Arrived Safely

Writers: Miriah, Suzee
Date Posted: 31st August 2019

Characters: Lusilk, Jayzine
Description: Lusilk arrives at BLW and takes shelter
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Jielta

Lusilk

Jayzine

It was late in the evening when she arrived, nudging the tired runner
with gentle nudges of her heels. The small child in front of her
dozed, leaning back against her as he slept, secure as one of her arms
kept him snug against her. Her dark eyes were shadowed, ringed by dark
circle of exhaustion as they appeared over the rise and beheld the
encampment before them. She pulled the runner to a stop for only a
moment, tucking her arm more securely around the small boy in front of
her. She felt relief flow through her; it was busy even as Rukbat was
setting, so easy to get lost in the crowd, easy to be passed over by
searching eyes. It was perfect. She nudged the runner again, urging
the small mare forward in slow plodding steps that spoke of a long
road traveled.

It was probably the child that drew her eyes first then the weariness
of the the runner and then the rider. "Hullo," she called to get the
young woman's attention and she walked toward her with Miyon by her
side. "Are you hungry?"

Dark eyes flicked over the approaching woman, found the knots and some
tension about her shoulders eased. It was the Headwoman. Just who she
needed. Her eyes flicked to the boy beside her and felt a little more
at ease, but not enough for her coiled muscles to completely loosen.
"Greetings, Headwoman. " She reined the mare to a stop and the tired
runner hung its head as Lusilk carefully dismounted. Very carefully,
she lifted the exhausted child into her arms and rested him against
her shoulder. The movement hadn't woken him and he nestled against
her shoulder, cherubic lips parted in slumber. "No. We're very
tired. I've come looking for work if you have it."

"Plenty," Jayzine nodded. "Your boy looks like he could use a bed.
Follow me," she said and took Miyon's hand to lead her toward the
tents. "We'll be moving into the new building in the next week or so,"
she said over her shoulder.

Miyon gave the woman a tentative smile and followed his mother
willingly. Mostly the grownups were nice people but he liked to stay
near her or Jielta.

"Thank you." One hand leading the mare, and the other filled with the
child, Lusilk followed Jayzine. She felt the strain of the past few
sevendays in every muscle, dragging her reactions and reflexes down,
but she was still alert enough to study her surroundings, taking in
the tents, the construction, and the people. Her eyes searched for any
faces that might be familiar and found none. Good. Perhaps she would
be able to stay for longer than usual, that would be a blessing. She
was tired of running and the boy needed stability."I'll do whatever is
necessary, Headwoman." She paused. "My name is Lusilk." She gave the
name that very few had heard. She'd never given it to any of her
contacts, but if she were to stay, to provide stability to the child,
perhaps it was time.

Jayzine waved a hand and a young man appeared to take the runner.
"Hullo beautiful," he said warmly to the animal. "You look like you
can use a warm stall and some good grain." He ran his hands over her
quickly then squinted at the woman. "She's near exhaustion ma'am," he
said accusingly.

Lusilk looked at him with a hint of irritation in her eyes, but
nodded. "She is. It's been a long, hard journey for all of us. I'm
hoping she'll get plenty of rest here." The poor runner had been
remarkably resilient for all of the hard travel and she'd grown to
like the little mare. "Her name is Pippa." She turned to Jayzine. "Any
bed will do right now, if one is open, please. He's exhausted." She
looked at the child in her arms. "Even a pallet."

"Aye," the young man nodded gravely, "I'll take good care of her
missus," he said as he led the mare toward a rough paddock for food a
rub down and rest.

"This way," Jayzine tilted her head toward the fire and cluster of
tents. "We've space for you and your boy over here. There's still some
hot food by the fire as well." There were several open tents with cots
and furs already spread inside. They were receiving new people almost
daily at this point and Jayzine liked to be prepared. There was a
small tent near her own and Jayzine led the woman and child to it.
"Will this one do for you?"

Lusilk looked at it briefly and then nodded. It was better than many
of the places that they had slept over the past few sevendays; shards,
it was sheltered and close to the fire, without the risk of wild
felines or tunnelsnakes. "Yes, thank you very much." She moved
tiredly, laying Silgan down on the provided pallet. He only gave a
soft murmured complaint before being covered, then burrowed down and
quickly drifted back to sleep. Lusilk sighed and remained on her knees
by the tent, rubbing at her face. She'd bathe in the morning, she
decided. She was too tired to worry about the scent of sweaty runner
that they both carried. She was as exhausted as her runner and though
the scent of the cooking lured her, she didn't want to rise now.
Instead, she looked up at Jayzine with a brief smile. "When will you
need us in the morning?"

"I'll need to know what you can do," she nodded with a twinkle. "Cook? Clean?"

"I can do both. I can clean some animals as well, though it's not
something I like to do daily, mainly out of necessity. But yes, I can
cook and clean." Her lips twisted slightly. "I can read, write, and do
figures as well. I can dance as well, but it's not likely to be as
needed here."

Jayzine nodded. "Alright then, get something to eat and then some
rest. Meet me here in the morning and we'll go over the supplies list,
I'd like you to take an inventory of a wagon that came in just before
dusk." She paused a moment. "I don't know where you're from or why
you're here but you have a fresh start here. We'll take you at face
value. Does that sound good?"

Lusilk studied Jayzine's face, her own face molded to careful lack of
expression. She nodded. "Yes, yes it does. Thank you." She appreciated
also the lack of questions. It wasn't as if she hadn't thought of
answers for them, but the less she had to lie, the less she might find
herself in trouble. She just wanted simple and quiet.

"Good," Jayzine nodded. "We'll have some fresh milk for the boy in the
morning with his breakfast." Her eyes softened as she looked at the
exhausted child. She didn't want to speculate on what might have
brought this woman into her care but for now everything would shake
out when they began working together. "There's men on watch to keep
out anything dangerous, Sleep well." She pulled Miyon with her into
their own tent.

Last updated on the September 9th 2019

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Arrived Safely