Colored Light Who: Marcus and Tayne When: Anesus 2, mid-morning Where: the Oratory
Marcus lay on his back on one of the benches in the Oratory, gazing calmly up at the high windows that were set with stained glass of all colors. Although it was chilly outside, the sun was high, and he was striped with bands of colored light. Green, purple, red, blue, yellow. He could see the hues as they hit his clothed body; idly, he lifted a hand up to within two inches of his nose to view the near-turquoise and green light play over his fingers. He was dressed in pants and his usual layers of shirts, his blond hair still damp from the bath he'd taken shortly before coming down here.
Nobody observing him would have guessed that he'd been so frustrated trying to figure out how to draw water up from the well and how to stopper the tub in which he'd bathed that he'd thought he might implode from inside out. Plus there'd been the insecurity of wondering if somebody was going to come around the partition surrounding his tub once he'd gotten in there. For all he knew there were certain times for men to bathe and certain times for women. But he didn't know, because nobody had told them anything. He hadn't wanted to ask for help, though he'd heard people moving around outside in the corridor, so he'd silently fumed and fretted to himself the entire time.
The thing about Marcus, though, was that he got over things quickly. He knew how to work the well now, and that would help him out in the future. Same with the tub. If there was anything else he needed to know about it, he'd find out eventually, wouldn't he? He wasn't going to worry about it anymore. He'd brought down his wooden flute, and now seemed like an ideal time to test the echoes in here. Lifting the flute to his lips, he blew a couple of gentle notes, his unfocused gaze on the brilliant rays of colored light that washed over him from above.
Tayne was ready for a distraction-- it was barely past breakfast, and already he was ready for distraction. How the blazes was he going to manage to keep the compound in working order if he couldn't even handle one measly little meeting with the first-years? Torehl had picked him for this, why? Even the sight of those damnable notices were making him edgy, and they were bloody everywhere. He certainly hadn't put them up....
After a rather large breakfast, fairly "late" in the morning given when he'd gotten up, he'd been on his way out of the main hall and on his way to the storeroom in search of paper or parchment or blackboard or whatever he could get his hands on when the sound of music drifting up from the oratory caught his attention. Willing to be sidetracked, at least for a little while, he followed the sound down the hall and poked his head in to investigate. He tried to be quiet about it, not wanting to disturb the music-maker, but there were only a couple notes played, so apparently there wasn't much to disturb.
It was a boy, not one Tayne recognized-- though the bright light made it a little hard to make him out, admittedly, he had to guess this was one of his infamous first-years-- laying on one of the benches and with a wooden flute to his lips. "We could use some more music 'round here," Tayne commented from the doorway, leaning on the frame a little, once the echoes of the brief music died away.
Marcus had seen the notices; rather, he'd realized that there were things hanging on the walls and he'd walked up to within a couple of inches of them so he could read them. So they were finally going to get some information the second day in. The delay wasn't the sort of thing that typically upset him, so beyond making a mental note that he needed to be there, he didn't ponder it any more. He was content to just be for a while, something that he thought people needed to do more often. His siblings had called him lazy for it, but he hadn't cared.
He lowered the flute when he heard someone speaking to him, turning his head in Tayne's direction though he couldn't really see him between the angle of the light and his particular vision issues. It was another guy, and it couldn't be a Vrykola because of the sun flooding in, but that was all he knew. "Do many people play," he inquired, "or do you know?" The guy might be as new as he was; he had no way of knowing.
"There's a few," Tayne acceded, pushing up off the door frame to wander further in, a couple papers and a rare book under one arm. Since the kid didn't seem too adverse to company, might as well make the conversation easier by not half-shouting across the room at each other. "But not a lot, and several of the ones we do have really hate being heard in public. Makes finding people to play at summer bonfires or attempts at organizing dances a lot harder, I've gotta say."
Coming closer, and hearing him speak, Tayne was pretty sure this was one of the new ones, now. He definitely didn't know that voice, and he probably wouldn't have asked if he wasn't new. He'd also guess human, seeing as he was laying around in human form, and playing on a flute that looked a bit more complicated than a Lykos would deign use. Not Vrykola, for obvious reasons-- so, human.
Marcus was all for meeting new people. That was one of the reasons they were here, right? He swung his feet off the bench and sat up, the flute held in one hand and the other hand smoothing down his hair in the back where he'd been lying on it. "It might be strange playing in front of a lot of people," he said affably, "but I'd try it. What's the worst thing that could happen?" He'd mostly played only for himself, so he had no idea if he'd freeze up and be unable to continue. If he did, it wouldn't be the end of the world or anything.
From what he'd said, Marcus gathered that this guy wasn't new. He forced himself not to squint in order to see him more clearly; often Marcus missed nuances rather than invade somebody's personal space. That was never a good idea when you'd only just met someone. "I'm Marcus," he said with a smile. "It's probably obvious, but I'm new."
"You'll be well received, if you are willing," Tayne promised, returning the smile. Seemed like a nice enough kid, so far. Unassuming. Tayne liked that. The unassuming were less likely to make trouble, in his experience. "Even if you aren't terribly good, we'll take what music we can get."
He came the rest of the way over and offered his hand. "Pretty obvious, yeah. You new folks are in the awkward position of being obviously new and having to learn everyone's name, while us older folks only have to learn your handful of new names. I'm Tayne." And he pretty much assumed that'd mean Marcus would figure out who he was, from all those blasted notices. "Pleased to meet you."
"I think I'm okay," Marcus said. In fact, as far as flute-playing went, he was close to excellent, and he didn't believe that in any conceited way. He'd never had any sort of lessons, and he'd only discovered his ability when the oldest son of one of his parents' Partner had left a flute in the main room of their house. Marcus had been three, and he'd picked it up and started to play it as if he'd always known how. He wasn't one to brag, though, so he left it at okay.
Marcus shook with him, offering, "You're the third person I've met so far." Tayne. He looked puzzled for a few seconds as he tried to figure out why that name seemed so familiar, then he had it. "You're running the meeting. Gotta admit, it'll be nice to finally find out what's going on." There wasn't any criticism in his tone, just matter-of-factness, though in all honesty he did think it'd be nice if they got cued in a little bit earlier.
"Believe me," Tayne said, a little tightly as he tried to keep his nerves in check and his voice from breaking into a stutter, "I'll be glad to get the bloody thing over with. I was actually on my way to try and hunt down some supplies I need for it when I heard you playing." What Torehl thought he was getting at, picking the worst public speaker of the three of them....
Well, Torehl probably hadn't been thinking of that first meeting when he'd made the decision, Tayne had to admit. Still, though. He wished he could pass it off to Joliane, or something, but he knew she resented him being placed above her in any way... so asking was right out of the question. He was probably supposed to do this himself in order to "pass", anyway.
"All of us first-years'll be glad, too," Marcus pointed out. "Not because we want it over with, but because it's weird not knowing what we're supposed to be doing." Tayne's tone was a bit clipped, and Marcus wondered if he wasn't keen on public speaking. He knew he wouldn't be, but he had trouble imagining that somebody who was older and apparently authoritative enough to be picked to lead a meeting like that would feel awkward or reticent. He idly turned the flute around in his hands, squinting at Tayne through the brightly hued light that beamed down over them. "What year are you?" he asked curiously.
"Exploring and picking out your rooms," Tayne answered the unspoken question with a little blink, almost as if it should have been obvious but not in a terribly condescending fashion. It had seemed obvious to him, when no one told him anything official until the second day... but at the same time, that had been six years ago, so he might be misremembering how he'd felt in light of things he'd learned later. And now it was tradition, one that made sense to him-- you didn't try to corral the youngsters twice, once to explain things and then once, again, to sign them up for things. And it didn't seem right to make them sign up for things before they'd gotten an idea of what the place was like.
"For now, anyway. I guess they figure you ought to have a sense of the place before we start doling out chores. It's the way we've always done it, really." Tayne shook his head a little, then answered the actual question. "I'm sixth year. This'll be my last." Though whether I'm glad or not, I've got no idea.
"We figured that out," Marcus said, his tone as sunny as it had been. He was never quick to take offense and he didn't now, though some people would have. "I met a Lykos on my way in and we found rooms next door to each other." He wondered how his friend was faring today; he hadn't seen her yet. He figured just about everyone who was new would be at the meeting.
"That makes sense," Marcus said when Tayne explained why he thought those running the compound waited before giving out information. He guessed it didn't matter whether it did or not since that was how it was done, but it was nice to know that there was likely some rationale behind it. "Sixth year, wow," he added, smiling a little. He couldn't imagine what it'd be like to have been here that long... though he would by the time he got to be Tayne's age, wouldn't he?
That got Tayne into a smile, a real and unshadowed one. "Good. Good, I'm glad to hear it." That was what this whole place was about, right? Getting along with other species, learning how to adapt and get past prejudices.... That someone was doing so his very first day here was heartening. Maybe it was actually working, at least with some people.
He chuckled at the little "wow" on the end. "Sixth year, yeah. Been a long time-- I'm not even sure what I'll do with myself out in the 'real world'." Get a Partner and get married, probably, even though he had no idea how to actually do that, no more than he had when he'd arrived here, hopeful and actively searching. He was a little desperate now, but still with little results. Going out into the 'real world' would be interesting, all right.
But probably not so much interesting to Marcus. He sat himself, at least for now, on the bench with him. "So tell me about where you're from?" he suggested.
Marcus just nodded, the smile still on his face. Despite any warnings he'd received from his family and friends at home, he hadn't come into this expecting to have any problems with anyone. He was fully willing to give everyone he met a fair chance. It hadn't occurred to him that he might even meet somebody who didn't like humans-- thus far, nobody had shaken him out of his illusions, and all was well with the world.
He'd figured Tayne probably had things to do to get ready for the meeting in a while, and he was a little bit surprised when the older man sat down next to him. "I'm from Sodiensel," he said. "We live right next to the water. My family fishes for a living." Marcus wasn't sure what else should be said when someone asked him to tell about where he was from. To him that just about summed it up: ocean and fishing. "How about you?" he asked.
A fisherman's son. Tayne hadn't had opportunity to meet many of those until he'd come here; he'd certainly never seen the ocean. It was always interesting to hear from people from places he'd never been, and probably never would be, even if he did have a little itch in him to see it himself. It wasn't a practical itch, though, so he always ignored it.
"Originally from Sorsenel," he answered, "before everything went down and it turned into the waste it is now... still remember it pretty well. We moved when I was six, not far outside Dorisal, to a farm run by my father's Partner's husband and that part of the family. Spent more time in the city than out it, if I remember right." Which he did. There were guards and military inside to tail, imitate, and learn from, and for a long time that was all that mattered, beyond his siblings. Really, that was still what mattered most to him.
Growing up on a farm was probably similar to growing up in a fishing family, Marcus thought. Minus the fish and the nets, of course. Tayne's relatives had most likely worked as hard as Marcus' family always had. It would be nice to someday have the opportunity to see different parts of the inhabitable section of the country; he'd often found himself as curious about other areas as Tayne was. "We traveled to Dorisal once," he remarked, the name familiar to him because it was the only other place he'd ever been besides home (and now here). Both cities were located in the Southwest. "I was very young and I don't remember much about it, though." He wasn't even sure why his whole family had gone along. To trade for supplies, possibly?
"Ah, it's not terribly exciting," Tayne shrugged. "Mostly a lot of military types. It's only interesting if you like watching drills and practices or have a thing for uniforms." He grinned, a little lop-sidedly; his sister had teased him more than once about his ambitions being more because he liked uniforms than because he liked fighting. She might even have been right, in some way, or partly right. People looked pretty bloody smart in uniform.
So he supposed it had been exciting for him, at least. "I spent a lot of time hanging around the practice yards when I should've been home at the farm helping out." Not that he felt too badly about it, really, seeing as there had been plenty of help around the farm.
"Anything's kind of exciting when you never go anywhere," Marcus remarked, but there was no rancor in his voice. He and his siblings had always understood that there wasn't time or money to go running off to other places. Their family had always had to work hard to maintain the modest standard of living they enjoyed. "I wish I remembered more about it. Uniforms would be cool, I think." This from a boy who dressed in loose pants and layers of shirts all the time, an ingrained habit to keep him from looking like a walking bone, as slim as he was.
"Did you want to be military?" Marcus asked as he idly wondered why Tayne had hung around there so much.
"Suppose that's true," Tayne had to accede. He'd been lucky that Dorisal had been within riding distance of the farm, or else he wouldn't have gone more than once a month, with their adoptive aunt and uncle, for supplies. He'd never have been as good with weapons coming into the compound, if he'd been forced to rare over-night trip and practicing on his own.
Tayne gave Marcus a grin for the astute observation. "Yup. Still do, actually. My father and mother were, and I've always wanted to follow them that way. It's what I'm best at, anyway."
"Were you disappointed when you got picked for here instead?" Marcus wanted to know. He knew that would be a possibility. He'd been thrilled himself, because he'd never thought he'd have the chance to do anything but sit by the sea and mend nets. Not that he'd minded that, actually-- it had been very peaceful. But he had the stigma of that 'h' word that he refused to use to refer to himself despite how bad his eyes were, and he hadn't imagined he'd have the chance to take a different path. Sure, it was a little bit intimidating in some ways, but he could do it. He had faith that he'd find a way around the obstacles that would come up.
"Naw, not really," Tayne shrugged. "They wouldn't have taken me until twenty-five, anyway. All I'm really missing out on it making contacts in training." And given Tayne wasn't really that good at making contacts, doing the political schmoozing thing, that might actually be more of a benefit than a detriment. He didn't have a chance to mess anything up or to come across as disinterested; he'd be mysterious and fresh, instead, come straight from the compound, which might well give him a leg up.
"And I think I've gotten some valuable experience here that I can use there, too." Another potential boon. He scratched his head a bit, and one of his few actual worries came to light as he added, "My only real problem is I haven't got a Partner yet, or someone who will be once I'm out. If I were out, I could go on tour looking, but as it is...." As it was, he was a bit concerned and trying not to think about it.
"Well, that's good," Marcus said cheerfully. "You still have a chance, then." He could find a bright spot to just about anything, a quality that tended to annoy the more pragmatic people he met. He'd always been that way, though, and he couldn't see himself changing. He had a way of listening and being genuinely interested in what he was told, even when he couldn't offer any advice. He couldn't often offer advice considering that he was a naive eighteen-year-old without much life experience.
Tayne's mention of a Partner brought a quizzical expression to Marcus' face. "Wow," he said. "I'm kinda glad I don't have to think about that yet." He was a guy who hadn't even kissed anyone yet, and it wasn't so much that he wasn't interested but that he hadn't really encountered anyone who wanted to kiss him. His parents' Partners' children were too much like siblings, and he didn't often run into anyone else. Not that Partners were for romance; he knew that much, but still. Thinking of male-female relations in any sense was a new experience for him. "Do people ever meet their Partners here?" It might be a foolish question, but he had no way of knowing.
"A lot of people, actually," Tayne said. "Some have Partners waiting for them outside the compound, but if you come in without any real prospects, it's a good place to look. Since the challenges often require people to work together, we get lots of chances to see whose magic works well together. Most of the people I know who leave here know who their Partners are going to be, whether it's someone who leaves with them, someone who will be leaving shortly after, or someone waiting outside." They'd be in trouble if they didn't; at twenty-four, and occasionally nearly twenty-five already by the time they actually got out, they wouldn't have much time left to go looking. Tayne tried not to think about that too hard. He still had one more year and then a good six months after he got out to find someone....
Marcus certainly had none, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about that just yet. He was eighteen, in his second day at a brand new place, and he felt as if he had all the time in the world. Tayne seemed concerned about it, though, and Marcus couldn't think of anything to say that would reassure him. "Well, the year's just started, right?" He fingered his flute a little nervously; would it be okay that he didn't have any advice to offer? He was not magically inclined at all, but maybe somebody would find something in him that would make him a good Partner. Tayne would find someone too, surely.
Tayne gave Marcus a reassuring sort of grin, feeling a bit like a heel for going on about his own troubles-- and they weren't even terrible troubles, just minor worries in the back of his mind. "Yeah, yeah I've still got a whole year more to figure things out, I know. Sorry, Marcus, you don't need me getting you all stressed out. You're just starting out, you've got all the time in the world. You have plans for when you get out of here? Or you just waiting to see what happens?" Kid might well go back to the ocean and fish, like his family. It wouldn't be uncommon. At least he'd go back with no prejudices against other species... or so was the hope.
Marcus felt better right away, as soon as the older man's tone lightened. "It's okay," he said. He wanted so much to get along with everyone he met, and he was idealistic enough to think that he might. People who were becoming friends confided in each other. Everything was good. He tilted his head slightly to one side as he considered Tayne's question. "I guess I haven't thought about it that much," he said. Marcus wasn't much for planning ahead. Mostly, he was content to coast from day to day and see how things went, see if anything interesting happened that might affect the regular schedule his family was on. Here, he'd probably be the same way until things came up. Like the challenges.
"Well, you've time for that, too," Tayne nodded. He could hardly imagine being without some kind of plan or goal, but he knew his way of going through life wasn't the only way. He doubted his little brother ever had a plan. For anything. It tended to drive the rest of the family a little crazy.
Tayne shifted his papers in his lap, looking down at them with a reluctant sigh. "I guess I oughta get back to work. Got a lot to do before tonight." He looked back up at Marcus with a lopsided grin. "See you there?"
"Yes, I'll definitely be there," Marcus said. There was no way in all of Trivald that he would miss the instructional meeting. All the first years gathered in one place should be interesting, he thought. "It was nice to meet you." He smiled, shifting on his bench slightly, the bands of colored light washing him in purple, then a yellow that was bleeding into orange. Once Tayne left, he'd try his hand at an actual song, listen to the echoes some more. He didn't have anything else pressing that needed doing.
"And you," Tayne said with a smile, rising and tucking his papers under his arm once more. "I'm sure I'll see you 'round, Marcus. And hopefully hear more of that music."
With that, and with all the things that needed doing surging back up to the forefront of his mind, Tayne headed back for the oratory door and the hall with all the things he needed at the other end of it. The day was going to be a long one, but at least it seemed to have started off well.