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.
Big fluffy white clouds zip across the sky, casting shadows across the meadow that almost seem to race each other as the wind blows, gusting from time to time. Moving amongst the racing shadows and through the grass is one Keziah with a bundle of messages for the various buildings around the meadows which she slips into and out of fairly quickly. Once she reaches the stable areas and her bunde down to almost nothing, she climbs up onto a fence to rest and watch the clouds roll by.
A squack, a mutter, and the sound of footsteps herald Rogawani's approach. Swirling wings of green and gold flaot about on the breezes above him, but the boy seems less than concerned with their acrobatics. He's running a towel over his tusseled hair, looking as if he'd just dragged himself out of the baths. On the downside, his hair lays in damp, slightly curly strands about his face, but on the upside… he no longer looks like the kitchen vomited on him. Letting the towel fall to his shoulders, he heads on towards the stables, and then looks momentarily surprised to see Keziah sitting on the fence. "Nice day, huh?" He offers, his face amused.
Now why would it be a surprise to find Kezi at that stables? Just because she's a candidate doesn't mean she won't find opportunites to be there. Gotta make sure things are still running smooth. She looks back down from the sky and grins at Ro. "It's a beautiful day." Keziah admits "Perfect day to be outside, which makes me thankful I'm not cooped up in the kitchens again." She looks him over a bit "Been bathin'?" she asks with a tilt of her head
"I'll second that one." Rogawani mutters, reaching his hand up to rub the towel through his hair again. "Had the morning off after helping Thea last night, I needed the bath. What a mess." He chuckles, almost wryly to himself. "I'm just glad I didn't have to help clean up." There is a wicked glint in his eye, which suggests that a certain annoying kid-brother probably did have to help. Still, he seems relaxed, calm, as if he actually got some sleep. "I traded cooking duty for runners. Figured that it's best I don't poison the weyr."
Keziah laughs "Yeah, poisioning people wouldn't be good. I've only tried to kill people a few times. Wasn't my fault some of the containers were mismarked and I put in a cup of salt instead of sugar." she murmurs and then hmms "So what exactly happened?" she asks curiously.
"Well, Thea managed to pretty much grab every candidate that was hopeless in the kitchen in one place." Rogawani tries to explain, seeming a little bit hesitant, biting his lip at one point. "We were trying to make four-hundred cupcakes. It was chaos." He laughs, a barking sound that seems as if he were half amused, and half exasperated by the experience. "We all ended up covered in flour. Thea looked like a ghost and Rei accused me of killing her with a flying whisk." He ticks things off on his hand. "Morlanol spilled brandy on me, I dropped an egg on my shoe, Sabrina threw flour at me, Tali thew sugar at me." His face falls, and he gives a mock serious look, his voice monotone. "They tried to turn me into a human cupcake."
Keziah looks Ro up and down and can't help but grin even more as she listens "Well, I suppose you can't blame them for trying." she remarks with a snicker "Must have been a lovely sight." she adds and then hmms "Well, I suppose that explains why you needed a bath. Must have gotten very sticky." She snerks some "I must say, things yesterday were much less exciting." she notes since I just mendin' to do.
To save his own dwindling sense of pride, Rogawani leaves out the whole part where he was teased relentlessly by Thea and Rei, "Yeah, can't blame them." He mutters to himself, the sides of his mouth curling up into a small smile before he waves it off with a small flick of his hand. "Took a bath last night, but I still had flour in my hair this morning." He runs a hand through the wet, dark-colored strands as if checking to see if any bits of white are left. "Next time Thea offers to take candidates on one of her 'errands' you should come along." He teases, tucking one hand into his pocket and standing with a relaxed pose. "You know it'll either be exciting, or be torture. One way or the other."
Keziah hmms a little "Maybe." she remarks with a grin "But I wouldn't want to deny all you first timers the lovely experiances. But so long as it doesn't involve larege felines, I'm agreeable." she notes with a smile and then peers closely at his hair. "Looks like you missed a little. You're looking a little doughy." Now, is she joking or does she actually see something?
"Oh yeah, because my life wouldn't have been complete without being turned into a baked good." There is a small bit of amused sarcasm in Rogawani's voice, but he doesn't seem to be actually upset over it. Glancing towards the stables, he seems to consider for a moment before walking over to the fence, leaning against it. "I thought they left the feline wrestling for later. Stick all the candidates in a ring with a hungry feline. Whomever survives is strong enough to be a rider?" He teases, looking at her sideways with one eye. "You lived, so they'll probably give you a by on it this time." He seems about to say something else, but the comment about him being doughy brings out a muttered curse. "Shards. Still?" He asks, and starts to paw at his hair.
Keziah smirks at the mention of him being a baked good, but the smirk disappears along with most any facial expression at the mention of felines and being stuck in a ring with them. For her, it's not a joking matter, but then. How can you expect others to understand. So, she just doesn't comment and looks back up at the sky filled with the clouds and just murmurs without expression. "Yeah, still."
For a good minute, Rogawani continues to pat down and paw through his hair, looking for any sign of the doughy clump that the ex-stablemaster seems to see. Eventually, though, he just gives up and sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'll probably have to catch another bath after I finish with the runners. I haven't smelled this much like soapsand in ages." He wrinkles his nose a little, but then seems to realize that Keziah had gone quiet. He looks over for a moment, and then realization dawns there. "Hey, sorry for mentioning it, okay?" Looking sincere, the boy's face forms the first sign of worrylines on his brow. "Da always said that if you make the bad things funny, that they can't hurt you as much."
Keziah just still ignores the bit around felines, not even to say so much as it's all right or anything like that. She just acts as if she never heard an of that. She does smirk however and remark "Well, you be careful with the runners then. They're likely to not know what to make of ya and all. You not smellin' right and such." she then looks down at Ro "Course, they'll fix that soon enough I'm sure. Though you can hang with the billies for a bit, that'll get the soapsand smell offa ya."
Rogawani just watches for a moment with his gray eyes, and then seems to give up trying to make up for what he'd said. Can't blame him for trying, though. "I'll start with Rider, more than likely. He'd know me clean or three days traildirty." The boy explains, a fond smile finding it's way to his face for his runnerbeast. "I figure after that, I'll smell enough like runner that the rest won't mind too much." He shifts himself against the fence, and then shakes his head. "Not so good with billies, or really anything but lizards, runners, and bovines. It's why I never ended up in the beastcraft, though my Da would have loved that." His face grows thoughtful again, staring at the stables.
Keziah hmms a little "Well, they're ain't nothin' wrong with only workin' with some critters and such." she notes "A great many don't really branch out and such. I mean myself, I ain't much partial to bovines and all. They stink in comparison in my opinion and don't seem all too bright. Same with ovines, they ain't too bright. Now caprines and runners and even porcines. They're pretty bright. Though a runner can fall on the low end of that at times it seems."
"Well, it's not just that though. Not really." Rogawani pauses, and then seems hesitant to go on, so he sidetracks. "You're right about the bovines though, but at least being dimwitted means they aren't quite so much trouble. Runners, well they're as different as people sometimes." He trails off, and then scratches at the side of his face, thoughtful. "Mostly I didn't try the craft because of my father." There is a distinction in his voice, 'Da' always being the stablehand who raised him, 'father' being… someone else entirely. "He's a journeyman at Fort. He left my mother when I was little."
Keziah tilts her head a little as she listens "I see." she murmurs "So, with him leaving it turned you off? Or was there something else?" she then shakes her head "Never mind, I shouldn't have asked, so you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. But I can understand if he left you with bad memories how it could turn you off the craft. Which is fine, not everyone workin' with the beasties needs to be in the craft after all."
"Bah." Rogawani snorts, without tension to his body or his face. "Don't worry yourself." He runs a hand through his still damp hair, and looks up towards the clouds, swollowing once before smirking slightly. "Guess I just didn't want to run in to him. I figured sooner or later he'd be at some craft function. Then I wouldn't have a choice." As his eyes shift down again, he seems calmer, as if it were somewhat silly. "And the ironic part? He'll be here soon, and I've got no place to run to." He flicks the candidate knot, and then pauses. "You… wouldn't know when Journeyman Ronani and his apprentices will arrive, do you?"
Keziah pauses a moment and thinks. She then shakes her head "Nah, though Yina did mention something of it, but I only had a few minutes before I had to be back. She'd likely be able to tell you though. Probably has it memorized in that head of hers. The things that girl remembers. Few more turns to age her up some and she likely can take over the head spot." she notes proudly.
Rogawani just nods once, his eyebrows twitching together slightly above his eyes. "I'll have to ask her then." As soon as the troubled expression had come, it fades once more as he takes a deep breath and pushes himself up onto his feet. "You don't have any aspirations for that sort of thing?" He asks, trying to turn the conversation back on to Keziah rather than his own lingering worries about his father.
Keziah tilts her head "You, know as a candi, you can be kept fairly busy. I can talk to Thea and see if she can find up ways to keep you occupied so you don't have to run into him." she notes and then hmms thoughtfully "I dunno, but tis always best to have the right person for the job and she's good with the adminstrative stuff, I'm good with the actual work."
Morlanol wanders into the clearing, toting a large basket of weeds and a few non-weeds that got grabbed in the act of weeding. He's whistling to himself, so he only catches the last few words of the conversation. He continues making his way towards the compost heap, but he nods to the two of them as he goes, "H'lo Ro, Kez."
The ex-messenger's face growns momentarily serious, and then lightens again as he gives his best, worry-free, boyish smile towards Keziah. "Nah, it's 'bout time I take care of it. Can't be a wherry forever, right?" It's hard to tell if he means it, or if he's just acting. He does nod a little bit though, at her reasoning for not taking on the higher-level job. "So, what?" He asks curiously, "Just planning on working as an assistant stablemaster forever?" Then, another voice catches his ear, and Ro' turns to look at the Morlanol. "Hey there Morl, got weeding duty today, huh?"
Keziah grins as she gives Morl a little bit of a wave. "Hey there." she grins and then eyes Ro "Why not? The pay is good and all. And you're one to ask with your parents being stablehands." she states looking just a tad offended. "It's a good position. and all. She slips down of the fence and then leans against it some.
Morlanol dumps the load of weeds in the compost area with a heavy whumph and a sigh. "Yeah, I'm sure Cen'll come yellin' a' me fer weedin' th' wrong thing, bu' I di' my best." He approaches them and drops his basket on the ground at his feet before chiming in, "I know I'm young 'n' all, bu' I think tha' ev'ryone shoul' do th' job they wan' t' do, no matter how much or little it pays."
"Never said there was anything wrong with it." Rogawani chuckles a little, and raises his hands as if to show that he meant no harm. "I just thought maybe you'd want to go on and get your masters or something." He lets his hands drop again, and tilts his head towards Keziah, as if he were trying to translate her moods and kept finding he was using the wrong dictionary. Moving his eyes away from her, he smirks a little bit towards Morlanol. "Don't let Cenlia beat you up too much about the gardens. I've seen riders do much worse than what any of us could do." He remembers back to watching Re're nearly destroy a flowerbox, but shakes the thought away. "Being a messenger doesn't pay that well, but it's what I like to do. Closest thing to freedom is a good runner and an open road."
Keziah can't help but grin at the boy. "Well, you just tell Cen then that she should spend more time showing you if she's that worried about it." she notes and then shrugs a bit at Ro, "Perhaps, but it'll be sometime in the future still." she notes "And I'm still up on things in the craft, but it's not anything to worry 'bout anytime soon. But eventually. Doesn't mean I won't stay workin' in the stables though. Journeyman or Master. Makes no difference to me."
Morlanol nods, "Bein' a miner doesn' pay tha' well, either, bu' i's a'venturous an' jus' th' right hint o' danger. I don' wan'a be a master, bu' bein' a journeyman migh' be nice some day." Then he smiles impishly at Keziah's comment, "Tha'd be righ'… 'xceptin' tha' I didn' tell her I was weedin'."
"I don't know if Cenlia would be too up on spending quality time with him lately." Rogawani quips, seeming more amused by the whole situation between the ex-gardener and ex-miner. He rocks on his heels a little bit, obviously having a bit of pent up energy after having an actually decent night's rest. "Was just curious." The boy still isn't quite sure what to say around Keziah, and that leads him to easily letting th subject go. "You heard that Satoris got searched, right Morl?" He asks of the younger boy, "Kind of an odd turn of events there, ne?"
Keziah chuckles "Well, it'll be good for the both of them." she remarks "After all, stuck in close quarters and such? Better that then blood and mayhem." she notes "Cides, he just admitted he liked danger." she gris at Morl. Such a fun kid.
Morlanol nods, his face getting a tad more grim as he does so, "Yeah, I'd heard… shoul' be innerestin'. 'E's a good guy and I think he's go' a chance, bu' if he 'mpresses I don' know what'll happen with th' mine since it's still only par'ly se' up."
"Mmm. You're right, probably a good thing." Rogawani nods his head in agreement, and then chuckles to himself. "Besides, you're young yet Morl." He leans against the fence again, finally tired of standing. "Shards, I'm still young yet. Good to get out and do other things, try things, see what's beyond the ins and outs of a job." Rubbing at the back of his neck, it seems that Ro' had just realized that the nearly three turns difference between himself and the younger boy don't make that much difference in life experiences. "I'm sure the craft would send someone else down if he impresses. Still, there's more of us than there are eggs. Someone has to get left behind."
Keziah listens to the boys as she looks back up at the fluffy white clouds "Always someone left behind. It happens. Better than the alternative though." she notes and then looks at them both "Course, I wouldn't count me in on the count. It was just a missunderstanding of R'sul after all. Poor guy, I wonder how he's doing though?"
Morlanol nods, "Yeah, there're more of us than eggs already an' who knows how many more they'll search 'fore it's over. I'm hopin', bu' I know there'll always be a place fer me a' th' mine if I don' 'mpress."
Rogawani shoots an incredulous look towards Keziah, as if not believing the words that come out of her mouth. "Seriously, you think that?" He asks, lifting on eyebrow. "I think if it was just a misunderstanding, they'd have gotten that sorted out by now." His mouth twitches upwards a bit, propping himself on one arm across the fence post. "It's not as if you haven't been searched before either. They must have seen something to bring you back time and again." At least, that's all Ro' can figure, but he shakes his head slightly. "I haven't seen R'sul or his dragon since the day you were searched. It's like they're… gone?" He lets his eyes move back towards Morlanol, and then he nods once. "Same for me. I can always go back to being a messenger, and I'll have my runner all paid off by then, too."
Morlanol gives Keziah an odd look, "Y've been searched more'n once? An' you think i's a random chance? What're you, shell-brained? Sure, we c'n always go back t' wha' we di', bu' if they come fer us again, i' means sommat."
Keziah snorts a little at Ro "Being a Weyr resident means I can go ahead and stand and such." she notes with a shrug "Doesn't mean anything, really." she notes and then sighs a little "I haven't seen them either. I do hope he's okay. But at least the dragons haven't keened, so he's still alive." she murmurs and then nods to Morl. "I've been a candidate off and on for almost ten turns now. I'm not holding my breath. But, I won't say no either." she notes.
"Yeah, but you aren't just some weyr resident who said they wanted to stand." Rogawani points out, tapping a finger onto the wood of the fence, not seeming at all put off by her dismissal. "A dragonrider told you that you were supposed to be a candidate." He eyes her now, with a bit more interest in his eyes. "You can't tell us that a dragonrider or a dragon didn't pick you out at least one of those times you stood before? Come on…" He mumbles, and then looks over towards Morlanol as if seeking some sort of backup.
Morlanol nods energetically, "Yeah, Kez, if they pick ya it' says somethin'. I mean, look a' me. I didn' even know I coul' be a can'date, bu' here I am. An' Ro an' Cen, too. Mos' o' us ne'er e'en though' 'bou' th' poss'bility b'fore now."
Keziah just nods, she really didn't expect them to understand "You know. It's okay. If I Impress, that's great, if I don't, that's okay as well. I won't be upset about it. It's just one of those things." she notes and then rolls her eyes. "Perhaps you'll both Impress and then you won't ever have to understand what I'm saying. But if you don't, I'll be happy to be there for you." she notes and then shrugs "It's a fun experiance and thats how I look at it. Gives me a chance to get to know people better."
Rogawani rolls his eyes almost at the same time that Keziah does, and he lets out a small sigh that almost turns into a raspberry. "You're incorrigible." He mumbles with just an amused shake of his head. "The truth of it is, if you ask most of us folk who got plucked out of jobs, we'd probably tell you that we don't think we'll impress. Take every one of us out of the mix, and you'll be left with a lot of unhatched eggs." He shrugs, and then glances at the shadows on the ground, trying to figure the time. "And if it doesn't happen, it's not the end of the world, and it doesn't mean anything. At least that's how I see it." He shrugs, and pushes up again, mumbling. "I should get to work on those runners."
Morlanol sighs, "I' doe'n't really matter wha' we think anyway, since i's up t' th' dragons in th' end, bu' I shoul' prob'ly ge' back t' th' gar'en. I've still go' 'alf o' i' t' go."
Keziah gives a nod "Tis true, it'll be the dragons." she notes with a smile "Well, I've got a few more things to deliver so I'll see ya all around." she notes as she steps away from the fence and just stretches. "And you're right. I'm living proof it ain't the end of the world." she notes with a smirk and then heads off towards the road and some weyrs out that away.