Who Troy, Alexa @ Igen
What Troy visits Alexa and listens to her concerns
When Winter - Month 3, 2724
Where Living Cavern, Igen Weyr

 


Living Cavern - Igen Weyr
// Second only to the Hatching Sands in size — although its walls are not so nearly circular — the living cavern is filled with numerous rectangular tables, almost too many to count. The Weyrleaders have the table farthest from the kitchen and hearths at one end of the cavern. The hearths are kept as low-burning as possible during the day when folk come inside to escape the heat outside. They burn brighter at night to keep away the deserts chill. No matter the level of flame, there is always a stew pot that hangs for nibblers at a good temperature. Favored drinks, particularly iced klah and juice, are kept on ice and interspersed at various food tables scattered about, along with baskets of rolls and fruit. There are, of course, scheduled mealtimes, and at certain points of the day the available fare slides into the menu for the nearest meal, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late-night snackings, but the staff has long since acknowledged that people will sit to talk and nibble here at all hours. In the cooler parts of the evening in particular, the cavern hosts games of chess, checkers, dragonpoker, and others. Several degrees are knocked off thanks to the Technician Craft's cooling system.//


It's a warm day in Igen, as always, and Troy has decided to pay another visit to the Weyr after having been tasked to put on a show the night before at one of the surrounding Holds. He has begun to get a bit of a name for himself due to his upbeat music and ability to draw multiple Harpers together to create spur of the moment bands.

As he heads into the Living Cavern, he hums a tune to himself as he loosens the front of his shirt a bit to allow some air to creep in. He's so used to the colder climate of Fort that he forgets sometimes that his clothing is strapped on too tight. This feeling of being 'free' is something he can get used to. Lifting a hand to wave to a few familiar faces, he wears his usual grin upon his face.

Alexa has been an Igenite for several Turns now, and she's still not accustomed to the weather. Hot. Always so dang *hot*. Even in winter! Hot. It's enough to make anyone grumpy, no doubt. Add in her newfound necessity of hanging on the Hatching Sands with Raaneth, and an equally sweaty weyrwoman is born. One who is not nearly as friendly-looking as she slinks through the cavern. And so it is with some surprise that she finds a few friendly faces smiling at her… until she realizes it is not her they are smiling at, but rather the Harper entering as well. "Oh," comes with a dry smirk and a roll of her eyes. "That makes a lot more sense." Talking to herself now. Always a good sign. "You're way too cheerful," she complains, continuing a beeline path toward the beverages. "Unnaturally cheerful."

As he spies the Weyrwoman, Troy finds his path taking the same journey as hers, to the beverage table. He gives her a rather honest smile as he lifts his hand upwards to catch her attention. "Good afternoon, Alexa!" He calls out to his fellow Harper and the Weyrwoman with a bright and sunny smile upon his face. "How're you doing?" Her mood will bounce off his optimistic exterior as always as he sweeps a mug off the table, then quickly fills it with water before he turns to offer it to her.

Squinty eyes slant back at Troy, taking him in with a sour look that is something straight out of the teenage-handbook. She might not *be* a teenager anymore, but she clearly hasn't given up the habits. "Mm," is all she offers, at least until she's snagged that water, poured herself a glass and drunk half of it down. Then, at least, comes a half-decent, "Thanks." A sigh, and she seems to reconsider her stance on antisocial behavior, offering an attempt at something resembling a smile. "I've been… fine?" It's not at all convincing, but comes with a roll of her eyes, a dismissive snort, and the swallowing of the rest of that drink. "It'll get better. The first few days are always the hardest." Ahem. "How are you, Troy?"

"The first few days of what?" Troy asks as he refills her mug with the pitcher, then fills his own. "And I am doing great. Just been traveling about Pern. Just got back from Ierne, going to head to Xanadu soon, then Monaco. But, today I'm here in Igen to enjoy the skin blistering heat and of course, your friendship." He says as his brows lift upwards, taking a sip from the mug. "You sure you are okay though? You seem a bit .. frustrated?"

"Friendship huh? That's a new one." The snark is real with this one. But Alexa lifts her glass in a token of thanks for the refilling. This time she'll sip at it a little more sedately, at least. "You're very busy," she observes. "No permanent post?" A tip of her head is the only warning that she's setting out again, heading for a table at a quick clip, as if afraid the chairs might vanish before she gets to them. If he comes alone, she'll at least answer that first question of his, but only after another hearty sigh. "The first few days of Raaneth being on the sands," she admits. "She's kind of insufferable when the eggs are so new. Fussing day and night, nothing is good enough. She puts the 'over' in overprotective. Seriously. Dang warlord of a dragon…" Mutter mutter grump. "But it's fine. It's fine. She'll calm down once they harden a bit." So yeah, a little frustrated.

"Oh! Congratulations! I apologize if maybe I am not up to current events involving dragons and eggs and all the such. I am so busy these days. But, this is great for you, right?" Bringing a pitcher of water with him, he places it on the table first, then pulls a chair out for the Weyrwoman with a smile upon his face. He does not lack manners, that is for sure. "I am posted at Fort, which is my home, now that I am out of the Hall. I should be hopefully dancing the tables soon enough for my Journeyman knot, then maybe I will see about settling down somewhere with a bit more sun and excitement." As he settles next to her, he tips a wink. "Do you want me to get some food for you?"

There's definitely an eyebrow twitch for the chair thing, but Alexa just grins and grits her teeth and takes it. Short fuse is short these days. "It's good for Igen," she agrees. "And I suppose that means it's good for me, since I'm part of Igen. But…" A little shrug seems to both finish her sentence and dismiss the topic altogether, a final, "It's fine. It'll be fine," made as though to convince herself. "And I think it's walking the tables? Although I dunno… maybe you *would* dance on them," she declares, slanting a look and arching an eyebrow at the harper. "If previous theatrics are anything to go on. And no, thanks," she adds for the food, nose wrinkled as she waves off the offer with a literal wave of her hand. "I'm good. Just need the water. If you wonder if something can be hotter than the desert, the answer is yes: the hatching sands."

Laughing, Troy squints his eyes, amused. "You got me." He says in regards to dancing on the tables. He is a Harper through and through it seems. His brows lift upwards in return to her, then tips her a wink. "I've had the desert here. It's delicious. I'm a fan of the volcano surprise. You know, you light it and the berries bubble up out of the chocolate and pours over the side? It's amazing. The ice cream just becomes a puddle almost instantly." As he sips at the water some. "It will be fine." He parrots her in an assuring manner, leaning in to gently bump his shoulder to hers. "But, yes, it's great for Igen as well." He pauses for a moment in thought, then swirls the water about in his mug. "I'd love to see it all one day. The eggs and the sands and watching them hatch. At the Hold I was at, we were always so busy with work and keeping things running that my family never experienced it."

"You're thinking dessert," counters Alexa with a smirk, "which is far, far better than the desert. And that particular dessert sounds ridiculously good, so you can just stop that right now. I don't have time to eat such things." Because they apparently take longer than eating other things? A sigh, and she sips at the water, going full-slouch in her seat because she might be a weyrwoman, but that doesn't mean she has to always act like one. "You can if you want to," she points out. "I mean, maybe not right now because Raaneth is not really in a mood to show anyone the eggs — she might actually try to bite you if you go in there right now," she warns. "But… I mean, a Hatching sounds like the sort of thing a Harper should be at, right? They might not be as notable as they were when Thread once fell, but it's still a big deal." It is for her, at least. "And if you haven't seen a Hatching, I highly recommend it. Stories do not do it justice. It's… well. You just have to see it."

"I've heard the stories, yes. I definitely want to be able to see a Hatching and tell my own stories of what I got to experience." Troy says as he flags down a waiter that passes by, leaning in to whisper against her ear. There is a bit of a giggle from her as she gives him a playful swat on the shoulder, though it appears whatever he requested, she is off to fetch it. He takes another sip of his water, humming around the mug. "At the Hall, I was a dedicated student. Pouring myself through record and history books, reading poetry of Harpers past, putting some of them to song. I just overworked myself to the bone until one day I woke up and realized I was not having fun." He says as he props his chin up again, giving her a grin. "And it sounds like to me that you are also overworked, wound up, stressed out. I have a remedy for that." He says with a triumphant smile. "Dancing. Wanna go dancing with me tonight? I know the band that's playing and they are /excellent/."

There's definitely a bit of a look for all that whispering and giggling. A look that is remarkably similar to the one worn by Alexa when love songs were being sung not that long ago. A pale eyebrow arched, she'll smirk a little but keep her thoughts to herself, water sipped slowly as if it were a fine wine. "I don't see what's so wrong with being dedicated," she counters, perhaps because she feels argumentative. "I rather like pouring through records and reading histories and alphabetizing things and rewriting records that might one day decay." It might be difficult to discern if she is being sarcastic or not. "Could be those things are fun for some. Like me." But the amusement that might have been in her expression falters at the last, the glass of water set down and twisted between her hands as she considers her answer for far longer than she really should. "I can't," she says simply. "I can't leave Igen. I can barely leave the Sands. It's cause I need to /eat/ that Raaneth is not pitching a fit about my being here right now." Even if there is a distinct lack of eating happening. "Right now is just…" a shake of her head says it all.

"There is nothing wrong in being dedicated, but you also need to know when to take a break and reset yourself mentally and emotionally. It's not good to always be so wound up tight, like a drum. Drums are used for thumping upon it all the time. Life isn't a drum in which you take a beating all the time. It should be more like a guitar, with beautiful notes of highs and lows." He gives her a warm smile. "And you don't have to leave Igen to go dancing. We can go dancing here at the local place, even if it's for one song, maaaaybe two. You know.. when she's sleeping." He says as if he just came up with an incredible master plan. It's about that time the waitress comes back to them with a roaring volcano dessert, (not desert), and places it in front of Alexa. The top is even sparkling. "So, maybe not dancing, but at least indulge yourself in some sweets, seeing how you did come here to eat afterall." He teases her.

"Hmm. Clever as the idea might be, she's /not/ asleep right now, and is definitely feeling fussy." And maybe Alexa is pushing it, doing things like sitting, and talking, and lingering in the living caverns when her queen is brooding on the sands. But still. Cool cavern versus boiling hot sands; Alexa is gonna push her luck. And while there might be more to say — and maybe there is. She certainly looks like there might be more to say — it's deftly interrupted by the dessert that finds them, sparklers and all. A laugh, something between surprise and amused, and she rolls her eyes. "Very clever," she drawls. But when it is followed by a wince, the gig is definitely up. "Okay, now she's… yeah. She's about a second away from making the whole Weyr miserable so… I'm sorry," comes as she scrambles to her feet, the rest of the water downed in a swallow or two before, waffling in place, she snags the dessert with both hands before basically bolting for the door. "I really am sorry!!" she calls on the way out, because it's the least she can do when she's stealing his dessert and running for the door.

The brows of Troy lift up even higher as he watches her fidget and find herself called to duty. He leans back in his chair in a confident manner, cool as ice. "It's okay!" He calls out to her, eyes shining with amusement. "I cherish this time we have together!" He lifts a hand upwards, then refills his mug with some water before giving a glance about the caverns. Now what? Suppose it's time to explore a bit and catch up on some gossip.


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