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Post by Snow on Aug 22, 2011 18:44:40 GMT -5
01.21.3189 "Oh shards! To between with this stupid thing." Eavan exclaimed to no one at the moment. She leaned against the wall to catch her breath was being a bit elusive at the moment. It was mid-morning on another chilly day at Sunset Weyr. So far, nothing out of the ordinary had happened that day, but with way things have been going the last Turn or so a person could never be sure. Eavan had woken up early that morning to get a head start on chores. It was a well known fact that being a candidate went hand in hand with doing chores. Eavan didn't mind and she probably would have done half the things the Candidatemasters told them to anyways. Productivity was something she thrived on. The only chore she had been told to do that morning was to sweep out the candidate barracks and dust the chests that sat at the end of each bed. Eavan was a bit sorry that the chore was so simple, but then she remembered another task she had wanted to do for a while now. If she got done quickly enough then she would have time do this other task. Eavan honestly didn't think the task of giving the giant pots that hung over the fireplaces a good scrub would be so onerous. She had been gravely mistaken. The pots were cleaned after each use, of course, but she couldn’t remember the last time someone had taken them down and cleaned every inch of them. That was what she was in the middle of doing and having a rough time of it. Eavan sat down on a chair with a huff. More strands than normal had escaped the band that held the rest of her blond curls away from her face. She only had one more pot to go after this one, but this one apparently had been forgotten one time and there was little bits of old, burnt, very stuck-on bits of porridge that it seemed impossible it was going to come clean. So far, Eavan had broken three nails on this pot alone. Eavan took a deep breath, brushed back her hair and then bent to the cleaning again. She had the pot leaned away from her, trying to get a better look at the lip of the pot where the porridge was stuck on the worst. As she was scrubbing fiercely her hand leaning the pot back slipped thanks to the water and the heavy pot fell directly on top of her foot. ”Ow ow ow” She said as she shot up from her chair from the sudden pain. With her free foot she knocked the pot off the injured one and then preceded to hop about slightly while she held the injured foot, making quite the small scene.
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Post by Rust on Aug 22, 2011 19:58:01 GMT -5
As awful as Kogran was at doing what he was supposed to do, it wasn't always for a lack of trying. he was assigned to collect all of the sleeping furs for washing in a big bag, but after the first two rooms, it was heavy. Yeah, he was muscular enough, but he used his weight for climbing and running, not carrying. It put stress on weird places in his muscles and... well. The furs would still be there if he rested a while, right? It was just the washing.
He wasn't far from the kitchens, and to be honest, he was going out of his way from the bag full of furs from the candidate barracks. That way, he had more reason to rest! Maybe he could get some klah or bread or redfruit or....
What was that sound? It was a bit distant, but he thought he heard someone yelling in pain. Out of curiosity and eagerness for a distraction, Kogran ran in the direction of the sound, skidding to a halt a couple feet past the doorway. Once he was sure he wasn't going to fall, he paid attention to the source of the sound and the pot on the floor.
"You're hurt!" Kogran said with his expert detective skills. He ran to the nearest chair, as much as a person can run when the chair is only five feet away, and brought it to where his fellow candidate was.
"I brought a chair for you," Kogran said, unsure if he should tell her to sit or make her sit or just let her sit by herself. Either way, he didn't really pause to add anything, but instead, in another stunning act of observation, Kogran kept speaking and asked, "Did you knock that pot into your foot?"
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Snow
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Post by Snow on Aug 22, 2011 20:51:09 GMT -5
Eavan wasn’t hopping anymore, but she was still letting out a colorful string of curses that her mother would have been ashamed of. Luckily her mother wasn’t in the kitchens at the moment. She couldn’t believe she had been clumsy enough to have actually dropped the pot on her foot. At least no one had seen…”You’re hurt!” Eavan’s head jerked up fast at the sound of someone addressing her and almost lost her balance. So she hadn’t been so lucky as to not have someone see her rather embarrassing situation. Oh well, at least it was someone she knew.
”Oh thank you, thank you Kogran.” Eavan said as she sat down on the chair he brought her. ”Yes, that’s exactly what I did.” She didn’t bother to point out how obvious a statement that was. She knew the boy since he was a candidate like her. She didn’t think he had been at the weyr too long, craftbred he was if memory served her right. Slowly and through many winces, she removed her wherhide boots to see if there was any permanent damage done.
”I can’t believe I did that. Guess that’s what I get for telling it I wished it between” She said with a laugh that was cut short because part of her boot hit the spot where the pot had landed. The top of her small foot was red and there would more than likely be a bruise, but it didn’t look like it badly damaged. ”Ouch, hurts like fire, but at least nothing is broken. You say nothing of this to K’ain or the Candidatemaster, yes?” It was a question, but the way Eavan said it didn’t make it sound like a question. ”The last thing I need is to have them thinking I’ve seriously hurt myself.”
She leaned back in the chair then and for the first time actually looked at Kogran as she spoke to him. ”I hope I didn’t disrupt your chores or anything. Though, I do appreciate your concern.” A friendly smile crossed her face. She realized then that she must look fairly awful so she tried to straighten her hair out a bit. ”I’m Eavan, by the way, if I have been rude and never introduced myself before now. How do you like weyr life?”
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Post by Rust on Aug 22, 2011 21:35:34 GMT -5
Kogran hovered awkwardly as she spoke, unsure if he was supposed to do anything to help, like go fetch some numbweed. Really, he just wanted to see the bruise and if he ran for a healer and numbweed, he wouldn't get to see it for a few minutes. He widened his eyes as she removed her boot to get a better look, but alas. He should have known from the number of bumps and bruises had had given himself; they rarely show up immediately.
With the most interesting part over, he finally moved his concentration to his fellow candidate. He remembered her; there weren't really enough candidates for him to forget them, and he was pretty sure he had talked to them all? Probably? Well, it wasn't like he kept tally. As he considered it, he stared just above Eavan's head.
"I think you have before," Kogran said, finally lowering his gaze back to her face. He decided a piece of his thoughts might make a good opening joke and went on, "but who knows. I don't have the skins to keep track!"
He chuckled slightly at his own joke, but decided he should answer her question, too. "Weyr life is fine. Too many chores, but there are too many chores in the Holds too. It's not much different when you think about it that way."
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Post by Snow on Aug 23, 2011 22:06:34 GMT -5
Eavan smiled understandingly at the boy. ”Yes, being a candidate especially for the first time, can be quite the whirlwind. I’ve lived here my entire life and this isn’t my first time standing, so I try to make sure I get to know all the candidates by name.” She said, chuckling slightly, as she gave her foot one more look. She rubbed a hand over it and decided that there would be a nice sized bump on it by the morning and perhaps a bruise, but that was all.
”The chores are there for very good reasons. It might seem like a good idea to try and skip chores, but imagine what a dreadful place we’d live in if everyone skipped chores.” Eavan said logically. It often times infuriated her to see candidates, weyrlings, sometimes even riders, shirk away from their duties simply because they didn’t feel like doing them. Shirking duties was a sure fire way of just making things worse for you and everyone else down the road. Her loyalty to the weyr and its success might be a bit too…zealous, but Eavan would never dodge a chore simply because it was disdainful.
”I guess in the idea that each has chores to be done, no it’s not different. However, there is a lot more freedom and liberties at the weyr. At least, that’s what I’ve always been told and have seen for myself. My mother was holdbred. She grew up and lived in Crom. My father was a miner, but died in an accident. After that she moved us here and we haven’t left since. She says she likes it much better here, but to each his own.” Eavan never truly meant to insult anyone, but she couldn’t help speaking her mind, especially when it concerned the weyr, dragons, riders, or anything else that was dear to her.
”So Kogran, would you mind helping me put this pot back on its hook? I have one more pot to scrub, but after dropping one on my foot, the want to finish is gone. I will finish this chore on the next restday. Is there a chore I could help you with since you were so kind to make sure the pot had not done me lasting harm?” Eavan asked as she slipped her shoe back on. It hurt slightly as the sore spot was rubbed, but she managed to not wince too much.
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Post by Rust on Aug 24, 2011 10:56:41 GMT -5
Everything Eavan was saying about chores made Kogran blush with embarrassment. He had never thought of doing chores as more than busywork to keep people occupied. He supposed it made sense... that if people didn't clean away dirt then it all built up. Of course, he couldn't blame people for blowing them off either. After all, some people could see dirt that he swore wasn't even there, and those people always seemed to be in charge.
So... what was he supposed to say? Agree with her until she finds out he slacks and does an awful job on his chores, or just explain that chores sucked and some people were too picky about how thoroughly the floors or plates or furs were washed. Thankfully, though, she needed help with the pot and he didn't have to answer her thoughts on chores and make himself look bad.
"Yeah, let me-" Kogran walked over to the pot and lifted it up for her, and tried to gently place it on the hook. He missed once before it actually was in place. He stepped back and the pot swung a bit, since he let it drop about a finger's width down to the hook.
Ignoring the swinging, Kogran stepped backward and faced Eavan. "I was uhh..." He paused before telling her that he was collecting the furs from the beds, since he was knowingly off-course, even if it was only slightly. Oh well. She'd figure it out eventually anyway. "I was bringing the furs down to get washed."
He motioned out the doorway, even though the furs weren't abandoned anywhere within sight.
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Post by Snow on Aug 24, 2011 17:16:12 GMT -5
Eavan took a step back so she wasn’t in Kogran’s way. It was nice to see that even the holdbred boys had manners. Eavan had only ever been to Lemos Hold and then it was generally just for Gathers. She tended to stay in the weyr for the most part and as such she really wasn’t quite sure how holders typically acted, or what they did in a normal day. Despite her lack of knowledge of hold life she still kept to the absolute opinion that weyr life was best.
Eavan gave him a quizzical look, one eye brow raised as her arms crossed over her chest. ”Cleaning the furs, huh?” She asked as she looked about for the furs and wasn’t surprised when she didn’t find them. A small wicked smile tugged at the corner of her lips. ”Oh boy, I bet you just feel silly. Don’t you?” She didn’t wait for an answer before she began limping towards the hallway.
”I guess I’ll let you off the hook for skirting duties this time, but only because you’ve been so nice to me. Just be happy I’m the one who found out and not J’ain or the Candidatemaster. I won’t punish you, but I will give you fair warning to not do it again.” Shards, but her foot hurt. Perhaps once they were done with the furs she could find time to put some numbweed on it before she did anything else.
”Exactly where are the furs? Surely you’re not so much a dimglow that you left them on the bed when they should be getting washed?” Eavan asked bluntly. She did know some candidates in the past that were so dumb as to shirk chores in such an obvious way that no one could feel sorry for them when they got caught. Hopefully Kogran would stop with the laziness. Like she said before she knew it was unpleasant to do most of the chores, but they were necessary. Not to mention the Candidatemaster could become very irate with candidates skipping chores to the point of punishment. This Kogran seemed like a nice lad, she hate to see him punished for something so unavoidable.
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Post by Rust on Aug 25, 2011 18:41:02 GMT -5
Flushing with embarrassment again, Kogran walked to the door and looked up and down the hall. sadly, he knew the bag wouldn't be there; it was further down and around a bend... right? Yeah, that sounded about right. He turned back around to face Eavan.
"No, the bag is down the hall. I had to drop it when I heard you yelling." he explained, waving his hand in the right direction. For a moment, he wondered if he should try to explain his way out of being where he shouldn't be. Maybe an excuse? He was supposed to get the kitchen laundry too? That or he could just be honest about the whole thing, but was being honest really all that different from making excuses? Or he could just shrug it off, since it wasn't like he wasn't doing the chores at all.
Before he decided if he should say anything, he turned around and headed toward the laundry. Assuming she was following him, he finally added, "I hate talking the short way places. Don't your legs ever get antsy from not enough running?" he asked, turning to look at where he assumed Eavan was.
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Post by Snow on Aug 25, 2011 20:40:40 GMT -5
Oh well, that made sense. If Eavan heard someone yelling she would have dropped whatever she was doing to go help them as well. However, it didn’t explain why he was in this part of the weyr when he was supposed to be doing laundry. She wouldn’t push him about it anymore though. It was probably more than fairly obvious what she thought about slackers and there was no need to antagonize any of her fellow candidates at this point in time. Besides which, if he was only guilty of diverting a bit from a task, that wasn’t as bad as ignoring the chore altogether.
Eavan walked behind him, thanks mostly in part to her aching foot, as he led the way to the laundry room. ”The short way gets things done faster. I can’t speak for everyone, of course, but my legs get plenty of running without the long way helping any. Though, I’ll admit to being perhaps a bit too zealous in my involvement within the weyr. I just love this place so much and want to ensure I am doing my part to help.” Eavan’s voice held a note of true admiration when she spoke of the weyr. This place was her life and she loved every minute of it. From doing the worst of chores to doing something so grand as standing on the sands for impression. If she never impressed, she couldn’t lie and say she wouldn’t be disappointed, but there was nothing short of death that would take her from this place.
The laundry room was empty of people, but there were already a fair amount of clothing and other fabrics hanging from the inside lines. ”Well, let’s get started shall we? I know I for one will be happy to have some nice clean bed linens. We’ll take them outside to air and dry, smell better that way and they’ll dry faster for it as well.” Eavan said as she began gathering the sweetsand and scrubbers they’d need for their task.
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Post by Rust on Aug 26, 2011 7:25:40 GMT -5
Something about the way Eavan talked... Kogran could feel himself turning red with embarrassment again. He could almost understand where she was coming from, with all the talk about getting things done fast and helping out, but Kogran couldn't understand her devotion to the place. It was just a place. Of course, Kogran has been shifted from place to place for the purpose of cross-crafting... or simply finding something he wouldn't just do what he had to and go goof off, anyway. Unfortunately, the connection between his lack of a place he really felt was home and his confusion about Eavan never occurred to him.
He hefted the bag onto his shoulder and followed her to the washroom. He lowered the bag onto the floor and watched as she gathered the supplies with a lot more enthusiasm and speed than he would have if he were alone. Not that that was really difficult. Realizing he was probably slacking again, Kogran moved the bag closer to the water and opened it up. Was he supposed to do something else? He glanced around at the room. He had done washing a couple times before but he wasn't sure if he was just supposed to put everything in the water or fill up a basin and wash in one of those... it was different everywhere.
Kogran took a heavy seat on the stool and decided to try to look busy until Eavan took the lead. And maybe he should say something too? It never occurred to him to admit he had forgotten the weyr's wash procedure, of course, but instead he decided to agree with Eavan while he took the furs out of the bag and set them on the floor so... they could be easy to reach or something.
"Yeah, I always prefer when my stuff is dried outside. I mean, in the winter they get kinda frozen, but once you let them thaw and dry inside too they smell nice,"
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Post by Snow on Aug 26, 2011 18:09:27 GMT -5
Eavan took the supplies and walked back to the large washing pool. She didn’t bother grabbing a basin since the two of them were the only ones in the washroom at the moment. The basins were there mainly if there was a crowding of washers. That way a few people could use the basins without being in the way of the people using the larger pool. She looked at Kogran to see what he was doing. He appeared to be doing…something, but nothing she could figure out. Apparently the poor boy wasn’t sure what to do, no wonder he’d been taking his time.
”Alright, Kogran, I’m going to teach you the proper way to clean bed clothes.” She said as she rolled up her sleeves. She knelt in front of the washing pool and drug the bag of bed furs closer to her. She got one out and then dunked it into the pool. ”Alright grab yourself one of the other furs and we’ll begin.” Eavan grabbed a handful of sweetsand and took hold of the wet fur and put it on liberally, then she took a scrub brush and began scrubbing the furs.
”See? Circular motions are generally the best, but there’s really no wrong way to do it. The hint to drying clothes outside in the winter is to only leave them out for a short amount of time. It’s bad for some fabric to be frozen, so you want to make sure they don’t get to that point. It’s a bit warmer out today, but we’ll still only leave them out for no longer than twenty minutes. Just long enough to let the air freshen them up.” Eavan explained as she kept scrubbing the fur. Occasionally she would rinse out the soap to reapply the sweetsand to scrub some more.
She got finished with the one and took it over to the ringer. ”This is where you ring out the excess water so they’ll dry faster. You hold whatever you’ve just washed here and then turn this handle. Make sure to not get your fingers caught in between there, cause it can break bones in the worst instances.” She explained and then rang out her fur. For the time being she tossed it over one of the drying lines in the washroom till they got the rest of the furs done. ”How you coming along with that fur?”
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Post by Rust on Aug 27, 2011 14:49:52 GMT -5
Kogran watched her carefully and tried to copy what she was doing. He picked out one of the furs he had already taken from the bag and got it wet, although he missed the top where he held on to it, and then put some of the sweetsand onto a brush. Circular motions? Or some other way? He remembered being scolded a number of times as a child for not going against the grain of the fur. "Things could get suck in there and you didn't wash it out," they said. If he was going to try, maybe he should keep that in mind?
He put the sweetsandy brush against the middle of the fur and tried to copy her circular movements as she explained about putting them outside and then about the silly contraption that everyone put the furs through before hanging them up. He glanced back down at his fur. He had only really done the middle, but it just didn't occur to him that the edges needed to be washed as well. To him, it seemed pretty good.
"I think it's done?" he said sounding unsure. "Nobody has ever really explained washing to me, at least, not since I was small." He kept doing circular motions, much too hard and with not enough sweetsand. "It's a lot more complicated than it looks,"
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Post by Snow on Aug 28, 2011 17:12:38 GMT -5
Eavan moved back over to the pool and got another fur out of the bag to clean. She gave a cursory glance at Kogran's fur to see how he was doing. Immediately she decided that he was right when he said he hadn't done this in turns. "Oh deary, you're doing it wrong. Here let me show you." She scooted over next to him and took the fur from his hands.
"You want to use more sweetsand than that." She explained as she showed him how much sand to get. "Then, apply it all over the fur, not just the middle." Again she put words to actions. "Finally, when you scrub don't do it so harshly. You want to do it firmly, but not so hard you ruin the fur." Eavan then put the fur back into his hands and then picked hers back up. "Don't worry, you're not the most incompetent man I've taught to do washing. Keep it up and you'll be a pro at it in no time." She gave him an encouraging smile.
Eavan got her second one done and rang it out to dry. "It won't take us too much longer till we get these done. I wasn't assigned any other chores today. If this is your only chore, perhaps we can steal some diner before everyone else gets there and gets the best portions. I know for a fact we're having roasted herdbeast. It's nice to have a parent who works in the kitchen." She said just making small talk as they did their chore.
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Post by Rust on Aug 28, 2011 20:24:23 GMT -5
Kogran let her take the fur with barely-concealed relief spreading across his face. Of course, he still listened. It all sounded so simple when she said it, and yet he always seemed to mess it up. How did that even work? He took the fur back and tried to do what she said, being too gentle with the fur this time as he washed the edges with another handful of sweetsand.
"I'd really hate to see how bad other people are at this if I'm not the worst," he said, his face contorted awkwardly with concentration, trying to be sure he got to the edges and still missing small gaps here and there. "It's all so complicated," he continued, adding in a sigh. "I mean it should be simple to clean, but despite being told how to sweep about ten times, I still do it wrong. I don't get it."
As he finished his small speech, he rinsed off the fur. He left out the part that the "right" way always took so much longer, and besides, who noticed dust bunnies under their cot or small unwashed bits of their furs anyway? He wasn't always the brightest, but he knew Eavan disagreed with him, so it was easier to not bring it up. besides, it was easy to make enemies, and if he impressed he couldn't be shipped off to another hold to try again. Maybe another Weyr, though? Still, best to try to grow up like everyone told him to.
He smiled at her offer for going to dinner early. He was pretty sure that this was his on;y chore that day but... well, he also wouldn't be surprised if he had forgotten his other chores.
"I'm pretty sure this is my only chore... I'd really like to get some good cuts of herdbeast for once though!" he said as he wrung out his fur and began his second.
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Post by Snow on Aug 29, 2011 8:10:07 GMT -5
Eavan bit her tongue. There was no need to be rude when she had practically just met this lad. Instead she tried to give an understanding smile. ”Yes, well, it has always seemed to me that the males of our species have never fully grasped the complicated jobs of cleaning, cooking, or anything else along those lines.” She laughed slightly to take the edge out of her voice. Something her mother always said was ‘never send a man to do something a woman can obviously do better’. Eavan, personally was of the mind that man or woman, anyone is perfectly capable of doing any job. They just have to put their minds to it. Eavan was known to do the jobs that was ‘suited’ for a man along with the normal jobs that was associated with ‘women’s work’.
Eavan smiled then with no underlying thoughts or opinions. ”It is quite a treat to be one of the first to cut a slice off the herdbeast. And it’s so hot and juicy coming from straight off the spit into your mouth. Besides the herdbeast, I believe that the cooks also made smashed tubers and herb-filled bread, and there are slices of that sharp cheese that we only get every so often. Then, for dessert we’ll have these scrumptious bite-sized fruit tarts. It’ll be great, you’ll see.” She was beginning to get hungry just thinking about it.
Her work pace picked up and she flew through two more furs as Kogran worked on his second one. Eavan didn’t complain, the lad was at least doing his chore. Deep down, Eavan was sort of glad that he had helped her so she in turn could help him. She would have hated to go to sleep with half-clean furs. Perhaps they would just leave the furs here to dry. They wouldn’t have the fresh air smell, but it would take them longer to have to hang them out for a few minutes and then have to bring them back in.
”Let’s just leave the furs here to dry when we leave. Otherwise I’m afraid we may not be one of the first to get to the dining hall. Quickly finish that one up and then we’ll be done.” She said as she grabbed the last fur in the bag and began scrubbing ferociously. She could almost taste the juicy herdbeast already.
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