Fort Weyr - Galleries
The galleries are carved right out of the rock face, the rows and rows of benches rising high up into the air on a slight slant. Stone and wood benches that used to be known for offering little in the way of comfort, are now padded with cushions in Fort Weyr's colors. Placed along the railing at regular intervals are antique looking baskets filled with cheery fabric flowers. The curving walls sport tapestries in warm vibrant colors that seem to add a dash of color to the otherwise dreary stone. Where the galleries curve slightly at the ends, affording those attending hatchings or clutchings a decent view of the sands, shaded laterns offer warm lighting along the rows of benches.
Ethne walks up into the galleries as she looks out to the sands. "It's been a while since I bothered much to go to the galleries to just look at the eggs."
"Ever since Alandoth and I graduated, we've gone to look at eggs all over Pern." K'ralt replies, leaning over the rail. "I remember looking at ours, at Telgar."
Ethne nods quietly as she says softly. "I didn't travel much, any I saw were on Telgar stands after our clutch."
Lunetta stiffles a yawn as she climbs the steps to the Galleries. The simple motion of climbing has dislodged most of the snow from her new boost and the bottom of her pantlegs, but her shoulders and hair are still somewhat whitened by the run accross the bowl from the Living Caverns. Some might complain about Kitchen Duty, but at least it's _indoors_. Spotting two new faces she pauses, glances in search of a knot and decides to play it safe. "Fort's Greetings, Sir and Ma'am." She's getting it. Slowly.
Ethne gives a nod towards the candidates that have showed up in the galleries as she says softly. "Ierne's greetings to Fort as well." She looks towards the eggs and then K'ralt. "Some of them are interesting for sure."
Talmar slips into the galleries, with a large box in his arms. In the box are numerous clay eggs, most only fist-sized but several that are about three times that, possibly four. Most of the smaller ones have already been painted, clumsily. The larger ones haven't, yet.
While certainly not typical of Fort Candidates HAnna who comes scampering into the galleries with 3 firelizards of various blue shades and coloration is one of the more interesting some would say. Still her breakneck speed of entry is surprising and that she does seem to avoid injury is all the more remarkable. "Hieveryone.Howare youalldoingtoday?"
Lunetta grins as she turns. Luckily her mind's made the translation of Hanna-speak into regular language before she's confirmed the identification. "Hello, Hanna." She spots the male Candidate as well and smiles. "Hey, Talmar. Still working on your project, I see." She then nods to Ethne and tilts her head to one side. "If I may say Ma'am, they're much more interesting down there." She motions towards the Sands, her gaze following her finger and settlings upon the Clutch, namely the Exotic Deception and Moors Eggs.
K'ralt glances over at the candidates, and grins. "Yeah, what she said." he says, nodding at Ethne. Then he looks over at the eggs. "They're very close to hatching, aren't they?"
Ethne nods quietly as she says. "I'd say so and Mellonath says so too." She glances towards Lunetta as she says. "Well you're right on that… but well not everyone can be down there so you deal with what you get."
Talmar glances down at the sands, then to Lunetta, and nods. "Still working on them." he says, with a nod. "I think I'm almost ready to work on the final versions." he adds, with a smile. He sits down in the front row, and pulls out a plain egg and a few different colours of paint, setting to painting the egg to look like the Lonely Moors Egg. "I'm making clay eggs to look like the ones on the sand." he explains to the visiting riders. "I'm going to give them to whoever impresses." he adds.
Lunetta shrugs. "The earliest bet was for last evening, so I assume it must be soon. They were quite hard the last time I was down there." She nods to the GoldRider's comment, "Yes, Ma'am." She assures her, now well aware of the gift Green Omisimth gave her when she insisted that Z'ran ask her to Stand. She points out the splendid image which Exotic Deception displays. "Don't be fooled by that one, though. There's a spot of red on the bottom and black lines all over. Very thin, you only really notice them up close." She pauses, bitting at the inside of her cheek for a moment. "It's very concerned about everyone and everything. Seemed to wonder about why things are like they are, and why I hunted the tunnelsnakes."
Ethne gives a soft laugh. "Very true… can't judge them by their egg's appearance." She closes her eyes for a moment as she whispers almost seemingly to herself. "Yes Mellonath… your egg well… was easy to judge your color by… just not your personality." She smiles opening her eyes refocusing herself on her surroundings.
Hanna smiles at Lunetta "Isn'tthisthemostexcitingthing? ItismyfirsthatchingandIcannotwaittillithappens.IhavebeensoblessedsinceIarrivedatfort." Then looking at the new people she gives them a wave then says with a beaming smile "HiIamHannaIamnotsureifIhavemetyoubefore?"
"I could tell Alandoth was mine from the egg, strangely enough." K'ralt offers, then blinks at Hanna for a moment. "K'ralt, rider of bronze Alandoth, currently at Ierne." He's got a good ear.
Lunetta laughs. "I'm sure they'd remember, Hanna." She assures the other with a grin. Luna's let her self relax, slightly, at least around her fellow Candidates. "And it's my first Hatching too." she offers, in case the poor Riders can't quite make out Hanna-speech yet.
Talmar laughs at Hanna, then nods to the visiting riders. "Hanna, you might want to slow down a little. We may have learnt to understand you, but," a pause as he looks to the riders, not having caught their names yet, then nods as K'ralt introduces himself. "K'ralt, and, um, her… They don't know you yet." he says, cheerfully. "By the way, I'm Talmar. Formerly Pottery Master Jopier's apprentice." hence the clay project.
Ethne shakes her head as she says quietly. "I am Ethne, my lifemate is the queen out in the center bowl, her name's Mellonath." She smiles.
Lunetta blinks. Oh, right. "And I'm Lunetta. My original contract was to clear the tunnelsnakes from the lower caverns, but I've been…diverted until the Clutch Hatches."
K'ralt nods at all three. "Nice to meet you, good luck on the hatching." he peers at the eggs. "I'm just sad that I won't be around to take bets." shameful, he's a harper too.
Ethne shakes her head as she looks at K'ralt as she says. "Why what are you plans for then anyways?"
Over at the other end of the gallery, Nimue is busy working on carving out the statue that she promised to X'an and his dragon. She seems to be rather uncomfortable up here as she slowly carves along the statue that she's working on.
Talmar nods to Ethne, then blushes deeply. "Queen? Oh, dear. I am so sorry, ma'am, sir, ma'am." Oh poor Talmar. To be truthful, he'd be reacting like this no matter what Ethne's rank was, because he'd just referred to her as only 'her', previously. Tal picks up the paints again, and works on the egg in silence for a bit, embarrased.
Hanna scrunches her nose with effort as she struggles slow down. "Oh Iam sorry I tend to get excitedalot and speak very quickly. I saw all the new dragons out in the bowl they are so pretty. "
Lunetta nods to K'ralt. "Thank you, Sir." She smirks at Talmar and lowers her voice, "See? Always play it safe." As she turns to direct her attention back where it belong, upon the Clutch when movement catches her eyes and she glances up to spot Nimue. She tilts her head to the side for a moment, trying to decide if she should bother the other Candidate then shrugs. Why not? "Nimue!"
Ethne nods listening and then she replies softly. "Just call me Ethne please. Still after all these turns it's hard not to be used to being formal and all myself." She smiles looking at the clutch and back to K'ralt. "So you know after these turns I forgot where you got Searched from."
Nimue jerks upwards as Lunetta all but screeches her name out. She nearly digs her carving tools into the wood as she balks. "Oh, Hiya Lunetta." She murmurs, tapping the carving before her. She sighs gently as she moves to begin to scrub at the statue with a cleaning cloth
K'ralt smiles. "You can call me K'ralt." then he catches sight of the statue. "You're really good." he says.
Talmar blushes, and nods. At Lunetta's 'advice', he grimaces and sticks his tongue out at her. Boys will be boys, after all. "Ethne. That's a nice name, sir." Still with the sir. But, that's just how Tal was raised. And, it's rather obvious that he's never held any kind of rank in his life. Weyrbrat, then Apprentice, then Candidate.
Ethne gives a bit of a stiffled laugh. "Sir… well I don't exactly look like a male I don't think."
Lunetta rolls her eyes at Talmar. "Sure thing, GoldRider Ethne and BronzeRider K'ralt. Well met."
Talmar frowns a little, then nods. "But, ma'am seems a bit, well, strange." he says, slowly. Hence the sirring everyone, regardless of gender. Even if he had tried the ma'am thing just a little while earlier.
Hanna giggles at Ethne "Youlookeveryprettytome." THen she looks at Talmar giggling alot more at his crazy antics. 'He issowierd. Butheisverygoodatcraftingstuff. And he is kinda cute too"
Nimue chuckles a bit as she looks upwards. "Hey Hanna." Nimue offers before she turns and looks at K'ralt and blushes. "Thanks, but it's not done yet. Not nearly." She sighs as she taps the statue. "I've got a lot more to do." She looks at Talmar. "Hey Tal, you get the mixing of the colors down yet?"
Ethne is still puzzled over how fast Hanna speaks and looks to K'ralt with a smile. "I should be heading back to Ierne likely soon. The eggs here are so nice. Mellonath says she can't wait to see her next clutch when she has one."
K'ralt grins and shakes his head. Well, he doesn't really object to the 'sirring', if it makes them all feel better. When Ethne speaks up, he looks over at her. "Well let us know when she goes up." he says, winking at her.
Ethne gives a bit of a groan. "Oh you should know when she rises… she's the boistrous, aggressive one."
Talmar blushes again, this time at Hanna. "Girls are /icky/." he says firmly. Just in case, you know, she might want to be more than friends. She might've meant cute in a younger brother sort of way, though. Then he focuses on his eggs, ignoring all else for the time being, occasionally muttering "I am not /cute/." and he remains like this until Nimue talks to him. "Huh, uh wha? Colours?" blink blink "Oh, right, the paints." Tal says, realisation finally dawning. "Yeah, I'm getting better at it. I'm almost ready to try the final versions."
Lunetta looks to the GoldRider with interest. "Has she had many, Ma'am? Clutches that is." See, she just go the auto-Sir/Ma'am working just right. You can't expect her to change now, can you? Lunetta smirks at Talmar. "You're an adorable youngling." She counters, using a tone best used on those less than two Turns old.
Ethne shakes her head as she responds softly. "Only one so far. She's just over six turns now." She shakes her head. "Yes dear, you make a good mother Mellonath."
Hanna says looking at Talmar 'YOu are the cutest there is no denying it especially when you get that pout going on." Then she jumps down a level to be closer to Nimue. "OhmythatlooksamazingNimue. Youareverytalentsyouknowthat?"
Talmar can't help it, he pouts at Hanna. "I AM NOT CUTE!" he cries, throwing a mini tantrum. "Not not not." Humph.
"Cheer up lad, at least I wasn't the one who said you're cute." K'ralt replies jovially.
Ethne glances towards K'ralt with a quirk of an eyebrow. "Well I guess we should be very glad of that."
Lunetta chuckles. "You are so easy." She offers with a smirk. "You can tell you're from a small family." She snorts at the BronzeRider's comment. Okay. She needs to get a grip of herself. News travels insanely fast her. Back home people guarded their secrets and used information to their advantage.
Nimue laughs a bit before she looks at Hanna. "I think he likes you Hanna." Nimue teases, grinning at the girls words. "Thanks. I'm okay. I need to be a lot better. I want to make sure that X'an like it, so I can get paid." She snickers.
Talmar sniffs. "I am not cute." he says, with an extra pouty pout. "And girls are /icky/." he adds, firmly. "Not cute, not cute. Icky icky icky."
Lunetta grins and looks down at the Eggs. Her gaze moves to Moors and she frowns slightly. "Poor little guy." No one will convince her that Egg holds a female unless and until a Green or Gold plops out of it. (Actually, the same is true of her thoughs on Exotic Deception being female.) She looks up then and looks towards the entrance where Geopherson, second born of Keroon, stand waving her over. "Oh, I guess it's time to start up on supper." The one really problem with Kitchen Duty. You never really can get out of it early. She nods to both Riders. "Well met." She then makes her way back through the snow.
"Well I'd better get back to Ierne." K'ralt says. "Good luck to all of you, I'll try to make it back to watch the hatching." he grins at the candidates, waves, then walks off.
Hanna looks at nimue "WellIamsurehewillloveitasmuchasIdo." But then again Hanna rarely has anything bad to say about anyone. "Wellevenifyoudenybeingcuteyouarestillquitetalented. Theeggslooklovely."
Talmar pouts at Hanna. "I'm not cute." he says, then cries out in surprise as he is dive-bombed by a hungry green. "ACK!" he says, carefully shoving, and isn't /that/ an oxymoron, the egg and paint back into the box, and standing. "It was good to meet you, sirs." He says to the Ierne riders. "I hope you come to the hatching." and then he runs for the exit.
Nimue laughs a bit as she looks at Talmar and then she turns back over to Hanna and nods. "Thanks Hanna." She murmurs. "Nice to meet you!" She tells the riders.
Ethne looks towards K'ralt as she says quietly. "Well I think Mellonath is getting ansty to head off. I'll see you later maybe… unless you have to go soon?"
