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+--- Thread: [G] [P] [EVENT] 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride (/showthread.php?tid=4435)
740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - M'quel - 27.Jun.19
Madiquel was in high spirits as she left the classroom she’d spent the last four hours in, and made her way to the room she shared with a couple of other girls. There weren’t that many of them in the Hall, but Vaera had told her there were more, now, since Madiquel had started, than there ever had been in the history she was aware of. Honestly, if she let herself think on it, Madiquel was pleased – proud even – of the change her desire to help the Weyr had brought about in a world so far removed from her own. That wasn’t to say she was unaware of the difficulties presented to both herself, and the other women. She’d heard the whispers and some not at all subtle remarks that were aimed at them. Silly things, but things she’d heard before. After all, people mocked her father and she’d seen the way female greenriders were treated.
This, at least… no one was expecting anything untoward of her in that regard, for which Madiquel was extremely grateful! She still blushed crimson at the mention of holding hands or dating, and she’d been teased by some of her new friends when they had pointed out a couple of attractive Journeymen who were only slightly older than themselves. To be fair, he’d been tall, fair and had glorious golden hair that Madiquel had agreed would be lovely to play with. Though she certainly had not said any such thing! Of course, her crimson blush and wide eyes was more than enough fodder. Madiquel still couldn’t believe the things the girls believed about dragonriders having sex around every corner! Outrageous!
Dropping her books and bag into the chest at the foot of her bed, Madiquel locked it with the decorative and intricate lock that T’ryn had bought for her. It was fancy, but he’d told her that the crafter had been very stout in the fact that it would be almost impossible to pick – so ‘don’t lose the key!’ – though Madiquel was quite sure T’ryn would kidnap the said crafter to come and unlock it himself if she did lose the key! Madiquel giggled at the idea of a serious and frowning craftsman being snatched up by Syrendryth, whom she was always led to believe was equally as serious, and bring him to her to work magic on a keyless lock. Shaking her head, Madiquel squeaked when Clover appeared abruptly before her, and dropped a letter into her hand. Beaming, Madiquel quickly recognised A’tay’s handwriting spelling her name across the front of the roll – as if Clover would give it to anyone but her!
“Hello little missy!” petting the firelizard – who had landed on her shoulder – Madiquel made her way cheerfully towards the dining hall, knowing that even though it wasn’t quite dinner time, the earlier released classes – such as her own – would be taking their seats and preparing to eat. She’d been delighted to discover that the Hall wasn’t as formal as it was in the stories; massive Hall-wide dining only seemed to occur when there was someone to Walk the Tables. Which, in Madiquel’s opinion, made sense. After all, feeding the thousands of people in the Hall all at once every night would be ridiculously exhausting for the poor cooks! “Speaking of,” Madiquel said with a frown to Clover, “I believe I’m on dish duty tonight.” Which would start around eight pm, so she had some time!
Striding confidently into the Dining Hall, Madiquel looked around for any of her new friends as she lined up to get herself a plate for food and a glass for drink. As she piled foods on her plate, she continued to look around. Only spotting a couple – and all of them at full tables – Madiquel instead started looking around for tables with fewer people at them, so she could read and reply to A’tay’s letter. It was as she was pouring gravy over her meats that Madiquel spotted L’gan. He was on his own – she could see a couple moving away. Class mates? – and she considered before nodding to herself. Vaera and a couple of the other girls had been whispering about him, and been quite insistent that Madiquel arrange for them to meet him (really, Madiquel figured they were really aiming at his dragon, since she was far too innocent to consider the fact that they might be serious in any quips about bedding the man).
Picking up her plate, and carefully balancing her cup on the rim, Madiquel made her way towards L’gan, arriving safely from behind the man she carefully set her stuff down on the table a polite distance away from him, and then climbed onto the bench. “I hope you don’t mind some more company,” she said politely, flashing the greenrider a gentle smile. “Did you have a busy day? Honestly, I’m surprised I’m so hungry after the stuff I saw today!” Really, she’d forgotten about her tendency to feel faint at the sight of blood, when she’d decided she wanted to be a healer. Though, after six months of training, she was pleased to discover that while she still (frequently) felt faint, she hadn’t yet embarrassed herself. Just gone pasty.
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - L'gan - 27.Jun.19
Returning to the Hall had been difficult to say the least, but L’gan felt like he was making progress finally. If some of his former friends preferred to ignore him, well… their loss. He had been pleased to hear of R’nya and Verec’s arrangement, and helped out the women of the weyr when he could.
Lost in his thoughts, he didn’t notice her approach until a plate was set beside him. He smiled at her greeting, gesturing with a hand at the space beside him. “Please, I’d be happy for the company. Madiquel, right?” He had noticed the young woman in with the others from Fort and was impressed with her drive. While it wasn’t unusual for women in a hold or Weyr to learn some first aid or medicine preparation, to actually apply to learn at the Hall took guts.
He laughed, thinking back on the busy day he had just finished. “Busy doesn’t even begin to cover it,” he replied, taking a sip of his drink. “Between working in the clinic all morning and lessons in the compounding lab this afternoon, I’ve barely had a chance to sit or eat.”
When she mentioned her surprise at her appetite he laughed again, knowing that emotion all too well. “Sometimes the mind does strange things. There’s times after the simplest stitches I’ve felt greener than Semath, and then I’ll turn around and feel like I could devour an entire roast and wherry by myself after a long and bloody surgery. There’s no accounting for it, but it’s better than the alternative.”
L’gan took a bite, looking thoughtful. “If you don’t mind me asking, what drew you to the craft?” Personally he had known as a child, watching his mother helping prepare dressings and things and remembering her tidy, secure stitches, neater even than some of the healers he’d thought.
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - M'quel - 27.Jun.19
Madiquel smiled serenely at the agreement for her company and settled into devouring her meal as L’gan spoke, only nodding at intervals – such as to affirm her name – though she didn’t do anything so monstrous as make a mess. Katilan born, Madiquel had never gone hungry, but she was well aware of all the hard work that went into preparing a meal, from the collection to the final destination upon the table. Part of her chores as a child had been assisting with finding greens or fruit, or helping in the kitchen since she’d had no stomach for skinning or cleaning kills. As a result, Madiquel always said her please and thank you, and she never ate without quiet dignity and appreciation for what was before her.
“I’m glad its normal,” Madiquel said, her amusement in her voice as she paused, picking up her glass. It was filled with simple water. She knew others enjoyed wine, mead or juice with their meals, but Madiquel enjoyed simple, fresh water. Sometimes, she’d drink mulled wine, or heavily watered wine, when she was having a girls evening with Rhaedalyn and the children. But that made her miss home, and after the first experience, she had stuck to her familiar but not so bitter-sweet water.
The question that followed had a small smile flicking Madiquel’s lips. It was a common one, and while folks didn’t know she was the catalyst for the influx of Weyrfolk and women in the Hall, that didn’t stop the question from being sprung on her. Madiquel had heard it asked of many of the others, and indeed, it was one of the questions Verec had asked her. And her father. And R’nya. The answer came easily, now. “I want to be useful,” she said, with quiet but firm honesty. “When my friend got mauled,” she didn’t bother to specify which one. A’tay was embarrassed by the event, and really, so many of the Candidates had been mauled in one way or another over the past several Turns that it wasn’t a surprise event. “It all kind of…” she shrugged, falling away. The event on the Sands had been the catalyst, but it had taken a bit of time to go from event to full-fledged idea.
“What about yourself?” she asked, giving a playful smile. Some people had actually seemed taken aback when she asked them the question, they sprung on her. Others had answered with the same easy familiarity she had found over time. It was a nice change, from the ‘why don’t you want to be a candidate/dragonrider?’ she had had to field over her lifetime. She was just glad all of her weyr-friends had picked up on it, and none of them pressured her for an answer or tried to change her mind. They’d all been so supportive since she’d come to the Hall, too! Remembering A’tay’s letter to her, she touched the edge of the roll tucked into her belt, anxious to read it, but wanting to do so when she was alone and could reply to her friend right after she’d read it.
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - L'gan - 27.Jun.19
L’gan wasn’t surprised when she lobbed his question back at him. He smiled and replied genuinely. “I suppose I’ve always wanted to. I grew up here after the Weyrs were abandoned; my mother and I had nowhere else to go after my father and Gemith went between. So we came here.” The smile remained, though a hint of sadness had entered his eyes as he spoke.
“She taught me stitches she had used on dragon wings and told stories of Weyr life to me and to others left behind, keeping it alive for us. And then I was just so curious and myself so useful they had to ‘prentice me or risk losing me to another hall. With my love of learning and books the Harpers would have snatched me up before they thought to check if I had an ear for tone or rhythm,” he joked with a wink. “Then once I was finally in, they couldn’t shake me off. Master Aerin used to say I soaked up skills faster than a sponge. He was,” he paused, “less than thrilled when I Impressed. His son was stolen and died on the sands, so he doesn’t have much faith in riders these days.”
He cleared his throat and took another sip of wine. “Still, it gave me a great subject for anatomical studies of dragons. No more pestering random riders to draw their dragons, just bribing Semath with oilings and baths.” He’d been horrified and elated that day on the sands, worried about what the Hall would do or say, but he would never have given her up for anything in the world. “And those have come in handy for some of the classes you and the others are taking, I heard. I’m just glad to have some records newer than 20 turns old to use, even if I’ve had to compile a fair amount of them myself.”
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - M'quel - 30.Jun.19
An expression of deep sadness swept over Madiquel's face at the mention of L’gan’s family surviving the Plague. While it had only taken the lives of the dragons directly, Madiquel knew it had affected so many people as a result. Dragonriders were, of course, the highest impact, but the nonrider family, friends, community had been hit hard. Even within the Hall, Madiquel had heard whispers about men and women who live there, that had survived their dragon’s suicide. Like her Papa. Madiquel missed him so, even though she’d seen him not too long ago, and they’d already planned their next picnic lunch.
“Oh, I’m sorry!” It was a generic response, but one deeply sincere from the teen as she stared at L’gan, wondering who the Healer was (she hadn’t crossed paths with the man… yet?) and who his son had been. So many youth died on the Sands; Madiquel knew it was a number that was toned down and kept quiet, because the Weyr couldn’t afford for people to turn away being Searched, and statistically, the Candidates were more likely to walk off the Sands, than they were to get mauled. She was pretty sure they technically had more chance of Impression than dying, but she’d never done that math.
A sudden smile lit up Madiquel’s face, as L’gan brought up pestering dragonriders himself, and she latched onto it with a giggle. “Speaking of pestering dragonriders,” she teased, eyes bright with mirth. “Some of my classmates are dying to meet you,” she laughed, clearly indicating with a scrunched up nose and amused expression that it wasn’t L’gan that the girls were so much interested in, as the dragon he was bonded to. “Would you or Semath mind terribly? They’ve never seen a dragon up close, and R’nya’s Xyreith is terribly intimidating.” The Weyrleader was the one who had dropped her off, and while he visited upon occasion with (or without) Rhaedalyn and the girls, Madiquel had never been quite confident enough to ask if her classmates could meet the bronze. He was kind of scary, and not at all approachable. Not like greens usually were!
Madiquel beamed hopefully up at L’gan.
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - L'gan - 30.Jun.19
“It’s been a while,” he replied. While the pain of such a loss would never go away, he hoped it would fade for the other man with time. “He’s beginning to come around, but I try to not remind him of it if I can.”
He finished off his plate and lingered, sipping his drink while they talked more. At the mention of introductions, he chuckled. “Semath would love it. She adores meeting new people and being the center of attention.” L’gan laughed as she mentioned the Fort Weyrleader and his dragon with nerves. “Too true! I think they must practice it,” he joked. “But I’ve yet to find a young green who doesn’t like pretty new friends, especially if they flatter her,” he added with a wink.
“Let your friends know we’d be happy to meet them.” The greenrider grinned.
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - M'quel - 17.Jul.19
Madiquel clapped her hands in an innocent display of her joy, her smile fixed on her face and eyes bright. “Oh, that would be wonderful!” Her voice was low, but only so that she didn't squeal and disrupt all the people occupied with eating their food.
“Do you have a time or day you’re more readily available?” She asked, reaching up to offer Clover a scrap of her food; she’d mostly finished her meal and was just passing time now. Honestly, Madiquel wasn’t in a rush to leave, as she didn’t have any classes that evening, and was too inexperienced to be put on the work schedule. She did, however, have a ton of homework to get done.
But that would be for after she’d read the letter from TayTay and responded to it! But that, too, would wait a little longer as she wrapped up her socialising with L’gan and made arrangements for some of her classmates to meet the green dragon he was bonded to. Maybe she’d send Clover to one of the guys at some point, too! Their blues were all super friendly, and of course T’ryn was wonderful though Madiquel felt his Syrendryth was somewhat standoffish and probably wouldn’t overly enjoy being gushed over… Hrm.
“We’re usually all free post dinner at the moment, but I know you probably are a little more stretched for time.” Madiquel smiled sweetly, and hoped for a time that would work for all of them to meet Semath - hopefully before it got completely dark so everyone could see her pretty hide up close!
RE: 740.06.27 | Touch of Pride - L'gan - 20.Jul.19
He grinned at her enthusiasm and offered her firelizard a little nibble as well, stroking her head gently. “Definitely post supper. But we’re also around just before breakfast and we could come earlier if you want. See her in the light,” he added with a wink. They talked about their plans, finding the perfect time.
“Classes going well? Struggling with anything?” L’gan asked. “I could help if you’d like.” He laughed as Clover clambered over to him greedy for attention. “If only to distract this one while you work.”