Light Goes On... Light Goes Off
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Xanadu Weyr - Meadow

A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of buildings, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves.
Stables and a smithy are settled on their own plots, while trees border the western edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a fence can be seen to the north.


Evening has come, the sun slowly sinking below the horizon. The clearing is fairly calm, though there are a few assorted people in it, headed to their beds or night-time plans under the light of the scattered electrics. From the caverns emerges Soriana, carrying something cradled in one arm and talking to it quietly as she does something to it with the other hand… and not paying terribly much attention to where she's going.

The scattered electrics seem a little more spotty tonight. Or, perhaps it's just the one outside the stable that's faintly flickering in an attempt to bring light. The flickering is accompanied by occasional grumbles and cursing, typically timed with when it's dark. Finally with a spark the thing goes out entirely and a slight figured girl comes stalking away and across the meadow.

Soriana glances up as the light flickers and dances on the ground in front of her, and she comes to a stop to peer up at it… and the curses that accompany it. Her fiddling with what's in her arm stops… and then, at a demanding-sounding squeak, resumes for a moment to put something-or-other into a large pouch at her waist before she starts on toward the flickering light… just in time for it to go dark entirely, and she puts her hand up to her eyes to try to peer into the pool of darkness. Part of it breaks away to make another girl, and she smiles and offers a wave. "Oh! Hey there."

Daoi stops in her track and midway through a nonsensical mutter as she's greeted. Glancing around the other girl is spotted and a grin is managed despite the flustered air about her. "Oh, hi." And the bundle gets a brief peer, perhaps due to the squeaky noises.

Soriana takes in the other as best she can in the rather-spotty lighting tonight, and smiles. Her pouch squirms about as though there's something alive in it, and soon enough that's proven true as the flap pops up to show a pale-furred tunnelcat head, peering out curiously. Soriana ignores the ferret for the moment, focused on the other. "Were you working on the light? Is there something wrong with it?"

Daoi rocks forward a little on her toes to peer at the bundle, curiousity getting the better of her it seems. As the ferret face appears there's a definite squeak illicited from the girl, but her face is positively gleeful. Light? What light. "It's adorable…"

Adorable? Well, not the _light_, but… Soriana doesn't seem to mind the change of subject. The new one is one of her favorite topics, after all. She reaches down, taking the tunnelcat out of her pouch again (but she just put him in!) and holds him out for further inspection. "His name's Inkfoot."

And hands come up, first to wiggle fingers in the vicinity of the little guy's head. Then a little bolder to let him sniff if he's feeling like it. "Did he leave little pawprints all over something to get a name like that?" Oh yes, she entirely entranced. The cloud over her head seems to have dissapated.

Inkfoot peers curiously at those fingers, bobbing his head up and down and dooking! When the fingers come in closer, he sniffs at them, one after the other in a random sort of order. (Or maybe a very important and obvious one, if you're a ferret.) Soriana laughs. "No, see, it's 'cause he's got these dark legs when the rest of him is all pale…" She tries to turn him around and show it off, but the dim light makes things hard, never even mind the critter's squirminess. After a moment, she laughs and gives up. "I was just a kid when I named him, anyway."

Daoi attempts to peer at the feet but simply ends up shrugging, at least the dooks got a rather gleeful giggle out of her. "Well… you could always fix that you know. Got some important documants that could use a little bit of embelishment." She's just met the creature, and already trying to drag it into some sort of mischief, apparently she's got tunnelcats figured out.

"Oh, no. I'm not letting him _near_ any important documents. He'd have far, far, _far_ too much fun!" Soriana declares, grinning wide. Inkfoot squirms, reaching out a paw to nudge at one of Daoi's hands. Dook!

Daoi wrinkles her nose at the 'too much fun'. "Aw… but I know some papers that are /much/ too boring." Ahem. Nudged hand gets a grin and fingers to attempt scritching of the tiny little head, who knows if Inkfoot even enjoys that but hey she'll try. "How old is he then?"

Oh, Inkfoot enjoys it. He paws up at Daoi's wrist, batting with those little paws, and dooks and chirrrs happily as he wriggles back and forth. Soriana grins, nearly as pleased as her pet to see him getting the appreciation he deserves (in less crazy fashion than the small children of before). "About four years," she answers. "I found him when he was just a baby, and I've had him ever since."

Daoi apparently needs /both/ hands dedicated to the batting creature and is more than willing. The hand that's currently got paws on it continues to entertain and the previously free one goes for scritches and to run down long body. Such a strange little thing. "What does he eat?"

Inkfoot chirrups, and arches up against the hand petting down his body, making a funny sort of hunched-in the middle shape and dancing back and forth in Soriana's hands… and up against Daoi's. Such a squirmy little thing, and such a happy one! It's like a ferret expands to prance through the entire space offered him! Soriana grins. "Any kind of meat you give him. He loves those sausages, the ones with fennel and sage in them… when he can get them. Usually he eats from what he hunts, so… mostly tunnelsnakes, unless I've taken him out to the woods, and then it's whatever else he can catch."

Daoi's eyes dart back and forth following the little movements of a prancing ferret and the grin never leaves her face. Fingers dance here and there for Inkfoot to follow after, it's a game or something. "Tunnelsnakes?" That got a perk from the techcrafter, oh yes. "Please, let him take as many of those out as he can. They sometimes chew through the wiring… not sure that's why /those/ lights are having trouble but…" The 'those' got a head tossed back towards the stable.

Soriana nods. "Oh, yes. He chases the tunnelsnakes right into their burrows, and gets 'em good." Speaking of getting things… After those fingers! Inkfoot dooks and chirps and scrambles around in circles, and then he gathers himself for a leap straight for Daoi's shoulder. It's one of his favorite perches on Soriana, after all! The girl laughs, and then glances back toward the lights herself. "Might be. There seem to be a lot around here, he's been diving down a _lot_ of random little holes since we got here…"

Daoi doesn't jerk away as the ferret flings himself onto her shoulder, managing to stay /almost/ still. Maybe a little flinch as she figures out how much those little nails dig in before relaxing. "Just don't climb through my hair… I'd never get you out." The lengthy (very, down to her lower back) french braid really doesn't need to be investigated. Really. "Well, keep him at it, might make my work easier."

Inkfoot is quite oblivious to the concern. He's such an outgoing little critter! Why, he's been making friends with half the Weyr lately! Soriana giggles softly, watching as the ferret circles around on Daoi's shoulder, claws prickling lightly (not that he's trying to claw, just to hold on!) and peers down at that very braid while his tail hangs down her front. "If he's too much trouble, I can take him back," she offers… though she doesn't reach out yet. It's an interesting sensation, the weight and heft of a living creature on your shoulder. She nods to Daoi's comment. "I will. Maybe I'll see if I can find him a mate… there's room enough in Xanadu for a whole tunnelcat family, I think. And tunnelsnakes enough!"

Daoi manages to snag the little creature before it sticks that nose too far into her hair and follows with the rest of his body. Oh, Inkfoot was thinking of it. Holding him up in front of her face she grins once more and offers the squirmy thing back to 'mom'. "Long as /they/ don't decide wires are tasty." Which really, is a valid concern. Wrinkling her nose there's a sigh. "And I better go get the parts I need, if I don't get that fixed before morning I'm gonna get in trouble. The stablehands always like to come out before thes sun's up for some reason." And with that she's offering a wave and scampering across the meadow.

Inkfoot was _so_ thinking it. Little troublemaker! Soriana grins as she accepts her pet back, tucking him in her arm and holding him. "If he does, at least _him_ I can train otherwise," she answers with a mock-serious look for the dooking ferret, and then she nods and waves to Daoi. "Okay! See you later!" she says with a grin, then heads off herself, smiling and talking to her pet once again.


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