Three Hungry Mice (Candidate Project)
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Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks
A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.


It's, well. Midnight. Or late. Maybe it's closer to one but who is really counting? When you wake up with your stomach growling at you, it doesn't matter /what/ time it is. Only that you need /food/. In the darkness of the barracks Muir sits upright in his bed, a hand rubbing against his belly. "Shouldnt've had those sweetsticks for dinner," he mutters to himself, looking around the dimly lit room. Then, making a swift decision, he swings his legs out of his cot and onto the floor, the rest of his body following as he tries to find his shoes, shoved somewhere beneath his bed and mixed in with his clothes from the last few days. Neat and tidy he is not.

Clearly when it comes to your stomach, anytime in the early morning hours count as a midnight snack. Mikal shifts in his sleep, clearly not sleeping as soundly as he usually does. Something moving near his cot wakes him and he shifts to his side a moment, eyes opening to adjust to the dark. "Who's up?" he hisses in a whisper.

Grumbly stomachs make for cranky nearly as well as lack of sleep. Soriana is - for the moment - asleep. So peaceful. So sleepy. So… "…dun do that…" she mutters, and flails a vague arm. So having dreams, apparently. Disgruntled dreams.

Idrissa seems to be fast asleep, at least that is the idea as she is curled up on her cot under a few blankets. A soft snore escaping her now and then. Three firelizards are upon the cot as well, the blue at the end on his own, a green perched upon the edge and a little brown that is curled up and cuddles close to his person.

Garawan seems to be asleep! He's quiet, though, and doesn't snore. Curled up on his side in his night-clothes, he has a hand tucked under his head. And /for once/, he's not wearing those sharding gloves.

ka-el snorts gently in his sleep. Yup. Night time is definitely for sleeping! And he is pretty good at drowning out the rustling and movements of others. One has to, when you've chosen a cot smack dab in the middle of everything. But what Kale is not able to do is ignore Alloy's tail which keeps thwapping him in the face as the firelizard dreams. Meh….double meh… "Al.." he grumbles, swat-swatting his hand, getting an annoyed churrble from the lizard. Reluctantly, the smith's eyes pry open, adjusting to the darkness. Someone whispered. Or maybe farted. He's not sure what noise he heard just now.

"Me." Not the greatest answer in the dark, is it? "Muir. I'm starving, go back to sleep." He makes a soft sound of triumph when he locates his shoes, sitting on his cot again (*creeeeeeak*) to pull them on. Feet hit the floor again (*thud*) and he stands, stretching. In nothing but his sleep shorts and shoes, he begins to walk softly down the aisle between the cots, heading for the exit. And then he trips over something. BANG, STUMBLE, "OW SHARDIT."

Mikal blinks sleepily as the whispered 'me' doesn't clear things up. When the name is offered then he ohs softly. "Okay." he starts to lay back down and roll over but stops. Wait. Food. Mmmm. The idea is planted and now he lays there in the dark contemplating the merits of getting up and following Muir. His brain argues. It tells him that he shouldn't…the floor is cold…he doesn't have a shirt on…but his stomach is arguing back with …FOOD. It's a simple argument really. He snorts, sitting up to fumble for his shoes. This wakes up Elsie who was curled up on his pillow by his head. She only offers a sleepy chirp then goes back to sleep. However the BANG and STUMBLE follows by the curse wake up young Elidor, Mikal's newest fire lizard. Wait…when did he get /that/? No matter, the 4 day old brown SCREAMS suddenly, quite hungry as he wakens. "Ah fardles!" Mikal dives to catch the brown and try to quiet him before he wakes the whole sharding barracks up.

Zzzzzz. Soriana gives another flail, then settles into something like a peaceful sleep again. At least, until… "Huhwha?" She sits up sharply, and then the gold firelizard at her feet echoes Elidor's scream, because, hey, something's clearly wrong. Why else is her beauty sleep being disrupted?

Hotaru is dead asleep, probably drooling all over her pillow. But when Muir yells she sits up in her bed like a shot in a half-attack pose. "Who's there!?" She's breathing heavily having been woken from such a deep sleep. Realizing it's not some creeper coming to murder them, she flops back down onto the bed, clutching her chest. "Shard it all…" She mumbles, then pulls her pillow over her face to dampen the noise.

Garawan snorts at the sudden loud sounds. "…Hm?" He blinks, opening his eyes. After a moment, he sits up, to look and see what the matter is. All these noises wake him up too! Suddenly the whole barracks /does/ appear to be awake! "Goodness… what's all the ruckus?" he inquires, sleepily, rubbing his eyes. His own firelizards are curled up next to his pillow. The gold remains asleep, but the bronze sticks his head up curiously.

Me is such a great answer indeed! Not that Idrissa has any idea to what is being said. A soft mumble escapes her while she slowly shifts, cuddling with that little brown firelizard a bit more. The movement may not wake up Rissa but Ripley, that blue firelizard at the end of the cot is indeed away, his head lifts, a hiss escaping him as he peers out from over the cot edge and eyes the one that is making all the noise. Then there is another moving around along with a might loud screaming noise which makes the grumpy blue hisss out deeply. The sudden screaming is enough to wake up Rissa and she sits up fast and looking around looking as if she was lost. "What.. who..?"

Kale is ready to go back to sleep, and his eyes are already slipping back to closed. People are moving about. One is even up. Not his business, whoever it may be and whatever their intentions are. He was in the middle of a dream. Someplace warm on a beach, and there were girls. Scantily clad. All wanting to know more about iron alloys. He can't keep them waiting… But then … FIRELIZARD! He jolts up at the scream, eyes half crossed, bedhead galore. "What 'appened?" Hey .. where'd that hammer come from? Does he .. sleep with that under his pillow? Likely, since the tool in his hand, raised and ready for smashing, didn't materialize out of nowhere! He blinks rapidly, as does Alloy, also startled out of his sleep, eyes swirling.

Muir hops about on one leg, gripping his opposite foot in his hand. "Sharding Faranth's balls," he swears, hissed under his breath. "I am /hungry/," he says firmly when he's regained his footing. "And I'm going to the /kitchens/." Limp, limp, limp towards the door he goes. "Either come with and keep a lookout or go back to sleep."

Mikal manages to get Elidor to quit /screaming/ by clamping his hand over his muzzle so that's it's muffled screeches being heard now. At Muir's limp and suggestion he too finally stands all the way and starts to weave through the room to get to the door. There's really no possible way he can stay now. Not only is /his/ stomach awake but the newest flying stomach to join the candidate barracks is now awake as well and /he/ isn't going to be ignored. Tucking said flying stomach into his side he makes it to the door right behind Muir. "I'll keep lookout." whispers Mikal.

Soriana makes a snatch-grab for Haruhi, staring muzzily at the gold. "Shuddup. Shuddup, Haruhi." After a moment, the firelizard does, though she chirps indignantly, hopping away in a huff once Soriana releases her. What if it had been renegades, huh? Or a fire? You'd be sorry then. Haruhi gives herself a little shake, then spreads her wings and flaps over to Kale's bed, where she nuzzles in against Alloy. He'll treat her properly, right? Chirrup? Soriana, meanwhile, shakes her head and frowns at the boys headed for the door, but doesn't say anything… at least not out loud.

Hotaru mumbles something in her half-asleep state about -boys- and how they seem to have bottomless pits for stomachs. "This is why I keep snacks in my trunk." All well-sealed dry sorts of snacks that won't infest the barracks with crawlers. Volendrung is curled up at the foot of her bed, but he's just peering around at all these… youngin' firelizards that are squawking.

Idrissa takes in a slight breath, hand lifting to rub at her eyes a few times once she hears that it seems the boys are going for a snack. "Didn't have to wake the rest of us up." She grumbles out before turning to curl up onto her side once more. Hidlago chitters out while Ripley perches on the edge of the couch and growls out a few more times. "Stop it Ripley." Is grumbled out as she pulls the pillow over her head.

Hungry. Kitchens. So … no one is being attacked? Kale blinks once, lowering his weapon of choice down slowly, still very confused with a sleepy brain. He yawns hugely and peeers towards Muir afterwards. At least, he's pretty sure that's Muir over there. And Mikal, maybe? He's reluctant to crawl out of his bed. It's cold, and it's no secret that he and cold are not friends. But his bed is becoming crowded with firelizards, now that Haruhi has come. And…well. Snack. "You, stay," is told to Alloy, who needn't the instruction. He's not crazy enough to leave a warm bed! He chirps to Haruhi while Kale slips on a too-large hoodie and pulls on boots. "Hey, wait up!" he whispers, picking his way towards them.

Muir has the courtesy to blush at least, shaking his head. "Didn't mean to," he mutters, grinning to Mikal when the boy joins him. And then Kale. "Excellent," he says with a firm nod. "Boy's outing. Let's go hunt us some food." Hopefully he doesn't mean that literally as he quietly sneaks out of the barracks.


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Xanadu Weyr - Kitchens
As you enter this room from outside, good smells assail you from everywhere. State of the art equipment has been brought in from the various crafts to be used - stoves and large ovens replacing the 2 hearths that used to be in here. Three baking ovens are usually going full bore 12 hours of the day, while the nighttime hours bring the smaller stove beside the door to the main hall into use. This is where you find late night meals of stew and soup simmering in pots, and pitchers of klah and tea in their electric units to be kept warm. Large windows take up the entire of the western wall, generally open wide to the mountainous landscape beyond allowing the cool breezes in to keep the kitchen's temperature to a desirable level. Tables, cabinets, and counters take up the remaining spaces and walls. It is here the majority of the work is done, and spices, herbs, and other foodstuffs found.
Beside the night hearth in the southern wall is the door that leads out into the living cavern.


Back in the Barracks: Soriana's frown deepens as Kale joins the crowd. Her mouth opens. She's so close, so very close to saying something, and then… hmph. Her mouth snaps shut, and she turns to flop down again on her cot - facing away from the door, thank you very much - and pulls the covers up to the level of her ears. "…stupid boys…" she mutters, and closes her eyes. She will be sleeping.

One does hope he doesn't mean that too literally. After all Mikal doesn't like the cold any more than Kale despite the fact that Mikal's not bothered to put on shoes or shirt. So he's clad in just his shorts as he heads out behind Muir towards what he hopes will be the kitchens. He keeps a firm gip on Elidor.

Back in the Barracks: Hotaru peers at those candidates still awake. Then she gets up and goes to the door, shutting it and jamming a chair under the handle. "That'll take care of that." She dusts her hands off and then goes back to bed. Someone might let them in, but hopefully they have to bang hard enough on the door to get CAUGHT.

Yeah! Boys rule! And are sneaky and adventurous and troublesome and all that jazz. Kale sneaks along with the others outside and through towards the caverns. Oooh yeah. He kinda is hungry, now that he's thinking about it! Munchies would settles the beast in his belly quite nicely, and he grins as they go along, shrouded by the blanket of night til they get to the caverns. Just play it cool, boys. If anyone spies them, just smiiiile and nod. They totally aren't up to anything!

Muir leads the way through the night to the caverns, sneaking with quick steps through the empty cavern which is lit by the dying embers of the fire. No one else is up, it being that time of night when the night owls have gone to bed, and still too early for the morning bakers to rouse and get their day started. "What do you guys want?" Muir hisses as he cautiously pushes open the kitchen door and peers inside.

Back in the Barracks: "Did Kale just go with them Sori?" This comes from the pillow that is resting pulled over Idrissa's head. She lifts her head up just slightly to peer out as she hears Hotaru moving to put a chair under the door.

Back in the Barracks: Soriana is asleep. So asleep, which is why she answers Idrissa's question promptly. "Yes," she says, the words sounding crisp. "He did." Back on Kale's cot, Haruhi snuggles with Alloy into the lovely warm spot left behind by a departed smither. So nice of him to have prepared it for her like that! She chirrrs approvingly. Soriana does not sound so approving, really. "He can get in trouble with the rest of them. Not my problem."

Sneeaaaak sneak sneak. The trip of boys seem not to draw any attention to themselves just yet so all is good so far. Mikal goes along behind the other two, still trying to get Elidor to calm down as he sends thoughts of food to the brown. "Something for Elidor… and…" he pauses. "They got any soup left?" Soup? Really Mikal?

Ooo. Night time kitchens are creepy! Kale grins as he peers over Muir's shoulder as he opens up the door, sniffing. No one's cooking. They're in the clear! Hopefully. "I.." he begins, but then just looks at Mikal. "Seriously?" He snickers quietly. "Think the point is to get somethin' /to go/. Not a grand meal in a warm bowl." A grin. "I'm lookin' for cookies. They've got to have some leftover desserts."

Muir blinks at Mikal. "Soup? I'm not raiding the kitchens for /soup/," he says, holding back his laughter as he gives the other boy a little shove. "Cookies, bread…maybe some fruit. Something." Slipping into the kitchen he holds the door open for the other two boys and then gently pulls the door mostly closed. "You keep watch, soup lover," he says. "Kale, you go that way? I'll go this way."

But..but…soup sounded good? Mikal simply shrugs. "Okay okay…but soup would be warm." he whispers as he beside the open door. Keep watch! He can do this. With wide eyes he looks. "Don't forget something for Elidor!" he adds in a hiss.

Back in the Barracks: Let them contend with THE CHAIR. Hotaru gives Volendrung a little pat before climbing back into bed. She yawns then and curls back up. "You'd think they'd know not to go adventuring at night anyways… they could have just asked for something to eat." Hotaru shuts her eyes then and tries to get back to sleep.

Back in the Barracks: Garawan too is settling back down once he notes there's nothing the matter. However, he calls quietly to the departing candidates, "Be careful." That done, he settles on the bed on his side again, shifting his firelizards around. My pillow. Share.

Alright. Time to snoop! Nodding to Muir, Kale heads left, carefully not to run into any large pots that may be put there as a booby trap. He pulls out a drawer. Nope. Nothing but silverware. Another drawer has the same. Where do they keep the food in this joint? A cabinet is pulled open and reveals nothing but a stack of pots stacked a bit precariously. He closes that one quickly, fearing an avalanche. "They don't throw it all out do they? Feed it to…canines?"

Muir shakes his head, "No, they don't throw it out," he whispers, moving along the walls with his hands, heading for the back counters. Crouching down, he pulls open a cabinet and makes a soft sound of triumph. "Bread," he says, snagging two loaves. "A little dry, probably going to make crumbs out of it in the next few days." Shoving the loaves into a wooden bowl sitting on the counter, he shuffles around more, still looking.

Back in the Barracks: Idrissa sits up, her pillow falling to the floor while she eyes the door a moment and soon looks over to Hotaru and then Soriana. "Well, with the chair under the door they will get caught for sure." Not that she is moving too quickly to pull the chair out of the way. Her three firelizards hop around, Ripley ends up perching up on the end of the cot once more while Willow and Hidalgo curl up against her.

Mikal slinks into the shadows, unsure of exactly what to do as a lookout. So after a couple minutes of simply looking around he peeks his head through the kitchen door. "Don't forget meat scraps!" he says in a loud whisper. "You find any leftover soup?"

Back in the Barracks: Soriana can't very well move the chair. She's asleep, after all. Completely and totally asleep. "Hmph," she says, as asleep people do. "That's the problem with them. They just don't think." Stupid boys. …someone seems maybe a bit annoyed with the other sex tonight, and it's not Haruhi, who's now happily dozing.

"Would Elidor like cookies?" Kale grins as he hits the jackpot, uncovering a large plate of leftover sugar cookies. Three, four, five, six of them he snags, replacing the cover. And hmmm, things are smelling interesting over here! He moves to another countertop, finding… ooo, jerky! He plucks a few strips of the dried meat, not knowing if it'll be too tough for a baby firelizard (probably) but it'll be perfect for teenage boys! "Got jerky!" he whispers, moving to that bowl of Muir's. "An' cookies. No soup, sorry."

Back in the Barracks: Well, it doesn't look like any of the ladies are getting up to save the boys. Hotaru is the one who sabotaged them and neither Idrissa or Sori seem in a hurry to save even Kale. "Mmhmm." She agrees with Soriana, though she's already half asleep. Of course, she might be opening up a can of worms here. As in… prank wars, boys versus girls. Though perhaps Garawan will get up and save his brethren?

"I found some redfruit," Muir announces, adding them to the bowl. "Jerky, awesome. Ooooh, cookies! This is great. No, no soup, Mikal." Sheesh. "Is that it? Should we go?" Just then (of course) there's a flicker of green light as someone carries a glow across the living cavern. Towards the kitchens, perhaps?

"That's too bad." for now Mikal's full attention is in the kitchens, the door propped open, and the stash of food that the boys have claimed so far. So the clicker of green light isn't seen by him. "Ooh, I love red fruit. I bet Elidor would eat that. If not the cookies too." one hopes not all his portion of the food goes to the stomach of Elidor.

Back in the Barracks: It takes Garawan a moment to go back to sleep. But before he does… he hears something. A chair? He sits up again, and blinks, looking around. "…Chair?" He looks to Idrissa, since she's the first to mention the chair that he can remember. "What chair?" he inquires.

Back in the Barracks: Idrissa ehs softly and nods while she shifts and settles back into her cot once more. "True, not in the least." She offers with a soft tired murmur. Yes the wars will most likely start after all this. One can just imagine how mad they could get with the door being blocked. She looks over to Garawan and points to the door that is being blocked by a chair. "That chair."

Kale definitely doesn't notice that light, as he's not the one that's supposed to be the lookout! "I think we're good," he nods, grinning at the stash they've managed to scrounge up. Bread, fruit, jerky, and cookies. It's almost an entire meal! He's happy with it, and thus he nods again. "Yeah, let's take this stuff back. We good to go, Mikal?" he asks their watchful watchman.

Back in the Barracks: Under other circumstances, maybe Soriana would save Kale, but right now, he's a representative of his gender. Besides, saving him means saving Muir, and… "Leave it there," she says to Garawan as he asks. "If they're so clever, they can figure out how to get in, too." Not that she's actually watching to see what he does, because, oh yeah, she's asleep. At least until the boys get back and start pounding on the door or getting… creative.

Muir hesitates before he grabs a skin of cider too, and he turns towards the door just as it's pushed open and a drudge looks in, holding up the glow and his eyes widening at the sight of the boys. "Hey!" the drudge, an older boy says, "you're not supposed to be in here!" Bowl tucked in the curve of one arm, and skin of cider in his other hand, Muir can just stare at the drudge, at a total loss of what to say. Quick, someone think of something!

Back in the Barracks: Hotaru is back asleep, sort of. She's trying to get comfortable and making her firelizard mad with all her flopping about. Ouch, Sori is really mad at Muir! What did he do to her? Perhaps the boys will get creative. But Hotaru has a feeling they'll just start pounding on the door.

Lookout..right! Mikal sheepishly realizes he's not been doing the lookout duty but instead been watching /them/ scrounge food. Quickly he shifts to spin around and face the caverns to see…the green light of the glow coming their way. Oh noes! How close is it….oh. It's close as the drudge walks /right/ into him and they both end up in the kitchens. "Um…oops?" is all the poor failed lookout can mutter.

Back in the Barracks: Garawan's gaze follows Idrissa's pointing to the door. "Hm? Oh dear. Goodness, that won't do." He pushes the covers off and gets to his feet, going to move the chair from in front of the door. However, Soriana's words give him pause. "Why? There's really no reason to let them get in trouble because they were hungry," he reasons. He obviously doesn't see the issue. TYPICAL MAN, RIGHT?

Back in the Barracks: Idrissa waves a hand slightly at the door. "Just.. Lave it be Garawan. I'm sure they will figure it out." With that she is cuddling up with her little brown firelizard once more. The 'voice of reason' is sent a glance before she looks to Soriana pondering the answer from her.

All right boys! Time to head home and enjoy the spoi- … er. The sudden light of a glow that definitely does not belong to them stops Kale in his tracks, and his eyes dart to Mikal. Mi-kaaal! Swiftly, he looks back at the other guy, brows lifted in surprise before smoothly lowering again. Time to .. try to talk their way out! "Yes … right, you're right," he relents, holding up his hands in a 'you caught us' sort of way. "But, you see sir," yes, he'll add in that sir for good measure, despite the fact that the guy may just be a turn or two older than him, "His firelizard's just a few days old y'see, and it's been cryin' up a storm, keepin everyone awake. We're only here to try to get a few things to quiet him so folks can get a good night's sleep, you know?" See? They're totally noble fellows!

Back in the Barracks: "Because," says Soriana. She's very talkative for someone who's asleep. "They ought to think about consequences. And other people. I don't care that they're hungry. I care that Muir-" pause. "-woke everybody up."

Elidor gives a pitiful squeak at that moment since really this is taking far too long for his stomach and patience!

Back in the Barracks: And, with that, Soriana works even harder on her imitation of sleep. So much so that she stops responding, even if it's a while yet before her breathing evens to actual, genuine sleep.

Back in the Barracks: Hotaru peers over at Garawan as he gets up. "They were pretty rude about it. Muir could have at least apologized. Instead he yelled at us for waking up. Rude." Hotaru grumps. "Muir is always rude. But Mikal…pfft. I thought he was different. I thought he was -nice-." She leaves Sticky out of it for now. Really all he did was get up for a snack.

Back in the Barracks: Well. Garawan can see where the winds lie here. It's a moment of struggle — but he isn't willing to get himself in trouble with the women here. He'd never hear the end of it. Oh well. He can embellish it later. If the boys don't buy 'I was asleep', he can swear the women threatened to beat him if he moved the chair. That in mind, he goes back to his bed and settles in again. "…As a note," he says half-wryly. "I am telling them you ladies threatened to gang up on me and break me in numerous pieces if I moved it."

Back in the Barracks: "Of course we did, sounds like a great answer to tell them Garawan." Idrissa murmurs out while she sends an amused glance his way. "Until then I'm going back to sleep though." She attempts to fall asleep once more.

Muir shifts the bowl a bit and tries to surreptitiously shift the cider skin behind his leg a little. Since that's clearly not for the firelizard. The drudge frowns at them all, looking from one to the other, and then looking at the firelizard. And there's a sudden longing in his gaze, which Muir pounces on like a rabid feline. "You want a firelizard? I can try and get you an egg. I know where there are some." He does?

Back in the Barracks: Hotaru cracks her knuckles loudly. "You do that." Was… was that a threat from the red-head? Perhaps! Unfortunately for Garawan if he ever comes to give Hotaru that excuse he might find himself being chased by a girl. And not in the good way, either. But if she's asleep, who knows. She yawns. "Well, goodnight everyone." And then attempts to sleep herself.

Back in the Barracks: Garawan chuckles. "Goodnight, both of you," he offers, turning over on his side and falling silent again. Except… he /might/ just wait until he hears the girls' breathing even into sleep, and then silently get up and go move the chair anyway….

Back in the Barracks:Alloy> Idrissa hums softly, she heard the voices again and was just starting to doze off. "Ya… Sleep is good." This murmured out while she pulls her blanket around herself a bit more.

Mikal fidgets from where he stands, casting another harried look back into the caverns proper to ensure that no one /else/ is headed here. "Shh!" he says quickly. "Keep your voices down." is on the heels of his Shh. Elidor preens from where he's climbed up onto Mikal's shoulder. Isn't he /handsome/?

Oh, well now. They've come across something haven't they? Kale glances to Muir as he speaks of finding firelizard eggs, nodding. "He surely can. I keep seein' new firelizards every day. This one's just the latest," he whispers with a nod to Elidor. "I've a bronze, and he's sired a few. You could probably get an egg from us, easy" His voice has gone smooth, but with Mikal's SHH reminder, he drops it again. "But. Us in trouble isn't gonna give us much opportunity for egg huntin' or askin', you know?" Hint hint…

The drudge shifts his weight, eying them each and then staring at Elidor with that /hunger/ in his eyes. "You get me an egg," the teen whispers, "and I won't say nothin'. But if you don't…" Hint hint right back at them. Muir eagerly nods, bobbing his head a few times. "We'll get you one!" he whispers, "we will and we'll bring it back here when we do, okay? So keep checking, the next few nights, and we'll find you one." And he edges towards the door, hopeful that the boy will let them slip free.

Mikal merely bobs his head in agreement to Muir's promise. Even though he has no idea if it can actually be kept he's all for agreeing if it'll keep them from getting ratted out! So he edges backwards a bit, quickly covering Elidor's head with a hand to prevent the fire lizard from calling out suddenly.

Perfect. Kale's grin creeps over his mouth slowly as he listens to the drudge's terms, and he nods slowly. "Don't you worry. We're guys've our words," he says with a grin and tiny salute. An egg for freedom! And, like Muir, he begins heading for that door. Cuuuz..he's still hungry, and those cookies are definitely calling his name!
The drudge nods and shifts aside, but he watches them pass with a lingering gaze. They'd better not break that promise, his gaze reads. Slipping into the main cavern, Muir presses his lips together tightly as he makes for the exit with long, quick strides. To freedom!

Mikal wastes no time at all in following Muir!


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Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks
A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.


And the Three Musketeers return from their grand adventure! And oh, how adventurous it has been. And lo, they come with the spoils of war in the form of a bowl full of a variety of snacks to snack on. Fruit, bread, jerky, cookies…these little mice won't be hungry for long! And as they snoop through the shadows, creeping along, their destination lies ahead of them. All they have to do is open the dormitory door…

Muir grasps the handle and twists it, but does it open?

Well, Hotaru has put the chair up… but perhaps Garawan has gotten up after she fell asleep to take it down?

And…the door opens! As it should. Kale had no expectations that the door wouldn't open, because who would do something so cruel as lock these three handsome fellows out in their nightclothes? Kale closes the door very, very quietly once the other two have entered, careful to not make much noise with the latch clicking and all that. And now, fiiinally…time to eat! He follows behind Muir, as he's the guy with the goods at the moment.

Of course the door opens. Leading the way back to his cot, Muir sits down and motions for Mikal and Kale to join him, though Mikal is quick to take some of the food and head back to his own cot to feed Elidor. "I'm not sure where we're going to find an egg," Muir whispers, keeping his voice very low.

Kale peers at his own cot as he passes it by, seeing two large lumps there under the covers. Ugh. Alloy and Haruhi are hogging his bed! he's going to have two grumpy firelizards on his hands when he kicks them out… But for now, he lets sleeping lizards lie while he flops onto Muir's cot and grabs one of those cookies he snagged. "Eh. Firelizard eggs come up all the time," he whispers back, glancing to his cot again. "Willow had hers a while back … Sori's gold is probably gonna .. glow or whatever soon. Alloy'll be after her. Toral. An' any other bronze or brown in the weyr proper." He smirks confidently. "There'll be eggs. We're good."

Muir snags a cookie to chow down on, his stomach rumbling appreciatively. FEED ME. "Yeah, just keep an eye out okay? Hate to let that guy down…" He was big and kind of scary. Handing over a loaf of bread, Muir begins to dig into his, which means crumbs all over his covers. But whatever, he doesn't care.

Idrissa is still asleep, or well she was until there was more movement of like people coming within the place. She shifts and rubs at her face a few times while she shifts to peers out at the voices, eyeing the pair. "What are you two doing now?" Is murmured out, tone tired sounding. Why do they keep waking her up?

"Don't worry, I will, I will," replies Kale unconcernedly, taking a bite of his cookie before taking the passed bread loaf. Mmmm … sweet wonderful cookie! Now, if only they could've snagged some milk too.. "Jus' keep an eye on Haruhi. She'll save us all." Awww, and wouldn't the proud little gold love to hear that? Too bad she's snoozing. "Where'd you think Mikal got his anyway? Looks just hatched. Maybe whoever gave him his egg has some more.." He looks over to where Mikal's bunk is. His brown is happily fed, and Mikal himself looks… a asleep. He smirks, though turns his attention to another voice. "Idrissa, that you?"

Muir shakes his head. "I don't know, but Marel got a blue not long ago too…" And he frowns deeply at that, taking a large bite of his bread which silences him for the moment. Chew, chew, chew. OH, he has cider! It's uncapped and he takes a swig, offering it over to Kale next. His head turns at the sound of another, and he answers softly but cheerily. "Eating."

Idrissa sits up a bit more, she lets her brown firelizard settle into her lap. "Ya I'm awake." She offers softly and peers at Muir tired likely. "Right… Makes total sense to me, seeing what time it is." Someone is a grumpy when she gets woken up.

Oh, cider! Kale takes the drink with a nod of thanks to Muir and drinks after him. Ah. That hits the spot. Cookies, bread, and cider. Jerky and fruit to come! "Marel got a blue?" he asks with raised brows. "Didn't the two've you just get firelizards not long ago? Ha.." he smirks, shaking his head. "One is enough for me. More'n enough, really. .. Who gave it to her?" he asks curiously before glancing over in the direction of Idrissa's voice. His eyes have adjusted enough that he can see her outline. "Hey, cheer up. I got somethin' for you back in the kitchens," he says.

Muir nods, "Yeah, she got a brown from Mom's clutch. I got my bronze. I don't know where she got it," he says, that frown returning. "We started talking about the eggs instead…" Then he's ducking his head to snag another cookie, glancing up briefly as Kale and Idrissa begin to speak.

Zahleizjah was actually dozing, sound asleep for once, tiny green Virikas cuddled up in a small ball at the nape of human pets neck. Tonight only a few soft stirring moments escaped the Starcrafter's subconscious, a few mumbles a little tossing and turning from time to time, but it seems in this case she's not the one waking the other Candidates up and is actually on the other side of the night owl fence. Maybe it's the smell of cookies or that talk of eggs, but Zahl is suddenly shooting awake with a bit of a start "Huh? Wha.. I said the heardbeasts got lasso'd right n'wrangled till the corral.." This is pretty much nonsense, burn off from the Roundup as sleepy eyes are rubbed and looking around. "Oh.. umm.. forget that. Midnight snacks?" she asks the group as a squeal comes from Virikas who is scooped and hushed promptly.

"You would think differently if you got another one I bet Kale." Idrissa offers after a moment, well she does have three of them after all. Hidlago chirrups out, the little brown titling his head while looking at the others that are nearby his person. "Mikal's green had a clutch, maybe from him?" Well it's possible, right? At the comment from Kale she peers over at him pondering. "You did?" She looks over to Zahle and smiles while waving to her.

"You didn't ask her?" Kale questions Muir incredulously. But hey, maybe he doesn't want one too. Or maybe, it was a gift from a secret admirer and he didn't want to snoop? What a considerate brother! "Speakin' of Marel…how are the you-know-whats?" he asks, voice still a whisper and not much above. He grins Idrissa's way, but before he speaks, there's another voice! A pretty clear one too, but despite the non-whisper, he doesn't understand a word of what she says. He blinks, peering through the darkness. "Someone should light a candle or somethin'. That Zahleizjah?" He rises from Muir's cot, snags a cookie, and walks to Idrissa's to offer her the treat. "Yup. Got you a cookie." Everybody likes cookies!

Muir shakes his head, "No, I only want one," he answers. "I will ask her though." And then he's giving Kale a blank look. "The…whats?" Turning his head, he squints towards Zahleizjah's cot. "Not enough for everyone," he says, quick to defend the food they risked their /lives/ for.

Zahleizjah snuggles Virikas closely since that's about the only way to keep the squawker quiet besides food. One finger headknob scritches are given to the small green who croons and warbles as she's held close. Zahl's blushing a bit as she nods to Idrissa with a smile and wave back, using her night time voice to speak "Well two of em at least.. the first runner envoy brought back a good sized herd but I think summore brush around the entrance will keep em from getting spooked when we try to funnel them through the gate." Don't mind the scratches across her face, red and swollen, or the bruises scattered here and there. "Aye Kale.. good thinking.. I must've been dreaming out loud.." There's shuffling beneath her cot before one thick wicked candle is lit for a soft glow since a good chunk of the group is awake.

Idrissa tilts her head as she peers at Zahle, luckly she can't see anything with the darkness around the room at the moment. Her attention goes back to Kale, a cookie huh? All that adventure for a cookie? She smirks though does reach up to take it. Seems she dos like cookies. "Thanks." She munches on it and gives a small piece to Hidalgo.

Ah, let there be light! Soft, glowy light that surely won't bother the handfuls of others that are sleeping, right? Kale grins towards the candle lighting Zah as Idrissa takes the cookie snack. "Welcome," he says back to her, glancing to Muir afterward. "The…things she brought in a few days back?" he says pointedly, apparently not sure of just how secretive he should be with this. If at all. "The .. trio of friends? And I grabbed six cookies I think. Should still be two left. One's for Soriana. Lei, you can have the last if you want," he offers. He should've grabbed more! "You went to the roundup?" And with the candle, he can see the evidence on her face that she did! "Heh.. yeah you did. What happened to you?"

Soriana is sleeping. So very… oh, no, wait. She actually is sleeping. It was a long day. Zzzzzz.

Muir blinks at Kale and then understanding dawns. "OH. Right." /Those/ things. "Everything is fine." He stifles a yawn and eats the rest of his bread, tucking the redfruits beneath his bunk. Breakfast in bed? "Night," he says, before he's shaking the crumbs off his blanket and snuggling down, dropping into a deep sleep, light and conversation nonwithstanding.

Continued in Noises at Night


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