| Characters | Alexa, Oddisa |
| Synopsis | Alexa and Oddisa talk in the Living Cavern; Raaneth and Oriapeth talk outside during a rare rainstorm. |
| Out-of-Character Date | March 15, 2020 |
Igen Weyr - Living Caverns
Second only to the Hatching Sands in size -- although its walls are not so nearly circular -- the living cavern is filled with numerous rectangular tables, almost too many to count. The Weyrleaders have the table farthest from the kitchen and hearths at one end of the cavern. The hearths are kept as low-burning as possible during the day when folk come inside to escape the heat outside. They burn brighter at night to keep away the deserts chill. No matter the level of flame, there is always a stew pot that hangs for nibblers at a good temperature. Favored drinks, particularly iced klah and juice, are kept on ice and interspersed at various food tables scattered about, along with baskets of rolls and fruit. There are, of course, scheduled mealtimes, and at certain points of the day the available fare slides into the menu for the nearest meal, be it breakfast, lunch, dinner, or late-night snackings, but the staff has long since acknowledged that people will sit to talk and nibble here at all hours. In the cooler parts of the evening in particular, the cavern hosts games of chess, checkers, dragonpoker, and others. Several degrees are knocked off thanks to the Technician Craft's cooling system.
Autumn - Month 10 of Turn 2724
Autumn brings relief from the heat, today a rare treat has arrived on the scattering of dark clouds, rain. After the morning shower, a few clouds linger over the Weyr proper, and an occasional spattering of precipitation falls upon the sandy ground. Oriapeth had never seen rain, the opportunities fleeting at best she had always missed it. Today finds her stretched out in the bowl, head extended upward and eyes taking it in with wonder. Oddisa is not impressed, the rainy afternoon has disrupted the schedule she's slowly come to love (don't tell R'sner). Striding into the caverns a plate full of meat is gathered, along with a vegetable dish that is mostly melted cheese to hide the flavor. Warm klah is on the menu for the day, and after sweetening it past the point of recognition, hands full the put out teen searches for a place to sit. Tapping her foot, there are long searching stares being given to each person present.
Alexa has been released from the infirmary and back at work for a few days now. Though her duties might be somewhat interrupted by the needs of her new baby (or the needs of her own body, as sleep is definitely a thing that has been in short supply lately) she's found a time for a bit of freedom and seized it with both hands. Claiming her customary table in the living caverns, today she's sans baby and sans paperwork, a plate of food piled high on the table before her, but the goldrider's attention on nursing the mug of tea she clutches in her hands, ignorant of most goings on around her. Of course she knows of the rain, but thankfully she hasn't had to be out in it. And Raaneth, while unconcerned with getting wet, has taken herself to the Star Stones to watch the water fall around her.
The secondary scan of seating options lands Oddisa on Alexa, and she moves without hesitation; she'd been hoping to find time to speak with her, and the opportunity opening up brings a touch of happiness to today's annoyed face. Even while standing, it's hard for Oddisa to stare down at anyone, face craning around, head cocked with a quiet query before speaking "Room for another?" Placing her food over two seats, in case the weyrwoman is searching for privacy. Feet are folded beneath her, settling on her knees to add that extra few inches of height. Oriapeth spots Raaneth up on the Star Stones and warble a greeting, the darkness of space scattered with uncountable stars met with the feeling of floating. Each word comes with a playful twirl of golden dust, particles dancing through emptiness and dissipating only to reappear as another word forms.«Now how did you get up there. I bet I could join you.» The young queen can't fly yet, and it's possible they both won't fit, but the sudden idea is all she can think about. Oddisa catches the thought train and shakes her head, glaring at the door because this will only be the 100th meal Ori has deemed to interrupt.
The answer is slow in coming, probably because it takes Alexa a moment to realize Oddisa is speaking to her. Blame baby brain, maybe? Or exhaustion. That's definitely a good excuse. Another sip of tea and she shrugs her shoulders. "Sure," comes only after she's swallowed and Odi has claimed a spot, the goldrider not particularly fussed about having another at her table. It's a crowded place after all. Only natural that empty chairs will be taken. As for Raaneth? She's as comfortable in the planet-spinning darkness as she is in the light of day, the rain falling around them a soft susurrus of sound. « I flew, » she drawls, dry tone raspy with faint amusement. « And I don't think you can. Not yet. » She's quite high, and the cliffs are quite sheer, and while she might not be part of the weyrlingmaster staff, she definitely knows it's too soon for her children to be flying. « Better to stay on the ground for now. »
As permission to join is granted Odi scoots over, quiet for a moment as she stuffs several pieces of meat in her mouth. Politely swallowing with visible effort before speaking again, "Yu know what's gonna be expected of meh once I graduate? Whatta yu do aroun' here? Is it all borin' an' indoor an' stuffy?" Pinching up her face in mild disdain at the idea of being a paper pusher for the rest of her life. "My blue is gettin' kinda big an' I figure I might need a backup plan." Flashing teeth before tossing more bacon in her mouth with a joyful ahh as the flavor hits her palette. Oriapeth shakes her head, tossing off what Raaneth has said «Well you could teach me to fly, I'd be a great student.» The twirl of gold dust flirts with the edges of her dam's mind, playing and swirling before being reabsorbed by the darkness. «I could climb, if humans can do it I obviously can.» The path up is not made for dragons, but that doesn't stop Oriapeth from meandering around the bowl, searching for a route as she stubbornly wishes to be where her dam is.
The path up is also inside so Oriapeth would have even more difficulty navigating it. First she'd have to fit through the door and next she'd have to find it. Never mind the spiral stairs. So Raaneth simply snorts in answer. « I am not your teacher, » comes first, the idea dismissed with very little emotion attached. It's simply a fact. As for being able to climb because humans can do it? « Sure, » she drawls. « That makes sense. If humans can do it, clearly you can do it. Because you're human? » It's not meant to be answered and Raaneth won't wait for one. « There's no need for you to come up here. Better to stay on the ground. » And in the Living Caverns, whether she is aware of her dragon's conversation or not, Alexa does nothing more than take another sip of her tea. It's the sudden barrage of words that has her gaze sliding toward Oddisa once again, expression laced with confusion as she just keeps talking. And while some of it she has no idea what to make of (Blue? Doesn't she ride a gold?) she can at least latch onto the questions. "What I do around here and what is expected of you are two different questions," she points out with a sigh. The mug is set down, though Alexa does not let it go. "What do you want to do?" she wonders. "If you want to work indoors, then work indoors. If you want to go back to your craft, you can do that. Honestly," she adds with a shrug. "Weyrwoman Neyuni is easy to work with. Obviously, you have to account for Flights and clutches. But otherwise…" She finishes the sentence with another shrug.
A door is found that the gold thinks leads to the stairs, Ori spends several minutes trying to figure out how she will shove her head in before staring down at her feet, she's not equipped to open doorknobs, and Oddisa has entirely nixed knocking it down. Puzzling over her problem for several minutes before rising up on her hind legs in mild disdain. «They've trapped it! The tricky two-legged buggers have blocked the way.» There's the presence of a star far looming ever closer in her mind, the course set by the constant forward motion inevitably means a collision before with a flash and whirl of mechanical scraping that reverberates through space it's gone. «I know I can fly.» Not that there's any doubt, she's Raaneth's daughter, she will absolutely be able to fly. Even if that day is not today. The tongue in cheek comment about Ori being blue is an inside joke, and there's no move to explain it to Alexa. Contemplating the response, there's relief flooding through her tiny form, body relaxing back on heels, and it's clear this has been weighing on the girl. "I'd like nothin' more than to continue ma craft, though, I'd do work around the Weyr if needed. Do yu attend meetin's? Will I have to?" Fingers twist through blonde hair, "Thank yu, Alexa… She's brilliant, yu know. I um, am partial, but my girl is perfect. Is Raaneth a flirt? Ori says outrageous things." The joyful upturn of lips is met with the sparkly warm glaze that bespeaks one lucky enough to have a dragon.
Raaneth is a dragon and, as such, cannot make the sort of expressions that a human might. But her dry voice and the touch of her mind might just convey an eyeroll. « That is not the door to the star stones. » What it is a door for, Raaneth will not say. Nor will she provide any details about where to find the proper door (hint. It's buried deep in the inner caverns). Settling herself on her perch, she turns her attention back to the sky, as though fascinated by the dark clouds rolling overhead. « Can and Should are two very different things, » she drawls. « You *can* do a lot of things. But you *shouldn't* do most of them. ». "Okay," says Alexa with another shrug, pale eyebrow arched at the petite blond at her table. "Then do that. Well. After you're done being a weyrling," she adds. Because weyrlinghood is definitely a thing that must come first. A snort and a hint of a smirk, though Alexa's thoughts remain her own as she lifts her mug for another sip. "We're fine," she assures, after a moment. "You don't have to do anything with meetings or records or anything if it's not your thing. Especially if you're not trained for it. That would be kind of silly," she decides. "I mean. No one is going to ask you to do something if you haven't been thoroughly trained on it first." Another sip of tea and she finally sets the mug down so that she can pull her plate forward and pick at her snacks. A fingerroot is selected first, bitten and chewed with a quiet 'hm'. "Pretty sure everyone feels the same about their dragon," she decides, a hint of a grin tugging at her lips. "And no. She's not. Not unless she's proddy, thank Faranth. I couldn't handle it."
Oriapeth scoots back from the door, opening up her wings to allow the drops to drip off of the growing sails. Watching Raaneth, the youngest queen at Igen wants to get up to the Star Stones. «I hate this. Should, can, all words. If I can do it, and I want to then it will be done.» Stomping her foot and deciding to watch the drops evaporate from the ground, eyes whirling a grouchy orange. Hands clapsed around the mug, the teen gulps down the klah, in anticipation of making a getway. There's a second glance at the door as Ori's mood causes a worried crease to form between eyebrows. "That's the best news I've gotten in a bit. An' grats on yur babe." Standing up her mind wanders elsewhere as her gaze continuously focuses and unfocuses on the door. "Oriapeth flirted with N'sir the other day, or tried to. If that gives yu any idea." Rolling her eyes, there's one more slice of meat shoveled in, eating as if food might become scarce. "Thank yu, I'm not a paperwork type gal.When I get back in the saddle, we should go." Always attempting to get people into the barn, even as a dragonrider, finding converts to her obsessive love for runners.
« Hmm, » hums Raaneth, faintly amused and not at all worried about the little gold throwing a temper tantrum on the ground. « Spoken like a true child, » she decides. « It's very unbecoming. » But she's not so fussed, turning her attention back to the sky. "Thanks," comes for the congratulations, the words dry as Alexa puts down the rest of her fingerroot. Apparently one bite was plenty for the time being. Another arched eyebrow for Oriapeth flirting with N'sir, a hint of something amused in her eyes even if she won't share the joke. "I'm sure you can handle her." At least, she dearly hopes so. Otherwise, she's pretty sure R'sner and N'sir will do some handling of their own. Either way, Alexa isn't worried. But there's a wrinkle of her nose and a little shake of her head before she decides, "Sorry. Not a runner-type girl," she explains, happy to use Oddisa's wording for her own. "But thanks for the offer. And good luck. With… Her," she adds, hand-flapping toward the bowl, a little grin pulling at her lips. Because maybe Raaneth has been sharing the goings on with her.
