L'alie and Andis
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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.


L'alie is here, certainly. If you can find her. It's like where's waldo under a stack of reports. I mean, obviously there is someone under that quivering stack of papers and leather-bound books, but it's not easy to tell who. That is, until L'alie's three brown firelizards get bored and start sending the papers flying in an explosive whirlwind. "ACK! Nononono!" squeals Lala, making a dive to rescue the papers with little success.

Andis makes his way slowly into the living caverns, his arms clutching some books tightly to his chest. His head is ducked ever so slightly as he makes his way to the serving tables, picking up some juice before making his way over to a empty table. He puts down his books and flips open one of the covers as he starts to read silently.

L'alie continues to mutter and grumble as she slogs through her newly formed mountain of paperwork, crouching down to try to tidy it back into some semblence of order before scooping it back up onto the table. "Lousy creatures. I should just let you all starve."

Andis lifts his head, blinking ever so slightly. The young lad sits a bit higher in his position now that the situation seems to have caught his attention. "Need some help?" Andis calls out cheerfully, quickly moving to stand to his feet and hop over the bench. The young lad toddles over and shoots up a grin to L'ali, "Lemme help." And, without waiting for a responce, Andis movs to squat near the ground, helping to pick up the papers.

L'alie glances at Andis and gives him a slight, grateful smile, "Thanks. I swear whoever decided firelizards made wonderful companions and pets needs to be cut down for weyrling slog." She takes another moment to peer at Andis, hooking her elbow over the edge of the chair to haul herself to her feet. "Say, you're a new face, aren't you?"

Andis giggles quietly at L'ali's comment, "That's why I don't have a firelizard." Calls Andis quietly, offering the dragonrider a wide grin as he gathers the papers in his hands. "Never cared for the sharding things myself, I think they're more of a nuisance than they are a help." He winks playfully to the rider, holding out the papers he gathered, "Yup! I'm new around here, I'm Andis, nice to meet you!"

L'alie chuckles, "Sounds like you're one up on me, lad. I never got the memo th at they're not as useful as dragons. I should have been wary of anything you could Impress multiples of!" She sets the offered papers back on the table and wipes her hands on her breeches before offering one, "Well met, Andis. I'm L'alie, rider of brown Adinaeth and the Weyrsecond here. Welcome to Xanadu!"

Andis rubs the back of his head, still clutching the papers in his grip. He glances over his shoulder, checking on his books for a moment before returning his attention to L'alie. "Well, see, I learned it before I managed to get one." Beam. "Nice to meet you ma'am! Thanks, I'm still moving in, I'm having a hard time figuring where to put my books, I'm thinking of leaving them with Delenn."

L'alie wrinkles her nose, "Just L'alie, really. I can't stand formality if it's not necessary. Have you had a chance to check out the archives yet, by chance? I'm sure there's some shelves in there where you could put your books. We're transfering a lot of our records onto computer now days, so there's plenty of space in the stacks."

Andis rubs the back of his head, shifting from one foot to the other. "I dunno." He murmurs quietly, looking over his shoulder at his books once more. "I'd feel better if they were with me instead. Least then I'd know where they were." He grins a little bit, "All right, well, if you insist I'll call you L'alie. My mum and dad are riders."

L'alie nods, "That's alright, I understand. I'm the same way with my crafting tools. It's bad enough that I have to share an annealer with all the other glasscrafters in the Weyr. I would still recommend checking the records room just the same, if only to read new things. Where are you from, Andis? And what brings you here?"

Andis lifts his shoulders, reaching behind his head to play with his hair, twining it between his fingertips. "I might just ask Delenn if it's okay if I leave my books with him." After all, wih how much the two share in common, Andis is more than likely to be making frequent visits to the man's room. "Least I know he'll look after 'em." Beam. "Oh, sorry, I'm from Eastern. I dunno what I'm coming here for, I thought I might find something here."

L'alie doesn't comment on Delenn, she doesn't know him, who is she to question. "Eastern is alright, but I prefer it here. I was from Ierne before I was Searched, actually. I hope you find what it is you're looking for, whatever it turns out to be."

Andis grins and claps his hands together loudly, standing on the tips of his toes. "I like it there, but I needed to get away and I came here." He shrugs a little bit, "Do you have all your papers, are you missing any?"

L'alie shakes her head, "No, I think they're all here, thanks." She smiles, running her fingers across the many reports. "If I don't get these read, R'sul will try to get it done himself, and he doesn't sleep enough as it is." A frown crosses her face in concern for her Weyrleader for just a fleeting moment before her smile returns. "A change is good, you know. For the body, and for the soul if you believe such things."

Andis nods his head, checking up on his books again, just making sure that they're there, and they haven't gone anywhere. "R'sul?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. "I don't really know anyone, aside from Delenn. He fixed my clothes." And here Andis points to his recently mended clothes, which actually fit his smaller stature. "Maybe I won't get picked on so much."

L'alie notices Andis' frequent checking on his books and grins, "They aren't going to go anywhere, I promise." She teases in good nature. "R'sul is the Weyrleader.. he's also my.. uh.. I guess boyfriend, sort of.." She scratches the base of her skull beneath her thick braid. "Well, if anybody picks on you, you let me know." she winks, "Part of the perks of the job, I can squash bullies in their tracks."

Andis blinks, turning his attention quickly back to L'alie, "I don't want anyone to take them." he says quietly, shifting in his position. "Your boyfriend is the weyrleader?" A brow arches seeming to understand just /how/ she got 'weyrsecond' and a little grin pulls at his lips. "Really? You don't have to, I'm used to people picking on me."

L'alie shrugs, "Yeah, and I see that look in your eyes. I got my position fair and square, mister. R'sul and I.. well, we happened quite unexpectedly." She dismisses his second statement with a flip of her hand, "I had a tough life growing up at Ierne. I got picked on a lot myself, mostly by jealous apprentices and journeyman who worked harder on less talent to get promoted. I'm serious, if you have a problem, just come to me. I want everyone in my Weyr to feel safe."

Andis giggles quietly, flicking his hair over his shoulder and sticking out his tongue. "I know that!" He laughs loudly, shaking his head as he wraps his arms over his chest. "EWll, you're doing good now, right?" So, everthing's good."

L'alie grins, "Yes, I'd say things are well now. But it has taken sixteen turns to get that way. Adinaeth is probably the only thing that has made my life good. Well, and my little girls. The three of them are my life."

L'alie grins, "Nothing wrong with being short. That's just the way things go, I suppose. I'm not very tall myself, you know. I mean.. I suppose I'm average, for a woman, but it's hard to intimidate a stubborn weyrling or wingleader when they're a foot taller than you."

Andis runs a hand through his hair, plaing with the lock for a moment. "You're taller than me, and you're a woman." Andis points out, wiggling a finger. Delenn fixed my clothes, least now I don't look as short, but I'm still short." He scoffs at the floor in a quiet manner.

L'alie grins, "Well, wear it like a badge, young soldier, eh? At least you make a smaller target. Good things come in small packages, the bigger they are, the harder they fall? There aren't all these sayings for nothing! When the old timers fought thread, they depended heavily on their greens and blues. You know why? Because they were quicker, lighter, and more manueverable. They were the best Thread fighters we had. You remember that when you start putting yourself down for being small. Sometimes the smallest ones are the ones who will support you the best."

Andis shifts more on his feet, "Doesn't stop people from poking fun at me." Andis murmurs quietly, but he quickly lifts his head. "Do you know other places where I can go to read other than the records room? I don't wanna bug Delenn too much."

L'alie scratches her head, "You can read anywhere you want, I suppose. It doesn't hurt to explore. There's the playground, and .. well, I don't know. There's lots of little clearings in the forest."

Andis nods his head as he turns his gaze up to the ceiling, pursing his lips as he taps his finger against his lip in a thoughtful manner. "I rather read outside, personally, it's better to get outside and enjoy the sun."

L'alie nods, "You should spend some time just wandering around then, getting to know the terrain." She plops back down into her chair, "I really should get back to work on these, though.. Obligation and duty, and all that."

Andis nods his head, "I'm gonna go read." he grins as he goes to snatch up his books, "Good luck on your papers!" He offers a wave and toddles out.

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