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.
Afternoon? Is it afternoon in fort? Certain people are entirely unsure. X'an is one of them. The man wanders into the cavern from the bowl with one of those shell-shocked, automaton expressions on his face, heading on autopilot to the edge of the guard post. It becomes the object of extreme facination, or… it could be the passageway that lies beyond it, out into the wild, wide world beyond the weyr. It would be so easy.. so very easy to just… run off for a bit. Wouldn't it? Noone would notice…
Talmar is sitting at a table poking and prodding at bits of clay, making things that look like jars and possibly vases. He looks up every now and then, nodding to familiar faces here and there. Quite focused for a boy his age, really. As X'an passes, he happens to look up again and says politely "Weyrleader, sir." instead of just a nod. Because he was raised with manners, he was.
The product of a good, long sleep on her singular day off, Amanthis is returned to her formerly bright and brilliant self. She's sitting at a table not too far from Talmar, with a glass of… Is that wine? Of course it is! "Good day, Weyrleader!" She chirps in a tone entirely too … happy. It should be a sin, that amount of perkiness. "Have a glass of the Benden! It's ravishing!"
Of course, anyone who knows Ree at all would know that her current behavior isn't at all odd. Sitting by herself, the bluerider broods over a nearly empty mug of ale, fairly oozing surliness and crankiness. Must not have had enough to drink yet, or just a really bad day, either circumstance is equally likely considering her.
Curses. He'd be noticed. Two greetings in as many moments. BAH! A pox on running out of here… — or so sayeth the inner monologue. For the benefit of visuals, it's conveyed by a slight wince of X'an's cheek and a sigh, looking to Talmar first, as he's the first to greet. "Apprentice." He does smile though, just looking a little like he's carrying extra baggage. It's the dark racoon eyes, indeed it is. Amanthis however, almost gets another wince, his nod a little less evuncular. "Journeyman… my mind just got filled with the most peculiar images of you being woe'd and bedded by a wine cask… that's … " - him IGNORING the fact that Asiree's alcohol-to-blood ratio is off by a few. "…very evocative. Thankyou, but no. I don't drink."
Talmar glances over at Amanthis, and wrinkles his nose. "Eww. Wine stinks." he says, sticking his tongue out. Asiree is not really noticed yet. X'an's response gets an obliviously cheerful smile, and he says "I don't understand why people drink. That stuff smells really bad."
Well, being wooed and bedded by Ree might be similar to being bedded by a wine cask… in so far as alcohol content is concerned. The grumpy bluerider scarcely takes any notice of being ignored. Being ignored is very much preferrable to having someone harp at her about drinking too much in her quest to pickle her liver. Instead, Asiree just stands up and slinks over to refill that mug, yes she's not too drunk to have some bit of coordination.
Amanthis *beams* at her Weyrleader. "But why not? You look in good need of a bit of unwinding, good sir, if I don't say so myself." She glances over at Talmar, waiting until a moment when it's quite all right for her to do something totally un-responsible and respectable 25 Turn old like and stick her tongue out at Talmar. She glances next over at Asiree, and waggles a not-so-inconspicuous finger. "So long as one doesn't drink to that state, there is no harm. You'll understand when you're older." Out of anyone else, it would be a heartily condescending statement. Out of Ama, who's only twelve at heart, if that, it's a mere statement of blunt fact.
Looking to Talmar, X'an gives a lopsided smile, folding his arms over his chest loosely and leaning on the wall nearest the 'post. For a miracle, he doesn't mis-aim and tumble through the doorway. It's been known to happen, you know. "I think it's actually got to do with this inborn self-nihilism streak that humans are possessed of. Some people never get it, other people find this … intense desire to overdo things and fall over into a deck of cards, drooling on the poker table with ale pouring down their cleavage, only to slowly slide in a puddle of unconsciousness under the table." Oooooooh, so he DID notice Asiree. "I think it makes you forget. Unfortunately, then there's the viscious cycle of only forgetting when you're drunk, so having to be drunk all the time… etcetera… makes the days /fly/ by. But yes, it tastes horrible." he winks, glances at Amanthis and invites a few more interesting comments with a broad, innocent halo-tinging smile.
Talmar finally appears to notice Asiree, and frowns slightly in confusion. Being 12 in both mind and body he doesn't really get the whole alcohol thing just yet. Amanthis' tongue sticking out prompts him to stick his own out again. This could go on for hours. X'an gets his attention then, and his expression becomes perplexed. "Self-nihi-whatsit?" he says, frowning.
Wait a minute… what's all this? Are Ree's ears burning? Is someone talking about her, or is she just going into alcohol withdrawal? Either way, the obvious solution is to drink more, which makes her current state of refilling the mug awfully convenient. Sparing a glance towards the entrance, the weyrleader is finally noticed and she lifts the mug in a sort of salute before she drinks from it. Ahhh, sweet alcohol… clears all that nastiness out of your head. Or something like that..
Amanthis blinks innocently at her Weyrleader. "Well, if you wish. More for me!" And for Ree, cept that one's not a wine-drinker, apparently. "Wine is classier then ale, anyhow. It's an acquired taste." She does her best to strike a regal, condescending pose, wine glass held nimbly high, like some wierd queen. She does manage, just out of the corner of her mouth, to stick her tongue back out at Talmar, seeming to thoroughly enjoy this game. Finally, she just glance pittyingly at Asiree, then turns her attention back to X'an. "So, what's got you down? More murder? Intrigue? Inter-Weyr politiking?" She grins. "Cheer up. Lady Wiyaneth should grace the Sands any day now. To the impending clutch, and a gold egg for Fort!" She raises her wine glass, grining sillily. "And I, posted to see it." Ahh, sweet success.
X'an barks a laugh, particularly at the ale-toasted salute. He shakes his head slightly, sighs at her and looks to the young potter. "Self-nihilism…. in other words, killing yourself slowly. It pickles the liver and as far as I'm given to understand it… " he squints up at an angle. "…disolves the sheaths around your nerves, eventually leading to being paralysed until it wears off. One of my good friends is a healer… he decided to inform me once, just what it does to you. A little though, is actually good for you. I recommend ale with a top up of that fizzy lemon squash that they've been making in Boll. Quite tasty that is…" - though there's questions. "Journeyman Amanthis… what's getting to me is my dragon. He is a /terrible/ father-to-be. I've been out on the sands all day, checking to make sure there's no bloody /cold/ patches of all things." he shakes his head. "So yes, if I was drinking, I'd drink to the eggs finally arriving!"
Talmar grins, and sticks his tongue out at Amanthis, again. He doesn't really get what's going on with Asiree and alcohol, but that doesn't seem to bother him all that much. He just focuses on his pottery, like a good little potter's apprentice. "Killing … slowly?" he murmurs, digesting this new information. Oh, wait till he tells his parents what he learned today! "Oh. That sounds painful."
Well, see… pickled things last longer and taste good longer. So if Ree manages to pickle her liver, just think how long that sucker will last. Er… right. After downing a sizable portion of that mug, Asiree pipes up, "There's /eggs/ here?" That special kind of obliviousness that comes from a.) killing braincells with alcohol, and b.) not having much of a clue beyond your own selfish pursuits.
Amanthis listens to X'an's little lecture for a long moment, biting her lip. Hooo, boy. This might make classes rather interesting for our poor soft-spot-for-wine Journeyman. "Yes. Tis. Rather." She notes, absently sticking her tongue out at Talmar. "As for your dragon, I didn't know the bronzes were dotting." Poor dragon stupid Ama. "Why don't you just… Distract him. I mean, they don't remember things for very long, right? So if you distract him with fun stuff, maybe he'll give you some peace." She ignores the verily blazing alcohol induced stupidity that is Asiree. That happens, where she's from. The journeyman, however, is looking rather uncomfortable as she sips at her wine.
X'an looks over at Asiree with that kind of special look you get. There's one in every bunch. "Yes, there are. Well, there soon will be. They're not quite arrived yet, but it'll be any day now." another glance to Talmar. "It can be. It can also be very sudden. Like… forgetting to put on rubber gloves when checking the spark plugs in the generator because of being a bit sozzled. Luckily, she's not managed to fry herself yet." - mainly because he keeps forbidding the guards to the generator room from letting Asiree get past them. It's a survival instinct. Should be in the manual. "I tried actually.. about the distracting thing. He's not having any of it. Bloody stubborn git he can be, you know." - a trace of bitran twang came out there. "Is that Benden red though? Good for the blood that is."
Asiree gets lots of special looks, for very obvious reasons, so of course she takes no special notice of this particular one. "Does that mean, that uh… um… Sukith and me gotta go find candididates?" Ahh, good signs that Ree is slowly losing some sobriety.
Talmar looks at Asiree oddly. "There'll be eggs here soon. Even *I* knew that." he points out. And he didn't even know what self-nihilism meant until just recently. He sticks his tongue out at Amanthis again, as far as it will go. Tal pays attention to X'an as though the Weyrleader were a teacher imparting a lesson, which is not entirely untrue. "Oh. That's not good." Dying never is. He files away such terms as 'bloody stubborn git' also, being still rather impressionable at his age.
Amanthis waves her beaker invitingly at X'an, using his attention on the wine to stick her tongue out at Talmar. She adds an eyecross, and then a raspberry for good measure. P0wned! "You mean… A-" Ooops. That was nearly unharperlike. "Yes, this is a good Benden. Red. '63. I'm told, one of the better years." Smooth, Harper. Very smooth. The Harper shifts, and the neck of her guitar bangs on the bench. "I look forward to the Hatching. I've never seen one before."
"Yes, Sukith may well have to go out on search." Captain Obvious nods at Asiree tolerantly, rubbing his hand across th eback of his neck. Benden red. Sigh. Weakness. "I miss a good Benden. Gets my cheeks nice and rosy it does." said in a misty tone of voice. X'an, recovered alcoholic.
Talmar tries to cross his eyes to respond to Amanthis, but just can't do it. So he pulls a silly face instead, the kind that mothers always warn not to do in case the wind changes. And sticks his tongue out. Tal looks at X'an oddly now, frowning. "But you said alcohol is bad. It *kills*!" Oh dear, poor Tal, he really looked up to X'an for a bit there.
"Alcohol's not bad," Ree says crossly to the youth. "I's good." Hmph! Although, the less others drink, the more the bluerider can drink, so drink up and save the Ree from death by alcohol! "Were do we need to go?" Ree asks X'an, sipping some more at her ale. As if X'an or anyone would want the crazy bluerider to go out and search people. They'd either flee or arrive molested.
Amanthis doesn't miss much, for a ditzy snipe of a harper. "This is *my* bottle, that my parents gave to me when I was posted here. You can have *one* glass." She says, emphatically. It might almost be rude, for her to be so protective, but really it's for X'an's own good. Really. "And only if you're really nice and ask please." She beams at him. Cheeky snipe. (Difference between Asiree and X'an? X'an is a loser that went to meetings *duck!* Quitters never prosper!) She giggles at Talmar, looking indifferent, but she makes a piggy face - you know, where you push your nose up and snort like a piggy! She only snorts one - so unladylike, you know. "Alcohol is *good* for *adults* in moderation. So long as the Weyrleader here doesn't get sopping drunk…" And she pauses. "Although, you might. It'd give your bronze something to think about besides silly cold spots, and you could take a day off work." Ama must be channeling something of Ree, because she waggles her eyebrows at the Weyrleader in some… Odd attempt at… Seduction?
"It /is/ bad for you. Why do you think I gave it up?" X'an replies to Talmar. "I /used/ to drink. To excess. All the time. Every day. Drowning my world away." nodding, he STOICALLY IGNORES the query about where to go. "Go to bed Asiree… there arn't even /eggs/ out yet…" - and then….
*GULP*
…the dreaded temptation. An offer of Benden red. Poor guy's eyes have gone all misty, reminiscing. Battling the temptation that's tapping him on the shoulder. "If it's all the same to you, I'd better not, journeyman. I can't. I really, truly can't."
Talmar narrows his eyes at Amanthis, then sticks his fingers in each side of his mouth, pulling it wide, and sticking his tongue out. "Bleah!" he adds, for good measure. "Drinking is *bad*." he repeats, frowning at Asiree, and then at Amanthis too for even offering some to X'an. It's not really his place to be concerned, but he doesn't know that. "Don't drink. It's bad."
Great. Now there's going to be some little pint-sized boy running about squeaking about drinking being bad. Way to go, folks, corrupt the impressionable ones. Asiree looks disgruntled for a moment before she gives X'an a confused look, "… bed? With you? Or… uh … her?" A motion is made towards Amanthis, then Talmar, "… I can't sleep with a kid." At least she's got principles.
Amanthis eyes X'an. "Ye have a demon from the past that ye battle, do ye not?" Where is she getting this wierd accent? Somebody's watched too many vids on the Aivas about Old Earth. "You will not heal, entirely, until you learn to keep control over yourself, Weyrleader. You say you used to drink to excess. Used to is good. But there must be moderation. When you can drink one glass, and know that is your limit, then you have truly beaten down the beast." Okay. Wierdo. This girl has a problem - she's trying to fix everybody else's problems. She glances at Talmar, eyes narrowed. "Speak not of what you know little of." She says, and there's Harper authority in her voice. "Advice is only valid in the mouth of one who has been there." She turns back to the Weyrleader. "It need not be today, at this moment. Should you require someone to talk to, my door is always open." And then she glances to the blue rider. "Nay. Your own bed, alone, is what you require, rider." And the woman frowns. "Urgently."
X'an looks at Asiree with a very stern kind of coldness in his pale eyes. He glances away, toward the sands, with his eyes unfocused and does a Bad Thing <tm> — he's used this trick before too.. getting his bronze to badger Sukith into making Asiree feel nauseus or imagine rivers of water, or mountain avalanches all cold or just the really, really desperate need to go and take a pee. He's so cruel… As such, he doesn't reply to anyone. Yet.
Talmar frowns at Amanthis, pouting. She didn't keep up the game, she told him off instead. That's not fair! "I'm just a kid. But drinking is /bad/. It /is/. You can /die/." he says, lip wobbling. Okay, maybe he shouldn't be so upset about it, but still. He's just an innocent kid.
Amanthis glances back over in Talmar's direction - she does so by rolling her head over in his direction, and giving him her totaly attention. Creepy. "Everyone dies." She says, reasonably. "You will die. I will die. When? How should we know. Lords die and the filthy and uneducated die, and they're buried in the same immortal ground. Dragonriders go to b*tween. Harpers go to sea. Seamen go to sea. (Haha, I said seamen.) What matters is not where you go. It's what you do with the life while you have it. Each step in a man's path is his own choice. To drink? Not to drink. To influence another using another? For the sake of the sober." She's not looking at X'an. It's pure co-in-ki-dink. "Someday, the bluerider will die. She may outlive us all. But she will die." Shrug. Oh, well. Life happens. "Any questions?"
Poor spineless Sukith gets badgered by everyone - Izelth, Ree, Adinaeth, etc etc. There's just no rest for an unfortunate blue dragon. Asiree just looks confused, and mildly indignant, at the lack of reply of any sort. Don't you know that it's the ornery folks who outlive everyone else, just to spite them all and torture the younger generations? The harper's diatribe is largely ignored in favor of departing from the living caverns quickly. And there goes the drunk bluerider… and her cloud of alcohol fumes.
Talmar frowns at Amanthis again, then nods slightly. He has just one question… "But Whyyyyyyy?"
X'an's gaze refocuses on the here and the now, looking with a blink toward Amanthis. And would you believe, he actually pushes off the wall to go and lay a hand on the twelve-year-old's shoulder.. provided he doesn't duck or run for cover at least. "It's fine… you're not doing anything wrong kid." he says in an unusually soft tone for him, giving Amanthis a slightly cold look. Only slightly though, he's not really annoyed, just mildly reproachful. "Its all well and good to have a goodly grip on mortality, et all… vis a vis your good imparting of wisdom there. However, you've just encouraged someone that the healers told was not to drink… to try and find my own limits. I know them… it's why I don't drink any more. My willpower is not in question, my conviction isn't either. I was strong enough to know I -had- to stop… have a little mercy, girl."
Talmar doesn't move at all, instead looking up at X'an. He seems to calm down a little, he was getting a touch worked up there. He doesn't really say much though, the conversation has become a little too 'grown-up' for him. He turns his attention back to his pottery for a bit, now.
Amanthis raises an eyebrow at the youngster. "Why? Well, that's a silly question. It's life, first off! Besides, if nobody ever died, this planet would be so overcrowded people'd start to starve to death. Shards, people already do." Even in a world with Aivas and without Thread, Pern ain't perfect. "Plus, after a while, I'd imagine you'd get tired of living. There's only so many ways to do the same old thing. There's only so many things to do. Death *is* the next greatest adventure. And sure, we grieve when those around us are lost, but… Don't we rejoice in a new life? Life is impossible without death. As surely as death is impossible without life." It's the ciiiiiircle of liiiiiife. Then she turns her eyes to X'an. "Part of that life," she replies just as softly, "is to know your limits, and to live within them. Because forgetting those limits gets one dead. As in, the D-E-D variety." She looks up at him, posture strong. She is aware of the possibility of the outcome of her actions and words. "I am no Healer, X'an. I am but a mere Harper, and not a very old one, either. Some call me foolish, while others call me wise beyond my years." Whoever called her that may, indeed, be a fool. She pauses, looking to the boy, and she bites her lower lip. "You have fought a valiant fight, one many lose. None can live your life but you. I have seen men recover that path, only to lose themselves again. I have seen men recover from the depths of hell only to stay recovered. How you stay there is yours, and yours alone." Here, she drops a deep courtsey. "As I said, I am no healer, yet my door is ever open. If you have things of confidence you wish to discuss, I am ever at your disposal, Weyrleader." The woman straightens, picking up the guitar she dropped when she stood, magically. She downs the rest of her wine, and picks up the bottle, snuggling it securely close to her. Mine. "If I may take my leave, Lord X'an?"
X'an gives Talmar's shoulder a steady little squeeze. Kids. Go figure… he's got a soft spot. "It's weyrleader… but of course, journeyman. Clear skies and good teachings all." he offers a very polite and aristocratic kind of half-bow, smiles to take a little of the edge from the cold look he'd previously given and watches the woman depart.
Talmar blinks at Amanthis, every single word just going straight over his head. He got the gist of it though, death, life, circles. Very entertaining, and oddly musical. He smiles up at X'an at the shoulder squeeze. Aww, looks like Tal's got a new hero to look up to.
Amanthis is just enough into her much protected bottle of wine that X'an may… _may_ enjoy watching her depart. With a little cocky salute (and a raspberry!) to the boy, and a smile, wink, and jaunty bob of a courtsey to the Weyrleader, she saunters off whistling… Off key? Sounds like it. She bursts merrily into a sunny ditty, her pretty voice (on key!) floating back to them as she makes her way out of the Living Caverns in the direction of the Bowl, derriere shaking seductively all the way. She, apparently, has taught her lessons for the day. Can't lose practice, y'know.
Talmar watches Amanthis leave, and frowns. "Girls are strange." he states, simply.
"Yes kiddo, they really /really/ are." X'an replies, with a cluck of his tongue. Nice view though. Oh yes.
X'an stares after the harper woman's tushee for a little while after she's gone, then shares a conspiratorial kind of look down at Talmar. "They really ought to make more sense, ought they not?" wink. "I got the distinct impression she was trying to impress us."
Talmar frowns, and shakes his head. "I don't get it." he says, honestly. He's still in the 'eww, girls are icky' phase.
X'an chuckles. "No, you probably wouldn't. A lot of them like to appear to be superior to you, I've found." he takes a seat by the young lad and looks at the work he was doing with the clay. "Some are nice though… like Elara. She's a lovely woman."
Talmar was making pots out of the clay, and simple bowls, although not as good as bowls made on the potter's wheel. "Yeah, girls think they're better. I don't think they are." he says, with a shrug. "I think they're the same." he adds. "Some are nice, though." and he shrugs.
X'an grins faintly, nodding his own agreement. "Exactly." his eyes trail over the handywork, appraising the fact that it's a twelve turn old's hand with his lips thinly pursed. "You're pretty good at this…. it looks like."
Talmar glances at the pottery, and grins. "I've been playing with making stuff for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I would make stuff out of snow in the winter." he says, nodding.
X'an nods again, eyebrows going up. "I used to do that, just … I was never very good at making them look lifelike. I'm still not. You must enjoy it though…" he lifts fingers to his chin, stroking the goatee and twiddling it slightly. Then his head tips to one side, listening intently. "Pah, shush you…" but it's no good. He must rise and attend… "I have to go back and tell my dragon he's being silly again, I'm afraid. Clear skies…"
Talmar nods up at X'an. "Making stuff is fun." he says, cheerfully. And when X'an has to leave, he smiles and says, "Later, sir." politely.
