Never give a direct answer
Who: Usha, Zaeyla
Where: Living Caverns, Fort Weyr
When: Very Late Night/Early Morning, Day 26, month 8, turn 442
Comment: A short but fun scene. I am still finding Usha's personality and voice, but I think it's starting to come out. A bit different than I expected, but we'll see where it goes!
Living Cavern(#25RHIJM4)
Huge, still mostly the natural shape of the bubble cavern that formed it th
ough embellished with intricate columns, the living cavern is large enough to se
at over two thousand people at any given time. But it has fallen into a state of
disuse, for the most part. There are long gaps in the room where tables must ha
ve been at one time: Now, there are only twenty tables - each with space for twe
nty-five people - left in the room, where once there must have been closer to ei
ghty tables. They are all gathered near the northeastern wall where the largest
of the room's four hearths are. The rest of the space seems bare. There are a fe
w smaller tables to seat five or six people scattered randomly throughout. Thoug
h there is easily room for twice as many, and still many bare swathes of wall th
at should boast tapestries, there are only three hangings in the living cavern,
and all of them are small given the grand scale of the cavern: Two are Fortian b
rown with the black "Fort" symbol on them, and the third is a light brown field
with a brownish-bronzish wing breaking out of the shell of a single white egg. U
p a set of handsomely carved stone steps is the Weyr's large kitchen, wrapping a
round balcony-style with a view into the cavern.
Few people loiter this late at night. It's the latest part of the night in
the summer. The hearth is cold but the room still tends to be warm as heat from
the kitchen slinks down the tunnel.
Usha is sitting at a table near the passage to the inner caverns, a bowl of stew
in front of her, and a tired expression on her face. She nurses a glass of juic
e, but doesn't seem overly interested in it.
Dull-eyed, Zaeyla scrubs at her pale face to work some life into it. She attempt
s to clear her throat as she pours herself a mug of tea, then moves to sit at a
table - the one Usha's seated at, in fact. The weyrling girl doesn't seem to not
ice there's anyone else there as she takes a sip of hot tea.
Usha gives the rider a nervous look as she sits down, watching her carefully as
she sips at the drink. Setting it down after a moment, she manages a timid, "Goo
d evening, ma'am."
Sip sip. It's several moments before Zaeyla stops drinking and looks at Usha bla
nkly. "Huh? You mean me?" Her voice is slurred and mumbly from tiredness. "'m no
t a ma'am..."
Usha's face flushes a bit, but she tries to hide it by taking a spoonful of stew
. "I was raised to always use polite phrases for people I don't know, especially
those of a higher rank than myself. And right now, that's pretty much everyone.
" Her voice is quiet, but conviction is behind her words. "I would not want to g
ive anyone offense by making assumptions about their positions, and ma'am is a l
ot better suonding than 'stranger person I don't know'."
Zaeyla blinks at that, then rubs at her eye with the heel of a hand. "Well," she
says, giving Usha a smile that's warm, if sleepy, "You don't have to call me ma
'am, ayway. I'm just a weyrling." Not to mention a female one, but she isn't abo
ut to say that. Her uncomfortable pause indicates that perhaps she was going to.
Instead, Zay looks at Usha curiously for a while. "I'm Zaeyla, brown Searinth's
."
Usha's eyes widen a bit, and she looks surprised, certainly, to say the least. She
flushes again under the curious gaze, but nods slowly, "If you say so, though
I would hesitate to say that anyone who riders a dragon deserves less than the
utmost respect I have to offer. Usha is my name. I'm just, I guess, a visitor he
re."
"Well," Zaeyla's blushing, looking rather taken aback by the insistence that res
pect is due her. "Most of the riders like it if you call them that, probably. We
ll. Some of them. But I don't mind." She gives Usha another little smile then ti
lts her head, a soft 'ah' escaping under her breath. "Where did you come from?"
Usha is quiet a moment, indecision clear written on her tired features. After a
while she answers, very carefully, "I used to be an apprentice at the healer hal
l." She watches the weyrling, waiting for the expected request to continue. She
fidgets a bit with the spoon in her stew, nervously.
Zaeyla sips her tea, only lifting the mug enough to drink. She watches Usha over
the top of the mug, her expression still polite. "Welcome to Fort, then," she s
ays, with only the tiniest hint of...something. "Come to the Weyr with the, uhm,
reputation?" There's no comment on Usha's previous residence.
Usha's brows furrow a bit as she tries to determine what the woman means, then s
hakes her head slowly, "I'm not quite sure what you mean? I don't think my reput
ation should matter much, but, well, it is what it is." She takes a bite of stew
.
Zaeyla shakes her head right back, rather vigorously, smiling. "Fort's the place
with the reputation, I mean. If you were a healer." She stops there, growing mo
re serious. "Being a healer's a good thing, anyway. Being ina craft is respectab
le."
Usha shakes her head quickly, "Oh, I'm not, not anymore. I didn't mean to mislea
d you. But Quinley did mention something about that, that she came here when she
wasn't supposed to and lost her knot over it for a long time." She sighs. "It d
oesn't matter to me, I'm certainly in no place to be picky over things." Suddenl
y, her eyes widen a touch, "Oh. Right. /That/. I see. No, Zaela, it doesn't both
er me, what caused that problem. Myself, I'm rather tired of hearing what girls
can and can't do."
Zaeyla thinks, then asks, very carefully, "Were you supposed to come here? If I'
m not being too nosy," She hastily adds, pale cheeks blushing bright red. "Well,
Fort Weyr takes people in regardless," she says, tone as reassuring as she can
manage at this early time. "And...girls are sort of a special case here, I suppo
se."
You say "Necessity brought me here. Someone dear to me was sick, and it was the
only place we could come. The weyr has been very welcoming, though, in helping u
s... She didn't make it all the way here, but one of your riders, Adria, went an
d got her. I doubt she would have survived, otherwise." She explains in an almos
t defiant tone. "If not for the illness, we'd probably have stayed where we were
."
Zaeyla absorbs that with a slow, short nod here and there. "So...you had to come
here because it's the only place your friend'll be looked after?" She looks con
fused, brow furrowing so that lines appear on her face. "Well, the Weyr is alway
s willing to help people." She looks at Usha all the more curiously at the girl'
s defiant tone of voice. "She'll be looked after here at any rate."
Usha nods firmly, "She will be. Quinley, she seems very good at what she does. S
he knew me, at the hall, and has treated Daiis' condition before. I am very happ
y to have come here, for that if nothing else." She focuses on her stew, then, t
aking a careful spoonful, declining to elaborate and cure the confusion on the w
eyrling's face.
"Oh, definitely," Zaeyla concurs. "Oh, you know her?" That sparks greater intere
st, her expression becoming more inquisitive than confused with passing moments.
"How long've you been here, then? I don't think I've seen you around." Her tea,
thus far forgotten in ehr hands, is suddenly remembered and Zaeyla lifts it to
drink.
You say "Oh, we only got here this evening, and I've been asleep most of that."
Her answer is offhand; her attention is firmly on the stew, now, which is dissap
earing at a staggering rate into the malnourished girl. "Can only sleep so long,
though, and thought noone would mind if I stole a bowl of stew. Good food's bee
n scarce since we set out."
"Oh, right." Zaeyla nods, then tips her mug right up to finish off the tea lurki
ng at the bottom. When it lowers again, her eyes are unfocused. "Searinth's woke
n up," she apologises, getting up. "There's always food out and everyone's mroe
than welcome to help themselves, so don't worry. Nice to meet you, Usha." A smil
e, and then Zay's off to dump her empty mug and hurry out to the bowl.
Where: Living Caverns, Fort Weyr
When: Very Late Night/Early Morning, Day 26, month 8, turn 442
Comment: A short but fun scene. I am still finding Usha's personality and voice, but I think it's starting to come out. A bit different than I expected, but we'll see where it goes!
Living Cavern(#25RHIJM4)
Huge, still mostly the natural shape of the bubble cavern that formed it th
ough embellished with intricate columns, the living cavern is large enough to se
at over two thousand people at any given time. But it has fallen into a state of
disuse, for the most part. There are long gaps in the room where tables must ha
ve been at one time: Now, there are only twenty tables - each with space for twe
nty-five people - left in the room, where once there must have been closer to ei
ghty tables. They are all gathered near the northeastern wall where the largest
of the room's four hearths are. The rest of the space seems bare. There are a fe
w smaller tables to seat five or six people scattered randomly throughout. Thoug
h there is easily room for twice as many, and still many bare swathes of wall th
at should boast tapestries, there are only three hangings in the living cavern,
and all of them are small given the grand scale of the cavern: Two are Fortian b
rown with the black "Fort" symbol on them, and the third is a light brown field
with a brownish-bronzish wing breaking out of the shell of a single white egg. U
p a set of handsomely carved stone steps is the Weyr's large kitchen, wrapping a
round balcony-style with a view into the cavern.
Few people loiter this late at night. It's the latest part of the night in
the summer. The hearth is cold but the room still tends to be warm as heat from
the kitchen slinks down the tunnel.
Usha is sitting at a table near the passage to the inner caverns, a bowl of stew
in front of her, and a tired expression on her face. She nurses a glass of juic
e, but doesn't seem overly interested in it.
Dull-eyed, Zaeyla scrubs at her pale face to work some life into it. She attempt
s to clear her throat as she pours herself a mug of tea, then moves to sit at a
table - the one Usha's seated at, in fact. The weyrling girl doesn't seem to not
ice there's anyone else there as she takes a sip of hot tea.
Usha gives the rider a nervous look as she sits down, watching her carefully as
she sips at the drink. Setting it down after a moment, she manages a timid, "Goo
d evening, ma'am."
Sip sip. It's several moments before Zaeyla stops drinking and looks at Usha bla
nkly. "Huh? You mean me?" Her voice is slurred and mumbly from tiredness. "'m no
t a ma'am..."
Usha's face flushes a bit, but she tries to hide it by taking a spoonful of stew
. "I was raised to always use polite phrases for people I don't know, especially
those of a higher rank than myself. And right now, that's pretty much everyone.
" Her voice is quiet, but conviction is behind her words. "I would not want to g
ive anyone offense by making assumptions about their positions, and ma'am is a l
ot better suonding than 'stranger person I don't know'."
Zaeyla blinks at that, then rubs at her eye with the heel of a hand. "Well," she
says, giving Usha a smile that's warm, if sleepy, "You don't have to call me ma
'am, ayway. I'm just a weyrling." Not to mention a female one, but she isn't abo
ut to say that. Her uncomfortable pause indicates that perhaps she was going to.
Instead, Zay looks at Usha curiously for a while. "I'm Zaeyla, brown Searinth's
."
Usha's eyes widen a bit, and she looks surprised, certainly, to say the least. She
flushes again under the curious gaze, but nods slowly, "If you say so, though
I would hesitate to say that anyone who riders a dragon deserves less than the
utmost respect I have to offer. Usha is my name. I'm just, I guess, a visitor he
re."
"Well," Zaeyla's blushing, looking rather taken aback by the insistence that res
pect is due her. "Most of the riders like it if you call them that, probably. We
ll. Some of them. But I don't mind." She gives Usha another little smile then ti
lts her head, a soft 'ah' escaping under her breath. "Where did you come from?"
Usha is quiet a moment, indecision clear written on her tired features. After a
while she answers, very carefully, "I used to be an apprentice at the healer hal
l." She watches the weyrling, waiting for the expected request to continue. She
fidgets a bit with the spoon in her stew, nervously.
Zaeyla sips her tea, only lifting the mug enough to drink. She watches Usha over
the top of the mug, her expression still polite. "Welcome to Fort, then," she s
ays, with only the tiniest hint of...something. "Come to the Weyr with the, uhm,
reputation?" There's no comment on Usha's previous residence.
Usha's brows furrow a bit as she tries to determine what the woman means, then s
hakes her head slowly, "I'm not quite sure what you mean? I don't think my reput
ation should matter much, but, well, it is what it is." She takes a bite of stew
.
Zaeyla shakes her head right back, rather vigorously, smiling. "Fort's the place
with the reputation, I mean. If you were a healer." She stops there, growing mo
re serious. "Being a healer's a good thing, anyway. Being ina craft is respectab
le."
Usha shakes her head quickly, "Oh, I'm not, not anymore. I didn't mean to mislea
d you. But Quinley did mention something about that, that she came here when she
wasn't supposed to and lost her knot over it for a long time." She sighs. "It d
oesn't matter to me, I'm certainly in no place to be picky over things." Suddenl
y, her eyes widen a touch, "Oh. Right. /That/. I see. No, Zaela, it doesn't both
er me, what caused that problem. Myself, I'm rather tired of hearing what girls
can and can't do."
Zaeyla thinks, then asks, very carefully, "Were you supposed to come here? If I'
m not being too nosy," She hastily adds, pale cheeks blushing bright red. "Well,
Fort Weyr takes people in regardless," she says, tone as reassuring as she can
manage at this early time. "And...girls are sort of a special case here, I suppo
se."
You say "Necessity brought me here. Someone dear to me was sick, and it was the
only place we could come. The weyr has been very welcoming, though, in helping u
s... She didn't make it all the way here, but one of your riders, Adria, went an
d got her. I doubt she would have survived, otherwise." She explains in an almos
t defiant tone. "If not for the illness, we'd probably have stayed where we were
."
Zaeyla absorbs that with a slow, short nod here and there. "So...you had to come
here because it's the only place your friend'll be looked after?" She looks con
fused, brow furrowing so that lines appear on her face. "Well, the Weyr is alway
s willing to help people." She looks at Usha all the more curiously at the girl'
s defiant tone of voice. "She'll be looked after here at any rate."
Usha nods firmly, "She will be. Quinley, she seems very good at what she does. S
he knew me, at the hall, and has treated Daiis' condition before. I am very happ
y to have come here, for that if nothing else." She focuses on her stew, then, t
aking a careful spoonful, declining to elaborate and cure the confusion on the w
eyrling's face.
"Oh, definitely," Zaeyla concurs. "Oh, you know her?" That sparks greater intere
st, her expression becoming more inquisitive than confused with passing moments.
"How long've you been here, then? I don't think I've seen you around." Her tea,
thus far forgotten in ehr hands, is suddenly remembered and Zaeyla lifts it to
drink.
You say "Oh, we only got here this evening, and I've been asleep most of that."
Her answer is offhand; her attention is firmly on the stew, now, which is dissap
earing at a staggering rate into the malnourished girl. "Can only sleep so long,
though, and thought noone would mind if I stole a bowl of stew. Good food's bee
n scarce since we set out."
"Oh, right." Zaeyla nods, then tips her mug right up to finish off the tea lurki
ng at the bottom. When it lowers again, her eyes are unfocused. "Searinth's woke
n up," she apologises, getting up. "There's always food out and everyone's mroe
than welcome to help themselves, so don't worry. Nice to meet you, Usha." A smil
e, and then Zay's off to dump her empty mug and hurry out to the bowl.