[G] [P] 739.09.27 | Those Who Wander

Tala was lost. Which was rather embarrassing, considering she’d lived in Telgar for nearly a turn when the dragonriders first returned North, but there she was. She’d never had a particularly good sense of direction anyway, and it had been a while. All she’d wanted to do was scope out the bathing rooms to use while in Telgar for the Hatching, see if there were some extra nice ones tucked away somewhere, and now she couldn’t find the way back to…well, anywhere she recognized.

She had in fact succeeded in finding several bathing rooms much nicer than the ones near the Candidate Barracks — no real surprise there. Candidate areas were never overly nice in comparison to areas meant for proper dragonriders. And they were always so crowded. Tala rarely managed to have a bath with no one else around. Not that she was body shy, but sometimes you just wanted to soak in hot water and block out the rest of the world, which was made much harder by gossiping teens a few feet away. There had been a very small one she’d found on an upper level of the Weyr, remote and guaranteed for privacy, which she planned on using. Of course, she was having second thoughts about that since she couldn't even get back to the barracks.

Sighing, Tala reached the end of the hallway and frowned, glancing down the left hallway, then the right. They didn’t look distinct at all to her, and she couldn’t guess where they led. After a few moments standing indecisively at the junction, twirling her hair around a finger, Tala started towards the left. There was a thing where if you always went the same way you’d eventually get somewhere, right?

The left hand path didn’t lead her somewhere she knew, but it did lead to someone she knew. Well, a little. Tala recognized the woman as a fellow Candidate, and remembered her name — she may have been garbage with directions, but she knew names and faces. And, if her memory was serving her well for once, Vessaelia lived in Telgar, which meant she would know her way around, right?

“Vessaelia!” Tala called out, walking towards the other woman, “Hi, I somehow managed to get very lost, I was hoping you could help me get back to the Candidate barracks?” she asked, smiling hopefully at Vessaelia.

Having lived in Telgar Weyr for two turns, she should have been a pro at getting around the twisting halls that led from one end to the other and up and down, but she really wasn't. Vessaelia wasn't a fan of the dark and the unknown that lurked within it so she didn't venture too far off the usual paths. Even during the day when natural light sometimes made it through open doors of weyrs and glows were lighting up the halls, did she find it very welcoming. She often carried a glowstone in her pocket in case she had to travel to an area she didn't normally frequent, something she actually had been doing more of with each passing month as she made more friends and offered to help out more around the place.

That was why she was up in an area she didn't frequent that often but had been to enough now to know her way to and from her destination. A poor greenrider that wasn't very handy with a needle and thread but also had bad luck when it came to clothing surviving Flights was one of her favourite people to visit with sewing kit in hand. He was friendly and told her stories about dragonriders before the plague while she mended pants and added buttons back to shirts.

Since the dark wasn't her friend, Vessaelia often hummed to herself to keep the mood light and warn anything lurking that she was coming. She also had a glowstone in one hand, despite it not being anywhere near pitch black, and her sewing kit in the other --sturdy enough that it could be a weapon if needed, she had convinced herself. Still, finding someone else in the remote hall startled the bejeezus out of her, though she was proud that it was only a little squeak that came out when she noticed who it was.

"Oh, Tala! Hi! Yes, of course!" She laughed at her silliness of being surprised and waved Tala back toward the way she had been coming from. "This area is horrible, I swear. My first time up here I got lost and the person I was visiting had to send his firelizard to find me and guide me. The second time coming here I almost left a trail of bread crumbs but figured firelizards would eat it or move it around on me as a prank." Flitters were adorable creatures but such handfuls! Vessaelia had turned down the offer time and time again to have one despite knowing it would be good training for bonding to an actual dragon.

"What brings you up here?" She asked as she fell in step with Tala to begin the journey back.

Sighing with relief, as she had half convinced herself the other woman would be rushing somewhere and not have tome to help, Tala smiled at Vessaelia even wider.

“Well, I don’t feel quite as bad about getting lost then,” she said brightly, following Vessaelia when she waved her in the right direction, “I can blame this area instead of my poor sense of direction.” It occurred to her that if she Impressed she’d have to properly learn her way around Telgar. She’d only just figured out Ista! The things she sacrificed for a dragon.

Shaking her head, Tala focused back in on Vessaelia and laughed at her story. “Those breadcrumbs would absolutely have been eaten, I have no doubt. Maybe pebbles? Something they can’t eat. Though I suppose they could still move those around… Can’t win with the little things. Oh, and I was looking for a bath.” She paused, before realizing she may need to elaborate more. “A smaller, more private one. The ones near the barracks are always so crowded and sometimes I just want to relax by myself, you know? So I was trying to track one down, but as you can see, I got a bit turned around.” Tala pouted. “And now I’m not going to be able to find the nice baths I found again. Almost worse that not having looked, ‘cause now I definitively know they’re out there.” She shrugged, with an air of ‘what can you do?’

“Lucky for me, you were around!” Tala smiled brightly at Vessaelia, intending to link their arms together (was that too friendly? She wasn’t sure.) before she realized the girl was holding something in each hand, and Tala didn’t want to accidentally make her drop anything by being presumptuous. “What are you doing out in this maze?” she asked curiously, peering at the case in Vessaelia's hand trying to figure out what it contained.

"Relaxing by yourself is all about timing, even with the more secluded ones in Telgar," she had heard Ista, at least, didn't suffer that problem too much thanks to having a smaller population, but she didn't know for sure. While she could have gone to any Hatching at Ista, Vessaelia wanted gold and never made the trip outside of Telgar otherwise. In fact, there really hadn't been a lot of clutches since she was Searched that had gold in them. Did that mean something? What if they didn't need more and what they had was enough to grow the population for now? The dragons always knew, right? Vessaelia didn't like that idea and hoped the little golden girl on the Sands right now was meant for her.

"I'll show you to a nice one that's not too far from the barracks, or at least it's easier to get to. Then you just have to time it right. You just have to trek across the Bowl to get to it and up a level, but it's worth it." It was the one she liked to go when she wanted to try for more privacy, though A'dis had one in his weyr --a perk of being a bronzerider-- and sometimes she used his. She didn't ask too often, not wanting to presume too much on him but she suspected he didn't mind, especially when she invited him to join her.

"Hm?" She had been dangerously close to day dreaming about her sexy bronzerider and nearly missed the question, but did see the glance Tala made to her basket. "I love needlework of all kinds and lend my talents out to friends in need. A greenrider recently had a Flight so I was helping him by mending some clothes. That is definitely the down side to Flights, don't you think? Especially for green and gold, though I imagine the ones chasing also lose buttons and break straps just as often. From what some Holders would have you believe, everyone in Weyrs live in the nude and I'm almost surprised they don't. It would save time on clothing repair." It was actually a practical idea. At least, the greenriders and goldriders should strip down as soon as their dragon rose. Maybe she would do that when she became a goldrider. Why ruin a lovely dress with eager hands?

“Oh, that’s wonderful, thank you!” Tala said enthusiastically at the offer of being shown a good place to bathe, “you’ll have to let me know the best times, too. I promise I won’t try to steal it when you want it. Or we could share it, that’s also fine.” The last comment was accompanied with a shrug, as Tala tried to play it off as a light suggestion in case Vessaelia was uncomfortable with the idea. She hadn’t grown up with the other Candidate, which meant she’d been Searched, and holders could be weird about things.

Though, considering Vessaelia’s thoughts on Weyr nudity, maybe it wasn’t something she cared about. The idea of the entire Weyr going naked was terrible funny though, and Tala had to laugh. “Oh, goodness, it would certainly save a lot of clothing, wouldn’t it? The summer Ista had, I’m in favor of the proposition, though I imagine it’d be less enjoyable here in the winter. It does snow in Telgar, doesn’t it?” Tala had seen snow, but not often, and it was still a bit awe inspiring in her mind. She smiled over at Vessaelia again.


“It really is kind of you to offer to help with clothing repairs. I know plenty of the people here are useless at it, myself somewhat included. I mean, I can repair things, I’ll just have to repair them again rather soon when the stitches come out,” she scrunched up her nose remembering some of her more spectacular failures. Her aunt hadn’t been very good at sewing either, so Tala hadn’t exactly been taught by a master — a junior apprentice at best. “Goodness, I’m going to have to practice sewing, I’ll need it soon. My daughter started walking recently, and I’m sure she’ll be creating plenty of rips and tears in her clothes anytime now,” she explained, smiling softly at the thought of her daughter. Ryvala was staying in the Istan creche while she was at Telgar for the Hatching, and Tala missed her. The chance to Impress a dragon was worth the temporary separation though. Thinking back on her assumption Vessaelia was a Holder, Tala asked her something she was wondering.

“How did you learn to sew?” she asked, “I learned piecemeal from my aunt, but you’re from a hold, right? Do you learn from family there too?”

“It’s okay. I don’t expect everyone to work around my desire to bathe. I don’t mind sharing,” Vessaelia laughed brightly, not catching if there were any other meanings behind the offer to share. She grew up having to share the bath water, and sometimes the actual time in the small tub, with siblings so it wasn’t entirely a foreign concept to her but it had still been a bit of a shock when she came to the Weyr and everyone hopped into the pools together. She had been a little shy at first with hiding behind a towel as much as she could and overly polite with asking to join and apologising if she accidentally splashed but soon she fit right in, not finding anything to be ashamed about.

“I heard Ista was unbearable for a lot of people. We took in some dragonriders and weyrfolk for a while but I think they’ve all moved back now that the heat broke,” Vessaelia heard tales from some of the folk that stayed with them but she wasn’t sure how much was true. Could it ever get so hot and humid that it was hard to breathe and just thinking about moving had you drenched in sweat? A’dis shared some of what he knew from his sister, the Ista Weyrwoman, and it did sound like it was that bad. Still, it was hard to believe and she was glad she didn’t have to live through it.

“The region gets snow, but we really don’t see it inside the Weyr with the warm sand. A little higher up and more on the outside of the mountain, but I have to admit that I haven’t really left the Weyr since being Searched. This is more than enough space and freedom for me.” She’d gone to the Hold for gathers, of course, and loved going through the vendors and mingling with everyone, but she really did like the Weyr. It was safe and she could wander practically anywhere without repercussions. And they had their own little lake!

She led them down the next stretch of hall, focusing on the nameplates on doors as they passed. It was something she liked to do to help learn where someone lived in case she had to visit them but it also served as a good indicator for remembering her route, and in this case letting her know they were almost to the stairs. “I learned from my mom,” Vessaelia responded with a smile, remembering the wonderful woman that raised her and cared for her until her death several years ago. “You can learn from actual master tailors that I hear know secret techniques and the weavers can teach you how to create your own thread and things like that but my mom taught me the basics. It was to help me be a good wife.” Except that no one had wanted her even with all the skills she had learned.

“Oh!” Vessaelia came to a sudden stop as she set her basket on the ground and knelt before it. Tala mentioning her daughter would be walking soon reminded her that she had recently finished up some small stuffed animals and hadn’t brought them to the crèche yet. She may have offered to help fix clothing, but her real enjoyment came in creating the little animals. She felt she had really improved since first learning how so when she pulled out a small cat, Vessaelia beamed proudly at it. Tucking everything away once more, she straightened up and held the cat out to Tala. “For your daughter. When I have a few made, I’ll bring them to the crèche for the little ones to play with but I want you to take this one. And there are stairs just up there that we’ll take all the way down.”

Tala nodded, though she probably would try to give the other woman some space for bathing. The goal generally was to have a nice bath with no interruptions, which even a friend could sometimes prevent.

She made a disgusted noise about the Istan heat, very glad it was over. “It’s a sharding miracle that it’s a bit cooler, it was awful by the end of it. I was born in the South and have a high heat tolerance and even I was about ready to leave the Weyr forever to keep from turning into a puddle. Summer’s usually great, but I am not going to miss this one at all.”

“Ah, I suppose that makes sense,” Tala said thoughtfully. The Weyrs were rather warm, weren’t they? It made sense they saw little snow. It just meant Tala would have to try harder to see snow — which gave her an idea. “Maybe when it’s started snowing we can go somewhere? Some of us gold Candidates, even if some of us have Impressed by then, take a trip to the Hold in the snow. Get warm drinks and Turn’s End gifts or something. You think that would be fun?” she asked, looking at Vessaelia hopefully. Tala was still new to the being on the Northern Continent, especially since she’d been a bit of a homebody since discovering she was pregnant, and she hadn’t gotten around to all the exploring she wanted to do yet. She’d kind of been waiting for a dragon to accompany her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t start going on adventures without one. And some of the girls really needed someone to invite them to do things, being much too shy to suggest it themselves. Tala wasn’t sure what type Vessaelia was, but with someone else proposing the idea maybe she’d agree with it? Was worth a shot.

It was nice to know that there were similarities weyrfolk had with holders, and little things like learning sewing from your mother (or mother-figure in Tala’s case) were nice connections. Though learning secret techniques from master tailors would be pretty darn cool. She was about to ask if Vessaelia regretted no longer having the chance to be someone’s wife (Tala was feeling nosy today, she blamed being jumpy from getting lost) but she forgot the train of thought when the other Candidate brought out the sewn cat. Tala gasped and gently reached out to take the stuffed animal, holding it carefully in her palms.

“Vessaelia, you are a dear, this is amazing! What a precious little cat. I’m sure Ryvala will love it, thank you so much!” She couldn’t help giving Vessaelia a quick hug in appreciation. Really, a sewn toy? Just because she mentioned having a child? How utterly sweet of her. Tala decided right then and there she’d have to pay her back someday, somehow. Sure, she didn’t seem like the sort to expect or care about that, but Tala wanted to. Smiling brightly, she cradled the stuffed cat in her arms and followed Vessaelia to the stairs.

Vessaelia smiled brightly at the praise for her sewing project and that the little girl would love it. It was something she enjoyed doing but it was still nice to receive praise from time to time, even if it did make her blush a bit. “You’re welcome,” she replied as she returned the hug, glad she could do something nice and unexpected for the other woman. Helping her find her way out of the twisting halls was already a good deed and she would have offered even if she hadn’t been asked but surprise gestures were fun to do as well and Vessaelia really liked the genuine response Tala gave. She just wished she was better at making a dragon look more like a dragon and less like a curvy blob. Surely the little kids would like to have a dragon of their own! They just weren’t getting one from her yet.

As they descended the stairs, she thought a bit on the idea of a trip for the gold Candidates to play in the snow and do wintery things. She supposed it could be fun to do such things with friends but she wasn’t huge on the cold. Winter in Bitra probably wasn’t as bad as it was here since Telgar was further north and she wasn’t a fan of the amount of snow they received. Then again, she had to do more work and trudging around in the snow back then and now it would be a quick trip to the Hold where they could frolic a little in the snow and then sit like ladies enjoying a hot drink and gossiping by a fire. That could be lovely, actually. “That might be fun! A smaller group would probably be best so we don’t startle the Holders with a mob of girls coming down the mountain.” She giggled at the idea as they exited the stairwell into what she hoped was becoming familiar ground for Tala.

“Recognize the area? We’re not too far from the barracks,” she pointed in the direction that they were in and then pointed across the other way to where the baths she had mentioned were. “Unless you want to see the bathing room first?”

“A very good point, wouldn’t do to make the Hold think we’re invading,” Tala laughed, glad Vessaelia liked her idea. She needed to get out more, and why not make sure friends got out more along the way? Especially friends who understood how Holds worked more than she did. “We’ll worry about it more when it’s actually snowy. We still have a bit of time, I think.”

Glancing around when Vessaelia mentioned they were near the barracks, Tala realized she did actually recognize the area. This hall had that one door with the weird swirl in the wood. She always wondered what was in there when she’d passed it before. It would be a good landmark though.

“If it’s on the way and you’re not in a hurry, we may as well stop by the bathing room. Since we’re thinking about it and all.” If they didn’t go now there was a good chance Tala would completely forget until she was looking for a bath and then Vessaelia would be elsewhere. Maybe Vessaelia was better at remembering stuff like that, but no time like the present, right? “Thank you so much, Vessaelia, I probably would’ve gotten lost in the abandoned depths of the Weyr if I hadn’t run into you. They’d scare future Candidates with my story to keep them from getting to nosy or something. Very tragic.” She gave a self-deprecating grin, before moving the sewn cat toy up to Vessaelia’s face and pressing the cat’s face against her cheek. “Mwah! You’re the best.”

Vessaelia laughed, after a moment of being startled, when the cat toy was giving her a kiss and praise. Tala was a little quirky but it was fun. Perhaps they really should get together some more when lost in hallways weren't bringing them together. The other girl seemed to prefer Ista Weyr as a permanent home, though, so unless she Impressed this clutch, it might be a bit harder to get together regularly. Not that they were lacking in dragons to get between places but she didn't want to impose too much on the riders and be known as a pest.

"We'll cut across the Bowl so you can see the most direct route. Not always the best, running across the sand after a nice bath but it is definitely the easiest." The sand could suck, especially if it was windy enough that it made its way down and whipped up little dust devil. Most of the time, though, it was calm and the evening air was refreshing on her heated skin. Enjoying the walk --which could be rather long when she wanted it to be with dragging her feet-- as the sun was setting was a romantic time of the day as well. It probably didn't help that she had first found the courage to speak with A'dis when he was pouting --manly pouting, of course!-- curled up with his dragon in the Bowl. She had never been happier with herself than she was for approaching him that first time!

Vessaelia led the across the Bowl with some random Candidate gossip she had heard that day and speculation about whether or not the Hatching would send Indivara into an early labour. When they reached the entrance, she pointed out the way to go and led them up one flight of stairs and down a few doors. "And here we are! See, pretty easy to get to and not nearly as crowded despite the ease. I think it's because not as many weyrs are occupied too low on this side. Not sure why; maybe it has to do with the sunlight?"

Shaking her head, Tala smiled at Vessaelia, “I would never have thought to cut across the Bowl. That's a lot more direct than getting lost in corridors. Clever girl, you.” She followed along beside the other woman, happily joining in the Candidate gossip. Tala very much hoped the Hatching wouldn’t impact Indivara’s pregnancy; the whole idea sounded awfully stressful. Labor sucked and it sneaking up on you would be much worse than giving birth relatively on time. Ugh. Now she was going to be watching Indivara warily just in case.

She followed Vessaelia back inside after their walk across the Bowl, doing her best to memorize the short path from the door to the bathing room. Chances were good she’d remember the way. Probably. Maybe. Tala frowned at the door, going over the directions again and again. Just in case.

“Most people aren’t weird like us and just go for the most conveniently located bath. Or, you know, have proper weyrs that are nice and have private baths. Not that everyone gets those, but I bet it’s nice for the lucky few.” Tala tuned away from staring at the door to smile at Vessaelia. “Thank you so much, I really wasn't relishing the idea of having to share a bath with barely teen boys talking very loudly all the time, and this is much easier to get to than anything I found.”

Vessaelia laughed and waved off the constant words of gratitude. It was just a bath! And it was hardly out of her way. In fact, most of the trip had been the direction she had been going anyway so it really wasn’t any hardship. But she did have to concede the point that sharing with a bunch of young boys really wasn’t her idea of fun either. “Okay, that is a fair point that I never really thought about. I guess I usually go in a gaggle of girls so we probably scare the young boys away.”

She wasn’t quite sure if Tala was just scouting a bathing room to use in the future or to use now, but Vessaelia figured it didn’t hurt to excuse herself either way, especially since she wanted to put her kit away and start getting ready for bed. She didn’t have a preference one way or the other when it came to staying up late or rising early, but she found she got a lot more done if she woke early. Unless she had a good –handsome—reason to stay up late.

“Since you’re already here and no one else is, might as well enjoy yourself! I’m heading back to my room but I’ll see you later,” Vessaelia smiled at Tala, happy she helped the woman and got to know her a little bit more on their walk. She felt they could be friends and found herself starting to look forward to the idea of going out to the Hold to do all the cold season things they could squeeze into one day.

She bid Tala a good night and slipped out the door with a bounce to her step, the dark hall momentarily not as scary.