Flashback: Curiousity

[Xinnai]

She'd been sent to gather some more glows by the headwoman in the kitchens. She held them in a small bag as she walked, moving confidently through the tunnels about Telgar Weyr.

Salina had lived here her entire life; it was only right she knew where she was going.

As her feet walked a familiar path, the young blonde girl's mind began to drift, serious gray eyes going dreamy as she thought.

The Caminar were practically living at Telgar now. It was still a shock to think of. These were people who were rather abrasive towards the Weyr, towards riders. And yet here they were.

Salina brushed at her hair, pushing the blonde locks out of her pale face. Well, this was certainly a very happy mess they were all in, weren't they?

She could only hope that all things turned out well.

The bag swung in her hand as she continued to the Lower Caverns, humming softly to a song in her head. She was walking, about to turn down a narrow staircase when she saw them.

The Caminar camp.

Salina stopped, poised as if she had been stopped in motion. She considered for a moment. She wanted desperately to see these people, to see if they were as bad as the stories said, to see if maybe she could start things on the mend.

But was it really wise?

She sighed softly, and turned in the opposite direction, in motion once more as she headed towards the camp, her eyes calm as she continued her previous motions, bag swinging, voice humming as she approached, watching the signs of life that bustled from within.

[ignisfatuus]

Since the moment that he woke at day break that day, Jansen had been in a mood most foul. It had not shifted in the slightest as the morning had progressed either. In fact it had been combined with an insatiable restlessness. Ever since he had been small, Jansen had absolutely hated and loathed being in the same place for any length of time and now was no different. He truly hated being confined to the Weyr, surrounded so completely by stone and the peering eyes of those content to live their lives in a single local.

His friends and family had become used to his 'bad days' which came almost as often as day became night nowadays. They all talked quietly amongst themselves, none saying a word to him, for a simpler life without snapping. And thus he stomped and huffed hither and thither within the confines of the Caminar areas, occasionally taking his frustration out on the side of a caravan he was passing or a box. If it were not the threat to his people, Jansen would have practically demanded that they throw caution to the wind and set out once more.

Speaking of the wind, a gentle breeze started to pick up. Amidst the ruffling of material and clothes and the familiar voices from within the camp, Jansen’s fine, young ears picked up something that seemed…out of place. There was a gentle humming coming from nearby, at the outskirts of the camp. While this could simply be one of the Caminar, it was rare for people to venture outside, especially so early in the day. Curiosity temporarily damping his mood, he ventured to where he believed the source of the humming to be, taking extra care to be quiet so as not to be noticed until he desired to be (if at all).

Dark eyes widened just a little as he saw a pale young girl heading towards the camp. From her general appearance she was clearly not a Caminar. His eyes narrowed as he watched her for a few moments. Her coming to nose around their camp only served to infuriate him further. Just because they had been forced to take refuge here because of the unreasonably, pig-headed holders surely did not give the Weyr folk free reign to come and poke around their camp as if they were some kind of amusement here only to sate their curiosity! Unclenching fists that had subconsciously clenched upon spotting the girl, Jansen set out from the camp, going in a wide circle around the so that she should not see him as he came up behind her…

Feet quietened by the grass, be sprung, taking hold of girl from behind, a hand on either shoulder, gripping tightly so that she would not easily be able to escape, yet not too tight as to hurt her (well, not much at the very least).
“And just where do you think you are going?” Jansen’s voice is heavy with the Caminar accent, having never bothered to try to speak pernese in a more fluent and natural manner. Jansen had trouble concealing his distain for this girl, for her people, for this entire loathsome, forsaken place in either his voice or his facial expression.

[Xinnai]

Salina was unaware of her unexpected watcher or the fact that he was in a very unpleasant mood. She just continued walking, unconsciously still humming to calm the nerves that were jumping continually higher the closer she got to the camp. The only sign of those nerves were showing subtly in her otherwise calm eyes.

She wasn't like those who purposefully disrupted the Caminar's peace, those that overturned their possessions and did all they could to vandalize the camp. She just wanted to talk. The two of them, Telgari and Caminar alike, were stuck together whether they liked it or not and the tension that flavored the very air needed to be alleviated.

She pushed at her hair once more, mind starting to drift again. She really did need a trim...Maybe then she could get her hair to stay in one place like it was supposed to. Perhaps she could get Mother Terri to do it...Oh, and she'd best help with the preparing the food. Candidate or not, it didn't sit right-

She felt hands grab her roughly by the shoulders, pressing down just enough to ensure that she didn't get away. She was surprised that a hand didn't clamp about her mouth so she didn't scream. Despite her best efforts to control herself, the bag dropped from her hold to spill about the ground, the glows spilling all over. She voiced a soft squeak of surprise.

She knew immediately from the man's-because it had to be a man, no women spoke so lowly-voice that he was Caminar. She stiffened slightly, sure her reception here would not be easy. Considering he was grabbing at her like a thief in the night.

"I was wishing to speak with some of the women within the camp. I was hoping to see if I could get a bracelet fixed," she replied to his harsh question. It wasn't a lie. She did have a bracelet that badly needed to be repaired. She pulled against his hands. The wherry-headed man had spilled all of her glows and she needed to pick them up. She sighed softly in dismay. It had taken her forever to collect all of those.

"Would you mind letting me go, please?" she asked, voice cool and carefully controlled. She was Salina after all, and frights did not scare her as much as some other dim-glowed woman.

[ignisfatuus]

For a moment, just a moment, his fingers tightened upon the girls shoulders as anger and annoyance welled inside of him. The anger was just his earlier frustration taking form and annoyance at her both her spilling the contents of her bag everywhere and her cool demeanour. How dare she be so calm, how dare she think that she could just waltz into their camp, how dare she...Jansen had the strong urge to hit something, to hit her.

With a sigh Jansen loosened his grip on her, turning her around so that she was facing him before removing his hands completely from her. His eyes scanned her face: grey eyes; heart shaped face; pale skin. Nothing which especially jumped out to him. For all her composure, she seemed a little… lifeless for one so young, if that was the right word for it.

He gestured at the glows scattered on the ground. ‘You should pick those up.’ His voice, flat and monotonous. He refused to get on his knees to help her; if she hadn’t have been here then they wouldn’t have been spilt. But it amused him how she had come to speak to some of the women, not men, but women. Was it that she would have felt more comfortable with the women opposed to the men?

‘I won’t permit you to enter the camp.’ Jansen said, his voice cold and devoid of its usual vigour once she was done collecting her glows. The Caminar at the Weyr had lost most of their way of life, Jansen would do his best to at least protect the little privacy that they still retained. Few in there would probably agree with his barring entry to one girl, but if you willing let one girl in then what about a woman? And man? Half the sharding Weyr? There would be no end to it. Yes, the Caminar needed their trade to get by, but there were often traders on the outskirts of the camp willing to part the Weyrs people from their Marks.

While he might detest the Weyr folk, he too needed money and his anger had become tinged with a hint of self righteousness. He wanted to show how they were a better kind of people, nothing like how the rumours described them. With a sigh he said:
‘I may be used to working with wood rather than metal, but my hands are dexterous and I picked up some basic knowledge of how to work metal from my mother so I could fix your bracelet our here for you. For a small price of course.'

[Xinnai]

She flinched slightly as his fingers bit down into her shoulders, causing muscle to scrape bone as his hands flexed. Fleetingly, she thought of those stories, those horrible stories of the Caminar.

But then, with a little sigh, he released her, turning her around to face him. She watched him somberly, noting the dark eyes, the tanned skin and his dark hair. He did indeed look like a Caminar. He was also very tall-had to top her by more than half a foot. He didn't look all that much older than her either, perhaps just a few turns her senior.

She rubbed at her shoulder slightly as she watched his, gray eyes slightly perturbed. He wasn't going to help her then? Well. "I had planned on picking them up," she replied, bending down, feeling ridiculously exposed as she gathered the glows up, shoveling them into the bag as a light wind sprang up, teasing at her gray skirt and white shirt, playing with the loose tendrils of golden hair that waved about her face.

For one so relatively young, he seemed so angry. She could practically feel the waves of ill-humor waving off from him as she collected the scattered glows, trying to forgot about his presence. He made it impossible to do so, however, when he spoke again.

"Not allow me into the camp?" she asked, frowning as she brushed at her skirt and shirt to remove dust and other bits of filth that had gathered upon as she had collected her duty. She glanced up at him as she stood. So angry..."I wasn't aware that people were denied entry."

He sounded so cold now, so imposing. Her shoulders twitched but she shook the nervous energy off, facing him squarely, face forward and eyes on his as he sighed again. He sounded almost grudging as he spoke his offer.

Slowly, Salina nodded. This was a start at least, wasn't it? Even if it was out of protection, out of his defense of his people. As if they would be harmed by her, some girl who'd probably be knocked flat rather than fight or commit any other aggressive action.

She nearly snorted at the thought.

"That would be very kind of you, thank you," she said quietly, lips tilted in a small smile. A start. She just had to remember it. "I do not have the bracelet on me at the moment, unfortunately. Would you like for me to get it?"

[ignisfatuus]

When she mentioned about people being denied access, Jansen initially just raised an eye brow and gave her a look which said ‘Isn’t it obvious?’ then decided to reiterate it verbally:
'It is where we live and where we work, do you not think that we deserve some privacy? For the most part, we stay out of your Weyr after all.' He could not account for some of the younger children but as far as he was aware those who were like minded and the adults did not usually enter the Weyr with out permission. Well, bar that incident when the Gold had risen...But their Weyr was large, full of nooks and crannies, they just had a field.

Jansen shook his head a little and turned his back on the girl. 'Go and get it now if you want it mended. I need to get some tools anyway.' His voice had the slightest hint of exasperation to it, as he hoped that she would not keep him waiting.

Long strides swiftly carried him into the camp and brought him to his caravan. Most of his family had dispersed to places unknown bar his mother who looked at him most curiously as he collected together his metal working tools. It had been many a turn since he had willingly taken those things up, though his mother had kept him reasonably well practiced at metal work and jewellery smithing. While a boy took up his father’s profession, there was no harm in there also having a slightly wider skill set, or so his mother thought.

On his way back to the edge of the camp where he had met the girl, Jansen was ambushed by his friend, Kaim. He had observed Jansen return from the outskirts and that he was returning so soon and piqued his interest. Doubly so when Kaim saw what Jansen was carrying.

'What's this now? Taking up another trade are we?' Kaim said, lowering his voice to a stage whisper the second part. As long as Kaim had known him, Jansen had been a Caminar through and through. He would never do something as disgraceful as take up a trade different to his fathers.

'A favour, in a sense. For a Weyr girl.'

'A Weyr girl? You? I never thought that I’d see the day when…’ Kaim was cut off by a very mean look from Jansen. He realised that Jansen’s brother had not be lying when he said about his being in a foul mood on this fine and sunny day. Kaim took it upon himself to accompany Jansen to his mystery meeting with the mystery girl. With a faint smile upon his lips and hands clasped behind his back, Kaim walked in silence beside the steely Jansen.

Upon reaching their destination, Jansen sat down upon the ground and waited. If she was not back shortly he would go off again. It’s not like he had all day. He had, erm, important carving (or stomping around) to do.

[Xinnai]

"Yes." Salina nodded in agreement, small smile lining her lips as she listened to the angry Caminar man's argument. "That is very true. But since we're all at a stalemate and seem to be stuck with each other, wouldn't it better to be saying what's mine is yours?" She shrugged a little and turned away.

Her pace was more definite this time and more hurried. As she entered the Weyr, she turned back to her former path, flying down the stairs and pushing the bag of glows into the hands of surprised friend of hers, with instructions to take it to the headwoman.

With that, Salina wound her way precariously through the corridors of the Lower Caverns until she came to to her room. She grabbed the bracelet from the box she kept all her jewelry in, slipping it into a hidden pocket along with a few marks. She bit her lip, agonizing for a second. Would it be enough?

She shook her head, deciding it would have to be and was back outside in a matter of minutes, striding back towards where she had met the Caminar. She stopped for a moment, surprised to see another man with him, but continued on, her walk slowing, her eyes slightly confused.

She reached them and smiled. "Hello. I'm Salina by the way," she said to her gruff acquaintance's much friendlier looking companion. "Here it is." She took the bracelet out from her pocket, holding it out for Jansen's inspection.

[ignisfatuus]

Jansen had left his tools in a pile beside him and was tapping his fingers along one leg as he waited impatiently for the girl to return. At the sight of her, he meerly straightened up a little and looked a little more alert. Still as grumpy as ever though. Kaim, on the other hand, stood up the moment she came into sight as she came closer, gave a little bow with a murmured 'Greetings' as his performers instinct took over.

Jansen rolled his eyes at Kaims behaviour before swatting the back of his leg and then taking the bracelet out of Salina's hand in a manner akin to, but not quite, snatching. He looked it over, biting his lower lip slightly as he concentrated on what needed fixing and how he'd go about it. He also blocked out Kaim, for he was surely about to start nattering in that annoyingly cheerful manner he had (one that Jansen usually responded to in kind).

"It is a pleasure to meet you Salina." Kaim's accent was not quite as heavy as Jansens and was ever so slightly higher with a lilting quality to it. "I am Kaim and this is Jansen. Knowing him and his moods as I do, he has failed to introduce himself to you?" Kaim turned to Jansen, giving him a gentle kick in the small of his back "It's Caminar like you in your present mood who give us a bad name." Kaims smile had widened into a grin as Jansen gave a derisive snort, turning to the delicate tools he had brought with him, deciding on which would be best to use.
"So was this bracelet the only thing that brought you to our neck of the woods? Or was there a bit of curiosity mixed in?" Kaim asked mainly because he found it curious that she had come to get her bracelet fixed, yet hadn't brought it with her. Jansen tended to fail to pick up on such things. That was Kaims job.

[Xinnai]

Salina smiled, charmed, at the other man who accompanied her disgruntled jewelry repairer, the smile only turning wider as Jansen snatched the bracelet out of her hand, a slightly angry look to his face before it settled into concentration. She watched him for a moment as he reviewed the bracelet and then looked over at the much friendlier man who spoke with her, her grey eyes gleaming with quiet amusement.

"Yes, he did fail to introduce himself to me, as you put it." She would have laughed at the way the two men joked and settled into each other's presence. They were obviously quite close and it made her relax, even though she had not realized she was so tense. "It is a pleasure to meet you both."

She glanced back from Jansen, whom she had been watching, to Kaim at his question. She did not think it was just idle curiousity. He knew she'd come for some other reason. A lesser woman would have blushed and stuttered. Salina merely shrugged slightly.

"Yes, there was curiousity. I was hoping to speak with some of your people. You see...I just don't think it's the right, the way we are all so angry with one another. It serves neither of us and no good comes from it." Her face pinched slightly in distress as she spoke, because she so firmly believed that Telgari and Caminar should be friendly towards one another. They were stuck in the same place...

"But I did need the bracelet fixed, yes. It was so foolish of me to be wearing it in the Kitchens and then I was so sad when I bashed it up..." She shrugged again, feeling very companionable with Kaim. Almost too much, as it were. She was babbling.

[ignisfatuus]

Jansen was at best, only half listening to the conversation going on around him. He did not usually care for idle chatter with those he did not know, unless he felt like trying to needle them or was in an exceptionally good mood. He felt neither at present. A part of him was glad that Kaim had tagged along as it kept the girl out of his hair and from asking him questions. Jansen gave a derisive laugh at Salina's mention of curiosity. It was a trait in people that Jansen had always failed to appreciate. His major flaw had always been pride opposed to curiosity. It was rare for him to give in to it, unless there was some notable gain of course. He kept changing which tool he was using, trying to find the best one. Jansen did not feel that he was necessarily up to scratch for this task, at least by the standards of the proper Caminar Jewellers. Though his skills are probably enough to satisfy this girl.

"Well your bracelet is in fine hands. So that's one aspect of your trip sorted. The other... well, I'm not sure that that will ever be fixed I'm afraid. Anger begets anger just as with any other negative emotion" Kaim said, raising his hands as he shrugged, indicating his helplessness with the situation. "If I could, I'd try to get everyone to get along. But some people are stubborn and others... others have good reason to be angry I guess." Kaim looked down at Jansen, who was working hard. His eyes were full of sadness, at the situation on a whole, and for Jansen. He had always gone out of his way to help people, even if he was gruff and rude about it at times. Yet he had frequently ended up in troublesome situations.

Kaim walked to wards Salina and placed one arm around her shoulder and started to walk her slightly away from Jansen. "You must forgive how he is." He said in hushed tones and a smile. "On days like today, he is not at his most...amiable. He is frustrated at being here and blames himself for his whole caravan being stuck here. They sought shelter here after...after he was blamed for some child going missing. You can probably guess what they did." Kaim knew that Jansen would probably tell him off, if not hit him, for divulging such personal information to a plantado but Kaim thought it important that at least some of them understood the way the Caminar were, the reasons for some of their behavior.

[Xinnai]

The two of them were such an odd pair and so different themselves that Salina felt as if she were rather being tag-teamed. Jansen was rough, abrupt and rude to the point of offense and Kaim was friendly, smiling and very sharp. She shifted slightly, an uncertain feeling rising in her stomach now to clog her throat. This perhaps had not been the best of ideas she'd had...

She glanced over at Jansen at his mocking laughter as she explained her grounds for being where she was. It rankled a bit, that the man thought he was just that much better than her. Because he was Caminar? Because she was a woman? Because she still felt like there were things to do and see in life? It didn't matter.

She ignored him after that.

Salina nodded at Kaim's explanation, feeling a quick smile tug at her lips. He reminded her of a man in the Weyr, one who would tell stories with a quick laugh and glint in his eyes and his hands always moving, trying to illustrate what he'd seen.

But then she noted the look on Kaim's face as he looked over at Jansen, studiously working on the bracelet. A hint of a frown puckered at her brow and then Kaim was leading her away, arm looped about her shoulder as if they were old friends. She listened to his explanation and then nodded slowly.

"That would be a very good reason for it." She matched his tone, eyes going towards the subject of their conversation and then glancing away. "But Weyrfolk are different. We are. You should know that too. We're not like the rest of Pern. We are...much more open to new things. The majority of us, at least." She glanced at Kaim. He needed to understand, needed to know that they would not be hurt here, not by the majority of the people residing within Telgar.

[ignisfatuus]

"Oh my dear, I wouldn't dream of doubting you. Nor of saying that all of you weren't open minded. There are a fair few though who, you must admit, do not appreciate our presence here. Even if they are indifferent to us the rest of time." While Kaim was not as against the plantado as Jansen was, he did believe that people either dislike the Caminar or were indifferent to them, when they weren't buying their wares that is. Kaim was not actually aware of it, but at least one of his hands tended to be in motion as he spoke, used to emphasis certain points or ideas.

"Alas, Jansen will probably be difficult to convince of this. Too often has he come up against plantados harsh words or fists. Perhaps if he were less proud, he would have spent less time over the past turns bloodied or bruised." Kaim said with a gentle laugh, making light of his friends stubborn and at times abrasive personality. The only way that it would be possibly for Jansen to accept that the Weyrfolk weren't bad folk was to probably make him live among them. Ha. What an absurd thought. As if that would ever happen. Kaim thought that even if he were searched, Jansen would run a mile in the opposite direction. (ha) Kaim gazed down at his compainion, thoughtful for a moment before asking:
"Seeing how you may, or may not, get another chance, is there anything more...percise you would like to know?"

A short distance away from them, completely unaware that they had moved away at all, Jansen was working away. He had just about fixed the clasp of the bracelet and was working on a straightening out a couple of other pieces of it. It looked like it needed to be polished up a little too, to really bring it alive once again. Yes, yes, thats what he would do once he had finished this. Jansen had forgotten who this was for and was so absorbed now in fixing the bracelet to the absolute best of his abilities.

[Xinnai]

Salina nodded, walking easily beside Kaim. He really was just an infectious man to be around. You caught on to his moods, his gestures and way of speaking easily and seemed to just fall into them. Salina had not even been around him for a quarter of an hour and she felt it.

"Yes, but that is what always happens, don't you think? There is always going to be someone unhappy or dissatisfied with what is going around in the world, and so you can't think of that. You have to think of the best course of action to please everyone and this is, despite some people's way of thinking, the best course of action."

She considered for a moment Kaim's question and shrugged lightly, watching his face avidly, her curiousity certainly peaked. Here was someone who was willingly divulging information. Perhaps. She decided to go with the easiest of her questions.

"Why do you do it? Travel around Pern with your home on four wheels? It would be nice, certainly, but don't you ever wish you could stop and stay for a moment, to get to know the people, the land, the area you are in?"

So it was more like two questions. Big difference. Salina was so absorbed in the conversation she was having, she had forgotten all about Jansen and the semi-reason she had come. It was much the same way he had forgotten her, though she didn't know it. She knew only that Kaim put her at ease and that the two of them seemed to be kindred spirits searching for the same thing.

[ignisfatuus]

"It's in our blood. For most of us, there is no question about it. It's what we live for. To travel bredth of Pern and back as it were. Constinatenly travelling... it's maybe not the easiest way to live but it is satisfying." Kaim's eyes stared off into the distance as he thought, a contented look came across his face which gave him a relaxed air before turning to face Salina. "
We all have our routes you see, each caravan," He used a finger from one hand to trace a line along the palm of the other to represent their routes. "We visit a place and usually revisit once, maybe twice a turn. In a way it makes it easier to sell our wares, limited supplies for limited periods of time you see. We get to know the land well, possibly better because of our travelling. We can also probably read the weather better. Kinda have to I guess, if you want to make it through an area before the snow sets in, for example. Keeps life interesting. Hard, but interesting."

"But what keeps you living in one place? Limiting the amount of people you get to meet, the places you get to see? Don't you ever wish you could just roam from place to place as you please, with those you are closest to?" Kaim asked, his smile widening as he almost completely flipped her question. He was hoping that this would make her think and thus understand their way of life that little bit better. He didn't address the part about getting to know people better. The Caminar weren't usually too welcome in the company of other unless they were selling so they generally kept to their own.

[Xinnai]

She listened avidly, watched just as closely as he elaborated on his question. She could see why they would love it...but personally did not see the appeal. But travelling with your family, your friends, seeing places, returning to see them in a different season...Yes, she could see why they enjoyed it so much.

She started slightly as he turned the question on her, cheeks tinged pink for a moment as she thought. "I like to feel rooted, settled. Living in one place does that for you. You feel comfortable there, at ease. You know where you are, whee you're going and the people you will see. And being a Weyr, we get a major influx of people." Her smile was pointed. Obviously the Caminar were included in that. "And the people I am closest to..." She paused, face completely blank for a moment before she shrugged. "Are friends only. And we go very far back."