The Test of Time [75.09.27] (Rekkora/Open)

[Shoki]

Early Afternoon

Kumori was humming as she traversed the Weyrbowl. Well, Irai was humming, but Kumori was in a pleasant mood as well. Though she had been increasingly displeased by how her body was less responsive she at least kept in a reasonable shape. Riders didn’t know how good they had it. Still, that was easy to leave alone, as she was at least pleased to be visiting the Weyr, which meant Rekkora. The elderly woman was carrying a parcel, inside was a container filled with a fish stew. IT had been made fresh this morning, by herself and a little bit of reheating and it would be lovely. The trip from Cliffside would no doubt have given the flavors enough time to mingle and create a very tasty flavor.

“That bloody thing will be the death of us all.” Kumori raised a single eyebrow and looked to where there were two riders talking, one animated, the other trying to calm his companion.

“No use talking about it, and not so loud.” Irai kept walking, and Kumori considered. The tales of an Azure had come to her, obviously, and she admitted that it made her nostalgic, just a little. She had been just a little girl back then, having not yet been discovered by her parents and still experimenting on creatures on the forest to perfect her art. So long ago. But legends had a habit of coming back.

She went to the side of the Bowl and sat down, taking a break in the shade to consider things. Now, she had neither positive nor negative feelings about Azures as a color. They could be the next agents of chaos, or not, and she likely wouldn’t be effected. After all, things that looked like bad luck to most, would likely look like a wonderful thing to her. She was rather twisted like that. However, its presence now was something else entirely. Like any other Queen (or so was told) they had normal Flight timing. Which begged the issue that this new creature would rise before Sunvioath. That might mean that Rekkora’s position would be called into question and less power for her. Couldn’t have that. Of course as they both had controversial colors, no doubt there was equal footing there. Perhaps a good murder was in order? But no, she’d heard about all that security. Feh, couldn’t an old woman get the odd murder once in a while? But she knew the answer to that. Too dangerous, the mask was all important. She would have to make up for it with an absolute slaughter after she felt Rekkora was all ready to graduate from the school of Kumori. That would take time.

Time was rapidly becoming Kumori had very little of.

Still, the old woman looked across the bowl observing the dragons coming in and out. It was so interesting how things changed. It almost seemed like another life when she had been plotting to kill every last rider that opposed DMW. Now she was trying to see one of its Weywomen prepared for everything. Well, she was still supporting and Abyss rider. That was something she supposed. She took a moment to think on death, those she had caused, those she had watched, and hers in the future. And then she smiled, humming a happy little tune.

[summerrain]

Wynah watched the children of the creche. She smiled slightly. If only she'd been born lucky, like these children. She wouldn't have had to struggle and fight to survive. But at least Telsan had been able to rescue her. From herself, and from the world. If he hadn't taught her to hunt, she may never have found the Weyr, or Alzdith. She sighed softly.

"You alright?" asked one of the older women.

"Oh, yeah, just thinking," Wynah replied softly.

"Well, would you mind taking one of the children out for a walk? We can't really let you watch more than that, since you have your Weyrling duties, but one should be fine, right?"

"Of course," Wynah said, picking up the little blonde girl called Yura. "I'll take her around the Bowl then."

"Just make sure she's back for her nap!" called the woman behind her. Wynah raised a hand in acknowledgment. Wynah saw an older woman sitting in the shade as she placed the child down. Yura stumbled around, heading toward the older woman. The child babbled as she neared the woman, smiling. Wynah turned and sighed.

"Yura, stop that," she scolded quietly. "You need to stay by me." She looked up at the woman. "I hope she didn't bother you. I'm helping out at the creche in order to get more experience teaching," she explained.

[Shoki]

Reminiscing took attention. However, Kumori had never been one to devote all her attention to one thing. Considering she had been living a lie for decades now, she could not afford to let her attention be diverted too long. Lest she make a mistake. So her eyes went to the child waddling toward her quickly, but a warm smile came over the woman’s face. Irai showed through, ever the kind matron. Irai loved her children. Kumori was tolerant of them. Of course today was a good day, so she did not do anything so vile as plot murder while there were children around. The woman’s face turned toward the child’s baby sitter as she came forward, introducing herself. Her reaction was natural and good natured, perfectly cultivated after having to care for children of her own.

“Oh, of course not. It’s all quite alright.” Irai smiled but there was a little prod, just a bit from Kumori to convince her to speak the way she wished. It was hardly required. Old women were supposed to want to talk at the slightest provocation. All part of the façade. “Planning on being a teacher? How wonderful. What do you want to teach?” Kumori didn’t dislike teachers. Obviously not, since the first thing she had done, so very long ago, was begun to teach. A very different sort of teaching then most though. However, one never knew what was going on in another’s head. She couldn’t say if it was similar work to the, well, guiding that she was trying now or something more mundane.

[summerrain]

Wynah smiled as she picked up the child, sitting down next to the woman. "Well, I didn't have a very easy childhood," she said quietly. "My father was killed in a hunting accident before I was born, and mother died in childbirth. When I was three, I was left out on the streets to fend for myself. I... I had no choice but to resort to thievery and tricks to survive. If Telsan had never found me, I probably would still be on the streets, fighting for my life. But thanks to him, I can hunt and fend for myself in a respectable manner." She sighed softly, shifting Yura's position on her lap.

"I want to be that person for other children in Pern," Wynah finally admitted. "I can teach them to hunt, to find food on their own without resorting to tricks and lies. Maybe, just maybe, more of them will end up like me." She had her Sunlace knots on her shoulders, and her hunting knife on her hip. She'd gotten out of the habit of wearing her quiver everywhere with working in the creche. However, it was easy to tell from her build that she was a hunter, and had been for a long time. She was alert, even though she almost seemed relaxed. Her back and shoulders were tense, as if she was expecting an attack at any moment. But it was just her nature. Without Alzdith nearby, she couldn't completely relax.

[Shoki]

The woman looked sympathetic, as Wynah spoke, and moved to a more pleasant smile as she spoke her hopes. She had learned long ago how to completely disconnect what she was thinking and how she acted. Its why she thought of as her actions, her expression as Irai, the sweet woman, and Kumori as herself, the one actually running the show. So Irai listened attentively and was oh so perfect in her responses.

“Oh that sounds wonderful.” Kumori batted the mask from saying that hunting was too dangerous for children. No use in being more of a hypocrite then she was already. “With someone so passionate, no doubt you will be a wonderful teacher.” However Kumori was thinking, behind the words. Parents? How long ago had she thought about them? Not too often. Well, from time to time she brought them back up in her mind. After all, they had been among the first she had killed. Horrible examples of her craft, though. Probably why she didn’t think too much about them. She had long dismissed the idea that she would ever properly understand the parental bond, from either side. She merely observed others and let things be.

“Oh, I’m Irai my dear. Who is this little one?” Irai waved at Yura, though she didn’t have anything that children would want to play with. Perhaps her fingers. The less related to her, the better children were. Or so Kumori thought.

[summerrain]

"Oh, this is Yura, the TigerRider's daughter," Wynah said, running her fingers through the child's hair. "She's really sweet, but she gets into trouble frequently. She tends to wander off. But she's got an adventurous heart, which can be a good thing sometimes. As long as she doesn't adventure too far from the Weyr," she added jokingly.

"Of course, I didn't actually start bow hunting until I was twelve or thirteen, but I spent Turns learning how to clean and prepare meat, and how to set traps to catch small forest creatures, and even how to carve my own arrows, though that could've gone a lot better than it did." She showed the woman, Irai, one of her scarred palms. "I made a number of mistakes as a child, but now I'm also pretty good at emergency first-aid due to the number of times Telsan had to treat me for cutting myself with the carving knives." She laughed softly. She was able to open up to this woman... Why was that? Perhaps it was the comforting presence that the elders had on her. But it didn't matter. She'd been needing to tell someone.

"Then again, there's also the possibility of simply teaching the children enough so they can become apprentices of other Crafts," she realized, speaking softly. "Just teaching them enough to get them off the streets..."

[Shoki]

“Oh yes. Little ones around the Weyr should be ready for a little bit of adventure.” Irai chuckled. Kumori wanted to gag at the sweetness of Irai, but left it be and the woman observed the scars on Wynah’s hands as she explained her past.

The past snuck up on Kumori, like a kidnapper in the night. It grabbed her and pulled her back, keeping her silent as she fell back into memories.

There were bodies everywhere, and no one had lived. She was alone, well and truly. She didn’t know, couldn’t have known what happened at the end, but when she had finally made her way back everyone was dead. Her little playthings, the brother greenriders had met their end, though their dragons were not even proper grown. She had bent down and raised their faces from the ground, looked into their dead eyes as she touched their faces. They would have been so lovely things to give her amusement. She left them looking blankly into the sky.
She found the horrible black feathered monsters, and looked at each bird on the ground, trying to pick a murderer. She found one that seemed suitable and stabbed and stabbed, blaming it for the only death that really mattered here.
She ignored the bodies and went to watch the sea. She watched her scars heal, her body grow gaunt from hunger, and the island around her begin to smell from the bodies. Eventually she healed as much as she was going to. She memorized every scar that she had on her body, welcoming each friend to their place. She would remember them well.

Irai’s smile faded slightly and spoke softly, as she usually did when more frail moments were needed. “Yes, many skills are needed. I was never truly skilled at anything, but my knitting. Gives a body something to do, you know.” She smiled a little more. It was so easy to lie like this, the story was always the same, and she had lived most of the lies to match. So easy. But hopefully a time would come for the truth. A beautiful, ugly, magnificent truth. Or death. Death was a different sort of truth.