New place, new people!

Writers: Suzee, Jelena
Date Posted: 8th January 2012

Characters: Jylanya, Naton
Description: Naton arrives at the Dolphin Hall and meets with the Headwoman.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 5, day 6 of Turn 6

Jylanya

It was not an extraordinary occurrence when a ship docked at sea cave
in the Dolphin Hall, but one coming all the way from the North was a
bit more interesting. After the ship had docked and it's crew began
it's usual routine upon reaching a harbour, there was one man who
didn't seem to busy himself with cargo or other duties. This man only
expressed his gratitude to ship's captain, said his goodbyes to a few
crew members and then slung a large bag over his shoulder to leave the
ship.

Landing on the pier, the man took in his surroundings with a curious
look on his face, his eyes darting around the cave quickly. Finally,
he seemed to have made up his mind and made his way up the wide flight
of stone stairs that led him away from the working dock. With one last
look back to his former shipmates, a cheerful wave and bow, the man
jumped up the last steps to arrive at his new home: the Southern
Dolphin Hall.

One of the junior apprentices working in the cavern recognized the
shoulder knots of a Senior Journeyman Dolphineer but not the face of
the man wearing them. "Hello sir," said the young apprentice
brightly. "Can I help you find anything?"

The man turned on his heels as the apprentice approached him and gave
a wide smile. "Yes, you most certainly can!" he replied cheerfully,
adjusting the bag on his back a little. "I'm Senior Journeyman Naton,
I transferred in from the North. Might you be so kind to point me to
the Headwoman's office?" Naton had already decided he would get
settled in before he'd find his way to the Hallmaster's office. After
all that time at sea, he could use a moment to freshen up for first
impressions.

"Oh yes sir," said the boy. "Right this way." He ran down the dock and
up the steps from the cavern to the wide doors leading into the Hall.
He turned to watch the man to make sure he was following and then went
through the doors.

"Thank you, dear boy," Naton said cheerfully as he followed the
apprentice through the doors. Of course he had heard of the Hall, but
not enough to have much of a clue about who he would be meeting now.
He knew though, how important it could be to keep up a good relation
with the Headwoman of any Hall, so he was hoping the lady in question
was someone he could get along with.

"You're welcome sir," the boy smiled. He pointed up to the left. "Take
those stairs to the second floor and then you'll find her door down
the hall. Her office is just two doors past the Hallmaster's suite."

"Great! I'll see you around, kid," Naton said giving the boy a thumbs
up, before adjusting his bag once more and heading up the stairs.
Passing the Hallmaster's suite, he felt a little guilty for not
reporting in there first, but he did want to look his best when he
did. When he reached the Headwoman's office, he tapped his knuckles
against the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in," called Jylanya from her desk. She was just finishing up her
weekly meeting with the head cook and handed her the menu and
approvals for the items she'd have to requisition from the Weyr. She
looked up as the door opened and the woman slipped past the tall man
in the doorway.

When he opened the door, Naton smiled kindly at the woman passing him,
giving her a polite nod. "Miss." he said pleasantly as she slipped
past him through the door. When she was gone he directed his attention
to the woman behind the desk. "I'm Senior Journeyman Naton, just
transferred in, I was hoping you could spare me a moment of your time."

Jylanya smiled a welcome. "Well met Senior Journeyman Naton. I'm
Headwoman Jylanya." She noted the bag still on his shoulder. "Please,"
she swept her hand towards one of the chairs inviting him to sit.
"Welcome to Dolphin Hall."

"Thank you," Naton said gratefully, closing the door behind him and
picking a chair after settling the heavy bag on the floor. "It's been
quite a journey and I was hoping to get settled in and freshen up a
little before I meet with the Hallmaster. I'm afraid I look like I've
been swimming all the way." The man did look a little disheveled, his
clothes wrinkled and his brown hair in complete disarray, but hardly
as bad as he made it out to be. Naton could be a vain man, especially
when it came to such important first impressions. "I offer my
apologies for appearing to you in such a way."

"After traveling all that way? Do not apologize. I understand
completely." She smiled. Then she got up from her desk and retrieved a
hide from one of her storage bins. Bringing it back to her desk she
looked at the Journeyman quarters and there were a couple available.
She turned it around so he could see the schematic. "Here and here,"
she indicated with a forefinger. "This one is closer to the bathing
room. But this one is bigger and a little more private at the end of
the hall. Do you have a preference?"

Studying the hide carefully, Naton considered his choices for a
moment. Then he pointed out the larger of the two. He was definitely a
people's person, but when it came to sleeping he liked his peace and
quiet. A longer trip to the bathing room was a small price to pay for
a good night's rest without people passing his door to that same
bathroom all night. "I think I'd prefer that one," he said, catching
Jylanya's eyes with a smile.

She nodded and returned his smile. He seemed quite nice. "Well then,"
she said and pulled up the keys at her waist. Then turned to unlock a
cabinet behind her. She retrieved the appropriate key from it's peg
and then locked it up again. "This way," she said and moved around the
desk to lead him out into the hall.

Getting up to follow Jylanya, Naton couldn't help but admire the
woman's curves as he walked behind her out of the office. Something
dawned on him that he hadn't consciously realised before. There would
be a lot of new ladies to meet here. Who knew what wonderful things
this move could bring him? A slight grin floated over his face as he
envisioned this, but he quickly reeled himself in. Let's not get too
carried away... "It is a fine Hall, isn't it?" he asked cheerfully as
he caught up with the Headwoman. "I take it you run a tight ship, from
the look of things?" It was always a good thing to compliment a women
with the orderly state of their home, right?

"I try," she smiled up at the tall man. "You should have seen it when
I got here." She shook her head. It had been right after a hurricane
and things had been a disaster after half a turn with no head woman to
take charge.

"How long have you been here, then?" Naton asked curiously. Of course
he had heard about the hurricane, but he hadn't really connected it
with the presence or absence of a Headwoman yet. From what he had seen
so far, he had no reason to believe the Hall had been without a
Headwoman for half a turn.

"Only about three months," she said. "The people are very nice here
though. I think you'll like it."

"Well, I'm glad I'm not the only one who's fairly new," Naton said,
pleasantly surprised to hear that. He had been expecting to find
himself in a tight knit group of people who knew each other perfectly
well. It might be easier to fit in when there were more new people
around. "But I'm sure I will enjoy myself. And if the people aren't my
type, there's always the dolphins, right?" Naton said with another
cheerful smile.

She returned his smile a bit shyly. "I'm sure they're better company
than many people." They continued down the passage until they reached
his door. She handed him the key. "Here. Why don't you try it to make
sure it works."

"Thank you," Naton said, taking the key and fumbling it into the lock.
When he opened the door grinned in satisfaction and stepped into the
room. "Now that is just perfect," he said cheerfully. It wasn't all
too fancy, really, but somehow he felt at home right away. "I think I
made a good choice here."

"Good," she smiled again. She walked in behind him to give the room
the once over. She had standing orders for all the rooms to be kept
clean and linens fresh yet the room still smelled a bit musty with
disuse. At least it wasn't dusty and the bedding looked fresh. She
went to the end of the room and threw open the windows to let in some
fresh air.

"Well then, you know where the bathing room is. The dining hall is on
the first floor." She didn't want to dump a great deal of information
on him right at first. "After you've met with Master Famell, if you
have any questions please don't hesitate..." her voice trailed off as
she walked back toward the door.

"Yes, I will be sure to pay you another visit if I have any
questions," Naton said as he turned back to her with a smile. "Or, if
you don't mind, even when I don't?" Naton had taking an instant liking
to Jylanya and since she was fairly new herself, he hoped perhaps they
could bond on that a little. "And thank you, it is very nice to get
such a warm welcome."

Her smile was slow as she turned at the door. "I don't mind," she
said. "And you're welcome."

And with that, Naton was left alone in his new home with a big smile
on his face. He didn´t know why exactly, but he felt right at home
already. Now to get ready for his meeting with the Hallmaster!

Last updated on the February 16th 2012

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