Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Barracks
A long and roughly oblong cavern, about a third of the space is open, used for classes or chores as required. The rest of the space is filled with couches of varying sizes, all with plenty of space between them. Some couches are obviously intended for the very young weyrlings while the largest ones at the back are for the older weyrlings.
The summer Xanadu night is cloudless and warm, with a sky glistening with diamonds above. It's not exactly sleep time, except to those who usually call it an early night. A handful of weyrlings are out, taking advantage of the night to practice wingbeats or to steal quiet moments with their lifemates. Ka'el is situated on the floor aside his cot, dressed in a tee and loose cotton sweats as sleepwear. In front of him are many small metallic pieces of something that apparently has been taken apart for who knows what reason. Kanekith is settled in his couch, watching on with curious eyes as his rider moves and shifts and fixes pieces together.
Soriana is not among those calling it an early night. In fact, she's only just arriving at the barracks from the feeding grounds, where a certain young golden dragon was enjoying a late supper. Luraoth's thoughts dapple over each other, spots of bright red rippling out across a field of white to make a soft, tender pink and then dissolving again to contented full-ness. Such a tasty supper. Soriana glances to her as they enter. "D'y'need oiling before bed?" Yeah, she did it earlier today, after that bath, but lately… « No, » Luraoth says after consideration. For once! She hasn't grown an extra inch since noontime. « Except, there is a spot on my tail… » …except for her tail. Soriana smirks, and nods. "Okay, I'll get you some." The oiling never ends! Luraoth chirps agreement, and heads to find an unoccupied spot to sit and wait for the oil Sori's fetching. Maybe the ground near Kanekith's couch is free? Most of the other dragons seem to give the bronze a wide berth, after all. Her satiated-happy thoughts reach out in greeting. « Hello. »
That they do, not that Kanekith minds that his clutchmates seem happiest leaving him be. Things are far less tense that way, and he needn't try so hard to not say things that his rider has deemed "aggravating" to the others. It is so difficult pleasing them all! And he still doesn't understand the need to, when the only one he wishes to please is Ka'el himself. But, ah, what makes him happy is what his aim is, and he's glad for the quiet of now when he can peer through blue eyes and watch and immerse himself within his thoughts. Why put that there? How do you know it will fit? Can you truly make something that once was one thing into something utterly different? « He is creating, » is said to Luraoth though his eyes do not move. And then, as he is reminded of what is polite.. « Hello. » Ka'el's own eyes shift to the gold, and with a small smile he searches for Sori, who doesn't take long to locate, heading to the barrels. "Never ends, does it?"
Creation is happening? Luraoth pauses, one foot raised, to lower her head and peer with bright green eyes at the floor. « Oh. I see. » Now, anyhow. Lucky she didn't step in it. Having seen, she comes closer, her curiosity drawing her in with delicate steps so as to not disturb the crafting in progress. « What does he create? » With her dragon intrigued, Soriana's not far behind, scooping up some oil and a cloth and coming over with a grin for Ka'el. "Nope. Never does," she agrees to him, and nudges Luraoth's side to get the dragon to settle on her haunches and curve her tail up to be oiled. "She ate two ovines and a wherry today."
« I do not know. He does not know yet, either, » answers Kanekith whose tail shifts a little, giving a languid flick up and down. « But it is forming and changing and forming again until it is just right and perfect. » Ka'el is not disturbed by the influx of dragon feet. Luraoth is being wonderfully careful, besides. One misplaced paw and those pieces would be gone forever! Ka'el watches Sori's trek to the gold's side with cloth and oil, chuckling at her response and the news of the gold's intake down the gullet! His eyes go theatrically wide. "And a wherry? Someone was starvin'. Did she leave any for the others?" he says with a grinned look to Luraoth. He glances back down to his work, which in truth looks like a bunch of junk with some pieces latched together to make bigger pieces of junk. "Now I get why that roundup was such a big deal back then," he remarks.
Luraoth sits with her head bent down and her tail flicked up, watching Ka'el's project while holding herself to be oiled. The position itself is not the most dignified, but she holds it easily and seems heedless of how it might look… which ends up making it seem vaguely natural. « You will discover it, then. » The you is plural, refering to Kanekith and Ka'el both, and Luraoth is merely a curious onlooker. She settles back a little, still watching but with no particular urgency, because she's also leaning into the oil Soriana starts rubbing onto the base of her tail. "She wanted a third ovine." « They taste better. » Crunch-snap-squirt! "But you couldn't have eaten it all." « The firelizards would enjoy it. » Okay, yes, true, but… Soriana just grins, and pats Luraoth's flank before returning her hands to the oil application and her gaze to Ka'el. "Yeah. This's when they eat the most, when they're growing, but…" Dragons! The scourge of hapless herds. "It takes a lot to keep the Weyr going."
Ka'el snorts, "remind me never to be in charge've a weyr," he says as he gives his bits and pieces of things one last look before momentarily abandoning his project. His mind can mull over it in the background. It's wondrous how that works sometimes. He'll be stuck on one thing, aggravatingly blank for days, and then .. viola. Inspiration hits! Granted, it's not always … doable ideas, which has him usually assuming such ideas came from a draconic mind, but even they are better than nothing. He heads towards the busily oiling Sori. "Doubt it would've gone to waste. Kanekith's eatin' just as much," he says, unknowingly siding with the gold before falling silent to watch her oil, as if he hasn't seen this being done a hundred times before. "Hey," he says, watching her sidelong. "You know … that I care about things, right?" Not random, at all.
"Hah," Soriana says, and her expression's sort of halfway between smirking and rueful for a moment. "I'll be sure and do that." Should the situation arise, and maaaaybe even before it's too late. Maybe. As for the feeding… "Yeah, but it's good practice." For now, Soriana continues with that oiling, getting the itchy spot in question and some of the hide around it, just for good measure. Oiling is practically reflex by now, and Luraoth enjoys it, so… why not? Other than the fact that somebody's got to worry about the logistics of getting all that oil to the waiting dragons, but today, the only part of it Sori's worrying about is the part from barrel to hide. Rub, rub… and then her fingers pause as she looks to Ka'el. "…things." Like what things? Her gaze studies him for a few moments, hoping for answers. Maybe one written on his forehead? No such luck. But… "Sure you do. Usually, the more you care about it… the less you want to talk about it." Her lips quirk sideways in a half-grin, then settle back to neutral as her eyes stay on him.
Total things. Yup. Things like the things he's thinking about. Surely Soriana can read minds? … Well … technically, she can! If not in a he said she said sort of roundabout way. But her confirmation is all Ka'el needs to smile again, even with her addition, despite how truthful it may be. "Yeah. Alright, I…" he nods to himself. "I knew that. I mean, I thought so, but.." His fingernails lightly scratch at the nape of his neck as his eyes drift to Kanekith, who is still puzzling over the disassembled pieces. His incomplete sentence is punctuated with a grin, and he leans to the side to touch his lips to her cheek, then again to her neck before pulling away. He's a man of so many sensical words, is he not? "I think I've got an idea for those pieces," he says, sounding suddenly inspired, which can only mean one thing! He'll be engrossed in tinkering here in a second, deaf and blind to the world around him. He glances back to his unfinished work. "Will you leave your rag when you've finished?"
Yeah, okay, technically kinda sorta she can… but if Soriana's going to read Ka'el's mind, either Kanekith's going to have to be in the mood to divulge whatever it is she's trying to read, or she's going to have to convince Luraoth that it's important enough to actually push her mental weight around. Either way, it's a lot easier to just wait for Ka'el to actually speak up. Soooo she takes that option, head tilting to the side slightly as she waits to see whether now is the time. His smile sparks one of her own, following a shade or two behind his… though she's really got no idea what it is he's talking about. That, combined with the kissing, makes her laugh. Her hand reaches out, brushing the backs of her fingers (where they're only sorta oily) against his cheek. "Well okay then." Because apparently it is, whatever it… is. Sense? Who needs it? All those fragments just need to be put together in the right order, and it'll all work out. "Yeah?" she says, glancing down at those pieces again. What does their future hold? "Sure. Almost done." With the rag, that is… though she may well keep on and oil a bit more of Luraoth while she watches him tinker. It's not like the dragon'll mind… and neither will Soriana.