bethen avilla ; the circle mage (bethe) wrote in thedas, @ 2010-04-14 18:59:00
Who: Bethen Avilla & Constans Ledaal Where: Kinloch Hold, second floor store-rooms When: Late Spring, 9:36 Summary: Forced to work together on a project, Beth and Constans learn to get along; near life-threatening situations turn out to be great bonding experiences. Rating: T, for future violence against spiders, possible language as spoken by typical teens.
Kinloch Hold was, as the story goes, built into the side of the largest island in the center of Lake Calenhad by the Avvars, with the aid of dwarven craftsman. It stood for centuries before the Tevinter Imperium drove out those barbaric natives, and many years more until it was occupied by the Circle of Magi. Bethen had always wondered what life here was like, before it was appropriated by the Circle and turned into a place of learning (and confinement, if one were to look at it as such). In most areas of the Tower, it was hard to picture what the structure once was, as if the mages had always been there and the structure was made for them. One of the few places that still appeared as ancient as the walls around them were the store-rooms, a network of caverns that were either cut directly into the face of the rock that backed the Hold, or possibly even there before the masonry had been built up around it. Whatever the true origin, the caves just off the laboratory on the second floor were due for their bi-annual inventory and cleaning for the spring season.
It usually took a handful of days to complete between alternating pairs of mages and apprentices under the supervision of Senior Enchanter Alden. Of the individuals assigned to the task, Bethen was one of the few who might have actually volunteered were she asked -- she was good at taking stock and organizing lists, a reputation established in the hours she typically spent tidying up the library. She had never been inside the store-rooms before, being considered too young in years past, so it was of great interest to her to be brought on for the first time. Her enthusiasm for the chore was strong until she arrived in front of the locked doors an hour ago, and discovered who her partner for the day would be: Constans Ledaal.
Though she considered herself an open-minded and tolerant person, Beth had never possessed any fondness for the other apprentice, especially when they were younger. He was a brat, a bully, and a scoundrel. He flaunted rules and set traps for those he disliked, and only by some odd miracle had he been turned around in his adolescence. That Constans was a better student today did not make it easier to forget or forgive the cruelties of their childhood. And perhaps it was more than just old grudges that made her dislike him, no matter how repentant he appeared for his past transgressions -- maybe Beth was just a little jealous that, in spite of all the awful things he'd said or done, he was still well liked by the vast majority of their peers, more than she ever could be. She resented his popularity, and couldn't see his appeal -- she worked hard, she helped others out, had a pleasant demeanor -- and yet, he possessed a charm and magnetism that won him favor for putting in half as much effort. It frustrated her to no end that Constans could likely get away with murder if he so pleased, and have plenty of people rush to provide him an alibi.
It was difficult to internalize her disdain for him while they were forced to be in such a confined space together for the duration of the day. Alden was in a meeting and had left the two of them to continue working, feeling quite assured that two of the brightest students in their class could handle things on their own. Bethen had avoided making conversation with the boy as much as possible, though not for lack of things to say. In fact, they could have been chatting the entire time about the most important factor they had in common -- the well-being of his younger brother, Desiderio, who had only come to the Tower a few months earlier. Without even knowing they were related, Beth took the boy under her wing when he first arrived, trying to help him adjust to his new surroundings. She was fond of him, partially because he reminded her of her own little brother, and was determined to remain part of his life in the Circle, no matter who his sibling happened to be. This invisible tug of war in influencing the boy was a third factor in why Bethen had no interest in becoming chummy with Constans, even if it would have been best if the two of them weren't so oppositional. They were probably even more alike than she wanted to admit.
Having divided up their duties, Beth was determined to remain as independent in fulfilling her half as possible. She'd been successful at shifting around containers, writing new labels where necessary, marking down items that they were low on, etc., up until she found herself craning her neck at a jar that sat precariously on the top of a shelving unit. It was unreachable by her standards, even after she had managed to lug over one of the sturdy locked trunks. At fifteen, she still had yet to undergo a proper growth spurt that would allow her any grace and height. Bethen pretended to be writing something down while she looked around the torchlit cavern for her partner, so as not to make it obvious that she was staring at him, trying to decide if he was tall enough for her needs. Constans was, she concluded, a year older than herself, and possessed those last few inches in limb length that she needed, much as it pained her to think that she required anything from him.
Reluctantly, she strode across the dirt floor and stopped by him, clearing her throat to catch his attention, "Um... If you're not too busy, Constans, would you mind...helping me with something for a moment?" The confidence that she had attempted to display when she approached fled quickly after she spoke, as Beth wound up looking away from him and to the rough rock walls of the cavern instead, waiting for an answer.