Gossip

Writers: AL, Cali, Jane
Date Posted: 3rd March 2009

Characters: Eshmeir, Sheste, Jestyn, Meorley
Description: The Harper Hall apprentices talk about everything that's been happening.
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 1, day 8 of Turn 5

Jestyn sat beside Sheste who picked at her food. She hadn't said much during the entire dinner and he wanted to say something, anything that might cheer her up. He had a feeling that there was more to her mood than simply not impressing. He also had a feeling that it had to do with Figol...well...F'gol. The young harper winced at the thought of his friend. Maybe his former friend. Jestyn wasn't sure if he wanted to be friends with someone who placed more importance on something like music over people. Sheste had seemed to really care about him though, and he felt bad for her. He placed a hand upon his shoulder and tried to give her a comforting smile when she looked up.

Eshmeir looked over at the table where the others sat - the people he thought of as his friends despite their varying stages in their apprenticeships. He was older than his peers, closer in age to Cerra and Sheste and Jestyn, and he desperately wanted to sit with them during meals but the apprentices were divided up as juniors and senior and it wouldn't be until the tables were cleared and klah served that he might be able to slip along to join them.

"Eshmeir!" Meorley waved at the boy before he could sit down. When he approached he said, "Hey, sit with us. Nobody's here that will care. They're all in some big meeting today or something."

"Oh, all right," Eshmeir said with a show of reluctance that probably didn't fool anybody. "I did notice the tables -" he inclined his head toward the cluster of tables where the masters sat, "- were looking a bit under-populated." He settled down at the table and looked around him. "Is something wrong?"

Meorley leaned over as if to whisper but spoke loud enough for all at the table to hear. "I heard they were discussing the pros and cons of staying at the Weyr."

Eshmeir's expression was surprised. "Why? Is the Hall planning to move?"

Jestyn and Sheste both looked up, then at each other, then at Meorley. Sheste didn't let her gaze linger for long but let it drop back to her food. Jestyn, however, frowned, "What do you mean, Meorley?"

Glad that he'd gotten everyone's attention, he began his explanation. "Well you know how everyone got all 'dragon crazy' with the last hatching. You two asked to Stand, as did a dozen other apprentices, and then Crostlin and Figol actually _did_. Not to mention all the senior apprentices that keep knocking up weyr girls, and that friend of yours Sheste, what's her name? The one that got pregnant and then moved in with that brownrider? Anyways, it's got some of the Master's and Journeymen in a tizzy. I hear them talking about it. So that's _got_ to be what the meeting is about."

"What?" Sheste looked up at the mention of her name, her face growing bright with colour. "Pregnant and moved in with a brownrider?" She huffed and raised an eyebrow at her, confused. "I did no such thing!" Sheste exclaimed indignantly.

Meorley rolled his eyes, girls were so airy, no wonder they weren't allowed to craft in most places. "Not _you_, what's her face! Ugh, it's not important, the _important_ thing is that we might end up moving again."

It was then that Sheste realized that he was asking her who it had been. "Oh." She stated, embarrassed. She had been so lost in thought that she had misheard what Meorley had said. "Baira." She stated, deflated as she stared back down at the table.

"That's it!" Meorley snapped his fingers as the name rang a bell.

Eshmeir was following his own thoughts and knew he'd be disappointed if they did move. He'd been awed by Dolphin Cove Weyr when he first arrived and even now he was more familiar with it he was sure it must be the most wonderful spot on Pern. "Somewhere new - or where the Hall came from?" he wondered aloud.

"Who knows, just somewhere they can hide all us apprentices. They just don't want all of us to end up Impressing like Figol. Master Garlin threw a fit when he found out, after all that time working with him on that composition piece he won and all." Meorley was piecing bits and pieces of information he'd heard from people that had heard, but it sounded better firsthand.

"They could just forbid us to Stand," the junior apprentice suggested. And then we could stay. Oh, except for the girls' behavior."

"Figol didn't even _want_ to Stand, did he." Meorley aimed the comment at Jestyn, those two had been close, he'd know for sure.

Jestyn shook his head. "From what I understand he was just trying to get a better look."

Sheste snorted and Jestyn cast a glance upon her, but didn't say anything. "He was probably more surprised than anyone else." The young man continued.

"That'd be a big surprise, all right," Eshmeir agreed. "Has anybody talked to him about it? Does he mind?"

"Yeah, he basically bemoaned the fact that he doesn't get to be a harper now." Jestyn rolled his eyes, the action speaking quite clearly as to how he felt about F'gol's feelings on the matter. "The only thing that's important to him is his music - nothing else. No ONE else, either."

Sheste glanced up, then away, her cheeks reddening.

Meorley noticed her behavior, "What, were you the 'no _one_'? I could have told you not to bother. He dropped that cute greenrider a few months back because he didn't have time for her either."

"But he'll have to find time to be a dragonrider, won't he," Eshmeir offered with a grin.

"He doesn't deserve that dragon." Jestyn muttered, eyes upon Sheste as she continued to pick at her food.

The junior apprentice was shocked. "Is that possible?" he asked and his question wasn't in the muttered undertone that Jestyn's had been.

Meorley shrugged, so much for those two boy's friendship. "Deserved or not, he's got one. I'll miss him myself."

"You go ahead and miss him." Jestyn cast a glance at Sheste who was pushing away her tray and standing. "I think there are a few people who won't."

Eshmeir couldn't imagine anybody not missing Figol. Not that he'd been the most sociable of people, but he'd been _there_ for most of their apprenticeship, the junior thought. Surely anybody would miss somebody who was there one day and gone the next?

Last updated on the March 13th 2009

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