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 Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:36 am
Ista Weyr was experiencing nothing short of a typical day. The Weyr was suffering under soaring temperatures; a shimmering haze could be see in the distance, the heat warping the air. The only relief from the heat was brought by a breeze, slight and barely cool, carried from across the ocean. The best way to cool one's self down? Stay indoors. The caverns, rooms, and halls carved into stone offered a reprieve. Most of the Weyr's inhabitants remained in their rooms, or lingered and lounged in the lower caverns; the few common rooms were littered with riders and non-riders alike. Many slow card games and conversations could be seen and heard. But, the overall mood of the Weyr was slow and sluggish; no one wanted to expend too much energy in such heat.
Calowerin wasn't used to it. Despite being at the Weyr for several sevendays now, the apprentice miner had yet to be able to deal with the heat. The tall youth was seated in a chair in the dining hall, his forehead pressed against the cool, wooden table with his arms folded in front of him. Several glasses were scattered across the table in front of him, one full of water, one full of chilled juice, and the rest mostly empty. "I don't know why I agreed to come here," the young man moaned into the table, berating himself for giving up the always-cold Mining Hall for the searing temperatures of Ista Weyr.
Not only was the youth overwhelmed by the climate of Ista Weyr, but all the drama! In the time he had spent at the Weyr, Calowerin had been exposed to more rumors, gossip, and drama than he had in his entire life. Not all of it was understood, either. He didn't quite grasp why most of the Weyr spoke negatively of the Jr. Weyrwoman, and why the general consensus was that they were eager to see her transferred. Weren't golds a commodity? The Weyr was overcrowded, but during a Pass, the queens needed to boost the population for the upcoming turns where thread would fall.
Calowerin paused in his thoughts, vaguely wondering why in Faranth's name he was thinking so much while it was so sharding hot out. The miner was almost certain that if he continued thinking so vigorously his brain would melt.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 8:55 am
As far as resistance to the heat could be described, Liniyie found the scorching temperatures that graced the Weyr to be a little hot, thought not quite unbearable. Having been used to standing near fires all day, salve making in a room far more sticky with heat then the area was now, the Apprentice Healer turned Searched Candidate could only shrug off the sweat that rolled down his brow. Small dots of perspiration lined his upper lip, giving him a temporary mustache that did nothing to flatter his face, though he casually licked away the design while ignoring the bitter taste of sweat and dirt.
While he had planned to stay in one of the common rooms with the others, a rare chance to speak to many people he did not know despite having been from Ista Weyr prior to his movement to the Healing Hall, Liniyie found himself walking towards the dining hall with no motive in mind. Perhaps getting something cool to drink would ease some of the heat and take the annoying buzzing from his ears before it could turn into a roar. He knew the importance of not overheating, of keeping oneself healthy in sweltering temperatures, so his destination seemed now to be developing a point other then aimless walking.
He entered the dining hall and glanced around, noticing any others who might be taking the same ideas he had and put them to practice. One person managed to catch his eyes, a young man with their head on the table, and Liniyie frowned slightly as he noticed the cups sitting in front of the figure. While he knew this person was probably alright, the proof being the scattered glasses, he couldn't help but wonder if they had passed out from the heat or were merely resting against the cool grain the table provided.
" . . . Are you ill?"
The question was stupid, probably unnecessary, and Liniyie cursed himself slightly for asking it. This man would think he was a Deadglow at best for stating the something that the man obviously was not.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:08 am
Calowerin didn't bother lifting his head to brush his shaggy hair off of his forehead; it was sticking to his skin with sweat. Disgusting. The youth wanted nothing more than to take a trip out to the beach, and jump in the cooling ocean's waters. But, the ocean was a decent distance from the Weyr, and that long walk, in this sweltering heat, was just not going to happen. Oh, what Calowerin would give to have a dragon! He could cool down with a quick jump bertween to the beach! Calowerin sighed happily as he imagined how good the water would feel.
His daydreaming was interrupted by a voice, inquiring as to his health. The youth started suddenly, realizing he must not look too good. With his head pressed to the table, glasses scattered in front of him, it was a wonder no one had called a healer by now! He quickly sat up, his chair skidding on the floor as his weight shifted so suddenly. "Yeah, yup, I'm fine," he assured the young man hastily, waving his large hand in a dismissive gesture. "Its just so sharding hot," the young man complained with a grumble.
"How can you stand it? This is awful, awful," the youth said with a shake of his shaggy-haired head. "I don't know how anyone deals with it, shardit," the apprentice miner said with a grumble, his deep voice rumbling unhappily. He peered up at the kid standing next to him, giving him a quick once-over. He didn't look familiar. The miner pulled out a chair and patted the seat, offering a weary smile. "Wanna sit? You've gotta be hot, have some water or something," Cal insisted, pushing an untouched glass towards his new companion.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:20 am
Liniyie stepped back as the young man in the chair swung out suddenly and proceeded to speak with exaggerated motions, his eyebrows raised high at first but slowly lowering themselves from their expression of shock as the moment passed. A thin smile of relief slowly crossed his lips, turning into one of humor as the person before him continued to swear about the heat and question him about how he could handle it.
"I'm from the Healer Hall and used to standing around fires all day, so a little heat caused naturally is nothing I can't handle."
The young man took a seat when offered, though he politely waved the offer of a drink off with his hand. It's not that he felt he was more then capable of going and getting his own should his throat grow parched from talking and thirst, it was more or less that he felt his companion should finish drinking what he started. Any signs of thirst meant the early stages of dehydration, and for him to have drained so many glasses . . .well. Liniyie shook his head, dismissing thoughts. He had come back to the Weyr as a candidate, not as a healer, and he reminded himself as well that his knowledge for healing dealt mostly with the great Dragons that flew the skies. Humans were slightly beyond his scope of expertise.
"In all honestly, I'd prefer the bitter cold over heat since you can bundle up until you are warm if you get cold. Once you are hot and begin to shed your clothing, there is not much else you can do once you reach bare skin."
He had no idea what he was saying, what he wanted to talk about. Liniyie loved being in groups of people since he could socialize and learn knew things, but topics about the weather were well. . .boring.
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 1:13 pm
Cal was really quite oblivious to the fact that his chosen topic for conversation was clearly boring his companion. He was not exactly a pro at anything social. His skills lay with mining, in general, rather than people. The stocky miner apprentice finished off the half-glass of chilled juice in front of him, setting the now-empty glass back down on the table with a refreshed, satisfied smack of his lips.
"Healer Hall? Nice. I'm from the Miner Hall," Calowerin seized the change of topic and ran with it. "I have a cousin at the Healer Hall. I think. My sister went to the Harper Hall the same turn I left, and I haven't seen her since," he went on to say, veering slightly off-topic. The young man tended to do that, veer away from the main subject with little rhyme or reason. "I haven't heard from her in a while, either. I should probably write her a letter. I bet she doesn't even know I was searched!" Calowerin exclaimed with a roll of his eyes, and a shake of his head.
"So! Do you have a big family? I do, my ma and da tried to get us all out into crafts, to get trained and make a good life for ourselves," Cal explained patiently, steering the conversation rather absently. "I expected to be an apprentice miner for a while," he admitted with a chuckle. "I wasn't sure if I'd ever make journeyman. Its not that I'm no good, I'm just a klutz, and I tend to get myself into some trouble because of it," Calowerin admitted ruefully, though he couldn't help but laugh. "I suppose being a klutz and a Healer would be worse though. I can't really kill anyone directly with any of my mess-ups."
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Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 9:37 pm
Liniyie could only nod his head as his companion spoke, having no idea really what to say or how to interject with a comment or two of his own. The topic changed to rapidly for him to really have a chance to say anything other then 'yes' or 'I see', not that he would have added anything else into this, so he weakly smiled when it finally came down to him to answer a question.
"I'm from a small family, an only child."
He was going to say more when his companion started to speak again, the conversation moving once more to a different topic. This man could talk quickly, enough that Liniyie had trouble jumping to catch up right away, but he slowly understood when speaking about healing came into play.
"It doesn't really matter what you are if you're slightly clumsy, only that you work hard to prevent things from happening. If you know you're a klutz then it's probably best to just . . .watch out when you're doing things, right? And being a klutz wouldn't make you a terrible Healer, it would probably make you an excellent one. Thank of how much practice you'll get fixing yourself and others up after an accident."
He chuckled, hoping that the other would not take his little remark too personally and get offended. While Liniyie didn't mind dealing with people when they were upset, goodness knows he dealt with plenty of uptight people who had come to the hall while he was there studying, he would rather avoid causing grief this early in his return to Ista Weyr. He'd been gone for many Turns and had only come back less then a sevenday ago, hardly enough time to get settled in before making an enemy.
And speaking of making something of anything, Liniyie felt a blush creep across his sweaty nose as he realized that they'd been sitting and talking for a moment or two and he didn't even know the other young man's name. Shards, how much of a Deadglow could he be to not ask, or even introduce himself?
"My name's Liniyie, by the way. You are?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 26, 2009 6:32 am
The apprentice miner had no idea that he was barreling over his companion with his conversation. It wasn't a lie to say that Calowerin was socially awkward. He was definitely proving himself incapable of carrying on a two-sided conversation. In fact, he seemed almost surprised when Liniyie interjected; the youth's eyes widened slightly as he turned to face the other young man.
The apprentice miner had to pause and give Liniyie a chance to speak sometime, though. He listened to what the healer had to say, but by no means patiently. He glanced around the room, distracted by a pretty girl with big, dark eyes who had walked in not a minute ago. But the healer laughed at something, drawing Calowerin's attention back.
"You know," Cal began, his lips pursed while he considered Liniyie's suggestion. "That's not a bad idea! To be honest, I never really thought of that. But, I suppose you're right. I know I'm a klutz, so I should probably be super careful when doing stuff, to prevent myself from breaking anything- or, Faranth forbid, hurting someone! Being a klutzy healer would definitely give you lots more practice, yeah," he had to admit with a wry chuckle.
Introductions, shmosmuctions. Calowerin noticed Liniyie blush, and was thoroughly confused. They had gotten into an interesting conversation; he was sure that introducing themselves could have waited- but, eh. This was a convenient time as any! "Nice to meet ya, kid. I'm Calowerin, but feel free to call me Cal!"
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 8:07 am
"Cal, eh? I...I don't really have a shortened version of my name that I'm aware of. I'm sure people call me lots of things behind my back, none of which involve my name, so unfortunately I can't extend anything towards you in the same way."
Liniyie had always thought a shortened version of his name sounded . . . off, which was weird considering he was a candidate to be a rider soon and his name would be shortened anyway should he impress. He didn't think he'd mind it that way, it was a tradition to do so, but he felt it girlie to be called something like 'Lin' or even 'Lily'. Yes, it had happened.
"But you know, you said you're a miner? I envy you of that - it's a task not a lot of people really are doing. Healers seem to be a dime a dozen, with good healers actually being rare, so I don't know where I fall into just yet. I haven't hurt anyone past repair, so I'm assuming I'm doing well."
And yes, the young man was aware that his companion eyes had been roaming away during their conversation. Perhaps it would be best not to keep him much longer, since Liniyie wasn't the type to keep people interested anyway. He was a little boring if the topic wasn't something that suited him.
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