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 Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:25 pm
Most of the workers were done for the day. Isandra, however? Oh, no, not the Harper. Her work was only just beginning. Once the folk came in for the evening did she really begin, entertaining the hard-working men and women of Ghenza. It wasn't quite dinner time, so she had enough time to scamper out to the fields. As it were, there was a rumor that needed investigating. As long as Isandra didn't let herself get carried away, she should make it back to the dining hall with time to space. Humming under her breath, the young woman picked her way out into croplands.
Her reconnaissance didn't take terribly long; the subject of her latest story was no where to be seen. It was rather unlikely the young man had any idea he was the focus of the Harper's attention, and much more probably she'd arrived at the wrong time. Isandra turned with a small frown, glancing around the workers one last time. Idly, the Harper began to wonder how many of these people were foreigners, taking work that belonged the Ghenza, eating their food, sleeping in their-
"Deep breath, Isandra," she told herself, closing her eyes and smoothing her dress as she quenched the anger before it had the chance to build any steam. There would be time for bitterness later, but the Harper had to focus. Good story, and then entertaining. Ah, but her job was never done!
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 5:32 pm
Amelia was glad the day was over. She was tired and missed her dear gold, that rambunctious, strong-willed star of hers that always tried to cheer her up. It had been a while since they'd joined Ghenza and she'd long gotten used to the work, but a monotonous life of repetition and toil didn't particularly appeal to her - not when it was a craft she wasn't born to do.
Nonetheless, she tried to keep to herself, spoke and smiled to the locals when she encountered them and hoped her positive attitude would at least encourage a friend or two.
As it were, she was walking by Isandra, wiping the sweat from her brow and leaving a smear of mud in its place. "Evening." She spoke, meeting the girl's gaze for a moment before she continued on. Most knew her as 'that goldrider' now - it was hard to suppress rumours of Sharath's dislike for a place that disrespected her and her kin. Amelia did her best though, and it was a mark of their combined maturity that resulted in only minor spats between Sharath and other dragons.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 6:27 am
Why, speak of the devil, and he shall appear!
Isandra raised her eyebrows as she was greeted by a dirty young woman. "Good evening," she replied, fixing the stranger with a calculating look as she tried to place her. It didn't take long for the Harper to realize she'd never met this particular worker before, and that meant one of two things. Either Isandra was falling behind in her general know-abouts of the Weyr, or this young woman came with the High Reaches riders. (She was working rather hard for a rider, at least as far as the Harper was concerned.)
"Beg your pardon, but I don't think we've met," Isandra said, determined to solve the problem at hand. The story could wait. She trotted after the worker, catching up beside her. "I am Isandra, Harper. And you are?" she inquired, trying to get another good look at the young woman's face. No, no, she definitely didn't know her, and still, the Harper felt like she should know who this particular person was. Perhaps they'd just crossed each other in the dining hall before? No, that couldn't be it. She would have remembered.
Gritting her jaw as she raked her memory for a third time, Isandra waited quietly for the stranger to answer her query.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:00 am
Amelia paused a few feet away when she called and the girl seemed like she wanted to talk, "Ah... no, I don't believe we have. Well met Isandra, I'm Amelia, Rider of Gold Sharath." She said it with pride and a broad smile as she offered a dusty hand, "If you were looking for someone, I won't be much help - I'm just grunt work out in the fields, don't get much conversation there."
She shrugged, it was what it was.
Beyond them, Sharath had seen Amelia paused as the other girl caught up and rumbled with annoyance. What now? Did they need some other errand for her? Setting her jaw, she spread her great wings before settling them back down against her back and laying down only when Amelia continued forward.
"You're welcome to walk and talk, but I need to tend to my dragon as well. Oil and all that." She offered why minimal way of explanation. It was difficult sometimes to balance the needs of the dragon with the needs of the community - they almost seemed to demand the latter over the former.
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:11 am
Giving Amelia's hand a dubious look, she swallowed whatever protests she had about getting dirty and shook her hand briefly, mind racing as she tried to figure out what to do with the dirt transferred to her own hand. Very well couldn't go and wipe it on her dress now, could see, not when she had people to attend to this evening!
"Ahh," Isandra replied, albeit, a bit distractedly, "so you're that goldrider I've heard about." Actually, it was Sharath she heard more about; her general demeanor had not gone over so well with the majority of the riders native to Ghenza. "And they've even put you to work? Fancy that," Isandra mused, reaching up to twirl a finger in her wave black hair. It took her a moment to realize the rider did not intend to stop and the Harper huffed softly, bounding after the older woman for a second time.
"Busy, I see," she murmured, not exactly disappointed. This was how things were supposed to be, the Harper noted quietly. Not like that bluerider she'd met early, asking to get out of chores (honestly!). Perhaps this gold rider wasn't exactly enthusiastic, but she was doing them. "Have they been putting you to good use?" she inquired after a moment. "Can't afford to feed hungry mouths for free," she explained, "though some of your fellow riders can't see to grasp at that concept."
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Posted: Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:43 pm
Amelia scoffed, "I get that a lot. No my dragon is not a diva - this place just stresses her a lot." She replied, meaning to head off that train of conversation. She'd defended her beloved countless times by now and she was sick of people thinking she was too 'free' with her gold. Heh.
"They've put everyone to work who's from High Reaches. I'm not a Goldrider from here so I'm not privy to the goings on of your internal hierarchy." She shrugged. It was for the best since she really did not have much interest in learning to run a place like this. She only paid attention to how streamlined the whole process was.
"Good use? Yes, and no. I'm a Journeyman Excavator - I build tunnels and know the applications of explosives, among other things. I'm mid way through my training and experienced enough to participate in things fully but I'm treated as an apprentice and passed between the farm fields and the mines depending on if the miners need me or not." This too was an old tale for Amelia and she eyed the harper, fishing out a mostly clean handkerchief, "Here. Don't sully your dress."
She stopped then, when the harper spoke of her peers and arched a brow, "Oh? Who's slacking off?" Amelia already had half a mind as to who might be doing so and sighed, "Working the fields is hard work and not everyone's suited to it." It was a weak excuse but it was a fact nonetheless.
Amelia continued on her way after a moment, "What kinds of tales do you tell, then? I haven't spoken to many Harpers."
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 5:27 am
"A Journeyman Excavator?" This woman? Isandra's eyebrows shot into her hairline and the Harper gave the rider another once over. She didn't seem particularly burly, not the way the majority of the men did. Well, come to think, she didn't honestly know that many female miners. Maybe this is what they were supposed to look- "Oh, thank you." She accepted the handkerchief with an awkward smile, more than happy to wipe the grime off.
"Oh, some blue rider I came across asked me to get her out of work. Uuni, I think her name was? Yes, that was it." The Harper rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Honestly, the nerve of some people." She sighed, a hand finding its way to her hip now that she wasn't in danger of ruining her nice clothing. "Oh, your handkerchief." She offered it back, a thoughtful frown in place as she regarded Amelia again.
"It is a bit strange that they have you out here instead," she finally decided, rubbing her chin. "I can't pretend to know the reason behind everything they do, I am not," she waved her hand, scowling a little, "terribly high in rank, you see. But still, to waste good labor on a task that a child could do seems odd to be. Certainly something that deserves a little investigation." And Isandra was nothing if not a detective in her own right.
The Harper brightened a bit, standing a little straighter when the goldrider asked after her tales. "Oh! Whatever my patrons want to hear, of course!" Isandra's wicked grin found its way back to her mouth and she reached up to twirl a strand of hair around her finger. "Love stories are a big favorite, as are the teaching songs, for the little ones. And a good Harper always knows a warning or two about the Plague..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:20 pm
Amelia shrugged. She couldn't do much about the others. Unlike Sharath, she didn't have the automatic authority of the gold and she was pretty certain Uuni would tell her to stuff if she she tried to tell the bluerider to buck up. Uuni was not... suited to the menial labour of the fields and while Amelia could think of several other applications for her, she was not in charge. So. A shrug was the other's answer.
"It's because they don't always need more miners. And I, being an Outsider, am expendable. I don't like it, and I'd be more productive if I wasn't shifted around so much. Not much I say gets noted, though." Another shrug, "So I just have to endure until I get to go home. Your Weyr is so different from mine." She chuckled not unkindly.
"Ooh. Hm. What's the most important teaching story? I haven't heard much from you Ghenzan Harpers. But I don't mind a good story. You'll have to come with me, though, and we can chat while I tend to Sharath." Amelia offered, gesturing at the large gold mound that was curled up not too far away. "I'm interested in learning, if you don't mind teaching?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 4:45 pm
It was hard for Isandra to compare Weyrs. Ghenza was all she'd know up until the arrival of the High Reaches riders. All she knew about their Weyr was what the riders said and how they acted; who knew how much of it was true? Some were probably on their best behavior, trying to make High Reaches shine like some sort of beacon. The others were on their very worst, cowed by the hard work they'd been put to immediately.
"I will look into this mining nonsense," she decided, waving her hand. Even if Amelia didn't care, or wasn't bother, the Harper was intrigued. It was a bit mysterious. She was sure there was a logical answer at the end of the tunnel, she just had to find it.
"The most important story? In my opinion, it is about the plague, I think." Isandra hummed softly to herself, springing forward as Amelia's stride dwarfed her own. Being small certainly had its disadvantages, and keeping up with people was one of them. "But are you sure that's what you'd like to hear? It's meant for small children and is rather simple. I know far prettier, more complex songs, suited for a more mature audience," the Harper rattled on. Poor opinion of the outsiders or not, Amelia had struck Isandra's pride and egged her on with a good work ethic. Besides, who could resist showing of their greatest talents?
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Posted: Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:08 pm
Amelia shrugged, "If you want to. I've settled into the rhythm. It's just trading one hard labour for another... I've actually gotten a tan since helping in the fields. Granted it's a farmer's tan, but a tan nonetheless." She chuckled. "Normally I'm rather pale."
She nodded when the most important proved to plague-related, slowing her step a little so as not to leave the other behind, "Well, you're interested in a small audience you could recite that and whatever else you have in mind for Sharath and I? We're not Harper-trained but some company would be nice and I've not heard any of Ghenza's harpertales. If I hear any I like, I'll probably ask Luci back home if she wouldn't mind getting a Harper or two to learn a few."
Maybe that would help improve relations? An exchange of knowledge... there was a lot she found that she knew or knew a different method of that the miners didn't. Granted, they weren't interested in learning from her, but surely ballads and tales and news of the Outside would interest even the hardest soul in Ghenza? Couldn't hurt to try.
Sharath lifted her head when the two drew near and she whuffled softly at Amelia in greeting, her eyes whirling blues and greens. When her gaze shifted to the Harper, however, the gold shifted and turned in her spot so as to look at Isandra more easily. Who's that?
"Oh. Sorry!" Amelia replied, "This is Isandra, she's a Harper. Isandara, this is my Sharath." She waved to each in turn and waited for the harper to respond to her question before she'd disappear in search of oil.
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 12:10 pm
Her songs? Spread around Pern? Well. That was certainly something to think about.
As patriotic as Isandra was, there was one thing that came above everything else, and that was herself. As it were, it wasn’t like Amelia was attempting to whisk her away from her home, either, simply pass her songs on to the Harpers back at her own Weyr. And if Amelia was to be some sort of Weyrwoman someday. Well. Well indeed! So wrapped up in her notions of glory and ever-lasting fame, the Harper barely missed her introduction.
“Oh! It is a pleasure, gold Sharath,” Isandra replied, addressing the gold with a small curtsy. Small High Reaches Queen that she might be (perhaps some time in Ghenza would allow her to grow like their queens, the youth imagined), she was a Queen nonetheless. There were some things, the young woman supposed, that did not vary from location to location. After a moment of admiration, Isandra turned her focus back to the Queen’s human companion; Amelia appeared to be waiting for something. “Oh, yes. I suppose I can sing you a song or two,” she finally replied, as if this was perhaps the most troubling thing she’d had to do in quite a while. “I’ll have for you to fetch…whatever it is you need to fetch.”
Isandra waited in silence for Amelia to wander off and father whatever supplies she needed, watching Sharath with great curiosity. She was not often this close with dragons, instead entertaining their riders and those who worked in the fields. “I don’t suppose Ghenza is anything like your home, Sharath,” she commented idly, about to strike up a conversation with the gold when her rider returned. Ah. Showtime.
Dusting her pale blue dress off, the Harper took center stage. Three songs later, she’d filled Amelia in on the Ghenza work ethic, a general history meant for children as well as the dangers of the plague. Amelia had asked, after all. Deciding it better to stop than to strike into her love songs, Isandra took a deep breath and nodded to her companions. “It sounds good with instrumental accompaniment, but I feel my voice stands just as well on its own.”
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Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 8:46 pm
Sharath nodded when she was greeted then lowered her head so that her eyes were even with Isandra's. It was not a bow in return but rather a gesture of curiosity. Had Hers finally found someone who knew their place? This Harper certainly hadn't caused any negative emotions in Amelia... and that alone intrigued the Gold. Oh, and the curtsy and the promise of song too.
It is very different. I cannot say I am fond of this place... Your kind are strange. The gold's voice was friendly but a current of disapproval ran between the words that hinted heavily at a far deeper dislike of this place. Home was better. It would always be better then Ghenza.
It was just then that Amelia returned and she settled in to oil the golden dragon, bringing her hide to a truly beautiful metallic shine. When the girl paused, then, Sharath bugled appreciatively while Amelia clapped, both wearing a smile. "Ooh, I like those. Especially the first. Your voice really does stand up well." Not a singer herself, Amelia nonetheless appreciated the musical talent.
It was Sharath's next comment, however, that gave Amelia pause. Do you know any more? Your voice is nice. That the gold not only wanted to hear more, but also asked rather then demanded made Amelia chuckle.
"I truly hope you've more in store." She patted the gold's shoulder as she returned to her work, Has she found a fan, then?
Sharath whuffed at that, her gaze shifting from Isandra to Amelia as she spoke to Amelia alone, No. Her songs are simply entertaining and you are not done.
Ah. Well, I enjoy them so it's good that you do too. Amelia responded with a smile. The more things changed, the more things seemed to stay the same she remarked to herself.
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Posted: Sat Mar 13, 2010 9:28 am
Isandra was pleased (insofar as the uptight Harper allowed herself to be pleased) when the gold bespoke her. It was a drastic difference between Theirs and Ours; Ghenzan dragons had no problems speaking their minds to anyone, but it seemed the High Reaches dragons preferred to keep to their riders. Nothing inspires suspicion like a non-existent secret, after all. Of course, if the fact the Queen was speaking her wasn't pleasing, the notion the dragon asked her to keep singing more than made up for the fact.
"I would be more than pleased to keep singing, if that's what you'd both like," Isandra all but preened. Oh, perhaps she was due to help entertain the workers after dinner, but there were plenty of Harpers in Ghenza, and besides. She was entertaining a gold and her rider. It was diplomatic. "I think I've had enough of the teaching songs, however. They're really quite simple. I'll sing you something better."
Already having a love ballad selected, Isandra wasted no time and broke back into song, eyes slipping shut. While the ending was bitter sweet, it was one of her favorite stories. It was about a Harper and a farmer, actually, and how their love could never be. Okay, perhaps it was just a sad song, but it was beautifully written with excellent word choice and wonderful harmonics. Besides, how often did life actually end 'happily ever after', anyways? Once she'd finished the songs, the Harper inhaled deeply and looked to her small audience. "I'm afraid love songs are my favorite," she admitted. "Songs with emotion in them are so much nicer to sing. Much more passion."
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Posted: Sun Mar 14, 2010 9:14 pm
The two fell silent again as they listened, Amelia taking longer then usual to oil Sharath but eventually getting the job done. It was good timing, then, that Isandra finished her next round of songs when the goldrider finished her chores. Now that Sharath had stopped growing so sharding quickly, there wasn't the need to oil her constantly and Amelia was grateful for that.
The gold opened her eyes when the music and the oiling stopped, rumbling her question as she lifted her head to regard Isandra. Greens and blues whirled about the queen's faceted eyes and the calmness was echoed in Amelia's easy grin. There was, however, a sense of whimsy about the woman too as she nodded in agreement with Isandra, "Aye. I agree with you. I especially liked that last one. Those are songs taught in your family, right? There's no Crafthalls here in Ghenza and I've been told crafts are family based. Do you know many love songs?"
Amelia hadn't really ever been in love. Well, she loved Sharath dearly and couldn't imagine being without the gold, but the sort of desperate romance that Isandra had sung about was a concept she wasn't particularly familiar with. Growing up in a Weyr, such things were only fantasy for the most part.
You are yearning, Mine. Does her song inspire you so much? Sharath's amused comment broke through her musing and Amelia visibly started, her gaze settling on the gold.
"Yeah, it does. A romance like that...? It's kind of sweet." She spoke aloud without realizing it - the conversations between mind alone were as vibrant as vocal ones.
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Posted: Wed Mar 17, 2010 6:49 am
Isandra couldn't help the tiny smile as the goldrider agreed with her, nodded. "Yes, my father taught me those songs," she replied, pushed a loose strand of wavy hair behind one ear. "My mother is a tailor; I took after my father, naturally. Since I am his only child, and his favorite child," she couldn't help but adding (because if there were more, the youth was certain she'd remain at the top of her father's list), "he's handed everything down to me." And with that knowledge, she would master her craft and become the most sought after Harper in all of Ghenza. (And, perhaps with Amelia's help, all of Pern!)
She glanced back over when the High Reaches rider spoke randomly, knitting her brow a bit. Isandra had heard it done before; Ghenzan riders were not immune to that mindspeaking failure every now and then. Deciding to ignore it was probably the most polite option, so that is what the Harper decided to stick with. That settled, she cleared her throat gently.
"Would you like me to sing you something else?" she asked. "As much as I have enjoyed sharing my work, I am due to sing this evening, if you have no further need of me."
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