LOG: A complete and total accident
Date: Day 2, Month 9, Turn 25
Location: Settlement, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: It was an /accident/. Tom swears it.
Settlement, Western Island
As the land begins to rise up to the north, to eventually form the great cliffs beyond, a low settlement of huts nestles itself against the land's backing. There's still a sense of newness about the haphazard collection, their stone walls held together with dried mud and sea-grasses. The huts surround - more or less - a bonfire pit, and a carefully made oven of some kind, which obviously earns its heat from the bonfire's flames. Rustic, but serviceable, benches line the area.
A narrow path weaves its way upwards towards the cliffs - a steep trek, and one that is interrupted halfway up by the wide, yawning mouth of a dark cave. West of the settlement, the river is just barely visible as it weaves its way from a distant spring towards the expansive ocean. The beach is south of here, along a sandy path; eastwards, the land has been cleared completely: rocky soil, dispersed between solid rock.
Seated near the large bonfire, the Island's teacher seems fairly entranced with the flames while they flicker and rise up into the sky. The flakes of ash that fall down don't seem to bother her, nor the extra heat that sitting this close generates. If anything, Emmeline looks to find it soothing. And with her mind on what to do with the horde of children in the morning, she's payin absolutely zero attention to anything going on around her. Probably a big mistake.
It's not actually drizzling for once - sometimes, it seems like that's a rare thing for this time of turn - and as the afternoon wears on, there are plenty of people about the settlement, engaged in this task or that. Amongst them is Tomaeran - and beside him, Ani. They don't seem to have been talking much, despite their proximity; actually, Tom seems to be paying more attention to everything else around him, and now? Now, he's throwing scraps of seaweed from the pile Ani is sorting through, towards the fire. Or at Emmeline; it's hard to tell if his aim is bad, or if it's deliberate.
We must reiterate... poor Ani. When the first bit of seaweed slaps against her arm, Emmeline of course looks up an glances around. And though she surely ses Tom since her eyes pass right by both he and his wife, they don't settle there. At first, with a shrug, she picks up the bit of detritus and flings it at the fire. "SOme people just can't aim for shit." she decides to say, in a conversation tone towards whoever it seated on the opposite side of her. "Did you see that throw I made? Meant to land it clear over the other side of the fire."
Ani doesn't seem particularly aware of what her husband is doing, not until Emmeline speaks and she glances up - at which moment Tom aims another one in that direction. "/Tom/," she says, sharply, her low voice carrying despite her attempt to keep it from doing so. He ignores her, and reaches for another scrap of seaweed, obviously reading it for just the perfect moment. Across from Emmeline, one of the pre-teens glances up, and laughs: "Bet I could throw it better than you!"
Emmeline will probably seek out Ani later to apologize for drawing attention to her, or something of that sort. But for now, she seems determined to ignore the presence of said woman's husband. She's paying attention from the corner of her eye though, and a hand lifts to try and block the next bit of weed that's thrown her way. "You probably could." she agrees, her smile growing a bit. "It was my aim I was talking about, of course. Where you going to aim for when you throw?"
Tomaeran is probably well aware that Emmeline's keeping tabs on him; that would explain the smirk, and the constant wary glances Ani is aiming at him. He spits on his next piece of seaweed, and flicks it at her, looking royally pleased with himself. Oblivious, the pre-teen grins at Emmeline. "Probably just at the fire, I guess," he says, cheerfully. "I mean, well. It might as well be useful, right? If we're throwing stuff. I'd rather not get tasked with cleaning it up later!"
Emmeline pretends the wet splat against her leg doesn't thoroughly disgust her. Really. "You won't get in any trouble. I'm the one that deals with the underage troublemakers, remember? Just aim for the fire." she instructs, picking up a bit of the non-spitted seaweed that Tom had thrown. She decides to do the same to him in return; spitting on it and then whipping it at him. She tries to do this when Ani is glancing her way, so that the woman can duck when Tom inevitably tries to move out of the way and leaves her vulnerable.
Inevitably-- well. Yes. Tom /does/ duck, and even looks hopelessly offended, despite the fact that he hasn't been hit by the flying seaweed. Thankfully. Ani hasn't been either: it falls to the ground a short distance off. "/You/," he says, sharply, rising to his feet. "That was uncalled for. You saw it, Ani; you know you did. She threw that at me." The poor kid? He /was/ going to throw his bit, but... now he's just staring at them all, wide-eyed. Grown-ups are crazy, man.
"Screw you, Tom. Maybe you should think twice before spitting on seaweed and then trying to hit /me/ with it." Emmeline retorts, looking rather disgusted instead of concerned. She's not expecting Ani to stick up for her though, mind. Someone still married to an ass like Tomaeran has surely been brainwashed of brain damaged at some point. "/You/ should maybe he /helping/ your /wife/ instead of causing trouble." Now she's standing up too of course, hands on her hips and staring him down.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that," says Tom, lifting his fists, though he doesn't seem to be preparing to actually hit her - or, at least, not yet. "Don't you /dare/ make up lies." His voice is surprisingly quiet and controlled, though utterly cold. "Ani saw. She'll tell everyone what you did. To /me/. Have you forgotten who my uncle is?" Ani looks rather less like she'd like to defend her husband as she'd like to be a very long away from here, ideally right now; she freezes when she's referred to, all wide-eyes and hesitance as she glances from one to the other.
"What's the matter, poor widdle spoiled baby." Emme replies back without even thinking. Her arms fold across her chest, and while hse makes no effort to draw closer to him, she also doesn't step back. No fear. "You're the liar. And a lazy one to boot. I could care less who you're uncle is. We're /all/ stuck out here. Just some of us seem to work harder then others." There is so much sympathy for Ani in the brief glance that she's offered from the teacher. But otherwise the young woman seems rather stoic and determined.
It's Ani who speaks, next, her voice quavering as she reaches out one hand to Tomaeran's shoulder, a hand he brushes off without a glance. "Tom," she says. "Emmeline. /Please/." Her husband ignores her entreaty, stepping closer to his opponent, his fists still raised. "How have you managed to live this long without coming to understand the way of things?" he says, pityingly. "And to think - they let you near our children. I've half a mind to point that out, you know. Remind my uncle that there will problems to come, no doubt, with people like you poisoning minds."
"Go right ahead. Remind him. See who else there is who can teach the children what they need to know. Go on - go tell him right now. After all, there are just *so* many people on the Island who can do my job, right? So many Harper trained people running around, who know the stories and the songs, everything about the Island." Emmeline reminds him, only spelling out a small portion of the knowledge she's needed in order to do her job. "The only poison here is you; people determined to cause division based on who their parents are." She brushes him off then, waving her hand dismissively as she turns on her heel to present her back to him so she can walk away. In this, it seems, that she too is paying no attention to Seani.
The comings and goings of people might be missed by the trio having the conversation. Is that a conversation with the voices pitched in such a way? Rhaelyn's head cocks slightly and interest glints in her eyes as she changes her path and heads towards the group to better hear and see what's going on. At first her expression is bored but it quickly turns to interest as she spys who it is locking horns.
One of Tomaeran's eyebrows raises as Emmeline speaks, the dubiousness visible in his exprsesion just about the only reaction he makes. When she turns to go, he makes his move, lunging forward so that he can place his foot in just the right position to - if all goes well - trip her as she moves. Ani's squeal of protest might give the game up, of course, but Tom is unapologetic; his gaze flicks past Rhaelyn, catching sight of her as he moves, and he smiles: eyes wide, utterly innocent.
Emmeline expects Tom to be a loudmouthed ass. That's his thing. So she figures when she turns to walk away that the end of the conversation is the end of the confrontation. At least for today. Thus, of course she winds up tripped. And based on her direction, it's pretty much right in the direction of the bonfire. One can almost hear the sizzle of skin when her arm lands square on the surrounding rocks and she flips over to... well, stop the burning! Not that she gives her opponent here the satisfaction of the shriek that is /surely/ on her lips. Insted it's merely a gasp as someone rushes over to help her up (who just saw the fall obviously and no the trip) and drag her off to put something on what will be a nasty, nasty burn. There's no other sound from her, really. But she *knows* who did it, even if only Rhaelyn actually witnessed what transpired. And with glazed eyes, vision graying around the edges, she's not going to be conscious long enough to so much as glare at the perpetrator.
Rhaelyn's smile is a mocking, cold creature but there's amusement in those sharp eyes of hers as she measures Tomaeran's innocence. "Oh, I'm sure that there is -someone- who could -try- to fit into the role of teacher. I mean, you're not the only one who has lived here their whole life." She breaks off when the girl whirls around to make her departure though and her nose crinkles up. A much, MUCH more thoughtful look is given to Tomaeran for his lack of planning in trying to roast the girl out. "Really?" This to him with a roll of her eyes as she steps over to those helping the girl to get an eyefull of the gorey human-bbq.
The obvious pleasure Tomaeran has for being supported by Rhaelyn like that dies rather quickly when his tripping maneouvre not only works - but results in such, uh, carnage. "Don't blame me," he mutters, evidently at the dark-haired girl, his eyes following her towards Emmeline. Although he seems to be taking pains not to show it, it would be hard to miss the fact that his skin has gone slightly grey, his eyes slightly wide. Not that he moves to help - but Ani does, her gasp turning instantly into action. Emmeline's likely, then, to be surrounded by care. Leaving Tom to... back away. He pastes a smile onto his lips, attempts for a skip in his step, but, well. He's probably not fooling anyone who isn't so busy dealing with Emmeline that they'd be looking at him.
Rhaelyn isn't dealing with the burn, the smell of charred flesh makes her take a step back. She has a basket of leafy greens in her hands anyway. The free hand lifts to her face, pressing her knuckles to her nose as she turns her head away. "My. Goodness." Tomaeran is tracked with a curious look to see if he's going to turn and flee or make a graceful exit. It's all on the exit to help her decide what move she might make.
Tomaeran's exit is-- not graceful maybe, but closer to that than fleeing. He does aim one last glance at Rhaelyn, though, and there's a definite something in it: an accident, his eyes say, aiming significance in their depths. Or-- something like that. He's certainly trying to convey /something/ before he hurries off down the path and disappears. Ani can deal with Emmeline. Someone else can deal with everything else.
Location: Settlement, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: It was an /accident/. Tom swears it.
Settlement, Western Island
As the land begins to rise up to the north, to eventually form the great cliffs beyond, a low settlement of huts nestles itself against the land's backing. There's still a sense of newness about the haphazard collection, their stone walls held together with dried mud and sea-grasses. The huts surround - more or less - a bonfire pit, and a carefully made oven of some kind, which obviously earns its heat from the bonfire's flames. Rustic, but serviceable, benches line the area.
A narrow path weaves its way upwards towards the cliffs - a steep trek, and one that is interrupted halfway up by the wide, yawning mouth of a dark cave. West of the settlement, the river is just barely visible as it weaves its way from a distant spring towards the expansive ocean. The beach is south of here, along a sandy path; eastwards, the land has been cleared completely: rocky soil, dispersed between solid rock.
Seated near the large bonfire, the Island's teacher seems fairly entranced with the flames while they flicker and rise up into the sky. The flakes of ash that fall down don't seem to bother her, nor the extra heat that sitting this close generates. If anything, Emmeline looks to find it soothing. And with her mind on what to do with the horde of children in the morning, she's payin absolutely zero attention to anything going on around her. Probably a big mistake.
It's not actually drizzling for once - sometimes, it seems like that's a rare thing for this time of turn - and as the afternoon wears on, there are plenty of people about the settlement, engaged in this task or that. Amongst them is Tomaeran - and beside him, Ani. They don't seem to have been talking much, despite their proximity; actually, Tom seems to be paying more attention to everything else around him, and now? Now, he's throwing scraps of seaweed from the pile Ani is sorting through, towards the fire. Or at Emmeline; it's hard to tell if his aim is bad, or if it's deliberate.
We must reiterate... poor Ani. When the first bit of seaweed slaps against her arm, Emmeline of course looks up an glances around. And though she surely ses Tom since her eyes pass right by both he and his wife, they don't settle there. At first, with a shrug, she picks up the bit of detritus and flings it at the fire. "SOme people just can't aim for shit." she decides to say, in a conversation tone towards whoever it seated on the opposite side of her. "Did you see that throw I made? Meant to land it clear over the other side of the fire."
Ani doesn't seem particularly aware of what her husband is doing, not until Emmeline speaks and she glances up - at which moment Tom aims another one in that direction. "/Tom/," she says, sharply, her low voice carrying despite her attempt to keep it from doing so. He ignores her, and reaches for another scrap of seaweed, obviously reading it for just the perfect moment. Across from Emmeline, one of the pre-teens glances up, and laughs: "Bet I could throw it better than you!"
Emmeline will probably seek out Ani later to apologize for drawing attention to her, or something of that sort. But for now, she seems determined to ignore the presence of said woman's husband. She's paying attention from the corner of her eye though, and a hand lifts to try and block the next bit of weed that's thrown her way. "You probably could." she agrees, her smile growing a bit. "It was my aim I was talking about, of course. Where you going to aim for when you throw?"
Tomaeran is probably well aware that Emmeline's keeping tabs on him; that would explain the smirk, and the constant wary glances Ani is aiming at him. He spits on his next piece of seaweed, and flicks it at her, looking royally pleased with himself. Oblivious, the pre-teen grins at Emmeline. "Probably just at the fire, I guess," he says, cheerfully. "I mean, well. It might as well be useful, right? If we're throwing stuff. I'd rather not get tasked with cleaning it up later!"
Emmeline pretends the wet splat against her leg doesn't thoroughly disgust her. Really. "You won't get in any trouble. I'm the one that deals with the underage troublemakers, remember? Just aim for the fire." she instructs, picking up a bit of the non-spitted seaweed that Tom had thrown. She decides to do the same to him in return; spitting on it and then whipping it at him. She tries to do this when Ani is glancing her way, so that the woman can duck when Tom inevitably tries to move out of the way and leaves her vulnerable.
Inevitably-- well. Yes. Tom /does/ duck, and even looks hopelessly offended, despite the fact that he hasn't been hit by the flying seaweed. Thankfully. Ani hasn't been either: it falls to the ground a short distance off. "/You/," he says, sharply, rising to his feet. "That was uncalled for. You saw it, Ani; you know you did. She threw that at me." The poor kid? He /was/ going to throw his bit, but... now he's just staring at them all, wide-eyed. Grown-ups are crazy, man.
"Screw you, Tom. Maybe you should think twice before spitting on seaweed and then trying to hit /me/ with it." Emmeline retorts, looking rather disgusted instead of concerned. She's not expecting Ani to stick up for her though, mind. Someone still married to an ass like Tomaeran has surely been brainwashed of brain damaged at some point. "/You/ should maybe he /helping/ your /wife/ instead of causing trouble." Now she's standing up too of course, hands on her hips and staring him down.
"Don't you dare talk to me like that," says Tom, lifting his fists, though he doesn't seem to be preparing to actually hit her - or, at least, not yet. "Don't you /dare/ make up lies." His voice is surprisingly quiet and controlled, though utterly cold. "Ani saw. She'll tell everyone what you did. To /me/. Have you forgotten who my uncle is?" Ani looks rather less like she'd like to defend her husband as she'd like to be a very long away from here, ideally right now; she freezes when she's referred to, all wide-eyes and hesitance as she glances from one to the other.
"What's the matter, poor widdle spoiled baby." Emme replies back without even thinking. Her arms fold across her chest, and while hse makes no effort to draw closer to him, she also doesn't step back. No fear. "You're the liar. And a lazy one to boot. I could care less who you're uncle is. We're /all/ stuck out here. Just some of us seem to work harder then others." There is so much sympathy for Ani in the brief glance that she's offered from the teacher. But otherwise the young woman seems rather stoic and determined.
It's Ani who speaks, next, her voice quavering as she reaches out one hand to Tomaeran's shoulder, a hand he brushes off without a glance. "Tom," she says. "Emmeline. /Please/." Her husband ignores her entreaty, stepping closer to his opponent, his fists still raised. "How have you managed to live this long without coming to understand the way of things?" he says, pityingly. "And to think - they let you near our children. I've half a mind to point that out, you know. Remind my uncle that there will problems to come, no doubt, with people like you poisoning minds."
"Go right ahead. Remind him. See who else there is who can teach the children what they need to know. Go on - go tell him right now. After all, there are just *so* many people on the Island who can do my job, right? So many Harper trained people running around, who know the stories and the songs, everything about the Island." Emmeline reminds him, only spelling out a small portion of the knowledge she's needed in order to do her job. "The only poison here is you; people determined to cause division based on who their parents are." She brushes him off then, waving her hand dismissively as she turns on her heel to present her back to him so she can walk away. In this, it seems, that she too is paying no attention to Seani.
The comings and goings of people might be missed by the trio having the conversation. Is that a conversation with the voices pitched in such a way? Rhaelyn's head cocks slightly and interest glints in her eyes as she changes her path and heads towards the group to better hear and see what's going on. At first her expression is bored but it quickly turns to interest as she spys who it is locking horns.
One of Tomaeran's eyebrows raises as Emmeline speaks, the dubiousness visible in his exprsesion just about the only reaction he makes. When she turns to go, he makes his move, lunging forward so that he can place his foot in just the right position to - if all goes well - trip her as she moves. Ani's squeal of protest might give the game up, of course, but Tom is unapologetic; his gaze flicks past Rhaelyn, catching sight of her as he moves, and he smiles: eyes wide, utterly innocent.
Emmeline expects Tom to be a loudmouthed ass. That's his thing. So she figures when she turns to walk away that the end of the conversation is the end of the confrontation. At least for today. Thus, of course she winds up tripped. And based on her direction, it's pretty much right in the direction of the bonfire. One can almost hear the sizzle of skin when her arm lands square on the surrounding rocks and she flips over to... well, stop the burning! Not that she gives her opponent here the satisfaction of the shriek that is /surely/ on her lips. Insted it's merely a gasp as someone rushes over to help her up (who just saw the fall obviously and no the trip) and drag her off to put something on what will be a nasty, nasty burn. There's no other sound from her, really. But she *knows* who did it, even if only Rhaelyn actually witnessed what transpired. And with glazed eyes, vision graying around the edges, she's not going to be conscious long enough to so much as glare at the perpetrator.
Rhaelyn's smile is a mocking, cold creature but there's amusement in those sharp eyes of hers as she measures Tomaeran's innocence. "Oh, I'm sure that there is -someone- who could -try- to fit into the role of teacher. I mean, you're not the only one who has lived here their whole life." She breaks off when the girl whirls around to make her departure though and her nose crinkles up. A much, MUCH more thoughtful look is given to Tomaeran for his lack of planning in trying to roast the girl out. "Really?" This to him with a roll of her eyes as she steps over to those helping the girl to get an eyefull of the gorey human-bbq.
The obvious pleasure Tomaeran has for being supported by Rhaelyn like that dies rather quickly when his tripping maneouvre not only works - but results in such, uh, carnage. "Don't blame me," he mutters, evidently at the dark-haired girl, his eyes following her towards Emmeline. Although he seems to be taking pains not to show it, it would be hard to miss the fact that his skin has gone slightly grey, his eyes slightly wide. Not that he moves to help - but Ani does, her gasp turning instantly into action. Emmeline's likely, then, to be surrounded by care. Leaving Tom to... back away. He pastes a smile onto his lips, attempts for a skip in his step, but, well. He's probably not fooling anyone who isn't so busy dealing with Emmeline that they'd be looking at him.
Rhaelyn isn't dealing with the burn, the smell of charred flesh makes her take a step back. She has a basket of leafy greens in her hands anyway. The free hand lifts to her face, pressing her knuckles to her nose as she turns her head away. "My. Goodness." Tomaeran is tracked with a curious look to see if he's going to turn and flee or make a graceful exit. It's all on the exit to help her decide what move she might make.
Tomaeran's exit is-- not graceful maybe, but closer to that than fleeing. He does aim one last glance at Rhaelyn, though, and there's a definite something in it: an accident, his eyes say, aiming significance in their depths. Or-- something like that. He's certainly trying to convey /something/ before he hurries off down the path and disappears. Ani can deal with Emmeline. Someone else can deal with everything else.