09.Mar.12, 09:24 PM
Shiriva was in the middle of her own kind of harvest. It was similar to what Breccan was doing, but rather than those plants that could specifically heal or have some use when applied to a human or dragon, Shiriva was far more interested in what shade of color the plant could cast upon a length of cloth. She had a young Chase strapped to her back, the youngster the only reason she had been allowed off of the Candidate Isle those couple of years ago. If he had not been there, needing the care she could only provide while supported by a Weyr, she never would have promised to stay in the South. But as it was, she had no idea how to care for a child while wandering unfamiliar lands and fighting to get home at the same time. But he was getting older. And so was she. Oh, she knew she would still have numerous chances to Impress, but when the time came, and she still hadn't...
No! She wasn't going to think like that! These people had uprooted her from her life in the North and she was not going to allow them to waste that time for her! She would Impress. And that was final! And she'd raise her son up to be a little man-whore so they could have as many little babies as they wanted from her gene-pool and maybe then they'd leave her alone about this whole 'breeding' non-sense. She had heard told that whomever higher up would prefer the women have more than one child. Well, as far as she was concerned, the Weyr would just hafta deal with her only having one. She couldn't even imagine bringing a poor girl into a world like this one.
It was these thoughts that fueled her meager strength enough to rip some brightly colored leaves off a thick trunk of some kind of plant she couldn't name. She imagined her sharding lumberjack chores were perhaps adding to her muscle strength a bit. She was little more than useless in these woods, struggling to keep up with the stronger men or even the dragons who were enlisted in bringing down the heavy trunks of the massive trees in this area. But she was doing her best. It wasn't her fault she was given a chore completely not suited for her in any way.
A squeal from behind her let her know that Chase was awake and had found something interesting. She sighed, a grin on her face as she reached back to undo the harness holding him to her back. He still had something like a long leash about his waist so he couldn't run off on her, but it gave him the chance to toddle about on his own so he wouldn't get bored. She watched to see what the youngster's eyes had found to make him so cheery. It was a large grouping of some bright yellow colored flowering plants. "Hmm..." Shiriva hummed in interest, kneeling down among them with Chase to pick at the petals more delicately than the child was able. "Good eye, M'Darling. These will make something quite pretty."
It pleased her to know that Chase had acquired her eye for brightness and beauty. It made it quite helpful. He liked pointing things out she might have missed. And he was still so young! Well, young enough she still had to keep him attached to her. The boy was getting on, what? Three, four turns now? And still he refused to talk much. Oh, she knew he was fully capable of extensive, complete and understandable sentences. But she believed he had inherited her temper as well, and if he could tell his mother was displeased, then so was he! Which meant he was displeased with most people most of the time, much like she was.
She'd try to weasel that out of him at a later date. When he was old enough to make friends on his own.
They were nearing the man-made river that Shiriva knew was around here somewhere when she pulled up short, looking over the trunk of what she thought might be a fellis tree, though she had never really cared much. She wanted as little to do with fellis as she could. But those were fresh marks on the trunk. She squinted up the plant, lips pursing in thought when she felt a tug on her trousers. "Momma..." Chase mumbled quietly pointing toward the waters. That's when Shiriva first saw and then heard the other woman humming along, hacking at some water grasses in the flowing waters. She sighed, glaring, trying to decide whether to join the woman or just go in a different direction.
A quick glance down at Chase told her what she needed to do. The boy had that same displeased look on his face that his mother often had. That wouldn't serve any good purposes at all. So she reached down, taking his hand and began to move toward the water, pausing at the edge to roll Chase's pants legs up so he could wade in the water as well. "Greetings!" Shiriva called, bending to roll her own pants laegs up so she could stick her toes in the water, leaving her boots at the edge. "So, I'm not the only one out here hunting plants, huh?" she asked the humming woman, wincing a bit at how forced her voice sounded, even to her.
No! She wasn't going to think like that! These people had uprooted her from her life in the North and she was not going to allow them to waste that time for her! She would Impress. And that was final! And she'd raise her son up to be a little man-whore so they could have as many little babies as they wanted from her gene-pool and maybe then they'd leave her alone about this whole 'breeding' non-sense. She had heard told that whomever higher up would prefer the women have more than one child. Well, as far as she was concerned, the Weyr would just hafta deal with her only having one. She couldn't even imagine bringing a poor girl into a world like this one.
It was these thoughts that fueled her meager strength enough to rip some brightly colored leaves off a thick trunk of some kind of plant she couldn't name. She imagined her sharding lumberjack chores were perhaps adding to her muscle strength a bit. She was little more than useless in these woods, struggling to keep up with the stronger men or even the dragons who were enlisted in bringing down the heavy trunks of the massive trees in this area. But she was doing her best. It wasn't her fault she was given a chore completely not suited for her in any way.
A squeal from behind her let her know that Chase was awake and had found something interesting. She sighed, a grin on her face as she reached back to undo the harness holding him to her back. He still had something like a long leash about his waist so he couldn't run off on her, but it gave him the chance to toddle about on his own so he wouldn't get bored. She watched to see what the youngster's eyes had found to make him so cheery. It was a large grouping of some bright yellow colored flowering plants. "Hmm..." Shiriva hummed in interest, kneeling down among them with Chase to pick at the petals more delicately than the child was able. "Good eye, M'Darling. These will make something quite pretty."
It pleased her to know that Chase had acquired her eye for brightness and beauty. It made it quite helpful. He liked pointing things out she might have missed. And he was still so young! Well, young enough she still had to keep him attached to her. The boy was getting on, what? Three, four turns now? And still he refused to talk much. Oh, she knew he was fully capable of extensive, complete and understandable sentences. But she believed he had inherited her temper as well, and if he could tell his mother was displeased, then so was he! Which meant he was displeased with most people most of the time, much like she was.
She'd try to weasel that out of him at a later date. When he was old enough to make friends on his own.
They were nearing the man-made river that Shiriva knew was around here somewhere when she pulled up short, looking over the trunk of what she thought might be a fellis tree, though she had never really cared much. She wanted as little to do with fellis as she could. But those were fresh marks on the trunk. She squinted up the plant, lips pursing in thought when she felt a tug on her trousers. "Momma..." Chase mumbled quietly pointing toward the waters. That's when Shiriva first saw and then heard the other woman humming along, hacking at some water grasses in the flowing waters. She sighed, glaring, trying to decide whether to join the woman or just go in a different direction.
A quick glance down at Chase told her what she needed to do. The boy had that same displeased look on his face that his mother often had. That wouldn't serve any good purposes at all. So she reached down, taking his hand and began to move toward the water, pausing at the edge to roll Chase's pants legs up so he could wade in the water as well. "Greetings!" Shiriva called, bending to roll her own pants laegs up so she could stick her toes in the water, leaving her boots at the edge. "So, I'm not the only one out here hunting plants, huh?" she asked the humming woman, wincing a bit at how forced her voice sounded, even to her.