Sheep and Booze and Gossip

Xanadu Weyr - Garden

garden.jpg

An arch woven from the tendrils of a willow tree stretches overhead lightly creeping with ivy as one steps in from the meadow into this sanctuary of green. Cool gray flagstone carefully spaced enables a soft velvety moss to thrive within the cracks, and creates a single wide pathway that fluidly breaks off into two paths of stone once free of the natural arbor. It is a wonder this place, and meticulously tended from the way it seems not a single leaf is out of place. On either side of the main path expansive grassy patches are trimmed short and edged behind with natural tan colored stone selectively chosen to stack just right. Beyond these are a line of fine puffed shrubberies in vibrant green intermingled with flowering bushes of brilliant pinks varying in hue from the very light to the very dark, which causes the occasional snowy white blossoms of other scattered here and there without worry to simply pop out of the scenery.

Directly in the center of the garden is another wall of intricately stacked stone, this of muted grays, creating what from the air would prove to be a perfect circle. It's been set high for safety, but not so much as one would not be able to lean over it to admire what lies beyond, either standing or sitting at the smattering of benches whose backs are set every four feet along it. Flush to the ground inside it's protective stone outcropping, is an enormous twenty foot wide fish pond. Within one can glean the metallic glint of playful goldfish, the unhurried cruise of fat koi, and even a frog or three among pale yellow and white flowering water lilies and their thick green pads.

The trees surrounding the entire garden were planted to give the impression that they had always been here, not only lending to a rustic look, but also eluding to the beauty that can be found among the wilds if only one might just look for it. Species vary from the ordinary Birch and Pine, but the flaming red capsules of the Indian Shot to the robust orange spokes of the Firewheel tree suggest the spice of the exotic. The two paths leading away from the entrance have come full circle, wrapping around to meet each other on the other side, yet still continue on to the far left and right. One path leads off deeper into the surrounding woods, while the other wider; cheerily decorated with brightly colored slabs of painted stones.


Wraith is out and about, peeking into this and that. He's got a broken necklace chain tangled around one foot, and it dangles behind him as he flies from tree to tree. A string of curses floats across the air before the cursing man comes into view, it's X'hil, jogging after the firelizard with one hand on a bandage wrapped around his head. "You sharding nuisence pest of a wherry-snake." he's cursing rather inventively at the blue. "Get /back/ here!"

Cenlia and Eledri are in the garden, the latter sitting beneath a tree working on a laptop, with several metal tools set out beside him on a blanket. Cenlia is nearby, checking the leaves of the shrubs. She's dressed in her usual garden attire, though isn't as dirt-smudged as she usually is. The shiny silver pocketwatch A'dar gave her is hanging on her belt, and swings lightly as the girl moves along the line of shrubbery. Poking out of the pockets of her toolbelt are a small plushie ovine, Trouble, and mini-Kinseth. Not far off, Cenlia's the other firelizards are curled up on a bench, snoozing. At the sound of cursing, both Eledri and Cenlia look up, the gardener girl snickering when she spies X'hil chasing the firelizard. She raises her eyebrows and waves a small shovel in the direction of the bronzer's head, asking "What happened to you?" by way of greeting.

X'hil's curses stop dead when he catches sight of Cenlia and Eledri, and he stammers for a moment as he struggles to regain his composure. He's carefully not looking at Eledri, and his bandage-holding hand has shifted down to rub on the back of his neck. "I, ah. Mishap outside the bathing caverns. Slipped and hit my head." Yep. That's /his/ story. Rumour in the caverns is that he was hit in the head by one of the kidnapped holder girls, though. "I, /HEY!/" he loses what he was about to say as he shouts at the blue, but it's too late, the firelizard swoops down and snatches one of Eledri's metal tools in one paw, then boldly makes another swoop to grab the mini-Kinseth right out of Cenlia's tool-belt as well. Cocky little thing. Mission accomplished, he zooms out towards the meadow. X'hil is left standing there, looking from Eledri to Cenlia to the exit, and back to Cenlia again, as if to say 'well, what now?'

Cenlia has certainly heard the rumors, but she grins at X'hil nonetheless, "Hope you're alri-" and then acks as she spots the thieving firelizard. Eledri's expression at the sight of X'hil is decidedly sour, and does not improve as the firelizard snatches one of his tools, "Hey!" Eledri scowls, first at the departing 'lizard, then at X'hil. Cenlia sees her mini-Kinseth being toted off and darts after the firelizard, "Give that back!" Eledri spares an irritated glance at X'hil before the computercrafter gathers up his tools and laptop, and gets up to follow his sister.

X'hil grumbles about firelizards, and quickly turns to follow Cenlia and Eledri out to the meadow, after that pesky Wraith. "Hey, don't look at /me/!" he does snap at Eledri, almost as irritated about the firelizard's behaviour himself - almost. He hasn't really lost anything yet, not permanently. The bronzerider does have a few choice words to say about firelizards, though. Does his mother know he knows those words? "Wonder if I chained him down he'd not be able to between?" he muses aloud, as he goes. "Have to /catch/ him first…"


Xanadu Weyr - X'hil's Weyr

The inside of this barn is large, though the rider's quarters are squooshed up in the back, a bed and a few storage cupboards. There's also a loft with a ladder, and the loft is filled with musty old blankets and pillows, an excellent place for hiding things, especially in the eyes of firelizards.


X'hil's weyr is large and empty without Kinseth, a massive echoing building. Over in the rear corner of the barn, tucked away underneath the loft, is an odd blocky shape, covered by blankets. The firelizard's stash is up in the loft, and the firelizard has gotten himself caught on the railing, that broken necklace chain wrapping around it. He's squawking and flapping and making quite the commotion. It's hard to really notice anything else. Even the odd baaing sound from that blocky blanket-covered shape is almost drowned out by the firelizard.

Eledri continues to scowl, muttering, "That equipment is /expensive/." Meaning the shiny tech tool? What was it, a pair of tweezers? Cenlia is running after the flit, her own firelizards getting up and swooping after her, although they seem in good spirits, even trilling little greetings to X'hil's fleeing flit. The gardener girl halts at the entrance to X'hil's weyr, though, waiting for the bronzer before she goes running into his home. Eledri trails behind, looking grumpy, as usual.

X'hil scowls, and detaches a marks pouch from his belt, tossing it at the man. "Here!" he mutters, adding, "And I'll have your /equipment/ back shortly." He shakes his head, and flings the barn door open, barging in, crossing the barn, and climbing straight up the loft ladder. His sore head, combined with the squealing firelizard, is making him a little grumpy. The fact that he got the injury in a fairly humiliating manner hasn't helped.

Cenlia follows X'hil, though Eledri eyes the loft warily, perhaps remembering the /last/ time he went up there. He hesitates down below while Cenlia scrambles up after the bronzerider, the girl snickering at Wraith and saying, "Betcha could just leave him like." She pauses on the ladder, peering up and asking, "Ya didn't happen to find any little shovels up here, didja? Been missing a couple of 'em for a while now." The girl continues up.

X'hil rubs at his head and frowns at the tangled firelizard. "Could leave him, but could I /sleep/?" Maybe once the firelizard has screamed himself hoarse? But Wraith seems to have a deep set of lungs on him. "Ah, shovels? When'd they go missing? I, er, haven't been up here in half a sevenday." He grimaces a little, and points to the bandage around his head. "Got clonked out about then, just got out of the infirmary." Snuck out, more like. He nods to the pile, carefully removing the mini-Kinseth and putting it aside, nearer Cenlia. Eledri's tool is considerably smaller, and seems to have fallen deep into the pile. "Er, might be a bit of a wait, I'm afraid!" he calls over the railing at the computer crafter, with a grimace. A blanket slides off of that odd blocky shape below, revealing a large crate. A large bleating crate.

Cenlia scoops up the mini-Kinseth and puts it back in her belt pocket, getting a growl from Trouble who is hiding in another pocket, the booze-brown flit having not liked her running about in the least. Cenlia moves to peer over X'hil's shoulder, saying, "Lost 'em a while back. Dunno where they coulda gotten to." And she spares a suspicious glance at her own midnight-blue firelizard, but Rogue only gives her an innocent chirp and joins the others in sitting on the railing, watching the trapped Wraith curiously. Down below, Eledri sighs impatiently, shrugging his bag over his shoulder and carefully putting the toold and laptop inside. Only then does he begin climbing the ladder, although he pauses about halfway up the ladder when the banket slides off the crate, peering at it with a sight frown.

X'hil mutters at the pile, and shakes his head. "Not seeing any in… Oh, wait, is this one?" he finds a single little shovel, and holds it out to Cenlia, curiously. "Unless Wraith has another stash somewhere," he glares at the blue, "this is all he's taken." And then he's back to rummaging through the pile, with a frown on his face. There's a /bang/ from down below suddenly, as one of the sides of the crate falls down, pushed from within. X'hil blinks, and calls, "Keep it down down there!" apparently not noticing that Eledri is halfway up already. He has a pile to search, you see. Out trots a woolly sheep, bleating angrily. It did not /appreciate/ being stuck in that crate for possibly /days/.

"That's one, yeah," Cenlia nods, then glances towards the ladder at the bang, possibly wondering what Eledri could be doing down there. ELedri, however, is still on the ladder. He blinks with some surprise at the sight of the sheep, especially in X'hil's weyr, of all places. "Er, weyrsecond…" he begins, and promptly climbs the rest of the way up the ladder, not wanting to be in the line of sight of an angry ovine. Again.

X'hil scowls a little at the tiny shovel, then shakes his head, and turns back to the pile. "I can replace them if you need them that badly." He really is free with those marks, isn't he? Didn't he just give her nearly thirty of them for turnday? And who knows how many were in that pouch he tossed at Eledri. His face lights up as he locates the tool, and he holds it up triumphantly. Then he notices Eledri at the top of the ladder, and that Wraith has gone quite quiet all of a sudden, and he frowns. Something's /up/, isn't it? The sound of furious bleating echoes throughout the barn, and the man's face turns white as snow.

The angry bleating catches Cenlia's attention, and she looks somewhat horrified as she leans over to peer over the railing, and has to do a double-take. The girl moves toward the ladder just as Eledri makes it to the top. The computercrafter is looking thoroughly unamused as he moves away from the railing, saying, "/Why/ do you have an /ovine/ in a crate?" Cenlia peers down at the sheep, then back at X'hil and Eledri, saying, "It ain't in a crate no more." The girl, upon seeing X'hil's face, though, quickly decides not to make any further comment, instead backing away from the ladder. She's not going /near/ an ovine again.

X'hil just sort of stares at Eledri for a moment. Ovine? Crate? Wha? "I… don't?" is all he can manage as a response, before heading over to the railing to try and peer over at the source of the banging from before. He can't see it from this angle, though. "Ovine in a /crate/?" Blink, blink. Baaa! He shies away from the railing quickly, landing on a pile of pillows, thankfully. He also sort of bruised his arrow wound when he fell — before being knocked out — the other day. "Sharding… There's an /ovine/ down there!" Yes, yes, keep up man.

"Yes, an ovine," is all Eledri says to that last comment, giving the weyrsecond a look before turning to his sister. But Cenlia, seeing X'hil land in the pillows, can't help but start snickering. Looking vaguely disgusted, Eledri rubs the bridge of his nose and glances back to X'hil, saying, "I should have known. This sort of thing always seems to happen around you." What, the sudden appearance of angry ovines? Cenia manages to snerk, "Sharding ovines," and she goes to peer over the railing again, trying to spot it.

X'hil narrows his eyes at Eledri, and scowls. "I could say the same about /you/. Who was there in the infirmary when that ram charged? Who was there when I got shot? Who's here now?" Who was there when the man decked Eledri? Wait… That one doesn't work. Cenlia is also a valid answer to all of the above, and more, but the man is looking at Eledri. The sheep is trotting about on the floor down below, bleating angrily, but with no real aim or direction. It can't climb the ladder, and no-one's likely to climb down to face it just yet, so there's not much else it can do. X'hil seems to be zoning out now, eyes unfocusing as he tries to reach Kinseth. "I don't /care/ if you've eaten! Come pick up a meal for Seryth, then. There's a sharding /ovine/ in the sharding /weyr/, what do /you/ think?!" he's ranting at the bronze, starting out as a mutter, but gradually getting louder.

Peering cautiously over the railing, Cenlia says somewhat unneccessarily, "I ain't goin' down there." She's looking back at X'hil as he starts talking, giving Eledri a lopsided grin at those questions about who was where. Eledri just scowls, though he does look momentarily guilty when the bronzer mentions getting shot. Oops. Eledri really was responsible for that one, wasn't he? The man seems about to say something else, but the bronzer is… talking to his dragon? Eledri looks momentarily baffled, before he seems to realize this, and just shakes his head, turning that scowl on Cenlia and saying, "The herders in this place need to take better care of their livestock." Cenlia snorts and asks X'hil, "Sir Kinseth gonna eat it? Thought all them escaped ovines were found? More got out?"

X'hil frowns a little, and tilts his head at Cenlia. "They /were/ all found." One went missing, by the name of Flossie, but that down there, that is not Flossie. Something occurs to the man, and he /scowls/. "I… am going to have to check the candidate duty rosters, later." Yep. Pesky candidates. "Wouldn't blame the herders… Didn't you say something about a /crate/?" he leans out over the railing and tries to peer down, scowling. It's tucked back in the corner underneath the loft, visible from the ground, but not from up there. The man just sort of /slumps/ then, shuffling back to lean against the wall. Might as well get comfy, seems he expects to be stuck a while. "So… How's the gardens?" Yep. Ignoring the sheep. It can't get up here. As for the sheep? Well, "I, er, Kinseth says he'll take care of it." But not /when/.

"It was in a crate," Eledri confirms. Of course, 'was' being the operative word, there. The computercrafter seems to have a permanant scowl on, muttering, "I have /work/ to do," but he doesn't move towards the ladder, despite giving it a wary glance. Yep, he's already wrested sheepzilla after falling on its back; he's not about to repeat the incident with /another/ sheep. Cenlia shrugs, finding a pillow to plop down on, and grinning at Eledri, "'Least this one ain't gonna go flying." She snerks a bit in X'hil's direction, adding, "Gardens're fine. Ain't no more tunnelsnakes. Guess Kire and I found 'em all." Eedri frowns at his sister, "You're lucky they weren't poisonus. That boy got bitten twice." Cenlia grimaces, ignoring Eledri's comment and telling X'hil, "It weren't nothin', they was small. Fast things, too. But the healer, Karashi, came by and she said it was fine."

X'hil frowns a little at Cenlia. "You got bit?" he asks, then shakes his head. "Poisonous ones don't seem to be the more common variety down here, I got bit myself recently." Yep. He holds out his index finger. There's no mark though, it's long healed, and he lowers his hand sheepishly, rubbing absently at his head. "Ought to get back to the infirmary soon." he mutters, with a glance to Eledri, and then there's the sudden gleam of an idea in his eye. Oh, that's not a /good/ sign. "Your, er, computer things, they any help with massive mountains of paperwork? How do they deal with sand and heat?" Oh, no, he's going to trash the thing within a sevenday at this rate.

Cenlia shakes her head, "Nah, Kire got bit. He was fine though. Good thing I had 'm shovel." And she grins, although truthfully, the girl never actually managed to hit the thing. Still, who wouldn't want a nice pointy shovel when dealing with angry tunnelsnakes? Cenlia eyes X'hil's finger, then glances at those bandages on his head, saying jokingly, "The way you been going, Shellie's gonna have to give you your own room in the infirmary." Eledri glances suspiciously at the bronzer when X'hil asks about computers, but the young man answers honestly enough, "If you can type quickly, it does make work easier. I've been working on a program for sorting the inventory of the storage caverns, but most computers can do basic word processing as well." He hesitates just slightly before continuing, "They tend to overheat easily. And sand can damage the components. I wouldn't recommend using one anywhere warm or with a lot of sand." Another pause, but Eledri says, "I can put in an order for a laptop for you, if you wish. But if it gets damaged, you'll probably have to pay for its repair." Cenlia tilts her head at her brother, looking almost curious, "That mean you gonna have to pay for yours if it goes missin'?" Now why would she ask a question like that? Eledri frowns at her, saying, "No, this one is mine, not belonging to the crafthall." He gingerly places a hand on the bag over his shoulder, looking slightly possessive. Cenlia looks all innocent, but there's mischief in that sweet girly grin.

X'hil nods thoughtfully, and seems to consider the laptop idea for a brief moment, but he soon dismisses it. "Ah, I was mostly looking for a way to make work easier when I'm stuck up watching eggs. Doesn't sound like what I'm after." he admits, with a frown. He's actually disappointed. As for his own room in the infirmary? The man snorts. "I'm keeping the healers in business. One actually /thanked/ me the other day, said he'd earned enough in overtime to send his kid off to craft." Is he joking? Hard to tell. "Had to get out of there." he mutters, with a shake of his head. "Worse than the /sands/." And that's saying something, apparently. "Least I can usually wash off the sand and sweat, if sharding /Hannistans/ don't get in the way," he spits the hold name like a curse, and rubs at his sore behind absently. "but the infirmary, it gets to you. That's where people go to /die/."

Does Eledri look just the slightest bit relieved at X'hil refusing the offer of a laptop? Possibly. But a sweet girly grin on Cenlia is enough to make Eledri wary, and he narrows his eyes at his sister, but Cenlia has already turned back to X'hil, asking, "Didn't you used to be in search and rescue or somethin'? How come you keep getting beat up by things?" And she gives those bandages another curious look, likely wondering what 'things' beat him up this time. The gardener girl adds somewhat offhand, "And ya ain't dead yet." Eledri frowns at the mention of Hannistans, muttering quietly, "You could return them to their /homes/." There's just a slight hint of disapproval there, but it's enough to make even Cenlia frown a little. They've heard the rumors, of course, but there's lots of work to do in the garden, and both of the siblings tend to bathe in the early morning, which means they've missed the bathing cavern dispute altogether.

X'hil shuffles to his feet and moves to the railing to check on the sheep, realising he hasn't heard any bleating for a while… But nope, it's still there. The sight of X'hil manages to work it up again, and there goes the bleating. The bronzerider mutters, and flops back onto the pile of pillows. "I did, yes. Until /this/ thing got pinned to my shoulder." He flicks at the Weyrsecond knot. "It's like trouble /follows/ it. R'miel? When he had this knot, in just the short time that we /both/ had it, he hit his head and forgot who he was, and another time /sat/ on something spiky." The man shudders at the memory of that. It's not his fault, it's his knot? Riiight. "Maybe you haven't /heard/, but the Hannistans and their petty disputes /killed/ a man." he mutters at Eledri. "Should we just /sit back/ and /do nothing/ while people who look to the /Weyr/ for protection are left to /die/?" There's a scowl, and he notes, "I can assure you, /I've/ suffered more from the Hannistans being here than /they/ have. This, right here?" he gestures to the bandage around his head. "/Five stitches/. /Their/ work." So, didn't slip, then? "And," he levels a carefully expressionless look at Eledri, "Thanks to that one girl and her /knee/, I may never have children again." Exaggerating, but it does reveal the, ah, affected area. He watches the computer crafter carefully for a reaction.

Cenlia grins at X'hil's comments about that knot, saying, "Could just give it back?" But even she is frowning again at all this talk about Hannistans. Eledri just frowns at X'hil, even meeting his gaze, "Is that how you justify taking innocent women and children as hostages?" His eyes flicker downward a moment at the comment about never having children again, and then back up, looking rather dubious. Cenlia manages not to snerk, but she doesn't seem particularly eager to comment on /that/. Instead, Eledri continues speaking, "If the weyr is supposed to protect the holds, then it's doing a very poor job. Why don't you have the ones who killed the man in custody already?" Not that Eledri would really know if they had tried, but word of something like dragonriders rounding up murderers is likely to get around, right? And then there's a faint hint of disgust in his voice as the computercrafter tacks on, "Or are dragonmen ony brave enough to fight helpless women?" Ouch. Well, they couldn't have been that helpless, could they? What with X'hil's bandaged head and all. Cenlia is not looking at either of the other two, awkwardly scratching the back of hear head and frowning absently in the direction of the ovine.

Kinseth finally decides to show up, gliding very carefully through the barn doors, and coming to a perfect stop, sheep trapped — but still alive and well — under one foreleg. X'hil glances over the railing and mutters, "About time! Shards, Kinseth, what /kept/ you?" Blink, blink, scowl. The man just shakes his head at the bronze's apparent answer, and makes his way to the ladder, muttering something about needing a /drink/. He stops at the top of it, and /scowls/. "I ought to just let Kinseth release the ovine after I'm gone, see how much you need the help of /dragonmen/ then." But he won't. Will he? "At least I've never shot anyone." Ooh, low blow. Also, Eledri kind of has first hand knowledge of X'hil's violent streak, so probably /not/ the right man to try taking the moral high ground with. Finally, he just shrugs, and says, "I was just following orders. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same if it meant keeping that knot of yours, /Journeyman/." And then he swings over the edge, and climbs down the ladder, quickly heading for the barn door, not really caring if they follow or not. Now that he's mentioned that 'knee' injury, he does seem to have a slight limp. It was there before, but you wouldn't really notice it unless you knew he was injured.

Eledri scowls at X'hil, although that fleeting look of guilt at the mention of shooting does cause him to look away. It does keep him from opening his mouth again; he's been trapped in that loft once already. Eledri likes his knot. A lot. But apparently he likes his morals more. There is a quieter, muttered, "I wouldn't-" but surprisingly perhaps, it's interrupted by Cenlia. "Taking girls from the hold, it weren't right, X'hil," Cenlia glances at the bronzer, then quicky looks away. Both she and Eledri are holdbred, and Southern Boll is beholden to Fort - the only real political views on weyrs they've ever been exposed to have come from that region. Unfortunately, Xanadu is nothing like Fort Weyr, and neither of them seem to be liking this realization very much. Eledri glances sharply at his sister, and says flatly, "Uncle Cernien isn't going to let you stay here, whether or not you manage to get both signatures." This /again/? Cenlia grimaces, but doesn't argue, avoiding meeting her brother's gaze. After all, if her uncle wants her back, what Fort dragon is going to come to Xanadu to come get her, anyway? Cenlia climbs down the ladder, not even a 'hello Sir Kinseth' from her. Eledri follows, both of them frowning as they eave the weyr.


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 northern edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a fence can be seen to the east.


X'hil just scowls, and shakes his head, hesitating outside of the weyr. He has a point, and he wants to try and get it across at least. "Look, I'm… I'm not as Weyrbred as you think I am. I spent a part of each turn helping out my grandparents at the hold, doing the work of any holder. Rubicon River Hold. Rubicon River Hold that was /attacked/, Rubicon River Hold that the /dead/ boy came from. Don't try and tell me you wouldn't do the same for /your/ hold, /your/ orchard, your /home/." he mutters, before resuming his path to the clearing.

X'hil is walking away from a large barn in the meadow, headed for the clearing, hand on his bandaged head and a scowl on his face. Just recently come out of the barn behind him are Cenlia and Eledri, and from the barn come the sounds of a furiously bleating sheep.

Kire comes out of the smith forge and he has a coil of thin metal wire in his hand, "Thanks again for the wire. I'll let you know how it turns out." He waves as he hears out and he hears the loud bleating of sheep. He looks around and is ready to jump, dodge, duck or run. He spots X'hil and waves to the Weyrsecond, "Hello Weyrsecond how are you doing?"

Cenlia and Eledri both are frowning and watching the departing weyrsecond. Cenlia seems to nod slightly, but there's a soft muttered, ""Still ain't right." Eledri, now with the ovine safely behind in the barn, is a bit more vocal, saying, "/I/ wouldn't kidnap innocent people! Or are you telling me those women killed that boy? You have proof of /that/?" Moral highround seems to be getting a lot of use today, but Eledri isn't scowling anymore, at least. At the sight of Kire, Cenlia wanders over with a, "Hey," though she doesn't look nearly as cheerful as she usually is. Eledri trails behind her, his frown still focused accusingly on the weyrsecond.

X'hil /scowls/, and near snaps at Kire, before he realises he doesn't have a problem with the starcrafter. "I, er, been better." he stammers, looking a little guilty now, but that just fuels his desperate need to clear his name, and he whirls around to face Eledri and Cenlia. "I swear those /Hannistans/ will /not/, /have/ not been harmed since they were brought to the Weyr. I swear on Kinseth's /life/." He is conspicuously silent on whether they were harmed at the Hold, or on the trip to the Weyr, though. "How far would /you/ go to protect your own? Hmm? I never thought I'd go /this/ far, /never/. You can't /know/ that you'd do it differently until you're right there, /doing/ it."

Kire nods, "I can imagine, how is the head wound doing? Looks like you've been hurt on both ends." He looks over towards Eledri and Cenlia, "Of course not why would we hurt them, there are here are guests…guests that have to stay for their own safety, but still guests." He ums and nods, "I'll take your word for it." He looks over to Eledri, "Who got killed?"

Cenlia seems convinced, or at least silenced, by X'hil's words, the girl chewing absently at her lower lip. But Eledri? He's another matter altogether. Still frowning, he is quiet a moment before he asks, "What about the people who actually attacked the hold? Are you doing anything about them? What do you hope to accomplish by kidnapping innocents?" And he doesn't say it, but his accusing gaze speaks volumes about what he thinks of the situation. Instead, Eledri continues, "If it were my home, /I/ would find those /responsible/, not drag innocent women and children into it." And he means it, too. A geek he may look like, but he's more than ready to fight something. Especially if he's glaring through his spectacles at X'hil. Luckily, Kire's question causes him to shift his focus briefly, and he nods a greeting to the boy, saying, "I hardly think hostages are guests. Guests arrive of their own free will. Those women are prisoners." Plain and simple, apparently, is how the man sees it. He's probably lucky he hasn't yet /met/ those women yet. He might be singing a different tune, then. But right now, Eledri's face has frowny disapproval written all over it. He doesn't answer Kire's ast question, instead looking back at X'hil.

X'hil mutters, and raises a hand to the bandage again. "/Six stitches/!" Wait, wasn't it five before? "And I have a /splitting/ headache, so, if you don't mind, I'd like to get to the tavern." Because that's the /smart/ thing to do. Right. There are shuffling sounds from the barn, and the man's eyes widen, before he starts to walk — quickly — towards the clearing. Oh, that can't be good. The furious bleating turns triumphant. X'hil doesn't even bother to consider the ramifications of that. Could this be the most dangerous of animals, the /clever/ sheep? Please, no. …and then it sinks in. That's not triumphant bleating, that would be simply too silly. That's somebody /laughing/. Somebody in his barn, /laughing/! Kinseth backwings out quickly, and flies off towards the sands, and X'hil stops, frowning back at the barn. Absently he mutters at Eledri, "I've got a /prisoner/ you should meet. She's already got me, /twice/," Both injuries he mentioned before? Yeah, her. "think you'd /like/ her. Everyone else seems to." Scowl. He exaggerates, but still.

Kire ahs as he gets the idea what this is about, "So what would you have us do? Allow those that hide behind these women and children to continue to wander free? Would you prefer we just raid the hold no matter who gets hurts? That is what it would take to stop this attacks on Rubican Hold. You can't barter with those that would attack a hold because it doesn't have a Lord, that would take advantage of a hold in a moment of weakness instead of doing what Pern was founded on doing, working together to help those in need. Pulling together when there is a time of crisis. If they are prisoners who's fault is it? Who attacked Rubican? Who's hurt the women and children there? If the Weyr's Leaders felt that by kidnapping the women and children of those that were hurting others was the best and safest way to stop them then so be it. They are not treated like prisoners? They don't have to stay in the dungeons. Instead they are given the food that we eat, allowed to move about freely in the Weyr, and treated with the utmost respect. Ask yourself this. Would we be treated the same way by those that would attack Rubican Hold? I think not." He takes a deep breath to try to calm himself. "I've grown up around riders all my life, they come in many shades, but never have I met a rider who was cruel or callous to those that were in need. Who wouldn't stop to help those that needed help or give their time if another needed it. I know it might be hard for some people, but given the alternatives I think that I'll put my trust into the hands of those that have historically protected Pern and continue to oversee the protection of Pern."

"I see," is all Eledri says to the bronzer, managing to pile so much disgust and contempt into those two words, that he might as well have been calling the man an ovine. But it's Kire's explanation that has both Cenlia's and Eledri's attenton, the computercrafter actually nodding to the starcrafter, his frown dissolving somewhat as he repeats, "I see," in a much more civilized tone. Eledri is nodding, yes, but something still seems to be nagging him as he points out, "Historically, weyrs and holds have dealt with their own. That messenger, what what was his name?" he glances at Cenlia and the girl murmurs, "Rogawani." Eledri nods to her, repeating, "The messenger said there will be a conclave," and he pauses a moment, perhaps getting to the root of his disgruntlement, "And not /all/ the weyrs agree with it." Namely Fort. But Eledri's frown returns as he continues speaking, "What has taking hostages accomplished, other than guaranteeing that Xanadu has made an enemy of that hold?" Cenlia is glancing from Eledri to X'hil to Kire, and awkwardly rubbing the back of her head. She glances distractedly back towards X'hil's weyr. Is that sheep …laughing now?

X'hil is a little distracted by the laughter coming from his barn now, so he just nods at Kire, "Said it better than I could myself. You're not secretly a /harper/, are you boy?" he asks, with a raised eyebrow, and hint of a smile. It's a compliment, really. X'hil snorts a little at Eledri. "Consider the /Hannistans/ a bargaining chip. Their /Lord/ wasn't locateable by any other means, though one would /hope/ he'd show up at conclave, if only to demand his holders back." So they have tried to get to the root of the problem, at least? Kidnapping was a last resort action? Still, there's a flash of actual guilt on the man's face as he likens people to marks, to be used and bartered away. The laughing barn is glared at, and he mutters, "Forget /this/." and stalks off towards the tavern. Apparently it's not that great of a threat? Well, Kinseth wouldn't have just /left/ if it were.

Kire looks to Eledri first, "Didn't Xanadu all ready have an enemy? Who struck first Eledri? Not the Weyr. It was those that attacked Rubicon River Hold, those from Hannista Hold. Who's duty is it to protect Rubicon River Hold? The rider of Xanadu Weyr. No one but our riders…" Namely X'hil, "Have been hurt by those prisoners that you are so eager to let go." He smiles at X'hil, "Maybe you know those Harpers are sneaky about their agents." He chuckles a little bit and then gets serious as he nods in agreement with X'hil, "Indeed, this will no doubt force the issue of Rubicon River HOld and Hannista Hold to the front of the Conclave's agenda."

Cenlia watches X'hil go, though there's a ponderous glance in the direction of the tavern. After this, likely they all could use a drink. She seems satisfied with Kire's explanation, although the expression on her face still holds a lingering frown. Seems the idea of X'hil actually going to a hold and taking hostages has unsettled the girl a bit. She might not know what she'd do in his shoes, but she knows that none of her brothers would do something like that. Or perhaps she just wants to believe they wouldn't. "Still ain't right," Cenlia mutters under her breath, already tired of the argument. Eledri isn't, though, and opens his mouth to say something, but with X'hil retreating to the tavern, the computercrafter just sighs. After all, Kire has a point. "I hope you're right," is all he says to Kire, though there's not much confidence in his tone. Cenlia and Eledri agree on something? Well, maybe sort of. But the gardener just shakes her head. She's just a gardener; what does she know about politics?


Xanadu Weyr - Wanderin' Wherry Tavern

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It is often whispered in the crowds that converge here, that a certain Weyrleader was asked what he wanted in the remodeling of the pub that was not so long ago given a refreshing. He muttered back over the rim of his ever-present mug, "I don't care what you do with the place, just so long as there is plenty of ale." With that in mind, cask after cask of ale lines the walls of the tavern, the remodeler's idea of a jest. As they age, the casks bring a real rustic atmosphere to the pub, along with the deeply wooden flavor that seems to be the theme throughout.

The lighting is dim, as it should be in all good pubs, and the tables and chairs are plentiful. A long mahogany bar, intricately carved with runner beasts, stands vigilant duty at the head of the bar, lined with stools for those patrons that seek the bartender's company.


Kire nods, "I know it doesn't feel right to me either. No one should be kidnapped, but sometimes you have to do something that might not feel right to stop something that is wrong. It is wrong for the holds to be fighting and I'm sure those that are in the Hold are very lonely and would like their wives and children back. I just hope that it can be resolved peacefully and those that were kidnapped can go back home." He says as he heads along with the others to the Tavern, "Oh Cenlia." He says as he gets into the Tavern and he sets down his carrying case. He opens it up the case and he takes out a frame with a glass on top. He offers it to Cenlia, "Here you go Cenlia. You have a star named after you and tonight I'd be happy to show you where Star F-1408, or now Cenlia, is in the sky."

X'hil's whole /job/ is politics, and it's clearly getting to him. He's first to the bar, and he's arguing with Beldar. "What do you /mean/ you're /out/ of Tanner's Friend? Aargh. Fine. A pitcher of your finest, whatever the shards you've /got/." he mutters. "And /one/ glass." His pitcher, all his. He mutters something about putting it on his tab, then finds himself a little out of the way table in a corner of the room, pouring himself a glass of ale and /scowling/.

"I need a drink," Cenlia mutters, adding under her breath, "Flamin' /ovines/." Because ovines are the root of all evil, right? Cenlia blinks at Kire, looking surprised. He /wasn't/ joking about that star, was he? The gardener girl actually grins, "Really? Sure!" She eyes the frame curiously, tugging Eledri's sleeve, "Hey check this out, Eled." Enthusiastic, isn't she? Eledri actually looks somewhat amused, "A star named Cenlia?" And he chuckles, his mood lightening considerably, "That turnday gift is going to be hard to top next turn." And then the young man orders some drinks for the three of them. With X'hil's money. From that same pouch the bronzer tossed at him earlier. Cenlia eyes Eledri, possibly wondering where those marks came from, but doesn't complain about the ale.

Kire closes up his csse and he nodded a little bit, "Of course. I'm a man of my word." He moves over to ask for a mug of light ale, "Well next turnday I'll be better prepared. If we are all in the same place, who knows where we'll all be in a turn. I certainly hope that we are all here next turn." He nods to Eledri, "Thanks for the drink." He looks over towards the scowling X'hil and he hopes the Weyrsecond is all right.

X'hil knocks back the first glass, and grimaces. It's not the /same/. "Sharding… /knot/!" he complains, /loudly/, earning him a glare from Beldar. The apparently reluctant weyrsecond mutters something under his breath, and pours himself another ale. The glass is eyed for a long moment, and then he sighs. "Forget the knot, forget /everything/…" he mutters, then waves Cenlia and Kire over… Okay, and Eledri. "I… A star, huh? That's… that's great." He forces a smile for Cenlia's star, trying to put politics aside. "You… get to name many stars?" he asks, of Kire, still nursing that second glass.

Cenlia takes a sip of the ale, wrinkling her noze as Eledri takes a long swig of his mug. "If I ain't stuck in Fort Hold next turn," Cenlia mutters into her ale, but Eledri ignores the ook she shoots him. The girl and her brother move over to X'hil's table, abeit somewhat reluctantly. Eledri fixes X'hil with a long look before taking another swig of that ale. Cenlia glances quickly from her brother to X'hil, but when neither one starts spweing politics, she seems to relax a little, suggesting to Kire, "Should name a star after Sir Kinseth."

Kire shakes his head a little bit, "Nope I've never named a star before and that's will be my only one for a while, just to keep things fair. In a year I can ask to name another star although that doesn't stop any of you from asking for one to be named. The stars might seem infinite but for the sake of the Starcraft and all the paperwork only one star per person per turn."

X'hil sniffs a bit, and looks down at his still full second glass, then sighs, and takes a sip. He seems to cheer up just slightly when he's joined by Cenlia and Eledri, and then Kire. The suggestion of a star named after Kinseth actually gets a small smile from the man, though it's brief. "He'd like that. Star named Kinseth…" Just seems /right/ somehow. The word paperwork has the man grimacing and taking a swig of his ale, as if it were some sort of drinking game. "/Paperwork/. Shards, I was so desperate for action, /any/ action—" he trails off and grimaces. Wasn't going to talk about politics. Nope. Down goes the last of his second glass, though he doesn't refill it just yet. "One per person, per turn? Well, that's better than nothing. Cenlia's a much prettier name than… A jumble of letters and numbers." Well, sure, even /stinkblossom/ would be a prettier name.

Cenlia makes a face at the mention of paperwork, but nods to Kire, asking, "How many stars are there?" Seems that as long as it doesn't involve politics, she's happy to talk about it. Eledri eyes X'hil again, if only briefly, and then he's ordering a second mug for himself. Again with X'hil's marks pouch. He downs that one too. Drinking game? Ho hum… Cenlia is still sipping her first mug, grinning a bit as she says, "Too bad farmcraft can't get new plants named like that. They got some system-" and she rattles off some name in what might be another language altogether, "-that's what them weeds're called. Officially." She giggles, "An' thanks Kire," she adds with a grin, "Gotta figure out what to get you for your turnday when it comes 'round. Better let me know beforehand, so I can get your present ready." Seems she already has an idea of what it'll be. Hm.

Kire hmms, "I believe that the last count was up in the billions and having computers helps with the naming, but if everyone on Pern wanted one at the same time we'd do nothing be be labeling stars all day long, which is why the rule was instituted so that we could do other things all day then trying to research the universe and making discoveries about it." He smiles, You're welcome Cenlia, well you don't have to worry about it, I believe I'm only a few days older then you so you've got a whole turn to think about it. So if you forget with your turnday plans I won't be too offended." He looks to X'hil, "I don't know Kinseth is a nice name too, you can always ask the Starcraft about it. I'd be happy to fill out the paperwork for you."

X'hil's eyes flick briefly to the marks pouch, but he shrugs. His glass remains empty after his second, though he's not quite ready to share his pitcher just yet. The weed's name gets a grimace from the man. "Well, no wonder they're considered weeds, name like that!" It's an attempt at a joke. A poor one, but one nonetheless. An idea hits again, and that twinkle sparks in his eye. "Can't name a plant, /officially/, but can you give 'em an unofficial name? Like those trees everyone calls skybroom, they've got another complicated name too, right?" Well, likely, but skybroom stuck because it was so descriptive, the trees reach up to sweep the sky. Giving a plant a person's name really wouldn't have the same longevity, if that's what he's planning… "Sheep-weed." he suggests. Okay, maybe /not/ a person's name. But do the weeds have any remotely sheepy qualities? Probably not… "Aw, Kinseth is glad to hear that!" he tells Kire, with an actual smile. There's pride there, in his dragon, and his dragon's name. He fills his glass just to raise it in toast. "To Kire and his stars with good names!" Yes.

Cenlia grins a bit at X'hil, and then rattles off another complicated-sounding series of words, adding, "That's Skybroom, yeah." And then she starts giggling at 'sheep-weed' for the name of those plants, "Is a good name for 'em." Well, their seeds are white and fluffy, like sheep? And then she raises her mug to toast to Kire, "To Kire an' his stars!" Even Eledri raises his nearly-empty mug. Cenlia giggles again, and just has to add on the end, "And to Sir Kinseth." She takes a sip of her ale, tilting hear head and asking X'hil, "When's Sir Kinseth's turnday?" Well /that's/ an odd question. He's got to have one, though, right? "You should name a star after him," Cenlia says happily, nodding to herself, and then she gulps down more ale.

Kire raise his mug and he takes a drink of it, "Well thank you, but they aren't my stars, I wish they were." He chuckles, "There might be a weed called sheep weed you might want to look it up. Oh I can see it now, it will be a new fad among riders to name stars after their dragons, what better way to remember then after all stars are almost forever."

X'hil snickers a little as his sheep-weed suggestion goes over well, backing it up enthusiastically, "And they get in to /everything/, the weeds, and the sheep. Get in places I never thought they /could/. Infirmary. My weyr. Honestly." As for Kinseth's turnday? He smirks. "Day after mine." He not only impressed at age 12, he impressed after just having /turned/ 12. And that would be … when? "Bout seven months from now." Give or take a few days. "To Kinseth, and to the eggs!" Add more things to toast, make a game of it! The fact that he's taking a swig after each toast has nothing to do with it, but at least he's cheering up a bit? "Stars're for everyone, but /you/ named 'em. That's gotta count for something!" he tells Kire, with a firm nod.

"Think there is," Cenlia ponders, in response to Kire's suggestion that there might already be a sheep-weed, but she shrugs it off, not being able to recall it at the moment. Cenlia smirks at X'hil, saying, "Betcha they're following you." Eledri gets a wonderfully sour expression on his face, muttering, "I wouldn't be surprised," and eyeing X'hil suspiciously. Cenlia snerks, raising her mug and adding one more toast, "To flaming ovines!" Wait, what? Why do the ovines get a toast? Eledri grimaces and does not raise his mug, instead ordering a third ale, since his current one is already downed. Cenlia nods at X'hil, saying, "Gotta remember to get Sir Kinseth something." What does one get a dragon for his turnday? But Cenlia turns to grin at Kire, asking curiously, "Didja name any other stars?"

Kire smiles at X'hil, "That's cool that you impressed a day after your's. The only think special would be if it was on your turnday that'd be so cool." He laughs, "Well technically the Starcraft names them. I just requested a name be used." He smiles, "But I'll take the compliment thank you." He ohs, "Hey Cenlia you know what you can do…make a drink called the flaming ovine. That would be a great drink." He shakes his head, "Nope your's is the first that I've requested."

X'hil makes a show of looking around as if expecting to find sheep, and snickers. "Oh, come on, lighten up." he says to Eledri, shaking his head. "You've got a pouch full of someone else's marks, a mug of ale, and," well, not /friends/ exactly, X'hil isn't sure Eledri /has/ any friends, though he'd never say it. His pause speaks volumes, however. "good company." Good save? Or at least, good /enough/? "To the ovines! And … to second-rate ale!" Might as well toast the ale. "Mmm, my mother impressed shortly after her turnday too. Not /as/ shortly after, but within a couple of months." Yep. "Flamin' ovine. Sounds like a fire hazard." Pause. "I'd drink that… Or /there/." Sounds vaguely pub-name-ish, doesn't it? "To the Flamin' Ovine!" It's another toast. Huzzah!

Cenlia will definitely drink to a flaming ovine, provided one isn't rampaging around the highly flammable weyr. But then the gardener girl gets this look on her face at the mention of getting a drink named after a sheep, and her eyes sparkle with mischief as she says thoughtfully, "A flamin' ovine." In honor of the sheep-on-fire, obviously. And then Cenlia hurriedly waves over the bartender, leaning over to whisper something. He looks dubious, but he departs, and returns with a glass and several bottles, some of which aren't even filled with alcohol. Cenlia grabs the marks pouch from Eledri, paying for it all, though the computercrafter just blinks at her from halfway behind his third mug of ale. Are those his marks? He doesn't seem to think so, as he doesn't complain. Eledri glances at X'hil, muttering into his mug, "Not sure about the company," with a significant glance at X'hil. Someone's still a grumpy grump, apparently, but that doesn't keep him from downing his third mug of ale and order a fourth. With X'hil's marks. Cenlia smirks, telling Eledri, "Cevel near knocked your teeth out, an' you still bought him brandy the next sevenday." Eledri tries to scowl, fails, and gulps down ale, muttering into the mug, "/He/ isn't family." Cemlia rolls her eyes, gigving Eled up as a lost cause, and telling Kire, "Since I missed your turneday, am gonna make you a flamin' ovine." And she grins that lopsided grin of hers, eyes sparkling merrily.

Kire raises his glass as the others do and he finishes off his light ale. He looks over towards Cenlia and he watches her what she's doing. "What are you doing?" He looks over at Eledri, "Oh lighten up and have a drink." He watches Cenlia as she moves over, "Really and just what are you putting in it? You know I have to be up to do some stargazing tonight if you want to see your star."

X'hil tilts his head at Eledri a little, and frowns. "What do you w… eh, never mind. Just drink up." he says, with a shrug, leaning back in his chair a little, relaxing for the first time in … a /long/ time. He closes his eyes, and just lays there for a moment, smiling slightly. It's /good/ to take a break once in a while. He's been biting peoples' heads off left and right lately. Then there's mention of knocking teeth out, and there's a guilty flicker across his face. "I am sorry about, you know, that other day." he holds up a hand in a fist and mimes punching a little bit. He sighs, and opens his eyes, glancing to Eledri. "I'm not so bad, really." And then he catches sight of Cenlia's bottles, and blinks, sitting up a little straighter to watch the gardener carefully. The pitcher is nudged closer to the center of the table, an open invitation to all to partake of it, though the man has made a fair dent in it himself.

Cenlia grins at Kire, "Makin' a flamin' ovine for ya." And she nods, pouring various things from the bottles into the glass very carefully while saying, "Can take just a sip. Shouldn't knock you out or anything." Is that supposed to be encouraging? Eledri eyes her, and then shrugs lightly at X'hil, the computercrafter watching that fist just a bit warily but mumbling, "I'm used to it," into his mug. Used to getting punched? Ouch. He looks dubious at X'hil's 'not so bad' but doesn't comment, going back to watching Cenlia instead. There's redfruit juice, several small bottles of various types of brandy, vodka, and even some Igen firewater, as well as two very expensive looking bottles of Benden red & white wines. Cenlia starts with the Benden White, dripping just a teensy bit into the glass, and then adding a generous splash of the firewater. And then vodka, and then more firewater, and then some juice of some sort, which makes the mostly-clear liquid become cloudy and opaque, almost like a cloud in a glass… or like rather fluffy sheep's wool. The girl then pours the other ingredients very carefully, causing the top half of the glass to take on a vibrant yellowish-orange tint. Eledri eyes the concoction as Cenlia continues to add things in varying amounts, even tossing in some sweetening. The computercrafter snorts, saying, "It's a cloud chaser." Cenlia grins back, "Woolly chaser, now," and she adds the brandy, and more firewater. She has to order just a spoon, though, to finish it off, dipping the spoon with quick, careful movements and wiggling it on the way up, giving the two-toned drink wavy reddish-orange streaks, with yellow-white in the middle. Like fire? Holy flaming ovines, she's done it! Cenlia grins broadly, sitting back and admiring the creation, cloudy white on bottom, flaming on top. "A flamin' ovine!" she announces, though Eledri looks unimpressed.

Kire watches Cenlia as she mixes all the liquor together and his eyes go wide at how much she asks. He reaches for it and ums, "Well bottoms up." He takes a deep breath and he gulps it all down. His eyes go wide as the alcohol runs down his throat and it hits his stomach. He finishes it off and he coughs a little, "Man that burns." He rubs his throat as he tries to swallow to put out the fire in his throat. He coughs again and his eye water, "Man that's really strong." He sways a little bit and rubs his eyes to get the tears out of them. "That was some drink." His cheeks are very flushed and he chuckles a little bit, "Man that flaming ovine is something you gotta watch out for…better then a arrow in the butt thought."

X'hil rolls his eyes at Eledri. "Yeah, you've just got a /real/ punchable face there." Sarcasm, /that's/ original. Then again… There is something about Eledri that X'hil just doesn't like. Maybe it's that the man doesn't seem too thrilled about /him/. X'hil is watching Cenlia's concoction with interest though, and he has to admire her talent. "Ever think about tending bar? You'd make a fortune in tips, just mixing drinks like that." Yep. Way to endear yourself to the gardener's brother there. But he can't help it if he's appreciative of talent! He nudges Eledri in the ribs — gently, really — trying to prod the man into seeing how talented his sister is. Arrow? Butt? /Staaare/. "Who… who told you about that?" It /may/ have been him. He complains about a lot of things, to a lot of people, and can't be expected to remember specifics with booze in him, he can't even remember if he's on his fourth or fifth glass right now.

Cenlia watches Kire down the drink, and grins at him, "Y'alright?" and she takes one of the bottles and pours something clear in the glass, edging it towards Kire. It's regular old water. Yay, water? At the mention of bartending, Cenlia grimaces. Eledri frowns at X'hil, trying not to cringe away at the rib-prodding and muttering, "She's /done/ that." And he smirks. Cenlia mutters under her breath, something about "drunks" and "'tending" and "/hats/" and is trying not to look in Eledri's direction. Right, bartending? Eheh. Eledri snorts, saying, "Anyway, that one won't work for long. The colors will run. Should have made the flames blue." Cenlia rolls her eyes and mutters, "Oh shove it, Eled," but Eledri has already gotten another glass and begun pouring things into it. His glass ends up cloudy white with yellowish-orange flames. Eledri holds it up and just watches it. It's nearly identical to Cenlia's - was he keeping track of /everything/ she added? The drink might look colorful, but unfortunately, that cloudy layer wants to rise and the reddish layer wants to sink, and the drink is doing an interesting, if slow, flip-flop as colors smear. It certainly looked like a flaming sheep at first, but the thing soon takes on a rather muddy yellow-brown hue. Eledri even manages not to look guilty as the butt-arrow incident is brought up, he's so smug about the drink. Cenlia just makes a face at him.

Kire grins at X'hil, "Everyone that I asked about it." He chuckles a little bit, "I just have to ask about ovines and it's either the flaming ovine or that X'hil got shot in the butt." He giggles as he leans back, "Well better to be shot in the back end than the front end." He looks at the water, "Why do I need that?" He watches as Eledri makes another one, "Oooh you screwed it up…hahahaha. Looks like we know who can make the drinks in there family." He leans back against the chair and he ohs, "I'm thirsty let me see if that one is as good as Cenlia." He reaches for it and he starts to drink it. His head tips back and he finishes it off in one drink. He burps, "Smoooth." He giggles.

X'hil has to fight to not laugh at Eledri's flip-flopping drink, though for a moment he was actually impressed. "Eledri! What other talents are you hiding from us?" he cheers for the man, giving him a friendly pat on the back. "A toast! To Eledri!" he adds, draining his glass right afterwards. He tilts his head at Kire, and snorts. "So funny… I /bruised/ my … wound, the other day. Slipped and fell. But yes, pain in the /rear/ is better than pain in the, er, front." He grimaces. He knows /both/. And recently. "Sharding h… /Hello/, my glass is empty!" Oooh, close one there. He /was/ about to say Hannistans.

"It's a /chaser/," Cenlia says with a laugh, "Ya don't need to sit around an' admire it." She watches Kire gulp it down. There, evidence /gone/. The girl grins at Kire, and then tells him, "Better drink the water, or ya won't be able to stand, let alone look at stars later." Eledri smirks, saying, "Hers would have done the same." He shrugs, raising his mug to take a sip. He'll toast himself, sure. Great, they're /all/ getting drunk now. The man eyes X'hil's friendly back-patting suspicously, but adds, "I /can/ make one that won't mix, but I was using her recipe as an example. Cenlia rolls her eyes, "Yeah, yeah." The girl then giggles at X'hil, and tells him, "Let Eled make a flamin' ovine for ya that's blue." Aha, a challenge? Eledri smirks, ordering yet /more/ bottles. It seems they don't have some of the ingredients, but he'll make do, and gets to filling a third glass.

Kire grins, 'I think it is….especially when that smart mouth girl hit you on the head with the bucket." He chuckles as he drinks down the water, "All right all right." He watches as a third glass is made, "Ooh blue…I like blue it's such a nice color. You know there are blue stars out there. I'd love to see one. It'd be such a nice color." He looks over at Cenlia and smiles at her, "Gosh you are pretty Cenlia…anyone ever tell you that?"

X'hil gets friendly when he's relaxed, reverting more to his old pre-freaking-out-and-running-away self. This is what he used to be like, pretty much all the time. Amazing the difference, isn't it? The man watches Eledri carefully as he gets to making the blue-flame version, though he does flick a glance over at Kire when he starts talking about how pretty Cenlia is, looking the starcrafter up and down briefly, with a slight protective-big-brother sort of frown, despite not actually being related to the gardener. But he's being nice, friendly, so he doesn't /say/ anything.

"/Bucket?/" Cenlia asks, peering at X'hil. Who's beating up the bronzer now? She looks like she might want to klonk them. Eledri, meanwhile, mixes something that starts out cloudy and whitish on the bottom, but then turns into bright yellow streaks, and then becomes a purple-tinged blue with a similar flaming thing done with the spoon. Cenlia smirks, "Ain't proper blue." Eledri shrugs, "At least this one will keep its color." And it seems to be doing that, at least for now. It's also thicker than the previous drink, but still colorful. Cenlia and Eledri just sort of eye Kire when he calls Cenlia 'pretty,' but Cenlia shrugs at her brother, mouthing silently 'he's drunk' and telling Kire with a lopsided grin, "Only when they're boozed." Considering the only real difference between Cenlia's appearance and Eledri's is height, a pair of glasses, and a couple of curves, that might be true, too. The gardener's as plain as a trundlebug, although she does blush just faintly. But it's the booze! Honest. The girl down the rest of her mug, just to be safe.

Kire nods, "Yep some prissy little girl threw a bucket at X'hil while he was yelling at her to get out of the hot springs. I didn't catch any names, but it was two girls, X'hil and Enkavir that were there." He smiles at Cenlia, "I'm not boozed and I think you are pretty. I thought you were pretty yesterday and I think you are pretty today and I'll think you are pretty tomorrow." He leans over to whisper loudly, "I just don't wanna saw anything cause I don't you want you to reject me." He giggles as he leans back, "I'm so silly. He oohs, "That's blue sorta. Let me try it out."

X'hil shakes his head. "Bucket's getting /dangerously/ close to holder talk." he warns briefly, though get a few drinks in him and he could be /persuaded/ to talk politics, and give /real/ opinions, rather than the 'justifying orders' type opinions of before. And then he eyes the blue flame drink. "Now /that/ is pretty." he says firmly, grinning as he picks it up and tilts his head at the glass. He's a brave brave man apparently, as he then proceeds to knock it back. "Whoo! Good. Good stuff." he says, coughing slightly. "Make one for Kire!" Corrupting a minor? Bad man, very very bad man. Drunk man, nearly very drunk man.

Cenlia rolls her eyes, and then starts laughing despite that blush. Yep, he's a goner? Still giggling, she says, "Shoulda just sent an ovine in there. Or told 'em about the the trundlebugs! 'Specially after R'miel dunked us." What is she talking about? Does it matter? Eledri nods at X'hil and is about to make one for Kire, but eyes the boy muttering, "I think he's had enough." And he fills this glass with water too. Eledri and Cenlia both fill their mugs with liquid from the various bottles, though. Woo, booze.

Kire grins as he makes Cenlia laugh and blush. He aws a little bit, "Meany." He takes a drink of the water and he stretches out, "See I told you it was good X'hil, that's one flaming ovine that you don't have to be afraid of." He laughs a little more and he hmms as he watches Cenlia and Eledri drink.

X'hil missed the real flaming ovine, thankfully! "I was trying to do things /peacefully/, shardit. Stubborn Hannistans." he sighs, and eyes his glass of ale thoughtfully, then knocks it back. "I… I wanted to do /something/. But when we got there, it was like… 'What? I'm /really/ doing this? /Really/?' … Then one girl made a break for the guard tower. Had to stop her. Had to…" Sigh. He holds out the glass to Cenlia and Eledri for a mystery refill, and frowns sympathetically at Kire. "I know, they're /mean/. Laughing at a man's /pain/." he raises a hand to his bandaged head dramatically, then snickers, unable to keep a straight face.

Cenlia snerks at Kire, "Them ovines're following him, I'll bet. The on one fire showed up /right/ after he ran off to Ierne!" Yup, it did. But the girl keeps snickering as she takes another swig of ale and grins blearily at Kire, "Dun worry, yer pretty too!" And she giggles at X'hil, "What'd ya do to the girl? Punch her?" and asideto Kire, "I bet them holder girls think X'hil's pretty. Bet Eled does too." Eledri is halfway to pouring something orange into X'hil's glass when he swings his gaze around, letting out a horrified, "/Cenlia!/" And he ends up pouring the drink all over the table instead. Cenlia has a gigglefit, looking a bit sheepish, and quickly coughing and hiding behind her mug.

Kire nods, "I bet, the poor ovine couldn't deal with life without X'hil around." He grins at Cerlia, "Well thank you, but I think you are much more pretty then me. I'm just skins and bones, just a boney skinny skeleton." He laughs loudly, "I bet he does, no wonder he's always hanging around X'hil. Careful you are getting orange stuff all over the place.

X'hil grimaces, and shakes his head, "Wouldn't be surprised. Ovines are shifty creatures. And just what /are/ they trying to hide under all that wool?" He looks around, as if expecting an ovine attack. "I… didn't punch her. Pinned her against the wall, turned her around to look her in the eyes," he winces, "She … attacked. Knee. Pain. The next part is a blur. All I know is, at some point, I knocked her out, and tied her up on Kinseth." Yep. He is very much /not/ proud of that. There's a blink, and he stares at Cenlia. "'M not /pretty/. Girls are /pretty/. I'm not a girl!" Aw, humble too? Or does he just object to 'pretty'? And then he just, looks at Eledri, and shuffles /away/ slightly. Aw, and he was being so /friendly/, too. "Aw, Kire, you just need to eat more. Good food, fatten you up!" Food is the answer to /everything/.

Eledri growls something incoherent under his breath, blushing furiously and pulling back the bottle as he realizes he's giving the table a bath. Luckily, the bartender tosses him a cloth. Eledri mops up the spilled booze, muttering, "Sharding weyr, sharding ovines, sharding dragonriders, sharding /sister/." Cenlia, watching from behind her mug, grins at X'hil and starts laughing again. Eledri, though, scowls in X'hil's direction, spitting out, "/He/ wouldn't be pretty even if someone stuffed him in a /dress/." Is that agreement with the man or an insult? The computercrafter blinks as the bronzer mentions knocking out the holder, and Eledri mutters something with the word "barbaric" in there somewhere. However, Cenlia is still giggling, and nodding to Kire, "WHat you need is brandycakes!"

Kire mmms, "I'm hungry, but I'm just naturally thin. I don't get hungry that often only once or twice a day and i fill up quickly." He mmms, "Brandy cakes sounds good do you got any or shall we see if the kitchen will let us bake some?"

X'hil's turn to blush, now. "Who /told/ you about that?" About what, exactly? "There, there was nothing there, /really/. I… Lost a bet… Had to wear a dress… /Humiliating/." Scooowl. But at least he got to break Nosken's nose. Unfortunately for Eledri, or perhaps /fortunately/, X'hil is a bronzerider, he doesn't swing that way. And then he /scowls/ at Eledri, though not /directly/. Can't quite make eye contact with the man right now. "Shards, you think I /liked/ hurting that poor girl?" Poor /violent/ groin-kneeing bucket-throwing girl. "Shards… She threw a /bucket/ at my head." Later, much, but still. His view of time is a little fuzzy, but he does think it's about time for another round, so he knocks back what's in his over-filled glass, grimacing as his fingers come away all boozed. "You've got to eat, food is /great/ here. Yo, Beldar! Brandycakes!" he orders, not even getting up.

"I dun got any brandycakes," Cenlia says mournfully to Kire, and then her eyes sparkle with mischief and grins, "Hey, yeah! Could sneak in the kitchen an' make some, yeah!" Uh oh, drunken baking? That cannot possibly end well. Luckily for them, one can order brandycakes at the tavern. Whew, don't need to blow up the kitchen a /third/ time. Eledri, however, is finding nothing funny, although X'hil actually admitting to having worn a dress makes him just stare at the man for a moment, muttering without thinking, "Sharding crazy. You're all absolutely, sharding /crazy/." What's crazy about losing a bet? Eh, Cenlia had a better sense of humor, dissolving into laughter as X'hil brings up the bet. Between snerks, she tells the bronzer, "Shoulda brought B'miel! He loves them brandycakes."

Kire howls in laughter, "You had to wear a dress. I'd love to have seen that, does anyone have any pictures of it? I'd love to see some." He looks around for some more booze himself, "Anything left to drink?" He hmmms as he hears the brandycakes and licks his lips, "Mmm I can't wait to have some." He aws a little bit as Cenlia says she doesn't have any, "That's okay X'hil's gonna get some for us. Yah let's sneak into the kitchen and make some, I'm not allowed in there any more cause I blew it up twice…let's start for a third time!"

X'hil snerks at Eledri, and strikes a pose. "Oh but I looked /gooood/ in a dress. Even /Nosken/ thought so." he teases, apparently just drunk enough now that he /can/ look at the man again. And laugh about wearing a dress. Though it can't remove the blush from his cheeks. Beldar looks rather irritated, X'hil is ordering all these on tab, and has not exactly been polite about any of it, but sends a server over with a couple of cakes anyway, placing one in front of Kire, and the other in front of Cenlia. "Tip the man, Eledri." X'hil mutters to the man with the marks.

There are still plenty of bottles on the table, filled with quite a number of drinkable liquids, and one or two that might be fruit syrup. Cenlia grabs a bottle and shoves it at Kire, giggling at him and ignoring her brother's glare. Sadly, it happens to be the bottle of water she sent his way. Alas, it is not booze. She grabs another bottle for herself - Igen firewater - and takes a swig, coughing as she tries to breathe and laugh at the same time. Eledri is still blushing and scowling, and still muttering about the sharding crazy weyr, though he, too, grabs a bottle, downing the rest of that orange stuff. However, Eledri smirks at X'hil, saying loudly, "An ovine's /backside/ would be prettier than you, even in a dress." Does he mean X'hil or the ovine in the dress? Either way, Cenlia bursts out laughing again, "You would know, Eled, you whacked that one in the butt after you fell on it!" Eledri scowls, "I was /trying/ to reach the syringe."

Kire chuckles, "Well maybe you should dress up again so we all can see it. I'm sure the store cavern has some dresses that'd fit a big meaty girl like you." He laughs and he looks at the bottle. He sniffs it as he watches Cenlia grab the firewater and take a drink from it. He smiles as he takes the bottle from here and he takes a swig of it, "You have the water." He coughs as it burns like dragon's fire going down and he has to chase it with a mug of beer. He sees the brandycake set in front of him and he starts to eat it, "Mmm yah this are really good."

X'hil /laughs/! "You… And… A /sheep/? Eledri, I had /no/ idea." he chuckles, pouring himself another ale. "Oh, /do/ tell more." he grins, looking at Cenlia for gossip. Well, at least someone is in high spirits? And with a high spirit content no doubt. "I prefer the term /big-boned/." he murmurs, making a show about being offended at Kire's 'big meaty girl' comment, then collapsing into laughter again. Yep. Someone's definitely drunk over here, and getting drunker by the minute!

Somehow Cenlia ends up with a bottle of water? She doesn't even notice as she guzzles it, blinking only after its empty and peering at the bottle suspiciously, apparently not realizing why that firewater didn't have more kick the second time around. Oh well, there is more booze on the table! She grabs something blueish, and takes a swig, and then follows Kire in devouring the brandycakes. Eledri glances around for the marks pouch, but Cenlia had it last, though she seems to have misplaced it too. Whoops? Aha, there it is behind the botte of Benden Red, with midnight-blue Rogue curled around it. What a good firelizard, protecting the money even when the humans are dead drunk. And speaking of firelizards, something escapes Cenlia's pocket, booze-brown Trouble making for the rafters to join Cenlia's other firelizards in watching the humans. Eledri grabs the pouch and tosses a fraction of a mark at the person bringing the brandycakes, and then sets it down on the table again, scowling at X'hil while turning even redder. Cenlia seems to find this all hilarious, as she snerks and says loudly, "He fell outta a tree. Was when the ovine chased me and Shellie up a tree. And Eled fell on it! An then whacked it in the butt." Shellie? So Eledri fell on the /sheepzilla/?! How is he still in one piece? Cenlia snickers, adding, "Then he got tossed off and landed in the shrubbery." She pauses, saying mournfull, "Had to re-plant the shrubs /again/!" Eledri, though, is still finding none of this funny, saying sulkily, "The /ovine/ would look better in a dress." Right, that's the best come back he can manage? Time for more ale.

Kire snickers, "I'm sure you do, but if you had bones that big you'd be a dragon." He mmms as he continues to eat the brandycake, "Man these are delicious." He has another swing of the firewater and he doesn't cough quite so bad this time. He follows it up with some more brandycacke. He laughs as he hears Cenlia's story, "No wonder why he wants to see an ovine in a dress, are you gonna marry it? Eledri and an Ovine sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First come loves then comes marriage then comes Eledri with the lamb carriage."

X'hil snorts. "I know," he hesitates, and grimaces, eyeing his glass and the hiccupping, before continuing, "I /know/ clothes. You know? Right dress, I'm /stunning/." And then he takes another swig, waving the glass about a bit afterwards. "/Gorgeous/, I tell you!" Hic. "Always, never never said, but always I wanted to be a model, you know? Wear fancy clothes all day, seemed like /the life/. But 'm a bronzerider. Weyrsecond! Me! Got no, no time, you know?" Hiccup! "But if you're more into sheep, well. Don' like wool, horrible scratchy stuff. Yer on yer own." Right. What was he saying again? "Sheep 're eeevil."

"Lamb dun work so well as 'baby'," Cenlia points out cheerfully, though Eledri scowls and glares at Kire, and blushes even more if possible. He opens his mouth, perhaps to snap at the bronzerider, but the man has him beat. /Nothing/ Eledri could say, no matter how snarky, can top that, really. "/Model/?" Eledri practically sneers. He seems to think for a moment, and then finally spits out, "Well if you go around wearing dresses and acting like /that/. No wonder you take women and children hostage. You're too much of a sharding girl, sharding /coward/, to act like a real man." And then he adds, "No wonder Cen treats you like a sister." Sister? Well, now Eledri snerks, grabbing the next nearest bottle and taking a swig of… syrup? Oops. The man ughs, and grabs another bottle, this time the Benden wine. Cenlia is still giggling ayt X'hil, taking sips of booze between bites of brandycake, and nodding in agreement with Kire, "Them's good pastry."

Kire laughs, "Well I bet you got some of those dresses in your closet in your weyr." He blinks at Eledri's words, "Wow them fighting words." He laughs, "Wrong bottle?" He smiles at Cenlia and mmms, "Yah these are brandilious." He grins at Cenlia, "You really are beautiful Cenlia." He gets down on one knee, "Cenlia…will you be my wife?"

X'hil rolls his eyes at Eledri. "Yeah, well, I've seen the way Cenlia treats her /brother/, and maybe I like my ribs to stay unbroken?" And there's a pause, before he waves his glass in the general area of Eledri's jaw, "Don't /hit/ like a girl though, do I?" He can hardly argue, having pretty much /called/ the man a brutish barbarian, if not in so many words. "An' I only took one woman, girl, whatever, and she dev… fe… /defended/ herself just fine! Before /and/ after." Grump. Probably /not/ such a good idea to be drinking so much with that headwound, but he refills his glass anyway. And then he's staring at Kire, just… staring. "Shards boy, no more booze for /you/." he murmurs, with a giggle.

Cenlia is still giggling, and takes a long swig of that bottle, and grins at Eledri, "Lighten up, Eled!" By now, everyone's told him to lighten up, but Cenlia adds in drunkenly for good measure, "Or X'hil'll deck you again." Eledri scowls at X'hil and says defensively, "If you hit like my brothers, you'd have /broken/ my face." Er, that's better apparently? But then Kire is asking Cenlia to marry him? Bwuh? Eledri looks disgusted, muttering, "Don't bother, kid, she's already claimed for that lump from Shady's." Claimed? But Cenlia has a fit of giggles at this, saying loudly, "It weren't his /hat/!" And then she blinks at Kire, "Wha? Um, sure," and then she thinks a moment, "/If/ ya can drink Eed under the table!" Right, because there always has to be a contest or something. In fact, this is a terrific precursor to a drinking game, and Cenlia grabs two glasses and fills them with booze, announcing, "Th' one that passes out first gets t' marry me!" Wait, marry her brother? Eledri rolls his eyes, sticking with his bottle of Benden wine, but Cenlia is grinning at X'hil and saying mischievousy, "Betcha Eled would look good in a dress." Eledri looks doubly horrified. This can't get any worse, can it?

Kire nods a little bit as he stands up and he sits back down quickly. "Wow the room is spinning, but I'll do it. For the lovely hand of Cenlia I'll drink you under the table Eed." He looks at her brother and he takes the first glass, "All right let's go Eled…I'll beat you and win Cenlia's hand! By Faranth's blood I will."

X'hil looks Eledri up and down, and snickers. "Yeah, yeah, he'd look pretty in a dress. Frilly lacy thing, white or cream maybe, hair done up in curls, splash of make-up, shards, he'd make a passable /girl/." Pause, think, plot. "Hey, hey, let's /do/ that. Confuse Nosken! Yeah!" he suggests enthusiastically, though he really doesn't expect Eledri to go along with it. "/Unless/, maybe you're insecure, maybe you think wearin' a dress makes you less of a man? Only makes you less of a man if you /think/ it does. I'm a sharding bronzerider, I could not /be/ more of a man." he says, with pride. Wow, he really believes that. And then he's frowning at the very drunk looking pair of Kire's. "Oy, boys, put the booze down. She ain't gonna marry ya. She ain't gonna marry any of us." Nope. "She's a, whatchamacallit, free spirit, or som'in'." Hic!

Eledri just gives Kire a frown, not even looking at the glass of booze Cenlia pushes in his direction. Glancing at X'hil, Eledri goes back to scowling, muttering, "After what that girl did to you? Can't have been much of a man /before/, but you're certainly not one /now/." He turns his scowl briefly on his sister, obviously not liking that dress idea, saying to X'hil, "I'm /sure/ your dragon is the only male between you two." Hey, at least he's not insulting Kinseth? But Cenlia is still laughing, saying, "Eled already hits like a girl, though…" she pauses, then takes a swig of booze and says a little too loudly, "He /did/ knock up that girl back home. Got himself a /kid/, an' what he did when he ran off to Landin-" which is cut off by Eledri fairly screaming, "/CENLIA!/" That wine bottle Eledri was holding gets slammed down on the table with a THUNK, sloshing wine over half the table. Eledri stands up, glowering at his sister with one hand curled into a fist that fairly trembles as he spits out, "SHUT UP." Knuckles white, he really does look like he's going to take a swing at her, and Cenlia shrinks back a bit, no longer laughing. Whoops, she doesn't really want a bar fight just not. Good think Eled wasn't drunker, or he might have given an example of how much like a girl he swings, but no, he just turns and stalks out the door, Cenlia leaving blinking and looking slightly baffled.

Kire takes a drink of his glass and finishes it. He looks over at X'hil and sticks out his tongue, "You are just made she can't marry you." His eyes go wide as he hears that and he jumps up, "Don't talk to her like that." The skinny but tall skin and bone's apprentice says. Before he can say anything else the brother stalks out and he looks to Cenlia, "Are you okay?"

X'hil /scowls/ at Eledri. "GET. OUT." he mutters, balling up his own fists as Cenlia shrinks back. He /will/ hit the man again. He may be a little too drunk to see straight, or stand, or… Well, he's just glad Eledri left. "Man, what is /his/ problem? Izzy sprung those brats on me completely out of nowhere, and /I/ didn't freak out." Frooown. He snickers a little at Kire. "Aw, now, why would I wanna go an' get married? I got Kinseth, I could have any girl, any time." Yeah, not really, but he doesn't really seem too upset about living the bachelor life. X'hil sliiides a bottle towards Cenlia, with a concerned, "Er, you okay?"

Cenlia just sort of blinks, looking mildly embarrassed, and a little relieved. The gardener girl mutters, "'M fine." She shrugs, adding, "Dunno why he's so shardin'…" she shakes her head, "It weren't even a big /deal/." The girl slumps in her chair, though, poking her brandycake and whining a little, "Ain't like anybody /cares/, 'specially /here/." She grabs the booze bottle and waves it in the air, "'Cept for Izzy, she chewed him out good 'n proper." The girl takes a swig, "Though that weren't fair neither. Weren't his fault. Was that shardin'… shardin'.. /girl/." She makes a face, and takes another swig, "Shardin' Shady Orchard girl…"

Kire picks up the pitcher and he pours himself some more beer. He takes a drink, "Yah what did this sharding girl do?" He asks as he frowns, "It's not nice to trick a guy like that." He looks at Cenlia…"You wouldn't trick me would you?" Kire shrugs, "Not really, my parents were never married, although I'm the only one they had so far." He looks over to X'hil, "Really you have kids? How old? What are their names?"

X'hil looks as concerned as he can muster, frowning towards the door. "Man, I'm sad I missed that. Izzy is a master at that. She's gonna make a great mum when the kids hit their teens." Oh yes. Those poor kids. "Got a boy an' a girl, twins!" The fact that they're twins is proof of his manliness in his own mind, no doubt. "Grahil's the boy, Grahilda's the girl. Must be close to three turns by now, I think. Izzy'd know." Cause, you know, she birthed the brats. "What'd she do?" The orchard girl.

Cenlia nods absently to Kire, "I ain't like /her/." She really is not drunk enough for this, but once she's started talking, well, she takes another swig and mutters, "Got him roped, is what she did, with that babe," and the girl scowls, looking remarkably like Eledri, "If I hadn't snuck out to raid Evi's ale stash, he woulda been sorry, I tell ya." She pauses, "Sorrier," and then takes another swig of booze and continues, "Practically walked right over 'em." Cenlia makes a face, muttering, "Then when he left, she runs screamin' into Sunny's one day and then has a babe right in the orchard. Said it was /his/, but," Cenia shrugs, "not like she weren't tumblin' half the orchard." But Cenlia smirks, "Eled ain't been home since. Betcha he gets chewed out worsen' /me/, if Uncle Cern drags us back. And that girl ain't gonna be happy when she finds out why he got kicked outta Landing. She was all ready to snag him. Since Eled's the oldest. Got the farm and all." Cenlia actually giggles, taking a swig of her bottle. Southern Boll might be an awfully happening place, apparently.

Kire smiles, "That's great X'hil, I hope you go see them. I saw my mom at least a couple times a week even though she was just a greenrider." He pours himself some of that Benden red and he ahs as he listens, "Are we sure that the baby is his I mean if she tumbled with half the orchard…does the baby at least look like him?" He asks as he takes a drink and mmms, "This is really good. I'm glad that nothing like that has happened to me. Well what happened in Landing to get him kicked out?" The curious Starcrafter asks.

X'hil raises an eyebrow at Cenlia, and pushes another bottle her way, leaning his elbows on the table, and his chin in his hands. Whether it's because he can listen better that way somehow, or he fears he'd fall out of his chair if left to his own devices, well, that's unclear. "Why'd he get kicked out?" he asks, blinking and muttering, "Sit stiiill!" Oh no, he'll be passed out before long. With luck, he may not even /remember/ the story. And then he can get her drunk and hear it all over again! His lips twitch in a grimace at the mention of greenrider mothers, but he nods. "I see them every now and then. Busy busy busy, you know." Yep. He sure looks it!

Cenlia empties her bottle in one long gulp, and grabs the next one, taking a long swig. The now very drunk gardener girl smirks just a bit and says, "Half the orchard ish m' brothers an' cousinsh. Coulda been any one of 'em. Eled shwears it ain't hish," though Cenlia doesn't look at all convinced, taking another swig and adding, "Since he dun't like girlsh. Shaysh it wash that one time, 'cause he wash drunk." Cenlia rolls her eyes, "An' since /she/ weren't." But Cenlia smirks, leaning closer and whispering loudly, "He shaysh he didn't get kicked outta Landing, sinsh he wash only ashked t' take a vacy- vac- go on leavesh." And she starts giggling to herself, saying in a low voice, "But he got ca-" and Cenlia continues leaning forward, and suddenly finds herself faceplanting into the table. With an Ack, the girl sits up, looking arund blearily. "Eled ish a pain in tha arsh, but he ain't no lair. Tha girl, /she/ were- wer-" Cenlia gives up and takes another swig, blinking a bit. Yup, she's going fast. Cenlia frowns though, suddenly glancing towards the door and muttering, "Shars, 'ope 'e ain't gonna cry agin', thash jush embarrashin." Cenlia is many things, mischief and trouble among them, but she's also an incredibly easy person to guilt. And alas, Eledri has guilting down to an art form. The gardener girl already looks guilty, as if suddenly realizing something, and stands up shakily, wobbling towards the door with a groan.

Kire leans back to listen to the story and he can barely understand Cenlia, "You are so drunk you can't talk." He laughs as his words are slurred as well." He frowns a little bit, "Man she didn't tell why he got kicked out of landing." He shrugs, "Oh well maybe next time." He gets up and wobbles a little bit, "Oh shardit…I gotta go look up at the stars…I guess Cenlia's star will have to wait for another night for her to see it."

X'hil bliiinks at Cenlia, and half stands to go after her, then wobbles and falls down again. "Didn't drink that much, did I?" Apparently he did, as he then mutters something about resting his head on the table, and, the moment he does so, he begins to snore. And drool. /Charming/.

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