Fort Weyr - Living Caverns(#10592RJ$)
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.
Obvious exits:
Lower Caverns <lc> Stairway <st> Game Room <gr> Kitchen <k> Northeast Bowl <nb> Guard Post <gp>
"This," PLOP. "This.." PLOP plop. "And… ugh." At one of the central tables in the living caverns, a dark skinned woman and a tall, skinny brown haired man are standing about piles and crates of hides and papers, strewn about haphhazardly as the dark woman — Tarish — rifles through it and shoves random pages, stacks, and crates in the man's direction. "Got all that? Those to the archives, those to Elara, those to Lidia, and — for Faranth's sake, what is your PROBLEM?!" The top of the mound in the mans arms comes crashing down, causing his face to flush to a full red. "You clean that up, and I don't want to see you again until all this is filed and… not here! Understood, J'kell?" "Yes ma'am." "Good." Tarish turns on her heel and storms right out of the caverns, leaving the other rider staring down at the mess with large, worried blue eyes.
Is it instinctual knowledge aquired over the past turns of being in a weyr that make Tanvi scarce when weyrwomen are near? Maybe. Needless to say she -just- enters as Tarish says her final words. The crash causes a wince to come to her face, but, while many keep their distance after the weyrwoman leaves, Tanvi does not. She steps forward quickly, already starting to collect some of the papers. "Would you like some help?" Don't mind that she's already helping or anything.
J'kell opens his mouth to say something — probably to rant his frustration out at whoever decided to come close first — but at seeing Tanvi and her actions, his face just releases in a smile, and he rolls his eyes in relief. "Yes, thanks.. I don't mean to be bothersome. She's just.. having a bad morning." Like every morning. "She doesn't have time to do all of this herself, so she's making us delivery boys do it. The Roc wing gets it hard sometimes, ya know?" He too is now on the floor, picking up the spread looseleafs and trying to find their correct places, shoving them into corresponding folders and crates. "Hopefully your day's been going better." Than his, that is.
Tanvi gives a bit of a chuckle. "No bother at all… I've the time." As she collects things she continues. "I suppose I can understand. Her gold's clutch is on the sands, right? That's reason enough I suppose." That and all the rumors she's heard about her being particularly disagreeable, but Tanvi doesn't judge. Much. She looks curiously at a few stacks of papers, glancing at his sort of filing before she tries to establish which folder they might have come out of. "Mm… Alright so far. That is for me." She grins. "Some people don't find mornings of mucking runner poo as enjoyable as I do." Was enjoyable the right word. She seems to think on that one for a bit. "Well… at least… compared to other things. But I've got a load of training rides for the rest of the day. That's certainly better." She plops the folder into the crate.
The 'runner-poo' comment gets a funny look from the rider, as J'kell stops for a moment to regard the girl with interest. "You find it enjoyable?" He knows that's not what she means, so he offers a wink and then looks around the papers to make sure they're all organized. "Alright. First batch is to Elara… Can you grab that stack of papers and help me carry it out to her weyr?" He points to a pile of 4 or 5 folders on the edge of the table. "I'll grab this crate. Won't trouble you for long, but the quicker I get this done, less chance Tarish comes and finds a way to burn me at the stake." A rather cheeky grin envelopes his thin, only marginally tanned face. "Now.. Training rides. You a Beastcrafter, then? Funny, been running into a lot of them lately. Do ya like it here at Fort?"
Tanvi finds herself a little pink at the funny look, but holds her ground with a gleaming smile. She stands and nods to the stack of folders. "Certainly." They're scooped up without hesitation as she continues. "Though… burning you at the stae would just delay the process even longer I would think." She shifts the lot to her side and nods yet again. "Yep… Train show runners… or well, assistant trainer. Which is good 'cause then I can still do some of the amature classes." That probably made no sense to him but she beams none the less. "Do jumping with them mostly." As to Fort? "Oh it's great here! I love seeing all the dragons all the time. Back home they'd always have to be a distance off when they'd come cause they'd scare the runners, but getting to be around them most of the time is…" dar she say it? "…awesome!" She did. "They're so handsome, their colors and all." She pauses. "You probably get that all the time from folks like me."
"True point!" J'kell laughs for a moment, shaking his head. "Although, the junior weyrwoman isn't known for her intelligence when it comes to those sorts of things." He begins trudging off towards the exit, ducking his head back occasionally to make sure she's following. "Show runners? Hmm. Sounds entertaining — sounds like you really enjoy it, too." Yes, he really does have no clue what she's talking about, and he's usually too busy to enjoy the display of the shows. He grumbles at an untied shoelace — "Shardit!
"True point!" J'kell laughs for a moment, shaking his head. "Although, the junior weyrwoman isn't known for her intelligence when it comes to those sorts of things." He begins trudging off towards the exit, ducking his head back occasionally to make sure she's following. "Show runners? Hmm. Sounds entertaining — sounds like you really enjoy it, too." Yes, he really does have no clue what she's talking about, and he's usually too busy to enjoy the display of the shows. He grumbles at an untied shoelace — "Shardit!" — before he nods back at her with a large smile. "Yeah, I hear it a lot, but it never gets old. I wouldn't give up Zoolth for anything in the world." He continues smiling brightly (he loves feeling complimented, in any way) before pulling back the opening to the bowl with his elbow. "After you!"
Tanvi hurries along after with a grin. "I think that's just awesome… what I hear about it anyhow… I'd give anything to be connected to my runner that way. At least, to know what she's thinking sometimes. Would make jumping so much easier. To be able to tell her how many strides we need or have her tell me she can't make something. I mean, we -can- do that in riding them, but sometimes… I guess it's like speaking a foreign language. Things get misinterpretated." She pauses, her face screwed up funny as she heads out before him. She tosses over her shoulder. "And to know when her season days are. Be convenient to have her tell me she's going to be a cow for a few days than to have to guess that's why she's acting funny." Annnd out into the bowl she goes.
—- Trek to the Bowl! —
J'kell chuckles, bobbing after her with the crate with a smile still implanted on his lips. "Well, it's a bit different than you think. I guess it really depends on the dragon, but Zuulth for instance has never listened to me ordering manuevers in her life. I say three steps, she goes four, then sideways, then back two. I ask her to take it easy when we have a passenger, she purposefully tries to make them air-sick. Personalities vary so much between dragons, reliability is.. hard to come by." He smiles, before looking upwards at the sky, where several dragons churn about lazily in flight. "Though, aye. Seeing a nice glowy color in her hide is definitely a blessing. Oh, there she is now!" One of the dragons above comes circling down, before taking a crash-landing in the bowl about twenty feet in front of them. "How many times have I told you not to do that?" the rider scolds. "You could get yourself hurt! Haha. Zuulth, this is… uh.." Blink blink. "I don't believe I caught your name."
Tanvi conciders his words with a bit of a contemplative frown on her face. "Mm… yes I suppose tha wouldn't do very well. But runners can be similar. Specially ponies… the short ones? They kinda have that 'I do it my way' mentality." But she's distracted now, watching the green descend from the sky. That beaming smile is there again… until the crash wipes it from her face. "Oh… is she- oh. I'm Tanvi." She offers a hand customarily. "Sorry about that. Tend to forget the name thing." She chuckles and nods her head to Zuulth. "She's lovely."
The dark green of Zuulth's hide wriggles about for a moment before her head finally turns to face the human pair, eyes churning from yellow to a light, minty color and her tail flopping about like an unrestrained worm. "Tanvi — well met. I'm J'kell, for record's sake." He shakes her hand only briefly, so he doesn't lose the crate in his arms; but, bursts into a chuckle. "She says you're lovely, too. Actually — she won't shut up about how pretty you are. Zuu— ZUULTH!" A rather disgusted look crosses his face, and an eyeroll, as the green makes a delicate sound in her throat, and lowers her head down two inches away from Tanvi's. There's a slight whuffle from her nose, before another, louder, croon.
Tanvi watches her wiggling with a bit of a chuckle before she cuts it off. If she was pink earlier, she was red now. "Well… dunno about -that- but… er…" And then the snuffling croon before her face. She barely restraints from hopping backwards. Just like a big… really big… runner muzzle. Right? Minus, you know, all the sharp teeth that're hiding in there. But she offers the same beaming smile once more. "Um… thank you." She hesitates, then looks to J'kell. "Is it alright if I…" 'pet' just doesn't seem like the right word. "er… touch… er… her?"
J'kell laughs, pulling the crate in closer to himself as he switches his gaze between gal and green. "Actually, that's what she keeps bugging me to ask you for — go for it, or I won't be able to get any sleep for the whole sevenday. Snotty little brat, she is." Zuulth lowers her head even more, eyes fixated on Tanvi, with one set of her eyelids slowly closing over. "And well… There's another thing that she won't stop buggin' me about, either. But I'm not sure if I should — you're so happy doing what you're doing — but maybe you'd like it — I just — I hate it when she's this persistant." The green grunts a little. "Oh shush, you know I love you, girl," is stated at the green before he bites his lower lip. He isn't much older than Tanvi, so his little rant just causes his face, too, to blush over. Aren't they just the pair!
Tanvi blinks, looking from rider to dragon. She reaches out a hand and tentatively rubs the green's dark snout. Slowly a grin spreads over her face. After all, she feels a lot her little blue and she feels a bit silly for supposing it might have been otherwise. But the rider's train of conversation causes her to quirk her head at him, and maybe a brow too. After all, the way he's talking, it could mean just about anything. "What's she want? I can spare some time if she needs something. Dunno what she'd want from me though." She look to the dragon with a teasing expression. "After all, I can't give you a runner beast. The Master'd have my hide."
J'kell chuckles, shaking his head wildly. "No, no, it's not that — She wants.. er.. you." That doesn't sound right, and he knows it; he gulps down, looking at the green for another way to phrase it. "She says" Oh, this sounds ridiculous, he thinks. "that you look pretty, and feel pretty, and as — as pretty and smart and… er.. sweet are good qualities, that you should Stand for the queen's clutch." He flinches. "It's up to you, you seem to like your craft and all — but you can always pursue it after Impression, if you do, and… Well, I guess you /we're/ talkin' about how nice it'd be to have a creature that listened to you." He looks deeply at Tanvi now, biting his lip as he awaits her reply.
Tanvi listens as she strokes the dragon's snout. "Me?" She says in a weighted question, a brow raised. Where -is- this going? But slowly he pieces it together and she bursts out in laughter. "Oh! Oh…" Pause. It hits her and she blinks. "Me? Really? That…" She beams all at once. "That'd be awesome! I'd love to! I mean, I'd have to check with the Master. Make sure my runners are covered, but… yeah!"
A smile floods J'kell's uneasy face, and he dips his head in the opposite direction they were heading. "Well, you better check with the master, but.. Here. Just throw those files on top of the crate, I'll manage to get them to the Weyrwoman from here. You go on ahead and move your stuff to the barracks, pry need to find someone for a white knot, I don't have any with me — haha. Zuulth says she's pleased. Takes a lot to please her!" Awww, he's so cheezy. "I best be off before Tarish goes on her anger rounds again — good luck, Tanvi! Wish the best for ya!" Looking up and realizing the time, J'kell nods deeply at her, before bumbling off towards Elara's weyr (and trying not to spill anything, we hope.)
