Xanadu Weyr - Garden
An arch woven from the tendrils of a willow tree stretches overhead lightly creeping with ivy as one steps in from the meadow into this sanctuary of green. Cool gray flagstone carefully spaced enables a soft velvety moss to thrive within the cracks, and creates a single wide pathway that fluidly breaks off into two paths of stone once free of the natural arbor. It is a wonder this place, and meticulously tended from the way it seems not a single leaf is out of place. On either side of the main path expansive grassy patches are trimmed short and edged behind with natural tan colored stone selectively chosen to stack just right. Beyond these are a line of fine puffed shrubberies in vibrant green intermingled with flowering bushes of brilliant pinks varying in hue from the very light to the very dark, which causes the occasional snowy white blossoms of other scattered here and there without worry to simply pop out of the scenery.
Directly in the center of the garden is another wall of intricately stacked stone, this of muted grays, creating what from the air would prove to be a perfect circle. It's been set high for safety, but not so much as one would not be able to lean over it to admire what lies beyond, either standing or sitting at the smattering of benches whose backs are set every four feet along it. Flush to the ground inside it's protective stone outcropping, is an enormous twenty foot wide fish pond. Within one can glean the metallic glint of playful goldfish, the unhurried cruise of fat koi, and even a frog or three among pale yellow and white flowering water lilies and their thick green pads.
The trees surrounding the entire garden were planted to give the impression that they had always been here, not only lending to a rustic look, but also eluding to the beauty that can be found among the wilds if only one might just look for it. Species vary from the ordinary Birch and Pine, but the flaming red capsules of the Indian Shot to the robust orange spokes of the Firewheel tree suggest the spice of the exotic. The two paths leading away from the entrance have come full circle, wrapping around to meet each other on the other side, yet still continue on to the far left and right. One path leads off deeper into the surrounding woods, while the other wider; cheerily decorated with brightly colored slabs of painted stones.
After the touching, Briana left the hatching and went to collect her little kitten from the barracks and took a walk out to the gardens. Perhaps for some quiet time to collect her thoughts upon the eggs she just touched. Currenty she is sitting on a patch of grass with a young green firelizard and the kitten seeming to be playing a game of pounce. Perhaps an odd pairing of 'friends' but given their sizes it looks like they are not far apart in age. Briana is sitting cross legged nearby seeming to watch the pair, but her eyes have a distant look to them as if she was lost in thought.
Iessrien has come wandering down the garden paths from some spot deeper in the trees, brushing aside the greenery of an overhanging willow and making his way across one of the lawns. His steps are slow with some remaining stiffness, from his tumble off a runner not too long ago, and there might linger about him the scent of numbweed, though outside it's likely not too noticable. The boy's shirt is loose, the cording at his collarbone left partly unlaced, the rest of his attire fairly neat despite having been trekking around for a while. Spotting first the playing ktiten and firelizard, lips twitch upeard at the egdes in a slight smile, nodding his head once he spots Briana sitting on the grass, and offering the girl a pleasant, "Hi," in greeting.
mirai was hiding in the trees, but a squawk and a ruffling of feathers is heard, as well as a strange screech. "Wana kick in the booty?" Yes, strange… in either case, the young girl is picking her way through the trees with a one winged, bright blue and red avian sitting on her shoulder…and the avian is where the words seem to have come from. The youngster glares at the avian on her shoulder and lifts her hand towards the brightly colored thing briefly as if to shush it. "Lilan, shush or I'll kick you in your booty." the girl fondly comments to the loudmouth before stopping to glance towards the….oooh, people….
Kiley likely would have remained in the observation level but eventually her thoughts became too much and the woman has retreated outside despite the coming of winter, it was still good to get outside. So she walks with her eyes on the sky, not entirely minding where her path leads as long as she doesn't run into anyone. She does, in fact, peek down simply to make sure that she isn't making a collision course into something. It is this peek that has her scanning the garden. Briana is spotted with a curious tilt of her head as she considers the other candidate and then recalls the fact that she was on the Sands with them. While her gaze does linger it does not stay there too terribly long as Iessrien is caught in her gaze as well. She takes this moment to approach rather than to linger in her thoughts. "Iessrien," the holder is given a his greeting first before she's looking to Briana and smiling, "hello." She grows silent to consider the kitten and the firelizard with an upward lift of her brows. "Where did you get the kitten?" The woman glances around, as if someone was handing out kittens to play with but it is then that her gaze is drawn to the girl who comes from the trees. A hand lifts in greeting as another smile settles upon her lips, a silent invitation for the girl to join if she wishes.
Briana looks up with a start as Iessrien greets her and gives a shake of her head to clear out the fog of her distraction. "Oh Hi…" She says to the young man. The dark skinned girl has kept mostly to herself within the candidate group, taking a corner bunk away from the others. There does not seem to be a sense of snobbery abourt her, just an ever present feeling of uncertainty of those around her, or perhaps only herself. "I was jus.." She starts when she hears the screeches from the bushes. Her green flizards hisses and the kitten jumps and runs over to hide in Briana's lap. The question from Kiley takes a moment to answer as she tries to calm down the little ball of fluff, "Oh, my b…friend found Storm for me before I came here. They said I could bring him with me." She says before looking at the arrival of the girl with the birds, her eyes widening curiously.
Iessrien's steps slow further as he approaches the others, a smile softening angular features at Kiley's greeting, "Hey, didn't get message delivery again today, did you? I heard the old man's been demanding cake." Lips tilt and press together, a brief flicker of distaste at that, the holder boy then dropping down to the grass not far from Briana, and settling cross-legged, rolling stiff shoulders back one at a time. "It's pretty cute," said in regard to the kitten, head nodding slightly toward the creature. A bit of grass is plucked, and wiggled at the feline, almost absently, even at his head turns with a blink at that.. odd comment from the trees. "..Uh?" eyebrows arch toward his hairline once he sees Mirai and her avian, the holder laughing a quiet, "Shells, that's quite a pet you have. Does it say anything else?"
Mirai approaches quietly, her eyes inquizitive as she approaches the group with a warm smile on her face. "Well, he does. Lilan's got a mouthful of foul language from before he was abandoned." she comments, glanding at the frumpy looking avian on her shoulder. "He lost his wing and I found him, and you really don't want to know what he has to say' She does, however, giggle a little as she turns her attentions on the group and watches them curiously. "Crack it all!" And yes, that was the avian again….
Kiley blinks at Briana's words, her brows drawing into a slight frown before a nod follows. "Well, I hope you're not keeping him in the barracks… Weyrwoman Thea was talking about following the rules, today. It sounds like they'll be cracking down on people who are breaking the rules." A sympathetic smile follows that statement before her gaze moves elsewhere, much like someone who got a talking to. Iessrien brings back the brighter smile from the woman and she shakes her head in response to the question of her chores, "no. I was doing errands for Thea.. Getting food and all that before she had us touch the eggs. I ended up asking to be excused for a bit so I could think." The smile upon her lips waver at the reminder of the eggs and her gaze is drawn to the sky to reflect for a little longer before returning to the younger girl. "He is really interesting." The computer crafter turned candidate agrees, giving it a careful look as she considers it. "Well, at least you found him to take care of him."
As are most kittens, Storm is easily distracted from her fright by the waggling of the grass. The kitten crawls up to Briana's knee and reaches out a paw, trying to swipe at the distant blade before tumbling onto the grass itself and giving a shake of his head before seeking out the blade again. "Yeah he is, about the only creature Blade is friendly with." She says with a half smile before looking up to Kiley with widened eyes, "Rules? The guy who searched me said I could bring him." She looks down at her kitten then up again, "Noone told me it was against the rules.." There is actual worry upon her features before the younger girl draws her attention once more, "Oh goodness…well you did well with him it looks like."
Eyebrows arching further to disappear beneath feathered bangs, Iessrien can't help but chuckle at the cheeky-worded avian. "He's certainly a character," grin twitching his lips higher at the corners, "Wonder where he was, to learn phrases like that." A thoughtfull look crosses his features as he regards the creature, lashes lowering a moment before he's chuckling again for the animal's continued language. He continues to wiggle that blade of grass, amusement tugging his expression at the kitten's antics there, though a glance is flicked from Kiley to Briana, "..It's against the rules to have pets in the barracks?" He may have only skimmed over all the rules when he was brought in, ahem. Drawing his knees up to rest an arm across, the holder boy leans forward a little, "How were the eggs, by the way? I haven't gotten a chance, but I heard they were letting us on the sands.." he pauses, as if something had suddenly occurred to him, and tilts his head to Briana and then Mirai with a somewhat sheepish, "Oh, I'm Iessrien."
Mirai blushes a little, her eyes fluttering to the ground and then up again with a grin. "I love taking care of the poor animals. I have him," and she points to the avian again, "…Then I have two poor canines and three felines that have all lost homes. I don't keep them all, I just make sure they get healthy and then try and find them homes, and the ones that I can't, I keep 'em in the stables. Mama-Kezi thinks its a good way to keep me busy." the girl comments impishly. She grins, her eyes sparkling at Iessrien. "I'm Mirai, Keziah's daughter." she states simply for all of them.
Kiley looks back to Briana and nods once, "maybe he only meant so that someone could watch him? We're not allowed to have pets other than firelizards in the barracks. That's what the rules say, anyway…" She certainly looks guilty for sharing this information, her gaze quickly darting away from the other candidate to avoid her gaze for the moment. "Maybe he was in a rowdy tavern." The woman has heard stories! Her gaze lifts to Iessrien and she nods to the question but nothing more than that for the guilt still lingers there while her hands fold in front of her and her fingers begin to twist the chain of her bracelet. "They were.. Surprising. I don't think I could really describe all of them. Weyrwoman Thea said one of the other candidates, a grown man, had started /crying/ because of the eggs." Her own experience, however, isn't shared. His introduction has her blinking her eyes widely, "oh. I'm sorry. I'm Kiley."
At the introduction from Iessrien, Briana blinks and extends her hand to him, "Briana ..from Ista." She says at first before leans back again pondering the question about the egg, "I …well I don't know. There was a nice one today, but some have been quite…" She moves her hands around in the air as if trying to grasp the words she wants. "Well they weren't all wonderful like I was told…" She finally says with a sigh and drops her hands to her lap again. As Kiley speaks of the pet rule she looks to Iessrian and back again, "I ain't heard that one yet…suppose I will ask M'nol again." She says with a frown and a glance to her kitten. This seems quite distressing to the young woman. She glances up to Mirai after some silence and smiles a touch, "Sounds like you really like animals."
Iessrien smiles, offering a, "Well met," to Mirai and Briana, scooting over to take the latter's hand briefly, before moving back a bit and wiggling that blade of grass some more. "That's a lot of pets," he comments with some amusement to Mirai, "I'd wager you'll make a good beastcrafter when you get older. If you find another avian like that one," nodding toward the creature on the girl's shoulder, "let me know, hm? In a few months, I might know someone who'd be able to take one in. Especially if he knows some interesting things to say." Lips twitch upward at the corners once again, nodding agreement with Kiley's comment about the avian, though he tilts his head to listen curiously when the girls comment on the eggs. "I've heard.. they get into your head," he ventures slowly, glancing from one candidate to the other, eyebrows lifting again, "Crying? Maan, that's.." he shakes his head, taking a second to come up with the words, "..pretty weird." There isn't a flicker of nervousness in his face just then, really. Letting his eyes drift back toward the kitten, lips press together in a line before he comments, "I'm sure, if you had to, you could find someone in the lower caverns to take care of him until the hatching."
Kiley watches as the girl is called away and she tilts her head in consideration, just for a moment before turning a look to Briana. Cheeks color a light shade and the woman murmurs, "I'm not lying. I really don't want you to get in trouble…" But she leaves it at that, whether or no her plea is taken into account or listened to. Her fingers continue to twist at the chain on her wrist and her gaze drops to watch her fingers. This lasts only a moment longer until she suddenly forces herself to stop, hands tucking behind her back. "They do get into your head.. I guess every egg is different.. Previous clutches where the eggs had wonderful feelings that people are talking about are not these eggs.. Which are very different entirely." Her brows furrow at her explanation and then she shakes her head as if to dismiss her own thoughts on the subject. "Yeah. I don''t know if it moved him.. Or upset him or something." Iessrien's offer for the woman's kitten is given a thoughtful silence before she pipes in, "E'gin had some kittens when he Searched me. You could ask him to watch him until the Hatching. He loves animals."
Blade makes his way through the grass and gives a playful pat at the grass the young man is teasing him with. The Green firelizard finally settles once the child and her 'offending bird' leaves, only to settle in Briana's carry basket giving baleful looks to the other people here. Briana turns up to Kylie and shakes her head, "Oh no, I suppose I will see if Kal can take him back next time he visits…I just didn't know." She says with a sigh as she looks down to the kitten. "They really do get inside your head, I nearly wanted to leave candidacy after the first touching…like…like they rejected who I was." The offer of someone else taking care of her kitten here seems to almost relax her, "I suppose that would work…just till the hatching." The mention of the rider causes her to nod, "Or I suppose I can ask my Uncle if he could…"
Bri finally rises to her feet and leans down to scoop up the kitten, "I suppose I should deal with this before I get in trouble.." She says and tucks him under her chin for a moment before setting the grey kitten in the basket with the firelizard. "Thanks for letting me know and well it was nice to meet you both properly like." She says before moving out into the darkness.
Iessrien wiggles the grass blade juust near the kitten's paws, lips twitching towards a smile as the animal pats at it. "It'll work out somehow, I'm sure," he comments, at all the people offered up to take care of the little creature. The further talk of the eggs has the holder boy's eyes widening just a fraction, gaze flicking from Kiley to Briana, his adam's apple dipping slightly as he swallows back a response, grown quiet a few seconds before he ventures, perhaps a little too lightly, "Well, I'm sure it's just.." hesitating to find something nonchalant to say, "..as strange for the baby dragons, having so many people and.. uh. things.." voice trailing off as he quietly clears his throat. And absently chews his lower lip for a second or two, head lifting to nod toward Briana when the girl gets up to leave. He offers her a smile, and a, "Good luck," for her feline, grass-holding hand raised before he absently flicks the piece of greenery off across the lawn, watching it flutter down again in a wiggly, wobbly path.
Kiley blinks at Briana stating the egg's rejection but not saying anything on it, reflecting her own experiences before she moves her thoughts back to the kittens. "You could ask him, yeah. You've got a lot of options." The woman smiles and then waves a farewell as she takes off to take care of the whole kitten issue. "It's not a problem." She promises, smiling as Briana departs and feeling a load lighter. "Maybe.. I mean, they do have a lot of candidates touching them constantly." The woman furrows her brows, "maybe touching them wakes them up and they're only responding to that.." Shoulders shrug, however, as this will likely remain unknown to them. The grass as it falls is considered before her gaze travels to the candidate beside her. "You okay?"
Iessrien blinks, lifting his head as he straightens slightly, gaze flicking from the discarded blade of grass over to Kiley, and then quickly away again, "Yeah, fine," shrugging whatever it is off with an absent wave of his hand, thin smile for the girl, "I'd be pretty cranky too, if I got woken up by a bunch of people coming in and putting their hands on my head." His tone is wry, with just a slight flicker of amusement behind his eyes, the holder boy crossing both arms lazily across his knees as he ponders, "Man, must be weird, to be a dragon in an egg." He shakes his head, eyes having drifted off across the garden before returning to Kiley, lashes lowering a moment in consideration, "Anyway, I'm sure they're all not.. that bad?" He might sound a little more hopeful at the end there.
Kiley lifts a brow as his gaze flickers away from her, tilting her head in confusion. But she doesn't let her gaze linger as she turns it away to allow him some sort of privacy. "That is good. I was a little worried." She stretches her arms out behind her back, thoughtful, "that makes sense. Everyone coming up and touching your head and waking you up constantly." Her lips press into a thin line, brows drawing into a deeper frown as she begins to partially understand what the eggs may or may not be feeling. Her gaze turns back to the other and she smiles, "yeah, being in an egg would be weird.." A shrug follows the question, one hand freeing from the other to wave lightly. "I think everyone perceives the whole thing differently."
Iessrien hms softly, eyelids lowered in thought, even if his shoulders straighten just a little. "No wonder you hear stories about people getting mauled out on the sands," he says suddenly, lips tilting somewhat, "Must be bloody cranky with the lot of us." His laugh is wry, though not entirely full of mirth, a little strained, but his expression has shifted back into a smile. "I always heard back home that hatchings were.." possibly choosing how he phrases it more carefully, "..chaotic. That people had to watch themselves out there. I sort of wonder how much of that is made up and how much.. is real," clearing his throat again and adding on in explanation, "I've never been to a hatching." He nods at Kiley's words, and then tilts his head, stretching a little then wincing, just slightly. "I think I'd better go see the healers about soem numbweed," hand brought up almost hseepishly to massage his shoulder, "I'll see you later," nodding to the girl as he gets up and offering a smile before turning to head down the path.
Kiley can't help the bit of laughter that slips from her lips at that, her hand lifting to quickly cover her mouth to hide the rest of the laughter. "Maybe. But they said that touching is supposed to make them /less/ violent. Maybe waking them up so much makes them think too much and they're more tired by the Hatching and they don't maul.. Or because they kind've already know our minds." Comes her theories from behind her hand before she drops it and smiles a little more freely before it fades once more. "I've heard a lot of stories as well.. That's how Holds are, you know? Just full of stories to try and scare people away from Weyrs or something." The wince is met with a frown and she nods, "yes. Please do, and don't strain yourself too much." Her gaze follows him as he leaves before she's considering her surroundings and finding herself a nice place to sit and think for a little while.