Log: Everybody Got Hopes
RL: May 4, 2008.
VR: Day 1, month 4, Turn 16, of the Interval. It is a spring afternoon.
After a day of duties, Leova and Milani wander around LightHouse Cove and follow up on the other day.
LightHouse Cove at High Reaches Hold (#2515RJLa)
A small cove off the western edge of the Northern Continent. The sea can be seen stretching north to west, as far as the eye can see, and from the other direction the High Reaches Range stretches from east to south. Waves pound against the rocky coastline, roaring in the background. The lighthouse is built with stones from a local quarry, and has a faint rosish hue, sparkling when the light hits.
As you look around you can either go up into the lighthouse, or south back down the river road.
Of course Vrianth would be out by the water. Not in the water, but by the water: visible some distance off, curled atop the lighthouse, her tail a sequence of expressive curves along the warm, rosy stone. Which leaves her rider to approach on foot, and her passenger too, although it's Leova who has her head tilted up to her dragon and is lucky not to fall over her own feet. "Then what happened?" she asks.
By contrast, Milani /is/ in the water. Not all the way, but her skirts are hiked up into her belt and her boots swing by their laces from her shoulder as she dances in and out of the surf. A collection of shells betokens how she's spent the time while she was waiting after her business was concluded. Leova's approaching figure draws a wave and the assistant headwoman hastens forward from her present occupation to meet the greenrider. "Hi!" Cheeks are flushed rosy with the brisk sea air and the spark that seems to've been missing from Milani's eyes for the past sevenday or so is back. "It's a nice beach, isn't it?"
The by now well-fed seacrafter goes on about the ships and the sinkings and the averted sinkings and Leova tries to focus, she really does. At least the older woman's happy enough to proceed to the lighthouse once Milani approaches, though not without another round of stories first, this one about a ghost ship. Once her back is turned, Leova makes the talky-talky gesture even as she agrees, "Very nice!"
"Reaches' duties," Milani greets the story-telling seacrafter with another bright grin. She has to duck her head to hide the fit of giggles that threatens to seize her at the movement of Leova's hand. When she looks up her face shows mostly a pleasant expression, but the twinkling of her eyes shows proof of further effort to suppress laughter. "Vrianth looks comfy up there." Her head tilts up and back to regard the green wound around the lighthouse.
"She is." Leova says this somewhat warily. "Partly because she's decided she is. I still worry that the whole thing will topple over, but the master," this with a nod after the seacrafter, "said they're used to worse than her." So what's a mere rider to do? Leova winds up with a long look at the taller girl and a, "You look happy. Nice when that sort of thing goes along with work." Or, at least, after work.
"Good. And yeah, it's a sturdy old thing that light house. Good it can stand up to big dragons." Milani's blue-green gaze drops back down from Vrianth to her rider. "Oh I always like errands that involve touching base with Diara. She's one of the assistants here and we have good talks. It wasn't a hard duty either, over quickly so I had plenty of time to run around on the beach. Look what I found!" And she holds her hands out, shells spilling between her fingers, from palm to palm, some pure white with the colors of sunset at their throats, others having those same colors without. One is distinctly pink, another blue with hints of violet and mother-of-pearl.
"Diara, hm?" And then Leova's bending to look at the array, reaching to adjust the one with the mother-of-pearl. "So many of them whole, too. Tell me, did Diara do that touching base on the beach too?" Laughter's in her eyes as she straightens, brighter yet in high-perched Vrianth's.
"Yeah, about your height, dark hair, blue eyes. Talker like me," Milani explains her Hold-based friend. "She's very organized, even better than me." Another laugh and Millie nods. "Yeah. We came down here. She took a break and we traded news along with the Weyr's request." Her fingers ease the mother-of-pearl towards the greenrider. "Like that one? You can keep it if you want, maybe put it above your fire?"
"You sure?" but Leova doesn't refuse, turning it over and then finally picking it up altogether. "Even more organized. Hard to believe that," this with a sideways glance that hints at teasing for all that her mouth doesn't smile. "But glad waiting for me to finish sweeps wasn't so arduous, anyway. Wouldn't want you to feel entirely deserted. And moping."
"Sure! I found so many good ones and it can be a sort of 'thank you' for coming to pick me up and for ... for the flying. The other day." Milani's smiling, but there's a brief flicker of a shadow in her eyes, as swiftly banished. "Hee. No, no moping here. But I'm glad you're here. It's going to be fun going back, isn't it?" Eyes alight again with the prospect of flying with Vrianth.
"Already thanked me," and Leova's tone makes it clear she doesn't need more. Not for that. She tilts the shell so it catches the fading sunlight, then again the other way, very intent for another's eyes. "And it should be. You in a hurry? We can fly slow and easy. /Between/ it. Or let me digest some," this with a pat of her stomach, "and then take it fast."
"OKay, well it was fun finding them and sharing them with people who like them is the /other/ half of the fun," burbles Milani happily, in a way that might earn herself a talky-talky gesture. The question brings about a shaking of her head. "Nope. No hurry here. And ooo did you stuff yourself with good stuff up at the Hold?" Grinning ear to ear she reaches to catch at Leova's hand. "C'mon then nothing like walking for digesting and I can show you this spot where the rocks are all eaten away in funny shapes by the sea."
Leova happens to like the rise and crash of the waves, too, and she listens to Milani with a quiet smile. Meeting the girl's hand partway, "Pretty good. They had broiled packtail, just so," and she smacks her lips to go with it. Then she glances upward one more time, though it won't be anywhere near the last for their excursion, and makes to set off.
"Ooooo, yeah, when that's cooked right it /delicious/," Milani enthuses. "I had a ton of meatrolls and veggie-stuffed pasties and some beachberry pies. Finger foods, easy to eat on the beach. Diara's always got a good spread to share when I come to visit." Probably because Diara's well familiar with Milani's endless appetite. Her hand closes around Leova's and she leads on up the beach, steps almost skipping. "Did you spend much time at the beach before you Impressed? Before ... well shells, wherever it was you came from before Tillek."
"Beachberry pies? Didn't see those!" Leova goes along with Milani taking the lead, used to having to lengthen her strides to match her companions', though she has to skip the near-skipping to do it. "Must be a side benefit to knowing the headwoman's helpers. Persie was saying the other day, how you found her that purple couch." She shrugs a shoulder then, says, "Tillek-bred but more inland... Look how fast that boat's going!" Boat. Ship. Dinghy. Whatever.
"Yeah - I guess they were leftover from yesterday and yeah, Diara'd know where they were hiding if they weren't out at the general meal. Just like, yep, found Persie her couch and well, just about everyone's furniture for all of you who just got tapped up. I know where stuff is in stores. It's what I do." Milani grins over at Leova brightly and slows down a bit as a hulking spur of rock eases up out of the beach, hanging out into the water. It looks sort of like an old ship brooding about whether or not to set sail. "Ohhhh. So yeah, wouldn't have seen the beach much. It's amazing isn't it? I love the smell of the sea! Ooo!" Blue-green eyes skip out over the water towards the boat in question. "Yeah whoever that is either knows how to /sail/ or there's a current out there."
"How are you going to handle things when Amerie goes?" Leova wonders, glancing over at Milani, her grip loosening. "That one really needs to be climbed. Unless there are better ones, coming up... You know much about sailing? Your brother said something about being at Tillek with the boats back in the day. A posting maybe? Was hard to hear."
"Hayda's already looking at some of the general caverns workers, she's asked me for some recommendations even." Milani's pace slows further and her foot curves outward, toes skimming the surface of the sand making a long half circle in her wake. "I know a little about sailing, but I didn't learn how like Paddy and Remi did. Paddy likes to sail a lot. And yeah, if he hadn't gone Baker he probably would've gone Seacrafter he's said before. He had a boat there, don't know if he still keeps it. From when he was posted at the Hold for his training." She continues on towards the rocky formation and gestures loosely with one hand. Water bleeds through holes in the stone washing through the other side. "Isn't it neat?"
"People come, people go?" Leova supposes, freeing Milani's hand the rest of the way to drop into a crouch by the stone, cupping her hands to the impromptu fountain so the cold water can wash over them. "Maybe you could borrow the boat sometime, go out. If you wanted to. Or visit her at Boll and sail there." She hesitates, then looks back towards the lighthouse. Not at the lighthouse.
"Or you know, just Hayda being ready for anything," Milani counters musingly and watches Leova hunker to put her hands in the water. "Pretty amazing what water can do, yeah?" She laughs a little at the suggestions though. "Me? Shells, no. I can barely sort out which ropes are which. But I like to go with /them/. And yeah, I'm hoping to get down that way a little to visit. She's a good friend and I'll miss her."
Leova opens her hands, lets the water spill free: not one privy to the ways and wisdom of headwomen, she. "Didn't know her so well, but. Hope she finds what she's looking for." She tips her hands to the water again, lets the impromptu basin start to refill before she glances sideways again. "Let me guess. You like to sail fast?"
"Me too. I hope she'll be happy down there," Milani answers thoughtfully and looks out toward the water, the ruddy light reflected on the wavecaps. That last remark pulls a smile onto her face and her finger slowly twirls in a strand of hair. "Yeaaaah," she drawls out slowly and turns a bright-eyed look over at the greenrider. "It's like going a little wild, you know? Going fast." She falls silent, tips a look back up at the sky. When her voice sounds again, it's slow and thoughtful once more. "The other day. The other night. E'dre took me out to this oasis in the desert. Told him he'd be welcome when he got tapped. But I had to tell him no in the end." It's a complete non-sequitur, perhaps brought on by talk of fast sailing and the association to fast flying.
Fast sailing. Fast flying. Fast living? Leova had chuckled for that wildness, that bright-eyed look, but by the time Milani finishes even her smile has faded. There's a little silence, or at least silence except for the crash of the waves and the trickle of the water even nearer, pouring through the greenrider's hands. Leova murmurs something not quite distinct: she's listening. She hears. She isn't questioning. And she's still looking.
Milani's toes curl into the sand, squishing it up, releasing it and she takes a few steps closer to the surfline. "It rattled me," she finally states, arms winding around herself and she peeks back over her shoulder at Leova. "The whole thing. I shouldn't have ... I dunno, played with him like that. He was nice. He understood. But still. He expected something. Because of the way I talk." Another little pause and then she has another one of those smiles for Leova but there's a touch of sadness in it. "So you were right and everyone was right and I should've listened."
The water falls between Leova's fingers. She watches it now. And finally, carefully, she says, "Don't know if it was just talk." Doesn't have to know. "But. Everybody got hopes. Based on what other people do, partly anyway. Sometimes it's just a body dreaming."
"Maybe." Milani answers after a moment or two. "I just ... I felt bad. And it kind of -- well I guess it just cleared some things up. It's weird to have someone wanting you that badly and not feeling that way back other than you know, being kind of curious about what it's like and maybe having some fun." She tilts a look over at Leova, watches the water fall. The waves pull out towards the sea, rush back towards the rock to fill it back up. "I'm going to think twice now about flirting too much."
"Yes," Leova says to the water, the falling water. She keeps her hands cupped to contain it, but still it spills over. She doesn't look up. Eventually, "Sometimes we don't know, for certain, until we get there." Still doesn't look up.
A long silence that isn't silence, because the waves are still washing up on shore and water bleeds through the rock. "Yeah," finally from Milani, usually so talkative and her arms squeeze a little tighter around herself. "Know now though. And -- well I dunno. MIght not go to Ista for a while too." Frowning out at the rapidly setting sun and then she turns back towards the rider. "Think Vrianth is ready for some speed?"
"A little while," Leova near-repeats, and in one motion pulls herself up, lets the water fall down. "Know she is." A sidelong look that doesn't actually seek Milani's eyes, "Let's go." And a few footsteps later, there's Vrianth in the sky before them, a long slow glide set to meet them partway.
"A litte while," Milani repeats, taking up Leova's variation with a little nod and she huffs out a breath, turns to follow the greenrider back to meet Vrianth, to let that wildness rise again, get a little lost in it before heading home. Fast living indeed.
VR: Day 1, month 4, Turn 16, of the Interval. It is a spring afternoon.
After a day of duties, Leova and Milani wander around LightHouse Cove and follow up on the other day.
LightHouse Cove at High Reaches Hold (#2515RJLa)
A small cove off the western edge of the Northern Continent. The sea can be seen stretching north to west, as far as the eye can see, and from the other direction the High Reaches Range stretches from east to south. Waves pound against the rocky coastline, roaring in the background. The lighthouse is built with stones from a local quarry, and has a faint rosish hue, sparkling when the light hits.
As you look around you can either go up into the lighthouse, or south back down the river road.
Of course Vrianth would be out by the water. Not in the water, but by the water: visible some distance off, curled atop the lighthouse, her tail a sequence of expressive curves along the warm, rosy stone. Which leaves her rider to approach on foot, and her passenger too, although it's Leova who has her head tilted up to her dragon and is lucky not to fall over her own feet. "Then what happened?" she asks.
By contrast, Milani /is/ in the water. Not all the way, but her skirts are hiked up into her belt and her boots swing by their laces from her shoulder as she dances in and out of the surf. A collection of shells betokens how she's spent the time while she was waiting after her business was concluded. Leova's approaching figure draws a wave and the assistant headwoman hastens forward from her present occupation to meet the greenrider. "Hi!" Cheeks are flushed rosy with the brisk sea air and the spark that seems to've been missing from Milani's eyes for the past sevenday or so is back. "It's a nice beach, isn't it?"
The by now well-fed seacrafter goes on about the ships and the sinkings and the averted sinkings and Leova tries to focus, she really does. At least the older woman's happy enough to proceed to the lighthouse once Milani approaches, though not without another round of stories first, this one about a ghost ship. Once her back is turned, Leova makes the talky-talky gesture even as she agrees, "Very nice!"
"Reaches' duties," Milani greets the story-telling seacrafter with another bright grin. She has to duck her head to hide the fit of giggles that threatens to seize her at the movement of Leova's hand. When she looks up her face shows mostly a pleasant expression, but the twinkling of her eyes shows proof of further effort to suppress laughter. "Vrianth looks comfy up there." Her head tilts up and back to regard the green wound around the lighthouse.
"She is." Leova says this somewhat warily. "Partly because she's decided she is. I still worry that the whole thing will topple over, but the master," this with a nod after the seacrafter, "said they're used to worse than her." So what's a mere rider to do? Leova winds up with a long look at the taller girl and a, "You look happy. Nice when that sort of thing goes along with work." Or, at least, after work.
"Good. And yeah, it's a sturdy old thing that light house. Good it can stand up to big dragons." Milani's blue-green gaze drops back down from Vrianth to her rider. "Oh I always like errands that involve touching base with Diara. She's one of the assistants here and we have good talks. It wasn't a hard duty either, over quickly so I had plenty of time to run around on the beach. Look what I found!" And she holds her hands out, shells spilling between her fingers, from palm to palm, some pure white with the colors of sunset at their throats, others having those same colors without. One is distinctly pink, another blue with hints of violet and mother-of-pearl.
"Diara, hm?" And then Leova's bending to look at the array, reaching to adjust the one with the mother-of-pearl. "So many of them whole, too. Tell me, did Diara do that touching base on the beach too?" Laughter's in her eyes as she straightens, brighter yet in high-perched Vrianth's.
"Yeah, about your height, dark hair, blue eyes. Talker like me," Milani explains her Hold-based friend. "She's very organized, even better than me." Another laugh and Millie nods. "Yeah. We came down here. She took a break and we traded news along with the Weyr's request." Her fingers ease the mother-of-pearl towards the greenrider. "Like that one? You can keep it if you want, maybe put it above your fire?"
"You sure?" but Leova doesn't refuse, turning it over and then finally picking it up altogether. "Even more organized. Hard to believe that," this with a sideways glance that hints at teasing for all that her mouth doesn't smile. "But glad waiting for me to finish sweeps wasn't so arduous, anyway. Wouldn't want you to feel entirely deserted. And moping."
"Sure! I found so many good ones and it can be a sort of 'thank you' for coming to pick me up and for ... for the flying. The other day." Milani's smiling, but there's a brief flicker of a shadow in her eyes, as swiftly banished. "Hee. No, no moping here. But I'm glad you're here. It's going to be fun going back, isn't it?" Eyes alight again with the prospect of flying with Vrianth.
"Already thanked me," and Leova's tone makes it clear she doesn't need more. Not for that. She tilts the shell so it catches the fading sunlight, then again the other way, very intent for another's eyes. "And it should be. You in a hurry? We can fly slow and easy. /Between/ it. Or let me digest some," this with a pat of her stomach, "and then take it fast."
"OKay, well it was fun finding them and sharing them with people who like them is the /other/ half of the fun," burbles Milani happily, in a way that might earn herself a talky-talky gesture. The question brings about a shaking of her head. "Nope. No hurry here. And ooo did you stuff yourself with good stuff up at the Hold?" Grinning ear to ear she reaches to catch at Leova's hand. "C'mon then nothing like walking for digesting and I can show you this spot where the rocks are all eaten away in funny shapes by the sea."
Leova happens to like the rise and crash of the waves, too, and she listens to Milani with a quiet smile. Meeting the girl's hand partway, "Pretty good. They had broiled packtail, just so," and she smacks her lips to go with it. Then she glances upward one more time, though it won't be anywhere near the last for their excursion, and makes to set off.
"Ooooo, yeah, when that's cooked right it /delicious/," Milani enthuses. "I had a ton of meatrolls and veggie-stuffed pasties and some beachberry pies. Finger foods, easy to eat on the beach. Diara's always got a good spread to share when I come to visit." Probably because Diara's well familiar with Milani's endless appetite. Her hand closes around Leova's and she leads on up the beach, steps almost skipping. "Did you spend much time at the beach before you Impressed? Before ... well shells, wherever it was you came from before Tillek."
"Beachberry pies? Didn't see those!" Leova goes along with Milani taking the lead, used to having to lengthen her strides to match her companions', though she has to skip the near-skipping to do it. "Must be a side benefit to knowing the headwoman's helpers. Persie was saying the other day, how you found her that purple couch." She shrugs a shoulder then, says, "Tillek-bred but more inland... Look how fast that boat's going!" Boat. Ship. Dinghy. Whatever.
"Yeah - I guess they were leftover from yesterday and yeah, Diara'd know where they were hiding if they weren't out at the general meal. Just like, yep, found Persie her couch and well, just about everyone's furniture for all of you who just got tapped up. I know where stuff is in stores. It's what I do." Milani grins over at Leova brightly and slows down a bit as a hulking spur of rock eases up out of the beach, hanging out into the water. It looks sort of like an old ship brooding about whether or not to set sail. "Ohhhh. So yeah, wouldn't have seen the beach much. It's amazing isn't it? I love the smell of the sea! Ooo!" Blue-green eyes skip out over the water towards the boat in question. "Yeah whoever that is either knows how to /sail/ or there's a current out there."
"How are you going to handle things when Amerie goes?" Leova wonders, glancing over at Milani, her grip loosening. "That one really needs to be climbed. Unless there are better ones, coming up... You know much about sailing? Your brother said something about being at Tillek with the boats back in the day. A posting maybe? Was hard to hear."
"Hayda's already looking at some of the general caverns workers, she's asked me for some recommendations even." Milani's pace slows further and her foot curves outward, toes skimming the surface of the sand making a long half circle in her wake. "I know a little about sailing, but I didn't learn how like Paddy and Remi did. Paddy likes to sail a lot. And yeah, if he hadn't gone Baker he probably would've gone Seacrafter he's said before. He had a boat there, don't know if he still keeps it. From when he was posted at the Hold for his training." She continues on towards the rocky formation and gestures loosely with one hand. Water bleeds through holes in the stone washing through the other side. "Isn't it neat?"
"People come, people go?" Leova supposes, freeing Milani's hand the rest of the way to drop into a crouch by the stone, cupping her hands to the impromptu fountain so the cold water can wash over them. "Maybe you could borrow the boat sometime, go out. If you wanted to. Or visit her at Boll and sail there." She hesitates, then looks back towards the lighthouse. Not at the lighthouse.
"Or you know, just Hayda being ready for anything," Milani counters musingly and watches Leova hunker to put her hands in the water. "Pretty amazing what water can do, yeah?" She laughs a little at the suggestions though. "Me? Shells, no. I can barely sort out which ropes are which. But I like to go with /them/. And yeah, I'm hoping to get down that way a little to visit. She's a good friend and I'll miss her."
Leova opens her hands, lets the water spill free: not one privy to the ways and wisdom of headwomen, she. "Didn't know her so well, but. Hope she finds what she's looking for." She tips her hands to the water again, lets the impromptu basin start to refill before she glances sideways again. "Let me guess. You like to sail fast?"
"Me too. I hope she'll be happy down there," Milani answers thoughtfully and looks out toward the water, the ruddy light reflected on the wavecaps. That last remark pulls a smile onto her face and her finger slowly twirls in a strand of hair. "Yeaaaah," she drawls out slowly and turns a bright-eyed look over at the greenrider. "It's like going a little wild, you know? Going fast." She falls silent, tips a look back up at the sky. When her voice sounds again, it's slow and thoughtful once more. "The other day. The other night. E'dre took me out to this oasis in the desert. Told him he'd be welcome when he got tapped. But I had to tell him no in the end." It's a complete non-sequitur, perhaps brought on by talk of fast sailing and the association to fast flying.
Fast sailing. Fast flying. Fast living? Leova had chuckled for that wildness, that bright-eyed look, but by the time Milani finishes even her smile has faded. There's a little silence, or at least silence except for the crash of the waves and the trickle of the water even nearer, pouring through the greenrider's hands. Leova murmurs something not quite distinct: she's listening. She hears. She isn't questioning. And she's still looking.
Milani's toes curl into the sand, squishing it up, releasing it and she takes a few steps closer to the surfline. "It rattled me," she finally states, arms winding around herself and she peeks back over her shoulder at Leova. "The whole thing. I shouldn't have ... I dunno, played with him like that. He was nice. He understood. But still. He expected something. Because of the way I talk." Another little pause and then she has another one of those smiles for Leova but there's a touch of sadness in it. "So you were right and everyone was right and I should've listened."
The water falls between Leova's fingers. She watches it now. And finally, carefully, she says, "Don't know if it was just talk." Doesn't have to know. "But. Everybody got hopes. Based on what other people do, partly anyway. Sometimes it's just a body dreaming."
"Maybe." Milani answers after a moment or two. "I just ... I felt bad. And it kind of -- well I guess it just cleared some things up. It's weird to have someone wanting you that badly and not feeling that way back other than you know, being kind of curious about what it's like and maybe having some fun." She tilts a look over at Leova, watches the water fall. The waves pull out towards the sea, rush back towards the rock to fill it back up. "I'm going to think twice now about flirting too much."
"Yes," Leova says to the water, the falling water. She keeps her hands cupped to contain it, but still it spills over. She doesn't look up. Eventually, "Sometimes we don't know, for certain, until we get there." Still doesn't look up.
A long silence that isn't silence, because the waves are still washing up on shore and water bleeds through the rock. "Yeah," finally from Milani, usually so talkative and her arms squeeze a little tighter around herself. "Know now though. And -- well I dunno. MIght not go to Ista for a while too." Frowning out at the rapidly setting sun and then she turns back towards the rider. "Think Vrianth is ready for some speed?"
"A little while," Leova near-repeats, and in one motion pulls herself up, lets the water fall down. "Know she is." A sidelong look that doesn't actually seek Milani's eyes, "Let's go." And a few footsteps later, there's Vrianth in the sky before them, a long slow glide set to meet them partway.
"A litte while," Milani repeats, taking up Leova's variation with a little nod and she huffs out a breath, turns to follow the greenrider back to meet Vrianth, to let that wildness rise again, get a little lost in it before heading home. Fast living indeed.