Fort Weyr - Lake Shore
This lake shares many features common to mountain lakes — a brilliant blue jewel nestled amongst the rocks. The waters are crystal clear, and the north shore slopes gently before abruptly falling away into the depths. The water itself is usually chilly — invigorating is the term the residents use. This lake does have one significant differentiating feature, however. The south shore of the lake is a tumbled mass of rubble, rock and earth of an ancient rockslide smoothed only by the elements in the intervening years. This rubble, as well as the rather sheer east and west faces, makes for the north shore to be the only one easily accessible.
An enormous raft-like structure of wood and plasticraft has been set up at the edge of the weyr lake. It floats just offshore, supporting a raised stage with a dome-shaped back. A wide, flat area, presumably for dancing, sits before the stage. Food tables, sporting banners in Fort's colors, have been set up along the edges, and a large number of curved benches ensure ample seating. Thick ropes secure the structure to stakes driven into the shore, while a number of floating wooden bridges provide easy access.
Spring has spread across the region and with the warming rays of the sun disappears the last of the snows which held this region in a winter despair. Such is a great day to have a festival and after many months of planning and carefully timing it with the legends of the 'Great Second Crossing' Fort has called in all hands willing to build the festival platform which floats on the lake and the surrounding party arrangements for those who dislike water. For those who will not seek the party on the barge, there are tables and chairs set up around the lake. A boar roast is already underway on the shoreline, while harpers are gathering their instruments and preparing to start the long night of partying on the barge. Lights are flickering on, a sudden display that Fort is using technology as all the lights are powered by a generator, producing a colourful display that will be much more vibrant the later on it gets. For now, the sun is steady and the lights only cast their dim colours. To the other side, there's some games set up and trading booths. The games are more or less centered around winning 'dragon' themed prizes, while the booths sell anything and everything one would expect at a 'trade fair.' Beyond them was a large sign with painted letters boasting 'dragon back tours' available.
Choth is on the heights of the bowl, helping out the watch dragon doing all the greeting. As for her rider, she's still running by tables and such, trying to ensure all the organizing has been done. She huffs a bit, "Where is it? The miners said they were going to have it ready for today?" She snaps at someone that looks to wear an assistant headwoman knot, who sheepishly bows and declares that she will find out. Kessa runs her hand through her hair, shaking her head, "Great. How are we to celebrate Sean and Sorka without /that/ …"
B'ky is moving through the gathering crowd, the Roc wingleader dressed in his gather best - bright crimson and indigo riding leathers that make him stand out. The man is still helping move things into place here and there, offering a smile and a nod in greeting to any who happen to glance his way. He spots Kessa, and heads her way, coming within earshot just in time to hear the tail end of the conversation. "Is there anything I can do to help?" the bluerider offers to the weyrwoman with a smile and respectful nod in greeting.
A group of youthful teens, with arms clutched with one another, giggle and laugh loudly as they approach the games. They go directly to the cup shuffle and start whooting and hollaring as they trade marks for a chance to win a prize.
A band of vintners are finally finished setting up the bar on the barge, hired to mix and provide drinks for the night's celebration. They already start to serve the first couples that have made their way across the floating bridge to the deck of the raft like platform which plays host to the party tonight.
Really, K'shan doesn't have much occasion for wearing gather finery. But at least he has some. He's still tugging on a pair of dark gloves though as he walks along the lakeshore, in leathers that have been patterned with a trim of green, contrasting with the darker black of the leather. Though the tunic beneath his jacket is also green. He makes a slight face at the nearby cheering and hollaring though, continuing along into the 'area of party'.
What on Pern is the Xanadu gardener doing at a Fort Weyr gather? Good question. Nevertheless, Cenlia is here, hanging around the booth selling Sunny Orchard peach brandy. She's wearing a red gather gown, tied at the waist with a white sash. An explanation might be found in the banner hanging from the booth behind her, flying the colors of Southern Boll. The girl hangs back away from the crowd, and occasionally takes a sip of brandy from the glass she seems to have acquired.
Ellamariseth erupts from up above the bowl with a happy bugle, ready to greet all the familiar and unfamiliar dragons. The Telgari queen makes a circuit before heading down to deposit her passenger. Ysa barely gets down before the gold finds her way up and out again, looking for draconic company. "Just remember to come back when you're called! Don't get distracted now!" The Istan Weyrwoman huffs and smooths her dress before turning to the crowd with a grin. She does look like she's in need of a new dress, but at least she's wearing something! Miraculously the dress from turns and turns ago seems to somehow been able to fit her again, and coincidently it is a dress she had previously worn to a Fort dance. But who will remember it, right? The red thing clings to her body, short straps hanging off her shoulders and a purple shawl tied around her waist for the cooler night. But the Istan Weyrwoman doesn't need that right now, willing to show off the hard work she put to getting back into her original size.
Kessa turns at the abrupt approach of the wingleader, her eyes dancing over his gather best with an approving lift of her brow, "Wow. You're looking handsome tonight B'ky," she winks to him, moving to pat her hand against the indigo leather if he allows it. The woman herself is in a pale yellow dress that has a tight torso but a very airy and light weight skirt bottom. The dress is strapless, giving a good view of her neck as her hair is done up just enough to keep the curls back. There's an arrangement of beads and feather type additions in her hair, not as radical as a hat, but definitely making her hair cutesy. She hooks a hand on her hip as she shrugs, "Not unless you know how to carve two figures out of stone," this a reply to his offer of help. "Ooh, there is something," she snaps her fingers, "would you be so kind as to let the harpers know it's time for them to start." Her head turns at the call of a gold dragon, not of her own and not of Fort's design. This interests her and makes her curious until she notices it's the Istan Senior arrived well, "Oh! Ysa's here! I wasn't sure if she would make it." She does manage to wave toward the woman once she's part of the crowd.
There's a faint blush from the wingleader at the pat, but B'ky smiles, "Thankyou," and is about to reply in kind when the bugle from above interrupts him. He chuckles softly, and then nods to Kessa, "I'll let them know," as he turns to head back into the crowd. For someone dressed in clashing colors, he somehow manages to disappear quite quickly. There is a shuffle amongst the harpers as B'ky finds his way to the edge of the stage; keen eyes might have noticed him jogging there. The wingleader speaks briefly with one of the senior journeymen, and then turns to make his way back toward the living caverns. The music which has been playing begins to trail off.
K'shan is quiet, trying to remain on the edges of the general crowd, rather than getting sucked into the blob of it. Things can get dangerous that way, after all. But for the time being, at least, he seems content enough to stay near the booths, watching a few of the games being played.
Ysa's green eyes travel back and forth along the lake's shore, widening every so often when they fall on an interesting booth. But her destination is clear, heading first to greet the Weyrwoman formally. "Ista's duties to you and your queen, Kessa! This looks… shells, is that /on/ the water?" She definitely notices the large structure built now, mouth hanging open a little. "Faranth," she breaths out before a toothy grin replaces it as she looks back onto Kessa, giving the younger woman a proper salute. "Looking well, Weyrwoman. I hope everything else is, too?" She tugs a little consciously on her dress, smoothening out the folds.
Kessa giggles a bit at B'ky's reaction to the compliment, smiling as she pivots as he disappears into the crowd. Then her eyes turn on another face coming at her, her grin spreading more as she puts her arms out and intends to hug the other weyrwoman. "Yes it is on water! Can you believe it? The innovation?" She nods, "Fort's duties to Ista." As for the following question she nods a bit, "Oh everythings great. The winter is over, so it's really well!"
A momentary hush falls over the weyr bowl, the music stilled, as an aged harper takes the stage. "Welcome," he says simply, waiting for the crowd to quiet before he continues in a clear, practiced voice, "Today we honor those who came before us. This gather celebrates the founding of the first weyr, and those brave men and women who protected our holds and halls long centuries ago." Unobtrusively, as the old man begins speaking, Fort riders across the bowl begin slipping out of the crowd, disappearing back into the weyr proper. Not all, of course, but enough to be rather noticable. "In honor of the first weyrleader, Sean Connell, and the first weyrwoman, Sorka Hanrahan-Connell, rider of Faranth…" and the music begins in earnest, "We present the traditional Duty Song. Let us look back and celebrate the past as we stand beneath threadfree skies."
Cenlia continues to stick close to the booze booth, the girl's glass getting emptier and emptier as she continues to sip from it. As the harpers take the stage, the girl makes her way over to the shore to listen.
The harpers play, singers taking the stage, and the words of the song ring out across the weyr bowl:
Drummer, beat, and piper, blow,
Harper, strike, and soldier, go.
Free the flame and sear the grasses
Till the dawning Red Star passes.
Ysa returns the hug for the other Weyrwoman quite willingly, making sure to add a squeeze before pulling away. Eyes are quickly back on the platform and brows hiking up even as she chuckles. "I never would have imagined something like that myself. If there's a place I've got to dance, it'll be on top of Fort's lake." As Kessa answers her question she turns her head back to the younger woman, making sure to give her a long look up and down as if judging for herself her fellow goldrider's health, and then giving a quick nod. "Glad to hear that." She falls quiet for the first song, looking quite stunned. "Haven't heard this one since my first turn at the Harper Hall."
K'shan shakes his head somewhat, although he does make his way a bit closer to that floating…thingy out at the water. While it does mean he has to move through a few people to get there, however. The greenrider works his way toward the water, at least, peering out at the floating barge with a mild curiosity.
"Neither would I, but it's an interesting concept," Kessa says as she embraces the other for a moment, "and yes, the dance floor is on the … whatever they call it, raft? boat?" She grins at the other senior, turning toward the harper and the stage set up as he announces the beginning of the celebrations, "Oooh," she looks a little puzzled, "he wasn't supposed to do that one first." She suddenly grins as she just gestures haplessly at the song as it goes, "Things that are planned never go right." Shrugging her shoulders she eyes the other Senior, "So how are things on your end? I still need to find time with Veski. But I've yet to decide who we should send to question him that won't rip his head off." Kessa notices K'shan in the crowd and waves to him if he looks her way, giving a hopeful smile to the greenrider.
A faint rustle of wings interrupts the sounds of the gathering for a brief moment as a gold dragon alights easily some distance from the general crowd, folding her wings easily against her back and lowering herself obligingly for her rider. Tylia is faintly visible sliding down to the ground, staggering only a little bit as her feet hit the firmer ground due to the stiffness caused by the trip Between. Despite the momentary disapproving chuff from her dragon, which she counters with an exasperated sigh, "I'm fine. I'm not lugging that … thing … to a Gather. It'd be more harm than good." But, perhaps realizing her momentary harshness, she gives the gold's leg a loving pat and a faint dimpled smile upwards, perhaps adding a silent sentiment in addition to her previous words. Taking a moment to tentatively test the weight on her right leg, she takes a sedate pace towards the crowd. After an initial few limping steps at the beginning, she soon finds a smoother stride as she edges her way into the group, eyeing the people around her in some vain search for someone she might know. With little success in this, she settles for finding some refreshment and discreetly makes her way through the mass of people.
As if realizing their mistake, the harpers on the stage do a quick shift-about without breaking the flow of the song, but then there is a rise in the music, harpers shifting places without a break, words ringing clearly:
From the Weyr and from the Bowl,
Bronze and brown and blue and green,
Rise the dragonmen of Pern,
Aloft, on wing, seen, then unseen.
There is flash of gold from the far side of the weyr bowl, as the queens of Fort Weyr take flight. Soaring low above the crowd to disappear over the weyr rim, out of sight. And then. Rising from every ledge, Fort dragons take to the air, flightpaths criss-crossing in a dazzling display, riders adragonback in full flight gear.
As they reach the weyr rim, the first dragons begin to disappear *between*, one after the other, until the last has risen and vanished, with only a small handful of Fortian dragons still remaining on their ledges and on the ground. Where have the others all gone?
Kessa points up toward the sky, "Here's their fly by…." she suddenly laughs a bit, shaking her head, eyes catching the arrival of another gold who thankfully approaches from the opposite direction of the 'fly by aerial display.' Kessa abruptly turns to Ysa, "I've been meaning to ask you something, in regards to the dragons. We found some records of some of the 'games' that dragonriders participated in during times long past, I'd like to run them by you and see if we couldn't brighten up the moods of the people in both of our Weyrs."
Xhaine arrives from Ista with two girls, and looking rather happy about it, too. Hehehe. And it seems like he came just in time, what with the aerial displays starting. "Hmm, seems like the fun is just started." he murmurs to Baileigh, whose hand he's holding.
Baileigh tucks her skirt around her as she slips from the Istan dragon's back ahead of a few others, looking about herself wide-eyed. She waits patiently for Xhaine to join her, dusting off the full Gather gown that she donned quickly, cut of a sapphire-blue material that will nicely compliment Xhaine's harper blue. The bodice is cut modestly, though much lower then the normal tunics she wears, and the sleeves are short, showing off tanned skin. Her hair's released of its braid, blond and copper streaks creating a halo, and she shakes it out, letting it tumble down her back, as she cranes her head back to look at the dragons above. Ooooh. She gives Xhaine back her hand, walking so close to him that she trips a little bit. "There's so many people!" She doesn't look half as badly off as she was after her first trip b*tween.
K'shan does seem to notice Kessa, but doesn't return the wave. There's only a tiny nod for the Weyrwoman, before he tilts his head up just a little to watch the aerial display. Arms curl around himself just a little bit though, gloved fingertips gently tapping at an arm now and again.
And the song continues:
Dragonman, avoid excess;
Greed will bring the Weyr distress;
To the ancient Laws adhere,
Prospers thus the Dragonweyr.
Ysa listens intently for the first verse of the Harpers, though her attention is still split with the other Senior as well. "Things usually go better if ya just let them go whichever way they want. It's still looking marvelous, and it'll be better when I taste what Fort's serving as drinks." She grins back to the other senior and nods her head slowly. "He isn't going anywhere. The Weyr's shaping up, actually, even with all those renegades stuck down in our cells. Kind of rocky from time to time as always with those Holders…" She shifts on her feet a moment, licking her lips as she looks towards the booths serving drinks, but she isn't going just yet. "Games?" she asks Kessa, brows lifting high. "I like the sound of this. Anything to brighten up the mood."
As the words of the song continue, there is a rush of cold air from above, signalling the emergence of a massive number of dragons appearing from *between* - and suddenly the sky is filled with wings, hovering in perfect formation. Bronze and brown, blue and green, the wings of Fort are arranged as they once were in days when Thread had threatened Pern. One might even be able to imagine, as the words of the song wind through the weyr bowl, that the dragons of Fort stand poised to fight that age-old enemy.
Ysa's eyes do turn up to the skies at the display, ignoring the call of alcohol for the moment to really enjoy this sight. "It's a very intimidating display… I can almost imagine all those tales of Thread of the past. And all our dragons out there against it." She seems thoroughly entranced by the wings of dragons.
Cenlia just stares upward. Boggles is more like it. At the dragons. Up. There. "Shards…" the gardener girl mumbles, running a hand through her hair.
Xhaine pats Baileigh's hand absently, eyes upwards. "Oh, to have been able to see a fight against Thread." he sighs melodramatically. "That would've been the best… well, from a safe vantage point, anyway."
Fingers lift up to absently touch the yellow beads and feathers arranged in her hair as the wind caused by the dragon flights flying over rustle them too much for Kessa's favour. At this time she does notice K'shan's head bob instead of an actual smile or wave in return. It causes the woman to frown and purse her lips as she watches the greenrider slipping through the crowds. However, the aerial displays are very much a cause for everyone's attention, her eyes flickering briefly to watch Ysa's reaction as Kessa herself smiles quietly with pride, "A'ven, when I first met him, took me on his dragon and showed me how it used to be in the skies. His belief is that it will be back one day. Of course the history books say otherwise, but still, to know that the dragonriders of today still know how to fly those formations is … almost a relief." Her head twists as she watches them fly over in the flight array meant to take on a slew of Thread, "But yes, games. Games that incorporate these old styles of flight. I'll bring you the stories we found of them in our library below. It's a good read, after we had Harpers rewrite some of the faded words and guess at other words which were too ancient to cipher…"
Enka comes along right behind Baileigh and Xhaine — alas, that she is not particularly as well-dressed as those she companions, but still, her dress is cleaned, and presentable, and her hair is neatly braided into a crown atop her head. With a swish of her skirts, the girl moves throught thr crowd, trying to keep up with her erstwhile companions, with whom she'd shared the dragon ride. "Oops!" comes her yelp of surprise, as she nearly collides with someone. "Not used to the crowds." A pause, and her gray-eyed gaze turns upwards, lingering on the dragons in the sky. "Wow," comes her breathy exclaimation. "Now there's a sight." Hitching up her skirts a bit, she trots forwards. "Hey, wait up!"
Baileigh looks absolutely delighted as the Harper pats her hand, not much minding that his attention is on the dragons. Hers is, too. She gives him a sideways glance as he pines for the olden days, and shudders delicately, but she still presses herself against his side, peering upwards. After a moment, she slips away from his side, and returns a few minutes later, bearing two brimming wine glasses. She offers him one carefully, taking a judicious sip from her own. Now that she's got booze in hand, she gives the Harper a bit of space, pausing for just a moment to let Enka catch up. "Pretty, isn't it?"
The song fades, the singers clearing the stage, save for aged harper who, instead of speaking, provides one last verse - a different song perhaps, but heartfelt nonetheless:
Honor those the dragons heed,
In thought and favor, word and deed.
Worlds are lost and worlds are saved,
From those dangers dragon-braved.
And then, as the last notes of the song fade, on a silent command, the wings of Fort descend.
Tylia pauses mid stride as the great *whoosh* of the flying dragons overhead catches her attention, momentarily freezing her on the spot as she cranes her neck back to watch the stunt. She stands rooted to the spot for a long moment, though not even aerial displays seem to be able to keep her from her goal: the stands with the refreshments. No the food of course, but the varied array of wines in a neat row. With a contented sigh, she pours herself a glass of deep red wine from a large decanter, taking a moment to inhale the scent before taking a small mouthful of it. Operation wine successful, she now turns to the secondhand business - socializing. A quik scan of the crowd and she atleast manages to find Kessa, the hostess of sorts, and weaves her way through the crowd to her, "Xanadu's duties to Fort …", she begins with a bright smile aimed at the Fortian Weyrwomann during a break in the conversation. Near the end of her greeting her glance shifts to Ysa and she tacks an additional, " .. and to Ista as well." Thers no diminishment of her smile as she lifts her wine glass absently. "You were saying something about ancient Weyr games? I just ahppened to overhear."
Xhaine glances down from the dragons as she offers him wine. "I love you." he states, although he /could/ be addressing the wineglass and not her. Who knows! Smiling, he accepts the wine and casually reaches to wrap an arm around her to bring her closer again. Then he looks upwards again, and nods in exuberant approval. Can't clap with his hands otherwise occupied! He takes an appreciative sip of the wineglass.
It isn't long after the Fort dragons in the aerial display have dropped off their riders and returned to the ledges that B'ky is seen jogging through the crowd, the man's crimson and indigo riding leathers giving him away even at a distance.
"It's amazing!" Enka's exhubrence is matched by the warbling trill from the bronze firelizard perched on her shoulder, his tail curling around her neck, and wings hunched close to avoid being jostled by the crowd. "So orderly, those wings are," the girl observes, flashing a grateful grin at Baileigh — glad that she's not adrift upon the tides of the crowd, but rather had at least a somewhat stalwart anchor of a sort. "Must've been a sight to see back in the day when there really was Thread, and everyone was up there all neatly laid out." Her head tilts, listening to the song for a moment. "Such apt music too," the gray-eyed girl remarks. "This definitely was well-planned."
"Some seem to have that belief… which is natural. Some a little /too/ strongly, though," says Ysa in reply to Kessa, even though her eyes are still glued to the skies. Her voice sounds a bit distant, grin fading into a slight frown before she finally pulls her eyes away for a brief moment. "Ista doesn't focus that strongly on the old traditional patterns, but we'll definitely be interested in hearing about these games for it! With the storms passed, we need something more to spend with our time. And ya know that Ista's always interested in anything Fort's got to offer." She chuckles, distracted once again by another goldrider, who she tips her head in a polite bow. "Ista's duties," she answers the unfamiliar woman.
K'shan does at least clap for the display that's been given, though the sound is muted by gloves. Nevertheless, the greenrider does smile just a little bit, head briefly shaking at the sight of red and indigo darting through the crowds. No, it's not hard to tell who /that/ might be.
Baileigh is happy to tuck herself against the side of the tall, handsome harper, and she's blushed at his three words - though, it's a subdued, lady-like little blush, completely out of character for Lei's usual light-up-the-surrounding-mile blushes. She smiles at Enka's enthusiasm, nodding agreement, and leaning against the harper. Seems that's all it takes for her to be less-then-shy - someone to lean on, whether it be child or attractive man. "Indeed, though I would have been happy to have had all that stone to hide in!" Again, she gives a delicate little shudder at the thought. Thread may be gone, but the tales of what it did, no matter how embroidered, live on.
The phrase 'Xanadu's duties' has Kessa's spine straighten so quickly that she didn't find a moment to make it become less obvious than it was. She can't hide the fact that it happened but stiffly turns to the individual who was brave enough to say such a thing, knowing that their are issues still rattling like skeletons in a closet. Still, there is some surprise behind the upraised brows of Kessa when she finds herself face to face with a Xanadu goldrider, not the Senior, but a goldrider nevertheless. There's a moment when Kessa glances at Ysa, almost for some reassurance before the young Senior nods, "Evening. Fort welcomes." She watches where Choth goes in the mix of dragons, knowing her own had been a part of the 'gold' flight display. Back to the Xanadu goldrider she shrugs absently, "A discussion for a later time, I'm sure." There's a beat as she holds steady her gaze on Tylia, "I'm Kessa, Weyrwoman of Fort. And you are?"
Tylia cups her wine glass in her hand, letting the stem poke through her intertwined fingers in some attempt to look serenly unaware of any tension her words may have brought to the situation. There is some flicker of a change in expression at the reactions of the other goldriders, though it's quickly masked by another smile - completely friendly and innocent. "Judge me not by my Weyr, I suppose I should have said?" she muses, pausign to take another mouthful of wine inbetween words. "Honestly. It's a Gather. We're here to drink wine. And I care little for such things. I honestly dislike being unfriendly to anyone." She gives a roll of her eyes, as tohugh dismissing the whole animosity between Weyrs. She glances once between Kessa and Ysa before introducing herself further, "Tylia, though I've only recently joined Xanadu. I used to be of High reaches, until the recent .. ah .. takeover." A grimace briefly flashes across her face before her previously friendly expression returns. "Once again, I appear to be the oldest here, as far as golriders go." She appraises the nearby people and crowd, as tohugh hopig to find someone her age.
Enka's expression sobers for a long moment, her gaze turning back upwards towards the sky, and lingering on the wings of dragons as they descend, and then she nods faintly. "Yeah," she mutters, glancing once more at her fellow Istan. "I think I would have been more than happy with a nice little cubbyhole of rock and stone. Keep you safe from ravenous eating Thread." she grimaces. "The stories the old aunties used to tell were enough to give everyone nightmares. Makes you wonder how people who actually lived through it even /lived/ thorough it at all without waking nine times a night, screaming." She sniffs thoughtfully, glancing around. "Gonna go find something to eat. Or drink, or something. I'll be right back." And off she goes, slipping through the crowd — a girl on a mission.
"Haha… that's what we're good for, planning things." Xhaine informs Enka with no little amusement. "I knew about this months ago." he gestures her closer, since he does have a free arm, although the wineglass might make things a bit awkward. Xhaine totally wouldn't mind a girl on either side of him.
The aged harper exchanges places with some younger journeymen, giving the stage to those whose songs encourage movement rather than remembrance. And as Rukbat begins to dip below the weyr rim, the music shifts towards the celebration at hand.
Kessa regards Tylia with more composure, nodding in return to her, "Elara is bound to be around here somewhere," Kessa says respectfully to Tylia, "and I do apologize. I hadn't expected anyone from Xanadu to come. Not that they weren't welcome, just, it seems, well," she shrugs, "You're right though. Not a night to worry about it. Please do enjoy yourself. You're may have anything your heart desires this night, even a man or two." She winks at the last, sounding at least pleasant and teasing. Kessa looks to have red cheeks though when she peels her eyes away from Tylia, the girl still having so much to learn about handling other Weyrs and other Weyrwomen that the dismissive roll of Tylia's eyes have unsettled her.
B'ky seems to be looking for someone, although the Xanadu gold is what catches his eye first. The man turns from his progress toward the… floating… stage and dance floor… thing, and glances over in Kessa's direction. The bluerider's face doesn't reveal much more than a slightly crinkled brow, the man pursing his lips. He can't hear the conversation going on over there, but he might, perhaps, look as if he wishes he did.
Baileigh blinks after Enka, thoughtfully, watching her over the rim of her wine glass. The glass is half gone, now, and Baileigh is feeling pleasantly flushed. She nudges Xhaine in the ribs a little as he reaches after the girl on her mission. "She'll be back," she says. Her attention is caught for a moment by the three gold riders not far-far away, and her eyes widden as the youngest introduces herself as Kessa, Fort's Senior Weyrwoman. "That's Weyrwoman Kessa?" She whispers to Xhaine, pointing in their gold trio's direction.
K'shan just shakes his head a little bit. For now though, he stays on dry land, milling about in the crowd. Though he does at least manage to find a drink for himself. He seems interested enough in it for the time being though, shifting to the side occasionally to dodge some over-excited children.
Ysa actually doesn't seem to be quite as phased as the Fortian Weyrwoman at the mention of Xanadu. The Istan Senior was quite wired to the few voices of certain goldriders that she actually knew, and otherwise just grins at Tylia's comments. "Here, here, goldrider. Booze makes everyone on equal ground, I say, but doesn't mean that everyone still likes to take it as an open invitation." She shrugs up her shoulders once and then actually gives the older goldrider a look up and then down. "We had a recent transfer from 'Reaches as well. Goldrider Rwylann… an old friend of mine. So was the old Weyrleader at 'Reaches. I'm Ysa, Ellamariseth's… nice to meet you either way." Likely the other goldrider knew her name by now. She turns to Kessa with her brows raised up. "Does that offer extend to me? Though I think you'll have to excuse me a moment. I've been here too long without a drink already."
"Yes it is, and that's Junior Weyrwoman Tylia." Xhaine smiles at Baileigh, hugging her close. His wine is almost all gone, and he's scanning about for a ready supply of the alcohol. "I know all the Weyrwomen and Weyrleaders by sight." he boasts. "I've met quite a few of them too, come to think of it.."
Tylia experimentally shifts her weight onto her right leg a little but merely ends up wincing and quickly leaning back to her left. Another long drink of wine is the answe, supposively, as that's exactly what she does immediately afterward. "I didn't think you would have denied me anything, really. Honestly, you seem nice enough to me," she begins in Kessa's direction, though she fades away and adds to Ysa, " .. you as well, though I'm often told I'm too nice so." She gives a nonchalant shrug at the assessment of herself and gives a wry half-smile, "When I was Senior at high Reaches, atleast, I was thought to be too nice. Perhaps that's why the renegades thought to attack while I was in the top spot. Easy target." Twirling the stem of her wine glass, she turns her attention to Ysa a bit and regards her for a moment, "Yes, it seems a lot of us Reaches residents have scattered to the wind as of late. But, what is done, is done. And I do believe I knew of you, but had never met. You ah .. left Xanadu not long after I arrived." She does quickly drop that subject, though, in favor of the subject of wine, "The red wine here is quite good, I must say." A glance is given to Kessa as she lifts her glass, "Is this Benden? Or Tillek?"
Baileigh looks up at the Harper wide-eyed, letting out an almost vacuous sigh. "You're so worldly!" She practically coos, then pauses as the rational part of her brain struggles with the liqour that's talking. Worldly? Cooing?! *Really*? Lei fights the buzz a little bit, tries to come back to being a normal human being. Even for a first-timer light weight, she feels like she shouldn't be quite this susceptible to one stiff drink and one glass of wine. "I should eat something." She sounds a little… Spacey.
Indeed, it's not long before Enka comes gohsting out of the crowd again, a lumpy napkin-wrapped parcel half-held in one arm, half squeez… err, cradled against her chest, and a glass in the other hand. And there, perched on her shoulder with a bit of a flaky sort of finger-food; meatroll most likely, is her firelizard. "Got some bubblies!" she announces cheerfully to her Istan companions. "The server at the table said there were fresh out of the oven, so I grabbed a few and wrapped 'em in a napkin." She glances down for a nearby place to prop her glass on only long enough to free the parcel from her grip, and offer the contents to Baileigh and Xhaine. "Care for a bubbly?"
Kessa might hear her name a few times in the crowd, but with the amount of people actually enjoying the celebrations, it's hard to tell whose talking of her, or in which direction her name seemed to be spoken from. Still, she does look across out at the crowd, fingering the skirt of her dress and once more to the beads in her hair. She smiles to Ysa, "Of course Ysa, you can have whatever you like. Everything is on Fort tonight, save for some of the games and the traders booths, but otherwise…" she trails off with a shrug, gesturing for Ysa to get out there and mingle. Her eyes slip back toward Tylia, carefully, frowning at the mention of renegades attacking High Reaches. The subject of wine however is a delightful topic, "The red is from Benden. The whites are from Tillek. There's also a variety of other producers whom are marketing their wines here as well. Some from the valleys near Gar Hold, some from Narat." She shrugs a bit, "All in all, it only takes me a couple to feel the buzz, so you enjoy it!" She has to stay away from the booze tonight, indeedy.
Xhaine snickers at Baileigh. "That's a very good idea. It'd be horrible if you passed out now… ah, from hunger." he smiles disarmingly at her, then leads her towards the food-getting-places, only to be intercepted by Enka with bubblies. "Sure, thanks! Two for Baileigh here though." BUBBLIES. "I love you too." he adds in a blissful afterthought.
Cenlia goes to find something to munch on, acquiring another glass of brandy on the way. The gardener girl occasionally glances back at her uncle's booth. The menion of Benden wine has her turning curiously to look that way, and she spots the weyrwomen over there. The girl looks around, for said Benden wine. She's soon scouring the booths, grinning a bit as she goes.
Baileigh grins delightedly at Enka as she makes her way towards them, sitting in the nearest sitty-spot, which are fortunately plentious about the food-getting-places. She digs in the little pouch at her belt, pulling Xhaine close to whisper in his ear about finding someone to get a plate of meatrolls and some more wine, and pressing the eighth-mark into his hand to pay for them. Her smile dies only a little bit as he admits to loving Enka, too - but the liqour has to wonder if that's really so bad. Could be fun, at the very least! Breaking delicately into a bubbly, she does start nomming on it, using the last of her wine to wash it down. One glass, somebody find me more!
Ysa laughs lightly at Tylia's… well, compliments. "I try to be. We all seem to have been touched by renegades somehow as Seniors. Interesting, isn't it?" muses the Istan Weyrwoman as she looks from one woman to the other and bacxk again. "Had a lot on my mind. Sorry we didn't meet before, Tylia," is all Ysa says about that, tipping her head again politely. "I'll have to find myself some red wine, then." She bobs her head to Kessa as she explains the vintages and then chuckles deeply. "I'll just have to have a taste of them all! I'll see ya soon, Kessa. Tylia," she says, grinning to both before slipping into the crowd to look for said wine, looking a bit curiously at one brandy booth before making her way towards to the table likely serving Benden. Drinks! Nothing else will stop Ysa for now.
B'ky doesn't see any yelling or otherwise signs of impending political disaster, and the bluerider relaxes, letting out his breath and smiling a little. He starts off in the direction of the barge again, but spots K'shan and angles in that direction, giving the greenrider a nod in greeting.
K'shan takes another sip of his drink, peering over at B'ky once the bluerider appears again. At least in his line of sight. He nods though, offering a faint smile for the wingleader. "Hey.. I didn't expect so many visitors from other Weyrs." It's crowded!
Tylia gives a sheepish grin, which she immediately tries to smother with another sip of her own wine. "I ah .. I know what you mean. I love the taste, but …" she trails off, her voice somewhat muffled by the proximity of her glass. "Let's just say I tend to get more talkative. As if I weren't talkative enough already." Lowering her glass back into a more relaxed position, she gives a little bit of a smirk at her own comment. "I can't leave a good Benden behind, however. A weakness of mine, alas." She heaves a theatric sigh, gazing down into the deep red liquid in her glass as though it were the bane of her existence. As she toys with the glass stem, she eyes the nearby games and wonders aloud, "You don't have a dunking booth here, I hope? They used to get a kick out of Dunk the Weyrwoman at the High Reaches celebrations." A look of pain crosses her face at the memory but she lets it smooth as she lifts a free hand to wave at Ysa's departing back. "The renegades do tend to make themselves known to the Seniors of the time. I atleast managed to stab one of the ones that attacked High Reaches." With her face so serene, the comment doesn't seem to match the personality of the goldrider herself, but she does ammend, "He did have a knife to my throat, however."
Xhaine raises an eyebrow as Baileigh gives her money, and with a grin he passes her off to Enka, provided the other is willing. "Your wish is my command!" he announces loudly to her, sweeping a bow calculated to draw attention to himself. Eh, he's a Harper, that's normal. And then he trots off to find some meatrolls, and also more wine as he munches happily away at his own bubbly.
Cenlia has found the Benden wine, and is grinning from ear to ear. She's already got a bottle tucked under one arm, likely having traded marks or something else for the whole bottle of it. And she seems to have exchanged the two glasses she was carrying for a larger glass of the stuff as well. "Shards," the girl mumbles, "Wish I could take more home," and a sigh as she grumbles to herself.
Enka is quite unabashedly making inroads on her cache of delicious pies — particularly now that she's been cheerfully magnanimous, and offered it to the others before well … pigging out. Sweets might just be the girl's biggest vice, aside from the tendency to open her mouth and jump to comclusions before she thinks, and with such a treasure trove of goodies to be had … well, she's quite unashamedly going to take advantage of the munchies. A sideways grin is cast at Xhaine when he mentions he loves her, but with a bubbly in hand, Enka's really not much for conversation at the moment. A gulp from the glass washes down her current mouthful, and she grins at Baileigh. "Isn't this fantastic?"
As Ysa leaves, Kessa has only the other Weyrwoman to speak with, and as the conversation rolls onto the topic of the renegades she starts to clam up. Her eyes literally find a spot in the ground and bore into it. So it's not to the topic of renegades in which Kessa responds to, but of the games. "We do have a dunking booth, well, we did. Well I did.. well, no. The fact of the matter is, when I put up my booth for the weavers gather a few turns back now, they had one. I had requested it, but apparently it fell into disrepair. Of course, it's easier to have a dunking booth in the middle of summer than it is to have it during spring. It still gets rather chilly at nights." The mention of the night has Kessa turning her eyes on the glow of the lights surrounding the celebration, the music, and the people. She smiles a bit at the crowd, her eyes curiously turned back to Tylia, "This may sound a bit personal, but is there a reason why you left as Senior to High Reaches? I know, here in Fort, had it not been for Wiyaneth's accident, I would've had a few more Turns to learn a few things." She admits freely, shrugging afterward.
Baileigh finishes the first bubbly slowly, waiting on the more substantial meat pies, as well as the wine. She's also trying to catch sight of where Ysa's gone - more for the wonder of seeing the Weyrwoman in her "element", if you would, and with other goldriders. The lights, the sounds, and the swirling crowds of people all have a slightly intoxicated Lei unable to focus on one thing for more then a few moments. "Yeah," she agrees. "Fantastic." Though, if she's a little lack-luster, it probably has something to do with the flush on her cheeks.
Xhaine returns soon enough with a plate of meatrolls minus one and an entire bottle of wine. "It's wonderful to have connections." he sighs happily, offering her the plate and the bottle. His own wineglass is filled again, and he eyes it in anticipation. "I love parties of all kinds."
B'ky chuckles softly, nodding lightly to K'shan. "I'm glad to see so many here. This is as much a celebration for all of us," he says quietly. And then there's another soft chuckle, "A gather does tend to bring people together," his gaze trailing back to the weyrwomen, "…in more ways than one." There's a slight smile, the man seeming thoughtful a moment.
K'shan tilts his head just a little bit at that, but nods, letting his gaze drift back towards the weyrwomen for a moment. "I suppose that it does. It can be a good thing." Or bad, depending. But the greenrider seems content enough with the situation. After all, no brawls are breaking out in the gather.
Ysa, leaving behind the two other goldriders to talk, eventually makes her way to her desired drink as well. She beams at those serving, though it's Cenlia that gets a long look. The young girl's bottle is eyed and she gives a little shake of her head. "Hope ya left some for the rest of us. Benden, please," she says, at the end directing it to the drudge pouring some glasses. Getting her glass, she takes a sip and sighs in content. That's what she needed. She lets that first drink go down, and then takes a second— a third… At least she isn't tossing it all back. Satisfied, she turns to face the crowd again, as if the drink helped with her confidence a little and she gives a wave in the direction of familiar Istans, or rather their Istan knots. She probably doesn't recognize all their faces.
Tylia twirls the stem of her wine glass absently, completely oblivious to the other weyrwoman's avoidance of one of the topics. It might be that the wine is starting to take effect or more likely that she somehow sensed the discomfort. Either way, she dives eagerly intot he next topic on the games, though she does grimace once more at the mention of the dunking booth, "We had one at high Reaches." She pauses to heave a sigh and take another long drink of wine before continuing, "Odd, I know, to have such a thing in a wintery Weyr, but .. there you have it. It was someone's joke, I'm sure, at my fear of water." It's almost as though she shudders in revulsion at the thought of the icy dunking booth from her past and even takes another slow sip of wine in some attempt to calm hher nerves. In a moment, she's under control of herself and breaking back into a dimpled smile at Kessa, "Not of my own wanting, let me assure you. I'm addicted to work, through and through. I'm supposed to be retired, of course, but I still do paperwork, much to Solarith's displeasure." Another face, but she continues, "There was a blizzard. I was late returning back and Betweened right into it. A good gust of wind and Solarith was thrown into a rocky outcropping and I broke my leg rather badly and ah .. well. The healers wouldn't allow me to run the Weyr from the Infirmary." She gives a rueful smile and idly rubs at her right thigh instinctively.
Baileigh's eyes light up as the bottle is set down, and she beams up at the Harper. Yes, it is wonderful! She snatches up a meatroll, nibbling away at it quickly - and despite the buzz, she's the same tidy, efficient eater she always is. She does take it a little more slowly on the wine now that she's eating - her stomach was rumbling at her threateningly, and being sick twice in one day is twice too many. She does catch Ysa's eye as she's taking a sip, and she almost chokes in her hurry to swallow so she can wave at the Weyrwoman. "Do you think there'll be dancing?" She asks Xhaine, a little hopefully. She's never gotten to dance before. "This is the best Gather I've ever been to," she says solemnly.
"So many people," Enka's eyes are bright with excitement — or at least one hopes such, rather than the contents of whatever it is in her drinking glass . "Everyone's here, people are here to see and be seen." A bubbly-pie filled hand is waved off somewhere in the direction of the assorted weyrwomen, "and it's just bound to be loads of fun." Ah, there speaks a weyrbrat, born and bred. She leans forward, peering at Baileigh. "You feeling all right? Want another bubbly?" That seems to be Enka's solution to a problem — when in doubt, offer sugar. Xhaine's return is greeted with a wry grin from the younger girl. "Welcome back. What kind of connections are you talking about?" she glances around, eyes narrowed a bit. "With all these Hapers here, I just hope /she/ didn't bother to show up." But why ruin a good time with bad thoughts, Enka's waving that thought off as she crams another bubbly into her mouth, licking at the syrupy juice that ruls out of the corner of her lips.
Baileigh shakes her head at Enka's offer of another bubbly, letting the refugee hoard those to herself while she nibbles at a second meatroll instead.
The lack of anything in her hands has the young Senior of Fort keeping on her toes, looking for servers who duck through the crowd to gather empty glasses and offer full ones. Unfortunately, they are few and far between, so Kessa settles back on her heels for a while, just watching absently for someone to come by. "That would be a terrible joke," she adds as an aside for Tylia, "to be confronted so abruptly with one's fear." There's a beat, "Are you still fearful of water?" Still, she falls into listening to the more experienced goldrider, pursing her lips at the accident which caused an end to Tylia's authority. "Much the same way that Elara had to step down, save it was her gold who broke a wing instead…"
"Of course there'll be dancing! If not, I'll be having a word with my fellow Harpers." Xhaine nods sagely. "And this is my connection… I was able to wheedle out Benden Red at the price of a Tillek Red." Xhaine is so utterly pleased with himself, like a feline with a bowl of cream.
Tylia makes another face at the mention of her fear of water and lowers her voice a notch, "Unfortunately. It doesn't stop people from threatening to throw me into the lake for amusement's sake." A half-smirk graces her lips as she adds, "Not that I mind as long as th ey don't actually go through with their plans." She lifts a sohulder in a shrug and sips another bit of wine, taking care to conserve the last of the glass to make it last longer than it usually would, "Poor Solarith tore her wingsail a bit, too, though it wasn't as serious as my leg." Her lips purse, turning her mouth into a grim line as her eyes unfocus slightly and then rapidly come back into focus. She lets out a gusty sigh, "And Solarith thinks I ought to have brought my cane. She's giving me grief for that. I have enough reminder of my old age and that old injury without toting that thing around." Ignoring her dragon's pleas, she turns her attention to Kessa and lifts a brow, "You haven't been Weyrwoman long, have you? How are things going? It can be a bit ah … overwhelming in the beginning. I always had issues making decisions, myself. Trying to please everyone at once was impossible." In an afterthrough, she lifts her glass in a brief toast, "Here's hoping your career lasts long and doesn't end so abruptly."
Ysa gets her glass refilled, even if it wasn't completely finished, before moving away from the table of drinks towards said Istans, curious at the direction of their conversation. "Enjoying yourselves, I hope?" she asks them, eyes resting on the familiar Xhaine instead. "I hope you're treating both these ladies to a dance, Harper. And y'all better be as drunk as wherries 'fore leaving, that's an order." Teasing, of course, from the Weyrwoman. She gives the platform on the lake a longing look herself, keeping herself busy by sipping at her wine instead.
"I hope so," B'ky murmurs more to himself than to K'shan. The wingleader is still watching the Fort and Xanadu weyrwomen, though his eyes do drift out over the crowd now and again, nodding slightly in greeting as a familiar face or other is spotted. But when he sees Tylia lifting that glass in a toast, he's smiling a little and then turning to eye the stage, saying, "I have no idea how we're going to clear the lake once the gather is done." And he tilts his head at the floating structure in the water.
Baileigh almost spits out her mouthful of wine as Ysa comes up to put in her two cents. The plate of meatrolls is just about gone by now, and so is the glass of wine. Wobbling to her feet, Lei salutes the woman that she's helped for the past week, standing in for Shory while the other woman was off on the shores of Eastern. She's a bit wobbly, but there's an unusual gleam to her eye, and the myschevious beginnings of a smile tugging at her lips. "Yes, ma'am!" She responds, and then giggles the laughter of one just a touch tipsy. "Anything else, Weyrwoman?" She reaches out for Xhaine, snagging the back of the Harper's tunic and tweaking it a bit, as if laying claim to the first of those ordered dances.
"Of course, Weyrwoman." Xhaine replies brightly, bowing his head at her. "I'll be brash and ask you to dance afterwards as well, naturally." he winks at her, but at that moment he's 'tagged' by Baileigh. Laughing, he goes to set his now empty wineglass on a table, and handing the Benden over to Enka. Don't drink it all, lady! "Let's go, lovely lady!"
K'shan chuckles quietly at that, but shakes his head. "I'll leave that to the people who put it all there in the first place." Kash certainly isn't going to be cleaning up after the party! There's a somewhat tired sigh though, before he finishes down his drink. "I think I'll start heading back, though. It was good to see you tonight, B'ky."
Enka munches on the remainder of the bubbly pie she currently has in hand, the last few lying rather forlornly in the napkin in her lap, but never fear, they'll be joining their breathren soon enough. "My," she remarks to Xhaine, "seems like all you Harpers have a way with words, silver-tongued don't they say?" she grins wryly. "Sounds like you got a deal, or you talked your way into one." She leans back, fingers dipping for a bubbly pie before she grins up unabashedly at the newest arrival to the group. "It's fun!" comes her cheerful chirrup of greeting to Ysa. "Never saw a drunk wherry," she's quick to follow up on the rest of the conversation. "But I bet there's enough wine and spirits flowing around the place to make one really tipsy, though I can't say I'd be able to drink it under the table." there's just a bit of a mischevious glint in the girl's gray eyes, and she offers up a bubbly in lieu of jumping to her feet and saluting. "Bubbly, Weyrwoman? Still a bit warm." Oh! And now she's keeper of the Benden wine. Hurrah! The bottle's tucked into the crook of her arm and resting in her lap, squashing a bubbly pie or two. "Have fun." a wave is given towards the older girl, and the Harper.
B'ky laughs, "That would be Roc wing." The Roc wingleader shakes his head, but then nods to K'shan, hesitating a moment before saying, "I recall offering a dance awhile back," though the man's voice is light, smiling slightly, "Perhaps some other time, then."
K'shan does blink at that, looking at the bluerider in surprise. But he does smile after a moment, if tiredly. "You did.. Though I think I might end up falling asleep on you if I stayed much longer." Alas, he's a tired greenie. But he does look out over the water again briefly, and then simply glances at B'ky as he turns. "You don't have to wait until another gather." But for now, the greenrider heads off, striding quietly off toward the rest of the bowl.
"Be brash, Harper. I'll be thrilled if ya came and found me for that dance later," Ysa answers him with a laugh and a wink. "Go on, kids, and have fun!" Kids? What was she, forty? That slip of the tongue seems to sober the Istan Weyrwoman a moment, making her take a big hearty gulp of her wine without tasting it. What a waste. "Perhaps if ya ever had the time, ya should get a wherry drunk and see how that's like. I never quite managed to catch one myself, but I bet it'd make for an interesting afternoon," she says to Enka, holding her glass out and her green eyes pleading. Didn't matter if it was different years. "Not sure if I've seen ya 'round a lot… That one that went with Harper Xhaine, now… she's familiar." Hmm… People that help her with work start to blur together apparently.
Baileigh flushes lightly on top of the red the wine is already lending her cheeks as she stands, offering him her hand and letting him whirl her out into the dance floor. Isn't real surprising Ysa doesn't recognize a girl usually quiet, self-effacing, and very, very sober, but no doubt she'll recognize her in the morning when she comes in with the hangover that only a first-time drinker can have. Enka gets an encouraging wave, and she's full of giggles as she lets Xhaine coach her through the moves of the dance.
Cenlia grins at Ysa, "Plenty to go around," and then blinks as she recognizes the woman. But the Istan weyrwoman is already heading elsewhere, so Cenlia returns to her uncle's booth, beaming as she flops on a bench and sips the glass of Benden wine, tucking the bottle safely away somewhere.
M'nol enters the gather from the general direction of the healer hall, his face in an oddly down cast for someone seemingly at a party. He makes his way generally towards the wine, sniffing a few glasses before picking one and tacking a drink.
Xhaine is glad to teach Baileigh how to dance, especially since drunk people are fun. Now, despite having drunk three glasses of wine himself, Xhaine doesn't look nearly drunk enough for the amount he consumed.
B'ky's eyebrows rise, as he watches the greenrider go, the wingleader shaking his head and then returning his gaze to the floating dance floor. There's a soft sigh, the bluerider smiling slightly.
Kessa regards the lake in which the party barge is on, a brow lifting up, "That's why we decided to have some of the partying on ground while the dance floor and the bar and the harper stage is up on that floating raft." She shrugs a bit, sighing as she listens to the tail of Tylia's experiences. Fingers flash against her thigh as she idly skims her fingers across the pale yellow fabric of her dress, her teal eyes twisting toward Tylia for a long while before she grins, "It's obvious isn't it?" As obvious as her age is, apparently, "This is my first Turn.. I'm going on my second, next winter will be my second…Turns as Weyrwoman…" She checks again over her hair, fingers nervously touching the beads before she realizes her habit which may give away the butterflies in his stomache. "It is .. overwhelming. I had to go up against the Weyr Council to get our last Weyrwoman removed and then came the renegades…" She lets her eyes close as she takes a deep breath at this, "It's been a rough Turn…" Her eyes glint toward Tylia, "But I'm lucky for all the support I've received from friends here in Fort and even those in Ista." A beat, "Your Senior, that is, Xanadu's Senior didn't really … approve of me as much. So, I'm sorry that I sounded terse with you back there, it's just that.. I get reminded of having been called a child by Niva." She shrugs haphazardly, smiling though, "I suppose, she's right, in some ways." Her eyes linger out toward the crowd, "but in other ways, she's way off base." Abruptly, confidence is filtering in over the nerves that had showed face seconds ago. To the toast, she laughs, "Well, thanks."
Izarra slips in from the bowl, looking very windblown. She's carrying her violin case slung across her back, and a faint tickle of a smile. Perhaps it's because of the music. She sheds her things down into an abandoned seat, and spies Xhaine. He'd know what she was supposed to do, right? She makes her way gingerly through the dancing people, being very careful not to get crushed or touched. She gently taps the Harper on his shoulder, looking very nervous at the whole party situation that she's been thrust into (good music though). "X-X-Xhaine. W-where d-d-do I s-set up?"
"I'll see what I can do," Enka seems fairly confident, the words spoken with that air of bravado and satisfaction that only a weyrbrat can have. "Do we have any wherries in the feeding pens at Ista. Otherwise, maybe I can round up a few other 'brats and go out and catch one. Bound to be one that escaped from one of the holds after the 'quakes." And then of coursethere's the simple matter of holding the critter down and shoving gallons of wine … or rum, or /something/ down its throat, but Enka's going to gloss over all that for the moment. Especially since she's not particularly sure if she /can/ catch a wherry. "Been around," she remarks in reply to Ysa's next few words. "Ever since the 'quake, and all, was supposed to be helping Shorynia with that inventory stuff, remember." she pauses, shrugs, and hefts the bottle of wine. "Been stuck with odd jobs though. Not that I mind really. Laundry duty's as good a use of my talents as anything." The wine bottle is tilted slightly, but not so much that any of the red liquid inside sloshes out. "Say when."
Fortunately the song ends as Izarra comes up, and with a straight face Xhaine looks at the apprentice solemnly, then points at the floating stage. "Start swimming." oh, what a joker this guy is!
Ysa nods her head quickly, laughter in her eyes. "Oh, we've got quite a few if the dragons don't eat 'em all. But Ista's got plenty of wild ones in the forest, that I've seen. When ya get that chance, let someone know to grab me. I'll suspend all work so that the Weyr can round up and bet on the wherry." Bet what? Well, it sounded like a party idea and gambling to the Istan Weyrwoman, and she was liking that idea! "Oh," she answers about her being around. "That's right." Bad Weyrwoman. She chuckles and bobs her head slowly. "I tend to forget faces and names with everyone coming and going. It's been quite busy lately. But it's alright… odd jobs need to get done, too. And I've gotten more and more people for help with most paperwork and little things I don't see what all the fuss is with hoping Ella has another queen." She watches her fill the glass until the very top, where she chirps a happy, "When!"
Baileigh peers over Xhaine's shoulder, peering into the shy Harper apprentice's face. Her smile gets even bigger. Frrrriiiieeend. "Hi, Izarra!" She chirps delightedly. "Xhaine got me to come. Isn't this WON-derful? All the people? And the sounds? And the wine. The wine is WONderful. And so is the Xhaine." She beams at the tall Harper Journeyman, and then she turns her head to make sure Enka's still the keeper of the wine. "Hey!" She yelps. "Ysa's drinking all of our wine!" And Lei doesn't even have a glass! The tragedy!
M'nol spots the very drunken girl on the dance floor and quickly scuttles the other way, sipping the wine he'd chosen thoughtfully.
Cenlia looks to be getting tipsy, as she's snickering at the people around. The girl spots a few familiar faces who aren't family memebers and blinks, raising an arm to wave. Though it might be unclear who exactly she's waving to.
Izarra frowns. "B-but I d-don't know how t-to s-swim." she says, scrunching up her nose. She frowns down at the shorter, drunker girl. "I l-like the m-music. I-I'm n-not s-so into the p-people, or the Xh-Xhaine." she flushes a little. "W-well i-if y-you w-want t-to save s-some, go g-get it."
Tylia merely gives the hand holding her wine glass an absent wave, dismissing the comment about age in one single sweep, "Ah, it's not your age that gives it away. I just merely have an ear for news that rolls through the Weyr. I was boun to hear about your appointment somehow. And I do recall it wasn't long after I was transferred to Xanadu." The sudden waving motion of her hand brings her attention back to her glass of wine, which she eyes longingly for a moment as though deciding whether to finish it all now or wait. With a faint shrug, she lifts the glass to her lips and drains it in one swift movement. With nary an extra pause in her words, she continues with a dimpled smile in Kessa's direction, "Ah, I wouldn't listen to such things. We were all new and young once, you know. We have to start somewhere. Perhaps Niva forgets it because of her age?" She gazes down into the empty depths of her glass for a moment, thoughtful as she twirls the stem between her thumb and forefinger, "Not that I'm speaking badly of her. She's younger than I am, afterall, though some people can get set in their ways." Abruptly, she glances up and looks off into the distance for a moment with her eyes unfocused. A slight frown mars her feature, causing the previously friendly look on her face to darken momentarily. It clears soon after and she lets out a soft sigh, "Well, it was nice speaking with you Kessa. I wish you luck. I'm sure with time no onit was nice speaking with you Kessa. I wish you luck. I'm sure with time no one will even remember any opposition to your appointment to Senior. You're bound to do well." She breaks into another smile and adds, "It would seem I'm being called away, but I enjoyed myself .. atleast for a little bit." She lifts her empty glass once more and starts off towards the edge of the party, her limp more pronounced as she makes her way back towards her dragon.
"Likely around the same time, but just over a Turn now…" she regards the aged goldrider, eyes lingering on her before it sweeps toward the dance stage. She's starting to feel the groove of the tunes. Though with a respectful head, she stays at Tylia's side, keeping the other in conversation. "I suppose you may be right about that," she does admit, bobbing her head at the advice. Of course, she doesn't miss the other woman's unseen conversation, an expectant tilt of her head following. As if knowing that a departure was eminent, Kessa smiles at Tylia, "I'm glad that you did. Clear skies, Weyrwoman Tylia." Still, she lingers in that spot until she's sure that Tylia is away before darting through the crowd, heading for the stage and the dance floor that's on that party barge.
"Well at this point I don't think you're needed to take a turn. Enjoy the party!" Xhaine tells Izarra. "Go gets some food, and here." he goes to reclaim his bottle of wine with a raised eyebrow at Ysa and Enka, then somehow conjures up an extra glass and pouring it for Izarra. "All right, ladies, I hope you're enjoying my wine."
Enka flashes Ysa a broad grin, one probably not … well, it's got to the excitement and fun of the night, right, particularly since she's only had a few sips from that glass of hers. "It's worth a shot, right? Getting a wherry drunk. It's be ever better than the time those ovines at Telgar Weyr got dyed Harper blue!" No, no, Enka didn't have anything to do with /that/ now did she? She's certainly /not/ confessing to anything, nope. Instead, she just focuses on pouring out that Benden wine — which isn't even hers, the nerve… to give away something that she's only holding in keeping. But whatever is a girl to do? "Oi, yeah, odd jobs suit me. Always seem to have suited me." she remarks rather bluntly. "Not really talented enough to do anything else, but someone has to do the laundry and dish-washing. Might as well be me." See, she's got a good view of life there. And when Ysa lets out that happy chirp, back goes that bottle of wine, tucked back into the crook of her arm. "Don't know why you'd need to fuss and worry. Isn't there some old saying about how you shouldn't count your wherries before they're hatched or something? Just gotta wait and see." Ick… /that/ word again. She glances up suddenly, eyes wide with feigned innocence at the Harper. "I wasn't even /drinking/ it." Yeah, just giving it away.
M'nol spots Cen through the crowd and makes his way to where she's stationed. Anything to get away from the *totally* irresponsible boozers, Cen at least was only *somewhat* irresponsible. He smiles, "Hey, Cen.. How're you doing?"
Leave it to Sigam to be fashionably late. And by that, I mean just plain late in general. Sigh. It's hard to tell who he's caught a ride with, with so many people coming and going at the moment, but in the end all that matters is that he's here, right? "It's alright, ladies and gents, I know you've been waiting, but now the party can officially begin!" And lookie, someone's been pre-gaming! Though it might not be him the gardener was waving at, Xanadu's favorite (HA!) Dragonhealer spies the girl anyways, and beelines her way. Ruuuun! "Cenny! Good to see you. I was wondering if anyone from Xanadu'd be around." He obviously missed Tylia on the way in. "And M'nol! Man, I haven't seen you in forever." Well, he's not drunk, but he's on his way. At least he didn't bring any with him.
Baileigh trails along behind Xhaine. The look she shoots Enka in answer to the innocent look the younger girl has on. But she accepts a refill of her glass, sipping at it appreciatively. "All right, Enka, your turn." Ahhh, and now she gets to be keeper of the wine! "Sit down, Izarra, while Xhaine takes Enka for a spin. Ysa, being Weyrwoman doesn't mean you have to stand all the time. Sit if you feel like it." Though, the Weyrwoman may full well want to roam, and renew old connections - she has to look at Baileigh and Xhaine and Enka all the time. Well, not even all -… You know what she means. She takes another, longer, draught of her wine, then snatches at one of the few meatrolls left, nibbling at it, even though she makes a face that it's cold.
Ysa turns her attention away briefly to watch as the older goldrider heads off, actually somehow noticing that. She grins back over at Enka, though, almost immediately. "We could paint the wherries Ista's colors, get them drunk, and then set 'em off at the Weyr— shells, I think I might be too old to be suggesting this. Just make sure ya give 'em the /cheap/ stuff, alright?" She can't help but laugh at the image, not really imagining that it'll happen. "Why, Harper, I didn't know it was yours. Thank you! I certainly am enjoying it." She even sips off the top, making sure not to spill one drop. She nods her head towards Baileigh slowly. "Ah, yes… you're right. I might as well stick by here while I wait for Xhaine to come back for a dance." And she does finally sit down, though only after hesitating a moment.
"Hey!" Cenlia beams at M'nol, "What're you doing here?" She sounds surprised, glancing briefly at the brownrider's knot. Just in case. "Shards, surpri-" and then there's a Sigam? "Cenny?" Cenlia wrinkles her nose at the dragonhealer, "Shards, not you." What did he do? Who knows. Cenlia turns back to M'nol, "M' fine. Y'alright? Ya lookin' kinda…" down? Cenlia isn't that observant though, telling Sigam, "Booze." Wait… what?
Izarra ohs, and takes the glass from Xhaine. "T-thanks. I d-don't really… I've n-never…" she frowns, stumped, and drinks a little from the glass, and makes a slight face. "Uh.. t-thanks?" hey, it's supposed to be a party, right? She smiles a little at the Journeyman Harper, and nods. "Well, I f-feel s-sorry for h-her." she nods. "G-glad I d-don't know h-how to d-dance."
M'nol smiles a little, it's lopsided and perhaps verging on drunk, "Went to try to bring Phy up to the party… but she's in class." He takes a swig of his wine, "C'n you b'lieve that? In *class* during a gather?"
Some where in the shuffle, the Fortian Senior has escaped the throng of people. Though Choth is on the heights still… so it can only be assumed the woman is still around. Some where.
"Orange and black wherries running around, that would be awesome!" Enka's still young enough, and enough of a weyrbrat to appreciate the awesomeness of the awesome plan. "But … but the cheap stuff is /cheap/" she protests. "It'll take more of that swill to make a wherry staggering drunk." Enka knows the rules, after all. The better quality always is more effective. "But if you insist…" she trails off, letting out a somewhat strangled yelp at Baileigh's words. "What, my turn?" Faranth, she's so unprepared for this. "Hey, bubblies!" she moves the napkin off somewhere onto a nearby table or something. "Bit cold though. Still might be good." Err, dancing, yeah, she can do this. Can't she?
Baileigh giggles leaning onto the table. "Dancing isn't so bad!" She exclaims. "You just go with the flow. Xhaine was teaching me," and her eyes go distant, and she flushes again. "You're a Harper. You must know how to dance!" Even though she's sitting, she manages to put her hands on her hips and somehow look authoritative. Pfft. "You should finish that glass, and we should go dance. It'll be fun!"
"Yep, Cenny," Sigam states, smile wide as he cants his head to one side, a very puppy-ish gesture. "Not me? No, no," he glances down, hands patting over the front of his shirt, "No, I'm definitely me. But I'll let you know when I turn into someone else." Beaaam! "Booze? Where?" Someone turns very ADHD when they're drunk…
Public Announcement from Kessa: Thank you for making the Connell Festival a Success Pernworld! Party On!
Xhaine does offer his hand towards Enka, since now it's her turn to dance. "I want at least some of that wine still in the bottle by the time I get back!" he tells the ladies firmly, then he'll lead Enka to the dancefloor provided she's willing.
"Booze /there/," Cenlia points to the Benden wine booth across the way there, and then grins at Sigam almost cheekily, "Go get some?" She giggles, smiling sweetly at the dragonhealer. The girl does give M'nol a raised eyebrow, "Hunh, an' with healer hall right in Fort hold too… shards, that ain't fair," she agrees, sipping more wine.
Izarra finishes her glass, which goes straight to her empty stomach and her head. She nods, her mind swimming a little. "Okay." she says, standing up. She's taller than the other girl, and she has to look down a little. "What do I d-do?"
M'nol nods slowly, "Ish not fair at all…" he takes another drink of his wine, "Shnot fair at all… she shoul' be here…"
"We'll make a festival. Give us a reason to drink up. Dance of the Drunken Wherries. How's that sound?" Ysa laughs lightly at the young girl's enthusiasm as she settles into her seat. "There's some cheap stuff that'll rot your brain and get ya drunk real fast. Don't recommend it though." She grins at the pair of them as they go off dancing, waving her hands after them. "Enjoy yourselves! Don't worry 'bout the booze!" Cause Ysa's likely to drink as much as possible while Xhaine's gone dancing.
Baileigh grabs Izarra by the hand, leading her out to the dance floor. The drunk bad dancer teaching the drinking bad dancer. This might be entertaning. Mean times, they've left Ysa all alone with the remains of a bottle of Benden red. Drinking makes you intelligent. "Do you want to be the boy part or the girl part?" She asks, but really before the apprentice harper can answer, Lei grabs her hand, and puts an arm around her waist, and sweeps her off into the swirling dancers, gallivanting happily. Anyone watching shouldn't have trouble telling Lei's making things up as she goes along, and merely draging Izarra along for the ride.
B'ky is still standing on the shore, regarding the floating dancefloor, but he makes no move to cross the floating bridges, the wingleader instead scanning the crowd, still looking for a particular face.
Izarra uhs. "I dunno. My m-mum used to tell m-me I was b-boyi-" she's cut off as she's whipped around by the drunken girl. "Y-you're g-good at this." well, how would she know if she wasn't or not. She's no idea what's going on. "P-pretty too. Why aren't you h-hooking up with X-Xhaine?"
Enka makes a sound. It's not a particularly note-worthy sound, seeing as it's something between a giggle and a snicker — would that make it a gicker, or a sniggle? It's as if she's imagining that very image of painted wherries. "Yes'm," she nods fervently. "Sounds like a grand idea. We could even charge admission fees." Oh, what a thought that. "And charge for the drinks. With little wherry-shaped drink ornaments." Uh oh, Enka's on to something here. And up goes her hand, accepting the Harper's hand. "Hope you don't mind if I accidently step on your feet." she offers him a grin. "I'm not really the best dancer."
"Oh," Sigam says intelligently, swinging his entire self towards the indicated table. "Maybe I will then. But you!" He points his middle and index fingers first at his eyes, then at Cenlia's. "I'm not done with you. We- we have lots to discuss. I don't know what about, but… lots! Believe me, there's lots." The serious expression he's adopted suddenly disappears with a wide, blissful grin before he toddles off in what might be the indicated direction. Might not. There's booze? That's what Cenlia told him to get, so that will do.
Baileigh blinks at the apprentice Harper, thoughtfully. She does blush at the compliment - but it's so little, and she's already so flushed from the booze, that it's really not that noticeable. "Aw. Thanks!" But she thinks some more. The Journeyman Harper is quite handsome. "Cause he hasn't asked me to yet." Well, not with his big boy words. He has asked with wine, which is very persuasive. "And I'm waitin' till I get 'fasted." Yus, there's a sage nod there. Like a good little prude of a small-holder's daughter.
Ysa laughs again at Enka's comments. "I like the way ya think, gal," she says before waving her off, probably thinking on planning another party and the prices involved. She watches as Baileigh goes off to dance as well, sitting back with her glass of wine. She's happy to just sit and watch for now, feet tapping out to the rhythm of the Harpers' song.
Cenlia starts giggling at Sigam, calling as he goes, "Yeah, 'y still owe me that 'round!" She giggles some more and sips more wine from her glass. Cenlia peers at M'nol a moment, and then suddenly says, "Cheer up! Healer hall is right near here, plenty of riders could take ya to see her after classes an' stuff, right? I know B'ky would," and she points directly at the bluerider in red and blue over there.
M'nol chuckles, taking another drink, "I have a lisht o' her free peerids… but I jusht though' they'd le' 'er come out t'night…" He sighs, "Soon, though… soon Ruz'll bringer back ta me an it'll be all good again…"
Izarra ohs. "I see. I don't think Xhaine is the 'fasteding type." she observes. "A-at least not what I've seen." she nods and leans against the shorter girl, though, a little tipsy. "/I/ would have a-asked you. You're pretty. W-why wouldn't he ask you?"
Xhaine finishes dancing, then hears mention of his name and 'handfasting'. "Who says I'm handfasting anyone?" he blurts out. "Me, handfasting someone? Never!" Xhaine will remain a bachelor til his dying days!
Izarra nods at Xhaine. "Told ya." she says to Baileigh.
Baileigh blinks in bemusement, and as the song ends, she pulls Izarra off the dance floor, back towards their Weyrwoman. Istan rallying point, ho! She makes a face at the Journeyman Harper. She finally understands what Izarra was talking about. "Zara said you should have asked me to hook up with you." She said, sagely. In front of her Weyrwoman. Yup, she's pretty much blitzed. "I think she means boinking." And then, comprehension dawns, in that faint, fuzzy, buzzy way. "Wait, you want to boink me?"
See, Enka's got a pretty good mind. Must be all that odd jobs she does, keeps her hands busy while letting her mind wander. It's justthe luck of the draw, see. And it's once she's finished with the dancing, she plonks herself down into the chair she'd so recently vacated, flashing another wide grin at the Istan senior. "It's just a thought, maybe it's better left in someone else's hands for the planning. I'll just try and catch the wherries." a sideways glance at Baileligh. "Wow. How much did /you/ drink?" and just to prove her point, Enka takes a brief sip or two from her glass before setting it down.
B'ky sees someone pointing at him, and tilts his head. And then he sees who it is. The bluerider frowns, tensing and glancing around, though the sight of the Xanadu brownrider near the girl has B'ky's shoulders relaxing again. Still, the bluerider begins scanning the ledges, looking for a particular dragon now, eyes going distant to make sure… but Verzth isn't here, thankfully. And with a soft sigh, the bluerider is moving toward the booths, to find a drink and a place to sit and watch the crowd.
Izarra oh shellls, under her breath, and pours another glass of wine for herself. If she was going anywhere near such conversations, she was going to need… a lot more. She's somewhat red, flustered. "Maby… a little…" she sits and folds her hands in her lap. "W-wait, were you talking to Xhaine? H-he wants to b-bump e-everything that wont hit him with a f-frying pan." she nods. Nevermind what she'd said before.
"Yeah! That too!," Sig calls over his shoulder before stumbling less-than-gracefully. Noonesawit. Shifting his eyes about, the Dragonhealer beams cheerily at anyone who glances his way, including a waggling of his fingers right next to his face for good measure. Nothing to see here! No staggering Dragonhealers! Move along! Getting himself to drink, the man seems content to lean on the nearest stable object before mention of a frying pan has him snorting and choking on a mouthful of wine. Coughcoughcough, "Ahaha, what?"
Baileigh shakes her head. "No, I was talkin' to you!" She tells the Harper Apprentice, then she goes just about cross-eyed. "I think… I think… " Whatever Lei thinks, it's not about to be good. She staggers on up the lakeshore, close to the bowl wall, and is sick for the third time that day. Glory. At least she can splash in the Weyrlake to wash the stink off. Once she's not wobbly, she stands uneasily, and goes in search of somebody - anybody - that can get her somewhere to sleep, leaving her friends behind. Seems somebody's taking advantage of Fortian hospitality, at least until tomorrow morning.
Izarra shrugs. "W-well, that was s-something." she says, curling up in the chair. It would seem that she plans on sleeping where she is. She nods off.
"Who?" Cenlia furrows her brow, "R'zel?" She thinks a moment, "Oh, hiiim." The gardener girl snickers, "'S good, 'least ya got a plan." The girl watches Sigam a moment to make sure booze is got, but gets distracted as she suddenly grins, telling M'nol, "Hey! that's weyrwoman Ysa," finally recalling the name. "Shards, I shoulda thanked her for the firewater."
Enka glances at the retreating figure of her fellow Istan. "Shards, I hope /she's/ feeling better tomorrow." Enka doesn't look particularly impressed by the whole situation. And then there's Izarra falling alseep right there! "They're dropping like VTOLs." she mutters. "I think …" a pause, and then a grin at Ysa. "If you'll excuse me, Weyrwoman Ysa, I'm going to go find that 'rider that brought me here, and see if I can get a ride home." And with a swish of her skirts, she's up, the napkin of by-now cold bubbly pies forgotten, and slips off into the darkness to look for a particular rider.
M'nol smiles and nods, "Yup… he'sh gonna get tha new healer ta request her as an aide… She'sh comin' back!"He gaze follows her indicative finger, "Tha Ishta Weyrwoman? Th' one wha' locked up Thea fer so long?"
Ysa sits all alone now, or mostly alone as she still waits on Xhaine for the dance. He was stolen away by some other girl while she sat and enjoyed her wine. Those that were falling asleep are given a concerned frown and she keeps tabs on them for as long as she could. But someone was talking about her? She'll just sit there and look pretty for now.
Cenlia nods cheerfully to M'nol, "Yup! Brought us Igen firewater when we was all in the infirmary." Cenlia does wrinkle her nose, however, "Lock up Thea? Hunh, guess they ain't friends no more," and Cenlia sighs, "Wish I had more booze." She says this, despite a half-glass full of Benden red /and/ a bottle of the stuff tucked away somewhere nearby. Oh, and she's sitting right by her uncle's brandy booth. Yep, not enough booze.
M'nol's eyes clear for a moment, his back straightening, then he grins sheepishly, "Farry says tha' if I don' leave now he'll come down an' ge' me… shomethin' 'bout being too shloshed fer m' own good… prob'ly right…" He starts to turn, then grins once more, "C'n ya save some o' tha' firewater fer me t' try?" *Then* he wanders off, too tired and drunk to even think about fighting with his dragon.
Cenlia sees M'nol wandering off, and calls after, "Don't be like S'tan an' go flyin' around drunk!" She snickers, though, leaning back to sip more wine.
