
Xanadu Weyr - Store Room
This large storeroom is lit with a series of electric lights, illuminating the smooth cut walls. Rows of shelving contain all sorts of items, while large trunks contain all sorts of clothing, and a mix-matched variety of furniture is stacked up in one corner.
Boxes, several of them, are opened and pulled off shelves into the aisle while a muttering form bends over and nearly into a huge carton. With the power flickering, the electric lights are not on, but there is one glow near the entrance while two others are open and set on a shelf above where those open boxes are. Eerie shadows are cast, only to fade into the dark recesses of the room, but that doesn't seem to have deterred the person searching for whatever. Stacks of blankets on one side of the aisle are placed upon the tops of boxes, while several pillows are on the other side. Outside the rain continues steadily, but here in the depths of the storeroom the effects cannot really be felt, unless one were to bring thoughts of it in with them, or track in the mud and wet. Thankfully Thea hasn't waded through mud today yet, but it might as well be raining in her head, for the gloom seems to have reached into her mind and settled there by the tone of her voice and the expression on her face.
The doorway to the store-room opens slowly, and a small spill of light from the caverns creeps into the room. "You're in no condition to practice medicine right now, Journeyman," comes an insistant female voice. And in reply, someone all too familiar grumbles, "I'm a cripple, not an invalid, Healer. I'm racking up a handsom tally of how many of you people I can offend in a sevenday, and I have no problems adding you to the list if you don't get out of my way." There's a brief scuffle. "Take your patient file and go back to the hall," he growls. "It hasn't stopped me from ruining one poor girl's day, and I suspoect there'll be others before you find the answer you're looking for in that damn thing." Then the door closes, and a scuffling footstep is heard. "Power's out," Tenebrous murmurs in a hushed voice. "Figures." And then all is still as he silently begins tracing the shelves back to what he's looking for with his fingers.
Voices by the door are dimly heard from where Thea has her head in that carton. She's too preoccupied to pull out and listen, so doesn't comment. However, she does straighten with another armload of blankets, sensing rather than seeing movement, she calls, "Heya, need a glow?" She doesn't wait for an answer, rather deposits that stack and grabs one of the glows, holds it high and heads down the aisle towards the murmured voice.
The silence in the room is almost startled before, somewhere down another isle, that disembodied voice murmurs, "No, thank you, ma'am." There's a sudden rustling from a far corner, and then the rasp of a wooden box. "I could probably find this particular container in the dark, even if it were buried. I've been coming to see it for a long time now." There's more rustling, and then a cough. "This sample is ancient," he mumbles to himself. But then he's 'aaahhh'ing quietly. "I knew I'd left you somewhere." The soft rustle of fabric can be heard, tough hide and a sturdy strap. "Never thought I'd feel naked without a satchel on," he quips to himself.
Thea hesitates at that 'no thank you', listening to the rest of the words and almost shrugs and turns back to her task, not wanting to force her help on anyone. But she recognizes that voice, although the quality of it puzzles her for a moment. "Tenebrous?" She's still not quite to where he is, but her steps towards him take on a purpose, "Master Fraille told me about what happened in the forest…" She lifts the glow higher for her own benefit this time, rather than his. "How are you mending?"
Tenebrous chuckles softly. "Just a Fetch, ma'am. The Master…excuse me, I guess she's a Craftmaster now, but… she seems intent on letting everyone know that I was dim enough to get caught under the torch." There's the quiet clinking of things as they're deposited into a bag. "These samples are all old," He mutters to himself. "What was I doing in the forest with that damned apprentice of mine, gathering wool?"
Thea's brow wrinkles slightly, a frown forms upon her mouth, her automatic response is, "Not just a fetch. You are more than-" She shakes her head as if to clear it. She is silent though his commentary, although a faint chuckle escapes her, "Sounds like Master- Craftmaster Fraille, alright." She steps closer, the light from the glow falls upon him, illuminating the area. Puzzled, "What's with this Ma'am stuff?" So many questions push to be asked, but that is the one she voices.
Tenebrous finishes settling the satchel around his shoulders before he turns to face Thea more fully, revealing that face, and the ugly wound on the side of his head. "Actually no, a Fetch is…about all I am right now. A bit under the weather, if you'll excuse the expression." His right arm struggles for a moment to move a few inches, nudging the satchel into a more comfortable position. "And why not ma'am?" He takes one step towards her. "My…kneejerk reaction right now is to get out of here…to stay out of your way. That you are…beautiful. And sad." He blinks a few times when he finally examines her face closely, before finally offering, "I chose 'ma'am' over abject terror."
This is all so familiar that Thea almost doesn't see, doesn't notice the change in him as his head turns. The healing wound and shaved hair are noted, but in a sort of absent way. Something clicks in her mind and her lips form the name 'Fraille' soundlessly. For a long moment she remains silent, considering something. She swallows several times before she can get the words out, and when she does speak, her voice is husky, although she does try to make them light-sounding, "Fetch then. And you know, I'd say you have no reason to be terrified of me, but I'll leave you to decide that." The ice green of her eyes are transformed into amber by that glow she's holding by her head, "I'll thank you for the compliment, but I am not sad. Not… anymore." Then she thinks about that. "Well, I am sad about you and Phy being hurt in the fire." Her lips close suddenly before she says more.
Tenebrous watches Thea for several more moments before he simply shrugs. "Your voice says no. Your face…says otherwise. But some secrets are better left kept, I'm coming to realize." Then he does tilt his head again. "You shouldn't have to be terrified of anyone," he offers softly. "Yet somehow, we still find the reason." He finishes with his box then, pushing it back onto a shelf before turning a bit more fully. "Seems the rain has everyone down," he murmurs. "It might not help your spirits to stay here in the dark too long."
Thea turns away, her tone firm, "If my face is sad it's because I don't like to see anyone hurt and that burn scar looks painful. I don't have any secrets. And yeah, the rain and flooding…it took my home… other’s homes. It's enough to get folks down a bit, yeah." She starts back to where her boxes are, pauses and turns back, "I am sad because Phy is blaming herself for-" Her hand gestures to his face, then his word sink in, "Terrified. Of me. Why's that?" The questions are brusque, although she softens them as best she can with a half-smile.
"My home as well," Tenebrous offers calmly, pacing behind Thea, either to follow her, or to exit the room. "The Craftmaster and her personal escort have flown over the portion of the woods where Stormhaven once rested, to say nothing of the woods themselves. They were my dwelling for the last seventeen turns." A pause. "At least, I think they were. The last sixteen, definetly." He makes a face. "I know what Phylicia feels bad for." His tonw grows soft. "I can see it in her eyes and on her face when she looks at me. I can hear it in her voice when she speaks to me." He inhales for a moment. "I'm not. NOt terrified of you, that is. I think I was, once, but…" He spreads his hands.
"Yes, I know about Stormhaven. Craftmaster Fraille told me. That's part of the 'other homes' I mentioned. I know it's distressing." Thea lets out a long breath, "I'm sorry there was so much devastation, but really. The falls, the cave. Made of rock aren't they? The trees and plants will come back." Phylicia's another matter and Thea's eyes blink rapidly for a moment. "You always knew how to move her beyond her self-imposed limitations, Te- Fetch." A half-choked swallow, "I have confidence you can do so again." She turns swiftly then, adding lightly over her shoulder, "Ah, are you not terrified? Then why did you say you'd chosen Ma'am over terror, hmm?" She doesn't go into once-upon-a-times.
Tenebrous shrugs softly. "The terror was what was. What is now prompted the ma'am. My issue is, I'm not sure what happened between then and now, to have gotten rid of it." Then his head tilts again and he makes a 'Huh' sound. His left hand makes an absently little gesture, and a moment later, there's a little 'Whuff' of air and Reconciliation puffs into being. For a time, Tenebrous simply stares at the little Gold before she turns in mid air, and trills quietly to Thea.
Thea nods to this news with an 'ahh' sort of enlightenment. "I see. Was. Well, that is good, then." She takes a shaky breath, "Craftmaster Fraille said you'd taken a bump to the head… Fetch." The use of than appellation falls awkwardly from her lips. She hesitates, making some sort of decision, then tells him, "Some things may take awhile to return. If it helps, know that we became… friends." The appearance of the gold firelizard garners a pleased smile, "Cila, hello beauty!" From around her neck, Shep stirs and chirrs a welcome.
Something about the presence of the Gold has Tenebrous narrowing his eyes a little, trying to force the gears in his head to grind. Only a moment after Cila bugels to Shep in return, there's another pop in the air, and Truth emerges from nowhere, landing on his arm. Lips moving silently, he studies the smaller green for a time before Tenebrous murmurs, "So we did." Truth warbles softly to Tenebrous before crawling up his arm to rest on his shoulder, purring a little. "It…bothered me, at first, when these two came to see me for the first time, after I woke up. I understood the mechanics of a bonding, of course. The Master had spoken of it several times, but…I wasn't prepared for how well these two seemed to winnow through my mind, as if they'd been at home there longer than I had." Then he turns to look at Thea more fully. "Everyone…even you, looks at me as though I'm someone else now. No one's looking at me…they're looking at him, what was Tenebrous before the fire…This…poor girl at Ista wanted so badly for me to be someone I wasn't anymore…"
"I don't." The words are out of Thea's mouth before she can stop them and she grimaces. Explaining, "You are someone else now, and if I'm being honest? I'm not looking at who you were." She turns back to her boxes stepping to them where she replaces that glow on the shelf above. She braces both hands on either side of the carton, peering into the depths sightlessly. To herself, "Perhaps it's better this way." A fleeting glace back at him, "Now is what you have. Not tomorrow, not yesterday. You can't worry about what others want if you're to… deal with what has happened." It sounds harsh to her own ears, so she amends, "I've learned that sometimes letting go of the past has… profound results." She smiles then and it is not a sad one, rather a peaceful one, "I know that when a person's path changes, sometimes old maps no longer apply."
Cila warbles softly at something, and Tenebrous simply shakes his head. "No, little one. You've done what I brought you here to do. Go to my room, and I'll bring you something to eat later. Take your baby sister with you, hmm?" For her part, the Gold only offers a gusty sigh, and then promptly disappears between with a little hiccup. Truth follows suit a moment later, and then it's just Tenebrous there, adjusting the satchel once more. "Listening to you talk makes me wonder what happened yesterday, if we did indeed become friends," Tenebrous observes. "Watching you makes me think I'd be better off not knowing. Cila looks to you as someone special, regardless, or someone who once was. That, I think, is enough of a discovery for now." He nods once, respectfully, and murmurs, "Be well, Thea." Then he smiles a little and says it again. "Thea," working the name around on his lips even as he steps out of the storage room.