Saying Goodnight

Writers: AL, Jane
Date Posted: 16th August 2008

Characters: Leisenn, Alydelle
Description: Leisenn catches Alydelle going to say goodnight to the dolphins.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 11, day 19 of Turn 4

Leisenn tilted her head forward to look over the reading lenses which had slipped halfway down her nose. And apprentice - one of the female ones - was making her way across the hard above the boat ramps.
Nothing intrinsically wrong with that but it was getting late.
Leisenn herself was thinking about abandoning her reading in the sheltered spot she had found between two long stone sheds at right angles to each other.

The Hallmaster got to her feet and stepped away from the conveniently placed bench. "Excuse me, apprentice," she called, rolling the papers and tucking them under her arm as she walked out toward the young woman.

The girl jumped visibly at Leisenn's call. She stared at the Master, eyes wide and she cast furtive glances around her, as if to be sure she wasn't being ambushed in some sort of trap. "Y...yes ma'am?"

"Come over here." Out of the shelter of the buildings the evening light _was_ better but Leisenn still found herself peering at the apprentice before remembering the reading lenses and removing them.
She tucked them into her shirt pocket and said: "I haven't met you, yet. What's your name?"

"A...Allydelle." No, they hadn't met officially yet, but Aly had seen her around the hall once or twice. She didn't know anything about the Master, really. "Am I in trouble?"

"I don't know. Are you doing something you ought not be?"

"No." Aly didn't think she was. She always did like to say goodnight to the dolphins, the animals that had so captivated her. Her fingers danced idly at one another and she glanced back toward the ramp, wondering if Sora would be there. She liked Sora best, though she tried not to give _too_ much more attention to the pup compared to the others.

"Good. Now, do you know who I am?"

"Yes ma'am." Alydelle nodded, shifting from foot to foot in nervousness. Would she be punished? She didn't think it was against rules to visit the dolphins. "You're the new Master, Master Leisenn."

"The Hallmaster. Yes. So, what _are_ you doing?"

"Saying goodnight to the dolphins." Another sidelong glance was cast in the direction of the water. "I usually say goodnight."

"Do you come out alone?" Leisenn nodded toward the water. "We'd better go down there if they're expecting you."

"I always come alone." Well, at least she wasn't going to prevent her from seeing the dolphins. She turned and began to head back in the direction where her goal lay.

"Hmm. And when is your curfew?" the Hallmaster asked, walking alongside the young apprentice girl. It was many turns - decades -
since she had had young female apprentices under her authority and she wasn't sure that being allowed to wander around alone at dusk was appropriate for them ... especially not the younger ones.

"In a little over a half candlemark." Alydelle muttered, not certain if the Hallmaster were trying to find something she was doing that was wrong to punish her or if she was simply curious. "I wasn't going to stay past curfew, I promise!"

"Good. I wouldn't expect any apprentice to be doing something like that." Especially when the curfew was so late. Surely the younger apprentices should be supervised, at least, if not already in bed by such a time? She would have to give it some thought. "Now, are there always dolphins here to see you when you come down here?"

The electric lighting at intervals along the wharves and piers was on now and illuminated the water and the beaches. It was certainly a very pretty spot to have a Hall, but very few Dolphin Halls were in places that lack attractiveness. It was part of the whole, as far as Leisenn's experience went.

"Sora." Alydelle picked up her pace, eager to see her friends.
"Sometimes Civi, sometimes Forrel. Werti, Hava, and Clai. Several of the little ones besides Sora." She hadn't expected the Master to come with her. To be honest, she would have felt better if Leisenn had decided to continue on elsewhere instead of accompanying her.

"Well if you see a nearly grown male you don't recognise, that'll be my partner, Tu." Leisenn couldn't see the young male but he was sure to turn up one night if the girl always visited. He was very curious and liked to meet people.

"Oh, him!" Alydelle actually smiled. "I've met him too. I didn't realise he was your partner."

"He was probably too excited to introduce himself properly," Leisenn said drily. Or perhaps too modest to make it know that his partner was the Hallmaster? She wasn't sure dolphins had that sort on innate modesty, but Tu had been as much around her in his formative Turns as he had been around his dolphin kin. "How did you get into this craft, Alydelle?"

"Me?" Aly wasn't so sure she really wanted to talk about that. Her past wasn't always a pleasant thing to bring up. "I just...fell in love with the dolphins, so asked to apprentice."

It wasn't a bad start, but youngsters were often fickle in their enthusiasms, in Leisenn's experience. "And you've been here how long?"

"For three turns." Alydelle had gotten away as soon as she could and had been grateful she hadn't been turned away.

"And how much longer do you think it will take before you walk tables?"
the old woman asked, always interested in any apprentice's response to such a question. Some were modest, some boasting, some seemed to have no idea or couldn't bring themselves to say. The answer said more about the apprentice than about their promotion prospects.

"When my Masters feel I am ready." How was she supposed to answer that?
Alydelle learned what she did and did so well, but she wasn't the one in charge. They reached the edge of the ramp and the girl's expression brightened visibly at the sight of the chittering creatures. "Hey guys!"

Leisenn watched the young woman for a moment and then nodded. She seemed properly respectful of their friends and the Hallmaster wasn't going to hang around to walk the apprentice back to the main building.
She might give the curfew some thought, and she might even end up making changes, but not this night, for this apprentice. "I'll leave you to them," she said.

Alydelle tore her gaze away from the part of the pod that had come to greet her and she nodded politely. "Thank you Master Leisenn."

"You're welcome," the Hallmaster murmured and turned away to head back to the Hall and her evening's work.

Last updated on the August 16th 2008

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Saying Goodnight