Xanadu Weyr - Meadow Ridge
The meadow continues its gentle rolls and dips, grass tall and short waving in the slightest of breezes. Each hill seems to grow a bit higher, a bit steeper, as eventually, the meadow works up to a large ridge, the top flattening out at its new elevation.
From the top of the ridge, the view is certainly something to be admired - higher than the majority of the trees, one can look out over the rest of Xanadu Weyr proper. The houses in the lower meadow - each roof a different color - and the clock tower peeking upwards from the its forest surroundings are all visible, as is the cliff that houses the Weyr Caverns themselves. And yet, the ridge also holds an amazing view of the night sky - horizon to horizon - unaffected by the light pollution of the more heavily traveled regions.
Settled upon the ridge is a rather distinctive looking building - nearing three stories tall, circular grey walls have carefully been erected, and a large dome is settled upon this solid foundation. Large panels make up the roof, aside from one section which remains open, and from which the telescope the struction houses peeks out. Sitting adjacent to the tower is a long, low building, meant to serve as offices, record rooms and dorms for those who man the observatory, as well as providing a handy platform for those who seek to use smaller, hand-held 'scopes.
Iessrien gathers the blankets, brushing off grass bits before rolling them together to be less awkward an armload, though the bulky material is still a chore to carry. There's a jerk of his head, nodding about the destination, before Iess begins walking off down the hill, offering Py a slight smile as he goes. There's a moment's renewed tightening in his shoulders, barely noticable beneath the jacket and the bulky bundle of fabric he's hauling, but it has him looking away for a few seconds before he murmurs, "Tell me about.. all that weird shit that goes on in the weyrs, people don't really have frostbite from going between, do they?" Brows drawing together brigly, there's a flick of a glance at the harper, "..Or get mauled on the sands when the eggs hatch? I mean, dragons wouldn't /do/ that, right? No one's ever gotten eaten?"
Pyriel eyes the holder somewhat for whatever reason, but he lets go of anything he may notice. Instead he seems content to shove his hands into the front pockets of his pants and walk along side Iessrien as they descend the hill of the ridge. That smile, returned in far more pronounced than the older boy's own. There is a slight chuckle though for the first question, not laughing at raven haired lad, but rather in general amusement. "No, no frostbite," he says, shaking his head, careful to take each step with caution as the hill was steep. "It just leaves ya really cold." he answers, glancing over towards the holder, and then back to the their slow and somewhat unsteady tail back towards the weyr. He winces though at the second question, "Yeah…about that." he says, and gives Iessrien an apologetic look. "People do get mauled, but only if they ain't paying attention. Mostly it's people distracted that dun dodge when they should. As long as yer focused on the hatching, ya'll should be fine." There is a pause, and the blond shakes his head again. "And no, no one been eaten far as I know, and I've been to lots of hatchings."
Kiley is heading towards the meadow, silent with her hands tucked into her pockets and attention shifting from here to there in search of a certain two candidates. The sight of the two earn a lift of her brows as she considers them. There's a shrug of her shoulders to bring the jacket up higher as she waits on a lower part of the ridge, eyes focusing entirely on the two. "I was out looking for you two. Curfew is almost here and they'll be shutting the doors." Comes her calling before she ducks her head partially down to tuck her nose into her jacket for a moment. Heated breaths are released to warm her nose before she allows the coat to drop back into the regular position in which it rests on her shoulders.
Iessrien chooses his steps with care, occasionally adjusting the blankets under his arms, and nodding at the answer of frostbite. "..Colder than this?" is mumbled under his breath, but there's a quick glance at Pyriel for the talk of maulings. "Shit. I was sure that one was.." but then he just slowly shakes his head, fringe of dark hair briefly brushing over his eyes as it's shifted aside with the movement, the boy briefly worrying his lower lip between his teeth before he continues, "I guess I'll just have to make sure I'm paying attention-" and he totally stumbles on a rock or something just then, pondwater eyes are returning to Py, the mis-step only causing a slight hop-jerk before he recovers his footing and hunches his shoulders. And looks vaguely sheepish. Yeeah, that paying attention thing. He'll start that now. Ahem. Luckily, perhaps, he's saved from the temptation to let his eyes slide back to the blond beside him, by the arrival of one Kiley. Lifted brows are met with a slightly tilted smile and a, "Hi," for the girl, Iess slowing a little and angling his steps towards her, "How much time do we have?" The blankets are eyed, then the sky, though he makes no excuse for their lateness, even if he does flick a brief glance toward Pyriel.
Pyriel bobs his head a few times in an affirmative. "Yeah," he says softly, keeping his voice down and tone conversational. There was no reason to be shouting. "Like, if ya got dropped in the lake, and some rider picked ya up and took ya /between/ ya would freeze to death." Not pleasant perhaps, but there it is. Another apologetic look for the Breakwater holder for the talk of mauling, though before he can perhaps say anything else on the topic, Iessrien is tripping and the blond's hands are out of his pockets before he even knows it, blinking at them in their poised position of a half attempt to steady the nearly tripping boy. Hastily they are returned to his pockets with a roll of his eyes to the sky. Then the other lad is saying hi to someone, and so golden eyes lower to take up residence upon the computer crafter below. He jerks his chin upwards in greeting to the woman, "Sup?" he asks, his own expression neutral, even as he follows along in the same direction as Iess does. When he's looked to, the harper merely shrugs. "Told ya man, ain't the time of turn for stargazin'. Too shardin' cold."
Iessrien's smile is easily returned by Kiley as she waits for the pair to make their way down, "enough time to walk back. I thought it'd take longer to find you." The woman inclines her head slightly before her gaze flickers over towards Pyriel, returning the nod with one of her own. Though she doesn't entirely answer his question, she merely shrugs and then glances between the two once more before her shoulders roll and she turns to face the path that leads to the Weyr. "We should really start heading back before we do have to run all the way just so we make it before curfew." There's a quick glance over her shoulders to confirm that they are still following before she sets out on her way. The talk of between isn't commented on as she avoids butting her way into the conversation.
There's a mild grimace for the talk of going between while wet, but Py's reaction to Iess nearly tripping earns a slight blink from the holder boy, lips twitching at the corners, though any other expression is quickly shifted towards neutral. Pondwater blues flick briefly over to the harper before he offers Kiley a nod, "We'd better hurry and get these back," increasing his pace and adjusting his hold on the blankets. As for stargazing, Iessrien's gaze returns briefly to Pyriel, an eyebrow arched for the harper's words, but Iess will only offer his own quiet, and possibly bemused, "Definitely too cold for that shit." And his head might, for a moment, tilt up toward the twinkling lights above, though he's quick to return his attention to the not-quite even ground. No more distracted stumbles for the holder. At least, not tonight. His face is fairly pink from the chill, the finely knitted blac kscarf about his neck and shoulders doing little to warm bright red nose and pink-tinged cheeks, let alone his ears, half-hidden beneath the dark hair.
A brow is arched at Kiley for the shrug, but Pyriel merely answers it with one of his own. "Yeah." comes the harpers soft reply to Iessrien, setting his feet to carry him of beside and slightly trailing behind the holder as they follow after the woman. Gold eyes dart to the other boy and way with a soft grunt of affirmation for talk of cold weather and looking at the stars, even if he was the one that had brought it up to begin with. Now he's more focused on getting down the hill safely, each step ginger and careful, until it flattens out and then unhurriedly he continues along. For the most part his gaze has remained on the brown crunching grass before him, but once in a while he looks to the back of Kiley's head or the profile of Iessrien. Either way, he's gone quiet for now.
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.
Kiley glances back towards the pair as Iessrien speaks of bringing the blankets back, nodding. "Okay." It isn't much of a response as she turns to face forward again and continue along the path. Her pace picks up rather quickly, however, once they reach level ground and she begins a quick-paced walk towards the Weyr and more specifically: the storage caverns. There's not much to say and silence likely remains from Kiley as they walk and drop the things off in the store rooms. Her silence even continues on the way back to the barracks. And once they arrive, she carefully breaks away to shuffle through her press. Night clothing is found and she quickly changes before plopping quite literally onto her cot with a heavy sigh.
Iessrien, too, walks faster once they reach level ground, steps surer as he follows Kiley, with the occasional glance at the quieted Py. The holder doesn't attempt further conversation, even once they arrive at the storage caverns, dropping off the blankets and brushing grass from his sleeves before returning to the barracks with the other two. Once there, with a glance at his fellow candidates, he heads over to his own cot and drops down on the clothes press to unlace boots and toss stinky socks in a laundry basket, or whatever they have that serves that purpose in the barracks. The rest of his clothes soon follow, Iess practically diving into a pair of drawstring pants before finally flopping down on his cot and crossing his arms behind his head. The bruises he'd been sporting near the beginning of candidacy have all faded, not a trace left on his shoulder where th worst of it had been. Dark hair spilling over his arms, he settles to stare at the ceiling, knees half-bent as he relaxes, occasionally watching the rest of the barracks from beneath lowered lashes, thoughtful almost.
Pyriel had actually left Iessrien to put the blankets back into the stores, following after Kiley after and exchange of glances with the holder boy. But no words. Instead he silently trudges along behind Kiley back to the barracks. Once there, he starts shedding layers. Coat, hat, gloves, scarf, coat is stripped off and all deposited directly into his press without a word. Then comes off two sweaters and the blond is still teeth chattering as he prepares for bed. Shirt and pants and boots all come off and tossed into press along with his belt and his sleeping clothes are drawn on instead, quickly dropping into his bed and slinking under the covers. He's grumbling something about Eastern, blankets up to chin.