Of Knots and Cupcakes
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Xanadu Weyr - Caverns

A massive cavern in it's own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as are the walls where numerous tapestries hang to provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt, leveled carefully but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.
The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area, however, is the one near the Kitchens where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. Its plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr and equally plain that on such occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are appropriated from all the other areas.
A big fireplace is set into the wall near the Kitchens as well, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.
Exits lead off in all directions, a big archway the largest and that leading outside. Shallow stairs to the west lead to the offices and administration area while tunnels to the east lead to the infirmary, kitchen and resident's quarters. Southwards, a sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs and southwest is a wide tunnel, carefully roped off to avoid accidents.


Niva is passing through the caverns, a pile of paperwork in her arms, thankful to have finished her stint in the Hatching Sands before they became even more crowded with the addition of not one, but two more clutches. She's stopped by Hisolda, the older women exchanging a few words, before Niva's making a face and nodding, the Headwoman going on her way.

And suddenly food takes second place. .. Well its mostly gone. What was on the blue rider's plate that is. But it if weren't it just might have. Dark eyes shift to watch the weyrwoman as D'had catches sight of her entrance out of the corner of his eyes. A subtle, smirk is the expression that comes to his face, eyes twinkling with the mischievous mirth of a boy in his teens as opposed to what should be a more centered and grounded thirty something.

Unfortunately for Niva, as she turns away from Hisolda, she spots D'had. And its a soft sigh that escapes her lips, gazing narrowing slightly at the bluerider. But, never the less, she closes the distance, hands going to her hips as she glares a bit. "What?" She demands, gaze holding his.

Enkavir sits at a table near D'had, unobtrusive in his newness. His food is more of a priority it seems, as he's got his head bent over his half-full plate and he methodically lifts a fork to his lips. There's a slight pause as the Weyrwoman comes striding in his direction, his hand hovering in mid-air as he looks up through his lashes, hoping to covertly observe the situation. Quiet seems the best policy for the moment and he goes back to eating, watching with occasional upward glances.

D'had chuckles. That is all. A long few seconds pass as he grins up at the weyrwoman allowing him to finish off the bit of meatroll that was in his mouth when she approached. "What?" he questions in return, mocking offence at her demand. "Guy can't watch a lovely young woman such as yourself?" The question posed he waits, that half smirk of a smile he wears still hung on his lips.

Niva's gaze practically passes right over Enkavir as he sits there, lingering for no more than a second before its back on D'had, glare intensifying. "Shutup." She mutters through clenched teeth. "Don't you have work to be doing?" She demands loudly enough to turn heads, unflinching under their questionning looks.

Since there are other heads turning now Enkavir allows his watching to be a bit less surreptitious. One dark brow slowly begins to lift at D'had's audacity, and Niva's response brings out a low chuckle. "Brave fellow," he mutters more to himself than to anyone else. He's busy eating, don't mind him. Really.

D'had chuckles, waiting a moment longer to reply. This is funny somehow? The man sends a glance towards a few of those others who look their way, Enkavir being one of them. But waiting is only a momentary processes, giving the woman time to fume perhaps, before he replies. "Really cupcake, ya need to loosen up." he grins, "Just got back in from sweeps. Guy's allowed a break to eat, ain't he? Was meaning to stop by and see you after I was finished here anyway. Seems you saved me the trouble."

Enkavir's words draw Niva's glance for a moment, before she opens and closes her mouth, leaving the teen alone at least for now. And then, D'had's opening his mouth again, and all her attention is on him, and she's grumbling a bit. "See, I knew there was something. Well what did you do now?" The Weyrwoman's arms fold over her chest, and she just glares.

Enkavir's mouth silently forms the word 'cupcake' and he shakes his head. His amusement is clear and it doesn't wither even in the face of Niva's glance. There's a quiet tsk, shame shame D'had, but at least it's free entertainment. The ruse of focusing on his meal is basically gone now so he shifts a bit to better watch the tableau unfold, still munching away at his food.

D'had grins. Just grins. Yes, sadly he finds it as amusing as the next person - the next person who's not involved that is. "Come on now, there you go jumping to conclusions again. Ain't done nothin' for you to worry your pretty little head over." he returns, leaning over to pull out the chair beside him, "But you came to me so there must be somethin' ya wanted to talk about. Hmm? So why don't you just sit yourself down and we can have that chat." he continues, giving the empty chair a light pat. "Or we could head somewhere quieter if you'd prefer not to receive sweep reports in the open."

"I'm fine standing." Niva says curtly, glaring at the chair as if its been coated with something absolutely dreadful, leaning to push it back under the table with her foot, even if it means the bluerider's arm gets wedged between it and the table. Gaze flicks back to Enkavir, offering a sarcastic smile as she realizes she has an audience, before D'had is given a roll of her eyes. "As if its anything other than the trees are growing, anyway."

D'had sends a wink Enkavir's way. See, this is how the pros do it. Yes? But when he's not looking is when Niva pushes that chair in and he winces as he looks back to her, pulling his arm free with a bit of a shake. "Hey now, the trees are growing good, yeah. All 'cept for this little cove I came across. Nice and sandy there." and while it's all said rather casually and flirtatiously, there's something in his voice that hints that there may be more too sand than just simple sand.

Enkavir blinks under Niva's gaze, clears his throat and then offers a lame little smile. She says that last bit about nothing other than trees growing, and coincidentally he nearly chokes on a bit of meatroll. Total coincidence, the coughing and swallowing hastily and drinking of the water.

"Well, good for the cove. I'm sure you can find someone to drag off if you tried. Someone *not* me." Niva mutters, shaking her head, Enkavir's coughing causing her to actually jump a bit, and spare him a longer look until she's sure he's actually okay. "Maybe if you're lucky, you'll even find some firelizards to make it worth your while, huh?"

D'had spares a concerned glance for the teen as well, until the cough has subsided and its clear he'll be quite alright. Dark eyes turn back to search out Niva's, the gaze somehow lacking from his usual. "Not interested in firelizards Ma'am," a serious note coming from the man for once in the conversation. "Footprints on the other hand, something I thought you might be."

Enkavir lifts a hand palm out in a sort of, I'm alright I swear gesture. "Coves are common enough," he adds to the conversation, not that anyone asked him. "Sandy ones even, they're all over in these parts you know." Sort of like trees that grow. Nothing to be seen out there, right? "Is it close enough to get to without a dragon? Might be the sort of thing you pass off to us less fortunate dragonless types." His lips twist into a smirk, brows sliding up in question.

"I'm certain this bluerider has some favorite coves of his own, too. Well used ones." Niva offers to Enkavir, before she's arching an eyebrow at the young man's eagerness to help, and then she's looking back to D'had. "Footprints aren't anything out of the ordinary. Clearly you have too much time on your hands, if you're worrying about footprints."

D'had lifts a shoulder in a half shrug in reply to Niva. A nod for the teen, "If I find one I will." As for his own use of coves, he'll just ignore that bit for now. "Well cupcake," he starts looking back to the weyrwoman, falling back into that ever mirthful tone, "With thing the way they've been here lately can't be to careful. Hmm? Specially when there's a place ain't so easy to get to being stayed at."

Enkavir seems to agree with Niva, outwardly at least. D'had's explanation of his preoccupation with footprints brings thick dark brows upward in question again. He's doing a lot of that today. "Things, eh? Things that involve footprints in secluded coves but not for reasons a guy like you might use them." He grunts a little 'huh' sound and takes another bite of herdbeast. "I thought I was seeing more dragons in the sky lately." He lets it hang there, pale eyes sliding from D'had to Niva.

Niva glances sidelong at Enkavir, nodding slowly. "We're not abandoning our search for Kate, or for Leonidas." And, well, he'll be left to figure out who those two are himself. "If you're so interested, take the wing, and go check it out. See what you can find." Niva comments, before she's realizing she's gotten ahead of herself, and a Wingleader's knot is pulled from her pocket and tossed at D'had, not wanting to get any closer. "Least that'll keep you busy."

"Ain't so interested," D'had notes, "Thought you might be with all that," the nod that goes along with 'that' seeming to indicate the two names she'd just mentioned. "But suppose…" And for once the blue rider stops short, brown eyes watching the knot that falls to the table in front of him. "Say what?"

Enkavir doesn't take out a notepad or anything, but his gaze grows more intense for a beat or two as Niva tosses out names. "Probably best," he agrees vaguely, casually as he pushes some greens around on his plate. The plop of a knot hitting a table draws his eyes back up though, and he whistles a soft note. "How about that? I guess calling the Weyrwoman cupcake isn't the worst thing you could do after all." There's that smirk again, and his eyes are appraisingly gliding over Niva.

"Don't get any bright ideas." Niva snaps in Enkavir's direction, and the look that she gives D'had is meant to say that he had better not get any ideas either. "If you think its something we should look at, take your wing out and check, *wingleader*." She stresses the last word, smirking a bit, before she's turning to head back the way she was originally going. "Better hurry, or someone else may find that cove of yours."

"No, no, no," D'had starts, nearly toppling his chair in his rush to stand. "You take that back woman!" he snaps, a finger pointing toward the knot on the table as if he might actually be stuck with it should he touch it. Who in their right mind would give him that kind of responsibility anyway?? But then she's leaving and he's left standing there glaring at her back and well… looking like an idiot still pointing at the offending knot.

Enkavir just gives Niva his best innocent look, which is not terribly innocent. Something about his eyes gives him away - they glitter when they should be all wide and limpid to properly get that 'there's a halo you just can't see it' look going. He blinks at the nearly toppled chair, then just smirks up at the standing bluerider. "Seems like congratulations are in order, sir. It could be worse." He shrugs. Oh so helpful.

Niva glances back over her shoulder at the toppling of the chair, and the loud protests from the bluerider. Pausing only long enough to wink at him, there's a near cackle escaping her as she hurries down the hall, and away from the.. victim.

D'had just shakes his head, continuing to glare as she sends that wink. A secondary glare is spared for Enkavir as the blue rider snatches up the knot from the table. Best not to leave things like that lying around. The overturned chair and the mostly empty plate on the table are left however, there are people to take care of things such as that. The glare to the teen lasts only a second, something muttered about 'crazy woman' as he stalks off after Niva.

Enkavir is left to finish his meal with a hint of a smirk playing around his lips. "Welcome to Xanadu," he murmurs to himself.

Unfortunately for D'had, while Niva may have headed down the hallway to her office, there are plenty of other doors and passages down that way, and the Weyrwoman has all but disappeared. Poor bluerider.

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