Who Would Have Known?

Writers: Jane
Date Posted: 29th November 2006

Characters: Arateyka
Description: Arateyka tries out one of her new dresses and does get noticed.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 3

The dining cavern was full of people dressed in their Gather best.
Well, if not their best, then something better than their everyday clothes. Arateyka had no reason to feel out of place in the lovely pale green dress – but she did.

She looked down at the folds of fabric and mourned her trousers.
Perhaps she would have felt a little out of place wearing them to such an event but she would also have felt comfortable in the clothes she was used to. And it wasn't as if she didn't have a nice pair of trousers; nice dark grey ones that went nicely with her white shirt and grey-shaded tunic. With boots. Not her work boots, but another, lighter pair she kept for 'occasions'. Since she never left the Weyr environs because she wasn't prepared to leave her rank and craft knots off, it didn't much matter what she wore. People here knew she was a smithcrafter and as long as she was respectably covered it didn't matter that she wore trousers.

"Wooooaaah."

Arateyka looked around at the exclamation and frowned. "Go away."

"I knew that dresses were heading your way, but who would have guessed how you would look wearing one. Who would have known that you knew _how_ to wear one?"

"Go away," she growled again. "I hope you dropped that mirror on your foot."

"Both feet. More than once," her brother admitted. "That thing was sharding heavy."

"It looked it."

"Was it bad? All the dresses and skirts? She was bringing them in by the armload the whole time I was moving the mirror."

"Horrific. Like being ten Turns old again." She tugged at the sleeve of the dress. "This was the only one we agreed on."

"And the ones you didn't agree on?"

Arateyka grimaced. "I wisely decided to take her advice on all things."

Delhanu laughed – he couldn't help it. "Oh, Ara! I do feel sorry for you." She was a favourite among his sisters simply because she had always been so determined to do something significant with her life.
Even better, her definition of significant didn't include being a dragonrider, though no doubt she would have worked just as hard at that had it been her lot. Instead both of them were passed over by the hatchlings and her philosophical acceptance of her early rejections when he had been despairing of failing at his last few chances had made it easier for him to cope.

"Don't feel sorry for me – feel sorry for Tey." Arateyka looked around the huge cavern, hoping to catch sight of her sister. "If I catch her she's going to regret telling tales."

"She's in orange, but I've no idea where. And you'd better catch her before the middle of next month."

"Oh I will. Why?" She figured it out as soon as she asked. "The Hatching? What makes you think she'll Impress this time?" Her own bet with Teykara was that neither of their sisters would Impress, though Teykara favoured their youngest sister Lhara.

"Just have a feeling one of them will. Lhara has time." Delhanu eyed his sister speculatively. "You think differently? You want to put marks on it?"

It was the second time a sibling had suggested betting for marks.
Although her craft gave her opportunity to earn a little and she didn't go anywhere to spend it, she had no intention of frittering away marks on bets. "I'll do something for you if you're right. Repair, make something. Whatever you want."

"Oh?" He wondered what he had to offer. "I'll clean your room for a sevenday if I'm right." Easy work since Arateyka was the neatest of all the family.

"You're saying Tey will and Lhara won't?"

He nodded. "And what are you going to be wrong about?"

"Neither will." She turned and poked her brother in the chest. "I not only won't be wrong, I'm intending to make a mess of my room _every_
single morning."

Last updated on the December 1st 2006

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