Participants:
Date: | Jan 21, 2011 |
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Location: | EW: Lakeshore |
Synopsis: | A late night chat helps Kaskan learn more about Rio and move forward with his neglected spying agenda. |
Rating: | PG |
Logger: | Kaskan |
CHARACTER DESCRIPTIONS:
Nenienne
In her late teens or early twenties, Neni has a youthful face clear of acne or other teenage maladies. Her eyes are gray and her features rather plain, perhaps slightly on the pretty side. Her brown hair is cut short, not even reaching her shoulders, and curls in the back. She is about 5'7" and her build is average, her propotions indicating that she has finished growing.
Neni is wearing a modestly-cut black short-sleeved blouse and black leggings. Although her clothing is naturally undecorated, glints of dust from the metals she works with are scattered about, especially in the front. Her undyed wherhide boots are not free from the speckles either. On her shoulder is a red knot tied to indicate a journeyman of the Smithcraft. —22 turns
Kaskan
Thick wisps of ebony fall in half-hazard lengths to shadow rugged features, over-long layers typically in disarray as they feather pale blue eyes, flare about his ears and tickle the nape of his neck. Full lips precede a square-ish jaw, which often bears a dusky shadow of its own. Scars from too many fights mar what would be a handsome visage, most notably one that splices across his left brow stopping just short of his eye. A slight hitch ends his left ear in an oddly curved shape, though it's usually hidden beneath his hair. Darkly intense, his bearing is defensive and watchful, wiry muscles having filled out to create a solid, sturdy frame. Not overly tall, he is a grounded, immovable rock - just as thickly guarded on the inside as he is thickly muscled on the outside - a deceptive impression that suits him well for the panther quick grace that's displayed when he's on the move. —19 turns.
ROOM DESCRIPTION:
[ Eastern Weyr: Lakeshore ]
With the brightest of contrasts, what once was a desolate, dry and empty scoop in the ground is now a full and luscious lake. Water laps against the shoreline in a gentle internal current, while in the very center, it seems almost eerily calm. A small sign hung on the highest bit of twine states 'LAKE HOPELESS' in forcibly fancy script, yet there doesn't seem to be any apparent reason for the title. Maybe one of the residents knows.
LOG:
For once Kaskan isn't on the beach practicing his routines. He quit early tonight, finding too much on his mind to concentrate properly. So instead his dark features blend with the shadows of the shifting tide as he wades waist-deep, slowly moving along the edge of the lake.
Nenienne seems to have retained the insomnia she experienced as a candidate, because once again she is up at this hour, restlessly walking on the shore. She glances out and sees someone in the water, but quickly ascertains that the person isn't drowning, and gives a wave.
Kaskan turns as movement is caught in his periphial vision, starlight reflecting off the droplets splashed about his bared torso. Pale blue gaze narrows as he tries to see who it is, lifting a hand in return regardless. Might as well be friendly.
Nenienne move a bit upshore, enough that the lapping waves won't get her wet, and sits on the beach, drawing her knees to her chin. She doesn't appear to be watching him in particular, instead looking up at the moons and stars.
As the person sits, Kaskan watches. Always wary he isn't about to let an unknown presence go ignored. Tell-tale details distinguish her as a female. He relaxes marginally. Less likely to be a thug then, though assasin is still possible. As she curls he looses any further way to identify her, so slowly starts to ease his way shoreward. Once he's close enough for his voice to carry the water is down to knee level, lapping about the hem of his soaked shorts. "Finding any answers?" he calls out, coaching his voice in a friendly tone.
Nenienne calls back, "To curing this insomnia? I'm afraid not. To some new ideas for jewelry, maybe."
Ah, that does it. Now he recognises her. Kaskan relaxes as Nenienne is identified, if more by her rank as a weyrling than anything. All things having to do with the weyrlings have been of special interest to him of late, thanks to the presence of one weyrling in particular. He shifts his stance to resist the pull of the gentle tide, the sand slipping like quicksand from beneath his feet. "Insomnia? Sorry to hear it. Fresh air should help." A pause, then, "At least some good is coming of it then?"
Nenienne nods, then remembers it's dark and says, "Yes. Now if only someone would commission it. Although given how many I commissions I'm working on, I should probably write this down so I don't lose it in the shuffle."
Kaskan is struck with an idea at her comment. The Rocio he used to know loved baubles. He doesn't know if the same is true of Rio now. Regardless, a guard's wage won't pay for much. "What is your idea?" he asks, debating.
Nenienne says, "Silver earrings with a pearl for the moons, and tiny dangling white and blue faceted gems for the stars. Maybe a matching necklace… or maybe a necklace without the earrings." She begins musing to herself at that point, things along the lines of, "Maybe sapphires, since they come in all shades of blue as well as white, but that might be prohibitely expensive."
Kaskan hms softly, discarding any thoughts of affording any such thing himself the moment she passes pearls. "Sounds nice," he says to be polite, male interest waning at the details. "Do you usually do things so fancy?"
Nenienne shakes her head, though fortunately she adds, "Not always. I made a necklace from dyed seashell chips recently, and a set of beads from plas…" she cuts herself off here, uncertain of whether she's talking to a traditionalist.
At first her reply makes Kaskan glad, but as she stops herself he tilts his head in surprise. Being more traditional himself he wouldn't purchase plastic, but he isn't hardcore enough to condemn it either. Just being in the south has made him curious enough of the things AIVAS has wrought, even if his ulterior motive is to report back to his superiors up north. Moving a few steps forward he lets a thoughtful silence stretch, then asks with a carefully neutral tone, "Do you use plastic a lot?"
Nenienne says carefully, "No. I was lucky enough to find a stash of differently colored stuff that was about to be thrown out, so I salvaged it. Most of the time I use beads or shells or gemstones."
"Thrown out?" Kaskan echoes. The lift of dark brows is hidden by shadows and over-long bangs but the suprise in his tone is evident enough. "They'd just leave the stuff lying around with the garbage?" That thought seems to alarm him more than the stuff itself, his casual pacing stopped.
Nenienne says, "At Landing, yes." She pauses to explain, "I do most of my work there. The Weyr doesn't have the workbenches I need for jewelry-making, plus Master Jarvys is there, and he's training me." She also notes, "The plastic I found was leftover bits, sort of like if you cut circles out of a square plank, you'll have a few triangles of wood left."
Kaskan is more disturbed than he thought he'd be by this news, having considered himself fairly easygoing. Obviously he's let himself be too distracted by events at the weyr and should turn his attention more toward Landing again. His initial tour on arrival wasn't very thorough what with his young charge's eagerness to get to the weyr. "Interesting," he muses aloud, attempting to mask his concern. The name Jarvys is shelved away for later reference. But then more of her comment registers and he asks on a whim, "Do you go back to Landing often then?"
Nenienne peers more closely at him, then says, "Yes, but we've had this conversation before. You're the one I directed to L'han and Escaeth, the watchrider pair at Landing."
Kaskan sqwunches his nose at the reminder, one hand rolling in unconscious gesture. "I never did track him down," he replies, moving more inland for the rest of his intention. Leaving the water he approaches where she sits, water glistening off him only from the knees down now. Shadows clarify details of her appearance the closer he gets, defining the memory he has of their previous encounter. "I don't suppose you'd mind showing me around your area there sometime?"
Nenienne begins to say "I would be happy to," but then qualifies it with, "If Master Jarvys allows it. He can be a bit… touchy, at times." This said in a rueful voice of someone who has experienced it firsthand.
Kaskan smiles immediately, a brief flash of white amidst the shadows. He doesn't have a towel with him, prefering to air dry, so is careful not to shake any droplets in her direction as he stops beside her. "I'll be sure to find a time that he'll approve of then," he replies with a soft chuckle. "Wouldn't want to get you in trouble. My charge, Jhorn, would especially love it, I think." Kneeling down he braces an elbow on one knee, giving his chin a jerk to toss wafting random locks out of his view. "I don't think we've officially met, by the way. I'm Kaskan."
"We haven't," Nenienne agrees. "I'm Neni, posted Smith." In a lightly teasing voice she adds, "In case you hadn't guessed." She struggles with something else, though, and finally gives in to curiosity. "It seemed like Rio was acquainted with you — how did you know her?"
Kaskan is glad for night's cloak as her question takes him by surprise. The flicker of emotion that crosses his rugged features leaves behind a whispered flush beneath his tan, dropping his chin briefly as he supposedly brushes some sand from his thigh. When he looks up again those over-long bangs have shifted back to obscure his expression even further. "Well met, Neni," he starts, then with more caution, "We knew each other… a long time ago. It was a surprise to see her again." And if that isn't the understatement of the turn then ovines can fly!
Nenienne ahs, then volunteers, "I stood with her, but I knew her before that. She was really nice to me the night I was dropped off at the Weyr — the rider was too tired to show me around, so she helped me find a place to sleep."
Kaskan smiles wider at that, instantly alert to hear more of the past he missed being a part of. His pale blue regard grows more fixed, watching the smith as she shares. "That sounds like something she'd do," he muses softly, then caught by mention of standing his thoughts jump to one of his biggest concerns currently - her gold. "What was it like?" he asks, not sure how to frame his question correctly. "When her dragon hatched, I mean… was she wild?" Never having been to a hatching he has no idea, but his one encounter with the gold dragonet has been infinity scarring.
Nenienne says, "It was very hot, and chaotic. For Rauzath's hatching we were allowed to wear sandals — for Kaseth's, we weren't. And she certainly was a character. She tried to fly even before she looked at us, let alone before she found Rio. I had never stood before and had just been posted to the Weyr when I got searched, but I get the idea that hatchlings trying to fly on the sands is pretty unusual."
"She tried to fly…???" Kaskan blurts before he can stop himself. "That sounds dangerous!" His negative opinion of the young queen is further darkened, concern for Rio deepening. From anything else, anyone else, he could attempt to rescue her - but from the mental bonding of dragonkind?? Hopeless. Determination hardens to find a way of dealing with it. Befriending Nenienne takes on yet another useful light. Although she can't see him he frames his demeanor - expression, pose, and tone - with his best effort at charm, treading carefully on what could be touchy ground. "You did not impress then, when she did?" he guesses.
"She did." Neni's tone is amused, perhaps even fond. Oblivious as always, she adds, "I think they're a good match. Rio always seemed so — withdrawn, so a dragon who could free her from that is good." Her voice becomes sad as she answers, "I didn't. I thought that maybe the one green…" Her voice trails off and she shakes her head, mindful of Warin's taunt even though it's been a sevenday or more.
Kaskan flinches slightly at mention of Rio being withdrawn, his own opinion of how helpful her queen may be still doubtful. "I'm sorry," he says automatically, unable to miss her reaction even if his own differs. He prefers to keep his thoughts to himself, and only himself, thank you very much.
But since she obviously feels sad he offers, "Sounds like smithing is perfect for you though." He swings one hand outward in gesture, "Here you are, unable to sleep, and what do you do? Think of new ways to make jewelry. That's dedication!" A little brown-nosing doesn't hurt either. He still wants information, and that tour.
Nenienne hehs and says dubiously, "I suppose. Although Lenia seems to be able to keep up with Starcrafting pretty well despite Orralth. I just can't help but wonder what might have been with those two dragonets who never got a chance."
Kaskan forgets his intentions for a moment at mention of the destroyed eggs. "I heard something about that," he says with a sincere touch of anger. He might be disgruntled at a particular queen at the moment, but his traditionalist roots cringe at the loss of Pern's greatest protectors. An errant breeze from the lake swirls by the pair, shuffling his dark hair so that he threads a hand back through it without thinking. His attention is all on Nenienne. Drawing closer to his original intent with the mention of Lenia he asks, "How all-consuming do you think the connection is?"
Nenienne also runs a hand through her hair, although it's short enough that the wind hadn't really mussed it. She considers the question and answers, "It really depends, I think. The feelings I got from the eggs I touched were very intense. And the looks on the faces when the people impressed were just," she pauses, then continues, "Indescribable is the best word. You have to see it to believe it. But some do seem more bonded, for instance Ahnika and Jhath even turn their heads at the same time."
Kaskan frowns, dismay flattening his lips into a thin line. "Really? Even through the shell?" he asks rhetorically. "Wow." Not good - for what he was hoping, anyway. Some of what Rio tried to explain becomes a little clearer. A little shiver runs down his spine at Nenienne's example. "That's just creepy," he notes aloud, blunt as always when he isn't actively engaging a mental filter.
Nenienne misses the implication once again. To be fair it's pretty dark and she can't see his expression well, but even if she could it's anyone's guess if she would notice. Instead, she answers his comment, saying, "I son't know. I think it's sort of cute. Or it was when she was tiny, at least."
Kaskan can't help but chuckle at that, humor chasing away some of the more serious vein of his thoughts. "Tiny? When is a dragon ever tiny??" he questions, blue eyes feathering with amused crinkles as he smiles. "You sound like a weyrbred." Rising to his feet with fluid grace he grunts anyway as if it was an effort, straightening his spine and leaning back slightly to stretch. "Neni," he starts, smiling for her giving him her nickname, "I need to get going, but I will definitely look you up at Landing - thank you. I hope you can get to sleep sometime soon, but I'm glad you decided to come out here in the meantime." With that he gives her a little wave and saunters on down the beach toward the weyr.
Nenienne watches him leave, then get up and dusts off her clothes, then heads back Weyrward in a renewed effort to sleep.