Late Night Return

Writers: AL, Avery
Date Posted: 20th January 2009

Characters: Talwynn, Lirit
Description: Lirit runs into Talwynn when he returns something to the Records Room.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 1 of Turn 5

The silence was deafening.

Lirit smirked at the thought. A rather overused phrase, he thought, in literature. At least, what had been read to him. Still, it was quite quiet, the only sound the shuffle of his and his canine's footsteps interrupted by the tap, tap, tap of his walking stick. Occasionally the hush of parchment would join the symphony, depending upon how he moved.

The harper came to the door of the Records Room and eased it open. No one would be there to refile the shelves, so he would just leave it on the desk where it would surely be found and put back into place in the morning. The door clunked closed behind him and Lirit made his way to the desk, his cane reaching out to explore before him. He generally knew where things were, but occasionally items were moved and it wouldn't do to run into anything, send him sprawling onto the floor.

It was late, and Talwynn didn't think anyone else would be there. Even Records Room devotees weren't there. So naturally, the sound of footsteps startled her. "Hello? Who's there?" she called as she eased around a shelf to see.

The sound of another voice startled Lirit enough that he dropped his parchment and the pages scattered across the floor with a hiss. "Ah, I didn't realise there was someone here. Oh shaffit." Lirit reached down, hand groping on the floor and located one of the pieces.

"Oh, oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you drop stuff." As fast as she could, Talwynn limped over to Lirit, her cane thumping in time with her steps. "Let me get it." she said when she got there, bending down and helping collect the parchments. It was her fault, after all.

"I've got one, there should be three more." Lirit stated, almost apologetically. "Look at me, a man letting the woman do all the work. Is that you Talwynn?"

"Found them all. Want me to go put yours up?" the greenrider asked. "And it is Talwynn. Let me guess- the thump?"

"The thump? No, more like the voice, though I suppose that would have worked too." Lirit held out the parchment he had rescued from the floor. "And you can just set it on the desk. I think they prefer to reshelve the files themselves. I'm certainly useless at it."

"I'm getting better, but you're right." she said. "And don't mind me. The Healers say that being able to joke about the cane means I'm 'accepting my limits', whatever that means."

"Ah yes, that old speech." Lirit had been there, done that, though he had been quite a bit younger and a bit more adaptable at the time. "Well, at least we match, eh?"

"I bet if we walked in time, the canes would beat in time. We could probably keep time as well as a Harper with a drum." she joked. "And yeah, _that_ speech."

"We could be our own percussion section." Lirit suggested, his sightless eyes twinkling merrily. "That could be fun."

"It could be!" Talwynn agreed with a laugh. She liked Lirit because he didn't stare- or worse, look away as soon as he saw her arm. It could have been because he was sightless, but she thought that even if he could see, he wouldn't make her feel awkward. And of course they had other things in common. "So, been up to anything interesting lately?"

"Not really. Practising, that sort of thing. I was just returning some sheet music." Lirit couldn't read it of course, but he had help for that sort of thing. Since he had taken it out, it was his responsibility to return it. "What about you?"

"Did some messaging last sevenday." she said. "It was so nice that they actually let Riveth and me _fly_ together again, you know? We haven't since the accident."

"That's good!" It was certainly an encouraging development. Lirit didn't know Talwynn that well, but he did know about the accident. "Will you be flying regularly from now on?"

"I...I hope so. Maybe not convey duty again though." She took a breath and told him the rest. "We went to Amber Hills, to deliver a message. The Master who met me there... he wasn't exactly the kindest. Implied that my Threadscore was somehow my fault because I was a female riding a _green_ dragon- I guess he was one of those who thinks girls on green is unnatural." It was rare- a lot of Holders would rather women on green then men, given what it implied about men. But there were Southern men who thought that because greens couldn't produce eggs and were put in danger, only "unsuitable" women Impressed them. "Imagine if he'd known I Crafted." she added.

"He was an idiot." Lirit stated unapologetically. Holdborn he may have been, but he was one of a growing number of men who felt that women could and did have a place in craft and Weyr. "You just have to ignore people like that."

"He was." Talwynn agreed. "But I didn't know that people really thought like that anymore."

"They don't up North, I'm told." Of course, there were always exceptions to the rules and Lirit had a feeling there were probably some there as well. "But at least people are starting to open their eyes. This will get better as time passes."

"You know, my mentor says I should do more Hold-based duty to get them used to me, but I don't know if I can handle it again. I was so excited to fly. Maybe I should just avoid Holds."

"Well," Lirit stated slowly as he leaned on his staff, "If they give you trouble, you could always threaten to have your dragon sit on them."

This time she laughed. "have you ever been anywhere but here?" she asked him.

"Oh yes. I wasn't born in the weyr." Lirit's mouth quirked upward. "Though I seem to have had an easier time adjusting compared to other holdbreds I know. I was born and raised at Willow Bend and stayed there until I apprenticed at the Harper Hall."

"And no one gave you any trouble?" she asked. She'd thought that Holders didn't appreciate any deviation from the norm.

"Oh sure they did!" Lirit probably would never reveal exactly _how_ much trouble. "But I tried not to let it stop me from doing what I wanted to do."

"So why a Weyr? I mean, isn't it a little more dangerous for you?"

"If I let fear stop me," Lirit stated, eyebrows arching, "Then I wouldn't do anything or go anywhere."

"I see the logic in that." she said. Maybe she could take that to heart.

"That's not to say it was easy." Lirit continued, then grinned, "But it helps when you have people who are understanding and supportive. That's important."

"I'm glad I have friends like you."

"Really?" Lirit's lips spread into a wide grin. "If I were you, I'd probably be running away and getting as far as I possibly could. I suppose you musn't be right in the head, but I guess that's good for me, eh?"

She laughed again, pleased that someone could still make her laugh. "I don't know, I could say that you're not right for wanting to be around _me_."

"Perhaps I'm not." Lirit clicked his tongue. "But then I guess we would match."

She smiled, even though he couldn't see it. "So, are you usually here at this hour?"

"Actually, no." Lirit shook his head then made a vague gesture. "I was up late practising when I realised that I was supposed to get this returned today. I figured I'd just leave it and they could find it in the morning. Why are you here so late?"

"I don't like to come here in the day because I feel like people look at me, so I'm always here late." she admitted. "But tonight I was crafting- I'm a Starsmith- and I wanted to look up something."

"Ah, well, if you ever feel like I'm looking at you," Lirit stated, his voice tickled, "Just let me know, and I'll stop."

"I don't think you'd stare if you could see, so it would be alright." she said, voicing her earlier thoughts.

"Oh I don't know about that." Lirit mused, "I'd probably be so captivated by your beauty that I couldn't help staring."

Talwynn flushed. "Men never looked twice at me even before the accident. I look about as feminine as a stick." But now she was curious. "What gave you that impression, though?"

"Your voice." Lirit stated without hesitation. "And even a stick can be beautiful, if one only knows how to look."

Impulsively she took the few steps over and hugged him with her good arm. "Thank you so much." she said fervently. "Everyone stares, or looks with pity. It's nice to just be treated as me."

Lirit was taken aback by the gesture, but he certainly didn't fight against it. "Pity? You? You'd probably beat me with that cane of yours if I offered any of that. I'm really no good in a fight, you know."

"Well I'm not either." Anymore, she added mentally. "And don't worry, I only hit idiot Holders with the cane." she joked.

"As long as it's not idiot harpers." Lirit stated with a chuckle. "I'm afraid I really must get back now, though. I've got work to do in the morning. Say, would you care to join me for breakfast, though?"

"I would love that." she told him. "Although it will be dinner for me, since I plan to craft till dawn."

"Ah, this is true." Did she work all night? Ah, the luxury of being a Starsmith he supposed. "What time? Seventh Candlemark?"

"Works for me. I'll see you then." She turned and set the hides she'd rescued down on the table. "I put the hides on the table for you." she told him.

"Thanks." Lirit nodded politely, "I'll see you in the morning." Then with a whistle to his canine, the harper turned and moved out of the room and into the hallway.

Last updated on the January 24th 2009

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Late Night Return