Xanadu Weyr - Caverns
A massive cavern in it's own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as are the walls where numerous tapestries hang to provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt, leveled carefully but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.
The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area, however, is the one near the Kitchens where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. Its plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr and equally plain that on such occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are appropriated from all the other areas.
A big fireplace is set into the wall near the Kitchens as well, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.
Exits lead off in all directions, a big archway the largest and that leading outside. Shallow stairs to the west lead to the offices and administration area while tunnels to the east lead to the infirmary, kitchen and resident's quarters. Southwards, a sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs and southwest is a wide tunnel, carefully roped off to avoid accidents.
The breakfast rush is slowly dwindling, so that one or two smaller groups and a few individuals still linger at the big tables, but most of the seats are empty. The tables still have a few rogue plates and mugs which lay abandoned by those who'd eaten recently. At one of the far tables, working his way inward, Rogawani is hunched over. There is a clinking of dishes as the boy places them into a rolling cart, wiping the table off as he moves along. A smock hangs from his neck, tied across his waist to keep the grime from staining his clothing as he worked. "Shards and shells." The boy mutters under his breath. "They weren't kidding about this being work." He grunts to himself, and then reaches across thet able to wipe the far end, obviously not used to this.
Ashyte has the morning off and craddling Aswyn on his hip he joins the rest of the in breakfast. He is still there long after the breakfast rush had finished, everything always took longer with Aswyn, the girl likes to play with her food long before she eats it. There is a long bib around her neck stained with her morning food, which she now nommed in her mouth quite happily. Ashyte just laughs softly as he sips his mug of Klah and watches his daughter eat her breakfast.
As Rogawani straitens up, he arches his back and there is an audible pop of his spine. "That's not good." He comments to himself, and then rubs at his lower back before tossing the rag towards the cart, watching it land unceremoniously on the edge. "Break time." He mutters, and then walks over towards the tables, claiming a cup of klah for himself. There are dark circles under the boy's eyes, which probably isn't a surprise now that he's sharing quarters with quite a few new faces.The boy takes a long drink, and then lets his eyes scan the tables, finally settling on Ashyte. "Oh, hey." He greets off-handedly. "You're the new healer, right?" He asks, and then gives a smile to the little girl. "Looks like you've got a little mess monster." His voice is light, bemused, obviously one who doesn't mind kids.
Ashyte grins in good humour at Rogawani, it's obvious he's in a good mood today, "Indeed I am. It's Ashyte, Journeyman, Healer as you already know" he looks down at his daughter with a chuckle as she stuffs more food into her mouth with her hands, "And the little mess monster is my daughter Aswyn. She just loves to play with it before she eats it" he holds his hand out across the table to Rogawani in greeting.
Trying his best to be polite, Rogawani wipes his hand off on his shirt before reaching out to shake hands with the journeyman. "Nice to meet you, Ashyte. Aswyn." He releases the man's hand before leaning down to speak in a softer voice at his daughter. "You know, there's a green lizard up there who just -loves- to play with kids. Maybe if you wiggle that she'll come down and say hello." He points to a scrap of meatroll, before glancing at the healer to make sure this is okay. Then, he rises up again, and stretches his arms, setting his mug of klah down before claiming a seat. "I'm Rogawani, messenger." He pauses, and then runs a hand through his hair. "Or was. Candidate now. Welcome to Xanadu."
Aswyn claps her messy hands and reaches for the meatroll, she loves anything with wings, specially those of the draconic kind. "flizard?" she asks as she waves the roll around like she was told. Ashyte grins back at Rogawani, "Well congratulations on the search. Thank you, it's a pleasure to be here. Aswyn loves it here already" he reaches out for his mug of klah and brings it to his lips for another long drink of the warming liquid.
A chirp from high above answers, and there is a fluttering of small green wings as a tiny, not yet full grown green lands on the table, looking at Aswyn with curious eyes: eyes that follow the meatroll more than the child. Rogawani just smirks, and keeps his attention more on the healer than on his daughter. "Thanks." He mutters, with his usual chagrin when people act as if being chosen was something to congratulate. He runs a hand through his tussled hair again, and then echoes the healer by taking a drink of his own klah. "So what brings you to Xanadu? I would have thought we had enough ranking healers, and I don't think we're that accident prone."
Ashyte laughs softly "I thought so too, but Hall orders are Hall orders. Not that I mind, it's a nice change of pace here" he admits, with a glance to his daughter. Aswyn's eyes focus solely on the green, finally she stops waving the roll long enough to offer it to the green, her gaze firmly fixed on the firelizard.
The green lizard quickly reaches out her head and snatches a piece of meat out of the roll, gobbling it down. Like most of her kind, as long as someone is feeding her, she doesn't seem to mind who. So, Kialio just lays herself down, legs off to the side, watching the child. "See, that's one reason I never went into the crafts. I'd hate to be bustled around to different places without a choice." Rogawani says thoughtfully, propping his chin on one arm and managing to stiffle back a yawn that threatens to show just how exhausted he is at the moment. "You must be good though. You're pretty young for a journeyman." At least, this is the assumption Ro' makes, as it's not often he meets a man shorter than himself.
"Eighteen Turns, not really though, most of the journeymen and women I know walked the tables at my age. Then again most didn't have a child either. I just studied hard, with my achievement of my journeymanship came my orders to reside here" he admits with a grin, not at all phased by the young mans height over him, after all he was not particularly tall for his gender or age. Aswyn laughs delightedly as Kialio grabs a piece of meat from the roll, she waggles the roll a little more in front of the green as she hopes for the same response.
The difference in height isn't all that much, and it doesn't show at all while sitting, but Rogawani still seems curious. "Thought eighteen was about as young as you could make journeyman." He explains, and then lifts his shoulders in a shrug, taking another long drink of the klah before picking a few bits of sleep-sand out of his eyes. "Then again, what do I know about crafts." He laughs ruefully, and nods his head. "Well, it's a decent enough place. I've lived here all my life and haven't gone running for the hills yet." The green lizard is certainly preoccupied with the movement of the meatroll. Her legs move, crouching beneath her and her rear end wiggles, before the little creature bounds at the end of the snack, trying to bury her head into the roll to root out meat from pastry.
"You're right, eighteen is the youngest, but generally those healers who have kids don't acheive their journeymanship till they are older. I worked every spare moment I had to earn my rank and care for Aswyn. Her mother died at birth, so it's just us two" he admits and takes another long drink from his Klah, he did not have trouble speaking of her mother, but he did wish she was still around.. Aswyn laughs loudly as the roll all but comes out of her hands as Kialio pounces on it, "pwetty flizard" she giggles as reach reaches out to try and pat the pretty green.
So engrossed in her pounced meal, Kialio doesn't even seem to notice the child's hand. She gobbles down another piece of meat happily enough, just the tip of her tail twitching. This brings a small smile to Rogawani's face, despite the sad story of the girl's birth. "Sorry to hear that." He manages to say, moving his eyes away from the adorable display. "Well, it's an acomplishment. There's some folks who never get to journeyman." Glancing over his shoulder, Ro' looks at the cart of dishes, but then ducks his head, intent on extending his 'break' from dish duty a bit longer. "I'm sure you'll get work, too. Candidates 'n all. I hear one got attacked by felines a time or two back. We've got to keep you busy somehow."
Ashyte waves his hand at Ro's appology, "It happened two turns ago, none of us were to know of her heart condition." Ashyte too has trouble moving his eyes from how gentle and adorable his daughter was being. "The Stables are keeping us busy at the moment, must be something in the water cause there has been a fair few accidents lately" he muses softly. Aswyn gently strokes the green with her food clad fingers, smearing part of her breakfast down the greens hide which in turn makes Ashyte laugh, "I'm sorry about that, looks like they'll both need baths after breakfast."
Fingers tap lightly on Rogawani's face, perhaps trying to reason what he would have done in such a situation. Would he have let anyone know? Probably not. "Mmm." His attention snaps back at mention of the stables, and a bit of a smirk rests on his face. "We have a herder who has eyes on breeding wild stock into the runner population. That's probably part of it. That beast alone caused three injuries in one day." He mutters, obviously showing his dislike for that particular 'pet' project. His face curls up in a small, bemused smirk. The green firelizard pays little attention to the food being smeared on to her. Her head appears from within the meatroll, still chewing and looking up at the child with a content, crooning sound. "No worries on that. I'll just drop her in the dishwater when I'm done. There's enough dishes to keep me busy all morning."
Ashyte almost snorts his Klah at Ro's comment about the dishwasher, "I'm in right mind to put them through together, kill two birds with one stone. That'd be a sight to see" he finally stops laughing long enough to take another drink of Klah taking a sideways glance at Rogawani, boy wasn't half bad he muses to himself. Aswyn however is contendely giggling and smearing food all over Kialio with her pats, she was gentle too just like papa had taught her.
Rogawani's smile widens as it always does when he manages to make someone laugh despite themselves. "Yeah, but I think the lizard would be a bit easier on the flatware." He muses, "At least there's no more waring for time in the baths. You probably missed the tail-end of the fun with our Hannistan captives." He muses, and drains the last of his own mug, setting it down on the table before realizing he'll just have to pick it up again later. The green lizard, looking more like a moasiac than any creature had a right to, chirps once, fluttering her food-covered wings and sending little specks into the air. Ducking, Ro' isn't able to avoid getting splatted with a piece of food to the face, which he picks off, slowly. Getting to his feet, he takes a step away to drop his mug into the cart with the rest of the dishes.
Ashyte smiles back at Rogawani, his mug of Klah was almost finished. His arm moves up and catches food on his loose shirt sleeves, it was not something he was unacustomed to being the father of one messy two turn old. "Yeah I missed all of it, been here no more than a few sevenday now" he reaches out to pull Aswyn onto his lap, trying not to laugh at the pout on her face as he cleans her hand with her filthy bib. "I suppose I should get this one into a bath soon before I take her down to the creche" he didn't mean now, but it would have to happen some time soon during the morning, although Aswyn would usually be dirty or tear something before arriving at the Creche again he certainly tries.
The little green firelizard, saved from continued food-smearing by Ashyte, tries to flap her wings, but she's so dirtied down that she doesn't get more than a foot off the table before flopping down again. "Come 'ere Kia." Rogawani holds a hand out, and the green walks up onto his arm, and then perches behind his head, probably rubbing food into his hair. "If you see Danaka down there…" The boy pauses, and then seems to consider his words. "Could you tell her I'm sorry about last night?" He mutters, obviously feeling bad about asking someone else to run this errand for him. Stepping away from father and daughter, Ro' grabs the rag again, starting to continue where he'd left off with the tables.
"Of course, least I can do after the mess Aswyn has caused" Ashyte wasn't embarassed about her mess, as a two turn old she could not help it, but it did often make things long a difficult, and he didn't wish cleaning up after Aswyn on anyone, especially as the girl now grasps a spoon in her chubby fingers and flings food across to the nearest table, evading her fathers grabbing hands as she does.
Jessamin slips quietly into the Caverns - or as quietly as a hungrily creeling blue hatchling will allow. Her hair is slightly askew, strands coming loose from her customary runnertail, and shadows rest beneath her eyes, as if she has perhaps had a long night. This has not, however dimmed her smile in the least. An older - though still somewhat young - brown firelizard shifts from foot to foot upon her shoulder, peering down at Jessamin's apron and crooning a comforting little tune to the blue hatchling sticking its head out from its quilted nest. A firelizard to human translation might be, "Take it easy, little brother, you're going to get fed… and maybe me, too." Jessamin sets her sewing basket down on a table and flops down into the seat, pulling a small container of meat from her other apron pocket. "Okay, Turquoise, you greedy little maw…" Chuckling, she draws the blue hatchling from his nest, cradling him gently as she begins to feed him. "And you, Madder, take it easy till this one's had his fill, hmm?"
"Thanks." Rogawani mutters, still looking abashed and a little bit unsure of himself. "She and I got into it a bit last night over this stupid necklace of my half-brother's." His face hardens a little, lips settling into a thin line. Luckily, it doesn't stay that way for long as the piece of food comes soaring over to land just on the spot he'd just cleaned. "Oh, making more work for me now are we?" Ro' glances over his shoulder at the little girl, sticking his tongue out at her in a childish way. He wipes the piece of food off into his hand, depositing it in a small bag hooked to the cart for trash. Just then, though, he glances up towards Jessamin's arrival, juggling the baby firelizard. "Hey there, Jess. Can I grab something for you? Looks like you've got your hands full." The lizard on the boy's shoulder, messy as she is, perks and looks towards the young one, curiously.
Ashyte finally procures the spoon from Aswyn's hand, but not before a final throw of food soars through the air in Jess' direction. As it unceremoniously lands, Ashyte winces "I'm sorry, she didn't mean it" he looks down at the still pouting Aswyn "Did you now Aswyn?" he asks the girl who just replies by sticking out her tongue at her father.
Jessamin goes stock-still as the spoonful of food nails her right between the eyes with a wet -SPLAT-. She goes cross-eyed, trying to look at the clump of stuff clinging to her, and bursts out laughing at the effort. She just smiles at Ashyte reassuringly. "Bah, it's alright. Kidlets will be kidlets." She reaches up with her free hand, despite the blue hatchling's creeling, to wipe the stuff off of her face; the brown firelizard upon her shoulder sniffs at the stuff, and draws back, letting out a disgusted little huff. "Yeah, Madder. Nasty stuff. Not good for firelizards." She looks over to Rogawani then, flashing him a grateful smile. "Yeah, if there's a cloth for the mess and a bit of fresh meat for Turquoise here…." Determined not to be left out, Madder stares Rogawani down, chirruping hungrily. "And I think this one's demanding his morning meatroll."
Rogawani's mouth tightens a little bit, trying to contain the laughter that threatens to spill out as he watches the arc of the food sailing right at the woman's face. He's saved having to be too embarassed when she laughs too, and he lifts one hand to cover his mouth, a faint chuckle slipping free. "Sure. Sure. Give me just a minute." He reaches over and lefts up the bin of already collected dishes. "I'll drop these off and see what I can find." The threat of laughing fades away as he grunts and walks off towards the kitchens, disappearing through the doorway. Ro's little green firelizard, however, hops down from his shoulder and begins leaving sticky little lizard-prints on the clean table as she tries to get a closer look at the creeling little one.
"Rwoll?" Aswyn asks softly in response to Jessamin's request, as she holds up the wet half torn and mostly meatless, meatroll out in front of her in offer. Ashyte chuckles softly at his daughters appology of sorts and attempt to help, "I'm not sure he wants that sweet" he pats his girl's hair, flicking food out of it as he does, "You sure you're okay?" he asks for good measure.
Jessamin smiles to Ashyte, nodding. "I'm fine. No doubt one of these days I'll wind up drawing creche duty, so this is good practice." She turns her attention to Aswyn, making a funny little face at the wee one. "Naah, you need to eat that and grow up nice and strong. Come on, now, got a smile for Jess? Hmm?" Madder, too, seems fascinated by the kidlet, swinging his head around to look at her. He ignores the mostly meatless meatroll, but trills a happy song to the little girl, extending his wings by way of greeting. Turquoise, on the other hand, lifts his little head as Rogawani's green approaches, chirping a curious note.
The door from the kitchens swings open again, Rogawani returning with a much emptier dish bin in his arms as he does so. It takes him a moment to walk around the tables and deposit the bin atop the cart already there. Reaching in, he pulls out a plate of chopped meat, with a few warm meatrolls next to it. A second plate has a damp rag set on it. "Alright, today's breakfast is fresh meat for the little one, and warm meatrolls." He sets the plates down as if he were immitating a server. Then, he spots the messy firelizard prints. "Gah, Kia, I just cleaned that." He mutters to the green, who is oblivious, sitting and dripping foodstuff onto the table. Rolling his eyes, the boy grabs another clean rag and starts to buff at the foodprints.
Cirilia wanders through the caverns, a pair of glowy greens glowering at her from either shoulder. She seems to be ignoring them as is the brown cradled in the crook of her arm. The greens haven't gotten the meaning of 'ignore' down and chirr anxiously to the brown. Cir, in the meantime, heads for her favorite lunch. Ah.. meatrolls and klah.
Ashyte pulls another cloth from the bag he carries next to him, cleaning Aswyn more thoroughly he sets the girl down for a moment so he can deal with the mess across the table. He stacks the plates nicely and even begins to wipe the mess of food from the table. Free of her fathers grasp, Aswyn toddles over towards Jess, clearly intrigued by the other firelizards, she pats her hand on the seat next to Jess as she smiles at the young woman "Flizards?" she asks softly holding out her arms.
Jessamin grins at Rogawani, pulling the plates over to her. "Thanks, I really do appreciate this. How about when Turquoise gets back to sleep, I help you clean up in here a bit?" Her expression softens as the wee girl toddles over to her. For the moment, Turquoise is slipped back into his quilted nest, to free up Jess' hands. She reaches out and catches up Aswyn, plopping her gently in the chair. "That's right. Firelizards. They're both young, just like you, so you need to be gentle." She tweaks Aswyn's nose playfully, giggling, and looks up at Ashyte. "Has she ever tried feeding a firelizard before?"
With the messy firelizard tracks cleaned, Rogawani plucks up his green lizard and deposits her right into the bin meant for dirty dishes. "You stay there, and quit making a mess." The green's head peeks over the edge, a piece of food dripping down her cheek as she chirps. He reaches over and takes the stacked plates that Ashyte had arranged, placing them down carefully into the bin. Then, he looks up with an almost surprised expression. "Well, you're welcome." He says with a small chuckle. "But don't worry about it. I'm sure you've got your own chores to manage without getting stuck with mine." He returns to wiping down the table, moving along towards the end where more plates and cups have been left abandoned.
Ashyte shakes his head, "She hasn't no..but It'll have to wait for another time I'm sorry. She needs a bath before Creche, and I need a change of clothes before I head to the Infirm" he admits with a sigh, as he swings the bag over his shoulder and leaves the almost clean table to pick up Aswyn who once again pouts heavily. "It was lovely to meet you and I'm sorry about the food in the face again" he turns to Rogawani and gives the man a squeeze on the rear as he passes him, "Nice to meet you too Rogawani, take care both of you" he gives them a wave as he leaves, juggling a now cranky Aswyn.
Jessamin smiles and waves to the departing Ashyte and Aswyn. "Lovely to meet you both, too. Maybe I'll see you around." With that, she turns her attention back to Turquoise, pulling him from his quilted apron pocket nest and cradling him in the crook of her arm. "You've been really good and patient there… I'm proud of you." She pops a piece of meat into the creeling little blue maw, smiling. Madder, on the other hand, decides to take matters into his own hands. He hops down from Jess' shoulder and dives at the plate of steaming meatrolls as if fishing on the beach. Snatching one up, he flies a short ways off to enjoy his prize. "Greedy!" Jess shakes her head and chuckles. "Well, maybe there'll be a little peace now. Oh, and Rogawani… no worries on helping you if you need it, it's my day off anyways."
If it were possible for Rogawani's eyes to bug completely out of his head, they probably would have the moment his rear is assaulted. The boy's face just stares in absolute shock, mouth dropping open. "That's… not… right." He says in a slow tone, as if his brain were just catching up with itself. He turns, trying to look at his butt, as if afraid it might somehow fall off. "Yeeaa." He shivers and steps back while keeping his rear firmly pointed away from Ashyte until the healer is gone from view. "Bad touch." He sticks his tongue out, "Okay, I am -so- not going near that healer. I'll wait for Karashi or something." He mutters, rubbing at his butt as if trying to get rid of the feeling there. Only once he starts getting over the reaction to being manhandled by a man does Ro' look over towards Jessamin, looking embarassed. "Ahh, good. Right, day off." He says quickly, trying to recompose himself. "So where'd you get the new lizard?" He asks, trying to set his mind on some other topic.
Jessamin smiles to Rogawani, popping another piece of meat into Turquoise's tiny little maw. "There was a green clutch that hatched in here a couple days ago. Think it was Satoris'. Turquoise here was one of the ones that came out. Ruzel got one too, a little brown. Kind of worried about that one, though." She obediently feeds the little blue in her arm, only tsking him once as he nearly takes her finger with the meat. "The little brown looked a bit sickly coming out of the egg. Never seen one look so faded before. I hope it's just a quirk of its coloration, instead of a real problem."
Cirilia eyes the butt squeezer curiously as he heads his way out of the cavern. Eyes look outside for a moment then back to her food. She shrugs. Apparently, Tamasth had no answers on whether or not she should know the healer. Frigid sqwacks in protest as Gracie hops to the table and inches toward the plate of yet to be eaten rolls. "Tattle-tale," Cir mutters.
Somehow, the shock of butt molestation is enough to bring Rogawani's rear into a seat, still looking not quite 'with it' as he clings on to the discussion about firelizards. "Ahh." He says, as if it were a mechanical response, but then his eyes focus and he nods more firmly. "Yeah, my little green here was from a clutch just left out on the hearth one evening." He watches her and the firelizard for a moment, and then his eyebrows draw downward. "Well, maybe he could take it to the dragonhealers, they should have some idea about firelizards?" He suggests, and seems to make a mental note to suggest it to Ruzel if things got worse. Of course, another voice catches his attention, and the boy's head swivels towards Cirilia, "Oh, hey Cir, didn't see you there." Nope, too preoccupied with having his butt grabbed.
Her name is called, and Cir looks up to find the source of the voice. It doesn't take too long to place that voice with Rogawani, and she smiles warmly. It takes her a moment to gather up her meal, moving it out of Gracie's reach within scant moments of the green taking a nibble for herself. The glowy creature hisses and flies over to the hearth for a sympathetic ear. Cir yells back at her, "Well, if you had asked nicely, you would have gotten a piece, thief." Frigid looks satisfied with this outcome and starts to stroke her head against Cirilia's cheek.
Relief and some sence of normalcy returns to Rogawani, turning his usual boyish smile towards the bluerider. "Seems like you've got your hands full, too." He motions his chin at the firelizards, bemused. His own green just chirps once from her place amongst the dishes. "Can I ask you something?" He says quickly, something popping into his head. "I was out in the clearing with D'had and Siebith a few days ago and Tamasth was there… he had this orange red whirling in his eyes." The boy explains, and then cocks his head to the side. "What was upsetting him?"
Cirilia regards Ro for a few moments, still truely impressed by the boy's observational skills. It's not everyone who takes the time to remember what dragons look like or their expressions. Some still cling to the beliefs that dragons are dangerous. But Ro is different, and that has her charmed. She pulls a shred from her meatroll and offers it to Frigid. "Sounds like he was jealous," she hums. "He's awfully sensitive when it comes to the attentions of others." She grins, "Siebith, hmm? At least now I know why he was prattling on all night about him and needing to 'scare people, too'."
The one thing that is perhaps unusual about Rogawani is indeed how he sees dragons. To him, they are just as much people as any other memeber of the weyr, and perhaps that's part of why he notices the differences in them more-so than some others. "Jealous?" The boy asks, sounding a bit confused, his mind searching and trying to figure out exactly what the blue might have to be jealous about. "Because Siebith searched me instead of him?" He hazards an assumption, and then scratches at his head. "I mean, it isn't as if Tamasth didn't have plenty of chances to-" Cutting himself off, he seems even more confused by the 'scare people' comment. "Scare… oh." There's realization there. "He's jealous of Siebith's flying?" Now the boy just looks incredulous.
Cirilia chuckles, "Yes and yes and that you said that you preferred Siebith's flying. I'm careful of who I let on Tamasth. Not everyone understands his.. sense of humor." She frowns suddenly and mutters. Standing, she stuffs the rest of the meatrolls into her jacket pockets. Gracie bee-lines back to Cir's shoulder, sensing her displeasure. The bluerider nods to Ro, "He's somewhat claimed you, you see. You actually went swimming with him without screaming or telling him to shove off. He'll be jealous, down to whatever you impress." She smiles a little, "But someone has decided to give him a bath without me around to warn them. I best be going."
"Actually that's the opposite of what I said." Rogawani replies, a confused look on his face. "Siebith's flying scares me." However, it's too late, and he just watches the back of the bluerider as she retreats out of the cavern. "Shards." He mutters to himself, and then glances towards his firelizard, who cheeps once at him. "Yeah yeah, let's get this finished." And so, with distractions gone, Ro' returns to collecting dishes, and wiping down the tables.