Important Visitors (2 of 2)

Writers: AL, Cali
Date Posted: 3rd August 2008

Characters: Sorsha, Ri'len
Description: Sorsha and Railen are left alone to get to know each other.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 11, day 3 of Turn 4

Railen watched his parents move out of the hall, cups in hand. His own cup was clutched tightly by himself and he managed to cast a shy glance at Sorsha, but his gaze didn't linger. He lowered himself into a seat and took a nervous sip before setting the juice down beside him. "So uh..." What should he say? "Hi." Yeah, real smart.

"Hi." Sorsha replied softly. She was confused, and worried. She must have done something wrong. Had she been impolite? Too quick to offer drinks? Too long away? Maybe she should have offered wine? A snack?
Her aunt would be furious at her either way. All her hard work and she'd just messed it all up, in the first ten minutes no less!

"I...uh..." The young man shifted in his seat and reached up to scratch the back of his neck. "I'm...I'm Railen." That was just as bad, if not worse! Sorsha already knew who he was! Railen flushed bright and continued his nervous gesture.

Great, he must think her stupid, not evoking polite conversation like she should. "Yes, and I'm very glad to see you again after so many turns." She started, she would not fail her family again. "Are you still raising runners?"

"Oh, yes, we have some fine new colts." Railen perked up at the topic that was more familiar to him. "At least two look like they could be promising studs. They're really beautiful."

"I'm sure they are." Sorsha replied with a smile. She didn't know much about the topic, but she would try and keep it going since he appeared eager to talk about it. "What coloring do they have?"

"Oh, we have runners of all colours." Railen counted the colours off on his hands, "Black, brown, palomino...brown with white, black with white, spotted. All sorts." He shifted a bit, uncomfortable for a moment as he searched for some way to continue the conversation.
After a moment, he asked, "Do you ride?"

She nodded, "Yes, enough to get around. My brothers are much more used to them though. You remember them don't you?"

"Yes, of course." Railen nodded. He remembered her too as well, though he wasn't going to bring that up. "Do you..._like_ to ride?"

"Well, they're much less intimidating to ride than a dragon." Sorsha replied lightly.

"Would you...I mean..." The young man shifted, evidently feeling a bit awkward, "Would you like to go on a ride...or...something?"

Her eyes rounded slightly at the question. She must be a really horrible conversationalist if after riding all day here he wanted to get back on a runner so they wouldn't have to talk. "If you'd like.
My brothers's ship should be back on the evening tide soon and we could ride down the beaches. They'd be horribly upset if we left without them, they've been looking forward to seeing you again." And maybe they'd be better at keeping him entertained.

"Ah, well, yes, I guess we could do that. I just thought..." Railen reached back to rub his neck once more. "We didn't have to ride today, I was thinking more...tomorrow and...just...maybe..."

"Oh, of course, yes, I'm sorry." Could she be messing this up any more completely! She was so embarrassed she was sure her cheeks were pink.
"You obviously want to rest this evening."

"Yes, well..." What now? What would be of interest to the girl that they could talk about? Ah, perhaps he should ask. "So uh...Sorsha...tell me more about yourself. What...what you like and everything."

The change in conversation confused her, her aunt had instructed her not to go on about herself and to make the talk about the guest, so why was he asking about her? She started to panic again that she was doing something wrong, then realized what he was doing... He was trying to figure her out. He must have been asked by his father to see if she'd be acceptable for fostering! This realization made sense to her and it helped her look at the talk from a different angle. "Well," she began trying to sound confident, "I enjoy needlepoint, cooking, literature, and I am a fair singer."

"Oh?" Literature, and singing...two things they had in common. Not that books were easy to get, but they were still enjoyable. "You sing? I...I'd like to hear you sing some time."

Sorsha smiled shyly again, despite trying to put on a brave aire, she wasn't one to like attention on herself. "Well, I'm not harper quality by any means, but we all sing down at the beach fires."

"Perhaps I'll hear you sing then." Railen suggested, feeling a little more at ease. He did enjoy music, even if he wasn't really trained as a harper. "In the mean time..." He glanced around, "Maybe...we could take a walk? You can show me around the hold."

"Of course." the girl said with relief, it was much easier to talk about the hold than herself. "Not much has changed in the turns since your last visit, but we've got a secondary dock now that you might like to see." "Sure." Railen moved to his feet. "I'd love to see it." She seemed nice, she really did, and she also seemed to be as uncomfortable as he did. Still, it would get easier with time, right? They just needed to get to know one another. "Please, lead on."

Last updated on the August 7th 2008

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Important Visitors (2 of 2)