“Okay Lani, apologize.” Kavisan drew her attention with her name, speaking in slower Nari now. She looked at him, a little shocked and betrayed.
“What for?” She rebounded in common.
“Stealing.” He stuck with Nari, and she looked down at her desk.
“Can I still keep the dowel and straps to finish my work?”
“Yes.” He was giving her curt answers in Nari to her questions in Common, and she sighed, looked back at the Avora. Hopping her gaze between both of the grass colored, eyes, she lowered her head slightly, crossing her fingers in front of her, and spoke in Nari.
“I am sorry for stealing.”
“And?” This time the unnamed Avora prompted her for more. She scraped her brain, what else had she done. What else does this woman want? Humility.
“And… I am rude.” She racked her language banks. She knew it wasn’t the most accurate phrase, but it got the point across, hopefully that was enough.
“Sure.” The Avora said, glancing at the Yasi behind her, and crossing her arms. Lani glanced up at Kavisan through her lashes, for a reaction. His steely demeanor did not change, but he spoke to the Avora in Nari.
“Now, you will treat her like any other Chiet, and I know you to be kind to the lower classes, of which she is no exception. When she works for me, she has my blessing to go where she pleases and do as she pleases in this Enclave in order to complete the work that I have assigned her. She is learning our language, she is working for us, and contributing to our community, just like you or I. I will not stand for disrespect among those working in my enclave, both from Chiet and Avora.” He spoke with a cool even Nari tongue, and while Lani did not understand many of his words, the Avora responded by hanging her own head, which told Lani that Kavisan was actually on her side. Or perhaps neutral, he had pleased this Avora and also talked her down. It was better than nothing.
Lani stayed still with her head ducked and her fingers folded in front of her until the Avora and the Yasi left. Once she could feel their paces receding, she turned back to her desk, plucking the bottom of the scroll up to examine it in the candle light, it was dry.
She had work to do today, and she wasn’t going to let this distract her. Once confirming that all the ink and glue were dry, she plucked the razor from the desk, pulling it free of its leather protectant once more. There was about half a page of no writing, and she needed to trim it off so that there was none wasted. Lining the razor to the bottom page, she gave one quick slash, taking off the extra papyrus. Placing that on her desk, she switched the razor out for the dowel, and lined it up with the bottom of the scroll. Carefully because the paper was stiff, she began to fold the dowel into the bottom of the scroll so that the text was facing inward. It was a slow process, because she was the first one to break the pages into this shape, so she could not let it be out of line. Every few twists she had to tap each side of the dowel to make sure it was even. The glue was also dried on the seams so she did not have to worry about them separating at least. Within a few chimes, she had it rolled properly, and then wrapped the leather strap around the center, tying it off. She left it on the dowel for now, letting it form to the side for the rest of her shift. She would steam them before she left to make sure they held their shape before she removed the dowel, and returned it to a librarian for it to be used again.
Even though it had taken her three bells, copying the scroll had been satisfying, and slightly informative. She did not expect to learn too much, since she was copying, not studying. But she still found useful pieces of information flowing through her brain.
“What for?” She rebounded in common.
“Stealing.” He stuck with Nari, and she looked down at her desk.
“Can I still keep the dowel and straps to finish my work?”
“Yes.” He was giving her curt answers in Nari to her questions in Common, and she sighed, looked back at the Avora. Hopping her gaze between both of the grass colored, eyes, she lowered her head slightly, crossing her fingers in front of her, and spoke in Nari.
“I am sorry for stealing.”
“And?” This time the unnamed Avora prompted her for more. She scraped her brain, what else had she done. What else does this woman want? Humility.
“And… I am rude.” She racked her language banks. She knew it wasn’t the most accurate phrase, but it got the point across, hopefully that was enough.
“Sure.” The Avora said, glancing at the Yasi behind her, and crossing her arms. Lani glanced up at Kavisan through her lashes, for a reaction. His steely demeanor did not change, but he spoke to the Avora in Nari.
“Now, you will treat her like any other Chiet, and I know you to be kind to the lower classes, of which she is no exception. When she works for me, she has my blessing to go where she pleases and do as she pleases in this Enclave in order to complete the work that I have assigned her. She is learning our language, she is working for us, and contributing to our community, just like you or I. I will not stand for disrespect among those working in my enclave, both from Chiet and Avora.” He spoke with a cool even Nari tongue, and while Lani did not understand many of his words, the Avora responded by hanging her own head, which told Lani that Kavisan was actually on her side. Or perhaps neutral, he had pleased this Avora and also talked her down. It was better than nothing.
Lani stayed still with her head ducked and her fingers folded in front of her until the Avora and the Yasi left. Once she could feel their paces receding, she turned back to her desk, plucking the bottom of the scroll up to examine it in the candle light, it was dry.
She had work to do today, and she wasn’t going to let this distract her. Once confirming that all the ink and glue were dry, she plucked the razor from the desk, pulling it free of its leather protectant once more. There was about half a page of no writing, and she needed to trim it off so that there was none wasted. Lining the razor to the bottom page, she gave one quick slash, taking off the extra papyrus. Placing that on her desk, she switched the razor out for the dowel, and lined it up with the bottom of the scroll. Carefully because the paper was stiff, she began to fold the dowel into the bottom of the scroll so that the text was facing inward. It was a slow process, because she was the first one to break the pages into this shape, so she could not let it be out of line. Every few twists she had to tap each side of the dowel to make sure it was even. The glue was also dried on the seams so she did not have to worry about them separating at least. Within a few chimes, she had it rolled properly, and then wrapped the leather strap around the center, tying it off. She left it on the dowel for now, letting it form to the side for the rest of her shift. She would steam them before she left to make sure they held their shape before she removed the dowel, and returned it to a librarian for it to be used again.
Even though it had taken her three bells, copying the scroll had been satisfying, and slightly informative. She did not expect to learn too much, since she was copying, not studying. But she still found useful pieces of information flowing through her brain.
Word Count: 5,552
