Xanadu Weyr - Kitchens
It seems that with the fire that destroyed much of the kitchen, care has been taken to restore it to a condition well beyond what it was orignally. And thus state of the art equipment has been brought in from the various crafts to be used - stoves and large ovens replacing the hearths, while thin metal sheets have been installed over each countertop, for both ease of use and ease of cleanup. A large pantry remains generally open, containing a all the nonperishable goods, while a similarly large icechest contains the perishable goods.
It's late at Xanadu. A couple of hours after dinner and most of the kitchen stuff has headed off for the night. This is K'ael's peak time for sneaking in to 'steal' things. Things being meat, generally. Pommel, his good bronze flit, keeps an eye out from up top some cupboards while the bronzer lays out his private collection of carving knives on one of the cutting tables. He whistles a bit to himself.
Keziah isn't generally into 'stealing' things herself, but sometimes she gets a bit peckish after she's been out with Alosynth saving people and things. Course this last time out has her some scrtaches and such along her bare arms and one nice swipe across her face. All that look very much like that of a cats claws. She's grumbling to herself about kittens and kids with no sense as she makes her way into the kitchens looking for something to sooth her pride and belly both.
It would figure that all does not remain quiet for long. Another bronze firelizard, Mulgrave, soars in from the caverns, cheeping thoughtfully to himself as he enters. The large firelizard pulls up in surprise at the presence of people here, giving a startled chock as he backwings, pulling away from the shelf he had been intending to roost on. Mulgrave peers long and hard at those present, faceted eyes a slightly yellowed green as he examines these unexpected occupants of the kitchens.
K'ael doesn't do much saving as wingleader. His job was mostly to tell other people where to go to do the saving. Or what to do. At any rate, he just misses Keziah heading into the caverns, as he's headed into the chilled stock room to retrieve something. What he comes back with is a herdbeast carcass, cleaned and skinned but not cut. He peers at Keziah, then plops the carass down on the cutting table with a bit of bang. "Hello."
Keziah blinks a moment as she eyes K'ail and then the carcass on the table. "What? We loosin' ya as a wongleader and you're goin' cook on us?" she asks as heads for the pantry and ponders a little and then peers back over her shoulder "What are you going to do with the hunk of meat anyways?" she asks and then finds some day-old rolls that have been tucked away and some jam.
Mulgrave's attention moves back and forth between the people, though Pommel certainly isn't being ignored, he just isn't nearly as important to the bronze as the people are. With a satisfied chirp, he wings toward K'ael, aiming to settle on the counter near the wingleader. The firelizard swing wide, trying to avoid running into Keziah on his way to the countertop. His eyes have shifted from yellow-green to red-tinged as that carcass is eyed. Mmm, foood…
K'ael picks up the meat cleaver in his collection. He laughs a bit at Keziah. "Nah. I'm just here to get some meat." There's a near miss with the swooping firelizard as K'ael brings the cleaver down to separate out the sections he intends to cut. "I make fresh jerky from it. It's great for the lizards for a treat." Though Mulgrave, since he's there, will get his own little bit of something. Likely liver or something else rich that K'ael won't be using. "What happened to you, anyways? Did you fall into some brush?"
Keziah ahhs a little and nods. "I see, makes sense I suppose." she notes as she slathers jam on the rolls and ducks a little as the firelizard goes sweeping bye. "Pesky thing." she mutters, though without any heat. Seems more automatic than anything. She touches her face and then smiles ruefully. "Well, I was on a very important rescue mission." she notes sagely, and then she rolls her eyes. "Mirai finally talked me into letting her have a kitten a few months or so back." she notes and just shakes her head. "Kitten got herself stuck up in a tree and Mirai insisted that I had to go up and get her. I figured that the kitten would get tired of being up there long enough and come down but Mirai was not having any of it." she sighs softly "So, using Alo to get me up a good portion of the way, I went in after the kitten, who then decided that I was scarier than the tree and went higher. Vesuvius, my bronze decided to help which freaked the kitten out who decided that he was scarier than me and well tried to climb atop my head. Thus the scratches, but the kitten is out of the tree and Mirai is not about to have a panic attack."
Mulgrave chocks again in startlement at that near miss, dropping low to avoid being injured and ending up on the floor instead of the counter. He scrabbles to make a good landing and manages to sort of skid to a halt. He shakes his head and flicks his wings to ensure everything is sound before cautiously climbing the drawers in the counter to reach the top. K'ael is given a dirty look for the close call, but it quickly switches to interest for his work. Oooh, meat…
One thing Rished can be thankful for is that his chores are done. The goings-ons in the kitchens? Not his responsibility or his problem. On the other hand, feeding three hungry 'lizards that refuse to go fishing at this hour? That /is/ his problem — and it could be a problem for his fellow candidates if he doesn't see to it quickly. The once-woodcrafter makes his way into the kitchens, rubbing absently at the back of his neck with a grimace; behind him, Missy, Navy, and Suede make a flying 'lizard train after him, the greenling offering up a musical trill of delight once his course becomes clear. Other people in here? He's oblivious … at least for the moment.
K'ael blinks a bit at Keziah's story. "Hum. Mirai is your daughter then? Milo is still in the 'cats are play things' age. He's more apt to pull their tails as to actually care if they've been run up a tree. Though I've got enough of them, so even if he was older he'd have to make due." He points to the meat he's carving with a knife. "I can cook us some steaks in the meantime, if you're hungry?" Pommel, from his perch above, gives K'ael a warning chirrup. Someone is coming!
Keziah munchies on the roll and nods even as she swallows "Yup, my darling foundling child." she says with a smile. "I can hardly believe it's been about 6 turns since I found her." she notes and looks thoughtful for a bit and then smiles "Steaks would be nice." There's a pause and then she peers at K'ael "You can actually cook them right?"
Mulgrave takes advantage of K'ael distraction, darting his head in to nip at one of the slices he has already cut away. His gives a fairly muffled chortle as he whips his head back and deliberately tumbles off the counter, wings snapping opento catch the air and propel him toward the pantry with his prize. Paws pull the meat from his mouth and the dark bronze risks a look over his shoulder toward the wingleader, trilling at him. Whether he's mocking him or thanking him is hard to tell.
Rished continues along, muttering a bit — more to the beasts than himself, though it may be hard to discern the difference — as he heads off in search of proper meat scraps and a bowl. Navy's distracted by the carving of meat just over there, though, and the blue breaks from formation to wing over to that section of counter. Missy and Suede follow suit, with their owner none the wiser — he continues muttering, even as he ducks into the cold storage area.
Today is the day K'vin goes out. He doesn't go out often but when he does, he makes sure people see him if there's any questions to be asked about dragonhealing and stuff. He heads into the kitchen as he hears people and he just waves in their general direction, saluting.
"Oh? A foundling? At the weyr? I didn't think those sorts of things existed." K'ael comments. "I thought most people just dropped their unwanted babies off at the nannies or had them fostered off." There's a peer to the greenrider at her question. "Yes. I can't cook much, but a steak I can handle. Hey!" The last 'hey' is sent in Mulgrave's direction, as he's flying off with one of the thin strips of meat K'ael had worked out for jerky. There's just a sigh from the bronzer as three more flits head his way. He leaves them a few strips to nibble on an then covers the rest with a pan. There's a wave given to K'vin as he slices off a couple of nice looking steaks for Keziah and himself, then gets the grill going. "I can cook meat and breakfast. That's about it." He chuckles.
Keziah shrugs a little "She washed up ashore." she notes softly "Dunno if she was truely abandoned or what, but we never could find her parents. I wasn't about to abandon her again though. We've been good for each other though." she notes softly and then looks over as more people come in. "Lookin' to be a regular party in here." she frowns a little and then shrugs. Then a smile sneaks across her face as she watches the firelizards "Bit of a softie aren't ya?"
Mulgrave can be hear chortling to himself as he settles on a shelf in the pantry, then he quiets as he begins enjoying his meal. His peace is short lived, however, as a young gold firelizard blinks into existence at the pantry entry, loudly creeling as she faces the pantry. If a firelizard could sigh Mulgrave surely would as the bronze emerges, still holding half the meat strip. The gold chirrups hopefully and Mulgrave, and he sacrafices his 'prize' to her hunger. Oh, well. The gold falls on the bit of meat excitedly, right there on the floor.
The three still on the counter chitter with appreciation and set into the strips so thoughtfully laid out by K'ael. Still no sign of Rished, who might well be lost … or, more likely, scrounging something else up for himself while he's getting for them. Missy catches onto the chirping just over there and chatters back at Mulgrave and his gilded companion. Navy and Suede are too busy squabbling a bit over their bits to pay much attention to much else.
Seeing everyone is deep discussion, K'vin pulls out a chair and sits down, looking at everyone calmly. He did spot Keziah too, someone he's talked to before and well, numerous people he never saw before.
K'ael frowns a bit at the image of a baby washing up ashore. "That sounds horrible. I suppose it's good that you rescued her, though. I'm sure most people would have dropped her off right afterwards." Though like not K'ael. The bronzer clearly has a weakness for all things small and cute, hence his interaction with the flits. He grins and shrugs to Kezi. "I just don't like to see things suffer. Maybe that's why I'm wingleader? Though it's more likely that's why I don't usually do the rescuing." There's a bit of a chuckle as the unknown bronze gets his prize stolen. K'ael for his part is busy cooking, not that he'd be likely to break up squabbling flits anyways.
In the interest of showing poor, poor K'vin that he's not ignored… Keziah loks up again at the the sound of the chair moving and then she gives a nod to K'vin "Evenin'" she notes and then she just shakes her head a bit "I shoulda called you to rescue the kitten." she says with a twinkle in her eye and then she sobers a little "It was horrible, Though, there were a number of people willing to take her in and all." she murmurs as she hops up onto the edge of some counter as she licks the jam off her fingers. "She was so little, only a few months old. Was worried for her for a bit there and all, but she's thriving." She looks over towards the bronze and gold firelizard and grins at the 'exchange'.
Where Nova goes, Moria follows, and it is a few minutes later that the exhausted-looking crafter makes her way into the kitchens. She pauses just inside the door, eyes scanning to room until she catches sight of Nova by the pantry and Mulgrave just beyond her. Moria sighs, shaking her head at the pair, then actually pays some attention to the people in the room. "Oh, hello," she greets softly. "Sorry, just came to get these two out of the way. I don't mean to get in the way," she adds, blushing slightly. "I hope they didn't cause problems?" Because that's what what firelizards are known for…
The lad's eventual return brings with it two things: a bowl of meat scraps and some meatrolls with cheese. Rished squints a little until his gaze falls on where his three have found a temporary roost … and it doesn't take long for him to piece it all together. "You're all awful. All of you," is a tired chastisement from the candidate, whose attention is soon caught by the arrival of the only familiar face in a sea of unfamiliar ones. Moria earns a sudden grin, with his three chirping their various greetings at her. "Hey, Mo." A few moments later has them taking wing to cluster on his shoulders, clearly eager for a chance to get their 'real' meal.
K'ael grins a bit to Keziah. "I wouldn't have been able to resist helping, it's true." Then he nods to her. "Ah. I'm glad things worked out for both of you, then. Perhaps you were destined to be rescuing after all, hm?" When Moria heads into the kitchen K'ael gives her a smile. "Hello, Moria. They're no trouble." There's a nod to the candidate as he comes in to collect his own 'lizards.
Keziah can't help but smile sweetly and she shrugs just a little "Ahh, well. There were many who thought I should have given her up and all. Others claimed I only wanted to keep her because I failed on the sands and all." she's silent a moment and there's more. She gives a nod to Moria and Rished both and then there's a frown. Now where'd the other head off too? She hrms a little and then shrugs. "Evenin' ya two. And sure that they're no trouble. Seem to be givin Leader here someone to take care of." she notes with a grin.
Moria nods to Keziah's reponse before turning her attention to Rished. "Yours too, huh?" she asks, smiling to her brother. "Well, at least they look to be enjoying themselves." Moria calls to Mulgrave, who wings over, Nova following after. "Are you making more jerky, K'ael?" Ria asks, perking up as she notices the carcass. "I've not had a chance to ask you for more, as busy as it's been."
"Evening," is offered up belatedly to K'ael and Keziah, with a little bit of a wince for having forgotten his manners thus far. "And sorry. These three are a handful on the best of days; when they're hungry …" he trails off, nose wrinkling. Once he finds a clear section of counter, the meat bowl is plunked down and the three set into their meal, leaving Rished free to work on his own. His attention turns to Moria a bit more fully, then, and he replies, "Yeah. They're, uh. They're about as hungry as I am, still."
K'ael smiles back to Keziah. "Oh? Well, people are always apt to think the worst of things, I find. You took her in before you impressed then? Admittedly my children didn't come until after I impressed. Not that a teenager really needs any kids anyways." He grins and nods to Moria, then. "I am. I can bring some by the complex when this is dried, if you'd like. It's been a while since we've had any lessons, anyways." A hand is then extended to the candidate. "K'ael, Azaeth's rider. These two steaks are almost done, and I can put on a couple more if you two are hungry."
Keziah gives a nod "I took her in about oh, I dunno some three turns or so?" she frowns a little and then nods. "She was old enough and secure enough and quite happy enough to be with the other children when I was asked again. I hadn't figured on standing again, not after all-" she trails off and shrugs and then grins "Yeah, you'lda been no more than a kid yerself." she notes with a grin. She leans back against a counter as she watches him intereact with the others and gives a sniff to the air. "They do smell good. I'd take him up on the offer. Though hopefully they taste as good as they smell."
Moria shakes her head ruefully at Rished's reply. "You need to relax more. I would think candidate duties wouldn't be quite as time consuming as your apprentice work. Take a little more time for yourself, little brother," she chides gently. K'ael's reponse to her query brings a warm smile to her face. "That sounds great, thanks. It should be calm enough in the next week or so to get a couple of lessons in," she agrees. "I'll pass on the steak, though. I need to get these two settled in with the rest and get some sleep."
Rished would introduce himself, but a hastily taken mouthful of meatroll-n-cheese has to be chewed and swallowed first. "Uh. Oh. I'm Rished. This is, uh. Missy, Navy, and Suede." Green, blue, and brown, respectively. "That sounds great, K'ael, but-" a sidelong look is shot to Moria, the tip of his tongue poking out at her "-I probably shouldn't. Have to get back to the barracks at a reasonable hour." Not that he's highly enthused about the prospect. For Moria, "I relax. I do! Uh, sometimes. But I still have some craftwork to do on top of the chores, and uh …" a meatroll spares him from further grave-digging.
K'ael nods. "It's hard to believe that it's almost been ten turns since I impressed. I feel old. Kids are resilient though. And you were able to impress in spite of it all." The bronzer nods to Moria and smiles. "Ah, great. I'll make it a point to stop by then when I get some free time." There a nod to the candidate, and K'ael gets to plating the steaks. "I think I could probably keep you out of trouble, but I won't force a steak on you." He chuckles, handing a plate to Keziah. "You'll have to set aside your duties if you impress, for a bit. Best to mentally prepare yourself now, right?"
Keziah can't but help grin at Rished "Oh, just before dawn breaks is a reasonable enough time." she notes sweetly and then she smiles at the steak. Yes. At the steak, not K'ael. Mmm food. "It looks delious." she murmurs as she starts in on the steak. Her eyes are back on Rished. "And, it's not forbidden if you're not caught." Evil little snot isn't she? She grins at K'ael "So kind of you to not steak him." she remarks and then digs in fervently.
Moria chuckles at Rished's answer. "You've always worked too hard, and I imagine that will never change. Well, don't stay up too late, and do let me know if you need me to watch your fair for a few hours." She nods again to Keziah and K'ael before heading back out of the kitches, one of her firelizards on each shoulder.
Rished shrugs, wolfing down another meatroll — is he even /chewing/ now? — before speaking again. "Maybe? But I dunno. It all hinges on an 'if' and I'd rather keep working on my projects just in case I'm left standing." There's a pause, then a slight pull of his mouth to a side. That thought is ultimately discarded when his eyes slide over to Keziah. "I'm, uh. Not trouble. That's something Ela'd do. Er. Norela, that is. I /like/ my sleep, when I can get it." Moria's words are caught and he tilts a too-wide, brotherly grin at her. "I won't. Er. I mean, I'll let you know if they need a 'lizard-sitter, but I won't stay up too late." Or change, knowing him. "Take care, Mo."
K'ael chuckles a bit to Keziah. "It's true. Though I wouldn't be staying up all night two nights in a row. Eventually they'll catch on, when you're taking a nap instead of doing chores." There's a wave to Moria as she excuses herself. "I suppose that's true. I forget that not everyone gets to impress on their first go-round." The bronzer chuckles a bit, mid-chew. "Norela /is/ a troublemaker for sure." K'ael apparently would know!
Keziah is silent for a moment "Tis always good to not burn yer bridges." she notes softly "I too still had my craft to fall back onto all those turns." she gives herself a shake "Still, there's no tellin when a dragon will hatch just for you. Could be this time around, could be…" she pauses a moment and looks thoughtful "How many times was it? Eight? Ten? Hmm. Anyhow, doesn't matter how many times it's been if there's on still out there for ya." there's a soft smile "Alo was so apologetic, even though she was so hungry."
Rished bobs his head a little in agreement, silent for a little while. K'ael's given a grin after a moment, lopsided as it might be. "She's nice, though. Uh. Aside from being trouble." There's a rubbing of his nose and then muddy eyes slide on over to Keziah. "I guess we'll find out, huh? It can't be too much longer, right?" Clueless him; a bit of math is done, but it's not quite satisfactory and he blurts, "It seems like it's been turns and turns already. Not that, uh. That it's a bad thing, but being stuck watching kidlets for nearly a sevenday straight …" Shudder. "What was it like for you? When, uh. When yours found you?" This is generally offered, his attention shifting from one rider to the other with sudden curiosity.
K'ael blinks at Keziah. "You stood that many times before you impressed? Crazy! I'm not even sure I would have lasted that long, and I loved just being close to the dragons." The bronzer grins back to Rished and nods. "She is. She's fun, too. Not that you should let her get you into trouble or anything." He taps his chin at the question. "It's hard to describe, I guess. You'll wonder afterward how you ever felt complete before. Azaeth's voice was quite booming, even now I feel like he's the foundation the rest of me is fixed on."
Keziah shrugs a little "I got to travel some and all. That was fun. And well, I had stopped standing for some turns. If Alo hadn't been there the last time, it would have been my last anyways." she shrugs some and then she smiles softly as her attention goes back to Rished "It was have if something clicked, perhaps like sight coming after having been blind." There's a frown "It's almost as if you were just a drawing on a page, and then with finding your lifemate, you're very much like a sculpture. There's deminsions that you never would have thought possible."
Rished shakes his head fervently, despite the faint coloring of his cheeks at the implication. "Oh, uh. Oh, no. I wouldn't. Won't." Cough. He fixes his attention on the conversation at hand, gaze shifting from K'ael to Keziah and back with a dawning sense of simultaneous understanding and deeper bewilderment. "And I thought the eggs were weird," he finally blurts out — and, alas, there's no meatroll to cram in his mouth to save him from that. "But, it'd make sense. If they come from the eggs, then they'd have to, uh. Be … like that, up here," he taps at his forehead, then drops his hand, mulling it all over.
K'ael nods to Keziah. "I guess that's true. I can't imagine being left so many times though." He grins a bit to Rished. "She is a nice girl though. Maybe once you two aren't candidates you can let her get you into trouble, hm?" He grins. "I used to think that all the riders were just waxing philosophical when we asked what impression was like. But there's just no good way to describe it. And you'll be used to…. up here pretty quick if you impress." He finishes off his steak and looks around. "Well, I should probably get this cleaned up, then head back to dry this out. I'll see you two later." With that, the bronzer takes his leave, first to clean up the mess he's made in the kitchen
Keziah hmms as she listens to K'ael and then watches as he cleans up and heads off, even as she finishes up her own steak. She seems thoughtful as she watches him and then she shakes her head a little as if negaring something she was thinking and then she's smiling at Rished "When they're in eggs, it's certainly interesting. Theu're there, but not quite all there yet. Still babies and not always making sense." she shrugs a shoulder "Its just one of those things that you truely have to experiance to understand since it's such a personal and private thing that someone else really can't experiance."
"Uh. She's, uh. She's like that, but I'm not." Awkward? Yes, he's feeling all sorts of awkward now, which is why Rished will happily focus on … oh, watching firelizards eat. That's not awkward at all. He soon turns his attention back to Keziah when she speaks again, a slow nod being given. "Yeah, it seems like they're still, uh. Baking. But they're still a little there. Some are really weird, others aren't so much." His nose wrinkles just a little, but he seems to understand as much as he's able. "Guess we'll have to see," he mumbles at the end, rubbing at the back of his neck.
Keziah can't help but giggle some "And some are just a little half-baked even after they hatch." she notes and sighs even as she smiles. "Weyrling dragons are certainly something else. I miss it sometimes. I don't miss V'dim and oh I was ever so glad that I Impressed a green and not say a blue or brown, I mean to end up having Isobeth chase and maybe catching? Oh the horrors."
"I don't, uh. Don't know about any of that. I haven't really met any dragons, except for Inimeth, and he just really liked scritches." Rished blinks a few times, brows lifting just a bit. "Oh." See, the idea of Impressing a green has clearly not crossed his thoughts at all. "I don't think a green would like me much," he decides, though he sounds as if he's trying to convince himself. "Maybe a blue or a brown, but-" he has no clue and he trails, reaching back absently to scoop up a sleepy Missy.
Keziah hmms and nods a little "You hope for a bronze though?" she asks with a tilt of her head and saddly shakes it "Why you'ld want to be lopped with them womanizers, I dunno. Course, they're not all bad I suppose. I mean K'aels a decent sort and a good wingleader." she notes and then shrugs "But don't worry. THe dragons know and what you think you may not want you really do and it just feels right." A pause and a smirk "Cept of course I do be hopin' you ain't wantin' a gold unless there's something you and your family ain't been tellin' us."
Rished shakes his head slowly, forehead all furrowed. "I don't … think I should," he slowly admits, reaching up to rub the side of his nose. "What bronze would want someone who wasn't like, uh, all those other bronzeriders?" But her words are heard and he shrugs, moving Missy to his shoulder and then reaching to pluck Navy out of the bowl. "Guess I'll just have to trust them; they're the ones making the judgment calls and all." It's all he /can/ do. There's an appalled widening of his eyes and then a vigorous shake of his head, sudden laughter escaping him. "Oh, Faranth no. I'm not- no."
Keziah grins brightly and nods "Dont' dwell too much on if one will pick you or not and if so what color, whichever one picks you is the right one. It just is. Never give up hope either, things work out as they should."
"I'm trying not to. That's, uh, that's why I'm still focusing on my craft and all," he admits, soon gathering up Suede to plunk him and Navy on his other shoulder. Rished offers a smile to Keziah, then pushes away, taking up the dirty bowl and heading to the sinks to clean it out quickly. "It, uh. It was nice talking to you, but I probably should go. Thank you."
Keziah gives a nod "Tis good to be familiar still with yer craft, but also, don't deny this opportunity to learn more about riders just because you may or may not Impress this time around." she hopes off the counter herself and cleans up her plate. "Take care of yerself, and iffen you ever feel the need. Alo can always use a abath, especially when we've been in the swamps." she notes with a wink.
Rished nods slowly and starts off for the exit, lifting a hand in a gentle wave for her. "Well, uh. I'm not hard to find. If I'm not doing chores, I'm in the living cavern. Or here. Or the crafter's area." Which, sadly, isn't nearly as diverse a range as some of his fellow candidates can boast. "Thanks again." A friendly, tilted smile is offered and then he ducks out quickly. Off to bed for him!