DCW: Just As Nice

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 30th May 2007

Characters: Ylisahn, Wirril
Description: Ylisahn assigns herself a new room and she and Wirril inspect it.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 6 of Turn 4

Abuse of her authority or not, Ylisahn had assigned herself new
quarters. Lovely quarters, with a door and shuttered windows that faced
right onto the Weyrbowl. With their position between the Hatching
Grounds and the dining cavern the quarters had a view out to sea and had
previously been set aside for visitors to the Weyr.

There was nothing about them that Ylisahn didn't like – or wouldn't when
they were cleaned yet again for the faint smell of flood still seemed to
be in the air every time she visited – but the most appealing feature
was actually the lack of one.

The Headwoman's new rooms had no access to the internal corridors of the
Weyr. She and Wirril would have to brave the weather (whatever it was)
every time they left their rooms and Ylisahn was perfectly happy in
remembering that when she pushed the door of the room open again that
afternoon and waved Wirril inside.

"The windows will be reglazed, eventually," the Headwoman promised her
weyrmate. "But the shutters with muslin screens are working nicely for
the moment."

Wirril looked around the room which was just one large, irregular space.
Clearly the narrower end would be used as a sleeping room, probably
with reed screens separating it from the living – and in her case,
working – area.

"You'll be able to set up your work table so that you can look out over
the Bowl and out to the bay."

Wirril smiled. "It will be lovely." She walked slowly around the room,
admiring the high ceiling that had been left in its natural state. She
wrinkled her nose, thinking that a canopy over their bed would be a
necessity with the possibility of crawlers dropping on them from above.
A bed itself would be the first thing, she mentally corrected, looking
around the bare room.

Although some furniture had survived only the frames were reusable and
those were drying out and being refinished and had long since lost their
association with one family or another. They would get a refurbished
bed when it was their turn; they would furnish when and as they could.

She left the narrow end of the room and walked back to the shuttered
window openings and unlatched the shutters. "I'm amazed they survived,"
she commented as she pushed each one open, allowing the sunlight to
flood into the room. They were in the most humid time of Turn, made
worse by the feeling that the whole Weyrbowl was still drying out. The
debris from the storm and from the clean-up still marred the Bowl but
beyond that was the bay – lovely and clean. Tropical blue and on this
day it went on forever, deepening in colour until it formed a horizon in
the far distance.

Wirril hadn't wanted to abandon their old rooms; to her, many of the
memories of raising the children were contained within the rock walls of
their home deep within the cliff walls. Ylisahn had been silently
determined though, and the children had offered explanations on their
other mother's behalf.

It was a logical time to move since they had lost almost everything in
the flood. The rooms were for families and there were only two of them
now. As Headwoman Ylisahn needed to be closer to the dining cavern and
the Weyrwoman. With her new rank Ylisahn was entitled to her pick of rooms.

They were all good reasons, but Wirril wasn't sure they were _Ylisahn's_
reasons.

The Headwoman joined her weyrmate at the window, leaning on the wide
ledge formed by cutting the opening through the depth of the cliff wall.
Her hazel eyes roved over the scene, and like Wirril, she looked mainly
beyond the Weyrbowl.

"You'll like it here, won't you?"

"I'll love it."

Ylisahn's eyes didn't leave the view of the sea but she smiled. "I'm
glad. It might be a little inconvenient – it's a way to go to the
nearest bathing room –"

"It was a way to go to the old one, too," Wirril pointed out. "The only
difference is that I'll be trotting through the Weyrbowl to get there now."

"Rain or shine," Ylisahn added, smiling in response to the other woman's
amused comment. "And we're in quite a public area – with windows."

"I think we're old enough to recognise the value of discretion," Wirril
said, laughing and slipping her arm around her weyrmate's waist. "It's
a beautiful spot and we'll make it into a lovely new home - just for the
two of us." The last time they'd done that Wirril had been nineteen and
not very sure of herself. The only other time they had moved had been
into larger rooms when the children had arrived and she could remember
very little of the home-making part of that shift. It had all been
about the babies, that time, and now they were an older couple with
their children adult and off about their own business.

"It's been a while since it was that, hasn't it?" Ylisahn leaned into
Wirril's embrace and betrayed a sliver of doubt. "It'll be just as
nice, won't it?"

"I'm sure it will."

Last updated on the May 30th 2007

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DCW: Just As Nice