Who

Treista, Ulrika

What

Treista is tending to paperwork in the Living Caverns and Ulrika happens to come by. They find out they have a few things in common.

When

-- On Pern --
It is 11:29 AM where you are.
It is midmorning of the seventh day of the fifth month of the sixteenth turn of the 12th pass.
In Southern:
It is the thirty-seventh day of Autumn and 43 degrees. Rain pours down in hard, biting sheets. The wind tears through any open space, biting just as hard. Thunder booms and lightning flashes in the dark clouds above.


Where

Southern Weyr, Living Caverns

OOC Date 24 Feb 2019 07:00

 

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"Aye, the menfolk don't know what to do with themselves when they find their arses hitting the ground and it's a female that's the cause of it."


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Living Caverns

Grand and spacious, the cavern curves high aloft in a naturally-vaulted ceiling that soothes any sense of claustrophobia. Rich woods line the cavern floor, varnished and stained a rich mahogany, while round tables scatter about, candlelit and intimate. The largest table lies southerly next to the sideboard, long trestles that seem oriented to providing for the Weyr's youngest. The rich blue of the Azov can be seen from a distance in good weather, when the heavy stone doors covering the entrance are allowed to stand open.



It's quite the nasty day in Southern Weyr, rain coming down in sheets and buckets outside while the ground can't possibly hold anymore liquid. Can it? Only time will tell. And this is why Treista, is comfortably ensconced within the living caverns, her work sprawled before her on one of the regular tables as she enjoys a midday meal and a mug of steaming hot klah. The Telgari woman's blue eyes scan over a few reports as she sips at her beverage, her free hand moving to run through her short platinum hair. There's a sense of ennui around the woman, a tension that seems present in most riders these days, and especially in the Weyrleadership. For now, the caverns are quiet, a few filtering in for an early lunch but the largest crowds have not yet arrived.

Guard shifts are what they are - and, fortunately, Ulrika's been off of hers for the past few hours. Time enough to rest, get some exercise done in whatever available space she can find, wash up, and go get food. It's this latter task that she's on now, a final mission before she has to prepare for an afternoon training session. The result is a protein and vegetable-heavy plate with water to drink. Finding an empty spot to sit isn't a problem, either, with so few people filling the space. Yet, her attention is pulled to the woman with work spread out before her and short, blonde hair. Even sitting, it's apparent that this is a woman that Ulrika would actually have to look slightly up at. She shifts her original course to a less-populated table and approaches the one that the weyrwoman is at. "Mind if I sit here?" It's a bold strategy; let's see if it pays off!

Treista flicks her gaze upward when the greeting comes, a warm smile lighting up her features. "Of course! I should probably start clearing things up to make room for the lunch crowd anyways." She waves at the nearest empty seat and moves a few things so that Ulrika can have a place to sit. Treista should probably be doing this work up at the head table, but she's made a habit of sitting with the Weyrfolk a few times a seven and trying to get to know those under her watch. This woman doesn't seem familiar and so Treista searches for her knot and upon seeing it, her smile grows warmer. "A guard hmm?" There's a hint of nostalgia in the Weyrwoman's voice when she asks, as if she might know something about being one.

Once she sets her food and drink down, Ulrika's free to properly salute the goldrider before she claims the offered chair. There might not be any expectation of such here, but it's a habit that's been thoroughly ingrained into the young guard from an early age. She's mindful not to bump the table, moving with a grace that might seem unusual for a woman with her build; but that would only be to those that have never seen her training. "There's no need for that, Weyrwoman. Plenty of seats wide open to be taken. I'm the one intruding," Ulrika remarks when the Weyrwoman starts tidying things. The assessment of her own rank earns a slight smile from the stoic young woman, though it's easy to miss. "Yes, Weyrwoman. From Ista Weyr, originally. And you?" She caught that whiff of nostalgia, it would seem.

Treista returns Ulrika's salute, appreciative of her attention to manners and social etiquette. "You're not intruding at all." She chuckles at the woman's answer to her query and offers a hand in greeting now. "Treista, beholden to gold Yorpith and from Telgar. I was a guard there before I ever impressed. Please do use my name, calling me 'Weyrwoman' all the time is a bother of a mouthful and rather unnecessary beyond initial greetings."

"As you like, Treista." There is a slight delay before the Weyrwoman's name, though; the instinct to use titles is a strong one. Still, Ulrika manages it. She accepts the offered hand with one of her own and ducks her head slightly as well as a further display of respect. "Well met. I'm Ulrika. Transferred here with my brother, Ur'ki. We're both here to help as best we can." She considers her late breakfast-slash-early lunch and lets it set a while longer while she asks, "How many turns were you a guard? And what was your specialty?"

"Nice to meet you Ulrika, I'm sure you'll both be much appreciated. Any help at this point is a blessing." Treista leans back in her chair and sips at her klah, her half eaten meal forgotten for the moment. "I was a guard from my late teens until I was twenty-one turns of age and was searched for Telgar from High Reaches, which is where I was born. I don't think I'd really thought too much about my specialty, I'd only just made the ranks really, when I was searched. But it was good work, and I had aspirations for Captain, one day." Treista smiles fondly on those memories. "But fate had other plans for me. And what might yours be Ulrika?"

"That was his thought, aye. I was slower to join him, but- seeing the state of things, I'm glad to be here." Ulrika takes a sip of water while she listens, her head bobbing just a little in understanding while she fits all of those pieces together. "You have more important duties than any Captain now," she notes with a wry curve at the corner of her mouth. "But my path follows the same as yours, but without a lifemate at the end. Took a while for Ista to take me on proper as a guard, even as I am. But they did." She sucks her teeth a bit as the question is considered. "Hand to hand, mostly, along with the baton. They have me training with knives and the short swords here, though, so that's been something new."

Treista chuckles. "Aye, HIgh Reaches wasn't too keen to have a woman on their guard force either, but what does one do with a girl that's of a height with the boys and just as good?" She winks at Ulrika, having gone through that whole rigmarole more than once. "Now that I'm thinking about it, I had begun sword combat as my specialty. I was raised around swords and pole arms. You'll find that around these parts, and some in the North, that knowing your way around a blade is a good thing. How are you taking to the training then?"

There's a laugh at that and Ulrika nods with a returned wink. "Kind of hard to keep turning a girl down when she keeps putting the other trainees on their back while sparring." She settles back slightly in her chair, which just puts her at a more relaxed, but straight-backed, posture. "There didn't seem much need for the blades at Ista," she admits, "but they might have just kept me out of it." The thought did cross her mind before, but she put it away, even as she puts it away this time. "It's a bit slow, getting used to it. I'm more comfortable bashing than stabbing or slashing, but my muscles learn quick. Have you kept up on your training any? Or do they keep you too busy between all of that," she motions at the work on the table, "and seeing to yours?"

Treista listens with a level gaze on Ulrika while she talks, laughing at one point and nodding at another. "Aye, the menfolk don't know what to do with themselves when they find their arses hitting the ground and it's a female that's the cause of it." Another chuckle emits before Treista sips her klah and then puts the mug down, abandoning it with her food. "I find time now and again for training, after all, Yorprith and I must stay fit too, and I'll have more time for practice soon as she takes to the sands." It's nerve wracking, waiting for both queens to lay their clutches, it's bound to be an interesting few months coming up.

"Wouldn't be surprised if a few liked it more'n they let on." Ulrika laughs at that, though the sound is short-lived, and the conversation turns away from that to more serious matters. "Aye, that's right," Ulrika replies, remembering that particular detail. "Two golds rising in as many days, wasn't it?" Maybe it was more than two days, but the proximity of the flights was still alarming. Rika sucks her teeth in thought. "If you find yourself wanting to practice with swords while yours is brooding, let me know. I could use the practice - and if it helps you keep your mind off of the Weyr's troubles, then all the better, aye?" She pauses, brow knitting for a moment. "Not much longer, is it? Until they've clutched? I'll hope they both clutch well."

Treista laughs heartily at Ulrika's first, a sly grin slipping across her lips. "Aye, you might just be right about that." There's still a hint of laughter in her voice when Treista moves on to address the guard woman's next. "It was barely three days apart and I'm betting they'll clutch within a seven of one another. The offer of practice is well appreciated and if I find myself in the mood I will definitely take you up on it. It definitely won't be long now, Yorprith grows bulkier by the day." Treista's hopes line right up with Ulrika's. She too hopes both queens clutch well.

Three days - still not much better and worthy of a low whistle from Ulrika. "More'n clutching well, I hope they brood well together." A sentiment that's shared by many, surely. "You'll be able to get hold of me easily enough, at least." And vice versa, but the guard isn't about to go barging to the sands to ask about practice sessions. It's only then that she remembers that she's hungry and that her lunch is growing colder by the second - and that she still has to be ready for practice at some point soon, too. "I should leave you to your work while I fill my belly, Treista." That pause is there again, a title threatening to fit where the name is. "It was a pleasure to meet you - and, more, to know that I'm not alone in being what I am." Female guard, bigger and stronger than most of the lads, and all of that.

Treista nods at Ulrika's first and looks a bit sheepish at her next. "But of course Ulrika, and here I am distracting you from your meal and procrastinating about my own work. I should probably clean this up and get ready for the meeting this afternoon anyhow. It was indeed a pleasure and I do hope we run into one another again sometime." She'll reach out to brace arms with the woman, a show of comradery that the Weyrwoman does not often show, but she and Ulrika seem two peas of the same odd pod and so here she is. Afterwords, she'll gather her things into a rucksack that she slings over her back while she stands. A drudge comes by and clears her food, but she stops him from clearing her klah mug. "Leave that please." She'll turn back then. "Good day Ulrika. Fair skies to you." Then she'll gather her mug, refill it, and exit the cavern, a whistle on her lips.

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