I Saw You

Writers: Ames, Eimi
Date Posted: 11th February 2013

Characters: Shyow, R'mer
Description: Shyow has sticky fingers and gets caught by R'mer who offers her more than she imagined
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 12, day 10 of Turn 6

She filled the drink with a smile, sliding to the man who had been
staring at her all night. "Enjoy," she breathed softly, leaning
forward just slightly to show her ample bossum. She nearly gagged when
the smell of his breath assaulted her senses as he spoke some words
that were to entice her.

Smiling and playing coy, she shook her head and slipped away to
another table. The guests there had been pleasant and sweet. Shyow
actually wished _they_ would have stayed instead of the man who still
ogled her from the bar.

Sliding the marks from the now empty table into her hand, she turned
away from any prying eyes and slipped one inside the little hidden
pocket in her apron. Turning back she grabbed the mugs and headed back
to the bar. Shyow deposited the rest of the marks in the jar for the
tavern before turning to see what else needed doing.

R'mer sat at the counter, enjoying the smell of the wood and the
sounds of the tavern. It was so different from the Weyr with it's
cold stone walls and noisy exuberance. They had a right to live it
up. Their lives could be cut off at any moment. But there was
something to be said for a quiet drink where you could really taste
the flavor of the beer. It made him feel... normal. Wouldn't this
have been more like what his life would have been? Putting in a hard
sevenday's work in on the farm, and then rewarding himself with a good
pint at a tavern like this, surrounded by similarly humble people all
talking about the price of grain or chances of rain. Of course, he
doubted anyone here was talking about such things. This was the
Vintner Hall tavern after all, and not some backwoods drinking hole.
That was where he wished he could be, but a bronzedragon stood out
even more there than here.

Looking down into his empty mug, he caught the young woman's eye.
"Another stout, please?" he asked, raising it up so she could see he
was indeed empty.

Shyow saw the gestured and moved quickly about the bar, gathering the
drink for the man. With a fresh mug in hand, she made her way over to
his table.

"Here's another one for ya," she smiled as she set the mug on his
table. "Enjoy it for me, won't ya."

"All right," he said, curling his fingers around the handle as his head
turned to follow the young woman. She certainly had quite the figure on
her. And she seemed really nice and friendly, too.

Shyow moved to another table that had flagged her down. Replenishing
the man's cup, she happily accepted the marks he paid. Turning away
from him on her way to the bar, she slipped one small mark away from
the others and deposited it into her little pocket. She was sure no
one had noticed. She hurried to take the rest and place it where it
belonged before grabbing a rag to wash down the bar. Her eyes
constantly scanning the dwindling group to see who may need her.

R'mer's eyes continued to seek out the young woman. He smiled softly,
thinking that barkeeps were the smartest men on Pern, having pretty
ladies like hers smiling and taking care of their customers. What man
out in the back of /between/ didn't admire them. A breath of fresh air,
that's what they were. After a long days work in the field, to find
such a pretty smile behind a mug of ale... He used to hate the very
thought of the life he left behind, but sometimes he truly missed the
smell of freshly turned dirt, the grit under his nails, the sense of
accomplishment when harvest time rolled around. The simplicity. The
joy that could be found in just watching a girl like her.

Shyow continued her duties, checking on each table for some time. Her
eyes drifted between a few patrons quite frequently. The nice looking
young man in the corner, whom she knew was watching her and the rather
inebriated man near the center who'd had his head down for quite some
time. She knew he carried a rather full purse as she'd seen him
counting out many of his marks earlier.

He was slipping from his seat at the moment, so Shyow made her move.
She hurried over to him to help keep him from falling.

"Oh, let me help you," she said, more for the benefit of the other
patrons than the man who clearly wouldn't hear a word she said. As she
put her hands around him, she made sure one was near his coin purse.
As she shifted him back into his seat, she slipped her hand into his
purse and deftly pulled out some of his marks.

The bronzerider's eyes narrowed slightly. He was sure he had just seen
the girl slip her hand into that man's coin purse!

She had too many coins to keep in her small pocket now. Shyow checked
around the bar one last time, doing her best not to draw any undue
attention. Picking up a few empty mugs, she made her way out towards
the kitchens to deposit the mugs and slip out the back door. There in
the bushes, she kept her small satchel that she used to store her
little treasures she acquired during her work. Glancing around to make
sure no one was in the back, she moved towards the bush and reached in
to grab her satchel.

"Hey!" R'mer called from the doorway. He had followed her as soon as
she disappeared towards the kitchens. At first he had wanted to believe
that his eyes had played some sort of trick on him, but the slight bulge
in her dress and the way she hastily retreated confirmed his suspicions.
"I saw you take marks from that man in there."

He had caught her by surprise. Shyow dropped her small satchel with a
yelp as she whirled around to face him. A few marks had tumbled out of
the little bag. Her eyes were wide with distress and fright the
instant she saw the man towering over her.

"I...I..." she stammered. "You don't understand. I...I..." She gulped.
What could she do now? She'd been caught. Fear flickered in her eyes.
"Please, please don't tell. I can return the marks. I can. I meant now
harm by it. Please." She was clutching her hands together even as her
eyes welled up with tears.

Her tears made him feel a little uncomfortable. "I _should_ turn you
in," he said with a frown, but he was conflicted about what to do in
this situation. R'mer wanted to believe that this girl wasn't a petty
thief. "What are you going around taking marks from people for,
anyway?"

Shyow drew in a shaky breath, shoving the fallen marks back into her
bag quickly. "He won't like it if I tell you," she whispered, looking
around as though she expected someone to be watching them. She
swallowed with difficulty. "He won't like it at all, but if I lose the
marks....oh," she dropped her face into her hands with a shuddering
sigh.

"Who?" he asked, taking a step closer. She seemed truly scared of
someone.

Shyow swallowed and tried to explain. "My brother...he doesn't know
this is how I'm getting the money. You can't tell him. He would be
devestateed. He only meant to help." Shyow clutched the little bag of
marks to her chest. "We need the marks so badly. You wouldn't
understand." She shook her head to emphasize her remark. "You have
plenty...we...we....don't," she mumbled the last.

"For most of my life I had nothing." If anyone knew what it meant to be
without, it was R'mer. "What are these marks for? Who is 'he'?"

She frowned and drew a deep breath, casting her eyes to the ground.
"My brother took out a loan. We had no choice. My father was hurt. He
was dying. It was the only way to save the farm." She looked up at
him, eyes imploring as she sniffled and whispered, "We thought we'd
lose da, but he survived, but now we're going to lose the
farm...without...well...without..." she held out the bag, "these."

R'mer could remember so well that feeling of being on the edge of losing
everything. "I had a farm once. Well, not really a farm, more a patch
of rocks. Every turn, I was all that stood between my mother and my
sisters and brother and starvation. I never did take a loan 'cause I
knew I never could repay it. No one would've given me one anyhow." Not
to a mere boy, not matter how hard he worked. "The only thing that
saved us from losing everything was the day I Impressed Hanunth." He
understood the fear, the despiration. What wouldn't he have done to
save his family?

"Then you understand," Shyow declared as she looked at him. "If I
didn't take these, we would lose everything. I meant no harm. Truly, I
didn't. Please don't turn me in. I'll return the marks. I'll do
anything, but my brother and father _need_ me and I _need_ this job."

"It's wrong to steal," he said, though his conviction was wavering.
Who's to say he wouldn't have done the same if his family had fallen
into such desperate circumstances. "Give the man back his marks.
Here," he said, holding out his coin purse. "You can take mine."

Her mouth dropped in surprise. Lips moving but no words coming at
first. Then plucking out the marks she's taken, she held them out to
him.

Standing, she looked at him quizzically. "You would do this for me?"
She asked, looking from his face to his coin purse. She wanted to grab
the coins and run, but she remained steady, waiting and watching. "Are
you trying to trick me?" She asked, turning her head slightly to
question him.

"No. I'm giving them to you. Except couple to pay for my beer," he
amended, opening the small bag and pulling out a couple small
denominations he would need. Closing the purse once more, he held it
out
to her, turning his other over to receive the marks she intended to
return.

She hugged him then. Her fingers already gripping his coin purse.
"Thank you so much!" She gushed. "You have no idea how much this will
help my family. You are far to kind and generous." Releasing him, she
stepped back, his coin purse now in her hands. "I promise I will
return the other man's marks. I promise."

R'mer blushed when she hugged him close, her chest noticeably pressed
into his. "Yeah, well..." he stammered, taking a step back when she let
go of him and running a hand nervously through his hair. "I know what
it means to watch your family suffer. Just... Don't do it again."

"You've saved my family. You are the nicest person I ever met," Shyow
praised him once again. A smile lighting her face as she held the coin
purse he'd gifted her with. "I'd better get back and return these
marks before he wakes. Thank you so much," Shyow added, touching his
shoulder as she walked past him back to the bar.

The bronzerider stood rooted to the spot for more than a few breaths
after he watched her go. **I should have asked her name...** he though
as his legs finally began to move. For the rest of the night, his eyes
sought out the girl as she made her rounds, but not out of suspicion.
Whenever their eyes met, he would quickly look back to his beer, a
slight smile on his lips.

Last updated on the February 11th 2013

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I Saw You