[PRP] The Art of Cleaning (Vash + Cedarian)

[Kyrieko]

While she wasn't a hugely shy individual, Vash was still having a difficult time adjusting to the candidate barracks. What, with everyone sleeping in the same quarters and no separation between the boys and girls? Okay, she was a little modest. And maybe it was just the fact that all the boys could see her. She wasn't Weyrbred, and had rather liked the privacy of the room she shared with the other girls back home with her Aunt. Just some of the many things she was going to have to adjust to, she supposed. However, her current chores for the morning was something she was quite familiar with. And it was relaxing having something familiar to do again!

Even if it was mopping the floor of the dinning hall.

Vash paused, to more securely tie her hair back with the cloth that was currently acting as a sort of bandanna. It kept the stray pieces from sticking to her face and out of the way. She took a moment to glance around the hall, a few people milling about here and there, the vast majority getting lunch ready for the Weyr.

Hopefully, everything would be cleaned to the kitchen staffs liking. Or look less like an entire Weyr had recently eaten in here. Reallly, she didn't think it could be any worse then the floors of the baker crafthall she'd come from.

With a small sigh, Vash set about her task of cleaning once again with renewed determination. This hall would totally be ready for lunch!

Masterharper

I hope this works alright for you ;u; <3

 

[Masterharper]

Kyrieko

Nope, this is perfect. Thank you! gaia_star

It was Cedarian's first real day as a Candidate. He had been roused painfully early to trudge down to the Dining Hall, had been served food that was mediocre at best, and then he had been ushered like some sort of herdbeast to morning lessons. He'd been given some old parchment and a subpar quill, and had found himself learning about the founding of Western Weyr. The boring had been painfully dry, even for Cedarian, and something he'd already learned age ago from his own cultured upbringing. He had hoped for some freedom, but besides a short break, he'd been assigned chores.

While the young man had known that he would have to put in hard work at the Weyr, he wasn't keen on playing drudge. Didn't the Weyr have hired staff to do this sort of work or drudges? The group had been divided up by one of the kitchen staff; some had been sent to peel vegetables, others to scrub remaining dishes or used pots and pans, and the rest of them sent to mop the floors. Before he had any chance to object, he'd been handed a mop, a bucket, and a rag, and told to get to it.

Mopping was a foreign concept to the young man. While he knew what it entailed -- sort of -- he'd never actually had to do it. That was what the hired help had been for, really; the kitchen staff and drudges of Exeter had been paid well to do such work, so he'd never had to life more than a finger. Now, his poor hands were sure to be calloused. Of course, he didn't really want to look like he'd been terribly spoiled, and he certainly wasn't going to complain. No, Cedarian was going to mop the floor one way or another, and he would be the best at it!

Unfortunately, he hadn't expected the water to slosh as much as it did, and he wound up soaking his boot and the edge of his pants; worse, he had no idea how to wring the mop out properly, and found himself sloshing more water on the floor than scrubbing. He could feel his cheeks flush with embarrassment, and his scowl turned into a deep frown.

Staring down at the floor, he did his best to mop up the mess, and hoped he would get the hang of it. Sort of. If Vash looked over, she'd find her partner was mostly pushing water around the floor as opposed to actually mopping it up. He needed help, but Bitra'd become an honest place before he'd ask.
 

[Kyrieko]

As determined to mop the floor and have it done by the next mealtime as she was, Vash had not noticed the struggles of her partner. At least, not at first. But the area she worked on seemed never to cease having water to mop up. And it was only around that point that the redhead realized she was not alone in her claimed section of the dinning hall. Not that she had expected to clean the whole area by herself! She's just been so lost in the familiarity of the work.

Pausing in her mopping, Vash glanced over at the young man. And it didn't slip by her that his pants were a little on the wet side. Nor the fact he seemed to be making his own job that much harder by adding too much water. He wasn't anyone she was familiar with (which didn't say a lot as she didn't know that many people). She was pretty confident she hadn't seen him in the barracks before. Or maybe she had? No, his face was new.

The redhead chewed on her lower lip for a moment in thought. She really didn't want to point out that wasn't quite how you did it and risk embarrassing him. Instead, she opted for a different approach. She dunked her mop into the bucket by her side, turning to offer the other candidate a smile.

"Hi!" She beamed cheerfully. The redhead may have waited a beat for the other to look over before she pulled her mop out to carefully twist the end and wring out the water before slapping it back on the floor. "I don't know if we've met. My name's Vash."

Masterharper

 

[Masterharper]

Kyrieko

Thankfully, Vash's tactic seemed to work. The strawberry blond haired young man looked up at her greeting, and caught the magic she made with her mop. It didn't occur to him that she was, perhaps, quietly giving him a hand; no, instead, the boy chalked it up to his own cleverness. He witnessed what she'd done, and quickly decided to follow suit. Cedarian's pride wouldn't allow him to ask for help, not over something like drudgery. No, he just couldn't stomach such a thing!

So it was, he realized his mistake, and attempted to mimic what she did. His wringing could use a bit more work but at least there was less water on the mop than there had been Maybe now he could start mopping up the floor! Ha.

So it was, the smile he offered Vash was a bit brighter than it had been. Offering a small bow to the girl, Cedarian gave his mop a sweep of the puddle before him. "Salutations," he greeted, "There is no way in which we could have met, as I only but arrived yesterday." He confirmed. He didn't blame the girl for not really knowing - there were far more Candidates than he'd realized - and they were growing day by day. Dolmar was the only one he knew, and barely at that. "I'm Cedarian, and I dare say you must be an old hand at this mopping business. You're certainly better at it than I." It was a compliment, in a way. It was true that Vash seemed to know how to do this sort of drudgery with much more practice than he. Clearly she was more inclined to the work; or she'd been a Candidate for Turns. Cedarian's hands weren't yet used to it, but he knew, unless he Impressed early, he'd be doing all sorts of menial tasks. Joy.
 

[Kyrieko]

There was the faintest of changes in her expression, showing she was happy to have been right and managed to offer the young man some help without actually saying so. Vash hoped that his moping experience would go a little better now. Of course, she wouldn't say any of this out loud, instead simply giving that friendly smile of greeting a fellow candidate.

She was actually surprised he had arrived only yesterday. True, she'd not been here very long herself, but so far everyone she'd met had either arrived around the same time she had or had been here already.

"Then I should offer my warmest greetings. I hope things haven't been too difficult so far?" Her experiences had been quite pleasant thus far. And those she'd met didn't seem half bad.

Vash had to laugh just a little. "Oh, I used to have to mop and other various similar tasks at the baker crafthall I lived in." Part of her Aunt's idea of becoming an adult and understanding all aspects of what it meant to work hard. "I'm Vash, by the way." Shifting the mop slightly to lean it against her shoulder, she offered the other candidate her hand in a much more proper greeting.

Masterharper

 

[Masterharper]

Kyrieko

Ah-ha! He knew it. Knew it! This red-head was an old hand at mopping, and while she certainly was no drudge, she wasn't of notable rank, either. Not that rank seemed to matter in this place. Thankfully, Cedarian might have been inwardly pleased that he'd pegged her position accurately, he had been brought up with manners. While she might not be one he would have found himself speaking to in any other scenario, she had saved him from his mopping fiasco. He'd never admit to such a thing, but without her approach, he likely would have never gotten this part of the floor cleaned. In fact, without her intervention, he would have likely left a flood in his wake.

"Difficult, no," he gave a small sniff, and hoped that his damp pant legs weren't so easily noticed. "Different, yes." He could admit that much to the girl. Besides, his wounded pride knew it must be a bit apparent that he'd had a few struggles. While Cedarian knew how to do certain tasks, menial chores weren't one of them. He found mopping to be well beneath his station, but as a Candidate, there was nothing beneath them. Even drudges of the Weyr seemed to get more respect than them.

"Might I inquire as to which Hall that might be? Did you study the craft, or were you simply raised there?" An important clarification to know, at least when it came to forging alliances. The girl was friendly enough, thankfully, and she appeared smart enough, no matter what she might confide. Cedarian couldn't help but suspect that he wasn't talking to the rabble. She had to be a trained Apprentice at the very least. "A pleasure to meet your acquaintance, Vash of the Baker Craft. I'm Cedarian, of Harper Hall." Western's Harper Hall, but he didn't need to point that out to the likes of her. He was a Harper, and that was all that mattered. So it was, he took her hand, and bowed over it as he'd been taught. A workers hand, to be sure. Honestly, Cedarian probably had the more lady-like of hands between the pair of them.

"Might I inquire as to when you first arrived here?" He continued his mopping, although at a slower pace. His attention was more on the girl than the needed task at hand.
 

[Kyrieko]

Where he seemed to size the redhead up by what rank or station she may have held (or not held), Vash simply measured his character by personality. She was quite used to all varieties and couldn't help but wonder if maybe he'd been one of those that thought they were better than others? Or maybe a lord holder's offspring? There were just the small minute details that reminded her of patrons who were mannerly but knew where they resided in the political world.

Vash just inwardly sighed, giving the young man a curious look. "It certainly is different." She agreed, glancing around the dining hall. "But... maybe not so different as some would think." This was added as an afterthought. She was, after all, still performing tasks she had at the baker's, wasn't she?

"Oh, it wasn't a big hall. We were part of a small cothold that was around Rivercrest Hold." Vash leaned against the mop a little as she continued with a smile. "Both, actually. I was raised there by my Aunt, but she also had me study the craft. I made it to my apprenticeship before being Searched." She clearly had no shame where she came from.

Ooh, so he was from the Harper Hall? That seemed to answer a few of her previous wonderings. She also couldn't help the faint stain to her cheeks as he bowed over her hand. Shards, what ever happened to just good old handshakes? There may have also been a small laugh that bubbled up.

"You may." Was she teasing him? Maaaaybe just a tiny bit. "I've only been here for a couple months now." She admitted, though perhaps she'd adjusted to the lifestyle a bit more quickly then others?

Masterhaper

so sorry this took so long to tag ;n;

 

[Masterharper]

Kyrieko

Cedarian was pleased that Vash at least had some form of official training beneath her belt. While he wouldn't have been rude to her had she been a drudge, she curried a bit more favor by being officially trained. Every Hold, Hall, and Weyr needed to be fed -- and the meals provided at his own Hold were nothing but top notch -- so he could at least appreciate her training. "I suppose not. The shared quarters, the shared meals, the general hullabaloo of the daily lives of people..." He glanced around, as if reminding himself that this was a Weyr and not just some sort of dragon Hall. "There was, perhaps, a bit less drudgery at the Harper Hall," he added, giving an almost pained look at the mop he held. His poor hands were calloused from playing instruments -- but if he had to keep mopping floors, he'd have to hide any blistering with gloves!

So it was, he picked up his mop so he might slosh it around in the water, and ring it out for another go. Honestly -- weren't there drudges and hired help to do this?

"I know of Rivercrest Hold, though perhaps not as much of its smaller cotholds." He was certain his eldest brother would have known, but then, his eldest sibling was the heir. Cedarian had slacked some in the local politics; but his father had also allowed it, too focused on his older sons to worry much about his youngest. "I'm from Exeter Hold originally," he added, a bit of pride entering his voice. He didn't expect Vash to know of it, but perhaps she heard of their prized runners. "I was hoping to walk-the-tables soon to start my Journeymanship, but I suppose I'll need wait until the time is right. An opportunity to Impress and fight Thread is far more important than simply singing about those who did."



 

[Kyrieko]

Vash couldn’t help the quirk of her lips. She was no stranger to shared living quarters either. And truthfully, it never bothered her to have that many people around. It ensured that things were never dull, for one thing! And it made sure you were never alone, something she certainly appreciated. Even the chores themselves were something to do! She glanced at the mop in her hands and the bucket near her feet. There wasn’t much more mopping she could, unless she helped Cedarian. “I’d have to admit that it was about the same amount, or maybe a bit more at the baker’s. All that flour we constantly had to clean.” She smiled, shaking her head slightly at the thought.

She watched with quiet approval as he seemed to have mastered the art of mopping. At least there were no more puddles following him around.

“It’s a nice enough Hold. Our little cothold always seemed to stay busy, anyways.” She shrugged. So it may not have been the largest out there, but it worked and she’d been happy enough. Vash tilted her head slightly, not recognizing Exeter Hold, yet feeling like she’d heard of it? “I must regretfully admit I don’t know much about Exeter Hold.” She offered an apologetic smile. Maybe it had come up in conversation once or twice while she’d helped her Aunt with customers?

“I bet you would have aced it.” She grinned and allowed that glimmer of awe to enter her eyes whenever thinking of the opportunity to Stand and maybe Impress a dragon. “The dragons are such amazing creatures.” She said as she wrung out the last of the water from her mop. Might as well begin cleaning up her supplies, right?

Masterharper