Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks
A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.
It is early afternoon at Xanadu and for once the Candidate barracks are empty. An unusual and brief occurrence. The cots are empty, covered with rumpled sheets and blankets, presses are left empty (in most cases) with drawers and doors ajar. Here and there, items are scattered, left from the last hurried exodus of hopeful candidates to the Sands for Seryth and Solaith's eggs. In the midst of all the clutter is a mussed and harassed-looking Thea, sorting through things and placing them in a box she has braced on one hip.
Voices linger closer and closer to the barracks, odd knowing that there aren't many candidates with eggs only newly laid and eggs still yet to come. However, those voices don't sound particularly social. "Mom is going to kill me if I've lost it." An unfamiliar voice whines as a dark-haired boy appears in the entryway. "And I care, why?" This voice is more familiar. Rogawani enters a step behind the shorter boy, who only shares a few of his features. "Because you don't want mom to be sad any more than I do." Donakan shoots back with a sneer curling his face. "Fine, I'll help you look, but I don't see why you can't get your cronies to help." Sighing to himself, Rogawani steps in, pausing as he notices Thea amongst the clutter of the barracks. "Because they're busy. Trust me, I'd rather look with anyone else if I had the choice." Donakan, on the other hand, seems to ignore Thea completely, prowling into the room and scanning it with hawk-like eyes.
Thea is muttering to herself as she flips sheets, looks under them occasionally picking items up and tossing them in that box. The sound of voices doesn't catch her attention right away, but they grow louder and she glances towards the door. A plush toy joins the growing collection in the box. "Can I help you find something?" The question is directed to Donaken in a voice that, while pleasant enough, sounds as though she's been repeating it numerous times throughout the day. She lifts a blanket, preparing to peek under it while her chin tips in a silent greeting to Rogawani, no hands free to wave.
It almost seems as if Donakan might ignore the Weyrwoman completely, his eyes sweeping over the cots which have become a bit more unfamiliar due to the disarray. He steps closer to one, pursing his lips. Rogawani, on the other hand, lifts his eyebrows and glances towards Thea. "He lost a necklace his mom got him for his turnday." The messenger explains, oddly referring to their shared mother as 'his mom', not 'our mom'. "I didn't -lose- it." Donakan snaps up, glowering at Rogawani. "And it isn't a necklace. It's a crystal from the Crom mines you uneducated dolt." Waving a finger in the air, Rogawani seems to dismiss this much, and sighs as he steps forward, rolling his eyes. "I'm not dolt enough to leave something important behind just because I'm hoping for a sparkly dragon." Donakan snorts, but looks towards Thea, exasperated. "You haven't seen a white crystal on a chain, have you?"
Thea's lips press into a firm line, a tiny glint flashes in the pale green of her eyes at Donaken's treatment of Rogawani, but she refrains from comment. When she does speak, her voice is mild, "Not yet I haven't. Feel free to look." Though he already is. She shakes the blanket she's holding. Nothing falls out and nothing is underneath it. She continues her sweep, stooping to peek under the next cot. "How goes it in the stables, Rogawani? Did the Stablemaster get that document I left with Jaideen?"
A suspicious look forms in Donakan's eyes, as if he were measuring if Thea were telling him the truth or not. Then, with a twitch of his nose, he heads toawrds the back of the barracks. "I'll just have to find it myself." He glares over his shoulder at Rogawani. "Since -someone- is to sharding lazy to do much of anything." Taking a deep breath, the messenger steadies himself and seems to bolster his patience as he sighs. "I'll look up here. Now scurry off before I find something to throw at you." He mutters, the last part somewhat under his breath. As Donakan begins to look around what was once his cot, Rogawani walks closer to Thea, only giving a cursory look around. "Not bad. Nothing too out of the ordinary lately." He's not even limping anymore. "Haven't heard anything about any documents though, but it's really not my department. I may spend half my life there, but they don't tell me everything." A quip follows from the back, where Donakan's feet can only be seen, sprawled across a cot to look under it. "And that's why you smell."
Thea's eyes snap fire at Donaken's back as he heads towards the back of the Barracks. Her eyes are th only lively thing to the limp-looking weyrwoman today, so he manages to avoid a sharp reprimand for the moment. No barks of correction nor cots go flying his way - lucky Donaken. Instead, Thea blows a stray strand of hair off of her face and waits until the boy is out of earshot, then in an undertone offers Rogawani, "Want me to pop him for you? Gladly would do it." Her box is set on the floor as she opens a press, speaking absently as her hand swipes the inside, checking the drawers one by one, "Was an order for housing those wild runners. D'son signed it. They'll go to the far paddocks. Just wondered…" Socks are swept into the box, "if that brute of a black has gone or if he's still in there." Her eyes lift to Rogawani, a brow lifts and she smirks, "Seryth wants to know also." Which direction to lunch, in other words.
"Nah, he'd just tattle on me." Rogawani replies, keeping his voice down so that it only carries as an vague murmur as far as his brother is aware. "Mmm." He seems thoughtful for a moment, nodding his head before glancing up at his brother's feet. "Still out there last I looked. I've been on the trail since yesterday evening, though." He shrugs. Then, raising his voice a little bit, this comment obviously meant for Donakan's ears. "Better to smell like runners than wherries." He smirks a bit. Donakan sits up abruptly, knocking his head on a piece of wood before rubbing at his forehead.
"I am -not- a wherry." The boy replies, scowling fiercely. "I'm going to be a rider. You just wait and see. Two clutches. Plenty of eggs that could be -my- bronze." He doesn't seem to pay Thea any mind whatsoever, stamping one food in a childish display of anger. "And then I'll make sure my dragon eats that stupid runner of yours." He threatens, and picks up a discarded sandle, tossing it towards Rogawani. Luckily, it seems that the messenger expected this turn of events, so he's able to catch the projectile shoe before it hits him or Thea.
"You'll do no such thing!" Thea's voice crackles sharply across the barracks towards Donaken, her ire clearly evident in the tone of her voice, if not her words. Stamping feet and flying sandals are ignored while her stare pins Donaken for a long moment, her voice returns to it's milder pitch, "Rider is my friend and I take it very badly when my friends are hurt." It is no idle warning. She doesn't seem to expect an answer, she merely resumes her task as she moves to the next press, muttering something about boys. Her hand comes out with a necklace, blue ceramic beads knotted on a rough string and she holds it up. "This the one you're looking for?"
Unusually, the reaction from Thea causes Donakan to go speechless. Blinking, the boy just stands there with his mouth gaping open. "Wha?" He absolutely boggles, but somehow he seems to figure out that annoying the Weyrwoman probably isn't in his best interest. Closing his mouth, he forces his lips into a thin line before moving to check the cot next to him. He only looks up with a scowl when she holds up the necklace. "Ugh. That's a necklace. What do I look like, a girl?" It didn't take long for him to go back to normal. "It's a -crystal- on a silver chain. That's -it-." He picks up a pillow, and then beats it once against the cot in frustration.
"Don't mind him, he's always like that." Rogawani replies, not seeming all that phased by the threat. He reaches over to drop the thrown sandle into the box by Thea. "I think he was dropped on his head as a baby." He murmurs as an undertone, offering a wink to Thea as he reaches under one of the nearby cots. "Glad you don't mind Rider, though. It's nice to know." Reaching around he grabs on to something cloth, yanking it free only to discover that it's a pair of … dirty underwear. "Yeech." He drops it as if touching something hot, poking at it with his toe. "Eww. Okay, I'm done looking." He stands up strait again, giving a small disgusted shiver.
Thea tosses a glance Donaken's way, laughs softly to herself, but refrains from answering his question. No sense insulting the boy. Instead the necklace is dropped into the box with the other forgotten items. "Crystal, on a silver chain. Not a necklace. Check." She's sounding almost cheerful. She winks back at Rogawani, laughing outright at his comment about his foster sibling. She stoops to pick up the underwear with a two-fingered pinch, lifts it to wave at Donaken with a tiny grin, "Missing anything else?" She doesn't wait for an answer; they are tossed onto a pile of dirty laundry and sheets before moving to strip the cot nearby, balling the sheets into a large bundle and lobbing it towards the pile. To Rogawani she asks hopefully, "Had any deliveries regarding our absent headwoman?" Because, yeah. She wouldn't be doing this if Hisolda were here.
Rogawani mouths the words 'not a necklace' before rolling his eyes. While nothing is going to get him back into the depths beneath the cots, he does follow along behind Thea, grabing something now and again that he spots: a sock, a scrap of paper and a broken shoelace. He puts a hand over his mouth, eyes showing his amusement as he forces himself not to laugh outright at Thea's comment about what else his brother might be missing. Clearing his throat, the boy shakes his head. "Not that I know of." He seems a little concerned at this, tilting his head to watch Thea curiously. "I'm sure the head messenger would have a better idea. I was on the long road to Rubicon yesterday so I have no idea what's been happening locally."
Donakan tosses a shirt out from the cot he's working on, letting it haphazardly fall onto the floor. He does look up when Thea asks about him missing something, shooting a -glare- in her direction. "I was under the impression that goldriders were supposed to be beautiful, responsible women. You… you're just rude." The boy snarls. "I hope my bronze never flies Seryth." He lifts his chin a little bit, and then stands, dusting himself off. Shooting a look at Rogawani, he harumphs by the two. "You'll find my crystal, or I'll tell mom -you- lost it." He says as he moves towards the door.
"Hmm. Pity. I wonder if a bribe might help get her back-" Thea's musing is interrupted by Donaken's comment. She glances his way idly, "Who told you that? The truth is we are bloodthirsty souls who -eat- little boy would-be riders like you." She clicks her teeth at him, then smirks, ignoring him. She's in a sassy mood today. Back to Rogawni as she bends to pick up the last few things, placing her box on the floor to strip the next cot. "Rubicon…the roads are safe for now?"
"No clue." Rogawani's shoulders lift in a small shrug as he leans against the post of one of the cots, tapping out a tempo with his fingers. "Never had much interaction with her to be honest. What drove her off to begin with?" He asks, lifting one eyebrow as he watches the Weyrwoman, only keeping a vague bit of attention on his brother. He does pause, though, at the question about Rubicon. "Well, the head messenger has been taking the Hannistan routes. The only other messenger right now is only a turn older than me, and he doesn't want us youngsters taking dangerous routes." He scoffs a little at the word 'youngsters', as if he doesn't think it applies in his own case. "But the Western roads are still safe, just takes a bit longer."
Donakan pauses midway to the door, turning slowly back towards Thea as if he were a small viper hissing venom at her. His nose scrunches a little bit at her mocking threat. "I'm oh so very glad it's not -your- dragon's eggs on the sands. So I don't have to pretend to be nice just to get near them." He opens his mouth as if about to say something else, but seems to realize that the words wouldn't be prudent. There is a slight narrowing of his eyes, a tightening of his lips. "Wherry." He mutters under his breath, and then gives a rude gesture of one hand before stalking out of the barracks.
Thea ignores Donaken completely, but when he had finally gone she rolls her eyes with a crooked grin at Rogawani, "Happy little thing, isn't he?" She sighs wistfully, "I miss my little brother. He's nothing like him," her thumb jerks towards the open door. "He's nice." She moves on to the next cot, pulling the sheets off. She pauses, "Hisolda? Dunno, really. Some sort of falling out with Niva?" She's sounding unsure. "A lot of stuff overwhelmed her, I think." She looks relieved about the route question, flicking a quick glance at him as she lobs the sheets into the pile. "We're delivering to Hannista again? Or no?"
"My mother's pride and joy." Rogawani replies with a roll of his eyes and sarcasm dripping in his voice. A smirk settles itself on his features as he raises his shoulders in a small shrug. "Bet your little brother is a ray of sunshine compared to mine." He sticks his tongue out towards the wall in the direction his brother had gone, and then looks back towards the Weyrwoman, trying to drive down the irritation being in his half-sibling's presence always brings. "Seems like a lot of folks have falling outs with Niva." He mumbles to himself, remembering a certain goldrider who has since moved on to Ista. Distracted in his own thoughts, the boy lifts an eyebrow. "Huh? Oh… Yeah. Just some smaller things. The Rubicon traders still refuse to go there."
Thea chuckles, "Hmm, misplaced pride, too bad. Must've been so much fun for you. My brother is not perfect, but yeah." There's a shrug and she's adding with a casual tone, "Oh, some of that is just you know, she's the one that has to ultimately deal with all the crazy stuff happening around here. So they blame her. You know, ovines and kitchen disasters…" She rolls her eyes at the thought of all that mess, moves on to the next cot, firmly gripping the sheets, yanking them and balling them in one motion. An acrid scent wafts out, "Faugh! Someone didn't bathe, like ever…or something." She muttermutters as she tosses the rank sheets into the growing pile. "I am surprised Hannista's getting anything."
"D'oran wasn't supposed to be able to have kids." Rogawani explains, flicking a finger at his chin thoughtfully. "So he's kind of a miracle baby." His voice softens a little bit, as if at least this much of the story is understandable. "So they've always treated him like he's something special, when really all they've been doing is making him into a pretentious snot." He snorts to himself, and then listens more closely. "Hrm. Well, I can see where that might annoy someone, being the blame for everything." He scratches just above one ear, and then barely suppresses a laugh as the sheets get bailed and nearly hit him. Making a quick movement, he knocks them towards the rest of the pile. "I'd bet my breakfast that was Nosken's cot." Trying to keep his tone light, he nudges at the pile of sheets with his foot. "Well, it's unavoidable after a while. Can't exactly cut off an entire hold just because the holder is a jerk."
Thea's lips soundlessly repeat the words, 'miracle baby'. "Yeah, well someday he'll be the one responsible for his own behavior. Won't that be fun for him?" Her lips quirk into a wry smile, as she grasps the corners of the mattress and begins wrestling it off of the cot, "This needs airing…" She's making a grimace, which could be her next thought or the odor coming from the mattress. "Tell me about it! I'm not the one ultimately responsible for dealing and it's annoying past endurance on some days." Her face does not remain all twisted for long though, "Hannista's an odd situation." Understated. By far.
"Yeah." Rogawani seems to be responding at first to the repeat of his own words, a smirk on his lips. "I kind of wish he would impress, but maybe like a green or something." The boy pauses, tucking a hand into his trouser pocket before walking towards some of the yet uncleaned cots, spying them for the still missing 'necklace'. "Teach him to care about someone other than himself, ya know. But then again…" He shoots a look over his shoulder. "I'd feel bad for the dragon who has to share a mind with -him-." A snort of laughter follows, as he keeps well clear of the smelly mattress. Not sure what to say on the headwoman issue, he shrugs a bit. "Holders. Bah." This seems to sum up his feelings on the Hannistan issue, but he continues lightly. "At least we don't have their women as our guests anymore. I was even trying to be polite to em' in all, but they kept glaring at me like they wished I'd spontaneously combust."
Thea chuckles at Rogawani's summary of his foster brother Impressing, "Might be he'll find a like-minded one, though it would still be a life-learning process for him." She shrugs at the now-departed Hannistan guests, "Less trouble for me to deal with, though I can't say I really blame them their ire." She manages to get that mattress off of the frame and tugs it to the door. "This needs to air in the sun. Or be burned." She hauls it outside, props it against the outer wall and returns, heading for the last few cots to strip the linen there. Casually she mentions, "Enkavir's been asking about you." She glances sideways at Rogawani out of the corner of her eye.
"Just what the world needs, my brother in dragon form." Rogawani snorts and shakes his head, as if trying to deny that any such possibility exists. "But you're right, I don't blame the ones we took for what happened. It should have been the ones responsible." He murmurs to himself, thoughtful. Spotting something glinting on one of the bunks, Rog' leans over to get a closer look, pausing halfway to blink a little bit and look towards Thea. "Asking about me? Why?" Apparently, this comment has derailed his train of thought.
Thea laughs outright at this, shaking her head, but not commenting, instead she's nodding to his assessment of the Hannistans, "Possibly would have been a fight though and someone would have gotten hurt or killed." She turns, pulling at sheets, her efforts stalling a reply. "He just wanted know if your leg was better," she shrugs. "Told him it has healed fine." The sheets join the others in a hap-hazard toss and she's nearing the cot Rogawani is headed for. "The days he spent resting have set him behind so he's not had a lot of time to wander about."
Thoughts about the Hannistans seem to float somewhere over Rogawani's head without touching him, still showing that curious, somewhat confused look on his face. Then, recognition and understanding dawns there, countered with a small laugh. "Yeah, my leg's fine." He lifts it once and gives a little shake. "Got a decent scar out of it, think the girls will be impressed?" His face takes on a wry expression before he leans over the cot, reaching for something. "I'll have to make sure to drag myself indoors and say hello to him one of these days." There is a grunt, and then a resounding: "Ahah!" He calls triumphantly, pulling a small silver chain free, a clear crystal hanging from it. "I knew he'd just lost it somewhere in here."
Thea smirks, "Girls, they just might be at that." While Rogawani is leaning over the cot, Thea is grasping the corner of the sheets, waiting until he is clear to drag them off of the mattress, balling this one up as well. She shakes her head with a light laugh, "Props to you for being more tenacious than Donakan." She pivots and heads for that laundry pile, observing idly, "It sorta looks like a necklace to me." She drops the sheets into the pile and continues towards the door. "Need to let the Laundry gals know these are ready. I'll see ya." And she's heading out to see to it.
The corner of Rogawani's mouth turns up in a half-grin, but it falls back to his normal expression as he looks over the crystal, flicking it with one finger. "It -is- a necklace. I think mom was hoping for a girl." His voice takes on a teasing, nearly mocking tone as he tucks the chain and pendant into his pocket. "Besides, if I didn't find it, I'd be getting an earfull." He rolls his eyes and gives an exaggerated sigh, before following Thea's progress towards the huge pile of laundry. "Yeah, I should go track down my brother before he squeels on me like a porcine." A snort follows, ironically, as he eyes the stack of laundry and keeps a distance from it. "Tell Kav he needs to get out more." And with that, Ro' heads out as well.