What's Your Passion?

Writers: Ainsley, AL
Date Posted: 8th February 2009

Characters: Nimroy, Aiyana
Description: Nimroy seeks out Aiyana so that he can show her more tapestries
Location: Amber Hills Hold
Date: month 1, day 24 of Turn 5
Notes: Mentor Approved

Nimroy walked down the hall with purpose towards the creche of all
places! He could not say what drew him to seek out the young woman
again. She was young, probably the age of his youngest brothers or
possibly Benani and he did not find himself particularly attracted to
her in any traditional way. Her timid demeanor coupled with the
passion she had shown for the tapestries piqued his curiosity. She did
not think he would seek her out as he had suggested that he
might. Perhaps that is why he was doing this. Just to prove her
wrong. Upon reaching his destination he asked the matronly woman if he
might speak to Aiyana a moment and though she seemed surprised, she
went to fetch the younger woman.

Aiyana appeared, her expression guarded. The woman had told her who it
was coming to call, but Aiyana honestly couldn't think of why he wanted
to see her. "Sir?" She asked, her voice cautious. "Is there
something I can do for you?"

His lips lifting in a grin, Nimroy answered lightly, "Well, first of all
you can stop calling me 'sir.' And secondly, I was hoping to arrange a
time when we might continue our perusal of the more interesting
tapestries of the Hold."

Was he serious or was his offer some sort of joke? After all, this was
a son of the late Lord Holder. Yet, his invitation was intriguing and
Aiyana was quite curious. "It's an honour to be asked...." If she
couldn't call him sir, what should she call him? Lord? He wasn't
really a Lord holder, yet she felt that he must have _some_ title. "

"Nimroy. My name is _Nimroy_," he filled in for her. Though he
understood she was uncomfortable with that and in his presence in
general, he was determined that she would see him as a normal person
despite his social standing. "And it would be an honor if you
accepted."

"Well then, I suppose I'll have to accept, Nimroy." It felt odd saying
his name without any sort of title to it. "For I would hate to bring
you any dishonour."

"Excellent. When are you finished with your shift here?"

"In three hours, at the top of the hour." It would give them a couple
of hours before dinner, at least. Aiyana hoped it would be enough to
see what she wanted to see.

That would work well. He could get through the most pressing reports on
his desk, then would have time to look at the tapestries with Aiyana
before spending some time with Ailnim. "Shall I meet you here
then?"

"That would be fine." Aiyana still wondered why he was so interested in
showing her the tapestries. Surely he'd seen them enough, and he
didn't seem the sort of person to really be interested in something
like cloth work.

***

A bit later as he walked with Aiyana down the hallway, Nimroy tried to
remember why he had thought this was a good idea. The girl was so
nervous around him it almost made _him_ uncomfortable. They were in
the family wing again, this time approaching one of the sitting
rooms. "This is one I had hoped to show you the other day," he
explained quietly. This one was not set in Amber Hills, but on the
coast. A ship sailed over rough seas headed for dark clouds.

"Oh!" For a moment, the girl seemed to forget that Nimroy was even
there. She stopped and stared at the scene, soaking it in. Then she
moved forward, drawing close and staring at the colours, the fine
stitching and weaving and reached up to gingerly touch the material.

Now he remembered why he had done this. Watching her appreciation for
the lovely wall hanging was like seeing a boy with his first canine or
a harper with his first instrument. Somehow it just gave Nimroy a
certain amount of satisfaction. It was sad really that the young woman
before him had never had the opportunity to pursue what was quite
obviously a great interest of hers. "I like the colors the weaver used
there where the waves meet the horizon."

"As if they are melting into one another." The girl commented softly,
almost breathing each word. Her fingers trailed over the figures upon
the scene, the boat, the lines of the waves, the shore, tracing each
one as if trying to put them into memory forever.

Nimroy smiled at her delight. "You know there are members of my family
that would be hard pressed to even tell you what tapestries hang
here. It is good to see someone who can truly appreciate their
beauty."

"It's a shame they don't notice them." Aiyana commented dryly, though
her eyes didn't move from the scene before her. "They're absolutely
lovely."

"There's another just around the corner here. One of a Weyr."

"Really?" That managed to convince Aiyana to look away. "Where?"

Biting the inside of his cheek so as not to chuckle, Nimroy guided her
the short distance and pointed it out. Personally, he did not think
that this showed quite the workmanship as the other, but the colors
were still impressive, and the weaver had still managed to capture a
good sense of the Weyr and inhabitants. Though many preferred this
tapestry, it had always struck him as just a little bit too
busy. Nimroy found that he preferred more restful scenes.

Aiyana seemed to enjoy it, however. She perused the tapestry with the
same intensity as the others, staring at it as if there was more than
first met the eye and she was determined to see every last detail, even
the most subtle. "Are there any more?" She asked after a long silence
had descended during her study.

Nimroy smiled broadly. Concentrating on the tapestries seemed to do
away with her nervousness and he felt as if he had truly accomplished
something. "Of course. Down this next hall is something I think you
might find very interesting," he told her as he offered her his
arm. "There are a series of tapestries made to commemorate the
establishment of Amber Hills. The tapestries essentially tell a
story."

"Oh really?" Aiyana seemed to light up at the description and she moved
away from the tapestry, drawing a bit closer to him. "Where? I would
love to see them."

"Right this way," he answered using the upward motion of his open hand
to indicate the direction. Well, she hadn't taken his arm but she did
come closer. He almost felt as if he were dealing with a skittish
runner that might spook at anytime. "They are very old, but show
excellent craftsmanship," he explained as he lead the way down the next
corridor.

Aiyana kept the pace with Nimroy, curious about the story
tapestries. Of course, every single one of the tapestries she had seen
were beyond her abilities, but she could just imagine the sort of
things she would make if she could just learn how. She gasped softly
as the tapestries came into view and stopped before the first one and
fixed her eyes upon it. "I wonder how long it took to make just this
one."

"I could not begin to guess. You said that you have done some small
pieces. How long does that generally take you?" Nimroy knew next to
nothing about weaving, embroidery, needlework and the like except the
value of certain items in trade.

"It depends on the project and how much free time I have." Aiyana
stated simply. "I can usually get a small one done within a month or
so. Mine, however, are nothing near this complex or beautiful. My
embroidery is pretty subpar, especially compared to this."

"Curious, how when one compares oneself to a master, that can often be
the conclusion," he teased before asking, "What do others think of
your work?"

"They seem to like them well enough." Aiyana shrugged slightly. "Of
course, we're talking about family members and friends here. They tend
to be biased."

"And each of us tend to be our own worst critic. I simply do not think
that someone able to show the depth of appreciation that you do would
lack any skill in the area."

"Not all of us can be Masters." Aiyana waved her hand
dismissively. She then moved to the next tapestry in the series and
stared hard at it, studying every detail. "And what sort of things do
you show appreciation for s...Nimroy? Things you do or do not have
skill in?"

"Oh, I rather like, and appreciate a number of things," he answered. "I
like to read and learn about a variety of different things, places, and
people. Yes I definitely have an appreciation for unique people," he
said giving her a rather meaningful look. "And I particularly like to
travel. When I was a boy I wanted to see all of Pern. And my skills
run toward interacting with and negotiating with people. My interests
are broad, you see, but I lack depth in one particular area." He
thought of his son. If anything he was passionate about seeing to his
son's welfare, but it was too soon to say yet whether he would prove to
be a good father.

"I see." It was a shame, passion made life interesting in her
opinion. The girl stared at the second tapestry a moment longer before
finally moving on to the third. "Perhaps you just haven't found
something about which you can be passionate yet."

Perhaps Aiyana was right. When he was younger he was passionate about
new experiences and just increasing knowledge in general, but had he
really found his passion as an adult? Was it possible that he had
spent so much time regretting lost opportunities, and chasing after
childhood dreams that he had failed to do that? "I suppose that is
certainly possible," he answered as he stared at Aiyana, thoughtfully.

Last updated on the February 17th 2009

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