Hofest!

[anhydrous]

"You care that much?" Althesia inquired with a raised brow."You would actually risk your standing in another leader's eyes in order to be rid of me?" At that the harper smiled, her lips thin and twitching. For some reason she doubted that Salina could hold a grudge that strong. To have her removed from Telgar would be one thing, but to have her stripped of rank? Althesia's only response could be disbelief. Apparently she had made a stronger impression than she had thought.

Something that Salina couldn't know was that rank meant little to a woman like Althesia. She had no desire for power or for influence. Such things carried responsibilities that the harper knew she could not shoulder. The only way she would gain her mastery would be if Salvarn begged her to take it. These thoughts were mysteriously absent from Althesia's pleasant expression, her gaze more curious than challenging at this point. Salina did not scare her.

[Xinnai]

Salina felt like she was in a race, on a losing horse that was quickly falling behind the pack. Althesia didn't seem to care. The little weyrwoman decided to bail herself out before the race ended and she was on the loser.

A little shrug twitched at her tunic, the frown painted across her pretty face carefully formed. "Well, I never said I cared that much. We'll see, perhaps." Legs crossed and she leaned back into her chair, attention never wavering from her companion's face. "Though, talk is, the harper's been bedding a bronzer as of late," she imparted, speaking as it were useless gossip and another woman entirely.

[anhydrous]

Althesia watched the construction of Salina’s frown with mild interest, satisfaction bubbling in her chest. She chose not to respond offensively to the retreat, finding it instead a step in the right direction. It was hard to keep a smile through threats and flaunts of prowess and while many onlooking stares had vanished with the weyrleader, it was clear that a few ears were still straining.

Mention of a bronzer sent her thoughts drifting towards J’rad, a smile in place of the shocked expression that she probably should have assumed. “I suppose that depends on who you talk to,” she said flatly, her gaze shifting upwards for a moment as if in thought before settling back on Salina’s casually smug posture. From what the harper had heard, there was a goldrider who was just itching to do such things herself.

Instead of tossing that fact back in Salina’a face, Althesia hailed a passing kitchen-worker and managed to secure herself a fresh mug of klah. “My bronzer would normally be of very little interest to weyr gossip.” She shrugged guilelessly, for once her words and intentions matching without any suggestion otherwise.

[Xinnai]

Salina knew that Althesia knew that Salina knew that Althesia found this all to be a game. A deadly one, but still a game. The queenrider felt so as well, but it went farther. There were things at stake her. It wasn't J'fel. She felt that each had been resigned to the others presence in regard to him. No, what was at stake here was reputation, was wit, was what could possibly be friendship.

If they both got over wanting to tear out each other's throats.

Salina watched Althesia carefully, her facade of a pleasant conversation gone. They were going to speak now, face to face, woman to woman, if she had to drag the harper by her nose. She was tired of the games, of double-edged words. She wanted the blunt. Now.

And seeing Althesia smile at mention of the bronzerider, watching the woman's eyes flash with knowledge. But the words were what mattered most. They always were. My bronzer.

"Perhaps not, but as he is connected with you, he unfortunately has be reined in." The goldrider pillowed her chin in one hand, eyes tracing the grain of the wood beneath her arm, following the flecks and patterns randomly. "J'rad seems to be a well-enough fellow. Not very social though. Still, if it were anything more than just having someone to turn to in the night"-and she had every single reason to believe it were so- "it would seem as if he would balance you out well. Though, those are just the musings of a weyrling, so I doubt they can be credited." A shrug, one not designed at all. She had tired of the games, after all. And her hand was out, for all to see.

[anhydrous]

Althesia took a long drink of her klah while she digested just how much Salina had been able to glean from the weyr’s gossip. She had half a mind to ask who exactly the weyrling had been talking to, but doubted that it mattered. Everyone was in everyone else’s business around here.

“Really, now?” She said with a genuine smile, mulling over how easily Salina had managed to sum it up. Althesia never thought in a coherent line like that. There was always a loophole to fall into, emotions to tangle yourself in…

She set down the mug on the table, leaving her drink to cool a while before risking another sip. “Well, I’d say you’ve pretty much hit the nail right on the head. Unfortunately I won’t be able to dazzle you with mysteriously acquired knowledge of your love life.” She almost sounded disappointed to have to admit such a thing. Then again, she hadn’t been raised here. How would she know who had the latest and juiciest gossip?

Pausing to objectively regard her companion for a moment, Althesia realized that the malice had faded from Salina’s eyes. Her words might still be pointed, but they seemed to be more of a tough front than a serious hatred. The Harper was familiar with both, and knew an asset when she saw it.

In light of such revelations, she chose her next words carefully. “I don’t suppose you’ve caught wind of what the weyrleader has commissioned, have you?” Petty envy aside, Althesia’s true judgment would be swift and final. They were on the fast track to some actual conversation, now.

[Xinnai]

Salina hid a smile, head ducking into her hand. Oh, so the harper didn't know about her love life? That was a good thing. A very good thing. The fewer the people who knew, the better was what she thought.

"Mmhmm," she murmured noncomitally. She was watching the other woman, watching as she came the the slow realilization that Salina could be an ally, not an enemy. It nearly made her laugh. It was just such a twist.

She was choosing her words very carefully then too. "Not so much as to its subject, but there were vague hints. There are always rumors and tidbits of things, of course." A warning or just passing conversation? The weyrling may not have even been sure.

[anhydrous]

Althesia let a grin flash across her face, temporarily trading in words for subtle chances in posture. She took the response to mean that Salina knew little about the possibly provocative painting. She leaned back and hunched into her chair, propping one elbow on her stomach and biting at a thumbnail to hide her glee. Now she had something to bargain with.

“I’ll swap you,” she proposed past her hand with a mischievous glint in her eye. “I tell you the subject of the painting, you give me your opinion of it, and we both keep what we learn to ourselves.” This might be a game more dangerous than fake words and smiles, but Althesia delighted in such a thing. That would be told easily enough from the way she bit her bottom lip, eagerly waiting for Salina to agree to the terms.

[Xinnai]

Eyebrow arched high in her pale face. Really now? She bit at her lip, finding the idea intriguing. The painting had to be a good one if Althesia looked so very smug. Her smile could be seen around her thumb, evident of pure glee.

A trade? Hmm....

The goldrider paused for a moment, drawing her legs up to her chest to lock her arms around her knees, head cocked with her thoughts. Did she dare? This was dangerous, much more dangerous than any wordplay. "Yes," she agreed simply. "Deal." With the devil, perhaps.

[anhydrous]

Althesia was all too aware of Salina’s shift in posture, happy that the weyrling hadn’t rushed into a decision without a slight bit of deliberation. So she realized the risk, but would she rise to the challenge? It seemed that the artist found the eventual answer to be satisfactory, judging by the eager nod of her head to seal the deal.

Immediately the Harper leaned in, lowering her voice with a deliciously dark cast to her features. “He wants his bronze paired with the senior queen,” she divulged quickly, her teeth flashing behind pale lips that were still working themselves into a delighted smile. “Four feet by six,” she rattled, still inwardly impressed by the audacity of the dimensions that had been requested. With that, she had shared her piece.

Leaning back in her chair, Althesia raised both eyebrows and resumed her usual tone. “Something to hang during hatching feasts,” she mused, unadulterated indifference dripping from every word. Salina would be forced to draw her own conclusions, the Harper offering no more as she reached for her mug and cradled it in both hands.

[Xinnai]

Salina immediately copied the other woman, leaning in, somber eyes rapt. She listened, fighting to keep her expression neutral even as shock seemed to drop into her. Jordeth and the senior queen? Why, that was a daring move. Most weyrleaders commissioned portraits of themselves, or with the weyrwoman if the two were long-term leaders. It had not been unheard of. But for the bronze and the gold...And so large.

Salina leaned back into her own chair slowly, not watching Althesia now. Her thoughts were mad, dashing about with frenzied intensity. She picked at the table with a nail, eyes distant, staring through the other woman. She finally spoke, gaze returning slowly.

"It's a daring move, to be sure. Very daring. But then again, it is J'fel." A light laugh, hoping that it didn't convey this new sense of insecurity. If J'fel were so enamored with Aderes, she had no hope then of staying in her home. "And so large. It will be absolutely massive. It would dominate all the other portraits..."

[anhydrous]

Salina could have focused solely on the fact that Althesia was meant to paint dragons, although the Harper was pleased that she did not. Yes, it was an unusual request, but the possible connotations were much more important -especially for the young goldrider. It seemed that she realized it, nervous laughter giving away more than the weyrling would probably have liked.

Althesia let her brow winkle in sympathy, not taking any joy in the fact that she had knocked Salina a few rungs down the latter. Weyr politics were a confusing business, but even the visiting Harper was well aware of what might happen to Salina if the Sr. Weyrwoman wished it.

Taking a sip from her mug, Althesia murmured a sound of agreement. “I believe that was the intention. ‘Grand but warm,’ as the Weyrleader would say.” It seemed that the Harper had been pleased with Salina’s response by the ease with which her words flowed now, not really careful or guarded in any sense. Althesia had a habit of fluidity, her moods and opinions shifting quickly. Salina’s stance had been altered; the pretty little goldling stripped of her previous judgment and allowed access to a much more pleasant manner.

She sighed, her gaze casual now instead of calculating. “Lucky for me, the artist matters little. No one will care the name of the Journeywoman who painted it, only of the man who was so bold to request it.” There might have been a note of disappointment in her voice, although her laconic delivery would make it difficult to decipher.

[Xinnai]

She was trying to focus on what was at hand now and not what this new turn of events meant for her. The ledge Salina balanced upon was slippery and precarious. What she had threatened to do to Althesia could and very well might happen to herself. All it took was one word and she'd be gone, gone from Telgar, from her home, and on to one of the other weyrs where she knew no one.

A finger rose to brush at her forehead, as if she could brush away the pain that gathered in a hot little ball there. Thoughts were coming into focus again, back from their exhausting rounds. "Yes, it would be something regal and yet comfortable, wouldn't it?" A pause as she struggled to push away the near panic that gripped her. The bronze and Telgar's senior queen. This was not good.

"Yes, well, it would be lucky for you that no one knows you were the one who painted it. J'fel's issuing of it will be controversial enough without knowing the very interesting sidebar conversations he and the harper may have had."

Her words weren't cruel or pointed; they were resigned. This new well of information did not bode well for the junior weyrwoman, not well at all. She chewed briefly at her lip and glanced back at Althesia. "You knew how I would take this, wouldn't you?" Again, the words were resigned.

[anhydrous]

The Harper smiled, the gesture actually meaning what it was generally intended to. “Oh, I trust that will be the only thing anyone will remember of me,” she mused, not exactly entertained by the notion, but aware she could do little to change it. Her smile faded as Salina’s self-assured facade slowly slipped away, inwardly noting how the weyrling chewed on her lip.

“You overestimate how much I thought I give to my words,” Althesia responded to the resigned query, slightly surprised that Salina would think she had been intently planning this conversation. In truth, she had been merely been looking for the right response. Had the weyrling taken the news with anything other than a somber resignation, Althesia would have marked her as an imbecile. There was always a point to admit defeat, and the Harper knew that she wouldn’t be able to tolerate a person who could not recognize it.

As the hate lifted from her demeanor it was becoming more and more clear that Salina had supplied the correct answer. After all, Althesia was still speaking. Sincerely, even. “I assumed you would be smart enough to realize…” For a moment she paused, eyes cast aside thoughtfully.

When they returned to meet Salina’s gaze there was a new thought on the Harper’s lips, related, but still different. “If you had the mind to comprehend the significance of the painting, I thought you deserved to know.” Surprisingly she spoke without the condescending tone that she had favored so well before, instead letting her half-lidded eyes connote the slightest hint of consideration for this young woman’s plight.

[Xinnai]

They were just coming toward the realm where hatred and affection touched, the boundary where friendship could bloom if they wished it. Eyes closed, finding it difficult to keep them open under this new onslaught of emotion. She sat that way for a few moments, eyes finally clearing to watch Althesia, meeting the gaze that turned toward her.

"To realize what? I'm just another plaything for J'fel to play with?" A slight laugh as the goldrider shook her head. "I've known that." Head tilted to the side, a small smile on her lips now. Yes, they could be friends. Very easily.

"Thank you for telling me." It was but a murmur, words that were spoken from the pit of the girl's slim body. She was very glad for the new well of information. She knew exactly where she stood then, both in rank and affection. J'fel was fond of Telgar's senior weyrwoman. More than fond, he was besotted, just as the rumors had said. "How do you find the implications of the painting?" she asked, a friend asking for a secret. After all, it was nearly like that now.

[anhydrous]

Althesia was pleased to hear Salina’s previously nervous laughter shifting into a more comfortable tone. Worries still crossed the goldrider’s face in the occasional slight wrinkle, but that was to be expected. Reality was harsh, especially for someone struggling against the practical odds. There was little she could do to erase the knowledge she had given, so she took to the route of conversation instead.

The Harper’s smile grew, a slight shrug slipping across her shoulders. “That,” She agreed, “Along with the fact that his promises have little actual merit for either of us.” Her tone was in jest, but there was enough truth in the words for the statement to put a damper on their laughter, Salina’s thanks only serving to further turn the mood.

With a sip of her drink Althesia wordlessly accepted, the silent expression in her eyes dancing between amused and sincere. Salina had earned her respect, some strange turn of events convincing the artist to hold the weyrling as an equal instead of a child. This was probably in part to the fact that J’rad would never join in his lover’s mindless banter, refusing to play with words the way the Harper so loved to do. She missed the interaction of a socially normal individual, even if she did not quite fit that mold herself.

She considered her answer for a moment, letting the curve of her lips show just how she felt of this new development between them. “I can’t help but love it.” She admitted placidly. “In the end, that pretentious painting will draw the eye of every person that happens across it.” There was a sense of pride there, even if her name was lost in translation.

More reserved, with the slightest flicker of doubt, Althesia picked mindlessly at a callous on her thumb. “I can only hope that the weyrleadership hasn’t shifted by the time I’m finished with the painting.”

The hardened skin gave way beneath her incessant worry, and she flicked down to the floor without a thought. “I’m sure that the new leader would be loathe to keep such a bold sign of a previous man’s reign.” She sighed, exhaling her thought along with it. “What a waste of time, should Jordeth not be so light of wing next flight, and my hard work be confined to a dusty storeroom.”