Chat in the Barracks
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Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks

A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.


Jessamin flops down on her cot, easing her shoes off one at a time with her toes and rubbing her feet gingerly. Madder keeps to his accustomed perch on her left shoulder, while the other two-one younger brown, and one blue-crow-hop onto the cot on either side of her. All three trill a comforting little tune, keeping close by. "I know, what a day… I swear, if I don't know every inch of the storage caverns by now, I never will." She chuckles to herself, taking a moment to scritch the eyeridges of each in turn. "What I'd do without you, I don't know." She lets her feet down to touch the floor, and reaches into her apron pocket. Three small meatrolls are withdrawn, and broken up into smaller bits. The firelizard's song turn hungry, their eyes whirling and their wings unfurled; they almost seem to dance and hop about with anticipation of the treat. "You three really behaved well. Here…." Two words… FEEDING FRENZY. "Eeep! Just a little at a time there… shards!" She can't help chuckling as the meaty treats are devoured in short order, soon leaving three sated flits behind.

Did someone say food? Perking, Rogawani's two female firelizards look up from their place monopolizing his cot, watching the younger ones with their meal. The larger golden lizard seems to sigh reluctantly, stretching herself out in a cat-like manner before taking to the air and vanishing *between*. Not more than a moment later, Rogawani appears in the doorway, shrugging out of a vest before walking through the barracks in a tired, nearly zombie-like fashion. The vest goes up on one of the posts of his cot before he sits down, working to get his boots off. As if just waking up, he peeks over at Jessamin and offers a small smile. "They keep you that busy? Looks like your little ones are ravenous." As if to add to the chaos, the little gold reappears with a fish in her mouth, the tail wobbling up to smack at her. She drops it on the floor, where it flops around, and then disappears again. The green hovers, ready to pounce at the flailing fish.

Jessamin chuckles softly, both at the antics of her three, and Rogawani's two. "Ravenous is an understatement, Ro. Madder's not even six months old yet, and Turquoise and Stitch are just barely over a month. Besides… it's good practice for Impression. I can only imagine a dragon hatchling will be ten times worse." Sated or not, her flits peer closely at the cot around her, as if scanning for any remaining crumbs. "They were a big help with chores today, so they had a treat coming to them."

There is a flash of green, and the fish is gone, snatched up by Kialio before she retreats under the bed to hide her meal. "I don't know that they ever grow out of it." Rogawani chuckles, pointing down beside him towards the shadowed form of the eating green. "Have the kitchen workers had you chopping up bovine yet? They were telling me that weyrlings have to do that when their dragons are young. Not exactly the most gloriously fun thing in the world." He muses, finally prying off one of his boots with a relieved sigh. The gold firelizard appears again, and lands in the center of the aisle, looking first at her owner, and then towards the younger lizards. She seems to make her decision, and hops over towards Jessamin's three, dropping another small fish near the girl's feet before winging into *between* again. "Kassi's hunting. I swear, she enjoys feeding everyone else's lizards."

Jessamin meeps as, sated or not, her three flits pounce on the fish, making short shrift of the poor thing between them. "You three are going to get fat, you know that? Greedy maws." Still, she can't help smiling to herself, nodding in reply to Rogawani. "I heard the same thing. I guess it's not much worse than chopping meat for flit hatchlings, just a -lot- more of it." She glances to where Kassi disappeared *between*, smiling. "Mothering everyone's flits, hmm? Precious. Remind me to have a meatroll for her next time."

"I think she just likes to hunt, to be honest." Rogawani shrugs his shoulders, grunting as he tries to peel the second boot free from his foot. "Hard to tell with these little guys. It's not like with the dragon eggs." He finally yanks it free, dropping the boot to the ground with a resounding thud. "You got out to see them, didn't you? What did you think?" He's managed to ask a bunch of the other candidates, but Jess isn't on the list of those who's impressions he's managed to get. The gold lizard returns, but this time she hovers briefly before winging down to land atop Ro's bed, snarfing down a fish in two bites. "Lovely, Kas. My quilt is going to smell of fish now." She doesn't seem to care, preening.

Jessamin smiles, curling her feet up beneath herself. Her eyes seem to lose focus as she casts back through her memories of the egg touching. "Two eggs, I felt a really strong connection to. One or two actually frightened me. Some were more of an enigma than anything else. But oh, those first two… I can only hope that one of them is my lifemate." She smiles broadly to herself. "Sometimes, it was just images. Sometimes, there were words, and sometimes there were both." Her eyes snap into focus then, and she looks to Ro. "Have you touched the eggs yet?"

There is no surprise on Rogawani's face, but a casual interest that shows he's heard most of this sort of thing before. "Mhmm. It was a little overwhelming, to be honest." He raises a hand and rubs it at his head, looking as if he were trying hard not to remember the flood of images from so many sources. "There were a few that seemed… interested? I really don't know how to tell. Then again, there was at least one that was just - wrong." He shakes his head as if clearing some bad thought from his head, but his smile returns easily enough. "So you think your lifemate is waiting out there this time around?" He asks, "Is it much different than the last time you stood?" Yes, he's full of questions, especially for those who've done this before.

Jessamin says "The last time I stood, it was so rushed that I never even got to touch the eggs. So yes, it's a lot different. And the two that were so… strong… I don't think I'll ever forget some of the things I saw and heard." Her voice drops to near a whisper. "From where will you draw your strength of mind?" At the mention of the 'wrong' egg, she shudders violently. "I think I know which one you mean. I really feel sorry for whoever Impresses that one.""

"That's a shame." Rogawani replies, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. "There's not so many who've stood before from Xanadu, and the Telgari and Igenites don't seem that interested in sharing stories." He lifts one foot and rubs at it, trying to ease the ache. His mouth draws up in the faintest of smiles, as if her whispered words brought out his own lingering memories of the hardening eggs. "It would have been nice to get near Kilaueth's eggs, too. For all any of us know, we might find our lifemates there, and have no idea about what's coming." The little gold firelizard finally finishes her snack, and curls up again at the boy's pillow.

Jessamin nods slowly, moving to lean back on her cot-and finding three flits in the way. They chirrup indignantly at her as their rest is disturbed. "Well, excuuuuse me!" She chuckles to herself, and shifts about to curl up on the other end of her cot. "It's hard being left on the sands, but there's other Hatchings. And I've got more than a few left in me yet." She reaches out to idly stroke the hides of her flits, calming them down. "The first time around, these three made it easier to bear. Madder was the first one."

Rogawani's right foot is traded for his left, continuing the effort to get rid of the stiffness that lingers after a day on his feet. "Apparently they think that it's their cot." He rumbles one of those chuckles that seems a bit too deep for his boyish voice. "You're right, though. Someone has to get left behind, and I'm sure there will be other chances." It almost sounds as if he's resigned himself to not finding a lifemate. "What's it like being down on the sands though… for the hatching? Is it as dangerous as the weyrlingmasters say? All dodging hatchlings and trying not to get mauled." There is a smile on his face, an almost teasing one, obviously not really taking the scary stories that seriously.

In comes Tali, new jacket on but open, humming happily to herself. Pockets on the front sport two shades of brownish; one creamy and bronze-tinted, the other more grizzled and deeper. Above her cavorts a flash of electric blue, more like one of the tiny, brilliantly fast avians than anything. The girl glances up at the blue and gives a two-note whistle, then smiles as he actually obeys, making a swift dive for a dead branch set up in a pot by her cot. He perches obediently as she flops onto her cot, gently extracting the other boys and casting them off to the handy perch. Only then does she remove the jacket, carefully setting it on the trunk at the end of her bed with a smile. "Hey!" The girl calls to Ro' and Jess, lifting a hand as she flops cheerily onto her belly. "Left behind?" The smile flags a bit, and she lifts an eyebrow, then winces. "I'd rather not get mauled."

Jessamin grins to herself, laughing softly. "I found myself dodging other Candidates more than hatchlings. The little ones didn't seem to have any interest in me, so I was safe enough. But yeah, it never hurts to watch your step out on the Sands." She chews her lower lip thoughtfully before continuing. "Letting fear rule you out there is perhaps the most certain way to get hurt. Just keep a calm, clear head and your eyes wide open." She glances up then, returning Tali's wave. "Hello there, how goes it?"

"Sounds about right. Bet at least one of the Telgari goes wherrybrained the minute they get out there." Rogawani jokes, keeping his tone light although his eyes still show interest in whatever he can discover about just what might be coming. Riyontali's arrival, though, distracts him and his eyes watch her movement across the barracks. "Hey Tali." His greeting is warm, familiar. "Don't forget, you've got a body-guard." He straitens a little and thumps himself on the chest slightly. "No dragons are going to maul you, promise." He seems sincere enough in his words, pulling one leg up underneath himself as he tries to give his muscles time to unknot. "Bet you've already got a robe all set, too, right? We've still got a trip to the storage caverns for that." He groans, not looking forward to it.

Riyontali snickers quietly, but it's subdued. "I bet it does get that way. I swear, if somebody comes running at me I'm going to break their nose. Maybe it'd knock some sense into 'em." The threat is served with a content grin, as she props her chin up on her hands. "Goes well. Serving duty ain't so bad, lot less fun than mucking, but doesn't leave me quite as sore." She shrugs and grins. "You?" Then she's grinning mischievously at Ro'. "I bet I know another who'll go nancing off as soon as things get a little sticky." She glances over towards Donakan's cot with a little smirk. "I've not forgotten." The girl's grin goes lopsided, and isn't dampened by an amused grimace. "I should do that, I suppose. Dunno bout you guys, but I think free time's better spent outside while it's still /light/." Grin.

Jessamin says "Not doing too badly today, Tali. I was the runabout today… runabout for this, runabout for that." She chuckles, wincing a little as she rubs her feet some more, glancing over Ro's way. "I wasn't even sure if I'd be Searched again, so I had the robe put back into the storage caverns. Besides, it'll be fun going through there with the rest of you. Well… almost the rest of you." She grimaces slightly, shaking her head; a stray lock of honey-gold hair is tucked behind her left ear. "I don't know what to make of Vivian. She's supposedly a Candidate, but she's never in here with the rest of us, never bothers taking on chores other than the ones -she- chooses, and doesn't seem to know an insult when it hits her right in the face. Do I even want to know how she became a candi in the first place?""

A small grin forms on Rogawani's face, "Got to be out in the stables today, myself. Such a pleasant change from being stuck doing laundry or washing dishes. My hands were getting all wrinkly from the water." He shakes out his hands, sticking his tongue out boyishly. He follows the girl's glance over towards Donakan's bunk, then shakes his head. "Nah, he'd stick it out to the very end, hoping for his precious dragon." There is a snort, showing how little faith Ro' has in his half-brother impressing. "Well, Keziah keeps telling me weyrfolk can just -ask- to stand. I've always thought that would be kind of… I don't know, rude?" He tries to find the right words. "Vivian's a piece of work, though. She's the Weyrwoman's daughter, so she gets away with a lot more than the rest of us, I think. She's got good rider blood, though, so there's a good chance she'll impress sooner or later."

Riyontali tosses a grin to Jessamin, nodding. "That one's not so bad, really - legs do get tired though, eh?" She muses with an amused nosewrinkle. "Ha, I dunno. I don't want to be there when Silor finds out he can't wear his lucky blue belt." The girl flashes a faint smirk, as she absently makes a little kissy-kissy sound, bringing a little squabble between the firelizards to determine who has to rouse himself to the call - eventually it's repsonsible Dolios who lands heavily before her, churring sleepily. "Vivian didn't seem so bad." Tali says quietly. "But I hear she can be when she's in a mood." There's a little chuckle, before she's grinning over at Ro. "I'm starting to think my fingers are just going to melt next time they see a sharding pot!" The girl laughs. "Good, though - best place to be, innit?" A smile, which quickly turns impish. "Oh, if you say so. Well, good luck to him." Funny how the 'good luck' sounds a lot like she'd rather say 'Faranth help the Weyrlings if he does'. "Ask to…stand? Well, shells." She blinks, apparently mystified by this one. "That doesn't sound like a very good idea at all. Yeah. Seems kind've rude."

Jessamin shrugs, listening for a few minutes to Ro and Tali. She nods from time to time, seeming to absorb these bits and pieces about the mysterious, seemingly snobbish Candidate. "I guess so… she didn't seem so bad at first, but why do I have the feeling she'd make a powerful enemy? And she was really rude when my flits were just helping me with chores that day. Couldn't be troubled to ignore their singing, so she asked me to keep them quiet." Jessamin snorts softly, shaking her head. "What is she going to do with a dragon hatchling if she ever Impresses, if she can't handle a firelizard or two chittering?"

While Rogawani's eyes stray over towards Tali and her firelizards with a small smile, most of his attention still seems to be on Jessamin for the fact that she has 'insider information' about what it's like to stand for a clutch. "Powerful enemy is right. Niva pretty much told me if I ever looked at one of her daughters funny that she'd kill me." Not that Ro' has eyes for Vivian or Nicca anyways, nope, he likes the more down to pern type. "She just has this view of how things will be, or should be, and I don't think any of us are brave enough to tell her she's having delusions of grandure." Ro' barks a small laugh. His golden firelizard peeks towards Tali and her group, then takes wing again, vanishing *between*. "Off to hunt again." He glances at the ex-stablehand. "You're going to get fish in a few…"

Riyontali's shoulders twitch in a faint shrug, coupled with a little half-grin. "For sure. Most enemies aren't good to have, though." She chuckles faintly. "I'd rather have a friend, even if we don't, uh, see eye to eye." A pause, and thoughtful expression. "Well, she was raised here, so I reckon she knows how you're supposed to take care of a dragon. And well…I saw some've the Weyrlings from the last clutch, yeah? And the way they looked at their dragons and the way they looked at people was different, you know?" That seems to be the best way she can describe it, and is accompanied by a little grin. "Really, she did? Talk about mama hen. Must've taken on after her dragon." Snicker, but it's not mean, mostly amused. "I reckon if she's wrong she'll figure it out by herself…the girls at the hold like her, if you ever told 'em they were wrong, they'd just be more stubborn about things." Shrug, grin, as she peers off after Kassi. "Awww, she a mighty hunter, that one? Dol thinks he's good. Just catching onto it, though, aren't ya big guy?" The bronze trills faintly, watching the others around the barracks with alert curiosity while the babies doze.

Jessamin curls up on the unoccupied end of her cot, her flits crawling to curl themselves around her, draping over her like a living blanket. "Well, Vivian is what she is, I guess." She yawns nearly as loud as her flits, her eyes drifting slowly shut. "Maybe I'll catch you two after a nap, though, hmmm?"

"Mmm. A nap would be nice." Rogawani comments to himself, trying to stiffle back a yawn. "No, no napping. Nap bad." He grunts and tries to shake himself awake before he follows in Jessamin's footsteps. So, his eyes turn back to Tali, a welcome distraction. "I was raised here, you know?" He chuckles wryly, "Before being searched, I couldn't tell you the first thing about taking care of a dragon." The golden lizard returns with a little happy squeek, and wings down towards Tali's bunk. She lands on the surface, bouncing once or twice before leaving a wiggling fish there. "Gah, Kas, not everyone likes fish on their beds you know." The lizard ignores him. "Sorry." He mutters, "But yeah, I think Niva's afraid of getting grandbabies. Vivian isn't exactly… well let's just say she has no problem flaunting what she has. She tried to corner me in the baths. Soo not fun."

Riyontali watches Jess wistfully. "Does sound good." She agrees faintly. "Sleep well!" Offered a little louder to the drifting-off candidate, with a little smile. "Nap's good, you liar." Ro' gets a little grin. But his next sets back any prospect of a nap for the moment, as she peers off into space, nodding slowly. "Well…yeah." Fingers tap absently on her quilt as she thinks. "Well, s'probably the smart way to be, I guess. Why would we've needed to know how to take care of a dragon?" The girl shakes her head, expression still a touch wondering; how'd she end up HERE? But the train of thought is interrupted by a returning Kassi, who is observed with amusement. "Why thank you, pretty." She laughs, removing the fish to her trunk, where presumably she doesn't mind it making a mess - the jacket is tossed onto her cot, as Dol pounces the fish, making cheerful noises. After a few bites though, he peers up at Kassi and chirps enquiringly. What's she doing over there when there's food over /here/? Sheesh! "Nah, doesn't bother me. Everything smelled like fish at home. Even keeping the place clean, always could smell 'em." A shrug and quiet snicker, before she's lifting an eyebrow. "Really, then? Huh. Interesting. She said that - Nicca? - liked the stables. Ever met her?"

Rogawani's tongue sticks out towards the ex-stablehand in a bit of a playful gesture. "Yes, naps are good, but not for me. Not right now." He laughs and runs a hand through his tussled hair. "I still owe Mackavol a few hours of chores, so I'm just waiting for him to get back." He draws one knee up onto his cot, relaxing his arm around it as he uses the bit of time he has for some relaxation. "Firelizards are pretty close to dragons though. The feeding, the bathing, the oiling." He shrugs a little. "The rest, not so much." Kassi just watches the other firelizard eat, looking proud of herself. With her job completed, another firelizard mouth fed, she wings back over to re-claim the boy's pillow. "Nicca?" Ro' shakes his head. "Seen her around, but never talked to her really. I'd be pretty shocked to see one of the Weyrwoman's daughters out in the stables, though."

Riyontali grabs a bit of paper that's balled up on her trunk and pitches it over at Ro', 'pfffft'ing. "Never met a time that it wasn't a good time for a nap." The girl laughs, then lifts an eyebrow. "Hours? Shells, he's not an easy guy to bargain with, is he?" Snort. "Can I help, make 'em go faster?" Offered with a little grin. Then she eyes Dolios, who's gone back to eating after a bemused look for Kassi. "That's what I was thinkin', myself. At least at first, isn't that all they do? Eat, sleep, itch, and poop?" Lots of all of the above, too! She's quiet, thoughtful for a moment, before another little grin appears. "I think I might've seen her once, but I dunno. Vivian said she always smelled because of it, or something like that. I think runners smell nice, but…" Snort.

Rogawani makes an exaggerated motion of dodging to the side of the ball of paper, "Oooh, so close yet so far." He teases, chuckling to himself. "It's not just for before. I owe him some time when I had to go deal with Donakan's temper tantrum over that letter he got." The boy's eyes roll, his head shaking from side to side. "You're welcome to come along, but it'll probably be boring. I bet he's been saving up something like storeroom work." Letting his leg drop off the cot again, Ro sets his feet against the floor, leaning forward a bit. "I'd guess it's pretty much the same, young dragons that is. Then again, you have a mind that can sit there and broadcast your thoughts to the weyr at large. Not so much fun." He smirks, rubbing at the back of his neck at some thought he doesn't say outloud. "Then flying, betweening, formations, wing-work." The list goes on and on. "Yeah, I'm still failing to convince Vivian to keep runners around when she becomes Weyrwoman. I don't think they smell, but then again… I probably reak of it on a regular basis."

Riyontali gives the other candidate an assessing look, eyes narrowed in amusement. For a moment she seems to consider getting /up/ to deliver retribution - instead, she blows a raspberry and sinks further into her cot. "Ohhh." There's a wince and a snort. "Can't mumsy dearest deal with Donnikin's hissy fits?" The girl rolls her eyes as well, casting a sour look towards the boy's cot. "'course. Storeroom's better than mending." Grin. Then her eyebrows shoot up a little and she winces. "Uh. Really?" Apparently this one is new to her, and she considers the new information with a comical look of chagrin. "That's…well. I'd rather that other folks don't know what I'm thinking, dunno 'bout you." Tali snorts. But the next has her far more cheerful, and her eyes sweep towards the window she's claimed, and outside, a little smile managing to work its' way in. "Dunno, that stuff actually sounds fun." She laughs. "Hmmm." Vivian's future plans get a lifted eyebrow and a snort. "We'll see 'bout that one. You don't reek, silly."

The only response that Rogawani gives to the spectacular raspberry is to grin wolfishly at the girl, folding his arms over his chest and looking unashamed. It's followed with another bark of laughter, "Well, I figured I'd at least do her the favor of warning her that he was on the rampage. Ended up stuck there for most of the theatrics. Apparently we all hate him and the weyrlingmasters are unfair." He pushes himself up onto his feet, letting his socks slide a bit on the floor. "Well, that's kind of part of having a dragon, sharing your thoughts. Besides, I'm sure there will be someone, someday, you'd want to share them with." His voice takes on an odd, almost whistful tone as he walks closer to her bunk, looking over her head and out the window. "The rest of it… well it does sound like fun to me." His smile stays planted on his face, just as a dragon comes galumphing across the window's view.

Riyontali rolls her eyes once more, laughing darkly. "Aw, shells." She chuckles sympathetically. "Well, folks wouldn't be forced to be mean to him if he weren't such a wherryhead all the time. And the Weyrlingmasters seem pretty okay to me, but I've only met Rei, I think. She was nice…" The girl shrugs faintly, shaking her head in a mixture of amusement and annoyance. "Well, yeah," She says after a moment with a nod. "With them. But not…with folks who I don't really want to know what I'm /thinking/." There's a frown and a slightly shifty expression, then an almost exasperated sigh. "Well, yeah." To the next, her chin lifting almost defiantly as she watches him. "There is. But I don't want somebody like - like - Donakan to know just 'cause a dragon's telling everybody. Can't they keep their, um. Mouths? shut?" Exasperation definitely creeps into the next sigh as she turns to peer out of the window as well, grinning at the dragon. "I talked to one've the Weyrlings who just recently graduated. They complained about all of the drills. But I don't see why. They sound like fun to me."

A moment after passing, a flash of green returns to the window as a dragon peeks her head in at those in the barracks. "Hey Phaselith." Rogawani chuckles, not knowing if the dragon can hear or not through the window, but he raises a hand. The dragon looks, shifting her head to try to get a better look, but then seems to give up. "Well, there went one of the weyrlings for you. That's Balana's green." He still stands near her bunk, leaning slightly against the wall in a relaxed manner. "You'll just have to make sure your dragon understands that. Though I'd guess they pick that up pretty fast. I've only known one dragon who regularly spoke to others, and then Seryth speaks to Kav', I think. That's 'bout it." He shrugs his shoulders up, and smirks a little bit. "I'm betting the drills are repetative, though. How many times could you walk from here to the caverns and back before you got bored?"

Morlanol trudges into the room, his shoulders slumped. His two flist, still asleep on his cot, barely stir. He only catches the end of Ro's comment, but he feels more than capable to answer it with a muttered, "Abou' fifty times, give or take. Shards I hate errand boy duty, there's no shortage o' riders who wan' y' t' run le'ters here an' there. I dunno how y' did it fer a livin', Ro." He collapses on his cot, barely missing his flits, utterly pooped.

Riyontali watches the green with amusement, actually sitting up so that she can peer out of the window at her. "Phaselith. That's a pretty name." She wriggles her fingers at the green and laughs as she gives up. "Balana. I don't think I've met Balana, but that ones looks familiar. She's beautiful." Her expression goes wistful. "Aren't the little greens and blues just the prettiest? And they're so fast - wouldn't it be fun to race 'em?" Eyes alight and her expression goes vividly cheerful. "Ooh." After a moment, though, she comes back down to Pern, and notices that Ro' is standing. A hand flaps, then pats the cot, as she snickers. "Faranth knows we shouldn't have to stand more than we already shardin' do. Siddown." Then she's considering the next with a thoughtful frown. "Well, I guess that's not so bad. Just as long as the whole Barracks didn't know - well. Yeah. Just didn't know what I was shardin' thinking." Grumble grumble grumble. "Hmmm. Well - yeah. Good point. Still, I mean, I guess there's a point to it and all. Gotta remember what you're doing and all…" But the train of thought trails as Morlanol enters, looking absolutely bedraggled. "Shells, Morlanol, lose a fight with a feline?" The girl squeaks. "You wanna switch next time you get it?"

"I met her once or twice as a candidate. She got searched just after getting assigned here, poor girl." Rogawani laughs, obviously not finding anything 'poor' about it. He seems about to say something else, when Morlanol trudges in. "Heh, I got paid for doing it, keep that in mind. You can tolerate lots of things, if you're getting marks for it." Then again, Rogawani really did enjoy his job. "Not to mention, I mostly worked the long-shifts out to the holds." With the invitation offered, Rogawani sets himself on Tali's cot, looking over at the minecrafter first before shooting a smile at the girl next to him. "Greens and blues have the widest variety of colors, that's for sure. I've seen browns and bronzes that can beat for speed, but never as agile as the smaller ones. They're the stomach turners when you're up on dragon back."

Morlanol sighs, Agate beginning to stir in his bonded's presence. "'Twouldn't've been so bad if Vivian hadn' been there. She sen' me all over th' Weyr, one letter or package at a time. 'Twas like havin' t' run up th' mines only withou' th' fun o' competition." He sighs again, slowly regaining his wind as Agate begins to nuzzle him softly, "I don' really care wha' color I ge' if I 'press, I'll jus' be happy t' be adragonback. An' I've only been on Seryth an' she's huge!"

Cenlia had the day off today. Despite this, the gardener girl has been in the garden since dawn, and certainly looks it. She's got dirt smears on her clothes, as well as grass stains and the odd twig or two. Even some leaves have hitched a ride in her hair, though right now, blue Mizzle is curled up atop her runnertail, clinging to the tied hair like some blue winged hat. Rogue and Charmer are on the girl's shoulders, though booze-brown Trouble is nowhere in sight. Cen is just heading back into the barracks, waving a greeting to those she knows as she wanders over to her cot, looking tired but satisfied.

Riyontali snickers, lifting an eyebrow. "Did she, now? Well, it paid off for her, least." She chuckles, then nods happily. "Marks're marks. And yeah, getting to ride around and see new things'd be a lot more fun than running around the Weyr." Next she's sighing wistfully again, grinning. "Well, I like m'drafts just fine, but the little quick ones are real nice, you know?" Snicker. Morlanol is given a sympathetic look, and a nod. "Aw, shells. Well, at least if you do Impress you'll be nice and fit from getting stuck running all about the Weyr?" While the girl's words might be optimistic, her rueful grin is not. As she's squirming around to lean on the bedpost (and poke at Ro with a sandaled toe, grinning), the girl waves cheerfully to an incoming Cenlia. "Cen, I shardin' know I didn't see your name on anything today! You're nutters, getting out of bed." The girl teases, smirking merrily. "Same." Noted after a moment with a nod for Morlanol. "Though, the thought of her having to /oil/ Seryth…" Shudder, twitch. "Oi."

"Probably a good idea to avoid Vivian whenever you've got chores, Morl. Seems like she has it out for you." Rogawani chuckles, and then gives a little 'oof' of sound as his side gets poked with a toe. "Hey now, no playing footsie." He chuckles pokes a finger at the bottom of her sandle. playfully. He turns innocently towards Morlanol, with the excuse of talking to him. "Yeah, I wouldn't turn my nose up at any dragon, but let me tell you, the fast ones take some getting used to." Then, with a quick motion, he grabs Tali's pillow and lobs it at her. Innocent messenger, yeah right. "Hey there Cen." He manages to greet her in the time between pillow-tossing and whatever impending doom Tali will bring upon him. "Have a good time in the gardens?"

Morlanol shrugs, slowly pulling himself back into a sitting position, "If'n I'd know I was gonna run inta her on m' chore, I wouldna run two miles this mornin'. Bleck." Agate crawls foreward, resting his little head on Morl's thigh. When Cen enters Agate perks up and trills a happy greeting to her, Bloodstone still snoozing away behind them. Morl waves limply to the girl, "Hey, Cen."

Cenlia flops down on her cot, the flits spilling off her head and shoulders to curl on the girl's pillow, while Charmer chirps a greeting to any other flits nearby. Cen tilts her head to glance over at Tali and Ro, the gardener girl grinning at the pillow-lobbing and saying, "Had a nap in the grass earlier. Staying in bed after the sun's up is only good for when you're sick or got a hangover. Boring otherwise." Cenlia stretches, propping herself up on her elbows, adding, "Got some good compost from the kitchens. Second batch is ready to be laid out."

Riyontali nods in weary agreement with Ro', wincing. "That or find somebody who has something more important." She suggests sympathetically, before sticking her tongue out childishly at Ro'. "Aw, I rode on Dalriath to Ista for their graduation, she was real nice. I guess they can be nice when they want to? Still…more fun if they're playfu -" The pillow hits her square on the face and she issues a muffled squeak, and stops only mid-pounce-of-retribution, flopping onto the cot with an 'oomph'. Her eyes narrow briefly, but then she just scoots back to her post, grinning entirely too sweetly. "Mmmmhm." Drawled with amusement. Does her innocent face still work? Not likely. "Ow, shells!" A quick glance at Morlanol, complete with amusing wince. "That couldn't've been any sharding fun. Really, next time if you wanna trade with me, I don't mind." Her expression manages to remain entirely earnest, as she prods Ro' again with a toe, flashing only the briefest of grins, before it widens for Cenlia. "Oooh. That's even better, I guess. You're right. And the garden's so nice and quiet when folks aren't eating lunch or dinner! Guess I can't blame you." She chuckles, then cants her head, nodding. "That's nice. Guess they'll need it if it's getting cold at night and all. Or…well. I dunno. I've never been good with plants." The girl keeps a hand on that pillow, leaning all-too-casually on her bedpost.

"Yeah, if you want to trade off with me, I don't mind either. Vivian and I get along. Sorta." Rogawani replies, doing his best not to look back at Tali, just incase that glance invites the retribution that he knows he's quite due. He dutifully ignores the toeing to his side, pretending that the girl isn't there. Tapping a finger innocently on the side of his cheek. "I haven't had weeding duty in a while. Maybe I'll trade off on it just to give Cen a panic attack that I'm mutilating the flowers." He seems to ponder this, still feigning his innocence.

There is a knock at the door and a non-descript man wearing a messenger's knot enters carrying two boxes. He glances around and asks, "I'm looking for a…" he pauses, trying to make out the name, "Mor-lan-ol and a Ken-lia?" Morl raises his hand, "I'm Morl," and accepts the package. He reads the label carefully, "Hey, it's from my folks."

Cenlia chuckles, sending a grin in Tali's directon, "Compost is for fertilizing plants. Bettern' manure - well, it dun't smell as bad anyways, 'cept when it's done wrong." The gardener smiles and muses, "Got lots of kitchen scraps for compost. Good stuff, that. Ain't no wonder the flowers're doin' so well." Rogawani's comment about weeding distracts her, luckily, as she stops pondering the compost and gives the boy a grin and says, "Ain't nothin' to panic about - just wave 'm shovel-," and she winks, and seems about to say more when some messanger comes in. The girl wrinkles her nose at the mispronounciation of her name, telling the man, "Ain't no Kenlia here, got a Cenlia though."

Riyontali nods pleasantly enough to Ro', grinning. "We seemed to. She didn't shout or anything." She laughs. "I'd rather take a nap in the garden than weed or anything. Shardin' plants die soon's look at me." Or, you know, she looks at them? Something like that. As the messenger arrives, Tali takes any distraction it might provide as a chance to lob the pillow back at Ro', giggling. "Ha!" The girl laughs, whether it actually hit him or not, sticking out her tongue. After a moment, though, she stops gloating, and grins over at Morlanol. "Ooh, really? Nice! I'm glad mine aren't sending me anything, myself. Dunno what my da did when he found out I was standing." Still, it doesn't /seem/ to bother her; her expression is serene as she blinks over at Cenlia. "Oh. That…makes more sense, I suppose. Manure don't smell /too/ bad, really, once you're used to it. Ugh, ma had a compost heap at home, though. It was so gross." She shudders. "Well, if it makes 'em pretty." Cough, and she's grinning at the shovel bit, shaking her head - and poking Ro' again for good measure. Grin!

Rogawani's face forms into a small smirk, "Teasing. You know I don't kill plants. Not on purpose anyways." He chuckles, leaning forward a bit as the messenger enters. He eyes the lad, unfamiliar, and guesses by his mispronunciation that this is probably his replacement. "Grr." He growls to himself, and then ends up decked with a pillow. He blinks, and grabs on to the pillow, wobbling exaggeratedly. He whistles in his mouth, and makes his eyes roll. "Look at the pretty wherries." As if they were flying around his head. Then, all joking aside, he sticks the pillow in the way of the poking, sticking his own tongue out at the girl before peeking over his shoulder at gardener and miner. "So what did you guys get?" He attempts to keep the pillow between himself and Tali.

The messenger grins sheepishly, "Cenlia, then…" and hands over the package. Then he tips his hat and makes his exit muttering something about weird names in the south. Morl slits the tape on his package with his knife and pulls out a thin envelope and a bundle wrapped in paper. He skims the letter, doing his best to ignore Ro and Tali's odd behavior, "My folks sai' they're proud o' me fer gettin' searched an' sen' along a turnday presen' only a li'tle late…" He carefully opens the package to reveal a soft leather jacket. Not nearly the quality of the one Ro got Tali, but for a boy his age his dumbfounded expression clearly says 'best. present. evah.'

"Compost'll stink somthing awful if it ain't turned right. Gotta let it get air," Cenlia says, glancing over at Tali in time to see the pillow-lobbing. The gardener girl snickers, and then nods to the messanger, taking the box he hands her. Cenlia rolls her eyes as she hears what he says on the way out, calling after him, "Good thing I /ain't/ from the south, then." Cenlia opens the box she gets curiously, raising an eyebrow as she pulls out a shovel and a shiny new trowel set. The girl's eyebrows go even higher as she reads the note in the box, then glances at Morlanol muttering, "Er, thanks. Ain't nothin' wrong with my shovel, though. It's a /shovel/. Supposed to be banged up." She closes the box and stows it under her cot, flopping back down on the bed and watching Rogawani and Riyontali with amusement, encouraging Tali, "Bet he's ticklish." Cenlia grins at Ro, snickering as Charmer peers over as well, chirping and looking around hopefully. But what the flit is trying to find, is anyone's guess.

Riyontali does refrain from poking her pillow with that sandaled toe - ew! But she's quickly distracted from further mischief with poor Ro' by Morlanol, who gets a broad smile (though it only comes after the messenger gets a disapproving glare). "Aw, Morlanol! Shells, that's nice." And that's only for his parents' response to being Searched. The jacket gets an approving whistle, and broad grin. "Ooh! Look at that! That's gotta be good luck, yeah?" She giggles, then nosily watches Cen. "Oh. I should write and tell 'er that before she poisons people with the air…" Mutters Tali darkly, then 'oohs' at the shovel and trowel. "Shiny!" The girl giggles. "Well, maybe it'll be, um, sharper? Ground might start gettin' a little crunchy with it getting colder at night, and all." In what she seems to assume is a reasonable tone, she grins over at the other girl, glancing between she and Morlanol with a little grin. But then the grin turns decidedly mischievous at the girl's next comment. "Hmmm. I'll just have to get him when he's not expecting it." She drawls merrily, adding in an undertone, "And when there's not some snoopy brat gonna tell on me a few cots away." She shoots a glare to a nearby boy who's probably done nothing to deserve it, as Dolios continues to absently munch on his fish, warbling brightly at the other firelizards. There's too much for /him/ to eat!

"If that is who they replaced me with, this Weyr is going to end up in a very sad state indeed." Rogawani murmurs to himself, still keeping the pillow next to him as a shield. When he spots the jacket, Rogawani nods appraisingly. "And you can decorate yours without having to recruit others to help you." He chuckles, and then looks beyond the miner down towards Cenlia. Her gift causes him to raise an eyebrow and look back at Morlanol. "Lots of gifts going around lately, aren't there. It's too terribly bad that we're all stuck in here, because someone had promised getting me drunk on my turnday." He looks upward, as if not knowing who that 'someone' could ever be. Then, he's back to looking at Tali, "Oh? We're going to sneak up on me now, huh?" He says, bemused, "We'll just see about that." He waggles her own pillow at her.

Morlanol holds up the jacket, examining it before setting it down and grinning at Ro, "I dunno, I may leave i' jus' th' way i' is… at leas' fer now." Agate and Bloodstone, who had by this point been watching Ro and Tali's display for a short while now both give a sudden trill and, working together to steal Morl's pillow, fly over to them, dropping it on Tali and giving a decent approximation of giggling for good measure.

Cenlia chuckles and grins over at Tali and Rogawani, saying, "Wish I'd had you guys along when me and X'hil were up in his loft. Had a right good time with them pillows. Beat up m' brother Eledri, too." Cen smirks a bit at that last part, though she's nodding to Ro and lamenting, "There's a whole bottle of Sunny Orchard just waitin' to be drunk, too." She does not mention any other gift, however, as she glances back at Morlanol's jacket, saying, "'S a nice jacket. Wish my folks'd send me something othern' brandy." She pauses a moment before adding, "Might help if I told 'em I got seached, too. Faranth knows, Eled ain't gonna tell 'em."

Before there is time for Tali to do much with the pillow Morlanol's firelizards have brought her, one of the other candidates appears in the doorway. Mackavol, the youngest son of a northern Lord Holder and journeyman beastcrafter, raps on the frame slightly. "Ro', come on man, you've got two hours of kitchen duty waiting for you." Rogawani's face falls from its smile, and he nearly glares at the older candidate. "You had to pick that, didn't you?" He grumbles as he pushes himself to his feet. "I'm coming. I'm coming. Sorry guys." He looks apologetic, especially to the ex-stablehand girl as he goes to grab up his boots. Without even enough time to put them on properly, he does a little step-hop, laces trailing behind him as he follows the other candidate out the door.

Riyontali gives Ro' a little sympathetic grin, snickering. "I'll chase him around and give him a little kick when he gets 'em wrong?" She suggests merrily. "Seems like it. S'good. Gift-giving. Fun." A happy smile, with a snicker for the last of it, which quickly turns her smile mischievous indeed. "Awww. And yes. I am." She's terribly confident in this, and does her best impression of someone Of Importance, which is terribly skewed — she crosses her arms and sticks her nose in the air. It ends up being an excellent landing platform for Morlanol's pillow, though. Her squeak of surprise is highly amusing, as is the momentary flail of her arms, then blink after the firelizards. "Ach! Oi!" The girl laughs, and pitches it back at Morlanol gently with a grin for Oddity, who bounces off of his perch in merry pursuit of the others. "What'd I ever do to you?" The girl's tone, however, is over-exaggerated, and she just ends up laughing. "Catch on quickly, don't they, little rascals?" Then Cen is favored with a grin. "Ooooh. I'd have helped!" She says enthusiastically. "Nothin' like badgering your siblings, right?" Beam! "Sunny Orchard, what's that? And…" Then the girl is tossed a quizzical look. "Well shells. That's odd for a parent to send. Guess it'd be better if mine sent me that than shardin' puppies, ain't got no shardin' use for puppies. Da didn't know I was searched! Ugh. Don't wanna know how he reacted. Reckon yours wouldn't think much of the idea either?" Her commiserating look for the girl is then shared for Ro' as Mackavol appears. /Then/ the look turns into a deathglare straight out of a sack of firestone down a dragon's gullet. "Great, real nice, Mack." She growls after him. "I'll come down and help in a minute, okay?" Called, louder, with a snort and an eyeroll.

Morlanol watches Ro leave before commenting on the rest of the conversation, "Have y' written yer folks abou' i'? I wro' mine righ' away an' i' took this long fer them t' ge' it an' sen' an acknowledgemen'." Guess Morl does know some big words after all. Agate and Bloodstone chitter happily at Tali's comment, as if they'd given her a special present and thought she was grateful. Morl turns on Tali, more than a tad concerned, "Tha's th' secon' time I've seen tha' guy pull Ro out t' do summat. Does he have it in fer him or somethin'?"

Cenlia finally gets around to pulling her dirt-smeared clothing off, dusting a leaf or two off her cot as she grabs clean clothes and ducks behind the curtain set up for decency. When she re-emerges, she flops back town on the bed, bringing her now-bare feet up to sit cross-legged while tossing the dirty clothes in the laundry bin by her bed. She wrinkles her nose as she watches Rogawani leave, the girl saying, "Shards, them chores ain't never gonna end." Reaching back to scritch Charmer, who'd scurried over into her lap when she sat down, Cenlia sighs, "Almost wish I was back just workin' in the gardens. So long as the plants're alright, there ain't nothin' I gotta do after the garden work gets done." She nods to Tali, thinking a moment before she says, "Sunny Orchard is the peach brandy my family makes," and she chews the inside of her lip as she continues, "My Da's family is all around South Boll. Uncle Cern wants me t' be a right proper orchard farmer. Ma's family though…" she shrugs, "Most're from Fort Hold, lotta old fashioned vinters an' cooks. Figure they'll be proud. Maybe. Gonna want me t' go to Fort if I impress." Cen grimaces at the thought of /that/ and shakes her head, "Ain't gonna tell m' folks. Unless I impress." Cen grins a bit, giving Charmer another scritch.

Riyontali still looks grumpy about Mackavol as she watches the door, apparently for his return. Eventually, though, that seems to bore her, and she smiles faintly towards Morlanol. "Did. Apparently ma didn't deign to show da the shardin' thing, he sent me shardin' puppies an a stupid boy to try and get me to come home." Grumbles she, then nods slowly. "Well, I'm glad they got it! Mine only live 'bout a day and a half runner ride away…not too bad, really." Her expression turns sour again at the next, though, with a venemous look at the door. "I dunno. I'll ask him though. Wherryhead." As Cen returns, Tali grins. "I reckon they'll end after the hatching, least if we don't Impress. I'd be happy to go back to bein' a stablehand, now. Shells! Just want it to be done with, either shardin' way." There's a rueful chuckle, as she nods to the next. "Yeah. Plants are nice, but I'm not so good with them…" She sighs faintly, with a little grin. "Oh," For the explanation of the brandy. "That sounds…well, I dunno. Never tried brandy. Awww," Her description of her family gets a wrinkled nose. "Sounds like that's the best way of it! Shells. Hrmph, Fort. Cold all the time, I bet."

Morlanol shrugs, "I ne'er even though' t' no' tell m' folks. They sen' me down here t' learn be'ter minin' techniques. Only fair t' let 'em know. An' D'son said he'd make sure they go' here fer th' hatchin', which is really nice o' him." He fingers the corner of the leather jacket thoughtfully for a moment as Agate swoops down towards Cenlia, seeing her giving attention to Charmer and thinking he might get some himself. Bloodstone settles near Tali and makes a soft mewling sound. Morl continues talking, grinning slightly, "'Course, if we 'press then we'll have ta bath an' oil an' feed th' things. An' I've hear' tell tha's worse'n th' can'date chores." He gives Cen a thoughtful look, "Y' think I'd like t' drink? I ain' never tried it afore. An' I jus' can' picture ya up in the frozen wastes. What would y' garden? Snowflakes?"

Cenlia nods in agreement with Tali, "Yeah, almost wanna get it all over with by now. Shards, still hard to believe I got searched," she chuckles. With a slightly mischievous expression, the gardener girl grins, "When this's all over, gotta get you guys to come try the homebrew I got cookin'." She eyes Agate warily a moment, having just witnessed the previous flit-pillow-lobbing, and nods to Morlnol, "Asked X'hil and D'had about it - shards, even D'had's blue took awhile to wash, and he ain't even that big as dragons go. Big enough though. X'hil said he's gotta wash Sir Kinseth once a week or so. Bettern' scrubbin' floors, though. Rather wash a dragon than mosta the chors they got us doing." She eyes the miner boy a moment, shrugging, "Yer just a kid. You even allowed to drink?" She doesn't answer about gardening in Fort, though Cen does Make a face at the suggestion of farming snowflakes.

Riyontali's grin isn't wistful; she's perfectly happy with her relationship with her parents. Still, she's cheerful for Morlanol, and nods pleasantly. "That's really great, that they'll be here." There's an amused chuckle. "That was nice of him, yeah. "And I'm glad they're proud of you and all." Is added for good measure, with a cheerful nod as she slowly reaches out to scritch at Bloodstone, smiling. "Hi, sweet." She murmurs with a grin as Oddity continues to flit overhead, mostly ignoring the others at this point. "Well, can't be as bad as shardin' dishes or mending. Honestly." There is a little snicker, as she nods towards Cenlia. "I can hardly believe it myself, but shells if it ain't the truth! They wouldn't've let us out on the sands if not. I just wish they'd get on with it." Then her expression goes more mischievous, and she nods. "If you say so. Never drank much but ale and some wine, da never let me have any more, but…" Daddy-dear's not here! Muhaha. "Yeah, 'specially if it's your own dragon, right? I mean, it's like…friends." A hand flaps vaguely. "You'd do anything for friends, right? Or, well, most anything." Cough.

Morlanol nods, "Yeah, I ne'er though' someone as young as me *coul*' be searched." Agate give Cen an odd, almost puppy dog look and trills a little while Bloodstone croons happily as Tali gives him his desired strokes and scritches. Morl gives a lopsided grin, leaning back to hang his new jacket on the peg near his cot, "Af'er bathin' Tam'sth I'll jus' be happy if any dragon I may 'press don' think I'm a bath toy." He shudders remembering a particularly wet day. "An' I'm too young t' drink 'cordin' to m' pa, bu'…" he shrugs, "If I were t' try, I'd wan' i' t' be with someone with good tastes in booze. No' tha' I coul' righ' now, anyway, bein' a can'date 'n' all."

Cenlia sighs, "Miss the booze. Shards, if I dun't impress, I'm gonna go get good an' drunk. Wish B'miel were still going off to parties though. Some off in Ierne were pretty fun." She reaches over to give agate some scritches, though the girl keeps half an eye on her pillow. No stealing that to lob at someone, nope. Charmer croons a greeting at Agate, seeming willing to share the attention of his human for the time being.

Riyontali flashes a grin to Morlanol. "Well, glad you were." She says with a stout nod. "Aw, I bet if you do yours wouldn't want to hurt you. Least, it's not so bad when they're little so you don't have to worry too much and by the time they're big…" Her hands spread, and she chuckles softly. "Always good to have somebody who knows what to drink, I guess. Don't wanna get stuck with the sort've ale my grandda makes…" There is a comical wince, and a laugh for Cenlia. "I think…" She coughs, winces. "Erm, well. If I don't I might not get drunk. But I'll be sure to do something…fun." Cue impish grin, which is replaced by a nosewrinkle after a moment. "I'd better go. Be back in a bit. Gonna try and find Mack'n toss him in the nearest dungpile before I help Ro'…" The girl bounces to her feet and waves, tugging on her jacket and giving Bloodstone one last scritch. "See you later." She grins at the pair, then trudges out.

Cenlia gets up off her cot and starts to rummage around underneath, with Charmer taking up a sentry position on her shoulder. Rogue flutters over to join him. At seeing Tali go, Cenlia waves and mutters, "Gotta find that-" but she doesn't finish, as booze-brown Trouble pops in from *between* and chitters at her. Blinking and standing, Cenlia eyes the flit. Charmer launches off her shoulder after Trouble, and both of them go zooming out of the barracks. Furrowing her brow, Cenlia heads off after them.

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