Hot Food For Humans
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Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Barracks
A long and roughly oblong cavern, about a third of the space is open, used for classes or chores as required. The rest of the space is filled with couches of varying sizes, all with plenty of space between them. Some couches are obviously intended for the very young weyrlings while the largest ones at the back are for the older weyrlings.


The power is still out across the weyr, and there is plenty of snow outside which many of the dragons have rolled through, jumped in and made a general mess it seems. After the conversation with Jnelle, Idrissa has been a bit on the quiet side for most of the day. Tahryth is settles there near the feeding area while Idrissa is busy working on cutting up bits of meat for the green that is wiggling around seeming a bit eager to get down to the eating part of this. « Can I have it yet?.. What about now?… » Rissa peers over at her green, a soft chuckle escaping her and she grins a moment before pushing a piece over. "Alright, just hold your runners there. Let me cut up a bit more."

The door opens, the door closes, and two snowcovered creatures begin to melt into actual recognizable characters, like that Campbell's soup commercial with the snowman. But no warm hearth or hot soup greet the pair as Mur'dah shudders and stomps his boots, ducking his head as Kalsuoth pauses to shake out his wings and nuzzle his sails, sending snow and water toppling to the floor. "I have food!" Mur'dah announces triumphantly.

Ka'el just knows that spring is around the corner! He can feel it in his bones. Wasn't it just before this awful last minute snowstorm that he saw vague marks of spring? A bud on a tree. A blade of grass pushed up from beneath what was melting snow? It's as if someone turned back the hands of time and thrust them right back to the beginning of this shardin' cold season! But Ka'el holds onto hope and keeps himself busy. He and Kanekith are on the far side of the barracks, seemingly playing a game of Copy Me. Ka'el's arms spread wide. Kanekith's wings spread wide. He lowers one arm. He lowers the mirrored wing. Fingers are wiggled. There's a moment of thought, then the tip of his mainsail is wiggled, causing a laugh from the weyrling. His attention is turned by the sudden announcement of food. "…Hot food?" asked hopefully. Then, just as important, "Human food?"

The worst thing about being stuck in the barracks is… being stuck here. Okay, so yes, duh, but… while it's possible to escape for brief periods, the cold and snow make it unpleasant enough that most people aren't. Not even when the barracks would usually be empty or near-empty. So, instead of being able to find a chance for solitude, Soriana is instead attempting to pretend everyone else is invisible as she and Luraoth go through the gold dragon's wing-stretches. There is nobody here. Lalala. If she doesn't look at you, you can't see her, right?

Idrissa glances up as she hears Mur'dah and tilts her head while she cuts up a bit more meat. "Hey, what did you manage to escape with?" She questions with an amused tone. Tahryth turns to look over at the ones here, a soft warble escaping her in greeting as she is clearly glad to see them all. « Hello hello! The meat tastes funny today. Has little water bits in it. » Rissa smirks faintly. "Some of the meat has icey bits in it."

Mur'dah pulls a bag out from beneath his coat. And his sweater. And his tunic. Kept close to his body, it seems? Eww. But it's wrapped at least. "As hot as I could keep it, my stomach is all red," he says with a laugh. "Here," he says, padding forward to the middle of the barracks with Kalsuoth hopping along behind. "Huddle?" he asks hopefully, already shivering a little bit. « We had an adventure! » Kalsuoth announces happily, staying a little bit away from the group while he drips on the floor.

Ka'el drops his arm down, and Kanekith folds his wing, proud of himself. Success! He's not quite sure what the purpose was but…he was totally the best at it, and he can feel his rider's happiness, and that's enough for him. But now Ka'el's attention is turned to thoughts of food, and he grins, reaching up to give Kanekith's lowered muzzle a pat. "C'mon." The two of them head over, the weyrling's eyes straying to the not there but totally there Soriana. Yes, he can see you! "Sori. C'mon. Food!" One worded sentences…rock. He makes no comment on what she's doing. He avidly pays that no attention at all although Kanekith stretches a murky shadow Luraoth's way. « Your wing is still short. » Just saying. « But maybe it has grown a little » Uh, win?

…but Soriana is invisible. No seeing her. Ka'el… is a rebel. Her gaze flicks over to him, but she ignores him for the moment. Gotta finish this stretch, you see. The one that nobody else can see. Luraoth slowly extends her wing under Soriana's hand, and extends the crisp scent of falling snow to meet Kanekith. « I will keep working on it. » There's a swirl of mental wind, and then the gold looks at Soriana, who nods. "…yeah, okay," the human mutters, and pats Luraoth's shoulder before leaving her and heading over to meet the other weyrlings. The rest of the exercises can wait until after food. It's not like they're going anywhere.

Idrissa ponders it seems at the talk of food while she goes about wiping her hands off on a towel. "Sure." Is said to the thought on huddling it seems. Tahryth is quick to snatch up some of the meat from the table that has been cut up for her before the green turns and moves on over towards the others. « The snow is lovely isn't it? All white and crisp Pretty. And fun to pounce into and send flying! » This is sent to her siblings with a soft spring rain falling across her mind.

[DTU/Project] Luraoth senses that Kalsuoth reaches out his mind to hers when she makes that final stretch, a gentle brush of dark wings and wordless encouragement.

Kalsuoth flops down to the ground and rests his muzzle across his paws, watching his rider as Mur'dah crouches down and begins to set out his packages. "Hot sandwiches was what I could carry. And a whole skin of klah. And as many cookies as they'd let me take." « It is fun, » Kalsuoth agrees. « It feels good on my hide, but mine is chilled by it though I am not. »

Kanekith, upon reaching the huddle spot, looks towards Kalsuoth, then Tahryth at their talk of snow. « It gets tiresome, says mine. There is a time where snow is a memory. That is the time we wait for. » Kanekith himself of course knows no such time yet, but he lives vicariously through Ka'el's memories. He settles himself near his smaller green clutchmate while Ka'el, who has lagged behind a bit, catches up. "So. The great advanced weyr of Xanadu … stuck in the ice ages again. You'd think after last turn .. any maybe even the turn before, someone somewhere would've figured a way to keep this from happenin' every shardin' winter."

"They're still actually hot?" Soriana asks hopefully. It's not like they've been starving or anything, but, well… Tahryth's not the only one who's found ice crystals in her food lately. And… ooh, klah. She grins for that, then glances back to Luraoth and hehs. « Mine says when it is hot, the cold is in the food. » Iced tea! Sorbet! Chilled fruit! Luraoth shares these thoughts, insofar as she understands them, as Soriana looks back to the others. "Yeah," she says to Ka'el with a rise of her eyebrow and a smirk. "How come the smiths don't have a forge big enough to warm the whole place yet?"

Tahryth tibbits out faintly towards Kanekith at the talk of the weather. « It can be a bit tiresome, but better than trying to go sliding across the dirt and grass don't you think? » Makes sense to her! Idrissa smirks while settling down in front of her dear dragon while a soft oh escapes her once Mur'dah gives up what he has brought back. "Sounds great to me, thanks for wanting to share with us. That is really nice of you." At the bit on the smiths and the forge she just grins and glances to Ka'el. "Ya When are you all going to make that?" Tahryth ponders the idea of ice, and sorbet. « Ice in a drink? »

Kalsuoth rumbles softly in agreement. « Mine looks forward to it too. But the snow has its own fun. » Mur'dah snorts, shaking his head. "Apparently not, Ka'el," he says, grin wry for his home weyr. "And they are, yes," he says, offering out the sandwiches and setting the klah down, alongside the cookies before he tears into his own hot roasted herdbeast sandwich. "Of course," he says with a little blink of surprise to Idrissa. "Couldn't make that trip just for me." How noble? "I still think there should be a spot for a fire in here. If they can't have electricity, at least give us a fireplace."

"Because that's hardly our job," remarks Ka'el as Kanekith shifts to lay on his stomach, emitting a huge dragon yawn. He smirks right back at Soriana. "Too bad these guys can't chew firestone yet. But … if only someone hadn't discouraged me from gettin' my hands on some and teaching Alloy.." Glance glance to Sori, still with that same smirk. The little bronze in question chirrups at the sound of his name, but ain't nuttin' is going to get him out from under his blanket fort on Kanekith's couch. No siree! Ka'el takes a sandwich, wonderfully warm, and it just happy to hold it, letting the warmth seep into his hands. Kanekith keeps quiet now, perhaps letting this one argument die before it even starts. This time.

« I will try both, » Luraoth decides as far as snow versus grass, and sets a swirl of warm breeze and cold to chasing each other, going round and round without quite managing to merge into lukewarm. Soriana hehs at Ka'el's retort, and reaches for sandwich. Oooh. Warm sandwich. "I mean, there's backup generators for the important stuff…" she says, and smirks. "Guess we don't count." Then she bites in, and is busy for a moment melting… or, no, no actual puddle. She just looks that way, up until… hah. She rolls her eyes at Ka'el, and wipes her mouth on the back of her hand. "If only. You could be explaining to V'dim where his desk went, right now."

Idrissa smiles and nods to Mur'dah. "Still.. Thanks." She offers softly while picking up one of the sandwiches and opens it, a bite is taken and she chews upon it. Tahryth is quick to lower her head and sniffsnifffffff out at the food her rider has. « Oh What is this that they are eating? It smells ever so good. » Rissa smirks but is not offering up any of her warm food just yet! "Right, I'm sure Alloy would have enjoyed the thought of burning something. There is the aspect of what we could use. I'm not going to touch V'dim's desk either." Nope, not with a hundred foot poll!

Mur'dah laughs. "Can you imagine if we flamed in here? We'd…be grounded forever, I think." Pausing to take a few quick bites of his sandwich, he grins. "Naw, we don't count. We're just the next generation of riders. Weyrwoman, brownrider, greenrider…and whatever heights Ka'el rises to," he says with a crooked smile. "We're not important." Yawning, Kalsuoth offers up a mental fire but it does nothing to the physical space around them.

"If V'dim's desk is half as old as he is," begins Ka'el in a voice of announcement (but not too loudly, in case V'dim is near!) then it's a desk that needs to be burned and replaced with something built within the last one-hundred turns. It'd be a blessing." He grins, huddling in on himself a bit to conserve warmth. How dare the higher ups of Xanadu let them freeze! Don't they know they're the future? Just like Mur'dah said! "Craftrider," he supplies for Mur'dah's fill in the blank. "That is my destiny. To be the most skilled and sought after smith on Pern. With a portable forge." He grins at the nudge given by the bronze. Yay fire! Only now does Ka'el take a bite of his sandwich. Nom!

"Maybe it's just a tree-stump they built the barracks around," Soriana muses on the matter of V'dim's desk. When it comes to indoor flaming, though, that's a good question. Can she? "I dunno, I mean, I've got a pretty good imagination, but…" there are limits. She grins, and attempts to savor her sandwich by not taking another bite yet. Hot food. Mmm. As for being the next generation of riders… "Yeah, we're totally replaceable." That's a smile on her face, really it is. It's not just an awkward introspective look, right? Anyway, she's hiding it in the food now.

Idrissa grins as she hears Ka'el and then even chuckles at Soriana's comment about the desk. "There's an idea… Does that mean it is the oldest desk around then?" Possible, yes? She munches on another bite of food while she snuggles back into her dragon's front paws. Tahryth croons out softly while she shifts and wiggles, tail slowly swaying to bump and bap against Kanekith a few times. "I can imagen Ka'el doing that. Has a portable everything just sets up shop and starts making stuff right there on the side of the road. Soriana is going to be making all the rules at some point." Which is that a scarey thought? Perhaps not for this group! She looks over to Mur'dah and smiles. "What you interested in doing when we graduate?"

Mur'dah almost chokes on his sandwich, having to take a moment to make sure his airways are clear before he speaks. And while he coughs, Kalsuoth looks up sharply, eyes whirling in alarm until Mur'dah waves a hand at him. He's fine. "Faranth's fork, Ka'el. Don't let him hear you say that, we'll never graduate." Eyes shift to Ka'el, thoughtful then. "Not wingleader or weyrleader, then? Craftrider?" He sounds almost disappointed. Then he snorts, turning to look at Soriana for a long moment. "You're not," he says quietly. "None of us are." Awkward silence? "But yeah, hopefully they get things fixed soon…" Fidget. "Me? Uh. I don't…I haven't really thought about it. What about you?"

M'kal is curled up against the side of Xeosoth, not even interested in leaving the bundle of blankets for food. *gasp*. He's listening casually to the conversations around him though for now he doesn't add too much to it.

Ka'el nods to Soriana in agreement. "Likely, that's how the barracks came to be. It'll probably be a lesson we have. In History." He takes another bite of his sandwich, listening to the comments that are given, following them all, usually with a nod. But as for being replaceable? "Pft. I'm far too grand. In fact, once we all graduate, they'll know not what to do with themselves. They'll ache for us!" With all their weyrling mishaps and teenage…ness! Who wouldn't miss them? Eyes shift to Mur'dah, giving him one of those Looks. "Wingleader? Weyrleader? Firstly, I don't think anyone truly makes plan on bein' that. Isn't it something you sort of .. wake up into?" Quite literally! He makes a vague face at that, but moves on smoothly enough. "And, let me see. Of the weyrleaders I know of. One got stabbed in the chest. Another fell off the face of Pern. And another was canned." A brow lift. "No. Thank you."

Soriana, making all the rules. "Hah," she says to Idrissa, or something like it, on account of how she's talking around a mouthful of sandwich she put there quite deliberately but doesn't last nearly long enough, not even with all due savoring. She gives Mur'dah a sidewise glance, and after her mouth is empty, she puts a crooked smile back on it. "Yeah, well then, don't get hypothermia." A pause, and a bit more of a smile. Maybe even to the borders of grin. "But thanks for the food." As for Ka'el's future, Sori tilts her head, regarding him for a moment. "…it was his back, actually." Because that makes it totally different.

Idrissa leans over and pokes at Soriana. "We're all good at what we do. No one could replace us." She points out softly to her friend with a smile. There is a pause at the talk of Ka'el being a Wingleader, or well even a Weyrleader and she watches him a few moments. Tahryth is shifting up onto her paws and heading back over to the meat that was cut up for her, a few soft croons escaping her and Rissa is soon up, brushing her hands off. "Thanks again Mur'dah. Next time I go I'll smuggle something back for us. Me?… I don't know, I want to stay with beastcraft but, have to wait and see I suppose." As for the bit on weyrleaders getting stabbed she twitches slightly. "Hey… His actually sort of amusing, even came by and Soriana and him talked." Because Rissa was scared out of her mind thinking that Zi'on was going to drag her off and toss her in a cell or something along those lines for that whole getting stabbed bit.

Mur'dah snorts at Ka'el, grinning crookedly. "You'd be the first Weyrleader to last?" he offers hopefully. "Not," he adds, "that I think N'shen is doing a poor job." He's proud of his half brother after all. "And I'll try not to, Soriana, but it's difficult when I make the trek to bring us all warm food." Woe is him.

"Wherever," retorts Ka'el. "Back, front, gut, face… stabbed is stabbed and it seems like Weyrleaders are the type more likely to get stabbed in any place." So again …. no thank you! He moves to take another bite of sandwich only to realize that he has but one bite left. What a sad day! He pops it into his mouth and chews while eyeing Idrissa as Tahryth stands to reclaim her food. Zi'on was funny? "Doesn't changed the stabbed fact," he remarks with a vague smirk as she heads off to tend to her green. "N'shen." He repeats the name. "That's the name of the new guy?" Obviously Ka'el pays little attention of just who is the boss around here! Or, co-boss. Whatever. Leadership isn't really his thing. "Maybe he will be more lasting." At least, til Seryth's next flight, however many turns that'll be.

M'kal snorts a bit from his nest of covers. "You're the one who got the bronze, Ka'el. Might not have too much of an option for the whole leader thing!" he calls over, adding in his own two marks into the conversation, of what he's been able to follow from Xeosoth's couch.

Soriana is mostly quiet on the matter of N'shen, though she nods slightly to agree that, nope, he's not doing a bad job. Least, not as far as she knows. She has kinda been tucked away in the little bubble of weyrlinghood, but anyways. "Stabbings are another thing to avoid," she agrees with Ka'el. Hypothermia. Stabbings. The list could go on, but she doesn't. She just hehs to Mur'dah. "You do that." There's somewhat of a grin, until Sori's eyes shift to Idrissa, and then she frowns slightly. Stay in the beastcraft? "I don't see why you couldn't," she says, watching the other girl as she goes off to finish feeding Tahryth and then dragging her attention back to… well, to M'kal, actually. "If a Weyrleader can get fired, she says after a moment or three's thought, "I don't see why one couldn't resign."

Mur'dah nods, "Yeah, N'shen. He's my half brother. By my father." And his expression twists slightly, almost too quickly to be noticed. "I certainly hope he's more long lasting." Glancing at M'kal, the brownling grins. "Sure glad it isn't a possibility for /me/." Mur'dah as Weyrleader? Shudder at the thought. "I guess one could resign, but…wouldn't that tarnish his reputation?"

Woah. When did M'kal get here? Or rather, when did he wake up! Ka'el's eyes flit to the blanket monster of a bluerider. He's right but … does he really want to admit that he's right about that? Not out loud! Resigning does turn his attention though. Hey, this could be relevant stuff! .. He truly, wholly, seriously hopes not, but it'd be beneficial to pay attention. "People say A'dmar didn't want to be here. Didn't want to be Weyrleader, so … he could've resigned. But maybe it's like what Mur'dah said. He didn't want to look bad. Or … mabe deep down somewhere he might've cared a little and didn't want Xanadu to be without one." He shrugs a shoulder. "If, by some longshot, I'm in that same situation, I might feel the same way. It's not the weyr's fault I won some stupid flight. I wouldn't want to punish them by bailing." He trails off for a moment, and his smirk is soon revived. "Apparently though, findin' a replacement isn't /that/ hard, so maybe it's not so big've a deal."

M'kal grins broadly to Mu'dah. "Bit more of a chance for you than me since blues don't even chase!" he drawls good naturally. "Well N'shen has been doing alright though aint he? I mean he probably would do better than A'dmar since he's not all greedy or anything, right?" M'kal really has no clue but he's at least not heard any bad rumors going around N'shen!

Soriana's thoughtful expression remains in place, and she takes a step back as Luraoth steps forward. The weyrling goldrider's arm goes around her dragon's neck, and they're quiet for a moment, sharing that thoughtful… or maybe just some thoughts. Either way. "I wonder what the rest think. Like… the other Weyrs. What do they think of Xanadu, now? Do they even care? Or is it… do they think we're doing something wrong?"

Mur'dah shrugs a shoulder a bit, with a soft snort. "I never liked A'dmar," he admits. "I don't think he cared. I think he kept Weyrleader to see what he could get out of the deal." Harsh. Then he snorts. "I think you'd make a fine Weyrleader in about twenty turns, Ka'el." Is that a compliment or an insult? Then he glances at Soriana, brows lifting. "What do you mean? Because we've got no power and can't keep a Weyrleader?" There's a touch of bitterness in his voice there too.

Ka'el snorts. "Make it seventy, when I'm dead and gone." Surely by then he'll have the desire to lead the masses and be the leadership of a weyr! After living life and doing what he wants to do. Surely! One thing about this conversation though, it has his mind off the cold. Kanekith is quiet, near dozing now, and his bronze body makes a good place for Ka'el to lean. He smirks at M'kal and nods in agreement. He can't find anything negative to say about N'shen (not surprising, considering he only knew who their new leadership was…just now!). He glances to Soriana with a questioning look, and with Mur'dah's list of Things Wrong with Xanadu, he can't help but to tack on, after 'can't keep a Weyrleader', "or a weyrwoman. Briana's gone." He exhales a breath. "But… I can't imagine anyone caring. Regular people, anyway. How often do you all think of… Ierne or Fort or Ista? M'sure they've their own issues."

M'kal obviously seems unsure of what the other weyrs would think as indicated by his shrug of both shoulders, barely visibly from within the cocoon of covers. Staying nestled down he yawns again to withdraw from the conversation once more. Still listening he simply has nothing new to add to it, it seems.

"Half them don't even have power," Soriana says with a small shake of her head. "They're kinda traditionalists." And there she frowns, because that's more or less the problem. Traditions as she's always heard about them say a Weyrleader comes from the result of the senior queen's flight and that's the end of the story. "But… yeah." She glances to Ka'el. "I don't know. I really don't. Maybe people are wrapped up in their own lives. Maybe… they just don't want to hear about it." There's a tinge of a seaside breeze (the sort that's more fish-guts than surf) drifting from the background of Luraoth's thoughts now, and Soriana looks away, up at the gold dragon. "I dunno."

Mur'dah snorts. "Seventy? That's it? You'll live to be…what, eighty seven or whatever? And that's it?" He seems disappointed in Ka'el's underestimates of his longevity, it seems. Then he sighs. "I'm going to miss Briana. She was always so nice. You're not going anywhere, right?" he asks Soriana. And then, so's not to be rude, he includes Ka'el in that look as well, brows furrowed in concern. Then he shrugs. "Kind of think they might have the right idea. They'd have a fireplace in the barracks at least…"

"Not wanting to hear about it. Too busy to hear about it. In the end, i's the same. No one cares enough to find out. If I really wanted to know what was happening at Fort or Western or Eastern, I'd find a way to know. But I don't live there. Why would I care? Right now, for all we know, a wingleader has quit, a weyrwoman in the middle of some scandal, and ten shops have burned to the ground somewhere." Ka'el smirks, his easygoing look countering Soriana's worry. Crazy shardin' things have happened here, sure, but the weyr hasn't fallen apart." .. Er, yet? To Mur'dah, he snickers. "Why would I want to live past ninety? Too old to do anything fun. Too senile to be taken seriously by anyone. There's such a thing as livin' too long, I think." He plucks a bit at his shirt, sobering slightly at the talk of leaving weyrwomen, past and future. He misses the look that extends to him.

"It isn't," Soriana says to Ka'el. "Sometimes people don't want to know. Even if you tell them." She frowns rather more than the situation would seem to call for, and gives her head a shake before looking away, up at Luraoth. She's quiet for a moment, gazing at Luraoth as the gold chirps to her softly, then at the question, she finally looks back to them, brushing her fingers along the curve of the dragon's neck as she turns. There's a moment like maybe she's having to think about it, and then she takes a deep breath and squares her shoulders. "No," she tells Mur'dah, then glances to Ka'el. "I'm not." And that said, she looks away from the future old men, back to her dragon.

Mur'dah laughs, soft and brief for Ka'el's remarks. "True enough." His brown eyes fix on Soriana and his heart gives a painful lurch when she thinks about it, only to resume its normal pattern when she answers. And then he looks to Ka'el. "And you?" he prompts when his friend doesn't answer.

Ka'el's brows furrow vaguely at Soriana, and his expression shifts to quiet curiosity. Befuzzlement. Why is that bothering her so? His mouth moves, but on second thought, he closes it without uttering anything in response to that, instead letting her words float thickly while he ponders them in silence. And it's that he's pondering, not what her answer to whether she's staying or going will be. Her answer receives a fainy shifting of his brows. A vague lowering and subtle press towards one another. "The chance to stay or go won't come for a long time." Blue eyes turn to Mur'dah. "I don't know. Things change. If anyone would've asked me turns ago if I'd leave Black Rock, I'd've said no, yet.." he lifts a hand, in a 'here I am' gesture. "I'd like to stay," he goes as far as to say. "I feel like Xanadu's my home."

"Yeah, I know. Gotta be weyrlings first." Soriana doesn't look away from Luraoth as she says it, though her lips do quirk in a slight smile as she goes on. "None of us are anything more or less than that, right now." Goldrider, bronzerider, brownrider… "Just us and our dragons." She sighs, and glances to Mur'dah. Her mouth opens, like she's about to ask him something… and then she closes it again, lowering her gaze.

Mur'dah glances between his friends and nods his head slightly, finishing his sandwich and leaning back as Kalsuoth edges forward, finally dry and able to offer his rider some comfort. "Things change," the brownling says with a soft, dry chuckle. "That's true enough. Hopefully for the better, hmm?" Taking the klah skin, he takes a sip before putting it back and getting a cookie. "Well, if it's to be just us and our dragons, can't think of any other pairs I'd rather be snowed in with," he mumbles.

"Even when you start feeling stir crazy," is Ka'el's reply to Mur'dah's mumble, apparently catching enough of his words to piece it all together. He grins despite the somewhat serious mood of the conversation. "Stir crazy. I would've lost the bet of when the snow would let up. Good thing no one took me up on that wager." Another smirk and he stubbornly keeps it in place as his eyes trail to Soriana. "Should've wagered. You would've been one ice-mark richer." Or did she?

Oh, yes. Things change. For the better? Well, "Hopefully," Soriana agrees. "Either way, we'll deal with them when we get there." Who exactly is 'we'? She doesn't say, but the serious thoughtful expression can't last all that long. "…heh. And we'll deal with being stir crazy, too. Is that how they kept sane back at Black Rock during the wilds of winter? Making bets about the weather? Seems to me, maybe you'd want a distraction…"

Mur'dah chuckles, pushing to his feet and stretching, before he shivers with a grimace. "I'm ready for spring. For sandals and open shirts and bikini clad girls on the beaches." He is /so/ ready. Kalsuoth rises as well, rumbling softly and twitching his wings. "I'll leave you to your, ah, distractions," the teen says, grin crooked. "It's oiling time." He hesitates, and then adds, "and stretches." Nope, no privacy here now. With a half wave (how far can he really go?) the teen and his dragon head towards the oil barrels.

"Yes," answers Ka'el, nodding solemnly. "With nothin' to do with ourselves, our only entertainment was to lose and win coin from each other. What will it be tomorrow? Clear skies or snow? Will it be windy? How long will it last/" He blinks at her and cocks a brow. "You mean, that's not how it's one here?" He grins afterward, revealing his jest as he leans back against Kanekith. "Oh, I'd love a distraction. Let's see how to apply that here. Maybe.." he glances around. "Watchin' Jnelle rake her brush thing through her hair a thousand more times? Or listenin' to Al'cas snore? Or was that Marel's?" He snickers at the quip, a joke in his own head. "Distractions aren't distracting anmore when you see them done so many times. Plus," a chuckle, and his eyes turn to Mur'dah as he takes his leave, waving a little in answer, "the good distractions that are left could be too distracting." Like biki clad girls on the beaches. Thanks for that, Mur'dah!

Spring. Sandals and open shirts and topless boys on the beaches. Soriana hehs. "Me too." Her fingers brush down the curve of Luraoth's neck, and the gold croons softly, lowering her head as her thoughts brush against those of the departing Kalsuoth. Not that he's going far. Soriana nods to Mur'dah about the oiling, then pauses, looking up at him as he adds those stretches on. She's surprised, but only for a moment, and then she nods again. "Yeah, okay." She smiles after him, and lifts a cookie in wavish salute. "Thanks." For the food. And then… Soriana looks back to Ka'el with a crooked grin. Distractions? Well now. Only… there's no privacy. Not at all. She can see two or three people who might be watching, and that's without even turning her head… or considering the dragons who mean they never actually have privacy. Not now. Instead… well, Soriana's fingers pet Luraoth slowly as Ka'el leans in against Kanekith. Sori tilts her head and frowns at Jnelle's name, and then sighs at Marel's. Her eyes flit briefly after Mur'dah, but he's gone now. Insofar as he can be, anyway.

And then there were two. At least, in their little circle of friends, though everyone remains within eyesight…except M'kal, who was difficult to see within his blanket fort in the first place. And that gives the weyrling opportunity to ponder those distractions….mm. Ka'el eyes what's left o the cookies. Hmmm. He only had one. And the boy to cookie ratio says that boys should have at least 3 servings. So, truly, he should get two more, or at least three, with unlimited numbers of cricling back for more! So he sits forward afer Sori snags some cookies, claiming three for himself and then settling back against the smooth hide. The more he watches Sori, now while nibbling, the clearer the picture becomes depicting she's not happy. At least, for this moment. "What's bugging you? Y'look bugged."

Soriana's gaze returns to Ka'el, eater of cookies, and her lips quirk almost to a smile for a moment. Not only is he an eater of cookies, he's a knower of bugged-ness. So, she smiles - almost - before it turns into a sigh. "Marel's mad at me." Her mouth curves in the opposite direction. "I was… well, it doesn't matter, but I guess she thinks I don't trust her or something." Sori shakes her head. "I dunno. And Idrissa's being…" Idrissa, "weird." A moment, and then Soriana sighs. "…about stuff with you." The words are quiet enough, not likely to be overheard unless someone's deliberatey listening on on their lack of actual privacy, and her gaze stays on Ka'el as she says it, just… watching him.

Marel is mad at her? That's a strange combination of words. Put together in a nonsensical way with information that's difficult to compute for a moment. Ka'el gives her a questioning look, almost as if he's not sure if she is aware of which words came out of her mouth. "Marel? … You're sure?" he asks incredulously before he hodls his hands up a bit in a look of surrender. "I'm just asking because I've never seen her mad. And aren't you guys friends or something?" Or something. He won't pretend to know just who is friends with who in the lives of the opposite gender. And then there's Idrissa, which inspires an exhale of a slow breath and his expression shifts. The edges of his mouth just slightly downturns. "Is she still…" He trails off. Is it her, or him? Ok, let's stick with the Marel thing!

"Pretty sure," Soriana says, and her lips twitch with about half a rueful smile. For Marel values of mad, at least. As for the two of them being friends… Sori sighs. "I thought we were. I'd still like to be." She turns her head, as if to look toward Marel and Isyriath's couch… but stops before her gaze can actually get there, lowering it to the floor for a moment before looking up to Ka'el again. "She says she's waiting for you. Idrissa is." Soriana frowns like she doesn't get it. "I dunno. But…" It's her turn to trail off, and then Sori gives her head a little shake. "That's up to you, if she's not going to do something about it." Which apparently Idrissa isn't. "Whoever else there is, it doesn't make a difference to Us." Yeah, the capital letter is definitely audible. "And I don't care what anyone says."

Ka'el listens with a frown of thought etched across his features. Should he question what caused a rift between gold and brown rider? Is it any of his business? Likely not, but…still. This is Soriana. And Marel. Both of whom he obviously cares for, else he would not have pursued the topic as much as he has so far. Kanekith stirs in his slumber, Ka'el's mood seeping into the colors of his dream. Strange, muted hues. What does it mean? His head shifts against his paws then lays still again. Soriana's news regarding Idrissa only deepens those nondescript colors, and his brows furrow a little more. "Waiting for me…to do what?" These would be excellent questions to ask Idrissa herself, but although they're not exactly 'not talking', communication has been anything but common. But there's more for him to ponder at the end. More with 'whoever else' … whoever that may be. A vague look of puzzlement and he opens his mouth but halts his words after a thought. Lips close as he considers her, quiet for a short stretch, then, just as quietly as she. "What if I don't want there to be anyone else but us?"

Things that aren't your business can be tempting. They can tempt you into a whole world of trouble. While Soriana doesn't volunteer more about the situation with Marel, well, she did bring it up in the first place, ish, and so her expression, while not happy, is mostly just thoughtful. Kinda like Ka'el's, except hers has more details to contemplate… or at least different ones. When it comes to Idrissa, Soriana frowns. "For you to decide," she says. The words are simple enough, but there's a certain incomprehension to her tone. Thinking about that makes her take the next thing Ka'el says in a somewhat different light, though. Her head tilts to the side, watching him. The frown lingers, but one of her hands starts to lift toward him… not that it gets there. She's quiet for a moment, her jaw moving as she works to find the right words. In the end, she settles for simple ones, right or not. "You're still my Kale."

"That's not…" Her frown is throwing him off. Is it meant for him? Brought on by his words? The implied request? For a moment, Ka'el wishes he were a dragon, able to delve into her mind and see what it is that she is thinking. What she means to say, or what she has said that he's failing to understand. He has the means to do that…almost. Kanekith, while not able to probe her mind as easily and endlessly as he does his own, could probe Luraoth's. Pry and ask and report back to him if she is so forthcoming. Inwardly, he exhales, letting the sleeping dragon lie, able to feel his perplexing dreams. Why make it more profound by asking from him what he does not understand? Brows gently furrowed, he sits forward, removing his weight from his dragon's hide. "That doesn't answer what I'm asking, Soriana." His eyes shift to those other weyrlings. The ones awake and going about their business. The ones who are asleep. Cots that are empty. He leans forward a little, arms draped upon his upturned knees, voice drifting quieter. "I want to know, straightforward, if you want to be the only one that I am with."

It doesn't? Soriana tilts her head to the side, question in her eyes as she listens, as she tries to figure out what the question is that Ka'el's actually asking. The frown is gone, now. It's sort of drifted away, because this topic, itself, is nothing to frown about. There's a lot of things to frown about connected to it, but this part… no. This part is just a serious conversation, but it's fine so long as she pretends it's just her and Ka'el in the not-really-private of the snowed barracks - which it sort of is. Luraoth's thoughts have wandered, not sleeping like Kanekith but talking to another dragon. They can pretend. "That's-" pause. There's another weyrling walking by, and Soriana glances to him and goes silent until he's passed. Her eyes return to Ka'el. "I don't know." The words are quiet. "I want…" she trails off into thought, then suddenly flashes a grin. "I want dibs."

Ka'el's eyes also follow the passser by, briefly, then turn towards that dwindled pile of cookies forgotten by him. He reaches for another, just because, though doesn't bite into it. The sugary treat is turned around in his hand as he while crumbs fall to the floor. The weyrling is gone. His eyes don't leave the cookie even as Soriana speaks. She doesn't know? He smirks a bit, the look ruefully directed to the cookie, which is soon broken in half. His eyes flit up as her tone changes suddenly, and he watches her for a beat before half smiling. "I get it." One half of the cookie is tossed back onto the plate. The other is kept for himself, perhaps a treat for later once the treasure of what's left is discovered and devoured by hungry weyrlings. He angles his head to one side and a soft pop is heard just before he rises to his feet, brushing off crumbs from his trousers. "The klah's probably getting cold. You should drink it before it gets that way. I know how much you like it." Kanekith's eyes open, as if they have been this entire time. Perhaps dragons don't feel grogginess when their minds aren't fully unaware of what's happening around them.

And eyes meet, because Soriana's looking at Ka'el as he looks up at her. The grin only lasts a moment, receding toward a different sort of smile, one that's hopeful and wanting and maybe just a little worried. What if he doesn't get it? Okay, yes, dibs should be a universal concept, but what if something gets lost in the translation? Or what if that's not what he wants, if Ka'el wants … something more like Kanekith, maybe. That sort of fierce possessiveness that doesn't like even the idea of others, any others. So, yeah, there's worry there, but when the smile from Ka'el comes, Soriana's worry is halfway resolved. "What about you?" The other half. Her gaze rises to follow Ka'el, and she nods about the klah. "Yeah. I will." Not that she reaches for it, just yet. Soon enough.
"You don't want to know the answer because it isn't the same as yours." Honesty is the best policy, right? And when one has dragons, being untruthful becomes that much harder. Ka'el's smile still lingers, but the half thing that it was to begin with halves itself once more, momentarily. Kanekith's head lifts, and his questioning rumble is silenced with a hand to the muzzle and an unspoken word. "I told you before that I'd always answer you if you called, no matter what. I meant that." His smile regains a portion of its strength as his hand slips from the dragon's nose.

Soriana still doesn't reach for the klah. Instead, she moves forward, to stand before Ka'el. "That's why I want to know it." But… the fact that he doesn't want to tell her means, "You don't want to share." The words are said quietly. Her smile's faded closer to neutral, though still on the side of smiling. "All right. But… Kale. I want you. No matter what else. I'll call you… and you can call me. I'll answer." Soriana looks up, seeking Ka'el's eyes. "I promise."

To share means to take a risk. A flying leap of faith off a nameless cliff without knowing if he'll fall alone and land flat on his face. Or if, like dragons, he's destined to fly along wth someone and claim the sky as theirs. Kanekith rises with a rumble, pupilless eyes watching Soriana's approach with a sense of protective wariness enveloping Ka'el. The weyrling is … well, even he is having a difficult time placing himself right now. Too many things are layering themselves, making deciphering each one impossible to do before it's replaced by something else. Her promise is given a vague smile and what could pass as a nod. "… Later. .. I'll explain later." Later, when weyrlings aren't passing and milling and chattering around them. Later, when the snowfall lessens or stops and allows a moment of reprieve outside. Away. He lifts a hand, as if to reach for hers, but a pull to his mind stops him. … Later. "C'mon. Let's go for a walk," is said to the fully awakened bronze, and the two of them turn and head off, the broken cookie still in his hand.

Luraoth lifts her head, attention drawn back from her meandering conversations with the other young dragons, back to Sori and past to Ka'el and Kanekith. Her eyes are blue like the sky will be once the snow has stopped, and she's curious but unconcerned. Soriana watches Ka'el, heedless of Kanekith's wary look in her direction, ignoring his displeasure. "Yeah," she says. Her hand lowers from where it had begun to reach for his. "Later." Soriana turns away, and looks back to Luraoth. "Let's finish your stretches." But first… she'll have some klah, while it's still warm, and… half a cookie.


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