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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 0:26:01 GMT -5
She can't swallow the tears that are now pouring down her face. It's hard to stifle them, but now that she's alone, she doesn't bother hiding it. She leans against the wall and begins sobbing. He's going to get her. She's going to be sent home in shame-- no, no, even worse, she's going to become Holdless for disrespecting a bronze rider.
But she's so-- so angry. How dare he threaten her for being scared, for asking directions, for-- for her perfectly legitimate fears and concerns!
If she had her own dragon, her own Bronze, maybe she could go around striking bronze riders like him down, make them suffer for what they do!
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 0:39:16 GMT -5
It's starting to become a routine, running into Aleiph. But this time is different, because as Zayin gets closer, she realizes Aleiph's crying. Her first assumption is homesickness, but jumping to conclusions never helped anyone. Keeping her tone gentle, she walks up to Aleiph, and asks a maybe-too-blunt question-
"Aleiph? What's wrong?"
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 0:48:24 GMT -5
She looks up at Zayin and hugs her knees tighter, then exhales sharply-- but it ends up becoming another sob. She wipes her eyes, then takes a deep breath, trying to get a hold on herself.
"I-I asked R'lar for directions and-- and--" He yelled at her. He humiliated her. He grabbed her.
"Br-Bronze riders are so s-s-stupid!" And she starts sobbing again.
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 0:57:20 GMT -5
She’s not an intimate acquaintance of R’lar’s, but she’s heard enough rumors to know he’s not someone she cares to befriend. Arrogant and old fashioned, he might be a competent rider but there’s only so much attitude she can tolerate. Of course, he would be who Aleiph would end up meeting. And no doubt he’s given her a terrible impression of weyrlife.
She could tell Aleiph that R’lar’s a jerk, but what good what that do? The girl already knows it. Instead, she takes a seat beside her. “I promise not everyone’s like that here,” she says softly, and then she pries for the rest of the story. “What did he say? We can go to the candidatemaster if he was nasty to you- even if he outranks us, there’s still a limit…” she’s not really sure if Aleiph is even listening through her sobs. Maybe comfort should come before practicality. She’s not up on hold customs, but a hug between friends can’t be too wrong, right? Hopefully not, because she leans in to hug Aleiph.
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 1:51:05 GMT -5
Aleiph would have shrunk away had Zayin been male, but Zayin reminds her of her old friends back at the Hold that she used to wander the Hold grounds with; it was with them that she used to discuss things that, by Hold standards, were raunchy and edgy, but by Weyr standards were everyday conversation. She'd wonder how they're doing now, but she's still too angry, and she takes the hug gladly, sobbing into Zayin's shoulder.
"I--I asked him if he wanted help with the wings because they're so delicate and I don't want to risk messing them up and-- and I guess I phrased it wrong because he was-- he was yelling at me and calling me stupid..." She sniveled. "And I started crying, I-- I couldn't help it-- and everyone was looking, everyone was watching..."
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 2:08:17 GMT -5
There's sympathy in Zayin's eyes, but anger as well. Candidates don't learn everything in a day, and from the sound of it, Aleiph was doing her best. "You aren't stupid," she says firmly, smoothing Aleiph's hair. "He shouldn't be talking to a candidate that way- that's completely inappropriate. You should report it to the candidatemaster."
Sometimes it's best to just cry it out, but she doesn't want to see tears over one jerk. Gently, she tries to lift Aleiph's face away from her shoulder. "Come on, look at me. Listen, you didn't do anything wrong. He's just a wherry-faced deadglow."
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 2:29:29 GMT -5
Zayin's words and caresses help. Really, they do. She sniffles, a wave of homesickness filling her gut as she looks up at Zayin, dark eyes staring into the other girl's. "...I just-- I just hope the Candidate Master doesn't believe him. He's a bronze rider and I-- I'm just some silly Hold girl who went into hysterics in front of everyone."
And she's still wet and shivering.
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 2:34:42 GMT -5
"I doubt she likes R'lar," Zayin says. "And even bronzeriders can't go off on a candidate for no reason. You could report him. I'm sure they'd take it seriously- the weyr won't want holds to be afraid to send their children off to be candidates."
She's starting to get rather damp. Aleiph is soaked through, and it's getting Zayin wet, and she's not entirely sure why Aleiph is wet in the first place. Did she not wear the right clothes for bathing a dragon, or change after? "You're soaked- did you try to bathe a dragon in those clothes?"
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 2:49:29 GMT -5
Aleiph takes comfort in the fact that maybe, just maybe, she won't get blamed for this or get in trouble. She'll just leave out the glare. There's no way R'lar could prove she glared at him, right? And even then, it was justified, and it was just a look, right?
She decides to answer the last part. "His dragon splashed water on me."
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 2:52:00 GMT -5
Oh. Well, no wonder. Mischievious dragons aren’t exactly uncommon, though it’s never terribly pleasant to be hit with a wave of water, particularly when one isn’t expecting it. “Okay,” she says, scooting back a bit to disentangle them. “Why don’t we get you changed? I bet you’ll feel a lot better once you’re dried off.”
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 2:55:45 GMT -5
Changing in front of another girl isn't unusual. She'd often share a bath with her sister because of how limited hot water is, and bathing with her friends wasn't uncommon. It was with boys where it was wrong.
"Okay." And she stands up, brushing her messy hair out of her face.
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 2:58:20 GMT -5
Though she'd like some dry clothes herself, that can wait. For the moment, Zayin simply stands aside to let Aleiph get to her clothes. Not wanting to make the holdbred girl uncomfortable, she turns her back while Aleiph changes.
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 3:38:53 GMT -5
Aleiph pulls out a new tunic and a new pair of pants. Fortunately she hadn't been wearing anything leather (she knew better than that), so it's easy enough to change into something dry.
She pulls on her tunic and pants, then belts up the tunic, trying to brush out her wet hair. "...You know, my sister used to see me naked all the time. You don't have to turn your back. We're both girls, aren't we?"
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Post by moonchilde on Oct 25, 2012 3:45:09 GMT -5
She doesn't want to admit she was afraid of offending Aleiph's holdbred insensibilities. Instead, she takes another tact, albeit a more daring one. "I know this likely isn't typical at the holds, but at the weyrs, there's plenty of women who prefer other women." she pauses, turning back around to face Aleiph again. "I'm one of them, so I try to be courteous. I don't want to make anyone uncomfortable." She holds her hand out for the brush. "Here, I can do that. Do you want me to braid it?"
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Post by ASTROLOGICAL!! on Oct 25, 2012 4:16:38 GMT -5
Girls who like other girls. So maybe those thoughts about her one friend, the one that had always been her best friend hadn't just been fleeting, that there could be something-- and maybe Aleiph's jealousy when that friend got engaged was valid.
She's not going to talk about that, though. Instead she's going to bring up a different memory.
"...I told my mother once that I was going to marry a girl," Aleiph says with a small laugh. "She said such a thing wasn't possible and told me to get off the table. And then I went to bed without dinner."
But the offer for her hair is taken happily. "...Would you? I absolutely hate brushing it. My mother and sister used to do it for me because I wouldn't."
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