Nirra asks for some help

Writers: AL, Amy
Date Posted: 21st July 2008

Characters: Nirraja, Lirit
Description: Nirraja seeks out some help with something
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 4 of Turn 4

It was raining, not like a little shower - but proper rain, proper take cover and stay inside type rain, and even stable chores had been postponed for a candlemark or so in the hopes of the weather improving a little. An "early lunch" break the stable master had called it, but Nirraja wasn't hungry yet so instead she was doing something she had been putting off for forever - knocking on the door on one of the Harpers teaching rooms.

Lirit's hands paused over the strings of his gitar. He had just settled down to practise and hadn't even been able to get a chord out when the knock interrupted his thoughts. He turned toward the door, calling out, "Come on in!"

At the call to enter, Nirraja pushed the door open enthusiastically, barely catching again before it slammed into to wall - wincing at the bang it would have made, before dismissing the thought and bouncing forwards into the room. "I'm Nirraja," she announced to the person in the room, glancing at him just long enough to establish that she didn't know him, before her attention transferred onto the room - she hadn't ever been in this one before - had no reason too - so she was curious.

"Well, hello Nirraja." Lirit carefully eased his gitar down onto the table nearby and turned back toward the woman who had spoken. "I'm Lirit. Anything I can do for you?"

Looking back to the Harper with a smile, Nirraja's eyes flicked briefly over the young man before she took a second more lingering look, her smile widening - and her purpose for visiting forgotten for a moment. "You're pretty cute," she pointed out in a slightly thoughtful tone, tilting her head to the side as if to study him from a different angle. Yes. Still cute.

Lirit's lips cracked into a grin and he bowed slightly. "Always a good way to introduce one's self, complimenting the other person. Why I must say I have to agree with you."

"That you're cute? Or that I am?" Nirraja asked, with another grin, before she shook a head - dismissing the question - and pushed a handful of hair over her shoulder and out of the way. She'd gotten distracted again. Exchanging compliments wasn't why she'd come at all... no. "Anyways," she carried on, "I was wondering if you'd be able to give me a hand with something?"

"I'm always willing to help a lady." Lirit stated with a soft laugh. He had been about to comment on her response, but she had changed the subject so he let it drop. "Please, tell me how I can help you."

Nirraja liked that - being called a Lady. It was a simple word, but unconsciously it made her preen up, a contented little smile replacing the previously amused grin. Being called a Lady by a cute guy at that. And... she was getting distracted again. Rolling her eyes at herself, Nirraja leaned forwards, resting her elbows on her knees, "Well, you see, I work in the stables, and the stable master makes notes about the runners sometimes... just important bits, like, which mare is in foal to which stallion and stuff..." catching herself before she went off tangent again (oh, getting her talking about runners was never good), Nirraja cocked her head at the Harper before getting herself right to the point, "- but, yah, I can't exactly read it all and I want to..." Learning, reading and writing, had never been her strong points - and while she'd got by till now, now she had a reason to want to improve herself.

"So you need to improve your reading and writing skills?" Lirit hmed softly, then clicked his tongue and shook his head. Alas, a young woman thought he was cute but he was unable to help her. Now if she had wanted voice or gitar lessons, those would have been pleasant lessons indeed. "I fear that I'll not be able to help you in that matter. You see, my reading and writing isn't exactly...well...quite what you're used to."

"Oh," the surprise - or was it disappointment? - was obvious in Nirraja's tone as her face fell and she glanced at the Harper with a frown. She pondered what he meant by 'not what you're used to' for a moment, before shaking her head with a frown, harpers were meant to be the ones too see about reading and writting weren't they? They'd always been the ones who had taught her back home. "Why?" she asked bluntly, after a moment, not even thinking for a moment that he might not want to talk about it.

"Well, I'll show you." Lirit's lips twitched in amusement as he turned and rummaged through the bag that sat on the floor beside him. He took out a couple of hides and held them out for the woman to look at them. The hides were riddled with holes, yet there was nothing random about them. There was order, a pattern that could be detected, even if it was one she couldn't quite understand.

Nirraja was curious now, and as the harper rummaged around in his bag she wondered what in the world he could mean about his writting not being what she was used to - surely writing was all the same? And then he'd produced the pieces of hide and she was just confused - sure she could see all the little holes, and there looked to be a certain pattern too them, but all the same... how was that writting in any sense of the word? A fact she pointed out to him with a frown "- where is the writing? thats just lots of holes..."

"That's how I write most of the time." Lirit explained, unable to supress a chuckle at her confusion. "The fact of the matter is, I can't see, so when I read and write, it's with things I can feel...like the holes in the hide."

"Oh..." this time it was obviously surprise in her voice. She hadn't been expecting that one at all. She'd never met a blind person in her life before, as far as she was aware, and Nirraja had to admit she would never have imagined one could be a harper. Then again, seeing the paper in front of her, she never would have thought they could read or write either... but Lirit had just proved otherwise - well, he hadn't proved it, but Nirraja had no reason to doubt it. "That's really interesting," she declared, and meant it, it really really was, sure - this Harper couldn't teach her to read and write like she wanted to, but suddenly wanted to learn his way too... "- could anyone learn your way?"

"Sure." Lirit nodded, "It's not hard. Of course, you have to learn to use your sense of touch in a way that's different than you're used to, but I'm afraid it's not practical for communicating with others. Most of the people who know it are blind, very few who aren't know it."

Nodding in understanding, and then voicing an "uh-huh" when it occured to her that he wouldn't be able to see her nod, Nirraja reached out a hand and gently traced it over the nearest of the sheets of hide. She understood it would be a fairly, useless (no, she didn't like that word... what was a better one... impractical?) skill, but it was still interesting to her... "That makes sense," she agreed, not sure why she was still interested in learning, and certainly not able to put it into words "-but I'm still interested in learning... If you don't mind teaching me, that is?" Plus, Nirraja added privately to herself, he was still cute... and seemed nice enough... there were other benefits to the possibility of lessons.

"I don't mind at all." Lirit's smile brightened and his sightless gaze seemed to twinkle. "I'm always interested in furthering education in arts that aren't necessarily well known." Not that this could be necessarily called an art, but he wasn't really going to argue the point. "You just let me know when and I'll figure out how we can get you into my schedule."

"Great, Thanks." Smiling as she got to her feet, Nirraja directed a wave at the Harper as she headed towards the door, pausing there as she realised he obviously hadn't seen the wave. Well done, Nirra. "See you around!"

Last updated on the July 21st 2008

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Nirra asks for some help