A break in the Garden

Characters Alexa, Katailea
Synopsis Alexa and Katailea chat while on break from their respective duties.
Out-of-Character Date February 16, 2020

Igen Weyr - Hydroponic Gardens
Vibrant sights and smells greet visitors to a lush desert oasis that oughtn't exist here in the crater of Igen Weyr. Everywhere one looks, lush greenery waves lazily, hiding growing lights and the fixtures which give off the subtle lighting. The cavern, a natural bubble in the rock, is mostly round - there is no closure to the outside, and there's a tapering off at the back before exploding into another bubble further back. One can just see that the next "room" leads to yet another room even further back.

There is no set aisle through the plants. Walkways meander here and there, sand heaped along the floor and kept warm by whatever device gives the Hatching Grounds their warmth. The heat is not as intense here, but the mist generated by clever automatic sprayers lends humidity to the air. Tubs of various depths and sizes are scattered higgeldy piggeldy, and the plants in them seem to have no rhyme or reason. Aromatic scents give the hint that kitchen herbs and useful vegetables have been scattered among the decorative flowers and trees.

The chain of rooms are obviously a newer addition, perhaps onyl a few decades old. Insects buzz about everywhere, and there is a quiet twitter of avains and firelizards, who seem quite at home here among the vegetation. Near the door, a wooden rack holds a few pairs of shoes, encouraging visitors to go barefoot.


Summer - Month 6 of Turn 2724

While the Hydroponic Gardens might not be an oasis of cool, refreshing breezes (it's still rather warm and muggy, given all the tropical plants), it still offers a somewhat lovely break from the harsh desert sun and all that grainy sand that most of Igen Weyr offers. Here, there are green and growing things, a lush little paradise courtesy of modern innovations like irrigation. It is also where Alexa likes to retreat during the busier parts of the day, when she feels the need to get away from her desk, but isn't quite comfortable with the hustle and bustle of the living caverns. She's still got her books and her papers, but there's also a blanket and a basket of snacks, and a relaxed atmosphere that has allowed her to kick off her shoes (literally) and sprawl beneath a decorative tree, as if she were in a park in paradise rather than Igen Weyr.

The gardens do have that draw to them for at least one other. Wandering down one of the pathways running through the space is Katailea, the candidate having gotten away from wherever she's expected to be at the moment. Footsteps may be the first sign of her approach. As her eyes scan the plants it takes a longer moment before a turn finds Alexa and her pseudo-picnic. "Looks like you found the best place in the Weyr."

A grin comes first, something almost smug, followed by a slow stretch and the eventual press of hands to blanket as Alexa pushes herself up to half-sitting. It at least allows her to address Katailea while looking at her, which is only polite. "My brother would absolutely agree with you," she declares with a grin. "I do love it, too," she adds, considering the foliage around her. "It's lush and pretty and the sand stays in respectable places — like the paths. It's probably my second favorite place in Igen." Another little shove has her sitting properly, legs folded tailor-style. "Done for the day, or just escaping your chores?" she wonders, a grin quick to follow. "I won't tell if you're playing hooky." Faranth knows she did more than enough of that as a candidate.

Katailea returns with her own grin, laughing at the suggestion that she's playing hooky, or perhaps for the sand being where it belongs. "Done for now," she offers in reply. "Assisting the nannies today. The younger ones are napping and the older are at harper lessons so…" she's been freed with the expectation of returning later. "You have a brother?" the question posed, curiosity looking for confirmation of what was already said, fingers lingering on a leaf before her hand falls back to her side.

"Ahh, blissful free time." Alexa will just go ahead and finish that sentence, whether that was how Katailea would have done it or not. A little stretch, and she turns to rummage in her picnic basket for something to snack on. "I do," she confirms. "A twin, in fact. A'eyr. He's a healer, but he specializes in plants." Botany and pharmaceuticals, though Alexa will still just say it's 'plants'. "You can sit, if you want to," she adds, tossing a head-nod toward an empty space on her blanket. Plucking a citrus from her basket, she gets to peeling it with practiced motions. "I have a kid, too," she adds, for no real reason at all. "Jaxyn. He's about 8 months now." And could potentially be one of those little ones in the nursery.

"That," Katailea agrees easily enough to the completion of that thought. While she wasn't about to invite herself at the offer she moves to close the gap and settle into that open blanket space in a similar fashion to the weyrwoman. "I don't think I've met him," the blonde comments on the brother when his name is mentioned. As to the child, "That name I've heard," though she might not be able to pick the boy out from the rest of them. "Not," she adds, "in a bad way mind."

Alexa smirks as she tosses a bit of rind back into her basket. "I'm not surprised," she says, for her brother. "He doesn't spent a lot of time in Igen. Usually he's running around some tropical place like Ista, or Monaco, or Half Moon back before it blew up." Slight exaggeration, but Alexa is going with it. "Searching for rare, exotic plants." That couldn't interest her any less, given the wrinkled nose and eyeroll. "And you probably don't wanna," she adds. "He's kind of a dick." All said with affection of course, because he is her brother after all. But still. "Jaxyn's probably a little young to be getting on the naughty list," she agrees. "But I have no doubt he'll be driving everyone crazy soon enough." Sectioning her citrus, she offers half to Katailea, should she be interested. "What do you think of the garden?"

Katailea ahs, nodding for the information of the man. "I can't blame him. I mean Igen.." they've had those conversations on sand and the like. "Plants though," that finds a slight wrinkle of her nose to say it wouldn't be her first choice of a way to spend the days, searching for them. "Still, he's your brother," she will say it reaching out a hand to accept the offered treat with a "Probably," of agreement on the boy. "They're pretty," the gardens, "a nice change from the sand like you said."

"Yeah." Plants. Alexa can only shrug, though she'll share a little grin with Katailea over her brother's eccentricities. He might be related, but that doesn't make him not-weird. Popping a section of citrus in her mouth, she sucks on it thoughtfully as she surveys the gardens around them. "S'nice," she repeats. Because it is nice. "A bit of green in a sea of sand. Xanadu has a garden, too. I think it's a bit bigger." Maybe. She's not about to go measure it. "And they have a little fishpond, if I recall. It could be fun to have something like that here, though that might be a bit too much work." Just think of all the work that already goes into keeping things lush. The numbers have probably crossed Alexa's desk at least once.

"They do," Katailea replies of Xanadu before a section of citrus is popped into her mouth. It's when it's gone that she continues, "Can't say I remember the pond, but I didn't spend so much time in the gardens there outside of chores." There were other places to be and see there. "It could," she agrees of the potential addition, "Maybe, but I really couldn't say on the work of it." That not being within her wheelhouse of experience.

"I wonder how we'd even /transport/ fish," continues Alexa, for the fictional pond. "I mean… we'd probably have to fly them straight. Between would likely kill them, right?" As though maybe Katailea is a resident fish expert. It's probably a hypothetical question, given Alexa just kind of shrugs and moves right along. Another wedge of citrus popped into her mouth, she twists to gather some random paper, shuffling through before finding one or two that apparently catch her eye. "Mm. I don't think I want a fishpond that badly," she decides, nose-wrinkling at her paper, as though whatever is written has made up her mind on the matter. And maybe it has? Shuffling everything into a stack, she sighs and decides, "if I didn't think they'd notice, I'd offer to swap chores with you. Working with kids suddenly sounds a whole lot better than sitting in on trade negotiations."

Katailea hmms, considering the idea of just how they'd get here with fish, but leaves that conversation lie as she doesn't have a good answer and Alexa moves on from it. A pale brow arches in interest, but the woman doesn't ask after the papers and what might be on them. "If they wouldn't notice," the candidate replies, "I'd take you up on that."

Alexa grins, the sort of expression that includes crinkled eyes and wrinkled nose. "Unfortunately," she sighs a moment later, "They would definitely notice." Even if she's still tempted to try. But no, a moment later and with another sigh, she's gathering all her things into a nice, neat little stack and hugging it to her chest. "But I'll keep that in mind. I might have you sub-in for me if it's with people who've never met me before!" Woe be unto the unknown attendees. Rocking to her feet, she bobs her head at basket and blanket and declares, "Feel free to snack on whatever you'd like. I'll be back in a few hours to reclaim the blanket." And she clearly has no worries about anyone else making off with it. "And good luck with the babies!"

Katailea smirks in return, "Another time," she replies with easy amusement at the idea if nothing else. Another time however will likely never come, at least in her thinking. "Thank you," the blonde adds then, holding up the remain segments of that citrus in hand just slightly. The thanks for sharing and the offer to help herself in the meantime as well as the luck offered. "I might need it," the trader says of the latter. "And good luck with your negotiations."

Please use the site manager to activate the Forum, or ask your admin to help
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License