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2/6/2002
Logfile from Elehu
MOO Time: 2002-02-06 00:46:36
It is an autumn evening. The night chill surrounds you as the first stars appear,
the sun just a memory now as the moons begin to chase each other across the
sky.
Quiet Corners (#18973)
Thick woolen tapestries dull the noise from the rest of the caverns, turning
this well-lit little room into a welcome escape. The stairs up place it against
the bowl wall somewhere above the living caverns, carpeted against the winters
chill or left as cool stone floor in summer. Some high and narrow windows can
be opened to the world outside, or secured with their heavy metal-sided shutters
and blue-threaded curtains.
Glowlight gleams, brightening the well-cushioned stone couches and lighting
the weyr residents half-finished projects: knitting undone, sewing only started,
leathers being worked soft, and even a hide of sketches or half-finished Thread-chart
spread out across one of the tables.
Curled up amongst the baskets of wool is Samedi.
You see Moufles here.
Obvious exits:
Inner Stairs
Elehu (#19619)
Elehu has grown into womanhood with quite a bit of success. She has curves in
most of the right places, though her body is still a bit on the thin side and
heartily built, a stubbornness of physicality to match the resolute bedrock
of her character. Her skin glows faintly of golden bronze, the visage of a wanderer.
Her rich brown, shoulder-length hair contains streaks of reddish gold, bleached
by the sun, that seem to make her hazel-brown eyes shine with an inner fire.
Her hands are small, but her fingers are slender and nimble, well built for
her walk of life.
Snug leather pants cover Elehu's legs, neatly tucked into sturdy black boots,
but the doe-brown material isn't quite so tight that it can't be rolled up from
time to time. A belt of silver-touched onyx encircles her waist, and a slender
dagger, about six inches in length, hangs at her right hip, with an odd sort
of wherhide pouch at the left. Her loose blouse of rich emerald has been carefully
and precisely tucked in, the roomy sleeves falling only a few inches past her
shoulders. This combined with the small jewel like buttons down the front affords
the Healer with quite a bit of freedom in movement.
A soft cord of the deepest purple winds itself around a similar cord of bright
white in a single loop. Small strands of icy blue and shadowy black are intertwined
intricately, a long tail of all four colors hanging from the knot, signifying
that Elehu is a Healer Journeyman posted at High Reaches Weyr.
She is awake and looks alert.
You notice Elehu looking at you.
Elehu is 22 Turns, 5 months, and 14 days old.
Khena slips in from the little door.
Khena (#20839)
Eyes, grayish-green, look out from under long arched brows, darker than the
shock-white blonde hair sitting on top of her head. Ragged and uneven ends cut
short, bears witness that she doesn't put much interest in personal appearance.
A bend in her long, narrow nose, tells of a long forgotten break, and adding
to that is a two-inch scar on her right cheek, giving her a face of someone
who's lived a hard life. High angular cheekbones and a strong square chin adds
to the impression of masculinity, while the arched brows makes her retain some
femininity in an otherwise harsh face. Shoulders and upper arms are hardened
from long hours of training and work, as is thigh and -calf muscles, while hands
and long fingers are callused and scarred. Along her flat abdomen is a five-inch
scar, one of many on her body, but the one most predominant. Breasts are small
and rounded, almost invisible when she's wearing baggy or heavy clothing, making
her look all the more masculine, her height of almost six feet doing nothing
to diminish that impression. Slightly tanned face and hands, from hours spent
outside, complete the image of a woman easily mistaken for a man.
A sleeveless gray shirt covers the rider's upper body, falling loosely from
her shoulders, the shirttails tied together at her midsection. A black and blue
cord (signaling that she is from High Reaches Weyr) tied around her waist holds
up un-dyed canvas trousers, rolled up at the ankles, revealing that they're
a size too long for her legs. Lithe, soft wherhide boots covering her feet reach
just above the ankle to be folded down towards the foot again, allowing for
the possibility of making them longer. On the chest of her shirt, above the
heart the emblem of Mudslide Wing has been sewn into the fabric, the only adornment
of the gray garment. Interwoven with the cord around her waist is a smaller
thread, mahogany brown, representing the color of her lifemate Mneoth.
She is awake and looks alert.
Khena is 25 Turns, 7 months, and 23 days old.
Khena has no apparent threadscoring.
Elehu is curled up in a white blanket off in the corner of one of the sofas, a glowbasket sitting beside her on a small table next to a long-cold cup of klah while a small book is propped up in her lap. The healer's eyes aren't exactly focused on the pages, however, instead looking far past them in a hazy sort of gaze.
Khena makes her way in from outside, a stack of hides under one arm and a jacket under the other. Tossing aside the jacket on a couch, the brownrider slumps into a deep chair with a sigh. "I'm gonna have Mneoth flame P'rru...." she mutters as she slams the hides down on the floor in front of her feet, then picks up the top one.
Elehu turns her head ever so slowly, dark eyes eventually focusing on Khena. "Problems?" she asks quietly, little inflection of any sort to her voice other than a vague curiosity. She drops her book to her lap and stretches her arms gradually before wrapping the blanket around herself a little more tightly.
Khena's head jerks around toward the sound of Elehu's voice, "oh, hey Ele.. Not really, no. P'rru's set me to go through injury reports from Mudslide. Old ones even. 'Wants them ordered' he says." The brownrider waves the hide in her hand, shaking her head. "He /knows/ it'll take me forever to do these," she continues, glancing down at the pile at her feet, then sighs again. "So... How're you? Not too busy, I hope?"
Elehu shakes her head for a long moment before falling still again and glances at the stack. "I suppose that could be useful," she comments idly while stifling a yawn with little success. She scoots back into the sofa a little more before giving Khena a small shrug. "Of course, it would have been a better idea to put them in order in the first place. It's seldom that an infirmary record is out of place." At the rider's question, however, she shakes her head once again, though just a short motion. "No, I was just, um..." Well, reading wasn't quite accurate. "Just relaxing. How's Mneoth?"
Khena grimaces, her eyes wandering from the pile on the floor back up to Elehu. "Yeah.. Woulda been much easier," she agrees on the observation about keeping them in order in the first place. "Mneoth is great. Bragging to all who'll listen that he's gonna have a hatchling soon." Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, she grins crookedly. "Just wait till I can't take him out flying anymore. Won't be so happy then," she continues, the comment only partly meant for the Healer.
"Well, he can still fly on his own, at least," comments Elehu, blinking once. "Besides, it will be a long time before you're that far along, assuming there are no complications. And by then it'll be over before you know it." Says she with no second entity inside her.
"Complications," Khena repeats, a note of worry creeping into her voice as her eyes flicker from the hide to the Healer. "What kind of complications could there be?" Re-settling herself in her chair, she puts the forgotten hide on the armrest he eyes trained on Elehu.
Elehu can only shrug a little as a blank look crosses her face. "Well... you know, just things going wrong." She still hasn't picked up on much of this baby stuff, no matter how many Turns she's been a healer. She glances back at Khena and tries to give the rider an encouraging smile. "Don't worry, I'm sure nothing will go wrong."
Khena nods slowly, trying to return her attention to the hide in front of her. Something about a bluerider getting scored on his back. Three turns before she even Impressed. "When did he last clean these up," she complains, putting the hide in one pile and picking up another from the un-organized one. "I just hope it's not twins.. There no chance of that, is there? I mean, Khor's already got a set of 'em," she suddenly says, looking up at Elehu again, concern gleaming in her eyes.
Elehu shakes her head yet again as she glances down at the book in her lap. "No, not much of a chance," she answers distractedly. She reaches for her cup of klah and starts to take a sip before pulling back to stare at its contents with vague surprise. "Um... and usually, even if there's a history of that in the parents' background, the babies have a very slim chance of surviving." Such uplifting information. The healer gets to her feet, book and blanket abandoned as she checks the klah pot and shakes her head, muttering to herself quietly before leaving her cup next to the other used ones. She returns to her seat and simply shrugs back into her blanket.
"Right," Khena notes, looking none to pleased with that answer. Another hide is slower looked over, then put in the appropriate pile. "I couldn't handle twins..." Giving up on her task, the brownrider tosses back the hide she'd been reading. "Well, this'll have to wait."
Elehu picks up her book once more and glances over at Khena for a moment. "Seriously, do try not to worry about it, and just keep up on your check-ups, do what the healer tells you... Everything will be fine." She opens the small book and pulls a likewise small writing stick from her belt pouch though not making any pretense yet at writing /or/ reading.
Khena nods, her eyes falling on the pile at her feet again. Not very much diminished. "Yeah, I'll do that," she says, her foot nudging the hides while her fingers pick at a loose thread in the chair's armrest. "So.. Are you ever gonna tell me what's going on with you?" she asks, eyes locking onto Elehu with a teasing gleam.
"Going on with me?" Elehu replies simply, her eyes not leaving the edge of the tightly grasped book. "I'm not quiet sure what you mean." She gives Khena a quick look bordering on wary before she tugs at her blanket with a touch of unease, though barely perceptible. "My job here doesn't change much. Just the patients, apprentices, assistants, seasons, whims..." Her voice brisk at first, it slowly ebbs to a quiet timbre before she trails off altogether.
Khena's eyebrow slowly raises higher and higher with every word Elehu utters. "Nothing going on, eh?" Grinning, she draws her legs up under her, settling herself crosslegged in the chair. "Y'know you /can/ tell me if there's... Well, someone new?" Fishing for a straight answer out of the Healer, the brownrider tilts her head, eyes piercing the other. "Is there?"
The healer's grip on her small book tightens by degrees until the tips of her fingers turn white against the dark brown cover. Elehu takes a quiet but sharp breath and quickly sets it aside, hands moving to grip her knees instead as she glances over at Khena. "It's not someone new," she begins, voice coolly hushed though her simmering emotions are not meant to be taken out on the rider. Gradually, Ele's grip loosens, her shoulders slumping as she simply gives in, leaning back into the sofa. "Not new. That would imply there was someone old, but there's only been one," she finally continues, tone ringing with something akin to defeat.
"Oh.. I see," the brownrider mutters, glancing down at the floor, then up again. At least, she /thinks/ she's got an idea. "I wasn't aware that you two were seeing each other... Again." Jumping to conclusions, are we? Lifting her shoulders in a shrug, Khena offers Elehu a smile before her expression turns to worry. "Are you alright, Ele?"
Elehu turns to face straight ahead, her face going carefully blank if only just. Eyes tighten as they glisten softly, hands balling into softly trembling fists. "I'm fine," she states at first, voice strained to carry far enough for Khena to hear. "Look, you have enough on your own agenda, you don't need to worry about me too," she hastily adds, fingers fumbling to resettle both blanket and book.
"You don't /look/ fine, Ele," the brownrider notes quite firmly, tilting her head forward to look at the Healer with hooded eyes. "And I'm your friend, y'know? And 'sides, now is when I have more than enough time to talk, what with drills and such out of the question now." Tone growing sterner, Khena crosses her arms in front of her chest, staring down the other with a clear look of demand for an answer on her face.
"It's just..." Elehu begins, voice quavering before she can take a slow breath, hands once again gripping her book, merely a focal point at the moment. She shakes her head sadly, finally glancing at Khena again as an almost embarrassed look appears for a second. "You can convince yourself of a lot of things. To work hard, be content, stay fai..." but she abruptly cuts herself off with a shake of her head. "I've just been a very great fool for a very long time now," says the young woman of only twenty-two Turns. "And now that I know this... I don't know what to do. Or even think."
Khena brows knot together as she considers Elehu's answer, then takes a deep breath before launching into saying, "is this about Reiko? Did she do something?" Again, she almost adds, but refrains from using that word. "She's not worth it, y'know? I don't think she even cares for who she's with.." Stopping suddenly, the brownrider shakes her head, fingers digging into the chairs upholstery, sighing. "I dunno, Ele, I just don't think she's much to hope for." Blunt, maybe. But the brownrider was certainly not the bluerider's biggest fan.
Elehu almost begins to defend the said blue rider as her pride and stubborn loyalty do battle, but as she begins to get a better grip on herself she only shakes her head slowly instead. "It's just me," she answers, voice suddenly holding more than just a hint of weariness. "I can't help who I am, and yet... I should know better, you know?" she adds with a sad, crooked smile. "Four Turns, and there's been no one else," she admits, just a touch of anger glimmering in the background of that quiet voice. "But that sort of... faithfulness was never asked of me, I gave it freely. It's my own sharding fault for being so blind," she rambles on, eyes taking on a glistening look again as she struggles quietly with herself.
Khena grimaces, shifting around in the chair again to swing her legs over the one armrest, while leaning against the other. Putting her hands on her somewhat widened midsection, she shakes her head slowly. "Y'know.. I gave up on caring about Reiko a long time ago," she notes, for no real apparent reason. Probably the statement wouldn't help the Healer any. "Well... Y'know, she's with E'ren now, anyway. Last I heard anyway." Leaning her head to the side to rest it against the back of the chair, the brownrider observes Elehu closely. "You shouldn't let it bother you this much. I doubt she's sparing much thought for the matter..."
"Not let it bother me?" Elehu asks incredulously, hazel eyes burning for the flash of a second before she shuts them tight and tries to take a soothing breath. "Four /Turns/" she says softly, voice still heated though the look she gives Khena is much more calm. "I can't just let that go. Faranth, I've tried," she admits, jaw setting with frustration. "And... she's not really /with/ anyone," she continues, voice becoming even quieter, "except for whatever time..." Eyes go distant and actually water this time as she struggles all the more visibly to get a hold on herself. "I've tried to tell myself that's enough, but I just don't believe it anymore," she finally ends barely above a sigh as she begins gathering her things, though with little real effort.
"Right. She's not /with/ anyone," the brownrider repeats, shifting her position again, to plant her feet on the floor and elbows on her knees, eyes locked on Elehu. "Except when the mood strikes her. And when it benifits /her/. Don't you /see/? I thought, she was loyal to me too, back when I was with her... " Pausing for a moment, a grim look crosses Khena's face as she shakes her head. "But then she went off with some musician, or someone. She'll use you up... If she hasn't already?"
A faint blush touches Elehu's cheeks for a second or two as the healer continues carefully folding the blanket, perhaps taking more time to complete the procedure than actually necessary now that her hands have stopped their trembling. "I just don't know," she answers, arms slowing as she places the folded linen on the sofa. When she finally looks back up at Khena, her eyes have cleared again except for a faint red tint, and her face is back to its usual composed state. "I can't just write her off like that, Khena. I won't. I never asked this of her, nor she of me. It was my own decision. It's just... very difficult dealing with the consequences," she explains calmly, "or of even knowing where to begin. Or begin again, if that's what it takes," the healer adds grimly.
Khena sighs and leans back in her chair, shaking her head in defeat. "I dunno what else to say, Ele.. I mean, if you insist on hoping for her to come around, then..." Shrugging, the brownrider leans forward to collect her hides, hefting them under her arm as she stands. "Just... Please don't hope for too much?"
Elehu shakes her head quickly as she gives Khena a long, quiet look before replying. "It's not that, Khena. I'm not waiting for her, I know better now. It's just not easy for me, that's all. I'm just trying to decide how to continue." She shrugs a little as she slowly gets to her feet, blanket and book secure under one arm as she takes a few steps towards the rider, pausing just a few feet away. "Thank you, Khena. I appreciate this. Your patience especially." She smiles warmly and takes a slow and only slightly shivering breath. "I'd best get back... do feel free to stop by sometime, all right?"
Khena gives Elehu a halfsmile, reaching out with her free hand to squeeze the Healer's shoulder. "Don't let her run you into the ground, 'kay?" is her advise as she desposites the hides on the chair next to her in order to pull on her jacket. "She's just not worth it." How many times had she said that now? Must be true, right? "If you need to talk.... " she continues, gathering up the hides again. "Well, just call Mneoth, or something..."
Elehu gives Khena a little smile. "I'll do that," she replies, hesitating a moment. "And thank you again, Khena." Then she quietly turns and heads quickly down the stairs.
[End of log]