Trying Something New
caverns.jpg

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.


It's midday in the caverns at Xanadu and K'ael apparently is having lunch with some of his wingmates. Whether he likes it or not! Most of them want things, signatures for this or that, advice, or decision making. The sorts of things that wingleaders have to provide, though usually not during lunch. The bronzer has two gigantic sandwiches on his plate, one that he's taken maybe two or three bites out of, and the other one that's sort of lop sided from his bronze flit pulling the meat of. K'ael is in the process of finally shooing everyone off, and after a few minutes is left by himself at his table finally, to eat. But not after a long glare is given to the pot-bellyed bronze on his shoulder, fat from all the meat he's just stolen.

Moria enters as the riders are chased out, quirking a brow in amused surprise at the exodus. Shaking her head, she makes her way over to K'ael's table, pausing by one of the newly emptied chairs. "Hello," she says softly, a smile teasing across her lips. "Being harassed, were you?" she asks, pulling out the chair and settling down across from the wingleader. None of her firelizards are in evidence, leaving the young woman alone for a change.

K'ael looks up when someone else addresses him. At first his brows furrow, didn't he just chase everyone off? But then he realizes that voice isn't from one of his riders. "Oh Moria! Thank Faranth. Heh, no more than usual." He rubs at the scruffy beard growing on his cheeks. "When you're the boss, you sort of get used to being harassed wherever you go." He grins. "Though this is still a welcome difference to how it was being weyrleader. I had to actually /hide/ at Ista."

That brow quirks again as Moria asks, "Hide?" She snorts, eyeing his plate. "I can see why. I would go mad if I couldn't even eat a meal in peace, I think. But where could you hide that they wouldn't find you?" Moria leans over to the center of the table, grabbing the ever-present water pitcher, and pours out a glass for herself. "I'd think that hiding wouldn't work for long, would it?"

K'ael grins. "Yeah. Hide. Usually in my weyr, tell Azaeth to leave and everyone suspects you're not home." He shrugs a bit. "There are perks, though. There's always someone around if you want some company. Though it can't really keep you from getting lonely." He takes a few bites of his sandwich, shaking his head in the meantime. "Nah, you can't stay hidden long, but enough to get your head on straight. You must have apprentices that are always looking to eat up your time, though, right?"

"I guess that's one plus to having a dragon. Everyone always thinks you are where they are, don't they?" Moria says before shrugging, swirling the water in her glass as she answers him. "Sometimes I do, but with a master on location, I'm much less in demand. It would be different if I was the ranking glasscrafter here. As it is, I'll probably be returning to Landing for a while soon to work under other masters."

K'ael grins and nods. "Often enough, at least. Obviously Azaeth can't be with me every second. He uh… won't fit a lot of places. Like through the caverns entrance, for example." He looks at her, then blinks a bit. "Ah. I suppose that's true and all. You planning on becoming a master?" There's a frown there. "Back to Landing… soon?"

Moria snorts at the image K'ael's words elicit. "I imagine it would be amusing to watch, at least," she says with a grin. "But him being in the Weyr usually means so are you, is where I was going with that," she clarifies. "Uhm, probably, but that's a ways off. I've only been a journeywoman for a little over a Turn, and am too young to be considered for it by several turns. But I do need to learn some new techniques, which is why I'll be going to Landing. And maybe even to the main hall at Fort Hold. But not until after the hatching, at the earliest. After all, my brother's one of the candidates." Yep, family pride there.

K'ael grins and nods. "It can be a bit difficult at first though. Trying to explain to a baby dragon when they can in fact fit through the door that they can't come into the caverns and eat with you. But yes, especially in your own weyr, you expect the rider's dragon to be there with them." He nods to her about becoming master. "Ah, of course. I'll be rooting for him out there on the sands when the eggs finally do hatch. He seems like a good kid."

Moria smiles. "Thanks, I will be too. He is a good kid. He's done well for himself, being the youngest and, well, after I didn't follow one of the family crafts, he kind of had to. I'm glad he's doing well here, away from the pressure of my parents and their friends at Landing." She then snorts, shaking her head ruefully. "Well, what was your explanation when he asked? After all, if he fit then, why not come in with you? He wouldn't have fit for long, I can't think, so the experience would be a rare one."

K'ael chuckles. "The youngest, hm? I'm the youngest, too. So I can identify with that. A craft wasn't really my thing. Though if I could do it all over I might have picked something. There weren't a lot of options growing up where I did." He grins to her. "I can't remember exactly. Something likely that he wouldn't be able to eat with me anyways. He'd have to watch. And then I distracted him with promises of going to the beach or something. Azaeth wasn't too grumpy until after he got older. And that's true. During the very short time where we weren't confined to the barracks and he was small enough to fit."

Moria tilts her head to the side, still idly playing with her glass of water. "Where did you grow up? I don't think you've ever mentioned," she comments. "Did you have many moments like that with Azaeth? Where you had to distract him to keep him from doing something?" Then she pauses. "Shards, I'm not much better than your wingriders, am I, keeping you from your meal," she says, making a face. "I'm sorry. I didn't plan to keep you busy."

"Grayson hold. Well, actually more of a cothold on the outskirts. It's up near Telgar. My father is a grape farmer up there. A couple of my brothers are still there with him. I moved to Telgar when I was a teenager to be closer to the dragons, then to Ista a little later." K'ael grins, then shakes his head. "No. Azaeth is more focused that I am usually at doing his work. He was the weyrleader at Ista, really. I was just the human with the title." Then he laughs. "There's a difference between some meal conversation and my riders shoving papers in my face. I can eat while we talk. Plus I enjoy talking to you Moria."

Moria ahs softly, nodding. "So you always liked being around the dragons, then?" she asks, smiling. "I can see that being an advantage. Him being more focused, I mean. Dragon's don't think about as much as we do, as I understand it, so that could be helpful if you have a lot going on." As the last of K'ael's words sink in she blushes and ducks her head, fiddling with her water glass. "Oh. Okay then. I guess I'll stay put."

K'ael smiles and nods. "Well, at least since I saw one up close. After my brother impressed and I got to ride one, and see him up close." He nods a bit. "He's not good at multitasking, but if he's got a job to to he doesn't get distracted easily. He also likes a pattern, and he love to work. And loves to make me work." The bronzer blinks at Moria's blush a bit and then pokes at his sandwich a bit. "So were you assigned here to Xanadu? I can't remember…"

Moria nods, head still ducked. "I was scared the first time I saw one," she admits. "There really aren't a lot of riders from Black Rock Hold, so we don't see them often. I was terrified when I took my first trip :between:, too." She shrugs then and, face no longer red, raises her head. "I was assigned here, yes. To learn under master Erdwin and be closer to my family. That's why Rished was posted here, actually. Me being here, and the Weyr being near enough to the hold to be considered close."

K'ael smiles to her. "Well, my father made trips regularly to Telgar, so I've seen plenty of dragons. But it never really… hit home with me until I got to ride one." He scratches his chin. "I think everyone is terrified their first time. Unless they're real little and don't know what's going on. I was scared, too. But then I got used to it, and I used to bribe the transport riders at Ista to ship me along to different places." He nods to her. "That's good though, that they take family into consideration when they assign you and all. I don't see mine that often. Well, my brothers and my parents at least."

Moria chuckles softly, imagining that. "What did you bribe them with?" she asks with a smile. "Or were they pretty willing anyhow, so that it didn't take much?" She finally actually drinks from her glass, and sets it aside. "I still get nervous when I fly anywhere, and if I don't know the dragon it's worse. I've been told I should spend more time with them to get over it, but I never can seem to find the time for it." She shrugs then. "I think my mother pulled strings to get Rished posted here, actually. She's a master woodcrafter, you see, and from Rubicon, so she's got a lot of pull in the area."

K'ael laughs. "The riders? They usually didn't care much. As long as they knew I wasn't going to land in hot water and they wouldn't have to go out of their way to take me back. Getting back was usually the hard part." The bronzer smiles and nods. "Heh… It's easier if the dragon is your own. But if you ever want to go up for a ride, just let me know. Even if it's just for a few minutes." He takes a sip from his own glass, juice though, not water. "Ah. Perhaps, then."

Moria's lips twitch as he relates his experience. "Did you ever get in trouble for your trips?" she asks, tilting her head. "You weren't ever stranded anywhere far off, were you?" Her eyes sparkle at the thought. "I appreciate the offer. I've enough work to do that it's one of the last things I tend to think about, but I'll try to keep it in mind." She wiggles a finger at him then. "You aren't eating. You're supposed to be eating," she scolds lightly.

K'ael shrugs a bit. "Once or twice I was late for my shift. I always made it up though. It usually wasn't the trips that made me late though, heh. There's always a lot of distractions in a new place. I usually didn't venture far, but at the holds and things it's sometimes hard to find a dragonrider around. So once in a while I'd have to take a trip by land to the nearest weyr, assuming there was one." He grins at her. "Maybe I'll just have to come and rescue you from your work. That's my job you know. Official weyr business, rescue it's residents." There's a bit of a chuckle at that waggling finger, and he reaches over to make a grab for it. Unfortunately the grab is not well aimed, and his elbow knocks over her glass of water in the process. "Oh shards!" He exclaims, scrambling to get the cup upright again as if the liquid would somehow shimmy its way back inside.

Moria chuckles, still leaning on the table from her finger-wagging. "Well that's all good then. Did you visit anywhere interesting? And I'd hardly classify work as something that I need rescued from. I enjoy what I do, I just don't -" and that's when the glass tips, spilling a thankfully small amount of water onto the table. "Oh, shards," she dittos, jerking back from the spill of water to avoid getting wet. "Here, let me get that. It's just water, so no harm done to anything."

K'ael, always quick to ruin a good conversation. Not a lot of water, but it was in poor form to get a woman wet. "Nono, let me. I'm the one who knocked it." The bronzer rushes off to get some napkins to soak up the water with. "I didn't get you, did I? I'm sorry… I should think about what I'm doing before I just do things like that." He looks her over to make sure she's not wet or anything, and sighs a bit at himself. His shoulder sag a bit. Stupid bronzer.

Moria can't stop K'ael from taking over cleanup, so she lets him do his thing, scooting back out of the way so he can reach the tabletop. Once the water is cleaned up she shows off her dry sleeves, smiling. "All dry, see? Nothing to worry about, K'ael, I'm fine. Relax. No harm, no foul." She reaches out to touch his arm, still smiling. "It's okay. It's just water, and I was done with it anyway. Won't you sit back down?"

K'ael cleans up the water and sets the wet napkins aside in a pile. He breathes a sigh of relief when she says she's dry. "Oh good, thank Faranth." He smiles at her and pats her hand on his arm a bit. "Oh, right, sorry." The bronzer finally sits back down and takes a few breaths to regain his composure. Smooth. "Er… what were we talking about? Oh right. Me rescuing you. When you don't really need rescuing." He winks to her. "It's nothing personal. Just hardwired into my brain now, you know?"

Moria's smile widens as K'ael relaxes and settles down at the table, and she too resumes her seat. "That's better. Yes, I do believe we were talking about you're impulse to rescue people who aren't in harm's way. What we should do is get you out of the Weyr for a while, so that your brain resets, hmm?" she teases gently, eyes twinkling. "Then you wouldn't be trying to rescue people who really love their work."

K'ael grins to her. "Out of the weyr for a while, hm? I suppose that might work. And where do /we/ want to go to get me out of the weyr? I know a couple little islands off the coast of Ista. We could just relax all day on the beach." He turns his big blue eyes on her. "All work and no play… and all of that. Even people who love their work sometimes need a break. Too much of a good thing can be bad, too." He chuckles a bit.

Moria is reduced to blushing again as her teasing suggestion becomes a bit more personal. "Oh, well, sometimes the only remedy for doing something too often is to get away from it, right?" she says with a slight smile. "How else are you supposed to get out of the habit of rescuing people, if that's your job? Get your mind off work, and see you relax a bit. It doesn't have to be a beach, really. Just somewhere away from work."

K'ael smiles at her. He doesn't continue down that line of teasing, but it's clear he does notice her blushing. "I suppose so. I rather like rescuing people though. To be honest I don't get to do enough of it as wingleader. Sometimes just sitting around and having a nice talk with a friend is enough to get my mind off things." There's a pause there, as if the bronzer is trying to decide whether he wants to say what he wants to say. "You're cute when you blush, Moria."

The blush that was starting to fade flares up fully, and Moria ducks her head again, looking away when K'ael compliments her. "Thanks," she says softly, staring at table. "I think, anyway," she adds, glancing at him briefly before returning her gaze to the table. "Uhm, what were we talking about? Oh, right. You like your job. Is it the helping people side of things, or the risk?" she asks, trying to steer him back on topic and away from her blushes.

K'ael looks away for the most part, too. Giving her glances out of the corner of his eye and trying not to put on the goofy grin he tends to get in situations like this. "Heh… sure." He clears his throat. "Er. Well I suppose it's both. I mean, you have to like the risk to do some of the things we have to do. But the adrenaline tends to kick in, and if you can help someone it's all worth it." K'ael is okay to be steered back, though now he's back to looking at her. "Blowing glass can be dangerous, too. Why do you like to do that?"

As K'ael is kind enough to keep on 'safer' topics, Moria feels comfortable raising her head, though she doesn't quite meet his eyes yet. "I wondered about that. The adrenaline, I mean. I can't imagine what it must be like, especially during things like the forest fire and flood last year." She shakes her head slightly then, and answers his question. "Blowing glass isn't dangerous. People blowing are dangerous. Stupid people, at that. If you treat glass with respect, there is nothing to worry about. And the results are incredibly beautiful."

K'ael nods to her. "It kicks in, and you feel like you could lift mountains. It can be hard though, when you can't save someone. Or you get there a little too late, and someone's hurt." He blinks at her, then grins. "I dunno, seems pretty dangerous to me. I mean, what do you do if you have to sneeze in the middle of a blow? Hold it in? I'm horrible at that. But you are right, the results are quite beautiful."

Moria nods as she listens, gaze gradually pulling back to watch K'ael's face. "I'll take your word for it," she says softly. "Well, if you need to sneeze, you stop blowing and pull your mouth away from the rod, so that you don't accidentally inhale and kill yourself. And then you put the blowing rod on a rest so when you do sneeze, it doesn't get all shaken up and go flying off the rod. You can always reheat the glass if it cools a bit." See, not dangerous.

K'ael blinks at Moria. He stares even. Looking somewhat like 'D:'. "All to sneeze!? Shards, I would be dead in the first week! Not that I sneeze a lot, but usually it's pretty unexpected! I dunno how you manage, really. I was lifting weights once and sneezed and almost broke my foot dropping something on it." The bronzer feels safe enough at this point to go back to eating.

Moria snickers at K'ael's distress. "Well, remember, by the time anyone is blowing glass, they have been doign breath control exercises for over a year, and should be pretty used to the process. We tend to make good swimmers, too, because we have such good lung capacity. It works out pretty well, all in all. And it can be a lot of fun, too, if you know what you are doing. There's pleasure in a good challenge."

K'ael grins to her. "I'm a pretty good swimmer. Though I bet you can hold your breath for like ten times as long as I can. I'm not sure I have the mental stamina to keep up with exercises for a whole year, either. I have a short attention span a lot of times. If I didn't have cats I would bother you to make me all sorts of fun things. What's your specialty again?" He looks at her curiously.

Moria laughs softly, shaking her head. "Probably not ten times as long, but I'll agree I can likely hold my breath longer than you can. I've been blowing glass for almost ten years." She snorts then. "That's one reason to not have glass around. Cats, kids, and firelizards - the bane of any glasscrafter's existance. We get more broken glass from children being careless than any other source." She shakes her head ruefully. "Still, cats can be good company. I like them well enough. Ah, my specialty is blown glass. Goblets, light bulbs, net floats. Things that are spherical, or oblong, and always curved."

K'ael blinks at her. "You've been blowing glass that long, hm? How old are you? If that's not a rude question." He peers at her. "You don't look old enough for it to be rude. But I never can tell." He nods to her. "I have all three. Though only the cats and the firelizards live with me." He rubs his chin a bit. "I bet you could blow me some nice new glasses, hm? Nice ones for drinking good wine out of?" He smiles to her. "Not the every day type of things."

"Well, I haven't been blowing glass that long, but I always knew I wanted to, so I've been doing breathing exercises since I was accepted into the craft," Moria clarifies. "I'm twenty-two. I've been a crafter since I was twelve. I've been blowing glass since I was, uhm, fifteen? Maybe sixteen. I don't remember exactly when they first let me try it." She shrugs then and smiles. "I'm a fair hand at wine glasses. That's how I ended up with Nova, my little gold. I made the wine glasses that the Weyrwoman gave Lady Ryeira for her wedding, and my friend Tresha did plates and bowls. We both were given firelizard eggs from Lord Gaerwyn in thanks."

K'ael nods to her. "I suppose that makes sense. Twenty-two. That's four turns younger than I am. Doing what you like to do though, that's always good." He smiles. "Ah, is that right? I have two bronzes if you ever need a sire. You'll want Pommel though, he comes from good stock. Hilt is… handsome but good-for-nothing. I'd pay you whatever you normally charge for them, of course. Unless there was some other form of payment you would be interested in. I don't know."

Moria nods, absently tracing the darker pattern on the tabletop where water had a chance to soak into the wood. "Enjoying the work is why I stil do it, instead of finding something else," she agrees. Then she blinks at K'ael, surprise showing on her face. "I'd pretty much assumed Mulgrave would fly her, he's certainly been plenty protective of her and doesn't let any other bronze come near. Though how much of that is because she's a gold and how much is because she's young, I couldn't say. If she's anything like Trina, I'll never know she's about to rise, and will find out the hard way." Her tone is vaguely irritated as she says this, but she quickly relaxes again. "Anyhow, it really isn't that expensive to have glass made here. There's plenty of raw materials to work with. I don't think there's anything I really need that would call for non-standard payment. If you're willing to be flexible, though, I can probably save you some money on them by working the time in around other projects. They'll take longer to be done, but the quality will be the same, and I can legitimately give you a discount for the wait."

K'ael nods to her. "That's good though." He blinks back at her, then chuckles. "True I guess. Though she might grow tired of the same bronze flying her. Who knows? Firelizards are just as hard to understand as dragons when it comes to mating patterns. Though not as hard as humans are, that's for sure. Trina is another of your firelizards? Er… did she… affect you?" He tilts his head a bit. "I suppose that's true. But I want you to be compensated for your time. And I don't want you to feel obligated to spend more time working. You can… work on them as you see fit. I will pay full price whether they're done in a week or in a month."

Moria snorts softly. "Well, I have plenty of time before I find out. She's barely three months old as it is. Trina is the green who tried to divebomb you at the clocktower when we first were talking about lessons," she says, lips twitching with amusement. "You made permenant friends with a bit of jerky, though I think she still wants to divebomb you. She has this perverse love for doing that to people." Moria shakes her head ruefully. "I don't mind working on wine glasses for you, K'ael. Really. I love the work I do. I'm just supposed to charge a certain amount for my work, since the Hall gets a portion of it. So if I can get you a discount legitimately, I'd be happy to."

K'ael blinks, then laughs. "I see. Well, she's welcome to a jerky treat whenever she's around. But divebombing… that might hurt her more than it would hurt me. Unless she manages to knock me off someplace." He scratches his head. "I know. I don't want to cheat you, or the hall. You name the price. I have plenty of marks and never know what to spend them on." He pokes at her side gently with a finger. Then there's a bit of an awkward pause. It's not like K'ael to be shy about things, but he seems to be struggling with /something/.

Moria laughs, shaking her head. "I won't let her divebomb you. She's better trained than that. I'm sure she wouldn't mind the jerky. They always eat it very quickly when you bring me some," she says with a smile. "We'll work something out for payment, alright? Let's not worry too much about it right now. I'll get you some concept sketches to look over so you can decide what style and colors you want." The poke makes her smile wider, though it fades as the silence lengthens. "Was there something else?" she asks, tilting her head as she regards K'ael.

K'ael chuckles. "I appreciate that. All firelizards love jerky. I think it's the texture. More similar to raw meat than if it's cooked traditionally or something. It's good as incentive food, too." Though it was a small wonder how K'ael's flits weren't all horribly overweight. Like his bronze Pommel, who is just about asleep standing up on his shoulder. "Sounds good to me." The bronzer looks down at his plate when she inquires about something else. "Er. Well, I was just thinking that when the glasses are done we should enjoy some of my family's home made wine. Last season's was quite good."

Moria's smile slowly returns as K'ael voices his thought, and she nods. "I wouldn't mind doing that. So long as it isn't very much wine. I'm afraid it doesn't take much to make me fuzzy around the edges. But I would be happy to sample some of your family's wine with you," she says softly, almost shyly. "Do they make reds or whites?" she asks. "It will make a difference on the kind of wine glass I plan for."

K'ael smiles bit and nods. "Well, I wouldn't worry. The rescue rider in me wouldn't let you come into harms way should you have a little too much wine in you. I'd make sure you got home safely." There's a pause as he turns to look at her. "Reds, usually. I hope that's not a problem. I know a lot of people don't have the taste for it. Especially those not accustomed to drinking much wine."

Moria chuckles, shaking her head. "I actually prefer reds over whites. Whites are usually either too sweet or too dry. I like the full body that reds have. I just don't have much of a tolerance for alcohol in general, so I don't drink much or often. I like it just fine." She smiles then, adding, "You know, I really never worry about coming to harm around you."

K'ael smiles and nods. "Me, too. Though I grew up on the stuff. I drink it fairly often, so my tolerance is alright, though I try not to over indulge too often. It can lead to bad things." He chuckles. Then he smiles to her. "Oh? Well… that's good. I guess… that sort of reflects that maybe I'm the right man for my job, or something." Though the bronzer looks very sheepish at the remark. He might even be blushing. "Can I… be honest with you, Moria?"

"I'd hope you have a good tolerance, if your family makes it. You'd never live it down if you didn't, would you?" Moria asks after a moment, raising a brow in inquiry. "I mean, really? Would they let you even claim to be part of the family if you couldn't drink the family wine?" She pauses then, blinking. "That has to be the most awkward question in existence," she remarks wryly. "It suggests that you haven't been honest until now, though I'd like to think you have." She shakes her head before asking, "What is it you want to say? I'm listening."

K'ael laughs. "Well, my family aren't really wine markers. We make enough for ourselves and maybe a few extra bottle to give away. So depending on the batch it can come out… stronger than usual. There was some wine we weren't allowed into as kids, heh. But since we grew up drinking it there wasn't much incentive to steal it." He chuckles. "I'm too big to get drunk on a glass anyways." He blinks at her, then laughs. "I well… don't take this the wrong way or anything. But um… ever since we met, it's been hard to get you out of my head, Moria. I thought maybe I was moving on because we hadn't seen each other in a while, but then I saw you in the kitchens the other night… and it was the same feelings all over again." He rubs his face with his hands. "Sorry… I don't even know why I'm telling you this."

"Because for a bronze rider, you're a pretty decent guy?" Moria suggests, smiling gently. "I appreciate knowing. I honestly can't say I've felt entirely the same, but it isn't that you aren't attractive, or good company, or anything like that, K'ael." She takes a deep breath, her eyes showing the pain of past events as she continues. "I've spent a lot of time trying to not think about anyone. I've had some very bad times in the past. But," and her face warms and softens gradually, "I'd be willing to work on getting past that. I just honestly don't know how much longer I'll be at the Weyr, and it wouldn't be fair to you to try right now." Her expression clearly shows the conflict she's feeling, wanting to reach out to K'ael but not sure it's the right thing to do given her expected departure.

"Heh… why do I always hate when compliments come with that bronze riding stipulation?" He sighs a bit. "I can't say that I'm surprised really. I… sort of knew I hadn't exactly caught your attention in the way I would have liked, obviously. I thought maybe I could sort of move on. That it probably would be better for the both of us. Now it looks like even if we wanted to give it a try we've lost our chance." He scratches his head. "I mean… I don't know. We could stay friends, maybe go out once or twice. Though it might just make things harder when you have to leave. I tend to get really attached really fast. I'm sort of one of those dive head first kind of guys."

Moria laughs softly. "For a guy in general you aren't too bad either," she assures him, reaching across the table to touch his hand if he'll allow it. "I would like to try, K'ael. Believe me. You have been wonderfully polite and patient around me, and I appreciate it. I just don't want to lead you on and then vanish on you. That wouldn't be right. That said, you /do/ have a dragon. And you do get rest days as a wingleader, don't you? So you could come visit me at Landing or Fort or wherever they send me?"

K'ael chuckles a bit. "Thanks. I appreciate that, trust me. I know I don't have a very good reputation as either." He looks down at her hand. "You wouldn't be leading me on. Your craft would always come first. I wouldn't want you to delay going or anything for me." He smiles to her. "I /do/ have a dragon! And I do get rest days. I'd be more likely to take them if I had a reason to. I could come to visit you. I mean, it wouldn't be as nice as if you were right here, but you could always call for me. Send a flit, or whatever." K'ael is very puppy like, and at the thought of them trying it out he's perked right up. You can almost see his imaginary tail wagging.

Moria's smile is warm and easy as she nods. "I could do that. Mulgrave knows you very well, and he is very reliable, so I could trust him to bring you a message and he would do so promptly. We can stay in touch, wherever I go, and so long as Azaeth doesn't mind the travel you can visit me. We can probably even do some more lessons, if you are still interested in learning more about glasswork. I might get you around to actually mixing glass one of these days," she teases gently.

K'ael smiles and nods to her. "Azaeth doesn't mind the travel. We spent a while in the transport wings here and at Ista. There's a lot of betweening there. Since I'm wingleader I can adjust my schedule so I can come see you when it's most convenient." He nods to her and grins. "I am, though I don't think I'll ever blow. Not disciplined enough for that. Maybe mixing. Maybe." He leans over to give her a rather excited hug. "I'm going to try not to be too excited. I should.. actually probably get back to work. I… This is good. I'll talk to you soon, okay?"

Moria answers, "Mixing glass is safe. Sand and a few other things. Then you stick it in the forge and leave it alone for a long time. Easy. You'll be able to handle it." Her assurances are then cut off by that eager hug, startling a laugh from her at the awkward position - who ever expects to be hugged over the side of a table, anyhow? "It's okay to be excited. Just don't go crazy with it, alright?" She grins, smoothing her shirt when he releases her. "I should be around for at least another sevenday, maybe longer depending on how the hatching goes. You'll find me, I'm sure," she assures him, voice warm with her amusement at his energy.

K'ael grins to her. "I'm good at taking directions. I can probably do the mixing." He chuckles a bit. It's a short hug at least. There's really no way she could return it either, as his arms are around her arms at an awkward angle. "I won't! Sorry, I'm already too excited, aren't I? Another sevenday, got it. I'll make sure to track you down in the next day or two. We can go out and do something fun. And talk more." He smiles to her and gets up. "See ya later, Moria." The bronzer heads out, giving her a wave before he completely exits the caverns. He never did finish his lunch, either. Most of his second sandwich is left sitting on his plate.

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License