Embellishment [Arcane]

[Windra]

In the modern world, one might pamper and powder and preen about in their own bathrooms. After all, some were known as powder rooms for a reason! But on Pern, those amenities did not exist. And though Adair had her own weyr with her own little area to doll up to the best of her abilities with the supplies at hand (which weren't much save for a brush and a salve for dry skin), the blond took great pains to make sure she beautied herself in as much a public setting as possible.

Which was here, in the public baths.

She was humming to herself. Draped in nothing more than a towel to cover her more sensitive bits, Adair used a piece of reflective glass to guide her hands, carefully applying a thick layer of mud - yes, actual wed dirt from outside - about her pale cheeks and jaw.

"Just a test run," she allowed herself to utter, pausing in her tune-making. "Darling, we should try this on you as well."

She could feel Alsetth's shrug even though the green was nowhere near enough to actually be seen. Looks itchy. I can feel your skin crawl as it dries. No thank you. The sun is beneficial enough to my youthful hide.

"Hmm." Adair lifted her chin, toying with dabbling some on her neck. "Oh its absolutely mind-numbing with irritation, but prettiness doesn't come with a little bit of discomfort, my dear!"

[Arcane]

Sha'm had only been 18, when she'd been exiled from her hold, but 18 had been old enough to (mostly) know the ways of the world. She'd seen girls her age dreaming of the future husbands, willing to do anything to make themselves look more appealing. Weyr women did not marry and their survival was not dependent on good will won with a pretty smile.

Which meant anyone willing to put mud on their face for questionable aesthetic benefits was just vain. Or eyeing some weyrmate in particular.

Eh. There were worse qualities.

"Anyone in particular you're trying to impress?" Sha'm asked. She had a vague sense of who Adair was. A greenrider, who could one day be her weyrmate, who claimed a vast collection of bedfellows. It didn't hurt to start getting a lay of the land- and maybe finding an ally or two- early, especially as...unconventional as her own circumstances were.

How delightfully enterprising of you, Taarisoth drawled in her mind.

Glad you approve, Sha'm thought, dryly, not bothering to dig through the flattery, I'll let you know if I need a dragon contact.

Taarisoth, like Sha'm, was a survivor. Sha'm wasn't sure if she'd call them friends, but he used her, she used him. They trusted each other, because their fates were too intertwined to leave much room for betrayal. They understood each other, in their own way.

[Windra]

There was a youngling entering her little domain of glamour and Adair, being the usual primadonna, gave the girl a quick cursory glance and immediately dismissed her with a coy, raised eyebrow. The greenrider turned her attention to her nails now, after giving them a rinse in the bath water. Plumes of mud unfurled in the liquid to be carried over the edge by its uninterrupted current.

"The whole Weyr, darling!" she exclaimed, embellishing on the words as if it was an atrocity to not see the point of her activities. "Everybody at High Reaches looks the same, don't you think? Why there's simply no harm in glistening up to be a little more noticeable - and vivacious, if I do say so myself."

At least Pern had nail files, although it was just stubby rock. She used one to soften the edges of her own, shaping them into rounded points. They would be painted later with a little helpful encouragement from the artisanal types floating about. Pigments used for walls or tapestry had a nice effect, although there really was no telling what the impact would be on one's health after applying it to their body.

Adair pursed her lips, leering at Sh'am from the corner of her closest eye. "You could benefit from some beautifying as well, dear."

[Arcane]

Even if the mud did anything, which Sha'm deeply doubted, it was definitely not going to do anything obvious enough to make Adair more noticeable in the weyr. Adair was undoubtedly pretty, but there were a lot of pretty riders. Who Sha'm suspected Adair paid minimal attention to, if she thought everyone at the weyr looked the same.

The weyr had more diversity in dress, accent and hairstyle than almost anywhere else on Pern. Because telepathic ability was relatively rare, weyrs had a history of accepting almost anyone with the ability to Impress a dragon. High Reaches took it a step farther than most, with their population of holder refugees and new small group of rescued holdless. Many of those people clung to their native styles.

"Do people look different where you're from?" Sha'm asked innocently. She rarely bothered feigning naïveté, now that everyone knew she was a liar and a thief, but Adair clearly rarely peered beyond her own nose. Sha'm doubted Adair had any idea about the fake time traveling, "You're from Fort Weyr, aren't you? Adair of green Alsetth, right?"

Adair seemed the sort of person to be flattered by Sha'm knowing her name, not realizing that there were under two hundred dragonriders at the weyr and Sha'm tried to keep track of all of them.

Sha'm did not need Adair's beautifying. She was well-aware she was attractive and was capable of managing her own looks from her reflection. Adair was not the sort of person Sha'm would have naturally chosen as a friend or ally, but she supposed someone in her position was in no position to be picky, given such an easy opportunity to win favor with a potential future wingmate, "Oh really? What sort of beautifying?"

[Windra]

Adair's eyebrows did raise at the recognition, and the greenrider decided to cast a more scrutinizing expression in the weyrling's direction. The child was clearly a little more observant than she'd acknowledged, and the blonde was intrigued, if only a little.

She uncrossed her legs and pitched forward a little on her sitting stone. The nail file was still propped in her one hand, which now unfurled beneath her chin to strike a posture of somebody with a keen eye.

"Well, you are very pretty, I'll give you that," she hummed, clicking her tongue. With her free fingers she traced an outline of the weyrling's face in the air. "Dainty little chin and smooth complexion. Ah yes, you're a young thing aren't you? And just recently impressed, if I remember correctly. Your little blue made a very decent selection, Sh'am. You certainly caused quite a stir yourself!"

Adair winked an eye, an unabashed way of saying you aren't the only one who's paying attention.

"Mmm, so your face doesn't need any prettying up. You're a fairly gorgeous looking girl, but your hair is certainly long and unruly. Have you considered, ah, curling it?"