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 Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:03 pm
Kyllae didn't like being a candidate much. She could tolerate it, if it meant she had the chance to impress a dragon, but...the actual cadidacy itself...not so fun. She didn't like the fact that she was basically on par with drudges, doing meager and monotonous tasks all day, that didn't make much use of her skills. Not that being a good swimmer or knowing her way around boats helped much in a place like this, but...surely there was something more for her to do than run errands and attempt to prepare food? Attempt being the focus there, since Kyllae couldn't cook to save her life. She coud gut and prepare fish, and fancied that she could perhaps do the same to any other kind of animal, but when it came to actually turning raw flesh, or any other food thing into something edible...she was completely lost. Hopefully they would realize sooner or later that she managed to ruin every dish she tried to make, but for now, unfortunately, she was unsuccessfuly trying to roll out the bread dough properly. It stuck to her hands and refused to cooperate no matter how much she swore at it in her head.
Hands that were so well trained and careful with the wood and other shipping materials became awkward and clumsy covered in flour, and she bit her lower lip. She supposed this was what she got for transfering. Over at Ista, at least they'd learned not to assign her kitchen tasks, here, that lesson was still in progress.
She sighed inwardly as she peeled the bits of dough from her fingers, sticking them hastily back onto the big blob sitting on the counter before her. This was boring. Not only was it terribly difficult, mentally, it was incredibly dull. There was no thought here, nothing icaptivating. She liked to be entertained, and there certainly wasn't any entertaining going on right now. Oh well, it wasn't a big deal. Kyllae wasn't going to let something as silly as this get her down. She hummed quietly to herself, even as she tried to figure out just what she was doing wrong.
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 3:33 pm
Kestra was, being an apprentice down here anyway, more at home in the huge kitchens where the weyr’s food was prepared. Her work gave her a sense of pride for being useful, she was progressing and was much more satisfying than what she’d done before she came to High Reaches – which incidentally had been drudgework. Odd bits of cleaning, easy kitchen tasks, setting up glows, delivering things, work outside…whatever was needed about the hold. Not exactly challenging. Here though, here was structure and a craft to learn, and if she failed to Impress she’d still have something to do that she liked. If one had to work, one might as well enjoy it~
Currently she’d been tasked to prepare some cuts of meat ready to go into a tonight’s main dish. It was monotonous perhaps, but it took deftness to slice efficiently the meat from the bone, trim it, and cube it evenly at a reasonable pace. She was toying with the idea of taking one of the scraps of fatty rind out for Orla later when she heard humming from one of the worktables behind her. Half turning she spotted a blonde head that wasn’t overly familiar. One of the new candidates? She'd seen her around but that was it. It'd be okay to mosey on over there for a few minutes, get her name, maybe see if she wanted to grab some klah once they were done.
Quickly finishing the cut she was on, she picked up a cloth rag to wipe her hands on her way over to remove any blood or juices. Stuffing it into her apron’s pocket, she reached the table and said –
“Sorry to bother you when you're busy, but I thought I’d wander over a say hello.” She tilted her head a fraction, as her gold firelizard Orla did sometimes, her boyish features smiling. "I'm Kestra. Don't think we've really met...?"
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Posted: Fri Oct 02, 2009 4:16 pm
Being both incredibly bored and starting to get a wee bit annoyed, Kyllae's attention was gladly torn away from the bread, and as her eyes moved to focus on Kestra, her mouth twisted up in a jovial grin. "It's not a bother at all," she reassured, even as she whiped the flour off of her hands and onto her apron and extended one for shaking.
"Nice to meet you Kestra, I'm Kyllae, and I'm sure we haven't met before. I'd remember someone as radiantly friendly as yourself," she stated, with a quick nod of self-assuredness. People liked to be complimented, it was pretty much a fact, and seeing as how she was fairly new here, she figured she could use as many friends as possible. Social circles were quite important, she was sure. She didn't forget people easily, though she was terrible with names. When she thought about it, she could recall having seen Kesta a few times, but never interacting with her.
"Would I be correct in assuming you're a candidate?" she ventured, with confidence. Almost everyone around here of acceptable age was a candidate. What with the underpopulating and all, High Reaches seemed extremely eager to get as many people on dragons as possible. You couldn't blame them, really. The holds needed to have confidence in the Weyrs they tithed to, and it was hard to place much faith in a Weyr with so few dragons. It was a pity, really, but Kyllae recognized it was good for her, and if it meant she could stand...well then she wouldn't knock it. Things happened, bad things, but now was the time for hard work, and turning the situation around. She wasn't worried, she was confident the Weyrs would recover and all would be well.
She took in Kestra's appearance at a glance, the dark hair, the tan skin, and though she wasn't the most feminine looking person in the world, she wasn't bad looking either. Good. Kyllae didn't feel threatened by Kestra's looks, as far as competition went, and sthe girl seemed nice enough, which was something Kyllae could appreciate.
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:21 pm
“I’m sure I’d have remembered someone like yourself as well. And yes, I got searched just last turn though I’ve been here about three now.” She confirmed, her smile widening a tad. She’d never dreamed she’d be searched from amongst the Lower Caverns staff and had come to the weyr for an entirely different reason originally. To her being a candidate was a positive thing, 100%.
Kestra looked Kyllae over as they shook hands – not bad, not too firm or too limp, which was nice since some people just couldn’t shake hands to save their hides – and noted her looks. It was nice to meet another girl who was tall though Kyllae still had quite some height on her. She was quite lovely, feminine yes but not too soft seeming, obviously not someone who’d been coddled because of that. She seemed confident and lively for a first impression which was great. Kestra liked people who had a bit of flare to them.
“So, Kyllae, where’re you from?”
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Posted: Sat Oct 03, 2009 9:05 pm
Oh, this was just too nice. Not only did this Kestra character have a good handshake, she knew common courtesy. Someone asking about her. Of course, it was only natural, since Kyllae knew she was fabulous. And Kyllae was very, very good at talking, especially about herself. Why, it was just so much fun, and it was nice to share. "Little ol' me? Why, I'm from Southern," she purred, and put on a bit of Southern accent. "Although I feel I could give a fairly accurate description of Ista as well."
She hopped up on the counter, making sure not to sit in any flour or other food bits, and crossed her legs, leaning to accentuate the curve of her back. “I’ve done quite a bit of traveling for my meager seventeen years, I think, but I won’t brag, I don’t want to bore you,” she chuckled. Not that she thought she was boring, but she didn’t want to come off too strongly, not at first anyway. And besides, she figured that if Kestra wanted to hear more, she could also inquire further about Kyllae’s travels.
“Anyway, you mention you’ve been here for three years, but have been a candidate for one? What’d you do before that, if I may inquire. I’ll admit now that I’m a tad bit curious, so you’ll have to pardon my questions, they’re all innocent, I swear,” she added, winking playfully. “I just figure, it’s important to get to know the people who could be my potential wingmates, once I impress of course.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:38 am
"Oh Southern! And Ista too you say? Just from that I daresay you've traveled further than I ever will - unless I Impress that is." Kestra commented gaily. "I bet you have some stories to tell - maybe over a nice cup of klah sometime?"
She gestured towards where some of the kitchen admin staff and other more experienced cooks were at work as she moved to lean against the opposite work bench, as if to say without words this was a stolen few minutes even as she, like Kyllae, got more comfy. But she clearly didn't feel too guilty. Kestra worked hard down here and she just wanted to say hello, get to know the new girl a bit...it wasn't skiving off entirely. Being social was important (and fun!) doncha know?
"I'm from near here myself, born in a tiny scrap of a hold but I came here as a kitchen drudge and ended up starting Bakercraft. It's much better than just doing odd chores. Then one day - Searched as well!" Things had only been improving for Kestra these last few years.
"How about you? Do you have a craft you're training in?"
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 7:50 am
Kyllae, already, was starting to mark Kestra down on her mental 'friends' list. Not very particular with handing out her affection and friendship, she figured Kestra was kind and entertaining enough, and assuming she didn't suddenly change, she could be a potential ally and comrade in candidacy. "Stories, oh Faranth I have some stories. I'd be more than happy to share, and a cup of klah would be nice. Maybe we can get together over one of the breaks, or after the chores are done for the day. I must say I've taken a fancy to watching the sunsets here" she admitted, smiling hugely.
Kyllae, not wanting to make a bad impression by getting caught doing what might be interpreted as 'nothing' quickly slid off the counter, and over to her lump of dough. The last thing she wanted was to have any sort of authority annoyed with her. Being new here...well it was awfully important to make a good impression, before she got into any mischief or trouble. Things were easier when you had people on your side, and it was much more enjoyable to keep friends than make enemies."Bakercraft? Fascinating, the extent of my ability in cooking is only in the gutting and preparing of animals, bread elludes me. On that same topic..." she glanced around, pretending to look sheepish. "Do you think you could assist me with this?" she gestured down at her attempt at bread. "I seem to be encountering a bit of difficulty," she laughed, even as she applied flour to her hands to make up for that she'd wiped off.
"Back in Souther, I was learning Seacraft, ship repair most specifically. It's a long story, but, basically...it's how I came to be here. Not that Seacraft helps me much here, in this landlocked mountain in the middle of nowhere," she admitted, with a roll of her eyes. "Not that High Reaches is without its charms. It's nice here, just...not what I'm used to."
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:35 am
“I’d like that. Once we’re finished up here, I’ll fetch us some klah from Cenla’s brew? She makes the best down here.” Kestra came forward and cast a look at what she’d been working on, and the recipe that went with it.
“Let me take a look…ironically while it’s called Bakercraft, I’m not a baker myself. I actually specialise in ‘gutting and preparing animals’ myself.” There was humor in her voice as she quoted the words back “But I can do some baking – need to for the meatrolls. Let me have a feel.”
She moved swiftly to clean her hand better before likewise coming to flour her fingers and to pick up a bit of Kyllae’s dough mixture. It was …sticky, and just a little bit lumpy in places. But seemed perfectly good otherwise, it just needed a through kneading to mix in those last few lumps and some more flour until it was no longer sticky. So she relayed that information to her new friend. She too had decided to add the other girl to her mental friend’s list.
“Seacraft hm? Mm, you’re a bit far from the water I’m afraid unless you wanted to try sailing on Faseth’s Lake. Must be hard leaving the ocean behind, for all High Reaches charms. I've heard it's beautiful.”
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Posted: Sun Oct 04, 2009 8:57 am
"I'd like that a great deal, and I'll have to remember that. Cenla...got it." Kyllae might have felt a tad embarassed, and having her word choice thrown back at her, except, Kyllae wasn't really the type to be embarssed. However crude her little terms or phrases were, she felt the fact that she was a foreigner was more than enough reason to grant her pardon. It seemed a reasonable enough description, even if it was a bit...blunt.
Kyllae made an exaggerated sigh of relief, chuckling as she did so. "That's a relief. I was afraid I was going to have to start over. Bread is a far cry from the fish I'm used to. My sisters and father did the cooking, back home. Brother and I were in charge of the less savory preperation." She worked the dough over with her hands, which were suprisingly more steady now, that she had direction and knew what had to be done. Oh, it was a much better feeling, than blindly stumbling forward, as she often did in cooking.
"I...I really do miss the water. The lake doesn't count, its not even a fair comparison. I'd wager I miss the ocean and sailing more than I do my family, but I think a lot of my infatuation with water is because I associate it with them. Down South at the hold, we're just a bunch of watterlogged fish eaters, but we have a grand old time" she laughed, even as her eyes sparkled with fondness and recollection of memories.
"I've actually be seriously considering building a boat in my free time, to sail on the lake with. Of course, it'll take a long time, and I'm still not sure where I could get the supplies from, but...on the upside, it would give me something to do in my few moments of free time, and I figure, if I can make it large enough, when I impress, I could take my dragonet out on the water." she admitted, sharing one of her dreams. "It's a strange idea, I admit, but it's a fun fantasy none-the-less." she felt a growing sense of pride as her bread gave in to her will, and Kestra's instruction, and was slowly becoming something more recognizable.
"High Reaches isn't bad though. I've always wanted to see what it's like up north, and to see snow. Down south it's hot all the time, and wet. You can practically swim in the air sometimes, it's so full of water."
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