| Who | Zalara, Kyara |
|---|---|
| What | Zalara asks Kyara to teach her how to fight. |
| When | Evening. There are 5 months and 27 days until the 12th Pass. |
| Where | Living Caverns, Igen Weyr |
Living Caverns
Dim light from hanging glow-globes cannot fully camouflage the ravages of time and neglect on Igen's busy living caverns, though hints of its former glory peek through in the decorative cuts to the cave's natural limestone and the high quality of dusty, tatty-ended tapestries. Here and there, skybroom tables — stained dark by wood finish and a decade of grime — sit in loose groups, flanked by wicker chairs with pointy, broken rattan that pokes out to invariably find unprotected skin. The seemingly randomly placed furniture, however, at closer inspection, forms a sort of cross-shape of negative space. At the northernmost walls and nooks of the caverns, a long buffet table with tarnished lazy susans hosts an array of finger-foods and pitchers for the interested, refilled occasionally by drudges that shuffle in from the curtained entrance to the south, beyond which lies the kitchens. To the east is a large arch leading outside and, across from that, to the west, a set of rattling doors that open to reveal the tunnels and stairs of the inner caverns themselves.
Zalara is sitting at one of the tables and she's eating a bubblie pie for dessert. Her firelizards are sleeping next to her. She is kicking her feet under the table.
Bubblies? Oh yes, Kyara has those scented out as soon as she walks in to the Living Caverns. It's a good deal after sunset, though not so long as to make the sky completely black. Another sandstorm finished blowing through not too long ago, and the greenrider is fresh from the baths, having rid herself of the clinging grit of it's aftermath to end a very long day. Parched and in need of a snack, she grabs a tall glass of juice and a couple of those bubbly pies, then proceeds to look for a spot to sit before spying Zalara. "Hey there, lass," she greets, smiling widely; it would seem that colorful bruise across her right cheek isn't as painful as it was a few days ago, now. "Mind if I sit with you?"
Zalara looks up and nods, "Sure you can…what happened to you? Did you get into a fight? I had to kick an older apprentice in the balls today," she states rather matter-of-factly. "He was picking on one of the new apprentices and it was getting out of hand."
Something about hearing that coming out of Zalara's mouth makes Kyara nearly spit-take the mouthful of juice she just sipped. However, she isn't exactly surprised the Smith girl did it. "Ah…hmm. Well. I'm sure he deserved it, but there are…subtler ways to get the point across, Zalara. Not that I blame you; it's just…" Sighing sharply, she waves it off, then flicks a finger up at the bruise on her face. "I did get in a fight, as a matter of fact. Not on purpose, of course. You should see the other guy. He's in jail now." There's a slight smirk at that, but it quickly gets traded for being occupied with a bite of bubbly.
Zalara nods. "He did. He was being so mean and he was gonna make the other apprentice cry and was threatening him. I told him to stop or I'd tell a journeyman and he said he'd beat me up, too, so I kicked him." She explains it all as she eats her bubblie. "Really? I bet you beat him all up. What happened that you had to beat him up?"
"Well, hopefully he'll know better than to mess with you, now," Kyara says with a firm nod, licking her thumb as she breaks the edge of a crust off her current bubbly. She keeps her eyes on the pastry, nibbling that bit of crust in contemplation as she decides how best to explain what happened. "He threw a rock at me while I was up on Liareth's neck. I chased him, and I caught him, but he punched me in the face, so I had to hit him back. Enough to make him stop." She shakes her head a bit. "Some people do stupid things when they're scared or very angry. The man I fought with was both."
Zalara winces. "I'm sorry to hear that he threw a stone at you. Why would he do that?" She nods a little bit. "I guess so. People do do a lot of dumb stuff all the time. He's just lucky that you didn't have your dragon sit on him. Do they teach all riders how to fight?"
Shrugging slightly, Kyara finishes off her first pie. "He knew we'd caught him doing something he shouldn't've been, so he did something desperate. That's all," she explains. Then she smiles subtly. "Yes. All of us do dumb things, and all of us do amazing things. Some people just tend to do more of one than the other." At the thought of Liareth sitting on those prisoners, the greenrider chuckles. "That would have been something. There were too many trees in the way, and it was dark. But I'll keep that strategy in mind for next time." After another sip of juice, Kyara shakes her head. "No, not all riders. Some riders, like the ones in the Parhelion wing, have guard-type duties, so they get trained. But I think a lot of riders learned how to fight on their own, like I did. I learned to fight when I was a Harper Apprentice, about your age. I had to, because the boys liked to try beating on me. A friend taught me how, and I got good at it." She fingers the rim of her glass, pensive. "I hate fighting…but I'm glad I know how to. Very glad."
Zalara nods a little bit. "I guess you are right - people do both amazing and dumb stuff all the time." She ahs. "Why were the boys trying to beat you up? Do you think you could teach me how to fight?"
"They thought I was showing off and doing better than them at everything," Kyara replies, factual rather than angry. This is well in her past, after all. "I was also the only girl composer at the time, and they didn't like that I was there all of a sudden. They were trying to make me quit. I wouldn't stand for it, because I knew it was what I was meant to do." At Zalara's last question, Kyara pauses, looking at the girl seriously and folding her arms on the table, leaning forward. "You want to learn to fight, Zalara? Are you sure?"
Zalara nods a little bit. "Boys are stupid like that. They can't stand when someone is just better then they are and they think beating them up will make them better." She nods. "Yah, I want to learn how."
Kyara gives a little hum past the new bite she's taken, smiling. "Well," she says, giving Zalara a knowing little wink, "not all boys." Surely Zalara can think of one who isn't like that! Hint, hint. Brushing crumbs from her hands, Kyara sits back with a quiet sigh, rubbing her neck a bit. "I think it's an important thing to know how to do. It's good exercise, for one thing…and you never know when you might need it, for another." With another intent look at the Apprentice, Kyara nods. "I can teach you, yes. But you have to promise me, Zalara, that you will never, ever use what you learn against someone else unless you have absolutely no other choice. Do you understand me, lass?" Her tone isn't harsh, just firm; she's very willing to help Zalara in this, but the greater-power-greater-responsibility thing is quite important to her.
Zalara hmms. "No, I guess not all boys. There’s maybe one or two of them that aren't dimglows. They tend to be older boys who are well-traveled." She gets a solemn look on her face and nods. "I promise that I won't use what you teach me unless I absolutely have to." She finishes off her bubblie and sighs. "Well, I've gotta go study. When can we start?"
Done with her own round of dessert, Kyara grins for Zalara's promise and stands up, setting her glass on her empty plate and reaching out to ruffle Zalara's hair a little. "Good," she returns. "I'm going to be very busy for a while, but I'll have a little time in the evenings to teach you. Come find me about a 'mark after dinnertime tomorrow, alright? I'll see you later, Zalara." With that, Kyara is away to drop off her empty dishes and then detouring to the infirmary by way of the inner caverns, leaving the Smith girl to her studies for the night.
"I had to kick an older apprentice in the balls today," AWESOME.