Oh, You Too?

Characters Alekzandyr, Alexa
Synopsis Alek has some news for Alexa!
Out-of-Character Date April 3, 2019

Igen Weyr - Moonshine Gardens
A large sandstone archway provides a dramatic entrance from the soft fine sands of the lake shore. The room within defined by sandstone brick walls which vary in height, but none low enough to be seen over. Colorful awnings stretch overhead, connected by a series of poles and wires so that they float effortlessly above. They provide shelter from the sun during the day, and a warm comforting feel at night lit by electric lights. Plank flooring is stained a medium cherry hue, giving an odd effect to the open space.

A solid wall at the back leads to a smaller building where the kitchen is located. Colored glass shelves line the wall in irregular intervals, stocked with all fashion of liquor and wine. A massive bar rests in front of the wall, an exquisite piece of skybroom polished and stained to a flawless black finish, accented with two inlaid meandering stripes of pearl and silver. Matching black and silver stools line along the front of the bar. Round tables for four-somes to six-somes are spread about haphazardly with comfortable but also easily replaceable wicker chairs.


Igen was a big weyr. Just how big, Alek had only just become aware of as he searched for his sister to tell her the big news, his white candidate knot fisted in one hand. Not that he knew (or wanted to know) a lot of people, but he wanted her to be the first he told. It was remarkably important to him, and probably why with each location checked his calm and easy going facade cracks a little to allow a bit of his frustration to show through. Green eyes dart this way and that as he approaches the moonshine gardens, seeking out every nook and cranny in his search for one familiar blonde head.

Alexa's chore that day was 'caverns'. But apparent, 'caverns' is a very broad (and very subjective) term, because rather than bussing tables in the tunnels she's… in the bar. She may not be able to partake of those beverages now that she's a candidate (or at least, not more than one or two per day) but apparently, they have *NO PROBLEM* with her cleaning them up. Her table manners definitely need some refining, but she's hardworking enough that no fuss has been made. She's fetched and carried, taken orders and refilled drinks, wiped down tables and deftly avoided doing dishes and now, now, she finally sees a bit of a break. Slumped into a pile of pillows at the back of the establishment, she's doing a fairly good job of looking asleep… except that her eyes are open.

Thank Faranth for keen eyesight, for it saves Alek from having to ask anyone if they'd seen his sister, spotting her on the cusp of need to do just that. Breathing out a sigh of relief, the boy makes his way over to the prone figure roughing the right size, shape, and coloring to be Alexa, but pauses to ensure that she was blinking and breathing before accusing anyone of working her to death. "On a break?" he asks, once proof of life had been established, a grin quick to find his mouth. Flagging down a server, he orders a few things of the food and drink variety before sliding into a seat himself.

"Nope. Totally hiding from the weyrlingmasters. They'd never think to look in the bar…" While her tone might be dry, there's a gleam of mischief in her eyes as she pushes herself upright. "Yeah," comes more seriously. "For an hour. I already ate," she continues. "And I've been drinking water all day," she adds, in case he thinks to chastise her about it. "Surprised you came all the way out here. Don't your plants need… something?" It's a good natured tease, but truly Alexa knows NOTHING about growing things.

With that, Alek laughs, gaze following his sister's zombie like rise from her self-imposed grave (especially if the Weyrlingmaster had caught her hiding from them). Fortunately, it had been her brother and not them that had stumbled across her. A sort of amused expression settles on his features for all her reassurances, but doesn't bother cancelling anything that he'd asked for. Just some light finger foods and a couple bottles of water really, nothing crazy. "Hmm…" he says, playfully eyeballing her all the same, soon settling his satchel onto the floor beside him. "Only need to water them a few times a sevenday, whenever the soil is starting to dry out," comes with a tsk, playfully eyeballing the girl, "It's like you aren't happy to see me at all." After stating this with poorly acted hurt, Alek chooses now to toss his own white knot out, letting it plunk lightly onto the worn wooden surface of the table, "And now you're stuck with me. Bigtime…"

"Of course I am," huffs Alexa, for being happy to see him. "I'm just also tired, and probably smell like beer, and fried foods." Not good things. At all. And there's a glint in those green eyes that suggests she has every intention of making him suffer through it (the smell, at least) before her gaze zings down to that white knot. For a moment there's a blank stare, and then a slide of her gaze to her brother and a serious study. As if she's trying to figure out if this is for real. "Really? You really got Searched!?" SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! And a moment later, she's full on glomping him, spindly arms wrapped tight as she squeals her excitement and hugs it out. "You can get the cot across from mine! It'll be great. Well… except for the lack of privacy and noise and million other warm bodies, and chores and possibly no plants and smelling like a freakin' bar, it'll be awesome!"

"Hmmm…" Alek thrums with a semi-suspicious narrowing of eyes for his sister, not really doubting her words but teasing her for her original comment. Brows lift however for mention of smelling of beer and fried foods, but before he can inquire after it or bring attention to the dangerousness that her glinting green eyes presented, that knot makes it's appearance and completely throws Alexa for a loop. Excellent says his broadened grin, unwavering and unflinching beneath her scrutiny, nodding repeatedly with building affirmation as she asks if it was for real. Oh yeah, it was for real. "Yep, ridiculously pretty greenrider got me not that long ago." There's the evidence right there, in form of that white knot. Bracing for impact, Alek's muscles tighten seconds before Alexa throws her arms around him, keeping himself from flying off the end of the bench with a well placed hand, "Oy, Allie. My ears." And everyone else's as those that were also patrons of the gardens all look towards the twins with a mixed bag of expression. A few of them annoyance, but he ignores them in favor of hugging his sister tight. Although he laughs, the boy can't help but cringe a little internally for her description of their living quarters. That sounded, awful. All of it. Well, except for the part where they bunked up across from one another.

"Your ears are just fine," she decides, though she does bring her voice back to a respectable, indoor-level after a few side-eyes are given their direction. "And what do you mean 'ridiculously pretty greenrider'?" she demands, settling back into her proper seat after a final, affectionate squeeze. "Never mind. You're Searched and it will be awesome!" How could it NOT be? Aside from all those aforementioned "perks". "I hope we get the same chore rotation. It would be so much better than cleaning things alone. Oh! And you can move your plants in! We can hide them under the bed." Cause it's not like plants need LIGHT or anything… But Alexa will just hand-wave that little detail away, clearly unconcerned for those green and growing things.

Alek twitches minutely, mostly because one of his ears was still somewhat ringing, but rather than correct Alexa on that status he lets her have her moment without further complaint. Quite pointedly though, the healercraft apprentice ignores any looks thrown their way and there is certainly no apology for his sister's exuberance. Let the girl be happy, damn it. "Nothing, it's not important." And it wasn't, not when they had so much to celebrate just the two of them. "Yes, I'm searched…but I'll have to take your word on the level of awesome I've to look forward to." Seeing as he'd been a candidate for all of thirty minutes and hadn't even packed up his stuff to move into the barracks. "I only got a chance to glance at the chore board, but from the looks of it we'll probably spend more time with other people than each other." Not to burst her bubble or anything, but better she understand now than have crushing disappointment if he agreed with her just to discover it was to the contrary. As for his plants and shoving them beneath the bed? Alek's eyebrows shoot upwards very quickly and he stares at his twin, but just for a moment. Clearing his throat, he gives her another squeeze before releasing her back to her personal space, "I think I'll leave them where they are with their sunlamps and temperature control." And he would visit them a few times a sevenday to fuss over them and such.

"Mm. Suite yourself," decides Alexa. "Maybe you should find someone to water and watch them for you?" she offers, though a moment later she's wrinkling her nose and wondering, "I still can't figure out how the heck you managed to afford sunlamps and temperature control." A sigh of mild irritation, though it is less for her brother and more for her lack of provisions because, "I can barely afford a new journal each time I fill mine. Clearly, I picked the wrong craft." Even if she wouldn't have picked any other. Harper, through and through. But her "I know," comes a lot more subdued, circling back to previous mention of not spending much time together. "But maybe we can… trade with other people or something. I don't want to work with strangers."

Alek looks as if he's about to protest hiring someone to tend his plants for him just before Alexa boggles over marks, which oddly enough brings a wicked upwards twist to the corners of his mouth. There's just something about that grin that suggests that the healer apprentice was not above all sorts of action as long as he benefited in the end, but then again it's paired with a huff of a laugh, "Well, when I say temperature controlled, I mean the environment they're contained in is controlled. No fluctuating body heat or improper shade…so I suppose I should have said environmental controlled…" And he gets that far and away thing in his eyes that says deep thoughts were being thunk, but ultimately he brushes them aside in favor of addressing spending, "If the harpers are requiring journaling, than they should be the one fitting the bill for them Allie." He was teasing, and to emphasize this he smirks and gives her side a soft poke with the tip of his finger, "All kidding aside, how frequently are you going through journals on average?" Curiosity killed the feline, but it nagged at him all the same. Alexa was never far without one of her journals, but he'd never paid much attention to how often they changed covers. "Maybe," he says on switching with other candidates so they could be together, "Faranth knows I don't want to work with anyone else but you, though I'm not sure how the Weyrlingmasters will feel about switching all the time." Ugh. Damned voice of reason and logic! "We could ask to be paired up. No harm in it."

"They don't require me to keep a journal." The idea has Alexa rolling her eyes. "What I need to do the job, they provide. Journaling is for *me*." And therefore, not covered by the Hall. The poke gets a pout, a thoroughly feigned expression of distress as she sits there and sulks. But the question of how fast she goes through one of those tomes is hummed over before she decides, "About… oh. One every two turns? Not fast," she admits, "But still." She's kind of a collector of diaries, even if they're not all being used. "Sometimes there are really pretty ones that I like…" And apprentices aren't exactly paid for their services. "We can," she agrees. "And if you wanna help me clean out the barracks…" Are those batted eyelashes and an attempt to win him to her cause? Why yes. Yes, it is.

Chuckling for those rolling green eyes, Alek folds his arms one over the other upon the table, even as what he'd ordered finally arrives. Light finger foods and a couple bottles of water. It's there for sipping and nibblage, should either of them require it, but for now it's ignored in favor of the girl at his side. His amusement over Alexa's feigned distress carries him through, confident that he had not in fact hurt her feelings, he would have paid a much higher price if that had been the case. In regards to the answer he receives for his question, the boy nods, expression taking on genuine interest as she goes on to explain about her lack of funds and he ahhh's softly with a bob of his head. "You'll have to let me know next time you see one and can't afford it. I might be able to scrape up enough to help." That's right, he's totally going to enable her, which was so much better than launching into some speech about need verses want. Screw that. Nothing made him happier than making Alexa happy. Though at mention of cleaning the barracks, Alek makes a face that suggests that didn't sound at all fun to him, not at all shy about giving his sister a long look, "That doesn't work on me, Allie…but yes. I'll help you." Mostly because he'd already been told to do just that.

Good thing those snacks are for sharing because Alexa is definitely helping herself to a few bites, even if she did 'already eat'. It's the implication that Alek will purchase things for her that has those green eyes narrowing, slanty side-eyes definitely pinned on the boy beside her. "How the heck… no. You know what? I don't want to know." Because she's beginning to suspect that whatever Alek is doing to make money, it's probably not legal. A true frown pulls at her mouth, the expression serious rather than feigned, though she keeps her thoughts to herself. A few bites and she's licking her fingers clean and scooting out from her little next of pillows. "You don't have too," she adds. "I think I'm technically supposed to ask other candidates. I mean, you weren't Searched when it was assigned so…" But she just shrugs it off, and will no doubt just do it herself rather than ask for help. "I gotta get back, but I'm really glad you've been Searched. I'll help you move when I'm done, 'kay?" Leaning in, there's a quick squeeze of her brother's shoulders before she's slipping away toward the bar to get back to her chores.

That slanted look brings about a genuine expression of surprise, made all the more so by her words and that frown, and Alek's brows are lifted. "It's nothing bad," he says in his own defense, "Mostly I've been tinkering with some of my plants and I've come up with a few interesting hybrids, so sometimes I sell clippings." The other thing that wasn't included in that mostly was against candidate rules and so it would be plants or nothing at all. There's another series of blinks to follow, "Actually, that greenrider said that I…" That's as far as he gets though, sighing as he's unable to stop himself from feeling guilty, especially following shoulder squeezes and free offers to help him get his stuff together. "I can work on that myself until you're done here, we can get my things later." Barely enough marks are placed on the table to pay for the things he'd ordered, not enough for any sort of tip, and he slides free of the booth. Grabbing his satchel and knot, as well as those two bottles of water, Alek waves in passing to his sister before heading for the barracks to assess the current situation.

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