In A Hurry

Writers: JR, Anaria
Date Posted: 4th August 2011

Characters: K'hetah, Firyali
Description: Firyali strikes up a conversation with K'hetah
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 8 of Turn 6

Firyali tucked a thick stack of papers under her arm, debating how much time
she had before her scheduled meeting with the Headwoman. The Printers
had been asked to make copies of several sets of records and she was due to deliver them this afternoon, but her stomach was begging to be fed
first. Headed toward the dining cavern, she nearly ran into someone in
her hurry. "Oof! Excuse me!" The woman apologized.

K'hetah looked down at the woman, although only slightly. She was quite tall,
he was surprised to find out, which was unusual. "Not a problem," he
said. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, Journeywoman?" he asked,
eyeing her shoulder knots curiously.

She grinned. "Trying to sneak in a meal before I take these down to the
Headwoman," Firyali admitted easily. "Sorry for the bumping. I've been
told I charge around like a mad herdbeast when I have a goal in mind!"

"There's something to be said about being determined to do your job well,"
K'hetah said. "Did you want company? I was heading that way myself." As
he mentioned it, his stomach growled loudly.

"Oooh, yours is louder than mine. That takes some doing," the journeywoman
laughed. "And sure. Company is almost always appreciated. Eating alone
stinks." She shifted to move down the hallway, then stop and stuck out
her free hand. "Journeywoman Printer Firyali, by the way."

"Wingleader K'hetah, of Bronze Loeth," he greeted in kind. "I think I've seen you
around before," he said. She wasn't the type of person who blended in to a crowd well, certainly not at her height. "How long have you been at
Dolphin Cove?"

"Oh, Faranth. Turns now," the dark-skinned woman said. "I'm dreading when
the Harper Hall moves back to the Hold. I've been told I'll have to go
along, and I'd rather keep my assignment here."

"Yes, I'd imagine that Dolphin Cove is an easier place to be a female crafter than Emerald Falls," K'hetah said. "Their Lord is reasonably
conservative regarding those things from what I've heard."

"Exactly. And I don't exactly fly under the radar, you know?" She motioned to
herself. At nearly six feet tall, thickly built, with dark klah-colored
skin, there was no way Firyali was going to blend in easily.

"No, you certainly don't. I'd wager your probably one of the taller ladies
at the Weyr," K'hetah said. "So what is your specialty at the Printer
Hall?" He asked as they headed towards the Dining Caverns.

Firyali favored him with a grin, "I've only met two women taller than me, and
they both scared me, so I can imagine how I appear to most people.
Anyway, I'm a typesetter by trade, which is how I got tasked with
delivery service today. If there's a problem with these, it's because I
made a mistake in the printing."

"Ahhh," K'hetah said. "Do you enjoy it?" While he liked reading books, he had
never considered actually making them. It sounded like an awfully
tedious process, putting all those letters into place.

"I do, actually. I wasn't sold on the Printer Hall when I first
apprenticed, but the work suits me. I like fiddly things with my hands
and detail oriented work. Certainly keeps me occupied, that's for sure," she admitted. "So what about you, Wingleader? How long have you been at Dolphin Cove? I know I've seen you around several times, but we've
never had occasion to meet."

"I've been here around 2 turns now.... not long enough to adjust to the heat. If such a thing is even possible. Beyond that, I like it here. The
leadership is good, we're a bit under strength but that will resolve
soon enough. My dragon occasionally abandons me for the ocean, but what
can you do, eh?"

"Well, it's nice to be near the water. I can't say I blame him. I've skived
off work once or twice to take a swim," the Printer shook her head.
"I'll miss that, going to Emerald Falls, too." By this point they had
reached the dining hall and stepped into a thankfully short line.

"Yes, I do admit that it would be hard going anywhere else since I've lived
at Dolphin Cove. I think at minimum, Loeth would refuse to leave. I'd
miss the view from me weyr as well, and the relative privacy that it
allots me," K'hetah said, as he picked up a tray.

Firyali was in front of him, and had already chosen a couple of things, "I will absolutely miss most of the people. Weyrs in general are more relaxed
than the holds, but Dolphin Cove stands out to me as being friendlier
than most. I certainly won't be pleased to have to go back to watching
my mouth and manners constantly at Emerald Falls."

"Yeah, I don't envy you there," While K'hetah, as a bronzerider, always
watched what he said and did around others, he knew that few had that
sort of discipline. He began loading up his tray. "Hopefully nothing bad happens to the Hall this time."

"Faranth, no," Firyali shuddered. "Cleaning up after this last disaster was bad
enough. I've already seen too much. I'll be more than happy to go
several turns without seeing anything like that again."

"Yeah, it's sad that some people are so closed minded that they hurt others in order to try and impose their beliefs," K'hetah said. By now his tray
was full, and he began looking for a seat for the two of them. "And
against Harpers as well. Generally Harpers get more respect because of
their craft."

"But they accepted the Printers, who have accepted women are capable of
crafting just as well as any man, and started taking them in
themselves," she pointed out. "In a way, they almost asked for it, but
that's still no excuse."

"I think Emerald Falls was more concerned that their women would get ideas about talking back to their husbands, or leaving Hold life to be a
crafter than anything else. I think it's all about the perception of
control, which is sad," he said.

Firyali nodded to show her agreement. "You're surprisingly sensible, for a bronzerider," she noted with a smile.

"I hear that on occasion. I'm trying not to get a big head from it,"
K'hetah responded with a smile. He chewed idly on a piece of crusty
bread. "What do you think you'll miss the most about Dolphin Cove?"

"Other than the people and my little swimming hole? Hrm," she paused to think
about it, nibbling at her meal in the gap between her words. "The
variety, I guess. There's always something different going on, different people to meet, different things for me to do. The Hall can be so...
stifling."

"Yeah," K'hetah said. "I could understand that." He finished eating his bread
before starting on his stew. "Do you have any family? Any children or
any of that?"

She shook her head. "No, no children. I was close to a few family members,
but I lost my father and several siblings when those storms hit Topaz,
turns ago," she said, her voice matter of fact. It didn't hurt anymore,
unless she stopped to remember them. "What about y- oh, shardit! I'm
about to be late!" They'd been talking longer than she'd realized.

"You'd better get on your way then," K'hetah said. "It was nice meeting you though, perhaps we'll run into one another again."

Last updated on the October 15th 2011

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In A Hurry