Unseemly Conversation
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Kaysea, AL
Date Posted: 25th December 2008
Characters: Relea, Nico
Description: Nico takes the chance to spend some more time with Relea.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 13, day 15 of Turn 4
Notes: Riverboat Sungazer
There were a few chairs along the deck for passengers to sit in and watch the river as they floated over it. It was to one of these that Relea made her way, sliding down into and setting the small basket to the right of her. She opened it and took out a couple of knitting needles as well as a bit of yarn.
She paused for a moment to gaze out on the rover, the bank stretching out quite a ways away. It was difficult to see detail from such a distance, but it was still a lovely view. The girl smiled, then looked down at her needles and began to work with them. She was starting a new blanket, so she cast on, hands and needles working together.
A smile grew across Nico's face when he saw her sitting alone. He had seen her a few times over the last couple of days, but she had always been accompanied by her brother, today - today she was alone. He walked up, trying to make as much vibration on the deck as possible so he didn't surprise her too much by his appearance. He stopped in front of her, his shadow falling across her lap, and waited for her to look up. He was ready.
She did look and as soon as she saw who it was, a smile crept over her face. She nodded to him, then did the sign she that she had taught him meant, 'hello'.
He laughed and repeated the sign himself, "Hello, friend." he mouthed the words at the same time. "You beat me to it." he said with a grin. "I wanted to say hello first, to show you I hadn't forgotten it."
The girl made another sign. It looked like the sign for 'thank you', but at the end her right hand rested in the palm of her left. She laughed at the expression upon his face, then took up her stylus to write, 'Good'.
"That means 'good'?" he asked her, repeating her sign to her. He wasn't sure he had done it right, so he tried again. More determined than ever to learn to talk to her in this way. Though a sudden thought struck him - she would be leaving the boat at the end of the trip and her brother hadn't yet booked their passage back, again.
The girl nodded. Yes, it did mean good. His movements were a little awkward, but so was anyone's who was first trying to learn. Not that many people did or had the patience to try. She took up her stylus and wrote out, "Your name?" She had thought he had said it, but she hadn't quite caught it last time. There were some things that needed a bit more than just being able to read lips.
"Nico." he said, glancing at her note. "Nee - co." he repeated the word slowly, conscious of her watching his mouth.
After a moment, an expression of recognition flashed over face and she nodded. She motioned to him, then motioned behind her to the wall of the riverboat, looking at him expectantly.
"I'm not sure I understand?" he asked, edging nearer. "I work here on the boat, if that's what you mean?" he asked, his face creasing in query.
The girl nodded, her expression showing her pleasure at his understanding of her query. She started trying to sign something else, then paused, realising there was no way she could effectively communicate her question through gestures. so, she took up her stylus and etched upon it, "How long?"
"All my life." he answered. "My father and mother also lived aboard. Our family has never truly been shorebound." he still spoke carefully, reminding himself not to cover his mouth or turn away when talking to her.
Relea nodded a bit. How very interesting! She hadn't realised that people lived on the riverboat. Well, she wasn't sure exactly how things worked.
She had thought that, perhaps, crews had shifts, came on and off on different days with the schedule. Of course, it made more sense for people to simply live on the riverboat, she supposed.
"Never anywhere else?" She held the stylus up after she had written upon it, her expression etched with curiosity.
"Well, I did live at the port for a while." he replying, nodding his head back in the direction of where they had left. "But only for a couple of months."
Relea's mouth opened in a small 'ah'. She seemed about to try and communicate something else when a shadow fell across her and she blinked up at the figure of her brother. "Is there something I can do for you?" The man seemed calm save for the hardness of his eyes that were a similar shade of blue to his sister's.
"Oh, er..." Nico stood again, self conscious under the mans eyes. "Er, no, I was just... just talking to your sister." he finished lamely, then realised he really had nothing to feel guilty about, he was merely passing the time of day with one of the passengers, albeit, one of the more attractive passengers.
"Indeed." Again the man moved to stand near Relea, hovering in a rather protective manner. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that my sister can _not_ talk and therefore it is a waste of time to attempt to do so. Time that could be well spent doing whatever duties you have been assigned, I'm sure."
"I happen to be on my break." Nico said, standing a little taller and straighter, "however, I'll leave her in peace now, as I really should be getting back to work. It didn't' escape my notice, either, that she is deaf and mute, however we still managed to carry on a conversation." He replied haughtily. With a quick farewell in sign to Relea, and a nod to her brother, he turned and made his way back towards the staircase and back to work.
Leaton didn't need to use his voice to yell at Relea. His jerky motions as he signed to her were more than enough to get the message across that he was not happy with her associating with a man, particularly unchaperoned. It wasn't seemly. The girl tried to soothe him as best she could, but really, she couldn't understand why he was so upset. They had been in a very public place and Nico hadn't been overly forward with her. Besides, he had tried to converse with her in _her_ language, tried to understand how she communicated. That was a lot more than most others did.
Last updated on the December 26th 2008