Self Defence, Jealousy, and Chatting
Who: Roa, Jiann, Essdara
Where: Bowl, HRW
Comment: A fun scene. Dara and Roa chat, and it turns into a small self-defence class. Jiann comes in, and is confused, then put off, by the goings on.
It's into the evening, just past dinnertime, and the Bowl of the weyr is still awash in sunlight. While it is growing ever so slightly darker as the sun approaches the rim of the bowl, there is still a good hour left of the warming light. In it, walking across the floor of the bowl and away from the weyrling cavern, comes Essdara, a small smile on her features as she slowly makes her way across it while enjoying the clear day.
Seated by the lake, quietly reading over a hide, is someone else who's enjoying the sun. Roa has her head bent, eyes skimming over the words although Tialith is nowhere to be seen as of yet. A distance away stands Tannum, guard of the hour, keeping watch. And besides Roa, in a little pot, is a plant perhaps a man's hand high. It looks...well, it looks like a very tiny tree, bark and all.
Who can miss a girl with a tree, in the normall barren bowl? Dara's path changes, and she approaches Roa with a bright smile. "Roa, dear, is there a reason you have a tree next to you?" She inquires as she stops nearby. Tannum gets a polite smile, but her attention is quickly back to Roa. "And while I know you said you were feeling better, it's nice to see you readin. May I join you/"
Tannum offers Essdara and little nod and a smile for her quick greeting, but he too is quick to avert his gaze and return to peering out and around the bowl. The little Telgari looks up as Essdara arrives and a smile spreads across her lips. "Dara. Of course. Sit down." The hide begins to get rolled up as she speaks. The tiny tree gets a glance before Roa explains, "It was a gift. And bringing it along outside is the only way I can make sure it gets enough sunlight. Living inside a mountain isn't very good for plants, it seems."
Essdara shakes her head, "Alas, no, it's not. They need to be out in the air and the sun. I tried to grow mint in a pot in the kitchens once, because I like it as fresh as I can get it, but it never did well. Winters are harer still, with the cold and the overall lack of light." A grin, "I gave up, but I hope you manage it. Plants are nice. How've you been?"
"I hope I can manage it as well," Roa agree, a finger touches some of the tiny leaves gently. "I'd rather not kill the poor little thing. It's not really suited for Reaches weather but...here it is. Me? Well," she sighs, looking up. "I'm well, considering the times. And you? Settling back in all right, or are you still getting the pity eyes?" A tiny smile at the idea.
Essdara makes a face. "Not so much anymore, thankfully. Which is nice, because I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me NOT being heartbroken, you know?" Still, she smiles less now, though probably in reference to the times. "Yeah, been bad lately. I'd hoped the hatching would ease things up, but I guess T'zen and Issa pretty much ruin that concept, no?"
"Pretty much," Roa says softly. "I haven't quite steeled myself to visiting them yet, but I should. Soon. How are they? Tialith said Uneth was seven sorts of fretful when it happened. I don't suppose anyone knows anything more than that they're injured?" She quiets before adding softly, "There's nothing wrong with not being heartsick. I suppose it's just expected that those who don't impress would be. Would you stand again, do you think?"
"They will be ok, I thnk. From what I heard, Issa just has a broken wrist. T'zen... I dunno, he was pretty bad off, and he was out the whole time I was there. I was with Tava, when she heard..." A soft sigh. "She's pretty broken, and I know she's terrified of him being hurt." A quiet pause, and a soft smirk. "Don't think I will have any choice but to, near as I can tell. Between Yevide and R'vain, don't think I'll have any peace if I try to say no."
Roa nods slowly and exhales equally slowly. "This place was so calm and quiet when I first arrived," she murmurs. "Things weren't perfect but now...I just don't understand." Her fingers tap at the rolled hide resting in her lap. "R'vain *and* Yevide? I'm still impressed he asked you to stand. He's not known for thinking much of women on fighting dragons. Are you still...ah...training with him?"
Essdara nods, with firm conviction. "Yes, Roa, I am. And it has been very good for me. We have our agreements in place, and he hasn't once come close to breaking them. I trust him, pretty much as much as I trust anyone. And, yeah... She's who made me Stand this time." She makes a small face. "Right after telling me I wasn't allowed to visit her anymore. Calm and quiet... I miss those days, rather a lot."
"You can't visit Yevide anymore? Because f what's happening or something else?" Roa's fingers smoothw her skirt lightly before again curling over the rolled hide. "Well, the Weyrlingmaster's been...I don't kno. Rising to the challenge, I suppose. Better than I've yet seen him, so perhaps you're good for him as well."
Essdara sighs, softly. "A couple weeks before the hatching, I was approached by a man. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was to step back from my friendship with her, and to stop talking about her. There was... Implied threats, in the words and manner. So Yevide said I had to listen. Standing was... My way of showing I still was with her." A soft smile, then. "I think we are good for each other, for what we are, R'vain and I. I don't claim to really /understand/ it, but... I think we do well for each other."
"So long as you enjoy it," says Roa with a small nod, "I have no complaints." She closes her mouth and turns to look out at the water. "I'm sorry about Yevide. And the man. Did they catch him, do you know? Was he one of the ones they...one of the ones tht are gone now?" to who knows where.
Essdara shakes her head, "He wasn't, no. Big man, blond. I gave all I could recall about him, so they know who to look for, but these guys are pretty slippery... But Aida says she saw him, when she was..." Unspoken. "So it's the same people, and there are still some around."
"They're still around," Roa repeats softly, still watching the water. She looks down then, picking up a flat, smooth stone and tossing ir roughly but in such a fashion as to send it think slipping along the water about seven times before it sinks. "Faranth, what do they think they're going to prove with all this?"
Essdara sighs, softly. "They seem to want to scare Yevide and J'cor away. They..." A pause, and a long look at Roa, considering, before she goes on. "When they were talking to me, they also made some comments that I could only takes as direct threats, Roa. I don't understand them at all... It's not like she's doing a bad job, or he's a poor leader. Why does this matter so much to them?"
Knees are drawn up and Roa loops her arms around them. "They're scapegoats, I think. A place to put all the fear and worry and doubt. If J'cor and Yevide leave, everything will be perfect once again." A small snort shares Roa's thoughts on that. "I don't think they came to power earnestly, but this isn't a reaosnable way to go about getting change. It's...madness."
"It is, indeed." Dara says, softly. "It scares me more than anything else has, 'cept maybe Thread. Do I think Yevide came into power in a fully honest way? Nah. But that doesn't mean she's not the right person for the job. Who else? Sinopa?" A soft snort at that. "Can't see her doing better."
"Diya," is the murmured reply. "It should have been Diya. It was her time, and..." her mouth closes for a moment and Roa finishes with, "it never should have happened this way." A faint smirk, "And Faranth protect us all from certain young and fashionable goldriders coming into power,"
Essdara thinks about that a moment. "I admit I never met Diya, don't know her at all to know one way or another. But if I had to choose between Yevide and, well, someone else? Yevide has been good to me, the other not so much. But we get what we get, and that's the way it is, and none of this will do anything but make life harder for everyone. And I don't get why they want people scared like this."
"I don't either. If you only look at the few times this has benn tried...it never works. It hurts people, it makes the world angry and it demeans your cause. Look at...well," Roa exhales sharply, "look at the biggest example. The Instigators. You think most people know *why* they did what they did? No. The average person knows what they did. The poison they spread. If anything, I should think the tactics currently being used would make people *more* sympathetic to the leadership."
"And yet, it's not." Dara says, sadly. "Every time I look around, it seems to be doing exactly what they want. More and more people saying they should leave, if only to spare us the pain." A soft shrug. "I admit I know little enough about the Instigators, but I like to think I understand at least a little. I don't think even they would approve of this. Kidnapping, assaults, smashing eggs... Who has ever heard of someone doing that, before? Ever?" A deep shudder.
"Well, considering the climate, I imagine those who feel otherwise aren't speaking in public. That doesn't mean the belief isn't there." Roa reaches over to gently turn the little tree so a different side can get the strongest angle of sunlight. "I don't know what they would or wouldn't approve of. People were being murdered, caravans destroyed. I don't know, it all feels similar to me. The eggs, though. That was...I can't believe it happened, still."
Essdara nods softly. "That was... I will never be able to erase that memory, ever. He should have been dropped between, at the very least, not entrusted to E'sere. But, done is done." A shrug, and a sigh. "What can we do about it, Roa? That's aprt of it, I feel so helpless in all this, so powerless to do anything to make things better."
The Telgari looks over at Essdara. "I'm still working on that one. The best I can come up with is to not be afraid. The more we're affected, the more power they have. But that's easier said than done when people are being hurt and killed. Be open with information, I think. Go to the guards if you notice anything even a bit off. Learn how to defend yourself so you *don't* feel helpless."
Essdara nods a bit, and chuckles softly. "R'vain is helping with that." She confesses. "After Aida was taken, and after I was threatened directly... No, I have to be able to at least hold myself up a little, you know?" A sigh. "But even having to do that feels like a failure, like we should have stopped this long ago. All I know, the guards know... But if I find anything else, Jensen will hear."
"Good. R'vain's..." up go Roa's eyebrows, "He's teaching you how to fight?" she asks, quiet surprise in her voice. "Really? What's he shown you so far?"
"To defend myself." Is Dara's firm correction. "I am not a violent person, no matter what I felt like doing to Katric. And yes, he is... Who else? Jensen has enough on his hands... So far, mostly just falling, and observation, bit of what to look for to not get jumped in the first plce. He... Didn't want to go too far, before the hatching. Something about not wanting a bruised-up candidate on the sands. Why does this surprise you?"
Roa brings her hands up to scrub at her face swifting before heaving a soft sigh. "I great deal of what R'vain's done recently surprises me," she admits softly "I don't know. It just did. That you would ask or he would offer. Falling can be useful," she agrees. "And knowing the areas of the bdy that are the most vulnerable, regardless of base strength are also useful." A slight shift in topic.
Essdara looks, for a moment, like she might pursue it - certainly the curiosity is evident. But she accepts the shift and nods in return. "I don't know I will ever be any good at it, but I'd like to at least make sure that if something happens, I don't go easily, y'know?" A soft sigh. "Still. Be be really honest... It was my friends they threatened, not me. I guess they know me better than to think I would shut up for my own sake."
"Certainly you can be good at it," Roa says, frowning. "What would be the point of learning if you couldn't? This isn't a skill like cooking or writing. There's no opportunity to try again if you botch defending yourself in an actual situation. It doesn't have to be graceful or elegant. It just has to get you free and clear. I suppose if they threaten your friends and you can knock them unconscious...you've still sorta won?"
Essdara smiles to her, "No, I just... I mean, against someone who knows what they are doing, like R'vain or Jensen, I will never be a threat. Against someone less familier with violence, I hope to be able to do enough to get away, hey? I promise I take this very seriously..." A soft snort. "I still think he was just impressed at my tackling of Katric, though truth be told I just couldn't stop on the sand."
Roa laughs softly. "Well, whatever works." Her lips purse. "You could. Hold your own against someone like Jensen or R'vain. You just need to learn how. It's fast, but the right moves, done correctly, will work on anyone. Here, I'll show you something quick, if you want?"
Essdara tilts her head a bit, with a bit of an impish smile. "Could I, you think?" She looks Roa over a moment, and then nods, moving to stand up. "Sure, show me what you have in mind. I wouldn't mind having a bit of something unexpected on hand."
Jiann enters from the tunnel that leads out of the Weyr.
Roa sets her hide down and stands, brushing dust from the bowl off her skirt. "Well shells, Dara, if I can manage it, you surely can. You've got more height and heft than I do." Of course, considering the Telgari's size, that isn't much. Roa hold her arm on straight, parallel to the ground. "All right, take hold of my arm. Like you've just grabbed it."
Essdara steps forward; feet fall into an easy stance about shoulder length apart, her right foot a few steps in front of the left. Her hand reaches uot and grasps Roa's wrist, firmly; she's used to R'vain and not havign to be overly gentle, apparently. "Like this?"
Jiann's own skirt picks up some dust from the bowl, itself. The low-key -- some might even say elusive -- resident walks with an unhurried stride, and as she exits the tunnel leading out of the Weyr she pauses, scanning the length of the bowl. She's not often out here, after all.
Roa stands near the lake with Essdara. The kitchenhand is currently holding on to the weyrwoman'e extended arm, and a few feet away from where they stand is a small pot with a tiny tree perhaps a man's hand high. "Good. That's perfect. Now, I'm going to do this once quickly, so you can see what I did. And then I'll go more slowly, so I can teach you. Make sense?"
Essdara nods firmly. "Yes, ma'am." The voice of student to teacher, easily fallen into. She watches the little goldrider carefully, studying the movements she is making.
She may or may not recognize whatever dragons might be lazing about, but Essdara, at least, is familiar to Jiann. "Now why ain't I s'prised," the Tillek-searched former candidate mutters to herself, as it seems -- admittedly from a fair distance -- the other resident is holding some woman's hand. It bears investigating, and therefore Jiann walks.
Roa seems, at the moment, more focused on what's going on with Essdara and her hand than the approaching resident. Her own arm, the one that's held, flicks itself into a sharp, tight clockwise circle. The hand around her wrist will be, if it wants to hang on, forced to twist in ways not possible with the way human bones align. So, from one moment to the next, Roa's arm is free and she dances back a single step. She looks over to Essdara, a slight smile on her lips. "Now, I'll show you slowly, and then you'll try."
Essdara nods a little, giving her hand a little shake - trying to hold on, bad plan. A slight smile. "Didn't look too hard... Assuming someone grabs a wrist." She settles back into the stance and waits for Roa's arm to grasp. Her attention is fully on the lesson at hand, her mind drinking in the details, oblivious to the girl approaching.
That's a particularly bizarre courtship ritual, but then, Weyrfolk are kinda weird, aren't they. Jiann quirks her eyebrows, and gives her head a little shake as she continues to close the distance with the other women. "An' right out in th' middle'f everythin'," she continues to mutter. She punctuates with a disapproving cluck of her tongue.
Roa hmms. "Assuming," she agrees easily. "But one has to start somewhere. The trick is that there are certain ways body parts can't bend without breaking. And yoru insticts won't let you keep doing something that'll break you so..." And that's when Jiann speaks. The weyrwoman looks over, brows lifted. "Good afternoon. Self defense lesson. Care to join?" is offered by way of greeting.
A pause for a newcomer, and Dara relaxes and looks over to Jiann. A bright smile emerges and she offers a wave, "Heya, Jiann. Roa was just showing me how to break someone's hold on my wrist, should it be needed. Self defence seems to be the topic of the day. Want to join us? Have you met Roa? She's one of my two favourite Goldriders, and one of my best friends. Roa, Jiann, one of the other Candidates when we stood, and a good friend as well."
Jiann pauses some few yards off, her expression one of mild consternation. "Hullo," she offers, hesitant since she was thrown for a little loop there. Self defense? She even says it. "Self d'fense?" Her dark eyes flick back and forth between the other two. Shaking her head, she then replies, "Naw. Who'd attack me?" This is apparently rhetorical, for she doesn't really wait for reply. Instead her gaze moves back to Roa, and when she recognizes the knot on the other's shoulder -- and hears the introduction -- she shifts from foot to foot a bit. "Ma'am."
The Telgari glances down at her knot and then over at the squirming Jiann. "Just Roa, if that's all right. And I'm happy to take the thing off, if it's going to make you all squirmy. I worked in the kitchens until Tialith found me, and I don't see much point in putting on airs now that she has. Well met, Jiann." With a quick smile, she turns back to Essdara. "All right, watch carefully." Her arm moves in the same circle, only this time at quarter speed. The motion itself it extremely simple. "Just remember to move in this direction, towards the arm so the hand is twisting out and to the side. See?"
"Doesn't seem anyone is much safe these days, Jiann, and you know what was told to me." Is Dara's reply, decidedly less cheerful. Still, her gaze goes back to Roa, and she takes in the motion and the advice with a slow nod. Hand is held out, and she mimics the movement, as if she were held. "Right, that makes sanse." She says, quietly. "Try?"
Another back-and-forth glance, and Jiann, after making an effort to stop 'squirming,' simply shakes her head in reply to Roa. "Well met," she kind of mumbles, and then she subsides. A small frown tugs at her mouth as she watches the lesson; she does not answer Essdara.
Roa nods once. "Try," she agree, dropping her hand and then holding out the other to take hold of Essdara's arm. "Slow first, then we'll try more quickly."
Essdara looks to Jiann a moment, curious at her quiet, but shrugs it off; not that unusual, after all. Hand is held out for Roa to grasp, and once Roa has a firm grip on her, she imitates the motion, slowly. Hand moves in a short circle, outwards and away from her in an attempt to dislodge it. A small frown. "You know." She says, slowly. "Might hurt them more to do down on the inside, turn a bit, and bring an elbow to the head, no?" She asks, curiously.
Jiann stops shifting, although she may appear to be a bit uneasy at just... standing out here, watching the two go through these motions. She offers, quirking her eyebrows again, "Tha' sounds rather 'fensive, rather'n defensive."
Roa's hand slides away when it twists to the point of mild discomfort. "Good," she murmurs. And then the Telgari nods towards Jiann's comment. "She has a good point. But here, try it and see what happens." She shifts her weight a little, shakes her hand, and again settles it on Essdara's arm.
Essdara mutters softly, "Defence isn't just about getting away, but staying away. Knock 'em out and they don't do much else." She falls into stance, and holds out her right hand for Roa. once the grip is settled, Dara looks at it a moment, then at Roa, then back. She slowly turns to her left, pulling Roa in towards her, and rolling her back against the arm, with her other arm coming up to lightly touch towards Roa's head. Slow, just showing, not doing.
Jiann's frown deepens. Whether this is due to the reason behind the necessity of self-defense 'classes' or the simple fact she doesn't approve of the touching is anyone's guess. Since she's not participating either way, however, she eventually murmurs a "Pardon. Gonna continue m'walk." She gives a little nod to each. "Essdara." A tiny pause. "Roa."
"Not bad," the Telgari agrees. "The concerns I'd have are, one, if I've got your arm, I'm likely a bit taller and broader than...erm...me. So a whack to the head might not do it. Aim for the eyes, though, and possible. Or the throat. Square in the front middle. But if you twist my hand so it's pointed in and still towards your arm..." Roa releases Dara's arm, tilts her own wrist to a slightly more comfortable position, and grabs it again. "See? Which is why you want the grabbing hand pointed outwards at the end."
A small glance over to Jiann as the girl says her farewells. "Well met and take care," she offers as her parting words.
"Turned that way so I was on the outside of it, couldn't just grab me with the other hand. Hmm. Anyway, yeah, I can see how the first'd work." She looks over to Jiann curiously again. "See you later, Jiann?" She offers, in a hopeful voice.
Jiann mumbles something that probably should have been a polite reply to the goldrider, but it's clear the rank differential is putting the resident off a bit. Callused finger flicker in a tiny wave to Essdara, and Jiann moves along.
"I just think a whack to the head may not do it. But, I'm fairly new at this and I haven't experiemented a great deal myself. I..." Roa quiets, blinking slowly. "Actually, Dara, I'd better go. Tialith, apparently, itches." A small smirk. "And it's getting to dark for trees to soak up sun."
Essdara , then nods slowly. "Oh, ok. Well, It's nothing I'd try in reality anyway. But... Thanks for showing me that." A slight smile. "Maybe we'll get the chance to talk again son, and find something happier to talk about?"
Roa stoops down to scoop up her tree and heave a short sigh. "Faranth, I hope so. Keep well, will you? And tell T'zen I'll be by to visit soon as I can, if you see him first?"
Essdara nods, "I will, Roa. Clear skies, and hang in there, ok? We'll all get through this if we stick together, right?"
"Take care, Essdara. I think sticking togetheris a good plan." Tree under ehr arm, scroll in her hand, she heads off towards the direction of the dragon barracks, Tannum trailing behind.
Where: Bowl, HRW
Comment: A fun scene. Dara and Roa chat, and it turns into a small self-defence class. Jiann comes in, and is confused, then put off, by the goings on.
It's into the evening, just past dinnertime, and the Bowl of the weyr is still awash in sunlight. While it is growing ever so slightly darker as the sun approaches the rim of the bowl, there is still a good hour left of the warming light. In it, walking across the floor of the bowl and away from the weyrling cavern, comes Essdara, a small smile on her features as she slowly makes her way across it while enjoying the clear day.
Seated by the lake, quietly reading over a hide, is someone else who's enjoying the sun. Roa has her head bent, eyes skimming over the words although Tialith is nowhere to be seen as of yet. A distance away stands Tannum, guard of the hour, keeping watch. And besides Roa, in a little pot, is a plant perhaps a man's hand high. It looks...well, it looks like a very tiny tree, bark and all.
Who can miss a girl with a tree, in the normall barren bowl? Dara's path changes, and she approaches Roa with a bright smile. "Roa, dear, is there a reason you have a tree next to you?" She inquires as she stops nearby. Tannum gets a polite smile, but her attention is quickly back to Roa. "And while I know you said you were feeling better, it's nice to see you readin. May I join you/"
Tannum offers Essdara and little nod and a smile for her quick greeting, but he too is quick to avert his gaze and return to peering out and around the bowl. The little Telgari looks up as Essdara arrives and a smile spreads across her lips. "Dara. Of course. Sit down." The hide begins to get rolled up as she speaks. The tiny tree gets a glance before Roa explains, "It was a gift. And bringing it along outside is the only way I can make sure it gets enough sunlight. Living inside a mountain isn't very good for plants, it seems."
Essdara shakes her head, "Alas, no, it's not. They need to be out in the air and the sun. I tried to grow mint in a pot in the kitchens once, because I like it as fresh as I can get it, but it never did well. Winters are harer still, with the cold and the overall lack of light." A grin, "I gave up, but I hope you manage it. Plants are nice. How've you been?"
"I hope I can manage it as well," Roa agree, a finger touches some of the tiny leaves gently. "I'd rather not kill the poor little thing. It's not really suited for Reaches weather but...here it is. Me? Well," she sighs, looking up. "I'm well, considering the times. And you? Settling back in all right, or are you still getting the pity eyes?" A tiny smile at the idea.
Essdara makes a face. "Not so much anymore, thankfully. Which is nice, because I was starting to wonder if there was something wrong with me NOT being heartbroken, you know?" Still, she smiles less now, though probably in reference to the times. "Yeah, been bad lately. I'd hoped the hatching would ease things up, but I guess T'zen and Issa pretty much ruin that concept, no?"
"Pretty much," Roa says softly. "I haven't quite steeled myself to visiting them yet, but I should. Soon. How are they? Tialith said Uneth was seven sorts of fretful when it happened. I don't suppose anyone knows anything more than that they're injured?" She quiets before adding softly, "There's nothing wrong with not being heartsick. I suppose it's just expected that those who don't impress would be. Would you stand again, do you think?"
"They will be ok, I thnk. From what I heard, Issa just has a broken wrist. T'zen... I dunno, he was pretty bad off, and he was out the whole time I was there. I was with Tava, when she heard..." A soft sigh. "She's pretty broken, and I know she's terrified of him being hurt." A quiet pause, and a soft smirk. "Don't think I will have any choice but to, near as I can tell. Between Yevide and R'vain, don't think I'll have any peace if I try to say no."
Roa nods slowly and exhales equally slowly. "This place was so calm and quiet when I first arrived," she murmurs. "Things weren't perfect but now...I just don't understand." Her fingers tap at the rolled hide resting in her lap. "R'vain *and* Yevide? I'm still impressed he asked you to stand. He's not known for thinking much of women on fighting dragons. Are you still...ah...training with him?"
Essdara nods, with firm conviction. "Yes, Roa, I am. And it has been very good for me. We have our agreements in place, and he hasn't once come close to breaking them. I trust him, pretty much as much as I trust anyone. And, yeah... She's who made me Stand this time." She makes a small face. "Right after telling me I wasn't allowed to visit her anymore. Calm and quiet... I miss those days, rather a lot."
"You can't visit Yevide anymore? Because f what's happening or something else?" Roa's fingers smoothw her skirt lightly before again curling over the rolled hide. "Well, the Weyrlingmaster's been...I don't kno. Rising to the challenge, I suppose. Better than I've yet seen him, so perhaps you're good for him as well."
Essdara sighs, softly. "A couple weeks before the hatching, I was approached by a man. I was told, in no uncertain terms, that I was to step back from my friendship with her, and to stop talking about her. There was... Implied threats, in the words and manner. So Yevide said I had to listen. Standing was... My way of showing I still was with her." A soft smile, then. "I think we are good for each other, for what we are, R'vain and I. I don't claim to really /understand/ it, but... I think we do well for each other."
"So long as you enjoy it," says Roa with a small nod, "I have no complaints." She closes her mouth and turns to look out at the water. "I'm sorry about Yevide. And the man. Did they catch him, do you know? Was he one of the ones they...one of the ones tht are gone now?" to who knows where.
Essdara shakes her head, "He wasn't, no. Big man, blond. I gave all I could recall about him, so they know who to look for, but these guys are pretty slippery... But Aida says she saw him, when she was..." Unspoken. "So it's the same people, and there are still some around."
"They're still around," Roa repeats softly, still watching the water. She looks down then, picking up a flat, smooth stone and tossing ir roughly but in such a fashion as to send it think slipping along the water about seven times before it sinks. "Faranth, what do they think they're going to prove with all this?"
Essdara sighs, softly. "They seem to want to scare Yevide and J'cor away. They..." A pause, and a long look at Roa, considering, before she goes on. "When they were talking to me, they also made some comments that I could only takes as direct threats, Roa. I don't understand them at all... It's not like she's doing a bad job, or he's a poor leader. Why does this matter so much to them?"
Knees are drawn up and Roa loops her arms around them. "They're scapegoats, I think. A place to put all the fear and worry and doubt. If J'cor and Yevide leave, everything will be perfect once again." A small snort shares Roa's thoughts on that. "I don't think they came to power earnestly, but this isn't a reaosnable way to go about getting change. It's...madness."
"It is, indeed." Dara says, softly. "It scares me more than anything else has, 'cept maybe Thread. Do I think Yevide came into power in a fully honest way? Nah. But that doesn't mean she's not the right person for the job. Who else? Sinopa?" A soft snort at that. "Can't see her doing better."
"Diya," is the murmured reply. "It should have been Diya. It was her time, and..." her mouth closes for a moment and Roa finishes with, "it never should have happened this way." A faint smirk, "And Faranth protect us all from certain young and fashionable goldriders coming into power,"
Essdara thinks about that a moment. "I admit I never met Diya, don't know her at all to know one way or another. But if I had to choose between Yevide and, well, someone else? Yevide has been good to me, the other not so much. But we get what we get, and that's the way it is, and none of this will do anything but make life harder for everyone. And I don't get why they want people scared like this."
"I don't either. If you only look at the few times this has benn tried...it never works. It hurts people, it makes the world angry and it demeans your cause. Look at...well," Roa exhales sharply, "look at the biggest example. The Instigators. You think most people know *why* they did what they did? No. The average person knows what they did. The poison they spread. If anything, I should think the tactics currently being used would make people *more* sympathetic to the leadership."
"And yet, it's not." Dara says, sadly. "Every time I look around, it seems to be doing exactly what they want. More and more people saying they should leave, if only to spare us the pain." A soft shrug. "I admit I know little enough about the Instigators, but I like to think I understand at least a little. I don't think even they would approve of this. Kidnapping, assaults, smashing eggs... Who has ever heard of someone doing that, before? Ever?" A deep shudder.
"Well, considering the climate, I imagine those who feel otherwise aren't speaking in public. That doesn't mean the belief isn't there." Roa reaches over to gently turn the little tree so a different side can get the strongest angle of sunlight. "I don't know what they would or wouldn't approve of. People were being murdered, caravans destroyed. I don't know, it all feels similar to me. The eggs, though. That was...I can't believe it happened, still."
Essdara nods softly. "That was... I will never be able to erase that memory, ever. He should have been dropped between, at the very least, not entrusted to E'sere. But, done is done." A shrug, and a sigh. "What can we do about it, Roa? That's aprt of it, I feel so helpless in all this, so powerless to do anything to make things better."
The Telgari looks over at Essdara. "I'm still working on that one. The best I can come up with is to not be afraid. The more we're affected, the more power they have. But that's easier said than done when people are being hurt and killed. Be open with information, I think. Go to the guards if you notice anything even a bit off. Learn how to defend yourself so you *don't* feel helpless."
Essdara nods a bit, and chuckles softly. "R'vain is helping with that." She confesses. "After Aida was taken, and after I was threatened directly... No, I have to be able to at least hold myself up a little, you know?" A sigh. "But even having to do that feels like a failure, like we should have stopped this long ago. All I know, the guards know... But if I find anything else, Jensen will hear."
"Good. R'vain's..." up go Roa's eyebrows, "He's teaching you how to fight?" she asks, quiet surprise in her voice. "Really? What's he shown you so far?"
"To defend myself." Is Dara's firm correction. "I am not a violent person, no matter what I felt like doing to Katric. And yes, he is... Who else? Jensen has enough on his hands... So far, mostly just falling, and observation, bit of what to look for to not get jumped in the first plce. He... Didn't want to go too far, before the hatching. Something about not wanting a bruised-up candidate on the sands. Why does this surprise you?"
Roa brings her hands up to scrub at her face swifting before heaving a soft sigh. "I great deal of what R'vain's done recently surprises me," she admits softly "I don't know. It just did. That you would ask or he would offer. Falling can be useful," she agrees. "And knowing the areas of the bdy that are the most vulnerable, regardless of base strength are also useful." A slight shift in topic.
Essdara looks, for a moment, like she might pursue it - certainly the curiosity is evident. But she accepts the shift and nods in return. "I don't know I will ever be any good at it, but I'd like to at least make sure that if something happens, I don't go easily, y'know?" A soft sigh. "Still. Be be really honest... It was my friends they threatened, not me. I guess they know me better than to think I would shut up for my own sake."
"Certainly you can be good at it," Roa says, frowning. "What would be the point of learning if you couldn't? This isn't a skill like cooking or writing. There's no opportunity to try again if you botch defending yourself in an actual situation. It doesn't have to be graceful or elegant. It just has to get you free and clear. I suppose if they threaten your friends and you can knock them unconscious...you've still sorta won?"
Essdara smiles to her, "No, I just... I mean, against someone who knows what they are doing, like R'vain or Jensen, I will never be a threat. Against someone less familier with violence, I hope to be able to do enough to get away, hey? I promise I take this very seriously..." A soft snort. "I still think he was just impressed at my tackling of Katric, though truth be told I just couldn't stop on the sand."
Roa laughs softly. "Well, whatever works." Her lips purse. "You could. Hold your own against someone like Jensen or R'vain. You just need to learn how. It's fast, but the right moves, done correctly, will work on anyone. Here, I'll show you something quick, if you want?"
Essdara tilts her head a bit, with a bit of an impish smile. "Could I, you think?" She looks Roa over a moment, and then nods, moving to stand up. "Sure, show me what you have in mind. I wouldn't mind having a bit of something unexpected on hand."
Jiann enters from the tunnel that leads out of the Weyr.
Roa sets her hide down and stands, brushing dust from the bowl off her skirt. "Well shells, Dara, if I can manage it, you surely can. You've got more height and heft than I do." Of course, considering the Telgari's size, that isn't much. Roa hold her arm on straight, parallel to the ground. "All right, take hold of my arm. Like you've just grabbed it."
Essdara steps forward; feet fall into an easy stance about shoulder length apart, her right foot a few steps in front of the left. Her hand reaches uot and grasps Roa's wrist, firmly; she's used to R'vain and not havign to be overly gentle, apparently. "Like this?"
Jiann's own skirt picks up some dust from the bowl, itself. The low-key -- some might even say elusive -- resident walks with an unhurried stride, and as she exits the tunnel leading out of the Weyr she pauses, scanning the length of the bowl. She's not often out here, after all.
Roa stands near the lake with Essdara. The kitchenhand is currently holding on to the weyrwoman'e extended arm, and a few feet away from where they stand is a small pot with a tiny tree perhaps a man's hand high. "Good. That's perfect. Now, I'm going to do this once quickly, so you can see what I did. And then I'll go more slowly, so I can teach you. Make sense?"
Essdara nods firmly. "Yes, ma'am." The voice of student to teacher, easily fallen into. She watches the little goldrider carefully, studying the movements she is making.
She may or may not recognize whatever dragons might be lazing about, but Essdara, at least, is familiar to Jiann. "Now why ain't I s'prised," the Tillek-searched former candidate mutters to herself, as it seems -- admittedly from a fair distance -- the other resident is holding some woman's hand. It bears investigating, and therefore Jiann walks.
Roa seems, at the moment, more focused on what's going on with Essdara and her hand than the approaching resident. Her own arm, the one that's held, flicks itself into a sharp, tight clockwise circle. The hand around her wrist will be, if it wants to hang on, forced to twist in ways not possible with the way human bones align. So, from one moment to the next, Roa's arm is free and she dances back a single step. She looks over to Essdara, a slight smile on her lips. "Now, I'll show you slowly, and then you'll try."
Essdara nods a little, giving her hand a little shake - trying to hold on, bad plan. A slight smile. "Didn't look too hard... Assuming someone grabs a wrist." She settles back into the stance and waits for Roa's arm to grasp. Her attention is fully on the lesson at hand, her mind drinking in the details, oblivious to the girl approaching.
That's a particularly bizarre courtship ritual, but then, Weyrfolk are kinda weird, aren't they. Jiann quirks her eyebrows, and gives her head a little shake as she continues to close the distance with the other women. "An' right out in th' middle'f everythin'," she continues to mutter. She punctuates with a disapproving cluck of her tongue.
Roa hmms. "Assuming," she agrees easily. "But one has to start somewhere. The trick is that there are certain ways body parts can't bend without breaking. And yoru insticts won't let you keep doing something that'll break you so..." And that's when Jiann speaks. The weyrwoman looks over, brows lifted. "Good afternoon. Self defense lesson. Care to join?" is offered by way of greeting.
A pause for a newcomer, and Dara relaxes and looks over to Jiann. A bright smile emerges and she offers a wave, "Heya, Jiann. Roa was just showing me how to break someone's hold on my wrist, should it be needed. Self defence seems to be the topic of the day. Want to join us? Have you met Roa? She's one of my two favourite Goldriders, and one of my best friends. Roa, Jiann, one of the other Candidates when we stood, and a good friend as well."
Jiann pauses some few yards off, her expression one of mild consternation. "Hullo," she offers, hesitant since she was thrown for a little loop there. Self defense? She even says it. "Self d'fense?" Her dark eyes flick back and forth between the other two. Shaking her head, she then replies, "Naw. Who'd attack me?" This is apparently rhetorical, for she doesn't really wait for reply. Instead her gaze moves back to Roa, and when she recognizes the knot on the other's shoulder -- and hears the introduction -- she shifts from foot to foot a bit. "Ma'am."
The Telgari glances down at her knot and then over at the squirming Jiann. "Just Roa, if that's all right. And I'm happy to take the thing off, if it's going to make you all squirmy. I worked in the kitchens until Tialith found me, and I don't see much point in putting on airs now that she has. Well met, Jiann." With a quick smile, she turns back to Essdara. "All right, watch carefully." Her arm moves in the same circle, only this time at quarter speed. The motion itself it extremely simple. "Just remember to move in this direction, towards the arm so the hand is twisting out and to the side. See?"
"Doesn't seem anyone is much safe these days, Jiann, and you know what was told to me." Is Dara's reply, decidedly less cheerful. Still, her gaze goes back to Roa, and she takes in the motion and the advice with a slow nod. Hand is held out, and she mimics the movement, as if she were held. "Right, that makes sanse." She says, quietly. "Try?"
Another back-and-forth glance, and Jiann, after making an effort to stop 'squirming,' simply shakes her head in reply to Roa. "Well met," she kind of mumbles, and then she subsides. A small frown tugs at her mouth as she watches the lesson; she does not answer Essdara.
Roa nods once. "Try," she agree, dropping her hand and then holding out the other to take hold of Essdara's arm. "Slow first, then we'll try more quickly."
Essdara looks to Jiann a moment, curious at her quiet, but shrugs it off; not that unusual, after all. Hand is held out for Roa to grasp, and once Roa has a firm grip on her, she imitates the motion, slowly. Hand moves in a short circle, outwards and away from her in an attempt to dislodge it. A small frown. "You know." She says, slowly. "Might hurt them more to do down on the inside, turn a bit, and bring an elbow to the head, no?" She asks, curiously.
Jiann stops shifting, although she may appear to be a bit uneasy at just... standing out here, watching the two go through these motions. She offers, quirking her eyebrows again, "Tha' sounds rather 'fensive, rather'n defensive."
Roa's hand slides away when it twists to the point of mild discomfort. "Good," she murmurs. And then the Telgari nods towards Jiann's comment. "She has a good point. But here, try it and see what happens." She shifts her weight a little, shakes her hand, and again settles it on Essdara's arm.
Essdara mutters softly, "Defence isn't just about getting away, but staying away. Knock 'em out and they don't do much else." She falls into stance, and holds out her right hand for Roa. once the grip is settled, Dara looks at it a moment, then at Roa, then back. She slowly turns to her left, pulling Roa in towards her, and rolling her back against the arm, with her other arm coming up to lightly touch towards Roa's head. Slow, just showing, not doing.
Jiann's frown deepens. Whether this is due to the reason behind the necessity of self-defense 'classes' or the simple fact she doesn't approve of the touching is anyone's guess. Since she's not participating either way, however, she eventually murmurs a "Pardon. Gonna continue m'walk." She gives a little nod to each. "Essdara." A tiny pause. "Roa."
"Not bad," the Telgari agrees. "The concerns I'd have are, one, if I've got your arm, I'm likely a bit taller and broader than...erm...me. So a whack to the head might not do it. Aim for the eyes, though, and possible. Or the throat. Square in the front middle. But if you twist my hand so it's pointed in and still towards your arm..." Roa releases Dara's arm, tilts her own wrist to a slightly more comfortable position, and grabs it again. "See? Which is why you want the grabbing hand pointed outwards at the end."
A small glance over to Jiann as the girl says her farewells. "Well met and take care," she offers as her parting words.
"Turned that way so I was on the outside of it, couldn't just grab me with the other hand. Hmm. Anyway, yeah, I can see how the first'd work." She looks over to Jiann curiously again. "See you later, Jiann?" She offers, in a hopeful voice.
Jiann mumbles something that probably should have been a polite reply to the goldrider, but it's clear the rank differential is putting the resident off a bit. Callused finger flicker in a tiny wave to Essdara, and Jiann moves along.
"I just think a whack to the head may not do it. But, I'm fairly new at this and I haven't experiemented a great deal myself. I..." Roa quiets, blinking slowly. "Actually, Dara, I'd better go. Tialith, apparently, itches." A small smirk. "And it's getting to dark for trees to soak up sun."
Essdara , then nods slowly. "Oh, ok. Well, It's nothing I'd try in reality anyway. But... Thanks for showing me that." A slight smile. "Maybe we'll get the chance to talk again son, and find something happier to talk about?"
Roa stoops down to scoop up her tree and heave a short sigh. "Faranth, I hope so. Keep well, will you? And tell T'zen I'll be by to visit soon as I can, if you see him first?"
Essdara nods, "I will, Roa. Clear skies, and hang in there, ok? We'll all get through this if we stick together, right?"
"Take care, Essdara. I think sticking togetheris a good plan." Tree under ehr arm, scroll in her hand, she heads off towards the direction of the dragon barracks, Tannum trailing behind.