Kiss That Thought Goodbye

Xanadu Weyr - Wanderin' Wherry Tavern

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It is often whispered in the crowds that converge here, that a certain Weyrleader was asked what he wanted in the remodeling of the pub that was not so long ago given a refreshing. He muttered back over the rim of his ever-present mug, "I don't care what you do with the place, just so long as there is plenty of ale." With that in mind, cask after cask of ale lines the walls of the tavern, the remodeler's idea of a jest. As they age, the casks bring a real rustic atmosphere to the pub, along with the deeply wooden flavor that seems to be the theme throughout.

The lighting is dim, as it should be in all good pubs, and the tables and chairs are plentiful. A long mahogany bar, intricately carved with runner beasts, stands vigilant duty at the head of the bar, lined with stools for those patrons that seek the bartender's company.


It's a windy outside and Vivian can be found inside sheltering from that gusty wind. The fact that she's picked the Tavern to shelter in has nothing to do with the wind, more the long day of work she's put in today at the office trying to sort through a stack of reports, piecing things together for D'son in the attempts to track Kefai down. She's sat at a table near one of the windows, her seat angled so she can glance outside just as easily as observe everything that's going on in the bar while she sips at her wine, the bottle on the table next to her glass.

Thea steps into the Tavern, taking a moment to smooth the disorder of her hair before moving further into the room. She scans the room for a moment, spotting Vivian and moves purposefully in that direction to stop by her table, her voice pleasant, easy, "Hi Vivian, D'son said you'd be here." She pauses for a beat, "May I?" Her hand rests lightly on one of the empty chair backs at her table. In her other arm is a sheaf of papers. "I've scrounged a few odd bits of things that might help with the Kefai business."

Tharen isn't that far behind Thea, though his entrance involves far less fixing of hair. In fact he just leaves it where the wind blew it. "Thea!" the call follows the goldrider once he's spotted her, that leaves him heading in her direction as well. So much for her smoothing of locks, he's mussing it once he's gotten to her side.

Vivian sees Thea well before she arrives at the table and it's a carefully schooled smile that is on her face by the time she's close enough to take notice of. "I suppose so, though I think I've had enough of Kefai for the night." She growls softly, with a big mock sigh following through on the end of it. "Cross-referencing all those small thefts for patterns is a nightmare." Her gaze takes on a much more frosty cast when Tharen comes barging along, but she says nothing.

Thea's return smile is a cool, professional one, but her manner is still relaxed as she regards Vivian. That chair is pulled out and she slides into it, placing the stack of papers on the table in front of her. There's a hand mussing her hair and she's turning to glare at Tharen, swatting at him. "Stoppit!" It's a growl, but the tone is affectionate. The smoothing must be done again, but it is far from a thorough job, leaving it a bit tumbled. There's a hint of sympathy in Thea's voice as she glances back at Vivian, "I'm sure you are. D'son was insistent I find you though." Tharen gets an eye roll and a slight smirk, "You follow me here just to mess with my hair, or what?"

Tharen laughs, "If that's what you want to think The, you're welcome to think it. But really, I was thinking more that a drink sounded good and happened across you and your lovely companion." He glances towards the bar, considering his own drink, hand resting on the back of Thea's chair. "Can I get something for either of you?"

Vivian gives out another of those mock sighs. "I suppose so, what is it you've got for me." She asks, holding one hand out to her, the other hand lifts her glass and swirls the contents round lightly as her gaze turns to Tharen. "I have half a bottle sitting on the table next to me, so no you can't get me anything." She doesn't appear to be in the best of moods and although she's maybe using all the right words, her tone is decidedly frosty.

Thea sighs a longsuffering breath, ignoring Tharen's misuse of her name, dryly making the introductions, "Tharen, Vivian, the Weyrwoman's daughter and Secretary to our Weyrleader. Vivian, Tharen, my kid brother and resident pest. He's newly-arrived from home." She quirks a brow at him, "A glass of the white, if you would?" She hands Vivian the top sheet, not batting an eyelash at her frosty voice towards Tharen as she is well used to all manner of reactions to her brother by now. "It's not about the thefts, though. It's more a compilation of things I and a few others that were weyrlings together could remember about Kate's habits. D'son thought it might help."

"Its a pleasure to meet you Lady Vivian," Tharen replies, flourishing a bow. See, he can be dignified when he wants to be. Its just so much more fun to be a pain in Thea's behind. That said he's trotting off to the bar to collect two glasses of wine and return with them, one for the sister of course which is handed over as he invites himself to an open chair. "Troubles in the weyr?"

Vivian lifts the glass to her lips and takes a long drink before putting the glass down again, taking the sheet from Thea. There's a brief glance towards Tharen at his charming greeting though the look isn't any less frosty, she does maintain dignified silence before blanking him in favour of looking over the page, eyes scanning quickly over it, searching. "I'll take a detour to the office on my way home." She tells Thea. "I'll drop it off there and check through properly in the morning. I need to clear my head before I start into that lot." She gestures to the bottle on the table as she pushes her own chair back and stands up as Tharen invites himself to a chair. She reaches down to lift her glass up and drains the last of it, still ignoring the lad.

"When is there not?" Thea asides to Tharen with soft sarcasm for the situation, "This time it is not from within, but from without." She laughs softly at his flourish and tone, "Don't get into trouble with this one," still that dry tone as she warns him. She nods at Vivian with a stifled sigh, as the woman stands and it apparent she is making ready to leave. "Here, take these too, then since you aren't staying for me to explain." The rest of the papers are offered. "They're some notes Ysa took on the incident at Ressac Hold. Found them in the back of my desk drawer. Feel free to find me if you've any questions."

Tharen turns narrowed eyes towards Thea. She said something in that short time he was at the bar didn't she. "Have a good evening," he says to Vivian as she makes to leave. "It was nice to meet you." He said it already, but it seems that he should say again and so he does.

Vivian holds her hands out to collect the rest, tucking it up tightly under one arm so it'll be protected when she goes outside. "Come and talk to me tomorrow in the office." She tells Thea with that same frosty irritated tones showing up. "I prefer to work without any irritations to distract me." She doesn't actually look at Tharen when she says that, her gaze falls a little short of him onto the bottle as her free hand scoops the bottle and glass up so she can take it away with her. "Good day to you Weyrwoman." She inclines her head, just enough to not be rude, but certainly not giving due respect before she sashays her way off across the bar and out the door. It's such a pretty sight from behind, it's just a shame about the attitude.

Thea gives Tharen a 'what?' look at the narrowed eyes he's peering at her with, then it's back to Vivian. "Hmm, as do I." There's a sideways glance at her brother at this point. "And to you, Vivian," she replies evenly, ignoring any intended slight towards her or Tharen, "Tomorrow, then." Her eyes don't follow Vivian as she heads off, but there's a sideways peek from dancing eyes at Tharen with a knowing little grin on her lips as she notes where his eyes are. "Told you she was interesting." There's a lilt of tease and a bit of a challenge in her tone.

Pretty indeed. Tharen's eyes follow Vivian on her way out. "She's pretty," he comments to Thea, eyes sliding back towards his sister once the other is out of sight. "And yes, you did. Can't say I disagree with you on that one," he adds, twisting the stem of his glass between his fingers before lifting it for a long sip.

"She's beautiful," Thea corrects Tharen absently, leaning back in her chair relaxing. Her glass is lifted. "Just… prickly at times." She eyes him for a moment, "Reply came from home. Da's fit to be tied, Tharen. Ma's relieved, tho." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a folded note, offering it to him.

"Right, right." Tharen agrees, between one long sip of wine and the next. Its the mention of the note that has him resting the glass on the table with a sigh. "Well we knew that was going to be what it is when you sent the sharding thing. Can't say I'm surprised." In the end however, he does reach out to take the note from her. Reading however is something else.

It is a windy early evening in Xanadu, with occasional gusts buffeting the windows with a short blast, rattling the panes. Thea and Tharen sit at one of the window tables talking and sipping some wine. Thea shrugs at Tharen, "His business mind will start turning and he'll see the advantage of having you in the South, you'll see." She contemplates the liquid in her glass for a moment, "You were rather formal with Vivian." Her green eyes flash with merriment as she looks back up at him, "She had you befuddled didn't she?"

Morlanol enters, his new jacket pulled tight against the wind. The door rattles in its frame as the wind blows it open. With a muffled curse, Morl turns and, with a small struggle, pushes the door shut until it clicks. Agate and Bloodstone pop out of /between/ above the bar, scolding him for going out on such an inhospitable night. Only then, as he turns inward, does he notice Thea. He gives her a wave, shrugging out of his jacket, before approaching the bar. He speaks first to the bartender, "C'n I ge' a plate o' fresh meat fer the flyin' stomachs an' a couple o' bubbly pies an' a glass of juice fer m'self?" The bartender gives him an odd look, but takes his marks. Then, he turns to Thea, "H'lo Thea an' Thea's brother… why th' long faces?"

Tharen replies with a wry chuckle as a hand slips below the table to tuck the note in hand into a pocket. Read that later. Maybe. "You introduced her as the weyrwoman's daughter. I just figured.." he trails off into a drawnout sip of that wine. She can figure the rest out for herself. He glances towards the door out of the corner of his eyes as it opens and is closed behind the boy, glass at his lips all the while.

Thea starts just a bit at the banging door, her attention drawn and Morlanol is spied. She waves him over when he has his plate. As he nears the table, she invites, "Plenty of room at our table." she scrutinizes the Candidate, "Sleep better last night?" Tharen's comment receives a soft snort, "Might as well just be yourself. She's only got eyes for D'son anyway." After another sip she leans forward to prop her chin in her hand, relaxed as the wine does it's work. For a moment she is silent, then, "Morlanol, you've been touching eggs I hear. What did you think of all that?"

Morlanol moves to join the two as the bartender delivers the pile of meat and other sundries. Agate and Bloodstone begin to chow down on the sliced chunks of meat. He smiles, "Yeah, I slep' much be'ter after th' flyin' bellies had et. Then Viv d'cided t' run m' ragged with notes 'n' messages this mornin'. I think she don' like me none. Who only has eyes fer D'son?" Morl goes silent when she asks about the touchings. He takes a deep breath, thinking, "I… it was like nothin' I'd ever done b'fore. 'Twas like havin' a burdgeonin' pers'nality in my min', findin' ou' who I was and showin' themselves to me. I-… I never coulda 'magined wha' i' was gonna be like."
"Aww, you had to go a burst my bubble didn't you," Tharen teases Thea at that mention of who the girl has eyes for. "Vivian," he notes of the same for Morlanol's question. "Can still look at her though. Right?" this back towards his sister of course, fingers idly turning the glass. "Do tell," he prods the younger boy for more information on the eggs. "Haven't ever been on the sands."

“Who -does- she like?” Thea quips in reply to Morlanol’s ‘she don’ like me none’ comment. ”"D'son. Vivian only has eyes for him." Thea answers in unison with Tharen. There's not one whit of scandal or censure in her tone as she says it. It merely is fact. She nods at the Candidate's next words, "That's a small does of what it's like to Impress, Morlanol." She lifts her glass once more, eyeing him keenly over the rim. "One of those eggs seemed to really get to you." She respects a boy's wish not to be called out on crying and doesn't mention the tears. But he can probably guess she saw them. Tharen just earns a snide snicker, "Bubble-bursting is my job." Her head tips sideways just a bit, and she puts her suggestion tactfully, "Tharen, you could probably, ah, try to befriend her. I think she needs a friend. D'son isn't encouraging her if the scuttlebutt I'm hearing is true. That's hard on a gal." There's genuine empathy in her tone for the other woman.

Morlanol nods, gulping a bit before continuing. Agate, noticing his discomforture takes a break from eating to gently nuzzle the boy's hand. Morl takes a sip of his juice and a nibble of one of the bubblies. When he finally speaks, his voice is slightly choked, "Yeah. Th' one was tearin' at m' hear'. Made me feel like I did th' day m' da got caugh' b'hind a cave-in an' we weren' certain whether or no' he'd survive 'til th' wher dug through. An' all I wanted t' do was t' make it feel better. Make it not have ta feel tha' sorrow no more."

"You could do a bit less of it," Tharen comments towards Thea. "Got used to not having you around to do it. Have to ease back into these things," he teases in return. "Friends though.. might not be so bad." That's something he'll need to think on a bit more. Likely not very long. But then Moranol is talking about those eggs and he's listening with interest. "Make you think about things?"

Thea listens carefully to Morlanol, nodding, "They do that sometimes. Seryth's egg made me cry too, but it was because it made me feel a longing to find something precious. A sense of home." She doesn't go into the why's and wherefores of whether her Cold Stone hold felt that way or not. "I had to run from the Sands and think about it in the middle of the touching." The Candidate's account of the cave-in catches her interest, "Want to talk about it?" She leans suddenly to nudge Tharen's shoulder with her own, "I need to practice my bubble-bursting skills because I'm so rusty at it?" She smirks at her brother, "Well, friends to start. It might turn into something else with her, who knows, you could get lucky?" So encouraging, she is.

Morlanol nods, taking another sip of his juice and another bite of bubblie. He chews slowly, each rotation taking a noticeable amount of time. "Th' egg touched on tha' fear an loss. It was like it'd lost somethin' dear an' wanted i' back. An' all I wanted t' do was give it to the poor thing. More than anythin' else. M' Da's acciden' was a couple o' years ago now an' it all ended up all righ'. Bu' tha's why I worry when th' struts are too far apar' in th' mine." He gives Tharen an odd look, "I don' unnerstan' why y'd wanta kiss Vivian…"

Tharen 's look is split between the two as they discuss the touching of eggs, a candidate ritual that he hasn't been part of. "Aww, Thee, you never told me you missed me that much that you cried," he says mockingly. "Glad to hear your da is alright though," he adds for the younger boy. "And I never said anything about kissing. She's good looking though."

"But I'll bet he wants to kiss her." Thea snickers as she says it to Morlanol before she nods to his elaboration of the egg and how it seemed to feel. She mulls the issue of mine safety for a moment, "It's fortunate it ended so well. And if it helps discuss it with Satoris, he'll listen." She laughs outright at Tharen, then stops abruptly, her expression sobers. "Might have been part of it, actually." She clears her throat and becomes very interested in her glass suddenly. After a moment, she asks curiously, "Tharen, have you been in to have a peek at them yet?" Meaning the eggs.

Morlanol just looks confused for a moment, taking another sip of juice. It is just then that Bloodstone, apparently full, decides to test his range and lobs a chunk of meat at Tharen. Morl gives the wayward flit a sharp glare before grinning somewhat sheepishly at Thea, "I have talked t' Satoris abou' it… sort of… when he confronted me abou' no' doin' my full shifts in th' mine I… well… I kinda yelled at him and tol' him it was 'cause the mine wasn' safe…" He pauses for a moment, thinking, "Bu' he did star' t' fix tha' after. Made th' other miners help re-double th' pilings."

Tharen sends a glare towards Thea for that comment. Goldrider or no, she's still a sister first. Especially being that that gold can get in here. ".. Ew." That's all that's to be said about that piece of meet that's lobbed his way as he flicks it onto the floor to be cleaned up by some critter or drudge later. "Fixing is fixing though. Good that its getting done." For Thea's question he shakes his head, "I haven't. Eggs just really aren't my thing you know."

"Well, Satoris wasn't in the best frame of mind just then, Morlanol," Thea points out with a tiny grin. "Might try again if the job gets stalled." There's a piece of meat flying by just then and she leans back quickly to get out of the way. She either doesn't want to get hit, or she wants Tharen to. "What? You don't want to kiss her?" Her hand reaches to feel his forehead, "You aren't feverish are ya?" There's a bit of a giggle at Tharen's comment, "Not interested in seeing them, huh? There's always a gaggle of girls up in the Observation Level swooning over them."

Morlanol nods, "I… well, I kinda caugh' tha' drif', but it's still real bad tha' I yelled at him. Nearly go' punished fer it too." Bloodstone chitters at Tharen as if saying, 'but, it was a gift!' Agate chirrups at Tharen and wanders up to him, nosing his hand gently, begging for a scritch. Morl gives Tharen an odd look himself, "Y' don' even wanta see th' eggs? Are y' no' goin' t' even atten' th' hatchin'?"

Tharen swats at that hand of his sisters. "I'm fine. Never said I didn't want to. You want me to run off right now and try it?" Not his style. As for the eggs on the sands he shrugs. "Just not that interested in eggs is all. Might go catch a peek later. I'm sure my loving sister here will drag me to the hatching if I'm still around."

"Lucky Zevivda came along to distract Satoris from beating you, huh, Morlanol?" Thea's joking, mostly. Maybe. She jerks her hand back at from Tharen's swat, not one whit deterred. She merely laughs, pleased with her successful needling of the needler. "Not unless you want her to rip your lips off." She finishes her glass, a hand coming up quickly to cover a yawn, "Hmm, might drag you to the Hatching at that Tharen, if you're still here. Make a lot of business contacts mingling with the guests." She pushes her chair back, rises and steps away from the table. "I'm tired, Think I'll make an early night of it. See you two." She gives them a cheery wave and heads towards the door, then braves the winds out there as she heads on out into the night.
Morlanol shrugs, "I hones'ly can' imagine no' wantin' t' see th' eggs, at least a little." He finishes off the last of his bubbly pie in one bite. "It's kinda like seein' birth, only withou' the icky blood 'n' th' screamin'."

"Later Thea," Tharen says, sending a wave after his sister. Yeah, no comment on the rest of that. "They're eggs aren't they? Can't imagine they're all that interesting," he comments turning back towards the miner and taking a long drink of what remains of his own glass of wine.

Morlanol drains his own glass, belatedly waving goodbye to Thea as he does so, "Have y' seen eggs b'fore? This was th' firs' clutch I'd ever seen, bu' they're amazin'. Each egg's unique an' colorful."

Tharen shrugs as he finishes off his drink. "Heard about them," he replies, "Never really took much interest in dragons. Plenty of other things to keep me occupied I guess." There's one last sip, catching the last drops before the glass is set back to the table. "Speaking of other things, I suppose I should appease Thea and get a letter sent home. It was nice meeting you," he adds, rising to his feet to head off.

Morlanol stands as well, his now sleepy flits flying up to his shoulders as he does so, "'Twas nice t' meetcha too. I shoul' ge' back t' th' barracks 'fore dawn since I'll almost certainly have some sor' o' physical labor t'morrow."

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