|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 8:25 am
Kella was an early bird. She always had been. It wasn't unusual for the young woman to rise before most of the Weyr, kitchen staff included. She'd find herself alone in the kitchens most mornings, beginning the prep work for the day in isolation. She liked it that way. Kella was by no means anti-social, she simply wanted to get her work done and the best way to do so was to not have anyone in her way. Once the kitchen staff began arriving, before the sun was even up, Kella found smaller chores that took her out of their way.
She just preferred to work alone.
This morning was no different than any other. After rising and quickly dressing in comfortable work clothes (mid-thigh length shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, and well-worn shoes) Kella made her way to the kitchen. She didn't take any extra time for her hair, which was still kept cropped close to her head, a style adopted a few turns back. Her dark curls were tight and very, very short- think quasi-buzz cut. They required no maintenance whatsoever; just how she liked it. Alone, without anyone to get in her way, Kella began her day's work. It started with wiping down all the surfaces in the kitchen, making sure everything was clean and ready to be used. Then, she began pulling out the various instruments needed for the day's cooking. Pots, pans, spoons, knives- they were all pulled from their cupboards and cabinets and placed accordingly on various tables and counter tops.
This time alone also gave the young woman plenty of time to think. She reflected on the previous day- her tiff with one of the senior-ranking cooks, and the monumental tongue-lashing she received. That earned a deep scowl. Her eyes darkened and her eyebrows furrowed together, a frown etched across her dark-skinned face. "Sharding dimglow," she muttered. She knew she had been right! She KNEW she had put away in its proper place what little bit of an expensive spice they had. But the cook insisted she had lost it, and had proceeded to lecture her on responsibility and other such things. Kella had yelled, very colorfully, and everntually stormed off. The kitchen staff were used to such outbursts by the unruly teen; she'd been this way her entire life. So, none had come looking for her. They left her to cool down- which she had. Kella had spent her entire night sitting on the shore of the lake, watching various riders and dragons bathing and cavorting. That had both soothed her, and exacerbated her mood.
After starting off a new day in such a smooth, calm way- the intruding thoughts about yesterday served only to put Kella into a foul mood. With a frown still sketched across her face, Kella made her way out of the kitchen as soon as she heard footsteps. With an armful of clean dishes, she made her way to the dining area and began to set up there.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 9:13 am
Ollen yawned lazily, stretching as she walked toward the kitchen. She'd been put on an early morning duty in another part of the Weyr but was not going to start moving before she got a bite to eat. She wasn't looking forward to scrubbing floors, but she wanted to stay on everyone's good side and volunteered to do it.
She wore a pair of light shorts that terminated mid caff, longer than most, and a tunic she'd ripped the arms off of so she could be more comfortable in the heat. her short brown hair stood on end in all directions, and a layer of drool clung to her face. She was not neat, nor did she care about looking good in the morning or any other time.
She stopped watching the short girl move, she wasn't fooling herself thinking she was the only one up. "Morning," she muttered and rubbed sleep from her eyes, "Are you cookin' today?" Ollen did not want another burned roll, it seemed the food was horrible lately! If she wanted to eat badly she'd go back to Tillek and board a ship.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:07 am
The dining hall was set up with different tables- some were for serving food, and the remainder were for dining on. To the serving tables Kella went, laden with dishes and cutlery. She arranged a myriad of bowls and plates, saucers and pitchers. Into two large baskets she tossed forks and knives; the baskets would be refilled throughout the day. It was as she was finishing her tasks that she noticed she had company.
Kella wasn't immediately displeased. The other girl wasn't interrupting her work- in fact, Kella was just about finished here. She had been mentally preparing to venture into the kitchens and find another task to busy herself with. Looking at the girl, Kella couldn't stop one of her eyebrows from arching slightly. But she quickly shrugged, and looked away. The girl didn't seem to care about how she appeared. But, then again, neither did Kella. Not really.
She snorted at the girl's question, her dark eyes flicking to peer sideways at her. "Me? Cook? Yeah, right. The only thing they think I'm good for," Kella informed Ollen matter-of-factly with a sharp gesture with a spoon towards the kitchens, and the cooks, "is trivial chores. I bring it entirely upon myself, being given the worst things to do." That was a fact she could not deny. "But, nah, I'm not cooking. Fresh bread and stuff should be in the ovens now, but if you want cereal or something, I'll bring some out on my next trip. So, whatcha want?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 10:59 am
Ollen quirked an eyebrow and gave Kella a crooked smile, "Oh no, you're not serving me!" She threw up her hands in mock protest. The girl's attitude was interesting, the brown haired candidate wanted to know more about her.
"I'm Ollen, and I'd be happy to help if you need any, I'll grab a bite while I do?" She'd done a few days work in the kitchen and knew her way around enough to be of some use.
"What's yer name? Are you a candidate?" She asked, looking the girl up and down obviously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 11:19 am
The interest was mutual. Kella wanted to know more about this girl. She'd never seen her around before- and Kella was Weyr-bred. She'd seen, and knew, EVERYONE. She sized the girl up, noting how much taller she was. Kella might be able to hold her own in a fight.. For a short time at least. Ollen looked like she could whip Kella's a**, in maybe thirty seconds. Thirty-three, if Kella was particularly stubborn.
"There's not much else to be done here," Kella stated and turned quickly. She set off down a long corridor that led to the kitchens. She could hear the kitchen growing louder as the kitchen staff showed up slowly. Various greetings could be heard above the clamor of dishes and utensils being utilized. "The fruit's probably already being chopped, veggies too. The bread is done, and being baked. Umm.. What else to do?" Kella spoke to herself, pausing in the entryway to the kitchens.
"You! Trash!" shrieked a cook, waving her spoon at Kella frantically. "Ya didn't do it yestehday, and I won't have it sittin' around here, stinkin' up the kitchen all day! Do it, now!" she shrieked again, as though the louder she spoke, the more compelled to listen Kella might be. The young woman just rolled her eyes, grumbling to herself. "Taking out the trash is the worst," Kella muttered, wrinkling her nose. "It reeks, and its heavy- I hate it," she complained, tossing one bad to Ollen and keeping the second for herself. "This way!" She instructed the older girl, and set off down a second corridor.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:01 pm
Ollen followed the shorter female around happy to help her out, she about jumped out her skin as the Cook screamed. It was a bit early for all of the noise the kitchen brought with it, especially the voices and banging pans. She kept her head low and carried the bag thrown to her.
Hefting it she followed down the second corridor her stomach rumbling, oh why had she skipped dinner the night before? Ollen was like a teenage boy at times, living through her stomach and eating anything, or going without and feeling ravenous later.
"Do you always work in the kitchen? You certainly know your way around," Ollen's voice was cheerful with a hint of respect there was a lot going on in the kitchen. If taking the trash out was Kella's least favorite thing she'd gladly swap her for latrine duties.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:22 pm
With the heavy bag of garbage to weigh her down, Kella's gait become a sort of hop-shuffle, her short frame not entirely capable of supporting the extra weight. She held on to the bag with both hands, hefting it as high as she could (but it still dragged on the stone floor). But despite her struggles, she was MORE than happy to be out of the kitchens and away from those seeking to reprimand her unreasonably.
Kella's stomach was content. She had eaten some leftover bread and sliced herself a bit of fruit before she had started the chores. One advantage of working in the kitchens was always having unlimited access to the food! Anything she wanted, any time of day or night. She was intensely pleased with that one, monumental advantage. It made all the times she was yelled at and belittled worth it.
"Yeah, I always work in the kitchens. My parents are riders, and I was fostered to a kitchen worker. So, it just sorta became my niche, ya know? What do you do? You aren't from the Weyr, are you?" Kella rambled on for a few minutes, then paused to give Ollen time to answer. Kella asked questions, and expected prompt responses!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:47 pm
It took a lot of willpower for Ollen not to chuckle at the way Kella walked and held the bag. They were heavy, she held it away from her body but was able to hold it high enough so that it would not rub the ground. Ollen was used to hard manual labor, and even enjoyed it.She stopped when Kella stopped and answered.
"I am a candidate..I do candidate's work now, what ever they tell me to do. I want to make sure nothing stops me from standing on the sands," she paused, "Before that I was in the SeaCraft. I think it would have been pretty interesting to grow up here, I've met a few dragons in the last few sevendays..but I'd love to meet more riders."
Ollen did not know much about fostering other than her own situation, her mother had died, and father needed to work to help support her, her aunt, and her uncle. She assumed the reason the other girl was fostered was because it was hard work being a rider and they had little time for children. She wondered if that made Kella closer to the dragons of her parents..or was she just another child in the lower caverns?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 12:55 pm
If Ollen had laughed at the way Kella handled herself, it would be a BIG problem. Kella was quite defensive, and would have probably left Ollen to finish the job of taking out the trash, alone. Thankfully, Ollen did not laugh at Kella. How someone could ENJOY manual labor was beyond Kella. Sure, she didn't like sitting around with nothing to do- but she certainly did not take pleasure in lugging around heavy bags that smelled horribly, or washing other people's dirty, disgusting dishes.
"You're a candidate? Oh, cool! I am too. I still work mostly in the kitchens, seein' as how I've been here all along anyway. Plus, I don't want to do anything but work in the kitchens," Kella said, as if the fact she wanted to do nothing else was a good enough reason to receive semi-special treatment. In reality, it wasn't special treatment at all. It was simply the fact that no one wanted to deal with the inevitable hissy fit thrown if Kella was asked to clean the latrines, or something.
"The sea craft, eh? Like, sailing and fishing? That sounds... I don't know. I wouldn't want to do it," Kella stated. It was beginning to be clear that Kella was a semi-control freak. she liked things a certain way; she had routines throughout her day, and if they were messed up, she'd be sure to freak out. "Riders aren't all their cracked up to be. A lot of 'em have their heads up in the clouds, or a super into themselves. They're not THAT great. I mean, sure, their dragons kill Thread, but.. they make awful messes in the dining hall, and some of 'em get really drunk, a lot," Kella complained- a favorite hobby of hers.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 1:52 pm
Ollen didn't mind if Kella was getting special treatment or not, she kept her head low, made friends where she could, and did exactly what she was told. It took her so long to be allowed into her craft and accepted as an equal that she did not want to be ostracized as a candidate for any reason at all.
"Sailing, fishing, I think being a Shipwright would be a superb occupation, but being Searched came up and I figured what's a few years out of my life trying to impress?" Ollen shrugged, she was pretty laid back, unless she felt she was being insulted or belittled.
"I've met a few riders and they seemed like good people," she'd neer seen one make a mess in the dining hall, but then again she'd cleaned a lot of dirt off the dining halls floor that she did not see get there. "I met a green dragon named Isonth and she seemed like the sweetest thing, her rider seemed like a wonderful person, not at all into herself."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 3:53 pm
Kella couldn't believe that she WAS NOT getting special treatment. Why should she? Pfffbt. She'd lived in the Weyr her whole life! She knew everyone! She worked her a** off the make sure that the kitchens ran smoothly- (yes, in her mind, SHE was the reason that everyone got meals at regular times, every day). Kella had never had a problem being accepted anywhere. She had been born into her life, seemingly molded perfectly for it.
"You don't mind.. a few turns gone? Just gone?" Kella dropped her bag of trash and spun around to face Ollen, her hands thrown up in the air while her fingers waved around madly, "Pfft, I've wasted turns on those sands," she snarled, poking a finger in the hatching cavern's general direction. "You know what? I've stood for three clutches. THREE. Every time, I've been left standing. I don't know why I even agree to go out there anymore!" Kella did know, though. She knew that despite the bitter feelings towards all dragon eggs, some small part of her still clung to some shred of hope. "Bah, I may withdraw myself for this clutch," she snorted and hefted up her bag of trash once again.
"Isonth? Oh, Lana's her rider," Kella stated and bobbed her head. "Mhmm, Lanakirene and Isonth are a nice pair. I have met a few nice riders. Don't get me wrong, there are some. But, nor are there any spectacular enough to put up on a pedestal. Just because they have dragons don't mean they shouldn't have to wash their own dishes," the young woman growled quite ferociously. Here the corridor ended abruptly, angling upwards and out into the Bowl. There was a fenced off section, roughly a dragonlength away, where there was not only a compost heap, but a sectioned off area for trash to be hauled away at a later date. "These are both for the compost heap," Kella stated and up-ended her bag onto the decomposing heap of scraps, wrinkling her nose in the process.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:14 pm
Ollen's eyes widened as the other girl seemed to freak out all of a sudden, Ollen really did not think a few turns was anything to be angry about...with the chance of having someone like Isonth as her partner well she'd wait a lifetime if it was possible.
What seemed worse was the girl did a one eighty and became nice again with the mention of Isanth and Lana. She stopped and started to speak a few times and started again.
"I don't see where a few turns is anything compared to a life time," Ollen put it bluntly, "And they seem pretty busy feeding, cleaning, and taking care of their bonded to do a few dishes, when there are literally of hundreds of people that are able to do that job." Ugh Ollen groaned it was too early for this.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 4:39 pm
If Ollen was going to be around for a while (seeing how she was a candidate, she would be around) she'd better get used to Kella freaking out. It was a several-times-a-day thing. Kella had the uncanny ability to go from zero, to sixty, and back down again in three point seven seconds flat. Impressive, eh? Well... Not so much. It was embarrassing, really. But, Kella had a warped sense of reality, so everything was fine and dandy!
"Having trouble speaking?" Kella asked bluntly, watching Ollen try several times to speak. Kella shrugged, and took the other girl's bag of trash and up-ended it over the compost heap. If Ollen wasn't going to do it, Kella wasn't going to stand around and wait for her. She had chores to do and wasn't going to be accused of slacking just because some new girl didn't see things the same way she did- and wanted to stand around and argue about it.
"Let's see if you say the same thing after being rejected, over and over again, for several turns straight," Kella shot back at Ollen, becoming increasingly frustrated with the young woman. She had seemed all right at first, but now Kella was changing her mind. She wasn't so sure she liked her all that much. So, Kella grabbed the bags the trash had been in and turned on her heel, stalking back up the corridor towards the kitchens- and promptly stopped. Ollen's last comment did the trick. Kella turned back around, dropping the bags where she stood.
"Sure, we're able to do the job. There are plenty of us here without a dragon to care for, or a craft to dedicate ourselves to," Kella sneered, stressing the words 'dragon' and 'craft' to add emphasis. "Do you think we like doing their dishes? Yeah, that's real rewarding. I'd like to have you know, though, that its all I've ever wanted to do- drudge work. I aspire to wash your dishes some day, its so fulfilling!" Kella went on, becoming quite dramatic. She rolled her eyes and turned back around, unable to come up with anything else to say.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jun 30, 2009 5:15 pm
Ollen rubbed the back of her neck with a hand and listened to Kella as she spoke, when Kella stomped off she turned around an started heading back to the kitchen. She didn't need to argue this early in the morning. If Kella wanted to be this negative, it was her life, but Ollen didn't need to be so angry.
The riders..and craftsman needed drudges just like the drudges needed them..there was no use in getting angry over a position you held. Ollen shook her head thinking of Kella.
Ollen slipped through the bustling kitchen and grabbed a red fruit on her way. If she moved quickly she thought she wouldn't be late to the duties that were assigned to her, she'd spent enough time socializing.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jul 02, 2009 7:11 am
( I TOTALLY didn't mean for Kella to KILL this RP- but we should totally have them meet up again some time! This was fun, for me! C smile
Kella couldn't see that her position as a drudge was every bit as important as being a dragonrider. Who wanted a Weyr stacked to the Rim with dirty dishes and uncooked food? The young woman fumed and ranted under her breath as she made her way back up to the kitchen, not happy with the way her conversation with Ollen had went. She had really not wanted her day to start on a sour note- but that was apparently unavoidable. Sighing, Kella trudged into the kitchens and grabbed a rag and headed to the sink. There were PLENTY of dishes that needed to be washed, now that breakfast had been served. Might as well get started!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
