The Gender Norms
I like being a woman, not a girl. ~Sharon Stone
OOC Date: February 25, 2010
IC Date: Day 19, month 1, turn 22 of Interval 10.
Who: Gabrion, Silarra
Where: Bathing Cavern, HRW
Gabe and Silarra run into each other at the baths. Silarra shares the news of her candidacy, and they argue and make up again.
Gabrion is in the bathing pool with his eyes shut tight, scrubbing his hair, which is full of suds.
Silarra strides into the cavern. She skids to a stop as she spots her cousin. She watches him for just a second before moving closer. She'll shed her clothes and slip right in with her. "Gabe! I was hoping to talk to you soon."
"Huh?" Gabe says. With all that soap, he doesn't dare open his eyes. He ducks under the water instead, and comes up with it streaming down his face. He rubs at his eyes and blinks at his cousin. "Oh! Hey, Silarra," he greets her cheerfully. Then he remembers he's supposed to be mad at her and looks more guarded, but too late.
Silarra ducks her head under the water, rising again to pull the tie out of the end of her long braid. "I really need to cut this thing off." She mutters before she looks over to Gabe. "Heard you're a candidate. Why didn't you tell me?" She's nothing if not blunt.
"I haven't seen you," Gabe points out defensively. "It's not some big secret." He shrugs his shoulders.
Silarra starts to take the braid out of her hair, working to untangle a knot that has formed in it. "Right. Because I've been hiding? You could have come and found me. Told me about it. Instead I had to hear about it from that rider that likes Madilla. I'm family! Aren't I?"
Gabrion sighs, and reaches for the soap so he can wash his body. He doesn't say anything for a long moment, like maybe he isn't going to answer at all. Finally, he says, "Sure, you're family."
Silarra ducks under again, her hair free of that braid, floating around her. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I guess family are the people you're stuck with." She states before adding. "Here, I'll tell you. Z'yi, that rider, thought I should stand. Apparently from some confusing reasoning based on our being cousins and all that."
"Really?" Gabe brightens up. "Hey, that's great! So you're going to do it, right?" he asks. Then he sobers some and says, "Don't tell my mom. Just... yeah, just don't mention it to her."
Silarra bobs her head in a not. "I said I would. Don't know that anything will come from it, but it'll at least be an experience to remember. You know?" She reaches out for some plain soap, to scrub herself with. "I won't. But I do want to tell Dad. So, I don't know how that will work. He might tell auntie."
"Just ask him not to," Gabe suggests. "I mean, he knows how she is, right? ...I don't even know if she knows /I'm/ standing. I told Dad, and he said he'd take care of it." Which might explain why he hasn't shouted it from the busted star stones.
"I will. And if he tells her, well then /Dad/ will be the one who gets to deal with at least the initial craziness." Silarra states with a grin. "Glad your dad is willing to do that for you." Silarra appears in general to be in a better mood than when they were last together.
"He's kind of used to it," Gabe says, wrinkling his nose. "Sometimes he's like the only person who can calm her down when she freaks out. So. Yeah. What do you bet she goes and shrieks at the weyrleader?" He grins.
Silarra breaks out laughing at the thought of that. "Can I be, like, hiding in a corner to watch that? Not anywhere she can see me, but just somewhere I can watch the man cower." Silarra jokes, as she scrubs the dirt off. "And I guess we'd better add, mauled by a baby dragon to your list of ways you'll die."
"You don't want to be," Gabe replies with a smirk. "You got any idea what range she has? And yeah. Or in a betweening accident. Ha."
Silarra winces a bit at that one. "Yeah. But I mean, what kind of horrid, crappy luck would that be? For two siblings to bite it that way?" Silarra asks before she grins. "Well hidden. So I can watch without catching any of it myself. At all."
"Hrm, yeah, good luck with that," Gabe says drily. Then he changes the subject. "So did you move into the barracks or stay in your room?"
Silarra sets the soap aside to rinse. "I moved into the barracks. Figured I'd get the full experience out of this. Then I'll have quite the tale to tell when I'm old and wrinkly."
"Yeah. Why not?" Gabe says. "I didn't really feel like moving. But if I had less stuff or, you know, if I was from out of the weyr, that would be different, then."
"True. I don't have that much junk. And I haven't been in the weyr /that/ long. It's not like I had any real attachment for that room I was in." Silarra states. "I may end up skewering some annoying girl before this all over though." Her tone is lightly joking there though.
"What'd she do?" Gabe asks, assuming Silarra is talking about a specific girl.
Silarra shakes her head with a laugh. "Haven't been staying there long enough for it to be anything specific yet. Just generally heard a couple talking about stupid shit. Why does it really matter what someone chooses to wear? So long as they don't freeze and they can do their work?"
Gabrion shrugs his shoulders. "Some people like to look nice, I guess," he says in a neutral tone. "I dunno. I mean, it's important when we work in the infirmary. We get yelled at if our tunics are rumpled or dirty or something."
Silarra shakes her head. "There's a difference between clean and fancy. /I/ like being clean. It's not like I go around smelling like runner dung all the time." Silarra states. "But some of the idiots care more about looking a certain way. Like saying someone doesn't match. Who cares if they're doing chores if you don't like the color of their clothes?"
"They do, I guess," Gabe says, looking a little uncomfortable. "I mean... if it makes them happy...?"
Silarra shakes her head. "I think it's kind of stupid. But it makes people marks on the fancy stuff." The trader viewpoint coming through there. "Anyway, I think the big problem comes in when they judge someone else for not being the same." Silarra states, even as she's judging them.
"That's true, it does," Gabe agrees. He falls silent, though, a little uncomfortable at the remark about judging. "Um. Won't they kind of think you're judging them?" he points out. "I mean, if they hear you say stuff like that. I think... I mean, I just think people should wear whatever makes them happy."
Silarra smirks over to Gabe. "They might. Then, if they made some snarky comment? I'd punch them." She's joking though. Probably. Silarra rinses one last time and moves to grab a towel.
Gabrion looks even more uncomfortable. Maybe he doesn't want to be punched? But he also heads over to get a towel for himself and starts rubbing at his hair.
Silarra wraps a towel around her, grabbing another to start drying her long hair. "What? It's not like I'm going to punch you over something stupid." She pauses for a second and then states. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be bickering with you all the time. Well, not seriously. I miss joking and teasing."
"Yeah, me too," Gabe says, looking down so he doesn't have to meet Silarra's eyes. "It just seems like... yeah. Well." He shrugs, deciding against whatever he was going to say.
Silarra shakes her head. "So, if neither of us wants to be crabby with the other one, lets stop." She states, replaiting her hair into a simple braid.
"Well, okay," Gabe says dubiously. "I just, it's like you're always either doing something to tick me off on purpose, or else looking for some weird reason I never thought of to say I did something wrong and get mad at me. I can't figure out why, do you hate me that much?" he asks, seriously.
Silarra shakes her head over to Gabe with a sigh. "I don't hate you at all." She states, sounding pretty honest. "I just hate it when you treat me like a girl, not like I'm just a person. And well, I wasn't happy. At life. Now, I am."
Gabrion blinks, perplexed. "But girls /are/ people. Well. Anyway, I'm glad you're happy," he concludes.
Silarra nods her head. "I am. Because I can run. And ride, and just be active." Silarra states beforre she shakes her head. "Girls are people. So I don't see why that should mean I can't be in on certain conversations and things. Makes me mad."
"Because some conversations are private," Gabe says simply, calmly. "I don't walk up and butt in when you're talking to somebody YOU like." He climbs out of the pool and towels himself off, then goes to fetch his clothes. "Hey, you can ride now? Let's go runner riding next restday. You said you would teach me," he reminds her. "Before rocks fell on your head." He smirks - he's teasing just a bit.
Silarra raises her eyebrows over to Gabe. "Yeah, well, maybe that's because I haven't ever tried flirting with someone?" She states befores she moves to get dressed. "But we should. Go riding, that is. It can give your mother one more thing to worry about. But I'll choose a sweet tempered one for you." Silarra promises. "I'll see you around soon, right? Maybe have dinner some night?"
"Definitely," Gabe agrees as he tugs on his clothes. He flashes a grin and says, "See you later," and drifts out of the cavern.
OOC Date: February 25, 2010
IC Date: Day 19, month 1, turn 22 of Interval 10.
Who: Gabrion, Silarra
Where: Bathing Cavern, HRW
Gabe and Silarra run into each other at the baths. Silarra shares the news of her candidacy, and they argue and make up again.
Gabrion is in the bathing pool with his eyes shut tight, scrubbing his hair, which is full of suds.
Silarra strides into the cavern. She skids to a stop as she spots her cousin. She watches him for just a second before moving closer. She'll shed her clothes and slip right in with her. "Gabe! I was hoping to talk to you soon."
"Huh?" Gabe says. With all that soap, he doesn't dare open his eyes. He ducks under the water instead, and comes up with it streaming down his face. He rubs at his eyes and blinks at his cousin. "Oh! Hey, Silarra," he greets her cheerfully. Then he remembers he's supposed to be mad at her and looks more guarded, but too late.
Silarra ducks her head under the water, rising again to pull the tie out of the end of her long braid. "I really need to cut this thing off." She mutters before she looks over to Gabe. "Heard you're a candidate. Why didn't you tell me?" She's nothing if not blunt.
"I haven't seen you," Gabe points out defensively. "It's not some big secret." He shrugs his shoulders.
Silarra starts to take the braid out of her hair, working to untangle a knot that has formed in it. "Right. Because I've been hiding? You could have come and found me. Told me about it. Instead I had to hear about it from that rider that likes Madilla. I'm family! Aren't I?"
Gabrion sighs, and reaches for the soap so he can wash his body. He doesn't say anything for a long moment, like maybe he isn't going to answer at all. Finally, he says, "Sure, you're family."
Silarra ducks under again, her hair free of that braid, floating around her. "You say that like it's a bad thing. I guess family are the people you're stuck with." She states before adding. "Here, I'll tell you. Z'yi, that rider, thought I should stand. Apparently from some confusing reasoning based on our being cousins and all that."
"Really?" Gabe brightens up. "Hey, that's great! So you're going to do it, right?" he asks. Then he sobers some and says, "Don't tell my mom. Just... yeah, just don't mention it to her."
Silarra bobs her head in a not. "I said I would. Don't know that anything will come from it, but it'll at least be an experience to remember. You know?" She reaches out for some plain soap, to scrub herself with. "I won't. But I do want to tell Dad. So, I don't know how that will work. He might tell auntie."
"Just ask him not to," Gabe suggests. "I mean, he knows how she is, right? ...I don't even know if she knows /I'm/ standing. I told Dad, and he said he'd take care of it." Which might explain why he hasn't shouted it from the busted star stones.
"I will. And if he tells her, well then /Dad/ will be the one who gets to deal with at least the initial craziness." Silarra states with a grin. "Glad your dad is willing to do that for you." Silarra appears in general to be in a better mood than when they were last together.
"He's kind of used to it," Gabe says, wrinkling his nose. "Sometimes he's like the only person who can calm her down when she freaks out. So. Yeah. What do you bet she goes and shrieks at the weyrleader?" He grins.
Silarra breaks out laughing at the thought of that. "Can I be, like, hiding in a corner to watch that? Not anywhere she can see me, but just somewhere I can watch the man cower." Silarra jokes, as she scrubs the dirt off. "And I guess we'd better add, mauled by a baby dragon to your list of ways you'll die."
"You don't want to be," Gabe replies with a smirk. "You got any idea what range she has? And yeah. Or in a betweening accident. Ha."
Silarra winces a bit at that one. "Yeah. But I mean, what kind of horrid, crappy luck would that be? For two siblings to bite it that way?" Silarra asks before she grins. "Well hidden. So I can watch without catching any of it myself. At all."
"Hrm, yeah, good luck with that," Gabe says drily. Then he changes the subject. "So did you move into the barracks or stay in your room?"
Silarra sets the soap aside to rinse. "I moved into the barracks. Figured I'd get the full experience out of this. Then I'll have quite the tale to tell when I'm old and wrinkly."
"Yeah. Why not?" Gabe says. "I didn't really feel like moving. But if I had less stuff or, you know, if I was from out of the weyr, that would be different, then."
"True. I don't have that much junk. And I haven't been in the weyr /that/ long. It's not like I had any real attachment for that room I was in." Silarra states. "I may end up skewering some annoying girl before this all over though." Her tone is lightly joking there though.
"What'd she do?" Gabe asks, assuming Silarra is talking about a specific girl.
Silarra shakes her head with a laugh. "Haven't been staying there long enough for it to be anything specific yet. Just generally heard a couple talking about stupid shit. Why does it really matter what someone chooses to wear? So long as they don't freeze and they can do their work?"
Gabrion shrugs his shoulders. "Some people like to look nice, I guess," he says in a neutral tone. "I dunno. I mean, it's important when we work in the infirmary. We get yelled at if our tunics are rumpled or dirty or something."
Silarra shakes her head. "There's a difference between clean and fancy. /I/ like being clean. It's not like I go around smelling like runner dung all the time." Silarra states. "But some of the idiots care more about looking a certain way. Like saying someone doesn't match. Who cares if they're doing chores if you don't like the color of their clothes?"
"They do, I guess," Gabe says, looking a little uncomfortable. "I mean... if it makes them happy...?"
Silarra shakes her head. "I think it's kind of stupid. But it makes people marks on the fancy stuff." The trader viewpoint coming through there. "Anyway, I think the big problem comes in when they judge someone else for not being the same." Silarra states, even as she's judging them.
"That's true, it does," Gabe agrees. He falls silent, though, a little uncomfortable at the remark about judging. "Um. Won't they kind of think you're judging them?" he points out. "I mean, if they hear you say stuff like that. I think... I mean, I just think people should wear whatever makes them happy."
Silarra smirks over to Gabe. "They might. Then, if they made some snarky comment? I'd punch them." She's joking though. Probably. Silarra rinses one last time and moves to grab a towel.
Gabrion looks even more uncomfortable. Maybe he doesn't want to be punched? But he also heads over to get a towel for himself and starts rubbing at his hair.
Silarra wraps a towel around her, grabbing another to start drying her long hair. "What? It's not like I'm going to punch you over something stupid." She pauses for a second and then states. "I'm sorry. I don't want to be bickering with you all the time. Well, not seriously. I miss joking and teasing."
"Yeah, me too," Gabe says, looking down so he doesn't have to meet Silarra's eyes. "It just seems like... yeah. Well." He shrugs, deciding against whatever he was going to say.
Silarra shakes her head. "So, if neither of us wants to be crabby with the other one, lets stop." She states, replaiting her hair into a simple braid.
"Well, okay," Gabe says dubiously. "I just, it's like you're always either doing something to tick me off on purpose, or else looking for some weird reason I never thought of to say I did something wrong and get mad at me. I can't figure out why, do you hate me that much?" he asks, seriously.
Silarra shakes her head over to Gabe with a sigh. "I don't hate you at all." She states, sounding pretty honest. "I just hate it when you treat me like a girl, not like I'm just a person. And well, I wasn't happy. At life. Now, I am."
Gabrion blinks, perplexed. "But girls /are/ people. Well. Anyway, I'm glad you're happy," he concludes.
Silarra nods her head. "I am. Because I can run. And ride, and just be active." Silarra states beforre she shakes her head. "Girls are people. So I don't see why that should mean I can't be in on certain conversations and things. Makes me mad."
"Because some conversations are private," Gabe says simply, calmly. "I don't walk up and butt in when you're talking to somebody YOU like." He climbs out of the pool and towels himself off, then goes to fetch his clothes. "Hey, you can ride now? Let's go runner riding next restday. You said you would teach me," he reminds her. "Before rocks fell on your head." He smirks - he's teasing just a bit.
Silarra raises her eyebrows over to Gabe. "Yeah, well, maybe that's because I haven't ever tried flirting with someone?" She states befores she moves to get dressed. "But we should. Go riding, that is. It can give your mother one more thing to worry about. But I'll choose a sweet tempered one for you." Silarra promises. "I'll see you around soon, right? Maybe have dinner some night?"
"Definitely," Gabe agrees as he tugs on his clothes. He flashes a grin and says, "See you later," and drifts out of the cavern.