Post by Azhdarchid on Apr 16, 2011 10:43:36 GMT -5
The southern bridge was coated with just enough snow to justify shoveling the entire span of it. In the center, where the raised walls did not guard the accumulated moisture from the wind, the snow hid a strip of ice. Qosis was cautious as he prowled the eastern end of the bridge. It was not enough to see the snow absented from the walkway: the bridge had to glisten with cleanliness. How many candlemarks the finished product would last was not up to him, but to the overcast skies.
He just had to do the best he could. Him alone, because he had already seen the assignment slate and saw his partner was one of the women. Why did the Weyr not segregate these tasks by ability? But then, he had seen some male Candidates who looked even shrimpier than the average girl. Qosis dismissed the point; weak men were still better than women. Men had to be more knowledgeable of their own physical limits than women who, by all accounts, should have been limiting their exertions to those of hands, beauty, and problems of the home.
Qosis swung his shovel off his shoulder and the point clattered on the Bowl stone. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the face for the name. She was new. She was gawky. All of these girl-Candidates, skinny! Like they had never known a single feminine pursuit in their lives!
The trader rubbed his temple with mitten-clad fingers. This nasty little hour where the sun's light was on the horizon but the sun itself was playing coy always did put him in a bad mood. Once the dawn broke, once there was food in his stomach, he was fine. But this time was...lonely. When the light coursed over his body, it failed to draw more than a hint of a shadow on the snow behind him. Qosis dragged the shovel to the rightmost side of the bridge, belatedly noting a need to clean off the white coat on the wall-tops too. That would be last. Or maybe it was a task of just the right size for his assigned partner.
He stripped one mitten so he could adjust a bent top edge of one wool-lined boot. He considered pulling his scarf up over his mouth and nose, but decided the temperature necessitated only the protection of his beard for the time being. The scrapes of his shovel against the bridge echoed in the stilled air, and he vaulted captured snow over the side into the water below.
He just had to do the best he could. Him alone, because he had already seen the assignment slate and saw his partner was one of the women. Why did the Weyr not segregate these tasks by ability? But then, he had seen some male Candidates who looked even shrimpier than the average girl. Qosis dismissed the point; weak men were still better than women. Men had to be more knowledgeable of their own physical limits than women who, by all accounts, should have been limiting their exertions to those of hands, beauty, and problems of the home.
Qosis swung his shovel off his shoulder and the point clattered on the Bowl stone. He closed his eyes and tried to recall the face for the name. She was new. She was gawky. All of these girl-Candidates, skinny! Like they had never known a single feminine pursuit in their lives!
The trader rubbed his temple with mitten-clad fingers. This nasty little hour where the sun's light was on the horizon but the sun itself was playing coy always did put him in a bad mood. Once the dawn broke, once there was food in his stomach, he was fine. But this time was...lonely. When the light coursed over his body, it failed to draw more than a hint of a shadow on the snow behind him. Qosis dragged the shovel to the rightmost side of the bridge, belatedly noting a need to clean off the white coat on the wall-tops too. That would be last. Or maybe it was a task of just the right size for his assigned partner.
He stripped one mitten so he could adjust a bent top edge of one wool-lined boot. He considered pulling his scarf up over his mouth and nose, but decided the temperature necessitated only the protection of his beard for the time being. The scrapes of his shovel against the bridge echoed in the stilled air, and he vaulted captured snow over the side into the water below.
