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“Mm… that was a better job, Vera. But you still have to work on your fingering. It felt a little… slow.”

Ah, it was such fun to be a Harper! You got to say hilarious things like that and no one would think it was odd! Alright, so, maybe people would think this situation was odd given the people involved… the current heat snap---- the Weyrfolk claimed it was just the beginning of summer, but Xeran knew better; this had to be some sort of freak weather incident----had forced the Harpers into a rather unusual situation. Or, more particularly, it had forced the muscular Xeran into a rather shirtless situation, showing off what he considered to be his best feature.

Admittedly, the scars didn’t help. Mining was not a safe occupation, even if he had gotten out of it while young. But, hey. It wasn’t like Weyrfolk would mind a shirtless Harper running around, even if he was heavily scarred. Currently, the Harper was sprawled across some furs on the ground in one of the common rooms, idly plucking his harp. It was past the midday meal, meaning both Harpers were happily fed and more inclined to simply laze about than actually do anything. At least, Xeran was. Knowing Vera, she’d be working on something soon enough.

“Lady Tessi has been complaining about your fingering too, by the way,” he added thoughtfully to the girl nearby. Vera, of course. Xeran was always very careful to never let the young woman out of his sight for very long. There was no telling what sort of trouble she would get into if he wasn’t there to keep an eye on her. They had a… strange relationship, one that seemed utterly incomprehensible to others. Xeran and Vera were just fine with this.

In fact, at times, they went out of their way to make things even more confusing. If Harpers couldn’t have fun like this, who could? They were simply… close. Xeran yawned and stretched as luxuriously as possible, just in case someone was watching. Harpers were always ready to give a show, especially if it might result in small accidents. Then again, Xeran could usually achieve this with just a broad smile.

Absently, the journeyman grabbed the instrument back. "You mean you never let us getting away with anything ever! Not even after we've walked the tables. A bunch of slavedrivers, truly. Consider yourself lucky that you never have to handle this man's bells, oh Candidate," Vera said hotly, leaning casually across Xeran. "To hear him go on about them, they are the most impressive bells that have ever been forged. Ridiculous."

If the girl missed that one, there really was no hope for her. No hope at all. "I'll bet you'd like that, Xer. Someone at your service. Do you service harpers a lot?" she inquired innocently, rubbing the clean cloth against the flute.

The chatter was somewhat typical of the pair of harpers, and it was quite obvious that they were both very comfortable together. "Lady Fessi complains too much, but I promise that I will be gentle with her in the future. Promise!" Amusement glinted in her steel gray eyes, and she glanced up at the young Candidate. There was quite a lot of her to see, wasn't there? Why was it that nearly all the young women she had met at the Weyr were tall?

Hmm. Perhaps one of the riders had a preference for tall women, or else believed that tall women were better suited to riding dragons. From what she could remember of the ballads (which was a lot) and teachings there was no real emphasis on height in women.

And yet here, standing before her, was the very proof that dragonriders did favor tall girls. The proof had been walking around the halls, filling them near to the brimming in point of fact. "What he means to say is that I am Vera, and he is Xeran, and together we are Xera." It was a quaint little thing that they had come up with some time ago, and she couldn't precisely remember how many glasses of wine they had had beforehand. Whatever the amount, it was-- or had been-- rather outstanding.

"Can't you see, Xer? Her legs brought her here," the young woman pointed out matter-of-factly, her expression quite innocent, just as though she had not made a terrible joke moments before. "What about this part?" she inquired, pointing out a particular bit of wood. "Is the girth sufficient, do you think? I don't want Marko to be disappointed."

Oh, come on! Now Xeran was just getting bored with Kyllae. He and Vera worked hard on their little banter! It was so annoying to hear some Candidate completely overlook the whole ‘polishing his bells’ comment. Perhaps the poor girl was daft…Well, of course she was, he realized. She was a Candidate, after all! Marko was completely right about that: you had to have a special sort of mind to actually want to be associated with those great big beasts.

He gave Kyllae a pitying look before turning his attention back to Vera. She, at least, appreciated his wit and responded to it in kind. Besides, if Vera didn’t get enough attention from her old mentor, she would start to wander! Clearly, since Kyllae wasn’t responding to the more… oblique references, it was time to make them more obvious.

“Oh, Vera. There were always people lining up to polish my bells. There were people lining up for a mere hope of polishing my bells. Although, it would be nice to have someone at my service for such things…” the sentence was sealed with a wink that should have been outlawed for sexual harassment. If Kyllae missed that then there really was no hope for the girl. Actually, he was starting to think that anyway, but, hey; he was giving her another chance.

Thank Faranth for Vera! She responded to things and provided Xeran with plenty of hilarious material. He accepted the flute length and regarded it critically from all angles. “It’s good right now, but I could see it getting thinner if you’re not careful. And Marko wouldn’t like that. You know he hates putting thin things in his mouth. He likes thick hard things.”

Poor Vera indeed. "Yes it was a Significant Pause roommate. As though you could be any other kind," Vera said with a huff, despite the fact that Xeran was in fact her roommate, no significant pause. Blinking, the Journeyman tried to sort out what the Candidate girl might be implying. "Well, you see, it all depends on the drum! Some drums do best when tapped, and others? Others do best when hit hard, or gently. So, my suggestion is that you try out those drums until you find a beat that you like." Yes, yes, that was it!

"Ohh, and it also depends on the thickness of the hide," she said, revealing a Great Truth (tm). "Some hides are thin, and you're really better off being gentle with them." Hides, like skins, could be tricky that way. Some skins were thicker than others, some hides the same. ... Was there a difference? With thick hides you had to pound hard, of course. "It's all very logical, you see."

Having decided that she was not going to ignore the other female just because it seemed like Kyllae was ignoring her, Vera began to use more pressure on the flute. The thing ought to be sanded, really it ought to. She would have to consider that later. "Xeran is terribly proud of his bells. He thinks that they are the finest around, so he is very careful of whom he allows near them. Ridiculous man, really."

All of this said whilst leaning back against said man, almost cuddling against him. Then again, Xeran was furniture. More so that that terrible stone couch the Weyrfolk had tried to pawn off as such. She shuddered. "Xer... don't lie. I know you like spanking." She knew sharding well, didn't she? Or was that one of Marko's fantasies? Hmmn. It was decidedly possible, wasn't it?

"You keep getting kicked out of flute classes because you are an overenthusiastic teacher," the diminutive harper said chidingly, patting her erstwhile professor. "I have very negotiable skills, great teacher Xeran! And you'd know that if you had been paying attention. Shame on you." Although... it was entirely possible that Xeran would freak out about that. Any suggestion that his dear little darling might have gained certain experiences... well, it was best to conceal such possibilities from him.

... Not that they truly existed, but it was the principle of the matter! "There are always so many ladies desirous of lending him a hand," she said sadly, for it was very true. Sad because those hands were never appreciated as they ought to be. Terribly sad. "I'm an expert on instrument creation primarily," she added rather belatedly. Hmmn. This girl really was quite tall, wasn't she? Good on her for sitting down. It made things ever so much more manageable.