Confessions
Who: Nari, Dara
Where: Stores
When: Gather Night
Comment: Nari stumbles on Dara, and they reveal things to each other.
Evening in the store rooms is a nearly silent time. The days work is done, and what needs to be brought back is, by and large, already returned. It is a dark and quiet room, except for the bubble of glow-provided light that surrounds Dara, who has a record hide on one arm and a marker in the other and seems to be tallying the current stock of herbs the weyr has.
There is a rustle of fabric, the swish of a skirt as Nari enters. Her posture is a little odd, as if she were torn between two versions of herself and hadn't figured out which one to be yet. She adjusts her skirt with a deft flick of the wrist and looks around. "Now, if I were a fresh glow... where would I be?"
The voice carries in the cavernous rooms, and Dara looks up with a bright smile of recognition. The bubble of light around her moves, coming out around the end of the row where the herbs are kept; close to the door to the kitchens, where they are most used. "Nari?" She asks, as if needing to confirm her identification. "There should be some right by the door here, but sometimes they aren't all that fresh this late in the day. I've some here?" She approaches the greenrider with a smile, light bobbing as she walks.
Nari offers a slightly shy smile to Dara. "Yes, it's me." Nari is done up in her gather wear, looking slightly out of place here in the stores. She fidgets with her skirt again and then smiles, "Thank you. My weyr is too dark to read in already." She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then looks to Dara curiously. "I would have thought to find you at the Gather, Dara."
A look of mingled sadness and pain briefly flashes across the cook's features, and she shakes her head. "Not today, it's my turn to man the kitchens while others go off to play. It's only fair, as I had the last two parties off." A look over the greenrider and a smile. "But you must be just returning? You look lovely." She looks over at the table where the glows normall are, and makes a face at the lack of them. "And it would seem whomever is supposed to be looking after our glow supplies is similarly distracted, I'm sorry to say. How was it? Was the dancing good?"
Picking up on the look, Nari winces with sympathy and hesitates. When Dara continues speaking she offers another of her shy smiles. "The Gather... was a gather." Nari breaths a soft laugh and shakes her head. "And thank you for the compliment. I couldn't resist buying this dress ages ago. Never had a real excuse to wear it until now."
A bright smile, as Dara focuses the light a bit more to look over the garb again. "It was a good investment, and suits you very well. I've two nice dresses now, since it didn't seem right to wear the same one to back to back events like the Turn's End party, and the Caucus gather. Not sure how much use they will get, though..." She offers the basked. "I'm not doing anything in here that can't wait until morning, just some inventory. You're welcome to these... You didn't dance, then?"
"Er. No. I don't dance." Nari confides with a small smile. She accepts the glows, though seems more interested in conversation for now. "Is there anything I can help with?" Because when one is dressed for a gather, they look into extra chores.
Essdara tilts her head. "You don't? That's a shame, to get all pretty and not get to dance." The voice of experience there. "I'd not have let you get away with that, had I been there!" she teases, grinning. "And no, I'll call it a night. Just checking what herbs we need mroe of, we have to do that every couple weeks. But it can wait, and I am tired of hiding in here anyway, but it stops people asking why I'm not at the Gather."
Aware that she'd just done the very thing, Nari swallows the question and just offers Dara a smile. "Well... I no longer have my station to make me interesting, so. I don't know. I suppose I just get uncomfortable. And.. that arena is already complicated enough right now. I ran into Aida."
"Station? And you are interesting." is Dara's prompt reply. "At least, I think you are. And... How did it go?" She offers a sympathetic smile. "I will confess, you lot have a very complicated situation on your hands. If you ever need an ear that's not involved..."
"I really appreciate that Dara." Nari offers warmly, smiling. "I... could really use a friend right now." There's a pause, "Well, a friend that I haven't had uncomfortable sex with and isn't a man and isn't someone I've been... well. You know how it is."
Essdara winces a bit. "Yeah, I do, actually. After Yevide was killed I... Went to a bad place. One of the low points was getting drunk and sleeping with a friend and a bronzerider. Not quite how I pictured getting her into bed, especially knowing she wasn't interested." She sidles a bit closer. "But, I'll do what I can to help, Nari. I'm a good ear, even if I don't always have the answer. A shared burden is lighter."
With a gentle laugh Nari offers a conspiritoral smile. "That sounds like something D'ven would give his eyeteeth to be involved in." Ohhhh innocence. "I really appreciate that, Dara. It's just..." She leans against a table, resting her weight on her hip. "It's just.. this Br'ce thing is ... it's really gotten to me."
"Not his eyeteeth, just the drinks." Dara says with a wince. "And no, I don't think he was much complaining. But what's done is done." She mirrors Nari's posture, leaning against the table herself. "Want to go somewhere, sit down, have a chat about it? There's some fresh bubblies in the kitchens, I could snag them and a skin of juice or wine or something." If there's slight distaste ont he word wine, well, the reason should be obvious.
Blink. Blink. Stare. "Oh. It /was/ D'ven." Nari looks taken aback. "Well, I suppose I should have known." At the offer of food, Nari nods. "Yes. That sounds... good." She's recovering from her surprise, though there is a faint tinge to her expression still.
Essdara nods, then blushes. "Oh. Of course you're from Benden and know Br'ce, so you'd know him. Yeah, it was... Well, a mistake. Nice as he is, he's about as far from my type as you can get. If Van'd not been there... Anyway!" She turns away, to hide the expression there as she takes a few steps towards the kitchens. "There's a quiet table in the kitchens, we can sit there... Pretty much empty in there now, with the gather and all."
That has Nari pausing. "D'ven had sex with Vanya." Shock. She struggles to come to terms with this and then nods. "Yes. Table. Right." She mutters something under her breath.
"Umm. At least once..." Dara says, the suspicion of more clear in her voice. "I don't ask, don't really want to know. I'd rather forget the entire thing ever happened." Dara glances back. "I missed that last bit of what you said?" She asks, pausing in her walking. "'Least for you, it was your dragon and not blind stupidity and grief."
Nari looks up and resumes her walking. "Huh." She frowns just a bit and then shakes her head. "It's.. nothing." She smiles, and then stops again, abruptly. "No. Actually. It's not nothing. Can you keep a secret, Dara?"
Essdara nods, "Yes, Nari." A small smile. "I don't go in for gossip, save about myself. And when it comes to my friends, well... I'd rather drop a knife through my foto again than betray a secret entrusted by someone I care about." She faces Nari fully, offering what she hopes is a reassuring smile. "And I like you."
There is a slightly shy smile at that and Nari murmurs, "Thank you Dara." There is another pause and she resists the urge to run a hand through her hair, though she lifts her hand as if to do so. "I..." Ohhh this is hard. "I've been in love with D'ven for about... well. Since I was about thirteen or fourteen turns old." Now that it's out, Nari's cheeks go crimson. "And tell me that isn't the stupidest thing you've ever heard."
Essdara tilts her head, and smiles a little bit. "He's a very nice person, Nari, and I don't think there is anything stupid about that at all. The only reason I'm not more interested than I am is becuse, frankly, I'd rather be with someone like you than him. But outside of that night, I have had some good conversations with him, and I respect him a lot." She shifts a bit. "I can't say I've ever had love last that long... I tend to fall for people who are either completely uninterested in girls, or just plain bad for me. But you don't seem like someone who'd fall for someone unless they were worth falling for."
"He's... D'ven." The phrase says it all. The hallmark of complete infatuation. Nari shakes her head. "But it's also... /D'ven/ and ... yes. See, here's the tricky part of this play. Br'ce knows. He's always known." Nari can't help herself and tugs on a loose lock of hair. "And... I get the impression from something he said to me... that for as long as I've pined in secret for D'ven... that maybe... just... maybe..." Nari ducks her head, voice dropping to the barest murmur, "That maybe Br'ce felt the same way for me."
The look Dara gives in reply to that is, if anything, envious. "Br'ce is a sweet man, and I can see that it would be easy for him to like you." She admits. "But if your heart is elsewhere, Nari, then you need to do what is right for you." A quiet moment. "Do you love him? Br'ce, I mean?"
"I.. love.. Br'ce?" That thought seems to give Nari some problems. "I... haven't ever really considered.. I mean, he's been my best-friend forever. Yes, I mean, we do occasionally have sex because our dragons seem connected at the groin, but... He's... Br'ce. He's safe." The smile is a tender one. "And id doesn't matter because he loves Aida, and not me. If he did before... that was before."
A moment's thought by Dara. "Aida isn't an issue, anymore. Unless something changed i haven't heard about. And... That's not the question, either. You have feelings for D'ven, and you say you think Br'ce might for you. Would you, Nari, be able to return those feelings? Would you be happy, if you did?"
"I don't know." Nari replies honestly. "I... there was a moment this last time that I thought, for a moment that that might be a possibility." Nari lets out a little bit of a laugh. "But then he reminded me I wasn't Aida and ran. So." She smiles then and lets go of the stray ringlet. "I'd love to have that bubblie with you Dara... but I think I need to go lay down for a moment."
Essdara nods a bit. She steps in, and gives her a light hug. "Nari, I'm always around. You'll figure this out. Just... Look after you, first. And remember that you aren't responsible for how other people feel, and that just because someone loves you, doesn't mean you have to love them. No matter how nice a feeling that is..." A wrinkled nose. "That's my weakness, there. Doesn't matter how bad someone is for me, if they actually like me."
Where: Stores
When: Gather Night
Comment: Nari stumbles on Dara, and they reveal things to each other.
Evening in the store rooms is a nearly silent time. The days work is done, and what needs to be brought back is, by and large, already returned. It is a dark and quiet room, except for the bubble of glow-provided light that surrounds Dara, who has a record hide on one arm and a marker in the other and seems to be tallying the current stock of herbs the weyr has.
There is a rustle of fabric, the swish of a skirt as Nari enters. Her posture is a little odd, as if she were torn between two versions of herself and hadn't figured out which one to be yet. She adjusts her skirt with a deft flick of the wrist and looks around. "Now, if I were a fresh glow... where would I be?"
The voice carries in the cavernous rooms, and Dara looks up with a bright smile of recognition. The bubble of light around her moves, coming out around the end of the row where the herbs are kept; close to the door to the kitchens, where they are most used. "Nari?" She asks, as if needing to confirm her identification. "There should be some right by the door here, but sometimes they aren't all that fresh this late in the day. I've some here?" She approaches the greenrider with a smile, light bobbing as she walks.
Nari offers a slightly shy smile to Dara. "Yes, it's me." Nari is done up in her gather wear, looking slightly out of place here in the stores. She fidgets with her skirt again and then smiles, "Thank you. My weyr is too dark to read in already." She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and then looks to Dara curiously. "I would have thought to find you at the Gather, Dara."
A look of mingled sadness and pain briefly flashes across the cook's features, and she shakes her head. "Not today, it's my turn to man the kitchens while others go off to play. It's only fair, as I had the last two parties off." A look over the greenrider and a smile. "But you must be just returning? You look lovely." She looks over at the table where the glows normall are, and makes a face at the lack of them. "And it would seem whomever is supposed to be looking after our glow supplies is similarly distracted, I'm sorry to say. How was it? Was the dancing good?"
Picking up on the look, Nari winces with sympathy and hesitates. When Dara continues speaking she offers another of her shy smiles. "The Gather... was a gather." Nari breaths a soft laugh and shakes her head. "And thank you for the compliment. I couldn't resist buying this dress ages ago. Never had a real excuse to wear it until now."
A bright smile, as Dara focuses the light a bit more to look over the garb again. "It was a good investment, and suits you very well. I've two nice dresses now, since it didn't seem right to wear the same one to back to back events like the Turn's End party, and the Caucus gather. Not sure how much use they will get, though..." She offers the basked. "I'm not doing anything in here that can't wait until morning, just some inventory. You're welcome to these... You didn't dance, then?"
"Er. No. I don't dance." Nari confides with a small smile. She accepts the glows, though seems more interested in conversation for now. "Is there anything I can help with?" Because when one is dressed for a gather, they look into extra chores.
Essdara tilts her head. "You don't? That's a shame, to get all pretty and not get to dance." The voice of experience there. "I'd not have let you get away with that, had I been there!" she teases, grinning. "And no, I'll call it a night. Just checking what herbs we need mroe of, we have to do that every couple weeks. But it can wait, and I am tired of hiding in here anyway, but it stops people asking why I'm not at the Gather."
Aware that she'd just done the very thing, Nari swallows the question and just offers Dara a smile. "Well... I no longer have my station to make me interesting, so. I don't know. I suppose I just get uncomfortable. And.. that arena is already complicated enough right now. I ran into Aida."
"Station? And you are interesting." is Dara's prompt reply. "At least, I think you are. And... How did it go?" She offers a sympathetic smile. "I will confess, you lot have a very complicated situation on your hands. If you ever need an ear that's not involved..."
"I really appreciate that Dara." Nari offers warmly, smiling. "I... could really use a friend right now." There's a pause, "Well, a friend that I haven't had uncomfortable sex with and isn't a man and isn't someone I've been... well. You know how it is."
Essdara winces a bit. "Yeah, I do, actually. After Yevide was killed I... Went to a bad place. One of the low points was getting drunk and sleeping with a friend and a bronzerider. Not quite how I pictured getting her into bed, especially knowing she wasn't interested." She sidles a bit closer. "But, I'll do what I can to help, Nari. I'm a good ear, even if I don't always have the answer. A shared burden is lighter."
With a gentle laugh Nari offers a conspiritoral smile. "That sounds like something D'ven would give his eyeteeth to be involved in." Ohhhh innocence. "I really appreciate that, Dara. It's just..." She leans against a table, resting her weight on her hip. "It's just.. this Br'ce thing is ... it's really gotten to me."
"Not his eyeteeth, just the drinks." Dara says with a wince. "And no, I don't think he was much complaining. But what's done is done." She mirrors Nari's posture, leaning against the table herself. "Want to go somewhere, sit down, have a chat about it? There's some fresh bubblies in the kitchens, I could snag them and a skin of juice or wine or something." If there's slight distaste ont he word wine, well, the reason should be obvious.
Blink. Blink. Stare. "Oh. It /was/ D'ven." Nari looks taken aback. "Well, I suppose I should have known." At the offer of food, Nari nods. "Yes. That sounds... good." She's recovering from her surprise, though there is a faint tinge to her expression still.
Essdara nods, then blushes. "Oh. Of course you're from Benden and know Br'ce, so you'd know him. Yeah, it was... Well, a mistake. Nice as he is, he's about as far from my type as you can get. If Van'd not been there... Anyway!" She turns away, to hide the expression there as she takes a few steps towards the kitchens. "There's a quiet table in the kitchens, we can sit there... Pretty much empty in there now, with the gather and all."
That has Nari pausing. "D'ven had sex with Vanya." Shock. She struggles to come to terms with this and then nods. "Yes. Table. Right." She mutters something under her breath.
"Umm. At least once..." Dara says, the suspicion of more clear in her voice. "I don't ask, don't really want to know. I'd rather forget the entire thing ever happened." Dara glances back. "I missed that last bit of what you said?" She asks, pausing in her walking. "'Least for you, it was your dragon and not blind stupidity and grief."
Nari looks up and resumes her walking. "Huh." She frowns just a bit and then shakes her head. "It's.. nothing." She smiles, and then stops again, abruptly. "No. Actually. It's not nothing. Can you keep a secret, Dara?"
Essdara nods, "Yes, Nari." A small smile. "I don't go in for gossip, save about myself. And when it comes to my friends, well... I'd rather drop a knife through my foto again than betray a secret entrusted by someone I care about." She faces Nari fully, offering what she hopes is a reassuring smile. "And I like you."
There is a slightly shy smile at that and Nari murmurs, "Thank you Dara." There is another pause and she resists the urge to run a hand through her hair, though she lifts her hand as if to do so. "I..." Ohhh this is hard. "I've been in love with D'ven for about... well. Since I was about thirteen or fourteen turns old." Now that it's out, Nari's cheeks go crimson. "And tell me that isn't the stupidest thing you've ever heard."
Essdara tilts her head, and smiles a little bit. "He's a very nice person, Nari, and I don't think there is anything stupid about that at all. The only reason I'm not more interested than I am is becuse, frankly, I'd rather be with someone like you than him. But outside of that night, I have had some good conversations with him, and I respect him a lot." She shifts a bit. "I can't say I've ever had love last that long... I tend to fall for people who are either completely uninterested in girls, or just plain bad for me. But you don't seem like someone who'd fall for someone unless they were worth falling for."
"He's... D'ven." The phrase says it all. The hallmark of complete infatuation. Nari shakes her head. "But it's also... /D'ven/ and ... yes. See, here's the tricky part of this play. Br'ce knows. He's always known." Nari can't help herself and tugs on a loose lock of hair. "And... I get the impression from something he said to me... that for as long as I've pined in secret for D'ven... that maybe... just... maybe..." Nari ducks her head, voice dropping to the barest murmur, "That maybe Br'ce felt the same way for me."
The look Dara gives in reply to that is, if anything, envious. "Br'ce is a sweet man, and I can see that it would be easy for him to like you." She admits. "But if your heart is elsewhere, Nari, then you need to do what is right for you." A quiet moment. "Do you love him? Br'ce, I mean?"
"I.. love.. Br'ce?" That thought seems to give Nari some problems. "I... haven't ever really considered.. I mean, he's been my best-friend forever. Yes, I mean, we do occasionally have sex because our dragons seem connected at the groin, but... He's... Br'ce. He's safe." The smile is a tender one. "And id doesn't matter because he loves Aida, and not me. If he did before... that was before."
A moment's thought by Dara. "Aida isn't an issue, anymore. Unless something changed i haven't heard about. And... That's not the question, either. You have feelings for D'ven, and you say you think Br'ce might for you. Would you, Nari, be able to return those feelings? Would you be happy, if you did?"
"I don't know." Nari replies honestly. "I... there was a moment this last time that I thought, for a moment that that might be a possibility." Nari lets out a little bit of a laugh. "But then he reminded me I wasn't Aida and ran. So." She smiles then and lets go of the stray ringlet. "I'd love to have that bubblie with you Dara... but I think I need to go lay down for a moment."
Essdara nods a bit. She steps in, and gives her a light hug. "Nari, I'm always around. You'll figure this out. Just... Look after you, first. And remember that you aren't responsible for how other people feel, and that just because someone loves you, doesn't mean you have to love them. No matter how nice a feeling that is..." A wrinkled nose. "That's my weakness, there. Doesn't matter how bad someone is for me, if they actually like me."