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 Posted: Sat Jun 20, 2009 8:03 pm
The day was swelteringly hot. Illabel shoved at her hair absently. It was beginning to grow out again after she'd cut it short in an attempt to avoid the lice trouble. With all the work she was doing otuside as well as in, and how short it was, her dark honey hair was turning more golden nowadays. Her skin was tanner, with a soft sprinkling of brown freckles dusting her cheeks. Her face was still round and child-like, but other things were changing. Uncomfortably so.
This was what was on her mind as she entered the room where they did the communal laundry chores. She bit her lip, glancing over the other girls who were arriving. She still hadn't managed to find a group to affiliate herself with, and after a year that sort of made her feel semi-invisible. Not that the other girls were being cruel. Illabel just hadn't found her self-confidence as yet, and amongst the other chattering girls, felt terribly awkward and out of place.
So it was that she chose a spot out of the way and not in the middle of the gathering knots of friends. With a distracted sigh she set to her chore. She didn't mind doing laundry. In fact, if anything it was one of her preferred chores. Gardening or other more outdoorsey things were becoming more familiar after a year's rotation, but she still was most comfy doing the same things she'd done before being brought to the Weyr.
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Posted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 12:56 pm
Illabel looked up at the voice, a welcoming smile coming to her face much easier than it would have a year ago. How time flew, and what changes it brought! She nodded and gestured for the other girl to join her. "By all means, do!" She wasn't nearly so shy as she had been when she first arrived. Being around so many youngsters her age and older had slowly had a nulling effect on that habit of keeping to herself. She glanced curiously at her new workmate.
"I don't think I've met you yet. There are so many of us, it's a wonder we don't all know each other better, the way we are packed in!" She smiled genuinely. it didn't bother her to be packed in with everyone, really. She couldn't say she was exactly used to so many peers, but often servants only had very small spaces to themselves anyway. "I'm Illabel." Her hands were soapy, so she didn't bother to hold a hand out for a shake.
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Posted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 10:26 pm
Blessedly, the younger girl didn't seem the least bit put out by the request or the vague formality of it. If anything she seemed happy enough about life in general to be most welcoming!
"I'd agree, but you have a very good reason to not recognize my face... as I've only recently arrived." Alle replied, offering the younger girl a good honestly welcoming smile of her own before reaching for a scrubbing rack within the big kettle of soapy laundry, then setting about her task with a will. "I'm Allende, and it is very nice to meet you Illabel." She continued, noting with some surprise that the younger girl appeared quite proficient at her job. "By the way, don't laugh to hard at how hard I have to work at this, I never was very good at it at home." she added, almost as an afterthought, but she was really hoping to coax at least a chuckle from her co-worker. She'd learned that breaking the ice with a silly comment or light joke was often the best way to earn some peace and quiet later, along with some good company.
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Posted: Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:33 pm
Illabel bit her lip at the mention of the other girl's recent arrival. She could easily remember what it was like when she first arrived. She had been terribly intimidated and lonely. Clearly this girl wasn't nearly so strongly affected by it as she had been. Illabel almost envied her confidence and breezy manner, making a mental note to try and mimic the easy way she spoke and moved.
At the playful degredation of her own skills, Illabel smiled a bit more and put down her own washboard. "Here," she offered, "like this." She changed the angle of the implement, then moved back again. "It helps ease your arms a bit, and gives you better traction for scrubbing." Somewhat belatedly she realized she had just corrected an older girl, which was not her habit to do. It was a very forward thing, which ran counter to what she'd grown up doing. However, she wasn't home anymore, and she wasn't a servant or drudge anymore.
In fact, she realized, she might even be considered a veteran Candidate, having been here for a year and stood for several Hatchings. For some reason the thought both amused and reassured her, restoring the self-confidence that had momentarily faltered at doing something new. And anyway, what was wrong with her offering help? The worst that Allende could do was refuse it, right?
Thus inwardly bolstered, the once timid girl didn't apologize, nor even look apologetic. She did duck her head a bit and smile shyly as she resumed her own work, but for her, this was a huge improvement. To cover her own moments of personal struggle, she spoke again. "How long have you been here, then? And what do you think of the Weyr?" Those definitely seemed safe enough topics to begin with, and heavens knew there was plenty to discuss concerning the Weyr itself, much less its inhabitants!
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Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 9:05 pm
Allende allowed the younger girl to rearrange her work station with a sincere desire to assimilate the new technique. She was neither put out nor offended by the correction, as she really had been fairly terrible when it came to laundry at home. She'd never been more then passable at most of the household chores, but that could be ascribed to her apathetic outlook back then. Why do chores you'd have to redo the next day? Silly thought, and it was amazing how far she had come in the short time she'd been at Ista, since now she was doing those same mundane chores with positive zeal these days.
"Thank you! It is helping already." She offered kindly, before bending to her task with a will. "I've been here for a couple seven days, mostly long enough to be drafted into the kitchens after a some time stirring the big laundry vats in the morning. The work is good though, even if I am growing a little tired of some people spilling and burning things." Allende had, actually, just begun to think that there were far too many people underfoot... rather then anything sinister like someone purposefully spoiling and spilling food. "Other then that, I think Ista Weyr is very interesting, if quite different from what I am used too." She added, pausing t scrub viciously against a stubborn stain. "How about you? Have you been here long?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 14, 2009 10:22 am
She examined a garment critically before setting it aside as done and beginning another. Kitchen aprons were the worst, along with certain individuals clothes, whom you could tell painted, or spent much time around the herdbeasts, or did something that involved a lot of grease. Her load today didn't look too difficult though.
She nodded agreement about the over-crowding. She didn't mind so much sharing a room, but it was getting hard to find any time for herself, or to find a space that wasn't already occupied. She slanted her a look though about the food. It had certainly been particularly bad lately, and it chafed at Illabel, whose father was eating better than she at this point. He would have been appalled at the state of much of the food sent here. She hadn't had the heart to mention it yet in her messages home, but she might soon. She'd never seen so much spoiled and unsuitable food in her life, growing up in the kitchens as she had.
She didn't speak her concerns just yet to her new friend, though. Not yet, at least. It just didn't seem... well, polite! Instead she answered Allende's question. "I've been here a while now, though not as long as others. It's been a little over a Turn since I arrived. I mean, since we arrived," she amended. As if summoned by this thought, a bronze firelizard popped into existence above her head. He fluttered there, peering down at his human and chittering inquiringly.
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Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 1:03 pm
"Not as long as others you say?" She started, considering the possibility that she just might end up spending quite some time here. Oddly, she viewed the prospect as a mixed bag... in one hand she could pull out the favorable option of being chosen as a dragonrider... but on the other hand she had to consider that her current ambition meant not being tied down to any one place for an extended period of time... though Impressing would certainly mean that as well!
Luckily, Illabel's newly arrived companion provided the taller girl with the opportunity to change the subject from one she was having mixed feelings on. Part of her wanted to ask the younger girl what it was like, being stuck doing chores in a Weyr all the time, but she was also scared that the answer might resemble an answer she herself would have given had she been asked while still at her Father's cothold.
And Faranth knew she did not want to have that kind of mentality here at Ista!
"Oh! He's adorable Illabel! What is his name?" Alle asked, grinning up at the little bronze as he chittered down at his human. She'd never seen a firelizard up close, though she had seen quite a few around since arriving.
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Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2009 9:42 am
Illabel smiled shyly at Allende's reaction to Bartan. She was used to it, of course, but part of her still was a bit abashed to draw such attention. Hopefully when she got a dragon, she could blend in with all the other new dragonriders and their dragons and not stand out on her own as she tended to do with her little bronze.
She tipped her head back to look up at him. "Yes, you may come visit. But be good! I don't want you getting chased out." As hot as it was, being scolded or yelled at would only make the misery worse. Bartan, of course, didn't mind the heat a bit. Once in a while he sought dark corners in the Weyr to sprawl on the cool stone, but usually he basked in the warmth. "Allende, this is Bartan. He's a gentleman, so don't worry." She smiled dotingly at the flit. She couldn't help it. He was always a bright spot in life, no matter how dull or dark the day might get.
Bartan was quite pleased to be invited to chat. He swooped down and landed delicately on the edge of the tub between the two girls. This was a rather precarious position, but he managed alright with tail and wings to balance himself. He rubbed his cheek against Illabel's arm, then crooned at the other girl. She was nice! He could always tell when someone liked him. Those were his favorite kind of people, aside from Illabel herself. He carefully sidled closer to Allende, curving his neck and tipping his head in clear invitation for scritches.
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