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.
Chores today were to weed the gardens and while Kiley wasn't one to skip her chores that often, she was sitting quietly in her thoughts once again. Not exactly skipping as she was physically there, she just moved so slowly and at a pace that makes even the slowest things look fast. But eventually this comes to a stop as she tilts her gaze upwards and away from the ground she sits on with a frown slowly working into her brows as she considers many many things. The woman has been this way since the last touching of the eggs, ever lost in her thoughts, ever distracted by these things and seemingly lost in only these thoughts. Eventually, she blinks and pulls herself from thoughts that occupy her mind and begins to tug idly on the weeds though it is pretty pointless. Winter is coming soon, anyway, but who is to argue with the chore list when it provided a decent enough excuse for the woman to think about everything. And that is how Kiley can be found, settled in the garden and idly tugging on what weeds remain.
Iessrien.. does not have chores today. In fact, he's managed to wrangle another rest day, and.. does he ever need it. Moving slower than Kiley's weeding, the holder boy trudges through the garden, a favored hiding-spot of late, occasionally suppressing a wince as he absently massages a shoulder, looking just plain irritable. There's a preoccupied, narrow-eyed glance for a passing trundlebug, the candidate stepping around it, though perhaps sorely tempted to squish the thing - a bad idea, given his very nice, if worn boots. The critter gets only a flicker more of attention, though, his gaze not really fixing on anything as he passes flower beds and hunched-over gardeners, following one of the paths without any real hurry or purpose. He almost walks right past Kiley, but seeing the look on the girl's face, his steps slow, eyes flicking from her to the plants and back, before angling toward her with an only slightly cautious, "Hi," head lifting slightly to nod a greeting as hands tuck thumbs into belt loops.
Huzzah! A day off! And after the last sevendays of late nights and early mornings - craft studies still have to be done after all - kaede's certainly enjoying every moment of it. Having lingered in her cot well past the hour that the others departed for chores, she finally is up and moving, hair still damp from a recent soak, and looking quite relaxed. Free of then weight of the books that normally accompany her, she's meandering through the garden easily, enjoying the last hints of color that peek here and there in fading blooms.
What was Pyriel's chore today? Had he even checked? Whether he did or didn't remains to be seen as the boy harper wanders into the garden from the direction of the kiddie playground. A favorite haunt of his if anyone had cared to notice. Hands are shoved into the pockets of his trousers, thumbs hooked over the pockets. While his gaze is cast downwards, he still manages to dodge this or that shrub or gardener without even really thinking about it. His expression is one of a kid with a heavy burden upon his shoulders, feet dragging far more than they usually do. His chin lifts though at some point, revealing a shadow of a bruise on his chin that peeks out from beneath the puffy collar of his down-stuffed winter jacket. It might not be quite ready to snow yet this late in the autumn, but it was getting cold enough these days for the threat of it. Kaede's entrance is noted first, path subconsciously altered to intercept her, but golden eyes scan others present. Kiley was not the reason the kid's face suddenly gets a pang of something painful that flickers across his features, that was reserved for Iessrien. Brows crease and lower, before Py tears his eyes off him and his steps hurry to meet up with his fellow harper.
Iessrien is far too favored by the one who gives chores, but, Kiley certainly doesn't blame them for the sympathy that they show the holder. He did fall off a runner and bruise himself pretty badly, after all. Weeds are plucked one at a time, slowly and likely bugging those who work beside the woman but none seem compelled to try to make her move faster. It is at this moment that Iessrien almost passes and she wouldn't have noticed if he had continued onwards without a word, so it is the greeting that pulls her from her thoughts with a jump. Wide eyes are cast upwards towards the holder and she blinks once. "Hello Iessrien…" Comes her breathy reply and then, she's looking him over with a wary eye as she searches for /something/ before relenting and allowing her gaze to drop back to the weeds. "You look okay.." The woman murmurs softly before glancing up again, curious but not questioning as the topic would likely be a sore one. "How are your… Bruises? Are you healing any yet?" While the entrance of Kaede is not entirely noticed right away as she seems more intent on the one she speaks with, and that means that Pyriel also remains unseen for the time being.
Iessrien probably lowered his dark lashes and made eyes at Kita to switch with him, honestly, as he hasn't admitted any further injuries other than the original tumble off a runner awhile back. He still has the bruises, though currently hidden beneath his own jacket, sleek and fur-lined, left lazily unbuttoned at the collar. Lips twitch at Kiley's jump, briefest flicker of amusement behind pondwater-blue eyes. He takes her searching look in stride, eyelids lowering to consider the girl in turn before a slow, thin smile is offered, "I look like crap, but I'll live. Nothing I haven't dealt with before," though whether he means the injuries or something else, is not hinted in his wry tone, "You okay?" Iessrien nods his head toward the girl for emphasis, though out of the corner of his eye, he notices a familiar blond, and eyelids lowering halfway as he catches the expression on Py's face before the other boy looks away. Lips press into a momentary line, Iess' gaze flicking past Pyriel to Kaede, though no greeting is yet offered.
Spacey is probably a good word to describe the normally composed Kaede as she meanders through the garden, pausing at the sound of familiar voices, looking across the way, eyes coming to rest eventually on Kiley where she's settled weeding, and then Iessrien in turn. Lifting a hand to wave, she starts to pick her way in their direction - a plan that is, however, interrupted by the spotting of Pyriel, intercepting him and moving to loop her arms around him in a cheerful hug - mindful of his ears as she does so. "Py!" She offers with a little squeak, even as she peeks over her shoulder at the fellows across the way.
Officially, the two candidates behind him now are on his ignore list. Kaede has the entirety of his attention. When she wraps her arms around him, the boy harper stiffens and winces, unseen bruises pressed unintentionally despite the poofiness of his poweder blue coat. He awkwardly pats her on the back, somewhat of a return of the greeting, but he steps back and away a second after. It might strike as his attempt both at not being rude but also mindful of the threat Thea had laid down upon him last time he had a run in with the Weyrwoman. "Hey." he says soft and flat, hands sliding back into his pockets again as they were before. The dulled tarnish to his golden eyes made more noticeable with the way his lashes lower before his gaze wanders the ground. "Why are ya weeding? Dun make so much sense with the snow coming." he murmurs, eyes lifting back to meet the girl's brown.
In absolutely no mood to do his chores, not that he even looked to see what his were, Aqueepoli has (GASP!) left the comforts of the barracks where is is able to hide underneath his blanket and taken to wondering about. The garden, in particular, seemed to be his goal. Though upon hearing some recognizable voices, the candidate stops himself short of fully entering. The extreme need for all to be normal as it once was forces Pol to leisurely walk around the gardens as if nothing is amiss at all. Nope. All normal here. Just ignore the crazy look in his eye, is all. Hands are brought up and rested at the back of his head as he just wanders, no real direction in mind. A few looks are sent to the small group of fellow candidates, but he doesn't yet decide to join them. If he even choses too.
The advantages of being sexy, it seems. Kiley's eyes remain focused on the young man before her, concern working into her brows at his response of looking like crap and then the rest of it. Her mouth opens to say something more but then closes on that subject and she doesn't press and likely expecting to get no response. They are in a public space, after all, where anyone could hear and start gossip. "Oh. Yes. I was touching the eggs again the other day.. They really get into your head and make you think.. Make you wonder about a lot of things." Her lips press into a thin smile as her gaze drops briefly away to glance around as Iessrien's expression seems to sour. Or that is how she takes the whole thing, anyway. She spots Pyriel and then glances between the two, saying nothing on the subject of Pyriel, however, she moves on. "I've spent so many nights just thinking because of the eggs, they are.. Different and not what I would have expected if I had gone in with some expectations of some sort." Her gloved hand lifts to push a stray strand of hair from her face and effectively getting some dirt on her face while she's at it. Her gaze drifts again towards Kaede and Pyriel, but making no move to greet them as Pyriel does not seem compelled to greet them. Because her gaze still lingers away from Iessrien, Pol is easily spotted and the woman tenses up just a fraction before she can stop herself and the look she gives Iessrien may give away exactly who is there.
Kaede wrinkles her nose as Pyriel is hurriedly pulling away and shoving hands in his pockets, shaking her head with a roll of the eyes. "She's not here, you know." She murmurs softly, even as she's turning to look over the gardens, eyes resting on Pol, then Iess and Kiley, and then on Py, and then back at Pol. As everyone seems to linger at a distance, she blinks, and glances back over her shoulder at Py, dropping her voice. "What the shards happened, Py?" She questions after a moment, watching the others out of the corner of her eye suspiciously.
Iessrien offers a faint nod to Kaede, the greeting perhaps less warm than it would have been, if she weren't in proximity with Pyriel. The other harper? Receives no greeting at all. Eyes narrow then, Iess turning abruptly away from her and Py, weight shifting to lean more on one side as he slows to a stop not far from Kiley. "I haven't been on the sands yet," is commented absently, the holder boy giving his attention entirely to her, perhaps purposefully ignoring the other two candidates now. And Iessrien is totally sexy, this is true. Even when the slight scent of numbweed might still linger about him, wincing only a little as he carefully moves to drop down to the grass a short distance from Kiley. His expression tugs very briefly towards a frown for her words about the eggs, eyelids lowering to consider, "Hmh, I don't know what to expect from them. It.. sounds pretty bad," regarding the girl a second longer, the Kiley's tensing noticed only just before he spots Pol. Iessrien's own shoulders tighten visibly beneath the jacket, though not without the very slight, accompanying wince. He just.. /eyes/ the other older boy a long few seconds, jaw set.
Pyriel wasn't making excuses as to why he had so briefly returned the embrace, though Kaede clears it up well enough a few seconds after she releases him. He sees her crinkle her nose though, and his haunted features soften with apology. "It dun matter. She weren't in the barracks when…" he lets his voice trail off there. Yeah he wasn't really in the mood to explain it anymore than he was thinking about it. It brought up, other stuff that the boy harper just wanted to forget. At the girl's question, Py rolls a shoulder with an uneasy half-shrug. "Nothin'." Though after that he leans in softly and mutters something to her, leaning back after. Does he notice Kiley and Iessrien's glances in his direction? Nope, and he's pointedly continuing his intention to ignore them. Pol's entrance is noted with a dart of attention his way as he can see the tallest of the holder boys over the girl's shoulder. His expression hardens, and he stiffens visibly before his state of uncomfortable increases to the level that it's noticeable. He had been trying, and succeeding, to keep it under wraps. Now there was no chance in hell.
OH LOOK. A flower. In /gardens/. What a coincidence. Suddenly a single white flower with rather delicate petals becomes the object of Aqueepoli's interest. Though in reality, his eyes are straining far to the right, trying to spy what the others are doing. Ears are also suspiciously cocked towards the direction of his bros and the ladies around them. Crouching down, he plucks the flower up, essentially making it so the poor thing only has a few hours left of life. Bringing it to his nose he half-heartedly takes a sniff, than tosses the thing over his shoulder. Back to his full height, he makes the mistake of turning his head completely towards Iessrien and locking eyes. Well shit. It's a huff of air that leaves the lad as he squares his shoulders and marches towards his fellow holder. "Look." Pol starts… than stops. Grasping for the words in the empty pit that is his brain. "Ya know, what happened, I dun want it to be weird between us, kay? You're like… my friend." OMG BESTIES. "And JUST my friend. An' I know you wouldn't want it any other way and sharding Faranth, neither would I!" An awkward, wheezing laugh is released. "So can we jus' drop the uncomfortable vibe going down and go back to being bros? I suck at not talkin'." Pyriel is given a cheerful-yet-awkward wave to, his current expression not really occurring to Pol. Ignorance really IS bliss. "An' uh… hi… you two." He makes a 'hello' motion at both Kaede and Kiley. "So. Wha'cha say? We coo'?" He holds out his fist, staring expectantly at Iessrien.
Kiley looks to Iessrien as he moves, nodding thoughtfully. "A few have said they haven't yet… You will soon." She promises with a smile, "everyone'll get the chance." As they've been told many times already and the woman takes a deep breath as she decides to take a brief break from her chores. She pushes to her feet to move to settle near Iessrien then pulling off her gloves slowly as she makes herself comfortable. Her legs stretch out and she gives him a smile for the wince that crosses his face as if trying to offer some sort of comfort. "Just be careful and be ready for everything. I don't think it is as bad as it can be when you expect the worse…" But, even she went to a few eggs expecting the worse and was shaken visibly by the whole thing. Her gaze drifts from the other over to Pyriel and Kaede, lips pressing into a thin line as she watches the pair and glances between them and the candidate beside her, silently trying to put pieces together though she knows nothing about what exactly went down. Then Pol makes his way over and the woman watches him with an intent look, listening to what the other holder has to say, nodding idly to his greeting and then carefully averting her gaze. She wasn't listening, really.
Kaede blinks as she catches Iessrien's nod, forehead wrinkling as the snub of Pyriel is noticed, mouth opening a bit as she looks from Harper to Iess to Harper to Iess, and then there's the muttered explanation from Pyriel - if you can call such a brief statement an explanation - that really doesn't help explain anything at all. "Don't look at me like that, *I* didn't do anything." She finally snaps at Iess, and turns to glare at Pyriel in turn. "I don't care, I just want to know how the shards *I* got caught in the middle of it all." Glaring at the boys, even Pol as he waves in her general direction, she's stalking away from her fellow harper and settling down away from them, close enough to listen, but far enough away to express both her annoyance and keep them all in easy view.
As gaze meets gaze, Iessrien's pondwater blues turn icy, unreadable. His face may be coloring with the slightest hint of pink, though his eyes remain narrowed, jaw set. He shifts his attention to watch instead the flower being tossed off behind Pol, not quite looking at his bud, even when the other boy speaks to him. In fact, that only seems to make his shoulders tense further, lashes lowering till his eyes are nearly closed. Iessrien's gaze flickers briefly to Kaede, blank expression for the girl before he slowly shrugs, shoulders lifted more carefully as he tries not to aggravate the already-painful injuries. "You're not inolved," is told to the girl, flatly, before his attention flicks elsewhere. Kiley's moving to sit closer earns an absent nod, and a thin, though noticable smile, though he's then turning back to Pol cold eyes regarding the other holder boy a long moment before they close. Iess lets out a slow, controlled breath, clenched jaw working briefly before he's suddenly shoving himself to his feet, and marching over to Aqueepoli, ignoring the still-stiff shoulder and back. One hand reaches out, and he quite pointedly /grabs/ the other boy by the front of his shirt, and starts to drag him off through the trees. Uhm? "Need a word with you, man," is the only muttered explanation.
The only one that is getting the brunt of attention from Pyriel is Kaede. Oh there is the way that he glares threateningly at Aqueepoli and then jerks his head away in a 'hmpf' like manner. The girl harper though, she was his focus. He startles when she snaps though, face falling to a blank state, blinking several times. Especially when he's glared at. Considering the girl was more comfort and best friend than Ryeokie was, he actually looks apologetic to her as she stalks off. He opens his mouth, lifting hand from his pocket and reaches out to stop her, but she's not slowing at all. He just stands there like that for a few seconds, before his arm drops to his side and he swears under his breath. "….KAEDE! Wait…" He doesn't hesitate to march right on after her, careful to leave some personal space between them, crouching beside her. He whispers softly to her, the tone of the conversation carrying perhaps, but not any understandable words. Harpers were good at that you see, especially those vocally trained like Pyriel was. He shakes his head now and again, draping his forearms over his thighs in some semblance of his attempt to balance and get more comfortable. What happening behind him at least what he can't see isn't of particular interest, but the way he stiffens when Iessrien speaks speak volumes in how he might of been straining to listen. A fleeting glance is spared over his shoulder, watching as Iess drags Pol into the trees. His expression hardens and he turns away again to mutter something to Kaede.
It's an open-faced look of hopefulness on Aqueepoli's face as he watches the myriad of emotions and expressions flash over Iessrien's face. Okay, maybe not myriad, more like just a couple, but there's a pretty good chance that Aqueepoli doesn't even know what the word 'myriad' means. So he stands there, looking stupidly at his friend with a rather goofy grin on his face. That is, at least, until a fist is suddenly coming towards him. He braces for something that never comes, and it's no surprise that there is a fountain of relief flowing over the lad. Though then his shift is grabbed and he's being dragged. "Uh… Sure, dude. Whatever ya want." He does totally owe Iessrien, as it is. Though as he's getting dragged towards the trees and away from the safety of a larger group, Pol ships a look over his shoulder at the remaining three, along with a helpless shrug of his shoulders. "So… uh… ya wanna talk 'bout what happened?" Cause it's easy to determine by the tone of Aqueepoli's voice that he'd really rather not.
Kiley casts a gaze to Kaede, hearing the other woman's words and offering a shrug in response as her expression reads that she is entirely lost on what may have happened between the two. Her first assumptions were wrong, and now she has nothing with no more attempts for the assumptions could always be wrong and serve to make things worse than better all at the same time. She doesn't linger long there as her gaze is drawn to Iessrien as his gaze grows cold and the woman watches him while not so much the other holder. Her frame is growing tense for the look on his face even if he does cast her that smile. She doesn't return it, eyes widening slowly as he shoves himself to his feet and grabs the other holder. Her breath is held and she stares as he begins to drag him off and only the softest of squeaks comes from her in response, unable to react in any other way for the fear of getting involved. She is left there, alone with a gaze flickering towards Pyriel and Kaede, extremely left out. But rather than flee, she lifts herself to go back to her chores all while attempting to listen to try and get some understanding of what, exactly, was going on.
Luckily (or really, unluckily), for Pol.. Iess' intention of talking will be short and to the point. Just beyond the trees, and out of sight of the gardeners and any who'd likely intervene, Iessrien suddenly halts, whirling around, fingers still keeping tight hold of Aqueepoli's shirt. Ignoring his friend's words, his other hand curls into a fist, shooting forward to land a blow squarely in Pol's midsection. Just as abruptly, his hold on the other boy is released, Iess taking a another breath, totally composed. "Yeah.. /now/ we're cool, man," and even, apparently. He then turns, without another word, and calmly walks back to the others, without so much as a backward look, jaw working even as he drops down again beside Kiley. He doesn't look at her, or at anyone, eyelids lowered to consider the grass. And the weeds. And he absently starts picking some, apparently.. helping her? Well, that's something.
Kaede doesn't slow, nor look back at Pyriel's initial attempts to halt her progress, nor does she give Iess and Pol anything but a passing look as one boy drags the other off by his shirt. However, as he crouches beside her, she finally gives him a long look, eyes still narrowed at him, listening but likely not actually *hearing* his words, even if she's nodding just a little now and then. As he tenses, she gives in just a little, brow unfurrowing and lips pursing as she stares at him, his words actually answering her earlier question, before his final muttering has her glaring at Iess as he reappears and settles down besides Kiley - though Kaede at least is careful to avoid including the innocent computer crafter in that look.
Aqueepoli had assumed that if Iessrien was going to attack, it would be right away. So as they move off into the trees, the holder chattering away all the while, he wasn't prepared for the other candidate to stop, whirl around, and jam his fist right into Pol's stomach. It's a rather loud "Wha'cha doi—-UUUMMMFF!" that echoes off of those silent trees. Arms cross around his mid-section, a vain attempt to protect what has already been abused. He's doubled over at this point, to be sure. Tears start to stream down Pol's face as he slowly lifts his head to stare at Iessrien. His mouth opens, lips form words, but nothing but air comes out. Slowly he starts to fall towards his knees. Finally, after a few shaky gasps of air are allowed fully into his lungs, he cracks out a wiry grin and gets out, "At least… it wasn't… my balls…" Pol goes to his knees, ignoring as Iessrien leaves him there. S'all good. It takes a few more minutes for the urge to vomit to pass and the gasps of air to turn to normal breathing. Back up to his feet, he takes a couple unsteady steps, but after a few more he's back to being perfectly fine. Out of the trees he goes, head held high. Nooothing happened here. Nope. Right back over to the group Pol goes, a grin back where it belongs. "So, uh… wha' are we doin' out here?" His voice is still a little wheezy, but it's all good.
There's a soft round of apologies given to Kaede, not so much to be found in the volume but rather the tone of it that drifts over to the others. If there was one thing that Py needed was a friend, as he seemed pissed off at one of his bros and was blatantly ignoring the other one. Poor Kiley was the one that was caught in the middle, not Kaede. The other harper gets a gentle incline of his head, more whispered murmuring at least on his side. He'd of course seen her expression and probably guessed that she was annoyed enough that she wasn't really listening to him. He does note the look Kaede gives someone over his shoulder, having missed Iessrien's well placed punch to Aqueepoli's stomach since his back was still to the other three. Though as the girl beside him glares, he dares another peek over there. He sees Pol half bowled over, and Iess walking away. It didn't take a genius to put one and one together to get two. Brows sink low, eyes flicking between the holders and then he just pushes himself up to standing. "Screw this." he growls, and shoves his hands into his pockets. To Kaede as tips his chin up in regards to her, "I'll catch ya later, Kae…" Without a single word to the rest of the candidates, he starts walking off towards the gate that leads off back towards the weyr.
Kiley blinks in rapid succession as Iessrien returns to her side and begins to help weeding, there's is an oblivious look that crosses her face as she remains utterly clueless to what could have went on between the two holders and she certainly doesn't look willing to look. And the fact that he doesn't look at her says that something big went down, so she doesn't press as she slips off one of her gloves to offer it to the other candidate. It is one of those one size fit all sort of deals with the glove. So with one glove she continues her weeding and avoiding looking up for a moment longer before her gaze flickers over towards Kaede and Pyriel and the glare that is given to Iess is met with a lift of her brows and she attempts to place the pieces together again. Which doesn't go so well seeing as she is missing so many other vital pieces of solving the puzzle. And then a wheezy Pol returns to the scene and her gaze settles upon him, brows furrowing and then casting a gaze to Iessrien in questioning before her head quickly whips over to Pyriel at his words. "Pyriel." Is all she manages but then she quiets and simply watches the harper take off. A breath is drawn and she returns to her chores, focusing on those as they were far easier to understand than her fellow candidates.
Iessrien ignores Kaede's look, if he even sees it, though when Pol re-emerges from the trees, a glance is definitely cast back over his shoulder, head jerking in greeting to the other boy, like nothing had happened. He doesn't grin back, and the tenseness is still evident in his posture, but he's no longer glaring icy death at the other holder boy. "Day off, ..heh," he suddenly seems to have noticed he also pulling up weeds, "Thought I'd wander around, see if there's anything to get into out here." Apart from stomach-punching his best friend, apparently. "Shit, no wonder this place looks practically spotless. They have us out here weeding for winter," slight smirk finally breaking the tension in his face, at least. "You too, man?" said as he nods at the plant beds. Yup, everything's totally cool now. If he's avoiding looking too long at Pol, well, it'll probably pass. Kiley's offer of a glove has the holder boy blinking, a couple seconds' hesitation before he inclines his head with a quieter, "Thanks," to the girl, and even offering up a thin smile. He slips it on, despite the apparent restday, though when she utter's the harper's name, Iess' gaze flicks up to follow Pyriel. Lips press together, but he all he does is watch the departing harper, the considering look all the response evident in his face.
Kaede lingers for a moment, nodding her head briefly at Pyriel as her fellow Harper gets up and departs, lifting her hand after him as he goes, and she's left with the other three to digest the mumbled explanation that she was given. Eyes slip from one to the next to the next, giving Kiley a hesitant smile, though she makes no move to get up from where she's settled - somewhat apart from the others, chewing on her lower lip as she seems to contemplate her next move. A move that is finally made as she flicks the closest thing at hand - in this case a curled brown leaf - at Iessrien. "I would love, for just one minute, to know what the shards goes through the brain of *any* of you boys. Just once."
Nothing is better than everything going back to normal. At least in Aqueepoli's thinking. There is still a little bit of awkwardness in the boy's actions, but he's already shoving any unpleasant thoughts to the land of forgetting. "So you're doing a chore… when ya don't have to do a chore?" He asks of the other candidate-male, an eyebrow arching. He's just watching as the two do their weeding thing. Boredom rears its ugly head and soon Pol attention drifts towards other things. In particular, it drifts to Pyriel walking off. Frowning, the candidate tilts his head in question. "He seems pissier than usual." Arms cross at his chest. "Did he get made cuz of… uh… what happened to us?" The question is directed at Iessrien. Kaede's words get a chuckle out of Aqueepoli, however, causing the lad to turn towards her instead. "Boobs. Boobs go through our heads. AAAAALLLLLL the time."
Not that he wanted anyone to stop him, Pyriel continues on through the gate. Rather than turn and close it again, he merely kicks it closed behind him with a well placed foot. That done, and with the voices of his classmates fading into a whisper and then he is unable to hear them at all. He lingers just out of sight and earshot though, contemplating a rock on the ground before him as if the was the most hated thing on Pern. After a few seconds the boy rockets it with the toe of his boot somewhere off he couldn't see, swearing under his breath as he jams a hand into his hair beneath his bangs. Palm pressed to his forehead. He remains there, standing like a statue until he just as suddenly continues on the path back to the weyr. Trudging along. No one able to hear the soft sounds he makes or the way he angrily wipes at his face, before veering off towards the beach. Perhaps even beyond that. He might just keep walking until he's too tired to do anything at all.
Kiley considers Iessrien's look to Pol and shows some visible relief for the fact that things do seem entirely better now between the two. That is one pair mended, at least but then her chores take her whole attention for the moment before laughter comes at Iessrien's comment. "Well, gardens supposedly show how well a Weyr is maintained… Or something to that extent." The woman offers, offering a smile that is a little more at ease now that things seem partially better. A nod is given for his thanks and her gaze drifts away from the holder beside her to resume work. But she is constantly distracted from her focus by those around her as they speak and her gaze is finally drawn to Kaede who says something that reflects the thoughts of the computer crafter almost perfectly. Her eyes blink and then to Pol her attention goes. "I.. Think it is something else." Hopefully, but she doesn't express more than that for that is all that she knows of this situation and that is the only clear thing: something went down. But then cheeks are coloring as Pol resumes his normal ways and her gaze becomes focused on the weeds and ripping them out of the ground and snuffing out the life of the plant with that. Snuff. Snuff. Snuff. Massive plant death.
Kaede glances once more in the direction that Pyriel went stalking off, before Pol's response catches her attention back to him, and she is coughing loudly to clear her throat, struggling to catch her breath. "That… That's not not exactly what I meant. At least… not in this case." The Harper spares Kiley a long look, and a little twitch of her lips as she hides a smile. "Though, that's good to know, if we need to distract you, or get your thoughts headed in a different direction.."
Iessrien watches until Pyriel is out of sight, lashes lowering in thought as he considers the harper boy. There's no move to go after him, though the attention he pays might suggest he's debating it. Probably for the best, really, as his squaring things with Pol just now involved a good punch to the stomach. It's only when a dry leaf bounces off his shoulder that Iess is distracted back to those around him, gaze flicking with a bit of a blink back toward Kaede. A brow lifts, arching ever so slightly at the girl before he offers her an absent, "Sex and food, mostly," lips twitching up at the edges in wry agreement with Pol, "And boobs." A soft snort is given for his bud's question, shoulders rolling back in a semi-awkward shrug, "Nothing better to do, man. Unless you got some ideas?" continuing to weed, though without any hurry. As for his friend's commentary on Py, there's a soft snort, Iess shrugging again, "Doesn't matter. I'm sure he'll get over it." If he sounds less than convincing, well, he has nothing more to add, turning his mind back to the easier things, "Should check out the rest of the weyr sometime. Heard they have a mine somewhere around here."
Both eyebrows are arched now as Aqueepoli is fixated on Kaede. "Darling, you can distract me /anytime/!" More so if it means he gets to see a pair. Whoo hoo! "Ya girls wouldn't really grasp all the deep thoughts that run through our minds. Plus all that man juice," Also known as testosterone. "keeps us on our toes. Ready to punch faces in or eat red, bloody meat." He pauses in his sentence, looking quite thoughtful. "Ya know. I'm damned hungry suddenly. Think I'm gonna head in and hit up the kitchens, see if I can sweet talk a steak outta a cook or two." It's doubtful he'll get anywhere. Headed towards the exit, Pol has the decency to raise a hand and wave to the candidates. "I'll see ya all about the barracks, I'm sure. I should also get to my stupid chores, before someone gets on my case with it." Sigh. "Later!" And he moves off, out of the gardens and back towards the Weyr proper.
Kiley shares a brief smile with Kaede for the one that the other woman hides, her eyes flickering away at her offer, however as cheeks color and her head shakes. She's not going to distract anyone, nope. Not in the way that the crafter is most certainly thinking of now as her nose wrinkles for the thought. While she listens, she remains distracted with her chore if only to look productive and to play no active part in whatever this is between all of them. She doesn't understand and with the talking to from Thea, she feels that she really doesn't /need/ to understand at this point. Maybe later, but most certainly not right now. Pol earns a wary look, for his statement as if she may doubt that boy has complex thoughts at all. "Good luck with that. They've cracked down on meal sizes." But that is all she offers for him as she watches him leave, and a hand raises briefly for a wave.
"You are expecting *entirely* too much." Kaede quips quickly to the overly eager Pol, shaking her head a little as she rolls her eyes. "Boys.." She mutters under her breath as Iess merely confirms Pol's 'deep man thoughts' and with another sigh, she's pushing herself to her feet as Pol disappears on his search for food. "Have fun with chores…" She offers, a waggle of fingers given to Kiley, a rather unfair look given to Iess, before she's heading off in a different direction - to enjoy her day off in one way or the other. Or you know, study.
Iessrien can't help it, he totally starts chuckling at Pol's over the top commentary, just shaking his head at his friend, the earlier tension draining away in increments till he's leaning sideways to absently tug at a particularly stubborn weed and smiling sunshine-light for just a moment. "Don't know about that whole bloody meat thing, man. I'll leave all the biting into raw steaks to you," smirked ever so slightly, non-gloved hand lifting in farewell to the other holder, "Later man." He watches Pol leave, eyelides lowering as another considering look is focused at the garden's gate, eyes then flicking similarly to Kaede, though with less amusement and more appraisal. Once she's gone, however, he repidly deflates, sinking back to sit a little to one side and tossing away that weed he'd pulled up. "Want a hand with the rest of this?" is asked of Kiley, the boy pausing with a thoughtful glance at the girl, head tilting to indicate what's left of the planting bed.
Kiley nods along with Kaede's assessment of Pol, certainly agreeing with this one on the fact that the boy seems to have some really odd expectations of women. Her gaze finds the other woman and she nods, "I will try. Take care." Her hand lifts again for a wave of farewell to the other before she's glancing down to the planting bed and examining the rest of the weeds for a moment before her gaze finally trails back to Iessrien. A smile forms upon her lips for the offer and she shakes her head. "If you want to go, I won't stop you and keep you tied up in my chores. It is your day off, after all… You should enjoy it and try and heal up." Those winces were seen, after all. "I'll be okay on my own, I'll probably return to my thoughts."
"Your thoughts didn't look too happy," Iessrien points out, somewhat wryly, though the trace of a smile remains, gaze flicking to Kiley in an altogether different soft of consideration, either concern or something else in his face. Eyelids lower, as if debating returning to the question of those eggs.. but instead he's suddenly mumbling, quieter and with a hint of sheepishness, "Sorry about.. the other night, by the way." Out of nowhere, perhaps, though given he's apparently attempting to square things with people.. "Should have made sure you got out of there if you didn't want to be there," he turns his attention to the weeds again, balancing on his knees as he puts his back into the work, ignorine the slight twitches of what must still be soreness here and there. "..Anything else happen after I left?" which might as well be, 'Anyone stick around to see what happened?' but he doesn't find the words to phrase it that way, the slightly awkward slant of his shoulders as easily blamed on the remaining bruises as anything else. He won't comment on healing up. Iess is tough and manly - a little fall off a runner and some ass-kicking isn't going to slow him down! ..Much.
"They aren't, usually. They're about the eggs.. But sometimes I think about programming. Those are happier thoughts." Kiley admits, smiling at that. Programming does make the woman happy as odd as it may be, but computers are her best friends. His apology has her blinking and cheeks flush a light shade before she shakes her head. "No, don't be sorry. You tried to help me.. Again." Her lips curl into a brighter smile before cheeks color another shade. "Thank you. For trying, at least. You've done so much already." Her gaze drops and she gives a slight shake of her head, though it is not entirely in response to his question at first. "No.. I didn't stick around and I don't think many others did, either." She was too worried about getting out and away before anything else to really be concerned for anyone else, especially not that Cothron. "I think most just left to avoid being caught in the crossfire.. But it doesn't look like you fought, so I guess they didn't want to be apart of the yelling." That is her safest assumption about the situation.
"Programming?" the holder boy glances over toward Kiley again, briefly blank look for that. Does he even know what programming is? Definitely a sheltered life, in some cases, for this one. "Well, as long as you think about that instead," he teases absently, lips tugging up on one side, "Doesn't seem worth worrying about.. what you got from the eggs." His own nervousness, perhaps a trace of it evident in his expression, is easily shoved away in faver of another of those thin smiles, "The only one you'll really have to worry about anyway, is the one you impress. Right?" And on that subject, he has no clue at all. Still, there's a slight nod for the thanks, the boy turning back to the weeding and tugging at the plants while he ponders for a few seconds, face turned away from Kiley, though there's a wince. "There.. wasn't a fight," the holder boy assures, or partly lies, clearing his throat somewhat. Hey, can't have a fight if the other person doesn't /hit back/.
Kiley mms softly in agreement, "yep. With the computers.. It is one of my favorite things to do. Though I've always wanted to build something from scratch.. I could never think of anything. Maybe some day." Her gaze flickers over towards him at the teasing and she smiles in response, "I'll try. But… I think we should consider what the eggs do offer. I mean… Most of them have wanted me to prove myself in some way.. Or another. I just got to break it all down and process it somehow." A nod follows before she glances down to the weeds. "Weyrwoman Thea says that we should focus on that one mind that will be joining with ours. Nothing else, not relationships with people or things like that." Tilting her head she gives him a look from the corner of her eye, considering him for a moment before dropping down. "So that is why I am trying not to worry about anything else. I'm going to make friends but that is it." A particularly stubborn weed is yanked out a little more violently than the rest before she nods. "That is good. I'd hate to see you fight and get in trouble. There was a disagreement about something, however…" That much she could pick up on, at least.
Iessrien ahs, nodding at Kiley's explanation about the computers, and the eggs. There might be a thoughtfulness to his features as he partially turns back to toss another pulled weed out of the way. The girl's not-so-subtle reminder about relationships, though, has the holder boy pausing, eyes sliding sideways to glance at her. "I'll keep that in mind," he promises, somewhat wryly, lips twitching up at the edges and, perhaps unconsciously, gaze flickering in the direction Pol went for just a brief moment. And then he shakes his head, eyes returning to Kiley, and a slight smile re-emerges. "I don't think there is any hurry," shoulders lift, though not without yer another slight wince from the boy, Iess looking almost irritated by this. Sore shoulder is, obviously, still sore. "It's dealt with," is said perhaps a little too sharply, as her mention of a disagreement, and then Iessrien is shifting back to tug the glove off with a distracted, "Or.. will be soon, anyway. I'll see you later," and abruptly, he's setting the glove down beside her and stalking off, brows furrowed.