Fort Weyr - Living Caverns
This cavern, having been created by bubbles in the volcanic flow of this extinct volcano, has a breathtaking ceiling — a vast dome that arches high above the heads of the weyrfolk that scurry around beneath it. A hollow echo can be heard from loud enough noises, and the chatterings of various firelizards are consequently multiplied into a chaotic babble. All in all, the living cavern is a loud place.
Tables are scattered around the room, apparently in no particular order. Over to one side near the kitchens, two medium sized serving tables are constantly spread with snacks, klah, and other goodies. The tables look worn, yet perfectly fitted to the atmosphere of the caverns. In the 'corners' of the cavern, smaller two and four place tables are set up for more private talks or just a less chaotic atmosphere in which to eat.


Early autumn means that the Weyr is seeing a change. Stores are being prepared and carefully noted, tallied and packed away. What work needs to be done outdoors is being wrapped up, including repairs, before the frost and snows come. For now though the skies remain clear and the weather mild. Mid-Morning sees most of the Weyr bustling with activity though the living caverns are sparse of people. Breakfast is done and lunch isn't due for a few hours but the kitchens below are busily at work and a few drudges shift about doing cleaning. They'll have more cleaning to do as Kyzen seems to have dragged half the forest in with him in one corner of the caverns. His clothes are dirtied and rumpled and all about him are… leaves? He seems to be scrutinizing each one as though he's evaluating their value.

There was a time when Lana could sleep in until it was nearly noon. Ah, those were the days. …Actually, her name was largely unknown and she had no responsibility to speak of back then, so they weren't exactly the days, but she does miss having a devil-may-care sleep schedule every now and then. As it is the brownrider has been up for several house already, caught among the morning hustle and bustle. For all that her clothing, a long-sleeved black shirt with red trim and form-fitting dark blue pants, speaks of activity and someone who definitely cares about things (at least, that's the goal) there are still signs of tiredness on her face. Funnily enough, that tiredness wasn't there a little while ago. Oh, the wonders that being up and active can do. Not that she actually needs much more sleep; it's more of a mental tiredness caused by a lot of work and not much play slowly filing away at her. That's been happening for a while actually. However, there's something in the corner that pushes those traces of tiredness away in favor of confusion. Slowly she approaches the young boy known as Kyzen. "So, was looking like a wild thing a goal at some point or is it the side effect of a wild adventure?" It's a bit blunt and he's only a kid, but shards, he's covered in dirt and leaves. Leaves! She does not approve of people walking around like that within her line of vision. Or anyone's, if it was up to her. Hygene: it's important.

Kyzen is a young boy. Hygiene is not a word in his vocabulary and probably won't be until he's fifteen (if they're lucky)! Startling a bit when Lana bluntly points out the state he is in, he doesn't shrink from her but grins impishly. "Both?" He thinks? He hasn't really considered himself a 'wild thing' or isn't to sure what a 'wild thing' should be. He did, however, go on an adventure! "What? You don't like leaves? It's fall! Everyone always says how pretty the leaves are. I know lots of 'folks who like them!" he babbles on.

According to Lana, being a young boy is no excuse to neglect things such as whether or not one is covered in dirt or emitting an unpleasant odor. She hasn't smelled to tell whether or not Kyzen had a stench to him, but she certainly wouldn't be surprised if he does. There are times when a little mess can't be helped, everyone in Thunderbird knows that, but this is not one of those times. "I like leaves, but I also know that they don't belong on people." At this statement her gaze goes unfocused for a moment. Faint amusement touches her face as she adds, "or dragons." The amusement falls away in favor of something bordering on sternness soon enough. "What about dirt? Do you… well, you probably do like it, but doesn't it make you feel grimey?" Simple words, 'grimey', avoid insults. Appeal to this child's sense of knowledge. Convince him to clean off instead of lingering in the caverns, spreading dirt everywhere, and make her worry about the state of the Weyr.

Kyzen isn't THAT smelly, as in he smells at worst like the forest itself. For all appearances, he DOES bathe! He's not some filthy animal. As for Lana's inquiry on dirt, the boy just shrugs his shoulders. "I don't go rolling in it on purpose but if I get dirty it don't bother me. I just wash up when it's time to eat." At least in public and at the table. He's been known to pilfer from the old serving trays (and brazenly from the fresh ones) with the other weyrbrats. Faranth only knows if his hands were clean then! Mwahaha. "Why would dragons have leaves?" That earns a curious tilt of his head and a more brazenly asked: "Does yours?" Yeah, he's old enough to read the shoulder knots everyone wears. He does need to brush up on his manners but most here in Fort know who he is but also that he's still a kid. In two Turns he won't get away with it so easily and in five even less so.

The idea that he may bathe fairly regularly barely crosses Lana's mind. Even if she did know how often he was clean he certainly isn't now. By her standards he is only a step or two above a filthy animal at the moment. Then again, Lana's personal standards of cleanliness can be a very hard thing to meet. She's learned to be a little less of a perfectionist when it comes to appearances, somewhat helped by her self-consciousness toward her own facial flaw, but her desire for herself and most everything around her to be clean has hardly diminished. Her eyes narrow suspiciously at the boy's claim. However, whatever she is about to say is thorwn off by his question about her dragon. "Well…" he has her in a corner there. As it happens, Rauskazeth is off somewhere rolling in some freshly fallen leaves at this very moment. "Yes, but…" but as proud, noble, and passionate as he is, he has moments where he acts like a playful feline. There's a moment where her eyes unfocus again before she huffs and clarifies, "he has a wild streak to him, and sometimes he gets playful. He spends most of his time helping protect the Weyr, though." That is, when he isn't engaging in shenanigans, many of which are caused by Lana herself. Maybe she shouldn't be the one giving this lecture, even if the issue is important to her.

"So he DOES like leaves!" Kyzen can read through lines — or at least be brazen enough to assume what Lana was getting to. "Oh. You both protect the Weyr? You're Thunderbird wing riders?" he asks next, the leaves he's brought into the living caverns all but forgotten. Forgotten in the sense that he's no longer focused on studying them but he's still stacking them into a pile. Clearly, he plans to bring these ones with him wherever he goes next.

With that Lana's point has been blown to the wind at the hand of an exciteable young boy and a dragon in a playful mood. "He does," she finally concedes. It's true in a way; irritating as leaves can be when they're getting in the way or making a gigantic mess he finds it fun to play in them every now and then. His next question gets something from her other than a nagging sense of frustration and wariness. Something like pride touches her face. "We are," she confirms. Is this boy looking up to her? Have they become someone to look up to? Nice. "Lana and brown Rauskazeth, Wingriders of Thunderbird's search and rescue division."

Dragonriders are to be respected! Kyzen does attend his Harper lessons and his father IS the Weyrleader so he's been raised to look up to any rider — unless they're total and utter jerks. Very few would be dumb enough to antagonize their Weyrleader's son though. "Well met, Lana!" he says brightly and holds out his hand. Which may or may not be clean. Look at his innocent and kind of charming smile! Isn't he so innocent? "What's it like being a Thunderbird? What IS a Thunderbird, anyways?" His nose wrinkles a bit. "Don't you think our Wings have weird names?" By 'our' he means Fort.

Lana raises an eyebrow at the use of the word 'well met'. Slightly more eloquent phrasing than but she had expected, but alright. If Lana had been as polite as he is when she was his age, and for some time beyond that, it may have saved her a lot of trouble. His maybe-maybe-not clean hand gets a suspicious look before she shakes it, taken in by the innocence for now. Of course, once she realizes who he is and remembers some trouble he's caused, notably a flurry of panic and blackout at Xanadu, she may believe in his innocence just a bit less. "I'm pretty sure a Thunderbird is meant to be some sort of mythical creature," she explains. "They're large, generally intimidating, and have magical powers of some sort. I think the other wings follow the same pattern." She only knows the little she does due to being a member of the Wing. "Flying in Thunderbird is… well, it's not easy. It puts you at greater risk of an accident than any of the other wings, you have to be ready to spring into action at all hours, and peoples lives could depends on your actions, but at the same time it can be extremely fulfilling." As long as you don't mess up. If that happens you could be facing punishment if you are directly at fault, injury, potential death, and soul-crushing guilt. But he's just a kid, no need to crush him with the darker aspects, right?

Kyzen does know how to parrot the adults and 'well met' is an easy enough phrase to copy and repeat. He's a clever boy! Sometimes. Just don't let him linger around too long in some instances as he does have a knack of luring trouble wherever he goes. His face scrunches up into a ponderous sort of frown and half scepticism. "What's mythical?" You've lost him. Pernese as a society don't have religion or superstition (to a degree) or mythology really. Once there was myth on their origins but that was explained by the discovery of AIVAS and Landing so many, many Turns ago. Kyzen doesn't have access to Landing and doesn't have the interest in poking about the ancient computers in Fort's library to find out. "Sounds like one of the BEST Wings! I hope if I Impress I can go to Thunderbird. I'm almost of age, you know? Two more Turns!"

Lana frowns when the definition of 'mythical' is requested. Looks ike he isn't really as word-happy as he seemed. "It's… Mythical is sort of like something that's not real, but people still tell stories about it a lot, so much that some people might even think it is." Lana isn't particularly interested in poking around on computers either, but some people are, and tidbits of knowledge such as why a wing is named what it is tend to spread around the wing in question. That leads to more questions, and before you know it, wham! Grapevine of explanations and definitions. She can't help but grin when he expresses his interest in joining the wing. "Don't get too ahead of yourself," she cautioned. "It is dangerous. You want to be certain that it's the Wing you want before jumping in. I take it you already know you want to be a rider?" It may be a stupid question; he certainly seemed enthusiastic about the idea.

"So it's a false-history, sort of? Not really a lie, but not a truth." Kyzen surmises but still seems confused about this new term and concept. Give him a bit of a break, he's only ten, right? Danger doesn't seem to phase him — or so he would boast until the actual situation. He has a lot of growing up to do. "It's exciting though! Different. I like different. And yeah, I want to be! Both my parents are riders. I know it's a chance and I might not Impress and I guess I'll go to the Guards then but I want to try. I'll keep trying too!" Why not?

"Sort of," Lana confirms. Hey, if it can keep her from needing to go into a detailed explantion she's all for sumerizing. A lot of people seem to claim they'd laugh in the face of danger up until they're faced with an actual risky situation, Lana's found. She at least likes to save any shaking and crying until after the fact. (She's joking. Kind of.) "Well, it is that. But it's good that you have a back up plan in case that doesn't work out." It's almost as an afterthought that she adds, "who are your parents? I may know them."

Kyzen nods his head and seems pleased by Lana's praise for his 'plan' for life. Who knows if it'll change… two Turns is an awful lot of time! Pulling those leaves close to him, he peers up at her with a skeptical look. Really? She doesn't know who he is? He is so used to everyone know who he is. "Uh, yeah you probably do." he mumbles. "My father is Th'ero, my mother is Kimmila." And this is where he makes his exit, right? Yep. Seems like it as he slips off the chair he was sitting on. Before he scurries away, he'll hold up a leaf. "For Rauskazeth, if you want it." Hopefully when he grows older, he'll learn to give gifts to the ladies and not their dragons and flowers instead of fall leaves (unless they're into that sort of thing).

Lana can't help a look of surprise at his mumbled admission of his parents. Surprise, followed shortly by recognition. That's the little shit who caused all that trouble during the Xanadu trip! The one Kimmila kept on a leash! She can't really be blamed for not immediately recognizing him, it's been a while and he is rather dirty. Which… doesn't really impede her ability to recognize someone, but still! "Ah, yes, I do." Maybe not on a particularly close basis, but she likely knows them better then some of the Weyr's other riders. At least, she's certain that they'd know who she is if she was mentioned to them. "Turns out I know you a bit as well," she remarks. Another story, one that he probably doesn't even remember at this point, for another day. With that he scurries away, but not before gifting her dragon with a leaf. Amusement shines across her face as she accepts it. "Thank you, I'm sure he'll love it." Once the boy is out of sight she shakes her head and chuckles to herself. Hopefully Th'ero and Kimmila won't mind a new goal accidentally being set into their son's mind. That odd little encounterdone with she heads out to a the bowl. After all, she has a dragon to wash.


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