Healer Hall - Courtyard
This lovely square is the perfect place to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the Hall and simply relax. Benches can be found at regular intervals, nestled beneath leafy shade trees. Statues of distinguished Healers have been placed there along the walkways, each carving, performing his or her notable medical duty. At the center is a large fountain, its bubbling tinkle, adding the soothing sound of water to this sanctuary.
Moncerath's sudden appearance above the Hall is followed quickly by the green bugling to announce her arrival to the watch dragon. Circling down, her pattern a tighter loop than normal, suggest a bit of urgency to land quickly. Her bundled rider, makes very quick work of unlatching herself from the straps, but climbs down a bit slower than normal. She may look a but on the chubby side, since right now, she pretty much is. Taking the time to loosen Moncerath's cinches, the suddenly very plump around the middle Kera turns and starts quickly across the stone courtyard. Glancing around as she does, she spots Cyrus and does a double take. Stumbling to a stop she gestures gloved hands for him to follow quickly. "Journeyman Cyrus. I've a delivery, but we need to get inside quickly." Wrapping one arm around herself in a half hug, she starts again towards the doors, glancing over her shoulder to see if Cyrus is heeding her words or not.
c-rus is a bit surprised when Moncerath arrives. He has been hoping for them to make a visit, but the suddenness of it causes him a bit of surprise. Especially given Kera's appearance. She didn't look that way a day or two ago when she dropped him off. He closes his book and gets quickly to his feet, "Alright." he says as he readies himself to follow after here. It seems that questions will have to wait until they get inside. He isn't going to not follow her after all. He is curious and curiosity is something that he always follows up on, "What do you mean?" he asks as he moves along with her in the direction of the entrance.
Healer Hall - Dining Hall
This spacious room has been carved into stone, leaving the ancient areas smooth as silk and the more newly excavated areas rough-walled. Long stone tables are set up in rows, the closest to the doors lined with wooden benches for the apprentices and those near the wide hearths set with cushioned wooden chairs for journeymen. Running perpendicular to these, the head table is smaller and surrounded by intricately carved, comfortable chairs meant for Masters and distinguished guests. Though the cavern is windowless, it is well lit by a simple but elegant electric chandelier that hangs at the center of the room, as well as the softer illumination of glow baskets scattered at intervals along the walls.
Opposite the Masters' table is the archway that leads into the kitchens, and nearby are the long wooden tables where food is served, often creaking under the weight of various offerings and tended by kitchen staff even in the depths of night.
Scattered around the edges of the space are smaller wooden tables that tend to be filled before the rank-based sort unless the hall is full or an official ceremony is taking place. It's not uncommon to see healers here outside of mealtimes, studying, reading or snatching food between odd duty hours.
Kera can't help but chuckle at her friend's questions and tosses "You'll see." over her shoulder before ducking inside and out of the cold. Minimur suddenly appears with a scolding chitter and zips through the door just ahead of her. Rushing past others that are seated among the benches scattered around the spacious entrance hall, Kera weaves around people walking at a slower pace, being sure to walk well clear of an potential flying elbows or some other such thing. She keeps one arm wrapped almost defensively around her middle, while half turning and using her hip to push the cavern door open. "Pick a spot by one of the fires and I'll be right back." Barely waiting for him to respond, she darts off, pretty quickly considering how pudgy she currently looks. Several Masters and Journeyman are given respectful nods, others polite greetings as she makes her way to her destination. Food.
Cyrus follows along with her as she walks. He too gives nods to people as he passes them by. He doesn't stop to speak with any of them, and they are probably glad of it. Word has begun to spread through the hall what happened to him. For the moment, though, Cyrus simply does as he is told. He moves over toward one of the fires and settles himself down on one of the benches. Once he is comfortably seated he watches Kera as she races off on her mission. Still wondering just what is going on. It seems he is about to find out.
Kera passes by many delicious smelling platters and large serving dishes, none of it is what may be needed. Ah ha! Perfect timing, as one of the kitchen drudges is switching out the lizard food for fresh. Grabbing a bowl, she fills it, grabbing a couple of meatrolls and a plate as an afterthought, she turns and starts over toward the warmer benches. Spotting Cyrus, she weaves among those moving about and drops her acquisitions on the table gently when she gets there. "Okie, sorry about my abruptness, but I needed to get in where it was warm quickly, and grab this just in case." Minimur descends from the upper rafters, trying to land on Kera's shoulder. She shrugs him off to perch on the nearby mantle as Kera finally tugs off her helm and gloves, tossing them on the table and carefully starting to unbutton her jacket. Turns out she had a blanket wrapped around her middle. Easing the jacket off and working the blanket loose, it appears she's got a couple of arm slings around her neck. Odd, since her of hers seem to be working just fine. "I've a present. One you better take care of properly mind you." She shakes a mock scolding finger at her friend before dropping the blanket on the adjacent bench and easing one of the slings off her neck. It looks to have been hastily stitched to form a deep pocket. "You need to keep this little egg warm til it is ready to hatch." Kera Holds the little sling up signaling Cyrus to take it.
Cyrus understands her abruptness when he sees he egg that she has been carrying around her middle. He might not know too much about firelizards, but he does know that you can't let them get cold, "It's ok." he says as he takes a closer look at the egg. She seems to have made good rather quickly on her promise to do just this, "I will." he responds. He would never be intentionally cruel to anything. He does find himself more than a little bit curious about the egg, "I'm not sure what to do." he says a bit helplessly as he takes the sling from Kera. He's never really had anything other than himself to worry about before, unless of course you count being responsible for Kera and some of the other apprentices. But they were grown and could feed themselves and knew what to do to live, "I'm going to need help." Now those are words that don't escape his lips very often.
The egg delivered safely, Kera finally relaxes and takes a moment to glance around after Cyrus takes the sling. Talk of keeping an egg warm draws curious looks from some apprentices at one of the closer tables and murmuring whispers can be heard as some lean or stretch to get a look at a firelizard egg. Seating herself Kera seems distracted for a few seconds, staring at the wood grain, before nodding and looking across to Cyrus. "Don't worry. It won't be that hard. You just keep it warm for now. When it starts twitching, you'll need to have food handy." as she talks, her hands reach to the small pouch at her belt and pulls out a small utility knife. Taking a moment to peek into the sling around her neck she rest a hand over it as if trying to feel for something. Dragging the plate over, she drops a few pieces of sloppy bloody meat from the bowl onto it and start cutting up the lizard food into even smaller bits. Minimur chirps and flaps down to Kera's shoulder, which she allows now, his head tilted inquisitively at his human's task. The plump brown on chitters happily "Oh, you can't possibly still be hungry. You just stuffed yourself." Rolling eyes at her lizard's antics, she looks back to her friend "Speaking of stuffing, when it hatches, you need to have food ready, let it eat a much as it wants. But be careful that it doesn't gorge. Little bits are best, like this." She has continued to cut some as she talks, which is good cause Minimur's chittering turns to soft crooning. The brown for once isn't interested in food at all, he stretches his muzzle forward and nuzzles his check against the stuffed sling.
Cyrus is a bit relieved to hear that it won't be that hard. Though given what he has seen of Minimur it might be a bit more difficult later on. He listens to her talk about feeding the young lizard when it hatches, "How do you know the difference between feeding it enough and not letting it gorge?" he asks. In this respect Kera is the expert here. This is a topic that she knows far more about than he does. Far far more. She even has a dragon after all, "What's in your sling?" he asks as he continues to hang on to the sling with his egg in it. There does appear to be enough meat around should his begin to hatch, "How long do they usually take to hatch?" he asks, seemingly full of questions this evening. Naturally so.
Kera grins at the questions and watches Minimur, his behavior causing her to keep cutting meet beyond a simple demonstration of proper meet size for tiny hatchlings. "Okay, in order of relevance..The hardest part is the waiting." She gives a little eye roll at that. "Whether large or small eggs, that's the case. But once they decide they want out, the hatching actually goes quickly. Sometimes a hatchling has a little trouble getting out, but they get out in the end. Unlike dragons, firelizard will impress to anyone that feeds them." She holds up a small sliver of dropping meet "Offering the hatchling the meet, wiggle it to get their attention if need be. Talk to it, let it hear your voice, speak softly to encourage it to trust you. Tone of voice is key as well." Her voice and actions alter as she speaks to demonstrate her words. Throughout Kera speaking Minimur's crooning as increased and he even sticks his head in the sling, singing still. After a few seconds, he hops onto the table, sidles over to Cyrus, head bobbing gently as he stretches his crooning muzzle to his sling. "And thanks to a very generous rider at Xanadu, one of the awlm's named Keziah, Minimur will need to share his huge pillow….and judging by him, I think maybe there may be some twitching soon."
Cyrus nods his head as she talks about waiting. He has never been all that good at waiting. He really enjoys getting things done quickly, but there are some things that you just have to be patient with. Things like this fall into that category, "Ok." he says as he takes in what Kera is doing with the meat. Ok. You seem to have to keep the pieces of meat small, but that should be alright, "I can do that." he says as she talks about speaking in a calm voice and handing out meat. That does seem to be easy enough, "What is Minimur doing?" he asks. He has never seen Mini act like that before, "I met her once." he said. She seemed a bit crazy, but nice enough. So she has one too. This could get interesting.
Kera smiles as she watches Mini, his song seems to be encouraging and growing in intensity. Indeed, his actions have gotten quite the audience of nearby diners craning to see what's happening. Kera has cut quite a bit of meat into even smaller bits and pushes the plate towards the Journeyman. Narrowing her gaze at the fuzzy looking yellow egg he holds, "I think.." she nods when it looks to her as if the side bulged a little "Yep it's trying to get out. Firelizards can sense when births are about to happen. Just like they gather around when women are about to give birth. Dragons as well can sense it, that's why the entire weyr can hear and even feel the humming through the cavern walls just before the dragons hatch. Should start cracking any minute now." She turns her attention down to her own little egg, but detects no movement yet. "Now when it comes out, feed it one piece at a time, quickly, but not too fast." She chuckles. "Yes, conflicting advice I know. You'll see what I mean. IF you keep it waiting too long, it /will/ let it's displeasure known, loudly and shrilly."
Fluffy Yellow Mallow Egg
Though quite solid, there's an almost squishy look to this rather brightly colored egg. Speckles of white shimmer across the fluffy yellow appearance. There are to small black dots that are set onto one side of the egg. Almost like eyes. And in fact there seems to be a hint of a line that create a vee, or is that a beak? Hmm.
Is the egg growing in size? Fluffing up even larger than it really is? No. Wait! It's actually starting to crack across the surface. Striations showing white under the surface of yellow. Then all of a sudden, it collapses back in on itself, the shell falling away to leave a rather small bronze standing there in bewilderment.
Crimson Leaves Bronze Hatchling
A touch of fall has graced the hide of this smallish bronze. Tints of crimson bleed through the bronze, while hints of golden flecks shimmer like images of leaves that have been sponged on. His head is broad and nearly dark but for the shimmers of pale gold that washes into crimson as it pours down his long sinewy neck. Golden webs criss-cross over the bronze wings, while hints of near black create shadows that seem almost waver. Deep chested, the crimson wash fades into a pale shade of russet along his underbelly only to deepen into a deep copper along his tail.
Crimson Leaves Bronze Hatchling looks into Cyrus's eyes. Impression!
Cyrus is no stranger to how things are in a weyr. It's one of the reasons that he kept himself secluded away. He can never be too sure but he could sense things in his mind as well. Whispers of thoughts. It was unnerving at first but it got easier the longer that he stayed there. For the moment though his thoughts are not on Xanadu but on the situation unfolding in front of him. He watches his friend push the meat over toward him and it appears to be a good thing to do because something begins to happen. The shell of the egg falls away and in his lap is a brand new little creature. A bronze creature, with a wonderful set of colors on him. It is a him…he's fairly sure of that. Bronze dragons are all boys. Unless he is too much mistaken. He does as he is told and reaches over slowly to grab a piece of meat before wiggling it in front of the newly born baby firelizard. Moment of truth part two it seems.
Kera watches as the yellow egg sudden begins to crack, very shortly spilling a sticky little hatchling onto Cyrus's sling covered lap. Leaning forward, she nudges the plate again after the little fellow snatches onto the bit of meat Cyrus offers him. "Oh, he's soo cute….you better get another piece ready." To prove her point, the tiny bronze gobbles his first bite down and flops over on unsteady little legs. The food better come quick else… too late. The little guy lets out a hungry creel. Someone better stuff this little guy fast. So distracted with watching the firelizard, she doesn't notice the little twitch from her own sling.
Cyrus has heard firelizards make all sorts of sounds, but never a sound like that. Of course firelizards weren't really allowed in his house growing up. His father believed that they got too much underfoot, as most animals tend too. He quickly makes a grab for another piece of meat and once more wiggles it in front of the bronze lizards face, "It's going to be alright. You will always have plenty to eat. You don't need to be afraid of that, or anything else." he says softly. He can't deny that the little creature is cute, and he already seems to have a certain amount of spunk to his attitude. That's something that Cyrus can appreciate. He seems to know what he wants and goes after it with all he has.
Kera nods and gestures encouragingly as she leans back, not wanting the little bronze to turn its sights on her. But thankfully the little guy is quick to focus on the meat and latches onto it, trying to gobble it down greedily. "Good, keep talking to him, how nice he is, and looks.." She trails off as the little bronze eat each bit as fast as he can, one after another. "He'll eat til his little belly is stuffed and be ready for his first snooze." Minimur continue to croon to the little fellow, then turns his muzzle towards Kera as a little goo covered muzzle peeks out of her sling and demands food. "Oh!" The greenhealer looks momentarily caught off guard, but gathers herself quickly to grabs a hand full of the meat. She starts stuffing the open maul sliver after sliver "Look at you, such a pretty little lady." Thankfully, she has a little experience feeding starving hatchings, large and small, so times each bit to keep creeling at bay. "You're gonna be so spoiled, all the meat and fish ya want." Kera speaks softly to the little hatchling scrambling out of her sling and grabbing for the food.
Chocolate Swirl Egg
Creamy nougat and dark mocha swirl around in wide bands of color from the faintly narrow tip to the broader base, the dark shade broadening into a seemingly liquid pool. Fairly large in size it nearly shimmers with the hint of life that pulsates within.
With a few dainty wobbles, Chocolate Swirl Egg seems to be checking on if it's okay to hatch or not. It goes still and then suddenly there's a large crack and then a myriad spread of cracks appear across the surface. There's another large cracking sound and suddenly out spills a golden hatchling.
Iridescent Gold Hatchling
Shimmers of goldenrod dance in faded bands along the sleek hide of this large, and yet quite dainty golden firelizard. Showing off broad ribs that give way to a narrow waist. Her long sinewy tail seems nearly twice as long as what is considered normal, though in truth it is not much longer. A hint of bronze shadows are faint and give a sense of depth to the yellowish swirls and faintly pearl spots that sweep across her long wings. Her nose and head are freckled with light hues of gold that swirl and combine into a pair of ribbons that intertwine along her sleek neck.
Iridescent Gold Hatchling looks into Kera's eyes. Impression!
Cyrus continues to offer the little pieces of meat to the young baby firelizard. Which he in turns seems very content to take, "That's right. Just keep on eating away. You will continue to grow strong that way. Because we have so much to do." he says with a smile to the young one. He spares a passing glances to Kera and the new addition to her little crew as well. A baby gold. How sweet. A bronze and a gold. They sort of lucked out it seems, "She's very nice Kera." he says with a smile as he continues to proffer the meat which is gladly taken by the bronze.
Kera she continues to speak softly to her new little friend, stuffing the muzzle every time it gapes open. "See there, that's tasty isn't it. And a big poofy pillow to sleep on, you lucky little girl." Okay, so she's sorta baby talking to the firelizard, but in her defense, the small queen seems to be enjoying it. More pieces are gobbled, and the tiny baby finds herself resting on Kera's palm, goo covered wings bracing and balancing as the meat keeps coming, gobbled down as quickly and her belly starting to bulge a bit. Smiling across to Cyrus "Thanks. Guess I shouldn't be surprised my egg was ready to hatch too if yours was huh?" Gesturing with her chin "They'll sleep when they are stuffed. Later he'll need a bath and oiling. He'll need a lot of frequent oiling to keep his hide healthy. Dry itchy hides aren't good, and good crack and permanently damage their hide. So oil, oil, oil. I've a little pot I keep with me all the time for him." Head tilted to Minimur at that. "I mix in a few scented drops so that I don't have the fishy odor on my pillows." Kera chuckles at that.
Cyrus is going to have a fairly steep learning curve when it comes to things like this. He has ignored all things dragon and firelizard all his life, and so he has a ways to go, but it sounds like Kera will be there to help him along the way so that he doesn't make too many mistakes and hurt his little friend. He just continues to feed the little bronze dragonet, "You are going to be strong. I can tell. A little warrior. I will make sure that you have a name that fits." he says with a wide smile.
Kera smiles back down to her new little friend, holding her hand so that Minimur can ease closer and introduce himself to his newest family member. He churls softly, the sounds gently vibrating in his throat. "Look Mini. Isn't she adorable. Yes you are." The small queen's feeding slows, allowing Kera to work in gentle head rubs with a finger tip. "You've seen people with their lizards often enough to know how the little guys love all sorts of attention. A lot." Soon, the tiny gold has had enough and gives a wide mauled yawn before curling up and settling to her first snooze. Kera's fingers, still a bit bloody, rub over the little one's neck and bulging belly lightly. She's gonna be giving the little one a bath when she wakes anyway. "I have to be getting back, got one of the other apprentice's to cover my shift if I was late, but I don't want to keep her waiting too long."
It seems that it might be time for all little firelizard hatchlings to go to sleep, because the little bronze also begins to look drowsy. Cyrus stops feeding him the meat and the little one curls up comfortably in his lap, which happens to have the sling in it so Cyrus is able to put it around his neck, which he does fairly easily. He looks as Kera gives him what appears to be a last bit of advice, "I have noticed that, and Kera…thanks." he says with a smile. He didn't think he'd be so pleased. As a matter of fact he had thought Kera's scheme had been slightly hare-brained, but in the end it turned out not to be. He will be glad to have some company when no one else is around and he is feeling lonely. If Kera were to pay special close attention she would notice that Cyrus is feeling more relaxed and less tense, and honestly was before he even got the egg. Maybe the time away from Xanadu is doing him some good? Or maybe something else…."Kera come back soon. But send Mini before you come so I know you are coming." He has plans. Yes. Good plans, "Have a safe flight home."