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 Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 12:04 pm
The Kitchens were sparsely populated at this time of day, the gap between the last lingering remnants of the lunch crowd, and the full-on advent of supper preparations. The splattered aprons of the cooks drifted in and out of Ichidou's peripheral vision as her hands tiredly worked her dull blade around the tough skin of her latest tuber, baring the blindingly white flesh underneath.
She'd been at this for a dragon's age, peeling and chopping a never-ending pile of tasteless vegetables for an equally tasteless, lumpy stew. Her tastebuds hadn't quite adjusted themselves to the blander palate of the Telgar region - every meal consisted of choking down questionable looking fare as quickly as possible without scalding her tongue. Making a face at just the memory, Ichidou skewered her last victim mercilessly on her knife, before chucking the peeled tuber into a waiting bucket.
Shards, this was dull. She couldn't have been the ONLY one assigned to this useless task! Out of so many Candidates, there had to be at least one other. Grumbling underneath her breath, the young woman risked a glance into the hall running just outside the vacant Kitchens, only to receive a sound scolding from one of the Aunties who had just happened to glance her way, assuming she was a viable runaway.
Initially startled by the cronie's squawking reprimand, Ichidou's eyes widened startlingly as she leaned back on her crate, before offense quickly overshadowed her surprise, and she was back to slouching rebelliously, shooting dirty looks at the old woman and muttering unpleasant things, angrily snatching up a fresh tuber and attacking it with renewed vigor. EVERYONE was on edge since the Gather - the one she'd, of course, declined the invitation to be a part of. There were rumors circulating amongst the weyrfolk, the sort of gossip that chilled you. She'd heard only snatches of what had really gone on, but Ichidou was both frustrated and relieved to understand that she'd missed an unsettling onset of illness.
Of course, only time would tell if it was just an isolated case. She recalled her mother's and her own enforced quarantine, upon her father's death. They'd left their livestock unattended for nearly a sevenday, leery and paranoid at every little cough and sniffle... Gazing at the half-peeled tuber gripped in her hand, Ichidou's features hardened into a stony caricature of the hurt she felt over the refreshing of memories following her father's death. The bulbous vegetable stared blankly back, oblivious to the unpleasant memories conjured by its very existence. He'd hated tubers...
Bristling, the Candidate chucked the partially shaved vegetable in a quick-ditch effort at dispelling the cloud of unpleasant thoughts its presence had evoked. Rebelliously, the vegetable bounced with a dull 'plonk' off a stand-alone oven, rolling across the floor - and consequently, out into the very hall she'd been chastised from peering at. With a cry of indignation, the Candidate sprang up from her impromptu seat, scurrying after the runaway tuber before another Auntie could seize upon her. Bloody tubers!
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 4:25 pm
Onie, having just been informed that candidates must do chores, did not have the happiest expression on her face. In fact, she was downright scowling. A ceaseless rant against fate's injustices was running across her head. She was tired, and not quite recovered from the time change between her old home and the Weyr and the excitement of the past couple of days. Her clothing, which consisted of a simple green dress and a pair of delicate boots, was slightly rumpled and her hair was pulled back in a sloppy knot. B'ron had been insistent when he asked her to come to the Weyr. Well, she was here, alright -- and on her way to peel tubers!
Speaking of tubers, she had just stepped on one. Dismay at the sight of the slippery, slightly mashed food staple on the bottom of her boot flashed across her face. Apparently, someone else was also peeling these dreadful things. Looking around for the cause of a freshly peeled tuber rolling across the floor, she spotted Ichidou.
Almost instantaneously, she moved out of the way, not wanting to be knocked into. Unfortunately, the yuck inspiring mess on the bottom of her boot had not acquired enough grime to have sufficient traction to keep a firm grip on the floor, and Onie fell, her legs forming a sort of split as her foot slid across the floor.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:01 pm
T'rye was in a relatively good mood as he walked down the hallway in the lower caverns. Not too long before, he'd gotten back from the Gather and changed out of finery. He wasn't really in the mood to get suckered into playing all day, since he was a harper, even if he was a dragonrider now. And while T'rye enjoyed being the Weyrharper, it wasn't to the point that he'd take a chance playing at a Gather, because then he'd get stuck doing it for hours when he had other things he'd wanted to do.
At this Gather, he'd certainly enjoyed himself while he and Kivoreth had been there, though he'd left before most of the other bronzeriders. He hadn't been in the mood to stay too long for some reason. He did like to dance, and many of the folk had been migrating toward the dance floor, but he'd been tired enough that it hadn't really been that worth it.
You did enjoy yourself, Kivoreth piped up. You should have stayed longer. You would have had more fun, and I could have sunned myself.
T'rye chuckled under his breath. Maybe next time. And then you can flirt with that pretty queen from Ista, he teased his dragon. Kivoreth's response was to mentally chuckle and fall silent for a moment.
You should have gone dancing, though. Very few can best a dragonrider in that toss dance you like so much, the dragon piped up before T'rye reached the kitchens, where he had been headed to pick up a snack before disappearing into the archives to copy some of the older records again. T'rye rolled his eyes at the comment, and ignored it, shaking his head as he entered. The first thing he noticed was the dark-haired girl who was on the floor and looked very uncomfortable. He strode over to her and crouched down next to her.
"Are you all right?" he asked, a slight frown mixing with the look of concern on his face.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:19 pm
Onie looked up, her scowl turning into embarassment as she realized that her quite undignified state had been witnessed by someone besides the other girl.
"I . . Yes. I'm quite fine," she said slowly as she started to rise. In truth, her thigh muscles were stinging and her left calf was a bit scraped, but mentioning those ailments would probably start a conversation consisting entirely of small talk, which Onie found unbearably awkward.
In fact, this entire situation was getting more uncomfortable by the moment. Increasingly aware of her disheveled appearance, Onie groaned inwardly. For just once she wished she was outgoing, and could laugh all of this off the way some girls could do.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:53 pm
Still in hot pursuit of her runaway tuber, Ichidou narrowly escaped a collision with the grumbling, sulking Onie. Lurching backwards in a graceless attempt at self-preservation, the soggy squelch of tuber ground beneath an oppressive heel rebounding off the time-worn walls of the tunnel like hall. From that point on, time seemed to stretch to an unfathomable crawl for the Candidate, as Onie belatedly shifted her weight to avoid that which Ichidou had already diverted - and then, like clockwork, a combination of gravity and poor luck seized upon her imbalance, Onie's underwear clearly visible to Ichidou before the young woman flinched her gaze away, as the other female was laid flat out.
Unfortunately, she wasn't the only witness to Onie's tumble. A deeper voice intruded on the already uncomfortable silence that had descended, sparking a note of irritation from Ichidou, who made a point of sniping at the poor bronzer in an attempt at masking her own embarrassment. "What does it look like to YOU?" He needn't point out the obvious, such a dim-glow!
Seeing as how the perfectly capable Weyrharper had no inclination to assist her, Ichidou grudgingly stuck a hand out to help Onie back onto her feet.
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:05 pm
T'rye looked at the candidate who had just spoken, his frown deepening. That comment really hadn't been all that necessary, he decided. Calm down, T'rye, a voice told him.
I'm trying, Kivoreth, he told his dragon. "I was only asking," he added aloud to the girl who had spoken, though his tone was obviously one of annoyance with a little hint of disdain in it. He shifted back to his feet and looked down at the shorter girl, one eyebrow ever so slightly raised. "There was no need to be rude about it."
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:16 pm
((Psst. Onie goes commando. ;D jaykay, jaykay.))
With Ichidou's help Onie got to her feet, smoothing the utterly rumpled dress as best she could. She bent at the waist to adjust the top of her boot, taking in the comments and wondering what she should do.
Should she frame some sort of response and try to diffuse the situation, or see what happened? Walking away was definitely a third option. No, walking away would be unaccountably rude. What to do, then?
Standing erect at her full six and an inch, Onie felt tall, obtrusive, and dirty. There were tuber bits on her boots and her palms were dirty from the floor.
There was the answer! Ask a question, and hopefully change the subject. It solved two problems at once. Onie paused for a moment to marvel at the efficiency of the statement she was about to make.
"Ah . . " Onie stopped. "Er, does anyone know where I could clean up?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 7:54 pm
{ Oh, Ichidou's cringing now. Good job. And I apologize in advance for Ichidou's unpleasantness, Adagio. :'D }
Once Onie was back to her full height, Ichidou was suddenly faced with the dilemma of looking UP at the other female. At least, it was problematic in her own little world. Competitive to a fault, and incensed courtesy of T'rye's inflammatory response, she did her best to mask her annoyances. Snorting disdainfully at the bronze rider, she simply made a motion to ignore him entirely - as much as she would have enjoyed blowing off this excess steam with a good fist fight, she wouldn't give him the pleasure of having her temper explode on her. The Candidate Master would all too happily assign her the most disgusting chores in the Weyr, and he'd get away scot free. What rank did...!
"There's the washrooms in the barracks, but there's also a sink in the Kitchens." Not one to hand off an opportunity where she saw it, Ichidou jumped on the chance to focus entirely on Onie and further shrug T'rye aside. As an added bonus, his ego probably wouldn't appreciate the denting - two birds with one stone. "Why were you down here, anyways?" This hall wasn't exactly the busiest, although it made a nice detour for when someone was trying to avoid traffic from the main thoroughfare.
Grumpily shifting her attention back to the smeared tuber now staining the floor, rather than craning her neck to look up at the much taller Candidate, Ichidou's face twisted into a grimace. ...she'd have to clean that up, too. Shards and shells, it wasn't REALLY Onie's fault, but she'd made such a mess!
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Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:37 pm
"Here, I can clean that up. Why don't you go ahead and return to your duties? I'm sure you'll soon have some help." A soft alto voice commented. Aliana, a resident healer, had quietly been making her way down the hall when she had seen the tuber and then Ichidou tumble down the hall from the kitchens. She brushed a strand of black hair out of her face with the slightest hint of exasperation at the stray lock.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:18 am
Onie's wide eyes carefully observed Ichidou before answering. It seemed as if . . yes, it seemed as if Ichidou wanted to purposefully exclude the dragonrider from any conversation. Onie shrugged inwardly. This was a problem between the girl and the dragonrider. Still, she couldn't help but be grateful to him for checking on her. He could've easily walked on by, especially since there was another person capable of making sure she wasn't dreadfully injured. Though Ichidou had helped her up, the girl admired the dragonrider for taking the time to make sure she was alright. Perhaps what was said about Weyrs by those troublemaking dissenters wasn't entirely true. This rider didn't seem too full of himself, even though his feathers were ruffled by Ichidou's response. Well, Onie thought to herself, anyone would be.
Yes, Onie thought to herself, this most definitely is a rider. He carries himself a bit like B'ron does.
Snapping back into reality, Onie felt herself smile at Ichidou's grimace. As she was about to answer, Aliana's voice caught her attention.
"Thank you," Onie said to Aliana with a slight nod of her head before turning to Ichidou.
"I was assigned to peel tubers --" a grimace " -- though now I would like to get cleaned up and maybe get some numbweed. I seem to have scraped my calf. Thank you for helping me up."
The scrapes on her calf had really begun to smart. She winced a little.
"My name is Onie. I'm a candidate," she said before addressing the dragonrider.
"Thank you for your concern," she said to him, another smile on her pale face. "I'm quite sure I shan't die, though it was certainly a close call."
By the first egg, she felt talkative today!
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 8:59 am
The arrival of a Healer upon the scene elicited a raised eyebrow from Ichidou, paired with a disgruntled snort. This was getting a little ridiculous now - next thing you know, the Weyrwoman herself would descend upon the scene in a simpering appeal for Onie's forgiveness.
Her mood had been temporarily soured by this whole mess, brought on by a single tuber. She had all the more reason to hate the vegetables now - hate them with a fiery, burning passion. "...they're in there." Seeing as how the other girl had stopped ogling the bronze rider (which sparked another flare of displeasure), Ichidou gestured towards the entrance to the Kitchens where she herself should have been heading. The Aunties were sure to have noticed her disappearance by now, and they might make her stew the sharding tubers, and mash them to boot.
At the least, Onie's grimace mirrored her own reaction to learning of her tasks that very morning. She wasn't entirely a suck-up, then. They had plenty enough of those to go around, thank-you very much. As much as she desired to cut Onie off and further antagonize T'rye, Ichidou stood silently by, almost sulking by the look on her face. She didn't feel the least bit sorry for insulting the man, but she wasn't going to worsen the situation for herself by picking a fight. ...the guilt over Onie's accident was enough to silence the other Candidate for now.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:08 am
Aliana pulled a cloth from a pocket and swept the remains of the poor tuber up. Bundling the cloth up, she rose. Hearing Onie's comment about numbweed, she patted her pockets to see if she had any of her supplies on her and found that she had none. Aliana reflexively ran her hand through her hair in consternation.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 9:28 am
Onie glanced down at Ichidou's face, and suddenly felt the urge to laugh.
Laugh is just what she did. At first it was a small giggle, but it soon grew to full throated peals of laughter. The time change, her tiredness, and the silliness of the entire situation had finally gotten to the quiet, solemn candidate and she let herself laugh without constraint. Decorum, for once, was forgotten as her laughter took on a slightly hysterical tinge.
"Please, don't look so unhappy," she said through her giggles to Ichidou. "This is all quite silly. Slipping on a tuber, with everyone arriving on the scene to witness this little accident."
She stopped laughing, but her face was radiant with a wide smile even if her eyes weren't quite masking her fatigue.
"I'm so tired. I wasn't watching where I was going and that's what I get! Slipping on a tuber!" Onie sighed at her own inattention. "Well, if you'll please direct me to the sink I can wash my hands and start peeling. I'll wash the scrapes, too. The stinging has already let up and I doubt I'll need numbweed after all. I just --"
She suddenly stopped talking, the notion dawning on her that these people would think she was insane. B'ron had said that being in a Weyr would probably loosen her up a little, but laughing and talking so much? Onie felt dizzy at the thought. Not that laughter or conversation are bad, she thought to herself. Onie was merely unaccostomed to them.
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 10:31 am
T'rye forced a smile onto his face and nodded to the candidate, Onie. On the inside, though, he was simmering. He was not pleased with the other girl, and in fact, he was quite irritated. To the point where he knew that if he opened his mouth without thinking about it, he'd lose his temper. A moment later, though it was complete silence foe once as Kivoreth didn't butt into this thoughts for some reason, he felt he was calm enough to speak.
"Good. I'm glad that you're not badly hurt," he said pleasantly. "I'm T'rye, Weyrharper and rider of bronze Kivoreth," he told her, his smile becoming more genuine and less forced. "Are you sure you're all right?" he asked.
We had better hope that other one doesn't get the queen, Kivoreth, T'rye told his dragon in the momentary pause before anyone spoke again. I think we'd be better off at High Reaches if she does, and that's even with the fact that Javeth's rider and I don't get alone, he added, referencing one of the seniormost of the junior queens there.
Even if that happens, you'll live with it, Kivoreth replied in an almost teasing tone. You always do. Remember Silath? A mental shudder ran through T'rye. The green's rider had been pursuing him relentlessly before her dragon's first flight. After that, she'd settled down, but he still remembered very vividly how much he'd hated that...
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Posted: Tue Jul 07, 2009 11:03 am
"It's nice to meet you, bronzerider T'rye," Onie said as she inclined her head in his direction. "I'm fine, I assure you. I could hardly abandon my prestigious duty of peeling tubers for a scrape."
She rubbed her dirty palms on her skirt. It was dirty already, so another streak of grime would hardly matter. She wished wholeheartedly that she didn't look so shabby in front of everyone. She hadn't expected to have a partner in tuber peeling and so she had simply thrown on the same clothing she'd arrived in the day before. She remembered her mother's constant harping about appearance and how one should always look their best in case something unexpected happened. Well, something unexpected had happened.
Onie sighed. The dignity ship had sailed when she was discovered in a full split on the floor.
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