Who

Veresch Sorvani

What

A random early morning encounter between Veresch and Sorvani reveals secrets, messy confusing emotions, and friendship! Yay!

Profanity

Sexual themes

When

It is sunrise of the nineteenth day of the ninth month of the second turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Rooftops, Igen Weyr

OOC Date

 

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Rooftops

If you can find the handholds to haul your way up - and there are plenty, if you know where to look - then there is a hidden highway of tile and adobe that waits for knowing travellers to tread its path.A road best travelled by those sure of foot and able to stomach the occasional leap between buildings without falling victim to vertigo, the rooftops represent a quick and possibly convenient way of travelling about the bazaar; though don't be surprised if there's the odd shady opportunist willing to take a risk this high above what law lies below.

The view from up here is spectacular; rooftops, sun-bleached, weathered, beaten by time, spread like an uneven patchwork quilt from here to the very borders of the bazaar. Some flat, some tiled, some frequented and some abandoned - it's not unusual to find the odd potted garden, stored goods or even a precious chicken coop, locked down to protect the feathered denizens within its thread-protected casing.

The sounds of the bazaar are muffled, the scents blissfully so too, making it a potentially pleasant little getaway for those in need of a little peace and quiet to observe the skies, to travel the high walkways, or to simply soak in some of Rukbat's rays.


Morning, early enough that most are not yet moving; for the Candidates, this is their best working time, as it's neither too hot nor too cold, but supremely suited to all those tasks that require standing about in the heat. For Igen that's all the time. Still, there are others out as early as well. One of them is sitting on one of the little rooftop spaces away from the direction of the lake, breakfast on her lap and one foot scuffing slightly at a repaired patch of adobe wall to gauge the dryness of it. It's not all bad, losing water from the lake. Ready-made clay to repair the bazaar with! The figure nods thoughtfully, bites into a bit of breakfast roll.

What on Pern Sorvani thinks she is doing up here is anyone's guess, but here she is, treading the tiled highway almost like a pro; a very wobbly pro. With a shriek and a giggle she jumps a narrow gap between buildings. So far she's keeping to the clear open sunny areas. Despite her apparent gaiety her eyes warily scan the shadows and alcoves for any suspicious movement, or characters or suspicious moving characters. EEEP! There's one, and it's kicking dirt and eating breakfast. No wait, that's not suspicious! "Veresch!" She calls, after making identification. "Gooooood morning!" Seems Sorvani is a morning person when she finally gets some sleep.

Were it someone older, Veresch would defend her right to be here. As it's someone younger (and particular shorter Sorvani) there's a frown as she shows up with that large smile and happy morning greeting. Swallowing the bite of breakfast bread, she steps closer to help her over the last small jump if she needs; her eyebrows are hiked though. "Morning, Sorvani. Does your mother know that you're up here?" Ha ha, ironic: exactly the kind of thing Veresch's mother would not like herself.The white knot's stellar brilliance against the rest of the outfit's dun, worn state inspires a small smile though. "Escaping chores?" She sits down again. "I won't tell."

Sorvani blinks at Veresch, her expression crumpling almost instantly. "My mother is dead." Welp, that killed the mood. The early morning light doesn't seem so bright now does it? AWKWARD! "But I suppose you couldn't know that." She adds, giving a little half-smile. This time her jump is not accompanied by laughter, and is just enough to get the candidate over the gap without an extra bit of bounce. Sorvani is nothing if not resilient however as she increases her sad little smile a fraction to show she holds no hard feelings.

Well, hell. That was unexpected, and a gigantic faux pas. "Damn," Veresch swears, making her way closer to sit next to the girl. One arm goes around Sorvani's smaller shoulders and she hugs her tightly like that. "I'm sorry," she says softly but genuinely. "I so often hear people saying that to me I didn't think before I said it. Will you forgive me?" Her arm leaves the girl's shoulders, but she stays next to her, a slightly older pillar of support that tears apart her breakfast bread to offer half. "You can smack me if you like."

Sorvani waves her hand airily. "Surprisingly, I don't really talk about it. You weren't to know. Its fine." It's almost as if she's trying to make Veresch feel better. "It's been over a turn now. I miss her, butyou know." She shrugs; life is hard when you're poor. Sorvani makes no effort to take the half of the breakfast roll. That doesn't mean however that it has been unnoticed. "Lyah! No!" She barks unexpectedly, warned by the shifting of weight on her shoulder that the green was about to make a lunge. "Sorry! She's just been fed too." The opportunistic firelizard hisses at Sorvani before turning pitifully red eyes towards Veresch hopefully.

Veresch's tonguetip clicks as she's stalked for that piece of breakfast bred, a quietly alluring sound she's learnt works on hers. "It's alright," she says quietly as she starts picking the bits of bacon and sausage out of the bread. The bits are set down on Veresch's leg, wiped clear to get rid of dust first. "There, Lyah." An aside to the green's mistress, "You want to get her trained to hunt for herself very quickly if possible. Is she from Finn's gold's clutch? She's Helios' get then, one of mine, and he hunts with the best of them. Just the oiling and cleaning you'll have to keep ahead of." A small pause. "Look, please take some of the bread. I feel like an idiot."

Lyah may be a mooch, but she's not slow. Quick as a flash, she's snatching the food from Veresch's leg and scrambling backwards behind Sorvani with her prize in her mouth. Oh yeah! "She is! I didn't really believe Finn when he just offered me an egg, but he kept his promise." There's a hint of wonder as she recounts how she (of all people) came to impress a firelizard. "Honestly. It's fine." She eyes the bread. "Oh alright!" She frowns as she takes the bread, ripping a tiny piece off and popping it into her mouth. "Better?" Her actions may be gruff, there is a slight twinkle in her eyes.

"That's not enough to feed a baby lizard." Literally; Lyah had more of a mouthful than that. This time Veresch tears a proper piece off for Sorvani, whether she eats it or not. "Here." Her smile grows. "Finn's the best of people — the woman that catches him one day is going to be very lucky. Then again, if he Impresses, I can see the ladies wailing from here to the River Hold." Good news like Finn gets around. "How are you holding up in the Candidacy? I shouldn't think that the chores would get you under, but it must be bad with all those strangers around all the time. Do the eggs make up for it?"

Sorvani quirks a brow but takes the offered piece in slender fingers and nibbles. "You're the one insisting I have a second breakfast!" She speaks around her foot, because there isn't enough to interfer with speech anyway. She spends a few moments nibbling thoughtfully. "It's not so bad. The lessons are the best. I think my head will explode with all the new information. But in a good way!" What? No complaints? No wai! "The others are fine. Some finer than others." There's a cryptic smirk at that. "But mostly, I'm trying not to loose my mind with all these earthshakes." It's not exactly confidential information here. "Trying to keep my shit together is the hardest part. The eggs don't help. They can be…" Her voice drifs, she has no words for what they are.

For all that Veresch knows about the general process of Hatchings and eggs and Candidacy, Sorvani has an advantage she's never had before. "The eggs," she mutters around her own piece of bread, slyly sneaking Lyah another piece of sausage. "Everyone that talks about the can't talk about them; it's most frustrating." Her mood lapses into a slight, sulky smile. "Ah, already eyeing the guys in the group? There are a few very fine ones, right? Who's catching your eye at the moment?"

Sorvani meeps. Yes really. "Uh." She rips at the piece of bread in her hands, sucking her teeth between her lips one side, then the other. "I don't have my eye on them." It's important that that is made clear. "Just some of the boys are nicer to look at than the others." She clarifies with a blush, but the thrust of her chin suggests she's not naming any names. "And some of the boys smell dreadful." This must also be noted. Her face grows thoughtful once more. "If it makes you feel better, we don't even talk about it between ourselves. We all know. We've all felt it, but it's not something we can share. Does that make sense?" Those bloody eggs are mysterious.

"I have eyes in my head too," Veresch murmurs. "Some of them are definitely more attractive than others. Smell… well, a good wife can get that out of a husband, but if you've a face like a trader camel at birth not really much you can do about that." Another nibble. "Not that that's something you ever need to worry about." She doesn't quite poke her to release that tightly-stashed hold of names, but it's there in her sideways look. "I don't feel bad about it, precisely, you know? We grow up hearing about them though, seeing rider after rider coming off those sands, and … yeah. People are bound to wonder what it's like."

Sorvani shudders unexpectedly at the mention of wives and husbands. Euw! "He'd have to look like perfection from on high for me to be a wife, let alone wash out whatever foul odors he produces." She declares with a firm nod. "But there's no harm in looking." Somehow she manages to capture the confusion of puberty with those last two statements. "Can't you just ask to stand? I think there's a couple of boys from the Weyr that did that." Note that she's talking about boys.

Veresch, having her own struggle through puberty at the moment, is unable to do anything but agree there. "I wouldn't mind a boyfriend," she says judiciously. "There are a few I wouldn't mind… there's one guy I like." Similarly, no names are mentioned, but the girl's expression is confused, not quite bubbling with it, and out of revenge she nibbles up the last piece of bread before dusting her hands clean. "You know, I wanted to ask you — my mom's constantly trying to smear skirts off on me. She says I get up to too much trouble in pants. You oil your green every morning, right? If you'll attend to my lot for a seven, I've some good clothes you could possibly cut down to your side? We're the same build, more or less, just the height difference."

Sorvani wasn't really eating anyway, so the last piece is consumed uncontested. "Huh what now?" She frowns at Veresch. Frown. "Skirts aren't so bad." Give her a moment, she's working through the request. "But yeah, moms can be like that." And then it goes all pear shaped. "But what does this have todo with firelizards?" Yep that's the point she got lost. "And clothes?" Chugging along underneath the confusion is another thought process altogether. "You like Finn?" Apparently she's connected the dots all the way back to Veresch's previous mention of the smith.

"I used to like Finn," Veresch says, dealing with that first. "But he's better to have around as a brother figure, so no. I don't like him like that. Anymore." She clears her throat. "I've got five of them. Remember that chat we had about performing services for others that they don't want to perform themselves?" Catch up here, Sorvani. "It's at least a couple of outfits though, that's why you've got to do it for at least a seven though. It's so dusty and dry here now that I can barely stay ahead with one between my duties, and you can do it morning or night, I suppose."

It still takes Sorvani several moments to fully understand the proposition. "Ooh. Okay, so you want me to look after your firelizards for a sevenday and you'll give me some clothes?" Her head tilts as she considers the rest. "Am I supposed to pretend to be you as well? For your mom?" That's the bit that was tripping her up. "Yeah he is a bit isn't he?" She agrees with the assessment of Finn. "Who else is there?" She thinks for a moment. "Safid? Jaktrin? That harper guy? Threvobek?" Prod prod prod. "Uhshells. Nalvin?" She has no compunction about probing for names.

Veresch badly wants to bury her face in her hands, but manages to resist. "No, I just want you to do them, and in return I'll pay you with the clothes. I'm saving up my marks for something large, so I don't want to spend them right now. However, if you'd rather not it's okay." A trade transaction, that's all it is. "No pretending to be me; you're not enough of an irritated bitch to pull it off, and your hair's too long." Her lips tug into a smile at the needling. "Have you ever heard of quid pro quo? Can't expect me to tell you who I like and then tell me nothing yourself!"

"Quid pro quo?" Sorvani mouths, feeling the shape of the words before storing them away. "I don't even know if I like him, just sometimes…" Mostly in her head. "…we've talked a couple of times. And he's been ever so helpful." And it's all terribly, terribly confusing. "But I get the feeling that he gets a lot of attention. So maybe I'm just copying everyone else. Not that I'm sure I like like him." She pauses. "But he is nice." Still no name. "And sure I can do that for you. It's not like I've got anywhere else to be after all." And new clothes! Yay! This is like a teen chic-flick or something. Make-over montage!

To Veresch: Sorvani leans over and daringly whispers in Veresch's ear "Threvobek." before scooting away with bright, bright red cheeks.

Total makeover-montage, bay-bee, except that veresch is not the wise older girl with a crack hand at makeup and hair arrangement, and she looks pretty scruffy herself. As she listens to the explanation of the man, her thoughts whirl and bubble as she tries to fit the guys into the broad bands of a teenaged girl's affection, and there's an uncomfortable crimping of her brows as she figures it out a second before Sorvani leans closer to whisper the name in her ear. For a moment there's no reaction, a see-nothing admit-nothing that pains; in the next she's smiling at her companion. "He's a good guy, you know, between all that irritating bits about how women should act. But I guess you're up to his standards. I was never."

Sorvani turns puzzled/hurt eyes towards Veresch, she just bared her soul! HER SOUL. And this is what she gets? "What do you mean?" She asks, suspicion making the words come out very slowly. HER SOUL! "And I said I didn't know if I liked him liked him. Just he's been very kind to me." If she was confused about the firelizard feeding, just imagine how confused HER SOUL is with this!

There are bits of the soul that should never be bared — not that this is one of them, of course. Veresch reaches out to flick one hand over Sorvani's head, a gentle there-now pat. "I kind of like him as well. Or I did. Or I do. it's a pain in the ass and confusing, because by turns I want to punch him and laugh at him." Taking a piece of the girl's long brown hair, she tugs gently at it, a gentle plucking as if to underline a point. "Candidates aren't allowed to be in relationships really, but if you like him you should have the courage to believe in that feeling, right?" A shudder grips her frame. "There's this guy called C'sei, right? He was in the last clutch Tuli's gold had here. I think I like him too. I … there's this feeling, right? Like you ate something bad and your stomach is flip-flopping?" That's right, she equates love to food poisoning. "Sometimes… sometimes Rev makes me feel like that too."

Sorvani's hurt and confusion clear, as Veresch speaks. She gets it! She totally gets it. "Well I haven't known him long enough to want to hit him." She admits. "And trust me, last thing I'd ever want is a relationship." Relationships lead to sex, sex leads to babies, babies lead to DEATH. "But that funny feeling in my tummy? I get that sometimes too!" Now they can bond, and maybe that make-over montage is back on.

Veresch has a moment where, almost like a canine, she's expecting to get yelled at. When that doesn't happen though she peeks cautiously at Sorvani, lip nibbled on. "You understand?" she asks quietly, just wanting to make sure. "I mean, of course you understand. You're a girl as well! "It's confusing though, right? I wonder if they ever feel like this — it wouldn't be fair if we were the only ones to feel it. But I'm definitely not brave enough to ask."

Sorvani nods. "Bloody confusing. And bloody hindering awkward… And then you start to realise, maybe that funny feeling isn't so bad." Her voice gets quieter. "Then I run away because it's also scary." She admits. Yay for girl things. "My mother." Rest her soul. "Always said men only thought with thier dicks. And that their dicks only want one thing." She nibbles her lower lip, of course Sorvani's mother may not have used the exact same language her daughter does. "I don't think that it's the same. And she would have known, because she was married with children right?"

Well now, that makes so much more clear. "I…" Veresch actually falters. It's not a conversation she's ever had the intention of having with anyone, especially young, pretty Sorvani. "You know. The trader women might be able to help you; there are teas and things to make sure that you don't have children. Generally guys think with their tonkers - you only have to go and look at Rosies… on second thought, no, don't go and look, just take my word for it - but Alec isn't like that, and I'm increasingly beginning to think Rev isn't like that either, for all that his father is an asshat of the first water."

Once again Veresch has completely changed Sorvani's life with a casual comment. "Teas and things?" She excitedly turns towards the changer-of-her-life, even going so far as to tug on her arm excitedly. "Teas and things?" TELL HER MORE! "There's things that make you not have children?" Like tea perhaps? "Rosies? Rosies? Hmmm." She's heard that name somewhere before. "That's where Safid…" Oh light-bulb! "…is from."

Veresch's arm jiggles. "I … hey! Slow down! I don't know how it works either, okay, I just know that it does! What with the way that golds are, and flights, people want a little control over when they get babies, right? I know some female riders have problems with … well, flights. Going between tends to prevent carrying a lot of pregnancies to term, so you rarely see them going between once they know. I'm not sure why that happens. The trader women though, they have medications that you have to drink regularly if carefully, and it prevents you from becoming pregnant. There are teas for men too, as I understand it. Um… I wouldn't ask Finn, but his sister Onari or the Zingari should be able to help if you want to talk about it." The mention of Safid makes her curl her top lip. "That one," she says idly. "I only met him once and it wasn't very successfuly. He's such a surly boy. Man. Whatever. Pretty, but he only uses that when he can gain something."

Sorvani is almost crying, which considering she didn't even do when her poor dead mother was bought up, is saying something. "I don't think I need it just yet. But there's tea! And things!" She's still excited about this revelation. "Tea!" One last triumphant whisper, and she's done. "Really? Aside from his face, I haven't really noticed him one way or another." Most probably because age and gender separate them. "But I'd be grumpy too if everyone all the time was in my face telling me I was pretty."

Age, gender and temperament perhaps. "You know," she finally says delicately. "Perhaps the ladies from Rosie's know enough about this kind of thing as well, if you don't have a problem talking with that type of women. There's one in specific, a rather clever lady called Fasai. She might be able to explain the bits and pieces of birth control as well if you don't want to go to the Zingari?" Taking the hand on her arm, she gives it a little squeeze. "You are pretty — might as well get used to that now." Veresch… well, she's got the type of face that still needs a turn or so to ease into its elegant lines at least. For the moment it's too sharp still, trapped on the last hurdle of puberty. "Tea and things. I promise. I've been… um. Thinking of starting to take some." An admission!

Sorvani frowns. "You know, W'rin might have said that too. That one time I talked to him in the baths." Her expression is puzzled, and a little incredulous. "Am I really pretty?" She asks in a very soft voice, and because she's a teenaged girl, and they're typically self-centred she'll dwell on that for a while. "I still can't get over the concept that people pay for it. That's the most shocking thing about Rosies." She flicks a wink at Veresch. The sun has risen about a finger from when she first entered the Bazaar, not that that worries her any. "Really?" Ah there, now she's paying attention to other people. "How exciting!" Or something. Should she throw a party? "Is it for your friend C'sei?" Her tone contains a hint of 'it better be'.

"Perhaps. Or Rev. I've not decided yet, though I have about as much chance as tits on a bull of convincing myself to do anything with a Candidate." Veresch's shoulders lift in a shrug. "Perhaps someone else entirely. it's stupid being this nervous about things." Her mouth shapes into a smile. "Are you afraid I'm going to get into your waaaaay with him?" It's drawn-out, teasing, diverting attention away from herself. "Personally, if you're very good at something, you should get paid for it, right? I'm betting she's extremely good at it." She certainly seems to be good enough at understanding people.

Sorvani did glare death lasers from her eyes for the barest of seconds. Pewpewpew. But with a shake of her head and an unladylike snort her good temper returns. "Faranth. It's silly isn't it?" Her lips twitch as she considers the situation. "Neither of us are entirely sure of him, and neither of us would do anything about it, but still, if it doesn't make me want to rip your eyes out." There's an affectionate smile and a squish of Veresch's hand to take the sting out of her last words. "I think we could be friends." Sorvani declares, before adding quietly. "I've never had a good friend before." Finn totally doesn't count, he's a fake big brother.

Veresch turns her hand to squeeze back, and for a moment there's a kind of happiness about her that's not been there before — gratitude for the idea of a friend, even if things in the rest of her life are terribly confused. "You'll have to get up earlier than this to rip my eyes out," she teases. "And yes. I could really use a friend to talk to as well. Shall we give it a spin, see how it goes? If you Impress — well. It's always handy having a rider friend. If not — we can cry on each others' shoulder, right?"

"Eh, you'll learn. Ripping out eyes would take too much effort. I'm not good at effort. I think your eyes are safe!" Sorvani teases back, and also teases herself. She's good like that. "Cry, maybe drink some tea. Go to Rosies." Her timeline might be slightly off. "As I understand it, if I impress, it'll just take a couple of turns longer." She winks, before groaning and getting to her feet. "I'd love to stay and chat longer…but I think I'm late for lessons as it is." She grimaces at the sun that is central to all Igenese life. "If I don't go now, I'll have a bitch of a time talking my way out of it." She does make a little sad face. "But I'll see you around right friend?"

What a totally unexpected interlude this had been. Veresch blinks, distraught, as Sorvani stands, finally calling attention to the time. "Ah… damn. I'm late too!" Jumping up, she claps her shoulders gently, dusts her backside off and grins utterly happily for a moment. "I'll see you around, friend. Until tomorrow, and remember … go and talk to someone!" Just not her, she's still attempting to figure out the mysteries herself.

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