Taking Advantage
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: AL, Iluva
Date Posted: 29th May 2025
Characters: Claranel, Shassene
Description: A Master and a non-Apprentice get to know each other
Location: Printer Hall
Date: month 4, day 19 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Leranek, Aleriand, Cithara
There were two things on a firelizard's checklist this time of day: a full belly and a sun-soaked spot to curl up in and sleep it off.
The midday light streaming in through the Printer Hall's great windows was a solid start, a heady warmth building along with the din of conversation and clatter of dinnerware. The upper rafters boasted plenty of warm, toasty places that would do just fine for a young blue lizard while Shassene conversed with a group of Harpers below. As luck would have it, lunch service was well underway.
The only problem was that for as long as Mirit could recall, a dark-haired journeywoman with a resounding, raucous laugh had been dominating the conversation, and Shassene, never one to rush, rebuffed all attempts to get her attention.
He tried not to take it personally.
However, Mirit was operating on a bit of a tight schedule. At this rate, not only would his lady be returning to the masses of children and their lessons and chores and noises and voices without feeding him, he would have fewer prime choices to snooze in. Far fewer plates to scarf from!
But thankfully, there was hope. There was food about, if he played his cards right. Enough perhaps to help him get through this ordeal.
Landing on a table with a light 'plop' at the far end, Mirit weighed how likely he was first to get away with it, and then, after long consideration, dove into a young woman's plate just as she looked the other way. Half scampering down the table to gobble the morsel down, chewing a little like he didn't have teeth, his big blue belly rumbled with gastronomic delight. Truthfully, though, it was nothing compared to the supreme joy of having gotten away with it.
So, clever lizard that he was, Mirit gathered up his waddling self to go in for a second helping, this time not even bothering to retreat or flee that far.
****
Lunchtime had brought a large crowd to the dining hall. Although some people elected to take theirs in their quarters, Claranel was not one of them. Nor had she deigned to dine in the hall at Emerald Falls. Although she had no problem eating over there, she had, more and more, found herself at the Printer Hall, and that day was no different. Leranek had no problem with her doing so as long as she did her chores before she went to bed. Normally an early riser, the mornings found her sweeping, dusting, checking the linens, and doing any mending. Of course, he simply could have sent them off for drudges and other workers in the hall to do, but he was allowing her to live there so she could explore the wider world - it was only fair she helped a little bit.
Once they were finished, her time was hers. She could use it to explore, and the Printer Hall had received more than its fair share of her attention. This was due to one thing - the library. With the number of books it hosted, she knew it would be turns before she could read her way through them - perhaps never! And knowing that there were new ones being written and printed only fascinated her. So, lunch was in the realm of the Printer Hall once again.
She just hadn’t expected to have her food snatched from under her nose. She had turned away, just for a second, and when she turned back, one of her tubers was gone. Frowning, she glanced around again, and that time, when her eyes fell once more to the plate, a fat, blue firelizard squatted not very far from her, chewing in delight.
“Oh ho!” She exclaimed, Claranels’ eyes lit with amusement. Leaning over, she grinned at the little, smug creature. “Taking advantage, are we?”
Mirit jumped enough to look like he was scared, still half-expecting to get swatted at like usual. His head swung around as far as it could go on his thick neck and the rest of him awkwardly followed until he could properly see her. He slumped his weight heavily onto his other hindleg, and with his mouth still stuffed, he made a muffled cheep. ~Yummy!~
Gulping the remainder down, his eyes whirled happily up at her. She didn’t seem to mind at all! Then, because he was bold and shameless and starving, his little paw tentatively pet the air at her, asking"
“_There_ you are.” A warm voice said.
Shassene’s long, ink-blotted fingers caught his paw and gently guided it back down to the table. They exchanged looks, the little blue fanning his wings with delight as she did her best to look her ‘scolding’ Hallsecond self, all the while laughing inside. She would be getting a bell on him soon indeed. It was hard to keep in, her necklaces, shoulder knots, braids all trembling like they were somehow one living thing, and her green eyes were clearly smiling. “Well then, are we making friends or trouble?” She asked gently, shouldering Mirit.
“Maybe a little of both.” Clara turned her smiling face to the woman who had come to admonish the little creature, and bobbed her head in a polite greeting. Although she never had one of her own, she’d certainly heard that firelizards were like having permanent toddlers who could fly. “He’s adorable, though. What’s his name?”
“Mirit, although I'm thinking of changing it to something terribly inappropriate. This fastidious Journeyman harper called him ‘Lardo’ a few months back,” Shassene said as she was caressing his blocky head with delicate fingertips, like he was the most indescribably precious find spanning the Continent, “and I don't know, I kind of like it.”
Pausing, she added with the same level of pleasant seriousness, “Either that, or I'm going to have to look into a proper _trainer_ again. Or a bell.” The lack of disgruntled faces turning her way suggested he'd only made landfall on one victim so far. “What do you think?” She winked at Claranel. “Would one bell be enough?”
Pausing to consider the question, Claranel rested her chin upon her hand and tilted her head first one way, then the other as she studied the little critter. How innocent he looked! How charming the creature was! But alas, the vice was excited and had manifested when he pilfered food from her plate. Yet, she could not hold a grudge against something that adorable. “I don’t know. I actually like Mirit. I think it fits him.”
Shassene's eyes twinkled merrily. “Well, then darling, if the punishment fits the crime, as they say, and there's no crime…”
Although that was not entirely accurate - there were actually no charges being laid - Claranel's response had immediately absolved the tubby blue lizard of reproach, and he trilled contentedly at her (and her generosity), licking his little maw.
“There may still be a bell.” The Hallsecond told him in a loving, sing-song voice. “It’s the kind of behaviour Master Aleriand would find ‘unbecoming’,” like always, any mention of the Hallmaster stilled Mirit’s fervent jaws, “and he may be right.” She sighed softly. “Can I get you another plate, dear? There’s still a few minutes before classes.”
“Actually, I’m pretty full - my eyes were bigger than my stomach.” Claranel pushed the plate away, a silent invitation for any firelizards who wished to partake of the leftovers to do so - as long as the owners were all right with it. “I actually don’t have any classes.”
“Oh?”
A heavy, earthy silence settled like the ground was thinking about shifting. There was little so important to the apprentices at this time of day as each other. A few migrated to and from the Harper Hall, and some relations from the Hold proper made the short jaunt to dine in here.
“I’m not an apprentice.” Clara motioned to the shoulders where knots denoting her as such were distinctly absent. “I only recently came to the hold as a foster for Master Leranek.” Even if he wasn’t the only healer, it was possible those at the Halls knew his name, since he had certainliy been around long enough.
Shassene tilted her head as if really only just noticing her lack of shoulder knots. “Ah, I see. That's rather lovely, too, isn't it? You're in the right place to enjoy yourself a little, then.” She winked. On her shoulder, Mirit, still slobbering his little maw in gastronomic joy, squawked at a brown flit circling high overhead. “Master Leranek… He and I aren't well-acquainted. Is he expecting you back quite soon? I'm Master Shassene, by the way.” She added as an afterthought, her shoulder knots also notably absent.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Clara’s smile returned as part of the introduction, and she nodded politely. “As long as I do my chores before bed, I’m free. It’s actually part of the point of this…” She lifted a hand and made a circular motion with it.
The Hallsecond's eyes twinkled, crinkling at their edges. “And your parents don't mind?”
“Oh! My parents talked to Leranek about fostering me so that I could have the opportunity to explore my options for my future.” Although they lived in the south where many women Clara knew were simply told what their future would be. She was grateful her parents didn’t think like that. “So I’m exploring.”
Shassene admired the young woman's confidence and her parents’ forethought of letting her branch out and grow beyond their own stations. Not all the apprentices’ parents practiced the same flavour of magnanimity, particularly in their daughters’ lives, and there was a real spark in this girl. “Excellent! And you'll only find more options the more you look. Can I tempt you to explore a little more this afternoon? I'm headed to the supply cupboard and could use a hand gathering up the new ink sticks.”
Claranel tilted her head to the side, rather tempted. There in front of her was a Master of the craft, and wasn’t she to explore and learn, just as she had said. “I will, thank you. Perhaps you can tell me more about the Hall and your craft.” Since she was so close, there was certainly ample opportunity for her to visit, but she doubted Masters were usually so available, and thus would take advantage of the offer.
“No ‘perhaps’ about it.” Shassene smiled, most of her jingling in some way or another as she led them in a long, albeit relaxed stride. “Well, the Hall is still quite new, as you can probably tell. Perhaps Master Leranek has already told you that. The first burned some Turns back in a fire, and we were stationed in Dolphin Cove Weyr with the Harper Hall’s residents during the new construction.” She paused reverently, “But… I think I like this one better. We can't replace what was lost, but we are still creating new things for people, and _that's_ what I like best. We can still make people _feel_ and have new ideas, regardless of where we are. And that’s kind of indestructible, you know?”
Clara nodded as the Hallsecond spoke. She hadn’t thought about the written word that way, but as he spoke, she considered the idea. He was right. Even though the previous hall burned, having that sort of impact on others would remain in their minds and hearts, no matter if the original source was gone. It was indestructible.
A right turn carried them past the workroom until they arrived at a large, heavy door. “And here we are!” Unlocked, the shelves towered from floor to ceiling with an overflow of materials and supplies, mostly organized and mostly colored coded. Shassene reached into a crate and offered Claranel a stick to inspect. Clara accepted it, turning it over in her hands.
“The sticks I need today are for mixing, they’ll be used in today’s class for sketching. They come this way for easy transport. For good reason - can you imagine the mess of a punctured barrel all over the steps?” Not to mention the cost. Aleriand and Cithara would have aneurysms. “We create colored inks for the apprentices with them - and by ‘we’ I mean the apprentices.” Shassene laughed lightly, “It’s good practice and good fun. Some get used in drafting and sketching, but these larger bundles _here_ are destined for the presses.”
“You sketch?” Clara asked in clarification, as her gaze turned away from the object and back to the redhead guiding her through the building. Then, it shifted over to the bundles she indicated for the presses and considered them closely. “Are those finished books?”
“Oh, all I do is sketch.” The older woman said happily, though that wasn't entirely true: the duties of her position and the work overseeing the apprentices kept her busy, but drafting was as natural and automatic now as breathing. “I started specializing back when I was about your age, actually. Sketch, paint. Paint it over if that's not quite right. Sketch it out again. It's a process, like all things. And it's a little like being in your own world, which is a big part of it for me. You're only limited by your own creativity.”
Shassene caressed Mirit's head absently, watching the gears turning in Claranel's head like they were illustrating themselves before her eyes. “Yes, they're destined for books. We do a regular series of newspapers, magazines, and pamphlets, as well, but the bulk of it goes into reproducing the written word in books and their illustrations. Everything in our library has been printed and bound right here. Our machines also do commissions, specialized textbooks, and guides for Crafters and some of the more well-to-do Holders. That's a long-winded way of saying _everything_.” Gathering up the required sticks, they then headed to the workroom. The windows were high, and the room brightly lit by thick pillars of natural light. “So, you're a reader, I take it?”
“I am, though books were really hard to get at Green Ember.” Replacing the stick, Claranel ventured closer to the bundles so she could inspect them, though she only did so with her eyes rather than touching. She had a feeling that would not be appreciated. “That’s my father’s cothold, in the northern forests of Emerald Falls territory. Occasionally, there would be a harper that came through who had one. My grandfather gave me his.” And it was her most treasured possession.
“That is one of the greater challenges of rural holds.” Shassene smiled, as if the lack of books was the real priority. “You know, my grandmother only had one book as a girl, too. A story about a black runnerbeast. She told me she read it from cover to cover so many times it just fell apart one day.
“If you’re looking for something new, make sure you get yourself into the library and see if anything catches your eye.” She wasn’t sure if the girl had discovered or ventured quite that far into the Hall already, though Claranel was comfortable enough to eat in the dining hall, so it was a good sign. “Master Aleriand keeps a list for lending and you can sign out however many you like.”
Lunch had ended and a slow trickle of apprentices appeared at the door, hesitating. Shassene waved them in. “Come in, come in, find your seats.” Turning back to Claranel, her long fingers reached as if to shake her hand -- only to press a small colored cylinder into her palm. “A souvenir.” She winked.
Last updated on the June 10th 2025