The Roommate BS Session
His studies were pursued but never effectually overtaken. ~H.G. Wells
OOC Date: January 10, 2010
IC Date: Day 21, month 9, turn 21 of Interval 10
Who: Shad and Gabrion
Where: Shad, Gabe, and Gev's Room
Gabe has more research to do. He and Shad chat about apprentice life in their respective crafts, and decide that the weavers and harpers have it easy.
Some hour and a half before his usual work shift ends, Gabe comes back into the room early, his arms full of records and sheafs of notes. "Hey," he says over the top of his pile, as he heads to the table to clear off a place to put all of the stuff.
Shad is sitting at the little table, fussing with a tangle of metal wires when Gabrion comes in. "Hey! what're you doing back ... wow. More hidework?" Shad quickly moves the wires out of the way so Gabe has room to put the pile down.
"Yeah," Gabe says, but he's not nearly as put out about it this time. "I'm gonna take another exam at the winter exam period," he explains. "It'll help me get ahead a little bit - since I didn't take summer exams, I've had lots of time to study, so. This is all about physical therapy for injuries. It should be fun to learn!"
Shad grins. "Hey, that's good news." He says. "And yeah, that would be interesting to read about. Getting back in shape after you get banged up has to be tricky."
"Yep," Gabe says. "I don't think I'll be able to take the practical, but I can get the written exam out of the way. I'm retaking the first aid practical, anyway. The practicals are always harder than the written tests." He gets things piled up neatly, then looks over the wire thingy that Shad was working on. "Do you have enough room, now? What's that?"
"Yeah, practicals are nasty." Shad agrees, then grins and nods. "Yeah, I've got enough room, thanks." Then he holds up the tangle of wires. "Doesn't look like much now, but it's going to be a bracelet when I'm done. Silver and copper. Both fairly malleable. Gonna braid them together. It'll be neat looking when it's done. And in a few years, too, when the copper changes colors."
"Awesome!" Gabe says enthusiastically. "You making it to wear or sell?" He plucks the top record off the pile and carries it over to his bed, where he flops down heavily.
"For sale." Shad says. "I might add something to it later ... depends how it looks when the braiding's done."
"Sounds like fun," Gabe says as he arranges himself in a comfortable sprawl on the bed, and props up the record with a pillow so he can read it hands-free. "Sometimes I wish I'd been a harper or smith or something, so I could make things and get marks. But, oh well. My parents give me marks sometimes, so that's not bad."
"You could always make some sort of salve or something that doesn't cure a medical condition." Shad says. "And try to sell it."
"What would be the point of a salve that doesn't cure anything?" Gabe says with a shrug. "Unless you mean lie and say it does, but that's not allowed, it's unethical."
"I mean something that, like, moistens skin or something. Maybe cleans off makeup, or whatever." Shad clarifies. That'd be something a Healer could do, right? Right?
"Huh," Gabe says thoughtfully. "Maybe. I could ask Madilla about it, she'd know, if we're allowed to do stuff like that - hey, did you hear she got her journeyman's knot?"
Shad blinks. "No, I hadn't heard. That's great news." He says. "When'd she get 'em?"
"Few days ago," Gabe says. "She's not even twenty yet. But she totally deserves it, she's really good." He smiles happily.
"I'll have to congratulate her when I see her next." Shad says. "It takes a lot of work to get Journeyman knots."
"You aren't kidding," Gabe says vehemently. "How old do smiths have to be, to walk the tables?"
"At least twenty." Shad says. "But it mostly has to do with the fact that guys are still growing in their teens, still building the muscle needed to work forges and beat metal into submission. It's kinda hard to pass the tests when you don't have the muscle you need yet. Though if you're going to specialize in the smaller stuff, it's possible to get your knots a bit earlier, but not much earlier."
Gabrion nods his head. "Yeah, and for us... you have to be older because, you know, if you're stupid and immature and fuck up, you could kill someone accidentally. I think some other crafts have it a little easier."
"Weavers and Harpers, probably. At least as long as they're not aiming to know absolutely everything in their Craft there is to know." Shad offers. "And miners, to an extent."
"I would think miners would have to be pretty strong. But yeah, weaving has got to be totally easy, just sitting around sewing all day," Gabe agrees. "Plus you get a ton of money when people order clothes."
"Mining's not quite as much about strength as smithing can be." Shad says. "They have explosives and machines that help dig the rock out, so there's not as much musclepower needed. Still need some, and messing with explosives is /not/ for the fainthearted."
"True," Gabe says, and laughs. "Yeah. /I/ wouldn't want to be messing around with explosives, personally. I'd probably blow my hand off."
"Or bring down half the mountain." Shad shudders. "So add me to the 'no explosives, thanks' group." Shad finally got the wires untangled and pinned them down before starting to braid them, slowly and carefully.
"What I don't get," Gabe says in a complete nonsequitur, peering at his record, "is how if people are exercising an ankle or arm or something they injured, how you keep them from injuring it worse instead of, you know... healing it."
Shad considers that for a minute. "Maybe it's /how/ it's exercised? Or how much?"
"This says limited. So yeah. That must be at least part of it," Gabe says. Impatiently, he flips the pages, looking toward the back of the record to scan for what he wants to know.
Shad nods. "Makes sense, then. Guess it's sorta like being careful how much you mess with a chunk of metal, so you don't screw it up. Or something."
"Yeah... ooh, look." He props up the book to show a series of drawings that demonstrate range of motion in an ankle. "See... like if this is your full range of motion, you start off exercising it less - you don't flex it all the way. So you're right, basically. You just... take it easy with what you do."
Shad peers over. "Hey, that's pretty cool. Wish we had more stuff like that, that shows what you're supposed to be doing."
"You don't?" Gabe is surprised by that. "Huh, how do you learn, do you just have to guess?"
"We have stuff like this." Shad points to the papers. "But not a lot of diagrams, since some of the stuff we do just doesn't transfer well to drawings. For that stuff, we basically have to pay /really/ close attention to the people that already know how to do it."
Gabrion ahhhs. "Wow, I guess it's a good thing the smith hall never caved in while they were all inside, or something," he jokes. "Too bad it can't get written down."
Shad laughs. "Oh, it gets written down. We just don't get to /see/ what it looks like unless we watch someone doing it."
"Still, could you do it without someone showing you?" Gabe asks. "That's what I mean. What if there /was/ no one?"
Shad grimaces. "Ahhh, I see what you mean. Yeah, if everyone that knew died, we'd be in serious trouble. Fortunately, a lot of people know, and the odds of them all dying are ... really ridiculous."
Gabrion grins. "That's good then. Just keep 'em away from Silarra," he jokes, "or she'll find a way to kill them all off."
Shad laughs. "Gotcha. I'll make a note of that."
Gabrion sighs. "I better finish reading at least some of this. I'm supposed to eat dinner with my mom and dad." He rolls his eyes. "A total pain, but you know how parents are."
Shad snickers. "You poor thing. Have fun." He shakes his head.
"Yep," Gabe says, and turns his full attention to the book.
OOC Date: January 10, 2010
IC Date: Day 21, month 9, turn 21 of Interval 10
Who: Shad and Gabrion
Where: Shad, Gabe, and Gev's Room
Gabe has more research to do. He and Shad chat about apprentice life in their respective crafts, and decide that the weavers and harpers have it easy.
Some hour and a half before his usual work shift ends, Gabe comes back into the room early, his arms full of records and sheafs of notes. "Hey," he says over the top of his pile, as he heads to the table to clear off a place to put all of the stuff.
Shad is sitting at the little table, fussing with a tangle of metal wires when Gabrion comes in. "Hey! what're you doing back ... wow. More hidework?" Shad quickly moves the wires out of the way so Gabe has room to put the pile down.
"Yeah," Gabe says, but he's not nearly as put out about it this time. "I'm gonna take another exam at the winter exam period," he explains. "It'll help me get ahead a little bit - since I didn't take summer exams, I've had lots of time to study, so. This is all about physical therapy for injuries. It should be fun to learn!"
Shad grins. "Hey, that's good news." He says. "And yeah, that would be interesting to read about. Getting back in shape after you get banged up has to be tricky."
"Yep," Gabe says. "I don't think I'll be able to take the practical, but I can get the written exam out of the way. I'm retaking the first aid practical, anyway. The practicals are always harder than the written tests." He gets things piled up neatly, then looks over the wire thingy that Shad was working on. "Do you have enough room, now? What's that?"
"Yeah, practicals are nasty." Shad agrees, then grins and nods. "Yeah, I've got enough room, thanks." Then he holds up the tangle of wires. "Doesn't look like much now, but it's going to be a bracelet when I'm done. Silver and copper. Both fairly malleable. Gonna braid them together. It'll be neat looking when it's done. And in a few years, too, when the copper changes colors."
"Awesome!" Gabe says enthusiastically. "You making it to wear or sell?" He plucks the top record off the pile and carries it over to his bed, where he flops down heavily.
"For sale." Shad says. "I might add something to it later ... depends how it looks when the braiding's done."
"Sounds like fun," Gabe says as he arranges himself in a comfortable sprawl on the bed, and props up the record with a pillow so he can read it hands-free. "Sometimes I wish I'd been a harper or smith or something, so I could make things and get marks. But, oh well. My parents give me marks sometimes, so that's not bad."
"You could always make some sort of salve or something that doesn't cure a medical condition." Shad says. "And try to sell it."
"What would be the point of a salve that doesn't cure anything?" Gabe says with a shrug. "Unless you mean lie and say it does, but that's not allowed, it's unethical."
"I mean something that, like, moistens skin or something. Maybe cleans off makeup, or whatever." Shad clarifies. That'd be something a Healer could do, right? Right?
"Huh," Gabe says thoughtfully. "Maybe. I could ask Madilla about it, she'd know, if we're allowed to do stuff like that - hey, did you hear she got her journeyman's knot?"
Shad blinks. "No, I hadn't heard. That's great news." He says. "When'd she get 'em?"
"Few days ago," Gabe says. "She's not even twenty yet. But she totally deserves it, she's really good." He smiles happily.
"I'll have to congratulate her when I see her next." Shad says. "It takes a lot of work to get Journeyman knots."
"You aren't kidding," Gabe says vehemently. "How old do smiths have to be, to walk the tables?"
"At least twenty." Shad says. "But it mostly has to do with the fact that guys are still growing in their teens, still building the muscle needed to work forges and beat metal into submission. It's kinda hard to pass the tests when you don't have the muscle you need yet. Though if you're going to specialize in the smaller stuff, it's possible to get your knots a bit earlier, but not much earlier."
Gabrion nods his head. "Yeah, and for us... you have to be older because, you know, if you're stupid and immature and fuck up, you could kill someone accidentally. I think some other crafts have it a little easier."
"Weavers and Harpers, probably. At least as long as they're not aiming to know absolutely everything in their Craft there is to know." Shad offers. "And miners, to an extent."
"I would think miners would have to be pretty strong. But yeah, weaving has got to be totally easy, just sitting around sewing all day," Gabe agrees. "Plus you get a ton of money when people order clothes."
"Mining's not quite as much about strength as smithing can be." Shad says. "They have explosives and machines that help dig the rock out, so there's not as much musclepower needed. Still need some, and messing with explosives is /not/ for the fainthearted."
"True," Gabe says, and laughs. "Yeah. /I/ wouldn't want to be messing around with explosives, personally. I'd probably blow my hand off."
"Or bring down half the mountain." Shad shudders. "So add me to the 'no explosives, thanks' group." Shad finally got the wires untangled and pinned them down before starting to braid them, slowly and carefully.
"What I don't get," Gabe says in a complete nonsequitur, peering at his record, "is how if people are exercising an ankle or arm or something they injured, how you keep them from injuring it worse instead of, you know... healing it."
Shad considers that for a minute. "Maybe it's /how/ it's exercised? Or how much?"
"This says limited. So yeah. That must be at least part of it," Gabe says. Impatiently, he flips the pages, looking toward the back of the record to scan for what he wants to know.
Shad nods. "Makes sense, then. Guess it's sorta like being careful how much you mess with a chunk of metal, so you don't screw it up. Or something."
"Yeah... ooh, look." He props up the book to show a series of drawings that demonstrate range of motion in an ankle. "See... like if this is your full range of motion, you start off exercising it less - you don't flex it all the way. So you're right, basically. You just... take it easy with what you do."
Shad peers over. "Hey, that's pretty cool. Wish we had more stuff like that, that shows what you're supposed to be doing."
"You don't?" Gabe is surprised by that. "Huh, how do you learn, do you just have to guess?"
"We have stuff like this." Shad points to the papers. "But not a lot of diagrams, since some of the stuff we do just doesn't transfer well to drawings. For that stuff, we basically have to pay /really/ close attention to the people that already know how to do it."
Gabrion ahhhs. "Wow, I guess it's a good thing the smith hall never caved in while they were all inside, or something," he jokes. "Too bad it can't get written down."
Shad laughs. "Oh, it gets written down. We just don't get to /see/ what it looks like unless we watch someone doing it."
"Still, could you do it without someone showing you?" Gabe asks. "That's what I mean. What if there /was/ no one?"
Shad grimaces. "Ahhh, I see what you mean. Yeah, if everyone that knew died, we'd be in serious trouble. Fortunately, a lot of people know, and the odds of them all dying are ... really ridiculous."
Gabrion grins. "That's good then. Just keep 'em away from Silarra," he jokes, "or she'll find a way to kill them all off."
Shad laughs. "Gotcha. I'll make a note of that."
Gabrion sighs. "I better finish reading at least some of this. I'm supposed to eat dinner with my mom and dad." He rolls his eyes. "A total pain, but you know how parents are."
Shad snickers. "You poor thing. Have fun." He shakes his head.
"Yep," Gabe says, and turns his full attention to the book.