Unsanctioned Gifts

Writers: AL, Anaria
Date Posted: 18th June 2011

Characters: Tiernan, Meledei
Description: Tiernan brings Meledei some gifts after her release from the infirmary.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 20 of Turn 6
Notes: Takes place before "Culture Shock"

Meledei was going to be released from the Infirmary today, and Tiernan
wanted to make certain that he did what he could to make her happy and
comfortable. He had left the Weyr early in the morning, and found some
Seacrafters down by the docks that he knew. He'd managed to convince
them to part with some of their card and dice based games, before
heading out to a local field to gather some wildflowers. He'd returned
to her weyr quickly, and stood outside her door, pacing nervously,
before knocking.

"Come in!" The words were a bit muffled by the door, but she'd shouted
loud enough they could still be made out. The trek from the infirmary
to her weyr had been long. And painful. Crutches were annoying -
she'd found that out in the first five minutes of use! Meledei didn't
like the idea that she was going to have to be on them for several
sevendays!

She was reclining upon her couch, left hip against the back, right one
tilted up just a little - keeping pressure off the injury. She twisted
her neck and looked over the back of the couch and smiled brightly when
she saw who it was visiting. "Hey Tiernan! What brings you here?"

"Well, I wanted to make sure that you were getting settled
comfortably, and I brought you a few things," He pulled the flowers
which were hiding behind his back, and presented them to the
goldrider. "These would be one of them. I figured they would help
brighten up your weyr a bit. I can't imagine it's much fun being stuck
here."

"Brighten up indeed!" Meledei reached for the flowers and promptly
stuck her nose in them to take a deep breath inward. "Oh they smell so
good. No, it's not much fun and I won't be stuck stuck but it's not
going to be that easy to get around for a while." She sighed and
fingered one of the velvety petals, then a mischievous smile crept over
her lips. "You said this was 'one' of a few. What else did you bring
me? I must say, you coming here seems to be good fortune for me!"

Tiernan handed Meledei the wherhide sack that he had brought with him.
"I wasn't certain what sort of things you'd have to amuse yourself
with. I figured you probably were too busy to have a lot of games
lying around, so I got you a few different Seacrafter games," he
explained.

"Oh nice!" Meledei wasn't going to really have _that_ much time while
healing. She just wasn't the sort to stay down for long, but the games
were nice to have. "You're going to have to teach me!"

"Of course," Tiernan said. "So what did the Healer's say? How long did
they think that you would need to stay on the crutches?" Tiernan was
hoping that he would be able to take a stroll down the beach with
Meledei while he was at Dolphin Cove.

"At least a few sevendays, mainly to keep from pulling stitches and
letting the muscles mend." Meledei shrugged. "Then probably grounded
another sevenday or so while I work on getting mobility back and all
that stuff." She undid the bag and peered in side, then carefully
began to pour the contents out on the couch.

"The dice games can be played with a variety of different rules,
there's a piece of hide going over the basis. And that's this turn's
Dragonpoker set for the Southern Weyrs... it's uh... not the one
sanctioned by the Harper Hall, so it's a little... interesting,"
Tiernan said.

"How so?" Now Meledei was far too curious to really let that comment
slide, so she gathered the dice and opened her hand to inspect them
more closely.

"Well, you see, the cards that the Harper Hall release have to show
the leadership of the respective Halls, Holds and Weyrs in a positive
light," Tiernan said. He unwrapped the deck that was a favorite
amongst the Sea Crafters, and handed it to the goldrider for
inspection. "The sailor's versions, well, they range from comical to
outrightly lewd," he explained.

"Really now?" Meledei grinned and put down the dice to look at the
cards. Then she hooted with laughter. "Oh my...I don't think Lord
Zathris would like that at all! Him mooning the players! Though I
guess the depiction of his behind is rather nice looking."

Tiernan peeked over Meledei's shoulder, "It is rather nice, although I
must admit that I've seen better. Now the picture of Benani on the
other hand.... that's definitely a winner. Far better than any cards I
saw when Lord Benaroy was alive."

Meledei moved on to the next picture and then giggled. "I'm not sure
if she'd care to see that her entire body was posed like that, naked
for all to see. Can someone really _do_ that?"

"Uhh, I think some people are that flexible," Tiernan said. "I've seen
some tumblers at Gathers, but they weren't nearly that... erm....
curvy. Isn't it fun seeing what your fate could be if you ever become
Senior Weyrwoman? You could be the topic of lewd playing cards!"

"I don't really care. I mean, they're just cards and it's not like
whoever drew this will ever get to _really_ see." Meledei snorted and
went to the next card. "Heh, there's Lord Corowal...and that lady is
definitely _not_ Lady Felyna."

"Wow... that's one.... busty... lady," Tiernan said, between spurts of
laughter. "My goodness, I wonder how that poor lady finds tunics that
fit her properly! Not to mention walking with her back straight must be
quite difficult!"

"Funny how men don't seem to really care about that, they just think
about one thing." Meledei giggled. "Men have two brains, but they
always seem to think with the smaller one."

"Well... wait. Which one is the smaller one?" Tiernan said."I mean, I
don't mean to boast but I'm really confused if you're trying to
insinuate that we think with the lower head, or that we're just dumb..."

Meledeis eyes flicked up and she tried her hardest not to just all out
and out grin at him. "I don't know. What do you _think_ I mean?"

Tiernan grinned, "I understand what you meant. Although, I don't think
that women should be proportioned like that. It's incredibly
impractical. And somewhat disturbing, to be honest."

"You're among the few." Meledei knew quite a few men who wouldn't have
even thought about such a thing. "Oh look, who's this?" She asked,
holding up a card with a man she didn't recognise.

"Is it the Harper Hall Master?" Tiernan asked, then paused. "No, he's
here, you'd likely recognize him. Perhaps the Vintner Hall? These sets
tend to stray from the typical depictions, and favor the local
leadership."

"Oh! I know, this must be the Steward at Amber Hills!" Meledei
giggled. "Is he kind of short? Seems like he makes up for it in
_another_ area!"

"Yeah, apparently those rumors about men that have small hands are
small in other regions are definitely not true, judging from the looks
of things," Tiernan responded. He was glad that Meledei was at least
getting a good laugh out of the gifts he had brought for her.

"This is great." Meledei ran into a short fit of giggles then put the
cards back. "So when are you going to teach me some games to play with
these dice?"

"Hmm, how about tomorrow in the early evening? The Headwoman has me
doing odd jobs to earn my keep, but once I get some of the carpentry
done, I should be free all evening," Tiernan said.

"Sounds like a plan!" Meledei stated with a grin.

Last updated on the June 19th 2011

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Unsanctioned Gifts