Just Say It's Mine

Xanadu Weyr - Caverns

A massive cavern in it's own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as are the walls where numerous tapestries hang to provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt, leveled carefully but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.
The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area, however, is the one near the Kitchens where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. Its plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr and equally plain that on such occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are appropriated from all the other areas.
// A big fireplace is set into the wall near the Kitchens as well, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.//

Exits lead off in all directions, a big archway the largest and that leading outside. Shallow stairs to the west lead to the offices and administration area while tunnels to the east lead to the infirmary, kitchen and resident's quarters. Southwards, a sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs and southwest is a wide tunnel, carefully roped off to avoid accidents.

Xe'ter is, no surprise, back in the caverns after having retreated to his lair in the Weyrleader's office, and then back out again…somewhere between watching the doorway like a gryphawk and actually doing his work…meticulous, at least!

Sometime after Romth last heard from Alosynth, Kezi quietly makes her way into the caverns. She's quiet. There's no greetings outside of a few nods to people. There is a look about her that most don't see, it seems she's almost subdued, or perhaps even beaten? There's no lightness to her step and she may as well be walking to her own funeral. She is however, ramrod straight and there seems to be no deviation from her path as she makes her way towards the admin hallway. She doesn't even scan the commons for anyone.

Xe'ter speaks, his voice soft, but rolling in the way a ship's captain can make himself heard across a stormy deck, "Keziah, green Alosynth's rider." Ahhah, caught! But it's firm, not angry…at least, not angry anymore.

Derin is still here, maybe he's just wasting time before nightfall when he'll be called by Dersk. He has since finished his meal, though, and is currently just leaning back in his chair watching the people coming and going. Not doing much, nope, just here.

Keziah stops in her tracks. She closes her eyes a moment and then takes a breath as she turns and her eyes focus in on Xe'ter. Well, fitting to be caught in public. A little Gilbert and Sullivan on Pern. She comes to attention and salutes. "Sir!" Eyes are forward and directly on Xe'ter. A bit of sweat breaks out on her forhead, but that's about the only emotion that is shown. Course, she looks a little worse for wear. Her jacket is a bit loose on her and her hair is a mess. It looks as if she came direct from Alosynth inside.

Xe'ter doesn't offer a smile, but his face isn't as rocky as it could be. Yeah, he is calling the greenrider to the carpet…and in the middle of the public caverns. But. He gestures. Come over. "You had a safe flight home, I hope?" There are so MANY questions under that question. But he nudges the knot she abandoned on his desk towards her on the table. "I'd like an explination, at least."

First it was Keziah calling Ers'lan out in the middle of the caverns, now it's her turn to be called out. Derin can't help it, his eyes follow the greenrider, taking it her appearance and maybe even frowning just for a fraction of a moment, she looks terrible. But the wherhandler is quiet, indeed, nothing to add so he'll just continue to lan back in that chair, balancing it on its two backlegs while boots get kicked up on the nearby table.

"Sir, yes sir." Comes the instant and formal reply. Keziah's eyes shift briefly to the knot and then back to Xe'ter. There's a faint eye tic. As for an explanation, she's silent for brief moment. "I asked the Weyrwoman to keep the knot safe, sir." Okay, so not the best of explanations, but the truth in a sense. Her breath is a little shallow. As if she's trying to bite her tongue on things she could be saying.

Xe'ter mmss softly, and then looks up at the greenrider thoughtfully for a few moments. "I think ye know me by now, well enough, to know I dinna like evasions or half-speaks. Ye can be plain with me. I'll not be mad about that. If ye dinna want the knot, I can find another wingleader, though you werena wingleader long enough for me to know if ye were a good one or not."

Keziah is silent as she gathers her thoughts. "My wingsecond feels that I am a disgrace to the position, and that I am a worse Wingleader than B'rdian was at his worst." She's looking past Xe'ter now. "He expressed his intention of writing me up. I told him he was well within his rights and he should do what he thought of was best for the wing." She draws a breath. "I was upset, so was he. I went for a flight to regain composure. I made an error in judgement in how long we were gone it was too long to fly back before darkness fell." She's silent again and then there's a faint flush to her cheeks. "And then I was indisposed for a time. Sir."

Xe'ter is silent for a long few moments, before he simply asks, "And the babe?" Typical holder-born, to ask…but there's a strange tenderness on his part when he does ask. Apparently, whatever Ers'lan's opinion might've been seems to not exactly weigh heavily on his mind for the moment.

There is a long moment before Kezi says anything. Though if one were watching there would be a shimmering noted in her eyes that are carefully held open. She takes several shallow breaths before she can manage to answer. "/My/ baby is fine." Yes, there was quite the emphasis on the first word. Course her voice was a but thicker, as if her throat was tight, and there was a bit of underlying anger there too. It's all she says as she struggles to keep a professional composure.

Xe'ter nods, gently, and there's a flicker of relief… "Then I think perhaps it'd be best if perhaps you took a leave…as long as you need, in fact. And we'll let Ers'lan decide if he likes being Wingleader or not. I've made him acting, and he's off searching for ye and your green." He chuckles a bit. "And unless Alosynth's let Zhaoth know herself, I figure he can search a bit longer. As it is, we have a request in from Eastern on a missing person."

"He's capable, sir. Lack of confidance in himself." she goes quiet and then Keziah seems to almost wilt a little "I've not helped that confidance." she notes softly. "I…" there's a swallow "Thank you, sir." There's the briefest of twitches at the pair searching and then twitch is gone there's a serious look in her eyes. "Missing? Who, sir? And under what circumstances? Where was his last known location and who last saw.." she stops abrubtly. "Sorry sir, no longer my place."

Xe'ter chuckles just a touch, "No, no worries. If ye've seen something, all eyes are good. Lad by the name of Tadarius. Redhead…some sort of techcrafter with one of those photo-takers." Yeah…his upbringing in the back of *between* in an anti-technology seahold shows off. "They found his wagon, but there were signs of trouble. Hasn't been seen since."

Keziah hmms a little and nods "It makes pictures, like an artist does, but automatically." she remarks absently and then frowns "Sounds like foul play. Renegades most likely." she hmms a little "Felines would have left noticable tracks. I don't Kefai operates that far east, though he very well may have expanded. He's a sneaky man. Could have people everywhere by now. Breeding them up."

Xe'ter nods a bit, "Aye, well, that was sort of my thought. Still, no use not looking along the borders. If we've got Renegades…" but he leaves it there. After all, Xanadu's history of rogue goldriders with connections to the Renegades is sort of…there.

Derin arches a brow at the talk of renegades, luckily he's never had any experience with them. "That's the second time ren'gades have been mentioned. But I thought the ren'gades had disappeared, or at least were layin low." Finally the wherhandler speaks, though he was most likely not spoken to.

Keziah finally turns her attention towards Derin. There's a grim look in her eyes. "They want you to think they're gone. They're still out there. Could even be sitting in this very room, reporting all they hear. They've even slipped into the infirmary unnoticed." she notes quietly. "I think they're the ones that are hearding the wild felines our way."

Xe'ter snorts a little, "Aye, well…I don't know about herdin' any wild felines…but we'll keep an eye out all the same. We've got bigger worries than renegades at the moment. Tis a favor for Eastern that I'm happy to assist with." He offers Keziah a more genuine smile…and when he does so, those rare expressions are rather dazzling. "I'm glad yer home, and safe. Please…ye can just leave a message with me if need be. No Weyrleader on the planet likes missing wingleaders…makes the place look sloppy e'en if it's not. And I'll just evaluate Ers'lan." He chuckles, almost darkly, to himself. "And if he gives ye any more lip, let me know…and I'll remind him about manners. Or turn him o'er to Thea and Ocelara for the same."

Keziah is silent at the thought of Ers'lan being at the mercy of Thea /and/ Ocelara. "Yes, sir." she murmurs quietly "I wasn't missing, just not here." she notes softly. "Well, Eastern is a good neighbor, glad to help." she notes quietly. "I am sorry sir, I was distraught. It was bad form."

Xe'ter nods a touch, "Aye, well. Forgiven. No black marks. Just take yer rest as you need and keep me informed." He snorts a bit, "And if it's so much troublin' to ye…blame that one on me if you want. Ryxeter'd love a baby brother." Or sister, no doubt.

Keziah blinks a little "Why would I blame you, sir?" she asks looking a little surprised. "I'll do my best sir." she notes quietly.

Xe'ter chuckles a bit, and then rises, taking his things with him…including the knot Keziah abandoned. Apparently, he'll just be keeping that, too.

Derin contemplates the whole renegade thing, then shrugs. "Well, I think Dersk and I are gonna help search fer the guy 'round here. Suppose we oughta stay alert, tho." Just in case.

Keziah gives a nod "It is appreciated, Derin." she notes quietly. She may not be acting as wingleader right now, but she will state her gratitude nonetheless. "Every pair of eyes makes chances a little better."

Derin nods "S'our job, iff'n ya think 'bout it. Search an' rescue trainin kin be useful out of th'mines and sinkholes as well, e'en iff'n we're nay s'good at it as a rider and his dragon sometimes. An' we got the advantage, Dersk kin sense 'em comin in th'darkest night."

Keziah nods "Oh, I'm saying nothing against a wher and his handler. I'm just thinking though, if you don't watch it. May try and talk you away from Asteroid and into Galaxy. Having a wher pair in the wing would be beneficial." she notes quietly.

Derin might seem a bit confused by the situation, last time he actually talked with the greenrider, she wanted to lecture him, now she's just…normal? No, maybe not normal..Hmm. "Dunna think that'd happen, we kin only help with so much, canna do water rescues an' air rescue stuff, Dersk's wings don't work s'well as th'dragons. Not fer lack of tryin'."

"People are worked according to their strengths" she notes softly "Laera does not typically do much in the way of rescue anymore, but instead works on healing. People with out dragons can still do a lot on the ground. Your strengths would be at night. Tell me, how much easier do you think it would be to locate someone on a slope at night with a wher than without?"

Derin chuckles, maybe even puffing his chest out proudly. "It'd be right easy fer dersk, I think" Well, maybe not easy, but less difficult. "He's got good eyes, he does." A grin. "And he likes working. He'a a good wher." Yep, very good.

Keziah grins "And you all can still patrol too even. At night, places like the ruins and all. Good places for someone to hide. There's many things that you can do. Even in the forests where it's hard for a dragon to get in. A wher is not as bulky as a dragon is, even my Alosynth."

Derin nods, that's true, no doubt about it. "Aye, and we do got some experience in the finding and saving people thing." Like…once..but still, it's experience.

Keziah grins "Every little bit of experiance helps. And from what I'm told, you handled yourself very well in that situation." she notes quietly "All commenadable talents to be had."

"Dersk did all the work, I just kept in touch with 'im an' stuff." Derin chuckles. "He likes ta help people, an' Xe'ter and Thea are m'friends." Well, they're as close to friends as anyone else, Daoi being the exception of course.

Keziah arches a brow "And you think things would have been accomplished as well without your input? Shards you two are a team. Not two seperate entities. As much a team as any rider." she snorts a bit "Don't sell yourself shourt, because then you sell Dersk short."

Derin considers this a moment. "Well, I wouldna wanna do that ta him." Nope, no selling his blue short, even if he is a little short, ahem*badpun*. He grins, briefly, "We ain't got quite th'same ond, but I think I'm closer ta Dersk than many of th'others are ta their whers." Just a little bit of pride there. "Ma says it's because I got dragonblood runnin' through me."

Keziah nods "Glad to hear that. Well, same or not, it's a bond nonetheless. Even the little ones, the firelizards will bond. You have to nurture. Dragons be the only one that have no choice." she's quiet and then shakes her head a bit. "Well, it may indeed help you."

Derin shifts briefly, letting his chair fall back onto all four legs as he sweeps his feet from the table. "So, then, this bein my first actual non-mining search and such, y'got any pointers?" Cause, you know, he may as well ask now since she's being nice and all.

Keziah hmms a little "Well, best thing to do is generally start where he was last scene and track from that point on. In this case, it's likely you can coordinate with the riders who will go out and investigate the area if Eastern allows it. There's a lot of place to hide. Knowing that, then it's good to see about investicating caves and such. It's a fair distance to go, but the wagons are good for transporting the whers. Not sure what all we have in place for carrying them by dragon. Hmm."

Derin considers the transportation thing. "Never been to Eastern." Hmm, could be interesting. "That'd be an aweful long way ta go via wagon." And probably mighty uncomfortable too, perhaps.

Keziah nods a little "I'm sure we've some harnesses, and if not, we can likely have come made. Might be interesting practice too." she looks thoughful. "Because there will be times a wher will be useful, and will need to be transported. We can do some wing excercises around it."

Derin hmms, "A harness, hmm?" He giggles a littl, can't help it. "Then Dersk could see what 'tis like flyin high above th'weyr like a dragon." Hey, the wher might enjoy that, hmm.

Keziah laughs "well, I don't think it'd be quite the same. And he'd have to wear is goggles because it really wouldn't do to fly the dragons at night." she notes "But he would certainly get some air under him."

Derin nods, "Of course. Wouldn't want the dragons to get hurt or Dersk's eyes to get hurt." Because that would be bad, very bad. "We'll keep ourselves available to yer wing whenever you need us, Ma'am."

Keziah looks around a little, most people aren't paying any mind anymore. "Well. I'd best go check in on Mirai and Micaela." she notes quietly "Make sure they're still alive and all. I do appreciate the use of your services for the wing." and with that she gives a nod and turns to head out.

Derin nods, "S'no problem, Ma'am." And he's waving after her retreating figure, then he'll lean back in his chair again, time for more peoplewatching before nightfall.

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2012 _derin _jan _keziah _xe'ter logs

Xanadu Weyr

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