
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.
Midday meals have come and gone, so have many riders and other assorted folk around the Weyr. The hearths are all flickering from the fires burning within to fight off the brisk chilly drafts of the autumn day. Kera is over there, plopped down in one of the poofy padded seats normally occupied by ole aunties, uncles, or aged riders warming aching bones. Minimur is curled up in her lap and the weyrling has a booked propped on the arm of the chair. While she reviews for the coming tests, nothing says she cant kick up her feet by the fire, so that's what she does.
Oh yeah. Meals! Those are a good thing to have. Soriana emerges from the depths of the admin hallway and goes to look over the possibilities. There's… well, yeah, there's options. While most people eat at actual mealtimes, there's allowances made for those who, for whatever reason, can't or won't. So there's cold dishes and nibbles and… meh. None of it looks good. Soriana walks down the line with an empty plate, then sets it down - still-empty - at the end. Okay, so she won't have lunch. Maybe she'll just have a mug of klah. She goes, gets a mug, pours herself some klah and cream. Nutritious lunch, right there. Of course, if she takes it back to the juniors' office, her mother might comment on the fact that it's not actually lunch, so she'd better eat (uh, drink) it out here. But it's not like she's got an actual plate to deal with - no fork and knife required - so instead of heading to one of the tables, she goes over to the comfy chairs by the fire. Oh look, there's one free, near the studying weyrling. Soriana takes it.
Kera gently recrosses her legs, the lazy brown in her lap simply churling softly and drooping into a new position. Flipping the page and starting to scan, her hand resumes rubbing the lizard's back or wings. Giving the listing on the page a moments consideration, Kera closes her eyes and starts murmuring and muttering to herself, half spoken names of assorted Lord, Ladies, Holds and so on. Shuffling sounds nearby draw her attention over to see Soriana settling in the next chair. Flashing a smile "G'day Soriana….ma'am." That last bit added as an afterthought, as is the quick salute that follows. Marking her page with a finger, she closes the book loosely. "Escaped the horrors of reports and files for a bit?"
Soriana curls the fingers of both hands around her mug as she settles back in the chair, and turns her attention to Kera. "Mmh. Good afternoon." She smiles, though it seems a little distracted, and follows that salute with her eyes. "You don't have to say the ma'am bit, you know." Her hand shifts, tracing the warm ceramic, and she glances down to the brownish liquid. "They're not all horrible. Some reports are downright interesting!" And some… aren't, but hey. Look on the bright side?
Kera chuckles and shrugs uncertainly with a quick glance around the caverns before she focuses on Soriana once more. "A couple of the weyrlingmasters are stickler for the rules, saluting and such. My lack of saluting already gotten me in trouble before, so better safe than sorry." Taking a quick glance to what page she was on, the book is closed fully and stuffed into her shoulder satchel, with is dropped lightly back to the floor next to her the seat. Smirking at what might be considered an 'interesting' report "Don't suppose you could talk about it huh? Just the intersting bit I mean."
Soriana frowns slightly as she nods about those stickler weyrlingmasters. "That's… interesting." Though it doesn't seem like the sort of happy interesting from those amusing reports - if they even exist. Maybe she's just making them up. Kera's book gets a glance as it's being put away, then Soriana looks back up to the weyrling, smile returning. "Oh, there's been some ones about settling the camelids in at the high pasture that're practically adventure stories. Though they don't include the looks on people's faces, and really, that's a shame."
Kera nods, grinning at the imagined faces "I bet the reaction from the herdbeasts and runners has been entertaining as well." Settling back in the seat, hand resting lightly on Minimur's back, the brown already drifting back off to lala land. "So other than interesting reports, how have ya been? Haven't been able to catch up with ya much lately." Too many lessons and tasks in the past few months for the weyrling to socialize very much. "Oh, did you make it to the Gather at Keroon recently? I remember Ka'el and a small army of towel carrying weyrfolk getting Kanekith all polished up for it."
"Oh, ovines don't much mind anything that doesn't seem likely to eat them," Soriana says with a small wave of her hand. "That's most of what we've got near there." After the wave, her hand goes back to the klah mug, or at least mug-shaped handwarmer. "Oh, well, we've both been busy." She smiles. "I haven't forgotten how much there is to learn when you're a weyrling - or what it's like settling in with your lifemate." She leans back a little, settling into the chair, then nods. "The one with the finale of that circuit race? Yeah. I went, saw the Gather and watched the race. A runner from Xanadu took second."
Kera props her chin on her upraised palm and nods as she listens to her friend. "I suppose that's good for Xanadu then?" Thinking about the other things her friend said, Kera dips her head agreeably a time or two. "So many new things to master." A little sigh accompanies her shaking head "Who would have thought you need to learn both combat and dancing." Huffing over that point, the greenling resettles her stretched out legs. Obviously one weyrling may not have been doing that well in all lessons. "What happens to a weyrling that…that just isn't up to par when all is said and done?"
Soriana shrugs one shoulder in a vague equivocation. "It's good for the runner's owner. For the beastcrafters here, too. It's not too important for the Weyr as a whole. We've other things to occupy us." Like fighting… and dancing. Soriana smiles, though then her brow furrows slightly. She leans forward, setting the mug of klah down on the table as she studies Kera. "Are you having trouble?" she asks mildly, her expression a concerned one.
Kera blinks to Soriana at the mention of trouble. "Why, what did you hear?" She appears worried for a couple of seconds before cracking a smile and shaking her head "Just kidding. I don't think I'm in trouble. Been tryin to stay out of it actually." A hint of a shrug lifts her shoulders momentarily. "But I don't feel I'm doing well in some of the lessons." An exagerated eyeroll has her scanning the upper rafters and the lizards scattered about up there before settling on Soriana's face again. "It's just frustrating more than anything else." Canting her head a bit "Did you have trouble with some of the lessons?"
Soriana arches an eyebrow at Kera's quick defense, her mouth curving in a slight frown. "I didn't say in trouble." Though, she probably does get a copy of V'dim's reports, doesn't she? Or can get access to one, at least. So she'd know! But if so, she doesn't mention anything. "Have the weyrlingmasters been helping you?" Soriana studies Kera's features. "They should be telling you if there are things you need to improve, and you should be able to ask them for help with any of it. That's part of their job." Her mouth tugs to the side for a moment, and then she smiles. "Everyone has trouble with something. There's a lot to learn. If it takes longer for you to master something… it just takes longer, that's all."
Kera nods quickly and tries to clarify "Oh, I know, I was just tryin to lighten the mood. As far as I know, I've not done anything to cause trouble since the punishment I got from Mur'dah a few months back." Twitching her fingers to wave off that bit of worry, she nods "All the weyrlingmasters have been very helpful. And even some of the weyrlings." Kera takes a short moment to figure out how to explain. "With the combat lessons, I just don't feel…into it. Feels wrong learning how to hurt someone when I wanna learn the exact opposite." Her gaze slips around as she talks then slips back to the junior weyrwoman to see how her words are taken. Working up a grin for her friend and shrugs "Guess I'll be one that takes longer."
Soriana exhales slowly, and nods. She… well, apparently this is just one of those jokes she's not getting, because she's still not smiling about it, but at least she doesn't pursue the matter. She keeps listening, expression relaxing toward a smile as Kera assures her that Pulsar's being helpful as it should, and waits for the weyrling to come up with the right words. "Heh. But… you're not, really." She holds up a hand to stave off protests as she continues. "I took those lessons. I've also done some guard training. What you're learning as a weyrling is defense. You're not learning how to hurt someone. You're learning how to protect someone. Yourself, or… someone else. What if you were called out to a patient in the high pastures, and a feline came prowling? That's why we teach you combat, not because we want you to attack anyone." She smiles. "You'll take as long as you take, and get whatever help you need. The important part is that you and Moncerath are happy and healthy."
Kera listens to Soriana, opening her mouth to say something else when her friend stalls her with a gesture and keeps speaking. A frown creeps across her face at the mention of felines. She /has/ seen what the creatures can do from the scars of a few patients from the Hall, and about the Weyr. Finally, if a bit reluctantly, she concedes the point. "My head tells me your right, I just have to try looking at it differantly." Glancing down to pet the brown when he starts twitching in his sleep, Kera grins back up to Soriana and nods quickly "Yea, Moncerath's doing great in all her lessons. Had a couple of awkward landings the first couple of days and I made her ease up some, but she's taken right to flying. Guess those huge wings give her the advantage."
"Sometimes looking at things the right way makes all the difference in the world," Soriana says, and smiles. Not that adjusting perspectives is easy, but… once it's managed, maybe it'll make some other things easier. She nods about Moncerath's progress. "I'm glad to hear it!" Soriana says, then laughs. "I bet she's glad, too - I haven't heard of a dragon yet that wasn't happy to finally start flying."
Kera smiles and nods, pleased that Moncerath is doing well and happy. "Im still constantly running after her of coarse, only now I take longer to catch up cause /I/ have to take the long way. Or so Mon tells when she flies ahead." Chuckling to herself over that, "For a little while there, I thought maybe she was gonna try to fly before the lesson cause she would watch the bigger dragons and mimic them. But thankfully, she refrained long enough." Nodding as if that's a very good thing, Kera looks her friend over thoughtfully. "So.., not counting work, how are you?" She gestures to her friend with a casual flick of her fingers "Your face looks a bit thinner…are you getting enough to eat?" It could may well be just the flicker flames of the fire over Soriana's face giving Kera that impression.
"Oh, but the flying's good practice for her," Soriana says with an amused smile. "And the more you run after her now, the more you'll appreciate it when you get to fly with her?" Not that dragonflight isn't a thing that could be appreciated without the need for preliminaries! But… "You can't rush those things. Or at least, you shouldn't." A brief frown for dragonhealer-thoughts of why not, but only a brief one, and then Soriana looks to Kera again and shrugs slightly. "Oh, I've been alright. I…" she pauses, blinks at Kera. The cart of her thoughts just cracked a wheel. "Uh…" Nope. Gonna blink again. Okay, for real this time. "…I'm… doing fine."
Kera grins "Oh, I don't mind the running after her so much, it's the heavy pack we have to lug around that's the pain in my backside." A smirk slips across her face a few seconds before is smooths away. Kera considers her friend, who sorta stutters her way through insisting she is fine, "Just fine?" Observing Soriana a few seconds more, the greenling's shoulders lift and drop marginally while she glances back down to Minimur. "I get the feeling there is something more there, but I won't push. I don't mind listening if ya feel like talking about it sometime though." A little smile is offered as she pulls her feet away from the fire.
Soriana's expression shifts more firmly to a smile. "There's a lot of work to be done. I've been busy." She shifts in the chair, sitting up toward the edge. "I appreciate the concern, but really, I'm fine. I'm not going to waste away or something." She laughs, just a little, then pushes herself to her feet. "I'd better get back to that work. It was nice talking to you." The smile's still on her face as Soriana waves and turns back to cross the caverns and make for the admin hallway once again. Her mug of klah is left behind on that table. She never did actually take a sip of it, did she?