[PRP] hedge your bets [ haveli + kedah

[houllow]

Tuber duty on a cold day was a blessing and, as Haveli sat peeling away while in the warmth of the kitchen, she felt contented. There was something comforting about the steady sound of it all mixing in with the hustle and bustle of folks moving to and fro around and, if she wasn't careful, the young woman might have found herself humming softly as she worked along. Turns of doing this prevented any fear of cutting into a tender finger as she worked along so there was no need to focus too intently, like a youngling just learning how to hold a paring knife.

Fast, yet steady, she peeled one tuber after another and set them aside. The pile to her left still loomed larger than that on her right but the woman paid no mind. Where before she might have complained about the mindless nature of such a task, she now welcomed it for the chance to let her thoughts settle and an empty silence take over. There was entirely too much to think about, with the rising of a Gold still so fresh that gossip coated tongues as thickly as the snow did the peaks, so the silence was welcome.

Admittedly though she wouldn't mind a tiny bit of conversation to pass some of the time. A glance up had her look for the face of any candidates who'd pulled the same lot, or perhaps for a worker who was in a task simple enough to shirk for a brief bit of talking.  

[houllow]

It was startling how quickly someone met her gaze and spoke though Haveli paid no deeper thought to it. She had been wanting conversation, that was why she raised her head after all, but she hadn't expected it quite so suddenly. And certainly not from Kedah, someone she knew well enough (all candidates knew one another to some extent) yet hardly knew at all. "Ah, nothing really. Just looking to see who else was on duty with me. Glad to see it's you."

Someone she needn't worry about hurting themselves, or going slow enough that she'd need to reach over and take some of their work to try and get the chore done. Lately, or at least in the past few months anyway, she'd found herself helping others once her own portion had been completed, but it wasn't something Haveli specifically wanted to turn into a habit. Just a few small things here and there, but nothing beyond.

Another tuber was finished, though certainly not with the same level of skill that Kedah seemed to be showing. Haveli was a bit curious as to how she'd learned to handle a knife so well and thought about asking, her mouth opening to blurt it out before her brain could process a proper way of saying it. "Impressive work."

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

It was nice to get a show while one worked, and Haveli mimed a clap when Kedah did a little flourish between the tubers. It seemed she was correct in assuming the other candidate had skills but it also seemed she had vastly underestimated them. The skills, that is, not Kedah herself, but this was not to be a contest as Haveli continued her own steady peeling. No fancy flips, but maybe she did try a bit harder to cut the skins thinner. Just a little.

"Holding up in what way? Peeling tubers?" She knew sharding well that wasn't what the comment was about, but what was there to talk over? Haveli wasn't going to spill her emotions. "I'm doing pretty well here, though obviously not as much as you. Still, I can't complain since I'm making decent progress. I'd rather peel tubers here all day than do other chores."

As soon as she spoke her finger slipped and the knife drew dreadfully close, though not enough to p***k nor draw blood. Just a slip, and she narrowed her eyes as though to chastise herself for the carelessness. "It's a toss up between this and cleaning the barracks for the new arrivals, really, for what I don't mind doing."

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

The blade nearly slipped again as Kedah struck a nerve this time. Haveli's eye twitched, as did the corner of her lips, though she bit them both back with the practice she'd been hammering into herself over the last Turn. "I'm sorry, I just wasn't sure as to what you were referring to. If you wanted to know about my personal life all you needed to do was ask." Her tone held an edge, though it still bordered on friendly-neutral. No need to get angry, no need to cause issue when she had been the one to initiate conversation first. Starting a fight now would be like pouring hot fat onto a fire. "I've been better, but what is there to say? My sister is dead."

She peeled at another tuber, fingers dangerous close as her attitude simmered. "It's so painfully common though for life at the Weyr, right? No reason to really dwell on it since basically everyone has lost their entire reason for living at one point or another." The tuber was finished far faster than she would have liked and it looked downright awful, though Haveli ignored that and moved on to another. Her gaze had been cast down, but she raised it up to look at Kedah with a thin-lipped smile. "Thanks for asking though." She paused before continuing. "And yes, I am pretty good at the defense lessons. A bit behind however since I was laid up for a time with a leg injury, but still pretty good."

This was not how she wanted the conversation to go and she kicked herself for it. Padmia would surely scold her if she knew the attitude Haveli was taking, as would F'dral and T'nus, but right now she was more snark than actual thought. It was safe to say Haveli was in an entirely different mindset now than she had been when she first said those words at the lesson, and when she'd first heard of her sister's death, but still.

Old habits of biting at approaching hands died very, very hard.

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

And there it was, which Haveli could only sigh inwardly at. She had come to understand by this point in time that it was more or less the Weyr's way of attempting to catch those who were falling through, their "safety net" of sorts for folks who didn't have much at the Weyr. A way to prevent them from falling through the cracks and spiraling out of control. Originally she had viewed such badgering attempts by literally everyone as just that - noise and unwelcome - but now, again, she had come to understand.

Didn't make it any less annoying, but at least she understood.

"I do plan on holding the memory of her for as long as I can, but thanks to Padmia and the mindhealer that I have been working with for nearly a Turn, I don't think I'll carry the pain that long." It sounded awful to dump the name of her "foster mother" in random conversation, like just saying it would mean anything, and Haveli bit at her mind for it. Honestly she'd meant to say that folks had been there for her at the times it got so bad she could no longer continue faking it. but now it probably sounded like bragging.

This conversation had also gone in an entirely different direction that what she had originally hoped, but no matter. She'd wanted to talk to someone even if it was about a topic better avoided, so beggars shouldn't be choosers. "But you're right, and I should extend my sympathies towards any losses you've had as well this Turn." Her peeling on the tuber had returned to calm and measured as Haveli quickly worked to get her mind back to where it needed to be. How was she to face yet another clutch on the upcoming sands if she couldn't even keep her thoughts steady speaking to non-mindreading person? For shame, Haveli.

Just because Arlie was gone now didn't mean her original goal was gone. It had merely....shifted a bit, been redone to suit the path she was now on.

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

Oh yes, she had said something like that once before hadn't she? It was what started her down on being fostered and talking to a mindhealer after all, since they'd threatened to remove her from candidacy unless she got her act together. "At that...time, I didn't believe I had opportunities afforded to me, and was still quite shoved in my own end. Of course now, well, I know that it's hardly true." The words spoken at that time - a massive part of them had been true, but others had been her just biting away as usual. Had it worked out for the best? Haveli was still in debate, but things had changed.

Anyway, it did surprise her that some folks still remembered that. Not that she expected them to forget her acting a total fool and being dismissed during a lesson, but still. She had to admire Kedah for bringing it up when the woman believed most would willingly avoid speaking on it.

"I hope then that the lack of loss holds true for you through Turn's end and beyond." It may have sounded sarcastic in the choice of words, but at least Haveli's tone indicated some form of truth to it. Wishing death on others, wishing loss on them, what a massive waste of time and a surefire way to absolutely destroy any good will. Good will that was likely eroding, if the look on Kedah's face that she could see meant anything.

Ah well, Haveli was never the sort to really want nor need friends. The desire to have amicable enough relationships was there though, as going about life without even a tiny bit of ally or two made this more difficult. Kedah did also get another clap for the single-strand peel. It really was impressive.

Also this conversation was somehow all about her, and Haveli wasn't the sharing type. At all. "Any thoughts on the Flight?"

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

"I find it amusing that I stood for both of the clutches that these dragons hatched in, and now again to stand at their offspring. Not uncommon at all with how long we stand as Candidates, but something sort of...I'm not sure of the word." Hopefully it would work out better for her in that she'd not be carried out with a massive head wound, but that was neither here nor there. The last two hatchings she attended ended mildly (save the limp she got from the latest here at High Reaches) so hey, third time was a good hoped charm. For no injuries.

She was half-through her unpeeled pile and, following what Kedah had done, perhaps she could give peeling in a single line a go. She wasn't on par (no pun) with her companion in terms of blade skills but at the very least she could attempt a single run. If it worked, she'd keep on keeping on. There were a few hesitations as she went on, but it seemed smooth enough.

"Didn't one of the more recent clutches at Western have a brown sire yet twin golds?" Haveli said recent but that was certainly over a Turn ago, nearly two. It was nearing a full Turn for the Weyrlings here, so just how much could she say recent? "I suppose the thrill of guessing is what just adds to the atmosphere of clutchings."

Mr Cheri

 

[houllow]

"My sister Impressed to one of Anakumath's siblings, and I was searched to stand for Elzebuth's. I wouldn't know what to do if I had more siblings, haha. Do you have more than just the two brothers?" She probably couldn't have saved more than one sibling, or probably wouldn't have. It had only been Arlie and Haveli had known she could protect one person, but now? No point in dwelling.

As for the idea of bigger clutches due to the rising threat of Thread, she could agree entirely. The ones before Thread returned had been small, if the lessons meant anything, and it would only make sense that dragons would boost up their ranks to fight. "That is worrisome, the numbers, and yes. I've somewhat come to like the touching a bit, the last one at Western was quite nice." It was the only one she could recall where the eggs had all been kind to her, even if when they hatched none had looked her way. Still, small victories that at least her constant attempts to keep her thoughts more focused seemed to be working. "Plus it's always fascinating to think such massive beasts will come out of objects that I'm taller than, at least for a small space in time."

Mr Cheri