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 Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 2:39 pm
Mopping. It was a reassuring activity, boring and repetitive but you knew where you were with a mop and a bucket of water. Where she was at the moment was the main dininghall. All the tables and benches were moved to one side of the room leaving her room to clean the other side. Dip the mop in the bucket, squeeze it out a little, place it on the floor and move it smoothly from side to side. Rinse and repeat, figuratively and literally.
Chores like this were a lot easier than candidate lessons, it was an unknown world, she didn't quite know what was expected of her... Actually she did know what was expected of her, she was expected to know things that she didn't know. Oh, she had the basics from growing up here: you didn't touch the eggs, you didn't touch another person's dragon without clear permission from one or the other, things like that she knew just fine. What she didn't know was the structure of a dragon's wing, how much a young dragon ought to eat based on its size, common ailments and issues. She was learning, but not fast enough. Because she'd lived here all her life people expected her to know things, and she didn't, and so they all thought she was stupid. She wasn't stupid, she was just ignorant.
Sighing softly to herself, Layla dunked her mop back into the bucket and went on with her cleaning; if she wanted to get to bed on time she couldn't slack off... People thought she was stupid, she was sure they did.
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Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2010 3:39 pm
It was easy enough to get a small bit of meat to find a single Flit, the people in the kitchens seldom noticing things snatched here and there by a skilled hand, though acquiring the amount to feed three hungry bellies would require a bit more effort on Yulu's part. She'd probably have to ask for it or get lucky in whatever it was she wanted to swipe in one solid go, though with the two additions to her normal wear today it had been almost impossible to accomplish.
She'd had her hands slapped a few times before the situation was properly explained and scraps given to her, Yulu silently swearing at the woman as she stalked away rubbing a red spot. Atop her right shoulder came a croon of concern, the pitch almost resembling a bell, and Yulu peeked from the corner of her eye at the Golden head that was attempting to press against her cheek. The chirp happened again, and Yulu let out a soft sigh as she smiled to reassure the little beast. Just beyond her view of Song another moving object caught her eye, this one a little Green with a faded hue that made her almost seem more olive, and Yulu's smile slowly turned to a frown as she trumped across the dining hall floor.
Earlier that morning Yulu had been greeted by a rather urgent Bluerider, two sleeping flits thrust in her arms as he explained that he had to run an errand and would be back a bit later. the flits, he'd said, could not come along but he wasn't too worried about them following. One was heavy with a clutch still, or so he thought, and the other too new from her shell. Plus, Yulu had been told, her Gold would be able to make them obey.
That had been then and this was now, Yulu shaking her head as she stopped to survey her motley crew. She was unaware that she had just trekked mud all across the clean floor, nor did she probably notice the stares she was getting.
"Seriously, the three of you need to calm down. I'll feed you in a bit."
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 4:26 am
...Ack. She didn't want to say anything about it, she really didn't want a confrontation with this girl, who she only knew was a girl thanks to the candidate dorms being split by gender. She'd almost asked her if she was in the wrong place the first time she'd seen her. She didn't know her name but she'd just walked mud everywhere, that was going to take a while to fix!... But she was busy with her firelizards. It was understandable that she wasn't paying attnetion to her muddy footwear she supposed but...
"Umm... Please? You're ah, you're getting mud on the clean floor. If it wouldn't be a trouble to take them off for a moment, I could wipe them off for you." Layla took a rag that had been hooked into her belt and waved it for emphasis. She hoped the offer would keep the androgynous and rather intimidating girl from shouting at her. She didn't want to cause trouble, but she didn't want to have to go over all the areas she'd already done either. It would be alright, there was no reason for her to shout, she'd been reasonable... But what if the girl with the flitts had a violent temper, or what if the flitts were violent? She didn't want to be shouted at, or hit... She shouldn't have said anything, she should just have waited for the girl to leave and then cleaned up the mud. Oh dear.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 10:36 am
Yulu looked up from where she'd been glancing around at her little trio, the third flit a rather brightly hued Green who laid lazily in one of her arms, and she frowned as she tried to place what this girl was saying to her. Something about getting off or taking off and cleaning? What was she saying?
"You're going to have to speak more clearly if you want something from me, as well as not wave around a cloth. You look like you're trying to surrender during a battle rather than ask or demand a favor from me."
She didn't walk any closer to the girl, almost insisting that if she really wanted something that this little one would have to come closer. Yulu didn't speak in riddles or half-guesses, and she was still a bit tired from the morning to a point where she didn't care to properly listen either. Thankfully she hadn't shouted when she spoke back, her voice still keeping that same heavy tone it always did whenever it came time for conversation.
On her shoulder Song let out a nervous little chirp before she pressed more against Yulu's face, enough to make the woman's neck move slightly, and the floating green gave a slight hiss of disapproval before she too moved closer to Yulu's side.
"Do you need me for something?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 11:08 am
This wasn't going well, the scary girl clearly wasn't happy. It was alright though, all she had to do was speak up and... and she might get hit or shouted at. If she did nothing, however, she was definitely going to be glared at, so she really should say something before she melted into a puddle of discomfort under that hard gaze.
"Mud," Layla managed after a moment, "your boots are muddy, and I've just mopped that bit of floor. If you'll take them off for a minute, I could clean them a bit? Just so you don't leave any more mud behind, if that's alright?"
There, she'd been perfectly reasonable, and as this girl - what was her name anyway? - was a candidate too she had to be fairly sane or she wouldn't have been searched... So while she probably wouldn't get punched, she might still get sneered or shouted at. She really hoped the masculine young woman would just let her clean her boots without too much contempt, surely she understood what it was like to see a job you'd just done undone again by someone wandering carelessly through it... Surely. It would be fine. Maybe.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 11:32 am
Yulu frowned at what the girl was saying and took the time to look down, noticing that she was indeed tracking mud all over the floor. There was a neat little path to show where she'd come from to get into her, and with an odd look over her shoulder she sighed and attempted to shift the colored bundle in her arms.
"You should have said that in the first place, and I would have taken them off before I even came it. I'll clean up behind myself so you won't have to, but sorry anyway for tracking mud in. I didn't know."
Song protested as Yulu bent down and pulled off one of her boots with a single hand, a talent she probably developed from carrying things around at the hall and never having both hands free, though the Golden flit didn't take to the air or even falter. She merely made a little bit of noise that caused the other two to chime in, and Yulu winced as if she were getting tired of all the noise. Hopefully it would be like this all day.
As soon as her other boot had come off Yulu started towards where the smaller girl stood, her pace quickly carrying her over.
"Any spare rags?"
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 12:35 pm
"It's okay," Layla smiled slightly, relaxing somewhat as the other girl failed to bite her head off, "I can see you're pretty distracted, and thank you. You don't have to mop up when you go, but thanks for even thinking to offer." Oh, rag, right. "Here," Layla stuck her mop in its bucket and crossed the remaining distance between them to hand over the rag she'd been waving around pointlessly a moment ago.
"I recognise you from lessons and from the dorm," she went on after a moment, "but I'm afriad I don't know your name. I'm Layla." Perhaps she would be intorduced to the firelizards as well. She did like the little creatures, but she couldn't imagine herself managing to get hold of one, let alone the three the now rather less scary seeming girl had. They were probably difficult to take care of, she'd probably spoil it if she had one, or get one that hated everything... but they were so beautiful, and if they didn't hate everything they were generally very sweet.
Maybe one day she'd save up enough marks to buy herself an egg, people did sell them from time to time. She might be lucky, but she'd have to make sure she knew how to take care of one before she tried to get one or she might hurt it or make it sick by mistake and that was the last thing she would want.
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Posted: Sat Jan 30, 2010 3:29 pm
"People call me Yulu, and hold this for me would you? She's sleeping now and shouldn't give you any trouble, but I can't hold and clean a boot with her in my arms."
Yulu moved and held out the vibrant green in her arms, noticing that she was indeed still asleep. Rinel spent much of her time sleeping now, what with how L'pin said she was probably still so egg heavy. He'd told Yulu he had lost track of how many times this had happened, so the girl just accepted it all at face value. Plus, he had come in early and caught her off guard. What a jerk.
"Just be careful and don't squeeze her or Hinalle here is liable to snap at you. She acts uninterested but she's pretty attached to Rinel. Don't worry about Song, she'll stay with me."
Somehow Yulu had just introduced the flits without even meaning to, her fingers pointing to each one as she said their names. It also helped that the little beasts seemed to know when she was talking about them, at least the two awake ones, as Song chirped and Hinalle hissed at the call.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 5:01 am
Layla accepted the sleeping creature reflexively, and then hoped that she was holding it right. After the comment about Hinalle, she hoped even more; she didn't want to get savaged, because for one that would hurt and for another she might drop Rinel. "Umm, sure," she said once she had recovered from the shock of suddenly having a sleepy firelizard thrust at her. "She's really warm," Layla added with a smile after a moment or two, "I don't think I've ever held a flitt before." It was a nice feeling, and it made her want one of her own very much. A cute little thing that would sleep on her pillow, or by her feet, and chirp reassuringly at her whenever she was scared.
"Looking forward to the hatching?" Layla asked after a moment. "This will be the first time I've stood for one, I'm excited but... kind of scared as well. After how the last one went it's hard not to be." Why was she seeking reassurance from a stranger, one she'd been more than a bit scared of a moment ago?... Maybe because she'd been scared because she saw Yulu as a pretty tough character; she probably wasn't scared a bit, she probably wasn't scared of anything very much. It would be so nice not to be a ball of nerves, it really would.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 8:54 am
"That one's ready to clutch any day now, hence the warmth. She'd normally be up and screaming around us, or so I've been told by her owner, so I think we ought to take her quiet for granted and let her stay sleeping. I don't know if Song has it in her to be forceful and request anything from her."
Yulu had the rag in her hand now and she was busy wiping the bottoms of her boots, the way her shoulders shook gently rocking the Gold flit back and forth. Song seemed used to this action, her front legs atop Yulu's head with her claws probably digging into the scalp, though neither of them seemed to put off by this. It was when she was done with her boots that she took the mop Layla had been using and went to trace back her steps, making sure that no one else would have to clean up behind her. While Yulu wasn't a big fan of having to clean over and over because of something she certainly wasn't the type to just leave things be and let others have to work twice as hard because of her negligence.
She came back just in time to her the little girl ask about the eggs, and a thin smile actually dared to creep itself over Yulu's lips. There had been eggs on the sands recently, hadn't there? She'd wanted to actually go and check them out, it was a right of passage for anyone daring to call themselves a Candidate, the only problem for Yulu being she was Holdborn and no idea where secret passages may be in order for her to go and see the treasures on the sands.
"This will be my second hatching, and I must admit that I am rather excited. It's always interesting to get out there on the sands and see what is going to happen, more so since that last fiasco we had. This seems to be a healthy clutch, one that our new Weyrwoman can be proud of, but I can't help but want to sneak out and seem them closely before we're allowed on the sands for the Touching."
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:16 am
Well that would explain it then, she did look pretty round for a green. Layla adjusted her grip on the flirelizard slightly and watched as Yulu mopped up her footprints, chiding herself now for being frightened of the girl to start with. She might look rough and tough, but it seemed she was a kind person in the end; a great relief.
"I was going to go and see them when I get finished here actually," Layla said with nod of emphasis, "I know a corridor that runs behind the hatching grounds, there's a crack in the wall you can see through... Would you like to come with me? A couple of my friends have already seen them, and they're all saying how lovely they are... but then dragon eggs always are, aren't they?"
Of course, her friends had been especially excited about the queen egg, all fantasizing about Impressing the creature that came out of that shining shell... Was she too? She supposed so, she couldn't see herself as a weyrwoman really but she could more or less imagine herself Impressing a dragon, any dragon, her dragon. It would love her and protect her, and make her feel safe. They would take to the skies together, fly all over the world, find amazing new places and... Ah, all fantasies. In reality... Well, who knew? Nobody, that was who. Dragons chose for their own reasons. Her dragon might be out there. Maybe. Just maybe.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:41 am
"Would you really mind showing me? I don't know anyone here who would be so willing to do so, but if you're wanting to then I'll have to take you up on that offer. Thank you."
Yulu grinned broadly, her face going from its normal stoic to childishly goofy. It was clear why she probably didn't smile so much, it made her look girlie and young all at the same time, and Yulu hated both of those features about herself. As quickly as the grin had appeared it disappeared, Yulu setting the mop in place and softly holding her arms out for Rinel to be returned. At her side Hinalle hissed again over how close Layla seemed to be, though Song swung her head to the side and chirped back, a strong tone of warning to be nice perhaps.
"And I do agree with you about dragon eggs all be wonderful, but it's what's inside that we all want to see more than anything. This clutch is so much larger than the last one and with that Gold on the sands it surely can't be entirely Green like the last. Entirely green and needlessly bloody."
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 9:57 am
"Not at all," Layla smiled and handed the sleepy flitt back to Yulu, "I mean, it costs me nothing at all and I'll even have somebody with me to admire them with! I find most things are more fun when you've got someone else with you." Maybe she could even make a friend of this formerly scary girl, they seemed to be getting on well, and she couldn't think of any reason for her to be faking.
"When we go and see them, we can make some guesses," Layla went on, her face becoming animated with excitement. "I mean, maybe we'll be wrong, but I think it could be fun to try to work out what could be inside each egg... except the obvious on, of course." And the sooner she finished her work, the sooner they could go. Layla retreived her mop and set to work once more, making sure not to turn her back on Yulu; she didn't want her possible new friend to think she was just blanking her or something, she was just going to chat and work at the same time.
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 10:16 am
"I think I'm up for that challenge, though I should warn you I'm a terrible guess and will probably be wrong on all of them save for the Gold. If that turns out to be the case you can't laugh at my misfortune later."
Yulu rather liked the idea of playing a guessing game, since it would keep her mind busy until the actual day of the touching, or even the hatching. The day of the touching couldn't be too far off, when all hands would come over those smooth and hard shells. She hadn't been around for the last one that everyone had done, having arrived just in time to go out onto the sands for the bloodbath, so this was a new experience she was slightly looking forward to.
She waited patiently until Layla appeared to be done with her chores, every now and then giving a bit of meat from the kitchens to the two hungry lots that chirped in her ears ( Hinalle had landed for food, go figure ), and she slowly woke Rinel up long enough to get some food down her gullet. After that the Green went back to sleep and the girl they were waiting on was done.
"Whenever you're ready I will follow your lead. Please try not to get me lost, I'd rather not have to find my way back home."
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Posted: Sun Jan 31, 2010 12:34 pm
Layla grinned, setting the mop and bucket aside for the one of the people who would be doing the other side of the hall. "Don't worry, I won't leave you behind anywhere, then who would I talk to?" Still grinning, Layla made her way out of the dininghall and took a left, heading deeper into the Weyr. "The first time I remember coming along here to look at a clutch I got completely lost," she confided with a sheepish grin. "I was lucky though, I managed to wander down into one of the deep storage caverns just as some of my friends were having a game of hide and seek. I was aware of I was lost for all of a couple of minutes."
She'd been terrified at the time of course, but now she looked but it was pretty funny, and could have been so much worse. It would be best if she could just laugh off things that were in the present and the future like that, a lot of people seemed to be able to - or to be able to dismiss horrible possibilities anyway. She'd try to learn to do that, to think positive, to mostly ignore the fact that before very long she might have her guts clawed out by a rampaging dragonet. Shivering slightly, Layla took another turning, a narrow one leading into less busy portions of the Weyr.
"It's not far now," she said as they took yet another obscure turn, "about thirty paces, the crack's on the right hand side."
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