Log: Of Books And Plans
Who: Milani, Louvaen
When: 13:06 8/26/15
Where: Common Room, High Reaches Weyr
What: Milani's finished up the book Louvaen 'gave' her and he's got hearth-cleaning duty that leads him to where she's sitting for a conversation about books and post-Hatching plans.
Milani
Expressive bright blue-green eyes are the remarkable feature of this young woman's face, the color rather intense, like the seas off Ista Island. A small, slightly upturned nose scattered with freckles across the bridge and full lips complete a winsome face that's most often open and frank of expression. It'd be hard to miss her in a crowd too, given her height, just a smidgen under six feet and the long mane of well-kept, wavy, strawberry-blonde hair that falls nearly to her hips, unbound. Slender and moderately curvy, there's a certain lithe gracefulness to her when she moves that belies her sixteen-odd turns.
The color on this dress is attention-grabbing, deep sapphire in hue, though the tailoring is very simple and suited to Milani's lean physique. Princess-seamed and sleeveless, slender straps edged with a shimmer of lighter blue ribbon for comfort support a neckline decorated with a subtle line of vine-embroidery in the same color thread as the gown itself. Falling just below the knee, the skirts are full enough to swirl a little when she moves. Sandals continue to be her favored footgear for summer. The knot of a High Reaches Weyr assistant headwoman loops her shoulder.
Curled up deep in the common room after lunch when most of the Weyr has gone back to work, Milani's enjoying a little bit of a respite in the demands of her day to finish up the book Louvaen found for her a little while back. One foot dangles, bare off the sidearm of the chair, the other is folded up out of sight beneath the young assistant headwoman, her head propped against one of the chair's wings. Every now and then she dabs at her eyes with a crumpled hanky as the final pages of the story wind the tale to a conclusion. There's aunties near the hearth of course, there always are, but that back corner of the room is pretty quiet, especially given the girl's turned the chair more toward the back wall so she's not immediately visible except for those bare toes.
Louvaen strides in from the lower caverns with purposeful steps. He's one of those that have gone back to work, if the buckets of cleaning supplies he carries are any indication. From one comes the slosh of water and from the other juts brushes and scours. The candidate himself is relatively clean, just a bit of soot smudged at the lower legs of his trousers. He makes a straight line to the hearth, largely oblivious to the occupants in the cavern. It's not until he's set his things down that he takes a better look around and spots those bare toes. Leaving everything behind, he creeps softly towards the chair. "Milani?"
Milani drops her head back at the calling of her name, leg straightening a little so her toes point instead of dangling freely. Blue-green eyes appear around the edge of the chair and the spotting of Louvaen elicits a bright smile through tears. "Oh! Lou! Good timing. I've got two pages left and shells if I'm not crying a bucket and a half about her being the only one left alive standing amid so much death. It's so /sad/!" Wide eyes made up at the Candidate that then focus briefly on the little bits of soot. "Hearths right?"
Louvaen's eyes take in the tears, his initial reaction of worry fading into an expression of understanding. "I know," he breathes heavily, his own eyes widening as he nods. "It still gives me chills, when I go back and read it," he confesses. Another, shorter nod is given about the hearths. "Luckily this heat means they're staying pretty clean... I'll check this one, and give you a chance to finish those two pages?" he offers, stretching an arm across his body to point towards the hearth.
"Yeah," Milani sighs a little, the deep sigh of someone happy to be sad, because the book is that good. "And oh, sure, don't let me keep you. Though if that's your last one, come back quick and we can chat, or go for a walk or something. I've got time because everything's ready to go to Tillek tonight already," she notes with a proud grin, then tilts her head back up to read those last two pages.
"I'll come back," Louvaen promises. He lingers until she returns to the book, and then moves back over to the fireplace. Heavy gloves are pulled on and various tools removed from the dry bucket: a little scoop and a smaller pail for the ashes, a brush, and a sponge. What little ash that has piled in the hearth is scooped and brushed away. The stonework has hardly had anytime to acquire new soot stains since its last cleaning, so the job is done quickly enough. Putting everything away, gloves the last thing dropped in their bucket, the young man tidies everything off to the side and then meanders back towards a chair next to Milani's. He sinks into it with a soft sigh, peeking over towards the girl to see if she has finished.
Milani finishes up in a few more minutes and sighs softly, closing the book. She stares off into space for a few minutes after she's finished and looks up at Louvaen's return, dabbing at her eyes again. "That's a really amazing story, Lou. Thanks for pointing me at it. It's funny, my mother says when she was my age, they didn't have books like we do now. I guess the Harpers really started writing and copying a lot when the Interval started and paper started being around more." The assistant headwoman pushes a little more upright in her chair and pulls free the leg that was curled beneath her, draping both over the sidearm. "Got any other favorites you'd like to share?" Asked playfully with a beaming smile.
Louvaen smiles brightly, but his voice is soft. "I'm glad you liked it." A nod is given. "That makes sense." About there being less books, during the Pass. Her question sends one of his folded knuckles up to tap on his chin. His eyes turn up in thought. "Let's see... What might you like..." he muses. "Have you read Ikonnen's historical fiction series about sixth interval Hold life? It dips to the overly romantic at times," is admitted. "But there is also a fair bit of fun scheming and mayhem. Even a few murders."
Milani's nose wrinkles faintly at the mention of the word 'romance' but 'mayhem' and 'murder' brighten her gaze in return and she bounces in the chair. "No! I haven't and those bits sound good. I'm not really into romances, especially the kind that don't make sense." A handwave dismisses that sort of book. "I've read some, but I think I'm kind of beyond reading to widen my vocabulary. Now it's just for fun." One foot swings back and forth lazily and Millie considers the Candidate thoughtfully, blurting out a sudden non-sequitur. "So I've been thinking. What're you going to do if you don't Impress? Back to Tillek to trade beer for your cousin again?"
"Some romances do get pretty silly," Louvaen notes with a grin. "But Ikonnen's aren't really like that," he is quick to add. "He is more focused on Hold politics. The exciting kind, so affairs and such are just one element." Milani's blurt is met with a rise of his brows. "You've been thinking?" The edge of his mouth quirks. He holds the look a moment before giving a shake of his head. "I don't think I'll go back to that. Dolpho says he's had positive response from the Hall, so it looks like he may earn his Master's rank soon. Tillek... maybe." There's a slight pause as his smile widens. "I have been considering asking for a position here. Do you think Hayda might have a place for me?"
Eyes roll expressively. "Shells, some of them are just awful. I can't believe the way they write the /girls/ in those things. I bet most of those harpers who write these are men. Go figure." And Milani's foot continues to kick as her head bobs up and down. "Yeah of course. I mean, we're friends right? It's a toss up with Aleudre, he might stay and keep on tailoring or he might hare it out of here. I think he doesn't like the workload much and Hayda won't indulge his muse. She's more interested in having everyone clothed sturdily to suit the weather." One hand lifts to brush her hair back behind her shoulder. "I'll bet Leova's going home too if there's no dragon for her, but Vivy might stay and well, Niena's /from/ here." A loose shrug follows. "Not sure about some of the others." Her eyes widen again though, in pleased surprise another wide smile crossing her face. "Really? Well I dunno. You know some harper stuff right? And you like to read so maybe she'd have a spot for you in Records, like Joe."
Louvaen gives a helpless shrug to her first words, amusement spilling into a chuckle as Milani continues. "We are friends," he agrees, but otherwise quiets and listens interestedly in what she's heard from some of the other candidates. "I do - I had two turns of classes at Harper." Thought of a spot in records has an indecisive expression scrunching up on his face, shoulders shrugging up to his ears. "Maybe. I'd be interested in talking to her about it, what that'd entail. I think I would be really interested in logistics management, so a position that could lead towards logistics would be ideal."
"Well good then, because boy would I feel silly if you said we weren't!" Milani makes big eyes at Louvaen and stretches her arms above her head, then swivels her body around, dropping feet to the floor and fishing around for her sandals with her toes. "So like, you'd want to do what I do. Be an assistant?" She fixes a curious look on the young man and nods. "Might be worth talking to her about." One sandal's scooted onto her foot, then she has to bend to pull the ankle strap up and over and it's just easier to grab the other shoe and turn it around, slip it on. "Want to come with me to Records so I can drop this off?" The book wiggled explanatorily. "And then it's time to go load up dragons and head out to Tillek!"
Those big eyes are responded to with an oh-so-very mature stuck out tongue. "I suppose, if that's how the structure here works," Louvaen says lightly with a shrug. Eyes go sly, following her as she gathers her sandals. "If you think you could stand working with me. Bringing me up to speed," is teased. A nod is given to her offer, and he shifts up to his feet. "Sure!" He moves the few steps to take a place by her side, ready to accompany her out to the other room. "I can swing back for the buckets... It's going to be funny, seeing everyone I've met here down at the Hold."
"Sure is, only other positions like that involve having a dragon. You know. Wingleader. Weyrleader." Milani tips a look over at him with a little smile and moves to slip her arm through his. "I think I could do that. Bring you up to speed. Not that you probably /need/ all that much help." The words seem innocent, but somehow just aren't. "Come on then. You'll have to show me were you found the book in the first place, and maybe some of this Ikonnen guy's stuff so I know where to find it for my next read. And then I'll see you out at the Bowl for that ride over? I'm sure Mum'd be glad to take you along too." She chatterboxes all the way over to Records and later on, she waits leaning against Sionath, jacket on, chattering at her quietly smiling mother by Sionath, the pair waiting to take them off to Tillek.
When: 13:06 8/26/15
Where: Common Room, High Reaches Weyr
What: Milani's finished up the book Louvaen 'gave' her and he's got hearth-cleaning duty that leads him to where she's sitting for a conversation about books and post-Hatching plans.
Milani
Expressive bright blue-green eyes are the remarkable feature of this young woman's face, the color rather intense, like the seas off Ista Island. A small, slightly upturned nose scattered with freckles across the bridge and full lips complete a winsome face that's most often open and frank of expression. It'd be hard to miss her in a crowd too, given her height, just a smidgen under six feet and the long mane of well-kept, wavy, strawberry-blonde hair that falls nearly to her hips, unbound. Slender and moderately curvy, there's a certain lithe gracefulness to her when she moves that belies her sixteen-odd turns.
The color on this dress is attention-grabbing, deep sapphire in hue, though the tailoring is very simple and suited to Milani's lean physique. Princess-seamed and sleeveless, slender straps edged with a shimmer of lighter blue ribbon for comfort support a neckline decorated with a subtle line of vine-embroidery in the same color thread as the gown itself. Falling just below the knee, the skirts are full enough to swirl a little when she moves. Sandals continue to be her favored footgear for summer. The knot of a High Reaches Weyr assistant headwoman loops her shoulder.
Curled up deep in the common room after lunch when most of the Weyr has gone back to work, Milani's enjoying a little bit of a respite in the demands of her day to finish up the book Louvaen found for her a little while back. One foot dangles, bare off the sidearm of the chair, the other is folded up out of sight beneath the young assistant headwoman, her head propped against one of the chair's wings. Every now and then she dabs at her eyes with a crumpled hanky as the final pages of the story wind the tale to a conclusion. There's aunties near the hearth of course, there always are, but that back corner of the room is pretty quiet, especially given the girl's turned the chair more toward the back wall so she's not immediately visible except for those bare toes.
Louvaen strides in from the lower caverns with purposeful steps. He's one of those that have gone back to work, if the buckets of cleaning supplies he carries are any indication. From one comes the slosh of water and from the other juts brushes and scours. The candidate himself is relatively clean, just a bit of soot smudged at the lower legs of his trousers. He makes a straight line to the hearth, largely oblivious to the occupants in the cavern. It's not until he's set his things down that he takes a better look around and spots those bare toes. Leaving everything behind, he creeps softly towards the chair. "Milani?"
Milani drops her head back at the calling of her name, leg straightening a little so her toes point instead of dangling freely. Blue-green eyes appear around the edge of the chair and the spotting of Louvaen elicits a bright smile through tears. "Oh! Lou! Good timing. I've got two pages left and shells if I'm not crying a bucket and a half about her being the only one left alive standing amid so much death. It's so /sad/!" Wide eyes made up at the Candidate that then focus briefly on the little bits of soot. "Hearths right?"
Louvaen's eyes take in the tears, his initial reaction of worry fading into an expression of understanding. "I know," he breathes heavily, his own eyes widening as he nods. "It still gives me chills, when I go back and read it," he confesses. Another, shorter nod is given about the hearths. "Luckily this heat means they're staying pretty clean... I'll check this one, and give you a chance to finish those two pages?" he offers, stretching an arm across his body to point towards the hearth.
"Yeah," Milani sighs a little, the deep sigh of someone happy to be sad, because the book is that good. "And oh, sure, don't let me keep you. Though if that's your last one, come back quick and we can chat, or go for a walk or something. I've got time because everything's ready to go to Tillek tonight already," she notes with a proud grin, then tilts her head back up to read those last two pages.
"I'll come back," Louvaen promises. He lingers until she returns to the book, and then moves back over to the fireplace. Heavy gloves are pulled on and various tools removed from the dry bucket: a little scoop and a smaller pail for the ashes, a brush, and a sponge. What little ash that has piled in the hearth is scooped and brushed away. The stonework has hardly had anytime to acquire new soot stains since its last cleaning, so the job is done quickly enough. Putting everything away, gloves the last thing dropped in their bucket, the young man tidies everything off to the side and then meanders back towards a chair next to Milani's. He sinks into it with a soft sigh, peeking over towards the girl to see if she has finished.
Milani finishes up in a few more minutes and sighs softly, closing the book. She stares off into space for a few minutes after she's finished and looks up at Louvaen's return, dabbing at her eyes again. "That's a really amazing story, Lou. Thanks for pointing me at it. It's funny, my mother says when she was my age, they didn't have books like we do now. I guess the Harpers really started writing and copying a lot when the Interval started and paper started being around more." The assistant headwoman pushes a little more upright in her chair and pulls free the leg that was curled beneath her, draping both over the sidearm. "Got any other favorites you'd like to share?" Asked playfully with a beaming smile.
Louvaen smiles brightly, but his voice is soft. "I'm glad you liked it." A nod is given. "That makes sense." About there being less books, during the Pass. Her question sends one of his folded knuckles up to tap on his chin. His eyes turn up in thought. "Let's see... What might you like..." he muses. "Have you read Ikonnen's historical fiction series about sixth interval Hold life? It dips to the overly romantic at times," is admitted. "But there is also a fair bit of fun scheming and mayhem. Even a few murders."
Milani's nose wrinkles faintly at the mention of the word 'romance' but 'mayhem' and 'murder' brighten her gaze in return and she bounces in the chair. "No! I haven't and those bits sound good. I'm not really into romances, especially the kind that don't make sense." A handwave dismisses that sort of book. "I've read some, but I think I'm kind of beyond reading to widen my vocabulary. Now it's just for fun." One foot swings back and forth lazily and Millie considers the Candidate thoughtfully, blurting out a sudden non-sequitur. "So I've been thinking. What're you going to do if you don't Impress? Back to Tillek to trade beer for your cousin again?"
"Some romances do get pretty silly," Louvaen notes with a grin. "But Ikonnen's aren't really like that," he is quick to add. "He is more focused on Hold politics. The exciting kind, so affairs and such are just one element." Milani's blurt is met with a rise of his brows. "You've been thinking?" The edge of his mouth quirks. He holds the look a moment before giving a shake of his head. "I don't think I'll go back to that. Dolpho says he's had positive response from the Hall, so it looks like he may earn his Master's rank soon. Tillek... maybe." There's a slight pause as his smile widens. "I have been considering asking for a position here. Do you think Hayda might have a place for me?"
Eyes roll expressively. "Shells, some of them are just awful. I can't believe the way they write the /girls/ in those things. I bet most of those harpers who write these are men. Go figure." And Milani's foot continues to kick as her head bobs up and down. "Yeah of course. I mean, we're friends right? It's a toss up with Aleudre, he might stay and keep on tailoring or he might hare it out of here. I think he doesn't like the workload much and Hayda won't indulge his muse. She's more interested in having everyone clothed sturdily to suit the weather." One hand lifts to brush her hair back behind her shoulder. "I'll bet Leova's going home too if there's no dragon for her, but Vivy might stay and well, Niena's /from/ here." A loose shrug follows. "Not sure about some of the others." Her eyes widen again though, in pleased surprise another wide smile crossing her face. "Really? Well I dunno. You know some harper stuff right? And you like to read so maybe she'd have a spot for you in Records, like Joe."
Louvaen gives a helpless shrug to her first words, amusement spilling into a chuckle as Milani continues. "We are friends," he agrees, but otherwise quiets and listens interestedly in what she's heard from some of the other candidates. "I do - I had two turns of classes at Harper." Thought of a spot in records has an indecisive expression scrunching up on his face, shoulders shrugging up to his ears. "Maybe. I'd be interested in talking to her about it, what that'd entail. I think I would be really interested in logistics management, so a position that could lead towards logistics would be ideal."
"Well good then, because boy would I feel silly if you said we weren't!" Milani makes big eyes at Louvaen and stretches her arms above her head, then swivels her body around, dropping feet to the floor and fishing around for her sandals with her toes. "So like, you'd want to do what I do. Be an assistant?" She fixes a curious look on the young man and nods. "Might be worth talking to her about." One sandal's scooted onto her foot, then she has to bend to pull the ankle strap up and over and it's just easier to grab the other shoe and turn it around, slip it on. "Want to come with me to Records so I can drop this off?" The book wiggled explanatorily. "And then it's time to go load up dragons and head out to Tillek!"
Those big eyes are responded to with an oh-so-very mature stuck out tongue. "I suppose, if that's how the structure here works," Louvaen says lightly with a shrug. Eyes go sly, following her as she gathers her sandals. "If you think you could stand working with me. Bringing me up to speed," is teased. A nod is given to her offer, and he shifts up to his feet. "Sure!" He moves the few steps to take a place by her side, ready to accompany her out to the other room. "I can swing back for the buckets... It's going to be funny, seeing everyone I've met here down at the Hold."
"Sure is, only other positions like that involve having a dragon. You know. Wingleader. Weyrleader." Milani tips a look over at him with a little smile and moves to slip her arm through his. "I think I could do that. Bring you up to speed. Not that you probably /need/ all that much help." The words seem innocent, but somehow just aren't. "Come on then. You'll have to show me were you found the book in the first place, and maybe some of this Ikonnen guy's stuff so I know where to find it for my next read. And then I'll see you out at the Bowl for that ride over? I'm sure Mum'd be glad to take you along too." She chatterboxes all the way over to Records and later on, she waits leaning against Sionath, jacket on, chattering at her quietly smiling mother by Sionath, the pair waiting to take them off to Tillek.