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Post by Invisible on Jul 22, 2008 12:29:28 GMT -8
It was that hazy time between when lunch would start and had started. The tables were laid out and the klah pots were filled and a few early goers were lined up to fill their plates. The line wasn’t so long yet that it seemed endless, but it would slowly grow as more people finished their morning’s work to take their noon meal. Without too many people the living cavern was quiet enough. The talking was in that hushed tone people use when there’s not a lot of talking in a large area. No one wants to be the one to draw attention to themselves.
No one but Genet. She was standing at a table inhabited by several wingmates of her brother. A couple of them wore amused expressions they tried to conceal from her and from the bluerider she spoke to. He just looked annoyed and increasingly so as time went on. The glare he turned on his fellow riders caused several heads to turn down to share a grin with only their sandwich. “Don’t you care?” Genet asked in a raised voice. Attempts were made by her to keep quiet, but her voice had a way of rising when she got too excited. “I mean, look how long it’s been. And not one word. Not even a note sent back? It’s like he completely disappeared and he wasn’t the only one.” E’met, bluerider and friend to G’tet (although he currently regretted that status), let out another sigh.
“You yourself said he was sent out by J’fel. When he’s done doing whatever he was sent to do he’ll be back.” These words had been repeated already. They fell on deaf ears, but he thought maybe if he tried hard enough he might get through to his friend’s sister. “Genet, it’s none of your business,” he tried and immediately knew that was a mistake. Hazel eyes grew more narrow as Genet almost clenched her hands into fists. Almost because she caught herself and forced them instead behind her back.
“E’met, you’re not listening to a word I said. Pay attention already!” There were muffled chuckles from some of the other men at the table at her words, but they ceased when E’met glared at his friends. “It’s been too long. And no one- Pay attention already!” Because he had seemed to be losing interest, or maybe just getting advice from his blue who was having a meal of his own at the moment. Needless to say there were several curious looks from passersby who were not sure what was going on. Many probably wrote it off as some sort of lover’s quarrel.
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Post by Slim on Jul 30, 2008 17:33:10 GMT -8
The nice thing about big ears was that you could always pick up what other people were saying. Well, they probably made no difference at all, technically, but Emeni had convinced herself long ago that it was because of her big ears she was such an incorrigible snoop, and only because of them.
In any case, she'd identified the conversation between Genet and E'met as something other than a lover's quarrel, and she was curious.
Splitting off from the group of stewards' men she'd come in with, she sidled up to E'met and knocked her elbow into his shoulder. "Hey, man." She couldn't offer a more proper greeting, since she had already collected her lunch tray and was still holding it, but she'd met the bluerider three or four times - hopefully enough to get away with such familiarity. "What's going on?" Although it was E'met she'd used to insinuate herself her question (and the look that went with it) went to Genet.
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Post by Invisible on Jul 30, 2008 17:57:24 GMT -8
Working up to a big snit Genet was feeling the urge to hit E’met for not seeming to care about her brother. The big jerk! About to say something else she was stopped by the arrival of someone else. She looked at Emeni and didn’t recognize her. But, she had only been at the weyr about two months and so was not going to know everyone. There was something familiar about her, but that just meant she had been here.
Genet was still overwhelmed some by the amount of people in a Weyr. It was nothing like the hold she was from. It was not a small hold, but it was nothing compared to Telgar. “What is going on is no one seems to care about the fact my brother is missing.” She had spoken to Emeni, but as she finished up she turned a glare upon E’met. “Not even his wingmates. Which is disgusting if you ask me. Not that anyone did. No one will ask me anything. Or tell me anything. And they will be sorry.” Punctuating her words was a stomp of one foot hard enough to rattle the amber around her neck.
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Post by Slim on Jul 30, 2008 18:21:54 GMT -8
The foot-stomping sent Emeni's eyebrow up, as if the reverb had traveled all the way up her body and set her brow to bouncing. She had been about to offer condolences on another (Caminar caused?) disappearance, and indeed had glanced around their immediate area for any sign of a swarthy trader nearby, but the word wingmates clearly changed the issue. She had to think on it for a second.
"Ohhh," she said, coming to a sudden realization. "He's with that group, huh? Well, of course nobody tells you nothing. They're riders," she said, with a grin at E'met. "Duty first, don't question the Weyr." One of the other riders at the table, one who knows her a bit better than E'met, waves a hand at her and goes "Ah, nonsense." Emeni grinned at him, too: "Yeah, but you know it's true. You don't want to stick your neck out." Balancing her tray against her hip, she turned back to Genet and shrugged.
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Post by Invisible on Jul 30, 2008 18:39:31 GMT -8
“Well, whatever,” Genet said with a toss of her head. “I’m his sister. We’re twins. It’s not right that he’s gone and no one will tell me a sharding thing!” She sniffed at the air and turned to look at the tables. Someone was bringing out some sort of dried fruit thing and she wanted it. It would be rude to just go when someone was speaking to her, but if she didn’t hurry…Decisions, decisions. Maybe this woman could help her, but dried fruit!
Mind made up she glared at E’met and kicked at the bench he sat on. “You will be sorry. Mark my words.” Her promise got nothing but chuckles from E’met and his friends, but little did they know she meant it. It would not something horrid, but she would have her revenge. Now she focused on Emeni. “I’m Genet. I need something to eat before I kick someone in the shins. Who’re you and what’s it to you if my brother is missing?” She began to step towards the tables watching other people take what she wanted. If nothing was left she’d be furious!
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Post by Slim on Jul 31, 2008 17:19:11 GMT -8
"Aw, don't be like that," Emeni chided, dragging her words out in a drawl. She jerked her chin towards the riders Genet had been threatening. "Get more flies with honey and all that."
Still, she didn't need much encouragement to go along when Genet made for the dried fruits. She rotated towards the object of her curiosity like a flower turning to face the sun. "Anyway," she continued, picking her way through tables. Curious as she was, she didn't intend to stand there while Genet picked out a selection of dried fruit: no, Emeni was looking for a table. "Name's Emeni. Guess it's nothing to me if your brother's missing except you seemed upset about it, so I stopped by." Ah-ha. She spotted a table. Without a word to let Genet know she'd be dropping back, she dropped her tray on it and sat down. Genet would be back to continue the conversation, surely; meanwhile, she could start eating her lunch.
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Post by Invisible on Aug 1, 2008 16:08:03 GMT -8
“I tried being nice. It didn’t work either. Nothing worked. Men are so annoying.” Genet glared at the men in question and continued towards the dried fruit. When the other woman gave her name there was a little jump in Genet’s steps as she looked over her shoulder. “I know that name,” she said with a grin before continuing to the table to grab the fruit as well as a few slices of bread and some cheese to put atop them.
Turning around and finding the other woman nowhere near her she cast her gaze out wider finally spotting Emeni. With her little plate she hurried over to where the other woman sat and grinned as she took her own seat. “I know your mother. Apparently my brother thought I needed looking after while he was gone. I’m Genet.”
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Post by Slim on Aug 1, 2008 16:30:12 GMT -8
"My mother, huh?" Emeni groaned, running a hand through her hair and shaking it up. The cold air in the store rooms always seemed to take the bounce out. "I can imagine how much you heard about me, then. 'Oh, my daughter Emeni, she runs the entire Stores all by herself!'" It's an exaggeration, of course, right down to the absurdly high-pitched voice, but Masha did have a tendency to brag about her daughter on the slightest pretext.
Emeni grinned about it, though. She stuck her hand out to shake Genet's and seal the introduction. "Good to meet you, anyhow. Promise I'm not as full of myself as my Ma."
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Post by Invisible on Aug 1, 2008 16:38:34 GMT -8
“Oh, she speaks very highly of you it’s true!” Genet agreed with a ready smile. It had not bothered her at all when Emeni’s mother went on about her daughter. “My mother only has bad things to say about me. Before I left home it was all about how I was never going to get married and blah blah blah.” She moved her fingers back and forth together to simulate talking. Before her hand was busy picking up a piece of fruit to chew on.
Being dried it took several seconds for the full chewing of what was in her mouth. When she was done there was a laugh ready. Followed by a wiping of her hand on her skirt before shaking the offered hand. “My brother is in your father’s wing,” she offered to explain how she had come to meet Masha.
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Post by Slim on Aug 1, 2008 16:52:40 GMT -8
"She does that, too," Emeni assured her, "just not with other people. Know where you're coming from, anyway." Popping some of her own food into her mouth - she'd gone with a much more convenient sandwich and handful of fingerroots - she punctuated the comment with a crunch.
"So who is he, anyhow? Your brother. I might know him, see, and then I'm not just a random stranger sticking her nose into your business. Then I'm a friend sticking her nose into your business." Emeni winked.
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Post by Invisible on Aug 1, 2008 17:04:21 GMT -8
“Oh, see? My mother would whine and groan to everyone,” Genet said as she placed a piece of cheese onto a piece of bread and then sprinkled it with dried fruit. “I was supposedly a troublemaker. Well, my brother and I both. We’re twins and ran around a lot. Not now though.”
Because he’s not around. Or is responsible now. Who knows. “G’tet. He rides green Kalpeth.” He may as well have been on a bronze for all the pride in her voice. That her brother impressed at all was very, well, impressive to her. “You’d know her if you met her. Especially more than once because she wouldn’t remember you. She’s got a funny memory. Worse than any other green.”
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Post by Slim on Aug 1, 2008 17:20:33 GMT -8
G'tet, huh? Emeni searched her mind, then squinted at Genet. She wasn't so old, so G'tet was probably one of the newer riders. Hadn't been around when she did her stint in the infirmary, and she didn't remember meeting him around the Weyr, so... "Yeah, I know him. Met him a couple of times. Nice guy. Didn't seem like a troublemaker." She grinned broadly, so if she was wrong about that guess, Genet could just assume she was kidding. It was always easier to talk to somebody once they thought you had a mutual acquaintance.
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Post by Invisible on Aug 1, 2008 18:02:37 GMT -8
“Really? You met my brother? That’s great. He’s pretty well known with some people. And he’s not a troublemaker.” Genet paused to take a bite of cheese and fruit bread. It was chewed and swallowed before she said, “Except when he is.” This explained both her and her brother. Picking a piece of fruit off her bread she popped it into her mouth.
“So, you work in stores, right?” Like she hadn’t been told that repeatedly. “What do you do? I don’t work anywhere really. I get sent wherever they are short handed. It’s not so fun because it’s hard to make friends, but at least it is not boring.” Which would be horrible because when Genet got bored bad things happened.
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Post by Slim on Aug 1, 2008 18:32:23 GMT -8
Emeni nodded, agreeing blithely with all Genet had to say about her brother. It gave her time to bite into her sandwich, a rather slim concoction of meat and cheese. "Mm," she said. "Buying things?" It was a bit of a weak answer, for which she offered an apologetic smile as she hurriedly gulped down the mouthful of sandwich she'd been working on. "See, the Weyr'll get stuff from Crom - like tubers - but nobody wants to eat all tubers all the time, so my job's to find traders from, say, Tillek, and give them our tubers for their fish. 'Cause otherwise we'd have all tubers, all the time." She picked up her sandwich and gave it a wiggle, quite glad to have other choices.
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Post by Invisible on Aug 1, 2008 18:44:40 GMT -8
While Emeni talked Genet was free to finish her bread, cheese, fruit concoction. It must have been good because she quickly sprinkled dried fruit on her other two pieces of bread and cheese. “Oh. That’s interesting I guess. I like buying things, but not stuff like fish.” Where was the fun in fish? Other than in not eating tubers all the time apparently.
“I’ve been shopping over at the Caminar stalls several times. They have the most beautiful stuff I’ve ever seen.” One thumb rubs absently at the amber around her neck as she says, “I also got the prettiest shawl that matches my pendant, but I still don’t have a nice dress. But, I still have some of G’tet’s marks he won off the hatching so I am not giving up yet!” It’s his own fault for being gone that she spends all his hard won marks.
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