Pneumonia - A TinyPlot It all began as an innocent field trip to Southern Hold, ostensibly to visit a new observatory there. It ultimately ended up as an extended tinyplot (TP) that spanned months of IC time and completely altered Linora's life.

Cress hates this, and doesn't really know how to deal with it either. Except maybe tell the thruth. Picking at a chip in the mug, he looks up at her, "We could stay here... And wait to graduate to jpeople," he says, and then takes a deep breath before continuing. "Or we could leave." There, it's said. Now he just has to wait for Lin's reaction.

Back To That Project... Well, working towards that promotion is more important than ever, so Linora heads for the archives... until Cress and his shiny new knot come to distract her.

Linora looks a little surprised at that for a moment... then realizes that he's right. There isn't really that much left to do, if she can just get past the specialty thing. A slow smile spreads across her face, but she doesn't dare give words to the hope she feels. Won't be long. "Guess I better get ta work and stuff," she whispers, her eyes not leaving his.

Linora's Project Well, Lin has finally settled on a constellation for her project. And once the crowd in the dining hall dissipates, maybe she'll start writing it down?

Linora shrugs. "I been workin' on it since... " Well, since the day she left him in the infirmary, burying herself in the books to keep from thinking. "A while, I guess." Rather not bring up that day again, not when things seem almost... normal between them. She almost manages to hide the guilty look behind a long sip of juice. "Anyhow," pressing on, "it was interesting and stuff, so maybe it didn't seem like so much work." Does that make sense? She can't think.

Looking At Stars... Again Just a moment in time... but perhaps a hint that things really aren't the same as they once were...

Linora sits back on her heels, looking a bit doubtful. "I was looking at the stars and stuff." What a silly question. Is there any other reason for a Starry to be lying in the courtyard? But snappy retorts aren't part of Lin's vocabulary. "I kinda needed a break from the archives."

Linora Picks A Specialty At long last, the decision is made. A specialty. A mentor. One more step towards promotion...

"Sure." Yes, it really is that easy - or maybe it's just Keris who's that ea.... ahem. Nevermind. "If you're wanting to specialize in the art of Charting," yes, it's an art. An /art/, "then I'd be happy to mentor you. I've always room for more mentees." Beam, beam, goes the goldilocked face of the journeyman again. "Though right now I do have to go teach a class... stop by later and get your badge perhaps, hmm?"

Diena's Specialty Linora's renewed emphasis on her studies has unexpected results. Suddenly she finds herself /giving/ advice, instead of /seeking/ it.

Linora nods. "Oh. I just gotta finish my project and stuff," she says, vaguely surprised that now /she/ seems to be the serious student, 'specially after she gave Diena such a hard time before. But she's got a good reason to want to advance. Besides, studying keeps her out of trouble, yup.

Not Quite All Better... Linora takes a study break at Crystal Lake and finds to her dismay that she's lost a good amount of her lung capacity.

Linora shakes her head, eyes wide. "No," she says, in between gasps. "I.. I'm okay." A long moment of just... trying to breathe. Yeah. "Maybe... swimming wasn't such a good idea," she manages to add.

A New Project For Lin If Keris had consciously tried to make his newest mentee's life miserable, he couldn't have come up with a more effective project. Hours and hours in the dusty archives, copying over musty hides...

Linora's eyes just keep getting bigger until they threaten to bug out completely. So /this/ is how she's going to learn how to make charts, huh? "Um... okay..." She arranges the charts a little more carefully in her arms. "I guess I better... um... get started and stuff." Looks like it'll be a long time before she has any more free time, yup.

Breakfast With Beyla Wow. Another friend in the Hall. Good thing - Linora was really feeling in need of one.

What does Linora want to do with her life? She bites her lip, not daring to put words to the one thing she wants the most. "I'm still tryin'ta figure that out. But definitely /something/." She looks over at Beyla. "I mean, I only /just/ picked a specialty, and a mentor an' stuff. I'm sure I'll get lots of ideas. Charting's very useful. An' important, too."

Promotion! At long last, the result of Lin's hard work as an apprentice -- still an apprentice. Well, Senior Apprentice. ;)

Keris just beams like a fresh basket of glows, eagerly circling around Linora while waiting for her dance of joy. Ah, well, so it doesn't work that way, but he can still hope, no? "It's really okay. You did a nice job, there. Oh, wait, I have something else for you...." Rummaging around his pockets, the journeyman frowns. "You did finish most of your classes, didn't you?"

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