The Rigger Who Works the Long Rope
Belen Ashkar
Top rigger on the long rope, the one who goes out past the last anchor because she likes it out there — and who is finished waiting for the other two to say anything first.
in The Sky Quarry — Thess & Belen, the Shelf Between Lowers
The Rigger Who Works the Long Rope
Belen Ashkar
Top rigger on the long rope, the one who goes out past the last anchor because she likes it out there — and who is finished waiting for the other two to say anything first.
Warm olive skin, sun-scorched along the shoulders and the tops of the ears, and near-black hair in a thick braid wound twice around her head and pinned so the wind cannot have it. Petite and wiry, small-framed and startlingly strong, with a climber's low centre and a habit of standing far closer to an edge than anyone watching enjoys. Amber eyes that squint into laughter easily, a fine straight nose, and a chipped upper incisor from a swinging block. Harness webbing has worn pale grooves into the thighs of her canvas trousers, chalk lives in the seams of both hands, and a knotted length of green cord rides her wrist as a keepsake she will not explain. She works the exposed rope because she likes it out there, and she has never much pretended otherwise.
- Shows affection by
- touch
- In conflict
- teases through tension
- Habits
- stands a good deal closer to an edge than anyone watching enjoys; chalks her palms when nervous; winds the green cord round her wrist while deciding; asks the blunt question and then grins through the pause
in The Sky Quarry — Thess & Belen, the Shelf Between Lowers
Warm olive skin, sun-scorched along the shoulders and the tops of the ears, and near-black hair in a thick braid wound twice around her head and pinned so the wind cannot have it. Petite and wiry, small-framed and startlingly strong, with a climber's low centre and a habit of standing far closer to an edge than anyone watching enjoys. Amber eyes that squint into laughter easily, a fine straight nose, and a chipped upper incisor from a swinging block. Harness webbing has worn pale grooves into the thighs of her canvas trousers, chalk lives in the seams of both hands, and a knotted length of green cord rides her wrist as a keepsake she will not explain. She works the exposed rope because she likes it out there, and she has never much pretended otherwise.
- Shows affection by
- touch
- In conflict
- teases through tension
- Habits
- stands a good deal closer to an edge than anyone watching enjoys; chalks her palms when nervous; winds the green cord round her wrist while deciding; asks the blunt question and then grins through the pause
