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.
Taking a break from craft duties and chores for lunch, Iforian has just grabbed a couple of meatrolls from the kitchen and is taking a little time to exercise the pups. Not that he's needed for the job, but they're still his puppies until they go to new homes. Now that they're a couple of months old, they aren't content to just play at his feet and the tall candidate is running and dodging across the meadow with all five puppies trailing after and trying to bite at his heels. A hearty laugh rings through the air, cut off by a small yelp from the miner-candidate as the big, adventurous male manages to get his teeth on the man's leg. It's not hard enough to hurt, but it does startle him enough that he misses a step and trips, rolling in the grass and ending up mauled by over a hundred pounds of puppies. Oof.
Jeniosa hasn't quite had a chance for lunch yet, the last dragonwashing duty had gone into overtime and the beastcraft candidate just now heads back into the meadow from the beach, a towel draped across her shoulders and her wet shorts and tank top clinging but quickly drying in the heat of the summer sun. She pauses when she spots miner and pups, watching a long moment and actually laughs a little when the largest one catches the miner. "Tag, you're it!" She calls, moving towards man and pups, lunch can wait a little longer.
With the weather being fine there is another candidate also taking a break from chores, even if it is to go and do work at the stables. Kinzie has spread herself out on the meadow grass and is surrounded by hide straps, saddle pads and all manor of runner orientated equipment, which she is now dutifully cleaning… or at least trying to clean. There is another shape in amongst the riding gear and that is a tiny brown flit, who has taken to playing with a bundle of twine and tangling his new found friend in a mess of string "Ori will you leave off for just two minutes….." mumbles can be heard for a moment but the smile on her face show's that she can't help but find the brown's antics amusing. Then something else catches her eye and the rolling miner/puppie bundle causes her to hide a smirk and she waves over to Iforian and then Jeniosa too with an amused grin "Looks like you're having fun" she chuckles.
When he hears Jeniosa's voice, Iforian does what he can to push himself up on one elbow, shoving 'his girl' out of his face as the runt of the litter sprawls on his chest and tries to lick his nose, "Oi. Lay off a minute, girl." His voice is fond and not really scolding, though, as he drapes an arm across the smallest pup's back, "Seems like, huh?" He chuckles and does his best to shove puppies off of him so that he can actually sit up, "Shards y'all've got heavy." Then he hears Kenzie's comment and looks over at the girl that's busy working and gives her a smirk and a wink, "Sure. Ya wanna come join us f'r a romp."
Jeniosa grins at the man as he shoves the smallest pup off of himself. Beastcraft-candidate chuckles, shaking her head a little. "Good thing you're a big tough miner, huh? Fraid I'd've been squished under all that cute weight." The puppies combined probably weight more than the petite woman afterall. "Has Miss Keziah sought you out yet? I think she wants the other little girl." Not that they're little anymore, but they'll always be little to her. As the beastcrafter kneels a little, the smallest male runs over to her and knocks her onto her tush. "Oof, good boy, down now." She murmurs, trying to push the pup off of her before the others can join him and turn her into a candidate pancake. "Hey Kizzy, working hard or hardly working?" The woman smiles to her fellow candidate. "Whatcha up to over there?" As if it's not obvious.
All the puppy based commotion seems to have disturbed the little brown fire lizard, he has decided to take up a perch on a nearby saddlepad making what can only be described as scolding noises towards the noisy canines and the Miner. Kinzie croons soothingly at the little beast but he's not conviced so she attempts to distract him by rolling the ball of twine in his direction, let's see if that works… At the mention of joining in the romp Kinzie laughs and shakes her head "It looks like you're all doing fine without me" she winks back and then looks over to Jeniosa "Well it's getting to the season when folks want to get out riding but the gears been left sitting for a while so it's a little dusty, I said I'd get it all cleaned up and polished" she says in answer to Jeniosa's question grabbing a cloth and wiping down a set of straps "Not a bad job considering I can sit here in the sun and relax really" she grins, meaning it's probably a mix of working and hardly working in comparison to their normal chores.
Iforian chuckles and flips the big male onto his back to roll him around while the other three yip and playfully attack both their big brother and the miner's hands, "Least they's still small 'nough tha' I c'n manhandle 'em f'r a while yet." He shakes his head at the question, "Ain't spoke t' her yet. Fig'r I'm gonna try t' show her th' pups later t'day." They're certainly old enough to find new homes now, that's for sure. He looks over at Kinzie again, smirking at the scolding firelizard, "Seems he ain't a canine lover." Fortunately, the puppies are all distracted by playing with him, Jen, and each other, and aren't interested in investigating the firelizard for the time being.
Jeniosa can't help but giggle quietly as the biggest male is flipped and mobbed, and even her smaller male runs back to jump on big brother. "Good, we need to be getting them homes, those eggs aren't getting any softer." She hides the nervousness in her voice when she talks of the eggs, but then she's back on top of it. "And we got that trip coming up, can't very well take the pups with us on it. Wonder where they're sending us." She's been trying to figure out where the 4 day candidate trip will see them deposited. Kinzie's words get a nod. "Yeah, I guess I can see that. I'd probably be wanting to head out on runnerback too before it gets too much more hot if I didn't avoid them as much as I can." Not a fan of runners or any other larger furry beast, this young woman.
Kinzie smiles happily at the little brown as he decides the canines are not interested and he's bored of shouting, deciding instead to return to his game of tangle up the stablehand "He ain't old enough to know what he likes or doesn't, though he does /like/ to shout…and eat.. and sleep" she says rolling her eyes and batting at the twine that's been wound around her "Looks like i'm being given the chance to see what it could be like after the hatching… just in miniature" her eyes turn wistful for a moment as she regards the little brown. Jeniosa's mention of the candidate trip gets a shrug "No idea, not even really sure what to expect" as she finishes off one set of straps she grabs for another set to polish.
Managing to slip his hand out of the mob, Iforina pulls his legs up and drapes his arms around them, just making sure that none of the puppies manage to hurt one another. He nods, looking thoughtful at his young charges, "Yeah… Ain't like they ain't got folks t' look aft'r 'em in th' kennel, but it ain't th' same." He glances over at the mischivous firelizard and chuckles, "S'pose it is…" Tending to helpless puppies, and now not so helpless puppies, might be considered good practice, too. Though, he's not going to gave them for much longer… He frowns a little at the mention of the up coming trip, "Dunno whar they's takin' us…" He pauses a moment, "Don' s'pose they'd take us nowhere too horr'ble, though."
Jeniosa moves after a moment to settle beside Iforian, to pat a puppy now and then. Her own baby bronze and her big blue perch themselves nearby and watch their person. "I wonder what's harder to care for, a baby mammal or a firelizard or a dragon. Bet the dragon'd be the hardest because at least firelizards and mammals can't talk in your head like a dragon." Her thoughts drift back to the trip. "Think they'll take us into the forest somewhere? Bet I'd be good at that kind of trip, though I think the forests here are way different than the jungles of Eastern. I hope they don't expect us to stay underground or something, that trip into the ruins was enough for me, I'm definitely an above-ground dweller."
"No doubt where ever it is it's going to be somewhere we can learn something" Kinzie says with a shrug, placing yet another polished set of straps to one side and picking up a saddle pad to start brushing off the loose runner fur, this creates another distraction for the brown and he is now chasing clumps of fur that are being blow around in the breeze. "They're all looking so strong now" she says gesturing towards the pups with a soft smile "You managed to find any other homes for them yet? they're so energetic bet they'd be good for hunting dogs, they seem to have good stamina" she says chuckling at the image of them bringing down the wild miner. Jeniosa's mention of their cave adventure gets a shudder and she nods "Oh yeh, definitely above ground from now on… I hope" though a worried look crosses her face for a moment.
"S'pose it will be, at that…" Iforian just shrugs at the thought, more concerned with pulling the smallest female into his lap when she gives up playing with the others. He shrugs again, "Dunno… Th' pups was hard when they was li'l." He turns the runt over onto her back to roughly scratch her chest and stomach while she tries her best to grab his hand to chew on. He gives Kenzie a pleased little smile when she comments on how strong they look and nods, "Didn' think this li'l girl was gonna make it f'r a while thar." She did, though, and she's pretty well adopted the tall miner as hers, now, "Had somebody wantin' t' take th' big boy thar back t' Western Weyr with her… Hate t' see 'em all split up, but long's they got good homes 's all th' matters."
Jeniosa nods a little, scritching Iforian's little girl lightly. "Aye, they were difficult, but you managed and now look at the rascals." She grins. "I'm taking this one back to Eastern with me." She gathers the smallest male onto her own lap for snuggles, he gives both her hands a thorough cleaning. Kinzie's shudder is noted. "It could've been a lot worse, Kizzy, it could've been a whole pride of felines down there. Or that one could've had kittens, then it' would've been even more dangerous, females protect their kittens fiercely."
Kinzie looks over to the little female with a soft smile "I remember, she looked so small but look at her now" she grins watching the little pup chew on the miners hand "It's the hardest part watching them go but that's what you've got to think about, the lives they'll be able to have in their new homes and I doubt they'd have problems charming people into giving them what they need" the little brown flit has obviously grown tired of the chasing, in fact tired in general, and he croons softly at the young girl. Kizzy grins at him warmly and with a roll of her eyes she lifts him to her shoulder where he curls up, balanced by clinging to her jerkin, and falls straight to sleep. That means she now has to be very careful while collecting her things up in to the sacks she has with her, so as not to wake her sleeping charge. Jeniosa's comment raises another shudder from her and she sighs "I know and to think I thought it would just be a quick and simple search and rescue mission" she manages to get all the straps, pads and gear bundled up without so much of a screech from the brown and she smiles.. mission accomplished.
Iforian grins as the pup in his lap nips at Jen's hand before setting her down and pushing himself to his feet before he can be mobbed by the others, "Well, while th' two a' ya talk 'bout th' adventure in th' ruins, I'm gonna go get somethin' more t' eat." He whistles to the puppies, giving Kenzie a little wave and looking down at the Eastern beastcrafter-candidate, "Ya wanna see t' tha' boy a' yours gettin' back t' th' kennels?" The other puppies swarm around his legs, taking advantage of Jeniosa being on the ground to give her a mild mauling of puppy kisses.
Jeniosa is puppy-kissed and she giggles, pushing the pups down lightly. "Yeah, I'll put him away before I head in for lunch. Gotta have my snuggle time afterall." She gives the miner-candidate a wink. And then Kinzie is packing up as well and the young woman chuckles, "Maybe sooner than I thought." Sure she'll stay out here with her puppy awhile, she doesn't eat that much anyway and can get by with a few meatrolls for lunch when she gets a chance.
"Catch you all later" Kinzie says with a wave of her hand before trying to work out a way of carrying sacks over her shoulder without waking the brown. Walking carefully, but purposefully back, towards the stables.