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.
People: L'ren, Rei.
L'ren is actually working in the store today, humming some well-memorised harper tune as he bustles about the store. This, he loves /this/. He doesn't much get a chance to work here, between his Weyrlord work and Reonth, so he relishes it when he can. There's a much younger version of him manning the counter, the man's son Borren, who /usually/ runs the store.
Rei is humming a bit herself while she does a bit of browsing. What the recently transferred Xanaduian is doing here at Ierne is a mystery that she probably doesn't even know. Or doesn't remember outright. She's in her own little world as she looks over some books about this or that, and nearly bumps right into L'ren on his way around the store. "Oop! I'm sorry, sir. Excuse me." She smiles a bit to him.
L'ren looks a little stunned to be nearly bumped into, the store's actually not been doing so well, it's mostly empty, of customers at least. Not that L'ren seems to mind all that much. He runs a hand through his mostly grey hair and takes a step back. "It's okay." he says, with a tired smile. "Good to see someone so interested in books." he murmurs, asking then, "Anything in particular you're after?" L'ren, at your service. Here, within these walls, he's the humble harper, and /loving/ every minute of it.
Rei smiles to L'ren. A secret little bookstore? That was too cute to Rei, and when she finds out a father and son run it, she'll giggle. "Hello. Sorry again." Then she blinks a bit. "Oooh, you work here! Oh good, maybe you can help me. I'm looking for books that have weyrling lessons in them. Or maybe lesson ideas?" She looks to the side and grins a bit. "Though maybe you could also recommend some good storybooks, as well?"
L'ren /owns/ here, in fact. Though he's not really the day to day man, Borren runs the place normally. "Ah… Over here," he leads the way to a rather boring looking section, which isn't really /that/ boring considering that the shelves are all that the-paint-was-on-special light blue. It's a very cheerily decorated store, really. "We've got manuals for anything you can imagine…" He starts plucking books from the shelves, explaining what each is about in turn, "'Exercises for the Young and Old', good for building up muscle, in dragons of all ages. My Reonth simply /adores/ the swimming section. 'Dragonhealing Basics', we also have a series on dragonhealing /specifically/, but this is a favourite among the average riders." There's a pause, as he scans the shelves, pulling out a third book. "And 'Between and You', it's got pages and pages of pictures of Weyrs and Holds, though nothing beats a proper dragon image." he frowns a little at the third book, but adds it to the pile.
Rei likes the colors and the paint and everything. She wasn't really an avid reader normally, but then she's never really known someplace she could find books. She follows along after the harper, looking up at all the books curiously. "Ooh. That sounds lovely. Oh? Oh! You're a rider, too, I see." She stares at his knot curiously for a moment. Was he a leader here? Oh, but then distraction! "Oh? Ah, that's interesting. No dragonhealing books, thank you. I'm quite alright with that I think. Just mostly looking for lesson ideas…" She stands on her tip-toes and steals the first book from L'ren, looking it over.
L'ren taps a glass case nearby, with a single book in it. "We do have a few, er, /rarer/ items. This is the journal of a weyrlingmaster during a pass. Very hard to come by. He taught seventeen classes all up, after his brown caught a strand of thread with his wing. Dragon never flew again, but the man /knew/ his job. Never lost a weyrling." L'ren has obviously read the journal himself. He loves that stuff, judging by the tone in his voice. "Been a rider over thirty five turns." he says, with pride. "I'm L'ren, rider of green Reonth." And Weyrlord of Ierne. Little bit. He chuckles softly as the first book is taken, and puts the second and third books back on the shelf. "Well, that's a good choice. It also has a few exercises in back for the rider, mainly mental, imaging practice and the like." But not actual /images/ like the third book. He doesn't really approve of the third one. "Er, we do have a large fiction collection too… Were you looking to buy, or to borrow?" Because the buy books are stored separately from the borrow books.
Rei blinks and looks through the case. "Oh my. I could never afford that! Unless you have a transcription someplace? Or knew where I could find one?" She looks at L'ren curiously. "Ooh, nice to meet you L'ren. I'm Rei, rider of green Dalriath. Hi-er. Xanadu's duties to you." She even gives him a bit of a curtsy. "Were you a weyrlingmaster, then?" She nods a bit about the book she's chosen, turning to the back. "I usually like to have Dalri do the images herself. That way I know they'll remember. No weyrlings lost between! That's always the goal." She gives him a smile, before another curious look. "Oh, I wasn't aware you let people also borrow. Maybe I'll borrow one and buy one? Do you charge for borrowing?"
L'ren blushes a little, and shakes his head quickly. "Ah, no, never been among the weyrlingmasters myself, I'm more a paperwork man, weyrling training is a little too hands-on for me." he chuckles softly, and taps the glass case again. "Got a transcription, but still working on getting it in book form. Right now it's about a hundred or so sheets of loose paper tucked away in my office. Busy busy busy!" There's a glance around the store, all but deserted. /Busy/. "Er. Yeah. My son, Borren," he nods to the man at the counter, "isn't too thrilled about the borrowing, but, it's important, you know? Get books to people who might not otherwise feel like allocating marks, or be able to, for such frivolous pursuits." He grimaces at 'frivolous', clearly not /his/ opinion.
Rei smile a bit to L'ren. "Aw, that's too bad. It is quite fun, you know. Working with the young dragons and the new riders. Making sure they learn everything properly and all." She nods a bit to him, looking slightly disappointed that she couldn't get a copy of the transcription. "Ah, well you'll keep me posted about it, right? Next time I come in maybe?" Rei gives Borren a smile and a wave, then giggles a bit. "Ooh, father and son here, hm? That's terrific. Well, maybe if they read a good book, they'll want to buy it? Plus sometimes it's nice to not be rushed. When I borrow something I always feel rushed a bit. But it is easy on the marks." She smiles to him. "Do you have a favorite story?"
L'ren shakes his head slowly. "I'd like to, teaching sounds good, but… You know. Someone has to do paperwork, attend meetings, be Weyrlord." he notes, with a shrug, and a faint grimace. He must have wanted the job — it's an elected position — but he misses being a humble harper sometimes. He blinks a little at Rei's question, and frowns. A favourite story? "Well, er. I have one book that I read, ah, now and then. Collection of short stories…" he frowns absently, and glances to the door. "Been a while since I re-read it." he notes with a furrowed brow, then shakes his head. "Er, it's a collection of old tales about creatures that live in the sea, myths and the like. For, er, children." he grimaces a little. "I mainly find myself reading it when Reonth starts to glow, it… soothes her." But that's probably because of the green's unique love of the ocean more than anything, really.
Rei nods to L'ren. "There're always opportunities to teach though. You're teaching me about books right here!" Then she blinks a bit and lights go on as he mentions being Weyrlord. "Oh! That's what your knot means. I was so curious. Well, that's a lot of responsibility, I imagine there's not much time for teaching." She looks at him with that curious expression as he talks about his favorite book. "Oh? I see… are the stories good, though? I don't mind reading a children's book at all."
L'ren shrugs a little, and moves over to the borrowing section of the 'store'. "They're alright. You might want to borrow it first though, see how you go. I'm not really thinking clearest when Reonth is in that state, and don't think I've really read it when she /wasn't/." there's a shrug at that, and he admits, "I prefer reading historical tales, journals and diaries, even musty old hides with nothing more than a list of inventory. The past, the past that /actually happened/ is /fascinating/." he breathes, with a small sigh of amazement. He is like a kid when he gets on that subject, and, over at the counter, Borren rolls his eyes. He's seen this many times before. He clearly doesn't 'get' it, not like his father does.
Rei follows Ren over to the borrowing section of the place. "Alright, then. I've never thought of reading to Dalri while she was… like that." Though the greenrider doesn't have too much experience with her dragon being proddy, either. "History can be fun. As long as it's exciting. I'd like a book with… action, and romance! Something… that has a lot of ups and downs, then has a happy ending." She looks up at the harper turned weyrholder with big eyes. "Do you have anything like that?" Non-fiction? Nah. Clearly Rei wants something a bit more fantastical than the stories about other people's day-to-day.
L'ren shrugs a little, answering honestly, "I find reading helps to keep me from, well, grabbing the nearest person and dragging them back to my weyr. If we even get that far." There's a glance briefly at the cushioned rear corner of the store. He shakes it off, and turns his head to the bookshelf, frowning. Reonth, and that book, are in the back of his mind now, and they're not going away. He plucks the short stories collection from the borrowing shelf, and glances at the other titles with a thoughtful expression. "I, er," he seems a little flustered now. "don't read much fiction myself. But, this seems to be a best-seller…" he moves over to the buying section now, frowning absently as he locates the correct book. "It's about a drudge who works her way up to greenrider, and the brownrider that searched her. It's nice, if you're into that, I guess." he shrugs, plucking the book from the shelf. "The same harper has written several others, if you decide you like it."
Rei giggles a bit to him. "I don't get much like that when Dalri is… that way. I just get… nervous." Timid as a mouse really. Totally the opposite from the inquisitive girl standing with L'ren right now. "Books are fun. And can be exciting, too." And informative, but she's moved on from that as he moves over to the buying section. "Oh? That sounds fun." She takes the book from him and then gives him a look. "Never wished you were living a different life? That's always been what these kinds of books are about, to me, at least."
L'ren shakes his head slowly. "That's what the /history/ books are about. For me. I can read some long-dead man's journal and think 'in a different time, that could've been /me/.' It's an amazing thing. I mean, I've often wondered what it would be like to live under thread, or to ride a different colour dragon - or not at all - but, this is my life, and it's not a bad one." he shrugs. He knows the feeling though, oh how he knows. But even in his fantasies, he's grounded in reality. Even if the reality is that when you take him away from books he's extremely shy, and only slightly /less/ shy when Reonth glows.
Rei giggles a bit at L'ren. Perhaps he ought to be the one writing the fiction, since he wasn't a fan of reading it. "Well, I guess I haven't really read any good history books. Though I imagine I would be doing what I'm doing no matter what dragon I was on. Or if there was Thread." Not a very exciting outlook, but probably the truth. "I like my life, too, but sometimes I want a little taste of someone else's." She giggles a bit to him. Ren wasn't that shy, you just needed to know what sort of questions to ask to get him to talk. "Should I talk to Borren then, so I can pay for these?"
L'ren nods a little, hesitating over the shelf and then pulling out another book and adding it to the pile. He's not going to say what that one's about, no. It's titled 'The Mystery of the Missing Eggs', signed 'Renmal', and it has a brown dragon posed dramatically in flight on the cover. Cheesy mystery novel? Quite likely. "Just, ah, head through to Borren…" he mumbles, quickly heading back to the rear of the store, fussing over the klah and pastries. Borren just waves Rei over. "Yeah, I'll just ring those up… In good hands with him, he knows books." he says, matter-of-factly, not at /all/ surprised by the book on the top of the pile.
Rei watches him, blinking a bit at the book, but not asking about it. She manages to stifle her questions for the moment, instead giving L'ren a smile. "See you later, L'ren." Whatever the book is, she'll read it. That doesn't stop her though from moving over to Borren and setting her things down, then asking, "So what's this one about, then? Ah yes, he certainly does seem to know his books. That's good though, right? And I guess you handle the till… do you like books as well?"
Borren glances over to L'ren in the back, and leans forward over the counter to whisper, "It's a pen name. Renmal. Ren." As in L'ren? /Interesting/. Straightening up a bit, he glances to the book, as if just seeing it on the pile for the first time. "It's a mystery novel. See, Telgar Weyr is about to have a hatching, but the eggs have disappeared one day while the gold was hunting. It's up to R'mal to find them, and bring them back, with only Gelhieth for assistance. One of a series." he rattles off. Either he's read it - likely - or he rings it up a lot - also likely, if L'ren's been working that day. He takes the books, and pulls out a little notebook, marking them off and then tearing out a receipt, muttering how much /easier/ it'd be if L'ren would just get a /computer/ already. "Ah, books are okay. I'm more of a facts man."
Rei blinks a bit to Borren, her voice in a whisper. "Oh, I see! He's written this then." She nods a bit at the book's story with a grin. "Ah, sounds like a fun series. I think I'll read this one first. Do you have the rest of the set here?" So this is how Ren lives out his fantasies. Through his writing, not his reading. Rei hadn't thought of that, though she'll happily read his book. She nods a bit to Borren. "Ah, I see. You're not a rider like your father? How much do I owe you, then?"
Borren shakes his head slowly. "Nah. Never been searched. Sister has, impressed herself a green, but I prefer my craft." Not a rider like his father, but he is a harper like his father. "Speciality is archives and history, same as him." he jerks a thumb in the man's direction, where the greenrider is now pouring himself a drink, then notes, "That'll be three marks for the lot. And I'll need to get your details for the borrowed book." he nods to that short story collection, then passes a clipboard with a form and pen over. "Name, Weyr, next of kin, standard stuff." Is that a joke? Did the serious harper man actually slip a /joke/ in there? "Be warned that we have a brownrider who runs collections on overdue books, though she's been a bit tied up of late. You /don't/ want to run afoul of her. Get the book back within a month, and we've got no trouble. You can also extend the loan, but this must be done in person." Standard red tape, really.
Rei nods and smiles to Borren. "Oh, he's a crafter, too? He does stay busy, doesn't he?" She nods to him about the marks, pulling them from a pouch at her hip. She's got quite a build up, never finding much to spend them on while in Reaches. "Three marks, there you are." She hands him the marks, then takes the clipboard. "Next of kin…?" There's a blink there, she doesn't get the joke. "I'm sure there won't be a problem. It won't take me long to read this one, I don't think." Unless she suddenly becomes pregnant or something, which is unlikely, even for her as a greenrider. She fills out the form, sticking her tongue out a bit, then hands it back. And yes, that is a little heart above the I in Rei.
Borren nods a little, showing a brief flash of concern regarding his father's busy schedule, probably about the only sign of emotion he's really shown. "He's a busy man. Very." he nods. It wasn't a particularly /good/ joke, and Rei is probably not the first to not get it, so he just glosses over that, moving on to the next item on the agenda. "If you have any trouble getting here, you can request that someone come and /collect/ the book, but this may only be done for book collections." he adds, smirking just slightly as he skims the form. "Right. Everything seems to be in order. Will there be anything else?" he asks, just doing his job, really.
Boring Borren. That's what he was going to be known as unless he showed Rei something. A smile, a brow furrow, anything! His reaction didn't help her get the joke, but Rei is not very astute anyways. Not to things like that. "Ah… alright. I don't see that happening, but I suppose anything can happen." Wait, was that a smirk at her form? No. Just a figment of her imagination. "Oh uh… no. I don't believe so. Thank you, Borren. I'll be back soon." She smiles to him and then turns to give L'ren a wave, if she can spot him. "Bye, L'ren!"
L'ren is still here, in back. He waves to Rei, though he's tucking into a pastry now. He's on break. Yep. Borren glances over to his father, then frowns a little. He seems about to say something, then shrugs. "Come back soon. Our brownrider hasn't been around in a few months." he mutters, tucking the marks away in a drawer in the counter. "/Really/ need some computers in here." he scowls, muttering to himself. L'ren is definitely interested in the past, but not far enough back to like the idea of computers.
