A Woman Harper!

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 30th November 2005

Characters: Larken, Karaleigh
Description: Larken meets a real live _woman_ Harper!
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 26 of Turn 3

Shards...the Weyr was so _big_! How would she ever get to know her way around? How long did it take for the dragonriders to learn their way about the twists and turns of the corridors? And there were so many levels too!

In fact, Larken wasn't sure what level she was on anymore.

Frowning, she paused in the middle of the stone hallway, then turned on her heel and looked back the way she'd come. Shards...where was she? Maybe Ojisan was right...maybe she shouldn't go wandering alone... But what else was she _supposed_ to do? She'd finished unpacking and settling their things in their quarters - no, their _weyr_ - and had had the rest of the late afternoon off.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, Larken began chewing on her lower lip as she turned around once again and headed quickly down the corridor. She'd keep going this way for a while longer... Struggling to not let her anxiety get the better of her, the young woman whirled around the corner and gave a sharp cry of surprise as she all but crashed into someone else.

Hides went flying at Larken's impact. Karaleigh watched helplessly as they fluttered to the corridor floor. "Shells," she muttered as she bent down to pick them up. It would take her all day to put them back into order again!

"Shards - I'm so sorry... Here, let me help you..." Flushing with embarrassment, Larken bent down to help pick them all up. "I should've looked where I was going. I'm so sorry..."

"No no, it's all right," Karaleigh said reassuringly, although inside she wished the young woman would have watched where she was going.

She handed some of the retrieved hides to Karaleigh, her cheeks still quite red - but it was then when she noticed the knots on the older woman's shoulders. "You're...a harper?" Despite her embarrassment, a sudden, surprised smile crossed Larken's lips.

"Yes," Karaleigh nodded. She glanced up at the young woman and smiled. It was obvious she was not accustomed to seeing a _woman_ harper. "You came with the Harper Hall?"

She nodded as they rose to their feet. "My name is Larken," she smiled.
A _woman_ harper! It was amazing...

"I'm Joureywoman Karaleigh," the harper smiled as she reached her free hand out to the woman. She usually didn't denote gender when she introduced herself. It was pretty obvious she was no man after all. But Larken seemed so impressed to find a woman harper that she felt a little smug in saying it now.

She took the offered hand. "It's nice to meet you, Journeywoman." How strange that word sounded coming off of the tip of her tongue! She wondered what Ojisan would say when she told him...

"Please, call me Karaleigh," the journeywoman replied as she began straighting the hides against her body into a neater pile that was easier to handle. "Welcome to the Weyr, Larken."

"Thank you." Her contrite look returned. "And I am sorry about all of this... Hopefully it won't take you too long to sort your hides? Can I help in any way?" She was a _journeywoman_. No doubt all those hides had been in a specific order...

Karaleigh's first instinct was to refuse politely. But as she looked down at the massive stake she formed an idea. She glanced up at the young woman. "Well... Do you have something to do now?"

Larken shook her head. Ojisan wouldn't be home for another couple candlemarks at the most... She had time.

"See, I teach the children here at the Weyr, and to be honest, grading alone is so boring." She looked at Larken hopefully. "These are some simple spelling quizes. Do you want help me grade them? I can steal us a couple mugs of klah and some cookies from the kitchen to make it worth your while."

"I'd love to help, Karaleigh." And she found that she _did_. "Especially if it involves cookies! And Weyr-made klah," she grinned.

The harper grinned. "Great! The kitchen is this way."

Last updated on the November 30th 2005

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A Woman Harper!