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.
Ah, summer. The humidity rises, the tunnelsnakes get groggy and the tunnesnake hunters take longer meals on average. Said hunter is sitting at her usual table nearest to the lower caverns with two mugs of cool redfruit juice (because she's feeling too lazy to get up and fill just the one) and a stack of papers before her. Any who come near might notice that they're all sketches, most looking complete, which have mainly taken place inside the living cavern itself. For once her left hand is behaving itself and new images are not being taken down at that time.
With the hour so early one might actually see the earth loving rider, K'dry in a clean state, and that you do. Well as clean as she gets with dirt stained pants and rough linen work shirt. The brownrider makes her way to the kitchen to grab up a bread roll and some Klah before hunting out a place to sit. She passes by the hunter catching site of the drawings, "Good likeness there Miss." She says pleasently as she dips around the other side of the table to set her breakfast down.
Early avians get the grubs right? Well it seems that there's another early riser haunting the Living Cavern. K'dry is waved at and flashed a bright smile, one that proclaims that the woman is that's full of energy already. "Morning K'dry, beautiful day already but gonna be a hot one." Klah is dismissed in favor of juice and a thick slab of bread with fruit spread on it. "Nice drawing there Lunetta." is offered to the girl as Sianne peers over her shoulder "I can't draw with beans."
Lunetta looks up in surprise at the voice and shakes her head slightly to try and clear the clouds from within. She nods and points towards one which can only be WeyrLeader X'an's Bronze Izelth with those eyeridges. "I'm thinking of presenting that one in appology for getting off to a bad start with the Dragon, but I'm not sure if I should." At the top of the pile, mostly hidden is the drawing of the moonlit Weyr wall with the Dragon's glowing eyes and barely highlighted muzzles giving the scene an eerie expression, but it is at least partly hidden by the scene of the day before of the visiting, and glowing, firelizard queen and her adoring flock of males. "I couldn't until I left home, Sianne." She offers, never having caught the woman's title but having learned that she isn't a Rider despite the fact that she was talking to herself when the girl first caught sight of her.
Talmar enters the living caverns from the kitchens, frowning slightly. Seems he's a little bit less excited about being a candidate, now that he's been doing chores. He walks right over to the food, grabbing a big plate of meatrolls. Who cares if meatrolls aren't really a breakfast food, that's what he's going to eat, so there. He nods to a few familiar faces, moving over to sit near Lunetta. Of course, he still makes sure his bright new knot is clearly visible, he's still proud of it and all.
"My artistry don't go past stick figures, give me a empty and some seeds and that is where I will make my mark." K'dry responds with a fair amount of humour in her voice. She takes a rather large bite of her roll as her gaze falls on the other drawings. "Yep, mighty fine drawings indeed. I think X'an would like that one, seems harsh, but he is as sentimental as they come when it comes to Izzy." She looks up as Sianne's voice joins the group, "Morning Miss." She says with a bob of her head before looking across to Talmar, glancing at the knot and grins, "So who kidnapped you here."
Sianne grins over at K'dry with a nod, "Mine is about the same unless I'm drawing a runner, then I can make a passable one that looks as it should." The woman and her runners. "Been up to see the eggs yet? Just as nice as the clutch where you impressed." Now she's just babbling as she eyes the bowl with a soft snicker. "Lunetta did you really yell at Izelth the other day? I heard through the dragon vine that you did."
Talmar blinks at K'dry. "Kidnapped?" he frowns in confusion, then notices where she's looking. "Oh, the knot! No, no kidnapping. Sukith sniffed us, and then Asiree asked us to stand, and then X'an gave us our knots and took us to the barracks. It was great!" Us being him and Amanthis, both searched at the same time. Then, for no reason, he adds "I'm making clay eggs in my free time, to look like the eggs on the sands." with a grin. He's been to see the eggs a few times now. Once before he was searched, and then again whenever he had a free moment afterwards.
Lunetta blinks. "Dragon vine? I was told they hatched from Eggs." She offers absantly, looking over the scene with the queen and her males and, with a frown, pulling it to her so that her right hand can fix the errors of her left. Here eyes close a moment and then a pale brown chalk is taken in hand and certain shakes and highlights are added to properly reflect the small gold's markings. Satisfied she puts that into a slowly growing pile to her left. She looks up then, apparently noticing Talmar for the first time as an actual grin comes to her face. "Talmar. You were right about my sketches. I'm drawing up two or three contracts a sevenday now. And some even get the random stuff I find in my pack at night." Because she has no control over her left hand, of course, it just draws when it gets the notion. She spots the white cords. "Colors have changed." She blinks. "Candidate?"
"I have not had much chance to have looksee yet. Got some seedlings needing a planting proper, so been a busy dawn to dusk and much to tired elsewise, though I might make an effort today." K'dry comments before taking another bite of the roll. She grins over at Talmar , "Well good luck with that, and watch out for that Asiree. She can be a rather interesting sort especially when on the drink."
Sianne nods quickly as she gives a soft hoot of laughter between drinks of her juice and bites of her bread. "Oh you can say that again Asiree is a fun one." is said in response to K'drys comment. "Clay eggs? Sounds neat. Gonna paint them too?" She'd say more but more bread is shoveled into her mouth. WIth is cleared though she speaks up again "Ohhh Congrats. Watch out for nursery duties, you'll wear a lot of food if your not careful."
Talmar grins at Lunetta, and nods. "See, I /told/ you people would pay for stuff like that." he points out, happily. As for her question, he nods. "Candidate!" he answers, with pride. "First in my family, too." he adds. Tal then looks to K'dry, and grimaces. "Drinking is /bad/." Oh, not this again. Also, when is Asiree /not/ 'on the drink'? Sianne gets a nod, "Yup, gonna paint 'em. Otherwise they wouldn't look like the eggs, they'd just look like lumps of clay." he points out. Nursery duty? He's not all that long out of the nursery himself.
Lunetta blinks. "Candidate?" She offers again, the word more clearly a question this time. Her expression clear slightly. "Oh, is that what WeyrLeader X'an meant by…" She pauses, taking a moment to be sure she's got the proper term. "…accepting to 'Stand'?"
LIke a darting firelizard Hanna comes zipping into the Living Cavern making her way through the growing maze of people coming to get thier last meal of the day. Very quickly she enters into the line to the food table her foot tap as her progress slows to a crawl her fingers druming on the rolled up paper she carries.
"Fun? She offered to direct me in the ways of a woman!" K'dry rolls her eyes as she picks up her mug of Klah with a laugh. She grins over to Talmar, "It ain't all bad some of the time, but all of the time..yeah." She winks and lifts the rest of her breadroll and stuffs it in her mouth. "Painted eggs? Sounds like a fancy idea. Perhaps give them to the people that impress to em? Give em something to remember by."
Sianne chokes on a chucnk of bread, coughing until she gets it dislodged "Oh Dear, sounds just like her." Since her eyes are watering and all, Si just nods in agreement as she drops into a chair next to Lunetta. "By DragonVine I meant that well Dragons tend to tell alot of whats going on and such."
Talmar nods at Lunetta. "Yeah, accepting to stand is the same, I think. I guess 'cause maybe you stand at the hatching, or something? I dunno…" he shrugs. He nods enthusiastically at K'dry. "That's /exactly/ what I was planning to do!" a pause, and then, "Did someone tell you?" he adds, slightly suspicious. Because, he had been talking about it a lot, since he first saw the eggs. Sianne's choking gets a concerned glance from the young boy, but she seems to manage on her own. "You know what dragons are talking about?" he asks, not seeing a rider knot on Sianne's shoulder.
Lunetta looks at Sianne with a mixture of interest and suspicion. "So they _all_ get in your head and you let them?" She looks to the other woman and blinks. "Impress them…" She has that look again as she tries to place the term. "Oh, right. The one-sided contract where the human has no say in the affair. Lifelong and binding. The only way a human can refuse is to stay far away from the…Hatching which means the young Dragon dies." She frowns. "Which is technically blackmail, like a youngling holding their breath until you agree to share the only fresh bit of fruit you've had in three Turns with them."
An eternity of waiting (Hanna time) she finally gets to the table then quickly picking some of the various offerings she scouts around for a possible table to sit at trying to see if there is anyone she knows. After a quick search she spots Lunetta, a nice girl if a bit odd. She begins to make her way towards the Girl.
K'dry raises a mug toward Talmar with a grin, "I suppose great minds think alike or somesuch. We were giving fancy rings for our graduation." She dips a hand under her collor and pulls out a leather thong with a ring dangling from it, "Pretty things, but can't really wear it proper doing the gardening." She casts a look toward Lunetta, "Sure right we do, it ain't bad to let them in your head, though I remember getting a bit of frights now and then, but sure was worth it to get Yonsrith."
Sianne laughs at Talmar "Well you see I hear voices in my head, they all get in there at one time or another. IT was hard as a child but well as I got older I was able to tune most of them out." She tries to explain. "You see I hear the dragons, I talk to them, and all." It's not as if she's trying to hide the fact any more. "It's not to bad once you get used to it."
Talmar frowns at Lunetta, then pouts. "It's not like that!" he whines, shaking his head. "Impression is /good/. Dragons are /good/. Riders are /good/." he cries. He's a little bit too worked up right now to notice Hanna. Talmar leans forward to have a look at K'dry's ring then, and ooohs. "That's a nice ring." he says, nodding. Tal's eyes go wide at Sianne's explanation. "Voices in your head? But … doesn't that make your head hurt, having all those dragons in there?" he asks, curious.
Lunetta gets to her feet, after the papers disappear into her bag once more. "I should go." She offers picking up the sack that was hidden under that table. "Now that the air's less heavy I should be able to catch some of the snakes out hunting."
Hanna comes to the table where Luni was sitting only to find out she is gone. How very odd then she asks those seated at the table "YOumindifIsithere?"
"She ain't no more crazy then the rest of us lot." K'dry comments with a wink toward Sianne before looking over to the others, giving a wave toward Lunetta as she leaves. She looks up at Hanna, brow wrinkling slightly, "Well take a breath between your words and sure can sit here." She grins and pushes back a chair with her foot. She grabs up her Klah and finishes the cup before rising from her own chair for a refill, "Anyone else a wanting something to drink?"
Talmar waves at Lunetta, with a shrug. Hanna's question is answered in the affirmative, or rather the negative. "I don't mind." and then he introduces himself. "I'm a candidate. My name's Talmar." with a grin. K'dry's offer is nodded at. "I'll have a juice?" he says, handing up his cup.
Hanna takes a deep breath then sits down placing the plate and her rolled up blueprints on the table. Then in slow measured tones trying to remember what Alyanna told her about speaking in a normal tone of voice. "Thank you." It is difficult at times.
K'dry brings back the refilled mugs and sets them hard down on the table , sloshing only a little bit, "There you go Tal." She moves to sit down when a bellow is heard from the entry way, a deep bass that can only be her lifemate, "Keep it down Yons, not everyone is awake this hour of the day." She remains standing as she reaches for her Klah as she looks down at the blueprints, "What you got there kiddo?"
Talmar smiles at Hanna, "So. What do you do?" he asks, to make conversation. Hooray for conversation. Sure beats awkward silences! He looks up and smiles at K'dry, "Thanks!" he says, drinking the juice.
Hanna looks over at the blueprints then she smiles and says though she does make a fist as if the effort to take slowly is pretty taxing. "I am a 'prentice smith. Those are my blueprints for the new stretcher I designed and WeyrLeader Elara help pay for. It will help the medics out alot. I know they certainly seem excited by it."
"Anything to make the healering easier definatly sounds like a good plan to me. Good thinking there lass." K'dry says as she takes another swig of her Klah, "Well iffin you two will excuse me, I got seedlings to tend to before the sun gets to high." She bobs her head and starts to head out of the of living cavern only to be met at the entrance by a large brown head. "Ima commin Ima commin!" K'dry calls out to Yonsrith.
Talmar grins at Hanna, "Cool. My father's a Smith, posted here." he says, with a nod. "I was an apprentice too, a potter." he adds. "I love to work with clay. My latest thing that I'm working on is the eggs of the clutch." he adds, proudly. He glances up at K'dry, and nods. "Later." he says, simply.
Hanna waves good by to the leaving woman. "Byebye" Then she says "Ilike working withmetal. It is such much fun to make stuff out of nothing with onlt your hands and imagination."
Talmar grins, and nods. "That's /exactly/ how I feel about clay." he says, enthusiastically. "I used to make stuff out of snow when I was real little, but it never lasted. Clay lasts, though."
Even as K'dry reaches Yonsrith it seems he seems more distracted with what is in the living cavern and it seems it was not her. K'dry gives her lifemate a curious look, eyes unfocusing a moment before she turns toward the cavern and the small crowd gathered this early in the day. The oversized brown bobs his head and continues his intent look into the cavern. "Sure? I had planned to go out later for this. Got those seedlings." Yonsrith gives another deep toned warble, a rather insistant tone.
Sianne moves out of the Caverns, still munching on her bread. "Want some help with those seedlings K'dry?"
Hanna says with a shake of her head "I growed up on a farm so I did not have much time for play though in winter with no crops to tend things got easier and we have more leisure time. StillIneedtoget tothesmithy or the master might get cross with me. Nice meeting you."
Talmar waves at Hanna, then shrugs. "I grew up here, so I guess I had a little more free time." he says, then blinks at the dragon head in the entrance. "Um, hello there." he says, simply. He finishes his wholesome breakfast of meatrolls, mm, breakfasty, and stands then, starting to move towards the entrance. Of course, he doesn't go through it, not while Yonsrith has his head in the way.
With a rather large and insistant brown dragon standing behind, Kel looks around the room for a moment. As Talmar tries to make his way out, K'dry looks over her shoulder , "Come now, let the lad passed, he already been nabbed." Yonsrith looks over Talmar for a moment , then takes a step back from the entrance giving more room for people to pass before stepping forward slightly again. K'dry's eyes unfocus again as she stands there. When her eyes focus again they settle on the table she recently vacated. "Oh sure…" She says in a distracted tone to Sianne.
Hanna goes to stand up the realising her food is harly touched 'Oh well I guessI need to finish my foodcannot let anything go to waste. " Then she sits back down and brings to eat quickly
Sianne smiles as she downs the last of her juice, "Something wrong K'dry?"
Talmar hangs around though, curious to see what's going to happen. "Already been nabbed?" he asks, then. Something interesting is happening here, he just knows it. And he sure doesn't want to be left out of it, nope.
Yonsrith look seems to focus finally on the blacksmith and K'dry nods to her lifemate before making her way over to the young lass. "Well it seems my Yonsrith has something in mind for you other than stretchers, may Elara forgive me." Her hands raise to rest on her hips as she looks down at Hanna, "What we have in mind you see is to mayhaps give you a chance at being a rider iffin you think you would like that. Surely you would have to talk with your Mentor about it iffin you have not already." Yep things are becoming clearer here. She looks over to Sianne and winks to her before looking over to Hanna again.
Hanna perks up her head at the interesting goings ons. She does have the curiosity of a cat for sure. then looking up as Yonsrith looks at her and speaks. "Youmeanmebearider?Likeyouandhaveabigbreautifuldragonofmyveryown?" Then she lets out a squeal of delight jumping up to her feet as she attempts to give Yonsrith a big hanna hug all the while muttering "thankyouthankyouthankyou."
At the reaction of Hanna, K'dry can not help but smile. Yonsrith gives a curious warble and K'dry laughs and nods, "Yes that all translates to I will accept." she grins again, "I think." Yonsrith looks down at the girl attached to his leg and warbles softly, seemingly pleased with things now. K'dry shakes her head and motions the girl over, "Well you go speak to your mentor and make sure she releases you from your duties then show up to the candidate quarters if all is square in that regard."
Sianne chuckles as she steps back "Congrats Hanna, though calm down your chattering is hard to understand again."
Talmar grins at Hanna's enthusiasm. "Wow, that's great. The barracks are still kind of empty." he points out, then grins again. Yay for more candidates!
Hanna nods eagerly to Sianne then to K'dry "Yesofcourseofcourse." She is so exciting she can not stop giggling and jumping up in down giving the dragon another quick hug before realising she dropped her blueprints and goes to pick them up. "Ohthisissoexciting"
