fandomhighdorms | 5th Floor Common Room, Monday Early Evening

Entry tags:

5th Floor Common Room, Monday Early Evening

Really, she ought to be asleep despite the ridiculously early hour. A weekend spent with little sleep and using loads of energy meant by all rights that she should be dead to the world at the moment. Ino had spent about an hour after her last class staring up at the ceiling before giving that idea up for a lost cause and wandered out to the common room to see what she could find that was entertaining enough to keep her from getting bored.

Normally Ino wasn't much of one for movies, but poking around turned up The Continuous Tale and it looked interesting enough for her to stare at while she tried to convince herself to unwind enough to actually sleep. Score!

That decided on, she made popcorn (because if she was going to do this movie thing, she was going to do it right) and curled up on the couch, hitting play. And, okay, maybe snuggle into a blanket as well. That counted as part of the whole movie thing, right? Right?

It totally did. She could even be convinced to share, if asked nicely.

[Ooopen as a common room is, yes!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"That doesn't seem exactly fair," Ino noted. "I mean, not to you and not to the priests either--bet they didn't have much of an idea of how to care for a random kid if they'd never done it before."

"Very little idea," Helen admitted, and that almost brought a smile to her face. "And I'm afraid I was not the most biddable child either."

"Ooooh," she laughed a bit at that. "A little troublemaker, huh? Bet some of them thought you were totally adorable."

"I was," she admitted. "But I'm not sure any of them considered me adorable. Still, it was better than home where my father wished me dead."

"Yeees," Ino conceded. "Yes it would be, at that."

Resist the urge to ask why, Ino. That was rather too personal.

"Was there anything you liked 'bout the temples?"

"I liked learning," Helen told her honestly. "I always did. And, well... I rather liked the spiders and rats. They made decent friends."

"What all did you learn 'bout?" she asked promptly, then looked rueful. "Um--I guess, if we're playing twenty questions, if you've got anything you want to know just... ask?"

"I learned about the Wider Times - the history, languages, literature, and beliefs of all of the related worlds. It was quite a lot of material. I also learned a bit about weapons, tactics, and fighting. Did you... I know most people did not grow up as I did," she said carefully. "Still... you seem as if perhaps you learned more than some before you came."

Ino was going to eat a bit of popcorn before answering that one.

"I do?" she asked archly. "Like what?"

She shrugged. "It's in the way you carry yourself. I think you know how to fight. And I hear things on radio. You just, well, you can heal and... I don't know. Things."

Things. Ino pretended she wasn't absolutely bubbling with curiosity at that. Vague was so not the way to make her lose interest, no.

"I like healing," she shared. "It makes me happy when things like that turn out right, you know?"

"I wish I could do that," Helen admitted. "It seems far more useful than my talents."

Healing. Now that would be helpful.

"Anybody can learn medicine," she pointed out helpfully. "I mean, it's not the same thing as healing the way I do, but they both got their pros and cons."

She considered that. "I suppose. And if I'm not allowed home I will need to find something to do when my time here is over."

"Not allowed home?" Ino asked. "Still from the exile bit?"

Now that was a sore subject.

"That is from the 'unless you go to this school we will exile you again, this time permanently' bit."

Apparently once you'd fulfilled your destiny you weren't much use any more. Though the trouble she'd caused when she'd returned probably hadn't helped.

And she'd waltzed right into it.

Ah well.

"Well," Ino said carefully, "you're going to this school, so they can't from that excuse, yeah?"

"If there's one things the priests know, it's how to come up with an excuse for anything," Helen said with a sigh. "But I do hope they'll let me return sometime, unlikely though that may be."

She was quiet for a moment. "It's odd. It's not a pleasant world at all. And I, well... I was not well liked there - or anywhere, I suppose - but I still miss it."

"Isn't that natural?" Ino asked curiously. "I mean, it's your home. You get people in my world stayin' in places where they could be killed 'cause they love their homes. You get people here livin' in the middle of areas that're known for tornadoes and stuff and they don't leave 'cause of that."

Home meant good and bad.

Helen nodded. "Yes, exactly. It's home. And as hard and lonely as life in the temple with the priests was, it's the only home I've ever had."

"Could you be a doctor or something 'round there?" she wondered.

Could she be? Not likely. Women were not valued there. Not often. She'd been an exception because of her arm and what it meant to the priests.

She shook her head slowly. "I... I am not sure, but I don't think so. Unless I only practiced in the temple and... I'm not sure I could. But I honestly don't know."

...

"...why would you have to practice only in a temple?"

Ino was confused, yes. Gender equality was pretty much just that in her world: equal.

"Women aren't well valued there, other than to have children and care for the home. Except in rare cases, such as mine, they wouldn't be allowed much education, nor would they be trusted with such a position."

It wasn't fair or right, given the things she'd seen in other places, but it was the way things were.

Ewwww.

"Maybe you can go on being different? Be a revolutionary! Show people that women can do the same things guys can?"

Ino, that was a rather huge dream to natter on about.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject