Eranel joins the craft...
Hall's Lounge
Cozy to the point of downright stuffy this lounge exudes a salty briny air. Overstuffed and comfortable looking are the chairs of dark blue that reside at one end of this circular room. The smattering of tables that they surround are nothing more than tops with scarred wooden legs attached as well they should be. The bases of the tables and chairs are waterstained and marked by mild salt buildup. Rugs worn with age decorate the polished floor of this relaxation area soft greens and browns making barefeet swoon. Paintings of charts and various sea mammals and fish have been painstakingly added to the walls creating the atmosphere of their mother sea. To one side of the bridge is a wide ledge... [look closer]
To the north, you see one person.
Settled near the water are Terpsichore, Minty, Libra, Hathor-Bastet, and Mejysti
You see Dartboard here.
Obvious exits:
Baths Men's Dorms Staff Hall Women's Dorms Infirmary Bridge Sea Lane
Shimmer bounces with a light step, sapphire eyes sparkling... in from the Arched Bridge.
Eranel walks in from the Arched Bridge.
Eranel walks to the northeast.
Eranel walks in from the Men's Dorms.
Jessa is up to her usual. She's eating. How very Jessa-esque of her. The senior appy is slouched in a chair, plate piled high with food resting on the arm of the chair. Engaged in eating, she waves to Shim and eyes the fresh meat.
Eranel can't seem to stop grinning. He stares at his new surroundings with rapt fascination, nearly bumping into his interviewer every so often as she stops walking and he doesn't notice. "And...I can stay here now?" he asks with niaeve innocence. "I don't have to go back to my mother's Weyr?" He looks to Shim, but his eyes catch another girl on the way past. Shards, another! Eranel smiles politely, but does not meet her gaze. Instead, he shoves his hands in his pockets, and stares at the floor. Again.
Shimmer waves at Jessa and blinks at the pebbles, recognizing them and gaping before turning her attention to Eranel. "Yes, yes, welcome to the hall. The men's dorms are that way." she says amiably, waving an arm in the vague direction of the dorms and winking at Jessa. Ah yes, Shim has caught a new one. And this one is still girl-shy.
Jessa is /so/ good at looking totally and utterly innocent. She didn't do -anything- to the lounge. And especially not with pebbles! A girl shy boy, eh? Fun fun, if Jess were into flirting and teasing boys. But she's not. Especially young 'uns like Eranel. The senior appy picks up on what's happening, "Welcome!" she says, after swallowing her current mouthful of course, "I'm Jessa." She might as well also have said I'm Innocent Incarnate.
Eranel lifts his eyes to get a look at Jessa, but is immediately distracted by the odd sight of small stones defying gravity and sticking to objects. "Well met Jessa," he states, his voice distant as he continues to gaze around the lounge. "I'm Eranel...and thankyou for the kind welcome." His brows furrow in confusion and finally he can't hold off any longer. "Um...the pebble decoration you have here is very nice," he states, trying to be polite and not knowing that the whole thing is due to some prank.
Ah yes, how -do- the stones do it? It must be some sort of trick, maybe they dolphincrafters are really stone herders and they teach the stones tricks, like how to stick to things. Yes, that's it. Jess grins, "Well met to you too, Eranel, and welcome to the craft." You're in our clutches now. Bwah. "Pebbles? Oh yes," she says, furrowing her brow slightly, "It is nice, isn't it?" Feigned innocence, she has that down pat.
Eranel wanders around the lounge, reaching up every now and again to touch a pebble, a chair, a table, just to ingrain into his mind that he is here, and it's all real. Plus it's a great excuse not to have to look at the charming and friendly (if not somewhat odd) woman nearby. "How long have they been here? Who put them up?" he asks, picking at one with a fingernail. "Oops!" Eranel blurts as the pebble falls off, and aghast at the possibility of destroying some century turn old piece of artwork, hastily picks it up and pushes the pebble back ontp it's original spot. Thankfully, it stays. See? Nothing happening here...
Jessa is odd? That's a novel concept. Eranel must be the first to have arrived at that conclusion. Or not. The senior appy pretends not to notice Eranel picking at the stones. Hrm, she must not have glued that stone down well enough. Oh well, she'll repair it later, when no one's looking or apt to walk through and catch her in the act. "I don't know, they just appeared," she says with full innocence, as if she really -didn't- know anything about it.
"Really?" Eranel asks, wide eyed and staring at the stones with a new respect. Eranel is young, hasn't got out much, and as a result, is gullible. "And no one knows how they got here?" Eranel holds his hands clasped behind his back, lest his curiosity gets the better of him and he continues to accidently vandalise the lounge. The young teenager comes back towards Jessa, quite obviously feeling a little more confortable around her as she imparts great the Great Secrets of the Stones upon him. "People must have some theories as to how they came here?"
Ah, gullible people are fun. Hrm, if Jess keeps this up, will she earn herself another Shadow? The senior appy shakes her head, "No, no one knows how they got here." Well, except for one person, and she ain't talking. Although other people must certainly have other theories about who did it. But Jess won't mention that, because she's innocent and knows nothing about the pebbles. The girl shrugs, "I haven't heard any theories yet, but some say that at night a great big tuber wanders in here and works his magic."
Eranel frowns- even that explanation is a little too much for him to handle. But the boy has been brought up to be polite (if not somewhat restrained) and so he keeps his opinion to himself. "A...big tuber," he repeats slowly, as if having trouble digesting that bit of information. "That's...uh...very interesting," he notes, shifting a little to the left, making a little more distance between himself and the rather interesting Senior Apprentice.
Jessa grins and nods, eyes sparkling with mischief. Oh come on, can't Eranel tell when Jess is just being silly? He ought to learn that you don't -always- take this senior appy seriously. "Yup, a real big tuber. But it's a nice tuber. The kind that will protect you from wherries." 'cause we all know how pesky those darn wherries can get when you're trying to enjoy a meal!
Okay, now Eranel knows for sure that she's just being strange. But the question is, does she know that she's odd too? "Um...Senior Apprentice Jessa, I don't think giant tubers exist," he explains slowly and gently, putting great respect into his tone lest the Senior Apprentice possibly fly off the handle. Poor, poor sheltered Eranel. It'll be good for him to get out and socialise, and not be so gullible. At least, that depends on who he socialises with...
Of course Jess isn't aware she's odd, she's perfectly bona fide normal. Jess shakes her head, "I'm not senior apprentice Jessa, I'm Jessa." See, Senior Apprentice ish er title, not her name, and doesn't Eranel know that no one pays attention to rank here. And there's certainly no need for rank calling among apprentices, even if one is senior to the other. Then the senior appy gapes at Eranel, "What do you mean they don't exist?! Of course they exist!" Her tone raises and takes on a hysterical quality. Is she serious? Or just silly?
Shimmer is laughing hysterically, hiding her face behind the mug of klah, shoulders shaking as she attempts to contain laughter bordering on a strong case of the hiccups. A soft snort is heard from the vague direction of Shim as she continues to laugh. Silently, of course. Though an occasional titter escapes her lips now and again.
Eranel's eyes widen and he raises himself from his chair, arms held out a little in front of him and hands held up in a warding off motion. He glances to Shimmer, his _expression pleading in wanting to understand how to handle this Jessa person. He frowns a little as he hears some odd snorting sounds from the Journeywoman, sounding suspiciously like laughter. Eranel lowers his hands and asks Jessa: "You don't really believe in giant tubers, do you?"
Jessa ignores Shimmer and her laughing. If she pays too much attention to Shim she might lose it and begin to laugh herself. The senior appy puts on a pained _expression and continues to wail hysterically at Eranel, "But they do exist! They do! What do you mean they don't!" Plate of food is set aside as the senior appy stands up and wails again before collapsing to her knees.
Various snorting sounds continue to emit from Shimmer, her shoulders still shaking as if the girl's having some sort of seizure as she laughs, the klah in the mug slopping from side to side precariously as sapphire eyes begin to water, she's laughing so hard...
Oh no, this is /not/ a good way to integrate oneself into a new Craft, and try to get on with new people. Eranel looks horrified as Jessa collapses to her knees, and the poor boy casts aside any thought of suspicion and disbelief. "I'm sorry Jess! Alright, they do exist! I've seen them sometimes too! Really!" he blurts out quickly, just trying to calm the near hysterical girl down.
Jessa continues to wail loudly, "They do exist!" The senior appy girl is so loud that she doesn't quite hear Eranel admit that huge tubers are real. Still hysterical, and on the verge of tears, the senior appy flails forwards, arms reaching out to grab Eranel.
Shimmer finally gives up her attempts at silent laughter, and, placing her klah mug on the floor next to her delicately, Shim laughs. And laughs. And laughs some more, her laughter bordering on hysteria as tears leak out the sides of her eyes, the girl holding her stomach and rocking back and forth as she laughs...and laughs...
Shimmer has disconnected.
Eranel tries to move backwards as Jessa lurches towards him, but doesn't quite make it. Horror dawns on his face as she gets a hold of him, and his _expression quite plainly reads: 'what is she going to do with me?!' Almost frightened, Eranel attempts to repeat himself in order to get her off him. "They do exist! I know! I'm agreeing with you!" he yells out over Jessa's noise. "Shards, what have I become a part of?" he adds quietly, eyes looking to the ceiling. Then he notices Shimmer's great amusement. All thoughts of panic are gone, and Eranel almost glares down at Jessa. "You really don't believe in them, do you," he asks, tone almost accusatory.
Jessa clutches Eranel to her in a hug, gently, she's not the type to hurt anyone or anything. She continues to wail, and then tapers off as Eranel admits that they do exist. She lets go of him and sits down on the floor, then blinks at him, "But I do believe in them! I really do!" She starts to wail again. How dare he doubt her?
Eranel blushes as Jessa's touch turns into a hug: he's not used to being enveloped by scantily clad women. However all physical contact aside, Eranel is too suspicious now to leap straight into agreeing with the girl once more. "If you believe in them," he asks flatly, "then why is she laughing so hard?" He points a finger at Shimmer, just before she leaves the lounge.
Jessa gives Eranel an upset and disproving look. "I don't know why. She's Shimmer. She laughs for lots of reasons." She crosses her arms and pouts, "Big tubers -are- real," she says with all the insistence of a 4-turn-year-old.
"Um, okay Jessa, if you think so." Far better to agree with the insane, rather than contradict and risk bodily harm. At this point in time, Eranel would pick up a book and begin reading if he could in an attempt to end the bizarre conversation. But since he has none, he studies the pebbles. Then realises that's what started the weird conversation in the first place, so quickly looks away. He tries another tack. "Um Jessa...would you perhaps mind showing me around a little?" Eranel coughs into his hand, almost wishing the girl to say yes, almost wishing her to say no.
Jessa decides that enough's enough and she won't torture the apprentice anymore. She'll have plenty of other opportunities later. She sits up on her knees and peers at Eranel, "Y'mean, Shim never finished giving you a tour?" Tours are fun to give, but lessons are better, but Jess could most likely squeeze in a tour. Nothing else to do at the moment really.
"I think she was going to, but we kind of got...distracted once we came in here." Eranel gazes at Jessa over lowered brows: a look that accuses her of the fact. "I know where the men's dorms are, I know the lounge...I'll never forget the lounge that's for sure," he adds, looking skyward at the whole weirdness he has endured here, "but that's about as far as we got."
Jess nods and chews on her lower lip. See, she can be serious and get down to business. When it comes to the Craft and such related things, she knows how to focus and do her work, really. How else would she have gotten to senior apprentice? "Well, over that way's the women's dorms," she points to the room, "But you don't need to go there." Women only, nyah nyah.
"No no, I definitely don't need to go there," Eranel agrees, adopting his customary 'uncomfortable' pose by shoving his hands in his pockets and gazing at the floor. "That place is for women only, and I don't belong there." Wow, 10 points for the smart one. "Where are the classes held? And is there a foodhall?" Ah yes, like most teenage boys, Eranel has an endless stomach. He can eat 3 people's worth of food, and never put on any weight.
Jessa resists the urge to giggle at Eranal. Girl-shy. Fun! "Classes? They're held out in the water, for the most part, or wherever we care to have them, like in the lounge sometimes." Foodhall? "Yup, there's a kitchen, they've got great food." Oh, so Eranel thinks he eats a lot. Well, he'll be hard pressed to match Jess' appetite. The girl is so well known for her consummation of nearly all edibles.
Eranel's eyes light up at the mention of classes being held in water, and even more at the mention of food. "Really? I mean the food at High Reaches was always nice..it tended to be a bit cold by the time you got to it, but it was nice enough...it'll be good to have some warm food for a change." Eranel begins to fidget, as though he's got something else on his mind. "You know, I think I'm a little hungry. I might see if I can find the kitchens myself. It was nice meeting you Jessa. Um...let me know if you see that giant tuber again, won't you?" he asks, and unable to help his polite upbringing, executes a bow toward her.
All references to worlds and characters based on Anne McCaffrey's fiction are © Anne McCaffrey 1967, 2000, all rights
reserved, and used by permission of the author.
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