Quite the Opposite

Writers: Noli, Len
Date Posted: 14th September 2013

Characters: Sefanya, J'nne
Description: Jayonne has good news for Sefanya
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 2, day 2 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Mai, N'tur, Jaylene

**Oh, Sialla. How you vex me.**

When her daughter had come home from her lessons that day with yet _another_ notescrap, requesting that her mother meet with the Harper at her earliest possible convenience, Sefanya had needed all her strength to stay calm. After all, the girl was young, barely twelve Turns, and was caught in that phase between childhood and adolescence. Sefanya had chuckled a moment, remembering her son's mayhaps at that age; really, Sialla? wasn't much more troublesome than the countless other children Sefanya had been charged with through the Turns, natural and foster.

Still, Faranth knows she dreaded these visits, particularly this one. The note had been signed by a Harper Jayonne, with whom Sefanya was unfamiliar; usually Mai, as the weyrchildren's primary lessonmaster, was the one to request her presence. She pushed through the solid doors of the Weyr's harperlessonroom and shivered. Although it was warm outside, the anxiety of the forthcoming meeting left the woman chilled. Sefanya crossed her arms and waited.

First his brother had stopped him for something, then his sister Jaylene and_then_a group of students. But after it all Jayonne had finally been freed. All but running, he came to where the foster mother was waiting. "Are you Sialla's," he quietly asked.

"I am. What has that girl gotten into this time?" Sefanya had warmed considerably by the time the Harper approached her, but her anxiety had been heightened by the wait. She grimly determined to give her daughter a firm lecture regarding this misbehavior. Although what Sialla had done was still a mystery.

"Er..." Caught out, Jayonne stared at the foster mother for a moment. Then it dawned on?him what she thought had happened. Sitting down, he grinned, hoping it put her at ease. "Actually, ?it's quite the opposite."

That took Sefanya by surprise. "The opposite? I'm not sure I follow." Her tone betrayed her confusion. "Why am I here?"

"Well...Sialla's old enough to craft now, right?" Jayonne fidgeted a bit, as the old master of the Weyr usually took on the duty he was performing right now.

"I suppose she is. But she's never expressed an interest in crafting." Sefanya paused. "At least not to me. She kind of gets lost in the middle, with so many children."

Sefanya cocked her head at the Journeyman. "Why do ask?"

"Well, she has a beautiful voice and we just started her in the gitar...and she's wonderful. She just picked it up with no issues at all and she's where the kids a Turn older than her are at already. We'd like her to formalize her studies and become an apprentice." Jayonne grinned at the foster mother. "Would you be okay with that?"

Sefanya stared in shock. Sialla, a harper?

When she finally found her voice, Sefanya laughed in relief. "Of course, yes! Thank you, Harper. Thank you so much." She started planning immediately. "What do you need me to provide for her? For her studies, I mean."

"Well..." Jayonne scratched his head in thought. The girl was good with her hands. "I'd like to see about teaching her the craft of making instruments. She's very nimble, you know. Would marks for a gitar kit be too much?"

Sefanya did a quick calculation in her head. She was jubilant. "I can manage that. I'll send the marks with her tomorrow." She grinned broadly. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it." He smiled broadly, clear relief on his face.

"Thank you, Harper. And if that changes, be sure to let me know."

Sefanya was practically skipping as she headed back down the corridor to her apartment. She was incredibly content. She had been worried about her children since her husband had died, nearly four Turns before, but they appeared to be doing alright. Her son was a Candidate and a Beastcrafter apprentice, and now her daughter was going to be a Harper! With a happy smile and a hum, she began to prepare her children for supper.

Last updated on the September 14th 2013

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Quite the Opposite