I Still Think Of You

Writers: AL, Chelle
Date Posted: 20th October 2015

Characters: Asley, Meledei
Description: Asley sees Meledei again and is reminded of earlier thoughts.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 14 of Turn 8

Meledei placed her tray with the others that were to be cleared and
washed. Although the clutch was close to hatching, no hums marked the
inevitable just yet. It would happen and soon, but Meledei had a
feeling that was not the day. As she turned away from the tray
collection, she almost barreled into a rather familiar face.
Immediately, her expression brightened as a smile spread across.
"Asley! Hey!"

Hearing _that_ voice made Asley almost trip over herself. And then she
looked up and saw the hair. And the smile. "Well hi Meledei! I hear you've
been busy." And suddenly she was hoping sincerely that a hole would swallow
her up.

"How are you? Are you visiting?" Meledei hadn't seen the young printer
in quite some time. As they spoke, her eyes drifted to the knots and
her grin grew even wider. "You've been promoted! Congratulations! How
long ago?"

"Mmm a few months. I got myself posted here. Pulled a press out of storage
and I've been working as I can. Not a huge need here, but enough." She
smiled, proud of herself that she had finally managed to finish what she had
started so long ago.

"Nice! So you're back at Dolphin Cove? Was the transition there and
back again difficult?" Meledei couldn't imagine what sort of backlash
the printer had to deal with since she was female in a male dominated
society.

"The Hold was hard. As long as I stayed at the Hall, though, everything was
fine enough. Either way, I mostly focused on my work so I could get my
knots. Now, I've got them and they sent me here." She smiled, genuinely
happy about something for the first time in so long.

"Great! So if I need any printing done, I know just who to come to."
As a goldrider, Meledei didn't need much. Printing was still not easy
to do so copying records wasn't really feasible. No, it was something
left for special documents. "Has much changed, you think, since you
were last here or has it stayed the same?"

"There have been quite a few changes aye...I mean the Headwoman and
all but the Weyr itself is the same." Asley didn't regret her choice in
coming back so far. For now, it was the best place to hone her craft until
attitudes changed.

"You heard they're going to install electricity Weyrwide, right?"
Meledei couldn't remember if Asley had still been at the Weyr at that
time or not. Sometimes, events rather blurred together and her sense of
chronological order got skewed.

"Oh sure. Very ambitious if I say so." Asley nodded her head. She herself
would enjoy the luxuries that would bring. That was one advantage of
Emerald Falls. As a junior crafter, though, she might not rank most of those
luxuries. Converting a Weyr in a Pass meant they would likely be in short
supply for a long while.

"It's going to be a while, but I've already seen the technicians hard at
work." From what Meledei could tell, there would be a bit of a mess too
while it was being worked on. "Do you have any big projects coming up?"

"I have a few commissions I am working on, aye. I was thinking once I was
established and had more steady work I could see about taking on an
apprentice so I had some help. It's a bit daunting doing it all yourself."
She
liked it, though, since it gave her control. Still with more help, projects
wouldn't
take so long and she could do more at once.

"I always found I learned as much if not more when I taught." Not that
Meledei had done much teaching for she'd never made it to Journeywoman
before she Impressed, but she'd often take younger apprentices under her
wing and help them when she could. "It's too bad there's not a way to
make printing easier, like the riverboats and their contraptions."
Honestly, she didn't understand how it worked, just that it did and
because of what they used, traversing the river was faster and easier.

"I think printing is more of an art. I don't mind it not being easy."
Asley would leave things like that to the technicians. She loved her press
and wasn't about to change it. Doing what she could by hand meant each
of her prints carried her mark and style.

"There is that, and some sort of machine would mean a loss in the
artistry." Although Meledei couldn't help but wonder what harpers had
felt when the press had first come into existence. Had those who used
to spend hours illuminating manuscripts felt the same as Asley? "Well
it's really good to see you again, and I guess we'll see more of each
other now that you're back here."

"For sure. You're busier than I am but hopefully." The young goldrider
seemed like a genuinely pleasant person and Asley hadn't forgotten that
she had actually visited her at the Hall. It was just awkward since she
was also attractive.

Last updated on the October 26th 2015

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I Still Think Of You