Meeting With the Hallsecond

Writers: Estelle, Francesca
Date Posted: 28th December 2023

Characters: Arrilon, Jayala
Description: Arrilon has a check-in meeting with Jayala.
Location: Harper Hall
Date: month 1, day 27 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Tasni

Jayala

Usually when Arrilon was nervous, he became withdrawn. This time, for
some reason, he was full of nervous energy, making it hard for him to
focus, or even to stay still. He had made it through a chamber group
rehearsal without any big mishaps, although he did find his mind
wandering a number of times. His shift in the archives had helped
settle him, at least temporarily. He had been given a reorganization
task that had allowed him to forget about his concerns and lose
himself in names and dates.

He had known a meeting with the Hallsecond would happen at some point,
but the timing of it was nerve wracking. Why couldn't it have been at
the beginning of the month, before his stupid decision to try to help
a female apprentice had backfired? Now, he still wanted to teach, but
wasn't sure what Jayala thought of him now. Would she make him stay
far away from any apprentices? Would she understand that his
intentions had been good, even if he hadn't thought things through? He
couldn't be kicked out of the Hall for this, could he?

As he headed to the Hallsecond's office, the nerves remained, but he
was also relieved that the meeting was finally happening. No matter
what, within a candlemark it would be over. Arrilon reached her
office, took a final calming breath, and knocked.

"Come in." Jayala looked up, her face revealing nothing as she regarded
the young man. "Ah, Journeyman Arrilon. Please, take a seat." As he did
so, she closed what looked like a report she'd been studying and placed
it to one side. "I thought it would be a good idea to check in with you,
now that you've been here long enough to settle in. How long has it been
- three months?"

He nodded, trying, and failing, to read her expression. He assumed she
knew what had happened, but wasn't sure if she would jump straight to
it. "It has been a bit of an adjustment, but I've been learning a
lot." There. That was truthful.

"So I've heard. I've had good reports from the Master Archivist," Jayala
went on before he could read too much into that. "He says you've picked
up the layout and practices of the archives quickly, and he could do
with a few more like you." She paused. "And you've been observing the
teaching of some of the apprentice classes?"

"Yes, I've been enjoying my time in the archives." He was starting to
think about a small project or two to propose, but nothing was quite
ready to share yet.

At the mention of teaching, his heart rate increased but he tried to
remain calm. "Yes, it has been really helpful to see how teaching is
done here." He couldn't quite bring himself to mention the recent
difficulty.

"You can learn a great deal from the journeymen teachers here,
particularly those who've had the chance to go out on assignment to the
Holds." Jayala's expression didn't change, but her sharp eyes watched
the young man's face carefully. "Have you had a chance to try your hand
at teaching yourself?"

He had played through versions of this conversation all day, but now
that the moment had arrived, it took him a few moments to gather his
thoughts. When he began speaking, the words came out slowly. "Well,
not formally. But, I did provide some support to apprentice Marena the
other day." His words came more quickly as he explained what had
happened, from Marena unexpectedly entering his practice room to the
impromptu practice session with her. "I was excited to be able to
help, but didn't think through how it might look." He stopped himself
from blaming his Turns at the Weyr for his oversight. That wasn't an
excuse.

"I see." Jayala's posture relaxed a fraction. She'd always taken a
special care for the wellbeing of the female apprentices, and in the
Hall, among young men who'd been brought up in the Holds with certain
ideas, that required the vigilance and ferocity of a queen dragon with
her clutch. She was relieved that this time nothing untoward had
happened. "I take it one or other of your fellow journeyman took the
time to explain how it might look, as you say?"

"Yes, someone made a comment the next day. And then Tyrak helped me
figure out what to do. I know he spoke with Marena's teachers."
Arrilon wasn't sure what he would have done without Tyrak's help. "I
promise I'll be very careful from now on," he said earnestly. "And, I
hope Marena is ok."

"I believe she will be. From what I've heard, her flute playing is much
improved," Jayala said drily. "However. I'm sure Journeyman Tyrak has
explained some of this to you already, but I'll repeat it all the same.
It's been a long battle to readmit women to the Craft, after so many
Turns, and it's not over yet. There are some who would use an incident
like this one to argue that the decision to accept female apprentices
was a mistake. That they are a distraction to the journeymen, and their
reputations are at risk if they come here to us to study." She met his
gaze steadily. "I know it's not easy to adjust after living at the Weyr,
but I can't afford any more mistakes. Is that understood?"

Arrilon's cheeks reddened at the Hallsecond's words. He wanted to
defend himself, since nothing inappropriate had happened, but there
wasn't anything he could say that would change how the private meeting
had looked to others. Maybe he wasn't cut out for life at the Hall,
but it had only been a few months. He wasn't ready to give up. "Yes, I
understand," he said solemnly.

"Good." Jayala sat back in her chair, her manner relaxing a little now
that she knew she'd got the message across. "Believe me, I wish it could
be otherwise, and that a journeyman could help an apprentice with her
studies without having to put up with silly gossip, but we have to live
in the Hall as it is, not as we would sometimes wish it was." Deciding
that she'd said as much as she should on that subject, she returned to
the main purpose of the meeting. "That aside, do you feel that you're
ready to take on some teaching yourself?"

Arrilon was thrilled the conversation was shifting to something more
positive, and that Jayala was willing to talk about the potential of
him taking on some teaching. "I do," he quickly said, trying not to
sound too eager. "I've had a chance to sit in on some classes, and the
conversations on teaching have been helpful. I'm ready to do more."

"I'm thinking of a mixed class, of course. No more one-on-one tutoring,
at least for now." The faint twitch at the corner of the Master's mouth
took some of the sting from her words. "There's an instrumental class
for junior apprentices in their second Turn. Woodwinds - mostly the
recorder, but introducing them to the flute. Journeyman Askalder is
teaching it at the moment, but he's going to be taking up a teaching
post in the Holds in a few months. That would give you some time to work
with him on handing it over. And in the meantime, you can carry on
assisting with some of the other apprentice classes."

"That sounds perfect." He appreciated her thoughtful approach to his
first teaching assignment at the Hall. And, he had fond memories of
learning the recorder and flute he could hopefully draw from when
teaching. "I look forward to working with Journeyman Askalder, and
I'll make sure to learn all I can from him."

"I'm glad to hear it. If you do well, you might be ready for a posting
to a hold yourself before long," Jayala said. "It's useful experience,
even if you plan to return to the Hall eventually, and there are many
holders who would appreciate the help with their records from a trained
archivist. But that's for the future. How are you finding your
instrumental work?" This was clearly her favored topic. "Have you found
a chamber group to practice with?"

It was exciting to imagine being posted somewhere, although he hoped
it did not happen for a while. He still felt so new to the Hall. "The
chamber group is going well. I'm in Journeyman Hafal's quartet, as you
suggested when I arrived. I've been playing a lot of gitar, and some
flute and recorder. It's amazing how much more you can do when
everyone is a harper full-time. I'm mostly playing rhythm gitar, but
I'm also learning the lead on a few songs so we can trade-off."

Jayala nodded, approving. Hafal had sounded pleased with the new
addition to his group when she'd spoken to him earlier. He was one of
her more senior journeymen, and he didn't always trust other musicians
to take the lead. "That group has a good repertoire for you - ballads
and dance music for the Gathers and Hold performances, alongside new
work from our composers. Don't be afraid to suggest trying out pieces
you might come across in the archives, or from the Weyr. Or to get
together with an impromptu trio or quartet with the other journeymen, if
you can find the time."

"I'll see what I can do," he said dutifully, thinking her suggestion
could give him a nice project for his time in the Archives. It was
about time he started to do more than just support the Master
Archivist. He could also think through some of the Weyr repertoire. He
was sure he could think of some songs that weren't about weyrlife, or
too scandalous for the Hall.

Jayala's thoughts had turned the same way, and she couldn't help but
recall some of the wingriders' drinking songs she'd heard during her
time at the Weyr. Now those would shake up some of the more hidebound
Masters! A slight smile twitched at her lips. "You could ask
Journeywoman Tasni to help you look out some of the music that hasn't
been played in a while. She needs to practice her gitar." Anything to
keep that young woman out of trouble. "Well, keep up the good work,
Journeyman Arrilon. We'll speak again once you've had some time to
settle in with your new class."

He managed to keep his brows from furrowing at the mention of Tasni,
just giving a neutral nod. He found her both fascinating and
confusing. "Thank you, Hallsecond." The meeting could have gone much
worse, but he was determined to only have positive feedback at their
next encounter.

Last updated on the January 6th 2024

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Meeting With the Hallsecond