Ierne Weyrhold - Book Place
The door swings easily on its hinges, at last, and the walls are painted brightly in blue, except for one corner, which is yellow. The floor matches the walls, blue carpet for the majority, but yellow tiling in that one corner. The windows are sparklingly clean, the shutters long since repaired and painted the same this-paint-was-on-special blue as the interior. Glows are scattered throughout the store, seemingly randomly, providing a homey atmosphere, as well as a casual one.
The store counter is by the door, no-one gets in or out without passing it, and it has a good view of the rest of the store. The rest of the front half of the store - front two thirds, actually - is taken up by rows and rows of blue shelving, one half carrying brand spanking new books, and the other carrying the loaner books, very much a 'pre-loved' set. The yellow corner in back has another counter, also yellow, with a cheery klah pitcher, and an assortment of pastries. To get to the counter, one must pass the tables and chairs also scattered in this area, which is clearly delineated and separated from the book section. The opposite back corner is more cosy, sea-green pillows strewn about, and big, soft, comfy chairs, as well as dimmer glows.
L'ren is here, yes, but he looks like he'd much rather be elsewhere. He's wearing his usual long pants, long sleeves, dead boring outfit. But no shoes. Also odd is the amount of sand on him, on his rear, on his legs, on his feet, like he'd just come from the beach. Actually, he does seem a tad out of breath. "When I get my hands on that… Arrgh!" he's muttering and ranting to himself, glancing anxiously to the door at every noise, imagined or not.
B'ky hasn't been back in Ierne in a long time, the Fortian wingleader having left for Xanadu rather abruptly nearly a turn ago. But now sporting a Fort knot and a brand new hairstyle, the bluerider can once again be seen wandering the marketplace, still dressed in those clashing indigo and crimson leathers he seems to like so much. And that hair.. the man has a thin tri-color braid which curves from his temple to just behind left ear, the strands dyed in vivid hues to match his clothing almost exactly. He was on his way to deliver a package from someone at Fort, the small box tucked under one arm as he strolls, although the sight of the book shop seems to have distracted him, and he inclines his head with a polite, "Hello," as he enters. That 'Arrgh!' brings him to a halt, however, and he blinks in surprise at L'ren. B'ky's pale gaze flickers down to the other rider's bare feet, likely noting all that sand, and then back up to his face, one thin eyebrow arched slightly, with a quietly hesitant, "..perhaps I had better come back later."
L'ren glances up as B'ky enters, and just about jumps out of his skin at the hello. "Er.. Er. Hi." he mutters, quickly sliding a brightly coloured book off of the counter. Okaaay. "You—" he takes in the man's knot, and exhales in relief. "You're not from the Inn. Excellent." he says, with almost excess enthusiasm. His face falls as B'ky mentions leaving. "Oh, no, no, the sooner the better." he assures the bluerider, glancing absently back to where that colourful book was. He did shift it? Good, good. "Er. What can I do you for?" he asks, a little /too/ brightly.
B'ky looks faintly apologetic for having startled L'ren. The bluerider hesitates a moment longer in the doorway, the other eyebrow sneaking upward slightly when he notices that book-sliding. He politely pretends not to notice, though, instead saying, "Ah, no, I'm not," and tilting his head, "Is.. something wrong?" Grey eyes do flicker briefly to the spot where that brightly colored book had been, and then back to L'ren. Stepping into the shop, B'ky msiles slightly, finding that bright tone perhaps a little odd, although he does say in a pleasant voice, "It's L'ren, isn't it? I'm B'ky, blue Avideth's. We've met before, about a turn ago when I was still," the barest pause, "..on vacation here." A vacation he never /took/, but who's keeping track. Certainly not Avideth, who is off somewhere in the sun, probably snoozing. "I've been meaning to return this to you for some time," the bluerider explains a little sheepishly, shifting the box he's carrying to reveal an old journal tucked beneath it. He extends the jornal to the other rider, "I'm afraid I left Ierne in something of a hurry and haven't had the time to bring it back until now." It's that old rider's logbook that had been loaned to him /ages/ ago; the bluerider had said he'd return it though.
L'ren tries to tone it down a little, but he still comes off as rather on-edge and jumpy, glancing frequently to the door. "Ah, wrong? No, nothing's wrong, er, well, not /exactly/… There's, er, a pair of bartenders, trying to track me down to pay my tab, but I don't even /have/ a tab." He furrows his brow at that, it's all very perplexing. "Yes, yes, L'ren, of green Reonth." Was that a slight emphasis on green? Nah, couldn't've been. "Aha! There that is! Been looking for that for months, guess the records got shifted around, would've sent someone to collect it if I'd known it was loaned out." Or maybe he'd tried to, but had trouble actually locating B'ky. Either way, he looks very grateful to have the book back. "Thanks, thanks. Anything else, while you're here?" he asks, with a glance about the store. Well, obviously he can't head back to the beach just yet, he was /found/ there. Though that doesn't bother Reonth at all, the green is probably still wallowing just off shore.
B'ky's eyebrows rise back up, the man saying softly but with some surprise, "Bartenders?" as he regards L'ren; it's possible he might have trouble picturing the greenrider in a bar at all, honestly. "That is certainly rather, ah, odd," he comments, glancing toward the door, brows creased momentarily. The emphasis on green isn't missed, B'ky turning back to blink at L'ren, although it's true, B'ky could just be imagining it. But the bluerider politely nods, simply saying a quiet, "I apologize for taking so long to return it," about the journal. B'ky does take a moment to look around the shop, gaze going over the various books, "Hmm.. I have been looking for more journals.." and he seems to think a moment before continuing, "I haven't had the time to look through Fort's records, yet.." he barely has time to even eat these days, "I don't suppose you happen to have weyrlingmaster's or wingleader's logs? Possibly.. from the times when Thread still fell? I'm hoping to find information to continue the flaming practices at Fort for the winter games, but there was a.. mishap. A broken strap during a practice session," and a flicker of guilt passes over B'ky's face for just an instant, admitting quietly, "I've never organized anything similar. I'd like to take ever precaution."
L'ren snorts, and shakes his head. "You don't know the half of it. Sharding bartenders. Reckon they think I've got a stockpile of marks, because I used to be Weyrlord, but I don't. Everything I have has gone onto these shelves." Not … literally. More like everything he has has /funded/ the books on the shelves. At B'ky's request, the man nods. Journals. Weyrlingmaster and wingleader logs. He slips out from behind the desk, and starts heading for a section of the store, beckoning B'ky over. "We've got a seventh pass weyrlingmaster's training journal here, might be of assistance. He does cover firestone training, naturally." He takes the book off of the shelf, and hands it to the bluerider. At the mention of the broken strap, the man frowns, and moves over to the craft section. "This might help." he suggests, taking a book from a shelf, and passing that too to B'ky. It's titled 'The Proper Care of Straps', seems to be a manual, with many diagrams inside, detailing how to make and mend straps, and spot weak points. "I've had a set of straps last over a decade, using this as a resource." It is probably time for him to replace those, though…
B'ky is not unsympathetic, grey eyes taking in the shelves and the books on them, "It is a rather lovely collection," he murmurs, and then turns back to say, "Surely, it must be some sort of misunderstanding?" Yep, still having trouble picturing the greenrider in a bar. And his brows come together again, though the man fails to come up with any helpful suggestions. Of course, he knows what /he/ would do in such a situation: go find the weyrleader and have him sort it out. Ierne though… B'ky doesn't have a clue. He follows L'ren, nodding and gently flipping through the book he's handed, a quiet smile appearing has he skims a few pages, and then he shakes his head slowly at the book about straps, murmuring, "They weren't mine," about the accident, "I.. should have checked his straps myself before allowing him to continue the practices," and he sighs quietly, running a hand through his hair, "The maneuvers they were attemtping were a little.. unusual. It's likely the strain on the straps was just too much." He clears his throat, looking faintly embarrassed now, "This should do, I think," tapping the weyrlingmaster's journal and handing the one about straps back.
L'ren nods slightly, and eyes the book on straps that's found its way back to his hands. "Right. Well, that log should help, anyway." he notes, turning back to put the straps book back on the shelf. "Yeah, a misunderstanding. But they don't seem inclined to /listen/. Ought to send Borren around to deal with it, maybe they'll listen to him." He still hasn't guessed that the tab might in fact /be/ Borren's, has he? "Funny, haven't seen Borren around in a couple of days, actually." Hrmm. But he shrugs it off, probably nothing. Borren's a grown man, after all. L'ren frowns a little, and shakes his head, "Sure it's not your fault, would've happened sooner or later. If you like, I could get you the name of a tanner, maybe sturdier straps are in order?" Stunt straps, so to speak.
"Borren?" B'ky tilts his head, as if trying to recall whether he recognizes the name or not. He might have heard it before, but if so, apparently he's forgotten. B'ky does nod about the straps, taking the weyrlingmaster log book toward the counter with a quiet, "Mmm, it's also possible the design of straps may have changed in the turns since Thread. We no longer need them for threadfighting maneuvers," and he frowns faintly, "I should have realized before allowing him to.." but he shakes his head. No point in dwelling on it, really. Instead, he nods again, "I'd appreciate it," about the name of a tanner, and then indicating the book, "How much do I owe you?" and getting out his marks pouch.
L'ren shakes his head. "Borren. My, er, son. I assume." Borren's mother was not exactly L'ren's weyrmate, it's likely L'ren was not the /only/ man in her life at that time. "I mean, he does look a /lot/ like me." Except… younger. Much less grey in his hair. "He's usually manning the store, it was all locked up before I got here." Which was not that long before B'ky, actually, hence the emptiness of the store. Or perhaps B'ky really /is/ their only customer all day. "But I'm sure he'll turn up." Yep. The man isn't /quite/ on the ball today, is he? "Ahh, three marks for that one. And I should note, we do trade-ins, any old books, bring them by, we'll pay for them." he adds, cheerfully. Work, work is good. A welcome distraction.
B'ky ahs, nodding about Borren, although he does arch an eyebrow ever so slightly about the 'I assume' part. But then, most weyrs have a number of 'I assume this kid is mine' brats running about. It's a wonder B'ky himself hasn't ended up with a few of his own, really. The bluerider nods, "I don't believe I've met him, although I imagine I might. I've been meaning to visit Ierne more. I didn't have a chance to see much of this place the last time I was here." Because he was always finding ways to get into working.. /despite/ having stayed at Ierne for nearly a turn. Poor man, probably never will get around to a proper vacation. B'ky pulls out the requested marks and hands them over, smiling slightly, "Hmm, I do have a few books that have, ah, been gathering dust in my weyr. I haven't had need of them for turns." With B'ky's tastes in literature, they probably are training manuals or old weyr records or something. The man likely is that boring, yes. On the other hand, they might also be daring tales of adventure or something. "I will bring them with me the next time I'm in Ierne," he says, looking thoughtful, and glancing at the shelves a moment.
L'ren nods happily, bobbing his head up and down in a manner almost comical. "Anything at all, we carry /quite/ a range." he notes, cheerfully. Everything from old journals, to manuals, to fiction, to… his eyes twitch to where that colourful-covered book was, absently. "And if there's anything you're after that we /don't/ have, we can order it in." he adds, as he tosses B'ky's marks in the somewhat empty cash drawer, with a sadly echoing clatter. "Next time you come down, you really should see the beach, Reonth says." There's a slow dawning realisation after the words come out of his mouth, and L'ren's expression shifts towards mildly flustered. "Uh, er. Yes. Bring books, see the weyrhold, it's great." he says, absently glancing again to that spot on the counter that previously held that colourful book.
B'ky does smile slightly, nodding and then tucking the journal he's bought beneath the box under his arm, then then looking thoughtful at the mention of ordering books, "Mm, if you are able to order another log book similar to this one," he taps the journal, "I'd appreciate it. I have a feeling, I may need to review more than a few of these." He doesn't appear to notice the empty sound of the cash drawer, although he does tilt his head a moment to regard the store. He nods again about the beach, murmuring absently, "I think Avideth was headed down that way," though the blue is likely just snoozing on the sand somewhere. B'ky tilts his head a little, certainly having noticed the change toward flustered in the greenrider's expression, although he doesn't quite seem to know what to make of it. That spot in the counter gets a curious look, but B'ky perhaps wisely decides not to ask, instead stepping toward the door with a brief now, "Thankyou for the help," another light tap on the journal, "I'll likely stop in again the next time I visit Ierne."
L'ren nods briefly to B'ky. "Sure. I'll keep an eye out for weyrlingmasters' logs. I'll have to re-read some Weyrleader logs, I swear there was something about thread fighting in one, especially flaming." he mutters thoughtfully. "Anyway, I'll see what I can find!" he calls to B'ky, with a cheery grin. A moment later, Borren comes to mind again, and the greenrider furrows his brow, and starts rummaging around in one of the drawers for a scrap of hide and a writing implement. A stern brown firelizard pops in and perches on the corner of the desk, apparently awaiting his errand.
