest of her leftovers into the bucket, wrinkles her nose at it. "But what if there was thread or something? /Both/ your parents would go?" She glances around for a place to put the bucket, finally deciding to deposit it next to the sink. That's what drudges are for, isn't it?
A frown briefly crosses Dara's face, but she quickly smoothes it away. "Yeah. they both go up, every fall. I will admit it's not easy, but it's what riders do, you know? Not just them, either. Many of my friends, relatives... Living in a weyr, you always know a good portion of the people up there protecting us."
Esmene turns, bucket duly deposited, and heads back over to Essdara, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's true. It's just - I mean, my mother always stayed at home with us, so..." She trails off, then yawns. Again. "Anyway, I guess it's just life around here. I mean, yeah. That's life around here. I guess I'm just not used to it yet."
Essdara chuckles softly. "Riders... They don't always make the best of parents." She says, diplomatically. She turns, and moves back towards her station. "Come peel. Like I said, my parents and I were never overly close. It's just too hard to raise kids while you are a rider, so they leave it to other people to do it, the nannies and such."
Obediently, Esmene follows. "Oh, I guess they would have to. That makes sense." She picks up a small knife to peel with, but waits to be directed to the appropriate subject for peeling. Not a lot of initiative, this one. "My parents always kept us way close. My mother, especially." Did she just roll her eyes? Yes, I do believe she did. "So what're you making? What should I peel?"
Essdara points to the basket of tubers. "Spiced tubers for lunch." She grabs a knife of her own, and one of the brown balls, which she deftly begins to skin. "Sometimes I like to make them with the skins on, but this batch has been coming out with really tough skins when we do, so we peel." She grins a bit, "Are your parents here too, or is it just you and your brother?"
Esmene nods and gets straight to work, picking up a tuber and beginning to peel. She isn't too bad at this bit - she doesn't seem to be mangling the thing, at any rate. "They smell nice," she comments, a trifle awkwardly somehow. "Yeah, um, it's just my brother and me. There's five other kids besides him and me, and my father works at the docks, so, you know, they stayed." That one peeled, she sets it aside and reaches for another.
Aida leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Essdara tilts her head as she peels tubers with Esmene, in the lull after breakfast and before lunch prep really starts in. "And your parents, do they approve of you coming here? I mean, you look older than me, even, so they hardly can /stop/ you, but I'd think it would be pretty hard to leave behind such a close family as you describe.
Esmene considers that. "Yeah, I guess they couldn't have stopped me," she says, sounding rather as if she's just realized that for the first time. "But, I mean, I got their permission of course. It took a lot of convincing, but I think they agreed that - well, that it was a good idea for me to try someplace new. And Jarrol and I have always been close, so..." She shrugs. Reaches for another tuber. Suppresses a yawn. "Do you have any brothers or sisters or anything?"
Hugging a wall, Aida slides her way into the kitchen. Limp. Limp. She's still favoring her right ankle. Of course. But she's fine, really! Jaw set stubbornly, the young woman starts looking around, scanning over those present whilst doing her best to stay out of the way of those working.
Essdara shakes her head, and looks sad for a moment. "None that I am aware of, and I'm pretty sure if Da knew of any, he'd've told me." She finishes her tuber, and turns to the small pile of finished ones. Grabbing a glass baking dish from nearby, she begins dicing the tubers and putting the resulting squares into the tray. "Growing up in the nurseries, though, it was like all the other kids were my brothers and sisters in some ways. Certainly I was never lonely."
Esmene nods hastily, encouragingly. "Yeah. And that way, you know, you get, like, loads more brothers and sisters than most people." She's getting rather enthusiastic, now. "And it's not such a big deal, having siblings. I mean, my one brother and I are close, but the other ones can be kind of a pain." She pauses to watch Essdara dice for a moment. "Hey, you're good at that," she remarks absently before returning to peeling. "Yeah, I remember when I was working in the nurseries, I always wondered what it was like to be in one as a kid. It looked kind of fun."
Look, look, look. Aida eventually catches sight of Essdara and Esmene, relief touching her expression. She puts on a bright smile a heartbeat later, and slides away from the wall to pace in their direction. There is a brief pause as she stops to wash her hands, but then she's wandering the rest of the way over. The limp has been forced to something more mild now, present but much less emphasized. "Dara," she greets, rolling up her sleeves as she does. "Can I help the two of you, by any chance?" There's a friendly smile and a nod for Esmene.
"THanks! Years of practice. I started learning when I was, well, young. Instant love for it. And I wouldn't say it was fun, or not fun. It just was. The nannies were our parents, and we were siblings. Other than that, I guess it wouldn't have been all that different. We had chores, we had games, we had fights and rivalries... Normal." She smiles brightly as Aida limps up. "Heya gimp." She greets, with a teasing tone. "Have you met Esmene? She's new here, from Tillek. We were just discussing the different family structures we have. Grab a knife, start peeling, and join in!" She doesn't seem to question the healer aide's presence in the least.
Esmene looks up in surprise at Aida's approach, smiling sweetly, if a little uncertainly. She lets Essdara give the official answer, seeing as how she actually knows this newcomer, before she adds by way of additional explanation, "We're peeling these for lunch." Very helpful. "Nice to meet you." She starts to look away, then stops, her eyes darting back. "Um, sorry, what was your name again?"
Lifting her eyebrows, Aida grabs a knife and finds a spot to lean, picking up a tuber and setting about peeling. "I have not," she replies agreeably, flashing another grin towards Esmene. "I'm Aida! It's good to meet you, Esmene, and welcome, welcome. If there's anything to be done to help get you settled, you just let Dara know." There's a wink that follows that, and then she's pointing out for Dara's sake, "I'm not a gimp." A face is made. While she may not be the best in the kitchens, she does at least seem familiar with the work of peeling. It's unlikely she's going to lose a finger, at least.
Essdara grins. "Seen Neiran, then, Aida?" As the bottom of the pan is covered to capacity with the tubers, she reaches for her oil bottle, drizzling generous amounts over them.. She then takes the mint and garlic she collected, and begins chopping them into fine pieces that get sprinkled over the oiled potatos. Salt on top of them, and the first dish is done. "Aida here is pretty much my best friend lately, though Faranth knows how that came about. And she's right, if you need anything, I'll do my best to help." She grins as she reaches for another pan to repeat the process. "What brings you, anyway, Aida? Other than meeting the newest member of the kitchen team?"
Esmene fairly beams at such a bright reception, though she must of course avert her gaze briefly. "Thanks." She nods in answer to Dara's offer. "Okay." She sets a just-peeled tuber aside and looks to finally be relaxing a bit, taking this moment to stretch. "Yeah, and - " whatever she was about to say is cut off, though. "Esmene?" a voice calls, and the stress returns. "Oh, shards," Esmene blurts out, then gasps, mortified, and actually raises a hand reflexively to her mouth. "I didn't mean that," she says by way of apology to the other two. Blushing furiously, she turns toward the exit. "Um, sorry, I've got to go. But - nice to meet you both, and I hope I'll see you again." She manages another smile before she hurries out.
Esmene retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
"Yes! I have," Aida replies cheerily, smile brightening yet further. Oh, she is just so cheerful. "But not about my ankle." There's a wink, a toss of her head, and she looks down to the tuber she's working on peeling. "I had some questions about a medicine, as we've spoken of before." La la la. So innocent. Really. "Which I need to talk to you about -- later, obviously. But that's what brings me here; I wanted to tell you I needed to talk to you...and I also had a burning /urge/ to peel tubers. I just don't know what came over me." Her attention swings to Esmene then, and she laughs and waves the tuber by way of farewell. "You aren't going to burn our ears," she calls after the girl. "Do take care, and it was good to meet you!" She looks back to Dara, smiles again, and then notes much more quietly (though still cheerily), "Your name was not mentioned, he's no idea."
Essdara's smile fades at Aida's words, but thankfully there's noone there to notice. "Let me finish this dish, and then we can talk somewhere else? I've plenty of time to do this, just the sooner I start, the sooner I am done. And I am glad for that, I'm still not happy he had to be asked at all." She deftly begins dicing tubers into the new pan; her hands and motions are smooth and fast, she's done this a thousand times and more. "You told me you were going to ask him about your ankle." Not quite accusatory.
"He started out /immediately/ worrying after my ankle," Aida points out, continuing to peel happily away and taking the position that Esmene had been holding before. Peel peel peel. "And if we'd focused on my ankle instead of what I had to ask him about, we'd never have /gotten/ to it. I couldn't have rightly asked him to look at it after I'd already told him it was fine." She makes a face, then offers another warm smile. "I also realized rather abruptly how very likely it was that he would have been annoyed with me for having not had someone see it earlier, and...no. I think I don't want him annoyed with me. I mean, really." Another grin, a bit fond, really.
Essdara rolls her eyes a bit, her voice teasing again. "Always happy to cover up your misfortunes, dearheart. It's good to know my stupidity doesn't go to waste." A subject change, then. "K'sar's doing better. He can move his feetand sit up. No more seizures, no more twitching, it looks like. Might actually see him leave the infirmary soon."
Laughter, at that. Aida rolls her eyes herself, making another face at the other girl but not pressing on in that particular line of conversation. She brightens again at the change in subject, smile warming her face. "Oh /good/," she says. "That's very good to hear. I've been worrying after him, though I haven't actually been working in there while he was awake, yet. How's Roa doing?"
"Not seen her." Dara says simply. "Expect she's pretty busy, though, after everything that happened, not to mention the broken leg. I'm sure I'll run into her again once this has all blown over." She shrugs with that. "Mostly been looking after K'sar when I can, and doing my shifts in here. Keeping busy, keeping quiet."
"Ouch," Aida's tone is sympathetic, and she stops in the peeling long enough to reach out and try to give Dara a one-armed hug, briefly. "M'sorry. I'm glad that K'sar has been better, though. And that you've been able to keep busy. There's really been a lot going on, huh?" Agreeable, conversational.
Essdara nods, and smiles a bit at the hug. She shrugs again and goes back to her chopping, once more taking a handful of garlic and mint. "Entirely too much so, if you ask me. And everyone's been strange since it, I don't like it. My friends've been weird and scarce. Tavaly, Kierom, T'zen, Roa... Don't get any chances to relax with them anymore. But I am sure it will calm down in time."
"It will," Aida says reassuringly, flashing another smile as she goes back to peeling tubers. "Your 'other' friends, by the way. Or I'll start to get offended again, and then what will we do?" Wink. "That sort of thing doesn't usually happen, so it throws everybody off and things. I'm sure it'll all be okay eventually."
Essdara makes a face. "Other friends, yes. And I shouldn't include Kierom in there, I see him in with K'sar all the time. And I know it will, and so I just... Keep busy, keep quiet, and make the most of the time as it comes!"
"I do not like Kierom," Aida points out loftily and with finality, turning up her nose some. "But I'll be nice to him all the same. It's an exercise in restraint, it is." She shakes off the annoyance with a shake of her head, grabbing another tuber so she can keep peeling. Peel peel peel. The more she does, the faster she gets at it, remembering old skills. "And that sounds good to me. Sounds like you've got a good plan." Nod.
Essdara looks surprised, enough to stop her work for a moment. "How can you not like Kierom? What'd he do to earn that? Oh, no more, that will be enough for this batch. Lemme catch up and we can go for a wa... Go sit down and talk."
"Walking bad," Aida agrees, setting down the knife and then the tuber. She turns around to lean up against the counter, shrugging one shoulder. "First time I met him, he implied that the Weyr was failing in its responsibilities and was incapable of taking care of itself," she declares. "And the other night...well, he said some other things that I didn't approve of of someone that I like, which annoyed me on a personal level."
"Kierom did? Huh, I never would've thought it of him. But then, he's been different too since the part. Feels like I'm the only one who's still me sometimes." She quickly finishes off the last tray. "And even that, I'm not sure of some days. OK, these will wait for a while. Where should we go?"
"Somewhere quiet," Aida suggests, glancing at the finished tray. The food is studied for a moment before she turns, starting to limp her way back down towards the living cavern. "Some corner up in the upper caverns, I think. We can sit down somewhere and people will just walk by, and it's not so heavy as it is in the lower caverns. And yes. He did. And I don't like him."
Essdara points out, "Quicker to go through the stores, then, and less people to see us." She heads in that direction, snagging a plate of pastries off a table as she goes, while the chef making them is looking the other way. "Less to trip over, too. You like caramel?"
"The stores are good," Aida comments agreeably, shoving her hands into her pockets as she continues limping along. She does at least make good time. "And yes, I like caramel. Does anyone on all of Pern /not/ like caramel? They'd be terribly silly if they did not."
(( They move to the stores ))
Essdara points as they come in, to the other doorway, "Upper caverns through there, if you are in the kitchens and wanna get there, go through there." She hands a pastry over; something akin to a croissant with caramel streaked through. "But here's the most private place around, short of the galleries. So... What did he say?" And now she is nervous.
Taking the pastry, Aida limps her way over to sit on a barrel, hopping up onto the top and bracing herself with her good leg on the floor. "He doesn't know what it is," she says, offering a slight smile. "But what he did remind me that Fellis -- which has seemingly positive effects -- is very addictive, /and/ it is, if you mess with the dose at all, possibly fatal. He's going to be looking into it, and very much was insistent that it was not a good thing, that it should not be taken." An apologetic smile is offered.
Essdara shrugs a little. "I know about fellis. I'm strong on my remedies and herb uses and all that, and I'm just not worried. I've not played with the dose other than to lessen it, cause it was too much and I don't have much. But I've felt no undue urge to use it, nothing that /feels/ like an addiction. So... Well, I will take it under advisement?"
"I'm compelled to point out that I disagree with that course of action, but I'm not going to fight with you about it," Aida says, her tone clearly disapproving. "I just...be careful, that's all I ask." A smile is offered, and she shrugs her shoulders. "I'll be working with Neiran to try and figure out precisely what it is, and I'll keep you updated; all he knows as far as who has it was that it was being left for residents anonymously with dosage instructions. So. You're good, there. It *is* getting brought up to the Headmaster, but you won't be connected with any of it."
Essdara nods softly. "I am still not sure I like it all, but it is what it is. I don't see the harm, other than people being worried about something they don't understand. And I will be careful, I promise. It's not something I want to use often, really, just... Sometimes, it's nice to be happy a while, you know?"
"I wish you could hear yourself talk about it," Aida states grumpily, shaking her head and hopping down to her good foot, off of the barrel. "The healer has said it's potentially bad, Dara. It's his job to know that, just like it's your job to know what I can eat and what -- look tasty or not -- will make me sick. Just keep that in mind."
Essdara says, "Potentially bad, yes, but then so are most things that exist in the world. You said yourself he doesn't know what it is. How, then, can he be trusted to make a decision on it? I guess I just put more stock in what I've felt from it than someone who doesn't at all understand it." Her tone is quiet; she's clearly trying hard not to offend Aida. "I am glad that you worry for me, it makes me happy. But please trust me that I know what I am doing.""
There is a desire to argue there; it's clear in her expression, in the set of her jaw. Still, Aida doesn't actually push it -- she just nods. "I'm not arguing it with you," she says, and that's as much as she's willing to give on the topic. "I'll let you get back to work; I just figured I'd come to you straight away once I'd spoken with him."
Essdara looks, almost, hurt. She reaches out to touch Aida's arm. "I'm sorry I don't agree with you, Aida. But that doesn't mean you have to rush off. I'm hours ahead of my schedule, especially with the help you and Esmene gave me."
"You don't have to agree with me," Aida says, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back from her face. "I'm not demanding such a thing. But I don't agree with you and I'm worried, and that worry makes me angry. Beyond that, /I/ am behind schedule. I'm slow, right now. I *do* need to get to my work."
Essdara lowers her hand, but looks confused. "Why does being worried make you angry?" She asks softly. "It's what friends are supposed to do, 'specially since you're pretty much my best friend."
"Because I can't do anything about the source of the worry," Aida snaps back, shaking her head sharply to go along with the words. "I'm helpless, and there's nothing I can do about it. That's why."
"What can I do to make that better, Aida?" Essdara asks, with a sigh. "How can I reassure you that it's ok? What will it take?"
"Not everything can be fixed," Aida replies quietly, shaking her head. "I've given you my opinion; you do with it what you will from there. You don't agree with me, you'll take it under advisement. End of story. Alright?"
Essdara sighs and nods. "I guess there's nothing else to be said on it, then. I /am/ sorry, Aida. I don't like dissapointing you, but it's going to happen now and then." She forces a smile. "Go, get to the infirmary, and thank you for coming to talk about this."
"We're not always going to agree on everything," Aida comments, putting on as much of a smile as she can muster. "Just be careful." There's a dip of her head given, and then she's turning to limp her way towards the upper caverns, rather than the kitchens.
Where: Kitchen, HRW
When: Morning, Day 13 month 1 turn 2
Comment: Meeting a new person, who is awesome, and then a scene with Aida about the drugs.
It is the end of the breakfast rush in the kitchens. The cooks and aides have been up since before dawn getting the weyr's morning meal ready, and they all look a bit worn. A few people still work on the staples that will be available for latecomers, but the rest of the staff is focused on cleaning their stations and matierials. One of the people still working, apparently, is Essdara. She's done a quick surface clean of her station, and is bustlign about getting ingredients for her next dish; a basket of tubers, sprigs of fresh mint, and cloves of garlic feature in the collection of fresh things she gathers.
Like many others at work here, Esmene is looking more than a little worn at this point. A little worn, and maybe a little overwhelmed, as she ponders the wreckage that once was a countertop before her with a sigh. Apparently, she has yet to learn the delicate art of cleaning as she goes, and she's left with a dizzying array of juices, refuse, dirty utensils, and unused ingredients. Alright, so it may not be the worst-looking stretch of land in the room, but Esmene's having a hard time deciding where to start. She's got a washrag in one hand; she lifts it and makes a feeble attempt at mopping it up.
Essdara drops the supplies that she has at her station, and can't help but notice the plight at a nearby spot. She blinks a bit at the mess, and the girl trying to figure out a place to start. Leaving her own spot, she wanders over to look over her shoulder at the mess. "You know." She comments. "It might be easier to try fire. Cleanse it to ash, might definately be the easier way to go." Her tone is lightly teasing, with a touch of sympathy. "What were you making to do that?"
Esmene looks up at Essdara questioningly. "Fire?" A small moment of contemplation is given to the idea before she realizes - "Oh." It was a joke. She gives a laugh, to show she gets it. "Oh, I was assisting. So it was, you know, one person wants this chopped up," she points to the mangled remains of a tuber, "somebody else wants something measured," and that's the small puddle of something next to the spilled powdery substance, "you know. I just - do you think I should try and wipe up the spilled stuff first, or throw out the big things? Or should I clean the utensils?"
Essdara chuckles softly, "I think the best course would be to get the utensils out first. Toss them in a sink and the drudges will get to them, though if any are actually /yours/ you shouldn't trust them an inch. That'll get them out of the way. Probably, then, the larger pieces and leftovers, and then the spills? I... Admit I've rarely had to clean such messes. BEst not to let them happen in the first place."
Esmene nods. "Right. Well, yeah, I mean, it was an accident. I mean, I haven't been doing this long." You don't say. Suddenly, she yawns, a big yawn, which of course leads her to blush. "Um. Sorry. Breakfast is, you know, early. Anyway, I'll just take these..." She sets down her dishrag and picks up the utensils, gathering them carefully by the handles and heading for the sink. "So is it like that every day?"
Essdara smiles a little bit. "Sometimes. Sometimes quieter, someetimes busier. A pretty average day all around, but you'll get used to it. I don't think we've met though; I'm Essdara, work a few stations over most days."
Esmene nods. "Yeah, I know," she says without thinking. A quick vocal backpedal ensues. "I mean, is that so?" Hopefully she didn't hear the first thing clearly; it was kind of quiet, after all. "Um, I'm Esmene. I'm new here. Like I said. Yeah." Utensils taken care of, Esmene applies herself to mopping up the mess, forgoing any kind of bit-by-bit assault in favor of pushing everything into one pile in the middle of her space.
Essdara rolls her eyes a bit, but simply looks amused. "Of course you do, Esmene, but it's still polite to assume you don't. I'll just hope it was the /nice/ half of the kitchens who pointed me out." She moves to the side so she can watch the girl clean; if she's supposed to be working, she has an odd way of doing it. "You grow up here, or are you a recent transplant, then?"
Esmene blushes. Mightily. "Yeah, sorry. And yeah, they were nice. Nice people. I mean, and they didn't even say anything, we were just - it was this morning, really, the girl next to me needed something, and then somebody else said, 'Ask Essdara,' and pointed at you, and that's how I know." A likely story. The mess, as she talks, is becoming a big heap. A big mushy heap, aided by whatever that puddle was before she slopped it in with the rest of the mess. "Um, I just moved here from Tillek. My brother's in the Caucus. He's a Smith. His name's Jarrol?" For some reason, her brother's name comes out as a question.
Essdara shakes her head, "Don't recognise the name, but I admit I don't know many of the Caucus people. But he probably knows one of my friends, Penny. She's a smith as well, so maybe you'll meet her. Tillek, eh? A bit of a change, coming to the frozen wastes of HIgh Reaches?"
Esmene nods, eyes wide for greater emphasis. "Oh yeah. I mean, people always say it's cold up here, but - wow. It's /cold/ up here!" She laughs a little. "And plus - well, I mean, I guess I was kind of sheltered. That's what Jarrol says. 'You're so sheltered!'" She laughs a little at the memory herself. "I just - I mean, I've never been in a Weyr before, either. It's - different. Did you grow up here?" She now has everything piled up into one mushy mound, which she pauses to contemplate. Now what?
"If you get a bucket, you could push that into it." Dara offers. "And yes, I did. My parents are riders here, and I can't imagine living anywhere else." She grins. "I think once you settle in, you'll find you like it. We're a pretty easy-going place, all things considered. Did you work in the kitchens back home? If not, why'd you decide it's what you wanted while you are here?"
Good plan. Esmene searches for a bucket. She finds one, unfortunately already beholden to some slop of its own. "Your parents are riders? Both of them?" She surveys the contents, shrugs, takes it over, and commences sweeping her contribution in. "I don't even know any riders yet." That 'yet' comes almost as an afterthought. "But yeah, I think I'll like it here. I mean, it seems like a nice place. Busy, but..." She shrugs. "No, I used to work in the nursery back home, but I wasn't really good at and I - well, I didn't really like it, so I thought I'd try the kitchens. I think I'm better at cooking." There's an edge of uncertainty to her voice.
Essdara grins a bit. "I don't blame you. I will say one thing for cooking - it's far more predictable than kids. And you will definately meet riders, and they are usually good people. Could point a few out to you if you are that curious. And yeah, they both are. Mom's Esslie, wtih green Liriath, and D'rand on blue Korth's my dad." No small pride there. "Not that we are /that/ close, I admit, but I see them at least every few days."
Esmene nods, wide-eyed again. "Yeah, definitely. Kids are - yeah, cooking's a lot easier." Just talking about it gives her a certain hunted look. Which quickly evaporates into one of confusion at Essdara's parentage. "You're mother's a greenrider?"
Essdara nods, tilting her head a bit. "Yeah. It happens, now and then, though there still aren't that many kids who can claim both sides." She shrugs. "More every year though!"
Esmene blinks, taking this in. "Wow. I mean, I'd heard that it happens sometimes." She doesn't want to look /too/ naive, after all. "I just didn't know it happened...much?" That makes sense. Sort of. The bulk of the mess slops into the bucket with a kind of an icky 'squelch,' to which Esmene wrinkles her nose. "I mean, are there lots of them? Around here?"
Essdara shrugs, grinning. "It's not /uncommon/, I would say, but it's still new enough to draw attention. 'Specially people who want to see if it leads to better riders, kind of like people think with Blood marrying Blood in the holds."
Esmene considers. "I never thought of that." It's a point to ponder. She sweeps the rest of her leftovers into the bucket, wrinkles her nose at it. "But what if there was thread or something? /Both/ your parents would go?" She glances around for a place to put the bucket, finally deciding to deposit it next to the sink. That's what drudges are for, isn't it?
A frown briefly crosses Dara's face, but she quickly smoothes it away. "Yeah. they both go up, every fall. I will admit it's not easy, but it's what riders do, you know? Not just them, either. Many of my friends, relatives... Living in a weyr, you always know a good portion of the people up there protecting us."
Esmene turns, bucket duly deposited, and heads back over to Essdara, nodding. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that's true. It's just - I mean, my mother always stayed at home with us, so..." She trails off, then yawns. Again. "Anyway, I guess it's just life around here. I mean, yeah. That's life around here. I guess I'm just not used to it yet."
Essdara chuckles softly. "Riders... They don't always make the best of parents." She says, diplomatically. She turns, and moves back towards her station. "Come peel. Like I said, my parents and I were never overly close. It's just too hard to raise kids while you are a rider, so they leave it to other people to do it, the nannies and such."
Obediently, Esmene follows. "Oh, I guess they would have to. That makes sense." She picks up a small knife to peel with, but waits to be directed to the appropriate subject for peeling. Not a lot of initiative, this one. "My parents always kept us way close. My mother, especially." Did she just roll her eyes? Yes, I do believe she did. "So what're you making? What should I peel?"
Essdara points to the basket of tubers. "Spiced tubers for lunch." She grabs a knife of her own, and one of the brown balls, which she deftly begins to skin. "Sometimes I like to make them with the skins on, but this batch has been coming out with really tough skins when we do, so we peel." She grins a bit, "Are your parents here too, or is it just you and your brother?"
Esmene nods and gets straight to work, picking up a tuber and beginning to peel. She isn't too bad at this bit - she doesn't seem to be mangling the thing, at any rate. "They smell nice," she comments, a trifle awkwardly somehow. "Yeah, um, it's just my brother and me. There's five other kids besides him and me, and my father works at the docks, so, you know, they stayed." That one peeled, she sets it aside and reaches for another.
Aida leaves the relative peace of the living caverns behind in favor of the kitchen's chaos.
Essdara tilts her head as she peels tubers with Esmene, in the lull after breakfast and before lunch prep really starts in. "And your parents, do they approve of you coming here? I mean, you look older than me, even, so they hardly can /stop/ you, but I'd think it would be pretty hard to leave behind such a close family as you describe.
Esmene considers that. "Yeah, I guess they couldn't have stopped me," she says, sounding rather as if she's just realized that for the first time. "But, I mean, I got their permission of course. It took a lot of convincing, but I think they agreed that - well, that it was a good idea for me to try someplace new. And Jarrol and I have always been close, so..." She shrugs. Reaches for another tuber. Suppresses a yawn. "Do you have any brothers or sisters or anything?"
Hugging a wall, Aida slides her way into the kitchen. Limp. Limp. She's still favoring her right ankle. Of course. But she's fine, really! Jaw set stubbornly, the young woman starts looking around, scanning over those present whilst doing her best to stay out of the way of those working.
Essdara shakes her head, and looks sad for a moment. "None that I am aware of, and I'm pretty sure if Da knew of any, he'd've told me." She finishes her tuber, and turns to the small pile of finished ones. Grabbing a glass baking dish from nearby, she begins dicing the tubers and putting the resulting squares into the tray. "Growing up in the nurseries, though, it was like all the other kids were my brothers and sisters in some ways. Certainly I was never lonely."
Esmene nods hastily, encouragingly. "Yeah. And that way, you know, you get, like, loads more brothers and sisters than most people." She's getting rather enthusiastic, now. "And it's not such a big deal, having siblings. I mean, my one brother and I are close, but the other ones can be kind of a pain." She pauses to watch Essdara dice for a moment. "Hey, you're good at that," she remarks absently before returning to peeling. "Yeah, I remember when I was working in the nurseries, I always wondered what it was like to be in one as a kid. It looked kind of fun."
Look, look, look. Aida eventually catches sight of Essdara and Esmene, relief touching her expression. She puts on a bright smile a heartbeat later, and slides away from the wall to pace in their direction. There is a brief pause as she stops to wash her hands, but then she's wandering the rest of the way over. The limp has been forced to something more mild now, present but much less emphasized. "Dara," she greets, rolling up her sleeves as she does. "Can I help the two of you, by any chance?" There's a friendly smile and a nod for Esmene.
"THanks! Years of practice. I started learning when I was, well, young. Instant love for it. And I wouldn't say it was fun, or not fun. It just was. The nannies were our parents, and we were siblings. Other than that, I guess it wouldn't have been all that different. We had chores, we had games, we had fights and rivalries... Normal." She smiles brightly as Aida limps up. "Heya gimp." She greets, with a teasing tone. "Have you met Esmene? She's new here, from Tillek. We were just discussing the different family structures we have. Grab a knife, start peeling, and join in!" She doesn't seem to question the healer aide's presence in the least.
Esmene looks up in surprise at Aida's approach, smiling sweetly, if a little uncertainly. She lets Essdara give the official answer, seeing as how she actually knows this newcomer, before she adds by way of additional explanation, "We're peeling these for lunch." Very helpful. "Nice to meet you." She starts to look away, then stops, her eyes darting back. "Um, sorry, what was your name again?"
Lifting her eyebrows, Aida grabs a knife and finds a spot to lean, picking up a tuber and setting about peeling. "I have not," she replies agreeably, flashing another grin towards Esmene. "I'm Aida! It's good to meet you, Esmene, and welcome, welcome. If there's anything to be done to help get you settled, you just let Dara know." There's a wink that follows that, and then she's pointing out for Dara's sake, "I'm not a gimp." A face is made. While she may not be the best in the kitchens, she does at least seem familiar with the work of peeling. It's unlikely she's going to lose a finger, at least.
Essdara grins. "Seen Neiran, then, Aida?" As the bottom of the pan is covered to capacity with the tubers, she reaches for her oil bottle, drizzling generous amounts over them.. She then takes the mint and garlic she collected, and begins chopping them into fine pieces that get sprinkled over the oiled potatos. Salt on top of them, and the first dish is done. "Aida here is pretty much my best friend lately, though Faranth knows how that came about. And she's right, if you need anything, I'll do my best to help." She grins as she reaches for another pan to repeat the process. "What brings you, anyway, Aida? Other than meeting the newest member of the kitchen team?"
Esmene fairly beams at such a bright reception, though she must of course avert her gaze briefly. "Thanks." She nods in answer to Dara's offer. "Okay." She sets a just-peeled tuber aside and looks to finally be relaxing a bit, taking this moment to stretch. "Yeah, and - " whatever she was about to say is cut off, though. "Esmene?" a voice calls, and the stress returns. "Oh, shards," Esmene blurts out, then gasps, mortified, and actually raises a hand reflexively to her mouth. "I didn't mean that," she says by way of apology to the other two. Blushing furiously, she turns toward the exit. "Um, sorry, I've got to go. But - nice to meet you both, and I hope I'll see you again." She manages another smile before she hurries out.
Esmene retreats from the kitchen, escaping to the living cavern.
"Yes! I have," Aida replies cheerily, smile brightening yet further. Oh, she is just so cheerful. "But not about my ankle." There's a wink, a toss of her head, and she looks down to the tuber she's working on peeling. "I had some questions about a medicine, as we've spoken of before." La la la. So innocent. Really. "Which I need to talk to you about -- later, obviously. But that's what brings me here; I wanted to tell you I needed to talk to you...and I also had a burning /urge/ to peel tubers. I just don't know what came over me." Her attention swings to Esmene then, and she laughs and waves the tuber by way of farewell. "You aren't going to burn our ears," she calls after the girl. "Do take care, and it was good to meet you!" She looks back to Dara, smiles again, and then notes much more quietly (though still cheerily), "Your name was not mentioned, he's no idea."
Essdara's smile fades at Aida's words, but thankfully there's noone there to notice. "Let me finish this dish, and then we can talk somewhere else? I've plenty of time to do this, just the sooner I start, the sooner I am done. And I am glad for that, I'm still not happy he had to be asked at all." She deftly begins dicing tubers into the new pan; her hands and motions are smooth and fast, she's done this a thousand times and more. "You told me you were going to ask him about your ankle." Not quite accusatory.
"He started out /immediately/ worrying after my ankle," Aida points out, continuing to peel happily away and taking the position that Esmene had been holding before. Peel peel peel. "And if we'd focused on my ankle instead of what I had to ask him about, we'd never have /gotten/ to it. I couldn't have rightly asked him to look at it after I'd already told him it was fine." She makes a face, then offers another warm smile. "I also realized rather abruptly how very likely it was that he would have been annoyed with me for having not had someone see it earlier, and...no. I think I don't want him annoyed with me. I mean, really." Another grin, a bit fond, really.
Essdara rolls her eyes a bit, her voice teasing again. "Always happy to cover up your misfortunes, dearheart. It's good to know my stupidity doesn't go to waste." A subject change, then. "K'sar's doing better. He can move his feetand sit up. No more seizures, no more twitching, it looks like. Might actually see him leave the infirmary soon."
Laughter, at that. Aida rolls her eyes herself, making another face at the other girl but not pressing on in that particular line of conversation. She brightens again at the change in subject, smile warming her face. "Oh /good/," she says. "That's very good to hear. I've been worrying after him, though I haven't actually been working in there while he was awake, yet. How's Roa doing?"
"Not seen her." Dara says simply. "Expect she's pretty busy, though, after everything that happened, not to mention the broken leg. I'm sure I'll run into her again once this has all blown over." She shrugs with that. "Mostly been looking after K'sar when I can, and doing my shifts in here. Keeping busy, keeping quiet."
"Ouch," Aida's tone is sympathetic, and she stops in the peeling long enough to reach out and try to give Dara a one-armed hug, briefly. "M'sorry. I'm glad that K'sar has been better, though. And that you've been able to keep busy. There's really been a lot going on, huh?" Agreeable, conversational.
Essdara nods, and smiles a bit at the hug. She shrugs again and goes back to her chopping, once more taking a handful of garlic and mint. "Entirely too much so, if you ask me. And everyone's been strange since it, I don't like it. My friends've been weird and scarce. Tavaly, Kierom, T'zen, Roa... Don't get any chances to relax with them anymore. But I am sure it will calm down in time."
"It will," Aida says reassuringly, flashing another smile as she goes back to peeling tubers. "Your 'other' friends, by the way. Or I'll start to get offended again, and then what will we do?" Wink. "That sort of thing doesn't usually happen, so it throws everybody off and things. I'm sure it'll all be okay eventually."
Essdara makes a face. "Other friends, yes. And I shouldn't include Kierom in there, I see him in with K'sar all the time. And I know it will, and so I just... Keep busy, keep quiet, and make the most of the time as it comes!"
"I do not like Kierom," Aida points out loftily and with finality, turning up her nose some. "But I'll be nice to him all the same. It's an exercise in restraint, it is." She shakes off the annoyance with a shake of her head, grabbing another tuber so she can keep peeling. Peel peel peel. The more she does, the faster she gets at it, remembering old skills. "And that sounds good to me. Sounds like you've got a good plan." Nod.
Essdara looks surprised, enough to stop her work for a moment. "How can you not like Kierom? What'd he do to earn that? Oh, no more, that will be enough for this batch. Lemme catch up and we can go for a wa... Go sit down and talk."
"Walking bad," Aida agrees, setting down the knife and then the tuber. She turns around to lean up against the counter, shrugging one shoulder. "First time I met him, he implied that the Weyr was failing in its responsibilities and was incapable of taking care of itself," she declares. "And the other night...well, he said some other things that I didn't approve of of someone that I like, which annoyed me on a personal level."
"Kierom did? Huh, I never would've thought it of him. But then, he's been different too since the part. Feels like I'm the only one who's still me sometimes." She quickly finishes off the last tray. "And even that, I'm not sure of some days. OK, these will wait for a while. Where should we go?"
"Somewhere quiet," Aida suggests, glancing at the finished tray. The food is studied for a moment before she turns, starting to limp her way back down towards the living cavern. "Some corner up in the upper caverns, I think. We can sit down somewhere and people will just walk by, and it's not so heavy as it is in the lower caverns. And yes. He did. And I don't like him."
Essdara points out, "Quicker to go through the stores, then, and less people to see us." She heads in that direction, snagging a plate of pastries off a table as she goes, while the chef making them is looking the other way. "Less to trip over, too. You like caramel?"
"The stores are good," Aida comments agreeably, shoving her hands into her pockets as she continues limping along. She does at least make good time. "And yes, I like caramel. Does anyone on all of Pern /not/ like caramel? They'd be terribly silly if they did not."
(( They move to the stores ))
Essdara points as they come in, to the other doorway, "Upper caverns through there, if you are in the kitchens and wanna get there, go through there." She hands a pastry over; something akin to a croissant with caramel streaked through. "But here's the most private place around, short of the galleries. So... What did he say?" And now she is nervous.
Taking the pastry, Aida limps her way over to sit on a barrel, hopping up onto the top and bracing herself with her good leg on the floor. "He doesn't know what it is," she says, offering a slight smile. "But what he did remind me that Fellis -- which has seemingly positive effects -- is very addictive, /and/ it is, if you mess with the dose at all, possibly fatal. He's going to be looking into it, and very much was insistent that it was not a good thing, that it should not be taken." An apologetic smile is offered.
Essdara shrugs a little. "I know about fellis. I'm strong on my remedies and herb uses and all that, and I'm just not worried. I've not played with the dose other than to lessen it, cause it was too much and I don't have much. But I've felt no undue urge to use it, nothing that /feels/ like an addiction. So... Well, I will take it under advisement?"
"I'm compelled to point out that I disagree with that course of action, but I'm not going to fight with you about it," Aida says, her tone clearly disapproving. "I just...be careful, that's all I ask." A smile is offered, and she shrugs her shoulders. "I'll be working with Neiran to try and figure out precisely what it is, and I'll keep you updated; all he knows as far as who has it was that it was being left for residents anonymously with dosage instructions. So. You're good, there. It *is* getting brought up to the Headmaster, but you won't be connected with any of it."
Essdara nods softly. "I am still not sure I like it all, but it is what it is. I don't see the harm, other than people being worried about something they don't understand. And I will be careful, I promise. It's not something I want to use often, really, just... Sometimes, it's nice to be happy a while, you know?"
"I wish you could hear yourself talk about it," Aida states grumpily, shaking her head and hopping down to her good foot, off of the barrel. "The healer has said it's potentially bad, Dara. It's his job to know that, just like it's your job to know what I can eat and what -- look tasty or not -- will make me sick. Just keep that in mind."
Essdara says, "Potentially bad, yes, but then so are most things that exist in the world. You said yourself he doesn't know what it is. How, then, can he be trusted to make a decision on it? I guess I just put more stock in what I've felt from it than someone who doesn't at all understand it." Her tone is quiet; she's clearly trying hard not to offend Aida. "I am glad that you worry for me, it makes me happy. But please trust me that I know what I am doing.""
There is a desire to argue there; it's clear in her expression, in the set of her jaw. Still, Aida doesn't actually push it -- she just nods. "I'm not arguing it with you," she says, and that's as much as she's willing to give on the topic. "I'll let you get back to work; I just figured I'd come to you straight away once I'd spoken with him."
Essdara looks, almost, hurt. She reaches out to touch Aida's arm. "I'm sorry I don't agree with you, Aida. But that doesn't mean you have to rush off. I'm hours ahead of my schedule, especially with the help you and Esmene gave me."
"You don't have to agree with me," Aida says, bringing a hand up to brush her hair back from her face. "I'm not demanding such a thing. But I don't agree with you and I'm worried, and that worry makes me angry. Beyond that, /I/ am behind schedule. I'm slow, right now. I *do* need to get to my work."
Essdara lowers her hand, but looks confused. "Why does being worried make you angry?" She asks softly. "It's what friends are supposed to do, 'specially since you're pretty much my best friend."
"Because I can't do anything about the source of the worry," Aida snaps back, shaking her head sharply to go along with the words. "I'm helpless, and there's nothing I can do about it. That's why."
"What can I do to make that better, Aida?" Essdara asks, with a sigh. "How can I reassure you that it's ok? What will it take?"
"Not everything can be fixed," Aida replies quietly, shaking her head. "I've given you my opinion; you do with it what you will from there. You don't agree with me, you'll take it under advisement. End of story. Alright?"
Essdara sighs and nods. "I guess there's nothing else to be said on it, then. I /am/ sorry, Aida. I don't like dissapointing you, but it's going to happen now and then." She forces a smile. "Go, get to the infirmary, and thank you for coming to talk about this."
"We're not always going to agree on everything," Aida comments, putting on as much of a smile as she can muster. "Just be careful." There's a dip of her head given, and then she's turning to limp her way towards the upper caverns, rather than the kitchens.