Chick Chatting

Writers: Chelle, Len
Date Posted: 28th September 2011

Characters: Parale, Larena, Rena
Description: Parale meets some of the Hold's ladies.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 4, day 5 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Ioven

She had her sewing basket with her. Armed with an idea, the woman headed for the ladies' area, wondering if she could get the rest of them to talk to her. She had skills she could use to help her family if only these cluckers would see that.

Larena watched the strange girl come in and nudged her friend next to
her. "Do we know her?" she whispered, causing Rena to look up from
her sewing. After giving the girl a cross look--she was hard at work
with this piece after all--she shook her head and tried to get back to
counting stiches.

Picking out her seat, she took her place in the room, nodding to some
of the other women she caught looking. Parale didn't talk, content to
hear whatever conversation they had to offer as she worked on her own
mending. Hopefully, someone would say hello and give her an in.

Rena looked up and smiled at the girl. "Hello, m'dear, are you new here?"

"Aye, we came about four months ago. I'm still settling, though I knew a lot more than I did." Parale nodded back genially. "What's your name? I don't believe I've met you yet."

Before Rena could open her mouth to tell her, Larena butted in. "I'm
Larena and this is my baby sister Rena. You can tell as she got the
last bit of my name, like our parents had run out of ideas when she
was born. Who are you?" Her voice went cold at the question. Beside
her, Rena smiled kindly to the new girl, ignoring the snide comment
about her name..

"My name is Parale. My husband is Journeyman smith Ioven and we have
two daughters, Venrys and Syren. I just came here from Garnet Valley Hold."
Her voice would have told them that, but Parale thought it was necessary.

"Ah, I think your girls may have been playing with my little girl.
Does Nelara ring a bell?" Rena asked, saying her girl's name.
"Garnet Valley is a pretty place," she added before her sister could
say anything snide.

"Aye I think they're in lessons together." She almost said something natural about how smart Venrys was before catching herself. "I love my home and I miss it sometimes, but I have to follow him."

"Is he that much of a catch?" Larena asked, her voice implying he
probably wasn't much at all.

"He's a senior journeyman and he will be getting his masters' knots
someday." Nevermind that she had been panicked because of reaching
her peak of marriageable turns. "And he makes my toes curl, truth be told."
She giggled slightly, thinking of Apeline and their chats together.

"He's that ugly?" Rena cringed when her sister said that and gave
Parale an apologetic look.

"Oh no....curling in a _good_ way. I emm...well you'd just have to see him." She wasn't the sort to brag overly much, but she did rather enjoy her husband except when he said stupid things.

"As beautiful as you are, my dear, I'm sure he's quite the handsome
man to have caught you!" Rena smiled at the woman.

"Well thank you. I dye my own clothes, you know. I was wondering if there
might be a bit of a market for it-here." She looked around the room at the women and their clothing.

"Well, there might be..." This was a young Hold, so anyone willing to
work would be welcomed.

"Ah good. I still have to figure out where everything is to get my colors
but, I knew it would be a matter of time before I know where to gather." Parale began to think it over a bit more in her head.

"There's a thicket full of herbs just a way down the path, over where
the trees are particularly thick. I could show you sometime...I like
picking herbs..." Rena's voice trailed off, feeling shy and also
waiting for her sister to make some disparaging remarks about her own
herb gathering.

"Oh I use more than herbs. There are certain plants, grasses, roots,
berries...The berries are very good since the stain is natural anyway." She could probably make do though since the plants would be different here.

Larena snorted at that, glad to see her sister called out.

"I love herbs for cooking though. Do you like to cook then?" Parale enjoyed being in the kitchen with the girls and they liked to help, which passed the time.

"I do, I also like them for medicine." Rena looked hopeful when
Parale spoke. She didn't have many friends and none also interested
in herbs. "I keep a small garden of them behind our Holding."

"Oh how nice. We have quarters inside here in the Hold so I don't really
have any of that. I do have a workroom for my loom and everything though."
She was quite taken with their quarters.

"Oh, I like to weave as well! How large is your loom?"

"I can do a good sized rug. Anything bigger than that, I can't manage. So
smaller tapestries, but not the large ones." Parale had to get those at
Gathers and things.

"Making tapestries is nice." Besides Rena, her sister rolled her eyes at
the two women.

"Aye, they're nothing extravagant but sometimes I can manage a simple wall
hanging to break the monotony." Parale was excited to find a new friend.

Last updated on the November 6th 2011

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