
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.
Karona looks tired this morning, as she pokes listlessly at her early breakfast. A nanny enters, followed by children, and the candidate lets out a half-yawn, half-groan, but she gets to her feet. "Right.. kids." she mutters, moving to meet the group. Several kids recognise her, and their eyes light up, bouncing over to pester the tired candidate, lots of questions, all at once. "Sh, shh, one at a time, like we practiced." Karona says, though she can't resist a small smile. Ah, kids.
Milo happens to be one of that group! Or, he's joining the group. His father is busy eating breakfast. K'ael is actually looking a bit anti-social this morning. He's also looking sweaty and a bit tired himself, so he is likely getting a quick breakfast after his morning workout. His son though isn't feeling as quiet, and he joins in the pestering. "Ooh, Karona! Can we see the inside of the smithy today? Can I bang something with a hammer? How hot is the furnace? Will it melt this rock? Can you make me a sword?"
Flandynn backs from the kitchens, hands lifted in a placating manner. Step after step, he retreats backwards, as if he is being herded back by some huge, awful, and nasty monster. Actually, it is just one of the cooks, brandishing the proverbial rolling pin. "I'm just the messenger. That's what she asked for," the teen attempts, a look somewhere between worry and alarm upon his features. "You wouldn't hit the messenger, would you?" To which the cook almost seems to growl and wave that pin a little higher. "Okay. Okay. I'll tell her there are no pastries. It is fine. Really." He retreats back a few more quick paces, thighs striking the back of a table before he is finally free. "Shells… who knew messenger duty would threaten my life."
Karona smiles slightly, and pats one of the girls on the head distractedly, "Mmm. That's interesting. And then what happened?" she's asking, though, judging by her expression and tone, she's clearly not listening. Milo's enthusiasm gets a raised eyebrow from the smith candidate, and a tired chuckle. "Sure, sure. We can visit the smithy. /Briefly/." she adds, sternly. Very briefly. She actually takes the rock and turns it over in her hand, handing it back with a shake of her head. "No, this rock is stone. I can show you some rocks it /would/ melt, though." she offers. Learning! Under guise of making rocks melt. "A sword? I don't know, those cost a /lot/ of marks… ask your father." she suggests. It's a way of shifting the 'no' someplace else. Flandynn's entrance is noted with a frown, she's not far from the kitchens. "Messenger duty, eh? Swap you!" she offers, waving at the kids. The kids who are /definitely/ within earshot. What?
Milo takes his rock back with a frown. "Ooh… okay!" He pockets the rock again. At least he gets to keep it? Maybe it's his pet. He seems interested in getting to watch things melt though. K'ael is sort of listening at a table not too far from Karona's. She and Milo get a headshake at the notion of a sword. He'll gladly take the 'no' off of Karona's shoulders. Milo looks pouty, but he doesn't press his luck. Even if Karona excuses herself from nanny-duty she's likely to have a brat following her around for the rest of the day. She was family! Unfortunately for her. "Being a messenger is an important part of being a rider though," K'ael states. "I mean, you'll need to know how to talk your weyrmate out of killing you when you've won two greenflights back to back, right?"
"I get along famously with kids, not so much with angry cooks who have butcher knives and rolling pins," Flandynn remarks, his voice dropping into a not-so-conspirational whisper. He shoots a glance over his shoulder towards the kitchens, and then eases around the table upon careful feet. The teen taps a finger upon the top of the table following K'ael's words, "Sounds like there is a story behind what you just said there, sir." His eyes fall over to the child asking for a sword, and the teen lifts his voice. "Sword? Really? I've got one." Yeah, he is an enabler.
Karona looks very relieved at K'ael's no, though she at least attempts to give Milo a sympathetic look. "Maybe when you're older." she says, reaching out to tousle the poor boy's hair in a very patronising fashion. Karona snorts audibly at K'ael's words, and shakes her head slightly. "All the dragon's fault, right sir?" she says, though she clearly doesn't believe it. The only dragon she knows is her mother's brown, who is unusually reluctant to chase. The smith candidate seems about to invite Flandynn to help, "Well, you want to—" give me a hand? Wait. Sword? "Really? Come on! His father said no."
K'ael grins to both candidates. "Not my story, I can assure you. Azaeth doesn't normally chase greens. Too small for him. And I haven't been weyrmated very long, either." He nods to Karona then. "Not like I have much control over who he chases. Usually just happen to be at the right place at the wrong time." Milo points to Flandynn. "He's got a sword!" That earns a squint from his father. "He's older than you. Also, you have no need for a sword. You'll only end up hurting yourself or someone else with it."
Flandynn pushes away from the table, dark hair flopping over his eyes 'till a flick of his head clears his dark gaze once more. He glances first to Karona, and just the slightest of grins tweaks his lips and deepens his dimples -a most secretive glance at that. In the next breath, he is looking towards Milo. There is a pregnant pause as the teen just stands there, and in the next blink, be prepared for a Dramatic Corny Moment. Suddenly both of the teens hands come together, fist atop fist as if he is, indeed, brandishing a greatsword before him. Only, there is absolutely nothing there. "Behold. My Greatsword of the Seven Winds." Sure, the kid might be a tad old for this 'make believe' moment, but it is what it is -or isn't. "Only true believers can see it."
Karona doesn't seem entirely convinced by K'ael's words on the flight story, or flights in general, but she doesn't pursue it. "If you want a sword, maybe you should think about becoming a guard when you're older." she suggests. She tilts her head at the boy, pausing a moment to figure something out in her head. "What are you now, seven? Eight?" she wonders. There's a chorus of ages from the gathered kids, ranging from five to eleven. Flandynn's 'sword' gets a flat look from Karona, and then a slowly raised eyebrow. "My, what a magnificent sword you have there." she states, flatly. Impressed? No, not at all. Is there an /opposite/ of impressed?
K'ael wouldn't be terribly surprised if Karona didn't believe him, but he's telling the truth! Really though, Azaeth was much too large for greenflights. Many a poor blue and brown have been knocked from the sky accidentally after getting too close to the bronze's wake. There's a bit of an incredulous look from K'ael at the thought of his son as a guard. Milo giggles away at Flandynn. "Oh yeah?" He holds both his hands out. "Well I have two daggers!" He waves his arms around, brandishing them. "En garde!"
Flandynn sure does give Karona a look. It is the kind of open-mouthed, wide-eyed, lifted-eyebrows sort of shocked look at the tone of her voice. His next words follow right with what she says. "Isn't it though? Clearly you believe. I-" And then suddenly he is being attacked! The teen bounces back, neatly upsetting a chair and causing quite the clatter, "Fight!" He swings his 'Greatsword' complete with sound effects -because everyone knows that males require sound effects. So yes, the invisible sword goes *whooooosh*.
Karona raises an eyebrow at K'ael's incredulous look. "Y'know, my father never quite understood why I became a smith, his precious little girl." she comments idly. Kids can be surprising. Likely Leona was impressed by her daughter's chosen career though, perhaps that's /why/ she chose it. The little swordfight is eyed by Karona, and watched with hushed reverence by the gaggle of kids she's been assigned to watch. "Oooh, aaah, look out!" go the kids, entranced. There's an occasional call of "Me next! No, me!" as well.
Milo of course joins in with his own sound effects. "Whiiish-wissh! Clang! Scrreeech, clang!" Of course there are other little ones getting involved now, too. Flandynn might find himself overwhelmed. "Be careful." K'ael instructs sternly as they start clattering about. If they create some sort of disaster he'll be running out of the caverns just as fast as they will. There's a grin and a shrug to Karona. "Mm. And now you might be a rider, too." Obviously, whatever Milo does besides being a rider… well, that was Milo's business.
Flandynn capers about with the kid(s), happy to get all into the game, but just as carefully allowing himself to get herded to places where there aren't so many people. After a few more counters and swings, he lifts a hand. "I give! I give, Master! I yield." He lowers his 'sword', bowing his head towards Milo. "Seven Winds and I are no match for you… good fight. But, I want another bout with you, when I am better prepared. Deal?" His chin lifts some, glancing across the room and towards Karona with a wry grin, "I have a lot of respect for those who become crafters. I don't do so well with those kinds of commitments." And yet, he wears a candidate's knot.
Karona tilts her head slightly at K'ael. "I might be… I suppose that would make her proud." she comments idly. "Though L'nel says she's /still/ not said two words to him since he impressed. Good." she decides. She keeps a watchful eye on the children, not all of them wanted to go off to war, so she stays where she is, with them, while the nanny is left to follow Flandynn and the children around. At Flandynn's surrender, there's an exuberant cheer from the children, causing at least one hungover breakfaster to grunt in annoyance. Karona tips her head to Flandynn, "All in service to the Weyr. Pern needs crafters, I needed a career, here I … am." As a candidate. But having a craft means she gets to do that work in the afternoon, instead of more chores.
Milo cheers as well. Though he accepts the surrender with a handshake. "Me and uh… the Twin Dragons will be waiting for you!" He retreats back to where Karona is sitting with the rest of the herd. She hasn't escaped her nanny duties that easily! K'ael nods a bit to Flandynn. "Me either. Of course I didn't have much choice growing up. We only had a small cothold, not much really there to learn about other than growing grapes." There's a grin to Karona. "I guess there's a lot of pressure on weyrbred kids to say weyrbound. More so than holdbred, I think. I need to take this one up to see his mother. It's been a while."
"I like grapes," Flandynn notes with a broadening grin. He offers up another bow towards SwordMaster Milo with all due respect, saluting the child as he returns to his cohorts. "And I need to return to rider Yolli with the bad news that no, the kitchens will not provide her with creampuffs and redfruit turnovers. You really wanted messenger duty, huh?" That last is directed towards Karona, drops his chin, wheels about, and strikes out to the clearing.
Karona nods slowly. "Yeah… She's from a long line of riders, going back as far as anyone can see. L'nel's a rider now, and I'm a candidate." she tips her head at Milo. "She'll be expecting Milo to be searched soon as he's old enough, too." Well, maybe. Milo is a much shorter name than Leonell, a name practically constructed to elide well. Flandynn gets a grin as he passes. "Well, sure, you were having such fun. But I'm fine with this, I get to go to my craft in the afternoon." Boasting? She just might be. There's a wave to the departing candidate, and she tilts her head at Milo. "Congratulations, sir, at your victory." she states, with a mock-bow.
K'ael shakes his head a bit at Flandynn. "Not as much as my family does, I can assure you." Milo is bold enough to even take a seat next to Karona, crowding out any other brats around. She was -his- sister, so he could so what he wanted! If he could he'd probably climb into her lap. He grins at Karona. "Thanks! Can I have a sword now?" The bronzer shakes his head at his son, then nods to Karona. "Mm. That's fine by me. Unless he's a broody teenager and doesn't want to be searched or whatever." Though the bronzer might twist his son's arm.
Karona leans back slightly, and eyes Milo a long moment, barely suppressing a smirk. "I have a hard time imagining this one as a broody teenager. And I'm a candidate, I know broody teenagers!" No doubt. It is the general age of candidates, teens. Karona is a bit of an outlier case, being close to thirty, though she probably isn't the only one. Karona blinks slightly at Milo, as he climbs into her lap. "Well. Guess we can't go to the forge then." she teases, because it /is/ rather hard to move when you're being sat on.
K'ael laughs. "Yeah. I doubt it. He's not really the type. Never can tell though. You say one thing to a teenager that they don't like and then they hate you forever." Not that the bronzer has a lot of experience dealing with teenagers lately. "Heh, you're quite a bit older than most candidates. Have you considered what might happen?" He peers around. "Most people I know that impressed that late impressed to gold. Er, not that you will, but…" Hopefully with Milo in her lap Karona is less likely to run away or stand up and smack the bronzer, too. Milo peers up at Karona with a pout. "Aw! We can go later! You said you had to work later, right?"
Karona blinks at K'ael, stunned. "Uh… My aunt was a little older than me when she impressed her green. But… no. I touched one of the eggs with gold on the shell, I did not like that mind at all. I /hope/ that isn't the dragon for me. Plus, /if/ I impress, I'm going to be a craftrider! Goldriders can't do that." Nope. Gold is not an option. "I'm hoping for something small, blue, maybe a green, something that doesn't take too much time to wash, so I can spend more time crafting." Because apparently that's all dragons are to her - things that take up time? Can't be. If that was the case, she'd never have accepted the white knot. She pats Milo on the head, and nods slightly. "I did say that, yes… I suppose we could do that." she offers, tentatively. "Not for long though, the other smiths tend to get a bit… cranky."
K'ael nods to Karona. He chuckles. "Gold dragons don't always pop out of the gold eggs. Though I would be a bit surprised if there were a gold in this clutch. Most new senior queens don't sire another gold in their first clutch. It's a survival move I guess, to help secure their position at the weyr." He chuckles. "Smaller means more flights though." And the bronzer knows she won't like that. "How's that commission going, by the way?" Milo nods to Karona, grinning. "I won't get in the way! I promise! I'll be quiet and watch. Uncle Dels is a smith, too, kinda. He makes 'splosions! KERPLOW!"
Karona tips her head slightly, relaxing just a bit. "There, y'see, not an option." she declares. "…don't they generally prefer hold girls, anyway?" she asks, with a furrowed brow. Sure, she acts more holdbred than weyrbred, and her father /was/ a holder before he went to craft, but… hm. Well, there's still her rider mother? "Eh, maybe not a green then." in response to flights, "Blue will be fine." she decides. "A little one." Though, really, it's not /up/ to her, she just likes to plan. She's a big supporter of planning, life can't be allowed to happen by chance, Faranth no! "It's… coming. I've sent for the materials, I'll start construction any day now." she says, with a shrug. Nothing particularly exciting to report there. Milo gets a raised eyebrow, and a grin. "Quiet? You can do quiet?" she asks, seemingly unbelieving, but amused more than anything. "I, ah, there won't be any explosions." She is sorry to report. "It may actually be very boring."
K'ael chuckles. "Not always though. Enka isn't holdbred, and she's senior at Western." Among other things, like the bronzer's ex-weyrmate and mother two one set of twins. "But you're right, it was just a thought." And apparently impressing gold wasn't part of Karona's plan! Though the bronzer would be surprised to find out impressing at all is part of her plan, really. He nods about the projects. "Mm. Did you run your design past the commissioner? Not that it matters one way or the other to the bronzer, just that he was curious. Milo peers up at his sister. "Yeah… I can do quiet!" He whispers to her then. "See? Listen how quiet I am. There doesn't have to be 'splosions. I like to watch the sparks when you bang things with the hammer."
Karona frowns slightly, and shakes her head. "I suppose it's not… well… still. Not likely. …they get good marks though, right? Goldriders?" she asks, furrowing her brow slightly. There is hope, there. "Still, I can't just… I mean, there's the craft…" she shakes her head firmly. It's /possible/, but likely? Not enough to bother planning for it. "I, ah… I haven't yet. I've sent him a message, to meet me in the forge some afternoon. Hopefully he does, before I actually start making it." But she seems doubtful. Milo gets a grin, and she nods. "That's some very good quiet." she says, whispering herself. "Hmm, I don't have anything planned for actually smithing today… but I could. Want to see me make a runner shoe?" she offers. Those are always needed, and don't take that long to make.
K'ael laughs and nods. "Very good marks, yeah. Other than the weyrleader they're the highest paid in the weyr. Are you worried about marks?" The bronzer only worried about that sort of thing when he knew he was going to need them. Like before one of his kids were born. He nods to Karona about the commissioner. "Mm." Milo nods a bit, looking at her quizzically with his blue eyes. Just like his father's. He nods and grins about the runner shoe. "I can ride a runner! Enka taught me. Do you ride them, too?"
Karona shakes her head slightly, looking sheepish. "Not, not /worried/. But who'd turn down marks? If I could earn enough that I wouldn't need to work again, well, I'd never work again." If only it was that easy. "I… I don't actually /spend/ my marks, I've got a little chest full, hidden away." she admits, with a slight shrug. Bit of a hoard going. Karona tilts her head at Milo, and grins. "Sure I can ride, I used to own a runner, when I was posted to Fort Weyr. I'd ride out to the Harper Hall to visit my father often."
K'ael laughs. "Who would turn down being a princess at the weyr, either? Though I've seen people refuse knots before. Even Niva's daughter refused to stand. Though it can be hard for someone settled already." He blinks then. "Why have them, then? I guess I'm not much better. I spend them when I have to. On my kids, mostly. The weyr provides for most of us though." He shrugs a bit. Milo grins and nods. "Not here, though? I want my own… da always says 'maybe next turn' though. Could I ride to Ista from here?"
Karona smirks, and shakes her head. "Not for me, I'd rather be in the forge than behind a desk." A bit of her mother's active streak showing through, perhaps. She certainly didn't get that from her harper father. "Why have marks? Well, /one/ day, I'll be able to retire on that supply. That's the idea. But… if I ever /need/ them, I've got them. The Weyr and the craft provide most of what I need. Don't honestly see what need people have for marks." she says, with a snort. Karona tilts her head at Milo, then shakes it slightly. "No, not here. I don't have anywhere nearby to visit." she says, with a shrug. The boy's question of Ista has her frowning. "Ah… no. Ista's on an island, can't get there by runner." she says, tone slightly cold at the mention of Ista.
K'ael grins and nods. "There is a benefit to seeing things are done your way. But desk jobs tend to be a little dry. I'm rather fond of transport, but part of be longs to be wingleader again. I think that part's name is 'Azaeth'." He chuckles. "Retire where? Outside the weyr? I guess one day I'll retire. Too far away to think about though. Not to mention Zip is quite a bit younger than me, and I wouldn't want to retire without her. Once our kids are grown and all, and have kids of their own maybe." The boy nods to his older sister with a frown. "Guess I can't ride out to see ma then." Milo clearly still has a high opinion of his mother even if he hasn't seen her in a while. Though Leona is probably relieved Milo can't ride out to visit her whenever he wants.
Karona shakes her head slightly. "Retire to some nice hold somewhere." she says. "Well, unless I impress, I suppose. But that's the plan, retire when I can afford it. And hopefully while I'm young enough to enjoy it." she says, with a nod. She really does have everything all planned out. "Really? He… he has that much influence, over your career?" she wonders, taken aback. A dragon might not be happy with a craftrider for a rider? Oh dear. Karona frowns slightly at Milo. "Why'd you want to go and do that, then? She's got a dragon, /she/ could visit if she wanted." So a lack of visit automatically means a lack of desire to visit?
K'ael grins. "Good luck to you. Stay single and don't end up with kids, then. They drain away your marks like you wouldn't believe." And Milo was already setting himself to drain off his sister's marks, if she wasn't careful and got attached. K'ael shrugs a bit about Azaeth. "He likes to be in charge. It's a partnership. I put up with his large and in charge attitude and he puts up with my need for family life." He chuckles a bit. "If it were up to him we'd still be weyrleader at Ista and it'd just be the two of us." Milo shrugs a bit. "She's busy. And Lakareth's got that leg thing. Plus I could surprise her!"
Karona tilts her head. "That's the plan. Staying single, for the time being. When I'm more settled, /then/ I can get married, start a family." she states, with the complete assurance of someone who has no clue. "Partnership, eh? So I've got to hope, if I impress, that my dragon is okay with craftriding?" she furrows her brow. "I… I hope I don't impress a dragon that wants otherwise." she says, furrowing her brow. The woman eyes Milo, and frowns slightly. "She's /always/ busy." she mutters. "Why don't you ask your father to take you there some time, then? He's got a dragon too."
K'ael nods to her. "Sounds like a good plan. I did the same thing, really. Though uh… can't help the flight babies." He grins a bit and shrugs. "It's not all bad though. You got a man in mind?" He knows she is interested in men now, after all. He chuckles. "I wouldn't worry about that. Your dragon will know -you- very well. It's not like it's a tug-o-war, you'll just find yourself making different sorts of decisions than you would have before you rode, is all. Your dragon won't be at odds with what you love, trust me." Milo looks to Karona, then to his father. K'ael grins. "We can go out there, sure. You should come with us, Karona."
Karona grimaces slightly. "Flight babies. Right. There's one surefire way to avoid those." she mutters. "If I impress, my weyr is gonna have some good locks on it." she states firmly. None of that flight stuff for her, no. "No, no one in mind. Not yet." she says, with a shake of her head. There's still time, right? Right. "…mm. Right. If you say so." she says, furrowing her brow slightly at the bronzerider. But what does she know? She's no rider. "I, ah, /come/? Me? Well, I… I can't. I'm a candidate. The eggs are hard enough to touch now, I want to be around if they're rounding candidates up for that." Suuuure, that's the reason. Nevermind that she's not gone to see the eggs once since touching them.
K'ael chuckles. "True enough. Though you're lucky, you get to do the avoiding should you choose. Most of mine came about on -purpose-. Crazy greenriders wanting kids." There was always time! Karona was still young. K'ael laughs. "Oh right. We don't have to go right now, but if you impress you'll be stuck at the weyr for quite a while. So we'll have to see how things pan out. Though you can always head out with a rider to take you back." One day, he will trick Karona into going with them. "I'll probably take Milo out there soon though, now that things are more settled." Milo is in his sister's lap and grins excitedly about going to see mom soon. K'ael for his part, has finished up breakfast and is chatting with the smith.
Karona raises an eyebrow at K'ael. "It takes two to make a kid." she notes. He could do some avoiding too! Said with the certainty of one who has never been involved in a flight. Karona is supposed to be watching a group of the Weyr's children, but it seems she's allowed herself to be distracted by K'ael and Milo. Well, technically, Milo /is/ one of the children. There's a bemused nanny nearby /actually/ watching a small group of children, she doesn't seem too bothered by the candidate's distraction. Yet. "Mmm. If I impress, I could visit myself." And, still won't.
Zip wanders into the caverns and straight for the food and drink. She gets some juice and a plate, bread, cheese, red fruit, then she turns and looks around, heading for K'ael's table. "Heya love," she says and leans down to kiss the top of his head then waves to Milo and Karona, "Hello Milo and.." and she waits, hoping someone will introduce her. She takes a seat and picks up a slice of redfruit, nibbling.
K'ael nods. Then he blinks. "Well I guess. It's hard to remember stuff like that during a flight though." K'ael is pretty good at distracting the smith. First from work the other day, now from chores. He's chatty. Milo is actually the first to spot Zip heading their way, and he waves and calls to her. "Hi Zip!" The bronzer grins to his weyrmate. "Hey love. This is Karona. She's Leona's daughter, Milo's half sister. Karona, meet my weyrmate, Zip." The bronzer rubs a bit at Zip's back. "Karona's a smith and she's gonna show me how to make a runnershoe later!" Milo adds.
Karona is just very easily distracted. Really. The work does get done in the end though, even if she has to stay later to finish it. "Ah, I'm—" she nods as K'ael introduces her, though she says, "/Karell's/ daughter." Well, Karell and Leona's. Though, who is Karell to Zip? No-one, a name, nothing. The woman tousles Milo's hair again, grinning. "That's right, runnershoe. I can show you how to shoe a runner another day." she adds. She is a woman of several talents, evidently. Well, two.
Zip smiles at Milo, "Wow that will be fun!" she says of him making a runnershoe. "I had to work in the stables a lot when I was a weyrling, though, I liked it, I always worked in there anyway," she says with a smile. She leans into K'ael a bit when he rubs her back then she smiles at Karona, "It's very nice to meet you, Karona."
K'ael chuckles a bit to Karona. "Karell's daughter, too. Like she said. Takes two to make a baby." Karell was just a name to K'ael, too, afterall. He'd never met the man that he can recall. Milo looks up at Karona. "Ooh, you can shoe them, too? You're a… a… f-…" The boy thinks hard for a moment. "A fairy?" Well, he's close at least? K'ael grins to Zip. "Can you ride?" He steals a bit of fruit from the brownrider's plate and nibbles on it.
Karona tilts her head slightly at Zip. "Ah, yes, nice to meet you." she says, rubbing the back of her neck a little sheepishly. She was too busy professing that she had another parent than Leona to really respond before. Whoops. "I don't really do it a lot, I just had to know how to shoe a runner, when I rode." she states modestly. "I'm much better at making the shoes than putting them on." she admits.
Zip smiles at Karona and then nods at K'ael, "I can ride, yeah," she says then winks. "I can't shoe.. " she says then looks to Milo, "Farrier, I think…" she says to him then she nods to Karona. "I can saddle them up and stuff but no shoeing," she says then she plucks up a piece of cheese to nibble.
K'ael nods to Karona. "It's a good skill to have and all. Not something a lot of people can do. I'm not a huge fan of runners, myself. Had a bad experience when I was a kid." Milo chimes in. "Farrier! Yeah, that guy. I can ride! Enka taught me." K'ael grins to Zip. "You're not going to make me buy you a pony, are you?"
Karona shakes her head slightly. "I'm not much good at saddling them, must admit. I always preferred to get a stablehand to do that part." And they probably preferred not having to shoe the beasts. Everyone wins. "Runners are alright, I don't really see the fascination some have with them, but they're useful to get from one place to another. Without dragons. I prefer not to involve dragons if I don't have to, it's a personal preference." No doubt somehow connected to her mother - isn't everything?
Zip smiles at Milo and nods, "Right," she says when he repeats the word then nods again, "Oh that's good," she remarks about him knowing how to ride. "The work wasn't bad… I liked being outside and stuff," she says about the runners. A brow lifts at Karona when she's talking about not liking dragons, hrm, "You..don't like dragons?" she asks, curious.
K'ael grunts a bit. "I can saddle them and all, but I'd prefer not to ride them. I have a dragon for that sort of thing. They are useful, sure." Just not the bronzer's cup of tea. A fact not made any better by his ex-weyrmate loving runners and getting his son interested in them as well. "I came to the weyr to get away from mucked and runners." He chuckles a bit. He'll let Karona explain her relationship with her mother. "Well ladies, I hate to eat and run, but I need a shower and I'm going to be late for work." He stands, then leans down to kiss Zip. "Milo, you be good for your sister."
Karona shakes her head quickly at Zip. "I didn't say that! I accepted search, didn't I?" she flicks at the white knot on her shoulder. Though, why /did/ she accept search? "I, ah… dragons, well, riders have more important things to do… really." Right. That's it. Well, it's /part/ of it. That nanny over there is starting to look a little less bemused, but Karona doesn't seem to notice, happy to continue shirking her chore a little longer. "Ah, later, sir." she offers to K'ael, tipping her head slightly at the bronzerider.
Zip shrugs some, "That was all before I impressed.." she says of her work in the stables. "I still had work I had to do, it's not like we get to choose.." she says, at least in the stables she knew what she was doing, not like in the kitchens. She nods up at K'ael then kisses him softly, "I'm headed out myself.." and she starts to stand. "Karona.. congratulations on your search..maybe you can meet Adereth sometime, he's a wonderful brown.." and she sticks out her hand to Milo for a little exchange of handshakes, ending with a bump of fists, their own little thing apparently. "Have a good day love.. and you too Milo.. Karona.." and she is off!