Commissioned Awkwardness

Follows on from An Interesting Commission.


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Xanadu Weyr - Craft Complex

The large area has been separated into a variety of smaller sitting areas, couches and chairs organized into rings and squares, tables set where they can be used easily. A few desks for studying are pushed against one wall, while another has a variety of doors spaced along side it, opening into private quarters for the ranking crafters posted at the weyr. A set of double doors opens to the general apprentice dorms, and a long hallway stretches outwards, providing access to the various workshops.


Karona is seated at one of the desks against the far wall, a folder open in front of her, and a pencil in her hand. There's a distinct lack of pencil meeting paper, however. The smith hunches over the paper, and scowls. This has no effect. She tries leaning back and scowling for a little while, still nothing. She gets up and paces for a few minutes, turning to scowl at the paper. Still nothing. She flops back in the chair, folds her arms over her chest, and scowls /extra/ hard at the paper. Nope, not a thing. "AUGH!" she cries in frustration, rather louder than intended. That does something - most of the eyes in the room turn to her now, and her face goes red. Karona slouches in the chair, trying to hide, though not very well.

Seated not too far away is one hard-working Eledri, the computercrafter bent over his own table, meticulously setting tiny pieces of equipment in neat rows, and then making marks in a little notebook, cataloguing something or other, A partially-dismantled terminal case is on the desk beside him, as is a small stack of hide, the visible lines on them indicating diagrams or other techie-type things. The computercrafter has thus far managed not to notice the scowly Karona, focused on whatever he's working on. Even when the woman gets up and paces over there, he continues to concentrate on sorting computer parts. It's only when there's that 'AUGH!' that the man starts, the tiny piece of technology he'd been holding with a pair of tweezers clattering suddenly to the desk top, and then bouncing down onto the floor, lost somewhere under the table. The young man jerks his head up to glare Karona's way, shoulders straightening with a, "What the shards is /wrong/ with you?" oh so very friendly. Frowning vaguely, Eled pushes his chair back and beands down, trying to locate the escaped bit of metal and plasticraft.

Karona tries to ignore Eledri, but she gets nipped on the hand by a young brown firelizard. "Hey, hey, stop that." Nip. Nip. Nip nip. "Okay, /fine/, sheesh." she mutters, turning the chair around so she can face Eledri. "You, uh, need a hand over there?" she asks, reluctantly. The firelizard, apparently satisfied, curls up on the desk, and watches from there. "Nothing wrong with /me/! You should ask the shardin' rider who commissioned me. Ugh. If I get through this, I am never doing another commission for as long as I live!" she declares, with all the certainty of someone with a fat marks pouch.

Eledri might eye the bitey firelizard for a second, narrow sidelong look given the critter, though his attention is more on finding the lost piece of equipment, vary careful about where he puts his feet as he very slowly slides a hand over the floor under the table, eventually getting off his chair to lower to his knees beneath the piece of furniture. "No," comes the short, somewhat irritated reply to the woman, at her offer of help, Eled not bothering to look up again, though after a slight pause he does manage an even, "Thanks anyway." Not blaming her for his dropping the thing, possibly? Well, her outburst /did/ startle him. Not that he looks to be admitting that at all. "What?" comes the blank question from under the table, the man sounding less interested and more confused by the sudden rant, "Commission?" brow furrowing faintly while he leans forward to squint for the lost object.

Karona doesn't bother getting up, Eledri said no, that's good enough for her. She does shoot a look back at the firelizard, briefly, but there's a shrug, and she turns back to watch Eledri. It's not like she was actually getting anything done before. "Mm. Yeah. Some rider came in, asked for a … sculpture. In metal. To go in his garden. That's the /easy/ part." she snorts. The computer crafter's lack of interest might be noted, but it doesn't stop her at all. Sometimes it helps to talk things through, whether anyone is listening or not. "A sculpture to be titled "Love". And it has to be 'sensuous'. His exact words. Love and sensuous. What the shards am I supposed to do with /that/?" she rants, throwing her arms up in frustration.

Hand moving back and forth over the floor, there's no immediate reply from Eledri, though the man does frown some. "How the shards should /I/ know?" comes the eventual muttered response, from beneath the table, though after a second the computercrafter does straighten up, peering over the edge towards Karona, "..'Sensuous'?" one eyebrow arching dubiously while the other lowers slightly, "Someone actually /asked/ for that?" One could almost see where his mind's going, giving the smith a look up and down and then commenting wryly, "Probably wants a statue of a naked woman in his weyr." He's assuming, of course, the commisioner was a 'he'. Eled gives a snort, then leans down again, resuming his search for the lost item.

"Or a naked man." Karona says, with a frown. "I've been /trying/ to come up with something not involving… nudity. Or certain body parts." Covered in the nudity clause, but still, worth re-stating. "Yes. He actually /asked/ for that. I've been trying to figure out where to start for the past couple of days. I /was/ going to ask people what they thought, then I got a candid answer." she grimaces. "…so I stopped doing /that/. But, arg, it's such a subjective thing. Love. I'm not even sure it /exists/." she mutters.

"..Or that," Eledri agrees, tone wry still, though he does pause to quietly clear his throat and adjust his glasses before continuing his floorward search. There's another soft, but obvious snort from beneath the table for the woman's mention of 'body parts', the computercrafter maybe shaking is head somewhat while he reaches out to slide a hand along the floor again, checking every inch under the desk. Another snort, this time in amusement, for her having gotten a candid answer, though Eledri doesn't appear willing to volunteer any suggestions of his own, the man frowning at the ground and then moving further under the desk, preoccupied with finding whatever it is he's lost. "Of course it does," he mutters absently, at that last part, dismissing her rant and them mumbling an 'aha' under his breath as fingers close around the tiny bit of metal.

Karona blinks, suddenly silenced. She tilts her head at the grumpy computercrafter, and frowns. "It… does? I, uh… huh. Didn't expect you to… uh… no offence but… you seem so… alone." So, what, he can't know of love if he's not currently in love and seeing someone? And he can't be seeing someone if Karona doesn't know about it? The woman has… interesting views. "Well…" she shrugs, and half-heartedly grabs at the opportunity, "…what does love mean, to you?"

Scooting out from under the table, Eledri keeps a careful hold of the tiny item, very slowly backing up and straightening before dusting it off, gently blowing a little puff of air to at it. Adjusting his spectacles again, he returns to his seat and very carefully sets the object in line with the others, collecting his writing stick and jotting something down on the little notebook. The silence goes unnoticed by the man, apprently, possibly now ignoring the smith, only to pause and turn to ..stare at her a second later for that commentary. There's a wordless, narrow look sent Karona's way, eyelids lowering in a faint glare, though he doesn't bother to answer. "None of your sharding business," is muttered for the second question, the computercrafter pointedly turning back to his work.

Karona's face colours at Eledri's response, realising she'd gone too far, too late. "Sorry." she mumbles, shifting her chair back around, to frown at that sheet of blank paper a while more. Eventually, she mutters something under her breath along the lines of 'this is no good', picks up her papers and firelizard, and slips out, eyes fixed firmly on the floor the whole way. Maybe she'll have better luck someplace else.

Eledri doesn't bother to look up, if he even notices the smith leave, though there might be a bit more of a scowl to his expression than a frown, as he continues writing in that notebook and checking things. The apology is entirely missed, it seems; that, or he's simply ignoring her now. Alas. Eventually, it's back to the little bits of metal, sorting and cataloguing and more sorting, and possibly frowning to himself all the while.


Further exploration in Karona's Dilemma - Thea's Solution (Karona is Searched).

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