Someone To Come To

Writers: Anika, Paula
Date Posted: 28th February 2015

Characters: Ilyssia, Yanley
Description: Ilyssia goes looking for boots and finds a confidant in Yanley
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 16 of Turn 7

Ilyssia

Yanley

Ilyssia put on her new riding leathers and admired herself with a
smile. She loved them! Why some girls grumbled about them she would
never understand. Their purpose only made her smile brighter. Soon
she would be soaring through the skies with Gwynnyth.

}:We are meant to fly together. I will carry you high and far.:{
Gwynnyth stated, proudly.

**I can hardly wait! You'll be fine sunning for a bit while I see
Yanley about some boots?**

}:Of course. I see Juvath. I will join him.:{

Ilyssia made her way to the lower caverns and easily found the
Assistant Headwoman who appeared to be as busy as ever. She waited
patiently until there was a lull and stepped forward. "Yanley? Do you
have a moment?"

"Ilyssia, so nice to see you. How you been? I always have a moment for
our weyrlings," Yanley replied with a warm smile. Thistle warbled a
greeting from her shoulder.

"Oh, she's a pretty one," Ilyssia said with a smile upon seeing the
friendly little green on the woman's shoulder before getting down to
business. "Apparently, the boots I came with are perfectly fine for
everyday wear but the weyrling instructors have told me I'll need a
lined wherhide pair for riding /between/. So I've come to see if we
have some in stores to fit me."

"It's cold up there, and /between/ is even colder, so you need warm
gear," Yanley explained. After giving some instruction for the rest of
the staff, she gestured Ilyssia to follow and took her the right
storeroom.

"Hopefully there are some that fit, my foot is rather small. My
foster mother always thought I'd be short because of that, but I'm as
tall as she and I've gained a fingertip in the last month so I don't
think I've stopped growing yet," Ilyssia said with a grin as they
entered the storeroom.

"Teenagers, I've noted, tend to grow unevenly and in spurts. First
feet, then they sprout height and next few months they just seem to
gather weight...for the next growth spurt," Yanley replied with a
smile and rummaged thru rows of boots. She picked out few pairs. "Try
these on."

"Uh-oh, then I'm probably going to need all new duds again soon, and I
just got _these_," Ilyssia said with a grin as she shucked her boots
and pulled on the first pair offered. "These are plenty loose," she
said, shaking her head and reaching for the next pair.

"Alright," Yanley handed over a slightly smaller sized pair. "That's
why we circulate things around here. If you grow out of your clothers,
just bring them over to us and we give you new ones."

The young greenrider gave a nod and tried on the next pair. "Have you
always been in the Weyr?"

"Faranth no! I've been here less than a Turn," Yanley replied. Her
normally so friendly and warm expression was briefly replaced with
something bitter and sad.

Hearing the change in Yanley's tone made Ilyssia pause and wonder
about the assistant Headwoman's past. "Did you have any difficulty
getting used to the Weyr, or did others have trouble getting used to you?"

"Oh, dear, I think the Weyr had more trouble getting used to me than
me getting used to it. After all, women like me are adaptable.
Whatever our father's or husband's decide, we just have to live with
it," she had a far away look in her eyes.

Ilyssia shuddered and wondered what Yanley's experience had been.
Probably not the best from the sound of it. "I am glad I escaped
_that_, but I would say I'm pretty adaptable as well. Living with a
caravan, you kind of have to be. Though living in the barracks with
so many other girls has been different for sure. There weren't many
girls my age in the caravan. I'm not used to all the drama."

"Well, drama is something that's been following me around since was
born. Comes with the status," Yanley replied and smiled again. "Do you
need help or advice with dealing with the other girls?"

"Maybe," she shrugged, looking down at the boots she'd just tried on
and then taking a few steps to see how they felt. "I am one of the
younger candidates in the girl's barracks and some of the girls seemed
to think that meant I was a drudge. I let them know right quick that
wasn't the case. Some Holders carry low opinions of folks from the
trader caravans and there was talk. Not much time to worry about such
silliness with a dragon to care for and I just assume focus on
Gwynnyth anyway so I mostly ignored it. Then one visit from a friend
and the rumor mill has me practically weyrmated to him and pregnant to
boot." Ilyssia laughed heartily at that.

"Rumours, the choosen weapon for small-minded and jealous," Yanley
snorted. She had plenty of personal experience of malicious rumors.
"The best defence is actually just ignore them and continue with your
life. If you try to fight against them, it just gets worse. If the
rumours bother you, find someone trustworthy who you can talk to and
who will listen your rants about unfairness of the life."

"That's pretty much what I've been trying to do. Usually, it's not
too hard, but occasionally I get tired and cranky and I find I really
have to bite my tongue. Not too often though. It does help a bunch
to have a lovely dragon that is constantly letting you know how
wonderful she thinks you are and how insignificant the two legged
gossips are." She stomped her feet. "These feel good."

"I think you found your boots. They look good on you," Yanley remarked
and put away the other pairs. "Sometimes you do feel tempted to get
back at them, don't you?" she returned to the other subject. "Maybe
start a few rumours of your own?" she had might started few
rumour-mills herself when she had been younger and less gracious.

"I've never been much for rumors. But I have found myself needing to
clamp my mouth shut tight to keep from telling certain people off in
words that would make even a caravan guard blush." Ilyssia may not be
one to start rumors but she was not above a little manipulation of
circumstances. Some of those from the barracks that bothered her most
had found themselves in uncomfortable or embarassing situations in
front of the weyrlingstaff.

Yanley laughed. She found herself liking this spunky little weyrling.
They weren't that much different despite their backgrounds. Kindred
spirits.

Alyssia offered a huge grin, enjoying the sound of the woman's laugh.
Saying goodbye to Dyosha had been difficult, but it was good to know
that there was another woman that she could come to that might listen
without providing a tedious lecture. Though Yanley was a well born
lady, Ilyssia found herself very comfortable with the Assistant
Headwoman and knew she'd be easy to come to if ever a real problem
arose.

Last updated on the March 3rd 2015

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Someone To Come To