Xanadu Weyr - Meadow
A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of weyrs, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves.
Runner stables with the paddock beyond are to the south beyond the meadow weyrs, a smithy and a woodcraft shop are settled closer in towards the path to the clearing, while trees border the western edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a stone wall and low rolling hills can be seen to the north. Wagons laden with felled trees from the forests to the southwest or ore from the mountains to the southeast are hauled by burden beast up the road through the meadow, over the bridge spanning the river to be processed in the appropriate workshops.
The sun has set on Xanadu, leaving behind a warm summer night. The sky is clear, showcasing a sea of brilliant stars and the moons in various phases. Despite the darkness, it's not exactly "late" as time goes. Dinner is in full swing, and on the various paths throughout the weyr people can still be seen moving. Heading home. Carting off the day's last deliveries. There are still things to be done. The same goes for the sky. Above, a team of riders soar on dragons of various colors. Bronze, brown, blue, and a single tiny green. Their arrival is marked only by the flares of flame that light the skies above as they arc and swoop high above. A fire dance of bursting orange and red. But eventually, those bursts become fewer and far inbetween, and gradually, the handful of riders make a descent upon the meadow, landing distances from each other, and bringing with them the aroma of spent firestone. Ka'el lifts his goggles from his eyes. "Good. Again tomorrow night, the five of you! Don't forget to empty your dragons of the stone. Do not do it on common trails. I've had enough grumblings from the weyrfolk regardin' dragonwaste!" Of the firestone kind, one would hope…
Soriana is always hopeful! Sometimes that hope is dashed against the rocks of despair (or crunched up firestone) but she usually manages to find more of it. That's how she keeps a smile on her face during the busy days of… business. Weyr business! And though it's dinnertime, she's still got some of that to handle. This particular Weyr business is, in fact, more easily handled during dinnertime, and as she emerges from the weyr of the rider with whom she was just having a casual, informal meeting, she pauses on the threshold for a few final pleasantries. "-should be fine. Mmhmm. Of course!" She smiles, and waves. "Be seeing you." And with that, she finally steps down off the porch and into the meadow, the door shutting behind her.
Dinner? What is dinner? Innes has no time for this 'dinner,' whatever it is. The weyrling is tromping through the meadow, face half-buried in the notebook she carries while she scribbles things down. Her pen moves quickly across the page, moving occasionally to strike things out furiously. She's so absorbed by whatever she's working on that she fails to notice the dragons in the meadow, and bumps right into one of the riders. She swears loudly and lowers her notebook, narrowing her gaze upon the person-sized obstacle in her path. Oh, wait. That was her fault. Her glare fades and she mumbles an apology instead, apparently reluctant to do so. Of course, now that her face isn't hidden, she takes a moment to actually glance around at her surroundings, and is apparently mildly surprised to find herself here. She scratches her head, glances down at the notebook, and then around again. "Ka'el!" And then a moment later, "And Soriana!" Because those are two of the few names she remembers, after all.
Ka'el unstraps himself from Kanekith's back, who relays the Weyrleader's message to the other dragons with all the authority he believes he has. Which is…a lot. Ka'el himself smirks and leans forward to rub hands against the bronze's neck. "Thanks bud," murmured before he dismounts and pulls off his riding gloves, stuffing them to in the back pocket of pants, left hanging out halfway. "Take an early dinner tomorrow!" He instructs as he begins to move around his lifemate, checking him over, brushing hands against the smooth hide, pressing at joints. "We'll be flyin' through the night." He's momentarily distracted by the sound of someone cursing. The rider that was bumped in to. He glances that way as dragons and riders begin to disperse. The brownrider, a woman with short-cropped hair, gives Innes a look of annoyance before she and her chocolate brown head off towards the lake. Ka'el smirks, brow raising faintly as he hears his name, and give gives Kanekith a pat before directing his walk her way. Soriana is spotted too, and the Weyrwoman is given a grin, eyes shifting momentarily to that recently exited weyr before refocusing his attention on Innes. "Weyrling," he greets, that browarch still there (along with the smirk). "Your salute was so quick, I must've missed it!" he says, smirk now a grin.
It's Soriana's actual name! From Innes, no less. So it's no wonder it gets her attention. She peers through the dusk in that direction - oh hey, that's a Ka'el. Just like Innes said! Soriana leaves that weyr well and truly behind - nobody's in particular, except for the fact of following up about someone who went with someone else and… really, it's complicated and not worth repeating. (Just worth Soriana's time?) She grins back to Ka'el, lifting a hand to wiggle fingers to him as she approaches closer to him and, "Innes." She doesn't comment on the salute. (So efficient. Jethaniel'd probably love it!) Her lips do quirk at Ka'el's comment on it, though, and then stay there in a smile as she studies that weyrling and the rest of her expression edges toward thoughtful.
Innes just resists sticking her tongue out, because she does have some sense of self-preservation. Somewhere. "I wanted to give you a proper one, and I've got this notebook here in the way. You should have a bit more faith than that." Or perhaps she just forgot. Either way, she makes a point of setting down both notebook and pen before snapping off a smart salute with the straightest face she can muster. It's actually a pretty straight face, considering she does have quite a bit of respect for Ka'el, and hey, there are other people around. But her lips still curl into a smirk as she picks up her discarded notebook. "Is that better?" she asks, grinning. Soriana receives her usual barely-there salute, just to be safe. "How's the evening?" A glance goes to her notebook, and she swiftly scribbles one more thing down.
"Oh, I see," answers Ka'el to Innes, nodding quite solemnly. Notebooks do pose problems to proper salutes! They get in the way and what would've been a superb salute ends up looking rather lackluster and sloppy. He totally understands! That faint quirk of the corner of his mouth? Pure coincidence. He's definitely not fighting off a grin or anything like that. When she does in fact salute, he nods to her. "Much," he answers, not speaking of Soriana's given gesture. Ha! He got a better salute than yoooou! He steps nearer to the goldling, hands clasping loosely behind his back as he leans towards her a little. "I've heard the newest assistant weyrlingmaster is a bit of a hardass about such things," is murmured. "Just a heads up, unless you enjoy extra duties." Friendly advice given he leans back, though not without first glancing to her notebook. "Takin' notes? .. On..?" Pft, what isn't there to take notes on when one is a weyrling? Kanekith, not to be forgotten, lumbers closer to the group. Hellloooo ladies. He chuffs out a bit of smoke. Mmmm. Firestone smell!
And sometimes Soriana's hopes are fulfilled! Like her hope that Innes has a sense of self-preservation, which can be quite pleased to see she's survived this far. She watches the salute with an assessing gaze (she can't help it, she's spent too much time at formal occasions and around weyrlings being trained), then nods casually to the version she gets. It's like a salute, just… without the actual hand part of things. Apparently she doesn't care, though she tilts her head a bit to listen in on the comment about who does and goes, "Hmm." Not that it was directed at her, of course, but… the salute (such as it was) was. As for her evening? "Busy." Isn't it always? Soriana gives her head a little shake. "I'm nearly done for the night. Just have to make sure I agree with where the ledger stands for the stores and check in with the Galaxy rider who takes night shift on the radio, since I'll be his relief tomorrow morning." She doesn't usually go into that sort of detail, but then… she's not usually talking to another goldrider. Especially not a more junior one. Her eyes stay on Innes until Kanekith and his… bouquet… draw attention, and she smiles crookedly for the bronze.
Innes' grin turns into a full-fledged beam when her proper salute passes muster. Hurrah, Innes! Accomplishing a task that even small children can manage without prompting, after some prompting. She's well on her way to being… basically proficient! At least when it comes to this. Everything else might be a different story. "Noted," she replies, tapping her forehead to lock the information away. She tilts the notebook away from her body for a moment, before giving a shrug. "Things." Ah, yes. Things. "Kairoikyriath had some thoughts. And so did I. So it's a bit of brainstorming." Because Innes always needs new projects to take on. Her head cants slightly as Soriana lists her evening duties, her brows drawing together at the list. Not these responsibilities again.
That's better. Kanekith grunts his pleasure at having at least one pair of eyes on him. But the other? Hello? Excuse me? Amazing bronze here! Mareveling should begin now! His regal head is lowered closer to Innes, and another fire-scented snort is exhaled through the nose. Look. Look at me. "Kanekith!" Ka'el roll his eyes and waves a dismissive hand to the bronze. "Go spit the rest've that in the lake," he instructs with /a look/ before he returns his attention to the human pair. "That'll be another…what, two, three candlemarks then?" is said to Sori with a chuckle. "Dragon thoughts can be dangerous things," he notes to Innes. "If I'd done half of what Kanekith imagined up durin' Weyrlinghood, or even now actually … I'd probably be without an arm or leg and likely banned from Xanadu by now."
Again? More like still. Soriana's thoughtful, watching Innes's reaction to that list, then looking to Kanekith with his firestone breath. "Must be nearly time for your class to start that." How time flies! …except when doing work, and she sighs to Ka'el. "It'd be less, but that Gather's making a mess of everything. Everyone's got their special requests and accomodation requirements." Definitely sigh-worthy, but her smile returns as she listens to Ka'el. "Hah. He'd have had the entire Weyr chasing him instead of just those fishermen." But, speaking of lessons… as Kanekith's dismissed to the lake where he hopefully won't irritate any fishermen again, Soriana looks back to Innes and her expression gets more serious again. "You're going to get assigned some extra lessons soon." Like chores for not saluting right? …not exactly. "Weyrwoman training." Maybe those chores would be preferable, but Soriana keeps going. "I can probably arrange to be the one teaching them." Because she's so very good at taking on extra duties. "If you'd want that." She shrugs, ever so slightly.
Oh, did that notebook get the way of Innes very important bronze-spotting duties? Her mistake. Although Kanekith might've received a quick glance before, his head moving closer and that… oh-so-charming scent makes him much harder to ignore. She wrinkles her nose as she glances up at him, trying very hard not to breathe. If this is finally her breath-test, she's probably going to fail. "Nice to see you, too, Kanekith," she manages with a little grin. And then, well, she's out of air. So she turns her head to the side to take a breath and is swiftly distracted by her human companions. "Kairo has good ideas!" she insists, only a tad defensive. However, after a moment of consideration she squints a little and admits, "Well… some good ideas." Those ones about skipping the boring lessons? Probably not so great. She does her best not to pull a face as Soriana speaks about 'extra lessons' (because there's a thin line between the good kind of extra duties and the kind she hasn't volunteered for), but there's a definite twitch to her expression. Still, it doesn't sound so bad if the other goldrider will be teaching them. "I'd like that," she answers with a grin. "I'd probably listen better." Which is important!
Kanekith, now satisfied that everyone has acknowledged his presence, follows directions and starts to head off towards the aforementioned lake. Though not first without head-bumping his rider with dragonesque affection. Dragonbreath and all. Poor Ka'el is nearly knocked over (bronze affection is powerful affection!), but grins as he gruffly pats his lifemate on his way off. The reminder of the fishnet incident does cause him to cringe. "Don't get any ideas when you're out there, Kanekith!" he calls in the dragon's wake, likely tacking on some mental warnings after that. "I still think I see the fishermen glarin' at me when we pass by…" he mentions to Soriana. "They don't forget a thing." He grins, though presses a hand to his forehead at the mentioning of the races. "Tell me about it.." murmured. "I'll be glad when they come and go. Plannin' the accomodations for dragons and their riders, and whichever Weyrleaders and Women that'll be here.." He waves it all off with both hands. He'll think about it tomorrow! For now. Fun stuff. Like lessons! (Well, some of them are fun.) "You'll like flaming lessons," he says to Innes. "Soriana had this flamethrowin' thing. Made her look nearly menacing."
"…he always gets ideas," Soriana says to Ka'el in an undertone as Kanekith departs. "At least he's gotten better at impulse control." Or Ka'el has on his behalf. Same difference! Kairoikyriath, on the other hand… Soriana smiles at Innes's defense of the young gold. All good? Weeeeell… aha. Some good. "I'm sure she does." Even those ideas for skipping class might be great so far as the skipping itself goes! It's just the long-term consequences that may not actually be what Innes wants. Just like the planning for the Gather isn't what Ka'el wants to think about, though Soriana nods to that tangle he mentions before letting it slide. And then… well, Soriana's not exactly expecting Innes to want those extra lessons, either, so the twitch goes unremarked, but when Innes answers her, Soriana's serious expression turns to a smile, one that looks both pleased and… relieved, though then it edges more to amused. "Oh, Esiae could probably get you to listen. She was a harper, and she's got stories." Soriana grins. "Me, I actually cover the lesson plans somewhere in there." More or less, anyway, but the nod now's a decisive one. "I'll talk to Thea and V'dim about it." Her lips twitch wryly. "Because, you see, as senior she acts as wingleader for Nova, and because he acts as wingleader of Pulsar. Inter-wing coordination happens through the wingleaders." Already, the lessons begin! Wing dynamics and authority structures. Also? "The flamethrower's fun." She grins, then pauses to glance at Ka'el with arched brow. "Nearly?"
Innes attempts to not took too relieved as Kanekith's firestone breath make an exit. Not that she'd never wish the dragon to leave - of course! - but she can breathe a little easier with his exit. Her head tilts as she listens to the discussion between Ka'el and Soriana, curious but simultaneously grateful that she's only vaguely aware of these sorts of things. It sounds like a headache, but the end result should be entertaining. Of course, she'll probably be spending most of her time keeping Kairoikyriath out of trouble, curious as the gold is. "I do like stories," she admits with a teasing grin. "But you seem like a good teacher." Her head bobs a bit at the impromptu lesson. "So to get you and I working together, you've got to go through both of our wingleaders?" Look, she gets it! The mention of a flamethrower causes her eyes to light up. Oh yes, let's give Innes the power of fire. Excellent idea. "Do I really get to use a flamethrower?" She looks to be on the edge of squealing and clapping her hands together like a child. She glances to Ka'el with an arched brow, and echoes, "Yeah, nearly?"
"Yes, he does.." muses Ka'el, who gives another look in the direction that Kanekith has headed off to. Can he trust his bronze to follow directions and not give into temptation? ..Pffft, of course he can! This is Kanekith we're talking about! Grown up and mature and… eh. Ka'el will just keep some heavy mental tabs on him for the next few minutes just to be sure. He quiets then, nodding in affirmation as ranks and such are sorted out. It's all about talking to the right people in the correct order. Following the chain of command. "Soriana gives a mean lesson. She taught all've our firelizards to be musicians once. Remind her to tell you that story some day!" he notes with a grin. "And uh, yes. Nearly menacing. It takes much to scare me, and you, Madame Weyrwoman, would need to do more than lug a tank on your back to do so." Like maybe, point the end of it in his face? He laughs though, and continues to do so a little as he nods to Innes. "Yeah, you'll get one during training. Unless you know've a way to get a gold to flame. It's pretty cool. Less messy in the end." His eyes drift now, though instead of towards the Caverns, it's to the forges. "If you'll excuse me," said to them both, head dipping a little, "I've to take care've a few things before dinner." Or whatever's left of dinner anyway. "Take care, Innes, and tell Kairo..ikyriath" yay, he did it! "I said hello. Soriana, I'll see you at home." A smile, then ways are parted. Ka'el to the smiths. Soriana, back to work. And Innes? Well, to wherever it is she needs to be heading!
Ohhh, that's how it starts. First there's a vague awareness, then a general sense, then a few little details, and suddenly all the problems of a Weyr are yours to… stare at in dismay and try to fix. Sounds great, doesn't it? …okay, no, it sounds like a headache. Because it is. Entertaining headaches are a disturbingly large proportion of administration - and so is keeping trouble contained. Kairoikyriath will be good practice! Even if she's not entirely good, but… constrained chaos. Or so Soriana hopes. (She's good at hoping.) Her lips quirk about those stories, then settle into a smile. "I'll certainly try." And occasionally be very trying, but she laughs to Ka'el's mention of the firelizard musicians. "That I did. A marvel never to be repeated." Or the harpers will revolt. For now, though, she nods her approval for Innes's understanding. "Exactly." May all the lessons be this easy and painless! Especially the ones with flamethrowers. They should definitely be painless and not searing fleah auuuugh my face is burning off heeeeeelp! Which they surely won't be because Innes is responsible and, uh… "Yes." And will be allowed to use a flamethrower. "Yes you do." She grins. "Don't burn down the Weyr." Time-honored advice. It was given once to her; now she passes it on. It is the dictum from which descends all wisdom, or at least the rule that ends up relevant far more often than it seems like it should. She shakes her head to Ka'el. "Oh, don't worry, Weyrleader. I'll terrify you soon enough. You'll see." For now, though? It's work time. She gives farewells to the both of them and only sighs a little as she heads off to finish having a headache tonight. It's only a small headache… relatively speaking.