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 Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 8:30 pm
Errands, errands, errands, gah! Candidate life was already starting to lose its shine. Hilena paused in her work, surreptitiously glancing around the cavern. Most of the Lower Caverns women were busy with their own tasks, and while there were a few other candidates and riders around, Hilena concluded that she probably wouldn't be missed. Worth a shot, anyway.
With one last furtive look around, Hilena ducked into one of the narrower side openings of the Lower Caverns and set off down an unfamiliar passage. The glows were dim, and she stepped softly.
A slight sound behind her indicated she maybe hadn't been as stealthy as she should have been, and she groaned softly to herself and walked a little faster to outdistance the follower – until she bumped right into the tram-cart, sending it rolling a few feet away from her along its tracks. She caught it quickly, looking out along the track line, then cast a glance behind her. Had they heard that?
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 9:10 pm
Lucky for Hilena she wasn't followed by anyone important, but it was her misfortune to have indeed been followed.
While working in the kitchens Yulu had noticed someone acting rather odd, a girl she'd been watching for the past few marks anyway, and when that person made to duck out and go somewhere the young woman had decided to follow. If caught she could say that she was merely trying to recover someone who'd wandered off, so it made a perfect alibi for the girl who was tired of working anyway.
As Yulu was still fairly new to the Weyr, a handful or two of sevendays in anyway, she hadn't taken a chance to explore everywhere just yet. Where this person was going did have her interest, not because she was curious but because it could lead to something worthwhile. Slowly she followed behind, taking care to make her steps fall into time with the other girl, and when Hilena stopped so did Yulu.
Only Yulu didn't duck and hide when a loud sound was made. She merely sighed loudly instead, shaking her head.
"Well done."
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Posted: Fri Nov 20, 2009 10:17 pm
Hilena turned around fully to face the shadowy figure, bridling at the tone. Another candidate, she thought, though it was hard to be sure with all the light behind them. She kept one hand on the cart edge in case it rolled again. The track seemed to slope a little.
"Well done what?" she retorted. "I was just... checking... if it needed oiling" she finished in a rush. She rocked the cart back and forth a bit, clattering it on the rails. "And I guess it does. So I'll just go and get some oil for it, can't have mine carts running loudly in the Weyr, it might... disturb the queens." She looked up with a great show of nervousness, as if the golden dragons might tear up the tunnel roof any minute to complain, then peering at the other candidate to see if they were convinced. The question was whether this was the sort of guy who would blabber to the Headwoman, or worse, the Candidatemaster?
But the more important question was why did the Weyr have a mine cart track, and where did it lead? She wasn’t ready to go back to work yet.
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Posted: Sat Nov 21, 2009 10:29 am
Yulu raised an eyebrow for a moment, trying to take in what this person was saying, before she let out a low chuckle. It wasn't one of mocking, more of amusement, and once the tones stopped a sly grin peeked its way over Yulu's usually firm mouth. Following this girl was proving to be rather interesting.
"Oh, I see, and I do agree to your point. They've both seemed rather proddy lately, those massive Queens, so it probably would be a good idea for us to make sure everything is well-oiled and cared for. Do you know if there are carts further down? We may want to check them all."
She sounded sincere, or at least as sincere as possible (for Yulu), and slowly Yulu made her way over to the other girl's side. She was thankful that the light wasn't overly bright, allowing for some shadows, as she didn't want to give off right away who she was - not that she believed she was known. If Yulu didn't know you - you didn't know Yulu. Easy enough.
"Any ideas?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 4:58 am
Hilena grinned impishly at the other candidate, then schooled her face into a mask of polite concern. They seemed to be flying the same pattern.
"Oh, I should imagine there are more," she agreed, attempting to match the other's tone. "A Weyr as well-equipped as this would hardly make do with just one cart. Not with all these tracks. You're right, it's our duty to search them all out for proper maintenence! And we should get started, the oil's probably right down the other end."
She moved around behind the cart, pushing it more gently to see how much noise it would make if they were careful. It was a little heavy, but moved easily enough.
"What do you think they're for?" she added, in her more usual voice.
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Posted: Mon Dec 07, 2009 7:07 pm
"They're used for carting goods around the Weyr, things like firestone. I've never had the fortune of having to work here since my tasks usually find me in the kitchens or out running messages."
Yulu regretted that she was never allowed in the infirmary since the time she helped during the hatching, but whatever. It wasn't as though people in this place were tripping all over themselves to get injured and then cared for, and it wasn't like her field of expertise was actually needed any time soon. There just weren't many cases of trauma running around.
"Let's check it out on foot first, to see if there are any carts further down, and ride back up if we do find another."
She was offering this suggestion as walking downhill seemed a bit easier then hoofing it back up, and with the system for these carts it appeared as though it could be a bit....fun.
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Posted: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:52 am
Hilena bowed her head sadly at that very mundane explanation. She'd rather have believed the dragonriders were hiding a secret gemstone mine, or a passage into the Hatching Ground. Still, her companion was right, it would be more fun to work here than always at the dishwashing troughs. And firestone could be exciting, she supposed. She'd seen a wing practicing drills with it a few days earlier - the flames had been spectacular.
Yulu's next words brought her sharply back to the present. Ride back up? The cart was certainly strong enough.
"Oh shells yes!" she breathed. "Let's do it!"
She sped up, pushing the tram ahead of her, eyes keen for a second one.
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Posted: Wed Jan 20, 2010 11:24 am
"If you're going to push the tram, we need to make sure its oiled so we really don't attract any attention. It would be pointless for us to sneak around and act like we're on a mission if we're loud by default and anyone can find our location."
She went to find oil of some kind for the wheels, her companion just going straight ahead without too much though, and Yulu had to sigh and wonder if sometimes in this Weyr she was the only one wth common sense. It seemed like many of the girls here were deadglows, and Yulu gladly thought she didn't lump herself in with girls like them. She was a witty guy in her own right, and her smarts would keep her from doing stupid things.
Upon finding some oil leaning against a wall nearby she jogged and caught up with her partner, pulling the cart to a stop and holding up the spoils.
"Let's get this thing smooth and silky. It'll probably run better that way since you seem to insist on bringing this tram cart with us."
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Posted: Fri Jan 22, 2010 8:04 pm
Hilena ignored the other's rebuke, listening to the rush of the air as she moved and imagining how fast the clattering little cart would go. Sneaking around had never been her thing.
When Yulu caught the cart to stop it, Hilena's cheeks were flushed with the exertion.
"You found oil? Great! You're handy to have around!" she cheered, but softly, because the other was right, it wouldn't do to get found out now. She grinned sheepishly in the dim tunnel, lending her slight weight to help support the cart for better oiling access to the wheels. "I like the cart," she added. "This cart is the most exciting thing in my life since the Searchrider dropped me here. I'm going keep it as a pet and feed it bubbly pies!"
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Posted: Tue Jan 26, 2010 11:27 am
"...Are you serious?"
Yulu sounded incredulous to the sheer amount of stupidity she felt leaking from this other girl's mouth. She knew quite possibly it was a joke, that this other person was trying to make some form of humorous remark to get them both laughing, but instead it made Yulu fear for the future of the Weyr.
Girls like this? With a possibility for Golds? Pern was going to ruin in a glow basket and Yulu was going to only be able to sit back and watch it happen. It's not like she would ever be able to Impress a Gold thanks to how she simply was, but still. An deadglow like this in power? Ugh.
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 6:18 am
Hilena snorted at the tone. Apparently her companion had lost his sense of humour while finding the oil.
“Yes. Absolutely serious,” she insisted, trying to keep a straight face. “Mine carts get terribly hungry. I’m going to have to ask the Headwoman for extras to feed it – you’ll back me up, right?”
She cocked her head to the side, waiting to see how the other would react to the more-outrageous-than-usual ploy to score a bigger bubbly pie haul.
It was sad though, she reflected, that this truly was the most excitement she’d had since she arrived at the Weyr. She would have to do something about that, make friends with a rider, maybe, to take her flying. The tram tracks were interesting, but tunnels weren’t anything special to the holder girl. Unless they lead somewhere. She peered into the darkness ahead. How far did it go?
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 9:05 am
In the murky darkness Yulu shrugged her shoulders and shook her head slightly, a sigh escaping from between her lips. She hadn't thought this person to be serious, and based on how they carried on now she figured them out not to be. For a joke though they had a rather odd sense of humor, and Yulu frowned in the fact that she hadn't been able to follow it as well as she would have liked.
"I think in that case you're on your own. I'm slowly finding out that telling lies to those in power leads to more chores than you can possibly imagine."
It also didn't help, this whole joking thing, that Yulu's sense of humor was very warped compared to that of an average person. In fact, it would be much easier to say she didn't have much of a sense of humor at all since what made her laugh would more often than not make others cry or be upset. This was something she'd have to work on if she really wanted to get along well with others it seemed.
"I'd be a bit more concerned right now that we may get too far to get back before someone notices we're gone. It's pretty unlikely that they will, given how many Candidates are running all over this place, but we still need to try and keep track of our distance. I don't know about you, but I can run flatfoot pretty quickly if needs be."
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Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 3:30 am
"Oh? Who did you lie to?" Hilena asked as she began pushing the cart again, but the question was absent, idle. She didn't really expect an answer, was paying more attention to the darkness before them, wondering if it was worth going back for a glow-basket.
But she heard 'too far', and made a noise of disgust. "The tubers can wait to be washed," she said. "I can run. I love to run."
A handful of steps later, another metallic clang echoed dully around them. Their cart had run aground against another tram cart. Hilena stepped around it, hand to the wall, trying to see if the tracks went further. Her palm met bolts of folded cloth.
"End of the line," she announced sadly.
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Posted: Thu Mar 04, 2010 8:05 am
"If it's the end of the line then I'm going to head back. You can stay here and do what you'd like from this point out but it's probably in both of our best interests to get back. There may be quite a few Candidates lurking around right now so our absence may not get noticed. . . though I'm not willing to take that chance. I'm sure the highers in this Weyr have no problems finding reasons for people to be unable to stand."
Stand for what though? The next clutch was months away as far as she could tell and there was no signs of any change in that regard but Yulu wasn't about to just give up for now. There were two Queens and one of them was bound to get proddy soon enough.
"Anyway, I'll see you back in there. I suppose an adventure like this is best done alone or in groups of more than two, or at least with someone who isn't like me. Sorry I wasn't that into sharing your mirth over all this."
It was a flat apology but it worked nonetheless. Yulu gave a brief wave of her hand as she turned on her heels and started back, moving into a jog to cover the distance quicker. This had been a waste of time.
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