Xanadu Weyr – Clearing
A wide clearing stretches from east to west, the ground packed hard although grass grows across most of it. Trees are strictly forbidden in this space, their danger to the constant draconic traffic reason enough to banish them to the forest that creates a this and sharp border to the north. Where the ground is less trampled, tiny flowers poke their delicate heads out from their shaded hiding places with upturned petals to wave to whoever may be looking.
The cliff looms imposingly on three sides, stretching upwards all the way up the side of the mountain where, high above, Xanadu's Star Stones and the ever present watchdragon sit on a lonely peak. Directly south is a massive tunnel, fully wide enough for even the largest dragon to fly down. Southeast are wide steps leading up to the Caverns and eastwards is the large entrance to the Infirmary. Somewhat north of the Infirmary is a human sized archway that has a frequent quantity of traffic — it leads to the Tavern. Southwest lies the low ledges currently belonging to Xanadu's queens while north and west a broad path cut by the side of the cliff leads to the Feeding Grounds and due north is the spacious trail that leads to the rest of the Weyr.
Midwinter on the Xanadu coast is usually a mild thing where climes get cold enough to have seasons. It's usually rain, rain and more rain. This afternoon however, Rukbat is shining and though it's a pale, weak sort of sunlight, it's enough to thaw the ground to a sticky muddy mess. While most grownups deplore the tracking of dirt inside the living areas, the Weyr's children are another story. They are delighted with the thaw and the chance to get out with minimal bundling up and are out in it joyously getting filthy. Into the happy ruckus entering from the Caverns is Thea, two dark haired children in tow that look to be close to five turns old. It's clear they want to GOGOGO because both are tugging to get their hands free as they emerge.
Into the mild skies above Xanadu emerges a behemoth of muscle'd gold and bronze stubble'd jaw, Nziekilth's wings catching the air as she comes out of between, bugling a deep and booming greeting to the weyr, hanging there in defiance of gravity as she survesy this alien weyr, and the inhabitants frolicking down there in the mud. Strapped to her back is one former gardener girl, lopsided grin on her face as the dragon descends, wingbeats sending treebranches whipping about, her heavy landing sinking claws deep into squelchy ground. Zeek rumbles, eyes whirling with interest, while Cenlia unbuckles and, gancing guiltily over her shoulder at the sky, begins scrambling down the dragon's side. Nziekilth doesn't bother lowering herself to make this any easier, but Cen seems used to it, spotting a familiar face about halfway down and raising an arm to wave. "Thea!" the grin grows, and there;s some slipping and sloding the last few meters as she finally makes it down, boots landing heavily with a thud-squish, and sinking a fraction in waterlogged grass and dirt. "Shards, or is it Ma'am now?" Cenlia asks, stapping away from her lifemate, while Nziekilth tucks in massive wings and cants her blocky head, eyeing. And not seeming to mind the mud on her talons.
Ittisieth blossoms from the sky just an instant behind Nziekilth, sinuous darkness making up for whatever the bulky gold lacks when it comes to finesse. Likely having made a trip or two before, the dragon doesn't linger long up high, but if he hovers a second or two before settling himself into the glop with a twinge of a distasteful expression, well… Cenlia's shout draws his rider's attention, goggles and helmet shucked and tucked before the bronzerider scrambles hastily down the dragon's coppered side. S'gam’s laugh is sharp and barking as ever for Cenlia's "Ma'am" comment, but the man bends slightly at the waist and offers an amused, "Ista's duties to Xanadu, Weyrwoman." He's definitely rolling with laughter on the inside. Ittisieth, meanwhile, just sort of… stands there, as though unsure what to do about the mess, and the messy children /cavorting/ in the mess. Shudder.
The appearance of a foreign gold in the sky might cause some of the Xanadu queens to bugle a challenge, but today there is but one silvery voice raised and that is one of serene welcome from Seryth, who crouches off to one side of the clearing while muddy children clamber all over her, sliding down her flanks, trying to shimmy up her neck which is carefully craned so she can properly greet this as-yet-unmet gold - and the bronze that appears behind her. Children scatter in all directions, squealing with mock fear, but their intent is really simply to make room for the landing of not one, but two huge dragons. Might as well make a game of it, right? So they're hiding behind trees, Seryth… each other. Thea's preoccupied with the twins, so her glance upward is just as the pair land, her face breaking out into a wide, pleased smile. "Cenlia and S'gam!" The pair she's been restraining slip away, taking advantage of her re-directed attention and the Weyrwoman appears to have forgotten her goal of keeping them from the mud, hurrying out to meet the Istans arms open to greet them informally if she can. "Hello you two!" But ohwait. Shoot. Protocol. With a nose-wrinkle for the Ma'am and an under her breath mutter of, "Not if I can help it." Her smile is back in a flash, however and she offers a gracious, "And Xanadu's to Ista. May her queens prosper. What brings you two to Xanadu?"
Nziekilth's head swings back to eye Ittisieth, without change in cerulean facets, a whiskey-laden, « Yo! » greeting both bronze and Seryth, the latter though earning a head-dip. Maybe ot has somethign to do with Cen elbowing the gold's foreloeg. Or maybe the former gardener is just a tad twitchy. Cenlia, too, eyes the bronzepair, though there is deinitely a flicker wary in her face for a second, but it disappears when the Istan weyrleader laughs, and breaks out into another grin, "Siggy! Shards, guess we had the same idea." Or they were /followed/. Gasp. It's not as if something as big as Zeek can manage stealthy. Like. Ever. Nziekilth seems less concerned than the brozne about the mess, and after Cen's at least a decent distance away, she drops right down to sprawl. PLOP. Yeah, Cenlia's face registers the washing she's going to do, half a second later. And there's a groan. "Sharding- /Zeek/!" but with a huff she's squelching over to Thea, "Ohright, uh, Ista's duties an' stuff. Um.. how's Seryth?" and yeah, the other goldie is totally getting a brief tacklehug if she's doing the open arms thing, but then Cen'll never admit it, steppign back almost immediately, ahem, "How ya been?" and a blink at.. /children/, "Them two /yours/?"
Ittisieth eyes those scattering, 'hiding' children warily, as though waiting for something horrible to happen. The dragon was fond of only a few of the too-small humanoids, and those were the ones he /had/ to be fond of. S'gam, however, gives them a jovial glance, as though visibly debating joining them… and then thinking better of it. Poor kids. No interaction from this bronze pair, not yet. Sig returns Cenlia's look, though if he sees the wariness, he ignores it. "Not quite. I saw you bailing and took off after you. Not that we're shirking duties or anything," the bronzerider quickly amends when Thea draws up, taking his turn for a bone-crushing hug after Cen steps away. "We're just out for a stroll. More or less." Shifty eyes land on the children when Ista's goldrider brings them up. "Muir… muir… Shards. I forget." Pleading brown eyes level up at Thea sheepishly, silently beseeching names.
Scattering children? But Y'ki hasn't even wandered by, yet. Oh, there he is. Indeed, the rider does emerge from somewhere within the nearby caverns. The amount of muck on the ground is given just a cursory glance before he heads out into it. Mud? Where he tracks the stuff certainly isn't his problem. The amount of..activity in the clearing has the bluerider coming to a halt again, however, head tilting just a little to the side as he takes in the amount of..hugging.
Seryth's belly is a spare inch above the soupy mess where she crouches, though lot of good /that's/ done to keep her clean. There's brownish streaks down her flanks where muddy bottoms have slid down, muddy footprints all over her back and mud freckles spattered everywhere else. Her greeting is a warm summer rain that dances playfully across a pond, pleased it seems, to have newcomers to talk to, « Welcome! » Thea is working at hiding her amusement when Cenlia turns back from Nziekilth, squeaks at the hugs and returns them. She answers both Istans at the same time with, "Mine and D'had's, yes. Marella and Muireadhach-" And there's an almost frantic looking around for the pair before she spies them - too late - out in the mud. Though her frantic look 'round takes in the skulking bluerider over there and he's given an amused smirk, "Don't you have apprentices to torture?" Or something.
Derin wanders in from the complete opposite of the caverns, scurrying out of the forest quietly, or at least as quietly as an ungainly tired teenager can stumble. Eyes are blinked as he tries to adjust from shadowy forest to bright clearing light. The boy really has only one object for which he's headed towards rather quickly, and that's the caverns where he knows there will be food. And if Y'ki doesn't scoot out of the way he's liable to be an obstacle run into on the boy's hurried way.
"Right, ain't shirking /nothin'/," Cen is quick to agree with her weyrleader, "Just visitin'," head bobbing a bit as her eyes drag over from S'gam to Nziekilth. Those (now partially-muddy) straps aren't empty! There's some little bag hooked up to them. "Gonna be a sight when we get back, though," crooked grin sent S'gam's way as the goldrider starts squelching back in Zeek's direction, her own boots muddy as her dragon's underside, "Bet them holders'll wonder what we been doin'," snicker. Hauling herself back up, she's not sneaking off, just scrambling over to retrieve the bundle before Nziekilth decides to roll over on it. "I brought ya somethin'," this to Thea, grin widening, "Figured congrats an' whatnot was in order," though from the shape and size of the bag, it's unlikely to be a /shovel/, at least. "Marella and.." there's a bit of a stare for Thea, as the girl overhears those names, "..Shards, an' I thought Sygni was-" er, she doesn't finish that, instead spotting bluerider over yonder and possible imminent collision from her perch on the dragon's side, though she only offers a cheerful, "Heya!" in greeting, hopping back down, bag in hand. And squelching back over to Thea with the thing held out.
Karona is lugging a crate across the clearing, a fair-sized wooden crate, its metal contents clinking slightly. She's followed closely by a pair of apprentices, also laden with crates. Busy day in the forge. The sight of the muddy meadow, with the children running and playing, causes the woman to come to a stop, wrinkling up her nose. "…ah. Take those on." she directs the apprentices, strapping young lads the both of them. "I just… a little rest… won't be long." she assures them, carefully placing the crate in the least muddy spot she can find. A glance is given to the clearing, eyes settling on the very large visiting dragons. Staring, even. Curiousity takes hold, and the journeyman braves the mud and children to move closer, though she doesn't say a word yet. Shy? Perhaps. Or perhaps mindful of the vastly differing ranks.
Ittisieth finally bends to manners, head dipping once in a refined motion, flickers of stately maroon and sapphire backing a rush of warm liquor, « Salutations. Thank you for the welcome. » And then, having decided to just /stand/ after seeing the mess being made of the golds, the dragon goes more or less still as a statue. Sigh. S'gam, on the other hand, makes a soft ah-ha noise and nods. "Thank you. The memory isn't what it used to be. Too many names are filling it up now." He winks at Thea and taps his temple, taking a moment to glance out at the twins with a crooked smile. "Shards, they've grown fast. It's hard to believe it." Cenlia's reaffirmation of their walk-in-the-park earns a TOO-innocent grin and nod. "We got lost on the way back from the latrines, of course. Convenient, that." And suddenly, company! And not of the five-turn-old variety! S'gam nods to Y'ki, makes a 'no-stop-don't!' noise at the boy about to bonk into the rider, and unfortunately misses Karona's approach entirely waiting for the potential trainwreck.
There's a hefted sigh when greetings come Y'ki's direction. There's a small frown, but at least the bluerider isn't polite enough not to lift a hand..just a bit to return the favor, even if he doesn't yell. Collision course…imminent? Y'ki does seem to notice Derin's mad race toward him, but the bluerider doesn't seem to be inclined to move at all. While he might not be large, by any means…he's at least sturdy. And there might even be a subtle bracing of his foot against the wet ground..just in case. His eyes do narrow though, glowering at the approaching teen. Maybe the aura of /menace/ will create some sort of..barrier. Not likely though.
Thea flickers an amused glance between Junior and Weyrleader, although there's a bit of a blink at the muddy Nziekilth when she hears the comment about holders. With a bit of a headshake that just misses being accompanied by eyes rolling. "Some things never change," she asides to S'gam tolerantly, even fondly, of the ex-gardener. Yes, that mouthful has to be explained somehow and this is done when Cenlia returns, her hands taking the gift automatically, "D'had named them. We call him Muir." Blinking down at the object, "What's this? You… didn't have to-" Out of the corner of her eyes she spots both the on-rushing Derin and Karona. "Watch out!" That's for you, Derin, because Y'ki is likely to trip you rather than let you run into him. Karona gets a fleeting smile of welcome, but she, too is waiting for a collision it seems, for she winces.
Derin blinks sleepy eyes at the warning call, ack! The teenager tries to stop, but the mud on his boots is slippery and he isn't the most graceful of miners. Even the small green firelizard on his shoulder gives a squawk and flies away at the boy's slip and slide towards the skeery bluerider. Will he manage to stop in time? We shall see if he avoids contact or not.
"Latrines?" that does give Cen pause, the girl making a bit of a face, "Yeah, they get a sight of Zeek, them lot're gonna thing that was /some/ latrines," jerking her thumb baclk at the massive, muddy Istan gold, who looks like she's probably doing it deliberately. That, or she's got an itch on her side that requires some clumsy wiggling into the mud. Sigh. Cenlia totally doesn't hear Thea's comment, but she's grinning an approving, "Muir's a good name," at least, eyebrows going up at the possible collison opver there, though the gardener's just as happy to watch, head bobbing at Karona with an absent, "Hey," too and then a squint, "What's in there?" Meaning that box. It looks heavy and stuff.
Karona acknowledges Thea's fleeting smile with a sheepish one of her own, and a quiet "Ma'am." Cenlia's query gets a distracted furrow of her brow. "Oh, uh, buckles, ma'am. For straps and things." she says, with a guilty glance back towards the crate. "Supposed to take them to the store rooms, and I will ma'am, in a minute!" she promises defensively, though her eyes are drawn to the caverns entrance just now, watching Y'ki bracing for impact, and Derin hurrying sleepily along. The smith winces at Derin's slip, that'll make a mess, but she can't seem to tear her eyes away. Carefully, she starts to tiptoe through the mud, in that direction, seeking a closer 'seat', a better viewpoint to watch what happens. Offering to help? And risk getting bowled over herself? Pfft, no.
S'gam can't help it - he spies Y'ki's glare at Derin and snorts out loud, amused by the man's tactics. "Change?" The bronzerider drags his eyes away for a second, just enough to raise both eyebrows at Thea. "Of course they never change. If anything, our dragons have made us worse." He /beams/, letting the goldrider just think on that one for a bit. Scary, ain't it? Just as scary as the idea of Zeek-sized latrines. Sig shudders. "Yeah, okay, I didn't think that one through, did I?" Sheepishly, the Istan Weyrleader slinks along a bit, unintentionally mirroring Karona in an attempt to see what happens… or maybe stepping closer to an increasingly-agitated Ittisieth. The dragon just can't handle this improper mess everyone was making. Eeeegh.
Squawking teen! Y'ki reaches both hands out to promptly /grab/ Derin by the front of his shirt when the boy starts..floundery-slipping right at him. That grip remains tight though, glaring at the teen as he holds onto him before he tugs, pulling him to stand more firmly on his own two feet, despite the muck. "Watch where you're running, brat." Words bitten out, there's a swift and cold look given in the direction of cried warnings…or possibly the lack thereof. There was quite a bit of silence that way! It's a rather rough head-pat that Derin gets though…quite close to being a thwack to the skull, really..before the bluerider just hurriedly trudges on, stalking off across the clearing.
Derin mumble a quiet and hurried, "S'ry, Sir." It's genuine enough, well sorta anyway. The other people get a salute, though a hurried one, after the thwack by Y'ki and a muttered "Need food." as if the teenager starving to death, well, he thinks he is anyway, would excuse his quick and clumsy not paying attentioning. Hmm, is that even a word? Soon after that salute and explanation the boy continues in to the caverns, not even waiting for any responses.
There are shouts of encouragement for the mud-wriggling Istan gold from those playing children that turns into a chant of, "Roll-roll-roll-roll!" With her eyes still on the careening Derin, Thea nods absently in agreement to Cenlia; Muir is a fine name, proud-mama here, but someone's about to meet his doom. Karona's promise gets an equally absent and mild wave of fingers from one hand, both still holding that wrapped package the other goldrider has handed her; she's not worried that those buckles will be late to the storerooms, it seems. S'gam's comment draws widened sea-green eyes from the catastrophe-about-to-happen and she barks a short, disbelieving laugh. "Is… worse even possible?" Because you KNOW she's recalling rainbow-painted bodies, uh huh. Or flaming sheep. Yes, scary is right!!! Her eyes swing back towards the bluerider and she almost - almost applauds him. It's written all over her face how badly she wants to. She merely lifts two fingers from that package in a semi-salute for his catch, a wry sort of smirk quirking her lips.
"Ain't no ma'am," the Istan goldie just rolls her eyes at Karona. "Name's /Cenlia/. Buckles, huh? You make straps an' stuff?" she's idly chatting while watching the show over there, smirking at biy at Y'ki's response. Not that Cen bothered /at all/ to shout a warning; hey, plenty of others did! "Could tell 'em we was attached by a mountain on the way back," she asides to S'gam, eyes sparkling, "Or that Zeek had to go dig up a cothold or somethin'." Hey. putting fear into the hearts of holders is totally a legitimate excuse! Cough. This is why they don't let the ex-gardener girl do all that diplomatic stuff. She watches both bluerider and wherhandler go, shaking her head a bit, perhaps disappointed in the lack of mudwrestling or other more entertaining outcomes, "Worse?" Cen is totally quirking a brow at Thea. having missed that part of the conversation while getting the rumcakes (or probably rum-cupcakes, given the sweet syrupy smell from the package, along with the slight whiff of buttercream). "Think them things prolly got cold between, but should be fine. M' cousin C'lom's recipe, that. Made 'em special," preactically beaming at Thea.
Karona looks a little disappointed by the result, as Y'ki walks off one way, and Derin another. "…well, least no-one was hurt…" she says, trying to convince herself not to be disappointed, mostly. Feeling guilty? Probably. She carefully picks her way back to that crate, grimacing down at it. Work work work. Wait. There's something that's not work - talking to people. And there's Cenlia, talking to her. "…C-Cenlia? Yes ma'am. Cenlia. Sorry." she stumbles over her words, frowning slightly. "Ah… yes. Buckles. I'm, I'm a smith, ma— er, I'm a smith." she says, flicking at the journeyman knot on her shoulder. Crate? What crate? She's got her back to it now, facing the gathered riders instead.
"Worse is entirely possible. Shards, used to be a caused trouble for the fun of it; now I cause trouble just to make him freak out." S'gam pats one hand against Ittisieth's foreleg, attention wavering away from the disappointing end to that almost-disaster. Glaring and fleeing? Bo-ring! Ahem. "Or we could just not give them any excuse at all. What are they going to say?" Sig grins widely at Cenlia, brows bobbing. They answer to no one! … Sort of! When the rumcakes are revealed, however, the bronzerider smirks and tilts his head up at his bronze. "Enjoy those! 'Scuse me, I'll be over here for a couple minutes." Giving Karona's crate a glance now that it's been explained, the bronzerider 'huh's and then turns to his dragon, leading the persnicketty beast over towards the most dry-seeming patch of land so he can hopefully cease his inner monologue of disdain. Vain dragon is very vain!
Thea just shakes her head, tsking at the departing Derin, poor starving child. Nothing but skin and bones, to be sure. By now the sweet - and remembered! - scent of the package contents has reached her, the Weyrwoman giving it a suspicious glance before Cenlia confirms her guess with that 'made 'em special' of hers. Amused? Very, for there's a merry dance to her eyes as she drawls, "Now where have I head that before? Oh yes right before I ate the last 'made 'em specials' and got too dizzy to stand." (let's not say the d-word, okay?) Her eyes shift towards Karona, an almost feral grin curling her lips, "She doesn't bite, Journeywoman. The worst she can do is share food with you." At S'gam's words, Ittisieth gets a sympathetic look. Poor bronze. Though she swings a mock-glare back his way with a sweet smile after him as he moves off to tend to his dragon. "Oh I intend to, don't worry." Perhaps THIS time, D'had will be more pleased with the results?
Cenlia has to snicker at S'gam, sidelong glance of amusement for poor, put-out Ittisieth. "Hah, true 'nough," the goldrider has to laugh, about lack of excuses. Sometimes, being shiney is /nice/. Not like Zeek ever cares for excuses. Tsk, bad rider. "Good luck," she calls after the weyrleader, turning back to Thea, and jerking a thumb at the bronzepair, "Bet them two'll be awhile." Smirk. Eyes dropping to the package, Cen's grin returns to lopsided, tilting ever so mischievously, "Yeah, but you didn't seem to mind bein' carried across the weyr by D'had neither." Her friend is totally getting a wink. Pfft. "Cenlia's fine," the goldrider waves off Karona's stumbling words there, grinning at the other woman, "You got a name, smith?" And there's a bit of a laugh, the girl bobbing her head in agreement with Thea, "Want some of these? Them's /good/ cakes, the really good kind." As if Cen would have any other. And hey, these gifts are better /shared/, apparently!
Karona furrows her brow at Thea, confusedly. "Ma'am?" Share food with her? "Do… do I want to know what's /in/ those, ma'am?" Because she's picked up that scent too, and she's wrinkling her nose already. If she keeps doing that, it'll stick that way. "I, ah, I'm not scared of /her/, ma'am. Er, no offence, ma— /meant/. It's the Masters I, uh, find concerning." And indeed, there's a glance shot back towards the meadow, as if expecting some Master to come stomping after her. But the apprentices haven't even emerged yet, having been delayed from entering the caverns until Y'ki and Derin had moved away from the entrance. "OH! A name. Yes, of course, of course I do." she rambles, terribly embarrassed for her perceived lack of manners. "Karona, ma'am, er… Karona is my name. I… uh. Cake?" The crate is glanced at, the woman gnawing on her bottom lip idly. Cake or work, work or cake? "…I… I guess so. Cake can't be that bad, right?" Besides, it's impolite to refuse an invitation! Despite Thea's warning.
No excuses? In whose world do these Istan's live in anyway? Thea's take on that is a mildly drawled, "Your holders must be a satisfied lot," after the departing S'gam. Her brain shifts gears at the other goldrider's tease, her brows lowering in mock-severity, "I blame the cupcakes for that. And I would have you know the man won't stop doing it, either. Last seven was the forth time he's done it!" Spluttersplutter. "Carted out of my own office against my will." Nevermind she was overworking and the man wouldn't have it. Karona's question has her shaking her head, laughter glimmering in her eyes, "No, you really don't want to know what's in them, but why don't you both join me for some klah? I'll share." Then eyeing that box, "You may join me in the cavern after you put that into the storeroom." Thankfully there's nannies rounding up the muddy hordes of children; they'll be bathed and seen to so she doesn't have to deal with the mess hers have become.
A world with a lot of booze, probably. Cenlia snerks at Thea's comment, "Naw, Sig's just good at makin' nice with them lot," waving off the concern, "Helps that we sent a load of dragons off to help out the cotholds when the volcano blew." Dragonriders, still serving Pern after Lastfall. It's totally a weyr slogan somewhere. "Nice to meet ya, Karona," the smith does get a head-bob, and a grin, "Yeah, sharding /good/ cake, too. Ain't ever met a cake I didn't like, 'cept that one time one blew up an oven." Cough. There's a laugh for Thea's mock-severity, though Cen's only response is another winked, "/Good/. Figure you could use more've that kinda thing. Only met D'had a few times, but seemed decent." That, and he apparently could booze, which counts for a lot in Cen's book. "Klah sounds good," Cenlia nods to the other goldie, "Figure if y'ain't busy, should break into them cakes," grinning as she starts squelch-stepping toward the caverns, slowly. Leaving Nziekilth to spraawl muddily in the clearing, probably to become some immobile lump soon enough, when she dozes off like that. "So how's it been lately? Ain't had too muc htrouble 'round here?" is asked opf the Xanadu weyrwoman, Cen glancing around as she goes.
Karona clears her throat, and bobs her head at Thea. "Yes, ma'am, of course." she says, practically leaping to attention. She turns back to the crate, tilting her head at it, and grimacing. There's mud all around the bottom. Most unpleasant. "I, uh, should get it cleaned up, then /get/ cleaned up, ma'am, but I won't be long!" she promises, reluctantly kneeling to lift the crate, grimacing rather intensely. Ew, mud, ew ew ew. But, when it's work that has to be done, she does seem to just grit her teeth and do it. Eventually. "Bl-blew up an /oven/?" she does stop to ask, staring eyes wide at Cenlia. "Wow. I have to hear about that one. Just… let me get this away, and get cleaned up, yes?" Don't tell that tale without her, now! She carries on into the caverns, lugging the crate. It seems heavy, but she manages. As a smith, she's likely used to that sort of thing.
Read Thea's lips as they soundlessly repeat the word 'volcano' while suppressing a shudder. Her next words are sincerely spoken, "If Xanadu can help with anything, we're willing. We'll find a way, okay?" Which could be… interesting. Concerning D’had, she grins agreement with her friend, "Oh, he is." He puts up with her, after all. Though it's likely they've seen each other in passing around the Weyr, she echoes Cenlia with a kind smile and a, "Well-met Karona" as she turns and starts towards the caverns. "After the drought, fire and flood a few turns ago? It's been pretty quiet." In other words, boring.
"Clean is good," Cenlia says absently, though her own muddy boots are paid no mind, the former gardener totally at east squelching through the mud. This is home turf, even! Well, was, kind of. Familiar turf! Anyway. "Yeah, an oven," Cen looks just a tad sheepish, grinning over her shoulder at Karona, "Will tell ya about when you catch up," promising as she squelches a bit faster. To klah! If she notices Thea's shudder there, she doesn't show it, though doubtless Cen was affected by it; she's not one to show it though. Stomp stomp sQUELCH. She just nods to Thea, lopsided grin for the other goldrider, "Always a way. /Always/."