Taking a stroll *part 3* Yummy stall

[archenstone]

The costume: a stiff dark brown material that looked nothing short of downright conservative, with a high stiff white color and matching mask. Once the costume was spun to reveal the back, however, it displayed that the skirt had been ripped away, as if someone had simply stepped on the hem and pulled off the back up to the waist, and revealed an obscenely bright, frilly pair of false underclothes, complete with flower and firelizard decorations.

Asharra walked up to a stall fragrant with the smell of herbs. It's been a long time since I've been able to make my own teas She thought as she walked up. She looked to see who was running the stall. Seeing R'wign made her glad for the mask. How can such an unpleasant young man make such nice smelling mixtures? She had to remind herself that he was probably rather nice to all but older women....mainly her. Surely he could be pleasant away from their professional differences. They where at a gather after all! She smiled looked over the teas. "Hello R'wign how much would these teas be?" She indicated Redfruit Tea,Citron Tea, Floral Tea, River Blossom Tea, and the Smoky Tea.

[glamourie]

For all appearances, R’wign looked bored. His head was cocked to the side just slightly, and his eye was focused on nothing in particular as he stared off into space in the general direction of Kalina’s stall down the walk a few steps. His chin was resting on his palm. It was a relatively slow day, despite the fact that R’wign had received no less than thirty marks in donation from Kalierre thus far. He was actually doing well, but… well, it was boring to tend the stall by himself. He’d let Meira run off to buy whatever she saw fit (he himself had purchased several firelizard dolls) and was alone for the afternoon. The only companions he had were his firelizards, all of whom were plowed out asleep with the exception of Elegance; the gold was perched daintily on his shoulder, her wings shuffling against her back. It was only when Asharra came up that Ellie chirped, turning her head to the woman in pleasant greeting and the sound that she made drew R’wign out of his glassy-eyed stare at the other stall (not that he intended to buy anything, but it made for a good thing to gape at when bored). He turned to look and blinked.

The voice he recognized, but the appearance…? He’d been under the impression that Asharra was just too much of a killjoy to enjoy any kind of costumes. Apparently, he was wrong.

Pushing his hair back out of his face, R’wign drummed his fingers on the table top. He was dressed in costume as well, a white mask covering the entire left side of his face, his long black curls straightened and primarily tied into a runnertail except for the strands which hung free in the front. The full-fledged clown costume was actually put aside; he had on the white sleeveless undershirt that went with the long, frilly-sleeved coat, and the billowing parachute pants that went together. The entire outfit was patterned with pastels but without the coat, only the pants showed it. He didn’t have any kind of facepaint, but he intended to buy it later to complete the outfit. Around his neck was the black studded collar that Kali gave him – he wasn’t taking it off without a very, very good reason.

“Hi, Asharra.” His head tilted and he looked at the teas she indicated before tapping the small cloth bags of redfruit tea. “Redfruit tea is one-fourth of a mark. Second one is Citron and it’s the same price and you said the Floral? That one’s half a mark, then River Blossom and Smoked Tea are also half a mark each. So it comes to um… two marks, I believe. They make about five full pots each. River Blossom is actually my favorite.” His head cocked to the side and he gestured to one of the other tables. “There’s samples of some of them – Smoked and River Blossom – if you’d like to try them?” See, he was a good little business man, he was!

[archenstone]

Asharra looked over his costume and continued to smile. "Two marks sounds as good as samples." She said as she tried the Smoked first. Its aromatic smell and blend of flavors where appealing to her. Then she sampled the others of interest, ending with River Blossom. Each one she tasted carefully, using her taste buds to identify familiar ingredients and finding a few subtle flavors she didn't know. She sighed contentedly after tasting River Blossom. "These are excellent blends R'wign. They remind me of my time spent in Southern Boll. I was able to gather herbs up there to make my own teas and medicines. The climate up there is so mild that many seasonal flora grow longer than normal. So its easy pickings most of the turn." She fished out two and a half marks. I'll take one package of Redfruit, Citron, Floral and Smoked. I'd like to buy two River Blossoms though." She offered him the marks.

[glamourie]

… Creepy, that was the only response R’wign had to Asharra’s behavior. Normally she was grouchy, persnickety, judgmental and bossy. Or at least, that was how she always appeared to him. Yet, somehow the Gather had worked its magic and turned the usually-haglike woman into an almost pleasant customer and R’wign wasn’t sure that he trusted it at all. Usually when people acted out of the ordinary, it meant they were up to something and his internal alarm bells were sounding: Asharra was plotting some kind of evil and he didn’t like it at all. What the old bat was up to remained to be seen, but he didn’t believe she just innocently wanted teas. No, no. It had to be something more suspicious. Had to be! His eye narrowed and he watched her sample the teas skeptically, the fingers of his free hand drumming on the top of the table. Nothing unusual.

“I’m from Nerat,” R’wign said honestly, his head tilting to the side. He knew all about the Northern climates because of where he was from, though most people did not realize that he wasn’t Southern. The dark tan of his skin and his general pleasant demeanor often set people to believing he’d been born at Southern or Selenitas Hold… a belief that he encouraged. “Specifically, a fishing hold in Southern Nerat, but near where I grew up, the forests were prevalent, and I spent a lot of time when I was a child going out into the jungle to pick different plants. Nerat and Lemos have some of the most varied plantlife on all of Pern and it’s by far the best opportunity to learn.” He shrugged, and then rubbed his nose. “I made teas when I first got to Healer Hall, it was one of my specialties – the MasterHealer recommended I become an herbalist because of how much I knew about plantlife, and when I reached journeyman status, I followed the recommendation. Though, I also specialized in poisoning.” Unfortunately, that hadn’t been much use when Selenitas was being affected by the poisons… He still hadn’t deduced exactly what was the toxic agent in it. Or what the poison was in.

So. She wanted one of each of the specified, then? R’wign pushed away from the table and proceeded to gather up the teas, packing them into small metal tins with colored ribbons wrapped around them. Redfruit had a red ribbon, Citron had yellow, Floral had pink, Smoky had gray, and River Blossom (both of them) had blue ribbons around them. “The fruit teas are best when you let them seep between two and three minutes. Floral is four, Smoky is five, River Blossom is four. Let them seep for longer to make them stronger.” He rubbed his nose and then quirked an eyebrow. “You can probably gather supplies for your own teas if you’re careful and stay at the edges of the jungle. I usually just convince Checkoth to keep me company so that I’m safe.” He shrugged. “Is there anything else I can help you with? I’ve got some other things here – room scents, loveweed, sedatives, things like that.” His head tilted slightly, and he smiled. “Just don’t use the salamandyr sedatives on my firelizards, please.”

[archenstone]

Asharra listened as R'wign spoke of where he grew up and his decisions with in the Healer Hall. "Nerat? I lived North of Nerat...up near Benden Hold growing up. The wilderness beyond hold and hall is certainly good for learning out there. It's been....oh I guess forty or so years since I've been in that area. I spent my journey years in Crom and later on I stayed at Southern Boll." She scratched an itch on the back of hand as she thought. "So you choose Poisoning as a secondary specialty? That's quite ambitious...and the subject fits well with herbs. I have a book you might like. It holds a collection of Flora in its pages. I hardly specialize in poisons but I've gathered quite a resource of information over the years. I would collect specimens and set them in the paper and write about them across the page."

She paused to listen as he set up the little tins. She had to chuckle at his last statement. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that. I wouldn't get close enough to them!" It was simply how she felt....she didn't hate the creatures at all....she just wasn't fond of them either. her eyes glanced over his other wares.

"Actually I would like two of these Seaside Scents" She said, indicating the room scents.

[glamourie]

R’wign blinked. She was from the same general region as him? That was… almost mind-boggling to believe. Though it made sense, really. Most herbalists came from Nerat, given the region’s climate, but R’wign still felt oddly violated, as if some sacred rule was broken. See R’wign. R’wign is the only healer allowed to be from Nerat. See: selfish child logic. His eye narrowed, and he smiled pleasantly enough; he didn’t talk about his “journey turns” since technically it was obvious. He’d gone to the Hall right before the start of the war and was unfortunate enough to see the brutality up close and personal; his only real station had been Selenitas but Weyrlife posed a unique opportunity for learning that made it easy for him to excel. Everything common in holds happened at the Weyr, plus more. He’d been ‘Searched’ straight from Healer Hall, though he was sent to Selenitas because of Kalierre’s complaining for help… funny how long ago that seemed. And sometimes he still felt like the two of them were the only competent healers at the Weyr. No, R’wign wasn’t arrogant or anything.

… Ambitious…? Sometimes R’wign felt like Asharra forgot that, technically, after her he was the most qualified traditional healer at Selenitas. Like right then. She probably meant well. Probably. But his ego wouldn’t let him acknowledge that for the moment; he liked to learn, usually, but it was a Gather and he really didn’t want to think about ‘work’ when he was trying to save up money for the baby… Though, he probably should have. R’wign frowned and then pushed that thought from his mind. He really needed to stop worrying. Yes, Asharra was behaving extremely oddly, but she probably didn’t mean anything ill. Probably. Maybe.

Scents… Oh! The sea ones. R’wign turned to look at the indicated scent before tapping the shell it stood on. “Those are made from sea salts, tropical flowers, and berries. Took me two weeks to manage to dry it enough that the scent lingers. You have to burn it to get the most lasting scent though,” he said with a slight nod; see, R’wign was a good little businessman. And it kept him from commenting on Asharra’s weird vendetta against firelizards and salamandyrs. Yes, he’d brought it up, but he’d never understand how anyone at the Weyr could dislike them as much as she did. Usually his pets were at least tolerated – he didn’t know anyone who actually disliked Ellie. She was near impossible not to love. “Two of them – that’s two marks. It’s on the expensive side because of how time consuming it was, but I can give you the recipe to make more…” His head tilted to the side, and then he looked up at Asharra again. “And yes, I chose poisoning as a secondary, but it’s less because of the herbs, and more because it was what was needed at the Hall; we used to get asked a lot about cases of poisoning when I was an apprentice, and I figured it’d be useful to know…”

[archenstone]

Asharra listened, thinking that it was nice to have a civil conversation with another healer. So far there were only a few individuals she actually conversed with on ay regularity. This was partly R'wign's fault of course....since he insisted she work night shift. It was partly her own fault though as it was well known the old woman didn't appreciate firelizards, salamandyrs or even dragonriders for the most part. Some views had shifted -yes- indeed shifted. Quite far from her original stand point by her opinion...but since her schedule made her reclusive people hardly knew that didn't they?

But for today...she had managed enough sleep somewhere and was simply enjoying today. "I would like that. "She said when he offered the recipe. "I always enjoy something new." When he mentioned the type of case scenarios they stressed back at hall she said. "You're right...poisoning has been on the rise for about twenty turns or so. There used to be a time when teaching was more focused on sanitation....surgical methods and therapy. Those where happier times...much more peaceful than present day." She gathered two more marks from her purse. "Here you go R'wign." After a moment she said, "R'wign? You're expecting a baby aren't you? How is everything going? I'd have given my congratulations sooner but we don't cross paths often."

[glamourie]

“I’ll write it down somewhere; I don’t have anything to put it on at the moment,” R’wign replied, in regards to the recipe for the scents – any of them, for that matter. He’d probably document it and leave it for Asharra in the infirmary, as that was the place he was most likely to run into her at. Usually, R’wign kept to himself. It wasn’t true snobbism, though there was a part of that – just, typically when R’wign was on shift, despite all appearances, he really was all business. Except for one notable exception, but that was… unique circumstances. He had a peculiar habit of flirting with the patients, being playful and generally easy-going; he found that much more disarming than the nagging that most healers liked to do. True, he nagged, but his approach was different; he went out of his way to be friendly, yes, but R’wign did care about his patients. He just showed it in a different manner. He remembered that poisoning was only one of the suggestions for specializing he was given. Another was pediatrics – but he was so awkward with babies that he’d disqualified the idea. He liked kids fine, once they were big enough to amuse him, but babies… they terrified him. He was constantly afraid that they’d break on him or something.

His head cocked to the side and he clicked his tongue before replying, “The Hall still focuses a lot on the necessities.” Did he bristle slightly? Yes; he couldn’t help it, everything Asharra said made him think she was treating him like a child and he wasn’t one. He didn’t much like being called a ‘kid’ in normal circumstances, but he was a competent healer, despite the circumstances of his apprenticeship. “Just the specializations have changed a lot, and surgical procedures are less emphasized due to how much most of the Holds recoil at the mention of it.” He didn’t know much about ‘peace’ as she put it, though… R’wign himself was only twenty. Things were tense from the time of him being a child well into adulthood. While he could vividly remember the first attack and the results (some things burnt into people’s minds), there wasn’t anything in his memory that resembled peace. His own childhood wasn’t violent by most Northern standards (R’wign’s parents never raised a hand to him and had he stayed at home, he would surely have been spoiled as the only son), but… he remembered, just the same.

Thinking of the past brought up memories of Religna, and that made him frown. His head bowed subconsciously. He was trying his best to not think of his sister. The mere mention of her made his heart break into a thousand pieces. He couldn’t shake the feeling that it was his fault that she was killed, that if he was any kind of brother he’d have kept her safe. That was why he’d run away in the first place – to keep Religna safe. He’d failed horribly. R’wign did not think that he was much of a brother.

He offered Asharra a grateful smile as he took the marks and put them into his little marks pouch. Her question caught him mostly off-guard, and he blinked before bobbing his head in a slight nod. “Meira and I are, yes.” He didn’t go into details. Some part of R’wign was sure that the old bitty would think him a terrible person; Meira was noticeably younger than him. Four turns difference wasn’t that big of a deal, but he felt like it was constantly, and worse was that Meira tended to act so shy, so sweet and innocent, that it was just natural to assume he’d taken advantage of her. Most people probably assumed that. He would have. He didn’t want the lecture very much, and he wouldn’t correct the assumptions of the average person out of simple respect for Meira. Much better that people have a terrible opinion of him than of Meira. She was so skittish as it was…

“I think she intended to ask you to be the one to deliver the baby – it’s her first.” Both of their first, and hopefully only; he was scared enough about the idea of one let alone more. “I think she’s mostly been talking to Savitri for now – if you wanted to approach her and offer though, she’d appreciate it. Meira’s on the shy side, she tends to worry about bothering people way too much for her own good, but I think it would make her feel better…” Feel better if she had a master healer to guarantee that she and the baby would make it through just fine. He could’ve helped, but… R’wign just could not remain detached. It wasn’t that he thought he couldn’t – he’d delivered Calerin, hadn’t he? But it was his child, and that made it personal. R’wign did not function well when situations applied to him on a personal level. He knew enough about himself to take a step back and let someone who was qualified handle things.

[archenstone]

Asharra noticed the change of tone and took a closer look at him. Had something bothered him? young men seemed rather touchy these days. She let it go though with out comment and focused on what he said about Meira and him. "I would be pleased to deliver for you and Meira. I'll talk to her next time I see her. " After a moment she said, "R'wign its good to see that you two have decided to do this together. With both of you working together for that baby he or she will be fine with out a doubt." She wasn't sure what prompted her to speak her feelings...but she sensed that perhaps he had some trepidation about things. "I've seen what happens when the mother is left adrift...its a sad thing for both involved. I know you're competent and resourceful....but if you and Meira need anything I would like to know." And she truly did want to help if she was able. She loved babies and loved seeing them with happy families even more. Did it have to be traditional? Not to Asharra...no, not at all. She'd seen how bad tradition can be in the North.

[glamourie]

… Awkward. Just plain awkward. R’wign shifted, visibly uncomfortable. Asharra was not his friend, nor was she someone he considered more than an associate and that meant that he wouldn’t confide anything in her – he couldn’t – which meant that he didn’t know how to respond to her words. She was trying. He recognized effort and appreciated that she really was trying her best to comfort, but all that she was doing was making R’wign feel lousy. His mind ran back to it again and again: Meira was really, really young. Sixteen. While it was true that in Holds, girls were usually married by then and had their first child, it felt strange to R’wign. Meira wasn’t holdbred – she was from Benden Weyr, she’d said (that thought still addled the mind; he had trouble believing sweet, innocent, soft-spoken Meira to be from the same place that the man who cut his eye out was from) so was the idea of parenthood so young as awkward to her? He wasn’t really that young – twenty was about average even at a Weyr, as far as he knew – but Meira was. And what of Jingth? Surely the little gold would hate him when she realized that the idea of a baby wasn’t just flowers and candies. Yes, R’wign felt guilty… very, very guilty.

“Meira’s just a kid,” R’wign said softly, by way of explanation; it just wasn’t right, the idea of walking off and leaving her alone with the baby. While he wouldn’t do that to anyone (he was holdbred enough that the idea made him twitch), he especially couldn’t to Meira. She’d been crying when she told him, she looked so frightened and alone. Even if the baby wasn’t his, he’d have probably volunteered just to make the tears stop, but that it was… no, he couldn’t just throw Meira off to take care of their baby all by herself. He owed it to her to try. “I’m not a monster.” Because only a monster would ask Meira to raise their baby alone when she was so young and a weyrling at that – she’d go insane! “I’m not going to just – why would I ever – it would be wrong to make her raise the baby entirely on her own…” Okay, more than wrong, but Asharra probably didn’t know R’wign will enough to know that he did care about people, despite his pretending to be a practical jokester most of the time.

Her offer, though, was appreciated. His head bowed and R’wign shook it slowly, swinging black strands around his face in the process. “I’m – I think we’re okay. Kalierre randomly donated thirty marks, her excuse was to her ‘amusement.’ And I make a decent salary, so does Meira, plus we’re selling things here. I think we’ve got most things. I bought a bunch of toys and bedding and some clothes – I don’t even know if it will fit. We haven’t gone to the dolphins to find out what the baby’s gender is.” That admission made him grin weakly. “She doesn’t really want it spoiled, and well – it’s her choice more than mine.” Seemed fair enough, didn’t it? “Plus we’ll be finding out soon enough…” Meira was seven months along, after all. Wasn’t like they’d be waiting half a Turn anymore. So scary to think about, that.

[archenstone]

"The facts will be what they are R'wign, regardless of circumstances." She said kindly after he explained some of his distress. She smiled as he went, even saying Meira wants a surprise. He'll make a good Daddy. She thought with relief. Things seemed so different here. It was a whole new world compared to the North. It is no wonder that so many seek southern shores these days. Perhaps I should thank the Master Healer on my next report. The man was right.

"Like I said, I'm around if you or Meira need anything." She glanced around, "It seems I've taken up your time while others wait. I'll let you be so you can work." She gathered her purchases and stuffed them into a bag already full of other things bought.