Who

Ginger, Phaedra

What

Phaedra has a wardrobe problem.

When

It is midmorning of the tenth day of the fourth month of the seventeenth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Lower Bowl, Southern Weyr

OOC Date 14 Jun 2019 23:00

 

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Lower Bowl

Cobblestones sweep as far as the eye can see, a unique feature to the lower section of the bowl — but necessary, perhaps, as the stepped western bowl drains off into this high-trafficked area. The shallow bowl is bounded by craggy-black bowlwall with entrances pockmarked - and some boarded over in an effort to prevent entry from un-renovated caverns. Directly south, the wall neatly crumbles away to roll southerly into rollicking fields of soft hills; a glance of the stables can be seen through the gap, nestled against the entrance bridge that spans westward.


Mid-morning and the fairways of Southern Weyr are bustling and busy. WIth it now being autumn, the weather has cooled and everyone can move about without feeling like they can drink the air. One such busybody is Phaedra, who currently pulls a small cart behind her that is full of freshly foraged herbs, plants and roots for the medicinal gardens. In a state of unusual circumstance, she's dressed in pants and a tunic, instead of the usual apprentice robes the apprentice healers wear. Some varment had got into the girl's dorms and had utterly destroyed anything with cloth as if looking for nesting material. And so, most of the girls today are wearing clothes borrowed from the stores. The look on Phaedra's face as a result is one of mild discomfort. SHe's always worn dresses or robes, this wearing pants thing takes some getting used to! And so, the apprentice healer's normal state of resting bitch face now also holds a look of mild irritation. She stops at the halfway point to retrieve a skin for a drink of water, after all, hauling a cart is hard work!

Ginger is, inevitably, dressed in trousers herself; hers are wherhide, as she's dressed for flying, though she's carrying her jacket rather than wearing it, and the sleeves of her shirt are currently rolled up. She's standing with Shokravanth, who is definitely soaking up the sunshine as he lies in a well-chosen spot. He seems contented enough; the half-closed eyes are slowly whirling in placid shades of green. His rider has an impatient air about her, as if she's waiting for something or someone. She's unaware of Phaedra's wardrobe challenges, of course, and sees nothing untoward in the healer's mode of dress, but she does look curiously at the cart and its contents as Phaedra stops nearby. She even tosses out a greeting. "Morning! That looks like heavy work."

Phaedra looks around when she's hailed, and when her gaze lands on Ginger, she gives the rider a crisp salute. "Morning Ma'am, aye, it is, but it needs be done and I'm the one to do it this morning." There's a ghost of a smile that hits Phaedra's lips before it's gone, if it was even there in the first place. "The gardens need supplimenting and it was clear enough today to get a chance to forage. Enjoying the light of Rukbat? Or are you waiting for someone?" An eyebrow raises slightly in curiosity as Phaedra lifts the skin to her lips to drink again.

Ginger grins at the healer and doesn't return the salute. "Got it in one. Or two, anyway. We're waiting for a couple of wingmates to come for a bit of extra practice, and they're late. And he's enjoying the sun. Not so keen on it myself, but I expect I'll be missing it soon enough." Ginger really doesn't have the complexion for sunbathing; at this time of year she's pale but heavily freckled. She nods towards the plants in the barrow. "What are they, then? Edibles? Medicinals? Can't say plants are really my thing."

Phaedra seems pleased that she's guessed Ginger's activity right, despite not knowing the woman at all. Pale, freckled complexion is taken in by Phaedra's dark eyes and where Ginger might be luminecent, Phaedra has a warmer tone, one sunkissed and the color of milk mixed into klah. "I rather enjoy sunlight, it's warm, and inviting, though I think I can see why you would not. I'm Phaedra, Sr Apprentice Healer." She gives a bow in introduction and looks back to her cart, which smells of foliage and fresh turned earth. "Medicinals mostly, this here is numbweed, and this, this over here is full of klah bark, and this is for mixing with fellis. I have a few edibles in here, but the kitchens have claim on them already."

"Numbweed?" Ginger gives a light laugh, and seems to approve. "Wonderful stuff, as long as you're not proposing to boil it anywhere near me! Numbweed camp is the smelliest experience I've ever had, and that includes clearing up after dragons with diarrhoea." She inclines her head with a bit of a twist in acknowledgement of the introduction. "Pleased to meet you, Phaedra. I'm Ginger, and the big sunbather is Shokravanth. We fly in Lynx. So do you get to do actual growing of your herbs and stuff, then? Learn how to take care of the plants, and all that?"

Phaedra chuckles dryly. "Aye, boiling it can be quite the noxious affair, I don't blame you for hating it. It's a pleasure to meet you, and your Shokravanth." She hopes she isn't butchering the poor dragon's name, but they are hard to pronounce sometimes. "Lynx, that's…mid-flight?" Phaedra isn't so good with the wing stuffs, she is a healer after all. "We do grow our own and are tasked with caring for the gardens. You can't know a medicine unless you know how it's grown. We study plant anatomy and how to make salves and poltices, how to make tinctures and distill oils. There's a vast amount of learning that comes with being a healer."

Ginger nods at the healer's words, quite interested to hear about the processes she's mentioning. "I'm sure there is. I was a Smith apprentice before I Impressed - I reckon every craft has its share of learning." Shokravanth gives a low, pleased croon at the politeness, and Ginger lays an affectionate hand on his foreleg. "Lynx is lower flight, so there's lots of darting around to catch the Thread that gets through the flights above. Shokravanth's kind of streamlined and he's pretty agile for a brown, so we fit in well there."

Phaedra nods in agreement. "Aye, being a crafter takes a good deal of hide-learning." Shokravanth is given a long look-over and Phaedra gives a real smile. "He's a beautiful beast, I'm sure he does quite well at his job." Because some flattery now and again is good and specially towards those that keep Pern from dying. Another sip is given off of her skin before she offers it to Ginger, it may be cooler, but this is still thirsty weather.

"Yes, he does. Thanks." Ginger takes the skin and sips from it before holding it out to the healer. "He enjoys it, too. He really likes the precision that's needed - the movements, the flaming, putting it all together so that he can flame every scrap of Thread." She stops for a moment, apparently listening to something, then gives the brown hide a pat. "He says, fighting Thread is important and one should do it as well and as skilfully as possible, but there's no harm in enjoying it too."

Phaedra 's grin turns wry, "He's a smart one too, it seems. He's quite right, anything worth doing is worth doing right, and if you enjoy it, all the better." She folds her hands in front of her and leans lightly against her cart, though not ebough to send it rolling or anything. Though she does look around as if she might be antsy about standing still. That being done, rest is needed between hauls and she shouldn't risk strain for speed.

Ginger notices the other woman's movement. "Oh yes, he's quite a thinker, for a dragon. Their minds are different from ours - they're not really into concepts and that sort of thinking, but they're pretty sensible creatures. Anyway, it seems to me most jobs have some enjoyable bits and some that are just hard work." She eyes the heavy barrow. "How far have you got to take that thing, anyway?" She scans the bowl, looking both at ground level and up at some of the ledges, but there's nobody around who looks like her tardy wingmates.

Phaedra looks back at her cart and shrugs. "Just back to the healer's complex, from there other apprentices will help me unload it and get things where they need to go. But it's good to take a break now and again." And the tiny cart can be surprisingly heavy. She unfolds her hands to adjust the waistband of her pants and fan the bollowy parts of her to big tunic. "How do you riders and men wear these sharding things?" She asks out of the blue. "Honestly, it's like being trapped." And some would say the same of dresses, but Phaedra is definitely not a fan of pants.

"What, tunics?" Ginger sounds baffled, but it's the flapping of the tunic that's caught her attention, and it doesn't occur to her to question the wearing of trousers for active work like wheeling barrows. "Everyone wears tunics, surely? Though…" She considers the over-large garment. "Maybe the fit's not ideal? Can you sew enough to take it in a bit? Hanging loose like that might be cool, but it's not so practical for work." She's floundering a bit - not surprising, seeing as she's completely missed the point!

Phaedra 's features turn up into one of distaste. "Aye, tunics, but I was referring to the trousers. I am not used to wearing men's wear. I wear dresses, like a proper woman should." Seems like someone may have been raised at least somewhat conservatively. However, she does seem to realise she may have fumbled. "Not that I think women wearing pants is improper…" She looks like she might start to correct herself but then she turns a bit pink and shakes her head. "I apologize, that did not come out how I meant it… and I can't sew cloth for the life of me, though you stick a wound in front of me and I can stitch it quick as you please." Weird, right?

Ginger laughs at her own mistake. "I guess skirts can be cool in the summer, but they're useless for riding dragons, and they always seem to be either too tight to walk in, or just flap everywhere and get in the way. As for trousers, the trick is to get ones that fit properly. Which…" She considers the offending garment. "I suspect those don't. Aren't they yours, then?" Ginger is no fashionista, but she's got her views on what works, and Phaedra is about to be treated to them. "You want the legs and hips not too tight and not too loose, but they have to fit round the waist, or just below if you like that sort of thing, and not be too long or too short in the body. If they fit right, the legs will move with you and don't constrict you or cling, 'cos clingy legs are horrid in the heat. To say nothing of displaying everything you've got. And they're not 'men's wear' if they're made to fit a woman. We're kind of a different shape from the lads, you know," she finishes with a grin. The healer is presumably aware of this fact!

Phaedra shakes her head. "You've got the right of it there, they aren't mine, we had to borrow some clothes from the stores because some sort of critter got into the girl's dorm and tore the place up. Most of our clothes were ruined." There's a dire look of disdain at this point. Some of her best dresses had been in those trunks… She blushes a little and sighs. "I suppose all that's right for someone who wants to wear pants. I have the same opinion of these," she tugs on her trousers, "that you do about skirts. Though I'll keep your advice in mind, it may be some time before I can replace my skirts and dresses." After all, it's not like one makes a ton of marks being an apprentice.

"Some sort of critter? What sort of critter? Did you see it?" Ginger's frowning deeply at that. "How did it get at your clothes, though? You said it tore the place up: did it smash up all your chests? What else did it do?" The frown's still there. "I mean, it would have to be something pretty powerful to do that, and how would it even get in?" Her lips quirk as a possibility occurs to her. "Are you sure this wasn't a two-legged critter? One with a grudge against healers, maybe, or apprentices?" And then her expression turns deadpan as she adds, "Or girls?"

Phaedra shakes her head. "It was destroyed when we got back to the dorms for the day, and there were chew marks and what looked like clawmarks on everything. But you could have the right of it, either way, we all only have what we had on our backs yesterday and what little that did escape harm, which is more unmentionables than anything else." It coiuld be a boy. Or a certain Weyrleader. Or his lackeys. Or any number of people. And the frustration shows.

"Shells! It got into an inner room in the middle of the day, and nobody saw it?" Ginger is wide-eyed at the horror of it. "That's dreadful! What could do that? I mean, tunnelsnakes chew things, but they don't smash up the furniture." The teeth and claws appear to have convinced Ginger that the attacker wasn't human. "Has it been anywhere else? I'm glad I don't live at ground level! But your craft really ought to provide you with some basics, under the circumstances."

Phaedra sighs. "You'd think, but the stores are low on that sort of thing after the last batch of candidates and Weyrlings, there's only bits and pieces to be had currently. Our Masters and Journeymen are currently trying to work something out with the weavers. As to if it's been seen elsewhere, I don't know yet. I was out collecting herbs as soon as I could leave this morning, even though we had guards at the door, just in case." It'd been nerve wracking sleeping in a place where some beast had been tearing things apart. She retrieves her waterskin and looks at the position of Rukbat. "I'd better be getting back before Journeyman Arastoo decides I'm taking too long."

"That's dreadful." Ginger sounds sympathetic. "Hope someone finds out what did it soon - it must be worrying to think of something like that being around. And losing all your stuff!" But expressions of sympathy only go so far. "You and I aren't really the same shape: I can't even offer to lend you a - well, you probably wouldn't want to wear what I do anyway." Shokravanth croons a low warning: there are two dragons landing not far away, with their recently graduated riders. "Anyway, my wingmates are here, and you don't want to get into trouble with your journeyman! Nice to meet you. Clear skies!" She grins at the healer then climbs up to Shokravanth's back.

Phaedra waves back. "Clear skies to you miss!" Then its back to hauling her earthy smelling cart back to the complex. It's a nice walk all things considered and it doesn't take her long to finish. And once done, she's off to find some better fitting clothing…hopefully.

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